consists of twelve hundred Men and was quarter'd about Senlis to St. Quintin and Peronne that by this means you might be able to keep all your Troops together without sending them to those two places as I desir'd you to do yesterday I here once more assure you that the Cardinal Infant has brought but two thousand Horse and four thousand Men with him and you may take my word for it 't is as true as Gospel Provided that one cou'd avoid a disadvantageous Battel between this and six Days hence if Capelle were once taken we ought to contrive some way or other to fight the Enemy and I hope we shou'd come off with no less Success than we have used to do of late The Duke of Savoy has just now gain'd a Battel wherein he has totally defeated seven thousand Foot and five hundred Horse tho' he had not above five thousand Foot and five hundred Horse In this Action the Enemy lost all their Cannon and Equipage I have a very strong opinion that we shall have some good Success but however we must take Capelle with all speed and in the mean time be careful to avoid any ill-favour'd Shock which in my poor Judgment is easily done since this is the third time that I have sent you a true account of the Enemy's Force You may depend upon the truth of it as also that I am and ever shall be My Lord Your c. Paris Sept. 20 1637. Five a-clock in the Afternoon A MEMORIAL To the same IF the advice we just now receiv'd is true viz. that the Cardinal Infant is march'd with the Troops of his own Army and those of Picolomini to Nivelles and has taken the way of Pont-du-Loup upon the Sambre we are of opinion here that they have only one of these two things left to do either to possess themselves of Beaumont as Monsieur de Candalle imagines in which case 't is of the last importance to throw a Body of Horse and Foot into it that shall be capable to stop the march of the Enemy Or else to leave Beaumont and marching more to the Left to go strait for Mariembourg in which case posting themselves at Chimay they may incommode the Siege of Capelle and alarm Rocroy and Charleville on the other side If they take this last way the Communication of Maubeuge Landrechy and la Capelle will not be interrupted as well because Royanmont and Solre will continue in your Hands as because all the other side of the Sambre towards Mons will be free Let them go upon what Design they will if they march on that side it is highly necessary to keep Beaumont If they take this way St. Quintin and Peronne will be cover'd and then the Cardinal de la Valette may draw from thence four Companies of the Guards and the Regiment of Roche-giffard to fortifie it and so order matters that the Succours which he may at present give to Monsieur de Candalle shall not hinder his Siege He may likewise raise all the Militia between Guise and Tirasche which the SIeurs de Longueval and de Quincé may bring to him to assist him to keep the Circumvallation of the Siege of Capelle Since the King's Return his Majesty has been pleas'd to explain himself to this effect that if the Enemy marched towards Rocroy then the Cardinal de la Valette should follow them with all the Army in case Capelle shou'd happen to be taken leaving at Maubeuge all the Men he can conveniently spare for the security of the place and in case it is not taken that Monsieur de Candalle shou'd follow the Enemy with a Body of two thousand Foot and six thousand Horse which shall overtake Monsieur de Vaubecourt towards Aubigny with twelve hundred Horse and all the Militia of Champagne After the aforesaid Debate was over his Majesty being present has commanded me to send word to the Cardinal de la Valette that he shou'd put this present advice in execution and whatever else may be sent to him according as he shall judge it most expedient being upon the place If the Enemy takes the Road of Cambray they will leave you the whole Country between the Meuse and the Sambre open and consequently the Communication between Capelle and Maubeuge free The Cardinal of Richelieu Conflans Sept. 21 1637. LETTER CVII To the Cardinal de la Valette My LORD I Am so much the more pleased at the Surrender of Capelle which News was brought to me by Monsieur de Cinq-Mars because this good Success will in all probability put you in a way to attain greater Advantages over the Enemy now your Forces are more at liberty to act and you are not taken up with any Siege I hope this both from the Prosperity of his Majesty's Arms and from your Prudence affuring you that I no less sincerely pray that the King's Affairs may prosper under your Conduct than for the Preservation of my own Life which I shall most willingly sacrifice at any time for the Advantage of the King's Service and to give your Lordship clearer Convictions that no Man living is with more Sincerity than I am Your most humble c. LETTER CVIII To the Same My LORD I Was overjoy'd to find by Monsieur de Chavigny that you are so heartily affected to me I beseech you to believe that I shall be no less zealous in whatever regards yourself and that nothing shall cause the least Alteration in my Friendship to you I have dispatched this Messenger again to tell you that being of Opinion that you may without laying aside any of the Designs which the aforesaid Sieur de Chavigny has acquainted me with send at least fifteen Hundred Horse to Monsieur de Chatillon instead of the Thousand we have sent you and the Two Thousand Foot In my Judgment 't is wholly necessary that this should be done with all Expedition because as you have very well observed one of the most advantageous Designs we can possibly go upon for the remainder of this Campagne is to possess our selves of Damvillers as likewise because we have received Advice that Duke Charles is marched to join Cantelme with all the Forces he could get together to endeavour the Relief of that Place I am sorry that after this I must send you the News of the Duke of Savoy's Death which afflicts me in an inexpressible manner I am and ever shall be your most c. LETTER CIX To the Cardinal de la Valette My LORD HAving an Opportunity to write to you by the Sieur Fabert who is going towards you I can only tell you That the King gives you full Liberty to Act as you shall judge it most advantageous to his Service The Retreat of Beaumont has somewhat surprized his Majesty but as we are not yet fully acquainted with the Particulars we cannot tell what to say to it I can positively assure you that the Cardinal Infant has sent back part of his
never unprovided of such things which are of necessary use to ' em I desire you to take care to see all this perform'd and be assur'd that I am and ever will be SIR Your most Affectionate Servant RICHELIEU Peronne May 6 1636. LETTER XX. To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord THE Sieur Ferrier being gone to visit the Mareschal de la Force from the King about an Affair which he will communicate to you I thought my self oblig'd to inform you by him what his Majesty's Thoughts are in relation to your self I mean about the commanding of his Troops which he order'd to meet about Langres You must know then he 's so perfectly satisfy'd not only with your Affection to the Prosperity of his Affairs but with your Merit and Experience that of his own proper Motion he form'd this Resolution not judging it fit that a Person of your Condition shou'd remain in his Army without Authority I am so much the more pleas'd at the choice he has made of your self upon this Occasion because it will give you an Opportunity to discover your Worth to the World every Day more and more and I am assured you will fully answer the Opinion and Confidence that has been always repos'd in you In the mean time I desire you to depend upon my Affection as fixt and immoveable to you No Man living more esteems you or wishes your Happiness with greater Zeal than my self who am My Lord Your c RICHELIEU Neufchastel May 15 1635. P. S. You will do well to consider deliberately what to enterprize with the Army that you are to command The Sieur Ferrier will tell you how many different Thoughts we have had of that Matter here If we cou'd but beat Monsieur de Lorrain with the Troops that the Mareschal de la Force commands in those Parts then we ought to employ the above-mention'd Army in the Affair that Colonel Hebron and I talked about at Compeigne We expect the return of the aforesaid Ferrier to know whether we must reinforce Monsieur de la Force only with Horse or Horse and Foot together LETTER XXI To the same My Lord THE Bearer hereof will acquaint you with more than I thought convenient to commit to Writing the Ways being neither free nor safe Only this I will assure you that in whatsoever Place or whatsoever Condition I happen to be I am and ever shall be as much as you can desire me My Lord Your most Affectionate c. RICHELIEU Château-Thierry May 20 1635. LETTER XXII To the Mareschals de Châtillon and de Brezé Gentlemen AS I cannot sufficiently express to you how much the King is satisfy'd with the Service you have lately done him in the management of his Army and in the Battle you have fought with the Enemy so 't is as impossible for me to describe to you my own Joy in particular at the great Advantage we have gain'd and the Glory you have acquir'd by so gallant an Action I can assure you that this happy Success has but answered his Expectation who always promis'd himself a Victory equal to what you have gain'd from the Goodness of God the Justice of his Cause and from your Courage and Prudence He has commanded a publick Thanksgiving to God to whom we must attribute so great and so considerable a Victory The King does not question but that you 'll continue to act for his Service upon all Occasions that shall present themselves for the future as well as you have hitherto done which has given him all the Satisfaction imaginable as you 'll find more particularly by his Dispatches to which referring my self I shall conclude this with assuring you of the Continuance of my Affection and that I am Your c. RICHELIEU Condé May 30 1635. P. S. Since this Dispatch was shut up we have receiv'd Advice that the Mareschal de la Force after he had encamped four Days within Cannon-shot of Duke Charles's Army during which they had perpetual Skirmishes on both sides has at last oblig'd the aforesaid Army to retire with the loss of nine hundred Men upon the Spot four hundred Prisoners and a great deal of Baggage without the loss on our part of above twenty comprehending the slain as well as wounded in the Number LETTER XXIII To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord I Cannot sufficiently either praise or blame you for your manner of managing your self where now you are and exposing your Person to all Hazards as we hear you do The Abbot of Coursan who will part from hence within a Day or two has a great deal more to tell you from me In the Interim rest assured that no Man living is more sincerely than I am My Lord Your most Humble c. RICHELIEU Condé June 1 1635. P. S. I conjure you to have a care of your self and engage Monsieur de la Force as much as you can to make the best Advantage of the Victory which God has given to his Majesty's Arms by driving if possible Duke Charles on t'other side the Rhine now Feuquieres and Bellefonds have joyned him Commissary Rose is gone to conferr with Monsieur de la Force LETTER XXIV To the same My Lord I Have order'd the Abbot of Coursan whom the King has sent to the place where now you are to communicate his Instructions intirely to you Continue I beseech you to manage Affairs so as may be most advantageous to his Majesty's Service If we cou'd beat Duke Charles beyond the Rhine or lock him up in some commodious Place so that he cou'd not come back to the Franche-Comté we might soon expect to see the happy effects of it nor shou'd you be without a considerable share in them Let me prevail with you to continue in the Army where you are till such time as you see what can be done against the aforesaid Duke with the Re-inforcement of the Sieur de Feuquieres and that of Bellefonds 'T is of no small importance to beat the Iron while 't is hot upon this Occasion not only for the great Consternation the Enemy is in but because 't is to be feared that Duke Bernard wont let you have the Germans long but will call them home If once Duke Charles were beaten or retir'd beyond the Rhine I wou'd desire you to come hither with all speed that you might receive a more honourable Post in the Army whither I find your Inclination carries you While you tarry where you are I conjure you not to expose your Person as you have too often done Excuse me if I tell you your Honour does not require and the King's Service cannot suffer it Besides these Considerations the Passion I have for you as well as my own Interest constrains me to tell you that you cannot more sensibly oblige me than by altering this Method Tho' the Victory which it pleased God to give the King in Flanders may possibly have arriv'd to you already by common Report
the Messenger that was gone to arrest him arriv'd at Ham. This Article being confirm'd by the information of the Post-Masters and Postilions that directed the aforesaid Courrier of Monsieur de Saint-Simon and of the Innkeepers where he lodg'd his Majesty resolv'd to judge this Matter at the Tryal of the Sieur de Saint-Leger who was condemn'd to be drawn in Pieces by four Horses the Cardinal de Richelieu represented to his Majesty that it wou'd be much better to let it alone because it wou'd be too great an Affliction to Monsieur le Premier After which the aforesaid Sieur le Premier testifying a great Sorrow and Repentance for this Action the King out of his own Goodness advis'd him to go into the Army After he had been there fifteen Days he waited on his Majesty at Roye and upon some Reports running abroad that the Spaniards design'd to make a Descent upon Guienne begg'd leave of him to go to Blaye When he was gone thither his Majesty considering his disaffection to his Affairs to which he had preferr'd the Interest of a Man who had committed an inexcusable Action sent him Word to continue there and gave his Relations to understand that it was his pleasure they shou'd tarry at their respective Houses and not come to Court LETTER LXIII To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord IF the News you sent me of the Retreat of Galasse and the Victory which the King's Arms have obtain'd over him gave me so great a Satisfaction I am apt to flatter my self that the surrendry of Corbie which this Gentleman brings with him will prove no less agreeable to you since I know how overjoy'd you are at every advantage which God is pleas'd to bestow upon his Majesty's Affairs The Enemy is to march out of the Place to Morrow according to the Capitulation agreed upon for the performance of which they have given us by way of Hostages three of the principal Officers of the Garrison without demanding any from us The extraordinary incommodities they suffer'd by the Plague and other Distempers and by the want of all sorts of Victuals besides Corn joyn'd to the great Fatigues they were constrain'd to undergo to resist four vigorous Attacks oblig'd them to surrender before they were brought to the last Extremities This happy Action and the retreat of Galasse will I suppose hinder the Enemies of France from boasting they have done us any great Mischief since they have suffer'd twice as much themselves their Country being without comparison more ruin'd than ours along of the Germans who committed all imaginable Cruelties there I cannot sufficiently wonder what makes Monsieur de Longueville him behind still several Courriers have been dispatch'd to keep to press him to joyn you nay I sent one of my own Gentlemen to represent to him how necessary it was to do it for the wellfare of his Majesty's Affairs who is not yet return'd If Galasse in his Retreat shou'd receive an Overthrow from us we might say truly enough that his Majesty's Affairs were never better than they wou'd then be And I hope it will so fall out I cannot express to you how well pleas'd the King is with your Conduct and Services nor how joyful I am in my own particular that his Majesty sets so great an esteem upon your Person Monsieur de Rantzau cannot be sufficiently commended The Action at Saint-Jean de Laune was so gallant that he deserves to have a particular Notice taken of him to which I shall willingly contribute all that lies in my own Power and pray let me desire you to signifie as much to him If you are so happy as to beat Galasse back into Germany with some remarkable Advantage besides what you have already obtain'd over him it wou'd be highly necessary for you if it is practicable to take your Winter-Quarters in the Franche-Comté and at Miremont Espinol Rambervilliers and Mirecourt At least 't is absolutely necessary to leave them to the Duke of Weymar in case you cannot enjoy them both together for it will be an Advantage to him and to say the truth our Frontier wou'd soon be ruin'd by the extraordinary Disorders that Strangers use to commit Rest assur'd that as long as I live I shall be My Lord Your c. Amiens Nov. 13 1636. LETTER LXIV To the same My Lord THE reason of my writing to you now is not to tell you how overjoy'd I am at the late Victory which your Army has got over that of Galasse in the Franche-Comté for you may easily imagine how great my Satisfaction is as well for the Advantage the King's Affairs receive by it as for the Honour you have acquir'd upon this occasion the increase whereof I no less passionately desire than your self can do there being no Man living that honours and loves you better than my self I shall content my self with telling you that this happy Event joyn'd with the good Success that has happen'd on this side a full account of which I have sent you by a Gentleman belonging to the Prince has re-establish'd his Majesty's Affairs in so great Reputation that our very Enemies are forc'd to own that they were never in a better Condition than they are at present By the Dispatch that the Prince's Gentleman brings you I have sent you my Opinion about the Winter-Quarters for the Duke of Weymar's Troops and your own I long to hear what your Sentiments are upon that Subject I will speak to the King about the two Commissions of Ayde de Camp that you writ to me about as soon as I see his Majesty In the mean time you may look upon it as actually done for I don't expect to meet the least difficulty in it Monsieur de Noyers is the Man that returns a particular Answer to all your Dispatches which is the reason why I forbear to add any thing concerning them here I writ to the Count de Guiche to come to me here in order to send him afterwards to Bayonne to meet his Father and in truth 't is absolutely necessary that he shou'd undertake this Journey Pray make no difficulty to let him go I am upon the Road now going towards his Majesty and have given Orders about every thing that I judg'd useful or necessary for the security of Picardy where we have made some change in the Governour which I believe you 'll approve of Where-ever I am you may assure your self that I shall always be and that with the utmost sincerity My Lord Your c. Bouillan-Court Nov. 20 1636. LETTER LXV To the same My Lord YOu 'll be astonish'd I know when you hear that so soon as Corbie was surrender'd the Count carry'd Monsieur along with him from Court and you 'll be more astonish'd when you are told that according to the common Report they have taken their Course directly towards Guienne I don't question but that Monsieur d' Espernon and Monsieur de la Valette will discharge their Duty but
them an effectual Blow will be to surprize them and not give them time to put themselves into a posture to oppose you The Sieur de Aigueberre is come back and returned The Prince of Orange persists in his first Resolutions to make one of the three Attacks you know of provided that we begin first The aforesaid Sieur d' Aigueberre has been with him to assure him that by the fourth of this Month you 'll be in the Enemy's Country I hope you will do it with good success which I the rather believe because I am no Stranger to your good Fortune and Industry Let me conjure you therefore My Lord to make all the haste you can that the Prince of Orange may have no excuse for staying behind I know well enough that a Day or two whether more or less will break no squares between you so the intention of this Letter is not to make you take the Field in a hurry but only to remind you to lose no time Monsieur de la Meilleraye goes next Wednesday to review the Troops he is to command and will so post himself as to be able to assist you upon any occasion I passionately wish that you may perform some glorious Exploit not only for the Advantage of the King's Service but also for your own particular Satisfaction which I desire as much as your self being with all sincerity My Lord Your c. Ruel June 1 1637. LETTER LXXIV To the same My Lord I Am extremely concern'd that you did not find every thing in readiness as you might well expect but 't is the nature of great Affairs to carry many Difficulties with them and it often happens that the Sun shines brighter after the Storm is over I suppose that by this time the Horses you wanted to draw the Cannon are arriv'd safe and that Crié has given orders for subsisting your four hundred Horses that are to carry your Victuals Monsieur de Bullion having made Provision for them above ten Days ago As for the other two hundred Horses that you want to make them up in all a hundred and fifty the Sieur de Septoutre who was employ'd to raise them has given the Sieur Gargan a List of the several places where they are kept for 't is ten Days ago since he signified as much in a Letter to Monsieur de Noyers who has sent you an account of that whole matter Vercourt parted from hence on Saturday to wait upon you but I suppose he will first call upon Monsieur de Rambure at Guise Monsieur de la Barre went yesterday to meet you and carries with him Money to pay off the Artillery We are assur'd here that his absence will do no hurt because the Officers that are upon the Spot have orders to act in his absence as far as he himself cou'd do if he was there The Boats went from Paris about five Days ago I am sorry you had them not all at once that you might have begun with the better show But you may want several things that are absolutely necessary to you which the Enemy however cannot hinder from coming up to you your Designs not carrying you to leave any place that belongs to them behind you If your Infantry is not so good as you cou'd desire we design you from this very Moment two Regiments of twenty Companies each to recruit you by the beginning of July and two more by the first of August To convince you that I will omit nothing that lies within the Sphere of my poor capacity to second the good Designs which you have form'd for his Majesty's Service I have sent you by one of Monsieur de Noyers's Gentlemen ten thousand Crowns that in case any thing be wanting to the Horses that carry your Provisions or in short any other unforeseen Accident shou'd happen you may be able to remedy it immediately and not see your Designs miscarry for want of Money The Sieur d' Estrade has communicated to us your two different Projects Your first is to take Auchy in twenty four Hours which may easily be done and to invest Hesdin at the same time in order to besiege it afterwards The second is to take Chasteau Cambresis which may be done in three or four Days time and so soon as you have taken that place to invest Landrecy in order to besiege it afterwards As for the first you must let it alone because of our Engagement with the Prince of Orange Aigueberre is come back who went on purpose to assure him that we wou'd attack the Enemy on this side without naming the place So you must consider with all speed what is to be done with the second Design or any other that you shall judge more advantageous But as for Hesdin you must not think of it at present for the Reasons mention'd above There will be no occasion to send for the Count de Guiche hither because that wou'd make People suspect that we were irresolv'd â—n our Designs and this Answer gives you light enough to see what measures you must take Le Rosle is gone from hence with the Sieur d' Estrade to serve this Campagne Rest assur'd that I am and always will be My Lord Your c. Ruel June 3 1637. LETTER LXXV To the same My Lord THat which afflicts Monsieur de Bullion rejoyces me that is to say the Supplies of Money which you demand for the Month's Pay of your Troops 'T is true the Advice I lately receiv'd that you had not above ten thousand Men does sensibly grieve me but since the Funds that were erected to discharge the aforesaid Month's Pay for fifteen thousand Foot and seven thousand Horse does not suffice we shall have more Men by a great deal than we expected Monsieur de la Meilleraye has faithfully promis'd me that you shall want no Military Provisions that he spoke to you about I am going this very Moment to give Orders concerning them At this present Hour besides the Ammunitions which you have in your Equipage there are thirty thousand Pound weight of Powder in St. Quintin which you may send for whenever you please because it is design'd for your Army I am sorry for the discovery of the King's Musqueteer but in matters of War a Man had much better depend upon meer Force than upon Enterprizes the Success whereof is uncertain I hope that by carrying on your Affairs with your usual Vigour all things will succeed well enough This I desire from the bottom of my Heart as also that you 'll believe me to be My Lord Your c Chilly June 9 1637. LETTER LXXVI To the same My Lord I Have left it to Monsieur de Noyers to return a particular Answer to the Dispatch which you sent to me by Monsieur d' Estrade and to let you know how well pleas'd I am at the account he gave me of the good condition of your Troops I am no less satisfy'd to find that the Enterprize you
send you his Regiment You may command both of them to joyn you whenever you judge it expedient In the mean time be assur'd of the continuance of my Affection and that I am and ever will be Sir Your c. Ruel June 28 1637. LETTER LXXX To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord J Was extremely pleas'd to learn by the Sieur Arnauld the good condition of your Army and the forwardness of the Siege you are now engag'd in where I hope as heartily as your self can do that you 'll find a speedy and fortunate Success You have been already inform'd that Orders were sent to Monsieur de la Meilleraye to post himself near you and joyn you with his Troops if you shou'd have any occasion for them having sent you this advice by the same Courrier that brought him the King 's Dispatch upon this Subject The taking of Garde by the Count about which you writ to me fell out very luckily As soon as ever we knew of it here a Warrant was immediately dispatch'd to Monsieur de Belle-Jambe who is at St. Quintin to examine him and afterwards to do with him as he saw convenient If you have not as yet sent the above-mention'd Garde to St. Quintin aforesaid pray take care to get him conducted thither in safety it being of great importance to make an Example of him The Advantage which the Sieur Gassion has obtain'd over the Enemy has without doubt put them in some Consternation I am exceeding glad that he has begun so fortunately and doubt not but he will continue to do the same upon all occasions that shall present themselves to the Advantage of the King's Service being so well acquainted as I am with his Courage Fidelity and Affection Be assur'd that I shall always be My Lord Your c. Ruel towards Evening July 1. I have hitherto delay'd to dispatch this Courrier again to you because we have no News here to send you and I had kept him here still but that I was afraid you wou'd be in some pain about us Monsiuer de Noyers has sent you an account of all that has happen'd in this part of the World to which I have nothing to add but to conjure you my Lord to take particular care of your Person for I desire your preservation as heartily as I do my own I am overjoy'd to learn by Monsieur Arnauld the state of your Circumvallation I earnestly request you to make the Trenches of your Attacks so good that Soldiers and Gentlemen of Quality may be preserv'd safe in them because your Military Men are such Enemies to all Sieges that if they see they cannot be tolerably secur'd they grow sick of them immediately But when they once see that due care is taken of them I hope they 'll relish the Employment so well that after Landrechy is reduc'd we may pretend to go upon some greater Exploit In God's Name have a care of your Person and do not expose your self to no purpose Those that come from your Army give me such good assurances of the great Care and Diligence and Affection which the Sieur N. has express'd for his Majesty's Service there that I find my self obliged to tell you that if 't is really so and you have not any reason to question his Fidelity I am of opinion that he ought not to be removed till such time as we have farther Light into the matter notwithstanding what I writ to you in my former Letter However I leave all to your discretion LETTER LXXXI To the same My Lord ALtho' I have already return'd an Answer to the Letter you sent me by Monsieur Arnauld yet I cannot let him depart towards you without giving him this the chief business of which is to assure you always of my Affection and Service and that I will lose no opportunity to give you all the convictions of it I can Just now I have receiv'd a Letter from the Messenger whom I sent to Compeigne and Chauny to see the Ammunition which is in both those places carry'd to Guise wherein he sends me word that within three Days there will be at the place above-mention'd above an hundred thousand weight of Powder and Bullets and Match and Lead in proportion Thus my Lord I hope you 'll want nothing to carry on your Siege or any other Enterprize you shall take in hand afterwards I am My Lord Your c. Ruel July 3 1637. We have just now receiv'd News from Germany which is to this effect That Picolomini has been these six Days at Worms that he stays there for the Supplies which Galasse is to send him with which he is afterwards to re-inforce the Cardinal Infant You have heard to be sure of the Defeat of part of Duke Charles's Troops by the Duke of Weymar LETTER LXXXII To the same My Lord Monsieur de Coüeslin being desirous to see the Siege of Landrechy I wou'd not suffer him to depart before I had given you by him fresh assurances of my Affection towards you which is as great as you can desire He will acquaint you with all the News of the Court as also how impatient we are to know from you all remarkable Passages that happen in your Quarters Leaving him to discourse this matter with you more at large I conclude this Letter with assuring you that I am My Lord Your c. Ruel July 9 1637. LETTER LXXXIII To the same My Lord THE King is so impatient to hear how the Siege of Landrechy goes forward and how Affairs stand in your part of the World that finding Monsieur de Pulluau is not come back as I expected I resolved to send the Sieur Saladin immediately to you to know how the Siege is advanced and what the Enemy is doing that I might give his Majesty an account of all I repose so great a confidence in the success of his Arms in your Prudence and in your Care that I doubt not in a short time to receive that satisfaction which I proposed to my self at first from your Enterprize For my own particular I desire it so much the more because besides the Reputation which this Action will give the King's Affairs you will acquire no little Glory by it towards which I shall freely contribute all that lies in my power as being with all sincerity My Lord Your c. Ruel July 9. 1637. LETTER LXXXIV To the Cardinal de la Vallette My Lord NOT being able to stay till your Courrier had refresh'd himself I send you now another with thirty thousand Franks that you might not want Money so much as in your Imagination Besides this you may take up thirty thousand Livres that are in the hands of the Sieur Cohon to whom Monsieur de Noyers order'd the Messenger that brings you the thirty thousand Livres to deliver them and 't is left wholly to you to lay out this Money as you shall see occasion Every one here knows well enough what a Train of
them that his Majesty's Forces at Landrechy make up in all eighteen thousand Foot and eight thousand Horse And I believe we don 't over-reckon our selves since we paid for almost thirteen thousand Foot and seven thousand Horse when you had no more than the Forces that you carried with you at first and Monsieur de la Meilleraye afterwards joyned you as I compute with five thousand Men and fifteen hundred Horse We have sent to Monsieur de Chastillon to remedy the same ill way of reckoning which might happen in his Army if we did not take care to prevent it that by this means we may hinder all manner of Spies from representing us to be weaker than we are which is one of those things that did us the most mischief last Year and served to make our Enemies pass for much stronger than they really were to their great advantage At last the Count has made his Peace with the King but he is to reside at Sedan for some Years He signed the Oath of Fidelity at the same time that Picolomini had sent Orders to him and after the Queen-Mother had signed a Treaty at Brussels with the Cardinal Infant to engage him beforehand Bautru parts to morrow with the King's Almoner to receive his Oath upon the Holy Evangelists This is all I can tell you about this Affair which I hope will have a happy Conclusion In the mean time I conjure you to believe that I am My Lord Your c. Challiot July 22 1637. LETTER LXXXVIII To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord 'T IS impossible for me to represent to you his Majesty's Joy for the taking of Landrechy which is so great that it can receive no addition As for my self besides the Joy I receive for the prosperity of France I have a particular one for the Glory you have acquir'd by this great Action No Man could have carried on the Siege of that place with more Prudence than you have done I am ravish'd that you have escaped wounding all this while fince I am inform'd by all those Gentlemen that are come from thence that as you very worthily discharg'd your Employment so you did amiss in one point which obliges you to take as great care of your Person as I find you neglected it I conjure you to change this way of procedure for the future as also to remember that if the King should lose a Person of your consequence all the Advantages we might otherwise obtain over the Enemy would be inconsiderable and your Friends incapable of receiving Consolation Monsieur Arnauld has acquainted us with what you think your self able to do at present which really in my opinion is the best Design that can be taken in hand By this means you will not ruine your Army you will secure your Winter-Quarters and the Hollanders who continually ask us to enter into the Heart of the Country will be satisfy'd if you can but be able to fortifie the Post there which is proposed to you His Majesty gives you full power to act as you shall see convenient and thinks fit as you will find by the Dispatch of Monsieur de Noyers that you pursue those Designs which were communicated to us by the above-mention'd Sieur Arnauld I hope you will prove as successful in them as you were in the beginning of this Campagne The Troops of Picolomini are not as yet come up and the Prince of Orange who has waited twenty days at Ramekins for fair Weather has been constrain'd by the badness of the Season to disembark his Army and go upon another Design He resolved last Thursday as Saladin whom I sent away to Monsieur de Charnacé brings me word upon the Siege of Breda We have sent Vercourt back again to you who talks nothing but Miracles of his Design If the place is such as he represents it capable of being fortified and supported by other Posts which you may take upon the Sambre it will be very advantageous for us and serve to incommode the Enemy I return you no Answer to the Compliments you were pleased to send me about Monsieur de la Meilleraye whom I esteem sufficiently happy if he has been able to please you The first Design of the Prince of Orange wou'd have obliged us to put our selves in a readiness to march another way according as he should have had occasion for us But now since we are more at liberty you may act as you please He is exceedingly well pleased with your Civilities and I am assur'd that he will always render to you that which is your due I hope that before Breda is taken we shall do something worth the while and perhaps some Opportunity may present it self to you which neither you nor I think of at present I heartily wish for one that may put it into my power to convince you by my Actions how affectionately I am and ever shall be My Lord Your c. Challiot July 26 1637. We have receiv'd several Advices from Brussels giving us to understand that the Spaniards despise us in such a manner that besides the advantage which the taking of Landrechy has given us I have a particular Joy upon that Account because it will make them see that we are more capable of doing them a Mischief than they believe and insosently give out LETTER LXXXIX To the same My Lord THE King advancing now towards Soissons and Laon as I have already sent you word I take Pen in hand to acquaint you that his Majesty wou'd be very glad to take such measures that if it were possible his Journey might not be wholly fruitless For this reason he has had some Thoughts that while you advance into the Enemy's Country pursuant to your Designs he might under the covert of your Army make a sort of a Blockade about Capelle by which means that place in all probability wou'd in a short time fall into his Hands Before he embarks in this Design his Majesty desires that you wou'd send a Party of Horse to view the Country round about the place commanded by some understanding Person who might observe what may be done to incommode it Bezancon who has been there tells us that to hinder any Provisions from coming into the Town there needs no more but to place a good Garrison at a Village which lies between Avenes and Capelle call'd Estren where some Forces might conveniently intrench themselves I am apt to believe that this alone will not be sufficient Now if it were possible without taking off any of your Troops from what you have design'd to get three thousand Foot and a thousand Horse to be employ'd in the reducing of the above-mention'd place this small Progress joyn'd to those you will make would put a happy End enough to this Campagne I conclude this Letter with assuring you that I am and ever will be My Lord Your c. Ruel July 31 1637. LETTER XC To the same My Lord I Send
you this Letter to acquaint you that we have sent you fifty thousand Franks to pay for the Fortifications of Landrechy and those new Works you intend to make and twenty eight thousand Franks for two Months Pay due to the Garrisons of Landrechy and Chasteau en Cambresis In a word you shall never want Money for the future to carry on any of your Designs however you may have been disappointed hitherto The main point of the Business is to lose no time for we are assur'd on all hands that the Consternation in Flanders is so great that we never had a fairer opportunity to undertake some noble Enterprize than now All our Advices bring us word that Picolomini has in effect but fifteen hundred Horse fit for Battel and from five to six thousand Foot with five or six thousand Women If you have found out any convenient Post that you know is proper to be fortify'd I am confident you will lose no time till you have made your self Master of it this being a Matter of great importance We have sent Vercourt forward on his Journey who made the Proposal you know of and must by this time be within a few Miles of you He has all along proposed to surprize the place he nam'd to you which cou'd it be effected it wou'd in my opinion be of mighty advantage to us because we have reason to fear that if we lay Siege to Maubeuge before we have possessed our selves of this place the Enemy will pour some of their Troops into it which will render the Affair more difficult afterwards But my Lord you must take every thing I make bold to propose to you whether in this or any other matter as my bare Thoughts of which you are to take no notice any farther than you find them reasonable it being impossible to give good Advice at so great a distance What I desire most passionately of all is that we may employ the remainder of the Campagne to good purpose as well on our side as all the rest where we have begun it so happily You must remember to keep your Soldiers in that strict Discipline that the People of Landrechy may find no ill treatment at their Hands endeavouring to avoid all Disorders as much as possible in that place and every where else In the mean time rest assured that I am and ever shall be with all sincerity My Lord Your c. Challiot Aug. 4 1637. You shall most certainly receive a Month's Pay for your whole Army this Month it shall be sent towards the 20th at farthest LETTER XCI To the same My Lord AFter the King had heard the Relation of the Sieur du Plessis Bezancon his Majesty came to be of the same Opinion with your self viz. that it wou'd be much better to make Head against the Enemy upon the Sambre with a powerful Body and to attack Avenes forcibly with another than to block up Capelle We have again dispatch'd the aforesaid Sieur du Plessis to you to let you know what Troops we can spare to joyn yours that so you may consider how you wou'd distribute them to put these two Designs in execution in case you judge it worth the while and that an occasion does not present it self to you to undertake some greater Exploit which oftentimes happens when a Man thinks the least of it We take it for granted that the first thing we ought to go upon and which you have already taken care for is to see whether the Design of N proposed by several Persons be really advantageous and probable to succeed If the success of it is feasible as Vercourt proposes it 't is highly probable that being in the heart of the Enemy's Country we shall most effectually incommode him The Prince of Orange has sent to inform us what a forwardness the Siege of Breda was in on the 28th of July His Lines of Circumvallation were finish'd so that he lay under no apprehensions of being dislodg'd He promises himself to be Master of the place by the 20th of September and makes no great account of the Garrison as knowing it consists of no more than two thousand five hundred Men. He informs us that the greatest part of the Towns in Flanders and Breda among the rest are but slenderly provided with Ammunition and encourages us to undertake some Siege in the heart of the Country meaning Mons or Valenciennes I don't send you this account as you perhaps may imagine to consider whether these things are practicable but only to acquaint you with what has been communicated to us On the other hand we have surprized a Letter at Sea written by the Cardinal Infant to the Emperour after the taking of Landrechy wherein he complains of Picolomini and tells him their Affairs are in a deplorable condition if the French making a right use of their Victory advance into the heart of the Country He positively afsures him that he cannot take the Field against the Hollanders with less than thirteen thousand Foot and five thousand Horse and that he has none but Balancon to oppose to the French who has no more than five thousand Foot and thirty Troops of Horse reckoning Picolomini's Forces which he says don't amount to eighteen hundred Horse and five thousand Foot altho' the other wou'd have them pass for more He concludes that none but God can remedy their Affairs Now considering all this which is most certainly true I leave it to your Prudence to see what may be done with the Re-inforcement that is marching up to you We can strengthen you with fifteen hundred Horse composed of a thousand commanded by the Sieur de Bussy and five hundred more that are at Doulans We can likewise give you the Regiments of Picardy Navarre and the two Brezez that are quartered near Doulans which reckoning the Officers make up four thousand effective Men in all More than this we can give you the Regiments of Belnave Xaintonge Bachevilliers Castlenau and Montmeze that will make up four thousand Men more Now I leave it to your consideration whether when you have receiv'd this Re-inforcement wâ—…h you may expect by the fifteenth of this Month you may not be able to form two seperate Bodies one consisting of seven thousand Horse and eight or ten thousand Foot to march against the Enemy and the other of two thousand Horse and the rest of your Infantry to attack any such place as you shall judge convenient Besides the above-mention'd Forces I am of opinion we shall be able next September to give you six Regiments more viz. Sauvebeuf Rochegiffard Nissay Saint-Aubin Aubeterre Langeron which within these two Months have been set on foot anew with their old Officers You shall assuredly receive a Month's Pay before the Month is out As for Money which will be necessary for the support of your Troops I promise it shall never be wanting At this very Moment besides the fifty thousand Livres that were remitted to you a few
Boussiers and the Baulines which were look'd upon to be the strongest of the said Places On the Tenth Day after the Trenches were open Privas was taken altho' the Fortifications of that Town were exceeding strong 'T is impossible to relate the several Cruelties which these Rebels have us'd towards the Catholicks Among others after the Siege was begun they took the Guardian of the Capuchins of Valence a Man of an excellent Life and singular Learning and they treated him in so barbarous a manner that they wou'd not kill him outright till they had first cut off his Nose and pluck'd out his Eyes St. André and Ten or Twelve of the principal Leaders are taken Prisoners Several are in the Hands of some Gentlemen of the Army who will endeavour to save them for the great Summs of Money they offer for their Lives Others have made their Escapes And this Madam is an account of what has happen'd to Privas The King will not part these two or three Days from hence because he is oblig'd to stay till the Artilery comes up which cannot be done so speedily in such an unpassable Country as this is So soon as he has resolv'd upon the Place where he is to go next your Majesty shall with all Expedition be inform'd of it In the mean time I beg you 'll do me the Honour to believe that no Man in the World is or can be with more Sincerity than I am MADAM Your most humble most obedient most faithful and most obliged Servant RICHELIEU Privas May 13 1629. LETTER XIV To Monsieur Ville aux-Clers SIR I Send you these few Lines to tell you 't is the King's pleasure that you shou'd dispatch a Courier to the Mareschal d' Estreé with a Letter from his Majesty bearing Order for him to make no difficulty to march the Troops that are in Compeigne pursuant to what Instructions he will receive from Monsieur de Saint-Chaumont to whom the King has communicated his Intentions upon this Subject In the mean time I remain SIR Your most Affectionate c. RICHELIEU Leuville June 2 1631. LETTER XV. To the Duke of Hallwin SIR ALtho' I writ to you two or three Days ago yet I take occasion to send you these few Lines to inform you that Orders are dispatch'd to Monsieur le Camus to cause such Fortifications to be made at Narbonne and Leucate as you and he shall judge necessary to put both those places in a good Posture of Defence There are likewise Commissions sent down to you to raise four Regiments and three Troops of Light-Horse in case you think there will be occasion for so many The manner of doing it is wholly left to your own Discretion being impower'd to act according as you see the Necessity and Service of the King shall require it Besides that his Majesty's Interest demands it of me be assur'd that I shall take as much care of your Concerns as you your-self can desire from any one who is truly as I am SIR Your most Affectionate Servant RICHELIEU Royaumont March 16 1635. LETTER XVI To the Mareschal de Chastillon SIR I Cannot sufficiently express to you how entirely his Majesty is satisfy'd with your manner of Commanding his Army The greatest Pleasure you can do him is to keep it as compleat and in as good Order as possibly you can I am extremely well pleas'd that Monsieur de Brezê is pitch'd upon to serve the King in conjunction with you knowing that he will honour you and live after such a manner with you that it will be to your mutual Satisfaction As for my self I shall be very proud to have an opportunity to convince you that I am SIR Your most Affectionate Servant RICHELIEU Ruel April 11 1635. LETTER XVII To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord ALtho' 't is a needless Precaution to put you in Mind of being upon your Guard at Metz knowing you will take all the care that can be desired yet I thought my self obliged to inform you that we have received Advice that the King's Enemies have a Design upon that place I 'm persuaded you 'll give such effectual Orders where you are that you 'll let them find no opportunity to put what they threaten in execution His Majesty is very well God be praised and Monsieur came this Day to see him We have no News here that is worth the while to send to you So that nothing remains for me but to assure you of the Continuance of my Affection and Love to you and that I am My Lord Your most Humble and most Affectionate Servant RICHELIEU Ruel April 12 1635. LETTER XVIII To the same My Lord COlonel Hebron will particularly inform you of the Affection I have now and will still preserve for your Lordship which is so great that neither Absence nor Time shall ever cause the least Alteration in it At present I shall only conjure you to repair your Fortifications with all possible Expedition and so soon as they are in such a Condition that your Presence will be less necessary where you are than it is at present I am of opinion it will be highly expedient for you to visit the Mareschal de la Force's Army where without question it will be very advantageous After which I hope we shall be so happy as to see you shortly in your Frontier In the mean time assure your self I beseech you that no Man can be more than I am My Lord Your c. RICHELIEU Compeigne April 29 1635. I earnestly beg of you before your Departure to the Army to leave such good Orders behind you that there may be no danger of a Surprize LETTER XIX To the Duke of Hallwin SIR I Have receiv'd your Letter together with a Memorial of what things you judge to be necessary at Narbonne In answer to which finding by your Account that there are no more than fourscore thousand weight of Powder in that Place of which there are eight thousand weight spoil'd and that there are sixty thousand in Tolouse fit for use I judge it expedient for you to take one half of that and get it carried thither as soon as possible Monsieur d' Arpajon has likewise sent me Word that there are not above six or seven hundred Bullets so you 'll find it expedient to cause to be cast in the neighbouring Places so many as may make 'em up six thousand of all the Sizes of the Pieces there As for your Provisions if there is the least Appearance that the City will be besieg'd in such a case you must seize all the Cattle that are in the Country that you may have Victuals sufficient Above all 't is necessary that you shou'd have fifty thousand weight of Powder thirty or forty thousand weight of Lead fifty thousand of Match six thousand Bullets Corn sufficient for a Year and if besides all this any thing more be wanting 't is generally to be found in such Cities as that which are
assur'd that I am as much as it is possible for any one to be SIR Your c. RICHELIEU Bois-le-Vicomte June 8 1635. LETTER XXVII To the Cardinal de la Vallette My Lord SEnding the Bearer hereof to the Messieurs de la Force to condole with them for the Loss of Madam the Mareschal's Lady I was willing to acquaint you by the same Opportunity in what Condition I am at present least the News of my illness shou'd give you any inquietude The Distemper I had at Bourdeaux is now come to visit me the third time and in the same place but with this difference that it is not accompany'd with the same Accidents that attended the two first I was lanced yesterday about five a Clock in the Afternoon which was very painful to endure but with this good Success that within a Moment after the Operation was over I found extraordinary Ease So that at present I am free of my great Pains and hope in a little time to be perfectly cur'd Let this set you fully at ease for God be prais'd the danger is over I have writ so particularly to you by the Abbot of Coursan that I have no more to send you but the Continuance of my Affection and Service and that I am with all sincerity My Lord Your c. RICHELIEU Ruel June 5 1635. LETTER XXVIII To the Mareschal de Chastillon SIR THE Messieurs de Charnacé and d'Espenan will give you so particular an Account of what Resolutions the King has taken upon the Account of their Journey and the Condition in which they found Affairs in these Quarters that I need not give my self the trouble to say any thing concerning them For which reason I shall content my self with telling you that his Majesty having occasion for Persons of your Merit and Consideration to act in several places desires you will immediately repair to him upon the receipt of his Orders I have no more at present but to assure you that I am with all sincerity SIR Your c. RICHELIEU Ruel July 31 1635. LETTER XXIX To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord J Am extremely pleas'd with your giving Galasse the slip as well because 't is for the King's Service as for your own Glory in particular I hope from your Conduct all that may be expected from a Person who has Zeal and Application joyn'd to his great Abilities and I promise you that nothing in my power shall be wanting to make the King's Armies under your Administration leave off their old Licentious Habitudes and be brought under good Discipline as they ought to be To effect this great Vigour must be shewn on your part it being utterly impossible without that to bring Matters to such a pass as you and I desire they shou'd be for our Prince's Service You will find by the exemplary Punishment which his Majesty inflicted on a hundred and fifty Officers that absented themselves from the Army in Lorrain that there is no other way to remedy Disorders but this This Severity will most assuredly be continu'd and indeed without it all will be lost In the Name of God never pardon any of your Deserters but make remarkable Examples of them One single Instance will make you dreaded as long as you live and put you in a way to be thought Merciful ever after I have already sent you Word that for the future you shall be abundantly supply'd with Bread To convince you of that I promise you that Nancy and Metz shall never be without sufficient Magazines As our Forces encrease every day it will be much easier to make such good provision for our Convoys of Corn and other Necessaries that our Carriages may be no longer incommoded Our four thousand Dragoons are arrived besides 1700 more that are to be sent to you and a thousand to Monsieur de la Force Five hundred of them are quarter'd at Toul to secure the above-mention'd Carriages and another five hundred in other places that were judg'd the most important If you have occasion for no more Troops than what you have already with you which I cannot believe considering what a necessity you have for Provisions we are of opinion that out of the remainder of those that are design'd for you a small Body shou'd be form'd at Metz to clear all those places that annoy your Carriages and particularly Cirk For this end Bellefonds is sent to Metz to receive two or three Regiments that you want and all the Dragoons that are design'd for you as also Canillas who is in Burgundy and the remainder of the Horse which you are to have that with these Forces he may possess himself of that troublesome place that has so long incommoded you If you believe that some other Design may turn to better Account 't is but sending word to the above-mention'd Sieur de Bellefonds and he will follow your Orders On the Twentieth of this Month the Messieurs de Angoulesme and de la Force will be reinforc'd with Matignon's Regiment of Horse and above 2500 Gentlemen Besides this we shall have at Langres a Body of eight hundred Horse and a thousand Dragoons to hinder the Enemy's Insults on that side The Levies of the Switzers are compleated We are raising twenty Regiments and four thousand Horse as I have sent you Word already and besides this we are going to raise two thousand Horse of new Cavalry which you writ to me about that will only carry a Cuirass a Helmet to cover the Cheeks and Nose a Carabine and a Pistol and I believe we shall call them the Hungarian Cavalry unless Monsieur Hebron gives us a better Name There is no question but we shall have Forces enough all the difficulty will be to employ them well Endeavours will be us'd on one side to beat back the Duke of Lorrain As for you My Lord I don't doubt but you will do what impossible The King has not order'd what you are to do but has that good Opinion of your Prudence and Conduct that he leaves you to act at your own Discretion for he knows you will weigh every thing deliberately before you take the last Resolutions Monsieur Servien has sent you a very large Letter which will excuse me from running into farther Particulars I can only assure you of the continuance of my Service and Affection to you who am and ever will be without the least Alteration My Lord Your most humble c. RICHELIEU Ruel Aug. 11 1635. LETTER XXX To the same My Lord SInce I writ you a Letter some five or six Days ago which you will receive by this Packet I have receiv'd yours by Monsieur de Cressia I cannot express to you how overjoy'd I am at the Success of your Journey I only hope the End will prove as lucky as the Beginning Monsieur Boutheillier will fully answer you as to all you can expect from him The King reposes so entire a Confidence in your Affection your Judgment and
Prudence that he leaves you wholly at Liberty to act as you shall see convenient I here send you the Ordinance his Majesty has made against the Officers that absent themselves from their respective Posts in the Army which is now in Lorrain under the command of the Messieurs d' Angoulesme and de la Force Pray publish it in your own Army where I conjure you to continue to punish those that are wanting in their Duty for 't is evident that under our present Circumstances nothing will make a General to be rever'd and capable of doing the King's Business but a steady Hand and impartial Severity I can assure you that his Majesty will not spare the most cunning of them all and 't is necessary that those who command his Armies shou'd do the same God be thanked his Majesty is in good Health As for my self I am and ever will be My Lord Your most humble c. RICHELIEU Ruel Aug. 14 1635. LETTER XXXI To the same My Lord YOu 'll find that as soon as you gave us to understand by your Dispatches that you desir'd the rest of thâ— Troops that were design'd for you to come up and joyn you we quitted our design of besieging Cirk that so they might immediately march to joyn your Army I will not trouble my self to send you more Particulars which will be sent to you from the Secretaries of State Only this I will tell you that the King is resolv'd to go in Person into Lorrain Before his Departure the Messieurs d' Angoulesme and de la Force will be strengthen'd with the addition of above 4500 Gentlemen The King will be at St. Dizier on the sixth of September at the Head of 15000 Foot and 3000 Horse besides the above-mention'd Troops If by that time the Duke of Lorrain is beaten back his Majesty designs to march as far as Metz to support and back you Thus I hope every thing will succeed according to our Desires His Majesty being sensible of your Prudence and Loyalty leaves you at full Liberty to act as you shall judge most expedient I have no more at present but that I shall be eternally My Lord Your most humble c. RICHELIEU Ruel Aug. 18 1635. LETTER XXXII To the Duke of Hallwin SIR NOT being able to find among my Papers the Draughts of Perpignan Barcelona and Salces I write you this Letter to desire you to send them to me and withal take care they be as true as is possible I shou'd be very glad to know whether some Attempt might not be made against Perpignan and the means how to carry it on so as to have a prospect of Success You 'll meet with several People in the Frontiers that can instruct you particularly in these Matters As for Instance about the Ways through which your Cannon and other Provisions are to pass as also about the true State of the Place the Number of Men in Garrison there and what quantity of Victuals and Ammunition they have In a Word gather the best Informations you can and send them to me by the first Post so that upon these Directions we may see what is fit to be undertaken there for his Majesty's Service In the mean time rest assured that I am SIR Your most Affectionate Servant RICHELIEU Conflans Aug. 22 1635. LETTER XXXIII To the Cardinal de la Vallette My Lord I Am exceedingly surpriz'd at what you tell me in yours dated the 23d of August viz. that you had not received several Letters which I sent to you by the Couriers I can assure you that not one has parted from this place but I did my self the honour to write to you by him I cannot tell whether I must lay the blame upon them or the Secretaries of State to whom for the most part I give my Letters All imaginable Care has been taken here to reinforce your Troops but the Enemy is so considerably increas'd on the side of the Duke of Lorrain that having form'd two considerable Bodies one of which being commanded by Leinon they have thrown into S. Michel and other places near you it was judged necessary to employ part of the Re-inforcement design'd for your self to compose a second Body in order to go and meet with Leinon So soon as they have either routed or driven him back you shall be recruited with a Dozen Troops of Horse and a Thousand Dragoons Five Regiments likewise will be sent to Metz to strengthen you but because they are new-rais'd Men and 't is to be fear'd that the greatest part of them will Desert I leave it to your Consideration whether it will be the best way to make them march as far as your Quarters or rather to keep them at Metz to be employ'd in case of necessity with six thousand Switzers that are to keep the Field The King is gone in Person to the Frontiers of Lorrain to carry on the War more vigorously against Duke Charles and Leinon This is all at present from My Lord Your most humble c. RICHELIEU Sept. 10 1635. BILLET To the Cardinal de la Valette COnsidering in what a Condition the Cardinal de la Valette and the King's Affairs are the King gives him power to treat with Duke Bernard and offer him four Millions of Livres yearly making the best and cheapest Terms he can with him and endeavouring to spare out of that Summ seven or eight hundred thousand Livres for the Landgrave of Hesse LETTER XXXIV To the same My Lord 'T IS impossible to tell you how overjoy'd I was at the News of your marching near us when you cou'd do nothing at a greater distance and that you have made so glorious a Retreat that you beat the Enemy Knowing how negligent and careless People generally are I have sent Monsieur de Mande whose active Temper you must needs be acquainted with to gather all the Corn he can find in the Country for your Subsistence His Majesty has sent you two thousand Horse and four thousand Foot I can assure you that I desire to be carried thither not only for the Benefit I may receive by such a Journey but for the Satisfaction of going to serve you my self in Person since no Man honours you more than he who is and ever will be My Lord Your most Humble c. RICHELIEU Ruel Oct. 3 1635. LETTER XXXV To the same My Lord I Want Terms to express my Joy for your safe and happy Return It wou'd be entire were it not for a Loss I have lately sustain'd which troubles me more than I am able to tell you If I cou'd redeem those for whom I now complain I wou'd readily do it tho' at my own Expence I will heartily pour out my Prayers to God for them and serve them in all their Affairs as far as I am able I desire you to take care that my Companies don't desert particularly that of Light-Horse which at present is without an Officer to command them
with Fellows that have neither Wit nor Courage as it has been the way hitherto I look upon this last Expedient to be better than the first I desire you to make an Experiment of it speedily before the return of this Bearer whom we have on purpose dispatch'd to you and to send us word by him what you have done As for the Cavalry 't is his Majesty's Intention that the Troops of Bouquinville Sancourt Choisy and Bussy-de-Veyre shou'd continue broken except those that are desirous to mount again and enter into Pay You may acquaint them with it that if they keep to this Resolution they may have time enough to prepare themselves I have already conjur'd you to send me a Copy of the Judgments you have passed against the Deserters of your Army I beg the favour once more of you to do it since 't is of the last importance to the King's Service to make Examples of such People His Majesty has granted to the Officers of the Companies of Light-Horse the Confiscation of those that have abandon'd them without leave This will certainly oblige them to take more care for the future to see them punish'd and cause those Sentences to be executed that are passed against them I don't find there 's any great probability of keeping on foot under the Title of a Regiment that of Orelio about which you writ to me it being reduc'd to an hundred or sixscore Men at the most All that can be done in my Opinion is to reduce it to a free Independant-Company where all the Soldiers that are left may be conveniently dispos'd of Nor is there any more likelyhood that the Troops of Saint-Remy will be kept up under the Name of a Regiment since I can't see how 't is possible for them to get again into Liege The best thing that can be done for them will be to reduce them to a Company of Light-Horse under the same Pay with the rest of the Army I conjure you to dispatch without delay the Officers that are nam'd by each Body of your Army to gather Recruits to come and receive their Money at Paris and that afterwards they go about that Affair with all possible Expedition because they have no time now to lose In the mean while be assured that I am and will be for ever My Lord Your c. Ruel Jan. 1 1636. LETTER XLII To the same My Lord I Writ to you some seven or eight Days ago to acquaint you how mightily the King was pleas'd at the Offer you made his Majeffy to attempt by your self the Relief of some places in Alsatia but now I take Pen in Hand to express my satisfaction to you that you are like to meet with fewer Difficulties there than I durst have hoped for as you will be more particularly inform'd by the Dispatch that Monsieur Servien has sent to you upon this Subject I shall not trouble my self to give you an account of the late Advantage which Monsieur de Manicamp has had over the Enemy's Troops that were posted about Colmar not doubting but that you heard of it before we did here I will only tell you that he writ to the King to acquaint him that we may without running the least hazard relieve Colmar and the other Garrisons in those Parts with a much lesser number of Forces than you make account to take along with you I rely so much upon your Prudence and good Conduct that I don't question in the least but that you 'll happily accomplish this Design which is of so much importance to his Majesty's Affairs and will give that Reputation and Honour to your self as the most zealous of your Friends can wish for you and particularly My Lord Your c. Ruel Jan. 1 1636. LETTER XLIII To the same My Lord I Here send you the Letter which the Mareschal de la Force receiv'd from Monsieur de Manicamp wherein you 'll see how easie a Matter he represents it to effect the Relief of Colmar As this will give you greater Encouragement to undertake it so it will hinder me from saying any more to you upon this Subject but not from assuring you of the continuance of my Service and Affection to you being with all sincerity My Lord Your c. Reul Jan. 9 1663. LETTER XLIV To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord I Have not till now delay'd the doing of what I judged necessary to be done for the King's Service and your own Satisfaction in relation to the Brief which the Pope has written to you We have made great Complaints of it to the Nuncio's the Cardinal of Lyons and the Ambassadors have spoke of it with great Resentments to the Pope and his Nephews not omitting any of those Reasons and Examples that use to be cited on such Occasions Just now I come from talking about it with Monsieur Mazarini who tells me that the Answer they receiv'd from Rome to the Letter they sent thither from the part of the King was that the Pope cou'd do no less But however that the Business shou'd go no farther Whatever touches you will affect me more sensibly than even your self This I beseech you to believe and that I am in all reality My Lord Your c. Paris Jan. 10 1636. LETTER XLV To the Duke of Hallwin SIR I Have read over the Letters and Memoirs which you sent me from time to time In answer to which I will tell you that you have not sent me word what it is you principally desire to do For which reason I beg of you to undertake nothing till you have first of all conferr'd with the Sieur d' Argencourt about it so that he may judge in his turn whether what you propose be practicable or no. But above all take special care that as you have possessed and fortify'd the principal Passes by which the Enemy can march to you you don't let them come and attack you in others which you have not provided for by which means they may force you to act on the defensive As I promise my self no less from your Prudence than from your Courage I am confident you will hazard nothing but where you have a very fair prospect of succeeding For as in this case a Diversion wou'd be very useful to us if the Enemy attacked us powerfully in Languedoc so otherwise it wou'd exceedingly prejudice his Majesty's Affairs I will expect some News from you on this Head with great Impatience In the Interim possess your self with an Assurance that I am and always will be Sir Your c. Ruel Jan. 22 1636. LETTER XLVI To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord J Need not tell how extremely satisfy'd the King was at your putting Provisions into the Towns of Alsatia and what happen'd thereupon nor how agreeable the News was to my self in particular because you may easily imagine both one and the other as well by the Advantage his Majesty's Affairs have receiv'd by it as by the
Colmar and Schelstat that those places being well provided as 't is requisite they may be secur'd from all Inconveniences I don't doubt but you 'll husband the Money as well as you can and wait the Harvest which is now near at hand when you may buy it at a cheap rate especially if the Soldiers will be got to work when they have no Enemies to disturb them You will not take it ill I am confident that I have sent back my Company to you which has already behaved themselves very well under your Command together with ten out of my Regiment and others I thought fit to re-inforce you with these Men that you may employ them upon all occurrences where you have occasion for them Having receiv'd advice that the Poles and Croats had crossed over to Thionville to joyn Galasse Orders were immediately dispatch'd to Monsieur the Prince to send fifteen hundred Horse to Enchissen to joyn you that you might be in a condition to do something considerable The King has granted to Colonel Hebron the ransom of Meternick and precedence to his Regiment before all the new ones of twenty Companies that have been created since him I desire you to manage with good husbandry the forty thousand Crowns I have sent you to lay out in buying of Corn so that with the Harvest you may expect without any other Cost but that of cutting it the Garrisons may be provided for two or three Years beforehand and if 't is practicable make the Governours give you a Certificate of the Corn which they have in their Towns Monsieur de Noyers will sollicit for a Month's Pay which you writ to me about that it may be sent to you in time I am concerned that the fifteen hundred Horse which we sent to you for the Franche-Comté are not yet arriv'd for I am of opinion that you 'll have an opportunity to do something worthy of your self this Summer You may be confident I will do you all the good Services I can who am My Lord Your c Conflans June 23 1636. LETTER LII To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord THis Courrier going to wait upon you about a certain Occasion which you 'll find by the Dispatch of Mousieur de Noyers that he will deliver to you I cou'd not let him depart till I had given him this Letter to assure you of the continuance of my Affection and Service upon which you may certainly depend upon all Occasions It is so long ago since I receiv'd any News from you that I protest to you I have been in a great deal of Pain about it You wou'd in a most particular manner oblige me to let me hear from you as your Occasions will permit and to inform me of all the material Occurrences that happen in your Parts In the mean time rest assur'd that no Man living more esteems you or is with more sincerity than I am My Lord Your most Humble c. Charonne July 7 1636. LETTER LIII To the same My Lord I Can't express to you my great concern for the Death of poor Colonel Hebron not only for the esteem I had of his Person but for the Affection and Zeal he always testify'd for his Majesty's Service His Loss has touch'd me in so lively and sensible a manner that 't is impossble for me to receive any Comfort I don't question what you tell me in your Letter that it has afflicted your self in particular for to say the Truth he was a Gentleman that was very necessary to us at this Juncture I have paid to his Memory all that lay in my power to express my great value for him ordering Prayers to be made to God for him and assisting his Neâ—hew with what he has occasion for as if he were my own Relation The Ransom of Maternic is secur'd for him and whatever is due to his Unkle shall most punctually be paid to him Saverne costs us exceeding dear but we must patiently bear what pleases God We find it a matter of great perplexity upon whom to bestow the aforesaid Colonel's Regiment because his eldest Captain who is related to him is a Hugonot and the Catholicks earnestly petition to have it conferr'd upon one of their Party among whom we find the Sieur Douglass who is descended from one of the best Families in Scotland In the mean time nothing shall be resolv'd upon here relating to this occasion till we have receiv'd Advice from you which we desire you to send by the first opportunity We have another Difficulty too upon our Hands that gives us no less trouble and that is to find out for you a proper Mareschall de Camp such a one as you want The King willingly consents that you have Monsieur de Bussy but him you cannot have soon enough As for Monsieur de Rambure he is sufficiently taken up with the business of his Place So we have sent to you the Grand Provost in in this Quality who is a Gentleman of very good Sense great Courage and sweetness of Temper He will get together the Recruits of Foot and Horse that are in Lorrain to aid you to make some opposition to Offlans who lies quarter'd on that side with about some twelve hundred sorry Horse The King gives his consent that Saverne be put into the hands of the Duke of Weymar provided he gives his promise in Writing to leave the Exercise of the Catholick Religion in that place such as he finds it without the least alteration Altho' you are deliver'd from the fears of that Siege it will concern you and the Duke to follow the most advantageous measures you can for the King's Service If Galasse shou'd post himself any where where you might have some notable Advantage over him it wou'd be a great Blow but I can scarce bring my self to believe any such thing can be done till Dole is taken which will happen with God's assistance according to your advices by the end of this Month. You must take care that nothing incommode you in the Franche-Comté but especially favour the Harvest in Alsatia For the rest his Majesty leaves you at full liberty to take such Methods as you shall judge to be most expedient If you please to acquaint us with them we shall send you our Thoughts without obliging you to follow them or hindering you to execute what you shall think proper till you have receiv'd our Answer After the Siege of Dole is over and the King Master of the place we will see what a Re-inforcement we can then send you the present Posture of Affairs in these Parts not permitting us as yet to part with any of our Troops We are providing to send you the second Months Pay which you sollicit for and that you may suffer no Disappointments of that nature it shall be sent away towards the third or fourth of the next Month. The Enemy have taken Capelle on the Coast of Picardy because the Place made no manner
of defence We know the reasons that the Governour will alledge in his own Justification but he has utterly forfeited the Expectation which the World had conceiv'd of him As this is but a very small place and of little importance the loss of it is not considerable Therefore let not this Matter give you any Pain at all for I can assure you that the Forces we have in these parts are more than sufficient not only to hinder our Enemies from doing us any mischief but likewise to take our Revenge upon them if a fit Opportunity presents it self The King will not change his Designs of making the Army of the Franche-Comté act in these Quarters but not yours or that of the Duke of Weymar pursuant to the first Resolutions that were taken in these Matters Only perhaps a thousand Horse may be order'd to come from the Army in Burgundy into Picardy as soon as Dole is taken that we may be in a better condition to oppose the Enemy whose greatest Efforts seems to be upon the Frontiers of Picardy I cannot conclude this Letter without testifying to you once more my great regret for Monsieur Hebron I am likewise sorry to hear that Monsieur de Turenne is wounded Pray assure him of the continuance of my Affection and as for your own particular rest satisfy'd that no Man esteems you more or is more really than my self My Lord Your c. Charonne July 20 1636. LETTER LIV. To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord I Have receiv'd your Letter which you were pleased to write to me upon the occasion of the taking of Saverne and have consider'd the Contents of it We shou'd be willing to put that place into the Hands of the Duke of Weymar to testifie the great Confidence we repose in him But certain it is that the Catholicks wou'd lay hold of such an Opportunity to raise great Clamours against us this place being the Seat of the Bishop of Strasburg whither the Catholicks have retir'd The Nuncio has already inquired very particularly how we design to dispose of it and his Holiness whom the Spaniards perpetually instigate against France as you know well enough wou'd carry himself wholly against us upon this occasion Pray give the Duke of Weymar to understand so much and to convince him how much we relie upon his Integrity and that no other reason in the World shou'd hinder the King from delivering the place up to him his Majesty is content if he desires it that you shou'd restore the Castle of Aubar to him and if he takes any other place in Alsatia or upon the Sarre which he thinks worthy of Consideration the King is well satisfy'd that it shou'd be consign'd over to him This My Lord is all that we have to say upon this Subject his Majesty referring the rest to your Prudence As for the rest when ever the Duke of Weymar thinks fit to make any stay in Alsatia the King is well enough content it shou'd be at Saverne provided he likes the place and will give Orders to those that he puts into the place to receive him with as much Honour and Deference as if the aforesaid place were absolutely in his Hands You must remember to chuse a Governour for it of a different Temper from the Wretch that had it last that if it happens to be attack'd he may follow the Example of those that defended and acquired it with so great Trouble and Expence since poor Colonel Hebron died there It belongs to your Discretion to consider whether you cannot re-inforce the Grand Provost with some Troops in Lorrain to make opposition against the Enemy that is there which is conformable to a Design I have seen in a Letter of the Duke of Weymar by approaching near the Sarre To conclude the King gives you full power to attempt whatever you shall judge worth the while As it is of the last importance that Saverne be fortify'd strongly I am persuaded you will take particular care about it When you were here I often heard you discoursing of how great Consequence it wou'd be if you cou'd get good advanced Quarters this next Winter inconvenient to the Enemy and advantageous for your selves It will concern you in point of Prudence to consider of this in good time As far as we are able to judge of the Designs of Spain particularly by a Dispatch of a fresh Date that was surprized by Monsieur de Grammont their intention is to induce Galasse and the King of Hungary to make an Effort to enter France in August It concerns you and the Duke of Weymar to oppose this Attempt and frustrate the Execution of it If you cou'd possibly disengage your self from putting the Castle of Aubar into the hands of the Hugonots it wou'd be much better for us Besides I don't look upon it to be in the least necessary to the Duke of Weymar since Saverne is already comprehended in Alsatia which the King has quitted to him pursuant to the Articles of the Treaty between them and that in consideration of this his Majesty will command the Person whom you shall establish in it to acknowledge him as much as he can desire You are Master of so much Address that I am confident you can bring over the Duke to any Terms that you judge most advantageous for the King's Service for which reason I shall speak to you no more upon this Head assuring you that I am and always will be My Lord Your c. Chaliot July 23 1636. LETTER LV. To the Pope Out of Monsieur du Puy's Cabinet MS. 363. Most Holy Father I Don't address these Lines to you as being Privy-Counseller to the greatest of all those Princes that have the happiness to be under the Conduct of your Holiness but as a Cardinal of the Holy See zealous for the Interests of the Church and for every thing that concerns the Person and House of Beatitude Now what happen'd lately in relation to the Mareschal d'Estreés being of such a nature that it may draw very ill Consequences along with it I shou'd plainly be wanting to my Duty if I did not make my humble Supplications to you to employ your Prudence upon this Occasion As the Mareschal has done nothing but what the King commanded him to do if any of his Actions have been disagreeable to your Holiness you ought to complain of his Majesty and not of him However I persuade my self that your Goodness and Justice will induce you to acknowledge that it never was the intention of that great Prince to displease you in whatever has happen'd but rather to serve you and hinder those who formerly have executed their Designs against the Holy See from putting themselves in such a condition during his Reign as to give the World any just Apprehensions of their playing the same Game over again Your Holiness about two Years ago sent a Nuncio Extraordinary to France upon an occasion as contrary to the Interests
of his Majesty as it was favourable to the Spaniards and recall'd him when that Court gave publick Signs that his Person was disagreeable to them and apprehended that he dealt for a Peace against their Intention Now if it should so fall out that your Holiness shou'd persist to oppose the Employ of the Mareschal d'Estreés in whose Person are to be found abundance of Qualities contrary to what the Enemies of this Crown may desire there is no Person but wou'd believe altho' erroneously that Spain by her Artifices had insensibly carry'd your Holiness to what she most of all desir'd As for my self this Thought never found any room in my Breast but it concerns your Holiness in the highest degree to prevent it from taking any footing in the Minds of other People who perhaps will conclude there is something in it if you shou'd continue to treat the King upon this occasion otherwise than you do other Princes that have Ambassadors at your Court I hope your Holiness will be pleased to make a difference between those that honour you with a cordial and everlasting Reverence and those that only give you a few exteriour Marks of it when their Affairs require such a Conduct The known Piety of the King naturally leads your Holiness to this Procedure his Person demands it of you the present Juncture seems to oblige your Beatitude to it since nothing can prove so directly contrary to a Peace as to show a disrespect to him who of all other Kings most earnestly desires a strict Union with you As it is an easie matter so it will likewise be a glorious one to your Holiness to preserve that absolute Power which you have in the Affection of this great Prince and I dare engage to you that the Mareschal d'Estrées for his part will endeavour nothing more zealously than to serve you and advance the Interests of your whole Family that by doing so he may render himself serviceable to his Master If it happens otherwise I freely consent that your Holiness shou'd lay all the blame upon my self who shou'd take it for a new Obligation if you wou'd condescend to think upon this most humble Supplication of mine and not barely consider it as such but as it concurs with his Majesty's Prayers which have no other End but what may be of most advantage to your Holiness and all your Family This I most humbly conjure your Holiness to believe as likewise that I shall always be Your Holiness's most c. July 25 1636. LETTER LVI To the Cardinal de la Valette My Lord YOU will particularly know by the Dispatch of Monsieur de Noyers what condition we are in at present and what the Enemy has been doing ever since they have approach'd towards the Frontier of Picardy The King daily strengthens himself with new Forces as much as he can that he may be in a capacity to beat them back into their own Territory His Majesty makes account so soon as Dole is taken which News we expect every hour with the greatest impatience to order two thousand Horse of Monsieur the Prince's Army to march and joyn that of Picardy where there are not above five thousand leaving the rest of the above-mention'd Army either to tarry still in the Franche-Comté and make Head against the Enemy if they offer to come there or else to march into Lorrain according as he shall find it most expedient for his Affairs As for what relates to your self My Lord the King leaves you wholly at your own liberty to act as you shall judge most advantageous to his Designs and does not prescribe you any Method to follow but trusts intirely to your Prudence and your Conduct to manage your self as the Motion of the Enemy and any emergent Occasions make it proper for you In the mean time I beseech you to believe that I can have no opportunity of serving you presented to me which I shall not embrace with the greatest eagerness that I may convince you every day more and more of the esteem I have for your Person and of the Affection wherewith I am and ever shall be My Lord Your c. Challiot Aug. 4 1636. LETTER LVII To the same My Lord YOU will soon imagine that the War goes but ill on our side in these parts since I have resolv'd at at last to go thither in Person with all the Pains and Illnesses to which you know me so subject The Cowardice of three Raskals that made no defence for the Garrisons they were intrusted with has so perplex'd our Affairs for the present that I am necessitated to make this Journey You never heard of such perfidious Villains soon after away they sled like Traytors as they were We have drawn them asunder between four Horses in Effigie with all the reproachful Marks of Ignominy that con'd possibly be thought of and their Persons will be treated after the same manner where-ever we happen to find them We shall have by the Sixth of the next Month above ten thousand Horse and twenty five thousand Foot With these Forces we shall march streight towards the Enemy On one side we have Monsieur of Lorrain to sear who designs to make a Descent upon us by the way of Burgundy with his own Troops and those that were quarter'd in the Franche-Comté and as I imagine Galasse who might very well have pass'd the Rhine to re-pass it at Brisac and so marched to joyn him This My Lord is the Province which we leave to be manag'd by your self and the Duke of Weymar in conjunction We have left a thousand Horse and three thousand Foot with Monsieur the Prince Besides these he may still raise three thousand Men and five hundred Horse with which he will be able to oppose the Enemy on one side while you will powerfully make Head against him on the other For this effect it will be wholly necessary for you to direct your Course towards Espagnol or Mircourt that you may afterwards take such a way as the marching of the Enemy will oblige you to observe As soon as you draw near to the Prince's Army care shall be taken to prevent all manner of Competition by sending down an Order to him to go to some other place and to leave his Troops with you I know very well that 't is impossible to propose a more mortifying Condition to you than to send you to the place where the obove-mention'd Person has any power But it cannot be avoided the necessity of our Affairs obliging us to follow this Conduct You are the only Man that together with the Duke of Weymar are able to regulate Matters in those Parts Although our Affairs on this side are in a very scurvy condition yet I hope we shall be able to retrieve them so soon as our Troops are got together Although the Spaniards quitted all other Designs to make their utmost Efforts in Picardy yet if they had not met with such treacherous Villains I
of the matter Assure your self My Lord that whatever concerns you shall likewise affect me to the highest degree who am My Lord Your c. Abbey de la Victoire Sept 22 1636. LETTER LX. To the same My Lord THE Sieur de Suz will deliver the King's pleasure to you so fully and clearly that I have no occasion to say more to that point I am confident you know how to make the best use of it and manage all Advantages with care You shall not want Money to pay for whatever Corn is necessary for the Subsistence of your Army Due care shall be taken here to supply you with it from time to time according as you send us word that you stand in need of it I have written to the Duke of Weymar a Letter in the most obliging Terms I cou'd think of I likewise writ to Monsieur de Ranzau The Sieur de Suz and his Gentleman bring him two thousand Crowns for his Pension We shall most certainly take care of him We hasten as much as possible Monsieur de Longueville to go and joyn you He sent me word two Days ago that he was march'd out of Gisors I say nothing to you of our Affairs on this side You 'll hear the News soon enough from other Hands The Enemy retir'd with too much haste out of Picardy and those that were employ'd to pursue them follow'd them too slowly A Multitude of Commanders does never do any good Corbie is block'd up The Works advance very well the Spaniards 't is true bear Hardships very well but 't is certain that the necessities of the place are very pressing Among the rest they have no Wine very little Beer and but one Hand-Mill which cannot supply one half of the Garrison The Sieur de Suz brings the Great Provost his Commission to go to Nancy pray send him thither with all Secresie and speed for the Affair requires it In whatsoever Place or Condition I am you shall always find me what you know me to be that is to say My Lord Your c. Amiens Oct. 10 1636. Pray tell the Count de Grancay that the King takes it very kindly from him that he helpt you to subsist your Army As for my own particular I am highly oblig'd to him for it and will take all occasions to possess the King with a good opinion of his Services Addition Yesterday in the Evening I receiv'd your Letter dated Oct. 3. I shall only add to those Lines I writ to you yesterday that I am sending a Courrier in all haste to Monsieur de Longueville to joyn you with all expedition Monsieur de Ranzau has not only receiv'd his Warrant for a Pension of two thousand Crowns but has had it actually paid to him which Summ I made a shift to make up not thinking it fit to wait the leasure of the Treasury It is impossible at present to get Aiguebonne out of the place where he is Fontenay is busied here We cou'd not think of a fitter Man to send to Nancy than the Great Provost Pray write to all the places in Alsatia to furnish themselves with as much Corn as they can I will effectively provide that Money shall be sent to them We have writ to Monsieur de Villarceaux to lay up part of the Corn with all speed at Saverne The Great Provost being at Nancy may make him do it himself If Monsieur de Ranzau can raise the Croats we shall be well pleas'd with the News I will write to Charnacé to bring over Herrenrestre about whom you writ to me to the King's Service Amiens Oct. 11 1636. LETTER LXI To the same My Lord WHen the Sieur de Suz parted from hence in order to go and wait upon you I assured him we wou'd think to put him in some Place without explaining my self any farther to him Since that time I have so great a Value for him particularly upon the Testimonials you have given me of his Affection and Courage that I propos'd him to the King to be Governour of Moyenvic concluding that you wou'd be infinitely better pleas'd to have this Place which depends upon your Government and is at the Gates of Metz fill'd with a Person whom you love and can answer for than one you don't know as you do the Sieur de Suz His Majesty granted him the Government very willingly If you think him not proper for the place pray stop the Commission and send it back again to me But if you judge him capable of such a Post see it deliver'd to him and send him to Mayenvec aforesaid In this and every thing else where there is the least prospect of serving you you 'll find by the effect that I am with all sincerity My Lord Your c. Amiens Oct. 16 1636. LETTER LXII To the same My Lord THE reason of my setting Pen to Paper now is not to answer your Dispatch which you sent me by the Sieur Arodot but to assure you of the continuance of my Affection and Service and to tell you that the Marquiss of Coblens has had the honour to kiss the King's Hand who receiv'd him very favourably His Majesty has granted him a Pension of two thousand Crowns and given him a Warrant for it till such time as he has an opportunity to reward his Services some other way For my own particular I will assist him as far as lies in my power as well in consideration of his Merit as for the recommendation you give me of his Person I beseech you to believe that I am and will be so as long as I live My Lord Your c. Amiens Oct. 29 1636. A MEMORIAL To the same IN the time of Monsieur de Montmorency Monsieur le Premier behav'd himself extremely ill because the other had such an Ascendant over him that he made him do what he pleased After this the aforesaid Sieur le Premier manag'd himself with a Conduct not to be mis-liked till now of late being possessed by some obscure Persons that are unknown he return'd to his former wicked Courses which particularly appear'd after the infamous Cowardise of his Unkle who was Governour of Catelet At the beginning of the Siege he said in publick Company That he was assur'd that his Unkle wou'd not agree to any Capitulation and if he did that he wou'd be the first to condemn him As soon as this Place was basely and ignominiously surrender'd he alter'd his Tone and had the boldness to say That his Unkle had discharg'd the part of an honest Man This anger'd the King Afterwards his Majesty having held a Council at Chaliot where it was resolv'd to apprehend the Sieur de St. Leger Monsieur le Premier who was then at Chaliot having discover'd it dispatch'd a Courrier immediately to his Brother to inform his Unkle of the Proceedings and advise him to make his Escape Which fell out so well for him that he receiv'd notice of it two Hours before
Difficulties attend a Siege and therefore don't desire that you should hasten your Attacks more than you can do it in Prudence I can assure you that this is not only his Majesty's Opinion but likewise of all those that have the honour to be near his Person Monsieur de la Meilleraye is marched to joyn you according to the Orders he has receiv'd from hence occasion'd by what you writ to us some time ago viz. that you wanted to be re-inforced with some Troops He is ready to act as you shall order him the only reason why we sent him being to execute your commands either on the Siege or any where else where you think fit to employ him Since you are of opinion that you still want Horses to fetch in your Provisions we are going to raise two hundred more in order to relieve yours when they begin to be harrassed As for the Artillery Monsieur de la Meilleraye may joyn yours with that which was design'd for him in case you have occasion for it and thus I hope you 'll be supply'd with every thing necessary to carry on your Design Bergerac told me as from you that you have receiv'd advice that the Enemy are taking abundance of Cannon out of Sedan to be employ'd against us We cannot imagine what shou'd be the meaning of it because they do nothing at Sedan as we are inform'd by the Mareschal de Châtillon who acquaints us with what passes there I beg of you that as you continue your Attacks which you send me word were begun last Night you wou'd not forget to finish your Lines of Circumvallation and rest assur'd that nothing that lies in our power shall be omitted which may facilitate the reduction of the place Knowing that the Enemy may be in a condition to make some Effort by the end of this Month the King whom I shall accompany makes account to be at Soissons about that time to strengthen either by his Presence or by the addition of his own Troops your Army which perhaps may want such a Re-inforcement Be assur'd that in whatsoever place 't is my destiny to be I am and ever shall be My Lord Your c. Challiot July 19 1637. LETTER LXXXV To the Cardinal de la Vallette My Lord THO' I have nothing at present to write to you yet I cou'd not let the Sieur de Bergerac go without giving him this Letter to assure you of the continuance of my Affection and Service on which you may certainly depend upon all occasions We begin to have News of Picolomini that he has not above eight or nine thousand Men in all with him half Horse and half Foot Monsieur de Châtillon has got his Forces together and has a sufficient power with him to despise all the Efforts that the Enemy can make on that side The King will be infallibly at Soissons or â—…on by the end of this Month. The Sieur de Saintou has taken care to send away all those things that Monsieur de la Meilleraye said he had a necessary occasion for We will not fail to supply you with every thing that may be expected from us Rest satisfy'd of this and that I am My Lord Your c. Challiot July 15 1637. LETTER LXXXVI To the same My Lord I Am overjoy'd to find by you that the Siege of Landrechy is so fairly advanc'd We are in hopes to hear every Day better News than other for places that are reduc'd to such a Condition as yours is make no long opposition when they once begin to decline I have spoken to the King about what you were pleased to write to me that it was high time to find out a Governour for the Town His Majesty was of opinion that the two fittest Men in your Army were Nettancourt and Vaubecourt but the latter he thinks the properer of the two in regard of Nettancourt's Religion which wou'd extremely prejudice the reputation of his Majesty and check the progress we may expect to make in Flanders So you must put the aforesaid Sieur de Vaubecourt with his Regiment and such other Troops as you shall judge convenient into the place as well to guard as to fortifie it We continue to make a considerable Progress in Burgundy as well on the part of Monsieur de Longueville as of the Duke of Weymar and the Count de Gransay Landrechy will balance the loss of Hermestein and after this we will push our fortune farther in Flanders The King will set forward by the end of this Month as I have already sent you word for Laon. I am persuaded that two or three Days before our departure we shall hear the agreeable News that you have pluck'd down the Stag that you have been chasing I am and always shall be My Lord Your c. Challiot July 21 1637. The Hollanders embark'd some fifteen Days ago at Ramekins but the Wind was so contrary that we don't know which way they are gone However we are certain that they will do us some notable Service LETTER LXXXVII To the same My Lord YOU will receive two of my Letters in one Day The latter comes to inform you that the Hollanders having been in great Pain at some Reports that have been scatter'd abroad that your Army consists of no more than eight or nine thousand Men I beseech you that for the future you will not suffer the Commissaries that make the Reviews to order their Accounts so as has been practised of late They cannot be too exact to set down no more Men than they find in the Army but then 't is reasonable they should put those in the Number that are reckon'd in Pay Now in their present Supputations they never reckon the Captain the Lieutenant the Ensign the two Sergeants the Drummer the Haut-boy and the Quartermaster nor what is more the three Men that are allowed to the three great Officers for want of which they are forced to take other Soldiers when their Baggage marches Thus not reckoning in every Company the eleven Men that are effectually there it comes to pass that in a Regiment consisting of twenty Companies we lose two hundred and twenty Men. By this means the Enemy having always Spies in our Army and knowing that People are seldom guilty of making their numbers less than they are imagine that we are fewer than in reality we are which may occasion a world of inconveniences The Sieur Usquerque who is Secretary to the States has been again with us to be informed of the Truth of your Army which is represented so small on this side that it looks as if these Gentlemen wou'd use this as an Excuse for not doing the great Service we expected from them 'T is to little purpose for us to tell them how things really are for People are apter to believe the flying Reports of an Army than our Assurances which is an unspeakable damage to us We have dispatched two Courriers to the States to satisfie
wherein he wonders that the Month's Pay which according to his account ought to have arrived at the Army on the 15th was not yet come The aforesaid Sieur indeed when he was here sollicited for a Month's Pay for the 15th upon which I was resolv'd to use all my Interest with Monsieur de Bullion to have it got ready and do the same every Day and yet I cannot bring him to name any precise time All that I can assure you of at present is that it shall be ready without fail some time this Month. As for Money to carry on the Works you have already receiv'd the fifty thousand Livres sent for Landrechy and thirty thousand more which l' Espine brought you for St. Guillain or Maubeuge I sent you word that you shou'd want nothing and here I repeat the same Promise to you I cou'd wish with all my Heart that you had such a brave Fellow with you as Terrail was who petarded so many Towns belonging to the Hollanders for the Arch-Duke for that perhaps is one of the things that we want to try since the greatest part of the Enemy's Towns lie naked and unprovided I am persuaded you will lose no opportunity to undertake any thing that you judge proper to be done for the King's Service For which reason I shall forbear to say any more to you only give me leave to assure you that I am and always will be My Lord Your c. Chappelle Aug. 14 1637. Pray send me the Plan of Maubeuge and the Design of the Fortifications you intend to make there or that of St. Guillain if you were ever able by chance to procure it You must use all means my Lord to end this Campagne happily to which we will contribute on our side all that lies in our power LETTER XCIII To the same My Lord AFter I had heard Monsieur de la Meilleraye upon the Subject of his Journey I am of Opinion that of all the Designs which he proposes on your part there are only two that can be reasonably undertaken that is to say either the Siege of Cambray or that of Avenes That of Cambray indeed is of much greater importance but it is to be feared that the Season is already too far advanced and that we have not all the Preparatives requisite for such a Design especially People to supply the Army so as several Accidents which often happen unexpectedly may require As for that of Avenes besides that it is more feasible it seems to be more agreeable to the present state of our Affairs It will stand us in mighty stead to preserve all the Posts we have taken upon the Sambre the keeping of which is a sort of Circumvallation for the aforesaid Siege So that by making our selves Masters of Beaumont Solre and Chimay if we please the place will be surrounded without being formally so During this Siege the greatest part of his Majesty's Horse being intrench'd at Maubeuge with four thousand Men will make Head against the Enemy who will not dare to oppose or give them Battel and we may make several Attempts upon them in Parties What will chiefly contribute to the execution of this Design will be to lose no time to detach the Troops that are to march thither out of your Army and to give them necessary Orders to joyn on some prefix'd Day at the above-mention'd place In the mean time my Lord if you 'll give me leave to tell you my Opinion You have three things to do in the first place you must secure Maubeuge whether by fortifying the whole Town or by making a good Redoubt capable of maintaining the Lodgment of the Horse that will be in the place You must make as great a Magazine of Corn and Forrage at Maubeuge as is possible and preserve the Country behind the Sambre as far as the Oyse and the Meuse that you may take up Winter-Quarters there for the greatest part of our People After all I have said to you the King entirely leaves it to your own choice to undertake which of these two Designs you judge most proper However if you shou'd have a fair opportunity in the mean time to petard any place you wou'd do well to make the Experiment Monsieur de la Meilleraye tarries here two Days and then he will most assuredly return to you But we thought it convenient to dispatch this Courrier to you beforehand that neither Monsieur de la Meilleraye's tarrying here two Days longer nor any other consideration shou'd make you lose one single Moment to dispose every thing for the execution of what you shall pitch upon now you have seen the King's Sentiments upon the matter I am My Lord Your c. August 15 1637. LETTER XCIV To the same My Lord THE Sieur de la Garde being arriv'd here from Colen and particularly from Breda about an Hour after the departure of Monsieur de la Meilleraye occasions me to dispatch this Courrier to you to acquaint you for certain that you have no reason to apprehend that the Cardinal Infant will quit the Design he has form'd and the Post he has taken to hinder the Siege of Breda to come and give you the least disturbance things being come to such a Point that the Spaniards fortifie themselves in all places thro' which the Convoys of the States may come in order to hinder them so that the Prince of Orange has sent the King word that he is like to find himself very much embarrass'd if we don't make a powerful diversion on this side 'T is therefore your part my Lord to act with the greatest Vigour you can without amusing your self at what we proposed to you to make a Line of Circumvallation .................... which must be infallibly carried if it is warmly attack'd and having no other Enemies to fear than what you have before you I have sent a fresh Dispatch to the Mareschal de Chastillon to engage him to undertake the Attack of .......... If our 84 don 't do something considerable it is to be fear'd that 2600 finding the difficulty of his .......... will not ........ with the 76 for to .......... with ................ This if you please shall lie betwixt me and you I conjure you therefore upon this consideration to lose no time and believe me that I shall be proud of an opportunity to convince you by my Actictions that I am with all sincerity My Lord Your c. Royaumont Aug. 20 1637. LETTER XCV To the same My Lord THE King having by my former Letters to which I have receiv'd your Answer given you to understand his Intentions nothing now remains for me to say to you 'T is your concern to fortifie and keep your Post at Maubeuge as you have proposed and to attack Avenes while the Mareschal de Chastillon makes account to go to attack Mommedy or some other place You will receive the hundred thousand Franks which you demand for your Works besides the ten thousand Crowns
which case the King might pack off the most factious and decimate the others or send 'em to the Gallies As for the Jurisdiction of the Parliament of St. Michel 't is thought best to add it to the Soveraign Council of Nancy I say nothing of the Walls of the City because every body knows the King has already condemned them In a word the present Affairs require some Examples made more than ordinary otherwise we shall have Rebels so frequently in Lorrain that there will never be an end and the King shall have no sooner turn'd his back but they 'll rise again The Lord-Keeper and you are earnestly desir'd to see that a false Generosity of some great Lords may not prevail with the King in behalf of any one where his future Welfare requires so great rigour I am very well satisfy'd with Monsieur Bonthillier's Conduct and that the Posts between the Cardinal de la Valette and you are open As also that you intend to lose no time after the taking St. Michel to send towards Metz what Troops the King orders to keep those parts free from factious Spirits that may infect ' em I very much wonder at the Malice of Cramaik a Person you have writ me by the King's Order twice about I am overjoy'd his Majesty has intercepted his Designs and esteem myself not a little indebted that he would be pleas'd to acquaint me so soon of it Principiis Obsta The Remedy of Provence is very proper upon this Occasion One ill Man may corrupt a great many at Court LETTER CCXXII To the KING SIR I Praise God with all my heart for your Majesty's health and with which I begin my Letter because 't is what I desire most I can never be enough thankful for the Account you were pleas'd to send me of the Person that had a mind to lengthen out your Majesty's Affairs which I have Answered by Monsieur Chavigny who pursuant to your Orders sent me the particulars Having no more to add to the Memoire I have sent him to Communicate to your Majesty I shall not lengthen this Letter but to give you a Million of thanks for bestowing an Abby at my Request upon Cavois I have so many occasions every day to testifie my Acknowledgments to your Majesty that not thinking words good enough I do solemnly protest I will make it the business of my Life to confirm by my Actions how much I am c. LETTER CCXXIII. To the Same SIR BEing in so good humour as I am inform'd by Monsieur Bouthillier your Majesty is at present I cannot think any ill can happen to you And I hope that St. Michael being once taken which I know can never-resist your Presence long you will pursue your design to assist Messieurs Angoulesine and de la Force who thereby may be able to gain such advantage over Duke Charles as you can wish and which I am sure I desire with a great deal of earnestness that I may see you once again return glorious from the Field Monsieur Vitry by two successive Courriers assures us the Spaniards will be able to effect nothing in Provence All the Countrey is sheltred towards St. Margarite and St. Honorate by great Heats There is no Harbour in these Islands They cannot well land any where Also the said Sieur Vitry assures us That he has so plentifully provided the Isles of Hieres with Men and all sorts of Ammunition that there is nothing to be feared There is nothing new from Italy I have sent one of my Gentlemen to the Duke of Savoy to press him to do what he ought pursuant to the Treaty made with your Majesty The Duke of Parma's Valour and Conduct is spoken of here with great Admiration LETTER CCXXIV. To the Same SIR 'T IS impossible for me to express the satisfaction I have to hear by Monsieur Bouthillier of your Majesty's good Humour and Health who has also acquainted me how differently your Troops live now they are with you than when they were from you Every body knows and one may speak it without flattery that no Person can equal your Majesty in communicating Orders I cannot comprehend my Transport for Cardinal de la Valette's Advantage over his Enemies I am assur'd your Majesty's Forces have perform'd wonders there so that you would do well to harress 'em no more but let 'em have a little rest after their so great Fatigue I pray God with all my heart to give your Majesty as good success over the Lorrainers that your Expedition may be as prosperous as you could wish or I earnestly desire c. LETTER CCXXV. To the Same SIR I Am very glad that St. Michael is surrender'd which is the beginning of the Glory and the Advantage which I hope you will reap by this Expedition provided that your Majesty put in Execution that which Monsieur Bouthillier tells me you propose you will gain much towards the Peace of Lorrain That which you were pleased to grant in the Capitulation is very judicious because it doth not hinder you from keeping all the Ring-leaders of the War in Prison nor from sending the Soldiers to the Gallies and chastizing some of the most factious Inhabitants and keeping two hundred Wagons six Months as your Majesty's Gentleman reports I beseech you in the Name of God not to decline from your first Design which is so necessary to your Reputation and Welfare which without this wholsom Rigour will always be beginning and never accomplished I have sent a short Memorial to Renaudat I believe he has not prevented me being well acquainted with your Majesty's Humour I have a lively Representation of your Impatience to perform some eminent Attempt to the Prejudice of Duke Charles I heartily desire of God that it may succeed that your Majesty may return with as much Glory and Contentment as is desired by c. LETTER CCXXVI To the Same SIR I Can never sufficiently condole your Majesty's Concern for the Inconstancy of the French If the Lease of my Life would afford you any Comfort I would gladly lay it down Your Predecessors have laboured under the same Difficulties and your Successors will do the same Things will take their Course I send back to your Majesty that which we thought most seasible upon the Advice which your Majesty was pleased to send us wherein as you did me the Honour to send to me we have always follow'd that which my Cousin Melleraye gave you I believe it is necessary that you send it as it is signed by your Majesty if you think it convenient to change nothing I conjure your Majesty by the Name of God not to be dejected and be assured that when you return hither you will be looked upon by Paris and the whole World as you were in times past as the best Master that ever was We have already consider'd what we must say and write both in the Kingdom and to Embassadors upon your Majesty's Return that your Majesty
accountable to God if I do not inform you what is said upon this Subject have prevailed with me to take Pen in hand to beseech you to prevent this great Evil. I am sure your Holiness will judge that it is reasonable that you concur with the great Care that the King takes to make choice of the best Subjects of his Kingdom to be promoted to Bishopricks and that by this means those who are designed for that Office may make use of the Talents that God has given them to the Salvation of Souls he would not see by the Vineyard's side many unprofitable Labourers because they are not introduced by him who ought to set them at work the great Fruit that they reap who have been lately promoted to such Offices gives occasion to Men to complain of the Miseries of the Church being by so much the greater because little Obstacles stop the Current of those great Favours which it expects from your Hands As the Church cannot be divided from the Authority of your Holiness so France would not be separated from your Goodness which she is sensible is so great towards her that she will always think herself as assured of that for which she is purely dependent as of that which she may expect from Justice It has always been an ancient Custom of France to take Informations of the Life and Manners of Men before the Bishops The King might pretend that they ought to remain in those Terms But if the Desire that he has to shew that he will pay to the Holy Chair as much Deference as he can without diminishing the Rights and Dignities of the Crown induce him not to hinder that those nominated to Bishopricks who shall have more Conveniency to take Informations before the Nuncio's of your Holiness may make use of this Liberty provided that those who according to the ancient Custom of the Realm shall be invested before French Bishops may obtain their Bulls as readily as tho' they they had applied themselves to your Nuncio's Your Holiness shall have that which your Predecessors never obtained of those who have hitherto possessed the Crown although they have wink'd at it upon certain occasions as the singular Virtues which were remarkable in your Person while you were in this Kingdom cannot be blotted out of our Memory I am also certain that your Holiness doth so well remember what you saw practic'd there that you need but have recourse to your Zeal to promote the Welfare of France the Knowledge that you have of what has been always observed there is sufficient to make you acknowledge the Justice of her Desires If you consider also that Informations made before French Bishops cannot be refused without doing a notable Prejudice to the Court of Rome who could not receive them without judging of their Probity which was so well known that there was no room to doubt of the Validity of what pass'd before them I am sure that Mens Souls will speedily receive of you that Assistance which they hope for and that your Holiness by opening the Mouths of those who expect that Liberty to instruct the People which is altogether necessary shall stop theirs who cannot but complain of the Difficulties which have hindred them from receiving the Effects of your Power and Goodness This is that which I beg of you in all Humility desiring of God that he would add many Years to your Life many Blessings to your House and as much Happiness to your Person as is desired by c. P. S. As I take the boldness to write to your Holiness upon a Subject which concerns the Salvatiou of Souls of which you have a particular Care I am assured that you will not take it ill that I have taken the liberty of writing to Cardinal Barberini upon another Subject which is of very great Importance to the Church to the Peace of Christendom and to the Grandeur and Safety of your Family LETTER CCL To Cardinal Anthony upon his sending him a Diamond Cross and a Diamond Box with the King's Picture in it My LORD THE King being informed that those who have always envied his Happiness and who have no true Love for your Family forgetting nothing that may give you Trouble and make you bear the Cross upon his Account commanded me to send you one as a Present from him to let all the World know that he cannot endure that for his sake you bear any other than what comes from him whose Weight will not be troublesom and because it is not only upon this occasion but upon all others which may happen that his Majesty pretends to ease you of all the Pains and Sorrows with which you are afflicted He desired you also to receive this Picture from his own Hand believing that your Eminence being fortified by his Shadow alone will be able to resist all the Enemies of your Family against whom he will very gladly use all his Power upon all occasions which may present for your Advantage I obey this Command with so much the more Satisfaction because I am and always will be c. LETTER CCLI To Cardinal Barbarini My LORD THE Joy that I have for the good Understanding betwixt his Holiness and his Majesty will not suffer me to be silent and I think I should be wanting to myself if I should fail to testifie it to your Eminence That Moment that this Letter shall come to your Hands it will give you a particular Proof of my Affection and Desire of the Welfare of your Family whose Interest you hazard so much by the Delay of the Promotion that I could not but inform you of it I do not consider this Affair by the Misery which may happen by the Death of his Holiness to whom I earnestly desire length of Days because the greatness of the Loss you would have by the Death of so good an Uncle stifles in my Thought the Consideration of all its Consequences You must be blind not to see that this shaking of your House would be a Forerunner of its Ruine but you lose so much from this very Moment by not making the Promotion and fail to take Advantages so important for you and the Church that it is impossible to conceive the Reasons which have retarded it hitherto Those who envy the Grandeur of your Family and desire its Depression have this Satisfaction to live in hope to see that which they desire to your Disadvantage and instead of fearing your Eminence if this Promotion were made you give them opportunity to despise you by the Belief that you will not lay hold upon an occasion which may put you in a Condition not only not to fear them but to have no need of them my Endeavours after the Interests of France which are dearer to me than my own Life would not permit me to give you this Counsel after the execution of which you may have less Consideration for the Crowns because you would not have so much
to serve him and that you will declare the same thing to the Officers of the Army LETTER III. To the same Person I Have desir'd my Lords the Secretaries of State to acquaint you from time to time with what passes on this side well knowing by Experience that it is no small trouble to those who are far remote from the Court as you are when they want Intelligence and are not duly inform'd of the State of Affairs and how the World goes They have promis'd me not to omit any opportunity LETTER IV. To the Prince of Orange after the Raising of the Siege of Louvaine THere are not any Great Affairs that are not attended with great Difficulties nor had this at the beginning those progresses which we could have desir'd since it is the end that crowns the work Monsieur Charnacè has represented to the King the Obstacles which you met with in your Enterprize and your Endeavours to surmount ' em His Majesty is very well convinc'd of the care you took for the subsistance of his Army in the midst of those necessities which surrounded it He returns you Thanks and promises himself that you will make so good a use of the remainder of the Summer that the time which has been lost shall be repair'd with Advantage in the Judgment of all Men. I passionately desire it for the Interest of his Majesty and of my Lords the States and for your own which shall be always dear to me Conjuring you to believe that whatever the issue may be it shall never cancel the Esteem which I have for your Person nor the Affection which I bear you Assure your self Sir that his Majesty will leave nothing omitted that lies in his power to favour the Enterprize which was only undertaken between him and my Lords the States for the Good and Repose of Christendom and that no ill success shall discourage him For my part knowing that perseverance is that which crowns affaires with a prosperous Issue I shall omit nothing that is requir'd for me to do for the advancement of those Affairs the Success of which depends upon your Conduct in which the King reposes a great Confidence Of this you may be assur'd Sir as also that I am c. LETTER V. From the King to the States of Holland upon Occasion of the Title of Highness given to the Prince of Orange MOst Dear Great Friends Allies and Confederates the particular Esteem which We have and always had for our most dear and well beloved Cousin the Prince of Orange not only by reason of his Birth and Family the Grandeur of which is sufficiently known but also for his Great and conspicuous Qualities and his Noble performances in the Conduct and Command of Armies whereby he has acquir'd so high a Reputation that there are no Marks of Honour which may not be justly attributed to him have engag'd us to give him new proofs of it by Honouring him with one more Title then hitherto has been Address'd to him concerning which we have sent express Orders to the Sieur Charnacè Our Ambassador LETTER VI. From Cardinal Richlieu to the Prince of Orange THe King's Letter which will be deliver'd to your hands by M. de Charnacè and what he has in charge to say to yee in his Majesty's Name will give you so particularly to understand the Affection which he has for your Person and the singular Esteem which he pays to your Vertue and your Merit that it would be superfluous to repeat it in these Lines And therefore I shall only testifie to yee my own particular and extraordinary Joy for the new Title wherewith his Majesty has been pleas'd to honour your whole Family now then that I may conform my self to his Will and follow my own Inclination be pleas'd that I may begin the change and that I may assure your Highness that honouring yee as I do it will be a greater favour then I can possibly express to serve your Highness and all yours upon all occasions and to let you know by the Effects that there is no person in the World that can be with a greater Passion or more Sincerity then my self c. LETTER VII To the Princess of Orange I Have not Written these Lines to let you understand the particular Affection which the King has for the Person of Monsieur the Prince of Orange and for yours and the singular esteem which he has for both by reason the Testimonies which his Majesty has given you in the Letter which his Majesty has Written to yee and what M. Charnacè has to say to yee in his Majesty's Name are such in my Opinion as will not permit you to doubt of it but only to acquaint you with my extraordinary Joy for the honour which it has pleas'd his Majesty to confer upon your whole Family by the new Title wherewith it is his pleasure that you shall be treated from this time forward I beseech yee to believe that no Content or Felicity that befalls his Highness can be so great but that I still wish him more and that there is no person who Honours his Vertue and his Merit so highly as I do or who is more sincerely then I am c. LETTER VIII To the Princess of Orange with a present of Diamond Pendants in the King's Name THe King's Command engages me to take Pen in Hand to entreat you in his Name to accept a Present no otherwise worthy of you then as it receives its value from the person that sends it The common Enemies of this Kingdom and the United Provinces not being able to do us any mischief but through the Ears his Majesty made choice of this Present such as it is on purpose not only to signifie to yee that he will never hearken to any thing that shall be to the Prejudice of the Common Good but also to let you know that he assures himself that your Highness and Monsieur the Prince of Orange will do the same on your parts For my part Madam I shall account my self extreamly happy if I can but meet with ways and means equal to the Passion I have to let you know by the effects that I am sincerely c. LETTER IX Cardinal Richlieu to the Queen upon the Birth of Monseigneur the Dauphin EXcessive Joys are generally mute This is the reason that I cannot express to your Majesty my Joy for your happy Delivery and the Birth of the Dauphin I desire and am willing to belive that God has bestow'd him upon Christendom to appease the Troubles that disorder it and to restore to it the Blessing of Peace This has been my Prayer to Heaven since his Birth which I make with the same passionate Zeal as I have always had for the King and your Majesty to whom I am and Eternally shall be c. LETTER X. To the Queen who had sent the Dauphin 's Portraiture to his Eminency I Cannot render those Returns of thanks which are due
but that he still wishes him far more who is sincerely c. LETTER CXLIII To the same THO' the Person of M. Biscaras be extreamly necessary about me and that the particular confidence I have in him be a sufficient inducement to me not to part from him nevertheless understanding that you desire to have him to serve under you and the Duke of Veletta in the present occasion I send him to yee to do whatever either the one or the other shall deem convenient Did I but enjoy my Health as well as he does and could be as useful to yee in any thing I would willingly undertake his Journey so much I desire to see the Royal Arms prosper under your Conduct His Majesty relies so much upon your Prudence and in your Affection that he doubts not in the least but you will do wonders to that effect For my own part I most fervently wish it as well for the Interest of his Majesty's Service as your Honour which I equally desire with your self as being c. LETTER CXLIV The the Duke de la Valette THough M. de Gramond's Commission to Command the Army of Guyenne under your self and M. d' Espernon was dispatch'd when the Letter you were pleas'd to send me concerning that Affair was deliver'd me yet is your Contentment so dear to me that I prevail'd so far with the King that his Majesty alter'd his Resolution of sending it to the said Sieur de Gramond into that of continuing you alone in the said Employment promising himself that you will serve him with so much Prudence care and Affection that he shall have no reason to repent of his favour I assure my self that this new Testimony of his Confidence and Esteem will redouble your Zeal to answer so worthy a choice by real Effects and that you will make your value appear to the Confusion of the Enemies of the State M. de Biscaras whom I send to serve you upon this occasion according to M. d' Espercon's desire will assure yee of the Continuance of my Affection and my desire to serve yee and will inform yee of some particulars which I thought convenient to acquaint you with You may give him the same Credence as to my self who am c. LETTER CXLV To the same THE Condition to which you have reduc'd the Croquers is so much to the King's Advantage and so much to your Honour that although I have already testify'd my joy for so happy a Success I cannot forbear sending the Marquiss of Durass to yee to the end he may give you new Demonstrations of it in these Lines He will give yee so particular an account of his Majesty's satisfaction in your Conduct upon this occasion of the thanks which he returns you for the manner of your mannagement and the Honour he has done him for your sake as having made him a Camp Marshall that it would be needless to add any thing more I shall only say thus much that M. de Beaupuy's Journey has been no less acceptable to his Majesty then that of the Sieur de Duras for that it has not only confirm'd him in his belief of your Affection for his Person but also in that assurance he always had of your Passion and Zeal for the prosperity of his Dominions For my part my contentment is more then I can express to see you so highly in the King's Favour as you are there being no person who claims a greater share in your Concerns or who is more sincerely then my self c. LETTER CXLVI To the same I send you this Gentleman for a particular accompt of the Port of Biaris taken by our Pinaces upon the Coast of Bayonne They who know it report That it will so very much annoy the Forts which the Spaniands have built at Socoa St. John de Luz and other places that they will have much a do to subsist there If it be so 't is my Opinion that you may with more ease make some attempt upon those places then hitherto you have been able to do and that by molesting 'em by Land you will have this advantage that after you have defeated the Croquers you will expell the Spaniards quite out of your Government I passionately deserve it for the good of the King's Service and which is more for your own particular sake as being certain that if this good Fortune befalls yee your Enemies will be in such a Confusion that they will no longer dare to be so fluent of their Tongues as they have been I beseech yee not to omit any thing that lies in your power for the attaining of so glorious an End I say nothing to yee of the preparations on this side for the subsistance of your Army For I doubt not but the Sieur Cartier gives yee an accompt from time to time of the Provisions made for every thing and that I contribute toward it as much as in me lies by my daily solliciting the Lords of the Treasury I shall still continue the same earnestness to let you see my Zeal for your Interests and how sincerely I am c. LETTER CXLVII To the Marquiss of Coisquen Lieutenant of his Eminencies Gens D' Armes HAd you sooner acquainted me that you did not think me a Lord great enough to command the Troop of Gens d' Armes which it has pleas'd the King to bestow upon me I had given yee the contentment which you could desire and you had oblig'd me not to let me stay till you gave me to understand it by real effects in contemning your Duty and the Military Orders which oblige the Gendarmery to be compleatly arm'd so that my Troop was the only Troop that appear'd before the King without Arms though I had several times order'd 'em to be duly provided I will not insist upon my several Entreaties that you would observe a discipline so exact in my Troop that it might serve as an Example to others But your actions informing me of what perhaps out of civility you were unwilling to tell me your self that I may answer your Curtesie this Letter is to let you know that I no longer claim any Interest in the Troop which you command and that I willingly surrender it into your hands to make such provisions for it as the King thinks convenient Nevertheless I assure my self that you do not believe me so unfortunate that I shall not able to meet with some person of Quality who while he commands that Troop which shall march under my Name for the future will be willing to perform what his Reputation and the Military Orders require from him and to observe and submit to requests and such Orders which he shall receive from me I Advise yee to take a course quite contrary to what you have hitherto done and to believe that upon any other opportunity that shall present it self you shall find the Effects of my Friendship and that I am still desirous to be c. LETTER CXLVIII To Mareschal
what Natural Civility Dexterity and Wit inspires into those that are to make use of their Parts Only you must observe That for avoiding all manner of Jealousie there needs no other Order in the Visits that are to be made to Princes and Imperial Cities then what your Journey shall prescribe And that one of the most important things to persuade 'em is that we put a high Value upon their Alliance and that we have an unexpressible Care to preserve 'em and that upon all Occasions they shall receive our Assistance This is that which will slide into their Minds greatly to our Benefit if dexterously insinuated into the Compliments that shall be made 'em if in order to make 'em believe what we promise 'em for the future you artificially lay before 'em what we have formerly done for 'em and how that Henry II. carried his Arms into Germany in Defence of Princes prosecuted to the utmost Extremity How that Henry the Great always protected and favour'd em was strictly united with 'em by the Treaty of Hall and a little before his Death set a powerful Army on foot upon the Supplications of some of the Princes As to the Particular Means they are various according to the various Interests of Princes who have any thing of Quarrel with us The Memoirs presented by their Agents will inform yee of their Pretensions and our Answers annex'd to 'em will let yee know how far we can now go in order to treat 'em civilly upon their Demands After the execrable Parricide committed upon Henry the Great of immortal Memory upon the 14th of May 1610. the Queen being declar'd Regent by the King her Son sitting in Parliament upon his Seat of Justice and being as soon acknowledg'd by the common Consent of the Princes and Lords the Sovereign Courts of the Kingdom and in a Word by all France the first thing she set before her Eyes was the maintaining of Peace and keeping the King's Subjects fix'd to his Person by the Ties of Favours and Benefits To attain this End she renew'd the Edict of Nantes and by that means removes all manner of Jealousie out of the Minds of her Subjects She re-calls Monsieur the Prince of Conde and retrieves him out of the Arms of the King of Spain into which he had thrown himself enlarges his Pensions upon his Arrival makes him great Presents and heaps her Favours upon him opens her Hand of Bounty to all the rest of the Princes and Lords and engages 'em by great Sums of Money Considering that the â—trength of a Prince lies as much in his Counsel as in his Arms and being desirous in all things as much as possibly might be to follow the Steps of the deceased King his Lord and Father she makes use of those whom she finds to have been employ'd by him in the Management of Affairs Things being thus settl'd as she thought to have enjoy'd the Repose which France enjoy'd a Repose so entire that we may truly say she had no other Trouble but that of her Sorrow and her Tears her next Business was to take care of Foreign Affairs The Death of the Duke of Cleves and Juliers being attended with a great Dispute about the Succession the Competitors had Recourse to Arms upon which she takes the same Resolution which the deceased King had taken to interpose her Authority She sends Forces thither to render the Reasons for her composing that Difference more prevalent and powerful Having accomplish'd her Design to the great Reputation of this Crown she preserves the glorious Title which that great Monarch had acquir'd of Arbitratrix of Christendom This Foreign Tempest was no sooner calm'd but a Storm threatens France However she immediately procur'd fair Weather by dissipating the evil Designs of several factious Spirits who to take the Advantage of our Misfortunes would fain in the Assembly of Saumur have engag'd the Kingdom in a War Having warded off this Blow she maintains all things in Peace till the Troubles began at Mavieres in the fourth Year of her Regency Troubles which she stifl'd in the Birth by the Treaty of Monehould Following her Inclination which persuaded her to Clemency she pardons all the King her Son's Enemies and despoils him of some of his Towns to deliver 'em into their Hands opens his Treasure imitating in so doing that same ancient Prince who thought it behoov'd him to give away for the Good of the People what had been hoarded up to that End She endeavours to hold fast those turbulent Spirits with Chains of Gold But her Hands were no sooner empty'd of the Treasure which she had given away to purchase Peace but the Clouds began to thicken again presaging a new â—torm And now the Tempest pouring down she is not daunted but because she did not think fitting to avoid the Tempest by giving way to the Waves she resolves to resist the Weather and make head against the Whirl-wind And indeed her Resolution was attended with such good Success that marching against her Enemies she reduc'd 'em by Force to what she could not bring 'em by Reason Poictou and Bretagne being swept clean she returns in Glory with her Son to Paris The Peace of France being more firmly settl'd by this Progress a War broke out in Italy Thither she sends to quench it and she prov'd so successful that she accomplish'd what she undertook At the same time she declares her Son to be of Age causes the Edicts of Pacification to be re-publish'd and having a little before summon'd together the States of the Kingdom to regulate the Disorders of the Realm and remedy the Oppressions of the Subjects she most industriously labours to render the Fruit of that Assembly conformable to her Designs and being disturb'd in her Design by Branglings Factions and a Thousand Artifices she disappointed 'em all as much as possibly she could That Assembly applauded and thank'd His Majesty for that after he came of Age he had unloaded the Burthen of his Affairs upon her Vigilancy Presently to preserve the King's Dignity she re-demands the City and Castle of Amboise which had been granted to Monsieur the Prince and has 'em surrender'd She importunes the King to consummate tâ—… Marriage projected by the deceased King his Father and decreed by the Queen-Mother and all the Princes and Lords of the Council The King consents to her Request and resolves to accomplish it All those that wish'd him ill oppos'd it and to attain their Ends make use of all manner of Artifices The King departs that he might not perform what he had resolv'd upon with the Consent of the whole Kingdom Monsieur the Prince betakes himself to Arms and some Hugâ—nâ—… and some Catholicks forgetful of their Duty join with him Foreigners are also introduc'd into the Kingdom and nothing but Acts of Hostility firing of Houses Rapes and other Cruelties and Inhumanities are discours'd of The King's Journey is cross'd by the Sickness of Madam his Sister which gave
his Enemies Leisure to multiply in such a manner that they had the Boldness upon His Majesty's Return to dispute his Passage Nevertheless he attains his Ends his Marriage is accomplish'd He passes in view of his Enemies who stood their Ground because that full of Clemency he would not fall upon 'em to the end he might give 'em Time to repent He stops at Poictiers he fights 'em at St. Maixant pursues his Enemies who to avoid the Rigour of his Arms betake themselves for Security to Flight and the Protection of the Night Being quell'd and reduc'd to Extremity he admits 'em to a Treaty with him he buys their Allegiance and besides six Millions which he gave 'em to return to their Duty he gave to the Prince of Conde the City and Castle of Chinon the City and Tower of Bourges the Government of Berry and several Places in that Government and the greatest part of the Demesnes by way of Engagement And thus he puts an End to the War concludes a Peace and restores Rest and Quiet to the People harass'd beyond Measure and eaten to the Bone The good Intentions of these Reformers appear'd in this That instead of discharging the People which serv'd 'em for the pretence of their Discontents their insatiable Appetites oblig'd us to lay heavier Burthens upon 'em that instead of releasing their Pensions which they offer'd to do for the Benefit of the King's Affairs they demanded an Augmentation of 'em and exacted above six Millions more clear Money out of his Coffers The King returns to Paris the Queen advises him to recall Monsieur the Prince to be near his Personâ— and so he in like manner gave Liberty to all that had alâ—…ted themselves to attend His Majesty Monsieur the Prince being arriv'd she shares with him that Authority which she exercis'd with the Permission of the King her Son Nay she does more she despoils her self of it altogether to invest him in it absenting her self from the Councils and leaving to him the entire Administration of the Finances a thing as extraordinary as unheard of But this Obligation was no sooner laid upon Monsieur the Prince but it was forgotten Hardly was a Month expir'd before it was perceiv'd that he was possess'd by those Evil Spirits who always instigated him to the Ruin of France 'T was perceiv'd that he render'd Evil for Good desiring the Government and sowing a Thousand Reports among the People to the Disadvantage of the Queen He goes farther He throws himself into the first Factions cabals all the Societies and endeavours to make sure to himself all the Corporations of Paris To these Ends several Assemblies were held in the Night-time Darkness being proper to cover the Shame which Conspiracies imprint in the Foreheads of their Contrivers The Curates and Preachers were tamper'd with and Publick Faith was violated Peronne was taken by the Arms of the Sieur de Longueville but by the Counsels of Monsieur the Prince and his Adherents This open'd the Eyes of all the World the Aposteme breaks and the Matter appears several discharge their Consciences accuse themselves and testifie their Acknowledgment one Prince deposes a Princess talks two Dukes intervene a Prelate declares what he knows several discover what came to their Knowledge and all unanimously agree to reveal a pernicious Plot against the King his Kingdom and his Government 'T is confirm'd that they assure themselves of Soldiers Lastly Monsieur the Prince speaks believing his Plot discover'd he confesses it to the Queen palliating his Offence as much as he can tells her that the King and she are beholding to him for their Lives and promises never to procure any Meetings and to desist from his factious Beginnings The Queen pardons him resolves to forget all that is past but understanding by undeniable Proofs that the Prince's Acknowledgments were all counterfeited that he had new Meetings that he was resolv'd as before to make himself Master of the King her Son's Person and hers Nature could not permit her to suffer more She shew'd her self to be a Mother she shew'd her self to be a Queen by securing those that sought her Ruin For this Reason she arrested Monsieur the Prince and without doing any Injury to his Person procures the Good of the whole Kingdom by that Means disappointing his pernicious Designs After this Arrest some other Princes and Lords adviâ—…d by their own Fears or by their Consciences withdrew from the Court made a Bustle and a great Noise The Queen without losing her Courage advis'd the King to put himself into a Condition to reduce 'em by Force then to stretch forth his Arms of Mercy and admit 'em to acknowledge their Faults or that if innocent they might justifie themselves if guilty that they might have Recourse to his Compassion To this Effect the King goes to his Parliament and gives 'em an Account of all that had pass'd and imparts to all the World what he need not have done the Reasons which forc'd him to that Resolution promises a strict Performance of the Treaty of Laudâ—n offers Pardon to all those who having render'd themselves guilty by their Actions should deserve it by a quick Return Several Persons interpose complain of these Proceedings find fault with the Arrest though commended by all good Men approv'd by Foreigners as also by Monsieur the Prince though the Person most interested who touch'd in Conscience confesses ingenuously that by securing his Person they secur'd the Person of the King They are offer'd all the Security they could desire they accept of it the King forgets their withdrawing themselves and all that was past Their Majesties receive 'em into their Favour as if they had never given any Cause of Offence All things being now quiet People were astonish'd that M. de Nevers who was never known to have tamper'd with these Factions displeas'd at something that had happen'd between the Governor and him gives himself the Liberty to speak disrespectfully of the Queen and to the disaduantage of His Majesty People wonder'd that he should permit himself to run out into Actions which exceeded the Bounds which no true Subject can transgress in a Sovereign State or ought to exceed in reference to his Prince He provides Arms lists Soldiers takes the Field with some re-inforces his Garisons and fortifies his Towns Intelligence comes from all Parts that they gave out salfe Reports among the People Upon this our Eyes are open'd again the King resolves by the Advioe of all his Council to send Forces to the Places where those Disorders were committed not so much to do any Harm to any Body as to prevent Mischiefs He sends Commissioners into his Mutinous Provinces to inform themselves of such as deviated from their Duties and after an exact Cognizance thereof to apply requisite Remedies This is an exact Recital and as it were a Picture in short of the Government of this Kingdom for these six Years They who have nothing before their Eyes that may hinder
Blois in the Night through one of the Windows of the Castle by a Ladder which Count de Breyne or la Mazure had prepared for her She took but one of her Women along with her whose Name was Catherine Count de Breyne and four of her Guards stood waiting at the foot of the Ladder with du Plesses who was to order all things She was constrained to crawl along the Ditch and to walk on foot to the other end of the Bridge of Blois where her Coach waited for her She stept into it with one of her Women her Jewels and a Lantern because she could not tarry in her Coach without a light and came in this Equipage to Montrichard where she shifted her Coach and Horses and was met by Ruccellai and the Archbishop of Thoulouse From thence she went with speed to Loches where Monsieur d'Espernon arrived the night before and went out a league to meet her She tarried there but one day for her Attendance and her Women and the next Chanteloube came to her Instructions for the Commandore de Sillery going Ambassador to Rome to his Holiness in the Year 1622. From M. du Puy 's Study MS. 687. THe King who together with the general Good of Christendom respects the Advantage and Reputation of his Affairs abroad as he is industrious to settle them at home with his Authority by all possible means of Vigilance and Care where-ever it is required has thought fit to fill up the Vacancy of the Roman Embassy by a Person fitly qualified to serve him and to please our holy Father the Pope to watch and observe all publick Occurrences and to promote the Honour and Service of his Majesty in all things To this end he has chosen the Bailiff de Sillery Councellor in his Council of State a Person very well known to his Majesty by several Imployments and Commissions he has discharged to his satisfaction and commands him forthwith to repair with all speed towards Rome about several affairs relating as much to the Peace of Christendom equally respected by his Holiness and by his Majesty the Tranquility and Liberty of Italy as to the Welfare and Safety of the Friends and Allies of France and has ordered this memorial to be drawn to be the Rule and Guide of his Conduct saving such Orders and Commands as shall be sent to him by his Majesty in a more precise manner by the usual way according as the new Accidents that may arise shall require it It is his Majesty's Pleasure he should go through Turin tho it were only besides that it is in his way to visit his Majesty's Sister in his Name his Highness of Savoy and the Princes and Princesses his Children as also to acquaint the said Duke in particular with his Majesty's Sentiments upon the present Occurrences and to assure him of his said Majesty's sincere Friendship which he is very desirous to make him sensible of by Effects to his advantage and satisfaction His Majesty knows the Esteem the late King his most honour'd Lord and Father ever had for his Person and has made his late Majesty's maxim his rule in the conduct of the General as he was a wise Prince endued with a long experience in Publick Affairs He designs to live with the said Duke in that strict bond of Affection for their Common Interest lately strengthen'd by the dear Pledge his Majesty has given the Prince of Piedmont of his dear-beloved Sister declaring again that as it has pleased God to let him take the management of his Affairs into his own hands and to direct them with a Will full of Equity and Honour so the said Duke and his being so nearly related to him shall freely share that Happiness from which his Majesty expects to see effects arise one day useful to the Publick favourable to his Friends and acceptable to his Holiness His Majesty is sensible that the said Duke is desirous as well as himself that every one should be maintained in his Right to oppose all Usurpations and that Neighbors and Confederates living in a friendly manner may keep so good a Correspondence that such as would attempt any thing to the prejudice of so just a Resolution may feel the effects of their ambition and rashness if so daring as to attempt it or be kept within bounds out of fear of the Force and Councils of the said Associates for the common Cause The present state of affairs in Valtelina requires this to be urged to the said Duke who is likewise concerned for the Safety of Italy The King has already acquainted him with the perpetual Endeavours used about it from the very beginning that his Majesty prevents the Inconveniences of such a precipitated Usurpation to remonstrate the Consequences thereof and to promote its restitution at Rome in Spain and elsewhere being desirous at first by mild means to endeavour the obtaining of an amicable Treaty before he would proceed to those of Rigor meerly out of respect to the Publick Peace so justly valued and desired as also because the Infringers thereof are so nearly united to his Majesty by Alliances that he had reason to expect from their very Promises that they would at last yield to his just Remonstrances to execute the Agreement made at Madrid for the restitution of the said Countries as soon as might be according to the Articles thereof This has been prest without intermission thereby discovers his entire Affection for the Welfare of his Affairs so he may assure himself that he shall have a good Share in the Success thereof which he hopes to promote and to settle by Power only He also thinks it very necessary once more to advise the said Duke to facilitate as much as in him lies the reconciliation between himself and the Duke of Mantua diverted hitherto by those who envied his Majesty the satisfaction of being the Promoter thereof and would improve their dissention to their own advantage But both of them would do wisely considering the ends of their Neighbours to yield something in respect to the Publick Good and their Interest rather than to hearken to the artificial Suggestions of those who have and do still endeavour to keep up their Division The said Commandore is to enquire of the Sieur Marini who is in those parts and will assist him in all things on what Terms the said Duke stands in that respect and if his Majesty's Name and Authority can be any wise serviceable therein he is freely to employ himself in it in his passage as he likewise is to do at Rome where this Affair was formerly refer'd when any occasion shall offer it self He is to do the same Office towards the Duke of Mantua without going thither himself by sending one of his Gentlemen to assure him of his Majesty's Good-will of his being order'd to favour his Interest at Rome and to use his utmost endeavours to facilitate their reconciliation to which he shall be desired to show himself the