beginning of the Year 1684. to sound that Prince in favour of the Holy League in order by that means to give the Crim Tartars a powerful Diversion Upon their return Father Vota stopt in Poland to wait there for a more favourable Conjuncture to his pious Design giving out that the Czar had not hearkened to his first Overtures The King received him very pleasantly all Novelties are pleasing to the Learned and above all at this Court where every thing runs in the Excess as the Heat and the Cold he carried him to the War lodged him defrayed him and at last made him his most intimate Secretary Much about the time of the arrival of all those Persons extraordinary each in his Sphere arrived also one from France no less illustrious distinguished besides his Personal Merit by his great Birth 'T was the Marquis de Bethune heretofore Ambassador Extraordinary of France in Poland who returned thither without any other Character than that of Brother-in-Law to the Queen and without any other Design than to follow the King into the Army being out of Employment in France where the Peace had just extinguished the new Differences between the two Nations after the taking of Luxemberg in the Year 1684. which the Marshal de Crequi joined that very Year to the Conquests of Louis le Grand The Austrian Ministers being naturally suspicious according to the Genius of the Germans believed that the Voyage of the Marquis de Bethune comprehended some Politick Mystery Count Wallestein dropt some Words to that purpose in a Conference with the Marquis d'Arquyan who telling him one Day that he Count Wallestein would doubtless be glad to see a Lord in Poland whom he had known at Vienna and honoured with his Friendship that Minister answered smiling That he had rather see him elsewhere but the Marquis d'Arquyan replying That his arrival was without Mystery and only upon the Score of a Relation who came to see the King his Brother-in-Law after the happy Success of his Campagnes the Count de Wallesteine added with the same Tone That the Pretence of his coming was very plausible and the Colour well contrived However all those illustrious Persons lived in this Court in a perfect Union of Civility and honest Correspondence There had not been so great a Number of Foreign Grandees at that Court of a long time The end of the Campagne also increased it more with Officers of the Elector of Brandenburg's Troops Besides the young Prince of Courland his Brother Prince Ferdinand also repaired thither from Germany to get some Post in the Army The Rendezvouz of those illustrious Persons was in the House of the Marquis d'Arquin who kept an excellent Table and made a Figure worthy of the high Rank of Father to a great Queen They played a great Game there all the Winter whilst the King of Poland was taken up about calling of the General Diet whose Session happened in the following Year 1685. It ought to have been held in Lithuania as being the third according to the Regulations made for that purpose however the King of Poland with the Advice of most of the Senators assembled them at Warsaw on the sixteenth of February 1685. to save the Nobility the Trouble of a long Journey after so tedious a Campagn and that they should not be at so great a distance from the Frontiers to the end that they might be in a readiness to repair thither betimes upon all Occasions This raised great Difficulties in the Republick by the obstinacy of the Lithuanians as we shall see in the Second Part of these Memoirs In the interim Count Wallestein returned to Vienna leaving the Care of Affairs to a Resident called Chemoski a Relation of the Baron Jarowski who came afterwards and took it upon himself Secretary Alberti fixed himself also in this Court and Father Vota began his Intrigues in favour of the Confederate Princes This was the Face of the Court and of the Affairs of Poland when I arrived there after I came out of Slavery The Officer that Pr. Lubomirski had sent to Comorra to make the Exchange conducted me to Presburg by the Isle of Schit and from thence to Vienna I found the Country Peopled with new Inhabitants who were rebuilding the Villages and the Flying Bridge of the first of those Towns was re-established I tarried in the other five or six Days with my Deliverer who filled up the Measure of his Kindnesses to me by solid and effectual Services my Acknowledgment wherof can never be sufficiently testified It is certain that without the pressing Sollicitations of the Marquis d'Arquin the Queen's Father and without the Intercession of Prince Lubomirski who negotiated my Liberty at his own Charge which cost him above 400 Pistols whereof the Court of Poland repaid him nothing and of which he would not suffer me to reimburse the least Penny without these two Lords I say I had been killed at Nehausel either by Famine or by Arms for that Place having been besieged six Months after there was only found therein about 40 or 50 Slaves of nigh 1400 that I left in the Place as well in the Prisons as in private Houses the rest having been killed upon the Ramparts and in the Breach where the Bassa's exposed them to work to cover the Turkish Soldiers The Germans also massacred a great Number of them in the general Storm without distinguishing them from the Enemy in the heat of the Conflict At this Rate my Deliverance cost nothing to the King nor Queen of Poland all the Charge of it fell on Pr. Lubomirski Indeed the King had a great deal of Trouble to find the two Spahi's demanded by the Bassa He called Mehemet was found with a Polander of whom his Majesty bought him to put him into the Hands of the Marquis d'Arquin The other who was called Ali Spaha could not obtain the same Liberty Miogenski who had him in Custody refused to release him The first had all reason imaginable to praise his Bondage not only because of the good Treatment that he received in the House of the Queen's Father but also because of the fair Dealing that was observed for his Interest I had been exchanged with 28 Turks of Zetchin and had signified it so from Vienna without specifying any thing of the Conditions I had sworn to Upon the first News the Marquis d'Arquin not knowing what I had promised thought to procure me an advantage by causing this Mehemet to ran some himself it being said that the French Man for whom he was designed to be exchanged had obtained his Liberty by other means The Spahi offered 500 Crowns and a Turkish Envoy who was detained at Leopold by way of Reprizal for him of Poland at Constantinople paid the same After which he retired to Caminiec with all imaginable Security and Conveniency At my arrival the Marquis d'Arquin presented me with that Summ but I explained to him the Circumstances of my exchange and thanking him
Disorders in Hungary particularly on Count Teckley's Land and on the Counts part that his should not come near Cracow as I have already said to which I must add what I have heard from the King of Poland's own Mouth to Ghiia when he took his Leave of him viz. That he must assure Count Teckley that if the Malecontents should burn one Straw in the Territories of Poland he would go in Person and burn his Wife and Children in his own House The Duke of Lorrain had daily given the King of Poland an exact Account of the State of the Siege by frequent Courriers and Count Caraffa gave him a full and the last Account of it whilst he was at Dinner at Bengin as likewise of the State of the Imperial Army which was given out to be 14000 Horse and 30000 Foot Whereupon his Polish Majesty opened his mind to that General and discovered to him the Design he had formed to attack the Turks by way of the Mountains of Callemberg which he described to him in the Camp and from that Day I observed in the K. a Prophetick Assurance of his beating them which the Event has always made me to take for a Celestial Inspiration Caraffa at the same time told him how that the Imperial Court had been obliged in flying from Vienna to leave in the Place a prodigious Treasure in Money and Jewels the loss of which would be no small addition to their Grief and conjured him by all these Motives to hasten his March whereof he would be assured before he returned In a Word he followed the Court of Poland to Tarnovitz and after having seen the Review of the Army and taken his Leave of the King and Queen he took Post having ordered Horses to follow him on purpose that he might be able to assure the Duke of Lorrain that he had seen them on their March for no Body ever believed that the K. would have led them in Person He arrived on the 21st of August at Tarnovitz in the Neighbourhood of which Place the Army incamped that Day in many separate Camps which the King caused to be done that it might appear to be the greater not only to the Imperial Commissaries but also to an extraordinary concourse of the Nobility of Silesia who flocked thither to see this famous King from whom the Deliverance of the Empire was expected They were supplied with Provisions in abundance the Polish Money past Currant Waggons were given to the Infantry to hasten their March and others got ready for the Cossacks who were impatiently expected by the King in fine all imaginable Methods of dispatch were formed out with such earnestness as the pressingness of the Occasion did re-require Upon which I find my self obliged to observe that the Lithuanians have so bad a Name for pillaging and other disorders in their Marches that the Imperial Commissaries prayed the King of Poland to divert that Plague from off their Country and to cause 'em to march over the Mountains of Hungary which way they actually took and failed not to burn plunder kill c. so that the way they went might be discover'd by their terrible Disorders of which C. Teckley who was assured by the King himself of a kind Neutrality between the Territories of Poland and those of Hungary depending on him testified a great Resentment All the Blame was laid upon the Lithuanian Generals and upon a Gent. of that Country call'd Teskievits to whom the Q. had given the Conduct of certain Troops made up of stragling Men that followed the Army of the great Dutchy of Lithuania as if they had been their Retinue The 22d of Aug. the K. after Mass went into the Camp in a Warriors Equipage having the Bontchouk carried before him preceded by his Guards and Horses of War whose Harnesses were glittering with Gold and precious Stones and without Exageration with such a Richness as I never saw elsewhere or perhaps 't is not valued but amongst those sorts of Nations as Turks Persians and Muscovites whose Pomp and Methods the Polanders imitate The K. had ordered his Infantry to break up before Day the better to conceal from the Germans the smallness of their Number and the bad Condition they were in The Artillery which consisted of 28 Pieces of very small size followed the first Day for the same reason for except 5 or 6 Cannon of a reasonable size for Field-Pieces the rest did not deserve that Name He would not therefore review any other but the Polish Cavalry and Dragoons which were truly extraordinary fine Troops all equipped as the best Regiments of Germany which charmed the Imperial Commissaries The Grand General drew them up in Battalia and the Princes and Senators who had Troops of Hussars among them having posted themselves at their Head the King made a Review of them and at the same time marched at the Head of all in Person I shall not trouble my self here with the particular Description of the Places along this Road nor with the Incampments of the Poles during this March I shall do it at length at the end of my Narrative that I may not break the Thread of my Discourse and shall content my self at present to inform the Publick that the King from that very Day quitted his Army in order to put himself with all Expedition at the Head of that of the Emperor where every Body wanted his Presence taking with him only a Body of 4000 Horse and a Detachment of twenty Hussars out of each Troop who were instead of his Guards and marched about his Person without Lances He wrote a Letter to the Pope from Ratibor to inform him of his hasty March with that Detachment He lodged in most of the Towns where they had prepared Lodgings for his Reception in others he encamped with his Guards No Monarch ever received so much respectful Homage from People of a Foreign Dominion as the King of Poland received from the Emperor's Subjects He marched through all Silesia and cross'd the Mountains being seven Leagues over that part it from Moravia He went through this last Province and was treated by the old Archbishop of Strigonia in the Town of Brin which is the only Place in that Country that can be called strong because of its Cittadel that the Natives reckon to be impregnable In fine leaving the Plains of Austria on his left Hand towards Ekendorf he marched to Olle Brun where he incamped on the 31st of Aug. The same Day the little General of the Crown joined the King in his March with the Body of Cavalry which he had conducted by the Foot of the Mountains and the Duke of Lorrain arrived just as his Polish Majesty was causing those Troops to defile Thus their first Interview was in the open Field the King received him at the Head of those Troops drawn up in order of Battle whose fierce Aspect did excellently well suit with the Noble and Warlike Air of that Monarch The Duke
lighted off his Horse at about 25 Paces distance from the King who did the same at about 15 and after a short Conversation but very Affectionate on both sides both of them mounted again at the same time and went together to the Camp that was marked out at Olle Brun where the King treated the Duke of Lorrain at Dinner That Prince gave afterwards so many Marks of his Consideration and Esteem for his â—olish Majesty that the King thought he could never sufficiently testifie to the Duke of Lorrain the Esteem and if I may venture to say it the Veneration which his Vertues and extraordinary Merits inspired him with The Duke of Lorrain in his Conversation after this Interview said oftentimes that the Republick of Poland had never shown greater Proofs of Judgment than in the Choice they had made of so great a King and his Minister Count Taff being then present added That the King of Poland himself knew very well that in the time of his Negotiation at the General Diet he had assured him in the Name of the Duke of Lorrain his Master that he would desist from his Pretensions to the Royalty if he the Grand Marshal made any to that Crown The Army sojourned two Days at Olle Brun and during this Interval 500 Dragoons and 1500 Germans were sent to lay a Bridge over the Danube On the 3d of Sept. they incamped near Stadeldorf a pleasure-Pleasure-House scituated on a rising Ground wherein the King lodged and in which the Elector of Saxony who arrived the night before came to salute his Majesty as Prince VValdeck had done the Day before On the 4th they tarried there to hold a general Council at which assisted besides the Elector of Saxony the Duke of Lorrain and Prince VValdec General of the Troops of the Circles General Caprara and some others of that Rank On the 5th the Palatin of Russia Grand General of the Crown arrived with the Polish Army which the King saw defile and ordered them at the same time to march to the Bridge whither he followed in Person about 4 a Clock at Night and where the whole Army encamped upon the Brink of the Danube The Bridge was built over-against the Town of Thoulon six Leagues above Vienna at a Place where the River forms two Isles which required three Bridges and made the Passage the more secure by a plurality of easie Retreats defended by the Arms of the Danube On the 6th of September the Army began to pass the Bridges and the King in the mean time dined in one of the Isles The Great General of Poland marched on the Head of all with his Polish Troops as if it were to cover the rest and it is certain that that Post was their due the Germans being so dejected with Fatigues and Toils occasioned by the bad state of Affairs that they wanted to be incouraged and heartened The sight of a Turban frightened them an accidental Cry of Alla which the Turks use in War and signifies God allarmed the Camp which happened twice or thrice the Night after they had passed the Danube This Disposition was the Occasion that the Polish Army had the right and that of the Emperor with the Duke of Lorrain at their Head the Left the Electors keeping in the Center near the King's Person That Night he incamped beyond the Bridges on Thoulm side where he tarryed the 7th and 8th that all the Army Bagage might pass over The Troops of the El. of Bavaria which came that way out of his Electorate joined us the first Day and next Day that Prince arrived by Water in the Camp a little before the King left Thoulm Here the Duke of Lorrain appointed several of the Emperor's Huntsmen to conduct the Ranks through the Defiles of the Mountains which they had often ranged as a Hunting and knew very well these Guides led the Army through the least difficult ways and over the easiest Hills though this Mountainous Country is every where bad for a March insomuch that they could carry but very little of their Artillery with them and that with inconceivable Trouble notwithstanding they were so small that they could mount them with the help of an Irou Crow He had so many Tartars and useless Horse in his Camp as did nothing but starve him and Forage began to be very scarce with him however our Troops met no Body in those Defiles but some Servants of the Army who were keeping Cattle here and there and fled upon first sight of us But that which happened to a Colume of Polish Foot will certainly appear to be very odd A Tartar Officer commanding a Party of about 30 Horse happened in his March to fall into a Closs-Valley and finding the said Body of Poles there he came up to General de Henoff who was at their Head not to fire upon him but cooly to ask him News as if they had been Friends and when he was told That they were Part of the Polish Army which was advancing under the command of the King in Person he answered jearingly That he knew very well that Prince Lubomirski had brought some Polish Troops to the succour of the Germans After which he rode off with his Troop without General de Henoff's thinking fit to attack him or perhaps he could not do it in that hollow Way or that the Tartars kept himself at some distance from him The Duke of Lorrain having provided the Army with good Guides made the King take the shortest Way over the Mountains and accompanied him almost constantly as did also the Emperor's Chief Generals They decamped from Thoulm on the 9th of September 1683. in the Afternoon Next Day they passed half of the Defiles and the Court stop'd at Night on a great steep Hill which they had gained with much trouble The King had found it so troublesom to get up that Hill that he wrote the same Night to the Queen That the Fatigue of the March together with the want of Provisions had made them lose so much Flesh that they were fit to run with a Hart upon the Course Those who gave out That that Prince was brought so low that he was not able to get on Horseback any more did not expect such a plain Contradiction as this Affair gave them for they did not cross the Mountains in Coaches and 't is certain that upon the Day of Battle his Majesty was almost 12 Hours on Horseback I don't say but that he had some trouble to mount his Horse for he was forced to make use of a Stool or some rising Ground at his mounting But when he is on Horseback he finds himself very easie which stood him in good stead at the Defeat of Barcan On the 11th they continued their March without seeing any Appearance of the Army or having had any News of it since they left Thoulm for which they began to be uneasie But on the 3d Day about Noon they discovered the Points of the Hussars
Refreshments of Sweet-Meats Wine and other things 'T is an inconceivable thing the Truth of which we could never learn How all that Infantry made their Retreat in a Night the darkest that ever was seen For we discovered neither Stragler nor Company except 23 Janizaries shut up in that House of the Emperor where the Grand Visier kept his Head-Quarters and laid up his Stores These Janizaries did not fly with the rest but were in that place Sept. 14. Attempts were made to force them they kill'd several Dragoons and would not submit to any but the King of Poland when he came before that Castle out of which they were allow'd to march with Bag and Baggage This great Victory so-compleat so happy and so shining cost but a very few Men the Germans lost a Prince of Crouy the Poles the two Lords above-mention'd and the whole Army about 600 Men. A great part never saw the Enemy The Palatine of Russia with his Right Wing march'd all along without a Rencounter The Emperour's Cuiriassiers never struck a stroke the Second Lines were no more than Spectators because the Enemy fled before they were come up so that properly speaking none but the Dragoons the Infantry and the Hussars bore the Fire and engag'd the Enemy We cannot tell what happen'd particularly on the Left Each Prince kept at the Head of his own Troops and none but Count Waldeck was seen next the King's Person and that but once when the heat of the Battle was near over upon which he pass'd this Compliment to his Majesty That it was a good Days-work for his Glory and for the History of his Life From this true Recital we may Discover the Falsity of that Report which was spread abroad and publish'd even in Poland it self namely That the Turks had forty thousand kill'd upon the spot Talenty the Italian Secretary whom the King dispatch'd to the Pope the next Day after the Defeat with the great Standard of Mahomet found at the Portal of the Grand Visier told such another Story in his Journey and had the Confidence to tell his Holiness himself That in leaving Vienna he travell'd four Leagues together on dead Bodies Now in the first place his Way to Rome did not lie through the Field of Battle nor through any part of the Road by which the Turks made their Retreat some of whom were cut off both this Night and on the Morrow And besides it is certain that in the whole compass of the Ground there were not above 800 dead Corps to be seen I do not speak this to lessen the Glory of his Polish Majesty which shines bright enough of it self the Greatness of the Undertaking the wonderful Success that attended it and above all that Heroical Resolution which made him leave his Dominions to come to the Relief of his Allie are enough to set it off without the help of any false Lustre Most of the Polish Senators and Generals were likewise for his immediate Return home after the Relieving Vienna that he might preserve an Army of which Poland might in the sequel of the War stand in need But the King hearkened neither to these Advices nor to the repeated Instances of the Queen He was for compleating the Business and thereby to lay the Empire under stronger Obligations to him 'T is upon those Accounts that his Polish Majesty merits Praise without the killing of 40000 Men. 'T is reported of Alexander the Great That he was highly offended with one of his Generals who in the History of his Wars ascribed false Matters of Fact to him thereby endeavouring to enhance his Glory He threw the Tablets into the River Hydaspes upon which he was when the Recital was made to him and upbraided the Author for having foisted his own Inventions into such a large Field of Praise which Truth alone was sufficient to represent On Munday Sept. 13. the King detach'd Miogensky with a thousand Horse to pursue the Enemy and cut off their Retreat This Officer when he was come over against Presburgh detach'd fifty Horse who advanced as far as Raab where they saw the Turkish Army which began to pass the Bridges very quietly It had marched twelve Hungarian Leagues the first Night and began to defile on the Morrow without any opposition The Garrison of Yavarin durst not or could not undertake the burning of the Bridges the Grand Visier having very cautiously left a considerable Body of Men to guard them They were three Days and three Nights in passing over the River and met with no disturbance Some blame the King of Poland for this who should they say have push'd on his Victory But this Charge is groundless since his Troops could not have left the Camp that Night without great danger They had been without their Equipages for three Days and could not expect that they could pass the Mountains in less than three Days more Besides the greatest Generals having finish'd what they design'd are well enough satisfied with that and never care for running after the Conquered to whom Martial Policy often thinks it adviseable to allow Bridges for their Retreat After the Departure of Miogensky the King visited the Camp and the Tents of the Grand Visier from whence in a few words he wrote the News of his Victory to the Pope and other Princes He sent a Gentleman Express to the Queen as an Eye-witness of all that had pass'd with several Pieces of that great Spoil And for the sake of this Good News the Imperial Ministers order'd the Post-Masters to demand nothing of that Courier for his Journey Afterwards the King over-ran all the Enemies Works even to their last Lodgments upon the Bastions But in the Interim some Souldier or other having accidentally set fire to some loose corns of Powder that lay about the Magazine where there were still nigh 300 thousand pound weight it caus'd one of the most dreadful Fires that could be imagin'd The Air seem'd to be all in a blaze the Earth shook and nothing could give us a more lively resemblance of the general Conflagration at the Last Day However there was some thing surprizing even in this terrible Prospect and his Majesty said That he had long wish'd to see such a Sight At last he made his Entry into Vienna through the Breaches on the same side that the Assault had been carry'd on There he reap'd the full Satisfaction of his Victory amidst the Acclamations of a City destin'd before to a miserable Slavery the Chains whereof this Hero broke The People Huzza'd him the Croud did as it were carry his Horse along and their Acknowledgments rose so high as to wish that they had a Master and Emperor like to this Glorious Monarch This they cry'd out loudly in every Street transported with such an excess of Joy and Affection as cannot admit of Moderation upon such moving Occasions as this The first thing he did was to return God Thanks for his Victory in the Church of the Reform'd
The Sultan was likewise for Comforting his Son-in-Law by the Example of Solyman the Great who met with the same Misfortune before Vienna where indeed he was not defeated but only miss'd of his Aim in taking it However with all these Testimonies of Favour the Sultan order'd him to make amends for this Misfortune by covering the Frontier Places He consented to the Deposing of the Old Cham of Tartary who was succeeded by one of the Visier's Relations and at the Death of the Visier of Buda that Post was fill'd by Kara Mehemet Pacha the Grand Visier's Intimate Friend This Letter from the Prince of Transylvania contain'd likewise several other Particulars and concluded with this Compliment to the King That his Victory was so compleat and his steddy Resolution so commendable in carrying on his Design to the utmost that all Christendom must still remember his Name and have it always in their Mouths The Emperor for his part rewarded the Good Services of the Count of Staremberg on whom he bestow'd the Title of Felt-Mareshal that is General of his Army but he slighted those of the Duke of Saxe-Laonburg whose Deserts were equal to his Birth and who hop'd to have had the Dignity that was conferr'd on Staremberg This made the Prince of Saxony to withdraw in Discontent having the Satisfaction only of seeing the King of Poland approve of his Resentment and Retreat That King sent him a very rich Sabre as a Testimony of his Esteem by a Gentleman who waited upon him at Presburgh where he had left the Army Staremberg had likewise the Golden-Fleece bestow'd upon him and 100000 Crowns being part of 400000 sent by the Pope as a supply to the Army Thus have we given you a Faithful and Exact Account of this Great Action which will be a more Shining Ornament to the History of our Age by the Extraordinariness of the Event than by the greatness of the Matters of Fact For we shall in the Sequel meet with more Heroical and Considerable Transactions on one side as well as the other I shall now present you with the Particulars of the March and Encampments of the King of Poland from Tarnowits to Vienna and set down upon occasion the several Stages thereof The first Country the King of Poland entred after he had left his own Dominions was the Dutchy of Silesia This Province is one of the Hereditary Countries of the House of Austria and begins on the side of Poland at Bengin nine Leagues off Cracow From Bengin to Tarnowits three Leagues This is the Place which the Poles call Tarnosky Goury Most of those Towns of Provinces subject at present to the Republick going under two Names As for the Leagues from hence to Vienna they are to be reckon'd as German Leagues of the larger Measure the swiftest Courrier not being able to compass a Stage in less than two Hours and some will take above three Hours Riding From Tarnowits to Gleibwitz three Leagues a Stage and an half In this Road you will meet with great variety of Woods open Plains Sandy Fields and Fertile Grounds with some Villages that look better than those in Poland tho' the Houses are made of Wood The Towns are all wall'd even Gleibwitz it self which is the least upon the Road but yet this Town makes some shew has a great Clock in it its Gates are guarded and the Burghers are of a Manly Aspect The King encamp'd at this Place the first Day after he had left Tarnowits and din'd at Vessolo a Village between both From Glebwitz to Routh three Leagues a Stage and an half You still meet with the same pleasant Prospect of a mixt Country which hitherto is pretty good Travelling tho' Sandy Routh is only a small Village situated in the midst of a Wood but it has a very fine Abbey of the Cistercian Order and the Post-Office is within its inward Yard The King din'd at Pilikvitzé and lay in the Abbey Dutchy of RATIBOR From Routh to Ratibor three Leagues one Stage and an half They are very long Leagues and the Country very close and sandy but in going down the Hills that lie next to the Marshy Plain in which Ratibor is situated we discover'd a very pleasant Country This Marshy Plain makes the Avenues to the Town very difficult by reason of the Length of the Causeys made of Faggots Ratibor has Suburbs quite round its Walls and is wash'd with the River Odar which we pass'd over a Wooden Bridge into one part of the Suburbs The Place is very large and set off with Stately Brick Houses It is the Capital City of a fine Dutchy which the House of Austria often pawns Casimir King of Poland enjoy'd it a long time under that Title and the Heirs of Queen Lewes his Wife pretended to great Reimbursements after her Death for that Territory to be made out of the Emperor's Demesnes The King who din'd the third Day at Samotitzé just step'd to Ratibor where he staid a little with the Lords of the Family of Henoff who had provided a Collation for him and went to lye at Pietrovitzé From Ratibor to Troppaw 4 Leagues two Stages This is an Uneven Country but Champian and well manur'd and this City is one of the finest in the Province surrounded with good Walls with Turrets and several pieces of Workmanship on the Gates the Churches are well built the Inhabitants of a graceful Mein It has a Governor and a well-disciplin'd Garrison On that side of it towards Ratibor the Suburbs are but indifferent through which runs the River Oppava which gives the City a Second Name being call'd by the Poles Oppava from the Name of the River The King din'd there the fourth Day The Marquisate of MORAVIA From Troppaw to Hauff four Leagues two Stages Upon leaving of Troppaw the Plains by which it is surrounded and which are very Champian go a League farther and with them is terminated the Province of Silesia separated on this side from the Marquisate of Moravia by a Ridge of large Mountains of six Leagues length which arising from those of Hungary on the Left are joyn'd to those of Bohemia beyond Breslaw on the Right These Mountains are very high cover'd with large Woods of Fir and at the Bottoms wash'd with Fountains and Rivulets where are some Villages ill built but pretty populous Such a Village as this is Hauff which might be reckon'd a large Town and would be a good City in Poland It is call'd in the Polish Language Dwortzè This Ridge of Mountains is terminated by a long rough and steep descent at the foot of which is the City of Sternberg which is properly no more than a Street with a Gate at each End but large rich and well built In the midst of this Mountain is a Castle of Ancient Structure very large and well kept as belonging to a Petty Prince or rather some Great Lord of Germany From Hauff to Sternberg three Leagues a Stage and an half
forthwith to his Master lying then upon his Sopha regaling himself with his Pipe and Coffee After he done examining me they conducted me back again to the same Officer's House where I first alighted A Young Cavalier being one of the Party and Valet to the Officer gave me some Coleworts and Meat to eat being what was left of his Supper afterwards he brought me into his Master's Chamber to ly near him upon the same Floor where you may suppose I got but very little Sleep On the Morrow betimes in the Morning I was carry'd into the Stable to rub down and dress my Horse but perceiving that I was very awkard in managing the Curry-comb he very civilly discharg'd me from that Office Afterwards I was brought to another Officer's House being a Man of Note where I found all my Comrades that had been taken with me the Day before with the Heads of those that had been kill'd fix'd at the end of a Pole and carry'd each by one of the Cavaliers This was a dread ful Sight and the only Instance of Cruelty to be observ'd in all the Turkish Customs for they are a Nation endu'd with a great deal of Humanity and Charity having a Sweetness of Temper tho' unpolish'd and a Bravery without any thing of Fierceness Thus were we led on in Triumph to the Prime Bassa's House where was the Leader of the Party to present to him the Prisoners with a great many other Turks of Note Officers Lawyers and Members of the Divan or Council At the Antichamber we put off our Shoes as the Turks did theirs because the Chamber-floor was cover'd all over with a Carpet The Bassa was upon his Couch rais'd upon oblong Cushions in an Angle between two Windows and the Couch being cover'd with another Carpet of Red Cloth edg'd about with a Green Silk Fringe was rais'd half a Foot all round the Walls and quilted which serv'd him instead of a Bed without a Canopy and Curtains a Sabre and a Horse-Tayl dy'd in Red hanging at the Top. The Strangers were seated below the Rails and the Officer with the Domesticks standing round the Chamber with their two Hands upon their Breasts which is a Posture of Respect among the Turks The Bassa a Person very old and Meagre but withal of a pretty venerable Aspect caus'd a German to be examin'd and afterwards my self in Latin by that Young Renegade Hungarian above-mention'd threatning to cut off both our Heads if we did not give a Punctual Answer After this they broke open my Letters and made me find out that Particular one sent from the King to the Queen of Poland which was likewise interpreted by a Polish Renegade During this the Bassa made me sit down on the Ground and treated me very Nobly with a Dish of Coffee He made choice of me and another French Prisoner for his Share and sent us to his Eldest Son and his Kiayia or Lieutenant lodg'd in another Brick-House almost as Stately as the Bishop's Palace in which the Bassa his Father resided This Kiayia did not seem to be over inquisitive about us After a short Conference he sent us into a Room where ten or twelve of his Servants were eating There we stay'd all Day till Night came and then were shut up in a Vault fasten'd together by one Foot or rather in certain Wooden-holds made like a Pair of Stocks The bare Ground was our Bed without Hay or Straw or Coverlet In the Morning the same Keeper came to release us and shew us up Stairs where we eat some pieces of Bread and what Scraps those Turks were pleas'd to leave us upon their Plates A charitable Dervis or Monk dwelling in this Family and very much respected by all the Rest refresh'd me after Dinner with an Earthen Pan of Coals which was no small Comfort to me in my Misery my Cloaths being very thin having lost my Cloak my Peruke and my Hat one being taken from me by a Cavalier of the Party and the others left on the Field of Battle so that I spent all the next Winter which was very starp in those Parts bare-headed having only a sorry Muslin Cravat wrapp'd about it as long as it lasted I profess solemnly that I was in a very deplorable Condition and that nothing can be a greater Affliction to a Man of Honour than Slavery not so much by the Sufferings he feels in his Body as by the Affronts that are offer'd to his Spirit from my own Experience I can here testify the truth of what I always look'd upon as a Popular Tradition like a thousand others which the ignorant Vulgar attribute to the Turks Who say they look into the Hands of their Slaves thereby to discover their Quality or Employment by the Fineness of their Skin This I say is very true for all that ever came nigh me the first thing they did was to look into my Hands As for the rest I was pretty easie in the House of this Kiayia who exacted no manner of Labour or Service from me In the mean time the Bassa order'd the King's Letter to the Queen to be turn'd out of the Polish into the Turkish Language and sent it with all the rest to the Grand Visier suppos'd still to be at Buda by an Officer and twenty Horse who march'd directly to Lewents and were taken by the Germans whom they did not imagine were Masters of that Place The Germans sent all the Letters they found about the Turks to the Duke of Lorrain who likewise sent them to the King being all writ in Polish The King was strangely surpriz'd to see his Letter return'd and supposing that I was either kill'd or taken he order'd Enquiry to be made about it of the Turkish Officer who own'd the Truth and said that I was at Newhausel as well as he was at Lewents Upon this his Polish Majesty very generously set himself upon my Deliverance and sent the Interpreter of the Grand General under a Pretence of ransoming several Touariches and Officers of his Regiments but in reality to treat about my Exchange which he was willing to do nicely lest the Bassa should prove stiff in case he had occasion to suspect that I was a Person of Note He had already surmis'd some such thing from that Honourable Mention which so great a King had made of a Domestick in his Letter For the Turks who are us'd to Thou all the World even their Emperor himself and who had conceiv'd a great Esteem for the King of Poland by his last Victory could not imagine that the Person whom he distinguish'd by the Name of Monsieur and of whom he said so many favourable Things could be no more than a Gentleman of the Queen's Houshold They absolutely thought me to be her Brother not knowing that it was the French Mode of Speaking They were confirm'd in this foolish Opinion by the Money and Jewels which I had about me and by the Rich Cloaths I had on It
cross'd the Designs of the Polanders who had Thoughts of entring into Valachia and by the Way of Boudziac to have pierc'd as far as the Black Sea The Court remov'd from Cracow at the end of March 1684 and had gain'd the Frontiers towards Leopold to be in a Readiness for any Enterprise Whilst the King waited at Yavorouf for the Coming up of his Troops and Recruits Count Montecuculli arriv'd there being sent by the King of Spain to Compliment his Polish Majesty upon the happy Success of the preceding Campaign The Emperor sent thither the Count of Valestein as his Ambassador Extraordinary with Order to follow the King and his Army whithersoever they mov'd Lastly the Republick of Venice being willing to enter into a League against the Turks and to take Advantage of these Favourable Junctures nominated the Procurator Morosini to go into Poland with that Character who likewise made the Campaign with his Polish Majesty The King of Poland open'd it by spoiling two or three Retreats which the Turks had preserv'd on this side Caminiec on the Confines of Podolia and Russia The nearest that lay towards this Capital City was the Castle of Yaslovietz scituated on a Hill surrounded with others more large and almost encompass'd with a River which wash'd the Bottom There was an Aga with a Garrison of about 120 Men detach'd from Caminiec some small Pieces of Artillery and Fortifications proportionable The Army encamp'd on the Eminencies which commanded that Castle and summon'd the Aga to surrender The Aga desir'd for his Honor's sake to see some Cannon play upon the Place it being pretty strong by its Scituation and by its ancient Walls M. Dupont Engineer to the Republick caus'd two Batteries to be rais'd which Beat down all the Front of the Castle which fac'd the Army They had scarce fir'd ten times when the Garrison desir'd to march out The Aga being well acquainted with the Customs of his own Country which reckons no Man innocent that is unfortunate was not for exposing himself to the Test and so retir'd into Poland where the Queen made him Keeper of one of her Country Houses His Lieutenant likewise stay'd with the King and serv'd him as an Hussar and their Janizaries were dispers'd here and there about the Country The Aga is a Man of a good Mein and a Venerable Aspect of a Warlike Air even a little rough which Adversity smooth'd afterwards The other is a mere Soldier very Fat of a Low but Brave Mein as appear'd by those dreadful Scars with which he was full especially that which he brought from Candy by a Bullet shot into the back part of his Head The Surrender of this small Castle made just as I have describ'd it did however inhance the the Reputation of the Polish Arms in Foreign Parts They talk'd as big in France of this Expedition as of the Taking of Valenciennes so true is it That Fame raises Matter of Fact in Proportion to the Distance of the Climates where they are done The same News being brought to Newhausel chear'd up the Hearts of the Polish Slaves so much that I believ'd it had been Caminiec that was taken by the King And my supposition was the more probable because I knew that the Republick had undertaken the War only with Intention of retaking that Place from the Turks being the most considerable which they held in Poland But my News-monger Suleyman the Bassa's Coffee-man undeceiv'd me and told me the truth of the Business The Queen attended the King as far as Yaslovietz and was present with her Court at the Assault of that Place which in truth deserv'd no other than an Army of Females The Turks who march'd out were very much surpriz'd having never before seen such Luggage follow the Camp But the Queen after this Exploit retir'd to Leopold from thence to Yaroslave The King march'd directly to Zwaniec there to pass the Niester His Design was to enter into Valachia to make himself Master of that Province and there to winter his Army in order to cut off the Communication between Caminiec and the Turks who had no other way thither no more than the Tartars By this means that place would have been immediately block'd up and reduc'd at last for want of Supplies to surrender within six Months without so much as discharging a Cannon Besides the King of Poland made a considerable Diversion to facilitate the Taking of Buda by the Germans and to relieve one another from the Niester to the Danube But neither were the Germans minded to share the Glory and the Fruits of their Conquests with the Poles nor were the Poles in a capacity of finishing this great Design They could not in 3 Week's Time so much as lay the Foundations of a Bridge having neither Boats nor other things necessary And after they had spent above a Month's Time in casting Baskets of Stones Fascines and other Materials in the Water an Inundation of the River occasion'd by the Rains that fell carry'd away all the Work Whilst these things were doing the Tartars appear'd on the other side the Niester to the number of near 40000 Horse from whence every Day Detachments were sent out who swam over the River a little below the Polish Camp between Cotchim and Caminiec and came to skirmish with the Poles who likewise cross'd the River sometimes with the same Vigour so that all was reduc'd into particular Skirmishes the two Armies looking on at the same time and disputing for the Ground and Forrage at the Expence of some unhappy Creatures whom the Tartars carry'd off every Day There were likewise several Interviews between the Officers of the two Armies having the River in the midst The Chancellor of the Cham who had formerly been at the Polish Court to treat about ransoming his Brother came one Day on the Bank of the River and desir'd to speak with one of the King's Touariches who accordingly was order'd thither He desir'd them to tell his Polish Majesty That he desir'd to see him to thank him again for all the Favours he had formerly shewn him The King was very glad of that Encounter and order'd this Answer to be given to the Tartars That if he would come into the Camp he would send him not only a Convoy but Hostages This Gentleman very frankly reply'd That his Polish Majesty did him wrong to think that he forgot that his single Word was more worth than all the Hostages of the Army and that he would come to him on the Morrow upon his Parole But he could not execute his Design because the Enemy decamp'd To enter into the the Particulars of this Campaign which in general pass'd without any considerable Action You must know that the King of Poland in Decamping from Yaslovietz to march towards the Niester committed the Van-guard to be led by the Castellan of Cracow Little General of the Crown with fifty Troops all Horse Hussars Pancernes and Valachians who had Orders to advance
King passes the Danube first and leaves no Troops on the other side to cover Moravia from the Incursions that the Malecontents under Count Teckley might make into the same as the Duke of Lorrain had proposed because says the King he had wrote to that Hungarian Lord that if he burnt one Straw in the Territories of his Allies or in his own he would go and burn him and all his Family in his House so that this was enough to protect that Country during the distance of the Army He leads them afterwards through unfrequented Defiles to the tops of the Hills of Vienna and in sight of the Turks who drew out of their Camp to put themselves in order and even attack'd the Imperialists by break of Day on Sunday the 12th of September before the King of Poland had made an end of forming his Order of Battle and extending his Lines in which his Majesty had mixed his Hussars and other Polish Troops among those of the Empire In the mean time the Turks leave their Trenches well provided with Janisaries with a considerable Body at the Posts and at the Attacks to hinder the besieged from sallying out hoping to continue the Siege at the same time as the Army should make head against the Succours of the Christian Princes and truly they had wherewith all to back this proud Resolution having above 300000 Men according to the King's Account who found above 100000 small Tents in their Camp wherein apparently according to the manner of disposing their Men there were at least three Men in each and his Polish Majesty has reduced the common Report of 300000 Tents which would infinitely augment the number of Soldiers to that of 100000. The Battle was fought on the 12th it lasted 14 or 15 Hours the slaughter was horrible and the loss of the Turks inestimable for they left upon the Field of Battle besides the Dead and Prisoners all their Canon Equipage Tents and infinite Riches that they had been six Years gathering together throughout the whole Ottoman Empire There was found in their Camp above a Million of Powder Bullets Balls and other Ammunition without reckoning the Powder that the Servants burnt by inadvertency in several Places of the Park of the Artillery the flame whereof made an Emblem of the terrible day of Judgment with the Earthquakes that will accompany it and that thick Mass of Clouds that will obscure the Universe A Loss nevertheless which ought to be called a great Misfortune seeing 't is above a Million more as the King assures us in his Letter that he wrote himself to the Queen from which all these Particulars are extracted The Battle ended by the Infantry of the Trenches and of the Isle of the Danube where the Turks had a Battery The Night was spent in slaughter and the unhappy Remnant of this Army saved their Lives by flight having abandoned all to the Victors even an infinite Number of Waggons loaden with Ammunition and some Field-pieces that that designed to have carried with them and which were found next Day upon the Road they had taken which makes us suspect that they 'l not be able to rally again as neither having where withal to incamp themselves nor Cannon to shoot with So soon as the Grand Visier knew the Defeat of his first Lines he caused a red Tent to be pitched at the Head of his Main Body where he resolved to dye for the Ottoman Empire but his last Efforts were to no purpose and the Wing of the Imperialists which he attacked with all his might was so opportunely succoured by the presence of the King who brought part of the Troops of his left Wing thither that all fled before him So soon as he perceived the red Tent knowing by it that the Visier was there in Person he caused all his Artillery to fire upon that Pavillion encouraging the Activity of the Gunners by considerable Recompenses promising them fifty Crowns for each Cannon-shot and these leveled their small Pieces so well that they brought down the Tent of the Grand Visier and the Troop of Prince Alexander his second Son had the Advantage to break through that Body of Cavalry at the very Place where the Visier was who was dismounted and had much ado to save himself upon another Horse having left among the slain his Kiayia that is his Lieutenant General ad the second Person of the Army with abundance of considerable Officers all the Standards the Marks of his Dignity that are carried before him or that are set up before his Pavilions even the great Standard of Mahomet which the Sultan had put into his Hands when he set out upon this Expedition and which the King has sent to Rome by the Sieur Talenti one of his Secretaries to be a Testimony to the Pope of this great Victory The King understood afterwards by Deserters who come every hour in Troops to surrender themselves to him as well as the Renegadoes that the Visier seeing the defeat of the Army called his Sons to him imbraced them bitterly bewailed their Misfortune and turned towards the Han of the Tartars and said And thou wilt not thou succour me To whom the Tartar Prince replied That he knew the King of Poland by more than one Proof and that the Visier would be very happy if he could save himself by flight as having no other way for his Security and that he was going to show him Example The Grand Visier being thus abandoned took the same way and retired in Disorder with only one Horse that which he had in the Battle and was armed all over with Steel having fallen into the Hands of the King with all the Equipages of that Ottoman General who has left his Majesty Heir to all his Riches In effect his Letters were dated from the Tents of the Grand Visier the Park whereof was of as large Extent as the City of Warsaw or that of Leopold inclosing his Baths Fountains Canals a Garden a kind of Menagerie or Place for strange Beasts and Birds with Dogs Rabbets and Parrots There was found an Ostridge of an admirable Beauty which had been taken from one of the Emperor's country-Country-Houses and whose Head the Visier's Men cut off in their Retreat that it might not serve to adorn the King's Menagerie This Precaution would have been of greater use if they had taken it with Respect to the Standard of Mahomet and of that prodigious Quantity of Riches Bows Quivers Sabres set with Rubies and Diamonds precious Moveables and Equipages of great Value that were left with the Tents to the King of Poland which made that Monarch say very pleasantly in his Letter to his Queen You will not tell me at my return what the Tartarian Women tell their Husbands when they see them return from the Army without Booty Thou art not a Man seeing thou returnest empty handed for doubtless he was the first in the Battle who returns loaden with the Spoils of the Enemy
Infantry pinch'd with Hunger starved with Cold and overwhelmed with Misery and their Cavalry lazy and void of Experience are enough to frustrate the best laid designs of the greatest Generals Among those who deserve this Character we must reckon the Palatin of Russia Jablonouski a Lord of a fine Presence of a Noble and VVarlike and yet of a sweet Mien he is a Person of undaunted Courage accompanied with an admirable Temper and great Penetration He was first Grand Ensign of the Crown afterwards Little General and for his Valour advanced to the Supreme Dignity of Grand General after the Death of Prince Demetrius Wietsnievistski One of the Actions wherein this General signalized himself with part of the Foreign Troops was to stop the fury of Tartars and give the King time to retire under Leopold with the rest of his Army This particular will merit the Readers pardon for the Digression I shall here make to acquaint him with one of the greatest Actions of the King of Poland and the Palatin of Russia The City of Leopold is Capital of the Palatinat of Russia the Seat of the Palatin and is become famous in the History of the present Age by reason of the share it hath born in the War betwixt the Poles and the Turks But this Action of the King which we are now about to relate will consecrate its Memory to all Posterity and advance it to the highest Pinacle of Glory In the last Year of the Reign of Michael his Predecessor this City was in great danger The Turks burnt its Suburbs in 1672. and were likely to have carried this Important Place which is but sorrily fortified had not the Inhabitants come to a Treaty promised a great Summ for their Redemption and given up the principal Citizens as Hostages who were retained a long time in Caminiec But King John III. knew how to guard this City in the Sequel of the War by the most glorious Methods imaginable In 1675. the Tartars advanced very near this City which the Grand Visier had commanded them to besiege The King of Poland encamped round the Place and fortified the same with diligence though he had scarcely 5000 Men left Ibrahim Pacha and Sultan Nuradin commanded the Enemies Army which consisted of 15000 Turks and 20000 Tartars These two Generals having miscarried before several other Places sat down before Sbaracz in which there were but 40 Heidukes and 6000 Paysants who were more inclined to surrender than to fight and in effect as soon as the Enemy appear'd the Rabble opened the Gates After this Expedition Ibrahim retired to Caminiec and Nuradin detatch'd 15000 Men to block up Leopold posting himself with the rest of the Army two Leagues higher to attend the Issue which was to his dishonour for the King of Poland marched with some Squadrons against the Enemy charged them with vigor and drove them back to Nuradin's Camp whence that Tartar Prince retir'd with great Precipitation Some time after having assembled more Troops he renewed his design of investing Leopold and forcing the King's Camp and undertook it himself at the Head of 40000 chosen Men being attended with abundance of Officers of the best repute among the Tartars He began with the Attack of Slotzow which is a Castle belonging to the King 's Hereditary Demesnes within ten Leagues of Leopold on the side of Caminiec This Castle is well enough for a Gentleman's House and hath some Fortifications according to the Modern way faced with Stone but of very little Defence The Enemy attacqued it vigorously by way of Scalade with Sword in Hand The Palatin of Russia defended it with extreme bravery and forced the Tartars to retire from before this sorry Place after an obstinate Fight of five Hours duration Nuradin thinking it best to preserve his Troops that were designed for a more important Expedition would not expose them to any more Assaults but continued his march towards Leopold and possessed himself of a vast Plain below the Hills with which the Town is surrounded and upon which the King had taken his Post This Plain was covered in an Instant with the Enemies Squadrons who raised such a mighty Dust as quickly covered them from view In the mean time those of the Castle of Leopold fired some Guns to give Notice to the People of the Country to retire for their Security behind the King's Camp His Majesty having viewed that of the Tartars was nothing discouraged by their prodigious Number but gave all necessary Orders for the safety of his Camp and the City in which the Queen and the Princes her Sons were shut up He posted Guards in two places on the Right and Left to prevent a Surprize placed his Infantry in Ambuscade amongst the Bushes at the foot of the Hills which separated his Camp from the Plains possessed by the Tartars and planted his Cannon on the Heights to favour the descent of his Squadrons his eagerness to fight having quite over-ballanced his Enemies Numbers They began to skirmish assoon as they could join and the Polish Horse not finding a convenient ground at first were put into disorder but the King coming to their relief with the rest of his Troops and enlarging hi Front insensibly as his Squadrons gain'd gtound he restored the Battle where his presence seconded by his Example inspired his own Men with as much Valour as it did his Enemies with terror The Sultan quickly perceived by the disorder of his Troops that he was defeated by a Superior Power The King of Poland's Hand became dreadful to them by the weight of its blows and every one striving to avoid them that prodigious Army vanished in an instant like a Phantome Having finished this Digression I return to my Subject The Palatin of Kiow General of the Artillery is owned by all Men to be one of the bravest Officers and wisest Generals at this time in Poland and hath acquired an universal Esteem by his Gallant and Prudent Actions Those who have seen him in Battle could not but be charmed to behold his Magnanimity in exposing himself and taking care to save his Men. Those who have heard him discourse of Martial Affairs are perswaded that were he in a Country where the Art Military is regularly cultivated he would be accounted one of the greatest Captains in Europe There is moreover in Poland another Person of extrordinary Merit in that kind namely Prince Lubomirski who is no less expert in War than the Palatin and exceeds him much in Temper and Presence of Mind which contribute so much to the winning of Battles so that the same paralel might be made betwixt those two Polish Generals that was made betwixt the Prince of Condé and the Mareschal Turenne the one was incomparable for managing a Campagne and the other for fighting a Battle I would not that others whose Names and singular Endowments I don't mention here should suffer by my silence I shall do them Justice elsewhere but I thought fit to mention those
does all he can to preserve good Order and Moderation in this Matter yet he cannot totally prevent the Oppression of the Country which suffers more by one march of the Polish Troops than by an Irruption of the Enemies Burning Slavery and Rapes excepted especially in those Parts that fall to the share of the Lithuanian Army which is more to be feared than the Tartars This is the True Cause of the extreme Poverty of Poland and of the inconceivable Desolation of the Kingdom which is so much wasted since the beginning of the Campagne of Vienna that it does not look like the same Country The Grand General settles the Winter Quarters in the same manner also their Places of Settlement at the end of the Campagne cantons the Regiments as he thinks fit in the Starosties and Lands of the Church and oppresses or eases whom he pleases By this means a Grand General of the Crown called Konietspolski purchased immense Riches for his Family He obliged the Gentry to sell him such Starosties as lay convenient for him and constrained those that were unwilling to part with them by oppressive Winter-Quarters At present this Tyrannical Power of the General is much lessened not only because the King when he had that Charge divested himself of that Prerogative in order to deliver the Nobility from the bad Designs of those that might succeed him but also because the present Grand General makes use of his Power with all possible Moderation and besides the Lords the King himself and the Queen demand their proper Regiments to be quartered on their own Lands where they oblige them to live orderly without ruining the Peasants This Priviledge the present Crown General denies to no Man except he be obligd by Necessity to guard the Frontiers in which case he distributes them indifferently in the most Commodious Places be they the Royal Demesnes Hereditary Demesnes or otherwise Besides those two Generals each Army hath an Officer that commands a detached Body called the Vant-guard which encamps at the Head of the Whole about half a League before the Army and is composed of Dragoons Infantry and Light-Horse to the Number of 11 or 1200. The first Officer is called the Stragenick of the Crown and the second the Stragenick of the Army Their Charges are different the one being properly only for the Nobility on Horseback when the Postpolita is called out the other particularly for the regular Troops and the latter refuses to yield to the other either in Command or Precedency which Controversie still remains undecided the Stragenik of the Crown maintaining his Post even in the Army at present being a Man of Quality and Senator The Obogenick is the same with the Quarter-master of the Armies and their Pissar answers to the Commissary General who reviews the Troops at the beginning and end of the Campagne and it 's according to his Account that the Regiments are paid at the Tribunal established by the General Diet for this end in the City of Radom in Great Poland As to the Korongy or Standard-bearer of the Crown he has no Function in the Army but only in the Arrear-ban called the Postpolita Russenia or the Nobility on their March The Army of the Crown and that of Lithuania is subdivided into two Bodies the one all Horse and Natives distributed into free Companies like those of the French Gens d'Arms this they call the Polish Army It comprehends two thirds that is to say 24000 Horse The other Body consists of Infantry Dragoons and Light Horse This they call the Foreign Army because in effect it is according to the Foreign Model cloathed and armed after the German fashion commanded by General Majors which are like our Mareschals de Camp divided into Regiments and not into Companies This makes the other third of the Kompout that is to say twelve thousand Men. Those two Bodies march and encamp a-part or more properly speaking they compose the two Lines of the Army The first is all Foot and Dragoons with the Artillery in the Center The second is composed of Polish Horse or Independant Companies And 't is at the Head of this second Line that the two Generals take their Post the one on the Right and the other on the Left as I have said already The King himself encamps in this quarter when he is in the Army together with the Senators that accompany him thither the first Line being under the Command of General Majors and the General of the Artillery amongst whom there is a Subordination of Antiquity and Office The Polish Army then consists all of Horse divided into Troops commanded by the greatest Lords beginning with the King and the Princes his Sons Those Troops are of different Sorts and Qualities some of them real Gens d'Arms others Light-Horse The Gens d'Arms are again divided into Hussars and Pancernes and some add Peteores of whom there are more in the Lithuanian Army than in that of the Crown These Gens d'Arms are all Gentlemen especially the Hussars and are honoured by the King and Generals with the Name of Touariches that is to say Comrades or Companions They admit them to their Table are respected in their particular Provinces and most of them Pensioners of the Generals and great Lords whom they accompany to the Diets to do them honour Nay I have seen the Referendary of the Crown a Man of a 100000 Livres Rent in Starosty's account it his honour to have the Title and Pay of a Hussar The Light-Horse are Troops of Poles Cossacks Vallachians or German Troopers The Army of Lithuania is composed in the same manner The Hussars are the first Gens d'Arms of the Kingdom as the Corps du Guard are in France and without Contradiction the finest Cavalry in Europe in respect of the Mein of the Men the Goodness of the Horses and their Magnificent and Noble Apparel Their Name is Hungarian and common to all the Cavalry of that Country but in its proper Signification it signifies Brave for 't is supposed that the Touariches ought to be so by way of Eminence In France we suppose that the Hungarian Cavalry was called Hussars from their Cry of War in time of Battle where 't is alledged they cry Houssa Houssa as we say Tue Tue kill kill and the Turks cry Alla alla But this Etymology is unknown in Poland where they animate one another by crying Bi-zabi i.e. Strike strike him to death The Hussars never keep Guard don't go out on any Parties Con-voys c. and much less in the Strageniks Detachments They are reserved only for Battles and other distinguishing Actions But the present Grand General being discontented with this sort of Gens d'Arms who are become more effeminate and less valiant than formerly he began in the Campagne of 1689. to take away their Lances to arm them with Musquetoons and to make them serve like ordinary Troopers on Convoys Vantguards and other Fatigues of the Camp without distinction a certain evidence
meerly the Ornament Tho' this Army be called Foreign it is nevertheless compos'd of native Poles with Officers of a Foreign Name and Model Colonels Lieutenant Colonels General Majors and others People of all Nations may be employed in this Army whereas the Poles only are admitted into the Free Companies There are Germans Curlanders French and others in the Foreign Army The King Queen Princes Generals and other Lords have Regiments therein of both sorts The Foot and Horse Guards that attend the King's Person are comprehended in this Body of the Army as are abundance of other Free Companies of Horse Dragoons and Heidukes which the Generals have rais'd for their particular service and make the Republic pay for them Upon which I shall observe by the way that there are Royal Lands in Poland which we call Fiefs in France given to Lords and their Descendants as Hereditary Estates on condition of maintaining a certain number of Troops whereof there are some that are obliged to furnish an hundred Dragoons but the Court does not keep those Lords to an exact performance tho' if they would oblige the Possessors of those Lands to it the Republic should have in case of need near twenty thousand Men that cost them nothing This is the disposition of the Polish Armies with which that Nation hath formerly made their Neighbours to tremble ev'n those who now keep them under the Yoke of which one essential Reason is not so much the want of Courage tho' the Poles be in that very respect much degenerated from their Ancestors as the want of Mony and Discipline which hinders the compleating of their Troops prevents their arrival at the place of their Rendesvouz against the time appointed and overwhelms them with misery As to their Discipline that is still more irregular than their Pay there being nothing of any exact service performed here I never saw in the Army neither main nor ordinary Guard nor Convoy for their Forragers their Troops going to sleep upon the moral security they conceive themselves to be in from the stupidity of their Enemies Had they to do with French or Germans not one Forrager should return to the Camp nor could there pass a Night without beating up one quarter or other There 's nothing but the Body commanded by the Stragenik compos'd of all sorts of Troops and amongst them Pancernes and Polish Cavalry which makes a sort of advanc'd Guard for all the Army in general encamping at their Head about half a League from the first Line and the same is reinforc'd proportionable to the danger Besides this Detachment each Regiment of Infantry makes one of twenty or twenty five Men posted about thirty paces before the Line for the Guard of the Colours which are planted all together at the Head of the Colonel's Company They do moreover besides this when they are in the open Field and in presence of the Enemy inclose their Camp with an Entrenchment of Waggons which they call the Tabor and is certainly an Extraordinary Rampart against the Tartars This Tabor marches in order of Battle with the Army without breaking Every Officer makes such an Entrenchment round his Tents The number of Carriages is twice as great as the number of the Men and a Camp so entrench'd hath something that is great singular and formidable in it In cover'd or uneven ground they make use of Chevaux de Frize each Regiment hath a certain number of them they are fixed to four Wheels like a Waggon and on a March are drawn by Horses This is none of the worst Inventions and is owing to a Frenchman call'd Hoccart who is Ingineer to the King of Poland and hath serv'd him for fifteen years with applause The Poles have a particular way of Encamping viz. in a very large Square inclos'd on all sides the first Line consists of all the Infantry with the Artillery in the Center the Dragoons on the Wings disposed according to the German manner the Officers encamping in the Rere and the Soldiers making Baracks for themselves The second Line is form'd of the Gens d' Arms Hussars Pancernes Peteores all call'd Touariches The two Flanks are clos'd by the Light Horse Cossacs Vallachians and Poles to whom there is added Pancernes and Dragoons as the Number of the Troops will allow and the Ground requires so that the Camp fronts every way and the middle or space betwixt the two Lines serves for a Market to the Victuallers Merchants and Purveyors As to the Artillery which is at the Head sometimes without the Line sometimes in the Center It hath its particular Guard viz. a Regiment design'd for that purpose called the Regiment of Artillery The Strageniks advanc'd Guard is beyond the Square separated from all the rest as I have already said The King's Quarters those of the Senators Grand General and Volunteers is in this Inclosure adjoining to the Hussars at the Head of the Line which is begun by the King's Company the Lieutenant of which commands all the rest and his Drum gives the signal of March there being no such thing amongst the Poles as beating to the Watch in the Evening nor for a General March in the Morning during their Encampment This leads me to speak of their Tents which in Poland are extraordinary magnificent both for Number and Beauty They are the same with those of the Turks that is to say of a certain coarse Cloth much like our Tent Cloth painted without and lin'd with a Cotton Stuff cut out in Figures Flower-Baskets Squares Compartments Their form differs according to the occasion some have Pavillions with Porches in form of a Wall and double Roofs Some of them resemble long Halls others are like square Chambers call'd Cotars made of coarse Cloth and lin'd with another Stuff resembling Tapestry with Glass-windows and Deal-floors and encompassed without by a great Wall that forms an Ally or Gallery round it which composes a Wardrobe and a Lodging-place for Servants These Cotars are of admirable use in the advanced season and resemble true Stoves As the Poles surpass all other European Nations in this sort of Magnificence so the Turks do much exceed the Poles both of 'em affect to shew their Pomp and Grandeur in the richness of those Moveable Houses as thinking them most convenient for them The Quarters of the Polish Generals and Turkish Pachas are encompassed with Walls that have Battlements flanqu'd with little Pavillions or Turrets like Towns they have likewise Halls for Council Closets Porches to eat in great Kitchins and prodigious Stables The Parc or Quarter of the Grand Visier before Vienna was as large as St. Denis in France that of the Pacha of Egypt resembled a Magnificent Pallace adorn'd in the inside with Rich Tapistry Alcoves and Cushions The Polish Senators make a faint Resemblance of this Martial Pomp. It is a very fine fight to see their Quarter because of the Variety of Colours the Gilded Balls on their Pavillions the diverse Apartments and the
vast extent of their Lodgings The King hath so often defeated the Turks who always leave considerable spoils behind them that his whole Quarter or Park is made up of those of the Bassas he has defeated and amongst others of them that commanded the Ottoman Army at Kotchim called Soliman and Ussein whose Tents demonstrate the magnificence of their Serasquiers or Commanders in Chief and of the Grand Senior's Favourites Soliman had a Hall for his Council or Divan the Largeness and Beauty of which charms me every time I think on it The Tapestry was of Silk and Gold the Workmanship and Figures of which were as agreeable as the Matter was rich The Columns that supported it were all gilt and the Architecture of them resembling those of the Columns of a Palace the Cords of it were of Silk and Cotton of a wonderful Largeness and Beauty and indeed there are few People of Note either in Poland or Turky but the Cordage of their Pavillions is of Cotton I should here speak of the Pay of the Polish Armies but have reason to fear that the Reader will be weary of such a particular account therefore shall only say in general that it would be good enough if the Republic took care to give it regularly but they don't much trouble themselves to pay the same quarterly according to the order of the Diet. The Colonels who are absolute Masters of their Regiments take less care to distribute to their Soldiers the little Mony which they receive from the Treasury or from the Provinces upon which their Pay is assigned they never clear Accounts with their Officers but give them only a Sum in part of what is due which here they call ad rationem or on account so that the Captain is obliged to keep back the Pay of the Subaltern and the Soldiers who starve for hunger whilst the Captain makes up his loss by pillaging on his march Indeed when they are in the Field he takes care for the subsistance of his Company for having neither Ammunition-bread nor Sutlers at least in no great number the Soldiers would starve and the Campagn by consequence come to nothing if the Captain did not take care to have Meat and Bacon carried on Waggons for his Men and this is the reason why they are obliged to have so much Equipage Let the Reader judge then if any Man of Honour or Officer of Merit can be fond of the Polish Service since he cannot live there without pillaging nor have any satisfaction to see himself at the Head of a Troop of Beggars in Rags who have neither Mein nor Discipline all their Exercise consisting in forming of a Battalion and discharging their Pieces If they were to make a general Attaque the Major Generals themselves would find it hard enough to manage a Trench and yet they are for the most part chosen out of the ablest Officers and the eldest Colonels of the Foreign Army Their Office looks somewhat like a French Mareschal de Camp but in Poland it is a meer vain Title without Profit and Authority without Sallary The next thing to be discoursed of with relation to their Pay is the advantages of the Great Treasurer of Poland because of the dependance the Army has upon him and the Compositions which the Officers are obliged to make with him who quit part of what is their due to have the rest in ready Mony Thus they say Count Morstin enriched himself when he was Great Treasurer of the Crown But when this Officer is too rigorous he may occasion great Disorders if not Revolts which endanger himself There was an Instance of this in the Reign of King Casimir upon Gonchefski the Grand General and Treasurer of Lithuania which may well make his Successors tremble The Lithuanian Army being dissatisfied with some Article or Command of the Treasury they entred into a Confederacy against this Lord twenty five Towariches or sworn Officers went to his House pulled him out of his Bed from his Lady carried him to the Field with a Confessor at his Heels oblig'd him to confess himself speedily and afterwards kill'd him This unparallel'd Crime was only punished on a small number of those Madmen that were found whose Heads were cut off one of them being condemned to have his Hand burnt off holding certain Papers in it and being daub'd over with Pitch suffer'd that punishment with as much Constancy as Scevola without ever opening his Hand or turning away his Head Since I am come to speak of the Army of Lithuania I shall only say that it is an Auxiliary Body independant on the Army of the Crown submitting only to their own Generals who acknowledge no Supream They assemble the Army assign them Quarters and act with them according to their own Pleasure and Interest tho' in general they regulate themselves by the Councils held at the end of the Diets or the beginning of the Campagns but those Resolves and their Actions never keep pace Their best concerted Expeditions do frequently miscarry for want of Union and Agreement For Example during the Siege of Vienna which I am going to relate The King was returning back to Poland when the Lithuanians join'd him in Hungary At the Battle of Kotchim their Grand General Pats refus'd a long time to fight so that the Crown General then call'd the Great Mareschal Sobieski took it upon himself in point of Honour and resolv'd to answer for the Event notwithstanding all which Pats would not Charge till after Sobieski had forced the Turkish Camp but retir'd from the Council the night before refusing to consent to the Expedition During the famous Campagn which General Sobieski then King continued so long in the Winter the Lithuanian Army refus'd to follow him after some days march which did so much provoke that Great Prince that he published Circular Letters to send them back as useless which might be called a Casheiring them if the King had that despotical Authority in Poland He compleated that Expedition only with the Army of the Crown and subdued all Ukrania to the Republick whose Standards he advanced within ten days Journey of the Black Sea Let us speak at present of the Arms of the Poles in general Of old they made use only of Scimiters Lances Gides Javelins Bows and Arrows at present they have added Fire-Arms and most of them have Pistols with which they don't hit very exactly tho' they be great Skirmishers By degrees they lay aside their Lances and Gides their Javelins are almost wholly disused so that they have nothing of the Old Sarmatian Armour left but the Bow and Arrow The first Journy I made into Poland all Horsemen of any distinction and the Gentlemen belonging to the King Queen and Senators still carry'd them ev'n as they travell'd thro' the Country and made a Noble Ornament of those Arms in time of Peace I have seen the King and Princes carry them they are not unbecoming nor unseemly in a Chamber
Bastions of Vienna Never was there a bolder Enterprize than this which the Hand of the Lord only did frustrate Nothing was ever more fine than the Preparations he made for it Nothing more glorious than his first success so that no General could carry on any thing further by his own Ability had Foresight the rest is in the hands of the Lord of Hosts who scatters them with his Breath as he did here this Army of Infidels Besides those Great Precautions Kara Mustapha was not wanting in those Excellent Qualities which make a Complete General He had Valour Elevation and Capacity but with those an unconceivable Boldness and Presumption supported by his Riches and the favour of the Sultan his Son-in-Law which Character he maintain'd with all the Grandeur Expence Pride and Splendor imaginable His Equipage his House his Furniture equall'd the Magnificence of Kings and surpassed that of the greatest of other Princes That which I saw of it in the Army was surprizing his Waggons for carrying what belonged to his Chamber were painted and gilt His Turkish Coffers which are ordinarily of Ozier and covered with Leather were covered with Crimson Velvet his Pavillions his Tapestry his Moveables discover'd so much Pride and Pomp as makes what the Romans said of the Antient Kings of Persia credible And as to these things design'd for his own use never was there any thing seen more beautiful delicate handsome gallant and rich especially in his Armour Scymiters Anchars or Daggers Quivers Bow-cases Saddles Housses Harness for his Horses but still more in things prepar'd for his own Body as Girdles Vests Turbans which were so covered with Jewels that nothing else was to be seen He had 150 Valets de Chamber who had nothing else to do but every one of them to take care of one piece of his Attire as three of them inform'd us who were taken in the Camp before Vienna after he fled To look upon this surprizing Treasure of Riches and Magnificent Equipage one would think that this General came rather to a Triumph than Battle and so much the more that there was found in his Coffers abundance of rich Standards of Cloth of Gold design'd for a Triumphal Pomp and some Ceremony of Establishing a Mosque but the King of Poland Consecrated 'em in diverse Churches to the Glory of the God of Hosts as that of St. Peter at Rome Loretto and diverse Churches of his own Kingdom I shall only add to compleat the Visirs Character that he was a handsome Man tho' of a swarthy black Complexion like those of certain remote Provinces in Asia as is signified by his Name Kara which in the Turkish is as much as to say Black There are diverse persons of this Colour at the Sultans Court Mahomet IV. himself is so as was the Caimacan and the Visir of Buda the Visirs intimate Friend who was preferr'd to that Post by his means instead of another who was a Man of sense and disswaded the Port from undertaking the Siege of Vienna for which sage Advice he was rewarded with the Loss of his Head The Fame of the Great Preparations of the Ottoman Court spread abroad insensibly the King of Poland at the same time bethought himself of Preparations The Diet of Grodno having left the disposition of the Affair to him he sent Ambassadors into diverse Courts of Europe but the Cabals amongst them for driving on their private Interests made all the good designs of that Prince to miscarry The Convocation of 1681. terminated in vain disputes The Diet of 1681. was broke by the Elector of Brandenburgs Intrigues so that every thing was suspended in that Country by the misunderstanding there was amongst the Members of the Republick The Muscovites on the contrary thought of nothing but Peace The Czar sent one to Constantinople to treat of it and at the same time that he might have two Strings to his Bow according to the vulgar saying he sent an Ambassador to the Convocation at Warsaw in 1680. to propose a League against the Turks that so by threatning the Port with that Alliance he might obtain the better Conditions or assure himself of the Assistance of the Republick in case the Treaty with the Turks came to break off But having succeeded in their design at Constantinople they recall'd their Ambassador from Warsaw and the following year viz. July 1681. the King of Poland sent an Embassy into Persia to represent to the Sophi the Advantages he might reap in that conjuncture if he would declare against the Sultan who being taken up with his Vast Design against the Christians could not be in a condition to dispute the Conquest of Babylon with him which was taken from his Predecessors by Amurat but the Sophi would not listen to those Overtures preferring the Interest of his Religion to the Aggrandizing of his Empire tho' the Turks themselves look upon the Persians as Infidels because they follow Alis Interpretation of the Alcoran Yet on this occasion he would manifest to the Turks that tho' he err'd according to them in point of Discipline he follow'd their Essential Opinions and was acted by the true Spirit of Mahometism in sacrificing the particular Interests of his Glory to their common Sect. Thus Count Siry the Polish Ambassador return'd without having been able to engage the Sophi by the Natural Motives of Ambition or Grandeur he lov'd his Repose and Pleasures cover'd over with the pretext of Conscience better than the Conquest of Babylon his Antient Patrimony and its probable he also inform'd the Sultan of it to assure him against all fears of any such diversion The Court of Vienna being more allarm'd than the rest of Christendom labour'd with all possible Application to cover themselves from the Storm with which they were menaced Count Teckleys Progress in Upper Hungary seem'd to prepare the Grand Seniors path so that the Imperial Ministers endeavour'd all they could to lay some Obstacles in his way They prevail'd in Transylvania where Prince Michael Albaffi abandon'd the Rebels by degrees they also engaged the King of Poland on the Emperors side and in the mean time until they could pry further into the Designs of the Turks the Court of Vienna maintain'd the War against Count Teckley with as much Vigour as they could General Caprara wandred up and down in Hungary without being able to save the Provinces the Hungarian Count taking Places of importance there every day in spight of him The Grand Visir well knowing the importance of the Counts Progress which made his so much the easier neglected nothing to fortifie the Malecontents sent them Troops instead of the Transylvanians who had withdrawn and had a mind to have deposed Abaffi for which end he was summon'd to the Port but suspecting the reason he avoided the Snare by temporizing and paying his Money instead of going in Person The Grand Visir had a mind to Invest Count Teckley with that Province until such time as he could bestow
of Lorrain was supporting the Emperor's Affairs with the utmost diligence and the Princes of the Empire were gathering together their Troops throughout all Germany the King of Poland hastened the March of his with all possible speed The Generals assembled them as soon as they were levied and to give the Germans some Comfort of their Expectations Lieutenant General Schignafski began his March with a body of Cavalry composed of the Regiments of Hussars Pancernes Peteores and some other old standing Troops that were first in condition to March The Great General followed with the rest some Weeks after The new-raised Foot marched separately from their Quarters where they were brought together by Regiments by Companies and by Recruits without any other Rendezvous than that appointed by the King in General under the Counterscarp of Vienna insomuch that Poland was filled with Soldiers and Equipages marching in Disorder and with great Precipitation towards Cracow in order to enter into Silesia where the Imperial Commissaries had prepared Provisions and Forage for them The King of Poland regulating his Departure upon the News he received of the State of his Troops set out at last about the beginning of July taking the Road towards Cracow which is reckoned to be about forty Leagues from Villaneuf He made something more of it because he had a mind to go to the famous Devotion of Chenstokova as renowned in those Countries and perhaps as rich as the House of Loretto Besides the Queen had made a Vow at her lying in and the King whose Piety is equal with his other Virtues believed that he ought to beg in that holy Place the Protection of Heaven by the Intercession of the Virgin seeing the Enterprize he had undertaken was for the Glory of the Christian Name the Defence of the Church and the safety of the Empire From Villaneuf he went to Falenta a fine Pleasure-House about a League from thence where he tarryed that Day The third Day he had Advice at Nadazzin where he dined of the raising of the Siege of Newhausel and the Retreat of the Imperial Troops into the Isle of Schit occasioned by the Approach of the Grand Visier He lay afterwards at Radgiovick another renowned House in Poland at Rava the Capital of the Palatin of Great Poland and at the Abbey of Vitouf near Pietrecouf the Residence of the Chief Tribunal of the Kingdom for the first six Months which begins on St. Francis's Day the fourth of October He lay afterwards at Krotchin which is another fine Country-House belonging to the Count d'Henof regularly built with Stone adorned with a fine Garden with several Water-Works Terras-Walks c. therein and which is very rare in Poland furnished pretty neatly Next Morning the Court arrived at Chenstokova where the King tarryed to perform his Devotions There he dispatched some Courriers to the Emperor and Duke of Lorrain who had sent a Polish Gentleman called Glinski an Officer under Prince Lubomirski to give his Majesty an Account of the Turks before Vienna which they had besieged The King of Poland wrote upon that Subject to other Courts to excite the Compassion of the Princes in favour of the Emperor who was chased from his Capital City and upon the very brink of seeing himself stript of all his Territories then continued his march and arrived at last at Cracow at a pleasure-Pleasure-House which the Kings of Poland have at the end of one of the Suburbs called Lobzouf where he staid some Days In the mean time his Troops advanced towards the same Place and some small Parties of them passed by every Day Lieutenant General Schignafski came no nearer than within two Leagues with his Body of Cavalry which the King went to see upon the Road and ordered them to march by the Foot of the Mountains on the left-hand that they might not fall into the Road marked out for the Grand Army which was to the Right the General Rendezvous of which was to be at Tarnovitz the first City of Silesia and of the Emperors Territories towards Cracow being 12 great Leagues from thence The Grand General who led the Body of the Army in Person from the Frontiers of Russia arrived some Days after and incamped within half a League of Lobzouf from whence he continued his March through Bengin and the King having seen those two Chief Bodies of his Troops go before set out himself on the 15th of Aug. He took his way by the Foot of the Mountains to the Left and afterwards fell into that of the Great Army at Bengin where Count Caraffa the Emperor's General who was sent per Post to represent that the danger was Pressing arrived two Hours before the Court The fight of the Camp gave him some hopes but he could not yet believe that the King was there he being prepossessed as was the whole Court of Vienna and several others that that Prince would never go out of his Dominions insomuch that when the Marquis d'Arquyan who was the first that visited him at Dinner told him that the King was just coming the Count de Caraffa as a Man who still doubted it replyed Sir 't is said so Before I go further I must observe one Particular relating to the Person of Prince James the King 's Eldest Son whom the Gazetts thro' Ignorance or Malice have confounded with his younger Brother Prince Alexander who was then but 7 Years old and yet they published That he followed the King in this Expedition I am not ignorant of the Venom hid under this Affectation and that most of the Polanders prefer him to the Elder as well because he was born upon the Throne if I may so speak and after the Election and Coronation as because of his charming Behaviour and the fancy of the Nation However I ought to undeceive the Publick as to the Error imposed on them upon this Occasion and to leave to Posterity the Remembrance of the first sâ—â—ting out into the Field of Prince James Eldest Son to the King of Poland was at 16 Years of Age. He was born in France aad held at the Font by Lewis le Grand whose Name he also bears with that of his Grand-Father 'T is certain that the Polanders don't look upon him as the Son of a King but only as the Son of the Great Marshal On the 5th of August the King received Deputies from the States of Silesia who came to assure him that the Provisions were ready upon the Road as also the Waggons granted by the Imperial Envoy for carrying 200 Foot The King I say sent on the 9th Expresses every where to hasten the new Troops who began to march the next Day That same Day his Polish Majesty dipatched the Gentleman of whom I have already spoke to Count Teckley to entertain with that Hungarian General the mutual Correspondence they had agreed upon and to renew the Reciprocal Promises they had made each other to wit on the King's Part that the Polish Troops should commit no
Augustine Fryars before a Miraculous Image of the Virgin where he himself prostrate on the ground sang the Te Deum However we could even then observe the beginning of Ingratitude among the Persons of Quality and the Magistrates of that City offended perhaps that the Obligation was such that it was impossible for them to make any suitable Return Neither in this Place nor in any else did we see any one of the Magistrates and with much ado a Priest of this Church was got to assist at the Ceremony The same Coldness appear'd after Dinner at the Cathedral of St. Stephen for they tarry'd a great while before they could get the Keys of the Vestry or any Tapers lighted Upon the Steeple of this Church was set up that Crescent which Solyman the Great oblig'd the City to erect when he drew his Forces from the Place at the second Siege which he laid before it in the Reign of Ferdinand The King of Poland told the Duke of Lorrain That it was requisite to pluck it down since Vienna was at present freed for ever from the Yoke which the Sultan had threatned it with Yet this was not done till three Years after the Siege was rais'd as if they thought it necessary to compliment an Enemy which dreaded the Fate of its own Dominions But there was doubtless a nicer Reason in the Case grounded upon a sort of Jealousy they had of his Polish Majesty's Glory to whom they would not be beholden for the Destruction of the Crescent This appears in the Medals which they made after the raising of the Siege wherein the Honour of the Success was attributed not only to this Great Monarch but together with him to all the Princes who were at the Action to Staremberg Caplier the Commissary of the Victualling-Office with the Magistrates and Burgers of the City as was set down in the Reverse Nay the King was not so much taken notice of as the Emperor who kept up close in the Mountains of Passau since the former was only commended for his Presence whilst the latter was extoll'd for his Counsel and Forces This very Day the King dined with Count Staremberg the Governor of the City and returned at Night to the Camp pitch'd by his Orders where the Grand Visier's was before From this place he wrote to the Queen that ingenious Letter which was afterwards translated into French and communicated to foreign Courts and has been printed in Fragments It contain'd an Historical Relation of the Matter of Fact writ in a pleasant Style rallying very handsomely on the Grand Visier who had left him says he his sole Executor and Legatée Then he gives the Particulars of the Estate he had left him and concludes in a Vein of Rallery on the Custom of the Tartarian Women who are offended with their Husbands when they return Home without a Booty You shall not object to me as those Tartarian Dames you are no Man for you come to me empty-handed But you will find me return at this time loaded with the Spoils of the Enemy God be prais'd continues he that he has not permitted those Infidels to insult over the Christians but has made them sensible of the Power of their God whose Blows they have so lately felt After this he added some Latin words of a Psalm according to the Polish Custom who even when they write to Women have a sprinkling of Phrases and Sentences of Latin in all their Letters The King of Poland had that Day he pass'd the Mountains sent the Abbot d'Oliva Hatsky one of his Chief Secretaries of State to the Emperor who being encourag'd at the New of the approach of the Christian Army return'd to Lints From Lints he came to Vienna as soon as he heard of its Relief and made his Entry on Tuesday Sept. 14. under the discharge of Cannon at the same instant that the Army decamp'd in order to remove from the noisom Smells occasioned by the dead Bodies and the filthiness of the Camp which one may imagine to be infected by a two Months Encampment of nigh 700000 Men. The Stench was so great that this Morning the Elector of Bavaria dining with the King of Poland was forc'd almost all the while to stop his Nose with his Napkin His Polish Majesty presented that Prince with three very fine Turkish Horses two Standards and some Jewels fit for a Lady's wear with a design that the Elector should send them into France to his Sister the Dauphiness He likewise gave him also a Bontchouk of the Bassa of Egypt adorn'd at the Top with an Hair Lace of diverse Colours with a Tuft of Horse-Tail round the gilded Crest which was the Summit of this Bountchouk which the Turks call Touk They are not so high as those of the Polish Generals but a great deal more embelish'd in their Warlike Furniture Upon this Occasion I cannot but observe That among the Ottomans the Quality of Bassas and General Officers is distinguish'd by the number of those Horse-Tails dy'd in red which in the Army are fastened to a Post before their Tent-doors and in their Chambers are hung up with the Sabre just by the place where they lay For 't is to be observ'd That the Turks even the Sultan himself never wear their Sabres in the Street much less in their Houses where they lay aside all their Armour upon returning from the Camp except the Poignard or Anchard The very Bassas in their Government walking in the Streets with long Gowns with a Chaplet in their Hands and no Arms and when they ride their Sabre and Mace or Truncheon are clapp'd under the Saddle on each side with a large Strap to fasten them So that excepting the Poignard which every one without distinction always wears by his Side the Turks may pass for good Burgomasters or Gentlemen of the Long Gown To put an end to this Digression I shall here observe That the Prime Visier and the six Inferior Visiers have three Horse-Tails apiece The Becglierbeys as many The Bassas by right have only one but for a Personal Distinction when they have done some Signal Service the Sultan sends another and sometimes a third for each of which they give twenty thousand Piasters or Crowns in forty Bags I must likewise here inform the Reader That besides the Prime Visier call'd by way of Eminence The Grand Visier there are six others who with him make up the Divan or Council of State of the Ottoman Empire viz. the Visier of Buda the Visier of Bosnia the Visier of Bagdet or Babylon the Visier of Bassora in Asia the Visier of Silistria and the Visier of Messir which is Grand Cairo This last Visier is call'd in General from the Name of the Province the Visier of Egypt whom the Turks esteem as a Sultan and as their Emperor by a particular Distinction of his Dignity As for the Becglierbeys they are the Supreme Governors of the Province among whom there are some stil'd
Visiers The simple Beys are only either Governors of Castles or Colonels of the Cavalry But to return to the Relation After the Emperor was come to Vienna he sent the King of Poland Word that he passionately desir'd to see him and to thank him in Person for the Signal Service he had done him which one might easily have believ'd he would have done However one would not have thought That the Emperor after such a piece of Service would have stood so much upon the Punctilio's and Formalities of it In short 't is most certain that after several Debates upon that Subject it was agreed between the Ministers of the Imperial Court and Guinsky Vice-Chancellor of Poland that the Interview of the two Princes should be in the open Field and on Horse-back to avoid those Niceties upon which his Polish Majesty was once a-minded to go away without seeing the Emperor It was on the Fifteenth of September when they came to an Interview about a League and an half off of Vienna or a little more The King of Poland had decamped in the Morning and tho' the Emperor to stop his March had sent him word that he was coming to wait upon him yet he still continued it that he might oblige the Emperor to follow him and remov'd his Camp a quarter of a League farther The Troops were still a filing off when they perceiv'd a Body of Cavalry which was compos'd of the Lords of the Imperial Court who had quitted their Coaches and mounted on Horse-back when they were about two hundred Paces from the Army The King of Poland at the same time order'd his Troops to draw up into a Line of Battle and afterwards advanc'd towards the Emperor who was making to him with full speed After these two Princes were met the King of Poland unvailing his Bonnet at the same time that the Emperor clap'd his Hand to his Hat told him in Latin That he was very glad that he had been able in such a Critical Juncture to give him any solid marks of his Friendship After this short Compliment he presented the Young Prince his Son to him adding That he had brought him along with him to teach him how he ought to succour his Allies He likewise presented to him the two Generals of the Crown who saluted the Emperor without alighting Lastly seeing that this Prince was stiff and mute without returning a word of Answer or shewing any token of Honour not so much as saluting the Young Prince the King left him very bluntly and said Without doubt Brother you have a mind to take a view of my Army there are my Generals whom I have order'd to shew it your Majesty With that he turn'd his Head from him and march'd away and the Emperor with the same Indifference that he had heard this Discourse suffer'd him to depart whilst he for his part went to visit the Lines Two Days after he sent 3000 Ducats of Gold to each of the two Polish Generals and a Sword set with Diamonds of about a thousand Pistols value to Prince James As to him the Emperor willing to make amends for the Fault he had committed in not saluting him of which there were loud and severe Complaints made he in my mind committed a fresh one by writing to the Prince of Poland a very submissive Letter wherein he cast all the Blame of that Disrespect on the Surprize he was in in remembring the Danger and seeing the Person who had deliver'd him from it 'T is said that he wrote as much to the Castellan of Livonia Baron of Felkerzen Prince James's Governour but this I am no farther assur'd of than that it was the common Discourse of our Court but the other Letter I saw with my own Eyes September 16. the Army rested the Seventeenth it broke up and encamped at Fichau four Leagues off Vienna and in the mean time the Bridge of Toulm was order'd to be brought down and to be put on the Right Branch of the Danube below Presburg by which they enter'd the Isle of Schut which they were to cross because the Country from thence to Raab through which the Turks had made their Retreat was all laid waste and the other side towards Presburgh was not in a better condition by reason of the Encampments of that Body of an Army which Count Teckeley had brought thither in the beginning of the Campaign and likewise because of the Neighbourhood of Newhausel The Army was divided into four Parts for the better conveniency of Forraging The King of Poland led the Van-guard of the whole with his Troops posted about two or three Leagues in the Front towards the Enemy The Duke of Lorrain came next with the Emperor's Cavalry marching a little towards the Right The Count of Staremberg being march'd out of Vienna at the Head of the Infantry which he had thrown into that Town led them on the Left side of the Isle by Goutta and other Towns that border'd on the Plains of Newhausel The Regiments of Croatia brought up the Rear at 3 or 4 Leagues distance The King by the way went to visit Presburgh when the Army was encamp'd over against it He likewise visited Raab or Yavarin going out of the Isle with a small Attendance over which a great Party of Rebels lodg'd in some Gentlemen's Houses thereabouts might have had the Better being near the place where the King din'd but they durst not attempt any thing and the King repass'd the River the same Night to rejoyn the Army in the Island The Rejoycings and Feasts which his Presence occasion'd in these two Places had nothing in them extraordinary The Prince of Poland threw a great many Ducats in Presburgh among the People that were gather'd under the Windows At Raab a great deal of Wine and Powder was spent The Bishop of the Place harangued the King whom he stil'd the King of Hungary and their Deliverer The Governor made him a very Noble Feast under the Salvo of an hundred Cannon Whilst the King of Poland was crossing the great Isle of Schut the Elector of Bavaria with his Troops was posted between Vienna and Presburgh The Count Waldeck likewise made a Halt with those of the Circles and the Elector of Saxony drew off all his Forces But his Polish Majesty not willing to leave any thing for the Germans to do after he had done so much in this Notable Juncture continued his March always at the Head of his Army to put an end to the Campaign and to return to his Estates by the way of Vpper Hungary During this he receiv'd a Letter from Michael Apaffy Prince of Transylvania full of Compliments upon the Success of his Arms. He sent him word of the Arrival of the Grand Visier at Buda whom the Sultan had pardon'd for the Miscarriage before Vienna having sent him a Vest and a Sabre a Standard and other Trophies of the Dignity of Grand Visier as an Assurance of his being still in his Favour
The King lay at the first of these Places the fourth Day of his March Moravia is doubtless the Best of the Hereditary Provinces and the Richest Country of Germany It is fat fertil plentiful populous set off with Neat Cities and adorn'd with all that Nature can afford to make it Beautiful having variety of Plains Green Forests Vales and Meadows which represent very pleasing Prospects to the Eye On the one side it borders on the Kingdom of Hungary It is separated from Silesia by a Ridge of Mountains On the Front it has the Plains of Austria terminated by the Danube and on the Right the Kingdom of Bohemia whose Language is very like to the Moravian being both a Dialect deriv'd from the Sclavonian The Capital City of Moravia is Olmutz call'd in Latin Olomucium It is well built and set off with a large Square a great many Churches Stately Houses wide and clear Streets strong Walls which last are flanked with Turrets cover'd with a Mote and other Modern Works It is adorn'd without with Sumptuous Seats fine shady Walks and very advantagious for its Scituation being at the end of a Plain two Leagues long bounded on the Left with a Ridge of Hills of different Prospects such as Meadows Ponds Thickets and the like of which the City is the Point of Sight It is seated on a small Rising over-looking a spacious Meadow which surrounds three Sides of it with a River that runs in a winding Stream thro' the midst Olmutz is a Bishoprick whose Bishop is a Prince of the Empire and has a Right of Coyning Money and I have seen several fine Ducats of his Coyn. He has a new Palace suitable to his Dignity yet the Garrison and the Governor are plac'd by the Emperor in the City and their Discipline is Exact and Great The King leaving Hauff din'd at Sternberg and took up his Quarters at Olmutz the fifth Day of his March being August 26. From Sternberg to Olmutz two Leagues one Stage From Olmutz to Prostnitz two Leagues one Stage The Country between is very uneven wholy Champian and of an extraordinary Soil Prostnitz is scituated in a Plain and is less considerable than Olmutz but yet neat enough being built with Brick as are all the Towns of this Marquisate its Houses are lofty and its Streets large The King din'd here and the same Day encamp'd at Viska a Village upon the Road. From Prostnitz to Bitchau two Leagues one Stage It takes up in good Weather near four Hours Time to travel this Stage and in Winter 't is near a Day 's Journey by reason of the fat Mountains and dirty Soil The Fields are all open stretching out towards the Left and plow'd into large Furrows As for Bitchau it is one of the Best Cities of the Country and its Land is the Granary of all those Parts From Bitchau to Brinn four Leagues two Stages This last City is more considerable than the former not only for its Grandeur fine Houses and the Nobility with which 't is fill'd but also for its Citadel one of the Best I ever saw in those Parts It takes in the compass of the whole Platform of an high and inaccessible Mountain whose Extremity at the Top has a Mantling or Counterscarp much like that of Montmidy in Luxemburgh Besides this Brinn has its fortified Walls tho' irregular all cover'd with a sort of Bastions without any Outside or loose Works It is situated on a small Prominence at the foot of which round about it has some Houses in the Nature of Suburbs It s Governor is a Noble Lord very highly esteem'd by the Elector of Bavaria who came to refresh himself at his House after the Siege of Vienna was rais'd The King came thither in three Days time from Olmutz From Brinn to Pourlits four Leagues two Stages This is a Village in a very fat Soil and a Plain diversify'd with Meadows Plow'd Lands and Thickets where there are some others more considerable From Pourlits to Niklitsbourg the Germans pronounce it Niklitspourg two Leagues one Stage of three Hours Riding Moravia terminates at the end of one League at a certain Lake over which we pass'd on a sorry Wooden Bridge Beyond the Lake Austria begins and presents us a new kind of Prospect no less pleasant for its Variety than Rich and Plentiful in its vast Extent On the Left you see nothing but Vineyards like those about Lions on the Right boundless Plains garnish'd with Villages manur'd all over and of a fat and fertile Soil The Arch-Dutchy of AUSTRIA Austria from whence that Illustrious Family whose two Branches have sway'd the Imperial Scepter from the Year 1437. to this Time took its Name was formerly no more than a Marquisate which the Emperor rais'd first to a Dutchy and afterwards to an Arch-Dutchy The Danube runs cross it and it is separated from Hungary on the one Side by the River of Moravia and on the other by that of Raab both which throw themselves into the Danube by opposite currents Austria is bounded by Moravia Bohemia Bavaria Styria and Hungary It is full Cities considerable not only in themselves but also for the Epochas of History which will perpetuate their Names Among others we may reckon Passà w Lints and Vienna its Capital City This last is become the Metropolis of the whole Empire ever since Fourteen Emperors of the House of Austria have reign'd successively the last of which have Establish'd their Court there and have made a Splendid City of it Besides Austria is a Country abounding with variety of Plains Vineyards Hills and large Forests which afford ample Diversions to the Emperors by that prodigious quantity of Stags and other large Beasts with which they are stock'd 'T is certain that no Country abounds so much with the former as this Province does You may see them in whole Herds like so many Beeves round about Vienna and 't is to be wondred what a great number of them the Emperor takes every Year whereof with the weight of each an exact Register is kept This Register is lock'd up in the Archives of the Court and has been lodg'd there time out of Mind These Hunting-Matches are three Months in the Year The Emperor misses not one of 'em having stated and fix'd days for this Exercise as he has for Audiences His Courtiers make a Business of State of it and at the place of Rendez-vous take each of 'em a Nosegay of Greens provided by the Huntsmen who present the Emperor with a Crown and a kind of Sceptre made of the same The Scales are carry'd along with 'em to weigh each Beast they kill and the Register to take an exact Account thereof and the Emperor himself opens the Belly cross-ways with a large Knife before any dare touch it When the Hunting-Matches are over they cast up the Number and the Weight as set down in the Register and by comparing them to former Years and to other Emperors they pass a Judgment from
with the Army and the Isle of Schut the only Road that could be Travelled with any safety and to facilitate that of the City Komorne which was seated at the farther end of the Island The King of Poland left the Isle October 3. and Encamped beyond it under the Cannon of that Fortress facing towards Newhausel on the Left leaving space on the Right for the German Army who arrived the next Day near the City and passed the Bridge the same Day and all the fifth which obliged the King to make a stand in that place to the sixth that the Duke of Lorrain might have time to draw over all his Forces However the Imperial Artillery and the Regiments of the Cravatians could not pass over till this Day and the Army was forced still to Halt But our Parties and our Cossacks having brought News the Night before that the Turks were likewise passing the Danube at Pest and Barean to put a stop to our March and cover Newhausel Lewents and the Country that lay at the foot of the Mountains the King resolved upon Marching directly to the Bridge of Strigonium to burn it before the Enemy could all get over to us and to carry the Fort which lay at the head of the Bridge by the Vanguard with Sword in Hand In the mean time he took a view of the Rounds of his Camp of Komorne to descry the Avenues and the Disposition of the Ground He sent a French Engineer named M. du Pont with a great Party of Horse towards Lewents with Orders to advance as nigh as he could to the Enemies Army His Cossacks were likewise ordered forth towards the Danube one of whom brought a Turk who was advanced but only twenty paces from the Main-Guard of the Enemies Camp The Engineer returned without having discover'd any thing because his Guides had led him all the Night without coming nigh either of the Bridges on the contrary they brought him towards Newhausel by the Walls of which he marched But another Officer committed a greater Error for being commanded to go as far Barcan he stopp'd in a Village half-way where he spent the greatest part of the Night a Detachment of the Turks surprized him cut off his Head with thirty Horse that attended him whose Trunks we saw the next Day as we passed through that Village So that the King could never get any certain Intelligence what number of Turks had crossed on this side of the River nor where their particular Post was We could plainly see the Fires which they made in the Villages upon the Road thereby to cut off from us both Wood and Forrage the former of which was very scarce in those Plains We were informed by the Prisoners that marched on the side of us that the Tartars were advanced by the way of Pest and were to join the Rebels of Hungary led by Count Teckly along the Mountains but we knew nothing of what past at Barcan This Post was very still undiscovered and the King was ill advised to think of carrying the Place by his Dragoons and Infantry without communicating any thing of his Design to the Germans that he might let them see that the Poles knew how to carry considerable Forts by surprize Full of this design he urged the Duke of Lorrain to decamp from Komorne and advance towards the Bridges of the of the Turks under a pretence of burning them without letting him know any of his Real intentions But the Imperial Army could not yet break up since their Cannon and part of the Cavalry was still stopp'd in the Isle by the breaking of part of the Bridge which was repairing all the fifth Day On October 6. about Nine in the Morning they decamped without waiting for the coming up of the rest and in that very instant the King received advice that Teckley being informed of his March was retreated towards Transylvania having gained the Mountains This redoubled his Desire of advancing towards the Enemy which they did this very Day within two short Leagues off the Fort of Barcan having marched three large Leagues During these Transactions the Queen of Poland to whom the King had sent me with a very large Account of the Particulars of Vienna dispatch'd me back again with her Answers and order'd me particularly to insinuate to the King by means of the Senators that follow'd the Camp that it was high time to return back to his Dominions This the Poles passionately long'd for because the Infantry began to be out of Heart for want of Provisions particularly Bread for which the Germans cannot be excus'd having the conveniency of the Danube by which they might have convey'd great plenty into the Camp had they us'd due Precautions Besides this the Poles thought they were at the fag-end of the World and long'd for their Beer their Colworts and their Cacha without which they fancy'd they could not live But the King would listen to none of these Considerations and with a steddy Resolution pursu'd that Glorious Carreer which he had form'd in his Mind from the Banks of the Danubâ—â— the Vistula across all Vpper Hungary I met with the German Army in the Isle of Komorne and because I could not tell for certain where the Polish Army was which always march'd two or three Leagues in the Van I resolv'd at Presbourg to follow a Courrier from the Emperor that was going thence to the Duke of Lorrain from whom I expected to receive a Convoy After 4 Hours march we found the Arrier-Guard compos'd of the Cravatian Regiments We went afterwards by the course of the Country towards the Place where they told us the Main Body of the Army lay but we turn'd too much towards the the Left and fell in with the Camp of the Infantry commanded by Staremberg which coasted along the Left Arm of the Danube and encamp'd this Day upon the Shore about Goutta a small City over against Newhausel By this means we could not get before Midnight to the Duke of Lorrain's Camp posted about the Middle of the Isle four large Leagues off Komorne being two Days March to that City On the Morrow being Sunday Octob. 3. I waited upon the Duke of Lorrain at his Levée who inform'd me That the King was this very Day to pass the Danube over the Bridge of Komorne his Army being march'd over the Day before That Prince order'd me to be conducted thither by one of his Adjutants upon Horses belonging to his own Equipage I arriv'd at the Bridge that very Instant the King pass'd it and his Majesty who had order'd me to rejoyn him by coming that Road in which he was pursuing the Enemy was surpris'd and at the same time glad to see me arrive so safe to his Camp During the Halt he made there he receiv'd an Express from the Prince of Transylvania with Letters writ in Cyphers dated at Buda which contain'd little else but the Re-establishment of the Grand Visier in his former Dignity and the
to describe the general Consternation our Army was in or the Sorrow of the Court The King almost dead with the Fatigue weak and out of Breath was laid on the Ground upon a little Hay surrounded with his Polish Lords that had escap'd the Slaughter all of 'em in a Melancholy posture with pale Countenances and Eyes fix'd on the Ground A sad and mournful Silence possess'd the Troops who this Day encamp'd without any Order being rather dispers'd in the Open Fields than lodg'd in a mark'd-out Ground for in truth we had no other place to encamp in but that which the Turks had allow'd us to take breath in a great way short of the intended Camp which now serv'd as a Burying-place to our unfortunate Comrades After this the German Generals arriv'd who stood round the King with an external Aspect suitable to the Misfortune of the Day but inwardly ravish'd at the Loss which so much eclipsed the Glory gain'd by delivering Vienna One might read even in their feign'd and mask'd looks a secret Joy which Emulation stirr'd up and which Ingratitude render'd more delightful 'T is possible the Duke of Lorrain might have more generous Thoughts and I am perswaded That the publick Interest his Polish Majesty's Person and the Honour of the Christians Arms inspir'd into him a true Sorrow but the manner whereby this Enterprize was kept secret from him That haughty Air which was affected in the Execution of it and that Vaunting which had been made of the Bravery of the Polish Troops could not chuse but make him relish some Comfort even in the Misfortune of this Day The King of Poland could not speak a Word to him and with much ado lifted up his Eyes at the Arrival of the Prince his Son whom the Grand Squire had conducted to him to remove the Dejection of his Spirits There was no farther Order given this Night but only to encamp in the Bottom between the Curtains along the Danube and to take care of interring the Dead forthwith to cover the Shame of our Defeat which was but too considerable in the Van-Guard In the mean time the Turks puffed up with this Success sent Expresses all Night to Buda to acquaint the Grand Visier therewith and desire him to send them a Reinforcement that so they might conclude by cutting off the Germans which they fancy'd they might do at a cheap rate They sent the same News to Count Teckley who was fortified about the Mountains giving him to understand that if he had reasons hitherto of complimenting the King of Poland they were now remov'd by the entire Defeat of his Army in which himself had been kill'd perhaps taken That none remain'd of that great Body of Troops but the Germans his mortal Enemies whom he might easily get himself rid of if he would but make haste with his Army which they earnestly desir'd him to do This News that was sent to Count Teckley and the Grand Visier had different Impressions on the Minds of those two Generals The Ottoman General forgot his Flight and thought he might wipe off the Disgrace of that by a Second Battle To this Purpose he order'd 12 or 15000 Horse to march to Strigonium with Anchars or Dragoons arm'd with Carabines under the Command of Two Visiers and Four other Bassas who had Injunctions to pass the Bridge and immediately to fall Hand-over-head upon the Christians without needlesly disputing the Ground with them that so by this bold Enterprize they might add the last Stroke to the Pannick Fear of the Foregoing Day This I learn'd from one of the Visiers who was taken in this Action Count Teckley receiv'd the News of our Misfortune with contrary Thoughts He did not desire the Turks should have the better on 't and look'd upon the King of Poland as one that ballanc'd and counterpois'd their insolent Greatness Upon this Consideration he was heartily troubl'd at our Loss especially when he consider'd his own private Interest and the occasion he had of the Polish Prince either to make his Peace with the Imperial Court or to prevent him from submitting himself entirely to the Tyrannical Yoke of the Port. He turn'd those Thoughts over and over in his disturbed Breast and open'd himself to Count Forval his Intimate Friend when he receiv'd Orders to march with his Army towards Barcan to hem in that of the Christians whilst the Turkish Cavalry charg'd them in the Front 'T is certain That if this Hungarian General had done all he could upon this Occasion and discharg'd his Trust to the Turks he would have sav'd their Army and put a new Face upon their Affairs for he was above thirty some say forty thousand strong However he march'd much against his Will towards the Champian Country of Barcan and the Turks arriv'd there Friday Night October 8th there being but six Leagues distance between Buda and Strigonium They pass'd the Bridge all Night left 500 Men in the Fort and posted themselves beyond the Low Plain on the Brow of the Curtain the very Place where the others had the Day before charg'd the Polish Van-Guard On the Morrow Octob. 9th they drew into a Line of Battle in the Plains above stretching their Right Wing towards the Mountains where is a narrow Valley cover'd with Woods and Thickets through which Teckley's Army was to pass Their Left Wing terminated very near the Curtain within sight of Barcan Fort. They made but one Line and one single Front very thick but behind upon the Brow of the Curtain there were three Columns of 14 or 15 Squadrons each plac'd behind one another which were to open in the Fight in order to surround our Army as they had done at first This is the Turkish Method of Drawing up an Army which may perhaps be of some Use For they pretend that these Columns are not so easily broke and rallying themselves with all the Ease imaginable their Squadrons thus rank'd can the better support the First Line when 't is a little shatter'd They had on the Right Wing Kara Mehemet Pacha Visier of Buda in the Centre the Visier of Silistria and next the Bassa of Caramania nam'd Alè with three others of the First Rank Whilst the Turks were thus Preparing themselves for a Battle the King of Poland thought of nothing else but Revenging the Disgrace he had receiv'd the Day before He bestow'd all Friday Oct. 8th in drawing up the two Armies and in agreeing upon the Order of Battle in a general Council the Poles being eager to regain their Credit and the Germans desirous to share in the Glory which they had in some measure been rob'd of the Day before After this the King dispatch'd a Courrier to Cracow to acquaint the Queen with his ill Success and with the Resolution he had taken either to make amends for it or not to survive the Disgrace informing her That he was to march towards the Enemy on the morrow and that she must expect to hear News
by General D'Henoff Colonel of the Guards fil'd off and the first who pass'd over advanc'd towards the Lower City who sent several Detachments out to dispute the Passes whilst the Artillery of the Town play'd furiously on all sides The Turks at the first burnt the Suburbs within View of us and afterwards part of the City it self on that side which lay towards the Open Country During these Preparations for the Siege the King who dispatch'd a Polish Gentlemen nam'd Kaczowsky to the Queen just after the Battle to remove that Trouble and sollicitude which his former Letter had caus'd in her dispatch'd me likewise with Answers of Importance and the whole Army charg'd me with Commissions from them The Pole had been sent by the Mountains of Vpper Hungary and directed to Count Teckley who took care he should be convey'd to Cracow I was order'd to go by the great Road of Vienna I left the Camp October 21st after I had by the King's Order visited the two Fields of Battle the Fort of Barcan the Banks of the River along the Gardens from whence I took an exact Survey of Strigonium and its Fortress which I observ'd to be wholly built upon a Rock I afterwards return'd on the Right along the Danube towards the German Camp not being able to go round the Fort by Water as I had begun because the heap of dead Carcasses had choak'd up and rais'd the Current and in all this Round which Count Staremberg often went in his Coach without regarding the frequent shots of the Enemy I had no other Evidence of my Conduct but an Officer of my Acquaintance a German by Birth a Frenchman by long Service for he had been Lieutenant of a Troop of Horse in the Regiment of Bethune and and had run through other Dangers with an even Temper and a Noble Carriage without any thing of Vain-glory. At my Return I found my Dispatches ready and two Cosacks all the Convoy that was allow'd me who did not so much as know the way of Komorne where I was to take Post My Friends advis'd me to travel on the other side of the Danube and to stay till the Morrow when the Emperor's Envoy would dispatch his Son-in-Law to Vienna But the Bridges were crowded the Imperial Generals busied in marching the Army over and my self eager to arrive at Cracow being sensible that the Queen of Poland's Life depended on my Dispatch or Slowness since the first Alarms had brought her as it were to Death's door But my Zeal had like to have cost me my Life I am sure it rob'd me of my Liberty I set on my Journey with the two Cosacks and in the Way joyn'd with some German Horse and Foot who were going that Road so that I was at the Head of thirty Men when I entred upon the Encampment which the Army had made when they left Komorne The Forragers who return'd from round those Parts never said a Word to us of any Turkish Party and I march'd on with so little concern that I took no Notice at all of a Party that I saw just before me about 500 Paces beyond the old Camp going towards Newhausel It consisted of about 150 Horse in Hungarian Habits with white Cloaks on as all the Turks of that Country are habited which made me take them for the Cravatians belonging to the Emperor and induc'd me to ride towards them a full Trot that I might be the better secur'd by this Convoy They became sensible of my Mistake and suffer'd me to come up within thirty Paces of their Rear and then return'd upon me full drive with their Sabres in their Hands Among my thirty Men there were four French or Flemish Foot who had deserted the Regiment of Rosemberg and made such a vigorous Assault that they laid seven Turks on the ground having charg'd their Muskets with Hail-shot This brought their whole Party upon our Men eighteen of 'em had their Heads cut off and the rest hemm'd in so that none of 'em escap'd to carry the News of the Disaster to the Camp The inequality of the number made me think of retreating after the Massacre of my Fellow-Travellers and after I had escap'd twice or thrice the same Fate by the Management of my Horse For I had seen a Sabre fly over my Head and had drop'd my Hat and Perruke in the Skirmish In short being minded to fly for it trusting very much to the Swiftness of my Horse which was of the Turkish Breed and one of the Best in the King's Stables I was struck on the Forehead by a Young Cavalier coming to me with his Spear in the Rest as one running at a Ring and by the Blow unhors'd me which facilitated my being taken I knew very well that it was impossible to make my escape I only desir'd to fall into good Hands and yield my self to some Officer Accordingly I march'd directly towards a Turk of a Venerable and Sweet Aspect who happen'd to be the Commander himself of that Party an Officer of Worth a successful Partisan and a Man of Honor. I surrendred my self to him who took me by the Hand and only order'd me to be disarm'd but in marching some of the Subalterns whip'd me and took away all my Letters Whereas it was now pretty late it being within an Hour of Night Mustapha for that was the Officer's Name rested satisfy'd with his Booty and return'd towards Newhausel But in the Way for fear of being surpris'd in his Retreat he detach'd four Cavaliers as Scouts to beat the Rounds In the Evening he rally'd all the Party at the End of a Ruinous Village and caus'd them to march off in a Review and so did the Prisoners under two Lances held by two Cavaliers in the form of an Arch from whence he march'd towards Newhausel very easily We forded the River of Nitra that lay in the Road and when we were nigh to the City the whole Party discharg'd their Pistols in the Air an Establish'd Custom among the Turks when they return with Prisoners We were order'd to stay half an Hour at the City Gate into which we did not enter before ten at Night the Party dispers'd themselves in the first Street they came to One of the Officers brought me into a House where I left my Horse and was lash'd a second time being still in my Boots He order'd me to be carry'd before a certain Person of Quality whom I look'd upon to be the Second Bassa of the Place and who would not vouchsafe to speak a Word to me but order'd me to go into his Footmen's Room One of e'm who was a Young Renegadoe Hungarian and had formerly been a Student at Tyrnau came by his Master's command to examine me and give me a third lashing He was more lucky than those who came before for he found thirty Ducats of Gold that I had sav'd The joy that he shew'd upon the Discovery of these Pieces is inexpressible he carry'd them
and presence of Mind being so far from concealing his Quality of Visier that he desir'd to be us'd as a Prisoner of that Rank and to be distinguish'd from his Comrade who was no more than a Bassa with whom he would not so much as be Quartered General Dunneval waiting upon him after the Battle and representing to him the Rashness of the Turks who with a handful of Men dar'd to engage an Army of 50000 strong This Visier very coldly reply'd That he had follow'd his Orders without reflecting upon the Inequality and would have charg'd the Christians tho' they had been twice as strong again His Misfortune afflicted without sinking his Spirits and he bore it with an Heroical Constancy and never appear'd out of Humour but on the account of the Great General whose Civilities he could never repay or retaliate The Bassa of Caramania Alé is one of a different Character In all his Behaviour he shew'd a great deal of Fire Life and Subtilty He was of a less Stature had a meagre Countenance a black and rough Beard sparkling Eyes and a Turkish Air Fierce without Majesty Lofty without the attendance of that Politeness and Sweetness to be observ'd in the other But yet Noble and distinguish'd in his Carriage crafty and subtle in Conversation asking Questions of his own accord and with a presence of Mind When the Court was at Leopold two Years after their Arrival they all flock'd out of Curiosity to see them the Queen was there her self mask'd attended with other Ladies that she might not be known the Marquis of Arquyen her Father and other Lords They would not so much as cast their Eyes off their Books or open their Lips to some but to others they paid their Complements but especially to the Ladies but with a kind of penetrating Distinction as if they were inform'd of the Difference of the Personages The Visier seem'd to be between 55 and 60 Years old and was already turn'd grey the other about ten or twelve Years younger In my Mind both of 'em in their proper Posts might be compar'd to the most Illustrious Personages of the Age as well for the Neatness and Nobleness of their Make as for their Behaviour and Bravery The Duke of Lorrain led the Imperial Army through the Plains of Newhausel where he made a Halt for two Days in the Neighbourhood of that Place which he thought to have taken by Surprize or at least to scare it by the great Exploits which had put an End to this Campaign but he was receiv'd with terrible Discharges of Canon The Turks likewise fell upon his Rear and brought back a great many Stragglers and Men that belong'd to the Carriages into the Town most of them being wounded I was then in the Bassa's House who had taken me from his Son 's and put me under the guard of his Porter a pretty civil and courteous Man who lodg'd me in his Chamber allow'd me a good Bed and gave me twice a Day Provisions more than I could eat The Chaous who came to fetch me from the Kiayia's House brought me at first to this Porter waiting for the Bassa's Orders which were that I should be loaded with Chains This was a cruel Addition to the severity of my Slavery I return'd from the Mareshal's across the whole Town of Newhausel stumbling at every step I took and mortify'd in my Mind especially when I saw several charitable Turks offer me Alms and threaten me because I refus'd it For you must take notice That they freely give it to Slaves and never desire the Civility of Thank You Sir and cannot endure the Haughtiness of a Refusal In process of Time my Pride was abated being so far from refusing that I was reduc'd to the Necessity of begging an Alms of them and brought to that servile Condition that my bad Stars had never prepar'd me for before I did not wear those Shackles long for the Kiayia making a Visit to his Father three Days after seem'd to be very much offended at this rough Usage and by his own Authority order'd my Fetters to be knock'd off The Porter had afterwards Orders from the Bassa to clap me into small Chains which open'd with Padlocks only during Night and to release me every Morning but by way of Exchange he made me sweep the Stairs and the Passage between the Gates which was his Business and my Task During these Transactions the Interpreter of the Great General arriv'd with the Money which the King had sent to bring me to the Army hoping my Exchange would have been made without any Demur The Interpreter manag'd the Business very subtilly He first demanded the Touariches and Officers in his Master's Name and after he had agree'd with the Bassa to give as many Turks Head for Head he ask'd him what other Prisoners he had taken during this Campaign The Bassa answer'd That he had a Frenchman taken with Letters and forthwith order'd me to come into his Chamber The Interpreter making as if he did not know me examin'd me of my Quality and how I happen'd to fall into this Misfortune and afterwards offer'd a Turk in Exchange for me which was agree'd upon A Chartel was accordingly drawn up wherein were set down all those whom the Bassa was to send back to the Great General of Poland and those that were to be return'd by way of Exchange A Captain with twenty Horse went to the Camp with the Convoy that had attended the Interpreter to Newhausel to bring back the Turks that were agree'd upon and the Interpreter staid with us as Hostage In the mean Time I was order'd to go into all the Houses of the Town to make choice of the Persons who had been taken with me and it was then that One of those unhappy Creatures out of a Transport of Joy and Gratitude embrac'd my Knees and ruin'd me by his Over-civility Whereas the King of Poland was then upon his March the Turks were a long time upon the Road and did not bring back all the Prisoners nam'd in the Chartel of Exchange because three of them during these Transactions had made their Escape from the Camp and were come to Newhausel But in their stead the King had sent three others which the Bassa never minding and besides being pre-possess'd on my Account more than was requisite upon the Demonstration of Respect shewn me by the Indiscreet Pole he laid hold on this pretence to detain me with two other Officers belonging to the Palatin of Russia's Regiment of Dragoons and several Hussars in whose stead he sent other Polanders to balance the number As an Addition to my Misfortune he commanded me to send the King Word That if he did not send 10000 Ducats of Gold for my Ransom I should have 200 Blows on the bottoms of my Feet as Lubomirsky had done to the Bassa Ibraham who was taken at the Siege of Vienna This Ibraham appear'd very unluckily for me and confirm'd the thing being still
in Chains and come thither by leave of the Governor of Komorne to negotiate for his Ransom which the Bassa propos'd likewise in Exchange for mine I wrote what he desir'd but without any hopes of being heard and the Interpreter stay'd still at Newhausel to make an end of the Business But the Replies from the Camp were so unsatisfactory that the Bassa kept his Word with me and the Interpreter himself very narrowly escap'd the Bastinado The great Squire of the Crown wrote to me of the Injustice and my Friends to whom I had sent for Linnen and Cloaths fearing that their Kindness would retard my Deliverance left me witout a supply and out of Love refus'd to send me so much as a Shirt The Great Squire wrote likewise to the Bassa telling him That his falsifying his Word so uncommon among the Turks would fall heavy upon the two Prisoners of the Great General whose Legs Arms and Necks they would load with Irons but he never concern'd himself about them and sending back the Interpreter with the Number agree'd upon kept me still in Slavery and Misery CHAP. V. Containing the March of the Polish Army and it's Conquests in Upper Hungary with the King 's Return into his Territories the latter End of the Year 1683. AFTER the Taking of Strigonium the Armies as aforesaid separated and the Turks retir'd a great way into their Provinces Count Teckley at the same time gain'd the Mountains in order to re-inforce the Garrisons of his Dominions The Grand Visier put Buda into a posture of Defence in case of a Siege which seem'd unavoidable since the Germans were within six Leagues of it had no River to pass nor any Fort of Consequence to dispute by the way thither For the next Year when the Duke of Lorrain laid Siege to this Important Place he open'd the Campaign by taking of Veyssegrad and Veissembourg two Forts beyond Strigonium in the Country that lies round Buda Afterwards the Grand Visier march'd for Belgrade to present his Head to the Sultan who tho' he was his Father-in-Law yet would not Pardon him this his Second Defeat His Death-Warrant was brought to his House and the Officers in presenting it to him clapp'd a silk cord about his Neck with which he was strangl'd after he had kiss'd the Sultan's Warrant and the fatal Instrument of his Justice The King of Poland took his March towards Vpper Hungary leaving the River Theysse on the Right which separates the Christian from the Turkish Hungary and even the Christian Part of that Country was at that time in Rebellion As he went along he attack'd the Places which lay in his way the first was Zetzen which the Turks call Setchan scituated on a small Rising in the midst of uneven Plains which began by little and little to rise into Hills and then into Mountains till they made that Chain of Hills with which Hungary is surrounded and separated from the States of Poland Zetzen is a small Town enclos'd within Walls and a deep Trench but narrow at the Bottom and easie to be pass'd over The Gate had a Retrenchment of Pallisades made of large pieces of Timber in the nature of a Ravelin and Guards within some pieces of Cannon on the Walls with a Garrison of about Six hundred Men Horse and Foot commanded by an Aga or Captain call'd by the Turks Tchorbaggey i. e. An Officer of Foot of great Note The Army appear'd before this Place November 10. 1683 and the King took a View of it in order to attack it the next Day They saw a place in the Walls which had a Breach made up with Pallisades There and at the Gate the Dragoons and the Infantry carry'd on the Assault with Sword in Hand The General d' Henoff attack'd the Gate where the Prince's Regiment forc'd the Pallisade very vigorously in spite of a whole shower of Musket-shot with which several Officers and Soldiers were kill'd or wounded Afterwards they seis'd upon the Body of the Guards that were lodg'd in the Pallisade and were just upon breaking open the Gate when the Aga hung out a White Flag and desir'd to be gone This was granted him and the Garrison march'd out without Arms and without their Bag and Baggage However the Capitulation was not duly kept by an Accident that had nothing to do with the Taking of this Town For the King was ordering the Garrison to march out when his Envoy return'd from Newhausel with News of the Bassa's falsifying his Word with respect to me This rais'd a Resentment in that great Monarch's Breast and oblig'd him to make a Reprisal on the Turks of Zetzen of whom he mark'd out 30 with his Cane as they went out of the City beginning with the Aga his Son the Priest and others of greatest Note belonging to that Garrison telling them That he detain'd them as Prisoners not to forfeit the Promise given them but to revenge the Treachery of the Bassa of Newhausel who detain'd a Servant from him contrary to the Chartel of Exchange He added That two of them might go to intercede for their own Liberty by obtaining that of the other and that in the mean time the other 28 should be kept in Chains The Aga's Son and a Janizary were deputed for this Negotiation which came to nothing On the contrary the Bassa offended that they had deliver'd up the Town sent them away with Threats upbraiding their Cowardise and faint Resistance which the Sultan would be sure to punish with Death if ever they should return into his Dominions That therefore they were safer in their Slavery and might tarry with the Poles or free themselves by other Exchanges That the Frenchman was his Slave for whom he would have Money not Men. So that these two Mussulmen were surpriz'd to see a Bassa prefer his own sordid Interest before the Ottoman Blood and vex'd that they could do no good for their Comrades made use of that Liberty they had retiring to Buda and leaving the rest in the Prisons of Transchyn a City of Hungary upon the Wag towards the Frontiers of Moravia whither the King of Poland had sent them and where for 14 Months they suffer'd all the Misery imaginable as I did at Newhausel being abandon'd to a wild Despair I had said before That the Dragoons together with the Infantry were commanded to carry on the Assault of Zetzen The Count of Maligny the Queen of Poland's Brother who was General and Colonel in particular of the King's Regiment of Dragoons advanc'd as far as the Pallissade to animate his Troops by his Presence and Example which was of great use for the carrying on the Attack with Success for his Dragoons were without a Leader their Lieutenant Colonel Nam'd Galetski being found by the Count hid behind one of the great pieces of Timber of the Pallisade with his Pistol in his Hand where he had no need to fear the Firing from the Walls I was willing to mention this to give
for his good Will I convinced him that I ought to restore that Money to Mehemet Spaha as I afterwards did I departed by Post from Vienna and arrived at Cracow where a Canon Chancellor to the Prince of Poland a Man of great Merit and sweet Behaviour kept me three Days and treated me admirably after which I reached Reetchouf a Castle belonging to Prince Lubomirski the Podstarosta or Captain whereof gave me a Calash which brought me to Yaroslave and there I found the Equipages of the Queen's Father with one of his Gentlemen who brought me in three Stages to Zolkief where the Court was 'T is eleven great Leagues from Yaroslave in a straight Line leaving Yarvorouf on the Right I had found at Przevorska a City belonging to the great Marshal of the Crown Prince Stanislas Lubomirski about two Leagues above Yaroslave the Troops of the Elector of Brandenburg which two Commissaries of the Republick were conducting to the Frontiers of the two Estates and this was the only Rencounter worthy of Remark for me because of the Kindnesses shown me by the Officers and above all the General who made me a Present of a Case of Pistols of great Price which I bestowed as a small Mark of my Acknowledgment upon Pr. Lubomirski who liked them so well that he has always worn them since out of his Goodness and by an obliging Distinction which heaps further Obligations upon those I owe him already The End of the First Part. SOME LETTERS AND OTHER PIECES Whereof mention has been made in this first Part. The two first Letters which I put here may at first seem to have no Reference to what is related in those Memoirs but they are not useless to give an Idea of the Genius of the Port under the Ministry of the Grand Visier who besieged Vienna and they will also serve to expose the haughty and scornful Humor of that Ottoman General A LETTER FROM Monsieur De Guillerague Ambassador of France at Constantinople Wrote to the Marquis de Vitri the King 's Extraordinary Ambassador in Poland Dated at Pera from the Palace of France August 8. 1681. I Had resolved to send away my Family but just as they were ready to imbark a Messenger sent by the Consul of Smyrna acquainted me That on July 18. M. du Quene anchored at the Mouth of the Harbour of Scio with six Men of War and a Fire-Ship and that after a very short Negotiation to oblige the Governour of the Castle to turn out some Tripolins who had sheltered themselves under his Canon he fired so furiously for 4 Hours together that he shattered them The Castle also fired some Guns to which M. du Quene answered Some Houses were damaged many Tripolins killed as also several Turks of the Town and some Mosques were pierced through in many Places This Action has caused great Commotions at the Port several Councils have been held to which the Mufti and all other great Officers were called Janisaries were sent to the Castle of the Dardanelles Couriers were sent to several Places The Captain Bassa had Orders sent him to return into Port as soon as possible with the Gallies The Consternation they were in cannot be imagined Some were of Opinion to arrest me and some Officers advised more rigorously They threatned to hang me and all the French within their Dominions They sent to Scio for the particulars of the Damages and of the Enterprize I have Notice given me that I shall be called to Audience I shall perpaps speak as I ought and I have good Reasons to alledge which are drawn from the express Terms of the Capitulations I have supported the Affair hitherto without indecency and I hope that notwithstanding all this terrible Image of Preparations to destroy all I shall terminate the Matter to the Glory of the King Perhaps Sir you may find something of a Gascoigners Security in what I wrote to you But in fine it is good to act with cold Blood The Turks fancy that the King inclines to declare War with them I assure them that his Majesty will entertain the Ancient Alliance if the Port is disposed thereto and that he has no other design than against Rovers and the Rebel Subjects of the Grand Senior who ought not to be received into his Ports The Affair of the Mosques does above all things vex the Mussul-Men who are extreamly bigotted to their Religion and to every thing that relates to it externally I tell them That some chance shot might have done them some damage but that if the French had done it designedly the Disorder would have been much greater It is also true that M. du Quêne had no Design to shoot against the Mosques and that he thought only of battering the 7 Tripolin Vessels I still hope notwithstanding their Menaces that my Family may depart in 8 Days time and that my Reasons will be heard Another Letter from M. de Guilleragues to the Marquis de Vitry Dated the 8th of September 1681. from the Palace of France at Pera. IT is proper to inform you Sir That the continual Piracies of the Tripolins have obliged the King to send a Squadron of Men of War into those Seas under the command of M. du Quesne with orders to attack those Robbers even in the Harbours of the Grand Senior M. du Quêne anchored the 23d of July in the Mouth of the Harbor of Scio Having known that eight Tripolin Ships were there he signified to him who commanded in the Fortress of the Grand Senior that he came as a Friend and that the Emperor of France was an Ancient Allie of the Emperor of the Turks But that he had express Orders to extirpate the Pirates who by the Terms of the Capitulation were called Rebel Subjects and abandoned to the Vengeance of our Emperor The Governor gave no Answer The Tripolins were very numerous They had made themselves Masters of the Town and Harbour M. du Quêne after having tarried in vain for an Answer let fly his Cannon among them He shattered the Tripolin Ships several chance Shot damaged the Houses and Mosques and killed 200 of the Inhabitants The Fortress fired upon the King's Ships they answered and beat down a part of it This News caused a great Commotion at the Port I acquainted them that the Difference was only with the Tripolins That the Emperor my Master designed to entertain an Amity between the two Empires That the Men of War had done nothing contrary to the Capitulation That if they should do the least hurt to a French Man it would be taken as a Declaration of War the Consequences whereof would be terrible and that there was no Appearance that the Grand Senior would break a Peace which has been anciently established between the two Empires to support Robbers Several Councils have been daily held Orders were given to augment the Garisons of all Places of Strength Such great Commotions were never seen nor such an Alarm In
A Letter from the Emperor to the King of Poland wrote by his own Hand Dated at Passaw Aug. 24. 1683. To the most Serene Lord the King of Poland my most dearly beloved Brother and Neighbour I Have seen by Your Majesty's Letter wrote with Your own Hand dated the 15th Instant how that You have already sent a good part of Your Army before and given order that they shall join very speedily with the Troops of Lithuania and the Cossacks and that You had begun Your march on that great Day of the Feast of our Lady with Your whole Army to come and succour with all Your might my City of Vienna which is ready to surrender being closely besieged by the most powerful Army of the Turks So puissant and opportune a Succour makes me sufficiently to see the brotherly Love You have for me to preserve my Dominions as well as the Zeal You have for the Good of Christendom So I return You most hearty Thanks and shall endeavour upon all Occasions to acknowledge Your brotherly Love I have been also willing to confess the same by this my devout Acknowledgment which will be presented by the Count de Schafsgoutz who will acquaint You that I am to set out to Morrow for Lintz in order to be nearer the City and have News of it the sooner and to have an Opportunity to consult more easily with You to whom I wish a perfect Health and all Prosperity Your Majesty's most Affectionate Brother and Neighbour Leopoldus A Letter from the King of Poland to the Pope Dated at Ratibor Aug. 24. 1683. This Letter properly speaking is only the rough Draught drawn by the King himself and wrote with his own Hand from which I copied it For he afterwards gave this rough Draught to an Italian Secretary who translated it into his own Language with the Ceremonies and Titles agreed on LAst Year I ordered the Imperial Minister at my Court to acquaint his Master That Vienna would be besieged the beginning of this because I had Advice of it from good Hands So soon as the Confederacy and the Diet were over I caused my Secretary to write to Cardinal Barbarini that in case Vienna should be besieged I would go in Person to succour it I received the News of its being besieged on the Twenty Third of July between Warsaw and Cracow In a Months time I have raised an Army without Money for the Provinces have scarce begun to pay their Contributions I gathered together the Troops that were in Podolia towards Caminiec and those which cover the Frontiers of Ukrania I caused them to make long marched insomuch that in a little time they have marches above an hundred German Leagues without having had Rest or Intermission And seeing I have Advice every Moment that the City which has been besieged only forty Days and defended by a whole Army is notwithstanding reduced to a great extremity I send part of my Army before with the Lieutenant General who will join the Duke of Lorrain the Day after to Morrow But seeing every Body wants my presence and that my Hussars Cannon and Infantry can march but four German Leagues a Day I take this Day some Troops of light Horse with me and by the Blessing of God shall be upon the Banks of the Danube by the last Day of this Instant to see and determine with the Duke of Lorrain and the other Generals how and by which way we shall succour Vienna and we shall forthwith pass the River which we wish to render yet more glorious by the defeat of the Infidels Let your Holiness now judge if you ought to give Credit to those who would have made you believe that the Polanders would do nothing this Campagne and that the King would never go out of his own Kingdom The King and his Army shall be sooner at the Gates of Vienna that one could have expected to have heard of his departure out of his own Territories And then you may reflect whether or no one can do more for a Friend and Allie but in so far as it concerns the good of the Church and Christendom I and my Kingdom shall be always ready to shed the last drop of our Blood as a true Shield of Christianity AN ACCOUNT OF THE Raising of the SIEGE OF VIENNA Written by Order of the Queen of POLAND THIS Account is properly an Abstract of the Letter which the King of Poland wrote to the Queen by the ordinary Post five or six Days after the departure of the Courier which he had sent the Day after the raising of the Siege who only carried the News by Word of Mouth whereof the King afterwards made an ample Relation to the Queen This is an Abstract of the Circumstances and particularly of the very Words in which the King wrote them connected together The Reader may observe some Verbosity and extravagant Praises therein but it is the Genius of the Nation and of the Polish Language which is full of Periphrases and Circumlocutions which in that Country they reck on to be great and sublime so that they make a Harangue at saluting one or for a Compliment of nothing The Victory which the King of Poland hath obtained over the Infidels is so great and so compleat that past Ages can scarce parallel the same and perphaps future Ages will never see any thing like it All its Circumstances are as profitable to Christendom in general and to the Empire in particular as glorious to that Monarch On one hand we see Vienna besieged by three hundred thousand Turks reduced to the last extremity its Outworks taken the Enemy fixed to the Body of the Place Masters of one Point of the Bastions having frightful Mines under the Retrenchments of the besieged We see an Emperor chased from his Capital retired to a Corner of his Dominions all his Country at the mercy of the Tartars who have filled the Camp with an infinite Number of unfortunate Slaves that had been forcibly carried away out of Austria On the other hand we see the King of Poland who goes out of his Kingdom with part of his Army and hastens to succour his Allies who abandons what is dearest to him to march against the Enemies of the Christian Religion willing to act in Person on this Occasion as a true Buckler of Religion and will not spare his eldest Son the Prince of Poland whom he carries with him even in a tender Age to so dangerous an Expedition as this was That which preceded the battle is no less surprizing The Empire assembles on all sides the Elector's of Saxony and Bavaria come in Person to join their Troops with the Imperialists under the command of the Duke of Lorrain Thirty other Princes repair out of Emulation to one another to the Army which nevertheless before they will enter upon Action stay for the presence of the K of Poland whose presence alone is worth an Army They all march with this Confidence The
the Grand Visier having made me his Universal Legatee The Booty that was taken in this Action is infinite and inestimable The Field of Battle was sowed with Gold Sabres with Pieces of Stuff and such a prodigious Quantity of other things that the Pillage which has already lasted three Days will scarce be over in a whole Week although the Besieged are come out of the Town in great Companies to partake of the Booty with the victorious Soldier both the one and the other being scarce able as yet to perswade themselves that this happy success is real it is so extraordinary Insomuch that the whole Army which nevertheless has done its duty very couragiously can't forbear to attribute this great Victory to the mighty God of Battles who would make use of the Hands of the King of Poland to overthrow the Enemies of his Name for which let him be honoured and glorified for ever and ever The King did not taste all the Joy that Christendom will feel as well because his great Spirit is accustomed to Victories as by the Reflection he made upon the lamentable Spectacle wherewith he was pierced when he entred into the Camp of the Turks at the sight of an infinite Number of Slaves whose Throats the Infidels had cut after their defeat and whose Bodies yet chained were extended confusedly amongst the dying and the wounded The King was particularly touched with a Child of about four Years of Age who seemed to be admirably beautiful notwithstanding he was coverd all over with Blood from a wound he had received on his Head The Desolation was nothing less in the City of Vienna where the King entered the Day after the Battle and found heaps of Ruines rather than Houses and even the Emperor's Palace reduced to Ashes hy the Cannon and Bombs but he was eased of the Grief which this dismal Spectacle had occasioned by the Acclamations of the Inhabitants who thinking no more of their past Calamities were transported with Joy for their unexpected Deliverance The City not being able to hold out two or three Days more Some kissed his Hands some his Feet and others his Robe And all cryed out that they might be permitted at least to see and admire the Hand that had delivered them from the Bondage they had been so near reduced to They called him their Saviour And some of them dropt out that they must have such an Emperor as this magnanimous King His Majesty would have willingly put a stop to those Acclamations and desired the German Officers to silence the People but all in vain for it was impossible to stop the Current of the Burgers who repeated their Cries of Long live the King wherever that victorious Monarch went After having visited some Churches where he returned thanks to God for the happy deliverance of Vienna he dined with Count Staremberg the Governour where he was no less fatigued with Embraces than he had been with the Acclamations in the Streets The Elector of Bavaria the other German Princes the Officers and all the Army as one may say run thither as soon as they had Notice of it to see him near at Hand whose valour they had so much admired in the Battle The Princes imbraced and kissed the King with such Transports as are easily pardoned in extasies of Joy where Respect is a little neglected which cannot be attributed to any want of Considaration for they had given him very great Marks of it by the Submission with which they had always obeyed him and which that Monarch had wrote to the Queen was with more promptness and less reserve than that of his own Troops He returned afterwards into the Camp followed by the Princes where he was joined by the Duke of Lorrain and Elector of Saxony who had not seen the King since the Morning before the Battle because they had been always imployed at the head of the left Wing The King was afterwards obliged to change his Camp and to remove it two Leagues beyond the Field of Battle because the stench of the dead Corps began to be infectious He proposed to himself at the same time to pursue the Enemy close to give them no respite in their flight and was so pushed on with the Ardor of his Zeal that he could not give himself a Minutes rest In the mean time the Emperor advanced in great diligence to see him and arrived at Vienna two Hours after his Majesty departed thence But the King did not retard his March for it preferring the Security of his Victory and the Interest of of the Party to the Joy which doubtless he would have had to see the Emperor who likewise ardently desired to see him He marches then directly after the Enemy whom he had resolved to pursue into Hungary whither he had directed his flight the Electors of Saxony and Bavaria resolved also to follow his Majesty even to the end of the World as they themselves told him those Princes having joined themselves in strict Frindship to his Person as had the Elector of Bavaria to the Prince of Poland in particular with whom he would have divided his Spoils This victorious Army may justly be compared to that which Godfrey of Boulogne led in triumph thro' the Holy Land and ought to be the more satisfied with their Glory for that the Victory though bloody cost them but very few Men of Note among whom is reckoned only the Prince de Crouy of the Germans and of the Polanders the Starost Halitski Son to the Castellan of Cracow Potoski and Mordreoski Treasurer of the Court whom the King particularly regretted This surprizing success ought also to be attributed to a visible Protection of the Lord according to the Vision of Father Marc d'Aviano a Capuchin of a very Holy Life who administred the Sacrament to the King and the Prince his Son on the Morning of that memorable Day who positively affirms that he saw a white Dove fly in a Circle over the Christian Army during the whole Action and it was observed during the King's march that an Eagle followed his Majesty 7 Leagues and proportioned its flight so as to be always over his Head One may observe an Effect of this Protection upon the sacred Person of this Hero who exposed himself like the meanest Soldier and upon that of the Prince his Son who was always by his side wherever he went The same may be also said of the Elector of Bavaria who in the most dangerous Places testified a Courage worthy of the Origin he comes of and who was always by the King's side during the Battle I ought not to forget the Count de Maligni the Queen's Brother to whom the King in his Letter gives an Account of the Valor and good Conduct of that French Lord whereof he was an Eye-witness Let us conclude this Account as the King hath done his and let us return Thanks to God for this memorable Victory in which he did not suffer the Infidels
to scoff us nor to ask Where is the God of the Christians seeing they have felt his Power upon this Occasion Every thing shews the greatness of the Victory which the King obtained and the sole Number of the things that were found in the Enemy's Camp renders it still more considerable Here follows a LIST or State of the Ammunitions of War that was found untouched afther the Defaet of the TURKS as Count Staremberg himself confessed besides what was embezled 400000 Weight of Powder besides the like Quantity that was burnt by our Men after the Battle 400000 of Lead 18000 Hand-Granadoes of mixed Mettle 20000 Hand-Granadoes of Iron 100000 Pick-Axes 30000 several Instruments for the Mines 4000 Spades 4000 Baskets 600 Pound of Match 5000 Pound of Pitch 1000 Pound of a kind of Oil for Workmanship and a Quantity of Linseed-Oil 5000 Pound of Cordage of different sizes 200000 Sacks made of Hair 100000 Sacks made of Cloth 6000 Pound of Nails for Horse-shoes 5000 Pound of several sorts of Nails for the Cannon 20000 Powder-Bags 16 large Anvils a Quantity of great Cordage for the Carriages of the Artillery 1000 Caldrons to boil the Pitch and Gums in 20000 Pound of Thread made of Hair and Lint 20000 Halbards 4000 Sythes 5000 Muskets of the Janisaries 600 Sacks full of Cotton spun and unspun 30000 Pound of Grease or Suet. 20000 Powder Horns for the Janisaries 4 Pair of Great Bellows 5000 Pound of new Iron 200 Waggons for the Artillery 4 huge Bars of Iron for the great Cannon 8 Great Iron Wheels for the same use 8000 Waggons for Ammunition 1000 Great Bombs 18000 Ball for the Cannon of a Middle bore 20000 red Bullets 160 Pieces of Canon among which were many 48 and 24 Pounders 'T is said that all this was set apart with a design to be put into Vienna after they had taken it The Visier having taken Care to provide it with Ammunition all at once in order to put it in a state of Defence in case the Christian Princes should have a mind to retake it after having not been able to hinder its being taken This Account was wrote in Polish and Latin and translated into French 'T was printed in Holland in French but as 't is much disfigured by the Alterations they have made sometimes by diminishing and other times by adding to it I thought the Publick would be glad to see it in the Original as it came from the Hands of the Polish Author and the French Translator AN HARANGUE Made to the POPE September 27. 1683. By the Abbot d'Henoff Envoy Extraordinary from the King of Poland when he presented the Great Standard of Mahomet which was sent by his Majesty to his Holiness in the Presence of the Sacred College Ambassadors Prelates and Lords of the Court of Rome Most Holy Father IT has been a Custom no less Ancient than the Time of Hero's to lay the Colours of a conquered Enemy under the Feet of the Victors in order to conduct them by so beautiful a Path to the Temple of Glory through the Acclamations and loud Praises which they have merited But John III. King of Poland my Master entertaining no other than elevated Thoughts forgetting himself had no other Object in view by the Victory he has so lately obtained but the advantage of the Church as his Piety towards God and his Respect to your Holiness and the Holy Apostolick See equal his Valour 't is also at your Feet most Holy Father that he would have me lay the great and principal Standard of the Infidel Army which his Royal Hand has snatched from the Turks in the middle of their Camp and in this Standard he by my Ministry abases all the Pride of the Ottoman Power before you This great King came saw and conquered He came I say but how He left his Dominions he quitted and almost abandoned the Queen his Spouse and the Princes his Children and hastened to the succour of Vienna besieged in order to deliver it and to save the Empire but the merit of this extraordinary Action redounds Most Holy Father even to you who incited my King to the Enterprize and 't is the Glory of that Prince to have rendred to your Holiness an unparallel'd Obedience He also saw but without being appal'd the redoubtable Squadrons of the Infidels and the extream Danger wherewith all Europe was threatned but your Holiness had foreseen that this Prince was the Buckler that must oppose the infinite Darts of so terrible an Enemy and by a particular Inspiration of the Holy Ghost knew that he was designed of God to be the Defender of the Christian Religion In fine He conquered and to tell it in a few Word his Arm swift as Thunder but overthrew so prodigious a Number of those Infidels that when they lay upon the Ground the Field of Battle could scarce contain them Et tu vois dans cette Victoire Rome de tes Cesars renaitre lés lauriers Jean Troisiéme te rend laiseul toute la Gloire Des triomphes des tes Guerriers But most Holy Father this great Victory was obtained under Your favourable Auspices You have both of You conquered You with Your Prayers and my King with his Sword You by lavishing your Treasures for this Holy War and my King by exposing his Blood and Life Cast Your Eyes most Holy Father upon this Standard receive it with Pleasure seeing in future Ages it will be the Ornament which will shew forth the Glory of your Pontificate And may you long enjoy this Glory upon Earth as the Fruit of your Vertues and of the invincible Monarch who makes you this Present A LETTER FROM The Elector of Brandenburg TO The King of Poland Written upon the Subject of Raising the Siege of VIENNA Most Serene and most Potent King Lord Kinsman and most Honourable Brother VVHen it was published throughout the World That the most numerous Army of the Turks and Tartars had been happily beaten off by the Christian Forces and chiefly by the Valour of your Royal Majesty from the Siege of Vienna and defeated we thought it no small Argument of your high Esteem and good Will towards us that it should please your Royal Majesty not to let us understand the same meerly by common Fame but also by Your most kind Letters dated the 14th Instant from the Visier's Tents Which as we received with a most grateful Affection as we ought to do so we heartily congratulate Your Majesty on this illustrious Addition to Your Great Merits at the Hands of Christendom and do sincerely rejoyce at this Your Increase of Splendor and Glory praying God always to assist with his Divine Blessing Your Royal Majesty's Generous Design of pursuing the Enemy to render the Course of Your Victories for establishing the Security of the Christian World and augmenting your own Glory both most happy and perpetual and to preserve Your Royal Person long in Health Given at our Castle of Postdam Sept. 24.