otherwise employ'd relying upon the Faith of Treaties As we have seen how that after the Peace of Nimeghen when France finding her Treasures quite exhausted and her numerous Armies ruin'd by Sickness Hardships was constrain'd to make fresh Provision fearing a Change of Fortune as she had already felt at the Battle of St. Dennis For this reason she sought Peace to break the Union and obtain'd it in despite of those who well foresaw that France would no longer keep it after she had once recover'd Breath or that she found a Propitious Opportunity to break it For since the King of France falsisy'd his Oath to observe the Pyrenaean Peace so solemnly sworn upon the Altar Sincerity is fled from the Court of France and return'd to Heaven from whence it descended and Corruption has taken the Place of Justice and Integrity In regard the Ministry of France was only meditated to aggrandize the King And therefore the deceased Sieur de Colbert Chief Minister never scrupled to assert That the King might break and make Laws at his own pleasure Privileges being Chimera's odious and offensive to it and that Law was only the Inclination Reputation and Authority of the Prince When the King of France has a mind to make himself Master of a Country or only of a single Town he never considers the Outward Situation but the Inward Condition of it by whom it is govern'd who defends it and the Louidores are most commonly the Cannons with which he attacks it And therefore Pompone formerly Embassadour at the Court of Sweden had in some measure good Reason to say that France with her Money would always do what she pleas'd and that it was by means of that Metal that she was at that time become Mistress of his Swedish Majesty's Cabinet and that she became Mistress of so many Places after the Peace of Nimeghen under pretence of Appendences and Dependences of which a great Volume might be made This is a Truth not to be deny'd since we have seen it with our Eyes and that we still behold the Inhabitants of those Places groaning under the severe Servitude of the Despotick Government of France But in regard that Usurpation cannot always long subsist and for that so many Princes are at last awaken'd from their Oppression the Court of France finding her self very much embarrass'd to preserve what she has usurp'd since the Peace of Nimeghen all her Policy could find out no better Expedient then to propose a Truce while the Emperour and the Empire were engag'd in a War against the Turk The Court of France had two Prospects in desiring this Truce The first That in detaining all the Places of which she had made her self Mistress she at the same time lull'd asleep the Court of Vienna on the Rhine side that she might oblige the Emperour to continue the War with the Grand Signior Secondly Not to observe the Truce any longer then till one or other of the Two Empires were reduc'd to a Low Condition Had it been the Emperour's misfortune to have lost Vienna then the Business was concerted and decreed That the King of France was to have invaded the Empire with a powerful Army and to have been proclaim'd Emperour with a high hand On the Other side if the Turks were beaten he was to declare War against the Emperour to prevent him from growing too great by his Conquests But the latter falling out for the good of Christendom presently France without any regard had to Truces or Alliances openly attacqu'd Philipsburgh carry'd it and afterwards march'd with his Army into the Palatinate which he over ran with Fire and Sword and by Violence and Conflagrations got sure footing all along the Banks of the Rhine where we to this day behold the sad and deplorable Remainders of the Rage and Fury of the French Armies However in regard the Violence never wants a Pretence and that the most Impious Actions veil themselves in like manner with some Outward Appearances the King of France to justifie himself before all the World out of a kind of Generosity pretends to declare the Reasons why he was constrain'd to resume Houstile Arms to the end he might perswade all Christendom of his sincere Intention to establish the publick Repose while his Soldiers in all Places ruin'd and burnt whole Provinces and carry'd away the Goods and Cattel of the Poor Inhabitants To this purpose the Most Christian King follows his begun Hostilities with a Manifesto wherein the Principal Reasons that France alledges to cover her Breach of Faith are first That she was well inform'd that so soon as the Emperour should have made a Peace with the Turk he had resolv'd to bend all his whole Force upon the Rhine against France To which I shall answer hereafter in Particular but in general thus much is to be said that the Most Christian King after he had broken the Truce desir'd to make a Peace upon two Conditions First That the Truce for Twenty Years might be chang'd into a Perpetual Peace and Secondly That the Cardinal de Furstenbergh might be put into the Possession of the Electorate of Cologne and that afterwards the King would endeavour to bring the Cardinal and the Chapter to such Accommodations as should be propos'd for the Satisfaction of Prince Clement of Bavaria that is to say to cause hm to be declar'd Coadjutour to the said Electorate As to the first point the Politicks of the Court of France were very fine Spun and extreamly Crafty seeing that while the Emperour and the Empire were engag'd against the Turks it was the proper time for her to appropriate to her self all the Places Lands and Signiories which by the Truce were not left to the enjoyment of France but for Twenty years of which three were expir'd and which the King was fully perswaded in his Conscience that he could not justly keep but must be forc'd to restore at the Expiration of the Truce As for the Possession of Cologne by the Cardinal of Furstenbergh the detaining of which from the said Cardinal was another specious Pretence for his resuming Arms all Europe is sufficiently acquainted with the Engaging Reason which the Most Christian King had to make himself Master of that Archbishoprick seeing the Cardinal and the King were all one and so by means of that Possession the King of France had one Foot in the Empire and upon the Territories adjoyning belonging either to the States of the United Provinces or the Palatine and Brandenburgh Electors But because it will be a difficult matter for us to treat otherwise then confusedly of the Policy of France in general we shall descend to Particulars thereby to render it more Intelligible beginning with the Holy See The Kings of France have always held themselves highly honour'd with the Title of Eldest Sons of the Church and would have made War upon any one that should have ventur'd to dispute that Title with ' em In like manner they
govern'd 't is true by one of the best Princes in the World leading a Pious and Exemplary Life and void of any Vicious Inclination and it may be certainly said that the People and Grandees of the Kingdom are happy under so Just a King if they understood their Felicity and would but correspond with the Pacifick Genius of their Prince But most commonly the Ministers and their Adherents make their Advantage of the Good Nature of their Prince to fill their own Purses by emptying his and by that means deprive him of his Ability to withstand the Sworn Enemy of Spain who environs him on every side and who for more then one Age together has study'd nothing but his utter Ruine and makes a dextrous use of his Imbecility The King of France has been a long time acquainted with the Constitution of the present Catholick King and upon that Knowledge it is that the Policy of France has built her Designs and so well understood to carry on her Affairs that she brought about a Marriage of that Monarch with a Princess of France Daughter to the Duke of Orleance and that meerly to be inform'd of what past even in this Catholick Majesty's Bed-Chamber as was seen by the Relations frequent in the Court of France and which meerly serv'd for Sport among the French Ladies who are naturally enclin'd to Gossipry Tittle Tattle and Railliery And therefore 't is a pernicious sort of Policy in the Court of Madrid to bestow the Daughters of Spain upon France and to match their Soveraigns with the Daughters of France and of this there are recent Proofs that make us sensible For it is certain that the Marriage of the Infanta Maria Teresa to Lewis XIV has brought nothing but War and continual Trouble upon Spain and still will become the Occasion of More by reason of the Dauphin's Pretensions n case the Catholick King happens to dye without Heirs 'T will be in vain then to alledge that Lewis the XIV at his Marriage renounc'd his Claims with a Solemn Oath for if he brake his Oath and all the Princes blame him for doing an unlawful and unjust Act tending to Usurpation a Sin against Reason and Conscience 't is presently told ye that he could do nothing to the Prejudice of a Third Person meaning the Dauphin of France the only Offspring by that Marriage and usually in such differences between Soveraigns the longest Sword carries it Ratio ultima Regnum was the Motto which Cardinal Richlieu caus'd to be engrav'd upon the Armes of France Or if it be not reason 't is the definitive Will of Kings and becomes Reason if once it proves successful The want of Issue by the Catholick King 's second Marriage with the Princess Palatine of Newburgh increases and swells the Ambition of France and 't is very probable that Lewis the XIV would not be willing that the King of Spain should happen to dye which God forbid during his being enga'd in a War with almost all Europe in regard that not having his Hands free he could not so easily fall upon Spain with a sufficient Force as he might be able to do to make himself Master of that Monarchy in prosecution of his Hopes and Pretensions if his Catholick Majesty did not prevent him in his Life-time 'T is the Policy of France to insinuate into the Grandees of Spain desires of enriching themselves while they have an Opportunity to the end that after his Death they may be able to erect Petty Sovereignties in every Corner of the Kingdom for there is not any Prince among 'em who wants a Pretension with a promise to every one that she will stand by Him and grant him her Protection against all Assailants They not considering all this while that France will at last swallow 'em all up one after another and that they will become the Sport of Lewis the Great their secret Enemy Who in the mean time by this means enfeebles Spain extenuates the King's Treasure and deprives him not only of the power to recover the Places he has lost but to defend those which he has yet in his Possession which the French wrest from him by degrees because that Spain is not in a Condition to make a Potent Opposition as Experience had taught us too apparently not only during the War but also in time of Peace For that since the Pyrenaean Peace Spain has suffer'd the Usurpation of a great many Provinces as Burgundy Franche Conté and Considerable Portions of the Low-Countries and Catalonia And all this because that Spain is a languishing and sickly Body whose Forces waste by degrees through the too much softness of the Soveraign and the Greedy Covetousness of the Grandees of the Kingdom Whereas if the Catholick King would make use of his Authority forsake his Cabinet and Head his Armes there is no question but that the Face of his Affairs would quickly alter It behoves him for the replenishing of his Coffers to squeeze the Spunges that have swell'd themselves with his Treasures and enrich'd themselves at the Expences of his Crown and People A Prince that leads a Soft and Effeminate Life is neither fear'd by his Enemies nor belov'd by his People He is lookt upon as a Statue and resembles those that wish for mighty Things as if they design'd to leave only their Dreams to Posterity Whereas a Monarch ought with his own Sword to make the Pen that is to write his History that is to say that his Valour and Prowess ought to afford his Historiographer Matter otherwise he only serves to fill up the Catalogue of the Kings and the Day of his Birth and the Day of his Death are the most Illustrious and Memorable Parts of all his History A King receives his Crown from his Ancestors but his Renown must spring from himself The Council of Spain falls asleep presently after a Peace and many times after a Truce not considering that France is always awake and that she never lays down her Armes but that it Costs the King of Spain some or other of his best Towns It would be superfluous to set forth in Painting to the Spaniards the misery of their Condition should they once fall under the Despotick Dominion of France They need no more then cast their Eyes upon the lamentable and wretched Estate to which the French are at this day reduc'd while some are forc'd to wander about the World expos'd to utmost Misery to Hunger and Cold and all this meerly to avoid the Cruelty and Tyranny of their Monarch and they that remain behind lie Groaning under the weight of his Iron Scepter that continually bruises 'em to death with his Oppressions and his Imposts The only way therefore for the Spaniards to prevent their Ruine is to countermine the Policy of France to supplicate their Monarch to appoint his Successour in his Life-time to the end he may be bred up in the Court of Madrid and be ready to oppose the Invasions of
Provinces But all these ways failing tho' not his good Will and finding he could not be assisted either by Cologne nor England nor by the Bishop of Munster as in the preceding War France could no longer contain her self but under pretence of assisting King James presently declar'd War and fell upon the United Provinces to prevent 'em from aggrandizing themselves by the sincere and strict Union which they were about to make between the King and Queen at present prosperously reigning But in regard that frequently Revenge never considers the Danger to which it exposes it self for the satisfaction of its Rage in like manner the King of France has drawn upon himself all of a sudden the the most numerous and the soundest part of the Puissances of Europe who will never lay down their Arms till he has made those Restitutions which they shall think convenient for the Welfare of Europe there being no other way of Reliance upon the Promises and Faith of the Most Christian King I believe that Lewis XIV spake just according to the Sentiments of his Heart when he happen'd one Day to say That he neither Fear'd nor Lov'd the Hollanders who nevertheless fill'd him full of Jealousies and Fears and often broke his Measures And yet 't is to that warlike Nation that he is at this Day be-holding for his having got the upper-hand of Spain For as France formerly made use of the Hollanders to humble Spain so the Spaniards are now glad of succour of the United Provinces to humble the Pride of France And the Moderation and Flegin of the Hollanders proves very effectual to abate the Fury of the French which only affrights those that fear it and are not acquainted with it In the Year 1672. the United Provinces alone made Head against the Two Potent Kings of France and England were Victorious at Sea and constrain'd the latter to make a Peace and the other su'd for the Peace of Nimeghen Tho' through a remissness Injurious to the Honour of the Parties the Plenipotentiaries out of a Complyance not to be endur'd suffer'd the slipping in of those Words That the King of France being desirous to restore Peace to Europe c. Whereas it was he that begg'd for it and made such Condescentions to the City of Amsterdam that she consented to it so that to speak properly 't was she and not Lewis XIV that restored Peace to Europe But in regard it was made without any great Precautions and without taking any other Guarranty then the Sincerity of a Prince who never had any therefore it lasted but a short while and within the space of Six Years the Peace-Restorer committed several Hostilities took many Cities and Fortresses so that there was need of a new Peace and a Truce follow'd to the end he might retain what he had usurp'd Nor were all these Treaties Mounds sufficiently strong to restrain the impetuous Torrent He breaks through all the Tyes of Sanctity and Religion and falls upon Philipsburgh the loss of which was attended with several other scurvy Inconveniences Now upon what Foundation could the States of the United Provinces treat with a King that observ'd no Rule of common Morality but broke his Faith his Word his Promise even with the Emperor himself Certain barbarous People whom Alexander the Great would have oblig'd to swear Fidelity to him return'd him answer That they never swore any Oaths but gave their Word which they kept inviolably from whence I observe that they were not French The Ministry of the Court of France imagines with it self that Lewis XIV not having usurp'd any thing upon the Republick of the United Provinces during the Peace nor won any Place from her during the War that it would be always an easie thing for their Monarch to make a Peace with her besides that the Hollanders are greatly inclin'd to Peace by reason of their Trade which is much obstructed in time of War neither is it the Interest of a Republick to enlarge her Confines or to add new Provinces to those she has already but to preserve United what already she possesses and to secure her Frontiers the best she can But tho' France may be in the Right as to some Circumstances yet is she deceiv'd in the main For it is not so easie to make a Peace with the Hollanders as the King of France imagines Those People tho' naturally good-natur'd and easie are not readily twice deluded That Prudence which never forsakes the Counsels of their Soveraigns has seen by the Consequences of the Peace of Nimeghen that there is no trusting to France but that all her Promises and Treaties were only meer Amusements that is to say a sort of Recoiling to fetch the greater Leap he must be a very mean Politician and very dull-sighted who does not percieve that France had a great mind to have made her self Mistress of the United Provinces their Wealth and their Religion those three things so precious and so necessary that the Inhabitants neither can nor ought to lose 'em but with their Lives And therefore as they ventur'd all to purchase those Blessings so they will use their utmost Endeavours to preserve 'em as the most precious Jewels of the Republick For the Hollanders are not like King James who left the care of his Crown to the Count of Lausune while he ran away before the Battel of the Boyne and before his Person was in any evident Danger France knows not as yet the strength of the United Provinces as being ignorant of what she can do if once she be hard put to it Seeing that if they could find the way not only to shake off the Chains of Servitude but to make head for several Years against one of the most Potent and one of the greatest Monarchs of Europe Philip II. and come off with Honour why should the Ministers of France flatter themselves under this Reign that they are able to destroy ' em 'T is only because Men are apt to flatter themselves that they can compass what they desire and generally they never care to be dis-abus'd in regard that Hope supports and in some measure satisfies an ambitious Mind Usually the Court of France is crowded with Flatterers who make no other Prayers then for the Glory of their Monarch and sing no other Hymns then in his Praise all their Opera's sound forth the Grandeur and the Conquests of their new Deity Jupiter-Bourbon They perswade him that he was sent into the World to reign by himself and to subdue all the People of the Earth under his Dominion they have given him the Sirname of Dieu-donné or God's Gift and they make their Oblations to the immortal Man Viro Immortali To which purpose they have erected his Statue in the Piazza of Victory at Paris to the end that all his Subjects should pay the same Homages to his Figure as to his Person Marshal de la Fueillade would needs pay it the first Honours For being
Necessity of Affairs that it was sufficient for a Prince to be Vertuous when he could not dispence with being otherwise that it was good and commendable to know what was just and honest but not always expedient to practise it That there were some Vices which no way hinder'd a Prince from Governing well that Solomon was subject to Women yet look'd upon to be the Greatest and Wisest of all Kings for that there is always a Distinction to be made between the Domestick and Publick Life of a Prince his Royal and his Private Vertues Cardinal Mazarine having thus found out the Genius of his Disciple 't was an easie thing for him to imprint in his Mind these New Lectures of Policy which afterwards serv'd for a Basis and Foundation to the Reign of Lewis XIV who together with the Queen-Mother out of pure Gratitude deliver'd into the Cardinal's hands the Keys of all the Favours and Honours of his Kingdom upheld him in despite of all the Princes of the Blood and notwithstanding all the earnest Importunities of the Parliament and People underwent all the Dangers of a Civil War for some Years and not being able to live without the Cardinal'd Presence the King sent for him twice out of Banishment and receiv'd him with those Honours that were no way due to him even to the going several Leagues to meet him and to express his excessive Joy for his Return by mutual Embraces I shall not here enlarge upon the Authority and Power which that Italian Cardinal had in France 't is sufficient to say That the King during his Minority had all the Deference and Respect for that Prelate which a Son could have for a Father and that it was the Cardinal who only reign'd in France In lieu of which he promis'd the King and Queen That he would make him the Greatest Monarch in Europe In order whereunto he was to do Two things The First was To heap up Treasure and augment his Revenues The Second was To lay aside all Scruples of Conscience when the main Concern was the Aggrandizing his Kingdoms The first Tryal of Skill which the Cardinal made in the behalf of France was during his Nunciature when the Peace was concluded at Chirasco where the crafty wilely Minister deceiv'd the Pope his Master the Princes of Italy and the King of Spain in favour of the French Court and so well Cully'd the Duke of Savoy that he wrested out of his Hands that Important Place of Pignerol to deliver it into the Hands of France which was an Acquisition that all the King's Money and Power could not obtain before though he had had an aking tooth for it a long time And this same Cheat and cunning piece of Knavery it was though the Court of France paid for it in good Ready-Money that purchas'd him the Good-Will of all the Court of France and the Friendship of Cardinal Richlieu which Mazarine still improv'd and kept tite by Presents which he sent him out of Italy from time to time and so well he understood to inveigle all the rest that he was call'd into France in the Year 1639. where a little time after his arrival the Death of Father Joseph the Capuchin became the Life of Mazarine This Capuchin was he who serv'd Cardinal Richlieu in all his Intrigues both within and without the Kingdom and who was sent into England during the Reign of Charles I. to sow Division and raise a Civil War which cost that Nation Rivers of Blood So that the Capuchin had good reason to say at his return out of England That he had set Fire to those Sparkles which would kindle such a Flame as would not easily be extinguish'd in Acknowledgment of which the Court of France promis'd to get him a Cardinal's Cap to cover his Blad Pate But he was not so happy as to see himself clad in Purple Death seizing him in the Habit of a Saint of a Franciscan After which the Court of France bent all her Sollicitations in favour of Mazarine To which Cardinal Richlieu was the more willing to give his Consent as being glad to see himself succeeded in the Ministry by a Person of no less Rank then he was who though he were inferiour to him in Birth yet was his Equal in Dignity Both Princes of the Church yet not without some secret Jealousies between ' em But the King and Queen favour'd him in Consideration of the business of Pignerol and his declar'd Devotion for the Interests of France so that he was advanc'd to the Purple toward the End of the Year 1641. Immediately after his Promotion he went to take Possession of the Principality of Sedan which the two Cardinals had wrested from the House of Bouillon by Violence forasmuch as that Principality border'd too near upon France and also durst make Head against it but at a time when France was not so powerful as now it is 'T is true that the Duke of Bouillon Frederick Maurice who was then Sovereign of the Place had very much contributed to the loss of it by changing his Religion upon his marrying the Countess of Berghe For being at that time Governor of Maestricht and in the Service of the States of the United Provinces whose Protection warranted his Territories from all Assaults of France yet finding himself no longer acceptable to the Prince of Orange his near Kinsman nor to the States themselves he desir'd leave to lay down his Commission and retire to Sedan there to lead a private and quiet Life and wholly to employ himself within his principality to the Propagation of the Roman Religion which he had embrac'd in which Employment he made some Progress during some Years After which he met with Business much more considerable by reason of the Refuge which he gave to the Count of Soissions one of the Princes of the Blood and who was retir'd in discontent from the Court of France by reason of some Quarrel with Cardinal Richlieu and this Count was follow'd by the Duke of Guise Now the Duke of Bouillon thought to have avoided all Occasion of Trouble by giving notice to the Court of France of the Retreat of those two Princes but the Cardinal a subtle and crafty Politician seeing he could not hinder it persuaded the King to approve what he had done till an Opportunity of Revenge presented it self as it appear'd not long after by the King 's taking the Field in order to besiege the City of Sedan Nor had the Duke at that time any other way to preserve himself but by clapping up a League in all haste with the Emperor and Spain by which they were to assist him against France with Seven thousand Men and Two hundred thousand Crowns in Ready-Money But the Emperor only perform'd his Promise and sent him some Forces under the Conduct of General d'Amboi Nevertheless the Germans together with about Four thousand Men which the Duke of Bouillon had rais'd at his Charges defeated the French Army
under the Command of Chatillon the Fruit of which Victory was the taking of Doncheri not far from Sedan And this lucky Beginning of the Duke made the Court of France begin to look about 'em as being afraid lest that petty War should kindle a greater Thereupon the Duke of Brezé was sent the same way with Five and twenty thousand Men and the Cardinal persuaded the King and all the Court to march as far as Rethel But unfortunately for the Duke of Bouillon Lamboy quitted him with all his Men being order'd to march to the relief of Aire which the French had besieg'd So that the Duke finding himself constrain'd to shut himself up within the Walls of Sedan and seeing himself besieg'd began to think of an Accommodation so much the rather because the Count of Soissions who had been the Occasion of the War had shot himself in the head with a Pistol Bullet This was no more then what France desir'd as having at that time a War with Spain several discontented Princes and Lord within the Kingdom who waited only for an Opportunity to rise and the Siege of Aire begun uncertain therefore of Success and having so many Irons in the Fire she durst not venture the besieging of Sedan which they were convinc'd that the Duke would defend with the last drop of his Blood besides that he had Great Men that took his Part at Court as not being willing that Place should fall into the King's hands which upon many Occasions serv'd 'em for a Retiring Place Wherefore being also no less desirous to spite Cardinal Richlieu who was look'd upon as the first Author of that War they persuaded the King who was advanc'd as far as Meziere to hearken to an Accommodation Thereupon the Cardinal seeing it was not to be avoided offer'd his Mediation to the Duke of Bouillon to the end that the Affair passing through his Hands the Duke might think himself beholding to him for this Kindness though his Design were to ruine the Duke some other way To which purpose he made great Protestations to the Duke who took all for Gold that glister'd and being but a new Catholick believ'd that whatever that same Prelate and Prince of the Church assur'd him was sincere and truly honest But whatever Protestation his Eminency made he had always a Reserve which he kept close in his Breast and the better to cover his Design and shew his Good-Will he would needs enter into a Treaty as a Security for the Duke's Sincerity and a Gauranty on the King's behalf That His Majesty would perform the Agreement to the least tittle of the Stipulation the better to lull the Duke asleep and draw him to the Court. Thereupon the Articles being sign'd on both Sides the Duke went forthwith to pay his Respects to the King at Meziere where he was entertain'd with Court-Holy-Water fair Words and Complements and receiv'd by the King the Cardinal and all the Lords with all the Honours imaginable due to his Dignity the Cardinal also gave him large Demonstrations of Friendship and made him extraordinary Promises on purpose to engage him to have a Confidence in him and make him believe that he had forgot the injurious Manifesto which the Duke had printed against him Yet all this was nothing else but Snare and Decoy For his Eminency told the King in the presence of all the Court That he could not do better then to entrust an Army under the Command of the Duke of Bouillon as one that so well deserv'd the Honour seeing that with a handful of wretched Germans he had beaten the Army of France so that there was nothing which he might not well expect from his Valour and Experience when he should once come to Head the Valour of the French This the Duke took in good earnest and so fell into the Snare and though he had been forewarn'd by the Cardinal's Enemies that the more Affection and Kindness that Minister shew'd the less he was to be trusted yet he was so easily wrought upon as to accept the Command of an Army in Italy and that was the very Place where the Cardinal was desirous to keep him For being in the Post he forgot himself to that degree as during the Sickness or Lewis XIII to give the Duke of Orleance a Letter of Credence to be admitted into Sedan together with the Queen-Mother and the Children of France under pretence of retiring thither after the King's Death to avoid the Oppression of the Cardinal tho' the Count of d'Aubijoux who went to him in Italy promis'd him with great Oaths and Imprecations that he would never deliver the Letter unless there should be an Absolute Necessity But the King escap'd that Sickness and the Cardinal having notice of every thing to the smallest Circumstance gave him an account of every particular and thought it a favourable Opportunityto revenge himself for what was past and to put the Principality of Sedan into the Hand of France without the Effusion of Blood For he seldom separated the Remembrance of an Injury and the desire of Revenge It happen'd at the same time that the Duke of Orleance finding his Brother very infirm and sickly and believing that during the Minority of the Young King when the Cardinal would have all the Power in his hands he should lead but an ill life in the Court of France and seeing himself expos'd to the Resentment of his Adversary he bethought himself of making a League with the Spaniards by the mediation of a Gentleman whose Name was Fourraille whom he sent to Madrid But the Cardinal having got an Inkling of it sent his Secretary Chavigni privately to give the King notice of it and in the mean time he left no Stone unturn'd to discover the Contents of the Treaty that had been concluded at Madrid and he set so many Engines at work that he found a way to get a Copy of it from some Secretary to the Duke of Orleance So soon as he had read it he sent it to the King by the same Chavigni and order'd him to assure his Majesty that the Copy was drawn from the Origninal it self and for this same Piece it was that Cinqmarc and du Thou were apprehended and that the King order'd his Brother the Duke of Orleance to be very narrowly watch'd who finding it Impossible for him to make his Escape out of France took a Resolution to submit himself to the King's Mercy and implore his Pardon and wrote a very submissive Letter to the Cardinal which he sent him by one of his Favourites wherein he set forth his Repentance in very moving Expressions and his desire to be beholding for the Favour of his Reconciliation with the King to his Eminency who willingly embrac'd the Opportunity of gaining the Duke of Orleance's Friendship and of having at his Beck an Instrument to ruine the Duke of Bouillon Thereupon he made the Duke of Orleance's Peace with the King upon Condition that he
Declaration which the Assembly of the Clergy made in the Year 1682. of their Opinions concerning Ecclesiastical Power at such a Conjuncture too when some of his Predecessours would rather have been banish'd to the Extremities of the Earth then have suffer'd so man New Converts He refus'd his Bulls to several Ecclesiasticks nominated by the King to supply the vacant Churches in his Kingdom The partial Behaviour of our Holy Father in reference to the Archbishoprick of Cologne his Resolute Refusal to acknowledge or give Audience to the King's Ambassadour at that Conjuncture but thundering out Anathema's against him and Interdicting him from St. Lewis's Church in Rome will perpetuate an Example almost Incredible to Posterity of the King's Zeal for Religion and his desire to preserve the Peace of Christendom and of the Pope's proceedings so contrary to the Obligations of the Place which he supplies Wherefore seeing His Holiness stops his Ears to all the King 's most just Complaints we are constrain'd at length to defend our selves and to maintain the Dignity of the Crown and the Repose of the King's Subjects by the Rules of Justice at a time that his majesty does the same with so much glory by the Puissance of his Armes Thereupon the King 's said Advocate-General having first obtain'd the King's permission declares That he is Appellant in the King's behalf and in behalf of all his Subjects to a Universal Council which His Holiness shall be pleas'd to call in due and Canonical Form c. Protesting in the mean time in the Name and by the Express Command of the King that 't is his Intention to remain inviolably devoted to the Holy See as the true Center of the Church's Unity c. And so soon as our Holy Father being better inform'd shall shew the Equity the Sentiments and Partiality of a Judge and common Father his Majesty will pay to his Person the same Filial Respect as he did before and from which nothing but the ill Conduct of his Holiness causes him to abstain After the Court of France had put these unheard-of Affronts upon the Holy See and thus debas'd the Authority of the Sovereign Pontiff instead of making use of those means which the Catholick Church and Councils have put into his Hands to bring back Princes and People to their Christian Duty the Pope out of a peculiar Fund of Charity and Piety contented himself with making appear to all the World the Justice of his Proceedings and the Injustice of the French Court declaring all along that he was perswaded that the Truth of Affairs had never been truly represented to the King of France only that the Artifices and Passions of those who are no Lovers of Peace had infus'd into him an Idea altogether different Otherwise that it was never to be believ'd that the King would have harbour'd in his Mind those Injurious Sentiments contain'd in Cardinal d'Estree's Letter his Holiness having never fail'd to shew himself a true Father to all Catholicks but more particularly to France who upon several Occasions had receiv'd various Testimonies of his Indulgence and Esteem but instead of being repay'd with Grateful Acknowledgement his Holiness had been expos'd to most heinous Injuries and Affronts not only offer'd to his Person but the Holy See by extending the Regale to above half the the Churches in France that are no way subject to it but by the Second General Council of Lion by prescription of almost 400 Years by the Testimonies and Evidences of Edicts of several Kings Decrees of Parliament and Registers of the Chamber of Accounts as also by the Opinion of the most celebrated French Lawyers ought to be exempted from it The Pope loudly complain'd of the Violence done to the Convents of the Carognes and Urbanistes and that only for applying themselves to the Holy See in Opposition to an Invasion of their Privileges and the Canonical Rules of their Orders which imports That Abbots and Superiours ought to be Elective and continue for three Years together In contempt of which the King had introduc'd Abbots of his own Nomination Besides the Rending away of Five Abbies without the consent of the Apostolick See to erect a Commandery and applying to Other uses the Revenues possess'd by several Monks and Nuns according to the Will of the Donours But that which was more enormous was the King's Prohibiting the Bishops to have any Recourse to the Pope according to their Duty and the Custom of all Times to ask his Counsel in matter of Religion as also in reference to what concern'd Prince Clement of Bavaria tho' in granting him the Eligibility for three Churches that were Legally possess'd by the deceas'd Electour of Cologne all Christendom saw that the Pope had no other Aim then the Publick Good For besides the high Value which it behov'd him to have for that Illustrious House the Merits of the Electour his Brother who had so gloriously defended Christendom against the Invasion of the Turks his Holiness had done nothing in that particular but only imitated the Liberality of his Predecessours who conferr'd the like and greater Favours also upon Persons much Inferiour in Birth Age and Merit then Prince Clement and that too at the Request of the Kings of France And for the Bull granted to Prince Clement the Pope could not be accus'd of any Injustice for so doing since that Affair was exactly and seriously examin'd in a Consistorial Congregation at Rome Besides that the King of France had neither any Reason nor Right to intermeddle in that Affair since it was a Business that only related to a German Archbishoprick and an Electour of the Empire which no way concern'd France either directly or indirectly but the Pope only in respect of Apostolick Confirmation and the Emperour as to the Investiture of the Pincipality in admitting him into the Electoral College to which belongs the Right of Electing a new Emperour and which has a very great Sway in managing the Affairs of the whole Empire So that the Pretence for War which France lays hold on from the Proceedings at Cologne is to be imputed to the King's Passion and his own Interest After what past in the Assembly of some Part of the Clergy at Paris where among other things the King caus'd the Regale to be adjudg'd his Right notwithstanding the Appeal of the Bishops of Alets and Pamise to the Pope and the Propositions so injurious to the Apostolick See supported by Royal Edicts enjoyning every Body to receive and publickly profess and teach 'em in such a manner as was never yet practis'd His Holiness had great Reason to refuse his Bulls to the Ecclesiasticks nominated by the King to supply the vacant Bishopricks because they were present at the said Assembly of 1682. and there openly declar'd themselves Enemies of the Apostolick See and for that the Canon Law and the Agreement made with France that the Pope should be judge of the Capacity of the Persons nominated prove moreover
Evil Fortune The Council of France soon after but too late acknowledg'd their Fault and could find no other way to excuse the Blunder but by entring into a War with England Spain and the United Provinces at the same time that they declar'd War against the Emperour and this same mistaken piece of Policy occasion'd that strict and sincere Confederacy which we see at this day between the greatest part of the Christian Princes to preserve themselves from the Invasions of France and Lewis the XIV to wreck his Revenge upon 'em for the sad Fate of K. James his most dear Allye whose Misfortunes were only the Consequences of his having follow'd the Counsels of France and her pernicious Politicks was oblig'd to raise Great Armies and equip a Numerous Fleet to restore K. James to his Throne tho' hitherto he has not been able to accomplish any thing in his Favour but rather has liv'd to see the Disappointment of all the Hopes that flatter'd his first Attempts Whereas if the Ambitious Monarch had turn'd his whole Force against the Empire only and bent all his strength on that side he might have gone a great way into the Empire and have given Mahomet his Dear Friend and Allye a fair Opportunity to recover his Losses But while he labour'd the Re-mounting of two unhors'd Princes he ruin'd both the One and the Other And here it is that we ought to adore the Divine Providence that confounded and strook with a suddain Stupidity the Counsels of France on purpose to dissipate those unjust Designs which her False Politicks had suggested to her no less then the Assailing of all Europe at a Time according to the Proverb Covet all and Lose all There is no question but that France was sensible of her Errour after the Revolution in England for which reason she discharg'd all her Fury upon poor Germany where the French Soldiery exercis'd the utmost Extremities of Cruelty and Barbarism because that Electorate belong'd to the Emperour 's near Relation and Confederate France being thus Embark'd upon this Tempestuous Sea the Prosperity of the Imperial Arms the Revolution in England and the strict League of all the Confederate Princes for the Defence of the Common Cause could not choose but raise prodigious Storms about his Ears and therefore finding there was no repairing the Fault she had committed she was constrain'd to caress and promise the Ottoman Port whatever Succour the Infidels demanded both of Men and Money to oblige the Turks to continue the War With a Design however to deceive and forsake 'em so soon as the Court of France should find it convenient to agree with the Emperour But in regard the French have drawn in the Ottoman Port and blinded with their Presents the Principal Ministers and more especially the Mufti who holds his Dignity for Life 't is almost impossible to open the Eyes of the Grand Sultan who is willing to flatter himself with the Hopes of recovering that part of Hungary which he hast lost So that as long as the French are able to domineer at the Port as they do 't is in vain to send Embassadours thither to make proposals of Peace since it so absolutely behoves the Court Politicks of France to hinder it by all manner of means cost what it will either by Money or Poyson as we have seen 'T is not long since that the French perceiv'd that the Ministers of the Mediatours had made some Progress in the Interim that our Minister was hastning to the Port but their Emissaries both at Constantinople and Adrianople overturn'd with Money all the Measures that had been taken So that there is nothing but an Insurrection in the Ottoman Empire that can ranverse the Practices and Machinations of France and this is that which the Christians ought to meditate if they desire a Peace between the two Empires and there are ways to bring it about if they would but put 'em in Practice Nor is it to be question'd but that France drives on all the Intrigues imaginable in the Ottoman Court where she is in daily fear least early or late a sudden Truce should be clap'd up between the two Empires by reason of some unexpected Insurrection as I have already said And therefore it is that the Court of France endeavours to supplant her Confederate and to make a Peace with the Emperour and the Empire by restoring several Places which she now holds in Germany because that Lewis XIV and his Ministers see very well that they cannot continue the War so long as the Confederacy continue their Union as hitherto they have done that being alone by himself to bear the Burthen of so many Enemies he stands in need of Numerous Armies to oppose the same Adversaries that environ him on every side in Germany Flanders Brabant Catalogna Navarr and Piemont but above all the Conjoyn'd Fleets of England and Holland that threaten his Coasts and enforce him to an Excessive Expence to guard himself from a Descent his Trade being quite lost his Subjects reduc'd to utmost Misery and his Exchequer decreasing every day through the decay of Trade and the Poverty of the Inhabitants of his Kingdom We must believe that France would fain have a Peace while she thinks she has some Advantage before any Terrible Blow befall her which would enforce Lewis the Great to accept of such a Peace as it would please the Emperour and the Confederates to afford him 'T is no less certain then that his Imperial Majesty together with the Confederates have no more to do then to continue the War a little longer to compass their Ends upon France that can never be able to make Head against 'em for any long time Which is the reason that we find her already beginning to change her Batteries at the same time that she sees her self oblig'd to alter her Designs in respect of the Empire Formerly nothing would serve Lewis the XIV but the Imperial Crown for himself and the Title of King of the Romans for the Dauphin his Son But now no more of that The Grapes are out of his Reach and therefore he cries They are sowre All those vast Designs having fail'd and all his Lofty Enterprizes being come to nothing the Policy that France made use of when the Turks were marching to the Siege of Vienna is now no farther useful the End failing the means must of necessity surcease Formerly France was all for dethroning the Emperour but now 't is well if she can keep the Crown upon her Monarch's own Head in preserving by the force of her Arms what he has usurp'd from his Neighbours Heaven has alter'd the Face of Affairs by the ill success of the Ottoman Armes and thereby confounding the Counsels of France the designs of both being the same and both acting in order to the same Ends. And as the Designs of France are chang'd in respect of the Emperour who is the Chief and Head of the Empire so they may
France after the King's decease But more especially to beg of the Emperour to put a speedy End to the Turkish War that he may have his Hands at Liberty to be assisting to Spain at a time of need 'T is also an Affair of Great Importance and most Essential toward the Preservation of the Remainder of the Low-Countries and not to relie as the Council of Spain does upon her Neighbours which is the reason that they neglect to send the True Succour which it would behove 'em to send in time into those Provinces which were within a Fingers Breadth of being utterly lost during King James's Reign And indeed there happen so many Changes and Revolutions in the World that a well advis'd Monarch ought never to relie upon the Forces of Other Princes but his own While the Provinces of the Spanish Low-Countries were govern'd by Interested Vice-Roys who preferr'd their own private Concerns before the Preservation of the Provinces with which they were entrusted we still found that France seiz'd upon City after City and is now in Possession of whole Provinces and it may be said that a better thought never came into her Head then when she abandon'd the Conquest of Italy where she Exhausted her Men and Money to turn her Forces upon Flanders where all Appearances seem'd more easie since she saw well that Governours were sent thither only to enrich themselves among whom the Greatest Part minded more the getting of a Million into their Purses then the preservation of the Best City in the Low-Countries To avoid which Mischief there is a necessity of having a Prince for Governour whose particular Interest it is to preserve 'em who will march at the Head of his Army lay out the Subsidies of the People in defraying the Necessary Expences of the People and take care for the Timely Returns of Money for that the Low-Countries can never subsist without an Army well pay'd We have met with all these Advantages in the Person of his Electoral Highness the Duke of Bavaria and it may be said without flattery That the Choice which his Catholick Majesty made of that Prince for the Government of the Low-Countries was one of the best and most imortant Hits of State that Spain has been for some time guilty of T was such a Blow to France as broke all the Measures she had taken during the Government of Gastanaga nor could Lewis XIV ward off this Blow which the King of England gave him without ever giving him warning to guard himself 'T is a thing no less observable then wonderful That the Council of Spain having no more then this little Corner of the Earth to guard should neglect it as They do seeing that good Policy requires that Spain should drein herself rather then part with it were it for nothing else but to serve her as an Amuzement to the Arms of France as we have found it to have been in all the last and present Wars and the Counterguard that keeps the most Christian King from Marching to the very Walls of Madrid it self The reason of this Carelessness may well be thought to be the Popular Errour of the Inhabitants of Flanders and Brabant who tell the Hollanders when they upbraid 'em with their Remissness as to their own Preservation 'T is you that ought to defend us for the sake of your own Interest And indeed there is some reason for this Opinion But the chief reason proceeds from the Avarice of the Spanish Ministers who shroud themselves under this Mistake which serves 'em to heap up Wealth while the King their Sovereign is engag'd on every side to preserve himself The Policy of France together with her Louid'ors works now the same Effect with the which formerly Philip II. wrought by virtue of his Doublon's For I have heard say That ev'n in Time of Peace there was not any Place in the Low-Countries where Lewis XIV had not his Creatures and his Cabals ready to declare themselves in Time and Place and when an Opportunity requir'd And certain it is That if this were not the whole which was then said 't is a good part of the Truth For having beheld what we have seen in our days in reference to that impregnable City of Luxemburgh and the Acquisition of the whole Province that follow'd we ought to be convinc'd that that same Place of so great moment was not obtain'd by the Bravery and Courage only of the French There is no better way then to disappoint those Treacheries then by often changing the Garrisons and sometimes the Governors themselves but above all things to Pay well and Punish without Exception when there is the least Fault committed The Low-Countries are at present like an Insolvent House that must be re-settl'd by good Oeconomy and by affording the Inhabitants the Means of being able to contribute towards it The Low-Countries have a long time been the Mark at which the Court of France has aim'd Upon the least Dispute or Pretence of a Quarrell with the Court of Spain in she pours with all her Fury upon the Low-Countries like an impetuous Torrent plunders burns and never retreats without some considerable Loppings which she dismembers from the Body of the Tree Which nevertheless is not a Mischief never to be remedy'd since the Sea it self is many times restrain'd by Causeys and Mounds though it be an Element a thousand times more to be fear'd then the Policy and Pride of Lewis XIV And this is that which the Duke of Bavaria and the rest of his Brave Confederates must do to stop and curb the rapid Inundations of France They must look upon the French Monarch as one that thunders in all his Forces and his Fury upon those Places where he is sure to find but little Resistance and from such Victories as those he reaps his greatest Honour I confess that a Prince who is violent and a Usurper is happy so long as Fortune goes hand in hand with his Natural Humour But in regard she grows weary for the most part of always carrying one Man upon her Back we also find that the same Prince becomes unprosperous when Fortune changes her Mind or rather when there is an Opposition made against him And therefore if we may build upon outward Appearances and if there be any thing of Prognostication in the Presentiments of Wise and Judicious Men the Low-Countries may well hope by the Blessing of Heaven the prudent Conduct of their Great and Sage Governor and Leader and the sincere Intentions of the Confederates to be soon deliver'd from the Yoke and Barbarity of France and enjoy the Fat of a fruitful Soil that has so long fed so many Thousands of Foreigners both Men and Beasts From the Low-Countries I cross over into England where I find that the Revolution which happen'd in the Year 1689. affords a large Field and ample Matter to supply my Discourse The Court of France not only cry'd The Town 's our's but
attain'd her Ends and for the Truth of this we have sufficient Proofs the Testimony of Grandvall at his Death and the authentick Depositions of Dement who is still living to the Shamne and Confusion of France the Remembrance of which will be a lasting Stain to her Honour a Fact which her succeeding Princes will deny as a Reproach to their Posterity and for which Histories only furnish us with the Example of Darius King of Persia who not being able to vanquish his Enemy Alexander in Battel treacherously labour'd to have won the Grecian Soldiers either to kill or betray their Prince And for that it was that the Macedonian Victor upbraided Darius's Embassadors when they came to sue for Peace and to return him Thanks for the Civilities he had shew'd to his Mother his Wife and his two Daughters to which Embassadour the Macedonian Monarch thus began his Answer Tell your Master that Thanks are superfluous among Soldiers that make War one upon another and therefore if I were Civil and Courteous towards his Relations 't was only to satisfie my self and not out of any Affection that I bear to him for 't is not my Humour to insult over the Miserable I never attack Prisoners nor Women I only assail those that I meet with Weapons in their Hands and who are in a Condition to defend themselves So that if he sincerely desir'd Peace I should consider what I had to do but seeing that he still continues by Letters and Money to sollicit my Soldiers to betray me and my Friends to Kill me I am resov'd to pursue him to the uttermost of my Power no longer as an Enemy but as a Poysoner and a Ruffian c. 'T is not to be deny'd but that when any man designs to murther his Enemy 't is because he dreads him with a more then Ordinary Fear and to deprive his more valiant Adversary by such a Cowardly and detestable Action of the Honour of vanquishing him in Battel But such Assassins never come to good End for Darius perish'd miserably being murder'd by his own Subjects and at the same time lost both his Life his Diadem and all the Wealth of Persia But to return to our Subject During the Reign of King James France sent into England whole Legions of Monks and Jesuits under pretence of Propagating the Faith and to screw themselves into the most considerable Families of the Realm under pretence of Religion as also to assist this Unfortunate Prince to observe his Footsteps and dive into his secret Thoughts to the end he might not be able to avoid the Chains which the Court of France had prepar'd for him But now the Emissaries of France have alter'd their Language and whereas at that time they preach'd nothing to the English but Peace and Obedience there now they breath nothing but Fire and Flame Sedition and Murder where e're they come fomenting Rebellion in all parts of the Kingdom and ready once more to fire the City of London if they believ'd the Conflagration would contribute any thing to their wicked Designs The whole Policy and Craft of France is at a great Loss at this Conjuncture to find that all her Machinations against the Life of the King of England at present prosperously Reigning are still disappointed Nor is it less a bitter Choak-Pear to Lewis XIV the Proudest Monarch upon Earth to see himself at last constrain'd to acknowledge his Brittanick Majesty the Lawful Monarch of the Three Kingdoms and sue to him for Peace and all this after he had Vaunted before all the World that he would never lay down his Arms till he had restor'd King James to his Throne not without a prophane and Daring Application of the words of God the Father to the Son Sit thou at my Right hand till I make thy Enemies thy Foot-stool Now after such a Bounce a man would think it should be a trouble to the Court of France to find her self constrain'd to dismiss this poor unfortunate Prince But there will be no such Thing For when Persons that have been profitable to the Court of France become once unserviceable she never scruples to send 'em packing in cold Blood 'T is true that she observes some Measures and lets yee know her Mind at first by Hints and indirect Whispers but if you do not understand her Mute Language and Dumb Signs she fails not to inform your Stupidity with plain and down-right Expressions it being a Maxim of the French Court never to love the Unfortunate But you 'l say what Benefit can accrue to Lewis XIV by keeping King James in France 't is not for the Benefit of his Counsel for he could never give or take any himself nor is it out of any heat of Concupiscence for the Queen of England for he has much handsome and Prettier in his Seraglio of St. Cyr where Madam de Maintenon out of her Pious Care for several Years together has kept in good decorum a numerous Bevie of young handsome Ladies who are as it were so many Victims which she offers to the Divinity of Lewis the Great and though that Monarch had not that Reserve for his little Pleasures the Court is full of Coquetts and the Mothers are such Ninnyhammers as to carry their Daughters thither to try whether or no their good Fortune will advance 'em to the Embraces of that Great Monarch and all this in hopes to raise the drooping condition of their Family Insomuch that I have known some Parents condescend to that point of Panderism as to Lesson their Daughters and instruct 'em what they were to say and do in case the King should happen to take notice of ' em So that most assuredly it would not be no Queen Jemmykin that the Sultan of France would throw his Handkerchief unless it were with that Limitation that Alexander observ'd who refus'd to exercise at the Olymptick Games unless he might have Kings for his Competitors And thus Lewis XIV grown more Great perhaps then formerly would have the World believe that he 'll no longer be a Gamester in the Sports of Love unless he may have Queens for the Objects of his Passion However the King grows old and therefore let us be so favourable to him as to believe that if the Court of France did entertain King James and all his Train at St. Germains 't was not for any Affection the French Monarch bare him but because the English Fugitive who generally feeds upon Chimera's fancy'd Himself and endeavour'd to perswade the Court of France that he had a Great Party in England not only all the Roman Catholicks but all the Fanaticks in the Kingdom That the Quaker Penn who indeed is no other then a Jesuit in Masquerade assur'd him of the Absolute Devotion of that whole Sect to his Party and Service But the Court of France has been well inform'd that all these Assurances were meer Illusions seeing that neither Catholicks nor Quakers are admitted into the Parliament
'em he appeas'd the Prime Minister by telling him That what the Court of France had done in respect to that Affair was only to deceive his Enemies and to amuse 'em with Frivolous Offers on purpose to put a stop to their Preparations against the next Campaign and to make the People the more unwilling to contribute toward the War It may be some Persons well affected to France take this to be a Calumny and will not believe that the Most Christian King persuaded the Turk to break with the Christians But to convince 'em I shall here insert what past at the Pyrenean Treaty where Lewis XIV espous'd the Infanta of Spain renounc'd all the Pretensions which that Princess might have to Spain or the Low-Countries and consented with an Oath That if ever he Pretended to what he had rencunced that his Pretension should be accounted Null and Void and that if he proceeded to force of Arms he besought all Princes and Free States observe the Expressions to repute it unlawful unjust and wickedly attempted a Piece of Tyrannical Vsurpation against Reason and Conscience This Protestation is to be met with in the Sixth Article of the Renunciation of the King of France belonging to the Pyrenaean Treaty in the Year 1660. Nevertheless we have seen how Lewis XIV brake this Peace so solemnly sworn in a few Years afterwards immediately upon the death of Philip IV. King of Spain on purpose to renew the renounc'd Pretensions of his Queen which have since cost so much Christian Blood and still are like to cost more before the Conclusion of the War These Things being consider'd all Men must be convinc'd that France fomented the War in Hungary that she encourag'd the Turks to besiege Vienna that she design'd the Dethroning of the Emperour and to have set up her Monarch Lewis the Great in his Place But she met with many Disappointments The Great Victories of the Christians the Conquest of Upper and Lower Hungary but above all the Taking of Belgrade together with the frequent Revolutions in the Ottoman Court ranvers'd all the Affairs of that Empire and then it was that all the Persuasions nor all the Promises nor Presents of the French could make any Impression upon the Turks all the Policy of the Court of France was reduc'd to this last Shift which was to persuade the Ottoman Port to continue the War but one Campaign more and then if the Face of Affairs did not alter but that their Misfortunes continu'd she would consent to a Truce such as the Turks should think fit to make This Expedient wrought well for the French For in the Year 1690. the Infidels re-took Belgrade by Assault which puff'd 'em up to a high degree Nor was it then a difficult thing to persuade 'em that their Misfortunes were at an end that Heaven was now going to punish the Emperour for refusing the Peace which they had offer'd him and that to second this happy beginning the King his Master or the Dauphin who was call'd the Young Sultan at the Port would come in Person with a numerous Army and make a Considerable Diversion upon the Rhine But in regard the Turks have never yet seen any Effects of these Mighty Promises the French Embassadour is forc'd from time to time to bear the Brunt of most bloody Reproaches from the Lips of the Grand Visier and to endure many a rugged Storm without going to Sea And the least affront put upon him is that of Dog That his Master is a man of no Faith and worse then a Christian and that if he does not keep his Word for the future the Port will make a Truce with the Emperour and leave him to himself But these are Reprimands which the French never boast of and the Embassadour has Flegm enough to stay till the Tempest be over and never to return to the Charge with his Flamms and Excuses till the first firing be over and that the Grand Visier's Fury be abated and then with new Presents he makes fresh Promises and like the Children promises to do better next time A sad Conjuncture for a Monarch who believes himself to be the first and greatest in the World and ranks himself like Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great in the Number of the Gods to be forc'd to such mean Submissions and to suffer continual Affronts and Reproaches from an Infidel to preserve the Friendship and Assistance of the Turks But this is now the Depth of the Policy of France rather to Cringe and Creep and become a kind of Tributary to the Ottoman Port then to make Restitution of what he has usurp'd from the Christians rather to allow Liberty of Conscience to the Turks then to the Huguenots And this I have been assur'd that Chasteauneuf the French Embassadour not knowing one day which way to appease the Grand Visier offer'd him that Liberty in his Masters Name and that he should give leave to the Turks to erect Mosquees at Tholoun and Marseilles The same Offers have also been made to the Governour of Algiers in any place of Bretaigne that he should make choice of provided he would send his Men of War into St. George's Channel to rob the English and Hollanders And if these Offers did not take effect 't was because the Grand Signior stood in need of the Algerines to serve against the Venetians and re-inforce his Fleet in the Levant Nevertheless these Offers fail'd not to work with the Grand Mufti who like the Romish Ecclesiasticks loves the Propagation of his Faith and the Free Exercise of his Religion and who being sweeten'd up withall by some Considerable Present openly declar'd for the French Sultan But as submissive as France is yet a while to her Ally that she may preserve his Friendship you shall see that he will leave him in the Lurch and deliver him up a Prey to the Emperour so soon as he can find a way to make Peace with the Confederates And then that Separation would infallibly beget a War between the two Sultans were the Turk in a condition to revenge himself However his want of Strength to commence a War will not hinder him from loading the French Merchants that reside in his Dominions with Terrible Oppressions and so the poor Merchants must pay for the Infidelity of their Monarch But the Court of France never troubles her Head about That provided she can but compass her own Ends. And for the Obtaining of those she will never Spare for the Blood or Estates of her own Subjects nor did she ever value the Lives and Liberties of so many poor Christians as have been sacrific'd during this War with the Turk to the Ambition of Lewis the Great But we are now ascending if we can to the Pinacle of French Policy so high that few or none can reach it that is to say the Depopulation of France and consequently the Ruine of the Kingdom for Religion's sake For it is well known that the Protestants
nor into any the meanest Offices in the Kingdom and that it would be a very difficult thing not to say an Impossibility to embody all those that go by the Name of Jacobites scatter'd up and down in several Parts of the Kingdom and for the most part known to be such Besides that we find that no sooner a Dozen of these Rebels meet together but they are presently discover'd a visible Sign of the Care that Divine Providence takes for the Preservation of their Brittanick Majesties and that the same Providence watches over 'em while they without intermission labour to settle the Government to protect the Nation against their Enemies and to re-advance the Honour of the British Name beyond what the Princes their Predecessors have done for several Ages There is no question to be made but that the King of France or his Council is very well inform'd of the Constitution of England and that it will be in vain for their Enemies to attempt any thing there so long as the King and his Parliament are united together as we find 'em at this Day Insomuch that this good Correspondence has furnish'd the King with powerful Supplies to oppose his Enemies both by Sea and Land tho' their Number were double to what it is at this Day For that so long as the English have a formidable Fleet upon their Coasts who shall be so daring as to attack ' em Not France I 'm sure Besides that if they can but come to grapple with their lurking Enemy the French would soon be constrain'd to quit their Coasts So that all things being consider'd there is nothing more for France to do but to give over the War with England for that unless they be Masters of the Sea their Trade is lost and they are absolutely ruin'd not being able to sell their Wines their Brandies and other Products of the Kingdom besides that they are fore'd to drein themselves of all their ready Money to pay the King's Subsidies with a number of Impositions and Taxes with which the Kingdom swarms And which is worst of all their Harvests having fail'd for Two Years together from whence shall they have Corn if they be not Masters of the Sea more especially being at War with the Hollanders and excluded out of Spain which has several times supply'd their Wants So that 't is no marvel that the French begin to be weary of the War especially with England and that he no longer observes any Measures with King James who at present resembles one of one those petty Saints to whom they will not put themselves to the trouble of lighting up a small Wax Candle because they neither cure any Diseases nor are able to make their Guardian 's Pot boil France has begun a War which she will not get quit of when she pleases her self Her Monarch has a long time acted Orlando Furioso and affronted both in Word and Deed a Prince that was not in a Condition to defend himself but now that Providence by a miraculous Conduct has plac'd the injur'd Prince upon the Brittish Throhe 't is not for the Court of France to think that God by his Providence has so highly exalted that Prince has conferr'd upon him the Government of several Kingdoms and Provinces and put so great a Power into the Hands of the only Prince that France is afraid of a Prince that has so well united the greatest part of the Princes of Europe in order to make a vigorous War against the common Enemy who by degrees has so largely usurp'd upon their Dominions and all this only to render more conspicuous the Honour of Lewis XIV as his Emissaries give out 'T is never to be believ'd and they that imagine it must be either void of Sence or be of the Number of those Phanaticks that have no more Wit then to adhere to King James But if France can get nothing by a War with England she may be much a loser considering the present Condition of her Affairs For should the English once happen to set Foot in France they have not forgot their Right to Normandy Guienne Poitou and Languedock When the English quitted Calais they promis'd the French Governour who came to take possession of it to return when their Sins were not so crying loud as those of the French At least the Court of France is not to believe that the English will let 'em alone in the quiet Possession of Dunkirk a Place that is no more the Patrimony of the Kings of France then Strasburgh They that sold both the one and the other of those Cities had no right to make the Bargain France treated with those that were under Age. Now we know that what an Infant Sells or Contracts for is lyable to be cancell'd Charles the Second had neither conquer'd nor purchas'd Dunkirk he found it annex'd to the Crown upon his return to his Kingdoms nor was it for him to sell it to satisfie the Avarice of his Chancellor So that the Kings his Predecessors have still an undeniable Right either to regain it by Force of Arms or recover it by Treaty of Peace with much more Equity and Justice then the Chamber of Metz can pretend to make Reunions to the Crown of France The words surrender back are doubtless very hard of Digestion to Lewis the Great who pretends at all times to be the only Person that can restore Peace to Europe and therefore he ought in the first place to understand what Restitution is The Greatest and Wisest of Kings assures us That Destruction presses close upon the Heels of the Proud and as I have already said Fortune grows weary of always carrying the same Prince upon her Back There are many Reasons why France should sink after all the Cruelties she has committed and which are not yet at an end People trail their Chains after 'em for some time without much complaint but 't is with a design to break 'em upon the first Opportunity and there is no question to be made but that if the English once set Foot ashore with their Prince at the Head of 'em but that the greatest part will receive him as their Deliverer And I dare be bold to affirm that there are at Present a Great Number in France who wish it and wait for their Deliverance and that there is hardly a Lord at Court or a Prince of the Blood who does not pray for the bringing down their Monarch and the Prosperity of the Confederates Armes The Race of Valois ended in France for less Crimes then those that Bourbon has committed But there is a precise Time appointed for humbling the Monarchs of the World conceal'd from Humane Knowledge and it is a Folly to go about to penetrate into a Secret which Divine Providence has reserv'd to it self However we see the King of France tries all Ways and Means to Support himself like a Man that strives against Death He ruins his Subjects to maintain his Armies he
Ports of France are become Nests of Pyrates and Sea-rovers only Nor do we find all this while that their ill-gotten Purchases enrich either the Soveraign or the People For according to the common Proverb That which is got with the Flute is spent with the Drum And therefore it is that the Inhabitants of St. Malo's and some other Ports of France are not a little troubled that they have no better employment then to addict themselves to Pyracy but their Trade with Holland and Spain being quite ruin'd for the present they are constrain'd to turn Sea-rovers for their Subsistance Now then we may assure our selves that 't is so far from being the Interest of France to ruine and destroy the United Provinces that 't is the Study of all her most serious Policy to gain their Friendship and inveigle 'em by fair Promises to accept a Peace either separate or general because the Intercourse between the two States in times of Peace brings more Profit to France then all the rest of Europe besides But this Peace is not to be obtain'd by France either from the United Provinces or from any other of the Confederates but upon safe Conditions For to such a Dilemma has the Most Christian King reduc'd himself by beginning an Unjust and Cruel War neither provok'd nor compell'd to it by any other Motives then those of an Inordinate Ambition So that it may be said of the Sun which Lewis XIV has made choice of for his Impress that it resembles the Sun in March which stirs and raises the Humours of the Body but has not Heat sufficient to consume their Malignity To say Truth France may be look'd upon as one of the worst Neighbours in the World for she lets no Prince along that has the Misfortune to lie near her So that after Lorraine the Spanish Low-Countries and the United Provinces had felt the Effects of her Fury she began again to prosecute her Old Designs upon Savoy And the First course she took to get footing in that Family was by the means of several Matches with French Princesses to the End she might have her Spies and Creatures in the very Beds of those Princes For that is one of the most Refin'd Pieces f French Policy for the King to make the Matches himself and to give 'em their Dowry to engage 'em the more Cordially to his Interests And at the same time he sends 'em home to their New Spouses full of Great Idea's of the Monarch of France and the vast Obligations which they owe him besides that before their Departure he causes 'em to Swear upon the Holy Evangelists That for the future they shall be absolutely devoted to France that they shall uphold the Interests of that Crown at all Times and against all Persons whatever in the Courts where they reside and shall inform either him or his Ministers of all that passes in their Husbands Cabinets and blindly obey the Orders that are sent 'em by the King or given by his Minister residing in the Court. And then there is no reason to wonder at the Troubles which Henrietta Maria and Christina the Daughters of Hen. IV. marry'd by Lewis XIII into England and Savoy occasion'd in those Countries The first never ceasing till by her ill Conduct and exasperating her Husband to act contrary to the Laws of the Kingdom she had brought Charles I. to an Untimely End and her going into England may be said to be as it were the Source and Leaven of all the Misfortunes that ensu'd in our days Leaving England take a view of the greatest part of all the other Courts of Europe and you shall find French Princesses who play their Parts with the Louidores of France In Tuscany we have seen the present Grand Duke that he might procure his own Peace at home send a Bill of Divorce to the Grand Dutchess his Wife who is a Princess of the House of Orleance and return her back to France to undergo the same hard Fortune as Henrietta Maria wasting the remainder of her Days in a mean Condition depending upon the inconstant Humour of the King of France To whom such a return cannot choose but be a tacit Reproach of the Misfortune befallen her for upholding his Interests But in regard that Large Consciences are all the Mode of the Court of France they can never be injur'd by Petty Stings or little Keckings If you look upon Portugal you shall find there Mademoiselle d' Aumale marry'd to two Brothers one after another tho' the first were alive at the time of the second Marriage King Alphonso VI. somewhat morose by nature and not willing to comply with the Counsels and Caresses of that Princess the Court of France found a way to be rid of that Prince who was banish'd to the Islands of Tercera and his Marriage after dissolv'd by the Duke of Mercoeur the Queen's Uncle made a Cardinal at the Sollicitation of France and sent Legate into Portugal with a design to out the Nuptial knot a Secret all this while unknown to the Pope who was ignorant of the Contrivances of the French Court and tho' that during the Three first Months of the Marriage it was given out that the Queen was with Child yet they parted the Wedded Couple for all that under pretence of Impotency and marry'd her to Don Pedro Successour to the Crown and her Husband's Brother and if Charles II. of England would have consented to a Divorce between Him and Queen Katherine the Court of France had design'd him the Princess of Nevers Spain has several times experienc'd to her cost the fatal Consequences of Matches with France and his Royal Highness of Savoy at present ruling had been within a Finger's breadth of losing his Territories had he pursu'd his Journey into Portugal to espouse the Infanta at the earnest Solicitation of the Princess his Mother who is a French Woman and by the Perswasion and Management of the Court of France who were very Industrious to procure that Match on purpose to remove the Duke out of his Dominions and oblige him to stay in Portugal in Hopes of a Crown while France took the Opportunity to make himself Master of Biemont and Savoy France has been a long time contriving and studying for a favourable Pretence to colour the the Execution of this Design Harry the Great in his time agreed with the Duke of Savoy that upon his resigning up to him all the Pretensions that the Duke had in Milanois he should oblige himself to conquer it and afterwards exchange it for such Lands as the Duke held on this side the Mountains which consist in Genevois all the Principality of Nissa the County of Foussigni and a part of Savoy as far as the Alps to the end it might be in his Power to call himself Master from the Pyreneans to the Alps. But the Tragical End of Hen. IV. put a stop to that Enterprize However it did not quench the greedy Thirst of the Court
all along during this War which began in 1672. at what time Sweden declar'd openly for France Tho' he repented of it afterwards whether it were by reason of his Ill Success and the Advantage of the Electour of Brandenburgh during that War or the Infidelity of the Court of France so far from observing her Word that she never pay'd the Money which she promis'd to that Crown but on the other side depriv'd the Northern Prince of his Dutchy of Deux Ponts Which ill Usage lost the French all their Credit in the Court of Sweden where they were afterwards look'd upon as Cheats insomuch that the Good Correspondence formerly between those two Nations turn'd into Hatred and Scorn After this Change in regard the Policy of France found it Convenient to have one of these two Northern Princes tack'd to her Interests she cast her Affection upon Danemark and so well ply'd the Ministers of that Court with her Louidores that now she governs 'em as she Pleases and makes 'em daunce to the French Ayres I must acknowledge that the King of France pays the Violins but still Levis XIV has the Pleasure to see the Danes dance and foot it to his advantage The Siege of Ratzâ—nburgh cost France Three hunder'd Thousand Crowns which were pay'd at Hamborough upon throwing the First Bomb into that Fortress For the Policy of the Court of France would needs venture that Summ at a time when she had little reason to have spar'd it in hopes that this Siege would have made a notable Diversion and that all the Princes of the House of Luneburg would have recall'd all their Forces from the Low-Countries and the Rhine to defend that Place But here the French were cully'd by the Danes For the Difference was made up between both Parties France not being able to prevent the Reconciliation which seem'd to her to have been Impossible But this is not the First Attempt of the Court of France that has come to nothing So that it cannot be said that she takes her measures so truly as never to be mistaken as her Emissaries give out with high applause For to hear them Chatter a man would swear that the Resolves of the Cabinet of their Great Monarch were the Decrees of Heaven that never err which France does often and more frequently then she would her self In the Present Conjuncture France ready to sink under the Burthen of a Long Chargeable War makes use of Danish Flags and Vessels to get Corn and Naval Stores for her Men of War In short at present she embraces the Danes whom she contemn'd before as her only Patrons and Deliverers to whom she can have Recourse and she would fain have the King of Danemark declare War against the United Provinces The Minister of France residing at Coppenhaghen is continually beating his Brains day and night to furnish the Danish Ministers with Pretences to begin a Rupture he promises Ships and Money to assist 'em and that tho' it should be their Misfortune to come by the worst yet upon the making of the Peace he would never forsake 'em no more then he did he Swede when the Peace of Nimeghen was concluded The Louidores of France are most alluring Baits at the Court of Coppenhaghen but their Interest so undeniably requires 'em to hold a good Correspondence with the Hollanders rather then with any other Nation that only that Consideration out-bâ—llances all the Golden Persuasions of the French Embassadour Bonrepos who having quitted his Religion to please his Master labours by all the Artifices of Fallacy and Deceit to become serviceable to him in acknowledgment of the Honour done him in sending him upon an Embassy for which he thought him a more fit Person then any Body else by reason of his Employment in the Sea Affairs under the Marquis of Segnalai But that which most embarrases France and Danemark both together is this that Swedeland which is the far more potent Kingdom of the two being engag'd in a strict Alliance with the Emperor and the United Provinces and having also Pretensions to Danemark will not be wanting to cross the Enterprizes of the Danish King who all things being consider'd can ne'er hope for any great Assistance from the French in the Present Conjuncture Moreover such is the Jealousie between those two Nations upon the score of Trade that the Danes are always afraid least the Swedes should be too hard for 'em and agree with the Hollanders to furnish 'em with all the Wood and other Naval Stores which otherwise they fetch from Danemark and which would be a loss to 'em that France would never be able to repair If the King of France cannot oblige Danemark to break with the United Provinces he is bound at least to procure as much Succour as he can from the North and to make use of Danish Colours to pass freely without molestation with promise to reimburse all the Losses which the Danes shall sustain by their Protection in regard the Danish Ministers readily foresee that so great a Number of Passports which they give for Money to al Vessels and all sorts of Nations that desire 'em must at length open the Eyes of the Confederates and force 'em to put a stop to a Trade that only serves to carry Counter band Goods into France contrary to Justice and Reason and to the prejudice of the Treaties Bonrepos does all he can to continue this Game and he keeps by him whole Reams of Blank Passports to fill 'em up in favour of those who desire 'em and to encourge 'em to sail France he gives 'em to some and promises 'em to others and bequeaths himself a hunder'd Times a day to the Devil to assure 'em of the Honesty and Sincerity of his Master In short that Embassadour takes a world of Pains so that if he succeed in his Negotiation the King his Master may well bestow upon him the Collar of the Order of St. Lewis in recompence of his Toil and Labour and in exchange for his Religion The Count d' Avaux a Cunning and Crafty Minister at present the French Embassadour at Sweden is so well known in the World that we should do him wrong to write his Panegyrick He acted his part so well during his Embassy at the Hague that his Master sent him to King James to assist him with his Counsel during the Heroick Expedition of that Prince in Ireland His Instructions are not altogether the same with those of Bonrepos's at Coppenhaghen because those two Courts are not both of one Opinion and for that the Promises of France have not that Reputation at Stockholm as at Coppenhaghen And therefore while Bonrepos presses the Danes to a Rupture d' Avaux only sollicits the Court of Sweden to stand Neuter and to continue their Trade with France or instead of that to grant Passports to such as shall desire 'em to the end that Sweden and Danemark may be equally concern'd in case the Confederates should
take disgust at the Great Number which the Danâ—s give out to all Commers And indeed it is to be said to the Praise of Sweden that that Crown has always acted sincerely with her Confederates and even with France it self at a time when Sweden could not have reap'd any great Advantages by a Correspondence with her and when no less sedulous Endeavours were us'd to have drawn off the Court of Sweden from her France has always courted Sweden to remove the Obstacles that continually lie in her way which is the Reason of that Infidelity of the French who break with their Allies at all times when the Humour takes 'em and well understand that Sweden being so potent and considerable is able to counterpoize Affairs provided she will but concern her self For in that respect she has always observ'd a very prudent Conduct neither does the approve all the Invasions of the French She knows the Truth of what M. Lyonne reports in his Memoirs where he says That there is not any State which is not bound to oppose the Aggrandizement of the Court of France and Sweden above all the rest seeing that if the King had taken the Low-Countries he would have taken no further notice of her as believing he had no more Occasion for her This is a solid Expression and to the purpose and ought to make a deep Impression in the minds of those who have prejudice against the Court of Sweden either deluded by the Flatteries of the Ministers of France or some base and sordid Interest of their own which greatly prevails in the world and leads a world of People astray But certain it is that Sweden has long since sounded the Ambition and Arms of France more especially at the Peace of Osnabrug and if at any time she hearkens to the Ministers of France 't is without doubt because she finds some little pleasure in dreining France and doing her but little Good 'T is also certain and visible that the Ministers of Sweden and Danemark who reside in Foreign Courts and more especially in those of the Confederates are frequently and vigorously assail'd by the Emissaries of the French on purpose to fish out how Squares go among the Confederates and may well retort upon the French Satans the Words of the Lord's Prayer Lead us not into Temptation but deliver from Evil but above all from the Evil Spirits of France that continually environ us For indeed a man ought to be shod with Frost-Nails to preserve himself from falling in such slippery Ground and he that can surmount those Temptations may well be number'd in the Catalogue of Upright Ministers and Faithful to the Interests of his Master Corruption or Bribery is now a General Mischief in the world but never any advanc'd the Price of it so high as the King of France for most certain it is that that one single Expence amounts to above Twenty Millions a Year For it is a Thing past all dispute that France upholds her self more by her Gold then by her Sword 'T is true she is many times put to her Plunges in times of War which dreins her Exchequer and enforces her to advance her Coin by which she gains considerably Formerly instead of enhauncing her Money France made use of another Stratagem which was to coin Louidores rais'd in value but mix'd with a baser Alloy then those that went current in the Kingdom which were distinguish'd by a little Mark quite different from others And some there are in the Court of Danemark who if they durst own the Thing could bring a Cloud of Witnesses to make it out as having experienc'd upon several Occasions the full swing that French Knavery allow'd it self I know likewise that the Thing was murmur'd at but the Cheat pass'd for that time upon promise of doing better the next time Therefore Charles II. King of England who was well acquainted with the Knavery of France when he receiv'd any French Pension which was usually pay'd him in Louidores order'd the Receivers to cut 'em in two pieces to see what Mettal they were made of and then caus'd 'em to be refin'd into Guinea's So natural it is for the Court of France not to leave any Cheat omitted to defraud all those that relie upon her As for Poland in regard it is a Kingdom remote from France it can do her neither any great Good nor any great Harm nor is there much Trade or much Communication between the Two Nations Corn is the Only Merchandize wherein Poland abounds and which it Transports from Dantzick into Foreign Countries But the Kings of Poland may in some measure sometimes be profitable to the Designs of France tho' it were only to molest the Emperour in many occasions that may and frequently do fall out For this Reason the King of France takes Great Care to send an Embassadour with Money to the Dyets upon the Election of a New King or else if they are not marry'd to offer 'em a Princess born in France and 't is very probable that the French Embassadour Beauvais and Cardinal Fouâ—bin who was then at the Dyet in Poland contributed very much to the Election of the Present King for which he has not been ungrateful However he was guilty of two Bold Strokes which tho' they were greatly for his Honour were no way delightful to France The First was the King of Poland's March to the Relief of Vienna which was effectually perform'd with the loss of 60000 Turks to the great Grief of Lewis XIV and contrary to his Expectation and his Wishes and tho' some Remains of Decorum and Honour retain'd the Court of France from openly displaying her Resentment yet the Silence of the French discover'd how much they were vex'd and mortify'd by it at a time when all Europe resounded with loud Acclamations of Joy and Gladness and all the Churches with Thanks givings to Heaven Only the Sorrow of France notoriously display'd it self by her Prohibiting the Bishops of the Conquer'd Cities in the Low-Countries to suffer Te Deums to be sung within their Diocesses The second Blow which his Majesty of Poland gave to the Contrivances of France was the Marriage of Prince James to one of the Princesses of Newburgh Sister to the Empress notwithstanding all the Oppositions of the French Ministers and particularly of the Marquis of Arquin the Queen's Father wherein the Contests grew so high that the King of France order'd one of his Ministers to tell his Majesty of Poland That since he could not hinder the Marriage he would hinder the Prince from being King But in these two Affairs the Polanders were guided by their real Interests which was to bring down and ruine the Turks their sworn Enemy and near Neighbour as also assure to themselves the Amity and Alliance of the Emperour and the Imperial Protection for the Prince his Son when the Throne should become vacant But if the King of France prov'd unsuccessful in the main he has had his
afraid of the Strength of Portugal tho' separated from Spain Quite the contrary Portugal might well make use of France to molest Spain which visibly decreas'd and perhaps will never be in a Condition again to pull that Thorn out of her Foot and to reduce Portugal under her Obedience For after that Revolution which follow'd that of the Low-Countries Spain languish'd away by degrees and Portugal encreas'd both in Strength and Riches and is become so Potent that alone by her self she can make head against Spain which at this day resembles a strong Man consum'd and wasted by Inward Sickness and Distempers and easily overturn'd by the puny strength of a Child The Portuguezes therefore who are good Politicians understanding their own Interest leagu'd themselves with the Greatest Enemies of the Spaniards that is to say the English and French who in a time of necessity might openly declare for 'em if Spain should happen to be in a Condition to attack ' em But now Portugal has no need of Assistance against Spain much rather she ought to fortifie her self against France which in this Reign has look'd with a Covetous Eye upon the Wealth that arrives at Lisbon from the East and and West Indies and I am perswaded that the Court of Portugal is truly convinc'd of it Which was the reason that enduc'd 'em to the no small Vexation of France to seek the Friendship and Alliance of the House of Austria by the Marriage of Don Pedro to the Princess of Nieubrug However the Policy of France that understands without all doubt the Design of the Portuguezes is careful at present to embrace the Friendship of the King of Portugal to the end that during the War she may have the free use of his Ports to fetch Provisions and Necessaries which she can have no where else And we have seen not long since that the French Men of War wanting Seamen and searing to be attack'd by the English and Hollanders supply'd themselves from the Coasts of Portugal So that considering the Need which the French have of the Portuguezes would Don Pedro and his Council make the best of so favourable an Opportunity there is no doubt but the House of Austria would grant him very Advantageous Conditions in case the Portuguezes would joyn with the Confederates and declare War against France And her Interest advises her to it for that if the Dauphin after the death of the Catholick King should get the upper hand in Spain there 's no question to be made but he would revive the Pretensions of Alphonso King of Arragon and Philip II. King of Spain for by the same reason that formerly the Policy of France requir'd her to support Portugal it would be then her Interest to ruine make her self Master of it 'T were well that all the other Courts of Europe would do as France does who foresees things at a Great Distance and continually builds Designs upon a Basis of Probable Futurity and for fear of being deceiv'd usually forms three or four Contrivances which way to bring about one and the same Thing so that 〈◊〉 one fail another may hold This is a Piece of Human Prudence that not only prevents Surprize but shews they way to undertake several Enterprizes which else a Man would never have thought of 'T is a Maxim to be observ'd by all Sovereigns to mistrust even their nearest Allies and so to act as if they were just ready to come to a Rupture more especially they that border upon France that never observes Peace or Treaty any longer then she finds it for her Convenience The City of Paris abounds in Persons full of Curiosity and Invention Among the rest there are a Great Number of old Practitioners who employ their Wits to get Money in searching for Claims and Rights in Old Parchments a good part of which has serv'd to feed the Rats and Mice and to invent and set up Titles so that if they are but largely pay'd they will prove their Benefactors Descent from the Royal Race tho' before that he could hardly reckon a Groom among all his Predecessors These Antiquaries tell yee that Portugal is deriv'd from Poâ—tus Gallorum Thus you you see a Foundation lay'd for the French to pretend that Portugal belongs to France Moreover there are still to be seen among the Archives certain Ancient Registers or if they are not there they can find 'em elsewhere containing the Expences that France was at some Ages since in assisting the Portuguezes against the Moors of Castile and Andalusia in the Reign of King Henry who was of the House of Lorrain and marry'd the Natural Daughter of Alphonfo King of Arragon who gave him an Army to conquer Portugal or Lusitania from the Moors Now there would not need so much were this Affair once brought before the Tribunal of Metz which is the Soveraign and Irrevocable Court of Judicature to determine the Right of the Dependences and Appendences of France However the Germans would have the first Right in regard it was to the assistance of that War-like Nation that Henry was beholding for the Conquest of Lusitania as also of Algarva which is the reason that the Germans enjoy such Privileges all over Portugal But there 's the Mischief of it that if the Case should come to be argu'd before the Despotick Tribunal of Metz between the Germans and France that Court would never do the Germans Justice As for the Switzers they are compos'd of Thirteen Cantons which are as it were so many Separate Provinces free and independent one from another These Cantons having withdrawn themselves from their Subjection to the Emperour by reason of the hard usage which they suffer'd under the German Governours bethought themselves of a Democratick Government which they have upheld till this present time after they had sustain'd several tedious Wars and fought a great number of Battels always Victorious protected by Heaven and by that means becoming so powerful as to be sought to by the Emperour and the Neighbouring Princes They very rarely sent Embassadours to the Potentates their Confederates unless it were to renew an Alliance or upon some Extraordinary Occasion However the same Princes have generally their Ministers residing among them but more-especially France whose Embassadour keeps his Station at Soleurre tho' it be one of the meanest Cantons and that Berne be one of the most powerful and the largest for which we shall give the Reason in due Place Any Prince who desires the Assembling of a Dyet in Switzerland must request it by his Embassadour or Minister there residing but he must pay for it and therefore they never refuse it to those that desire the Meeting which would not else be summon'd and consequently there would be no notice taken of the Business there intended to be propos'd This same Coldness natural to the Switzers makes me believe that that Nation cares not so much for the Friendship of their Confederates as for their Money However it
upon in ther Contracts that is to say the Louidores at Eleven Livres and the White Crowns at Sixty Sols For the Switzers are thrifty Husbands and send a good part of their Pay to their Parents in Switzerland where there is no Variation of the Coin admitted Now it being so certain as I have already said that France stands in need of the Switzers in this Conjuncture this is the reason that the French Embassadour residing in Switzerland has Orders not to disgust 'em nor give 'em the least Subject of Complaint but in every Canton to caress all those in particular who have the best Interest and carry the greatest Sway on purpose to prevent 'em from entring into a more strict Alliance with the House of Austria the King of Great Britain and the State of the United Provinces For which reason it was that the French Minister us'd all his Power and Interest to stop the Levies which M. Cox the King of Great Britain's Envoy would have rais'd not long ago But if the Business did not then succeed France is beholding for it to the want of Management in those that understood not the right knack of dealing with the Switzers seeing afterwards others found the way to discover the forward Inclinations of that Nation toward the Confederates by the Levies that were made underhand which is a terrible Blow to France in regard that those new Regiments draw away a Great Number of their fellow Country-men out of the French Service especially the Protestants However we do not find that France dares to make any great noise about it moderating and restraining her Passion till a more propitious Opportunity but in regard the Cantons on the other side may be assur'd that she Barrels it up and that if at present they escape Scot-free yet whenever it lies in her Power France will never forget such heinous Provocations therefore 't is now the Switzers Interests to labour with the rest the humbling France now the Confederates are following her so close at the Heels For the Lower France is brought the more the French will caress the Switzers and seek their Assistance whereas in their Prosperity they slight and domineer over 'em and would utterly subdue 'em were it in the Power of the Court of France that resembles Fire or the Sea which never will acknowledge they have enough But at present the Policy of the Ministers prompts em as the wisest Course to temporize and to oppose whatever is transacted to the Prejudice of France rather by Remonstrances and Presents then by Force and Menaces As for the Turks they have been all along Enemies of Christ and the Christians because the Gospel destroys their Alcaron The Sultan takes upon him the Title of Musulman or Most Faithful as the King of France assumes the Title of Most Christian Yet we know that the Turkish Emperours have establish'd their Dominion by Cruelty only and that their Throne is soder d together with the Blood of a Great Number of Martyrs and an Infinite number of all sorts of People and Nations yet notwithstanding all this the Turk is at present the sole Refuge of France and she embraces him as her only Patron She is enter'd into a strict Alliance with the Ottoman Port furnishes him with Money Cannon and other Warlike Ammunition supplies him with Able and Expert Officers and Engineers to the great damage of the Christians And which was more pernicious the Policy of the Court of France exerted it self to that degree as to persuade the Turk to break the Truce with the Christians two Years before it came to be expir'd meerly to support the Rebellion of the Hungarians who according to the Opinion of the Ministers of France were to contribute toward the Ruine of the Empire and Emperour of the Christians Had the Bishop of Perefixe been living at this time he must have been forc'd to have recanted what he asserted in his History of Henry IV. where he says That the Valour of the French was made choice of by God to support the Christian Religion Seeing that the Court of France labours nothing more earnestly then to destroy the same Religion She never minds whether or no the Turks change the Churches into Mosquees or set up the Standard of Mahomet above the Cross of Christ provided her Monarch satisfie his Ambition and become Master of the Empire Tho' the Turks are People both Barbarous and altogether Infidels nevertheless they observe this Maxim never to abandon those that put themselves under their Protection and to keep their Words and Promises and this is one of the Points of their Law And therefore it is that they acknowledge that all the Misfortunes and Losses which they have sustain'd during this War have proceeded from their Breach of Faith and Truce And this it was which spurr'd 'em on about two Years ago to send their Envoys to Vienna with Offers of Peace to the Emperour Which hotly alarum'd the Court of France but she being Subtle and Crafty took an Occasion to insinuate into the Turks That they might continue the War without any Scruple of Conscience seeing they had offer'd Peace to the Emperour that he had refus'd it and continu'd his Hostilities against them That now the Turks were to look upon the War as purely defensive on their side and the French Embassadour at the Port understood so well by Considerable Presents to gain the Grand Mufti to his side who is the Oracle of the Ottoman Court and consulted in all Cases of Conscience that the Infidel Pontiff embrac'd the Franch Divinity and made it out to the Sultan and the People after the Return of the Envoys that they might continue the War without any scruple and that their Submission to the Christians was a sufficient Expiation for the Crime they had committed Nor is it a difficult thing to persuade the Turks to these Things who naturally hate the Christians and are easily induc'd to undertake their Destruction and so Self-interested as readily to yield to the Temptations of Presents Moreover their Extraordinary Inclination and their Interest to recover Hungary which they have lost persuades 'em without any Reluctancy to embrace the Proposals of the Court of France and to renew the League between 'em from time to time upon the Assurances Promises and Oaths of the French Embassadour that his Master will make no Peace with the Emperour wherein the Turk shall not be comprehended And yet all the World knows how earnestly the Ministers of France sollicit the Confederates to make a Peace without mentioning the Turk in the least and it was an Argument of the French at Rome to spur up the Pope that a Peace would give the Emperour great Advantages and strengthen him to carry on his Conquests to the very Walls of Constantinople for which France would not be a little Sorry But when these Projects of France were made known at the Ottoman Court and that the Grand Visier upbraided the Embassour with