may say she so much set off the grandeur of her Birth by her natural beauty and by her engaging and courteous deportment that all France was sensibly grieved to lose her One of the first persons that took the freedom to speak to the Queen and give her advice was a Religious Theatin called Father Vintimiglia He was born in Sicily of an Illustrious Family and was Brother to the Count de Prade who happened to be Governour of Palermo at the time when that City revolted in the late troubles He had been seized and people thought it would have cost him his head but he got the favour to be sent to Madrid to justifie himself his Brother the Theatin went along with him to assist him with his credit He was a bold hardy adventurous man and devoted himself entirely to Don Iuan and his zeal for that Prince carried him so far that in some of his Sermons he spoke of the Queen Mother with very little respect This Father departed from Madrid in company with the Duke d' Ossone and tho he had not now any hopes of being made the Queens Confessor as he had before the death of Don Iuan yet he could not forbear to go as far as Bayonne to salute her his deportment his birth and his knowledge of the French tongue which he spoke perfectly well because he had resided a long time at Paris procured him access enough to the young Queen to take his opportunity of prepossessing her with some suspicions and jealousies against the Queen her Mother in Law and the French Ambassador By this piece of conduct he did not only design to injure those persons who had formerly been enemies to Don Iuan but he had a particular aim that personally respected himself and wherein his ambition had by much the upper hand of his discretion and that was to perswade the Queen to endeavour the erecting of a Iunta that was to depend solely upon her He told her that in order to bring this design about she was to chuse the Duke d' Ossone to be a member of it because he was a person of consummate abilities and besides had a great zeal for her Majesty he took care to reckon himself in the number of the Ministers and could not forbear to write a Scheme of the Government the memoirs of which he gave to the Duke d' Harcourt to the end that he might present them to the Queen but 't is very probable he never showed them to her Majesty The Queen was now advanced as far as St. Iohn-de-Luz and she departed from thence about one a clock in the afternoon on the third of November followed by the Guards an Corps of the King She came to a wooden house that was purposely prepared for her it was gilded and painted within and without there was a great Hall in it a Chamber and a moveable Closet of Crimson-Damask with Galloon and a rich Lace of Gold and Silver This house was scituate upon the brink of the River de Bidassoa which parts France from Spain As soon as the Queen arrived there she put on a most sumptuous Habit then coming into the Hall she took part of a noble Collation There she staid a little and afterwards retired into her Chamber after this she ascended a Scaffold and placed her self in a Chair of State under a noble Canopy at this very moment she was seized with an air of melancholy which shewed what a regret she had to be so near leaving France The Prince d' Harcourt placed himself at her right hand the Princess d' Harcourt at her left the Mareshal Clerambaut's Lady and Madam de Grance behind her Chair Monsieur de Saintot went to inform the Marquess d' Astorgas of it who was Major Dâ—no to the Queen He was in a Boat upon the River near a little Island which the Treaty of the Pyrantes has rendred since so famous and which was joyned to the Queen's House by a Bridge of Communication The Guards de Corps formed themselves into several Squadrons in this place The Marquess was waiting for his orders in this Boat which was very magnificent and was prepared on purpose to carry her Majesty over to the other side As soon as he was informed that the Queen expected him he set foot upon the ground and fourscore persons Gentlemen Pages or Valets marched on foot before him he threw himself immediately at the feet of the Queen kissed her hand made her a Complement got up again and covered himself without staying for the Queen to say any thing to him The Prince d' Harcourt covered himself likewise at the same time The Marquess spoke to her all the while in Spanish and presented her Majesty with two Letters from the King and Queen Mother but before he gave them he touched them upon his Forehead his Eyes his Mouth and his Heart as the fashion is The Queen told him she was extreamly glad that the King her Husband had given him the charge of conducting her After this the old Marquess turned himself towards the Prince d' Harcourt and made him a Complement who answered that he had orders from the King his Master to deliver the Queen of Spain into his hands Monsieur de Chateanneuâ— Counsellor of the Parliament of Paris read the Act of Deliverance in French and Don Alançon Caruero Secretary of State read the Act of Reception in Spanish The Marquess presented several persons of Quality to her Majesty who kissed her hand kneeling down upon one Knee The Bishop of Pampelune kissed her hand but did not kneel The Queen did not press to depart but the Marquess informed her that it was high time to march she immediately arose placing him on her right hand and a Mâ—nin of Honour on her left upon whose shoulder she leaned for he was a young Boy and thus she advanced towards the Bridge The Dutchess de Terra Nova met her just about the middle and kissed her hand with the Ladies of the Palace that followed her who threw themselves all at her feet After the Dutchess had made her Complement she presented several Spanish Ladies to the Queen Monsieur de Repaire Lieutenant of the King'sGuards duCorps who carried the Queens Train gave it to the Dutchess The Queen entred into the Boat along with her her Chamber was glazed all over and thus being all alone with this old Dame she cast her eyes frequently towards that side of the Kingdom which she had quitted and her languishing air sufficiently testified by what commotions she was agitated within Twenty four Seamen placed in two Barques drew the Boat along and the Spanish Horse discharged their Musquetoons and Pistols as soon as it began to move the artillary of Fontarabia answered them with a great firing The Prince and Princess d' Harcourt the other Ladies and all the Queens Attendants passed over in Boats that were prepared on purpose The Queen setting foot upon the Ground towards the evening found
all the Profits to themselves And this is the Reason why Money is so often wanting even for the necessary occasions of the King's House But after all I can by no means be perswaded but that he is Richer than he is generally supposed to be for there is no probability that otherwise he could be able to give as he does such considerable Pensions and so much in standing Wages to so vast a number of People It is true these Liberalities so mightily incommoded him that about the beginning of the Year 1681. all the Livery-men of the Stables having waited Two Years together for their Wages left the King's Service on the same day and looked abroad to get a Livelihood so that his Horses had no body to look after them or give them Corn. This appeared so much the less surprising because the Table of the Gentlemen of his Bed-Chamber was absolutely laid aside although it was the only one the King kept in his Palace The Women that waited upon the Queen had no better luck and the Court could not be supplied with Money enough to defray the least Expences This Extremity lasted for a while and then things were established as formerly But what is very remarkable and deserves the last Commendation the Souldiers notwithstanding this Misery continued still in the Service although there were several Officers nay entire Regiments of them that had not received two Months pay in three Years However this was the reason that abundance of Garrisons were ill provided with men and in a very bad Condition and particularly on the side of Estra Madura where nevertheless it was their Interest to have been more careful because the Portugueses had very considerable Posts in that part of the Country We saw the Governours of St. Sebastian Bilboa and Fontarabia at Madrid who came on purpose to acquaint the Council of War that their Souldiers died of hunger that the youngest of them had deserted that none but the old and infirm were left behind in the Garrisons and that in a short time there would be none of these left unless they gave them a speedy Relief They had fair Promises made them they returned back but were forgotten as well as a great number of others It is indeed surprizing and cannot easily be believed that in this very Spain so excessively poor and exhausted as it seems to be the Flota from the Indies only in the year 1680. brought thirty Millions of Gold But of these prodigious Summs that arrive there every year we must deduct near two thirds which the Forreigners draw away for the several Goods they furnish them with and besides there is a way found to cheat the King of the fifth Penny which is due to him out of all the Silver that comes from the Indies There is another thing still behind that contributes exceedingly to make the Spaniards so destitute of Money as they are and that is the prodigious number of French and Dutch who come to help them whether in the tillage of the Ground or in their Buildings or any other things of a more servile Nature which the Don Diegos and the Don Rodriguez think so much below them either out of a Principle of Vanity or Idleness that they had rather chuse to starve than resolve to set about them But Foreigners are not so nice and delicate they come hither and when they have scraped a little Mony together they return to their own Country in the mean time others come in their room and are employed in the same work They are computed generally to be full forty thousand who come in and go out of the Kingdom after this manner and there is not one of them who does not carry away with him seven or eight Pistoles every year and sometimes more It is easie to judge that this arises to a prodigious Summ. The People still continued to cry out and exclaim and at last the Duke fatigu'd with the great business he had upon his hands and with these continual Complaints resolved to erect a Juncto to set things in Order again and endeavour to relieve the present Necessities He cast his Eyes upon a Person of great Abilities whose Name was Don Lopez de los Rios and whose Vertue and Experience were sufficiently known for he had always bore some Office either in the Civil Government or the Finances He at first shew'd a great Zeal and the heat of this Zeal did not at all abate in his Mind but he found himself not strong enough to cope with all the Enemies alone whom he must expect to create by a severe and steady Conduct Several Persons nay even the Ministers interested in these Affairs directly thwarted him and by this means destroyed all that he had established with so much Pains and Industry On the 23 d. of February a private Act of the Inquisition was performed in the Church of the Dominicans where twenty Persons were condemned for being guilty of Superstition Sorcery and Judaism The Duke de Villa Hermosa who came back from Flanders arrived about this time at Madrid and the Duke d' Hijar parted from thence to go to Saragossa and take Possession of the Viceroyship of Arragon Two days after this which was the 26 th of February the Marquess du Mondejar was made a Grandee of Spain The Duke d' Ossone who now began to be weary of not supplying his Place himself desired some of his Friends to intercede with the King in his behalf that he might come to Court and the King consented to it with this Proviso that he should perform his Duty better for the time to come The Count de Pouar and the Count de Montiel were forbidden the Court both of them were passionately in love with Donna Francisca d' Alcannicas Lady of Honour to the Queen and Niece to the Constable of Castile The Count de Pouar was under her Chamber Window and entertained her there with his Fingers as is the manner of Spain and told her a Story very much to the disadvantage of the Count de Montiel who lay hid in a corner where he saw and understood all so that coming towards the Count de Pouar all enraged with his hand upon the guard of the Sword he told him he was a persidious Villain and that he might thank his good Fortune for being in the Palace The Count de Pouar coldly answered that he would go out of it as soon as he had told Donna Francisca two or three things he had still to say to her and that he came seasonably enough to be a Witness of them because they concerned him The Count de Montiel transported with Choler was upon the point of drawing his Sword upon his Rival But the Duke d' Usseda Brother to Donna Francisca passing by that way with the Count d' Altamire she made them a sign to draw near and told them with her Fingers what had hapned The two Lords laboured all they could to make up
during the little stay he made at Madrid his aversion to F. Nitard daily increased and this reason alone was sufficient to incline her to resolve upon his removal She was not able to indure those biting reflections which Don Iuan by way of raillery very liberally bestowed upon the Father Confessor One time among the rest when the Ministers demanded of him who was fit to send against the King of France I am clearly of opinion says he that we had best send Father Nitard he is a Saint to whom Heaven can refuse nothing the post wherein we behold him at present is an undeniable proof of those miracles which he can command upon all occasions The Confessor answered with a very melancholly air That he was of a Profession which taught him to hope every thing from the divine mercy but that it did not belong to his function to be a General of an Army Oh my dear Father replies Don Iuan and don 't we see your reverence every day employed in things that are full as unsuitable to your profession As I said before it was resolved to send the Prince with the new supplies to Flanders and a recruit of nine hundred thousand Crowns with which they furnished him out of the silver that was brought in the Gallions Necessary orders were likewise dispatched to Cales and so the Admiral who had charge given of this Sum set Sail with eight Vessels from thence at the same time when Don Iuan was marching towards Gorâ—â—ne where the rendezvous was appointed to be The French Fleet cruised upon the Coasts of Gallicia and was composed of 36 Vessels and 6 Fireships Don Iuan finding his Forces much inferiour to the Enemy was not willing to hazard all in a fight where in all probability he could not avoid a total defeat Therefore he thought it more advised to send his Troops in small bodies to Flanders where they arrived without any danger The formidable power of his most Christian Majesty not only alarm'd the Spaniard but the English and Dutch who after a bloody war at last concluded a peace at Breda in 1667. and having ceast from all acts of Hostility towards one another entred into a League in the beginning of 1668. to oblige the King of Spain to accept of one of the two alternatives proposed by the King of France who still persisted in his Offers After their Example the Archbishop of Triers the Duke of Bavaria the Elector Palatine and Duke Ernest Augustus of Brunswick Bishop of Osnabruck concerted their resolutions for the common safety and made a League whereby they obliged themselves to endeavour the adjusting the differences between France and Spain or else to declare war against either of the two Crowns that should refuse their mediation and act against the Treaty The Pope likewise entred into the League and a peace was concluded at Aix la Chapelle But these things were not so speedily determined but that other matters of consequence happened at Madrid and other places which strangely perplexed those persons that were interested and concerned in them Don Iuan as was before mentioned was at Corogue upon the point of imbarquing himself when he received certain informations of the death of Ioseph Mallades a Gentleman of Arragon whom he entirely loved It was told him to his unexpressible amazement that he had been secretly arrested at Madrid about eleven a clock at night and that by an order of the Queen written by her own hand he was strangled two hours after The great care they took to keep this execution private only contributed to make it spread the faster and it was not doubted but that the Queen sacrificed this unfortunate Gentleman to the security of her Confessor Don Iuan was extremely concerned at the tragical death of a person whom he loved so well and yet more enraged at the injury which he imagined himself to have directly received from Father Nitard resolved not to go to Flanders They would never have exposed me to the puissance of the most Christian King says he to Don Diego de Valasco for whom he had an extraordinary affection but only with a design to compleat my ruine They will certainly take care to keep back those succours from time to time of which I shall stand in need and whatsoever good conduct I may use in the management of the war there is no question to be made but that they will make me answerable for all the ill success we meet You see I am now at the port and yet they have executed a man who was guilty of no other crime than of wearing the character of my friend What will they do then if I were once in Flanders all my friends would undoubtedly find themselves exposed to the malice and hatred of the new Favourite He searched the most plausible pretences he could think of to excuse his going for Flanders For some days he feigned himâ—elf to be indisposed and sent word to the Queen that he was troubled with a defluxion on his breast that the Physicians had made him apprehend the fatal consequences of it if he undertook so long a voyage and therefore he beseeched her to dispense with him An alteration so little expected made a great noise at Court and gave no small mortification to her Majesty and Father Nitard They easily guessed at the cause and if they had imagined the Prince was no farther off perhaps they had not sentenced Malladas to die so soon The Q. ordered Don Iuan to resign his employ to the Constable of Castile who was to go to Flanders in his room and also commanded him to go immediately to Consuegra without presuming to come nearer than 20 League of Madrid which he accordingly obey'd But it seems this obedience was not enough to satisfie the Queen's Indignation who was so exasperated at him that in August 1668. she carried into the Council with her own hands a Decree against the Prince wherein she represented to them the disobedience he had shown at so pressing a juncture and the reasons which ought to have obliged him to set sail altho the indisposition he pretended had been really true that a lye from a Subject to his Soveraign was always thought worthy of the highest punishments and especially under such important circumstances Don Iuan was informed of all that this Decree contained against him and he was the more sensibly concerned at this ill usage since he had trespassed so much upon moderation in not making a louder complaint of the death of Malladas The man that served altogether to estrange his inclinations from the Queen was a Captain whose name was Don Petro de Pinilla who having asked leave to speak with the Queen threw himself at her feet and entertained her an hour in private without any bodies knowing what he said to her It is not doubted by what happened afterwards but that he discovered something of importance against Don Bernardo Pategno Brother to Don Iuan's chief Secretary because
their Coaches the air was filled with nothing but the benedictions and praises they bestow'd upon him in a word the joy was universal in this great City The Queen and Father Confessor who received a faithful relation of the whole proceedings were sensibly concerned she to see the contempt wherewith her orders were entertain'd he to find himself so inveterately hated by the people The report of Iuan's extraordinary reception spread it self as far as Madrid and amongst several persons that receiv'd it with joy and satisfaction there were many that apprehended some disorder at the return of the Prince In order to prevent those evils that seemed to threaten them the Regidors and other Magistrates of that City assembled on the first of February They sent four of their body to the President of Castile to represent to him the great mischief that might be occasioned by Iuan's arrival with his Troops at a time when the Court was so weak and the people so insolent and disposed for a revolt that notwithstanding the Prince was well affectioned towards them yet he would not be able to prevent the lamentable effects they had reason to fear The President waited upon the Queen and the Council immediately met where it was ordered to dispatch a Courier to Don Iuan with her Majesty's Orders to send back his Guards without delay He received the Order but hastened his march making the Courier follow him two days on the third he gave him a Receipt for his Order and sent him back without any answer In the mean time that he delay'd the Couriers coming back they were alarm'd at Court with the ill success of his Voyage and their uneasiness was much increas'd in the Palace when they saw him sent back without any Letter Some of the Lords went thereupon to find out the President to desire him to tell the Queen that they were ready to undertake any thing in the world for her service The Cavalry was drawn up together and preparations were making at Madrid to sustain a siege the event whereof appeared very doubtful altho they had to deal with a Prince who was only attended by 300 Horse 'T was in effect this Guard that occasioned the greatest trouble the Queen ordered the Marquess de Penalva to assemble the reformed Officers together with those that should offer themselves to go upon this occasion and tell the Prince that her Majesty ordered him to send back the three Troops of Horse he had brought along with him The Marquess de Penalva was disposed to obey but he demanded an order of the Council Royal and the Secretary of State refused to expedite it alledging that the Queen could do nothing without the Council of the Government and that she had never consulted them about this affair The Queen being provoked sent the Secretary word That he ought seriously to consider what difficulties he was going to start at so ill an exigence and how little they were to the purpose The Cardinal Arragon the Count de Penarauda and the Vice-Chancellor came to wait upon her Majesty they represented to her that the Secretary was in the right and gave the President of Castile a severe Reprimand for giving way by his counsels to an Order that might have produced very evil consequences They resolved at last not to take up arms and to dissipate the apprehensions the people were under at Madrid 't was publickly proclaimed that Don Iuan had sent back his guards or that if he had not done it as yet yet he would send them back at the first warning The Queen having no hopes at all of seeing her self obeyed by force betook her self to more gentle methods to try if she could by that conduct oblige Don Iuan to send back his Soldiers She writ to him by Don Diego de Velasco who was his great Confident and the Letter was very courteous and civil The Prince who came secretly to Madrid to discover the state of affairs the dispositions of his friends and what he might be able to effect there very resolutely sent the Queen word again that there lay no obligation upon him to expose himself to the revenge of Father Nitard therefore he positively demanded to have him turned out of the Kingdom that after this were once done none of all her Subjects should pay a more dutiful submission to her Orders than himself This was to demand a thing of the Queen which she had no manner of inclination to grant The Noncio Borromée the Council of State and the Grandees gave themselves a great deal of trouble to no purpose to adjust the matter In the mean time the Prince appeared so firm in his resolution that all the world judged it would go very happy for the Confessor if he could escape with his life He himself was sensible enough of the danger he was in so he redoubled his importunities with the Queen to suffer him to depart She returned him no answer but by her Tears and Sighs insomuch that he chose rather to expose his own life to the utmost extremity than disoblige her by leaving her service News arrived that the Prince was come with his Troops to Torrejon-dardos which is but four leagues from Madrid Those that were of the Queens party were mightily disquieted at it and she her self was more afflicted than the rest They heard her several times repeat these words Oh Heavens this good Father will be the first Sacrifice The Council of the Government met and desired the Nuncio to carry Don Iuan the Letter the Pope had written to him wherein he conjured him to preserve those sentiments of respect and submission for the Queen which a subject ow'd his Soveraign The Nuncio went to find him and came back about midnight No body almost in this great City went to bed but attended his return with impatience for they knew the occasion of his journey and the people ran up and down the streets in great bodies asking each other who they were for The news the Nuncio brought back with him did not at all please the Queen he told her that he had earnestly requested the Prince to go to Guadalajara or at least to stay where he was a few days that new measures might be taken to satisfie him but that the Prince refused both the one and the other and said that if on the Monday following the Coâ—fâ—ssor would not go out of the Gate he would throw him out at the Window and enter Madrid on purpose to put it in execution It was afterwards known that this Negotiation passed after another manner viz. that the Prince had agreed to let Father Nitard be with the Queen provided she would grant some advantages to him which he proposed but that the Nuncio who had no kindness for the Father was resolved to break the Treaty all to pieces by concealing the favourable inclinations of Don Iuan. Father Nitard was informed of all that happened he Confessed the Queen the next morning and
afterwards threw himself at her feet beseeching her not to expose him to the outrages which he might expect to suffer from an incensed Prince that his life was at stake and that there was no other way to preserve it but by submitting to the present necessity The Queen answered him with abundance of tears that she was not able to consent to his removal that he should not disquiet himself at all for she would take care to set things to rights again He was well enough satisfied of her own good will for him but he questioned whether her power answered her inclinations nevertheless he resolved at last that he would be torn in pieces by the people before he would leave Madrid without her Order So he tarried with her having all the apprehensions upon him that a man who every moment expects his death can be capable of These affairs came to this upshot at last that on Monday the 25th of February the great Court of the Palace was filled with numbers of people of all conditions who in a disorderly manner that was not easie to be suppressed loudly demanded to have the Confessor discarded without any more delay That no body was ignorant of what Don Iuan had said to the Nuncio that the City would go near to be exposed to plunder and desolation for the sake of a Jesuit who was a stranger and had no other merit to recommend him but his pleasing the Queen The Duke d' Infantado and the Marquess de Liche seeing such a vast multitude assembled together ran to the Queens Apartment who was then in Bed She had not closed her Eyes all night long and had not enjoyed one moment of rest having it seems received some information of what had past One of her Ladies whose name was Donna Eugenia was upon her knees by her to comfort her in these extremities Alas said the Queen to her what signifies my Grandeur and these high Titles they give me since I am not allowed the liberty to keep the good man any longer with me upon whom the consolation of my life depends There is never a Lady in Spain but has the priviledge of keeping her Chaplain and no body finds fault with it But I am the only woman in the Kingdom that is persecuted upon this score and whose Confessor must be taken away from her by force The Council sate immediately because the disorder still increased in the City and it was to be feared that it would augment more and more Some of the Ministers who were in the Queens interests were for finding out some expedient to hinder the departure of Father Nitard but others pretended there was no room left for an accommodation and said that if the business was any longer delayed all would be lost that Don Iuan would soon enter Madrid and then Friends and Enemies would fare alike that their debate at present was only about a poor Ecclesiastick whom the people hated even to madness and never mentioned without the bitterest execrations altho at the bottom he never deserved them and was an honest man Her Majesty happening to be in Bed when the Duke d' Infantado and the Marquess de Liche demanded to speak with her they could not see her because it is the custom in Spain for no body to go into the Queens Chamber when she is gone to Bed So they went to the Cavacuela which is a place under ground belonging to the Palace where the Secretaries of State abide They spoke to Don Blasco de Loyola and would have given him a memoir to deliver to her Majesty but the great haste they made in running up to the Queens Apartment and afterwards in hurrying down stairs again to the Privy Council together with the great ado they made to get in caused several persons that met them to follow after them so that when they entred the Chamber where the Ministers were assembled to inform themselves of what had past they found a great rabble of people who entred along with them and began to cry out all together Deliver us from the Iesuit and send him packing The Ministers continued a while surprized and looking upon one another while the Rabble renewed their importunities adding at the same time some menaces against those that should offer to stand by the Father Confessor Without demurring any longer upon the matter they resolved to send Don Blasco de Loyola to wait upon the Queen with a Decree with which they entrusted him He brought her word that the Council had determin'd that Father Nitard should depart Madrid within three hours warning The Order was already drawn and the Queen discovered no emotion in reading it she signed it with great steadiness of mind and without shedding one tear but being desirous that her Confessors removal should not seem to be extorted by force but that he made an honourable retreat she procured an Order of Leave to be drawn up in these words Whereas F. John Everard Nitard of the Society of Jesus my Confessor Minister of State and Inquisitor General has humbly intreated me to give him leave to withdraw himself out of these Kingdoms altho I am fully satisfied not only of his integrity and his other good qualities but also of the great zeal and application wherewith he has always served the Crown yet nevertheless upon the account of his earnest supplications as well as for divers other important reasons I have given him my permission to go where he pleases And since I desire that this may be done in a manner that is suitable to his merits and dignity I have â—hought it expedient to give him his choice of going in the quality of Embassador Extraordinary either to Germany or Rome with all the emoluments and advantages that belong to that charge Given at Madrid the 25 th of February 1669. As soon as Don Blasco was gone the Queen using no farther violence with her self to keep in her tears shed them very plentifully and casting herself upon the bed with all the grief imaginable cryed out incessantly Alas alas to what purpose is it to be a Queen and Regent On the other hand the Council commanded the Cardinal of Arragon and the Count de Penaranda to go and acquaint Father Nitard with the order her Majesty had signed He who had long expected this tempest seemed not to be surprized at the News but was perswaded by the Nuncio's importunities not to go to Council as he had designed for he told him the people were so highly incensed against him that he would infallibly run the risque of being torn to pieces if he offer'd to shew himself The Superiors of the Jesuits were come to wait upon him to prepare him for this fatal stroak The Admiral of Castile came thither also telling him with great fierceness and that freedom of Conversation that so peculiarly distinguishes Persons of Quality from others that he had drawn all these Misfortunes upon himself by his own ill measures
often upon this score that she signed an Order by which she prohibited them to speak to her any more about it and so without any more delay she compleated the Regiment She afterwards commanded Don Iuan under very rigorous penalties to remove from Guadalajara He obeyed her Orders with a great deal of respect altho he was in a condition by the the help of his friends that were come to him from Arragon and other places to do what he pleased the report ran that he was coming within a little distance of Madrid and this gave several persons abundance of uneasie thoughts To pacifie their spirits the Queen wrote to him and desired him to repair to Arragon in the quality of Viceroy and Vicar-General of the Kingdoms dependant upon it This Order affected him with a very sensible joy and he took care to testifie it by the thanks he returned the Queen to whom he writ a very large Letter desiring her Majesty to consider seriously of the education of the young King In it he represented to her the great consequences of it as being a man that was master of a great deal of wit and honour He wrote likewise to the Pope on the 7th of Iune to conjure him to oblige Father Nitard to quit his Offices In the mean time some of the Queens enemies set about a sham decree wherein she gave orders to the Council to disarm the people immediately and return their Arms into the Common Hall It was an easie matter to perswade the world that this was her real intention and indeed this pretended innovation so far estranged the peoples hearts from her Majesty that they were just upon the point of making an insurrection This reason joined with the horrible disorders that were committed by the Regiment of the Scambergues for so the people nick-named them because they were clad a la Francoise and the Spaniards copied this mode from M. de Schomberg this reason I say obliged the Council Royal to present another Remonstance to the Queen wherein they desired her to send these new Soldiers to the Frontiers but she did not think fit to comply with their requests because she imagined this body of military men would keep the City in awe and subjection Don Iuan was now at Saragossa beloved by the Nobility and adored by the people the Queen could never forgive him the irreparable injury he did her in forcing her to part with her Confessor who made but a sorry figure at Rome so that by way of raillery it was frequently said That the Queen of Spain had so invincible an aversion to the Spaaiards that she would never consent to the ruine of Father Nitard till he was naturalized a Spaniard But however she still preserved so great an esteem and affection for him thatshe employed her utmost endeavours to procure him a Cardinals Cap. For this reason she gave secret orders to the Marquiss de S. Romain her Ambassador ordinary at Rome This soon came to be known at Madrid and the news alarm'd the people exceedingly every one apprehending that if ever the Father Confessor was made Cardinal he would certainly by those steps come back to Spain and they were all perswaded that the Queen maintained the Regiment of the Schombergs for no other end but only to favour this design The Council being really afraid lest the intrigue should succeed bethought themselves of some means to defeat Father Nitard in his pretensions and for that purpose they dispatched a Courier to the Marquess de S. Romain to propose to the Pope some other Subjects of Spain who better deserved the purple The Queen made as if she consented to the busineâ—s but under hand renewed her orders but the Ambassador who was no friend at all to the Jesuits managed his affairs so prudently that his Holiness rejected Father Nitard and besides obliged him to resign his other Places The General of his Order whom he had formerly neglected and who for that reason owed him a great deal of ill will thought he had now an opportunity in the reverse of the Father's fortune to pay the debt so he sent him immediately to one of their Houses near Rome He retired thither with a spirit of moderation that was very exemplary and of all his Train he kept no one with him but Friar Bustos his Companion Behold here a continued series of Thunder claps one upon the neck of another This harsh usage appeared so terrible to the poor Queen who did not in the least question the success of her negotiation that she fell sick of a Tertian Ague which continued a long time upon her 'T is easy to believe by what I have already related that her resentments became more violent than ever against Don Iuan from her natural disposition she was inclined to make him him responsible for every thing that gave her any disquiet and when she saw at the same time the Bulls for the Charge of Inquisitor General arrive at Madrid she did not doubt but it was all of the Prince's doing In fine that place which she had seen so deservedly filled by Father Nitard was possest by Don Antonio Balladores President of Castile and Father Nitard for his part continued still near Rome but subject to all the ill treatment with which the General of his Order thought fit to mortify him The Queen was not able to endure that a man who had formerly enjoyed so great a share in her friendship and confidence and who had governed the whole Monarchy of Spain so absolutely should continue exposed to all the resentments and caprices of his General Therefore she employed all the credit she had at Rome to place Father Nitard in another condition Clement IX dying in the Month of December 1669. Cardinal Altieri was chosen Pope and took upon him the name of Clement X. The Queen who did not doubt but that this Pope would bestow a Cap upon her Confessor named the Father to be Ambassador extraordinary of Spain at his Holiness's Court an employment which she had formerly offer'd him when he departed from Madrid and which he was not then willing to accept of she procured leave for him to return to Rome and in fine managed this affair with his Holiness so successfully that Father Nitard was created Archbishop of Edessa She continued to sollicit his promotion with a great deal of vigour and application The Pope being thus importuned made him Cardinal Priest in the month of April 1672 and gave him in the Month of August following the title of St. Bartholomew d' Isola and gave him a place in the 4 Congregations This news filled the Queen with a very sensible joy and all those persons who were of her party did not fail to compliment her upon this occasion The new Cardinal writ a very obliging Letter to Don Iuan in hopes that this civility would draw another from the Prince and that finding by this correspondence a means to reconcile himself to him he
Iuan of Austria to return out of an expectation that he was the fittest person to remove this universal grievance this new Creature Valenzuelae This Cabal of Malecontents increased so mightily that there was almost nothing to be seen but Pasquils Lampoons and Satyrs both in prose and verse against the Queen and against him Nay they had the boldness to give out that he hindered her Majesty from recompencing the services of several persons who otherwise might have expected considerable employments In short their insolence proceeded so far that one night very near the Palace they hung up the portraiture of the Queen with Valenzuela He had at his feet all the marks that represented his several places a Sword for Constable an Anchor for Admiral a Golden Key for Gentleman of the Bed Chamber a Collar of the Fleece for Knight of that Order and so of the rest He pointed at all these things with his hand and below was written Este se Vende that is to say all this is sold. And the Queen leaning her hand upon his heart with this inscription Yeste se da that is to say and this is given The report ran very strong that he sold all Office and Dignities at high rates at which some persons of the highest quality were extremely offended and his avarice drew upon him abundance of Enemies But what is still the most remarkable is this that all these various reports made not the least impression on the Queen She said That her rank placed her above these little contumelies and that she should be angry with her self if she were capable of being disquieted at such miserable reproaches that were so infinitely below her indignation that the most effectual way to punish and extinguish these licentious abuses was to take no notice of them that the reason why they were so inveterate against the Marquess de Valenzuela proceeded only from their envy that she was resolved not to abandon and sacrifice one of the best Subjects that the King her Son had to gratifie the insatiable humour of some Malecontents that were never to be satisfied So that now it was apparent that all the methods they took to destroy this Favourite served only to confirm him so much the deeper in the affections and good graces of the Queen Nevertheless he used all possible means to procure the good will of the people he took care that Madrid should be always plentifully supplied with provisions necessary for life and that all sorts of commodities should be sold at cheap easy rates He often entertained the City with Bull Feasts where he generally made his appearance in a black habit embroidered over with silver and wore black and white Plumes as being in second mourning because the Queen was a Widdow But as soon as ever he entred the Lists and according to the custom of those that design to combat the Bulls came under the Queen's Balcony making her a profound reverence and demanding permission de Taurear as they call it there she sent a Messenger to forbid him to expose himself 'T was observable in one of these courses that he wore a Scarf of black Taffata embroidered o're with Gold with the device of an Eagle gazing stedfastly upon the Sun and for the Motto these words Tengo solo Licentia that is to say it is only permitted to me Some days after he appeared at the running at the ring having an Eagle painted upon his Buckler for they always wear them at this sort of Course which is an ancient diversion of the Moors armed with Iupiter's thunder bearing the same Motto It is only permitted to me There being no hazard to run in this sport the Queen was willing that Valenzuela should show his dexterity which he did and carried away the prize from a great number of young Lords that disputed it with him and received from the Queen's hand a Sword beset with Diamonds They talked hotly at Court of the two devices of the Favourite and every one was ready to explain them according to his own fancy and inclination He caused some Comedies of his composing to be publickly represented on the Theatre and all the Town had the liberty of seeing them for nothing This was the most taking way in the world to gain the hearts of the Spaniards for they are such passionate admirers of all publick shows that they will lay up the mony which ought to be spent in maintaining their poor Families to purchase a dear seat at a Bull-feast Valenzuela was not satisfied to cultivate the affections of the people by these magnificences but sought other ways to win their hearts He set several noble buildings on foot rebuilt the great Square the better part of which had been consumed by fire and particularly the House where their Majesties went to behold the Courses at the Bull-feasts and running at the ring He caused a bridge to be built at the gate near Toledo over the Mancanares that cost a million of Ducats and another bridge over the same river at Pardo which is a house of pleasure belonging to the King The Frontispiece and place before the Palace was finished by his order as also the Tower of the Queen's Apartment was raised much higher He employed all his thoughts in contributing to the diversion of the Queen and the King her Son this young Prince now began to go to all the meetings of Sport and Pleasure that were kept at Aranjues the Escurial and the other Royal Houses One day when the Marquess de Valenzuela had received Orders of the King to prepare a Chase for him and the Court was then at the Escurial the King designing to shoot a Stag shot his Favourite and wounded him on the Thigh the Queen being terribly affrighted broke out into great Lamentations and fainted away between the arms of her Ladies This accident occasioned some people to predict the approaching ruine of Valenzuela whereof this odd adventure seemed to be a presage The time being now come to order the King's Houshold the Marquess made choice of all the Oâ—ficers He made the Duke d' Albuquerque Mayor-Dome Mayor the Admiral of Castile Cavallerizo Mayor and the Duke de Medina-celi Sumiller de Corps this Officer is the same in effect with High Chamberlain and puts on the Kings shirt The name is originally French and comes from the Dukes of Burgundy from whom the House of Austria is descended After the same manner he disposed of the other places Now as there were abundantly more pretenders than places to fill he drew upon him by this means a considerable number of Enemies who could not digest the affront of having nothing given them and were less inclined to pardon him for that which directly concerned themselves than for what related to the Interest of State At this time they thought more earnestly than ever of Don Iuan hoping that he would come to revenge their quarrel upon Valenzuela and besides they laboured underhand to convince the King how
de 〈◊〉 Bâ—lbaraâ— arived at Madrid who brought the happy neâ—â— that the marriage of the King with Mademoiselle had been solemnized at Fountainbleau and this gave occasion to the Masquerades on Horseback and the bonefires that were to be seen for three days together All this publick rejoycing did not in the least diminish Don Iuan's melancholy and 't is certain the great perplexity of mind he was under very much impaired his health and the vigour of his constitution He was at a stand what party to take for as he had too much bravery ever to think of giving way to his enemies so his credit was not strong enough to put him in capacity of resisting them In this violent condition he was sensible enough thaâ— he should never be able to sustain the weight of his affliction and to say the truth it cost him his life at last But great men seldom complain when they become the sport of fortune and after their example Don Iuan expected his last day with the constancy and steadiness of a Heroe His Tertian Ague seized him again and on the seventh of September he found himself so extreamly ill that the Physitians acquainted the King that there was but little hopes of his recovery At this news his Majesty wept and testified a sensible grief He ordered Cardinal Pâ—rtocarerâ— to go to him and learn what condition he was in he appeared but little concerned and prepared himself for death like a â—ood Christian and Philosopher He comforted 〈◊〉 his friends with a wonderful presence of â—â—nd A man has lived long enough said he to â—â—em when he dies without having any thiâ—g to 〈◊〉 him I mean in râ—laâ—ion to Honour 〈◊〉 for what concerns my dâ—ty to God I have been too deficious and the time of my repentance cannot be too long He received the Holy Viaticum and the King almost every other moment came into his Chamber testifying a great deal of friendship for him and tenderly complained that he would abandon him at a juncture when his assistance was become so necessary to him Don Iuan made his Will by which he constituted the King his Heir he left almost all his Jewels to the young Queen and the Queen Mother and named Cardinal Portocarero the Duke de Medina Celi the Duke of Alva and the President of Castile to be his Executors He likewise gave order that as soon as ever he was dead they should remove his Cabinet which was filled with Papers of great importance out of his own Apartment to that of the King This extream illness of the Prince put some stop to the publick rejoycings that were resolved upon and particularly to a Bull-feast but however it did not hinder them from making fine artificial Fireworks in the Court of the Palace nay he desired it himself altho he was troubled with a furious pain in his Head that might very well be increased with the noise of Rockets and Crackers All this while his Physitians who knew nothing of the profound melancholy wherein he was plunged punished his body for an indisposition that was properly lodged in the mindâ— and made him suffer a sort of martyrdom by the several torments they inflicted upon him In fine this poor Prince died on the seventeenth of September 1679. on the very same day that his Father Philip IV. did He was born in 1626. and abounded with a thousand good qualities A little time after his birth his Mother received the habit of a Religious Woman from the hands of Pope Innocent X. who was then the Pope's Nuncio to King Philip IV. this action of her retiring out of the world justified her from abundance of suspicions which people entertained upon the score of her imprudent conduct The King did not acknowledge him till the year 1642. He had the Grand Priory of Malta in Castile bestowed upon him and was sent against the Portugueses with the Title of Generalissimo of the Armies by Sea and Land After this he reduced the City of Naples to its obedience and went to Flanders to command the Troops there He was Governour of the Low Countries of Burgundy and Charâ—lois but he came back to march once more against the Portugueses After the deâ—â—h of the King his Father he passed his time as it above mentioned at Consuegra the ordinary residence of the Grand Prior of Castile and when the present King came to be of age he continued near him On the twentyeth his body was carried to the Escurial and was interred in the Paâ—theon for so the place is called where they lay the bodies of the Kings of Spain but those of the Princes and Princesses of the Royal Family are placed in a Vault which is not far from it nay they don't lay the bodies of the Queens of Spain in the Pantheon unless they have had Children He left a very beautiful Daughtâ—r behind him whom he had by a Person of Grâ—â—t Quality She is a Religiouâ— among the Carmâ—litâ—â— at Madrid who are called las Descaltas Reâ—les The first journey the King made after the death of Don Iuan was to go and visit the Queen Mother he parted the very same day from Madrid and lay on the way at Araâ—juez and arrived the next day at Toledo The Queen received him with great testimonies of tenderness they mingled their Tears together as they embraced one another and dined and afterwards entertained one another a long time in private All those that accompanied the King kissed her Majesty's hand so after the day was agâ—eed upon for her to come back to Madrid he left her We may easily believe that she took but little time to prepare her self for a journey that was so welcome to her The King parted from Madrid on the twenty seventh he lay again at Aranjâ—â—z and the next day he set forward to meet the Qâ—een on the way that leads to Toledo As soon as they met he desired her to come into his Coach that they might discourse in private and so he brought her to Buen Râ—tâ—râ— which is one of the King's Houses scituate at the end of the City There she rested her self for some time till the House of the Duke Dâ—â—eda could be fitted up foâ— her which it seems she chose to reside in because the Palace was not spacious enough to lodge the two Queens It would be an endless piece of trouble to reckon up all the Persons of Quality besides the vast multitudes of people that accompanied their Majesties at their arrival and indeed this mighty alteration of fortune was very remarkable on the Queen Mothers side There was an universal joy for her return in the very same City where but two years ago Don Iuan was seen to enter as the Deliverer of his Country and the Queen to go out like a meer Fugitive under all the weight of the publick hatred The King â—arried there till evening and there scarce passed a day over his head from the time he went to meet the
Milan President of the Orders and was Master of the Horse to the young Queen The Count de Chinchâ—â— was formerly called Marquess de Bayonâ—a He had been General of the Spanish Gallies was a brave man he neither was rich nor desired to be so He was 60. years old Don Vincente Gonzagua Prince de Guastalla had never been married he was a very polite witty person and came very young to the Spanish Court where he ran through most of the considerable Posts and always acquitted himself well in them He had been Vice-Roy of Catalonia and Sicily and being a man of singular integrity Don Iuan caused him to come to him to Madrid in order to give him a place in the Council He was 74. years old Don Louis Portocarero Cardinal and Arch-Bishop of Toledo possessed the greatest Benefices in Spain He was extreamly rich and his Archbishoprick was worth three hundred and sixty thousand Crowns per annum to him He did abundance of good in his station was very obliging and courteous of an easie temper and had the repute of being an honest man He might be about 52. years old The Marquess de Liche who carried the name of de Haro Gusman had two very opposite qualities he was liberal and yet covetous he carried his magnificence even to an excess considering his rank in the world but especially towards his Mistresses nevertheless he sometimes shewed his frugality in things that did him no credit He had but an ordinary mein and was ill-favoured but was master of all the wit penetration and vivacity imaginable He was a great Lord full of ambition and so naturally forward and adventurous that they feared him at Court and kept him always at a great distance He was Ambassador at Rome and was 42. years old The Count de Monterey was Brother to the Marquess de Liche more medling in all affairs and no less ambitious but more discreet and more moderate gallant liberal and witty He had a great deal of experience and people were well contented with his conduct in the Government of Flanders He was not above 40. years old 'T was observable that he was well-shaped and his Wife very deformed whereas the Marquess de Liche his Brother was very deformed and his Wife exceeding beautiful The Marquess de los Balbazez a Geniese of the House of Spinola was very rich He was not without justice reproached for falling into an excess in the managâ—ment of his domestick concerns He married the Sister of the Constable Colonna The bigness and and figure of that Lady were very remarkable It must be owned that he had both zeal and capacity for the service of his Master He had been Governour of Milan and afterwards was Ambassador at Vienna and at France and Plenipotentiary at Nimeguen He was 50. years old Don Diego Sarmiento was originally of Gallicia his birth was not illustrious The Queen Mother protected him and procured for him the place of Councellor of State because he was altogether devoted to her service He was a person of great abilities and prudence and reckoned to be 58. years old The Duke de Villa-Hermosa of the House of Borgia mightily increased his fortunes during his stay in Flanders where he was Governour He passed for a person of great bravery and had the Character of a sweet-tempered affable man He was not very rich and might be about 50. years old Don Melchior Navarra owed his elevation to his good fortune and to the Queen Mother He was a man of great merit and knowledge and was a member of the Council Royal. He left Spain in the year 1680. to be Vice-Roy of Peru and was supposed to be 50 years old The Marquess de Los-Velez was Son to the Marchioness de Los-Velez who had been Goverâ—â—nte to the King he married the Sister of the Dutchess de Medina Celi he was Vice-Roy of Naples and made himself to be beloved there for his good qualities He was master of a great fortune but of greater vertues and was but 30. years old The Count d' Oropeza who carries the name of Toledo conjunctly with that of Portugal was young and not above 30. years old His stature was somewhat of the lowest otherwise he was well enough made as to his person of a smiling agreeable countenance and a sweet and infinuating conversation open in appearance but in effect very reserved and close not always speaking as he thought and generally intent upon nothing but to deceive and amuse He pretended to be devout and under the exteriour shew of unconcernedness for the world concealed his great ambition to which he might be prompted perhaps by his illustrious birth he was of the House of Portugal and presumptive Heir of that Kingdom in case the King had no Children The King at that time loved him exceedingly and this love has been since wonderfully increased he is become a Favourite and chief Minister The Marquess de Mansera had been formerly sent Ambassador into Germany and afterwards was made Vice-Roy of New Spain where he enriched himself and came back to Madrid he was of so unhealthful a constitution that he could not fill the chief places of the Government which otherwise he might have done being a person of great capacity in regard of his experience and judgment He was 59. years old The Duke d' Albuquerque was General at Sea he was very brave and was not destitute of wit He married the Daughter of his Eldest Brother to keep up the name of his Family which was that of Cueva and was very antient He might be about 48. years old Don Iuan Ieronimo d' Eguya was born at Gesue but his family was of Navâ—â—re and his Father had been Gentleman to the Duke de Turcis he was well shaped and agreeable had abundnace of wit and lived in the quality of a Page to Don Pedro Fernandez del Campo Secretary of State his Master loved him exceedingly and made him his chief Commissary He afterwards rose to be Secretary for Don Pedro del Campo not being in the good graces of Valenzuela d' Eguya was chosen to officiate in his place by a Commission and after some time had the good fortune to get it for himself for he to whom it belonged died of grief because he was not permitted to exercise it any longer The King had a great kindness for him and he behaved himself towards his Majesty with all the Address imaginable His Office was under the King's apartment he was called Secretary of State and del Despacho Vniversal He was never of the Council his employment directly fastned him to the person of the King and chief Minister He kept the Bolfillo without being obliged to give up his accounts Now these are the fines that come to the King as well from Spain as the Indies they amount to a prodigious summ and are employed for secret services either by way of presents or pensions All these persons whom I have mentioned were very eminent and
of the young Princess which sufficiently testified her disquietude within She easily apprehended that a person of her age could not chuse but be disgusted at the severity of the Camarera so she thought her self obliged to acquaint the King with it and desired him that he would be pleased to treat her after a more gentle method She succeeded in her Petition and procured leave for the Marchioness de Villars to go and wait upon the Queen who was introduced into her Apartment through that of the Dutchess de Terra Nova who appeared less savage and somewhat more respectful to her than she used to be The King according to the custom of Spain sate in a Chair of State the two Queens upon two low Stools and presently another was brought for the Ambassador's Lady Soon after the Queen Mother going out along with the King she found her self alone with the Queen who seeing she was now at liberty to talk could not â—orbear to shed some Tears as she acquainted her with the sorrowful life she led After she somewhat eased her self by recounting to her the several ill usages that so much disturbed her the Ambassador's Lady did not fail to apply those consolations she judged expedient for one in her condition She made her sensible that this life so full of constraint as it was and for which she expressed so great a reluctancy was yet the very same that all the Queens and Infanta's of Spain had ever been accustomed to that there was nothing particular in what she suffered and consequently was not designed to disoblige her that she ought to hope that when the King was better acquainted with her and saw he had an entire possession of her heart he might out of complasance allow her some relaxations which hitherto her Predecessors had never enjoyed That since the Queen Mother loved her and cherished her interests as her own she could not do too much to cultivate that friendship which would be so advantageous and necessary to her that in the distribution of humane things the greatest happiness is always attended with some inconveniencies that she was now elevated to the supreamest Grandeur upon Earth which Heaven would have her purchase at the expence of a few mortifications but that her complaisance to the King and Queen Mother would soon deliver her out of them She likewise told her several things which in the conduct she was to observe towards the rest of the Court might assist her to support the beginnings and render what followed more agreeable to her Madam de Villars spoke with a great deal of zeal of the Queen Mother but the young Queen being not as yet disingaged from those sentiments with which she had been lately possessed looked upon all this discourse as designed to mislead her and tho she ought to have considered that the Ambassadress could have no other views in what she told her than only to make her sensible of her own true interests yet these advices did not at that time make those impressions upon her as one could have wished they had for her good Her prejudices to the Queen Mother which were perpetually inspired into her ballanced the confidence she had in Madam de Villars and her mind that was only accustom'd to be entertained with those agreeable things that use to employ persons of her youth her temper that was naturally free and lively dissipated the application she ought to have made in order to distinguish good counsels from bad She knew just enough to embarrass her and give her occasions of being uneasy but could not tell how to disintangle herself and for want of a steady resolution to free herself from these melancholy Ideas thought it too great a fatigue to solve these apparent contradictions So she continued under this uncertainty without being able to rescue her self from it and perhaps by this means lost a favourable juncture that then offer'd it self to deliver her from the Subjection under which the Dutchess kept her afterwards The Ambassador of France saw her sometimes whilst she continued at Retiro but this was before Company and besides the time they allotted him to be with her was so short that in those general visits they could discourse of no particular affairs The Queen Mother continued to visit the Queen often she desired her to dress herself after the French fashion because she never beheld her in that dress she did so and the Queen Mother liked it extremely well When she was returned to her Palace which is the House of the Duke d' Vzeda and is one of the finest in Madrid the Young Queen sent her two little Cabinets full of pretty curiosities she on the other hand procured her by way of exchange the diversion of going a hunting at Pardo She had not been on Horseback since she came to Retiro The King killed a wild Boar before her and after that day they went frequently to the Chase together The Councils of the Inquisition of Castile of Italy of Flanders of Arragon of the Indies of War of the Finances of the Crusade and of the Orders went on New years day to wish a happy year to their Majesties for this is the Custom in Spain The Marquess Sera a Genoese offer'd to make the Naples Squadron consist of fourteen Gallies which was never more than seven and not put the King to any expence provided he would allow him the same conditions that the Duke de Tursis had at Genoa He had made this proposal to Don Iuan some time before his death who found it to be very advantageous However their resolutions are so long a taking in Spain and they have so small a consideration for Novelties of whatsoever use they may prove that it is almost impossible to introduce one and this affair it seems met with the same fortune The Marquess de los Balbazez took the Oath of fidelity for his place of Counsellor of State and Don Manuel de Lira did the same for that of Secretary of State in Italy The Duke d' Ossone still expected that they would accommodate the dispute between him and the Marquess d' Astorgas but seeing that they said nothing to him about it he took up a resolution to go no more to Court and appeared every day in the City with a great equipage This is often enough practised in Spain There are some people in the world that are never to be discountenanc'd by a repulse and Father Vintimiglia was of this number Altho he had received no manner of answer to the memorial he gave the Pr. d' Harcourt at Bayonna to present to the Queen yet he could not forbear to draw up a second wherein he regulated all the Monarchy he intrusted a French Gentleman with it who promised to find out some means or other to give the Queen a sight of it But whether he show'd it her or not 't is certain that Vintimiglia by an express order of the King was banished out of
Queen Mother that she had been accustomed to govern and would easily come to be Mistress again by the help of a Junto composed of her own Creatures that since he was married and had Prudence and Wit sufficient he ought to manage himself and that if ever he was prevailed upon to do otherwise he would find himself by little and little reduc'd to those sufferings from which he desir'd to free him It is natural for a Young King to desire to be at large and independent so whilst he continued thus in suspence Eguya was Master of all affairs The Confessor possessed the King with the same sentiments to chuse no Chief Minister upon whom he must depend And the Dutchess de Terra nova found herself equally concerned to keep off the Queen Mother a Junto and a Favourite During this Interregnum she had opportunity enough to fix and settle herself in the King 's good opinion she did not question but if the Q. Mother hapned to be once more Mistress she would endeavour either by herself or by her Creatures to turn her out of the Court this consideration obliged her to discourse frequently with the King and her only care was to perswade him that he ought to be apprehensive of the Queen Mothers designs She likewise inspired him with the same distrust of the Queen whose Youth and Easiness of Temper made her uncapable of taking strict measures She constantly whispered some disagreeable things or other into his Ear that only tended to disquiet him but he preserved so great a Love for his Queen that notwithstanding he believed all the Stories this old Beldam told him he never had the less affection and tenderness for her The Court continued still at Buen-Retiro that is to say without Madrid expecting the Queen to make her Entry after which they were to go and lodge in the Palace the preparations for her Entry were very long it was commonly believed for some time that the Queen was with Child but all these hopes vanishing about the beginning of Ianuary 1680 She made her Entry on the 13th of the same Month The Queen Mother went in the morning to Buen-Retiro from whence she parted some time after along with the King they went together to see all the streets through which the Queen was to pass and stayed at the Countess Dognates in a Balcony made on purpose and having a Lattice-Window gilt all over the Avenues that led to Retiro were all shut up and a prohibition was issued out for any Coach to go that way About eleven the Queen mounted on Horseback those that were to go before began to march and passed through a marble Gate which was but lately built The Kettle Drums and the Trumpets of the City in their Habits used in these Ceremonies marched at the head of all after them the Alcaldes of the Court the Nobility the Knights of the three Military Orders the Gentlemen of the King's house the Mayor domo's to the Queen and the Grandees of Spain followed by a great number of Lacquays whose different Liveries of Brocard and Gallon of Gold and Silver of a mixt colour made an agreeable diversity the Querries of the Queen marched on foot immediately before her the Count de Villa Mayana was on her Right hand who was her Chief Gentleman Usher She was surrounded with her Menins and Pages of Honour when she walks on foot she always leans upon one of them the Dutchess de Terra nova followed her and Donna Laura de Alargon Governante of the Maids of Honour both of them mounted upon their Mules and in their Widdows habit which somewhat resembles that of Religious Women except that when they are on Horseback they wear great Hats on their Heads which made no less terrible a figure than the rest of their garb But People saw after this with a great deal of pleasure Donna Teresa de Toledo Donna Francisca Henriquez Donna Maria de Gusman Iosepha de Figueroa and Donna Manuela de Velasco Maids of Honour to the Queen all very beautiful and richly drest they were on Horseback each of them was accompanied by their Relations in the midst of whom they marched There were several led Horses admirably fine led by Grooms clad in rich Liveries and the passage was shut up by the Guards de la Lancilla At the Prado which is one of the most agreeeble walks in Madrid by reason of the several Fountains that water it continually was to be seen a Gallery open on every side with one and twenty Arches there were several jettings out in it on which the Armes of the several Kingdoms under the Dominion of Spain were affixed to Pillars that supported some gilt Statues which carried Devices in honour of the Queen with Crowns and Inscriptions that had a relation to the several Kingdoms The Queen found at the end of the Gallery a Triumphal Arch very magnificent and well design'd through which she entred into the City The Corrigidor and the Rigidors apparelled in Brocard of Gold of a red Crimson colour with Bonnets and Breeches such as the antient Castilians wore presented her with the Keys of the City and with a Canopy which they carried over her head during the procession The Streets were adorned with the richest Tapestries and the precious Stones that were to be seen in the Goldsmiths Row were valued at Eleven Millions It would take up too much time to describe all the magnificences of that day I shall only content my self to say that the Queen was mounted upon a fine Andaluzian Horse which in this noble march seemed proud to carry so beautiful and great a Princess Her Habit was so covered with Embroidery that the Stuff was not to be seen she wore on her Hat white Plumes mixt with red and a Pearl called there the Peregrina which is as big as a small Catherine Pear and is of an inestimable value hung below a Clasp of Diamonds with which her Hat was beset She wore on her finger the great Diamond of the King which as they pretend surpasses in beauty any thing of that nature that was ever set in a Ring But the graceful deportment of the Queen in all her actions and particularly in the management of her Horse and the charms of her person made a greater lustre than all the pretious Stones she wore altho it is certain that people could scarce behold the glittering of them She made an halt before the Balcony of the Countess Dognate to salute the King and Queen Mother they opened the Lattice about 4 broad fingers to see her and the K. taking hisHanderchief in his hand carried it several times to his Mouth his Eyes and his Heart which is the greatest piece of Gallantry in Spain She went on in her Procession and the King with the Queen Mother received her in the Court of the Pallace he helped her to light off her Horse and the other taking her by the hand conducted her to her Apartment where
General and the Counsellors the Apostolick Inquisitors They are named by the Pope and there are in Spain above twenty thousand Officers belonging to the Holy Inquisition whose business it is to seize the persons of Criminals Every Council consists of six Inquisitors the word signifies Enquirers the Fiscal who is the Accuser two Secretaries and Alguazil Principal two Reporters a Receiver of the Fines four Porters and a Sollicitor The Inquisition keeps its Tribunals at Madrid at Toledo at Granada at Sevil at Cordova at Murcia at Guenza at Logrono at Lierena in Gallicia and at Vailladolid The Council of Orders This was erected in the year 1489. The Duke de Sessa of the House de Cordonne is now the President of it he has two Counsellors of the Order of St. Iago two of Calatrava two of Alcantara a Fiscal and a Secretary who are all Knights The King is Grand Master of these three Orders and is called the Perpetual Administrator of it This Council take Cognizance of the Temporal and Spiritual Government and of the Civil and and Criminal Justice of these Orders There are also Religious Men and Religious Women of it who bring their proofs and carry the mark of the Order 'T is in concert with this Council that the King examines those of his Subjects who are capable of filling the places and vacant governments that depend upon the Order The Sacred Royal and Supream Council of Arragon The King Don Ferdinand established this Council at Madrid in the year 1590. Charles the Fifth confirmed it in the year 1522. and appointed new Regulations of it in 1543. when he passed through Catalonia to go into Italy The Chief of this Council is called the Vice-Chancellor who at present is Don Pedro d' Arragon and the Prince de Stillano is Treasurer General This place is hereditary to the Family of the Duke de Medina de las Torres and this Duke is the Head of it Three of the Councellers are to be Natives of Valentia three of Arragon three of Catalonia a Protonotary a Fiscal four Secretaries four Scriveners a Procurator General nine Commissaries for the great Registers five for the little one for Letters four Porters and an Alguazil The Isles of Majorca Minorca Sardinia and Innica are under the jurisdiction of this Council they take cognizance of every thing that happens within the extent of their Authority and deliberate with the King about Ecclesiastick and Military Affairs Vice-Roy-ships Bishopricks the Finances and in short about whatsoever relates to the Civil Government The Council Royal of the Indies The Spaniards having had the good fortune to find out this part of the world which was unknown before and to reduce it under the Dominion of Spain His Catholick Majesty in the year 1511. established a Council of the Indies at Madrid Charles the Fifth in 1524. added a clause to it about the preserving of Religion and ordained that it should be composed of a Lord Chancellor a President eight Councellers of the Long Robe and four of the Sword with a Deputy to the Chancellor a Fiscal a Treasurer four Contadores an Alguazil Mayor two Secretaries who have each a dozen Commissaries under them two Agents to the Fiscal five Reporters one Historiographer one Geographer one Chaplain one Sacristan one Advocate and one Proctor for the Poor ten Porters one Scrivener and a Counceller of the Contratation at Sevil this last is commanded to preserve and keep together all the Ordinances and Laws for the Indies There is a Chief and an Under Commissary and four more under him This Council together with the King takes cognizance of every thing that has relation to the several Kingdoms and Provinces in the Indies of Navigation of War of Peace and of Civil and Criminal Affairs Philip the Fourth created a Chamber for the Indies in the year 1644. Before the Duke de Medina Celi was made Chief Minister he was President of the Council he still retains the Profits as well as the Title of it but he has placed in his room Don Vincente Gonzaga Councellor of State by a Commission He is called the Governor of the Council of the Indies The Council of Italy Charles the Fifth first erected this Council in the year 1555. and afterwards Philip the Second did cast it into a new Form It is composed of six Councellors and a President which Office at present is filled by the Duke of Alva of the House of Toledo They are called Councellors Regent and there are two for the affairs of Milan two for those of Sicily and two for those of Naples Of this number three are to be Spaniards and three Italians The last of these reside upon the place where their District is and have a Fiscal a Secretary two Reporters and four Porters The President has no voice in the Affairs of Justice His business is to propose persons to the King for military Employments This Council takes cognizance of matters of State of Grace and of Justice that lie within the reach of their jurisdiction as also of the Affairs of the Treasury They consult with the King about the disposing of Bishopricks and places of Justice as well as those of the Finances and the Civil List and in short about all Governments of places except some few that belong to the Council of State as for example the Castle of Naples does They deliberate about the Government of the Mildnese Naples and Sicily The Council of the Finances named de Hazienda Philip the Third in the year 1602. established this Council It consists of four Tribunals Don Carlos Ramirez de Atellano is President of it eight Councellors of the Sword and the President compose this Council Their chief business lies in the recovery and administration of the Finances in the raising and augmenting of the Rents Graces Priviledges and Concessions of the King They make Treaties for defraying the expence of the Houshold and of the Armies When there is occasion for advance-mony they are to find out people to do it The President signs all the expeditions alone by himself after he he has received the King's Order and the consult of the Council for all Gratifications Appointments Assignments Profits Pensions Ordinances and advances of Uundertakers Their expeditions are made in two Offices in each of which there is a Chief Commissary two Seconds and two that are called Entretenus There are a dozen Contadores that keep the Registers and Accounts of this Council The last Contador is called Ecrivain Major which signifies the Register of his Majesty's Rents They all go the Council of the Finances where they cover themselves after they have stood bare for some time They give them a sign to go when the Secretaries have a mind to come in In the regard of the Affairs and Trials belonging to the Tribunal of the Oydores and the Council of the Finances there is a great number of inferiour Officers whose Places are sold and four Reporters that are named
Faults All the Queen-Mother's Faction joyned in the same Complaints but that did not hinder the Count de Monterey from continuing still in his Place It is true that considering him Personally he was more deserving than the Pâ—â—nce de Stillano that he had faithfully served the King in Flanders when he was Governour there at a time when Affairs were in a ticklish condition He is a well made agreeable Person of great Abilities and we ought to reckon amongst his other good Qualities his Alliance with the Duke de Medina Celi and this was no small consideration at a time when the Duke did whatever he pleased at Court For Example he nominated his Brother to be Vice Roy of Mexico which is a Post where they get a prodigious Wealth in a short time The President of the Council of Castile received about this time a Breve from the Pope whereby he was enjoyn'd to repair immediately to Rome to give an account of his Behaviour towards the Nuncio but they were of Opinion here that he was not obliged to obey it It was known at Madrid that the Visitor General of the Kingdom of Naples had sent word to the Duke de Saint-Angelo Dean of the Collateral Council to depart out of Naples within three days and to retire sixty Miles off He obey'd this Injunction after having taken his Leave of the Vice-Roy and the most considerable Persons of the City and afterwards went to Gaette with his whole Family The Vice-Roy who appeared in Favour of him was very glad that the City of Naples had Writ to the King of Spain about him with a great deal of Zeal and Affection The Visitor General enraged at the Course they had taken sent Orders immediately to the Duke de Monte Sardo his Son in Law to the Duke della Regina his Nephew and to all his other Relations to be gone within an hour The Duke Della Regina being a Magistrate of the City pretended that he could not be hindered from staying in it He summon'd his Friends together and after he had represented to them the Injury that was done to himself in particular he declared to them that the Visitor had a design to attack them too in general as appeared by his severe examining the Conduct of the Princes and Barons of that Kingdom although by their Priviledges they were exempted from it 'T was resolved in this Assembly to meet again the next day and accordingly a great number of people came there In short there came more than sixty who elected out of themselves the Prince Dotojano of the House de Mediciâ— the Prince de la Torella of the House of Caraccioli and the Duke de Matalone of the House de Caraffa They went to find out the Vice-Roy who voluntarily engaged to speak to the Visitor General but he coldly told him That he executed the Orders he had received from Spain Hereupon the Neapolitan Lords were extreamly dissatisfied and several of them wished that they had some Chief or other to head them who was capable of a great Resolution For the better understanding of these Memoirs I ought to acquaint the Reader That the Ambassadors and even the Envoys had a certain Right at Madrid which exempted them from paying any Toll at the City Gates for those things that were neceâ—sary for their Families This Custom had been observed time out of mind but it being discovered that some persons had extended this Priviledge farther than it ought to be and that hereby the King suffered exceedingly in his Dues the Council judged it expedient to convert it into a Sum of Money which was in effect paid to the Forreign Ministers and the Franquezas for so they call this Right were abolished There was likewise another Priviledge which is called Immunidad del Barrio that is to say the Ambassadors have a certain Precinct markt out about their Houses in which compass Justice is not to be performed without their permission and the Alcaldes dare not pass in the Ambassador's Quarter with their White Rods which is the Badge of their Authority Every Ambassador is so jealous to preserve this Priviledge that some Forreign Ministers have been so hardy as to hang the Alguazils at their Gates when they found them trespassing in this point I must confess very few of them have carried things to this extremity but several have ordered them to receive an hundred blows with a cudgel Notwithstanding the apparent Risque they ran and the Consequences that such Infractions might carry the Corrigidor accompanied with his Officers passed at mid-day through the Quarter belonging to our Ambassador They carried with them their White Rods but he not being informed of it till they were quite gone could only send to the Corrigidor to tell him that he was extreamly surprized at his procedure and that for the time to come he should remember his Duty better He answer'd That he was ignorant till he was now better informed that the Ambassador's Quarter extended so far as the place through which he had passed and that it was sufficient he knew it now But notwithstanding this sort of satisfaction the very same Corrigidor a few days after came by that way again and pass'd before the Ambassador's House at a time â—hen he was abroad The Marquiss de Villars being informed of it complained loudly of this Insolence He expected with Impatience what would be the Result of the matter when an Order from the King came to him wherein his Majesty revoked the Priviledges of his Quarter pretending it was not just that the Ambassador of France should be more favourably treated at Madrid than the Ambassador of Spain was at Paris It was said at Court that in that great City the Officers of Justice went when they pleased up to the very Gates of the Spanish Ambassador to perform the Functions of their respective Offices That in the Year 1671. there was issued out a Declaration of the same Nature with this that the renewing of it was no Novelty and that since the first Declaration the Ambassadors had only enjoy'd this Priviledge by Sufferance but that for the future they were resolved to connive at it no more Monsieur de Villars answer'd That he owed too great a respect to the King ever to remove himself from it That he was assured the King his Master would approve of the Proposal to â—â—eas their Ambassador as they did his in Spain but thâ—â— they ought to consider what Priviledges that Minister has at the Court of France That it was not necessary there to demand Audience and Permission which always retard Affairs in order to speak to the King and Queen to see them and accompany them that he went a hunting with the King that he assisted at Feasts and other Ceremonies as often as he pleased that he was allow'd to have Six Horses to his Coach and so to drive all about Paris That the Ambassador's Lady went in the Queen's Coach that she sometimes Dined with
her and that she received several Marks of Distinction all which served to make an Embassy pass very agreeable That it ought to be considered that he did not enjoy all these Advantages at Madrid And lastly That he would take care to acquaint his Master with the Declaration of his Christian Majesty That he could not have an Answer immediately by reason of the great distance and that it was but reasonable and just that things should continue in the Old State till it arrived But the King of Spain issu'd out a Second Declaration wherein it was said That his Majesty persisted in his first Resolution and that he thought fit to take away the Immunities of the French Ambassador's Quarter without assigning any Cause 'T is indeed very surprising that Monsieur de Villars who had reason to promise himself very advantageous Distinctions upon the Queen's account should be the only man who was singled out from the rest of the Ambassadors to have his Franchises taken away from him whilst the others â—njoy'd theirs as formerly He did not fail to send Advice to the Court of France of what had happened the King was sensibly concerned at his Ill Usage and promised to see Justice done to him But Monsieur desiring that things might not be carried to Extremities neither on one side nor the other writ a Letter to the Queen his Daughter wherein he signified to her his great Trouble and Inquietude about this Affair He conjured her to use all her Interest with the King her Husband to engage him to do his most Christian Majesty Justice She was kept ignorant till this very moment of what had passed and was no less surprized than afflicted at it She took occasion to discourse the King about it at a favourable Juncture as she imagined but he answer'd her coldly enough That it was a long time a-go since this Affair had been regulated and that he would dispense with himself for telling her the Reasons She earnestly importuned him to acquaint her with them and after infinite Sollcitations he could only be brought to reply as follows Esque me quiteram este Embaxador y me embiaram otro Gavacho Which signifies in our Language Let them take away this Ambassador from me and send me another in his room It is easie to judge that the King speaking in those Terms was not only prejudiced against the Marquess de Villars but also against any other that might be sent to him Whatsoever Intreaties the Queen made to oblige him to settle matters in â—â—e Estate they were formerly yet he continued still inflexible and seem'd indeed to act in this Affair rather by another Spirit than his own without making any Reflection either he or his Council that France would resent the Injury But they awaked out of their Lethargy when they saw an Extraordinary Courier arrive on the 8 th of April to the Marquess Villars's House They had terrible apprehensions upon them that he brought a Declaration of War along with him and the Suspicions they had entertain'd a long time from the side of Italy sensibly alarm'd them Our Ambassador had Audience of the Duke de Medina Celi to demand the Re establishment of his Franchises and the Jurisdiction of his Quarter He represented to him the hardship of his Usage and the little reason they had to treat him after this manner and to chose him from amongst the rest to be affronted That the King his Master was never the Aggressor but that he would not tamely suffer an Injury without revenging it That particularly he was sensible of this and demanded publick satisfaction for it The Duke alledged as he had done before That ever since the Year 1671. the King of Spain was resolved not to grant the Franchises to the Ambassadors any longer but that the Relaxation which time causes in every thing was the reason that the Forreign Ministers by little and little recovered their former Rights That this was no good Consequence why it should take place of the Law and for a Testimony that they had no intention to disgust him in this particular he might rest assured that for the time to come all the other Ambassadors should be treated after the same manner To this the Marquess de Villars made Answer That instead of finding any particular Satisfaction for himself he met with a new Subject of Complaint upon the score of this General Conduct That since the new Alliance that was contracted between the Two Crowns the Natural Right warranted him to expect that the Ambassadors of one would easily merit-Favours of the other and even procure them for their Friends that he was so far from meeting that Usage that he could get nothing for them but affronts but â—hat this was not the 〈◊〉 he demanded That as for the Declaration of 1671. he was not obliged to take the least notice of it since having been Ambassador at Madrid near four years a-go he peaceably enjoy'd all those Priviledges which now they designed to retrench him of under the pretence of that Declaration He was not content with discoursing the Chief Minister about this Affair but demanded Audience of the King and immediately obtained it So he presented to him his Letters of Credence to have this Affair regulated and â—aid every thing that was necessary to engage him to make necessary Reflections upon a thing that might draw after it such evil Consequences He reminded him of the Peace that was so lately sworn and of the Marriage he had contracted with a Princess of the Blood of France and told him what little occasion he had to disgust the most Christian King That in truth his Master believed he did not act by his own Inclinations and that upon this Consideration he was disposed to receive the Satisfaction he had so much reason to promise himself on his part The King of Spain only answered with Veremos according to his usual Custom After this it was deliberated in Council what was necessary to be done in the business The Council gave their Advice to the Chief Minister and he to the King as is the way in Spain At last a Resolution was taken up that the Marquess de Los Balbazez who had been named to go Commissary to the Ambassador in France should give him Satisfaction In pursuance to this Order he went to the Palace of the Marquess de Villars and presented to him a Paper that was signed wherein was represented in terms full of Amity and Respect That the King of Spain had given necessary Orders to his Ambassador to give that Answer and Satisfaction to his most Christian Majesty which he had demanded in his Letter and that he came to assure him That the King his Master had so great a regard to all the Motives of Friendship that united their Majesties that he would still continue the Ambassador of France in all the Priviledges and Immunities of his Quarter and that he should likewise have the Right
Iuncta that was erected to determine the Affair between the Nuncio and Don Iuan de la Puente y Guebarra President of the Council of Castile decided it on the 12 th of April He was sentenced to be banished and turned out of his Office The Nuncio demanded of them that they would oblige him to go to Rome to take off the Suspension he had incurred but they thought they had punished him sufficiently Abundance of people said That these great Names he took upon him did not belong to him and that his true Name was Don Iuan de Montesillo and that he was barely a Gentleman of the Province of Castile He finished the Course of his Studies at Salamania and afterwards was made Canon of Toledo His Behaviour mightily pleased the Archbishop of Toledo who was at that time Cardinal of Arragon and taking a delight in his Conversation trusted him with the Management of all his Affairs He acquitted himself so well in this Station that the Archbishop took care to recommend and make him known to Don Iuan of Austria whom he extreamly pleased by the Suppleness of his Carriage and the Vivacity of his Genius And whether that Prince had any particular Designs upon him or only intended to prefer him to acquit himself of the Promise he had made to the Cardinal he made him President of the Chancery of Valladolid Some time after the Count de Villambrosa who was President of Castile happening to die the Prince gave his Place to Don Iuan de la Puente To say the truth he only executed that Office by a Commission but it was a very great Post and could not fail to draw the Envy of several Persons upon him And so it really did for few people were concerned at his Misfortunes They looked upon him as one of the Creatures of Don Iuan and those that were always looking out for an Object for their Hatred when that Prince was gone vented all their Spleen and Indignation upon him The people accused him of all their Grievances and pretended that he was the Cause of crying down the Money That being in a Place which rendered Chief of Justice and the Civil Government he might if he had been so minded have found out some way or other to relieve so many different Persons that suffered according to their Condition But the Complaints of private Men nay even those of the Publick in general could not have been able to hurt him if there had not been a necessity at that Juncture to oblige the Pope by reason of the Apprehensions they had of the Designs of the most Christian King upon Italy Although the Office of the President of Castile is the next in Dignity to that of the Chief Minister yet all People have not an equal desire to possess it Don Iuan Ascensio Bishop of Avila whom the King nominated to it refused it An Order was sent to him to come immediately but he desired the Duke de Medina Celi to excuse him and leave him in his Diocess He had formerly been a Religious of the Mercy and General of his Order However as it is a hard matter to resist the Will of one's Prince especially when it happens to be so advantageous as this was he obey'd the Second Order that was sent him and came without any delay He was a Person of great Discretion and 't is certain a Man cannot have too much to qualifie him for the Exercise of so considerable a Place for the Council of Castile regulates all the Affairs that respect the Government of the States of Castile it was first created in the Year 1245. by St. Ferdinand King of Castile it is composed of a President and sixteen Counsellors The President never makes any Visits and at his House gives the Right Hand to no body They summon to this Council the Chanceries of Granada and Vailladolid and the Courts of Judicature of Sevil and Gallicia which are the Four Seats of Justice where they determine by way of Appeal all the Suits that are judged by the Corrigidors in the Cities and by the Alcades in the Villages When the King speaks of the Council of Castile he barely calls it Our Council The Court was exceedingly troubled at the Advices they received That the Vice-Roy of Naples having with no small pains heaped together the Sum of two hundred thousand Crowns part of which he had borrowed to send to Piombino Portolongone Orbitelle and some other places which the King of Spain possesses on the Coasts of Tuscany the Money being embarked in a Felouque Eight Slaves found the opportunity to carry off the Vessel Two small Vessels and a Gally were sent after them to bring them back but they were gone too far to be recovered So all the pains of the Marquess de Los-Velez tended only to set Eight Slaves at liberty and enrich them for the remainder of their Lives The Ambassador of Venice seeing that he of France received Satisfaction upon the occasion of the Franchises and Immunities redoubled his Instances to have Justice done him upon the Alguazils who had killed two of his Attendants He received Satisfaction on the 17 th of April The Alcalde who led them on was banished and the Alguazils were sent to Prison and were not enlarged but by his Intreaty If the Count de Monterey was sensibly affected with Joy to be preferr'd to the Prince de Astillano as to the Presidentship of Flanders he was not a little disgusted to see several Persons made Counsellors of State before him and notwithstanding he earnestly desired to be one of the number he was disappointed The King named the Duke de Albuquerque General at Sea the Count Doropesa who was very Young and had no other Dignity as yet the Marquess de Los Velez Governour of Naples the Duke de Villa Hermosa Governour of Flanders Don Melchior Navarra who had been formerly Vice-Chancellor of Arragon the Marquess de Mansera Mayor Domo Major to the Q. Mother and the Inquisitor General to be Members of this Council It was commonly believed that the Q. Mother had a great influence in naming most of these Lords The Council of State was instituted by Charles the Fifth in 1526. Here it is that they examine the Merits and Services of those Persons that pretend to be made Vice-Roys or to possess any other great Employments They regulate the most important Affairs of the Monarchy the King only is the President of it and the number of the Counsellors is not fixed Most People were surprized that Don Carlos Ramirez de Arrellano was made President of the Finances on the 8 th of April after he had been so long chained and shut up for his Lunacy and Madness He was chosen in the room of Don Antonio de Monsalve No body could imagine for what Reason the Duke de Medina Celi thought fit to trust him with a Post of that Consequence for he had none of those Qualities that are necessary to make a Man
Dutchess had not prejudiced the King after this manner it is not to be imagined that the Queen had been exposed to these Injuries which happened so often to her This is so undeniable a truth that one day when their Majesties went into the City two Gentlemen belonging to the Ambassador of Holland chancing to meet them they stopt their Coach out of Respect and saluted them as they ought They were on that side the Queen happened to be of and were apparelled after the French Fashion This immediately raised the Camarera's Passion who commanded one of the Guards to go and demand of them who they were from whence they came whither they were going what business they had in Madrid And when to this they answered That they were both Hollanders in the Ambassador's Retinue she believed it to be a Sham or at least pretended to believe it that she might give the King a fresh occasion to commend her Care and Zeal for him So that she sent to the Ambassador himself to be better satisfied and when she was fully assured of the truth she sent the two Gentlemen word That when they met their Majesties they should never be guilty of the Presumption any more to go on the Queen's side to salute her or look upon her Nevertheless observing the Queen to be concerned at this Conduct as soon as she was informed of it she thought to efface all this out of her Mind by sending often to the French Ambassador and giving him to understand that she was angry with him for coming so seldom to the Palace She used the same Expressions to the Ambassador's Lady and told her That it would be the greatest Joy in the World to her to see them visit the young Queen oftner who perhaps was too melancholy in private and would certainly find no small Diversion to enjoy the Company of Persons of their Merit and who were of the same Country with her This did not make the Marquess de Villars alter his Conduct in the least for he understood well enough what was the meaning of these fair Speeches but as for his Lady there seldom passed a day but she went to wait upon the Queen either in the Queen-Mother's company or all alone by her self but notwithstanding the Assiduity of her Visits she seldom found an opportunity to entertain her in private She was hindered from doing this by the presence of the Spanish Ladies who came to make their Court or else by the King 's coming who went every other moment from his own Apartment to the Queen's for 't is the Custom there that as soon as he appears all the Women that are in the Chamber do immediately withdraw Without reckoning the Pennance of this extraordinary Solitude the Queen had other things to afflict her and one was to find her self clearly destitute of Money and this considering the Generosity of her Heart and her natural Inclination to be liberal was a very sensible Mortification She had lived there six Months intire without having any Money to serve her for her lesser pleasure and she was forced to â—orrow a little to buy a few things she had a necessary occasion for and to keep a few Horses she had brought with her out of France that were become altogether unserviceable to her because she had no permission to ride them out at any time She wanted Money likewise to send back some of her Women that could not comply with the Customs of Spain and whom they could not consequently endure there The few Officers that she was allowed to bring with her were all dismist even to her Chyrurgeon who had bought the Place and performed the Journey at his own Expences All of them departed and this consideration redoubled the young Queen's Afflictions to see she was not Mistriss enough to keep them any longer or to do them those kindnesses she designed On the 15 th of May 500 Pistols a Month were assigned her but this was in a manner less than nothing because for six Months together she had been forced to borrow Money and even out of this small Sum she was obliged to lay aside 200 Pistols monthly for some Alms and Charity which the Queens of Spain were accustomed to make All this while no Orders were given out about the Currant Money of the Kingdom nor was the Price of Victuals regulated a great Want and Scarcity reigned every where and the Publick Miseries daily increased it had not rained for six Months together and this very much contributed to inhance the Price of Corn So that the People were reduced to the last Extremities Nay what is infinitely more surprising they were not in a condition to pay the Queen the Money that was assigned to her Gold and Silver being so scarce that none of it was to be seen The Bishop of Aquila being arrived at Madrid took possession of his Place of President of Castile and the first of his Cares was to relieve and ease the People of their Grievances To effect this he made a strict Examination into the most minute matters and soon discovered that the gross Monopolies and insatiable Avarice of the Magistrates were partly the occasion of these horrid Disorders He came to be informed That even the Counsellors of the Council Royal by some of their Creatures took their shares of the Imposts that were laid upon Victuals and that the same thing was done in the Oil Chocolate Coals and other Provisions necessary for Life That the Regidors and Corregidors belonging to the Town-Hall play'd most abominable Cheats in the Corn and consequently advanced the Price of Bread at least one half above its usual Price But he was sensible that he was not able to rectifie these Abuses alone so he discoursed the Duke de Medina Celi about the matter whose Encouragement and Assistance he promised himself Nevertheless whether the Duke were otherwise employed or had no real intentions to change the Form of the Government he did not answer the President 's Desires who perceiving that if he acted by himself the hatred of all those Persons whom he should cause to be punished would directly fall upon his own Head he was not willing to Sacrifice himself for the Publick Good He remembred that in the time of the Regency a certain Bishop who was President as he was having endeavoured to suppress these Abuses had been poisoned by the Magistrates In the mean time every thing without exception continued to be as dear as formerly and Silver was so scarce a Commodity that one would have imagined it had been all melted down I once saw at a Relation's House of mine the Sum of almost three thousand Crowns received in Pieces of Bellon and in Ochavos which are a wretched sort of Brass Money and for the greatest part had and yet happy was the Man who in this Universal Scarcity could get this Money However I am obliged to say this in honour of Spain that althô the Finances were in that
altho he was Master of a plentiful Fortune and might have lived after another manner without incommoding his Estate in the least He was a Genoese of the House of Spinola his Grandfather had formerly commanded the Spanish Army and this was likewise a great Captain but whether it were because he was a Stranger or for some other Reason the Grandees of Spain looked upon him as much inferiour to them although he was a Grandee as well as themselves and was of illustrious Birth They despised him because he made Advantage of his Money after the manner of a Banker which is so seldom practised in Spain by Persons of Quality that they cannot endure those that do it His Enemies pretended that he had committed notorious Oversights at the Treaty of Nimeguen and that they daily beheld new Inconveniences arise from his ill Conduct there That this was the Subject of perpetual quarrels between France and Spain because he had neglected to lay down in plain intelligible terms what things were yielded up and their Dependances and that every one made use of this Obscurity to interpret it to their own Advantage It is certain that what they alledged against the Marquess de Los Balbazez had foundation enough but the Constable of Castile was the Man that took the greatest pains to expose his Miscarriages to the World He had no kindness for him for Iuan's sake whose Favourite he had always been and for which Reason the Marquess declared against the Queen This was the true Cause of the Aversion that was between the Constable and him and it increased very much on the side of the former when he saw what a Respect and Esteem the Duke de Medina Celi testified for the other He needed no more than this to revive the Old Grudge he had against the Chief Minister and it proceeded so far that he incessantly heighten'd the Complaints that came from all parts under the Dominion of the King of Spain against the Duke It must be allowed that the Constable was one of the most dexterous prudent Men of his Age and that his Rank and great Abilities gave him vast Advantages over the rest so that whenever he gave his Advice few People were found so hardy as to oppose him The Duke was sensible that he directly thwarted him upon all occasions This together with his other Affairs made him extreamly uneasie to find himself perpetually engaged in a troublesome Combat and to dispute against a Man who as we may say took a Pleasure in chasing himself and who searched all occasions to perplex and disgust him Therefore in this Affair the Duke took the mildest course he courted the Constable's Friendship and made all Advances towards it He knew that he was fall'n ill and that though he was not in a condition to go to the Council he was not so much indisposed but that he might his have Advice in case it were demanded He sent constantly to the Constable's House to consult him upon all important occasions and this mark of distinction flatter'd his Vanity so agreeably that he found himself mightily obliged to the Duke He wanted very little of pretending to be always sick for the time to come as long as the Duke continued to give him so evident a Proof of Deference However 't is very certain that although he was as well as ever he would not stir abroad for a long time only to prolong a thing which filled him with so much Pleasure and Satisfaction He received another Obligation from the Duke which made no less an impression upon him a considerable Benefice happening to be vacant he bestow'd it immediately upon one of his Natural Sons without the Constable's ever demanding it So many unexpected Favours perfectly overcame him and made him desirous to do something on his side so he proposed to submit to a Reference in order to accommodate the business of the Duke Cardonne's Succession The Constable had espoused his Widow and the Duke his Daughter These Two Ladies had great Pretensions and as great Differences therefore they thought it the best way to determine them by the mutual consent of both Parties The Duke was sensible that the Constable who naturally loved long tedious Law-Suits shew'd a great deal of Complaisance in this matter and indeed the Constable was of Opinion that it would be better to put an end to this Affair than be engaged in an everlasting Contest with the Chief Minister This Chief Minister often assisted the King and denied Audience to no body but neither did his Endeavours or Audiences produce any advantageous Effects for the publick Interest and the smallest Affairs were as difficult for him to determine as the greatest The Marquess de Grana knew so well before hand what he was to expect upon this score that he could not be brought to accept the Embassy for Spain till he received express Orders from the Emperour although for his farther Encouragement he had several Relations and Friends at Madrid and that besides his having resided there formerly thâ— consideration of those Favours he might reasonably expect for his Master's sake ought to have overcome the unwillingness he expressed to come to this Court. It is true what served to increase it very much was the secret Advantage which he thought his Enemies and those that envied him might have upon him during his Absence from Vienna But for all this he found he had reason enough to be content with the manner of his usage the King allow'd him a double Franchise and paid all the Charges of his House at his Arrival The Two Queens honoured the Marchioness de Grana and her Daughters with several Presents they favoured him in every thing yet nevertheless he could not forbear to say proudly that he hoped he should not tarry there above a year and that it should not be his Fault if he did not depart sooner He was a fine Gentleman had abundance of Wit Penetration and Conduct but he was of a prodigious bigness and found himself mightily incommoded by it He sometimes could not help changing his Countenance when he happen'd to be in Company with People whom he was not well acquainted with when they looked stedfastly upon him The Court of Spain had such favourable Inclinations for him that they readily granted him whatever he desired but they could not forbear now and then to promise him some things which they never performed and he himself was sensible that they never would He was frequently vexed upon these Occasions saying That it was his Misfortune not to know what he might depend upon He was concerned at the Misery to which all sorts of People were reduced at Madrid and I have heard him frequently say That whatever Idea's a Man might form to himself of the Publick Grievances yet they infinitely fell short of what they really were when he came to see them and that for his part he could not imagine what Remedies they could apply to them It is
and the Duke de Medina Celi But this was not sufficient the King's Consent remained still to be gained and he was no less averse to the Dutchess de Albuquerque than to the Marchioness de Los Velez The Prejudices he had received against this Dutchess were of the same Nature with those that had been insinuated into the Queen The Dutchess de Terra Nova and the Secretary de Eguya were the Persons who had thus maliciously pre possessed him against her and nothing less than all the Authority of the Queen-Mother could make him resolve to admit her into the Palace She spoke to him of it at first very softly and gently but afterwards in a stronger and higher Tone She told him That it was high time for him now to know People of himself and not to judge of their Merits by what was whispered to him concerning them that any Person might be so unhappy as to have secret Enemies and that he was in a miserable condition to depend always upon those that possessed his Ear. When he perceived the Queen-Mother to speak to him after this manner he opposed the business no longer and so every thing was adjusted Don Pedro de Arragon received Orders on the Twentieth of August to acquaint the Dutchess de Terra Nova with the Queen's Intentions and with the Reasons she pretended to Assign against her Conduct that the best way she could take would be to obey without resistance and to make it appear as well as she could that she retired of her own Accord This Blow did not surprize her since she was long ago prepared for it by the private Whisperings that were spread about the Court She answered Don Pedro de Arragon in a very few Words and could not yet bring her self to believe that the King had given his Consent to her Removal So she was resolved to be satisfied of the truth of it from his own Mouth She waited to speak with him as he was just going to sit down to Dinner and entertain'd him for some time in a low Tone at last raising her Voice to a higher pitch she demanded leave of him to retire The King answered her aloud I give you my Consent Madam you may retire as soon as you please These few Words were like to discompose all the Constancy of the Dutchess she changed Colour several times and advanced a few steps to speak in private with him again but he turned his back towards her and asked something or other of the Duke de Uzeda She went hastily out of the Room and retired to her Chamber to compose her self again but the disorder she was in would not permit her to appear before the Queen till Evening and then she came to wait upon her at Supper and at her going to Bed with as unconcerned an Air as if nothing had passed though to counterfeit this gave her a great deal of trouble because she was throughly netled The Queen was informed by the King of what he had said to her however she had the Goodness not to discover any thing of it although she had no Reason to be well pleased with her Next Morning the Dutchess who had not gone to Bed but had passed the whole Night walking in her Chamber with the Dutchesses de Monteleon and de Hijar her two Daughters only waited till the Queen was up to go and take her leave of her Her Visage was more pale than ordinary and her Eyes more red and fiery She then approached the Queen and without weeping or shewing the least Concern told her She was very sorry that she had not served her so well as she wished The Queen who was a Person of wonderful Tenderness could not forbear to seem somewhat touched and to relent a little but as she was saying some obliging things to comfort her the Dutchess interrupted her and told her with an imperious Air That a Queen of Spain ought not to weep for so inconsiderable a matter That the Camarera who came to succeed her in her Place would acquit her self better of her Duty And so without saying a Word more she took hold of the Queen's Hand and making a shew of kissing it immediately retired When every one about the Court knew that she was to go away they came to her Apartment shedding Tears either through Policy Inclination or Weakness She did not seem to them to be in the least afflicted and casting her Eyes on all sides she said I thank Heaven this is a Place where I shall never set my Foot again I am going to taste the Sweets of Repose and to find Tranquillity at my own House I will go to Sicily there I shall meet with no such Disgusts as I have found at Madrid In saying these Words she struck her Fist twice upon a little Table that stood near her and taking a very pretty China Fan she broke it in two threw it upon the ground and stampt it under her Feet Thus she was sent away a few days after the Father Confessor she that never thought of leaving the Court as well by reason of the Ascendant she had got over the King as because it was a thing without a President till now to remove the Queen 's Camarera Major unless it so happen'd that she desired it her self 'T is easie to imagine the Grief she felt upon this occasion however to comfort her in some measure it was resolved to bestow the Vice-Royship of Gallicia upon the Duke de Hijar her Son in Law and the Order of the Fleece upon the Duke de Monteleon who had married her Grand Daughter They were likewise willing still to continue to her the Honours and the Appointments belonging to her Place but as soon as she was informed of the good intentions of the Court towards her she proudly said That she would refuse every thing they could offer her and that this was to give her Incense forsooth and break her Nose with the Censer As soon as she was departed from the Palace the Dutchess de Albuquerque went thither to take possession of her Apartment and though she had the Character of a Proud Haughty Woman yet she did not make it appear that she intended to Copy after the Dutchess Nova's Conduct On the other hand she entertained all People with a World of Respect and Civility and expressed the greatest Affection imaginable for the Young Queen This Lady was Widow to the Duke de Albuquerque who was Chief of the Family de la Cueva and was Fifty Years old I always saw her wear a little Bandore of Black Taffata which reached down as low as her Eye-Brows and bound her Forehead so hard that her Eyes were swelled with it She was a Woman of great Wit and Reading and on certain days in the Week held Assemblies at her House where all the Learned were well received She had only one Daughter whom she married to the Youngest Brother of the late Duke de Albuquerque to keep up
the Name of the Family She was passionately devoted to the Queen-Mother's Party and People did not doubt but that she would use the Young Queen very well They were afterwards confirmed in this Opinion when they heard the King a little after her admittance to Court tell the Queen That he would have her take her Pleasure more than she had hitherto done That she must walk abroad and ride on Horse-back and that he was willing she might go to Bed late provided he might go to Bed at Eight a Clock as his Custom was Nay he was so very complaisant a few days after as to resolve not to go to Bed till Ten. This agreeable Alteration in his Conduct gave the World occasion to conjecture that the Dutchness de Albuquerque had engaged the Queen-Mother to speak to the King in favour of her and that the Severity which the Queen had hitherto undergone had been inspired into the King only by the means of the Dutchess de Terra Nova The Marquess de Caralvo who was of the Council of State died about this time He â—eft prodigious Sums of ready Money behind him and the Crown gained by his Death sixty seven thousand Crowns which was yearly given him by way of Pension The Admiral of Castile's Lady died likewise and as he had lived after a very indifferent manner with her always and was one of the greatest Admirers of the Fair Sex in all the World so he did not over-much complain for his Wive's Death nor was over-sorrowful to become a Widower He had accustomed her to see near fifteen or sixteen of his Mistrisses live in his House with him in very fine Apartments and all different and he was sometimes so malicious when she walked out in the Garden as to look out of a Window with one of these Creatures standing by him who let her Handkerchief or a Ribban drop and the Admiral would call to his Wife to take it up and bring it to the Person to whom it belonged which she submitted to do with a Respect and Patience that all the World admired It happened to be said at Court That a certain Man was found digging in the Ground very early in the Morning over-against the Imperial Colledge His Design was to take up some Money and Jewels which a Iew who had been burnt and whose Domestick he was had buried in that place The King ordered him to bring what he had found there It was all locked up in a little Iron Chest which was full of Pieces of Gold of several sorts and amongst the rest there were Two Pictures which I have seen bigger than my Hand and incircled round with Diamonds of a considerable Value about them were Two little Scrowls of Parchment with some Writing upon them upon one The Dutchess de Chevreuse and on the other The Dutchess de Montbazon It was judged that the Iews who traffick much and lend Money upon Pawns came perhaps by these Pictures after the same manner They were perfectly finished and the Ladies were both of admirable Beauty The King said that they ought to be sent to the Escurial I often had the happiness to see the Marchioness de Liche who was one of the most beautiful and agreeable Persons at Court her Husband was a Man of infinite Wit He was much against his Will Ambassador at Rome and when he was to go thither endeavoured all the ways in the World to break off his Voyage He tarried a long time upon the Coasts of Spain and was unwilling to depart pretending that he was ill and praying them to send another in his room to whom he offered to give all his Equipage as a free Gift or else to trust him for it at his choice But the Court was afraid of the Vivacity of his Genius and he was known to be a Man of Enterprise For this Reason it was thought convenient to keep him at a distance and so they sent him fresh Orders to depart and go to Rome He appeared there with a great Magnificence and supported the Honour of his Ministry very well When the Duke de Medina Celi was made Chief Minister he writ several Letters to him and employ'd the Interest of all his Family to get himself re-called It was positively denied him because he was feared now more than ever And it was apprehended in case he returned home that he would unite himself with his Brother the Count de Monterei To these Reasons of State the Duke de Medina Celi joyned some private ones that purely respected his own proper Interest for it was an easie matter to take Advantage of the Absence of the Marquess de Liche to have a certain Law-Suit determined which was depending between them The Marquess being informed of what had happened and despairing ever to surmount those Obstacles which the Duke laid in his way thought the surest Expedient to get himself re-called home would be to disgust the Pope upon all occasions And herein he acquitted himself so dexterously and did every thing to displease the Pope after so disobliging a manner that his Holiness sent the King Word That unless he would re-call the Marquess de Liche he must resolve to leave Rome intreating him to send another Ambassador in his Place since he had never seen so disagreeable a one as this in all his Life But they answered him That one of the Reasons which inclined them to continue him still at Rome was because his Holiness had declared That he would grant the Rights of the Franchises and the Immunities of their Quarter only to those Ambassadors who were then resident in Rome and that those who were to be sent in their room for the time to come should no more enjoy them The Pope perceiving that he tormented himself in vain and that if he for his part had good Reasons to demand the re-calling of the Marquess de Liche the Court of Spain had also theirs to deny it did not renew his Importunities any more but being resolved to do all the ill Offices he could to the Ambassador who had on purpose disobliged him as far as lay in his power he found an opportunity to quit Scores with him and he took his Advantage of it with pleasure It was about a Dispensation which the Marquess de Liche demanded of him in favour of Don Pedro de Arragon his Uncle to marry Donna Catalina de la Cerda Daughter to the Duke de Medina Celi This young Lady was Niece to Don Pedro de Arragon who was Brother to the Duke de Cardonne and to the Cardinal of Arragon and the Duke de Cardonne was Father to the Dutchess de Medina Celi so that there was an absolute necessity for a Dispensation The Marquess was intrusted with the procuring of it by his Uncle who writ him word That he should die contentedly if he could but leave an Heir of his Name and Estate behind him That after he had been twice married without getting any Children he
time to go to the Escurial All the Ladies of the Court and Six Women of the Bed-Chamber Accompanied the Queen The Marquess de Villa Maina Chief Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber and the Marquess de Astorgas Grand Master of the Houshold went along with her As for the Duke de Ossone who was Master of the Horse to her he tarried at Madrid upon the Account of a New Disgust he had received at Court The King was willing that the Queen should ride on Horse-back to take a few turns in the Walks of the Meadows and to meet him as he came from hunting She had Four Fits of an Ague but the following ones were so gentle that she was able to get up a few days after and divert her self as she had used to do ever since her Arrival to the Escurial The King who was altogether taken up with the Pleasures of hunting pursued the Sport from Sun rising till Night One day he ordered a Chase to be prepared after the German manner they had Toils which inclosed a great quantity of Ground and here with their Guns they killed above two hundred Bucks or Does The Queen was at first desirous to be there but being informed after what manner they used these poor Creatures she imagined that such a sight would rather give her occasion to employ her Pity than afford her any Pleasure The King in all his Chases generally took no more with him than the first Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber and the Great Forrester he loved to find himself alone in vast Solitudes and sometimes it was a long while before they could find him When he hunted after the German manner he would be accompanied by the Duke de Medina Celi and the Marquess de Grana At his return the Chief Minister following the King to the Queen's Apartment found that her Majesty did not cast her Eyes upon him he immediately penetrated into the Reason of this Alteration he found in the Queen's Behaviour for to say the truth she was displeased with him for disswading his Majesty to expedite a Parent for a Government in the Indies which he had granted to her But when the Duke knew it he told the King That the Queen begged this Grace of him at the intreaty of one of the Women of her Bed-Chamber who was a French Woman who would get considerably by it when in the mean time twelve thousand Pistols were offered for it The King thought it was the best way to take this Sum and after this would not hear the least Word of dispatching the Patent as he had promised But what provoked the Queen infinitely more was the Conduct he had used in her Absence towards the Constable Colonna's Lady The Dutchess de Medina Celi had passed her Word to the Queen as in her Husband's Name That during the stay her Majesty made at the Escurial nothing should be done to the prejudice of this Lady Notwithstanding these Assurances upon which she depended she was carried away from Madrid and by an Order from the King confined to the Casâ—le of Segovia To begin this Story from its Original the Reader is to know that this Lady was Niece to the late Cardinal Mazarine She brought a very considerable Fortune with her at her Marriage and perhaps the Family of the Colonna's had sunk very low without this seasonable Relief After she had passed the happiest and most pleasant part of her Life at Rome where she always appeared in great Pomp and Splendor having the liberty to live after the French Fashion and according to all Appearances seeming to be content with her Fortune She withdrew all on the sudden without so much as knowing the Reason of it her self through the ill Counsels of some Persons who hazarded not a little upon her Account in making her hazard every thing on her side So that she departed privately with the Dutchess of Mazarine her Sister They had disguised themselves so well that none knew them when they took Shipping And thus they arrived safely in France The Constable Colonna's Lady hoped to find here a Sanctuary against her Husband and some vain flattering Idea's that were not as yet perfectly extinguished in her Heart served to perswade her that she should be well received at Court but so far was she from meeting any Encouragement to make her Appearance there that she was prohibited by the King to come there I have heard her say That she resented this Treatment with so sensible a Grief that she was like to have died of it After this she went to Turin where she made a short stay and the uneasiness of her Mind led her at last to Flanders There she happened to find the Marquess de Borgomaine of the House of Este in whom she reposed an intire Confidence without remembring that he was rather a Friend to her Husband than to her self He flattered her in all her Projects in order to amuse her and to gain time till he might receive Advice from the Constable how to dispose of her for he had sent him a Letter by a Courier for that purpose to inform him that his Wife was at Brussels and in Answer to it the Constable earnestly desired him to Seize and Apprehend her He acquitted himself immediately of his Commission and carried her to a Convent from whence she was not to depart unless she would consent to be Shipt for Spain as they desired her When she was at Madrid she delay'd upon several Pretences to take the Religious Habit upon her she loved her Liberty and was desirous still to enjoy it But The Constable being informed of her Arrival sent Don Fernand de Colonna his Natural Brother with Letters to the King and the Ministers wherein he beseech'd them that either by fair means or Violence they would oblige his Lady to enter into a Convent This Necessity seemed very hard to her nevertheless she submitted to it and retired to the Monastery de Santo Domingo el Real upon Condition That if she happened to come out of it she would consent that the King should restore her to her Husband She continued there a long time and sometimes in an Evening she escaped out with one of her Women and often went to walk on Foot in a White Mantle in the Prado where she met with several pleasant Adventures because most of the Women that come there are Ladies-Adventurers and some Ladies of the best Quality at Court take a mighty pleasure when they can go thither and are not known The Constable Colonna being come to Madrid in his way to Arragon whereof he was Vice-Roy went every day to entertain her at this Grate and I have seen him show those Gallantries to her which a Lover may show to his Mistress He departed in a very good understanding with her but when the Queen made her Entry she having a great desire to behold her Majesty did not imagine they would hold her so strictly to the Word she had given the King
difficulties which occasion'd so many Disorders or till they were regulated to consent to follow the decisions which the Commissioners of France had made after the Treaty of Peace A Person of the first Quality who had followed the King to the Escurial and came back from thence before him told us that he had strong conjectures to believe that the Duke de Medina Celi had fallen out with the Queen Mother However few Persons suspected it at that time but after the return of the Court to Madrid it was plain and visible Some People pretend that the Duke was wearied with the great number of Creatures whom the Queen-Mother daily recommended to him and to whom he was forced to distribute part of his Favours that now he did not look upon her as any longer necessary to support his fortune and therefore was not willing to grant the frequent demands she made him that in order to break off with her all at once he found it convenient to visit her no more but express a great coldness towards her On the contrary there were other Persons that said that it was occasion'd by the Queen-Mother her self who was not able to constrain her self so far as to suffer the presence of a Man who minded nothing but how to advance his Family or Friends and never show'd any Civilities to her There were others still that were of Opinion that the Duke's behaviour towards the Queen-Mother was not the result of his own Inclinations but proceeded from the Suggestions of Don Geronimo d' Eguya and indeed it might be so if it were not for the two following reasons the first is because there was not the least appearance of any particular motive to engage him to desire a rupture between the Queen-Mother and the Duke the other is that supposing he had such a Design yet d' Eguya did not at that time stand so firm in the King 's good Graces as that the Chief Minister should think it worth his while to give him so great a proof of his deference Nay 't is certain that they had a pique against one another for some time the subtle insinuating Humour of d' Eguya made him always embrace the Interests of the most fortunate and he found himself under certain Circumstances which advised him not to press too far for fear of disobliging the chief Minister But notwithstanding the coldness which passed between them the King when he was at the Escurial told d' Eguya one day very angrily that if he was not more punctual for the future to come and help him in the Dispatches he would do all the business with Vibanco who was Secretary to the Chamber and for whom the King shew'd Inclination enough The Duke immediately whether out of Generosity or Politick excused de Eguya so handsomely that he set him right in the King's Favour again and this Obligation for which de Eguya was indebted to him made them be in a good Understanding with one another De Eguya finding himself so well with the Duke confirmed him in all the dispositions he already had not only in regard to the Queen-Mother but also to the Young Queen He represented to him That these Two Princesses could do nothing for him That the King would take it well to find him testifie a Devotion only to his own Person and that he would answer him with his Affection better when he saw it was not divided His true Design in speaking to him after this manner was only to keep him to himself that so the Chief Minister might repose an intire confidence in him In fine they were both agreed that in order to render the Duke an absolute Master it would be necessary for him to resolve to refuse the Two Queens whatever Offices or Employments they begged for their Creatures The Duke imagined that this Counsel proceeded from a true Motive of Zeal which he thought abounded in De Eguya and believed him so heartily that he would do nothing but by his Advice The Duke was generally complained of for suffering himself to be managed like a Child by the only Man of Spain who as he was a Person of the greatest Courtship so he was likewise of the least Sincerity To pursue his Project of disgusting the Queen Mother the Chief Minister ordered Pensions to be given to several Persons who were directly opposite to her the Duke de Villa Hermosa who had got enough in Flanders and the Duke of Alva were in this number The Marquess de Astorgas was made Master of the Ordonance although he was Comptroller of the Queen's Houshold and that single Place with the Wealth he had heaped up in the Kingdom of Naples might very well suffice a Man of his Age. The Chief Minister afterwards assigned Pensions to the Women of the Dutchess de Medina Celi out of the Bolsillo which is a sort of a Privy Purse for the King's House and other Private Expences He gratified several of his own Domesticks after the same manner whilst those belonging to the King lay under such great Necessities that they found themselves obliged to quit his Service for meer Want and Poverty The Duke de Medina Celi gave one Proof of his Power which succeeded a great deal better than one could have believed On the 13 th of Nâ—vember he married one of his Relations whose Name was Don Augustine Henriquez de Gusman a Cadet of the House of Gusman very poor and of little or no Merit to Donna Laura only Daughter to the Duke de Montalte who was but fifteen years old and so rich that she was looked upon to be the best Match in all Spain as well upon the Account of her Fathers vast Estate as those of the Marquess de Los Velez and the Count de Oropeza whose Fortunes she was to inherit in case they had no Children This Affair was the Work of the Dutchess de Medina Celi Don Augustine de Gusman had waited upon her with so much Assiduity that to recompence his Services she procured this Marriage for him All the World was extreamly surprised at it but no body could comprehend upon what Considerations the Duke de Montalte consented to sacrifice his Daughter to Policy The Marquess de Los Velez the Count de Oropeza and all the rest of their Family were hereupon mightily enraged at the Duke de Medina Celi they quitted his Interests which they had hitherto embraced with Zeal and they openly declared That they would resent so dishonourable an Alliance as long as they lived The Count de Oropeza made particular Complaints against the Duke because he had contributed more than any one to his Elevation and that if he had been minded to have taken Advantage of the Favourable Dispositions his Majesty had to him it is certain that when Don Iuan was dead he might have been made Chief Minister notwithstanding he was so young But as he had a great Respect for the Duke he imagined that if he vigorously assisted him upon
I have mentioned the People continued to cry out and complain of their Grievances because no care was taken to redress them It was now a full year since the Duke de Medina Celi had been made Chief Minister and it was hoped that he would have taken all necessary measures in a matter so pressing and important as was the easing of the People but he so far forgot his Duty that every thing went worse and worse still and indeed the least Inconveniencies sensibly improve in their malignity when they are neglected The lessening the Value of the Copper-Money had occasioned a great Disorder 'T is true indeed it might have been managed to the Publick Advantage but they took such wrong measures in the Regulation that it became a most horrible Oppression for the Species of Gold and Silver being thus reduced to one half of its just Value Forreigners took such hold of this opportunity that they exported prodigious Sums out of the Kingdom Besides this the Price of Segovia Wooll which is an excellent Commodity and brings a mighty Profit to those that deal in it rose in proportion to the Abatement of the Money so that no body would buy it unless they would sink the Price And things being in this condition then at last came the crying down of the Money and this totally compleated and ratified their Misery There was computed to be of it to the Value of Six Millions of Crowns The King did not at all take them off although he had promised by his Edict to pay the full Value of the Metal to those who brought them into the Offices appointed to receive them So all this Money lay absolutely dead and it is no easie ' matter to express the Loss which the Bankers the Merchants the King's Farmers and almost every private Man suffered by this decrying of it down Forreigners were the only Men that made Advantage of this General Misfortune of Spain They bought this Copper Money that was mixt with a good Allay of Silver for very little and sent it to Genoa to Portugal and other Places The Council very well knew the Prejudice the Kingdom received by it and Assembled several times to find out an Expedient to put a stop to it There were some Undertakers that offered to treat for all of it and separate the Silver from the Copper and as I said before Don Philip Vinzani was made choice of in this Affair but he had not been preferred before others if it had not been for the Credit of Don Pedro de Arragon This Man owed him great Sums of Money and had been twice Bankrupt and was just upon the Point of breaking the third time so he was desirous to introduce him into some great business that he might by this means enrich himself and be in a capacity of paying his Debts But this Project did not succeed because so great a quantity of this Money was already carried out of the Kingdom and the separating of the Allay was so difficult a matter These Losses were the cause that abundance of Persons of great Quality found themselves under a necessity of selling their Plate and Jewels 'T is true there is so much both of the one and the other at Madrid that it cannot well fail in a long time What made several private Men suffer the more was that the Rents of the Town-Hall which were reduced from eight to five in the hundred were not now paid at all because the Corregidors and Regidors who were concerned in the payment of it were such great Villains that although the City was sufficiently harassed with Customs Taxes and heavy Duties before these People had drained it as long as they pleased and that they had put some small inconsiderable matter of it into the King's Coffers there was nothing left more out of so many Imposts and yet they were not levied for the greatest part but under the pretence of satisfying the Rents of the Town-Hall But how was it possible to put things as they now stood into a better Order It was resolved that there should not be above four Regidors there had been more than fifty and their Places were worth sixty thousand Crowns It is certain that before they could reimburse themselves of such a Sum they must be guilty of great Extortion and Cheating An Order was sent from Madrid to all the Ports to publish Reprisals in favour of the Subjects of the King of Spain upon the Vessels belonging to the Elector of Brandenburgh I have already spoke of the Vessel which that Elector's Subjects had taken away from his Catholick Majesty The Elector had allowed three Months to redeem her but they were not in a condition to do it The Ambassadors of England and Holland laboured to Accommodate the Businesss with no Success because the Elector declared he would be paid his Eight Hundred Thousand Crowns that were due to him and he would restore nothing but upon that condition And therefore the Court would rather suffer him to enjoy his Prize however to save the Honour of Spain the Ministers pretended that the King would have his Vessel restored before he would do any thing and that he refused to hearken to any other Proposal till that were executed The Queen-Mother who seldom stirred abroad and who lived a very Melancholy Life at her Palace invited the Young Queen one day to Dinner when the King was gone out a Hunting They afterwards shut themselves up in the Queen-Mother's great Closet and as she told the Marchioness de Mortare from whom I afterwards had the Story they began to weep and embrace one another very tenderly The Queen-Mother complained That the Queen her Daughter-in-law had prejudiced the King against her and that she suffered as great a Confinement as if Don Juan did still Govern that she was not ignorant that the Duke de Medina Celi d' Eguya and the Confessor did her all the ill Offices they were able that if she had only these to Combat she would endeavour to destroy them that perhaps she might be able to accomplish it but that when she saw the Queen at the Head of the Party she had no Courage left to defend her self that although she very well knew she had promised to do her all the injury she could yet she could not forbear to speak to her of it rather to ease her self than out of any hopes to soften her dispositions Alas Madam Alas cryed the Young Queen all in Tears why do you add such stabbing Suspicions to the other ills you have done me Could you not be content to poyson my Conduct before the King and make him shew me a thousand sensible unkindnesses upon that score but must you insult upon me too and accuse me of the only thing in the World I am uncapable of doing At these words the Queen-Mother stretched out her Arms to her and they tarried a considerable space of time without being able to speak a Syllable so much were
both their minds prepossessed against each other But at last when they could speak in cold Blood and came to examine what had been said on both sides they were sensible that some ill Persons had endeavoured to disunite them in order to Fortifie their own Party which was equally contrary to them both They gave one another an Account of the measures that had been taken of the Persons that were concerned in them of â—hose whom they ought to suspect for the tiâ—e to come and they resolved to employ all their Interest to destroy the opposite Cabal They staid together till it was Night and on the next day which was the fifth of February the Constable of Castile gave the King and the two Queens a Magnificent Collation accompanied with Musick The King's Dwarf who is one of the prettiest Creatures in the World whom the Constable brought with him from his Government of Flanders where he succeeded Don Iuan danced a Passa Cailla along with a young Girl whom the Queen had taken to her Service and was newly redeemed out of Slavery They were both of them dress'd after the Indian Fashion covered with Feathers of Birds of different colours they had little Tabors and played prettily upon them This Feast was followed by another at the House of Don Pedro d' Arragon where the Queen danced before the King which she had never done before although she acquitted her self that way to admiration She had purposely learned the Canaries and a Saraband so that the King was perfectly charmed to see her so expert in the Spanish Dances and told her several times as he pressed her Arms with his two Hands Mi Reina Mi Reina ere 's la mas perfeta de todo el Orbe That is to say My Queen My Queen you are the most accomplished Person in the whole World The Queen-Mother sent her that Evening a Watch all adorned with Diamonds and a Gold Chain of exquisite Work she writ a Letter to her wherein she wished that this Watch would only shew her happy and pleasant Hours The Queen returned her this Answer That they would be always so if she would continue to love her She afterwards desired the King to tell her some tender thing that she might send it to the Queen-Mother The King told her immediately No tengo que desir How Sir says the Queen have you nothing to say to the Queen your Mother I beseech you to give me a Complement that may please her The King studied a long time what to send her and at last said Ponga os mi Reina que jo tongo busna salud That is to say Write my Queen that I am well The King dispatched an Order to Prince Alexander Governour of the Low-Countries to make a grand Reform amongst the Officers of War and Justice He gave at the same time the Vice-Roy-ship of Navar to the Great Prior of Castile The Count de Fuen Salida who possessed that Post went to Gallicia whereof he was made Vice-Roy The Count de Palma Nephew to Cardinal Portocarero had the Government of Malaga and the Coasts of Granada in the room of the Count de Cifuentes and the Duke de Hijar Son-in-law to the Dutchess de Terra-Nova obtained the Vice-Roy-ship of Arragon This Dutchess had not appeared at Court ever since she had quitted it with so great a Disgust But her Son-in-law having now received this new Favour she was resolved to go and visit the Queen on the tenth of February She had already sent to her Majesty to demand her Permission and the Queen sent her word that she should be glad to see her The Dutchess at her entrance into the Queen's Chamber seemed at first a little disordered She excused her not coming to Court upon the account of a long Fit of Sickness and then added I assure your Majesty I did not think I should have been able to live after my misfortune to be separated from you The Queen told her that she had been informed of her Indisposition but that this was not a place for her to speak of what made her uneasie and in effect passed to some other Discourse The Dutchess de Terra Nova fixed her Eyes continually on the Dutchess d' Albuquerque as if she had a mind to devour her and the Dutchess d' Albuquerque whose Eyes were neither better nor sweeter than hers looked askew upon her and they let fall every other moment some Expressions that were a little eager One of the Footmen belonging to the Venetian Ambassador had committed some Insolence and the Justices ordered him to be Apprehended for it but this Minister pretending that it was against the Priviledge of Ambassadors complained of it to the Duke de Medina Celi but did not receive so favourable an Answer from him as he expected This so much disgusted him that he went to acquaint the rest of the Ambassadors with it who all agreed to represent the Consequences of such an Action to the Duke de Medina Celi in a large Memorial conceived in very harsh terms which they sent to him all at the same time The Chief Minister carried it to the Council of State who after they had maturely deliberated upon the Affair were of Advice that they should set the Footman immediately at liberty The Ambassadors were resolved in case they had refused them this Satisfaction to have forced the Prison to fetch him out Constable Colonna came back to Madrid in February The most important Affair that brought him thither was his desire to Accommodate Matters with his Lady and to find out a way for both of them to live in peace The Marriage of his Son with the Daughter of the Duke de Medina Celi did also take him up very much The Queen was concerned at the Misfortunes of his Wife and it was no small trouble to her to understand what ill Usage a Person of her Quality received in Prison Nay she was particularly obliged to protect her by reason of the Promise the Duke had made her and the Confidence the Constable's Lady reposed in it These Reasons engaged her to charge her Confessor to do all he could with the Constable in order to Negotiate an Accommodation and see whether he would carry her into Italy or suffer her to stay in some Religious Convent at Madrid as she had already been But the Constable and his Wife were strangely exasperated against one another She resented to the Life the unworthy Treatment she had received and the mutual occasions they had to complain hindered them from consenting to what might contribute to their common Satisfaction At last the Constable being earnestly importuned by the Queen and advised by the Marquess de Los Balbazez proposed that his Wife should turn a Religious and that he for his part should take the Habit of a Knight of Malta This at first appeared very surprising to all the World but indeed was more strange to the Constable's Lady than to any one for 't is
the quarrel between the two Rivals and succeeded in it however this Accident could not be kept so secret but that the King being informed of it forbid them the Court. The Duke de Sejar parted from hence to go and serve in Flanders in quality of a Volunteer He was a Person of Illustrious Birth very rich and very young the reason he did this was only because he was jealous of his Lady The Count de Talara had the Place of Judge of the Forrests conferred upon him which was vacant by the Death of the Marquess de la Garde and Don Francisco de Manserato obtained the Title of Marquess de Tamarit The King ordered the Council to discharge all the Receivers of the Impositions that are laid upon the Provinces These Officers were above a thousand and the suppressing of them must needs be of great advantage to his Catholick Majesty and to his Subjects A Vessel which came to Cales from the Honduras brought News that the Flota was happily arrived on the fifth of September and that the Merchants of Lima offered three hundred thousand Crowns to the King on condition that for an year and half he would not send the Gallions here In the mean time ill Weather hindred the Fleet which had set sail from Cales a little before from doubling the Cape of St. Vincent the bad effects of this Tempest were not only perceived at Sea for it was so violent in all parts of Castile that several Houses were beaten down and the exceeding Rains so swelled the Rivers that the Roads were o'reflown and almost all the Bridges carried away by the rapidity of the Waters This ill News was followed immediately by three Couriers one upon the neck of another and the first of them arrived on the 13 th of March from Abbot Masserati Envoy of Spain in Portugal He dispatched them to inform the Council that they had received Advice at Lisbon by a Vessel that the Governour of Buenosaires having got together abundance of Indians had joyned them to his Garrison that on the 15 th of August 1680. he had surprized the Fort which the Portugueses had began to build in the Isle of St. Gabriel that he had taken the Governour Prisoner and cut the Garrison in pieces that the Prince-Regent being provoked at this Insult had assembled the Council of State where the Queen of Portugal was present that they had reâ—olved to raise the Militia and send 400 Horse and four Regiments of Old Soldiers into Estramadura that it would be necessary to get Magazines ready on the Frontiers and to have a General Rendezvous at Eluas that having demanded Audience of the Prince-Regent he had refused it him and that in all probability a War would ensue 'T was expected at Court that the Envoy of Portugala would make his Complaints but they were extreamly surprized to see him take no noticâ— of it at all so now it was not doubted bu that this silence certainly presaged a surprize of the Spanish Territories like to that which the Governour of Buenosaires had committed in the Indies upon the Portugueses The Ministers judged it convenient to prevent this blow and spoke to the English Ambassador about it desiring him to represent to the Envoy of Portugal that the King of England would be obliged to take up Arms against him who first broke the Peace whereof he was Guarrantee that he had also a more particular Reason than this forasmuch as by the League that was concluded between the King his Master and his Catholick Majesty they had mutually engaged to Declare against the Enemy that fell upon either of them This Discourse was spoke with a great deal of heat but the Envoy of Portugal answered him That he looked upon him to be a Partisan of the Court of Spain rather than an Ambassador from the King of England that he knew very well he spoke without Order and of his own Head This Answer was followed by a Protestation in Writing wherein it was declared that the King of England could not upon any Reason whatever hinder the Prince of Portugal from using the Right of Reprisals and endeavouring to get Satisfaction from the Spaniards for the Injuries received A little after this the Envoy of Portugal received an Order from the Prince-Regent to demand Publick Audience upon this Occasion and told his Catholick Majesty that he demanded an entire Satisfaction from him and that the Prince-Regent desired that they would set the Souldiers and Governour at Liberty that they would punish those of Buenosaires that they would restore the Ammunition and Cannon that if the Fort were razed they would rebuild it or else surrender the place that in case the Prisoners were sent into Spain they would set them at Liberty that they would receive into the Fort of St. Gabriel the Garrison which the Prince of Portugal should send thither that the Governour of Buenosaires should be chastised and that an Answer be given in within Twenty Days or else they would begin Actions of Hostility Upon this the Council met and spent three days to deliberate about it They gave Orders for their Forces to march towards the most exposed defenceless places and Don Antonio Panyagua Master-General of the Camp was charged to stay there till he saw an end of this Affair Besides they set forth a great Memorial wherein were contained the Arguments which the Envoy of Spain had given in at Lisbon to make it appear by Authentick Papers that according to the Limits appointed by Pope Alexander VI. the Isle of St. Gabriel belongs to the Spaniards and that they have had it a hundred fourscore and six Years in their possession After this they took notice of the Declaration of the Envoy of Portugal and ended all with a Protestation signifying That they were desirous to preserve the Peace and that they would labour with all Application in this matter This Manifesto was sent to all the Foreign Ministers to communicate to their Masters but they had scarce given it to them when they sent in all hast back again for the Copies to Correct something or other and then they returned them again At the same time a Rumour was industriously dispersed that the Nuncio by an express Order from the Pope had moved them to send an Ambassador to Lisbon to treat about an Accomodation But this was really a Temperament they had found out to conceal the true motives which engaged them to make this Advance The Nuncio upon this said openly that he had never interposed in the business and that it was impossible to receive any Orders from Rome about so fresh an Affair The Duke de Giovenazzo was chosen for this Embassy As soon as he was arrived at Lisbon he saw the Prince-Regent who nominated the Duke de Cadaval and the Marquess de Fronteyra for Commissioners He would have made his Complaints at first and demanded Satisfaction But he was told that they were of a Humour clearly opposite to