Executions of Justice having a quarrel with two or three French Men of the Ambassadors Train the French Men defended themselves so well that they wounded some of their Antagonists Thereupon the Corsi who had received the first Abuse minding nothing but to Revenge themselves gave the alarum to all their Companies consisting of about Four Hunderd Men and no sooner were they got together but away they march'd toward the Ambassadors Palace with Colours flying and Drums beating as if it had been in open War The Duke of Crequi hearing the noise which the Corsi made came forth into a Balcony thinking to pacifie 'em but they made him no other Answer than in the Language of Musquets and Carbines and meeting with his Dutthess in the Street they shot several Bullets through the Coach and kill'd a Page that was going by the Coach with his Hand upon the Boot and several other Violences of this Nature they committed too long to repeat So that the Duke of Crequi not finding himself safe at Rome privately withdrew from the City together with his Dutchess and some of his Domestick Servants and retir'd to Florence The King of France was so enrag'd at the Affront he had receiv'd in the Person of his Ambassador that he declared War at the same time against the Pope sent Forces into Italy and seized upon Avignon Alexander VII who fear'd the Consequences of the War gave the King to understand that he had no Hand in the Action of the Corsi that he was ready to punish the Guilty and to give Satisfaction to his Ambassador provided he would recal his Souldiers and restore the Territories of which he had taken Possession But the King would hear of no Accommodation unless upon his own Terms The Pope us'd all his Endeavours to draw in the Catholick Princes to make a League with him But all refusing he was compell'd to submit to whatever the King pleas'd and so Consented to an Accommodation that will remain an Eternal Monument of Infamy to the See of Rome For he was not only forc'd to disown in a most shameful manner what the Corsi had done but his Brother Don Maria was compell'd to depart Rome The Corsi were perpetually banish'd the Town from whence the Imperial Cardinal Governor of Rome was also exil'd forc'd to acknowledge himself Guilty and to go and submit himself to the King's Pleasure and there was a Pyramid also rais'd over against the Court of Guard where the Corsi watch'd upon which was engrav'd in Letters of Gold an Inscription giving an account of the Satisfaction which the King had demanded and to which the Pope had submitted How ignominious soever this Accommodation were for the Pope he was so well contented that the King of France did not come to burn him in Rome as he had threatn'd that he had no Mind to embroil himself with him any more The danger he had scap'd was too great for him to venture any more of those Hazards and therefore he thought it his Duty to let France know how ready he was to Espouse her Interests So that he had no sooner read Madamoiselle de Nemours Petition but he gave the Princess liberty to Marry with his Royal Highness of Savoy The Duke of Lorrain was importun'd to send to Rome before Madamoiselle de Nemours arriv'd in Piemont to Remonstrate to the Pope that he could not grant the Dispensation he had given before he had imparted the Princesses Petition to his Nephew but the Duke would do nothing in it Only he consented that Duke Francis might send one of his Gentlemen which signifi'd as little For he was no sooner arriv'd at Rome but he heard the Marriage was Consummated So that all the Satisfaction he receiv'd from the Pope was only this That he was sorry he had not been sooner inform'd of his Reasons but the Business was done and there was no Remedy Now in regard that the Emperor was at Peace as well with all the Princes of Europe as with the Turk the Prince of Lorrain was constrain'd to live a vacant Life for some years at Vienna while the Count of Vaudemont and the Prince of Lislebonne had an opportunity to signalize their Valour every day in the War between the Duke of Lorrain and the Elector Palatine which lasted till the year 1666. But he endeavour'd to make the best of that occasion to set his Affairs in Order or to raise his Fortunes so as to repair the loss of his Territories of Lorrain and Bar in case that Charles the IV. should continue his Resolutions to cross him or that he were powerful enough to oppose the King of France So soon therefore as the Marriage of Madamoiselle de Nemours to the Duke of Savoy was known at Vienna all People thought that Prince Charles would have Courted the Emperors Sister who was a Lady of a great Beauty This was the Princess Eleanora Maria. Withall they believ'd that the Emperor would have been glad of the Match the Alliance not being to be Contemn'd in regaed of the great Advantages it would produce against France if ever the Prince came to be Master of Lorrain But it did not appear that the Prince was any thing forward to win the Affections of that Princess He was so disheartned by the former ill Successes of his first Amours And besides he was so taken up with the care of his own Affairs and the raising his Fortune that he never took notice that the Princess Eleanora was so charming as she was And therefore in regard there was nothing which he thought could more conduce to the Re-establishment of his Affairs than to fix himself more and more in the Emperors Favour he directed his Addresses to the * This was Eleanora de Gonzaga Daughter of Charles Duke of Mantona the Third Wife of Ferdinand III. and Mother of the Princess Eleonora Maria. Empress Dowager whom he Courted with an extraordinary Assiduity in regard that Princess had an unexpressible Ascendant over the Emperor her Son Much about this time * She died at the Louvre in Paris Jun. 20. 1666 in the 64th year of her Age And because she was the Daughter of a King the Sister Wife and Mother of a King this Epitaph was put upon her Tomb Et Soror Conjux Mater Nataque Regnum Nulla unquam tanto Sanguine digna fuit Of Crowned Heads to Europe so well known Wife Sister Mother Daughter met in one Is what to Woman ne'er was yet allow'd To be thought Worthy so much Royal Blood died Anne of Auâ—â—ria the Mother of Lewis XIV which was a great loss to the Prince for that she had always a great kindness for him As for the Duke of Lorrain Charles IV. of whom we may say that his Life was a perpetual warfare after the Peace concluded between him and the Elector Palatine he was forc'd to take up Arms again against the same Elector But France having at that time Sign'd the Peace concluded
THE LIFE Of that Most Illustrious PRINCE Charles V. Late DUKE of Lorrain and Bar GENERALISSIMO Of the Imperial Armies Rendred into ENGLISH From the Copy lately Printed at Vienna Written by a Person of Quality and a Great Officer in the Imperial Army DEDICATED To the KING 's Most Excellent MAJESTY Printed by Edw. Jones and Published by Randal Taylor near Stationers-Hall M.DC.XCI To the King AS the Memory of a Hero may Naturally Claim Your Majesties Protection so none ever had more Right to it then the Great General here described Succeeding Ages will admire his Fortune and his Conduct but the present is justly taken up in Celebrating Yours His Prudence and his Valour we find in You Excell'd and Success always attends Your Person May that Providence which has always shewn a Peculiar Care of Your Preservation be still a Mighty Guardian against Yours and the Nations Enemies and after a Long Series of Happy Victories may You be Crown'd with Immortality Which are the hearty Prayers of May it Please Your Majesty Your Majesties most Faithful and Devoted Subject WILSON THE LIFE OF Charles V. DUKE of Lorrain and Bar And Generalissimo of all the Imperial Troops THE FIRST BOOK THE House of Lorrain is a House so well known that 't will be needless to enumerate so Ancient a Train of Successions I shall content my self with acquainting you that at the beginning of the Age last past it divided it self into two Branches by the two Sons of René II. Duke of Lorrain and Bar. Which two Sons of René were Anthony and Claudius The last who was the Younger Brother went into France and Espoused Antonette of Bourbon Daughter of Francis of Bourbon Count of Vendosm and signaliz'd himself by so many renowned Actions under the Reign of Francis the First that that Renowned Monarch who no less rewarded Men of the Sword then Persons eminent for Learning erected in his Favour the Territory of Guise into a Dukedom And from that time the Princes of that Branch were called Dukes of Guise Anthony remain'd in Lorrain with the Eldest Branch that enjoy'd the Dukedom and he had a Son called Francis who succeeded him Charles the III. succeeded Francis and had three Sons Henry who had only two Daughters Nicolé and Claudia Charles afterwards made a Cardinal and Francis Count of Vaudemont This Count left two Sons Charles the IV. and Duke Francis Charles the IV. was Married with the Princess Nicolé his Cousin by whom he had no Children And Duke Francis who was Cardinal Espoused the Princess Claudia from whom descended Charles the V. the Hero whose Life we are now to write Charles the IV. touching whom it is necessary that I should say something was Generous and Hardy He had a lively and stirring Genius He was civil and complaisant well made as to his Person in undertaking Bold indefatigable in Labour and patient in Adversity But with all these great Qualities and an infinite number of others he was so wavering in his Resolutions and sometimes so great an Enemy to Counsels which they who most sincerely Espous'd his Interest gave him that he became the most unfortunate Prince of his Age. He succeeded Henry his Uncle and during the time that he had the most peaceable Injoyment of his Territories he embroyl'd himself with France which precipated him into so many Misfortunes that he could never extricate himself and this was the Original The President de Bret Intendant of Justice in the City of Mets had made a Decree touching some Pretensions of the Country of Messin which he maintain'd to belong to the Bishoprick of the capital City of that Country Though this Affair was of no grand Importance Charles however took Fire at it and without foreseeing the events having made the Emperor sensible that this was an Affair which concern'd him because of the Bishoprick of Vic which he then enjoy'd and which was distinguish'd from that of Mets he made him this Proposal That if for the maintenance of his Priviledges he would send some Regiments to take up their Winter Quarters in that Country he on the other side would engage to furnish him underhand with what Money might be necessary to fortifie Moyenvic which was a curb to the City of Mets that by this means he might be in a condition to resist the Enterprizes of the King of France Lewis the XIII who Reign'd at that time was then busi'd at the Siege of Rochel So that the Emperor who believ'd he might make his Advantage of the opportunity sent such a Force into the Bishoprick of Vic which he thought necessary And set himself to fortifie Moyenvic The Duke Arms also of his side under the pretence of defending his Territories But though this feigned Precaution appear'd very lawful Lewis XIII soon saw through it and therefore after a Years Siege having reduc'd Rochel he was fully resolv'd to revenge himself upon the Duke ere he turn'd his Arms elsewhere Madam de Chevreuse who was Marry'd to a Prince of the House of Lorrain at that time was fled to Nanci being compell'd to absent her self from the Court of France and from the Kingdom for certain Intrigues which all the World knows This Princess concerning whom it was said * Procurat Nani That she kindled the Fire of Love in the Heart of all those Princes with whom she went to Negotiate during the time that she carried every where the Fire of War against France being extreamly disgusted by reason of her Banishment forgat nothing to animate the Duke against Lewis the XIII and she had no great trouble to bring her Design to pass the Duke being already sufficiently dispos'd to it For in short how little considerable the Usurpation in dispute was yet the consequence might prove very pernitious And indeed this resentment was very natural it being no great satisfaction for a Prince to see that any one should usurp upon his Rights In the interim the Duke not being strong enough to resist the King of France he thought it best to Dissemble until a more favourable Conjuncture should present it self than that wherein his Affairs then were and this Policy had such good Success that Lewis the XIII beginning no longer to distrust him turn'd his Forces towards Italy that he might assist the Duke of Mantua who had War with the Emperor During the time that these things past in Italy Monsieur the Kings only Brother dissatisfied at the too great Favour of Cardinal Richelieu who then absolutely Govern'd France departed the Kingdom and withdrew himself into Lorrain to the Dukes Court where he Espoused sometime after * Gaston John Baptiste of France Duke of Orleans Espoused Margaret of Lorrain at Nancy in the year 1632. in Second Marriage the Princess Margaret youngest Daughter of the Count of Vaudemont without the Consent of the King his Brother The Duke who had his Reasons for managing the Humour of Lewis the XIII informs him of the retirement of the Duke of
Orleans but the King nevertheless would not lay aside his Suspicions that he held Intelligence with that Prince And that which confirm'd him in this Suspicion was That the Duke had at that time on Foot an Army of more than Fourteen Thousand Men. This Warlike Preparation which was considerable and gave him a Jealousie oblig'd him to press the Duke of Lorrain to declare himself or to lay down his Arms and the Duke who was not as yet in a Condition of undertaking any thing after many Negotiations carry'd his Men at length to the Emperor who lost the Battle of Leipsic to the King of Sweden Yet this was no hindrance but that the King went to besiege Mâ—yenvic some time after The Duke receiv'd the News by a Post which the Count of Vaudemont his Father sent him Upon which he made all the hast imaginable to relieve the Place But having lost almost all his Men e're he could come to a Battel he thought the best course he could to take was to find out the King and so without pondering any farther he went to Mets where the King lay 'T is true he had as Magnificent a Reception as he could have expected However the Siege was still carried on and the place was no sooner deliver'd up but the King exprest himself thus to the Duke Though he had manifested some Marks of good Will nevertheless he was very much dissatisfied touching his Conduct and that if he desir'd a Reconciliation he must yield him up Marsal Now in regard the Duke had put himself into the Hands of his Enemy he was forc'd to undergo the Condition Therefore by a Treaty which he Sign'd he resign'd Marsal as a Pledge for four years to France to the great dissatisfaction of all his Friends and above all of the Duke his Father who was extreamly troubled at it After this he return'd to Nancy One would have imagin'd that this ill Success would have made this Prince sensible that he was not as yet in a Condition to resist France All those who tender'd his Interest and who had any Access to him Counsell'd him to be quiet for fear of bringing on himself some new Misfortunes But listning to no Body but his own great Heart on this Occasion and being as it were in Despair for that the King of France having taken the Advantage of his Sincerity had constrain'd him to deliver up Marsal he Levies new Forces and the better to conceal his design he made as if it were to fall upon the King of Sweden Liwis the XIII who had made a League with that King and who was glad to have any pretence did not only acquaint the Duke that it was the same thing to take Arms against him as against a Prince who was his Ally but that he might make him uncapable of undertaking any thing marches at the same time toward Lorrain with a considerable Army The Duke was much allarm'd at this News and as he knew not what Course to take to oppose the Kings Forces he sent the Cardinal his Brother Duke Francis to meet the King and acquaiat him that it was not his design to contend with him But all this tended to no other Conclusion but that he must deliver up four Places as Gages for his Fidelity viz. Stenay Clermont Jamets and Dun which being perform'd he promis'd him that he would protect him against the Swedes who threatned to enter to his Country and burn it For the King of Sweden was an Enemy no less to be fear'd than the King of France And therefore the Dukes Friends would frequently remonstrate to him that there was great Policy requisite in the managing those two Princes that he must wait for a favourable Opportunity if he design'd to make War and not rashly embark himself into any new Enterprizes He had lost all the Hopes which he could have proposed of Benefit and Advantage from the Discontent of the Kings Brother by the defeat of the Duke of Montmorenci and the Swedes strook terrour into all places wherever they came In the mean time though there was not any appearance that he could have the least Advantage in the World over his Enemies as his Affairs then stood yet he flatter'd himself with a thousand Hopes He Ordered his Army to march against the Suedes and endeavour to raise the Siege before Haguenau and to relieve Brisac which the Swedes had blockt up for some considerable time But this attempt was so far from succeeding well that it prov'd utterly Deplorable For though the Swedes were forc'd to raise their Siege from before Haguenau whithin two Leagues of that Place they gave Battel to the Lorrain Army which was so furiously fought on both sides and Fortune so fantastick that both Armies were Routed And whilst these things were a doing a French Army enters into Lorrain with a design to Besiege Nancy Lewis the XIII assuming this for a pretence That the Duke had not punctually observ'd the Conditions of the Treaty which had been Concluded with him This is most certain that if the Duke at his arrival had perform'd what he might have done he might have broken all the King of France's Measures For S. Chamant who Commanded the French had no more than Four Thousand Men with him when he came to invest that Place In so much that the Duke might have forc'd him to quit his Post ere he had receiv'd any Assistance But in lieu of making the attempt he had recourse to a Negotiation Only he hastily puts all things into what Order he could for the Defence of Nanci into which he clapp'd about Three or Four Thousand Foot and Two or Three Hundred Horse and retiring into the Mountains of Voges with some small Forces to defend the Avenues he sends his Brother the Cardinal to find out the King and acquaint him with his Reasons The King receives him after his usual manner with great Marks of Distinction and declar'd That if he had been only to Treat with him he should have received all the Favour that he could have expected from him so fully he was perswaded of his Sincerity and just Dealing But seeing he could not any longer depend upon any Word of his Brother the Duke it was necessary that for a Pledge of his Fidelity he should resign up to him the City of Nanci This Condition was too severe to be accepted by the Duke In the interim the King comes in Person before the Place and spares nothing to make himself Master of it On the other side the Cardinal of Lorrain went backwards and forwards using all his endeavours to render Lewis the XIII more flexible though Nanci was besieg'd But all that he could obtain after many Civilities was That in case he were himself Duke of Lorrain it would be no difficult matter to grant his Request being indeed really persuaded that he might depend upon his Word Charles the IV. was in a strange Confusion upon this Answer insomuch that a Thousand
Thoughts came crowding into his Mind But in the conclusion having made some particular Reflection upon those obliging Words which the King had spoken to his Brother the Cardinal and believing that if he should seem to comply to the making a Surrender of his Principality◠the King would become more tractable he resolves therefore to take that Course He perform'd his Submission in all the Forms The Cardinal receiv'd the Homages for his new Dignity And the King himself gave him Joy of his Confirmation But he would not forego his Pretensions upon Nanci And having drawn the Duke into his Camp by the Artifices of Cardinal Richelieu this unfortunate Prince was forc'd to Surrender up that Place for four Years by a Treaty that he might recover his Liberty The Cardinal of Lorrain flatter'd himself that after all these Concessions of his Brother the Duke Lewis the XIII would rest himself there But as the Design of France was to seize the Principality of that Prince Lewis the XIII always pretending some new occasion of Discontent sent the Marshal de la Ferté into Lorrain with considerable Forces pretending that he had some Design upon Germany This News not only surpriz'd the Cardinal of Lorrain but very much alarum'd him as being apprehensive of some Violence He knew that Lewis the XIII was extreamly incens'd against his Brother for it was by the Benefit of a Pass-port which that Prince had granted during the Siege of Nanci that he had assisted the Princess Margaret his Sister to make her escape in the midst of those Fears wherein he was that the French would carry her away by force For the King did not approve the Marriage of the Duke of Orleans his Brother In the height of these Apprehensions he retires himself to Luneville with the two Princesses the Princess Nicolé and the Princess Claudia who remain'd with him Duke Charles being withdrawn into Burgundy after the resigning of Nanci The Marshal de la Ferté was not long ere he Besieged them in their Retirement And therefore the Cardinal having received Information that the King had a design to force away those two Princesses and send them into France he propos'd a Marriage to the Princess Claudia between her and himself to which the Princess gave consent not only upon the hopes of preserving their House but because that for a long time she had always a great Fancy and Inclination for the Cardinal There was one Difficulty to surmount for that being Cousin-Germains they could not Marry without a Dispensation and there was an absolute necessity that they should Marry speedily For seeing the Duke of Lorrain had no Children by the Princess Nicolé it was very much to be fear'd that if the Princess Claudia his Sister should fall into the Kings Hands before she was Marry'd to the Cardinal her Cousin he would Marry her to some Prince of the Blood in that Kingdom which would soon furnish France with a new pretence to seize upon all Lorrain as undoubtedly it was the Design of France Seeing therefore no time was to be lost all the Ecclesiasticks and Learned Men among them which could be found out were assembled together and this Assembly being conven'd and concluding that on Occasions of that Nature no other Rules could be followed than those of Necessity the Obstacle was soon past over the Marriage was concluded the same Day * Nicholas Francis Marryed the Princess Claudia in the Year 1643. and afterwards allowed and approved of by the Pope Duke Francis the next Day sent one of his Gentlemen to the Marshal de la Ferte to acquaint him with the News of his Marriage To which the Marshal who was surpriz'd and never expected that the Cardinal would quit his Purple to Marry a Wife return'd Answer That he believed the King would be displeased that he was Marryed without his being acquainted with it And therefore flattering himself that the Marriage could not be Consummated because of the want of a Dispensation and that some Nullity might be found in it he forced the Duke and Princesses to go to Nanci there to expect farther Orders from the King his Master to whom he dispatch'd an Express immediately The Marshal ordered that they should be Treated with much Respect Nevertheless they were no sooner arrived in the Dukes Palace but their Chamber was surrounded with Guards In this extremity Duke Francis made it his Study to find out some Contrivance to get clear of his Keepers And having soon bethought himself he imparts his Design to the Princess his Wife who readily condescending to Act her part he so well ordered his Business that his Design succeeded to his Wish He chose for this purpose the first day of April on which day it is usual in Lorrain to put little Deceits upon such Persons who are easily cheated And such Fools are called The Fish of April This practice was so well known to the French that to avoid their being deceiv'd they mistrusted whatsoever could be said to them upon that day And this was the Reason that they would give no Credit to those several Cautions given them very seasonably concerning the escape of the Prince and Princess being really persuaded that this was only given out to make them run after them so that the fear which they had of being Deceiv'd was the only occasion they were trickt in good earnest The following Night the Dutchess that she might the better deceive the Guards got out of the Palace in the Habit of a Page carrying a Flambeau before one of the Duke her Husbands Gentlemen whom she was to meet in the House of his first Gentleman of the Chamber and where he was already come disguised under the contemptible Habit of a Porter not sparing his own Hair which was very delicate and lovely but having cut it off that he might be the less known So soon as day approacht and the Gates of the City were open'd the Dutchess who was now disguized into a poor Country Woman carrying a Basket upon her Back and conducted by the Duke who was disguized likewise they went out by a Gate called Nòtre Dame and walk'd about half a League in this Equipage with incredible trouble to the Princess who had never before walk'd so many weary Steps on Foot before However after they had thus overcome the Ways which were very uneven and rugged they found a Gentleman who expected them with Horses But indeed that which was very Singular and might have caus'd the whole enterprize to Miscarry was That when they were past the Gate a Female Peasant who came from the Field and was going into the City knew them though they were in that uncouth and strange Disguize And this Woman by a rustick Imprudence and desire of Pratling which is so Natural to that Sex could not forbear imparting it to a Soldier of the Guard with whom she was acquainted This Soldier declares it to his Officer at the same time But the
the Court of France But things did not succeed in such a manner as the Duke expected For Cardinal Mazarine who succeeded in that Ministry and who trod in the Footsteps of his Predecessor had inspired this Princess with such Interested Politicks that from the very Moment of her assuming the Regency she was possessed with another Spirit and indeed we may affirm that she was more severe to the Duke in particular than Lewis the XIII ever had been Charles the IV. therefore frustrated on that side of all those hopes which he had conceiv'd bent his Thoughts wholly to render himself formidable to France and made no delay in the performance of it He signaliz'd himself in so many Occasions against the French that considering how much his Courage was thereby exalted there was great likelihood that one day he would attempt to re-enter into his Dominions by plain force so that the Queen and Cardinal Mazarin us'd all means possible to bring him over to their Party And this Desire particularly encreased when they saw France began to be torn in pieces by those Civil Wars which made so great a Noise during the Minority of Lewis XIV They urg'd That in regard it was upon the King that his Restoration to his Dominions depended since the King held them in his Hands he might expect from him more favourable Conditions than from the Spaniards with whom he was then ingaged They offered him an entire Restitution of all those Places which had been taken from him Nancy excepted which nevertheless they obliged themselves to restore upon the general Peace without demolishing the Fortifications But whether the Duke thought himself strong enough to regain his Country by force or that he would be reveng'd of the Queen or that he thought he could not place any great Assurance upon a Treaty made in the Minority of the King or what other Reasons he might have which could never yet be div'd into he rejected all these Conditions though seemingly so very Advantagious to him He was always at Brussels and as he was become very necessary to the Spaniards by the Assistance of his Men for which he was paid considarable Sums he made use of these Sums and of such as he gain'd by the Contributions of his Country to purchase many fair Lands in Flanders which yielded a great Revenue In the mean time how rich soever he might be Duke Francis was not so well at Ease For Charles the Fourth looking upon the Prince of Vaudemont as the presumptive Heir of Lorrain and perceiving well enough that the Duke his Brother could not but oppose his Pretensions by reason of Prince Charles his Son this thought had made such an Impression in his Spirit that he left him for this Reason at Vienna without affording him any great Assistance But this was not the worst which then befel Duke Francis who could patiently enough support the capriciousness of his Fortune For about that time he lost the Dutchess Claudia his Wife * She died in the year 1652. a Princess generally lamented in the Court of the Emperor by reason of those many amiable Qualities wherewith she was Adorn'd Duke Francis had wrastled above Fifteen Years with his evil Fortune yet he looked upon this Blow as the most severe and heavy that he had ever felt and he was so afflicted with it all his Life that he would never Marry how profitable soever a second Marriage might have proved for the Re-establishment of his Affairs He intrusted to the care of a Religious House a young Princess born likewise in the same Wedlock who afterwards was Abbess of Remiremont but is since Dead And for Prince Ferdinand and Prince Charles he put them into the Hands of Monsieur the Marquis of Beauvau to take care of their Education Charles the Fifth not being above Nine Years of Age when the Dutchess died But how great soever those Services were which Charles the Fourth had performed for Spain after his withdrawing himself into Flanders that Crown never did any thing for him though they were particularly engaged to joyn their Forces with his for the restoring him to his Dukedom Of this the Duke loudly enough complain'd insomuch that the Spaniards fearing lest being repulsed by so many vain Promises which had been made by him he would in the Conclusion seek out some other Asylum and more secure Protection than theirs to procure Tranquillity for himself and his Subjects resolved to stop him And the Count of Fuensaldagne Governor of Flanders who was none of his Friends had Order to put this Design in Execution as soon as he could find a favourable opportunity for it At the same time Archduke Leopold assisted by the Lorrain Forces gained Rocroi from the French and this was in the year 1655. And now the Campagne being ended and all the General Officers of the Spanish Army retired to Brussels the Count of Fuensaldagne whom Jealousie rather put upon Action than the Interest of his Master was only intent upon executing that secret Order which was given him And that he might not miss his aim after he had communicated his Design to the Archduke who was obliged to give his Consent he quickly dispers'd the Duke of Lorrain's Soldiers into Winter-Quarters so remote the one from the other and divided one from another by Rivers that it was impossible for them to assist their Prince who little expected so sad a Destiny though he had been admonished of it sufficiently before-hand Things being thus disposed the Count who now only waited for a favourable Opportunity found out a way to draw the Duke to the Palace under the specious pretext of some important Affairs which had faln out and wherein he had an Interest But as he thought to enter into the Council-Chamber he was stopt at the Door The next Morning he was conducted by Water down the Canal of Antwerp into the Cittadel of that City and from thence was brought into Spain and confined in the Castle of Toledo where he remained a Prisoner during the space of five Years The Count of Fuensaldagne had no sooner brought his Designs about but Archduke Leopold sent the Count of Sainte Amour at Vienna to acquaint Duke Francis with the Confinement of the Duke his Brother He alledged the Reasons which obliged the King of Spain to secure the Person of that Prince and at the same time he requested him to come and put himself at the Head of the Lorrain Forces assuring him that his Catholick Majesty had no other Intention than that of his Re-establishment and that he would never Consent to any Peace but what should prove for the advantage of his Family Duke Francis not a little griev'd for the Misfortune of the Duke his Brother and 't is probable no less apprehensive lest the like Fate might befal him upon the first Motion refus'd the Offer But the Emperor and Empress Eleonora his Aunt having united their Prayers to the importunate Sollicitations of the Archduke
and laying before him the grand Advantages which he might reasonably hope for from the King of Spain this Prince rather persuaded by the Considerations of the Interest of his Family than his own particular Concerns resolved to go to Brussels and to carry Prince Ferdinando and Prince Charles along with him When Duke Francis departed the Emperor was at Ratisbonne whither he was gone to reside for some time till the King of Hungaria his Eldest Son were Crown'd King of the Romans The Duke went to take leave of him at what time Ferdinand the III after he had given him all the Marks of a tender affection and made him a Magnificent Entertainment ordered him to be conducted by a Troop of his Guards to Noremberg together with the Marquis of Haraucourt who was sent to meet him by the Archduke to sollicite his departure and to hasten his Journey He passed through the Territories of the Electors of Mayence Treves and Cologne and the Duke of Neuburg where he was received with all the Honour that could have been paid to the Emperor himself and above all at Dusseldorp The Spaniards defrayyed all his Expences during his Journey and the Archduke came to meet him within a League of Brussels with all the Burgesses who had all rang'd themselves in Arms so that greater Joy was never seen Duke Francis was not long ere he put himself at the Head of the Lorrainers who received him with Acclamations not easie to be express'd At the same time the King of France had laid Siege before Stenai by Marshal de Fabert Upon which the Spaniards who thought that all the Freneh Forces were employed at this Siege resolved to begirt Arras Duke Francis who foresaw the difficulty of this Enterprize and who likewise perceived that the Ministers of Spain had only given their Consent to please the Prince of Condé who was in the Spanish Army and who absolutely desired this Siege made it sufficiently appear that he did not believe they could carry the Place But in regard he perceived that they absolutely resolved to lay Siege to Arras he marched thither with his Army and was desirous that Prince Ferdinand should there begin his first Campagne For Prince Charles being as yet extreamly young was left at Brussels under the Tuition of Monsieur Romecourt What Duke Francis was afraid of came to pass The Spaniards were forc'd to raise the Siege of Arras they were beaten by the French and the Rout was so great that all their Infantry their Cannon and Baggage remained in the custody of their Enemies insomuch that Duke Francis and Prince Ferdinand being arrived at Valenciennes they found themselves destitute of all Things not having so much as a Field Bed However the Archduke order'd that they should be assisted with incredible Civilities But things began to change Countenance when they came to Brussels They found the Chambers of the Archdukes Palace where they lodg'd all strip'd of those Moveables which were in it before and they were inform'd that the great Master of the Houshold had prohibited Prince Charles to take the Air in the Park in a Coach though it were a liberty which was very rarely refus'd to Women of the meanest Quality in the City The Archduke who was a good Prince and who had an intire Affection for Duke Francis was extreamly dissatisfied in his Mind to see him treated so ill But he was forc'd to dispense with and allow these Hardships and Injustices not daring to oppose the Count of Fuensaldagne who was entirely Master in Brussels and who not having met with that pliantness in the Duke which he expected endeavour'd to humble him Duke Francis nevertheless was in hopes that the Count would become more Tractable But upon a Rumour which then run that Charles the Fourth had sent from his Prison an Order to the Lorrain Officers that they should retire into France where the Princess Nicholé was and carry with them as many of their Men as they could the Spaniards laid a design to stop the Duke That which oblig'd the Spaniards to this Resolution was this That some time before two Colonels had deserted with their Regiments and were gone over to the Service of the King of France and this had allarm'd them Yet for all that this is most certain that the Duke had no Design or the least Intention to cast himself into the Hands of the French who were his mortal Enemies and who had invaded all Lorrain But the Duke saw himself so ill treated by the Count of Fuensaldagne and perceiv'd so many little Artifices made use of to secure him that he went into France with all the Lorrainers which were in the Service of the King of Spain taking Prince Ferdinand with him For Prince Charles upon what grounds of Policy I know not was left at Brussels But being he was in good Hands they order'd his escape when they saw it convenient so that at length he was conducted by Water through the Canal of Antwerp into Holland to secure him from the fury of the Spaniards for the Revolt of the Duke his Father And being come to Paris where Prince Ferdinand was already the Duke presented these two young Princes to the King withal acquainting him that he put them both into his Hands for a Pledge of his Fidelity to his Service which was kindly accepted by his Majesty who promis'd likewise that he would protect them and advance them to Imployments proportionable to their Birth Prince Ferdinand had already been in Four Campagnes wherein he had highly Signaliz'd himself but then Died after that manner which we have already related His Death had almost overwhelm'd Duke Francis with Grief and some Months after he was in great hazard of loosing Prince Charles by an Accident which had like to have proved as fatal as the Minute was Auspicious which ushered such a Prince into the World whom he lov'd to the height of Passion and Tenderness as one who gave in his younger years as great and pregnant Hopes as any Prince of his Years The Accident was this The young Prince managing a Horse in the Academy where he performed his Exercises the Horse that had but one eye yet very sprightly hit so ruggedly against one of the Pillars of the Manage that the Prince as nimble and active as he was in a moment was thrown backward to the Ground and though he fell only upon Sand yet he received so terrible a blow upon the Head that he lay without any Motion Endeavours were used to bring him to himself but all those little Remedies which were apply'd signify'd nothing he was laid upon a Bed in the Academy where he continued six whole Hours without giving any sign of life though there appeared neither Wound nor Contusion in his Head nor in any Part of his Body The News of this Fall quickly allarmed all the Court. And the King who had an account of it e're it was declared to Duke Francis was so really
afflicted at this accident that he commanded that without losing time his Physitians should be sent to him and the most experienced Chirurgeons which could be found in the City that he might not be blamed in any thing if the Accident prov'd fatal The King's Orders were immediately obeyed but the Prince was in so sad a Condition that one of the principal Physitians after he had well considered and viewed him declared aloud as he was going out of the Chamber That he would Die which made others too sadly believe there was no hopes and that whatever could be done would be to no purpose However recourse was had to all sorts of Remedies and those which were applied were so prevalent that six Hours after he began to breath From that time forwards every moment there appeared new signs of life in him and at length he recovered his Speech And by little and little he regain'd so much Strength that his Cure was no longer doubted of We need not question but Duke Francis was extremely alarum'd and afflicted at this sad Accident For though he were accustomed to these kind of tryals yet this mischance quite sunk him though Father Poirot a Jesuit his Confessor who brought him the News used all the Precautions imaginable however he surrender'd up himself with a profound Humility to receive this last Affliction which his ill Fortune seem'd to have prepar'd for him and letting fall some Tears he was heard to pronounce these Pious Words God gave and God has taken away his Will be done But there was nothing mournful that afterwards accompanied this Accident There were no Symptoms succeeded which the Physitians were afraid of and which might not reasonably be expected in such Mischances The young Prince himself felt nothing of Inconvenience some days after On the contrary he found himself in such a good disposition of Body that he thought himself strong enough to continue his Exercises However in regard that in Accidents of this Nature extraordinary care is to be observ'd Duke Francis by the Advice of the most learned Physitians forced him to keep his Chamber for above three Months during which time he was visited daily by all of both Sexes which were of the greatest Rank and Quality in the Court Yet this was observed that the King never went to see him notwithstanding he appeared so very much concern'd at this Accident when the sad Tidings were first brought him The Pyranean Peace was concluded the following Year Cardinal Mazarin and Don Louis Mendez de Haro one for the King of France and the other for the King of Spain being assembled in the Island of Faisans * This is an Island made by a River called Badasson which comes out of the Pyrenean Hills and empties it self into the Sea near Fontarabic This River separates France from Spain concluded at length after many Conferences a War which had been kindled for a long time between those two Princes In this Treaty of Peace Don Lewis consented to leave to the King of France the Dukedom of Bar the County of Clermont and to permit him to demolish the Fortifications of Nanci provided that he would restore to Charles the Fourth the Dukedom of Lorrain There were some other Articles also in this Treaty which were not very advantagious for that Prince So that the Duke who was yet a Prisoner at Toledo complained to the King of Spain that his Concerns were disposed of without his being made privy to it But in regard his Catholick Majesty held no Correspondence with him and that he lookt upon him as a Prince of whom he had no reason to be afraid in any respect thought it sufficient to give him his Liberty with a slight Intimation that he had serv'd his Interest as far as he judged it necessary for the good of Christendom That what was done could not be otherwise done and that he must rest himself contented with his Destiny This Answer of the King of Spain though brisk and highly disobliging yet it was not the only hard measure in the Proceedings of that Monarch He ordered these things to be told him by one of his Ministers and though the Duke took a Journey to Madrid to see him he would not admit him into his Presence apprehending without doubt that the Duke would reproach him with his Injustice and Ingratitude which had over-rul'd him to deprive a Prince of his Liberty who had sought his Protection and who had totally lost his Principality for having been but too much united to the Interest of Spain In somuch that the Duke perceiving that there was not the least likelyhood of making his Complaint to the Catholick King he departs with all speed for the Island of Conference with a design to complain to Don Lewis de Haro of the Injury which he had received But whatever Words he could use to aggravate this Injustice he could receive no other Satisfaction from the Spanish Minister than a sad Acknowledgment that he could not possibly conclude the Peace for him in a more advantageous manner than as it was done already The Duke had recourse in this extremity to Cardinal Mazarine who drew up his Objections to the Pyranean Treaty But in regard the Duke was still in the Hands of Don Lewis and that the Cardinal had his Reasons why he would not serve him any farther in that Affair he was obliged though never so dissatisfied to consent to the Treaty and to sign it for fear he might run the risk of a worse Fortune In the mean time the Cardinal heaped Civilities upon him and always treated him like a Prince He flattered him with great hopes and made him sensible that the thing depended so absolutely upon the King wholly to establish him in his Dominious and restore his House to its pristine Luster and Dignity that he got his consent to return into France where being stript of his Dukedoms of Lorrain and Bar yet he had the same Honours paid which are usually renderd to Princes who are Sovereigns in their own Country But these were but outward Civilities he was neer the less unfortunate for all these shews The Fruit of the Pyrenean Peace was the Marriage of Lewis XIV with the Infanta of Spain For in regard that great People never Marry but out of Policy and that this Marriage was the Knot which was to unite that Peace which had been so much desired and which the People had so long wish'd for the Queen did agree to it without any difficulty But this we may say That he Espoused this Princess without having the least Inclination for her Not but that the Portraiture which had been given of the new Queen might be capable enough to move him But the King was in Love with Madamoiselle de Mancini Niece to Cardinal Mazarin who though she was a Woman of great Wit yet she was no ways well made So that it was the common saying of the Town concerning her that you no sooner heard
her Discourse but you forgot she was Deformed and Men could not avoid but they must Love her so that it was no wonder the King was so taken with her And as Madamoiselle de Mancini answer'd the Kings Friendship so the King Lov'd her in so tender a manner that he had undoubtedly Married her if Princes upon such emergent Occasions might be Masters of themselves The whole Court began to discover plainly the great Passion which that King had for the Cardinals Niece For he paid his Assiduities to her in the view of all the World His Complaisances extended so far and he made her such Magnificent Presents that the Queen Mother was alarum'd at it For she being a Spaniard since the Death of Lewis XIII had labour'd nothing more than to conclude a War which could not but prove fatal to her on which side soever the Advanvantages fell and she saw moreover that all her Endeavours for the Peace would be utterly Ruin'd if the King did not wholly forget Mademoiselle de Mancini and Marry the Infanta of Spain 'T is true the Cardinal as all Men might easily Judge would never have been sorry to have seen his Niece the Kings Companion in the Royal Throne But whether it were that he was willing to yield a blind Obedience to the Queen or that he fear'd least the King coming at length to dislike his own Act and Deed should one day null the Marriage he was the first that dispossest Mademoiselle de Mancini of those vain Thoughts which she had that the King intended to Marry her and he drove on the Business so vigorously that a Match was concluded with the Infanta The King however had much ado to consent to an Alliance that was to resettle a Peaceful Calm between two Potent Monarchies For he still felt the same Inclinations for Mademoiselle de Mancini which he had for her ever since the day that he first began to have a Passion for her Of which he gave her such sensible Marks as left her no room to question his Affection And both the Queen and the Cardinal sufficiently perceived it Nevertheless in regard the Marriage was determin'd and that there wanted nothing but the Performance of the Ceremonies the Court prepared all things ready for their departure toward the Frontiers to receive the new Queen The Cardinal also design'd to set forward first of all and to carry his Niece along with him to remove her out of the Kings sight fearing least her presence should put a stop to his Journey and obstruct the grand Design of Establishing Peace over all Europe On the other side the King could not without an extraordinary turbulency of his Thoughts support the violent Separation from him of a Person whom he preferr'd in his Affections before all the Princesses in the World But in regard there was no Remedy he retir'd to Chantilli for some days from whence he did nothing but send Messenger upon Messenger to Mademoiselle de Mancini till she was gone At length Mademoiselle de Mancini departed the City and the Cardinal her Uncle who knew well the Force which he put upon her endeavour'd during the whole Journey to perswade her to make a Conquest of her self and extinguish a Passion that began to grow Criminal He laid before her all those Reasons which she had to induce her to vanquish her extravagant Ambition and declar'd at length that he had a design to Marry her to the Prince of Lorrain And indeed when Charles the IV. was a Prisoner in Spain he had himself made that Proposal to Cardinal Mazarin who having given his Consent upon the first Motion had engag'd to gain the Kings Consent to Re-establish him in his Territories And he had certainly done it For at that time the Cardinals Favour was vastly great But in regard that when the Duke was in France he thought no more of the Match which he made appear by his Carriage toward the Cardinal for he never so much as spoke to him of it afterwards though it were an Overture of his own making the Cardinal was so incens'd at this Contempt of his which appear'd to him so Fantastical that far from inclining the King to make a Treaty with the Duke to his Advantage he instill'd into him such an Aversion for that Prince that from that time forward they only amused him from time to time with fair Promises of what he desir'd without ever minding to give him Satisfaction On the other side Duke Francis whose Designs were altogether opposite to those of Duke Charles his Brother considering that there was no surer course for him to take than to seek the Friendship and Support of Cardinal Mazarin and that he could not incline that Minister to afford him his Protection by any way more Advantageous than that of a Match between the Prince his Son and Mademoiselle de Marcini resolv'd to propose it which he did effectually True it is That as he would have been glad to have ascertain'd the Possession of the Territories of Lorrain to Prince Charles by a more secure way so would he have been better pleas'd that Charles IV. would have Consensented to have Marry'd with the Princess To which purpose he propos'd the Business to him before he made a step in order to the Cardinals Niece But the Duke would by no means listen to him and then it was that he Married that Princess to the Prince of Lislebonne But Mademoiselle de Mancini was not long before she return'd to Paris At what time the Cardinal who earnestly desir'd to Match her that he might wean the Kings so openly testifi'd Affection from her gave order to Madam de Venelle her Governess to remove her immediately from the Country of Aunix where she then Resid'd and his orders were no less punctually obey'd Now in regard she was in high Esteem not only for the Figure which Cardinal Mazarin made in France but for her own proper Merits and the Reputation she had gain'd by being Belov'd by the King all the great Personages in Paris that had not followed the Court which was then at Tholouze made it one of their chiefest Concerns to link themselves to her Friendship and be her continual Visitants Of this number the Prince of Lorrain was One and his Sedulity shew'd that he apply'd himself to her in a more particular manner than the rest And this was by the advice of Madam de Choisi a Woman of deep Intreague This Lady cordial to the Interests of Duke Francis was perswaded That if Prince Charles could gain the Affection of Mademoiselle de Mancini the Cardinal could not do otherwise but Marry her according to his own Inclination nor was there any question but that the King would approve the Match To this purpose at the same time that the young Prince us'd all his Endeavours to gain her Affection Madam de Choisi who had made it her own Business set her Friends underhand to instill into the Cardinals Niece that
besides that Prince Charles was to be consider'd as a Prince who had a Claim to the Dutchies of Lorrain and Bar more firmly Grounded than only to flatter his Ambition there was no other way to free her self from a kind of Slavery wherein she languish'd under the Queen Mother and the Cardinal her Uncle with whom she was forc'd to live in a kind of close Confinement Mademoiselle de Mancini knew all that very well and besides she saw that Prince Charles was a goodly Person She lookt upon his Courting her as a thing that might be Advantageous to her and delighted in his Company But she was as yet so little enclin'd to entertain a new Passion that she knew her self to be insensible of all the Prince's Applications The fall that threatned her was too steep to be so soon forgot Nevertheless as it was a difficult thing to make a long Resistance against so brave a Prince as the Prince of Lorrain Mademoiselle de Mancini grew sensible at length that she Lov'd him a little more than she had done She was Charm'd with his Assiduities and by Degrees she began to accustom her self to take no delight but in his Company And in regard that Madam de Venelle wou'd not permit the Prince to visit his Mistress in her own House there was not a day past but he gave her a Meeting either in some Church or in the Tuilleries In short her Passion for the Prince became so vehement that she told the Cardinal her Uncle one Day That she would either Marry the Prince or shut herself up in a Nunnery Certain it is That Cardinal Mazarin had consented to the Marriage For though it had not been so advantageous for his Niece as it was the Queen-Mother press'd him with so much importunity to marry out of the Kingdom that being out of his Eye the King might the sooner forget her that the Cardinal would never have made the least Hesitation besides that he passionately desir'd the Match But in regard the Cardinal was haughty tho' desirous otherwise to appear very moderate in things that regarded his own Interest to make the World believe he only study'd the Interests of the King his Master yet he could have wish'd that the Duke would have sincerely sought his Alliance for Prince Charles but the Duke oppos'd it In a word the Duke having peirc'd into his Nephews design and fearing least the Prince by vertue of the Match in Agitation should receive from the Cardinal those Advantages which might turn to his Prejudice he utterly disappointed all the Princes measures and then it was that the Cardinal marry'd his Niece to Constable Colonna who had demanded her in Wedlock sometime before by the Addresses of Marquis Angâ—el Or rather it may be said that he banish'd her into Italy against his own will and with a despair so violent that he could not forbear reproaching the King with the want of Courage he had shewn upon her account Nevertheless the Duke of Lorrain forbore not giving many Testimonies to Prince Charles of his Kind Intentions towards him affirming that if he had cross'd him in his Marriage it was only to procure him a more honourable Alliance and that his design indeed was to Marry him with Mademoiselle de Montpensier the Eldest Daughter by the first Wedlock to the deceased Duke of Orleance * The D. of Orleance died at Blois Feb 2. 1660. In the Year 1626. he marry'd Mary of Bourbon the only Daughter of Henry of Bourbon Duke of Montpensier Dauphin of Auvergne and by her he had Mademoiselle And fearing least it would be said that all these Discourses were only feign'd to amuse the Prince he caus'd the Proposal to be made at the same time to the Princess and to convince her that he was in good Earnest and that there was nothing in the world which he more passionately desired he caused a farther Proposal to be made her that if she would consent to Marry his Nephew he would in favour of her surrender up all his Territories to him reserving only a Pension of a hundred Thousand Crowns The Cardinal to whom the Address was made as much incensed as he was against the Duke of Lorrain declared at the same instant that he was well pleased with the Proposal and that he would omit nothing that lay in his Power that might induce Mademoiselle to accept it In short whither the Cardinal feign'd his Approbation of the business or whither he believed the Match to be for the Princesses advantage or that he intended to sound the Duke's Integrity he wrought with the King to depute Monsieur de Lionne to treat about the Affair with Mademoiselle de Montpensier's Counsell But the Duke always Irresolute far from coming to any Conclusion started so many difficulties that the Cardinal * The Cardinal died at Vincennes Mar. 9. 1661. in the 59 year of his Age. died before any thing could be fully resolved upon However in regard that Monsieur de Guise sollicited the Cardinal to incline the King to some Accommodation with the Duke of Lorrain he that had been a long time sick and despair'd of Recovery thought it now high time upon the brink of Death to make his peace with God and that he had sufficiently revenged himself of the Duke by drilling him on so long and only feeding him with Promises So that about three or four days before his Death the Duke concluded and sign'd a particular Treaty with the King of which the substance was 1. That he should be restored to the Dutchies's of Lorrain and Barr. Wherein nevertheless the King should still keep possession of the Grand Road or * This Passage is a Road not above half a League broad but little less than Thirty Leagues in length Passage extending from the Entrances into his Dutchies next to Stenai quite through his Countries into Germany which should remain in Sovereignty to the King 2. That the Fortifications of Nanci should be demolished 3. That the Towns of Stenai Clermont Jamets and Dun should continue in Propriety to France 4. That the Duke should disarm all his Soldiers and Militia except his Regiment of Guards and Light Horse and some Companies of Foot for the Preservation of such Garisons as remain'd in his hands 5. That the Duke should not repair the Fortifications of Nanci nor make any New Fortifications about any other Town within his Territories without leave of the King nor give any Protection to any of the King's Subjects contrary to his Majesties pleasure These were the principal Conditions to the Severity of which the Duke was oblig'd to consent that he might regain his Principality of Bar his Friends having generally advis'd him to accept them for fear lest under the sway of some other Minister of State he might meet with far greater Obstructions No sooner had the Duke sign'd the Treaty but he departed into his own Dominions and to the end Prince Charles might have no
reason to complain of him upon the Marriage propounded with Mademoiselle de Montpensier he declared to him that he always earnestly desired it and to remove all suspitions he sent at the same time a full Power in writing under his Hand and Seal to the Duke of Guise to conclude the Articles upon the same Conditions which he himself had proposed The Princess was overjoy'd at this Marriage she found in Prince Charles all the Noble Qualities she could desire and besides the Condescention of the Duke his Uncle seem'd to be no small advantage to her On the other side considering the Condition of the House of Lorrain at that time it was the greatest good Fortune that could befall it in order to a Re-establishment for besides the Greatness of the Alliance Mademoiselle had a plentiful Estate And therefore as all people desired the Match so all endeavoured to bring it to a Conclusion Prince Charles every day paid his Visits to Mademoiselle On the other side the Princess took delight in his Assiduities All the Court took it for granted that every thing was agreed upon but when all things were ready for Consummation Prince Charles fell in Love with Mademoiselle d' Orleance a Princess Young and of surpassing Beauty to which may be added that having been bred together their Affections had taken root along time before And indeed to speak the Truth Mademoiselle de Montpensier was a little too far advanced in years to inflame so Youthful a Prince And as certain it was that Mademoiselle d'Orleance was design'd the Prince of Tuscany the King himself being for engaged to make the Match and it being also his Interest to see it concluded Of all which Prince Charles could not be ignorant But being of an Age not apt to make reflexions he gave himself blindly over to a domineering Passion not considering that he forgat his own Interests to run after a Chimera since it was a Conquest impossible for him to make and this was that which caused him so much to slight Madam de Montpensier that the World took notice of it All that were concerned for the Interest of the Young Prince were alarm'd at his manner of proceeding They said that he posted visibly to his own Detriment and the ruine of his Affairs It was laid before him that he acted to his Uncles wish whose design it was to cross his Marriage so he might not be seen to be in the fault to the end that by that means he might secure the Succession of his Territories to his Son the Prince of Vaudemont They gave him to understand that he laboured inconsiderately to loose himself not only in the Kings good will who had a high esteem for him but also in the Affection of all the Lorrainers who looking upon him as their Deliverer would cast of all that Love and Endearment which they had shewed him upon several Occasions when they should come to be informed that for a passion impossible to succeed he had renounced the Re-establishment of his House and the repose of a Languishing People that had their Eyes fix'd only upon him They told him at length that being presumptive Heir of Lorrain he ow'd himself entirely to his Subjects that he ought to think of no other Alliance but such a one as might be for their Consolation and to redeem them from their Miseries and that in short he was to put a force upon his Inclinations But in regard that Mademoiselle d' Orleance was the only Object that possessed his Soul he would not listen to any thing that could be said concerning Her or if he did hearken sometimes 't was only to answer that he did not think he was oblig'd to sacrifice himself to the publick and that a Prince was in an ill Condition that was bound to be miserable all his Life to procure the uncertain Welfare of his Subjects Now that which confirm'd him in his Obstinate Resolution to Court that Princess was this that he met with some Persons who designing to make mischief between the King Madamoiselle de Montpensier and himself fed him with vain hopes that he might find a thousand ways to compass his Desires 'T was true they told him that the King had given his Word to the Duke of Tuscany for the Prince his Son but they flatter'd him at the same time that if he persisted in his Pursuit the King would fall off at last from his Promise that he was not so fond of the Match as Men imagin'd and that he knew well that an Heir to the Dutchies of Lorrain and Bar was as good as the Prince of Tuscany On the other side the great Affection which Madamoiselle d'Orleance manifested for the Prince of Lorrain and her Reluctancy to Marry the Prince of Tuscany contributed not a little to make him the more eager in his Design He knew that the young Princess had open'd her Heart to the Dutchess of Orleance her Mother that she had not conceal'd the tender Kindness she had for him that she had also discover'd to her the little Love she had for the Prince of Tuscany and that it was the Dutchess's desire that her Daughter might be left to her own Choice But in regard the King took little care to satisfie the two Lovers and that he only minded his own and the Interest of the Kingdom in this Affair he prest so hard the Conclusion of the Marriage at the very time that the Dutchess of Orleance was about to have declar'd her Mind to him that he sent Monsieur de Tellier to her to let her know that he had already Signed the Contract and that there was a necessity for Madamoiselle within three or four days at most to take her Leave of the Court and set forward for Tuscany and that she must either resolve to obey or prepare her self for a Nunnery nor was there any Reply to be given to this So that the Marriage with the Prince of Tuscany was concluded as the King had contriv'd it and Madamoiselle d'Orleance was sent away like Madamoiselle de Mancini to end her days in Italy Prince Charles thus disappointed of his Hopes on that side there was nothing left for him to do but to put a Constraint upon his Inclinations to forget Madamoiselle d'Orleance and to endeavour the regaining the Affections of Madamoiselle de Montpensier which without difficulty he might have effected But by I know not what strange Blindness that always accompanies vehement Passions he was so far from taking that prudent Course that he openly bewail'd his hard Fate and privately withdrawing himself from his Father some days after that the new Princess had begun her Journey away he posted to overtake her at St. Fargeau whither Madamoiselle had carry'd her to take her last Farewell of her And this was that which compleated the Ruine of his Affairs For Madamoiselle soon perceiv'd that 't was not for her's but solely for her Sisters sake that the Prince had
Lorrain which convinced him that upon the first Visit the Prince should pay her she would not be offended if he endeavour'd to justifie himself and that she would forget a Crime which as heinous as it seem'd to be would vanish into nothing when it came to be examin'd To which Mademoiselle answer'd only with a smile and the Marquis who desir'd no more took his leave well satisfy'd and from thence went to wait upon the young Prince with new Instructions which he receiv'd like an apt Scholar In the mean while the Duke of Lorrain understanding that Mademoiselle had sent two or three times for the Marquis of Beauvau and not able to fathom the Reason of the Princess's being so earnest was desirous to understand the Mystery which the Marquis as soon unfolded to him And withal he aggravated things so effectually that the Duke though he had begun a Quarrel with Mademoiselle could not forbear blaming his Nephew and to disapprove his Conduct He found that he had done very ill in visiting Madam de Choisi since he knew there was nothing in which he could more disoblige Mademoiselle adding that he could not understand how a Prince that had any wit to understand his own Interests should so strangely forget himself And after he had himself reprov'd him the next day he admonish'd him for the future to carry himself with more observance towards Mademoiselle than he had done He laid before him all the Advantages which that Match would procure to the House of Lorrain and for three or four days he was so eager to bring it to a Conclusion that the Prince was really allarum'd at it For indeed considering the Condition of that young Prince he knew not what it was he desir'd or what not Or rather he always found in himself so great an Aversion to that Alliance that he could have wish'd the Duke had never thought of procuring him that Advantage after he had so strongly oppos'd it Nevertheless at the same time that the Duke appear'd so eager to Match the Prince with Mademoiselle de Montpensier of a sudden he chang'd his Mind and propos'd to Marry him with Madam de Nemours de Longueville who was look'd upon to be above Six Millions richer than the other but neither Young nor Handsom and nothing near so well descended as Mademoiselle de Montpensier and besides that she was reputed a Woman not well in her Wits for that many People look'd upon her to be freakish in her Humours But in regard the Duke had conceiv'd great Advantages from this Match by reason of her extraordinary Wealth though indeed she was not so rich a Fortune as Mademoiselle de Montpensier he caus'd one of his Gentlemen to treat first with a Female Friend of Madam de Longueville to bring the Business about The Gentleman acted according to his Commission and found a Compliance to his Wishes But the Gentleman was no sooner out of the Duke's Lodgings but the Duke had alter'd his Mind and so that Negotiation came to nothing And Madam Longueville's Friend was not a little troubl'd imagining the Duke's design to be only to make himself Sport and to fool the Lady her self And indeed no body knew where the Duke intended to fix his Eyes and the greatest part of those that were of this Mind imagin'd that he had not any one particularly in view but that he only design'd to lull his Nephew asleep Yet two days after he explain'd himself and declar'd that the reason which oblig'd him to alter his Mind was because he had a Proposal made him for Marrying the Prince with Mademoiselle de Nemours the Duke of Vendosme's youngest Daughter This Proposal had been effectually made him and he had at first rejected it but presently after his Gentleman was gone to treat with Madam de Longueville's Friend reflecting more seriously he look'd upon it as a Match so Advantageous that he could have no reason to demurr in consenting to it so much the rather because he was in hopes of Marrying the Prince of Vaudemont to Mademoiselle d' Aumale her Sister Besides that Mademoiselle de Nemours not being of that High Rank as Mademoiselle de Montpensier he should not be bound to resign his Territories in favour of his Nephew On the other side Madam de Nemours Mother of the two Princesses openly declar'd that she desir'd nothing more than such a Double Alliance with the House of Lorrain And with this Design she often went to visit Madam de Choisi who had a great Ascendant over the Prince More than that the Queen Mother had approv'd the Propasal And there was great likelihood that Mademoiselle de Nemours would be no less acceptable to the Prince for she was Young and surpassingly Beautiful Thus all things seem'd to concur with the Designs of those that made the Proposal but Duke Francis and Madam the Dutchess of Orleance were Obstacles in the way who neither of them could relish the Proposal of Marriage The Duke was absolutely desirous that his Son should keep close to Mademoiselle de Montpensier hoping that if he persisted he would not fail to regain the Favour of that Princess and that the Duke his Brother would not recoil from his word since he had engag'd it to the King And in case the Match with Mademoiselle de Montpensier did not succeed the Dutchess of Orleance was then for Marrying the Prince to Mademoiselle d' Alanson her Daughter During these Amorous Intrigues the Nobility of Lorrain sent two Commissioners to the Duke to lay before him their right to certain Privileges which he denied them believing that the Opportunity of the Matches propos'd for the Prince would be favourable for their purpose But the Duke would by no means hear them And therefore judging that his presence was necessary in Lorrain where he was afraid of threatning Commotions he departed from Paris somedays after the Lorrain Commissioners arrived and in regard he was in great haste he took his leave of no person living not so much as of the King However he left a Power in writing under his Hand and Seal to conclude the Marriage of his Nephew with Mademoiselle de Nemours with this Restriction that it should not be a Match but upon Condition that Madam de Nemours her Mother would justify her to be worth two Millions as she had offer'd to do The Commissioners from Lorrain of which one was the Count of Mauleon made very considerable offers also to Prince Charles of their Service which he refused to accept On the other side his Friends having plainly made it appear to him that the only course he had to take was to reconcile himself with Mademoiselle de Montpensier he resolved to follow their Advice And manifestly seeing it was one of the greatest Advantages he could pretend to at that time he labour'd thenceforward to regain her favour by all the ways of Observance and Submission imaginable Sometime after the Count of Furstenbergh now Cardinal Furstenbergh
look'd upon themselves already as by Destiny Appointed the one for the other But the Duke of Lorrain who had tasted the sweets of Soveraignty and therefore would not strip himself of his Territories started so many Obstructions every day that Madamoiselle tir'd out with so many various Irresolutions and tedious Delays would no more hear talk of the Marriage And that which utterly spoil'd all and made her to break off all Conversation with the Prince was this that the King at the same time rigorously Exacting the performance of the Treaty at Vincennes constrain'd the Duke to demolish the Fortifications of Nancy which could not chuse but offend her and make her disgust the Marriage And thus was the Prince of Lorrain defeated of all his Hopes for not vigorously driving on his own Affairs till it was too late though in all likelihood this Match would never have come to any thing for that they who understood Affairs were of opinion that the King himself oppos'd it under-hand The Queen Mother therefore seeing that all the Preventive Care that had been taken till that very time had prov'd ineffectual and that there was no way to bring the Business about again thought she could not do better then to concern her self in the Duke of Lorrain's Design of Marrying his Nephew with Madamoiselle de Nemours And indeed in regard the Queen Mother had a great Love for Madam de Nemours the Princess's Mother she laboured with an extraordinary sedulity to bring about the Match And to the end she might omit nothing that could contribute to the success of her Design she so vehemently importun'd the King then at Fontainbleau to speak to the Duke of Guise and to write to Duke Francis then at Paris that the King immediately dispatch'd away one of the Priviledg'd Gentlemen of his Guards with a Letter to Duke Francis wherein he let him know how well he was pleas'd with the Match and therefore desir'd him to come and Confer with him about it as soon as possible he could But Duke Francis having a Reluctancy to this Match pretended an Indisposition of Body that he might not be oblig'd to attend the King For he always flatter'd himself that his Son might Marry Madamoiselle de Montpensier and therefore his design was to gain time and to take his own to break the Queen's Measures who earnestly labour'd in behalf of Madamoiselle de Nemours But the King having written to him a second Letter more positive than the former he was constrain'd to repair to Fontainbleau Now though Duke Francis did not absolutely say that he was against the Match nevertheless he made it appear that he had no great Inclination to it And the King who was not ignorant of his Reluctancy yet unwilling to make use of Compulsion thought it sufficient to let him understand by a great number of Reasons that he oppos'd the Happiness of the Prince his Son since there was no more to be expected from Madam de Montpensier And to render his Reasons the more effectual he promis'd him that if he would condescend to the Match so firmly to engage the Duke his Brother to secure the Possession of his Territories to the Prince his Son that he might depend upon it His design being to take all manner of Security to have it pass by an Authentick Declaration in the Contract of Marriage and in a manner so binding that the Duke should never be able to revoke it in regard that he himself would be the Guarantee These last Words of the King began to make Duke Francis totter but that which absolutely made him give his Consent to the Match was a Letter to the Duke of Guise wherein the Duke of Lorrain had written to him that if the Duke his Brother did not resolve to Marry his Son to the Princess of Nemours and that before the King set forward for Bretagne which would be within a few days he would revoke the Power given to him to Sign the Contract of Marriage in his Name So that every thing being ready prepar'd Monsieur Lionne together with the Messieurs de Guise and Archbishop of Laon afterwards Cardinal d' Estrees went to the Lodgings of Duke Francis there to pass the Contract of Marriage as it was concluded at Fontainbleau under the Conditions agreed on both sides So that the Contract was Sign'd by Monsieur Lionne in the Name of the King by Monsieur de Guise in the Name of the Duke of Lorrain and by the Bishop of Laon in the Name of Madam de Nemours for Madamoiselle de Nemours her Daughter In the mean time the Queen Mother earnestly wishing to see the Marriage concluded which was only in dead colours as yet and fearing lest the Duke of Lorrain should change his mind obtain'd of the King immediately to dispatch away a Courier to give him notice to send his Ratification in due form or else to desire him to take himself a Journey to Paris to put his last helping hand to the Affair The Duke of Guise also sent a Gentleman to give him a particular Account of what had past But though the Duke of Lorrain had himself most earnestly desir'd this Fortune for the Prince his Nephew and that he had made the first Proposal yet was he so vexatiously mad that the Business was so far driven forward that he sent a Gentleman to the Duke of Guise to let him know that he had made too much haste and that he was extreamly surpriz'd that he had no sooner notice of it to the end he might have given him new Instructions However this did not hinder him from Writing to the King that he would be in Paris within a few days as indeed he was but it was only with a design to cross the Marriage and to break it quite off if it were possible But though he did not openly declare his mind the King who easily guess'd his Intentions not only by others but also in Person frequently propos'd to him that he would give him all the Assurances he could reasonably desire and that he would manage things so well that all should be for the Advantage of his Family But in regard that that was not the thing which he desir'd he started still so many new Difficulties that the Prince of Lorrain began to despair For he by often visiting Madamoiselle de Nemours was become passionately inamour'd of her and from that time forward there was nothing which he more desir'd then the Enjoyment of that Princess And therefore perceiving that the Business as far advanced as it was in stead of being brought to a speedy Conclusion was spun out with insupportable Delays and fearing also left in the end he should be disappointed of this Match as he had been of all the rest he was quite out of heart more especially finding that all his Submissions to the Duke prov'd ineffectual One Obstacle was no sooner remov'd but another sprung up in the place so that the
Prince despairing of ever being happy with Madamoiselle de Nemours so long as the Business depended upon the Duke of Lorrain he went to the King by the Advice of the Queen Mother and besought him with so much importunity to oblige the Duke to come to a Conclusion and to remove the Obstacles which he started every moment that the King immediately promis'd to make it his business and to follow it so close that he should have no cause to complain of his neglect In short the King who had himself made the Match by the Consent of the Duke of Lorrain was so incens'd at his Shifts and Evasions that the Prince was no sooner gone but he resolv'd to make use of all his Authority and slight all the Reasons which the Duke alledg'd to spin out the Business Nevertheless considering presently after that it was better to proceed in a fair way if it were possible he endeavour'd by all the Arguments imaginable to perswade the Duke that it was his best Course to come to a Conclusion To which purpose he order'd Monsieur Lion to manage him who had several Conferences with him to that end But those Conferences proving fruitless he sent the Marshal d'Estrees Mademoiselle's Uncle to him who had no better success than Monsieur de Lion So that the King at length tir'd out with his delays sent him Word That it was his Desire that the Marriage of his Nephew should be concluded within three Days at farthest and therefore if he would not give his voluntary Consent he would interpose his own Royal Authority without consulting him any more This Resolution inflam'd the Duke and though he durst not complain of the King yet he made loud complaints of his Nephew He told the Marshal d'Estrees That the Prince did very ill to make his Applications to the King to procure him to threaten force upon his Inclinations That he wish'd with all his Heart he were Marry'd to the Princess of Nemours but he had very strong Reasons not to be too hasty in the Affair and that he might one day repent of putting him upon Extremities To this the Marshal Answer'd That the Prince was no ways concern'd in the Matter and that he accus'd him unjustly To which the Duke made no other Reply but that his Nephew went the way to loose all that he should have let him had a Breathing time for some Days and not have driven on with such a violent Career So that the Marshal perceiving that such a force upon his obstinate Will would put him upon some desperate design endeavour'd to pacifie him as much as he could and took his leave with a promise That he would endeavour to perswade the King to retract what he had said adding withal to justifie the Prince That the King had taken that Resolution of his own accord and that indeed he might see himself that after he had only amus'd his Majesty with Words when he had positively promis'd that he would sincerely labour the Conclusion of the Match it was no wonder his Majesty should grow a little Impatient So that the Marshal having importun'd the King to stay Seven or Eight Days more without pressing the Duke he condescended to his Request And this delay it was to which the King however did not condescend without an extraordinary Reluctancy that quite broke off the Match and reduc'd the House of Lorrain to that sad Condition wherein it is at this day For the Duke from that time forward minding nothing else but to revenge the supposed Injury which he had receiv'd from his Nephew took a Resolution so strange as never could have been expected from him and which Posterity will hardly believe considering the bad usage he had receiv'd from France But that which exasperated the Duke was the Haughtiness of Lewis XIV who making use of his Power had been a little too quick with him as already has been said in declaring so positively to him that he would interpose his Authority in case he persisted obstinately to oppose the Marriage or started any new Difficulties to delay it But this was to drive him on furiously to accustom him by degrees to be conformable to the Kings Will and to enure him betimes to obey such Laws as the King should afterwards think fit to impose upon him So that the thing being rightly consider'd was of dreadful Consequence But although the King had not carried things so high as he did in respect to a Soveraign Prince who had no dependance upon him certain it is that the King of France was the greatest Enemy he had and he knew it by woeful Experience For besides the Towns which he detain'd from him the Treaty which he had forc'd him to Sign at Vincennes after he had drill'd him on whole years as he did in that Negotiation he had made it his whole Business ever since the Death of Lewis XIII to invade his Dukedoms and that all the World knew All these Reasons with an infinite number of others not necessary for this place were sufficient to render the King hateful to him Nevertheless he was so far from taking a course to throw off his Fetters that his Resentment against Prince Charles and the Artifices of his Enemies that incens'd him to Revenge render'd him so little the Master of himself that never considering that to make his Nephew miserable he run the hazard of making more Unfortunate his Son the Prince of Vaudemont so Worthy to succeed him he laid a design to make the King of France his general Heir and to Translate the Succession of his Territories to a Prince who had been the only occasion of the greatest part of his Misfortunes and wore the very Crown which he complain'd that his Predecessors had usurp'd from his Family Which the Duke of Guise and Madam de Montpensier were within a little of proving under the Reign of Henry III. in the time of the League However it was a thing of too great Consequence to be determin'd without serious Consideration So that he Studi'd for some days before he would put his Design in Execution And in regard that all that while he was turmoil'd with a thousand Thoughts he was become so Distracted that his Domestick Servants perceiv'd there was some strange Combat in his Mind which caus'd his Understanding to take those Flights which were not usual with him Nor would it be an easie thing to express his Condition at that time You should have him of a sudden call for his Coach to go to the King and discover his Intention By and by he would recollect himself that this was so contrary to his real Interests as afterwards he declar'd that he would whisper to himself that he had rather his Nephew should succeed him than a Prince who not content to have stript him of his Territories us'd him no better than one of his Subjects with his petty Menaces He had once a design to retire into Lorrain and let the
King do what he pleas'd But immediately changing his Mind he resolv'd at length to spend some time in the Country there to walk away the disquiet of his Thoughts and bring his Determinations to an absolute Conclusion To which purpose he made choice of the Village of Montrevil which is not above a League from Paris Now in regard there were some that attended the Duke who were highly concern'd for Prince Charles they gave him notice that the Duke was designing to go out of Town and that they had some Suspicion that he would be gone the next day When this News came to the Prince it was so late at Night that it was impossible for him to wait upon his Uncle But the next day he rose very early in the Morning to attend him and let him understand that he was acquainted in part with his intention to withdraw himself privately out of Paris into Lorrain and to beseech him at the same time with all manner of Submission and Profound Respect not to take a Resolution so fatal as that would prove But the Duke was already gone The Prince was at his Wits end But being told that he was to lie that Night at Vilmareuil a House of Pleasure belonging to the Prince of Lislebonne about Fourteen Leagues from Paris he took Horse as soon as possible with only three or four in his Company Yet with all the Speed he could make he could get no farther then Meaux which is above Four Leagues from the House and it was late in the Night before he got thither too But the Duke being gone no farther then Montrevil there was no News of him at Meaux beleiving therefore that he might have taken some other Road the Prince sent away a Messenger to Vilmareuil Where finding that the Intelligence that was given him was altogether mistaken he return'd in all hast to Paris The suddain departure of Prince Charles strangely allarum'd Duke Francis and the Dutchess of Orleance For the Prince was no sooner out of Town but a Report was spread about That he was only gone to overtake the Duke his Uncle to Duel him not able to endure the Injustice which he did in refusing his Consent to his Marriage with the Princess of Nemours But his return soon quieted their Minds again However they that were acquainted with Prince Charles's Humour did him that Justice and justifi'd him from being capable of such an Ignominious Despair which was so far from procuring him any change in his Affairs that it would have utterly ruin'd 'em and been an injury to himself never to have been repair'd In short he was a Prince too Prudent to forget himself to that Degree And besides he knew too well by what ties he was bound to the Duke of Lorrain to dip his Hands in his Blood in case Fortune had favour'd him in a single Combat which however was a chance very dubious And therefore it may be readily conjectur'd that they were none of the Princes Friends that spread about such a Rumour And as it could not be without a purpose to render him odious to his Uncle so the News quickly flew to Montrevil But though the Duke gave little Credit to the Report he could not forbear flying out into sharp Language against his Nephew He was already too much incens'd not to shew some symptoms of his Anger For Princes are like other Men they are subject to the same Infirmities they are also many times more apt to entertain violent Passions than their Inferiours And there are few how generous they may be otherwise that do not find some Sweetness in Revenge So that the Duke himself could not refrain from saying openly That he would be Reveng'd of the Rashness of his Nephew that since his good or bad Fortune depended solely upon him he knew how to humble his Pride and that let what would happen he wore a Sword by his side as well as he and would not stir an Inch for him But this was not the only Misfortune that befell the Prince of Lorrain For at the same time that the Duke seem'd most exasperated Madam the Dutchess of Orleance receiv'd a Letter from an unknown Hand and without any Subscription wherein she had warning given her that three Friends of Prince Charles's among whom the Count of Furstembergh was one had a design to make away the Duke of Lorrain That they had been a long time consulting whither they should Assassinate him or seize upon his Person and then shut him up in some Castle But that at length having consider'd that which way soever they should do the Business it would be absolutely impossible to preserve the Reputation of the Prince in regard that all would come out in the end they resolv'd that the Prince should Fight his Uncle Hand to Hand there being no other way to rid him of a Prince that persecuted him so Cruelly This Letter could not be kept so private but that it came to the Duke of Lorrain Nevertheless although he had all the reason in the World to conclude it an Imposture as the Author of the Letter since Confess'd and that he were otherwise Convinc'd that if the Prince had any such design he could have had a thousand ways to put it in Execution he determin'd to make the King his Heir as he had contriv'd it before And three Days after he Sign'd a private * This Treaty was sign'd in the Abby of Mont-Marte in the presence of the D. of Guise and the Abbess his Sister Feb. 6. 1662. Treaty of which the principal Articles were I. That he made the King his Heir of the Dukedoms of Lorrain and Bar. II. That for the security of his Faith and Word he would immediately Surrender into his Hands the Town of Marsal III. That the King on his part in Acknowledgment of this Donation should associate to his Crown all the Princes of the House of Lorrain and that for the time to come they should be look'd upon in France as Princes of the Blood and that their Creation should be allow'd in all his Courts of Parliament and acknowledged by all the States of the Kingdoms of France and Navarr so that those Princes according to their Eldership should be capable of succeeding in Case the Line of Bourbon fail'd Upon occasion of which last Article it was that the Duke who sometimes lov'd to break a Jest one day joaking with the Prince of Conde told him That he never knew how to make above one Prince of the Blood in his Life but that he with one dash of his Pen had made Four and Twenty This Treaty was already Sign'd without the least Suspition that either Duke Francis or the Prince had of it for indeed who could have expected any such thing But in regard it was a thing actually done and that the King car'd not to make a Secret of it those two Princes had notice of it soon enough For Monsieur de Lionne who was himself
so many Testimonies of his Favour upon all Occasions that offer'd themselves that this Unfortunate Prince in that Extremity to which he saw himself reduc'd believ'd that the only course he had to take was to have recourse to the King's Generosity For considering what was done there was no likelihood that he could expect any thing from the Duke of Lorrain So that he rely'd no farther upon him but he flatter'd himself that the King would suffer himself to be wrought upon to desist from his Pretensions of Succession to the Duke's Territories if he could but come to lay open the Matter before him and this was also the Opinion of his Friends Now in regard he was to be at a Ball that was to be Danced within some few days before his Majesty believing that while the Preparations for that lasted he might find some Pretence to discourse the King more frequently than he was wont to do he neglected no opportunity to speak with him At last three or four days before the Ball having met with a favourable Moment he conjur'd him to be his Protector as he had been till that day to remember how much his his Royal Word was engag'd for the Conclusion of his Marriage with Madamoiselle de Nemours and not to take advantage to his prejudice of the Duke of Lorrain his Uncle's Hatred toward him since his Majesty was so well convinc'd that it was only because he had thrown himself into his Arms that he had drawn this Tempest upon himself I know not whether the King gave any heed to this Remonstrance how submissive soever it might be but howsoever it were he was not a little surpriz'd at it He look'd very sternly upon the Prince and in a grave and serious tone told him That Kings did not govern themselves like private Persons That there were certain Maxims of State which were a Law to them which Law was also very Natural that nevertheless if he would confide in his Affection and absolutely refer the Business to him he would promise him to take a particular Care of his Interests and that considering the Condition of his Affairs the best Counsel he could follow was to rely upon his favour The Duke perceiving well by this uncertain and indefinite Answer that there was nothing more to be done there took his leave without making any reply and though he had laid the design of a Method quite contrary to that which the King advis'd him to take he dissembled so well his Resentment till the Night that the Ball was to be danc'd that no body had the least suspition of the Resolution he had taken He came to the Ball and danc'd with a surprizing Activity of Body and Gayety of Mind But he had no sooner finished his Part but he withdrew himself and that Night departed Paris attended only by his Squire and his Valet de Chambre so privately that nobody perceiv'd it This Absenting himself as much agreed upon as it was between himself Duke Francis and the Dutchess of Orleance put them however into a very great Consternation when they came to reflect upon the Destiny of a young Prince who saw himself constrain'd to go a Begging from Court to Court the Favour of Foreign Princes after so many fair Hopes and so frequently arriving within view of being one of the most happy Princes of Europe But the little hope which he had that the King of France who had been a long time in love with the Dutchies of Lorrain and Barr would resign his new Pretensions by the Donation of Charles IV. and the severe Necessity to which the Prince of Lorrain was reduc'd to wander perhaps in vain without meeting any Settlement worthy his Great Heart and Birth All these and a thousand other various Thoughts crowding into their Minds afflicted them to that degree that they could not dissemble their Grief whatever they could do to conceal it And if Duke Francis and the Dutchess of Orleance were so extreamly perplex'd for the departure of the Prince Madam de Nemours was no less For as she was a Woman of great Sincerity and that she was not of a humour to conceal her Passions she shew'd her Resentment to all the World And for the Princess her Daughter she was so little Mistress of her self upon this Occasion that she could not refrain from bursting forth into Tears THE LIFE OF Charles V. DUKE of Lorrain and Bar And Generalissimo of all the Imperial Forces THE SECOND BOOK THE Prince of Lorrain's withdrawing himself did not a little of a suddain surprize the King But in regard that considering the Condition of his Affairs there was no danger to be apprehended from it he did not much mind it Nay when he had better consider'd it he was rather overjoy'd that the Prince had Banish'd himself For though he had let the World already sufficiently know that he was no way dispos'd to give Ear to the Plaints and Suits of that Prince he was glad that now the Prince had given the World an occasion to say That the Prince himself had drawn all his Misfortunes upon his own Head that he might have come to an agreement with him had he left the Business to his Discretion and that he might perhaps have been wrought upon by his Submissions and his Services to have resign'd in his Favour the Donation of the Duke his Uncle Besides that it was a plausible pretence to break off the Marriage with Mademoiselle de Nemours for there it was that the game was to begin On the other side the Prince esteeming himself happy that he had so well withdrawn himself from Court where he was afraid of doing those Things which might in the Consequence be prejudicial to him and fearing besides least so soon as it should be perceiv'd he was missing that he might be pursu'd and Arrested by the Kings Warrant after all his diligence to avoid this second Misfortune he was no sooner got out of the Hall where the Ball was Danc'd but he made haste to a Street where some of his People attended him with his Coach and in a Moment after taking Horse he rode all Night and all the next day without making any stop till he arriv'd at Besunson from whence it was agreed between Duke Francis and Madam d'Orleance that as soon as he received News from them he should immediately depart for Vienna Now in regard this was the safest course that he could take besides that he himself was positive that considering the condition of his Affairs there was a necessity for him to throw himself into the Emperors Protection Duke Francis made no question but that he would have followed his own Resolutions But his Love for the Princess of Tuscany unluckily awaking in him at a time when he had something else to think of of a suddain he alter'd his Design and without foreseeing that what he projected could signifie nothing that he went to expose himself and at the same time
to expose the Princess he departed the next day for Florence under pretence of going to Rome to inform the Pope of his Condition and desire his Protection The Grand Duke who knew too well the Affection which the Princess of Tuscany had had for the Prince of Lorrain and fear'd that the presence of a Prince that was handsome and had been once Belov'd would trouble the repose of the Prince his Son was very much allarum'd at this unexpected visit However he paid him all the Honour imaginable He told him how much he was concern'd for his Misfortunes and protested his extream Sorrow to see a Prince of his Merit reduc'd to such a Condition However that did not hinder the Dukes intimating to him himself and letting him know by others that he should be infinitely oblig'd to him if he would retire from his Court. Adding withal that he could not but know himself the powerful Reasons that constrain'd him to that Request and that when he had consider'd it he would never take it ill As for the Princess of Tuscany she never saw him but in Company and that very rarely too Thereupon following the Advice and withall foreseeing the little Mortifications which he was likely every day to undergo if he staid in Florence he departed the City and went immediately for Rome It is not to be express'd what infinite Testimonies of Tenderness and Affection the Pope gave him For besides that from the first Moment he saw him he was Charm'd with his Wit his Air and his Behaviour the deplorable Condition to which he was reduc'd augmented the extream Kindness which he had conceiv'd at first sight for a Prince who seem'd to him so little to deserve a Destiny so severe He made him deeply sensible of the great Inclination which he had to grant him his Protection and embrace his Interests But in regard that at that time the King of France and he were at some Difference he gave him to understand that it was absolutely impossible to do him any Service with that Monarch who instead of list'ning to him would look upon whatever he could say in his behalf as an Affront And his Holiness at length so perfectly convinc'd him of the little Success that could be expected from such an Attempt that the Prince at last without any more ado concluded to go to Vienna seeing well that the Popes Favour could do him no good Had he been over-rul'd by the Inclinations of his Heart he had certainly repass'd through Florence He felt within himself those violent Emotions for the Princess of Tuscany which it was impossible for him to quell though he well knew at the same time that he only pursu'd a Shadow and that it was a Weakness which could not choose but do him an Injury if he did not endeavour to conceal it since he could not quite extinguish it For it may be said that he laid as much to Heart the loss of that Princess as of the Territories of Lorrain and Bar. He found by Experience upon this Occasion that a Flame never well quench'd is easily rekindl'd and that his first Inclinations had got Possession of the better share of his Thoughts But his Reason and his Duty or rather his real Love for Madamoiselle de Nemours having at length vanquish'd his Chimerical Passion he resolv'd at last to think no more of the Princess of Tuscany as long as he liv'd and because he would not expose himself to a new Temptation he went directly for Venice where he was receiv'd with great Honour Before he arriv'd at Vienna he stopp'd a while at Munick where he receiv'd so many Civilities from the Elector and Electoress of Bavaria that he could have willingly tarry'd longer at that Court but that his Affairs call'd him farther off He arriv'd at length at Vienna where the Emperor upon his first coming assur'd him that he would lay his Interests to Heart and when opportunity offer'd he would use his utmost Endeavours to restore him to his Rights and secure him a Succession which the Duke of Lorrain could not dispose from his own Line without the greatest Injustice in the World He also took such an Affection for the Prince that he always call'd him his Brother remembring that when they were Children they were wont to give one another that Appellation In the mean time the King of France to shew his extraordinary Joy for having so easily acquir'd two such considerable Dukedoms gave Order for a Carousel in the grand Piazza of the Tuilleries with an incredible Magnificence But for all that he was forc'd to make use of Violence before he could assure himself the Possession of his new Inheritance In the Duke of Lorrain's Donation as I have already observ'd the Duke had inserted an Article whereby the King was oblig'd to cause all the Princes of the House of Lorrain to be acknowledg'd Princes of the Blood in all the States and Parliaments of France to the end they might be capable of Succeeding to the Crown in case the Line of Bourbon happen'd to fail So that when the King in pursuance of the Treaty Summon'd the Duke of Lorrain to deliver Marsal into his Hands the Duke on the other side requir'd from the King the Allowance of the Treaty in the Court of Parliament of Paris and that he might be admitted into the States of the Kingdom in regard it was agreed that before all things he should cause all the Conditions and Articles of the Donation to be accepted in Form according to the Covenants Neither did the King oppose the Duke of Lorrain's Demand at all but when the Covenants came to be put in Execution he found an infinite number of Obstructions which he never expected Duke Francis no sooner understood that the King was gone in Person to the Palace to Register the Donation so prejudicial to all his Family but he presently hasten'd thither to make some Opposition which immediately he did though he were thrust back by the Kings Officers and that too with an unseemly Violence He set forth in that Opposition that the Donation made by his Brother to the King was to be lookt upon as Null and Void For if the Dutchies of Lorrain and Bar were to be consider'd as States where the Salick Law took place they were not Alienable and farther that if the last Will and Testament of René King of Sicily and Duke of Lorrain were to be observ'd as it ought to be by which his Territories were be Entailed upon the Male Heirs the same Consequence was still to be drawn from it that the Person in Possession was but Tenant for Life so that the Duke of Lorrain could not dispose of the Dukedoms of Lorrain and Bar as he had done In the Second place That if on the other side they insisted upon the Female Right which was most observ'd in Lorrain as might be prov'd by several Examples and chiefly by that of the Princess Nicole in whose Right Charles
IV. enjoy'd the Government of the Dutchies which he had Alienated those Dukedoms ought to revert to Prince Charles the only Heir of that Dutchess But Duke Francis was not the only Person that oppos'd the Registring of the Donation For the Duke of Vendosm at the same time presented a Petition wherein he besought his Majesty to consider That Henry IV. had sent a Declaration to the Parliament purporting That he should walk in Processions immediately next after the Princes of the Blood and according to that Declaration his Majesty allow'd him that place in the Ceremony of the Knights of the Holy Ghost And therefore that he hop'd his Majesty would grant the same Priviledge to his Children who had a Right to it by their Mothers side being the Daughter of Emanuel of Lorrain Duke of Mercoeur who ought to precede all those of the House of Guise and that of the Marquis of Mouy that were descended only from the younger Family And lastly he besought his Majesty to permit both him and his Children to make their Opposition and defend their Rights according to the Rules of the Common Law The Prince of Courtenai and his Children also made the same Protestations And the Dukes and Peers Remonstrated in their places That the Preeminence that the King had granted to the Princes of Lorrain wounded the highest Dignity in the Kingdom That they could produce Examples to prove that the Princes of the Blood and even Kings themselves of Forraign Countries had been preceeded by the Peers at the Coronations of the Kings of France in Assemblies of Parliament and at other Ceremonies and that they hop'd his Majesty would not suffer them to undergo any Diminutions of their Privileges under his Reign They who were concern'd in this Affair flatter'd themselves that the Parliament would refuse to verifie the Donation But in regard the King was come to the Parliament with Four Thousand Men at his Heels and consequently with a Resolution to be Obey'd the Parliament without any Hesitation fulfill'd the Kings Pleasure So that the same day which was the 27th of February 1662. the King having himself presented a Declaration containing the Clauses and Conditions upon which Charles IV. had surrender'd to him the Propriety of the Dukedoms of Lorrain and Bar the Declaration was Register'd And to shew that he did not altogether despise the Oppositions and Remonstrances which had been made him and that he had not laid 'em aside till he had made it appear that they were of no validity the Advocate General Talon maintain'd before he came to his Conclusions that the States of Lorrain and Bar were never regulated by the Salic Law and as for what concern'd the Entail made upon the Heirs Male by the King of Sicily which was that which Duke Francis alledg'd it made for the Kings of France seeing that Charles of Anjou Nephew and Successor to René not having any Childern made Lewis XI and Charles the VIII his Heirs To which he added that 't was Ridiculous to alledge the Succession of Women after having set up the Male Title only That Lorrain having been always dependant upon the Crown of France it was but just that it should be reunited to it and in a Word that by what ever Title Duke Charles claim'd a Right to the Dukedoms as he had been stript of 'em by the Deceas'd King so they were not restor'd to him but by the Indulgence of his Successor and therefore since there was a way found out to unite them again to the Crown by an Authentick Stipulation it behov'd his Majesty for the Interest of his Kingdom to make his Advantage of it And as for what concern'd the Honour which the King had accorded to the Princes of Lorrain to be reputed Princes of the Blood it was a Privilege that was never yet contested with a Crowned Head though Monsieur the Chancellor had spoken very boldly in that Affair for he had positively and in proper terms affirm'd That the King could not make Princes of the Blood without his Consort the Queen The Publication of the Donation thus made put Duke Francis into a great Consternation and all those of the House of Lorrain There were none but some of those Princes that were settled in France and enjoy'd all their Estates in that Kingdom who suffer'd themselves to be dazled with the Hopes of coming to be Princes of the Blood and of being preferr'd under that Character to all Foreign Soveraign Princes without considering that it was to the Extinction of their own Family and that there was so little likelihood of seeing that Article for their Association into the Princes of the Blood observ'd in regard of an Infinite Number of Oppositions that were made and would be made every day that they had more reason to fear lest one day they should be reduc'd to be no Princes at all In the mean time Duke Francis omitted no Industry to let the Duke of Lorrain understand the wrong he had done him And his Remonstrances wrought so effectually upon the Duke that after he testified his extream Sorrow for having sign'd the Donation he promis'd without intermission to labour the Disannulling it and that so soon as he had brought his design to pass he would restore his Territories to Prince Charles reserving to himself a reasonable Pension And to assure him of Performance and let him see that he approv'd the Prince's withdrawing out of France he had furnish'd him with Five hundred Pistols to defray his Expences to Vienna The Duke being thus return'd to himself and extreamly troubled at the Donation which he had made of his Territories to the King refus'd to Surrender up Marsal though the Stipulation were verify'd in Parliament And the Prétence which the Duke laid hold on was very lawful for that the Parliament in verifying the Deed had added a Condition which render'd it utterly void The Clause of the Verification imported that the Princes of Lorrain should not be reputed Princes of the Blood but upon Condition that all the Princes of the Blood should Sign and Ratifie the Stipulation for defect of which they were all in general excluded from the Benefit of that Association It was urg'd by the Duke of Lorrain that there were several Princes of that House who were as yet under Age and therefore incapable of doing any Act that could stand good in Law that Duke Francis had put in Exceptions against the Registring of the Donation that Prince Charles his Nephew had withdrawn himself out of the Kingdom because he would not be forc'd to Sign it and so that Clause which the Parliament had added overthrowing all he was not bound to perform the Articles of the Treaty which concern'd the King's Interest that the King had not perform'd those that concern'd the Interest of his House since he had not stript himself of his Territories in Kindness to him but with this Consideration that the Princes of the House of Lorrain might be in
a Capacity to succeed to the Government of a Kingdom which had formerly belong'd to their Predecessors The King who saw that the Duke of Lorrain was fix'd in his Resolutions urg'd no farther the Surrender of Marsal He made a shew as if he did not much care for that Town and imagin'd that the Vexation for what had pass'd a little before had put the Duke into an ill Humour and that if he manag'd him well he should bring him in time frankly to perform whatever he desir'd and there was great likelihood that this way would take But when the King found him to be unalterable that all his Managements prov'd fruitless that he still obstinately demanded that the Parliament should change their Language and that he was ready to retire into Lorrain with a Resolution to defend Marsal he thought it then high time to employ more effectual means than he had hitherto made use of To that purpose he endeavour'd to hold Intelligence with the Lorrain Nobility who were not a little discontented He imagin'd that if he could but gain some of the Principal Gentlemen there would be nothing more easie than to make himself Master of Marsal and some other considerable Place to boot and therefore to effect this there was no means that he left unessay'd This Negotiation was undertaken by the Governor who stay'd at Nanci with a strong Garison till the Fortifications were dimolish'd and he miss'd but very little of Success For in regard he made large Promises to the Nobility that if they would shake off the Duke of Lorrain's Yoak they should be restor'd to their Ancient Privileges they stood tottering a long time But coming at length to consider that there is seldom the more Liberty gain'd by the Change of Domination and that our Enemy becomes our Master they rejected the King's Offers choosing rather to languish for some time under the Government of a lawful Prince though he disputed their Privileges than to purchase a dubious Liberty by Treason and Revolt But before the Lorrain Nobility had determin'd to refuse the Advantages offer'd them by the King of France Prince Charles who remained at the Court of Vienna was inform'd of what pass'd at Nanci and indeed the News alarum'd him for he thought the King would compass his Ends. Fearing therefore lest if he became Master of any one Strong Hold he would soon get Possession of all the rest and that it would not then be in the Duke's Power to expel the Enemy out of his Dominions he posted away for Lorrain and found a means himself to get into Marsal undiscover'd He was no sooner arriv'd but he dispatch'd a Courier to the Duke his Uncle to give him notice that he might not be surpriz'd at his coming Protesting withal that his putting himself into the Town was only to secure it upon the Information which had been given him that the King of France had a design to Besiege it but that he was resolv'd to defend the Place and Sacrifice his Life for his Interests The Governor also of the Place had sent him an Express for the same reason wherein he let him know that besides that the Prince was in no Condition to attempt any thing to his Prejudice he had made him a thousand Protestations that he had undertaken that Journey only to Sacrifice his Life for him and to oppose the Designs of France But the Duke mistrusting the Prince did all he could to get him out of Marsal To which purpose he caus'd Duke Francis to write to him and withal wrote himself to him The Prince's Friends likewise who saw there was somewhat of rashness in the Attempt in regar'd he expos'd himself to the danger of falling into the hands either of the Duke or the King were the first that incessantly importun'd him to withdraw Thereupon the Prince being convinc'd that the King of France had no Design upon Marsal as having not yet assur'd himself of the Nobility and finding besides the King could not corrupt any one Officer of the Garison and that he had fancied to himself without any grounds that he could make himself Master of the Place he departed some few days after and return'd to Vienna This Action of the Prince of Lorrain as inconsiderately undertaken as it was shew'd nevertheless a Great and Generous Spirit which they who blam'd him most admir'd in him And all agreed that it was an Auspicious Preludium to his future Performances and that in that Attempt they beheld the Bravery of his Ancestors To which they added that what would have been an inexcusable Imprudence in an experienc'd Captain was a piece of Temerity to be applauded in a young Prince whom it behov'd to be covetous of Honour that they who never had an opportunity to signalize themselves ought not to refuse the first that presents it self and that the Prince had done more in daring to put himself into Marsal at that time than if he had made himself Master of it at another and this was also the Discourse of his Enemies Nor could Lewis XIV refrain from acknowledging that he had made himself an Enemy that he fear'd would find him work enough one day And the Duke himself was so scar'd with a Resolution so daring that in a short time after he left Paris and return'd into Lorrain out of an apprehension that the Prince would not stop there but that he was labouring underhand to make a Party and excite the Nobility to Rebellion For he could not put it out of his Mind that the Prince would have engag'd in an Enterprize so hazardous but that he had kept Intelligence with his Enemies which was a Conjecture not without Probability However these Reasons could not oblige the Duke to be more moderate toward the Nobility in respect of their Privileges Nay he carried things with so high a hand that they were near upon the Point of throwing off their Masks and declaring for the King of France who desirous to make Advantage of the Occasions of their Discontents never ceas'd solliciting them to shake off the Duke's Fetters flattering them withal that under his Government they should enjoy their Privileges so amply that they should never repent the change of their Master Nevertheless the Lorrain Nobility upon better Consideration chose rather to suffer for a while than to venture the utmost Extremity so that all the Practises of the King of France came to nothing Which caus'd him to take a more sure way to constrain the Duke to deliver up Marsal He therefore Summon'd him to Surrender the Place without further delay alledging without vouchsafing to hear the Duke's Reasons that the Princess Nicole had privately pass'd a Donation of the Dukedoms of Lorrain and Barr to the deceas'd Lewis XIII his Father and that he himself had made another so authentick that it was impossible for him to retract it whatever Imaginations he might have and thereupon he order'd his Forces that lay still in and about
Nanci to seize upon the Duke's Dominions which was presently done with all extremity of Rigor For the Counts of Guiche and Pradel who commanded the Body no sooner receiv'd their Orders but they constrain'd all the Duke's Officers to deliver up all the Money that was in their hands to Monsieur Colbert who was sent into Lorrain to take the King's Accompts And not content with these Vexations he upheld the Claims of some of the Nobility who laying hold of the Advantage rais'd Men seized upon some Castles which as they pretended the Duke unjustly detain'd from them and mitted an infinite Number of Hostilities The King perceiving that notwithstanding all that he had done the Duke still kept Marsal resolv'd at length to seize the Place by force and for that end to besiege it However to observe the Formalities usual upon such Occasions he sent one of the Captains of his Guards to the Duke of Lorrain to let him know that he was resolv'd to have Marsal whatever it cost him and that he had no more to do but to determine without farther Hesitation to perform the last Treaty in every particular He told him farther that it would be his best way to surrender the place quietly as being resolv'd that if he met with the least resistance he would seize upon all his Territories whereas he should shew him all the Esteem and Respect he could desire if he freely and willingly perform'd his Promise Charles IV. not being strong enough to oppose the Arms of France took the only Counsel that was to be followed in such a ticklish Conjuncture which was to Treat with the King anew He sent him therefore Word that he would enter into new Articles with him which were concluded at Marsal the First of September 1663. I. That the Duke of Lorrain should within three days deliver up Marsal into the Hands of the King of France in lieu of which his Majesty promis'd him the Free Enjoyment of his Territories and Demesnes and to restore him the Money which had been already seiz'd and that he would recall all his Forces as well out of Nancy as all other Places in Lorrain so soon as the Fortifications were demolish'd II. That he should be at Liberty either to rase the Fortifications within a year or else to enjoy the Propriety of the Town which he pleased But in that case he should be oblig'd to settle upon the Duke other Lands equivalent to the Demesnes of the Place III. That if his Majesty within one year should choose to demolish the Fortifications he should restore the City to the Duke with all the Demesnes belonging to it together with all the Warlike Ammunition and Furniture of the Cannon which should be in the Place when it shall be restor'd to the Duke of all which there should be an Inventory made IV. That the King should constrain the Gentlemen who had taken Arms to return to their own homes and restore the Castles which they had seiz'd in his Dominions saving that they might be left to take their Remedy at Law to sue for such Pretensions as they had against the Duke V. That in pursuance of this Treaty the Duke should be restor'd to his Territories according to the Treaty of Vincennes which the King promis'd to Observe and Ordered to be Registred in the Parliament of Paris Now in regard the King had renounc'd his Succession to the Dukedoms of Lorrain and Bar the Duke was desirous to have an Article inserted wherein the Renunciation should be expressed in due form But the King would not hear with that Ear. The Ministers which the King had sent to treat at Marsal told the Duke that the King never cancell'd by Publick Acts any Treaties which he had once Sign'd that it was below his Royal Majesty so to do and that it behov'd the Duke to be satisfy'd that the King had tacitly renounced the Treaty at Montmarre So that the Duke not having any other way to take was constrain'd to be contented with what was done though the Assurances which they gave him that the King would think no more of the Treaty of Succession were but only Verbal Assurances upon which he could not depend not having an Army powerful enough to make the Article to be interpreted according to the true meaning of the Words However it were Charles the Fourth was so well satisfied with the last Treaty that he let the Nobility be at Quiet and though he were also convinc'd at the same time that there were several Gentlemen who had instigated others to shake off their Fetters and betake themselves to the Protection of the King of France he was contented to let them perceive his Resentment by mild and gentle Admonition and to shew that he had no Animosity against them notwithstanding the false Steps which some of 'em had trod he advanc'd 'em to Principal Places of Trust which was that they never expected And this was a happy Accident for the Lorrain Gentlemen as having brought them all to participate of his Favours Only Duke Francis and Prince Charles his Nephew were the two Persons that reaped no Benefit by this last Treaty However so soon as the Duke of Lorrain and Duke Francis his Brother were return'd home into their Dominions they had both concerted together to free themselves from the French Yoak and break the Treaty of Montmarre And Charles IV. had engag'd that if they could but once bring about their Designs he would acknowledge Prince Charles for his Lawful Successor For in regard that by the Treaty of Marsal the King of France had renounc'd the Donation that Entitl'd him to the Succession of Lorrain and Barr Duke Francis was of Opinion that seeing the Duke so well dispos'd it would not be amiss to send for Prince Charles from Vienna and imparted his Intentions to the Duke his Brother who readily consented that the Prince should quit the Emperors Court and repair into his Dominions Thereupon Duke Francis well satisfi'd that he had met with no Opposition sent away his chief Usher to Vienna But he was hardly got to the Frontiers of Lorrain before he was overtaken with a Prohibition from the Duke to go any farther And in regard the Duke was afraid that his Injunction to the contrary would not hinder the Prince from hastning his Journey and meeting him at Nancy where he then lay he gave Order to all the Governors of his Towns through which he thought he might come to stop him alleadging that the reason why he dealt so odly by the Prince his Nephew was that he might not be constrain'd to break with the King of France with whom he acknowledg'd he had been sufficiently embroil'd already But the Principal Reason why he would not have the Prince of Lorrain so near him was his fear lest the Prince should make himself too many Friends within his Territories And though the King of France car'd little whither the Prince were in Lorrain or in Austria in
regard that he had actually made it appear that he was incens'd against him not only for leaving his Court without taking Leave but also because of some injurious Language that he had let fall against him both at Rome and Vienna the Duke was glad of this pretence which he had not in his thoughts when Duke Francis made the proposal of sending for him but afterwards came into his mind On the other side though the Prince had been long accustom'd to these Severities of his Uncle he was strangely surpriz'd at this Prohibition of his but much more at the Pretence which he made use of for it And therefore touch'd to the Quick at this Repulse and desirous withal to justifie himself before the King that he had never mention'd him but with all Respect imaginable in all the Courts where he had been away he flew to Paris without Consulting any Person about him or so much as Duke Francis himself and without reflecting that considering the Condition of his own and his Uncles Affairs it was a most headlong Resolution and a dangerous Attempt which would inevitably cost him a dear Repentance and it fell out accordingly For the King was so far from being inclin'd in the least to hear his Justification that Monsieur Tellier to whom he made his first Addresses having given notice to the King of his Arrival and of his Design he sent one of the Captains of his Guard with Orders to Command him forthwith to depart the City and within four days to quit the Kingdom And though the Marquis of Villequier who was the Person that carried the King's Orders to him took his leave so soon as he had deliver'd his Message yet he left behind him a Priviledg'd Gentleman of the Guards with a Command not to stir from him till he saw him clear of France This was too severe an Order not to make a noise in the City All People knew immediately that Prince Charles was arriv'd at Paris and that his Arrival was no sooner known at Court but that he had receiv'd a Command to be gone again Thereupon Madam the Dutchess of Orleans who knew nothing of all this till every body knew it besought the King to grant him one days time that she might see the Prince her Nephew To which the King return'd for Answer That in respect to her he would allow him two hours during which time she might see and Discourse with him as much as she pleas'd and as to the Complaints that she made him that the Duke of Lorrain would not admit the Prince into his Territories for fear of provoking his Majesty he replied That that was nothing to him the Duke of Lorrain might admit him if he thought fit for that he had never exacted any such thing from him and that if Prince Charles had been wise he would have kept where he was The Prince who was carefully inform'd of all these things repair'd to the Palace of Orleans with the Priviledg'd Gentleman of the Guards where he Discours'd the Dutchess for some hours and then taking Horse departed out of Paris the same day I cannot here forbear to observe how little Resolution and Courage the Prince of Lorrain shew'd upon this Occasion though he were one of the most Resolute and Daring Princes of his Time The Kings Order had so terrified him that he durst not see Madamoiselle de Nemours though he most passionately lov'd her and were Married to her For in short Duke Francis had duly and formally Wedded her in his Name above six Months before and there was nothing more now to be said against the Marriage but only that it was not yet consummated However it so happen'd that when the Prince departed from the Dutchess of Orleans in order to his leaving Paris he past by the Palace of Nemours And in regard the Prince had not made choice of that way but with a design to call in though it were but for a moment he ask'd the Priviledg'd Gentleman of the Guards that attended him whither he had any Order to hinder him The Gentleman answer'd that in truth he had none however he advis'd him to avoid seeing of Madamoiselle de Nemours for that besides that he could not permit him to stay but a very little while the Visit would but augment the Kings displeasure and that therefore it was better for him to deny himself that Liberty unless he intended to draw upon himself the utmost rigor of an offended Prince whom it rather behov'd him to manage with discretion and prudence One would have thought that the Prince of Lorrain should not have stood to argue the Point at that time but that in contempt of all the Dangers that could befall him and all the Tempests that could pour upon his Head he should have resolv'd upon this Visit since there was nothing to hinder him and he was just going twice to alight from his Horse Nevertheless being strook with a Panick Fear he follow'd the Advice of his Keeper and as if his Passion has been as Calm as it was Violent or as if he had not been concern'd to visit Mademoiselle de Nemours who was the only Person for whose sake he ought to have undertaken his Journey he left Paris without seeing her All men were surpriz'd that Prince Charles had given such a mark of a faint Heart and that he had not consider'd that besides that the Visit could do him no injury in respect of the talk of the World it was the only probable Means to resettle his Affairs For in regard he was really Married the only thing without doubt on his side to be done was to have consummated the Marriage Or if any reasons of Modesty and Niceness in Madamoiselle de Nemours had oblig'd him to abstain however there would have been a strong Presumption that the thing was done For besides that Madamoiselle de Nemours knew very well that she was duly and lawfully Married and besides that she had a tender Affection for the Prince Madam de Nemours her Mother so passionately desir'd a Consummation of the Marriage whatever Crosses of Fortune afterwards befel the Prince that she offer'd to bring the Princess her Daughter to him wherever he would be pleas'd to appoint without considering the hazard which she run of incurring the King's Displeasure In short the King having urg'd her several times to Marry that Princess to the King of Portugal she utterly rejected the Proposal alledging That her Daughter being effectually Married to the Prince of Lorrain she could not Marry her to another how advantageous soever the Match might be that his Majesty propos'd In a word the Affection which Madamoiselle had for the Prince was so well known that the Princess dying sometime after he left Paris all People believ'd that she dy'd for Grief as not being able to support her Affliction that the King should oppose the Consummation of a Marriage which he had made himself and which she could never hope
to see accomplish'd after an Obstruction of that Nature All People agree That the Reasons which oblig'd the King of France to give such rigorous Orders in reference to the Duke of Lorrain was the Apprehension which he had that if the Prince should stay too long in Paris he would visit the Princess so often that she would make such Evidences appear as would speak aloud to all the World that they were Married and it was the King's Interest to break the Marriage there being no other way for him to disengage himself from the Promise he had made the Prince upon his signing the Contract by which he bound himself to acknowledge him the Sole Heir that was capable to Succeed to the Dukedoms of Lorrain and Barr after the Death of Charles IV. which was a clear disannulling of the Donation made of the same Dutchies by the Treaty of Montmarre But to return to the Prince of Lorrain he had engag'd himself so imprudently in his Journey to Paris that he had not half Money enough left to supply his Necessities and Madam the Dutchess of Orleance of whom he had desir'd to borrow was forc'd to acknowledge that she was not in a Condition to furnish him at present in regard her Family was now no Richer than under the Ministry of Cardinal Mazarine So that the Prince was constrain'd to accept of the Dutchesses good will not daring to delay his Departure He was no sooner out of Paris but he posted in all hast to the Frontiers of France taking thence the Road to Luxemburgh where he made a short stay till he could find some body so charitable as to furnish him with Money and indeed he was very hard put to it to find a Creditor but at length a Knight who was altogether unknown to him having Lent him Two hundred Crowns he return'd to the Emperor with a Design to apply himself wholly to his Service For as for the Duke his Uncle he saw well it would be to no purpose to sollicit him to permit his Return to Lorrain more especially when he should come to understand the ill Success of his Voyage to Paris The Emperor received the Prince with infinite marks of his Affection He testified his Sorrow for his being so ill entertain'd by the Duke his Uncle and the King of France and promised him his Protection as he had done before Soon after his Arrival at the Court of Vienna the War brake out in Hungary between the Emperor and the Turks I shall not enter into the Particulars of that War at what time the Grand Visier appear'd at the Head of a Formidable Army and in the last Battel that was fought left behind him Eight thousand Men slain upon the Place besides those that were swallowed up in the River of Raab Now in regard all Christendom was concern'd in this War all the Christian Princes sent their Forces to joyn with the Emperors and France among the rest furnished his Imperial Majesty with a considerable Assistance of Men that did him signal Service And then it was that the Prince of Lorrain to whom the Emperor had already given an old Regiment of a Thousand Horse perceiving there were in the French and other Troops a great number of Young Gentlemen who had undertaken a long Journey to signalize their Courage in that War found the Incitements of his Emulation so importunate that he besought his Imperial Majesty to let him try his Fortune the next Campagne But because of the great hazards he was to run in regard the Ottoman Army was prodigiously numerous besides that the Prince was not then above Twenty years of Age the Emperor thought it not fit at that time to grant him his Request So that the Prince saw himself compell'd to abide at Vienna while others were gaining Honour in the Field However not being able to over-rule himself to give Obedience to the Emperor in those Commands that seem'd to curb him in the Acquisitions of Future Fame he privately withdrew from the Court and got to the Army The Turks had then besieged the Fort of Serini so that the Prince thought he should be soon enough to joyn the Succour that was already sent to relieve that Place But the Fort being won much sooner than was expected he was frustrated of those Hopes Nevertheless in regard his Mind gave him that he should signalize himself in that Campagne he met with an Opportunity wherein he behav'd himself after an extraordinary manner A Body of Seven or Eight thousand Turks of the most resolute in the Grand Signior's Army being Commanded by the Grand Visier to cross a River that separated the Ottoman from the Christians Camp with a design to surprize them so furiously assail'd the Right Wing of the Imperial Army that they began to give ground without making any considerable resistance Which cast such a terror among the Imperialists that General Montecuculi being at his Wits end to see so bad a Beginning of a Fight was glad to bring on the Left Wing to renew the Combat Among whom the first that Montecuculi met was the Prince of Lorrain So that in regard he had no time to lose and that he could not make choice of what Men he pleas'd he only told the Prince that in the Unfortunate Conjuncture wherein he found himself he was constrain'd to oppose his Regiment against the Fury of the Turks till he could cause others to advance only that which troubled him beyond Expression was to see the Danger to which of necessity he must expose himself to save the Honour of the Christians To which the Prince made as short a reply That he was overjoy'd to meet with an opportunity to venture his Life that he was only to direct him where he should Charge and that he would infallibly Perish or repel the Enemy Adding withal That nothing griev'd him so much as that he wanted Five hundred Men of his own Regiment which were sent to secure the Forragers however they that follow'd him had so much Courage that he made no doubt but they would give that day more than ordinary proofs of their Valour The General finding himself in a great straight and greatly encourag'd by the generous Prowess of the youthful Prince told him where he should fall on And with that although the Turks were four to one resolved to Die or Vanquish he broke in among the Turks with so much Vigour and such a Presence of Mind that the old Officers of his Regiment were amaz'd at such a first Essay of Valour It would be a difficult thing to represent the Heat and Fury with which the Prince fought For in regard he met with stout Resistance in the second Squadrons that reliev'd the former he was constrain'd to charge the Enemy three or four times before he could make them give ground And he must have given way at length had not the Marquis of Coligny General of the French Horse order'd the Count of Fueillade to advance
with a considerable Reinforcement which assur'd him an entire Victory The Prince in this Encounter did not only perform the Duty of an Officer but fought himself like a Common Souldier He wrested a Colours from the Hands of a Turk who came with a Resolution to have run him thorough with the Lance to which his Colours were fasten'd And those Colours of which the Emperor made him a Present were sent to Duke Francis who caus'd them to be hung up in the Chappel of the Burgundians near Nanci with an Inscription over them giving an Accompt of the Battel wherein the Turks had above Five thousand Slain The Count de Ligneville who was a Marshal de Camp in the Army never left P. Charles all the while and in regard he was an Eye-witness of what pass'd in that bloody Encounter he wrote a Relation of it to the Duke of Lorrain wherein he set forth in proper Language that the Emperor in some measure was beholding to the Prince for saving his Army in regard the daring Courage with which the Prince fought had renew'd the Combat from which the Left Wing had most shamefully flinch'd and given time to the French who were rang'd on the farthest side of the Left Wing to come to his Rescue and assist him to win a compleat Victory Some time before the Emperor who had some Reasons to conclude the War with the Turks had made Proposals of Peace which had been utterly rejected by them but being beaten both in this and the following Campagne they found it their best way to accept them and now made the Proposals first themselves though the Grand Visier had still an Army of Forty thousand Men in the Field The Peace being concluded all the French and a great part of the Germans were sent home But among the rest that the Emperor kept Standing the Prince of Lorrain's Regiment was one for which he had always a great Value after this Fight Now in regard that the Toils of the Campagne had been very tedious and for that the Prince who was indefatigable was desirous to see his own Regiment settled in their Winter Quarters in Silesia where the Air is very bad in Summer especially for Strangers he was no sooner return'd to Vienna but he fell Sick of the Small Pox and a Malignant Fever so dangerous that for a long while the Physitians despair'd of his Life However being of a strong Constitution he was so well lookt after that when he began to mend he recover'd his Strength in a little time But the Joy which he had for the Recovery of his Health lasted not long for no sooner had he vanquish'd the Affliction of two threatning Distempers but he had News that the Princess of Nemours was just about to Marry his Royal Highness of Savoy the Father of the present Duke The King of France for the Reasons already mention'd was so deeply concern'd least the Prince should Consummate the Marriage of the Princess of Nemours that he made it his whole Business to break it quite off Yet the Affection which the Princess had for the Prince of Lorrain was an obstacle which he could never surmount not thinking it good Policy to interpose his Royal Authority But Madam de Nemours being Dead a suddain Alteration of the Face of Affairs ensu'd For the King caus'd the young Princess to be put into a Nunnery there to mourn for the Dutchess her Mother During which time the Nuns who had the managing of her found out so many ways to turn and wind her and so forcibly insinuated into her Mind that the Prince of Lorrain withall his Noble Qualities had but a very small Fortune that she suffer'd her self at last to be overcome and promis'd to conform her self to the Kings Pleasure But it was so lately before that the Duke of Savoy had lost Madamoiselle de Valois his first Wife Daughter of Gaston de France Duke of Orleance that he scrupl'd to Marry Madamoiselle de Nemours so soon But they told him those were Delicacies below the Thoughts of Princes Neither indeed was that the greatest difficulty for in regard that Madamoiselle de Nemours was Marry'd to the Prince of Lorrain his Royal Highness could not Espouse her till he had a Dispensation from Rome and the Pope who was Alexander the VII refus'd it On the other side the King by his publick Minister set forth to the Pope That the Marriage not being Consummated the Princess might be Lawfully discharg'd In opposition to which the Prince of Lorrain made other Remonstrances in his own behalf And thus both sides urg'd the best and most potent Reasons that their several Casuists suggested to them So that Alexander as great a Politician as he was knew not well what to do He saw that which side soever he took he could never content both Parties Nevertheless in regard he could not dispence with taking Cognizance of the Affair he referr'd it to his Nuncio in France and the Archbishop of Paris But the Prince of Lorrain jealous of the Partiality of those Commissioners demanded that the Process might be determin'd at Rome and that the Pope might be Judge himself The King was thoroughly perswaded that the Suit as knotty as it was would be determin'd in his Favour But fearing delays and spinning out of time to shorten the way he caus'd a Petition to be presented to the Pope by Madamoiselle de Nemours her self The Princess therefore now absolutely brought over to say whatever they pleas'd themselves protested that she never heartily consented to Marry the Prince of Lorrain or if she had declar'd she had done it it was by the overruling Violence of the Dutchess of Nemours her Mother To which she added that on the other side it invincibly appear'd that the Prince himself had never given but an imperfect Consent since he never sent the Ratification of the Marriage till a long time after that Duke Francis his Father Espous'd her in his Sons Name And that if all this were not sufficient to shew that the Prince was only so earnest at that time to conclude the Marriage out of a Politick End and not out of any real Affection there needed no more for her to alledge than that affrontive Act of the Prince who having been at Paris would not vouchsafe to see her And Lastly that it was a thing notoriously known that the Prince had no Inclination for her as she never had any Inclination for him and therefore that she humbly besought his Holiness in whose Power it only was to discharge her that he would vouchsafe to hearken to her Remonstrance Now at the same time that this Petition was presented the Pope was altogether Embroyl'd with the King of France by reason of the affront which had been offer'd at Rome to the Duke of Crequi his extraordinary Ambassador For it happen'd that the Corsi who are a sort of Souldiers appointed to Guard the City and to secure the Sbirri in the
at Aix la Chapelle in regard she had no longer Wars with Spain and had Disbanded good part of her Forces she was willing the Duke should follow her Example On the other side the Duke of Lorrain having Intelligence every day that the Elector Palatine drew his Forces together and had certainly some design upon his Frontiers he let the King know the danger he was in if he had not an Army on Foot But the King making Solemn Protestations and having likewise given him his Royal Word that the Elector had no Thoughts of molesting him he dismiss'd his Army and dispers'd his Men after such a manner that it was not easie for him to draw them together again if necessity requir'd it But the Intelligence given the Duke of Lorrain that the Palatine Elector had some design upon him prov'd too true For he had no sooner dismiss'd his Army but he understood that the Elector had besieged and taken the Castles of Landstoaille and Honde and made his Prisoners the Commander of the Prince of Vaudemont's Regiment and several other Officers who confiding in the Kings Assurance that the Elector would not stir were altogether unprovided to defend themselves The Duke had no sooner receiv'd the News but he rally'd a good part of his Men and put them under the Command of the Prince of Lislebonne withal giving the Count of Vaudemont orders to accompany him with his Regiment of Horse Now though the Lorrain Army were nothing near so numerous as that of the Electors yet they enter'd the Palatinate and after several Skirmishes the Princes of Lislebonne and Vaudemont coming to encamp near the Enemy a Battel was fought wherein one part of the Electors Army was cut in pieces and the other utterly routed But as entire a Victory as it was the Duke of Lorrain made no Advantage of it For the Elector after such an unexpected Misfortune fearing the loss of his Country put himself under the Protection of France and by his Resident at Paris desir'd the King to interpose his Authority and Power for the concluding a War which he was no longer able to maintain Upon which the King who waited only for Pretences to bring down the Duke of Lorrain and wisht besides that the Duke would delay to obey his Commands that he might have an occasion to declare War against him and seize upon his Territories sent him Word That he should dismiss his Army forthwith upon pretence that his Army gave him cause of Jealousie and therefore letting him understand that he must absolutely resolve to lay down his Arms according to the general Treaty of Peace which gave him Power only to retain some Companies of his Guards and his light Horsemen but not to have standing Armies Promising however to protect him against the Elector in case he did not dismiss his Forces or attempted any thing against him The Duke who stomach'd the King of France's Controul answer'd him first haughtily enough That the King of France was not his Master That he had only a small Army to defend himself against the Attempts of an open Enemy and that if the King went about to constrain him he made no doubt but there were Princes in Europe that would Infallibly stand by him But the Kings Messenger having given him to understand that Marshal Crequi was upon the Frontiers of his Territories with Orders in case of refusal to advance with Ten Thousand Men the Duke was so terrifi'd with that same dreadful Menace that he thought it his best way to dismiss his Men. And having taken this Resolution he began to put it in execution But whither it were that he did not proceed to the King of France's Liking or that Marshal Crequi who was sent into Lorrain with some other Commissioners to see the Dukes Army disbanded were troubl'd to see the War so soon at an end and started Suspicions on purpose the Cities of Pent a Mousson St. Michael and some others were surpriz'd at the same time that the Prince of Vaudemont was about to enter into those Places to meet Marshal Crequi on the Dukes behalf and perfect what remain'd to be done for the Kings full Satisfaction True it is that the Duke having made his Complaint of the Violences committed by the Marshal the King to shew him that he had no design but for the publick Tranquility and not to invade the Dukes Territories recall'd his Garisons out of those Places which the Marshal had taken and all his other Forces out of Lorrain So that Lorrain began to enjoy that Peace which it had not enjoy'd for above Five and thirty years before But this Repose lasted so small a while that it could hardly be perceiv'd While things thus pass'd in Lorrain the Troubles in Hungary brake out again There was first a Conspiracy against the Life of the Emperor which would have prov'd fatal to Prince Charles had the Conspirators succeeded in their Design I shall not here repeat the Original of those Troubles because it is a Thing so well known I shall only tell ye that Count Serini who till then had adher'd to the Emperors Interests secretly strook in with the Male-Contents as did also Count Nadash some time after upon the score of a Palatine Employment which the Emperor had denied him These two Counts blinded by their Fury and believing it not enough to take up Arms against the Emperor laid a design to take away his Life and the more easie to bring their Endeavours about they so well dissembl'd their Resentment that no body perceiv'd that they kept the least Intelligence with the Male-Contents Count Serini more especially was so little suspected by his Imperial Majesty that he had entrusted him to take care of fortifying the Frontier Towns And at this time it was that feigning to be wholly taken up in forwarding the Work committed to his Care both he and Nadish jointly resolv'd to attempt the Emperor's Life who was preparing to meet the Empress his Wife that was expected out of * The 25th of April 1666 Leopold Married Margaret Maria Therese Daughter of Philip IV. King of Spain His second Wife was Claudia Felicitie of Austria Dutchess of Inspruch in the year 1673. And at the end of the same year he Married a third time with the Princess Palatine of Neuburgh Elianora Maria Therese Daughter of the Elector Palatine lately deceas'd Spain To this end they had contriv'd to lay Five hundred Men in a certain place through which the Emperor was to ride Post accompanied only with the Grand Master of his House and ten or a dozen Gentlemen and the Commander of those Troops had himself engag'd to stab the Emperor But in regard it was a difficult thing to succeed in so horrid a Design Couâ—â— Nadash had tried an infinite number of ways which still prov'd ineffectual But at length having corrupted a Carpenter that wrought in a new Apartment which the Emperor was making in his Palace for the Empress
Dowager the Carpenter set Fire to the Palace In the mean time though the Emperor were upon his Journey they that were posted to seize upon his Person or assassinate him had not the Courage to execute their Barbarous Orders However Nadash was nothing disheartned at this but believing that Poyson would be more successful some time after he invited the Emperor and the Empress the Imperial Princesses and the Prince of Lorrain to see some Fishing-Sport at Pattendorff which was a Seat of his own There he Feasted them Magnificently and it was none of his fault that the Poyson'd-Plate that was prepar'd for him did not come to his share But the Countess his Wife apprehending his Design caus'd the Emperor to be serv'd with a Plate resembling the t'other which broke the Counts Measures and sav'd the Lives of the Emperor and all the Imperial Guests Most of these things happen'd in the Years 1668 and 1669. And then it was that the Duke of Lorrain Married the Prince of Vaudemont to the Princess d'Elboeuf Anne Elisabeth of Lorrain a Princess of great Wit and Incomparable Beauty About the same time Casimer V. had resign'd his Crown to spend the Remainder of his Days in Ease and Retirement Now in regard the Kingdom of Poland is Elective the Polonians to remove all Occasion of Jealousie and Civil War from the Grandees of the Kingdom who might have any Claim to the Royalty have all along accustomed themselves to make Choice of Foreign Princes The Duke of * The Elector Palatine last deceas'd Philip William who died at Vienna Septemb. 2. 1690 in the Seventy fifth year of his Age. Newburgh and the Prince of Conde were the first that stood Competitors for the Election and had each of them a considerable Party in it But the Prince of Lorrain who had the same Design put the Emperor upon appearing in his behalf and then it was that he found that the Empress Dowager was absolutely for carrying on his Interests since there was nothing which she left undone to procure him the Upper-hand of his Competitors it being both her's and the Emperor's Design to Marry him with the Princess Eleanora Maria. In the mean time because the Business requir'd a vast Expence for these sorts of Elections are not to be canvass'd without store of Money and for that the Prince had only a Pension which the Emperor and Empress Dowager allow'd him the Duke of Lorrain told Duke Francis that he would furnish the Prince with Money necessary for such an Undertaking provided he would Sign the Contract of Marriage between the Prince of Vaudemont and the Princess d'Elboeuf and cause Prince Charles to Sign it also The Marriage of that Prince had been celebrated with so much Pomp and Magnificence of Ceremonies that Duke Francis made no question but that it was the Dukes Intention to settle the Succession upon him to the prejudice of the Prince his Son The Nuptials were solemniz'd at Bar after which the Prince of Vaudemont and the Princess being conducted to Nanci made their Entry with no less Splendour then if the Duke had been Married himself Never did the Duke of Lorrain express so much outward Joy as he did upon that Occasion Besides the extraordinary Civilities which he paid to the new Bride he would have the Princess of Lislebone to yield her the Precedence though she were Niece to the Prince her Husband And as for what he did for the Prince his Son he made over to him in Soveraignty a considerable part of his Territories These Considerations made Duke Francis always refuse to Sign the Marriage of the Prince of Vaudemont But the Assistance which the Duke of Lorrain promis'd the Prince and which he gave him effectually to advance him to the Crown of Poland over-ruled Duke Francis and the Prince to Sign not only the Marriage but also a particular Treaty by vertue of which Prince Vaudemont enter'd at the same time into Possession of the Principal Places that were assign'd him But notwithstanding all the Methods which the Emperor had taken and the large Sums which the Duke of Lorrain had contributed toward the Advancement of his Nephew it was impossible for the Prince to bring his Desires to pass For in regard the Duke of Newburgh and the Prince of Condè had each of them their Faction in the Kingdom as well as he the Polanders fearing that neither of the Rivals would give way to him that was Elected unless constrain'd by Force of Arms as they had openly and severally given out they cast their Eyes upon a Prince of their own Nation to avoid a Civil War and made choice of Michael Korobat Wiesnowisky who was Crown'd Sept. 29. 1669. The Grief which Prince Charles conceiv'd for missing the Election in Poland was attended by another Misfortune which he endur'd with no less trouble of Mind And that was the Death of Duke Francis his Father that happen'd Jan. 27. 1679. and which was as it were an ill Omen of the Consummation of those Misfortunes that were to befall the House For the same year the K. of France drove Charles IV. quite out of his Dominions and constrain'd him to seek out for Sanctuary among Foreign Princes which he had much ado to find 'T is true that it may well be said the Duke drew this last Calamity upon himself For not being able so to govern himself as to comply with France he furnished Lewis XIV with so many Pretences that he could not believe there was any Prince in Europe would blame him for despoiling the Duke of all his Dominions I must confess 't was always the Dukes unhappiness to be oblig'd to receive Laws from France notwithstanding his usual vaunting that being a Soveraign he had no dependance upon any but God and his Sword But in regard that as his Affairs stood the King of France could humble him upon all occasions it had been but Prudence to have comply'd with the Time and to have dissembled with a Prince that was so formidable to him Nevertheless as if he had had a sufficient Power to withstand all his Enterprizes he took so little care to manage him that he rather might be said to make it his Business to provoke him and furnish him with Opportunities to seize upon his Country And therefore it was that out of a desire to have an Army on foot he levy'd Men upon the first occasion that presented it self quite contrary to his own Interests To which purpose the Troubles of Hungary furnish'd him with one occasion which he resolv'd not to let slip though he plainly saw that it was directly contrary to the King of France's Capitulation by which he was bound not to levy any Forces under pretence of giving France an occasion of Suspition But in regard he cover'd his Design with a pretence of sending Assistance to the Emperor he made several Levies and to shew that his only Aim was to aid his Imperial Majesty he sent the
Original of these Troubles that have caus'd the Effusion of so much Blood for Twenty years together and the Calling in of the Ottoman Assistance at the last Extremity and has been the only Occasion of so many Calamities and Miseries which the greatest Part of Germany still bewails At what time the Emperor had laid his Design to reduce the Hungarian Male-Contents after the Discovery of the Conspiracy already mention'd he sent an Army into that Kingdom which committed therein an infinite number of Hostilities On the other side the Hungarians who had had no hand in the Conspiracy seeing the Troubles were wholly appeas'd upon Prince Ragotski's laying down his Arms believ'd that the Emperor would have drawn off his Forces that ruin'd all before 'em but their Expectations were no way satisfied Thereupon they made their Complaints that the Innocent were envelop'd among the Guilty and that the Germans never considering they were not in an Enemies Country yet committed the same Disorders they had done some Months before but the Emperor would not listen to any Complaints On the other side General Spork being reinforc'd with a considerable Body sent him from Bohemia entred into the very Heart of the Country his Infantry being Commanded by the Marquis of Baden and the Cavalry by Prince Charles Upon this the Hungarians who never expected to see an Army where no no Enemy made any Opposition were in such a Consternation that they resolv'd to Arm themselves against the Emperor and this they did accordingly in all Parts where they thought themselves to be strong enough But in regard the Imperial Army was very numerous the Male-Contents were hard put to it General Spork immediately seiz'd upon all the Passes to prevent their flight into Foreign Countries and advancing to the Principal Places with fifteen Regiments to furnish them with Garisons he no sooner appear'd before those Places but they set open their Gates to him so that there was only Muran that made any Resistance But the Prince of Lorrain coming before it with a considerable Detachement of Horse and Foot and having presently possessed himself of a Hill which commanded the Town he intrench'd himself and summon'd the Countess of Wesselini who was Mistress of the Place to Surrender threatning to give no Quarter if he took it by Storm The Countess who was within the Town that a sufficient Number of Male-Contents who had betaken themselves thither for Refuge made a shew at first of holding out But at length considering that her resistance would be in vain since the Prince was Master of a Post so Advantageous she resolv'd to Capitulate So that all the strong Holds being fill'd with Garisons General Spork and the Prince of Lorrain return'd to Vienna to give an Accompt to the Emperor of their Expedition In the Year 1672. the King of France Declar'd War against the Low-Countries and within one Month made himself Master of Two and thirty Towns that were all Places of good Defence For those Provinces at that time were divided into two or three Factions and in regard that France who made the best Advantage of every thing fomented those Divisions underhand it was no such extraordinary thing to make such considerable Conquests in so short a time besides that there was a great suspition that Treachery assisted his Successes However it were the French Army no sooner appear'd before a Place but they found the Gates open or at least it was not long before they were open'd So that the French who were in that Campagne were wont to say That they rather travell'd through those Cities than besieg'd 'em and that if they had not met with some Resistance at Nimeghen they should not have known they had been at War The King also who was present at all these safe Exploits had a particular Eye upon Amsterdam and he miss'd but little of his Design But the Inhabitants letting loose their Sluces rather chose to seek their safety in a Deluge of Water that environ'd 'em and to suffer all manner of Hardships than to lose their Liberty which disappointed the Measures of France Now in regard the Country lay under Water the King finding it impossible for him to advance his Conquests any farther return'd to Paris leaving his Armies under the Conduct of Marshal Turenne At the same time also the Elector of Brandenburgh alarum'd by these Victories of the French and seeing that the King had got Possession of Wesel and some other Towns that belong'd to him in particular resolv'd to take the Field and stop so rapid a Progress as also to oppose the Designs of the Elector of Cologne and Bishop of Munster who had both likewise Declar'd against Holland Nevertheless because he found himself not strong enough to drive the French out of his Dominions had they attempted to enter for there was all the Probability in the World that they had such a Design he had so sucessfully manag'd a Negotiation at the Court of Vienna that he had perswaded the Emperor to joyn him with a Body of Fifteen thousand Men under the command of Montecuculi So that the Elector found himself toward the beginning of October in a condition to Encamp above Mayence between the Mein and the Rhine with an Army of Thirty thousand Men. At the same time the Duke of Lorrain joyn'd the Elector with some Regiments which he had still in Burgundy and Prince Charles who had refus'd some Propositions which the King of France had made him as not being for his Advantage serv'd in the same Army as General of the Horse But the Prince met with no opportunity to signalize himself for besides that Montecuculi had his Reasons why he would not venture his Army and for that he had to do with Marshal Turenne the Prince de Lokowitz having delay'd the Execution of the Emperor's Orders both this and the following Campagne pass'd over without any considerable Action which occasion'd the Fall of that Minister Toward the end of the Year 1673. the King of Poland who had Married the Emperor's Sister the Princess Eleanora-Maria died Now in regard the Emperor had some thoughts of Marrying Prince Charles to that Princess could he have obtain'd the Crown of Poland resolv'd to make up this Match upon the decease of King Michael in regard that now the Prince had new hopes that he might ascend the Throne of that Kingdom For there was great Probability that if he Married the Queen of Poland the Polanders would sooner Elect him to be their King than any other Foreign Prince for that besides the Sollicitation of the Emperor which could not but be of very great weight as Affairs then stood the Grandees of Poland had all along testify'd a very great Respect and Esteem for the Queen They who aspired to that Crown at that time were the Prince of Lorrain the Prince of Muscovie the Prince of Condé the Duke of York Prince George of Denmark the Prince of Orange the Elector of Brandenburgh
the Prince of Vaudemont and the Eldest Son of the Duke of Neuburgh who had likewise a design to Marry the Queen Toward the beginning of May 1674. The Grandees of Poland who were concern'd in the Election of the King met at Warsaw the Place where usually the Kings are Elected There among the rest arriv'd the Grand Marshal Sobieski first of all with a considerable number of Soldiers that were quarter'd in the Villages round about none but his own Regiment being suffer'd to accompany him into the City when he made his Entry Which after he had once made the Ambassadors of Foreign Princes had their several Audiences The Pope's Nuncio who was introduc'd first of all made his Harangue in Latin and recommended to the Electors the Choice of a Catholick King The Emperor's Ambassador had his Audience the next day who desir'd the same thing but withal desir'd the Electors to cast their Eyes upon a Prince who was devoted to the Interests of the House of Austria and to favour the Desires of the Queen The Bishop of Marseilles who was but newly arriv'd had a most magnificent Audience That Prelate who was a Person full of witty Craft and dextrous Insinuation was sent by the King of France with large Sums of Money to corrupt the Great Men of the Kingdom or to offer Assistance to Poland then at War with the Turks He made an Eloquent Speech wherein after he had recommended to the Assembly the Election of a King that would be no Enemy to France he told them plainly without any Circumlocutions that the Prince of Lorrain was not fit for the Government of a Kingdom The Ambassadors of the Duke of Neuburgh the Prince of Lorrain and the rest of the Princes Competitors for that Crown had every one their Audience in their Turns and forgot nothing to incline the Ballance in favour of their Masters However all People thought that the Prince of Lorrain would have carried it from all the rest of the Competitors and the Prince too thought himself so sure of it that he went and lay near the Frontiers of the Kingdom to give the greater Courage to those that were of his Party In short there was all the likelihood imaginable that he would have been preferr'd in that Election For besides that the Lithuanians had already declar'd in his Favour he was supported by the Emperor and the Queen who had a very considerable Party in the Kingdom But the Bishop of Marseilles who presently saw which way the Byass of Affairs ran and fear'd nothing more than the Election of Prince Charles labour'd might and main to hinder him and put the Duke of Neuburgh into Nomination to which purpose he had already won the Bishop of Cracovia who presided in the Assembly instead of the Primate of Poland who was then Sick And in regard that the Bishop of Cracovia had given the Nobility of the Kingdom to understand that it was far more for their Advantage to be protected by the King of France than by the Emperor by reason of the vast Sums of Money which was flung among 'em with a lavish Profusion he had shak'n 'em already in favour of Neuburgh And indeed the Polanders were the rather inclin'd to hearken to the Bishop in regard they were somewhat angry with his Imperial Majesty for having preserr'd the Protection of the Hollanders before Theirs notwithstanding their strict Alliance by the Marriage of the Queen his Sister with the King deceas'd Nevertheless the Lithuanians in respect to the Queen's Interests persisted still to choose Prince Charles while the Polanders were divided between the Prince of Neuburgh and a Prince of their own Country Upon which the Bishop of Marseilles endeavour'd to make the best of this Division And seeing 't was impossible to make them choose the Prince of Neuburgh he insinuated into the Polanders on purpose to put by Prince Charles from the Crown that they ought to exclude all the Forraign Princes and that they could not do better than to cast their Eyes upon the Grand Mareschal Sobieski who had so gloriously signaliz'd himself at the Battel of Choczin where the Turks had lost above Fourteen Thousand Men with all their Artillery and Baggage Thus above Fifteen Days were spent in Contests when at length they resolv'd to determine this great Affair Nevertheless being willing to understand the Queens Sentiments before they came to a Conclusion they sent certain Bishops to know her final Inclinations To which the Queen made Answer That she was under the Protection of the States of the Kingdom upon whom she wholly rely'd And that as for what concern'd the Election of a new King she hop'd that she should not be forsaken by her Friends protesting withal that she desir'd no other King nor no other Husband than the Prince of Lorrain whom the Emperor had design'd her And when they desired to know the last Resolution of the Lithuanians they presently reply'd That since the Crown was only demanded by the Ambassadors for the Princes of Lorrain and Neuburgh the rest were none of 'em to be thought of and therefore they had fix'd their Resolutions upon the Prince of Lorrain adding withall that they would leave the Assembly if their choice were deny'd This Answer being carry'd to the Grand Mareschal and the French Ambassador did not a little alarum the latter But the Grand Mareschal was so far from being concern'd that with a Smiling Countenance he told some of the Lords that were with him That if the Lithuanians left the Assembly the Polanders would take Possession of it Now in regard that the Grand Mareschal was well assur'd that they would exclude the Foreign Princes and that the Affair would be determin'd in his Favour he repair'd himself to the Assembly where he was no sooner come but the Vaivod Ruski propos'd him without so much as taking notice of any other of the Competitors and that Proposal being agreed to by almost all the Vaivods he was Proclaim'd King the next day being the 20th of May 1674. Sobieski was no sooner Elected but the Queen sent the Prince Intelligence of it She let him know how extreamly it griev'd her that she had mist in procuring his Election that if he had not a Crown it was none of her Fault that it was sufficient he was Worthy of one that she lookt upon her self no less Unfortunate in his loss than he could be And that she hop'd that one day a more happy Destiny would befall both the one and the other The Prince made Answer to the Person that deliver'd the Message That he was really Unfortunate in regard that being disappointed of a Crown he saw himself depriv'd of his more pleasing Expectations That if he desir'd to be advanc'd to the Throne of Poland 't was only that he might by that means aspire to a Happiness which he preferr'd before all the Empires of the World Nevertheless that he had this to lessen his Despair that she had been
the Marquis de Vaubrune had taken upon them the Command of the Army being inform'd that Wildstadt was retaken and that the Imperialists pursu'd with a design to Fight him drew up the Army to the best Advantage he could and presently there began a most terrible Conflict which lasted from Eleven a Clock in the Forenoon till Seven in the Evening to the advantage of the Imperialists For though the loss was great on both sides Count de Lorges was constrain'd to give Ground All Men however agree that he made his Retreat like an experienc'd Captain and that he did as much at such a pinch as Turenne himself could have done For Montecuculi try'd all ways to have engag'd him a second time But seeing that it was in vain to continue the pursuit by reason of the advantageous Posts where the Count entrench'd himself he sate down before Hagunau but was constrain'd in some few days after to raise the Siege to meet the Prince of Condé who Commanded the French Army and was got as far as Strasburgh At this Siege it was that the Prince of Lorrain was wounded with a Musquet Shot but so favourably that it did him little or no harm Soon after Turenne was Slain the Duke of Lorrain his Uncle died upon the 20th of September A Prince who in his Life time had undergone many Severities of adverse Fortune and who after he had been in several dangerous Battels died in a small Village near Coblentz in the Seventy Second year of his Age. He was not so happy as to see himself restor'd to his Dominions Nevertheless it may be said that he died accompanied with Fame and Honour to his Grave For he expir'd soon after the defeat of Marshal Crequi in a remarkable Battel and after the taking of Treves where Marshal Crequi was made a Prisoner of War after he had obstinately refus'd to Surrender the place which it was so impossible for him to keep that most of the Officers were forc'd to tell him That they did not intend to loose their own Lives to recover the Honour he had lost at the Battel of Taverne and so made the Capitulation themselves without him THE LIFE OF Charles V. DUKE of Lorrain and Bar And Generalissimo of all the Imperial Forces THE THIRD BOOK SO soon as the Prince of Condé was arriv'd near Strasburgh with his Army Montecuculi march'd the Imperialists on the same side so that both Generals were almost in view of each other Never was the Prince of Lorrain so serviceable to the Imperial Army as at that time For besides that they were oblig'd to send out Detachements every Hour Montecuculi was resolv'd to give the Prince of Condé Battel so soon as he found a favourable opportunity Nevertheless as necessary as he was in Alsatia he no sooner understood the Death of his Uncle by an Officer which the Prince of Vaudemont sent to him but he repair'd in all haâ—t to the small City of Kymen seated in Honsrâ—â—k at the request of the said Prince who came thither the Night before his Father Died and Commanded the Lorrainers in his Fathers stead Now in regard these two Princes liv'd in perfect Amity together and that they were assisted by the Marquis of Grana who was a Friend to both they so order'd their particular Affairs that both were highly Satisfi'd After which Prince Charles took his leave and carried the Lorrainers along with him into the Emperors Service Prince Charles whom for the future I am to call Charles V. or the Duke of Lorrain receiv'd from all parts the Compliments of Condolement and Congratulation there being no Prince or State in Europe that did not acknowledge him for the Successor to Charles IV. and who did not Respect him as a Sovereign and a Brother except the King of France who usurp'd his Dukedoms However all People flatter'd themselves that the King would be so far from refusing him hâ—s Titles that he would restore to him his Territories In a word Madam de Guise having begg'd leave to write to the new Duke of Lorrain and desiring withall to know what Title she should give him the King made Answer That as for her she might give him what Titles she thought fitting Which presently made many presume that he had an Inclination to reinvest him in his Dutchies So much the rather because that when the Count of Windisgratz in the Emperors Name Sollicited at Paris the Restoration of Charles IV. the King told him several times That he had never seiz'd upon the Dukes Territories but because he could put no Confidence in him but when they came to Descend to a Prince that would be more Faithful to him he should never make any scruple to restore them to him But the King was far from any such Intention and the first Mark that he gave of it was that he would not Mourn for the Duke of Lorrrin but in Black as looking upon him to be no other than a Subject of his Crown and not as a Sovereign Prince for then he would have put on Purple according to the Custom of the Kings of France But that was not all It was about two years before that the King of Sweden offer'd his Mediation of a Peace between the Empire the Low Countries and France The City of Coblentz was also accepted for the place of Conference and the Plenipotentiaries were already met and the Emperor seem'd overjoy'd at the King of Sweden's Mediation But afterwards coming to consider that he had Sign'd with Holland Spain and the best part of the Circles of the Empire more especially with the Protestants this gave him so much hope of Re-establishing the House of Austria that unwilling to loose so favourable an opportunity he made an Attempt that seem'd in some Measure to be against the Law of Nations on purpose to break off the Mediation and put the King of France out of all hopes of any Reconciliation unless he resolv'd to make a Restitution of all that he had Conquer'd from Spain Germany and Lorrain The Attempt was to seize upon * Of whom mention has been already made in this History under the Name of the Count of Furstenberg This Family derives its Name from a City of Germany in Suabia and they that are of this Family are Princes of the Empire Prince William of Furstenburgh the Elector of Cologne's Plenipotentiary And this was Executed in Cologne it self in the view of all the rest of the Plenipotentiaries by the Orders of the Marquis of Grana Governor of Bon who after that caus'd some Wagons of the Ambassadors of France wherein were Fifty Thousand Crowns to be seiz'd and brought away from the same City Upon which the Plenipotentiaries of the rest of the Princes not thinking themselves safe in Cologne after two such Actions as these oblig'd the Magistrate to go and Demand Satisfaction of the Marquis who had already secured Prince William in his Garison But all the Magistrate could say was
to no purpose For the Marquis made Answer That having done nothing but by the Emperors Order which he produc'd in Writing he could neither set the Prince at Liberty nor restore the Money without a new Order from his Imperial Majesty This so enrag'd the King of France that he Commanded his Ambassadors to tell those from the King of Sweden that they had Order to return and that he was resolv'd to be Reveng'd by force of Arms for the Injury done to himself and the Elector of Cologne's Plenipotentiary Thus the French Ambassadors departed and then it was to no purpose for the rest to stay any longer But the Advantage which the King of France got by this Rupture was this that having over-perswaded the King of Sweden that the Confederates had no value for him That in scorn of his Mediation they had seiz'd upon Prince William and refus'd to release him at his Request and that it was himself indeed that had received the Affront by these Artifices he engag'd him to his Interest This Violence upon the Person of Prince William and the Injury which the King of France had receiv'd in particular made all men believe that there would be no Peace in hast in Europe and that the King of France would never consent to renew the Negotiation Nevertheless at the Request of the King of England whose Mediation was generally approv'd of by all the Princes that were interested in that War since the Swedes had declar'd for France and at the earnest Sollicitation of the Bishop of Strasburgh who openly declar'd that he preferr'd the Advantages of Peace before the Liberty of the Prince his Brother the King was prevail'd upon to let the Reasons of his Honour give way to those of his Interest And having accepted Nimeghen for the Place of Treaty he sent thither for his Plenipotentiaries the D. of Vitry M. Colbert and the Count d' Avaux Now in regard there was a Necessity for granting Passports on both sides for the Ambassadors of the Princes concern'd all Germany being up in Arms and the King of France also granted a Passport for the Duke of Lorrain's Plenipotentiaries wherein he call'd him Cousin and barely Prince of Lorrain Upon which the Duke refus'd the Passport and complain'd to the King of England That the King of France had not given him his Titles of Brother and Duke of Lorrain The King of England to remove this Obstacle propos'd to the Confederates that he might grant all the Passports himself and to facilitate the Success of this Expedient he wrote to the Emperor and caus'd a Memorial to be Presented to the States General wherein he set forth the Reasons which had oblig'd him to propound this Expedient as he had done in his Letter to the Emperor But his Imperial Majesty made Answer that the Proposal could not be accepted that things were to be done in due form and that the King of France could not alter the usual Style of Passports but must give to every one the Titles that belong'd to ' em The States General went higher for they spoke out in plain terms and which also serv'd for an Answer to the King of England that the Confederates and themselves were very much surpriz'd that the King of France should not give Prince Charles the Title of Duke of Lorrain considering that the Treaty in the Year 1662 by which he was lawfully possessed of the Dutchies of Lorrain and Bar could not be lookt upon but as null and void as being in the first place concluded with a Prince who had no Right or Power besides that in the second place it was notoriously known that the King had never perform'd that Treaty nor the Clause which Charles IV. inserted which was one of the Principal Things contain'd in it They added That the King of France had made no mention of the Treaty 1662. in that of 1663. And that having after the Death of Charles IV. granted Permission to those of his House to give him the Title of Duke of Lorrain their Wonder was so much the more that he should refuse the same Title to the new Duke and by that means put a stop to a Peace which all Europe so vehemently thirsted after The King answer'd all these Objections But in regard it was his Interest that the Peace should be concluded after he had declar'd that the Titles either given or omitted could do him no Prejudice he caus'd another Passport to be drawn wherein he gave the New Duke the Title of Brother and Duke of Lorrain Upon which the Duke wrote the following Letter to the States General High and Potent Lords THe Constancy which your High and Mightinesses have shown in the Support of my Interest till this very time in Pursuance of the Alliance into which you have done me the Honour to admit me having constrain'd the King of France to allow me those Titles which God and Nature has given me I find my self oblig'd to testifie to your High and Mightinesses my Joy and my Acknowledgment not only in regard of my particular Interests but much more by reason of the Satisfaction your Highnesses receive when they find their Designs successful Nevertheless as all your Cares have been of my Interests I desire you to believe that I shall acknowledge them to the utmost of my Power as long as I live and that if at present any Opportunity should present it self to give you Proofs of my sincerity I should be passionately desirous to lay hold of it This the sincere Protestation of c. Charles Lorrain The French Army that lay in Alsatia was to be commanded this Year 1676. by the Duke of Luxemburgh whom the King had preferr'd before the Prince of Condé by means of the Intreagues of Monsieur de Louvois who was no Friend to the Prince and the Imperial Army was to be commanded by the Duke of Lorrain For Montecuculi having got leave to retire to Vienna had resign'd his Command by Order of the Emperor Toward the beginning of the Campagne therefore the Duke of Luxemburgh departed from Schelestadt at the Head of near Fifty thousand Men and after seven or eight days March Encamp'd his Army upon fresh Intelligence that the Duke of Lorrain was coming against him with an Army not much inferiour in number to his and that he was just upon passing the Saar He could not believe at first that the Duke had any design to fight him For in regard he was rather perswaded that the Duke would Besiege Philipsburgh which had been block'd up for some time he could not imagine he would venture a Battel But being confirm'd by some Prisoners that the Imperial Army continu'd their March he advanced himself with a numerous Detachement and gave Orders for the rest of the Army to follow him The Duke had already seiz'd upon a Rising Ground from whence he poured his small Shot upon the Enemy So that the Guard which Luxemburgh had caus'd to pass beyond
be every where However in regard that People make their Judgments of things by the Success the Duke of Lorrain was blam'd for leaving the Field so soon and not foreseeing the Siege But those that judg'd more discreetly of the Affair were of opinion that it was only a piece of ill Luck that attended the Duke and that though he had foreseen Crequi's Design yet he could not foresee that such a strong Hold as Friburgh should Surrender within a Week That he was not to omit the giving rest to his Army for that since he might have come soon enough to relieve the Place had he been farther off than he was would the Governor but have ventur'd the utmost Extremities of a Siege rather than have Surrender'd almost before any harm was done him But the French pufft up with this Success would not stop here but away they march'd to Walkrick which together with some other Castles in the Neighborhood they lay'd level with the Ground and finding that was all they could do they repassed the Rhine and betook themselves to their Winter Quarters During these Transactions in Germany the Negotiations for Peace went on though very slowly at Nimeghen For the Mediators were along time before they could regulate the Ceremonies and manage the Concerns of every Prince besides that the Ambassadors of the Princes interested were not so punctual in meeting at the Place appointed as the French Ambassadors were The President-Canon and the Baron of Serinchamp who were the Duke of Lorrain's Plenipotentiaries did not arrive till toward the beginning of May 1677. And his Interests as being a Prince whose Territories were unjustly usurp'd by the French gave the Mediators a great deal of Trouble For the King of France's Ambassadors refus'd to admit those two Ministers pretending that they were not to hearken to their Proposals nor Demands That the Bishop of Strasburgh's Agent was not formerly admitted to determine the Business touching Prince William of Furstenbergh his Brother which the Imperialists oppos'd alledging that the Duke of Lorrain was a Soveraign Prince whereas the Bishop of Strasburgh was no more than one of the Emperor's Subjects whose Differences and Suits could no where be determin'd but within the Empire and before Judges that had the proper Cognizance of them And then another thing was that the French Ambassadors would not acknowledge the Duke of Lorrain's Ministers to be Ambassadors The President-Canon discoursed a long time in Private Conferences to prove that they had a Right to be acknowledg'd under that Character But in regard it all signify'd nothing upon the 16th of May he presented a Remonstrance to the Mediators wherein he so substantially set forth the Interests of the Duke his Master that the French Ambassadors were at a loss what Answer to make He set forth after he had laid open all the petty Litigious Niceties of the French more especially in the business of Passports that when they knew not how to avoid giving the Duke the Titles of Duke and Brother yet they had bethought themselves of refusing the Character of Ambassadors to his Ministers and that in the mean time when they could not but agree that it was the Right of Soveraigns which was never deny'd them yet to elude the Matter and spin out the Brabble they persisted in a Nicety of their own framing that it behov'd the Duke of Lorrain to prove that his Predecessors ever sent any Ministers to the Courts of Foreign Princes under that Character He confess'd that such a proof indeed would be a means to shorten the decision of the Controversie but that the French had carried away all the Papers and Records belonging to the Dutchy and partly sold them to the Grocers of Mets and Nanci and partly given 'em among the Soldiers to kindle their Fires in the Corps du Guard which although they could not produce for those Reasons yet there were other sufficient Proofs why that Right should not be deny'd them In short the President alledg'd the Treaty made in a full Dyet of the Empire at Norembergh August 26. 1642. between Charles V. and Ferdinand King of the Romans on the one part and Anthony Duke of Lorrain on the other who had there four Ministers under the Character of Ambassadors He farther shew'd that the same Title was given to others that were present at the Contract of Marriage between Duke Francis the Son of Anthony and Margaret of Austria Charles the Fifth's Sister And to omit nothing to prove that the Duke of Lorrain had a Right to send Ambassadors he cited several Alliances of the Dukes of that Family among which there were no less than four Marriages with the Emperor's Daughters besides that of Duke Francis the Son of Antonie All this manifestly prov'd the Duke of Lorrain's Right to send Ambassadors to Nimeghen as well as the French But in regard the French would not submit to these Reasons and for that the Duke who was unwilling to obstruct the Peace thought it better to pass by the Nicety of the word Ambassador as long as they were allow'd the Title of Plenipotentiaries more especially since the Emperor the King of Spain and the States General gave them the Character of Ambassadors the President insisted no farther upon that Dispute So that now the Chief things of which that Minister complain'd of in his Memorial were the Delays of the French Ambassadors who had not vouchsafed to give any Answer to the Propositions and Demands of the Duke of Lorrain though it had been six Months since they were presented He added that the French Ambassadors refused to Answer in regard the Duke had no Ministers at Nimeghen and afterwards they deny'd to do the same thing because they were come thither He complain'd of the little Inclination which he found in France to restore the Dutchies of Lorrain and Bar though she knew well enough that without that Condition the Peace could never be concluded And after he had set forth in a most Pathetical and insinuating manner that the Duke of Lorrain demanded nothing but his Patrimony and the Inheritance of his Ancestors which Six and fifty Dukes from whom he had the Honour to be descended had possess'd he earnestly desir'd that they would press the French Ambassadors for an Answer and in the mean time prepare themselves to do the Duke his Master Justice But notwithstanding all the Importunity of the Mediators it was above Nine or Ten Months before the President could get a positive Answer But at length the King himself having drawn up the draught of a Peace which he sent to his Ambassadors and which was deliver'd the 15th of April 1678. to the Ambassadors and Ministers of the Confederates by the English Mediators the Duke of Lorrain's Plenipotentiaries after they had read what concern'd the rest of the Princes interested found the King of France's Declaration That to give the most undoubted Testimony imaginable of his Desires of Peace what Reasons soever he might
have to keep the Possession yet he was willing to restore it to the Duke of Lorrain under one of the two Alternatives which he left to his Choice The first was to resettle him according to the Articles of the Pyrenean Treaty without any Alteration at all The second was to restore him generally to all his Territories except the City of Nanci which should remain to him in Soveraignty and the High Road according to the Treaty 1661. to pass through his Frontiers into Alsatia as also such other Roads as should be necessary to pass from France to Nanci and from Nanci to Mets Brisac and Franche Contè upon condition nevertheless that for the loss of Nanci he would give him Thaoul The King demanded also in the same Draught that Lonwick and the Provostship belonging to it should be deliver'd up to him but with this offer to recompence the Duke with another Provostship of equal Value in the three Bishopricks And as for Marsal in regard that Town was now no more a Part of Lorrain it was not to be mention'd in the Articles of Restitution The King when he sent this Draught had declar'd withal to his Ambassadors that he would not be oblig'd to stand to the Conditions upon which he offer'd Peace beyond the 10th of May and therefore the Princes with whom he was at War were to determine what they would do by that time at the farthest The Ambassadors of the Confederates cry'd out against this and said it was impossible that an Affair of that Importance as the Conclusion of a Peace could be determin'd in so short a time But at length it was found that Spain and Holland after some little Negotiations of the French Ambassadors were enclin'd to accept a Peace upon the Conditions offer'd by France Which made the Imperialists and the Ministers of the Northern Princes exclaim against the Hollanders and Spaniards declaring openly that the King of France would delude 'em and that the Peace which he made with 'em was only to bring 'em under a greater Subjection The other Ministers were indifferent but the President-Canon utterly rejected the Conditions propos'd by the King And enlarging upon the Severity of the Alternatives he set forth That the first swallow'd up all his Country by dismembring the Half of his Territories And the other by taking from him his Capital City and the Soveraignty of the four Roads which the King demanded deny'd him the Commerce of one part of his Territories with the other Concluding with a Protestation That if the Faith of Three Treaties made with the Confederates signified nothing toward his Master's Restoration he would renounce his Country and rather willingly Banish himself than return to it upon such hard Conditions After the Death of King Michael the Emperor as already has been intimated had a design to Marry the Queen of Poland his Sister to the Duke of Lorrain The Princess also had declar'd in favour of him when the Election of the new King was in dispute and had positively said that she look'd upon the Prince as her Husband And the Duke of Lorrain though indifferent at the beginning was become so inamour'd of her that the only trouble which he felt for the loss of the Crown of Poland was for her sake believing the loss of that would also defeat him of her Person However notwithstanding all the Prince's Misfortunes and his being despoil'd of his Territories neither the Emperor nor the Queen of Poland alter'd their Sentiments so that upon his departure from Vienna for Flanders the Emperor did in a manner positively promise him that it should be none of his fault if they were not more nearly Ally'd and on the other side he receiv'd from the Queen so many Marks of Affection and Esteem that he could not but depend upon ' em However though it were a Match almost made yet four or five years were already spun out before the Emperor ever spoke of concluding it His design was first to have seen the Prince re-settled in his Throne Which according to all outward appearance could be no long time the Negotiations for Peace still continuing at Nimeguen and the most part of the Princes of the Empire being inclin'd to accept it But the Negotiations going on but very slowly and he having long delay'd to recompence the good Services done him by the Duke at length toward the end of the Campagne he dispatch'd a Courier to him with Orders to return to Vienna and conclude the Marriage This News was so pleasing to the Duke that he could not contain his Joy So that after he had read the Emperor's Letter with a smiling Countenance he told the Messenger that his sorrow was in some measure atton'd for the loss of Friburgh and that the Honour which his Imperial Majesty had done him was so certain a good Omen that his bad Fortune began to forsake him that he doubted not but so soon as he took the Field to make himself Master of it again and cause Marshal Crequi to remember the Valour of the Dukes of Lorrain But as the greatest Joys are those which are most frequently intermix'd with the sharpest Pangs of Trouble and Vexation there befell him an Accident at Philipsburgh that had like to have put an end together with his Life to all his Hopes and Designs For as he was going over a Bridge that belong'd to that place one of the Planks not being well fasten'd unluckily gave way so that he fell to the bottom of the Moat But though the danger were very great yet he came off with only a Bruise upon his Shin that did not a little trouble him for some time People discours'd of this Fall variously in the World For some look'd upon it as an Accident unforeseen but some affirm'd it was a Trap laid for him by the * See a Letter-Book Entitled The Emperor the Empire betray'd by whom how Governor of the Town with a design to have sacrific'd him by an untimely end to France In short the Governor was Arrested and carried to Vienna but he could not be convicted by all the Inquisitions that were made However it were the Duke was no sooner in a Condition to undertake a Journey but he departed leaving Prince Herman of Baden to Command the Imperial Army of which the greatest part was quarter'd about Offenburgh and the rest dispers'd into other Winter-Quarters Now in regard his Fall had very much disorder'd him he could not travel far in a day so that with all the haste he could make he could not arrive at Baden between Vienna and Newstadt till the 4th of February There he rested for some days to take the benefit of the Baths and was also met by the Marquis de Grana the Count of Bauquoi and several other Noblemen to accompany him to Newstadt where the Emperor then kept his Court. The last days Journey he was met half way by the Emperor 's Grand Squire accompanied by Count
of Vienna After this the Duke of Lorrain perceiving the Success of the Emperor's Arms resolved to Besiege Gran before he put an end to the Campaign to which the King of Poland also agreed And all things being prepared for that Enterprize they began to cross the Danaw over Bridges which were laid for that purpose When that Resolution was taken all the Grand Visier's Army lay encamped about Buda not any of the Enemies Forces appearing near Gran. But then the Turks apprehensive by the March of the Christians that they were going to Besiege that Town sent some Detachements to relieve it in case of Necessity which together with the Report that the Ottoman Army was above Fourscore Thousand strong made the King of Poland resolve to quit his Design of the Siege which was a very great Affliction to the Duke For though he thought himself strong enough alone with the Emperor's Forces and those of the Confederates under his Command to reduce that Place in a short time yet he was willing to Caress the King of Poland's Assistance For in short besides that it would have been a too Scornful opposing the Advice of a Prince to whom the Emperor was so many ways obliged the Turks and Male-Contents could not but have made a great Advantage of such a Separation of the two Armies In this Confusion of Thoughts there was no Stone which the Duke left unturn'd to regain the K. of Poland those of his Council to the Approbation of his Design Wherein at first he met with some Difficulties but he manag'd his Business so Prudently and alledged such convincing Reasons that at length the King consented to concur with him in his Desires Now in regard it was a Matter of the highest Importance imaginable not to lose time because the Season was already far advanc'd and for that besides there was a necessity of taking the Advantage of the King of Poland's kind Inclinations while he was in the Humour the Duke of Lorrain caus'd his Forces to advance forthwith and order'd them in the first place to possess themselves of three Posts from whence they might batter the Castle The Polish Army lodg'd it self on the other side and both Armies raised their own Batteries by which means within two days after the Siege was laid they press'd with so much Vigor and so close upon the Enemies that they were constrain'd to quit the City and shut themselves up in the Castle which Capitulated three days after though the * Gran was Besieged the 22d of October 1683. and Surrendred upon Composition the 27th of the same Month five days after and fifteen or sixteen days after the taking of Barcam Garison consisted of above Three Thousand Men under the Command of two Bassa's This Famous Expedition being thus at an end and the Armies too much tired to think of any other considerable Action the Duke of Lorrain repassed the Danaw and both Armies set forward to take up their Winter Quarters After the taking of Barcam the Count d'Humanai and some other Chieftains of the Male-Contents had been sent to the King of Poland by Count Teckeley to desire him to Mediate their Peace with his Imperial Majesty upon certain Propositions that were at first rejected But the King of Poland who passionately long'd for an Accommodation with Teckeley desired the Duke of Lorrain to call a Council to Consult upon the Interests of the Male-Contents before the Separation of the Armies Which the Duke excused at first alleadging That he had no Order from his Imperial Majesty to treat with Rebels But the King of Poland's Importunities were such that a Council was call'd wherein the Vice-Chancellor of Poland after a long Discourse of the Great Advantages which Peace procures to a Prince set forth the Pretentions of the Male-Contents which he reduced to these Heads I. The Preservation of the Privileges of the Kingdom and especially of their Religion II. The Restitution of Confiscated Estates III. The Summoning of a Dyet IV. To grant them Winter Quarters and a Truce during the Negotiation V. To Declare Count Teckeley to be a Prince VI. To grant him those Counties which formerly he was put in hopes should be resign'd to him But the Duke of Lorrain returning answer That it behoved the Male Contents to quit the Turks and lay down their Arms before they could be heard the Council proceeded no farther And now it being necessary to think of the Preparations for the next years Campagne the Duke left the Command of the Army to the Count de Rabata and departed for Lints where the Emperor then kept his Court and arrived there the 3d of December As for the King of Poland he had design'd to spend the Winter in the Quarters which he had made choice of nevertheless he chang'd his Mind and returned with his Army into his own Dominions which was no small Trouble to the Emperor But the Duke of Lorrain giving him great Hopes that he should be able to reduce Hungary without the Assistance of his Majesty of Poland and those other Confederates that were already gone home he put his Confidence in the Duke who in the midst of the Divertisements of the Court and the Caresses of the Queen of Poland his beloved Spouse neglected no time but took care for all things that might contribute to his being early in the Field the next Campagne and enable him to strike new Terrors into the Armies of the Turks and Male-Contents The raising the Siege of Vienna the taking of Barcam and Gran the reducing of several of the Free Towns of Upper Hungary of which the King of Poland had made himself Master in his March and several other Victories which the Christians had won so strongly allarum'd the Grand Seignior that during the Winter he made extraordinary Preparations to endeavour the repairing of so many Losses which he had sustain'd And in regard the ill Success of his Arms in Hungary was attributed unanimously to the ill Conduct of Cara-Mustapha that was the Name of the Grand Visier the first thing he did was to Strangle that Minister and to set up another in his room to Command the Armies In short the time being come to take the Field Cara Ibrahim who succeeded the former having received the Batoon of Command departed from Adrianople June the 16th 1684. and went to joyn the Ottoman Army Now if this same New Visier made use of all his Abilities to defend himself the best he could the Duke of Lorrain was no less indefatigable to put himself into a Condition to assail him and make new Conquests He was already in Hungary where all his Forces were met at the General Rendezvous at the same time that the Grand-Visier arrived there He had also besieged and taken * This City was besieged the 15th of June 1684 capituluted two days after Vicegrade This City was formerly famous for being the Residence of the Kings of Hungary and the reducing of it
Officer only Laught at it believing that it was the Fish of April which the Peasant would have put upon him Nevertheless he gave the Count of Brassac Governor of the City an account of it some Hours after but yet without giving any credit to the Relation But the Count as he was Naturally Suspitious and Fearful was more diligent and therefore sent away to the Officer who had the Guard of the Duke and Dutchess to be inform'd of the Truth The Officer had no sooner receiv'd this Order but he went and knockt at their Chamber Door to know if they were up but a Valet de Chambre who was privy to the Secret beckon'd with his Hand thereby to signifie that he should not make a Noise for that they were as yet a Sleep This Officer had always treated them with great Respect and all the Civility imaginable and therefore being afraid to wake them would not order the Door to be open'd But the Count of Brassac upon his arrival compell'd the Valet de Chambre to do it And then he went himself and drew the Curtains of the Bed where finding the Birds flown he discharg'd his fury upon the Master of the House where they had withdrawn themselves the Evening before and upon the Dukes Domesticks which were found there whom he sent to Prison threatning withal to put them to the Torture if they would not discover the place of their Masters Concealment But though they were very severely handled yet there was no way to make the least discovery for the Duke had not only conceal'd it from his Domestick Servants but from the Gentleman of the House of whose service he made use what way he design'd to take not that he was distrustful of him but that he might safely Swear that he knew nothing of the matter They pursu'd every way after them but it prov'd ineffectual because of the extream diligence which had been us'd notwithstanding the delicacy and tenderness of the Dutchess for a Man mounted behind on Horseback held her always in his Arms for the greater Expedition and to keep her from falling At length they gain'd the County of Burgundy and arriv'd the same day at a Gentlemans Castle about Twenty Leagues distant from Nanci from whence the Princess who was quite tir'd out was not in a Condition to depart till three or four Days after The Reason why they rather determin'd to go to Burgundy than elsewhere was That they were in hopes to find the Duke of Lorrain at Besancon but being inform'd that he was gone into Germany they took the road for Florence and came to the Dutchess their Aunt Grand Mother to the great Duke of Tuscany then Reigning There they remain'd almost Three Years But the Air of that Country not agreeing with them the Reason as they thought why they could have no Childdren there they resolv'd to quit Italy and went to Vienna in Austria to the Empress Leonora another of their Aunts This Marriage of Duke Francis was such a blow that broke all the Measures of the King of France who being resolv'd whatever it cost him to make himself Master of Lorrain would have been glad to have gotten the Princess Claudia into his Alliance as I have already observ'd Nevertheless he would not desist from that design which he had been contriving for so long a time And therefore as he always made use of the old Pretence That the Duke of Lorrain had broken the Articles of Treaty which he had concluded with him soon after he return'd into the Principality of this Prince and takes the City of St. Michel and though that in the mean while an Army of Imperialists were oblig'd to post themselves near Mets these Troops of the Emperor as much Confederates as they were yet set their last helping Hand to the Ruin of Lorrain But that Which seems particularly Remarkable is this that during the time that this Country was the Theater of War and that unheard of Hostilities were exercised in it Charles the IV. seem'd not in the least to be concern'd but as if his Principality had enjoyed the most secure and Halcyon Tranquillity he fell in Love with the Princess of Cantecroix * This was Beatrix of Cusance Widow of Eugenius Leopold Prince of Cantecroix He Married her at Besancon in the Church of the Fryers Minime the Second of April 1637. whom at length he Espoused From this Match Descended Charles Henry Prince of Vaudemont so well known by his first Campagnes and by the Illustrious Rank which he holds at this day in the Army of the Allies and a Princess called the Princess Anne who was Married with the Prince of Lislebonne I could give an account of several remarkable Things concerning Charles the IV which I shall pass over in silence as likewise the History of his Marriage for besides that you may Read those Passages elsewhere they are not so material to my Subject I shall only acquaint you that after he had defeated in Alsatia Count Otho one of the most dreaded Generals of the Suedes and signaliz'd himself in Germany by many other Actions of Valour he withdrew himself into Flanders where the Spaniards who had War with France receiv'd him with much Joy and conferr'd on him divers Imployments during which time he also seized upon some small places of Lorrain But being cast a third time into the Hands of the King of France he Signed another Treaty which was no less disadvantageous than the former and this was the occasion of a new War wherein likewise he saw himself stript of all his Principality The Air of Vienna was more wholsome to the Princess Claudia than that of Florence and for an Accumulation of Happiness and Joy after various Troubles and a long Exile she grew big with Child and was brought to Bed in the year 1639. of Prince Ferdinand Philip Francis who after he had given infinite Proofs of his Bravery while he was cutting for the Stone died in the Operation the first day of April 1658. And four Years after the Third of the same Month of April 1643 was Born Charles the Fifth who was called Charles Leopold Nicholas Sixtus The same Year died Lewis the XIII and Cardinal Richelieu the greatest Enemies at that time to Charles the Fourth But neither did the Nativity of this Prince which seemed to be a happy Presage for the House of Lorrain nor the Death of the King of France and of his Minister who then might be said to Reign bring any considerable change to the Dukes Affairs though he had conceiv'd at first great hopes to be restored to his Territories He flatter'd himself that he might accommodate Things with the Queen the Mother of Lewis the XIV and there was some appearance for it For this Princess simpathizing in his Misfortunes by reason of that conformity which was between her destiny and his had always testified a great Affection for him notwithstanding he was so much imbroil'd with
taken that small Journey and therefore could not forbear to make it known to all the World Now though Prince Charles had so little Inclination to Marry Madamoiselle de Montpensier yet all the Court would not believe but that the Duke of Lorrain was the only cause of it and that the Aversion which his Nephew had to that Alliance was the Effect of his Contrivancces Neither did Madam de Cheureuse who conceal'd nothing from the Duke as being wholly devoted to his Interests dissemble it one day to him but told him 't was the general Report that was spread abroad She also declar'd that the Queen Mother seem'd to be convinc'd that he underhand made it his Business to cross the Conclusion of that Match and that notwithstanding all the Reasons she could alledge in his Justification she could not persuade her to the contrary Now in regard it was the Duke of Lorrain's Interest that the Queen Mother should be dispossest of those thoughts he revolv'd in his Mind a thousand Contrivances which way to undeceive her And at length having bethought himself of going with his Nephew to Visit Madam de Cheureuse where he had also appointed to meet Madamoiselle de Guise they were no sooner enter'd into Discourse but Madam de Cheureuse cunningly engag'd the Prince in the Story of Madamoiselle de Montpensier as it was laid before-hand And then it was that the Duke who knew Prince Charles's Aversion to that Princess believ'd that his Nephew would make no scruple to open his Mind before those Ladies who being Witnesses of what they heard themselves would be able to inform the Queen The Prince stood upon slippery Ground For besides that he had not foreseen the Ambuscado's that were laid for him Madam de Cheureuse who was the Lady of the Court that had the most Vivacity and Wit chang'd the Discourse with so much dexterity made use of so many windings and turnings utter'd things so pleasing and charg'd the young Prince so home on every side that 't was to be fear'd the subtle Lady would infallibly have compass'd her Ends. But the Duke perceiving the Snare kept himself so well upon the Reserve and so neatly dissembled his Reluctancy to Marry Mademoiselle de Montpensier though sometimes his Countenance betray'd his Expressions that Madam de Cheureuse was at a loss However she made a fresh Onset and told him with a Thousand pleasing Insinuations that she was perswaded he did but disguise his Thoughts and that his Lips betray'd his Heart But she could draw nothing from him but that he Passionately desir'd the Match might be concluded and that the Duke would always persevere in his Desires of procuring him so great an Advantage Withal he requested her to attone the Queen Mother in his Behalf that his Design might not miscarry and at the same time to wait upon Mademoiselle de Montpensier and make her sensible of the Falshood of what his Enemies had imprinted in her Mind that his Affections were never real toward her And now Prince Charles who saw full well from that time forward that Madam de Chevreuses design was to ruin him with the Queen Mother by causing her to withdraw that Kindness which till then she had for him at length believ'd there was no other way to avoid falling into Disgrace but to apply himself in good Earnest to Mademoiselle de Montpensier Thereupon he resolv'd at the same instant to try his utmost and he not only listen'd to the Counsels of his Friends by all the was imaginable to endeavour the appeasing of a Princess that took all occasions to manifest her just resentment of his past Behaviour but he follow'd those Counsels so punctually and made so many fair Steps to the Mark he aim'd at that Mademoiselle some days after began to find in her self that she was not so much incens'd as she thought she had been And indeed there was all the Probability in the World as the Prince began to follow his Business that all things would have gone well again But the Duke who had an eye upon all his Actions was not long before he perceiv'd his Intentions and in regard that according to the Conditions which himself had propos'd to Mademoiselle de Montpensier the Match could not but be altogether to the disadvantage of his Son the Prince of Vaudemont he left no Stone unturn'd to break it But in regard he wanted a plausible Pretence and that Mademoiselle had endeavour'd to inform herself concerning the Revenues of the Territories of Lorrain and Barr and of the Security which she was to expect in case the Duke should make a Resignation in favour of the Prince the Duke made as if he look'd upon this to be such an Affront that one day before a great Number of considerable Persons in the Palace of Orleance he declar'd aloud That since Mademoiselle de Montpensier was so scrupulous he would keep his Territories and never hear more of his Nephew's Marriage with her as long as he liv'd The Prince was then present when the Duke brake forth into this Passion and in regard it would have been no great trouble to him if there had been never any more mention of the Marriage provided there appear'd no Opposition in him and that he might still preserve the Queen Mothers favour he was no sooner gone out of the Palace but he hasten'd immediately to Madam de Choisi to let her know in what a Chafe he had left the Duke his Uncle Mademoiselle de Montpensier had such an Aversion for Madam de Choisi that she had often desir'd the Prince never to visit that Lady and the Prince had Promis'd to gratifie her in that particular And indeed although at that time he were very indifferent whether he displeas'd or no yet he was in some measure careful to make his Visit private But in regard that Mademoiselle had her Spies continually upon him wherever he went she was inform'd of it the same day and took it so hainously that she sent the next day two or three times for the Marquis of Beauvau to acquaint him with her Resentment and complain of the Prince's breach of Promise The Marquis in two or three Discourses which he had the same day with Mademoiselle made use of all his Invention to excuse the Prince But the Princess admitting no Attonement continu'd her Complaints broke out into Reproaches and in the height of her Indignation not Mistress of her self could not forbear with some Tears in her Eyes to call the Prince Ungrateful and to tell the Marquis he was unworthy the Affection which she had been so weak as to shew him To this Monsieur de Beauvau who plainly saw that as much incens'd as Mademoiselle de Montpensier seem'd to be yet that she really lov'd the Prince reply'd at the same time That 't was true she had given him a terrible Alarum but that he perceiv'd in her Eyes those Marks of an Inclination to Pardon the Prince of
the Author of the Negotiation made it known to the Count of Furstenbergh and the Count the next moment carried the News to Prince Charles who was so stunn'd with the Blow that he knew not where he was 'T is true Monsieur Lionne had not positively said that the Treaty was yet sign'd and therefore in regard the Friends of Duke Francis and Duke Francis himself were in hopes that it would prove no more than a Loud Threat or that if the Duke had resolv'd upon such an Extremity he might be wrought upon to change his Mind by making him sensible of his going about to ruin his Family therefore Prince Charles was advis'd to go and throw himself at his Feet The Prince was deeply sensible of his Misfortunes for he saw himself not only stript in a Moment of the Territories of the Duke of Lorrain upon the Succession to which he depended but that which more cruelly perplex'd him at that instant was that after this terrible blow he was no more to think of Madamoiselle de Nemours there being no likelihood that she would marry a Prince despoil'd of all his hopes and reduc'd to the Condition of a Private Life In the mid'st of these thoughts he accosted his Uncle with a Consternation hardly to be represented by the most Skilful Pencil He mov'd him at first with an infinite Number of wounding Expressions and after he had laid before him with a profound Submission the Injury which he did to himself in the World if he persisted in his Resolution to make a Foreign Prince the Successor to his Territories to the Prejudice of his own Lawful Heirs He conjur'd him to withdraw himself from Paris there being but that only way to break a Treaty the Conclusion of which he would infallibly repent when it was too late He besought him to consider that out of a desire to ruin him he ruin'd the Prince of Vaudemont his Son and that he would be universally look'd upon as the weakest of all the Princes of Europe which he must be forc'd to acknowledge upon maturer and more considerate thoughts And that he might endeavour by all manner of means to bring him to a Recollection of himself and render his perswasions prevalent he added that if he were resolv'd to leave France which he most humbly besought him to do he was ready to follow him and to surrender himself up into his hands to give an absolute Obedience to his Commands and in a word he let him know that after what manner soever he us'd him he should be satisfied with his Destiny provided he brake off the Treaty Now in regard that all that Prince Charles said proceeded from his Heart his Remonstrances pierced the Duke of Lorrain so deeply to the quick that he could not forbear to relent and to protest that he had over-rashly engag'd himself in that Affair But the Prince was come too late the Duke could make no Advantage either of his Counsel or his Remonstrances And tho' he were a Person of a present utterance he knew not at first what Answer to make the Prince But at length after he had paus'd a while he told him that himself was the Cause of his Misfortune that if he had not driven on so furiously as he did he had never reduc'd himself to that Extremity and that it was an Act of Despair to which he had forc'd him against his own will He did not think it necessary to tell the Prince he had Sign'd the Treaty but he let him understand that he had given his word so positively to the King that he could not retract And whereas the Prince persisted in representing to him the necessity of his withdrawing himself out of France and that then there might be some Expedient thought upon he reply'd That it was observ'd on all parts ever since the Negotiation was on foot that the Counsel which he propos'd was good but dangerous to take that in short he had been so unfortunate at Toledo that he would not try the Experiment whether he should be more happy in Paris should it be his Misfortune to be Arrested While the Prince was thus importuning the Duke his Uncle Madam de Nemours and the Marshal D'Estree arriv'd at the Duke of Lorrain's Lodgings Now in regard they could speak with more freedom than Prince Charles they omitted nothing to shew him in the worst dress the Error he had committed And the Marshal after several Discourses told him plainly That neither the Prince his Nephew nor his Son the Count of Vaudemont would have any reason to be beholding to him unless he resolv'd to retract what he had done besides that all the World would talk of him to his eternal Infamy To which he reply'd with a cold indifferency that as for his Nephew he did not pretend to oblige him though he began to repent that he had carried on his Revenge so far That he was above all that his Enemies could say of him to the staining either of his Honor or his Memory and that as for the Prince of Vaudemont he had manag'd his Interests so well that he would have Cause to be glad to see himself stript of an Estate which he was not sure that he should ever enjoy though he never had sign'd the Agreement considering the Pretensions of Duke Francis and the Condition of Affairs In short besides the Articles mention'd the King had accorded him the Liberty of disposing a Hundred thousand Crowns a year to whom he should think fit to be charg'd upon such Lands as he should make choice of in his Dutchies and he had also leave for once to Levy a Million and to employ it as he thought convenient Madam de Nemours was so exasperated at the Duke's Answer that she brake forth into a violent Passion against him more then that she complain'd after a most extraordinary manner of the Injustice which the King himself had done her insomuch that the Marshal was constrain'd to give her a Check for indeed she utter'd very injurious Language in the Transports of her Choler But these were only airy Complaints that signified little and therefore might the more easily be forgiven For besides that these Ejaculations of a boyling Passion no way contributed to accommodate the Breach the Duke had already done that which he was fully perswaded he ought not to have done And this was evident the next day In a word it was discover'd that the Duke of Guise himself had carried the Agreement Sign'd to the King at the time that he was raffling at St. Germain's Fair and this Circumstance was farther added that the King had no sooner cast his Eyes upon him but with a smile he told him There was never a Jewel in the Fair of equal value to the Price of that which he had brought him The King till the Signing Sealing and Delivery of this Treaty had look'd upon the Prince of Lorrain with so much Esteem and Honour and had given him also
Prince of Vaudemont to Vienna with Six thousand Men. By that time the Prince of Vaudemont arriv'd at the Imperial Court the Chief Heads of the Conspiracy were seiz'd upon and because the Emperor stood in no need of Foreign Aid in regard the Principal Cities which had revolted had submitted and sought for Pardon and for that the Turk was quiet he return'd the same Thanks to the Duke of Lorrain which he had done to other Princes who had offer'd him their Assistance So that the Prince of Vaudemont was oblig'd to return to the Duke with all his Men after he had us'd all his Endeavours to perswade Prince Charles that he might accompany him into Hungary whither he was going to be General of the Horse a Command which the Emperor had conferr'd upon him Toward the latter end of the Year 1668. there was a League made between England Sweden and Holland which was call'd the Triple League the Hollanders being desirous by means of that League to stop the Progress of the French Conquests in the Low-Countries whcih alarum'd all Europe but chiefly the United Provinces Thereupon while the Prince of Vaudemont was at Vienna the Duke of Lorrain had sent one of the Masters of his Requests into Holland which made all People and France particularly conjecture that the Duke had a design of entring into the Triple Alliance and of this she made her Complaint But that which absolutely spoiled all was this that the King having by virtue of his own Authority settled Courts of Audience in all the Frontiers of Lorrain and even in Lorrain it self upon occasion of a Squabble that happen'd between the Duke and the King 's Superintendant in the Country of Messin the Duke order'd the Posts to be taken down upon which were erected the Arms of France and in regard the Duke's Commands were but too punctually obey'd the King of France who desir'd no more than a Pretence of this Nature was so highly incens'd that from that very moment he resolv'd not only to seize upon the Duke's Estates but upon his Person also The King had a considerable Force already upon the Frontiers of Champagne and the Country of Messin which he made a show of Quartering there to employ them against Holland And with these Men it was that he resolv'd to attempt the Surprizal of Nanci and the Marquis of Fueillade was order'd to put that Enterprize in Execution Who being enjoyn'd to take all the Care imaginable not to fail of his Blow posted himself one Night with some Horse and Dragoons in a Wood that lyes within a quarter of a League of the City believing he might enter the Town the next Morning by Break of Day before the Duke was up But in short the Duke of Lorrain escap'd this surprize However the Marquis who knew nothing that the Duke was inform'd of his Design immediately seiz'd upon the Gates of the Palace which he broke open with Axes and Hatchets at what time the Princesses of Vaudemont and Lislebon shew'd themselves from a Balcony and endeavour'd to put a stop to so much Violence But the Marquis made his way thorough and entring the Palace like a Madman after he had romag'd all the Appartments was so enrag'd that he had miss'd of his Prey that he Stabl'd all the Horses of his Cavalry in the Rooms of State Soon after Marshal Crequi enter'd Lorrain with a considerable Body of an Army where he committed unheard of Hostilities not sparing the meanest Houses of Pleasure which were either Burnt or Plunder'd He was no sooner arriv'd at Nanci but he caus'd the Duke's Palace to be Plunder d and carried away all the Moveables all the Papers and all the Arms which he found there to Metz. He found little or no Trouble in making himself Master of the small Places which he caus'd to be immediately dismantled and as for Chace Espinale and some other Fortresses which the Duke had furnish'd with the choicest of his Men the Marshal no sooner Besieg'd 'em but they surrender'd those Places not being strong enough to withstand an Army of Five and twenty Thousand Men. The Duke who saw himself thus stript of all his Territories yet knew not how to stop the Torrent in regard that all Men were afraid of embroyling themselves with France wrote to almost all the Princes of Europe earnestly solliciting them to perswade the King to restore him his Country But he was always inexorable as he has all along to this day continu'd though he Protested in a Letter that he wrote at the same time to the Dyet of Ratisbonne That he never had any Intention to advantage himself by the Spoils of the Duke of Lorrain For though he would sometimes consent to restore the Duke or Prince Charles yet it was always under such severe Conditions that both the one and the other chose rather to live depriv'd of their Dominions than to purchase 'em at that Rate Prince Charles was astonish'd when he understood the deplorable Condition to which the Duke of Lorrain was reduc'd But nothing griev'd him more than his own want of Power to Revenge the Bloody Outrages which his Family had suffer'd and the thought of that it was which over-whelm'd him with Sorrow Nevertheless in regard it was a Misfortune without Remedy he endeavour'd to dissemble his Despair flattering himself that if the Emperor had but once reduc'd the Male-Contents that so he might be able to turn his Arms upon France he should be in a Condition to repair his Losses and make Lewis repent of his having not only expell'd a Soveraign Prince out of his Dominions but of having put upon him Indignities no less Infamous than if he had been an Usurper or the worst of Men. With these Hopes it was that the Duke of Lorrain fed himself not having any other better better course to help him in that Conjuncture of his Affairs And it is most certain that he would have reveng'd himself had the Troubles of Hungary been once but thoroughly lay'd For it was the Design of the House of Austria to oppose the Progress of France that for a long time before was become suspected by all her Neighbours And every thing seem'd well dispos'd to second the Wishes of his Imperial Majesty For he had discover'd the Conspiracy against his Person Prince Francis Ragotski who was one of the Chief of the Male-Contents was return'd to his Obedience and had Disbanded his Forces and all the Troubles were look'd upon at an end But in regard it was the Emperor's Fate that he must enter into a War which after it had brought him almost within a hairs breadth of Ruin was to advance him again to be one of the most Glorious Princes of his Age he took so little care to comply with the Hungarians that they brake forth again into Rebellion and the latter Troubles of that Kingdom were an hundred times more pernicious than the Former We shall here give ye a short Accompt of the
a little River that parted the two Armies being forc'd to repass again he lin'd the Hedges with his Dragoons and Infantry for fear the Imperialists should come on too fast But that could not stop 'em so that there happen'd a Fight that lasted about two Hours not at all to the Advantage of the Duke of Luxemburgh Now though it were impossible as well for the Imperialists as the French to stay long in those Posts where the Battel was fought by reason of the great Difficulty of bringing Provisions to the Armies yet both Generals entrench'd themselves as if they had not been to stir during the whole Campagne but in regard the Posts were not tenable they were oblig'd to quit 'em and the Marshal was the first that mov'd He sent away his heavy Baggage toward the beginning of the Night when the Duke least expected it and having decamp'd with all the Silence imaginable the Marshal left in the Lanes as many Foot and Dragoons as he thought necessary to favour their Retreat But the Imperialists perceiving they had decamp'd presently clear'd the Lanes of the Enemy and having open'd a passage for the Cavalry they thunder'd with such a Fury upon the Rear of the French and the Duke of Lorrain fought with such a steady Courage that if Count Hamilton who had posted himself upon an Advantageous ground had not put himself with his Pike in his hand at the Head of his Regiment there had been an end of the French Army Marshal de Luxemburgh thus deliver'd by the Bravery of that English Gentleman who nevertheless was slain at the same time after his stout resistance had put the Imperial Army to a kind of disorder which oblig'd the Duke to Sound a Retreat got over to the other side of a small River by the side of which he encamp'd and entrench'd his Army But the Duke following him thither encamp'd within sight of him and ply'd the Marshal so thick with his Cannon that the French were strangely terrified Nevertheless in regard they were posted so advantageously that it was impossible to force their Camp the Duke drew off and bent his March for Strasburgh which had declar'd for the Emperor after the Death of Turenne and having sent away his Artillery and his Infantry by Water march'd directly for Philipsburgh which he had Orders to Besiege Prince Frederick of Baden Dourlach General of the Army of the Circles was entrusted with the Management of the Siege where he met with many Difficulties in regard the place was Strong the Garison very numerous and the Rhine no less troublesom through the swelling of the Waters though it were a Season that Inundations are not very frequent Nevertheless the Prince who had under him Prince Herman of Baden General of the Emperor's Artillery and the famous Wertmuller made himself Master of the Place after a vigorous Defence of Four Months Luxemburgh not being able to relieve it by reason of the Bravery and Vigilance of the Duke of Lorrain who worsted him several times during the Siege and at length forc'd him to Retreat though at the Head of Fifty thousand Men almost in view of the Besiegers It is said that the Prince of Condè who understood the Mystery of War much better than Luxemburgh being ask'd by the King what was to be done to save Philipsburgh made answer That he must keep the Duke of Lorrain from Besieging it but since the Error was committed he ought to hazard the Army what e're it cost him and force the Enemy in his Entrenchments But Luxemburgh was so far from doing that that he only spun out the time and gave Ground at last which render'd him contemptible insomuch that a Thousand Lampoons were made upon him in the Army and among the Rest this was One Upon the Rhine a Monster of a Beast Threaten'd Prodigious Havock to his Foes Though Lorrain never fear'd him in the least But bravely did the Monster still oppose For why the Monster had no Head at all But arms a Hundred Thousand great and small But at last Luxemburgh asham'd that he had perform'd nothing considerable with so brave an Army bent his March for Schelestadt with a design to Repair his Honour in Brisgau To which purpose he set his Men to lay a Bridge over the Rhine below Brissac But he was so long about it that the Duke had leisure to oppose his Designs and put a good Garison into Friburgh the only Place that was in danger on that side So that all Luxemburgh's Atchievements terminated in Plundering some few Villages and putting little Garisons into petty Places to prevent the Duke that follow'd him close from falling upon Him at a Disadvantage as if he had been only upon the Defensive part After which having repassed the Rhine he encamp'd between Brisac and Basle while the Duke of Lorrain still observing his Motions advanc'd toward the latter City fearing lest he might have some design upon it though it were a City that stood Neuter Now in regard the Weather began to grow very unseasonable and for that there was nothing more to be done in those Posts both Armies resolv'd to retire to their Winter Quarters Luxemburgh sent one part of his Men in to Alsatia and the other part into Lorrain and Burgundy who in the way seiz'd upon the Country of Montbeillard which as the King afterwards publickly declar'd was done not that he had any design to make himself Master of Montbeillard but only to take it into his Protection however the Prince and Princess not caring for such Protectors retir'd to Basle As for the Duke of Lorrain in regard his Men were very much tired out with the Siege of Philipsburgh he sent them to their Winter Quarters in Suabia and Franconia after he had taken all necessary care that they should not be surpriz'd by the Duke of Luxemburgh The Success which the Duke had had put him in great hopes of the same Prosperity the next year He thought it would be no difficult matter to break into his own Country where he knew himself to be passionately desir'd by his own Subjects So that in the midst of these Thoughts he made it his Business to be early in the Field as he was before the end of April Now in regard he was assur'd of Strasburgh Bridge he order'd his Army to Rendezvous upon the Banks of the Rhine while the Prince of Saxon Essenak labour'd the laying of a Bridge order the same River to enter Alsatia another way For this Prince Commanded the Army of the Circles instead of the Marquis of Baden Dourlach who fell Sick and Died presently after the taking of Philipsburgh The King of France on the other side advertiz'd of this Design and fearing lest the Duke of Lorrain should force a passage into his own Territories if once he got footing in Alsatia laid that Country waste after so terrible a manner to deprive the Imperial Army of all Subsistance there that he burnt up all the
Imployment on that side And having taken this Resolution he presently possessed himself of certain Hills which he found in his way by that means to secure himself Upon which Crequi believ'd that he only sought to pass the Moselle but finding himself deceiv'd by the Dukes false March did what he could to follow him But finding it impossible to overtake him he retreated into Lorrain while the Imperial Army continu'd their March toward Ponta Mousson The King of France therefore who apprehended the Dukes Design had sent Marshal Schombergh with Twenty Squadrons of Horse and some Foot to secure Sedan and the Neighbouring Places And caused all that could be removed to be carried away from Mousson So that when the Duke arrived there he found the Place deserted However the Army pillag'd and plunder'd several Villages and exacted heavy Contributions But the Duke being unwilling to venture any farther into an extream Woody Country returned with a Design to joyn the Prince of Saxon Essenach in Alsatiaâ— though there were some misunderstanding between those two Generals that did not a little prejudice the Emperors Affairs and frustrated all the Hopes of that Campagne And yet never had any General more need of succour than he had This Prince who some Days before had coup'd up Monclare's Army in such a Place where of Necessity they must have starved or yielded if Marshal Crequi had not reliev'd them was at length penn'd up himself in an Island in the Rhine between the Bridge of Strasburgh and the City which Crequi with Ten Thousand Horse and Dragoons had forc'd him to betake to with Three or Four Thousand Men to secure himself Now in regard that he expected either to be relieved by the Duke of Lorrain or that the City of Strasburgh would use their Endeavours he was resolv'd to subsist in the Island as long as it was possible and during that time he fought with so much Fury that Crequi in several Skirmishes lost whole Regiments and several Officers of Note But the City of Strasburgh afraid of Crequi's Menaces and desirous to Negotiate some Accommodation between the Two Generals the Prince of Saxon Essâ—nach was oblig'd to Capitulate and yield himself upon Condition that he should not take up Arms again during the remaindâ—r of that Campagne A Condition nevertheless which Crequi was very unwilling to consent to as severe as it was upon the Prince of Saxony for his aim at least was that the Prince should have yielded himself Prisoner with all his Army But fearing lest while he spent time in Disputes the City of Strasburgh should play him some unlucky Trick or lest the Prince should be reliev'd some other way he accepted the Terms And indeed the Duke of Lorrain march'd Day and Night to relieve the Prince so that he had certainly been deliver'd within a Day a two But the News of his Misfortune reaching the Duke upon the Road afflicted his very Soul Nor was this the only Vexation that befel him before the end of the Campagne For believing there was no more to be done in regard that Crequi still avoided a set Field unwilling to tire out his Men and being resolv'd to take up his Winter-Quarters betimes he drew off On the other side Marshal Crequi made a shew of doing the same But so soon as the Duke was far enough off from the French Army Crequi Invested Friburgh with his Horse while his Infantry marched slowly after to lay a formal Siege to the Town The Duke was strangely surpriz'd to hear of this and indeed he would hardly believe the News But finding it confirm'd by several Couriers he dispatch'd away a Messenger to the Governor to assure him of Relief and bid him not be dismay'd But the Ways were so bad by reason the Season was so far advanc'd that notwithstanding all the haste he could make he was hardly got half way before he understood that the Governor had surrender'd This News surpriz'd him more than the former in regard he look'd upon the Place as too strong to Capitulate so soon For it was environ'd with a double Wall defended by a Citadel with four Bastions and the Garison was sufficiently numerous as consisting of above Three Thousand Men. But Marshal Crequi carried on the Siege with so much Vigour and Diligence that the Governor was at a stand notwithstanding all his Shews of Resolution at the beginning of the Siege The same Day also that the Place was begirt Marshal Schombergh with Three Hundred Men seconded by some Brigades of Foot attack't the two Redoubts upon the Hill where the Cittadel stands and carry'd them by main Force After which the Trenches being opened were advanc'd as far as the Moat and all the while the Cannon played so furiously upon the Walls that they made a Breach about Eighteen Yards wide Whereupon the Marshal sent a Summons to the Governor To which he answered That having learn'd his Trade among the French he should shew himself a Scholar unworthy the Lessons they had taught him if he did not practise them when there was a good Occasion This was the Martial Compliment Major General Schultz for he Commanded the Place sent back to the French General For finding at first that the Breach was not easie to be enter'd by reason it was very high and for that the Moats were no less deep he thought that before the Enemy could fill 'em up and make their Approaches he might very well endure a little more Hardship and this was that which forced Crequi to drive on the Siege the more vigorously And therefore perceiving that the Besieged did not mind the Breach he resolv'd to lodge some of his Men upon it which notwithstanding the danger of the Enterprize was effected with a most daring Resolution In the mean time Mareschal Schomberg having carried an Outwork that secured a Redoubt which very much annoyed the Besiegers the Enemy fired from thence so thick into the Redoubt it self that they who defended it were forced to yield themselves Prisoners So that the Besiegers having got thus far forward and Crequi resolving to bring the Siege to a speedy Conclusion order'd all things to be prepared ready for a Storm Which so terrify'd the Governor that he desir'd to Capitulate And so the Place was Surrendred after a Siege of Seven or Eight days Which made many People believe that there was Treachery in the Main In a word the Imperial Officers complain'd that they had never any Orders given them that a Council of War had never been call'd and that the small Resistance which the French met with made them the more bold to venture And for a farther proof of a suspected Correspondence in the Place his Imperial Majesty caus'd the Governor to be Arrested some time after but not being able to Convict him of any thing but want of Courage he gave him his Liberty again saying only this That he had very ill perform'd his Duty and that the Duke of Lorrain could not
Wallenstein Captain of Horse and the Counts Mansfeildt and Schaffenbergh who alighting out of their Coaches paid him their Compliments and so went altogether to Newstadt where they arriv'd in good time The Duke was receiv'd without the Castle Gate at the foot of the Stairs by the Master of the Houshold and the Chamberlains and at the top by the Grand Chamberlain who conducted him to the Emperor's Chamber which is an extraordinary Honour The Emperor presently caus'd him to be admitted to his Presence order'd a Chair to be brought for him to sit down and after a short Discourse together the Emperor himself lead him to the Empress Regent's Anti-Chamber Presently after that the Duke went to the Apartment of the Empress Dowager where was the Queen Dowager of Poland and the Arch-Dutchess her Sister After a short Discourse the Empress Dowager and the Arch-Dutchess retir'd leaving the Duke alone with the Queen of Poland till Supper-time It is not to be express'd how great the Honour was which the Emperor shew'd him His own Gentlemen and all the Foreign Ministers that were at Court conducted him to the Arsenal where there was an Apartment ready prepar'd for him and where he was waited on at Supper by the Officers belonging to his Imperial Majesty But in regard he was somewhat tir'd with a long Journey he was unwilling to Eat publickly besides that he kept himself upon a Couch till Seven of the Clock in the Evening at what time he went to the Empress Dowagers Chamber from whence he was to go to the Chapel in the Palace where the Ceremony of the Marriage was to be perform'd As he made his Progression from the Empress Dowagers Chamber to the Chapel a great number of the Officers of the Court went foremost After whom followed the Emperor 's Principal Ministers of State and next to them Twelve Knights of the Golden Fleece in black Habits with their Order Then followed the Duke of Lorrain himself preceded by the Prince of Lixhim his Marshal and the Baron of Chaunivech Captain of the Guards of his Body Soon after appear'd the Emperor before whom went the Count de Lamber Grand Marshal the Counts of Baden Wilsterne and Mansfeild The Two Grand Marshals of the Two Empresses the Queen of Poland's Grand Marshal and one of the Eldest Chamberlains led the two Empresses the Queen of Poland and the Arch-Dutchess who were attended by several Ladies Maids of Honour and some Foreign Princesses In the Chapel was erected a Scaffold thirty foot high and about ten or twelve Paces Broad but because there was not Room for all the Ladies some were forc'd to stand upon the Stairs Over-against the Altar was another Scaffold cover'd with a Crimson Velvet Carpet Fring'd with Gold upon which were plac'd two Elbow Chairs where the Queen and Duke sate By the side of this was another Scaffold where the Emperor the Empress the Empress Dowager and the Arch-Dutchess seated themselves The Ceremony was performed by the Bishop of Newstadt assisted by two other Bishops and no sooner was it ended but the Bishop addressing himself to the Duke and and Queen to ask their Consents the Queen let him know that he must address himself to their Imperial Majesties who thereupon making a Sign that they Consented to the Marriage the new Married Couple received the Benediction This done Te Deum was sung and after that the Emperor went to embrace the Duke but the Duke bow'd himself down so low that his Imperial Majesty could not give him that mark of his Affection All the Ceremonies thus concluded they returned in the same Order as they went to the Chapel the Trumpets Sounding and several other Instruments Playing all the while The following days were spent in Feasting and other Divertisements But in regard the Duke was to Command the Emperor's Army in Germany after he had past over Lent with the Queen at Inspruâ—â— he departed in the midd'st of all the Pleasures of his Marriage to join Prince Herman of Baden not much unlike Marshal Bouillon Marshal Turenne's Father who was forc'd to put on his Arms upon his Nuptial Night to surprize Stenai So that before the end of April 1678 the Duke arriv'd in the Neighbourhood of Wormes where he had appointed his Head-Quarters The Duke was not yet well recover'd of his Bruise besides that he was tir'd with a long Journey nevertheless such was his Impatience to take the Field to the end he might be before hand with Crequi and endeavour the retaking of Friburgh that he caus'd his Army to march at the beginning of May. He had Four and Twenty Regiments of Horse Five of Dragroons and about Sixteen Thousand Foot which made up Forty Thousand Men without counting in the Three Regiments of Treves and Luxemburgh which were to joyn him The French Army at first was nothing near so numerous but afterwards Crequi receiv'd so many Reinforcements that the Armies were very equal whatever the French Report The Duke also on his march took along with him Count Koningseek whom the Emperor had chosen to assist him with his Counsels And first they agreed upon the erecting their Magazines and securing their Provisions from Strasburgh Which being done they encamp'd between Offenburgh and the Fort of Kell which secur'd Serasburgh Bridge on Germany side The great Design of the Duke of Lorrain was to hinder the French from getting into Brisgau To which purpose he resolv'd to lay a Bridge over the Rhine and march into the upper Alsatia with a good part of his Army to draw off Marshal Crequi while the rest of his Forces besieged Friburgh To this purpose he past Three Hunderd Horse over a flying Bridge near Ruperschau with orders to post themselves between Blosheim and Altenheim to secure the Bridge which he had laid over that part of the River and at the same time Prince Herman of Baden had orders to Summon in Two Thousand of the Country Peasants to repair the Highways through which the Cannon was to be drawn to the Siege of Friburgh All things seem'd to favour the Dukes Enterprize But Marshal Crequi desirous to preserve the Reputation he had acquir'd the last year had begun about the Tenth of May to draw together a Body of about Twenty Thousand Men. And understanding that the Duke was busily employ'd in making a Bridge at Altenheime he encamp'd himself in a place from whence he might either oppose the passage of the Imperialiâ—ts into Alsatia or fall into Brisgau through Brisac However considering that it was more necessary for him to fall into Brisgau before the Imperialists were ready to make any considerable attempt he pass'd the Rhine with his whole Army over Brisâ—c Bridge and another Bridge which he laid over the River above a League below that place Upon which the Duke follow'd him and encamp'd within Six Leagues of him with a purpose to fall upon him or force him to repass the Rhine perceiving well that all his Methods were disappointed and
with the Protestants of that Kingdom by depriving them of their Churches and the Exercise of their Religion had recourse to Prince Abaffi who sent them Assistance at the same time under the Command of Count Teckeley who had withdrawn himself into Transilvania where he had so wrought himself into the Favour of that Prince that in a short time after he became his Prime Minister After the death of Count Paul Wesselini General of the Male-Contents Teckeley was advanced in his Room and he became no less Formidable then Wesselini had been while the Male-Contents got ground at a very great rate But in regard that after the Peace with France the Emperor bent his whole Force against them fearing therefore to be overwhelm'd with numbers they put themselves under the Protection of the Turks not being able to find a safer Shelter from the Impending Storm then to Shroud themselves under the Wings of the Infidels Thereupon the Turks who have always had a greater desire to enlarge their Empire on Hungary side then any other way and who upon Nantoil's Embassy had in their Eye the Troubles in Hungary and look'd upon 'em as Accidents of which they might make great Advantages made answer presently to the Male-Contents That since they look'd upon them as their Protectors they would never suffer 'em to be Oppress'd In short although they had then a Truce with the Emperor and that Truce were yet in force for some years they forbore not however privately to assist the Hungarians promising them withall that for the future they would not fail to do it openly and that under their Dominion they should enjoy their Rights and Priviledges with so much Ease and Mildness that they should have no cause to repent the Change of their Fortune The Emperor who had some suspition at first that the Malecontents held Correspondence with the Turks made several Proposals to the Port to renue the Truce which was not yet expir'd by many Years imagining by that means that he should make a full Discovery of their Intentions On the other side the Turks made a shew of being willing to renew the Truce so that there seem'd to be a perfect good Understanding between the Two Empires Nevertheless at the beginning of the Year 1672. the Emperor 's Resident at Constantinople gave Advice That the Grand Signior made such vast Preparations for War as could no longer be conceal'd and that it was to be presum'd that though those Preparations were pretended only for the Succour of the Malecontents yet the Turks had a farther Aim Thereupon the Emperor desirous to be fully inform'd of what was transacted at the Port sent thither the Count de Caprara under the Character of his Ambassador who in a short time after wrote word that the Conditions upon which the Grand Signior was willing to consent to a Prolongation of the Truce were so unjust and so unreasonable that there was no question but the Turks had propos'd them to hinder any Accommodation with the Malecontents of whom they had declared themselves to be Protectors and from thence to derive a pretence to make War upon Hungary Nor was this all For the Turks sent New Propositions which the Emperor found less proper to be receiv'd than the former And while they were Negotiating the Renewing of the Treaty the Turks sent considerable Forces to the Malecontents who made themselves Masters of several Places and Teckeley was by the Grand Signior declared Prince of Hungary In short the Emperor was assur'd at last that the Preparations which were made at Constantinople and other parts of the Ottoman Empire exceeded all that had been made against Christendom for above these Hundred Years before that the Grand Signior had declared War against Hungary that he was to go himself to Belgrade that to give Notice that his departure was resolv'd upon he had given Order for the Horse-Tails to be set over the Gates of the Seraglio and in a short time after he receiv'd certain Intelligence that the Ottoman Army was upon its March So that it was concluded at the Emperor's Court that the Turks had some extraordinary Design if it were not to besiege Vienna it self The Duke of Lorrain who was newly recover'd from a Fit of Sickness which had held him all the Winter could not go the Year before into Hungary where his Presence would have been highly necessary But being now in a settled Condition of Health he had Orders to prepare for the next Campagne and to joyn the Imperial Forces at Presburgh where there was to be a General Muster The Emperor arrived there the Sixth of May 1683. where he had caus'd the whole Army to be drawn up in Order of Battel in the Plains of Kitts and after a General Review conferr'd the Command of all his Forces upon the Duke which drew upon him the Envy of many in regard there were several other Princes who flatter'd them selves that the Emperor would have honour'd Them with that High Dignity before the Duke The Turks were already advanc'd as far as Belgrade when the Emperor declar'd the Duke of Lorrain General of his Army Now therefore in regard the Turks were tir'd with a long March and that it requir'd some time to rest themselves the Duke having above Forty Thousand Men at his Heels resolv'd to attempt the surprize of some considerable Place before the Infidels were in Condition to oppose him knowing well that afterwards he should be forc'd to be upon the Defensive part only and considering besides that if he prov'd Fortunate in gaining such Places as he had an Eye upon they would be serviceable to secure Vienna or at least to put a stop for some time to the Siege Now there was only Gran or Newhausel that the Duke could Attack He therefore resolv'd upon the first Place which he look'd upon as the more easie Enterprize And so marching at the same time toward Raab he prepar'd to sit down before Gran of which he had before tak'n a view in Person But then he was informed that the Turks had not only reinforced the Garison with fresh Succours but that the Grand Vizir bent his March toward Buda with a considerable Army So that fearing the success of that Enterprize he gave it quite over Nevertheless it being requisite that he should begin the Campagne with some Remarkable Action he had no sooner alter'd his Resolution as to Gran but he laid siege to Newhausel The Bassa who commanded in that Town had sent away such numerous Detachements to strengthen Gran that he began to question his Ability to resist the Imperial Army Being therefore at a puzzle himself he resolv'd to try whether he could put the Duke to a stand Thereupon he sent him word that if he undertook the Siege of Newhausel he must be answerable for the Rupture of the Truce between the two Empires But the Duke laught at his Contrivance So that the Bassa seeing his Stratagem would not take
presently hung out white and red Colours to signifie an offer either of Peace or War yet withal to shew that he was rather inclin'd to Peace than War But all these Devices prov'd ineffectual for the Duke advancing with his Army laid close Siege to the Town The beginning of the Enterpize was successful enough for three or four days after the Imperial Army had passed the Neckar the City was begirt the great Guns were upon the Battery ready to Play and the Duke had sent the Bassa a Summons To which the Bassa return'd a haughty Answer That he should understand what Persons they were to whom the Grand Signior entrusted his Garisons and having taken some Prisoners in a Sally which he made to his loss after he had immediately put them to death he hung up their Heads over the Walls of the Town Nevertheless that was so far from discouraging the Besiegers who had serv'd the Turks which they took Prisoners after the same manner that they had carried on their Works so far that they were just ready to open their Trenches But then it was that the Duke received Orders to raise the Siege upon certain Intelligence which the Emperor sent him that the Grand Visier was advancing with all the speed he could toward Newhausel with an Army of above Two hundred thousand Men so that the Duke was constrain'd to rise from before the Town Most certain it is that the Duke was very much troubled to abandon a Victory of which he thought himself secure But it was a Misfortune for which there was no Remedy For in short the Grand Signior himself came to Belgrade where the Grand Visier receiv'd from his Hands the Standard which the Turks believe was given to Mahomet by the Angel Gabriel And then it was that the Ottoman Army consisting of several sorts of Nations marchâ—d with so much speed that the Duke was in danger of being surpriz'd All that he could do in the Extremity to which he was reduc'd was to lodge as many of his Foot as it was possible in certain Houses about a quarter of a League from Newhausel to favour his Retreat after which he beat a March and retreated towards Comorra which he reinforced with a considerable Relief Nevertheless in regard the Turks advanc'd he continu'd his March to the Island of Schutt and having pass'd the Raab upon a Bridge which he caus'd to be laid over the River he encamp'd in a very Advantageous Post Which he had no sooner done but the Enemy appear'd and encamp'd between Alba Regalis and the City of Raab there being only the River from whence the Town derives its Name between both Armies which caus'd a very great Consternation at first among the Imperialists While the two Armies lay looking one upon another the Tartars who made up a Body of Thirty thousand Men under the Command of their Cham having drawn out a very numerous Detachement swam the River and ravag'd all before 'em with Fire and Sword as far as the River Leithe which separates Hungary from Austria Which Incursion of those Barbarians together with the Horrible Cruelties which they committed sparing neither Age nor Sex put the Duke into a deep study what course to take For besides that the Forces which he had remaining with him after so many great Detachements which he had been forc'd to part with to reinforce the Garisons of Raab and Comorra were reduced to no more than Four and twenty Thousand Men he could not without imminent Danger expose himself to be environ'd by the Enemy and Attack'd on every side and therefore after he had call'd a Council of War he dislodg'd from his Post and retreated toward Vienna though not without some difficulty The Army was upon its March toward the Island of Schutt when the Duke receiv'd Intelligence that the Turks had also Decamp'd and that Six thousand Hungarians of the Emperor's Forces commanded by the Counts of Dralkowitzs and Budiani who guarded a considerable Pass were gone over to the Male-Contents and had left the Pass open to the Turks This News strook an extraordinary terror into the Imperialists but that which augmented their Consternation was this that besides that the Parties which were sent out to discover the Enemy return'd in great disorder and sometimes without half their number they heard that the Turks Burnt all before 'em and exercis'd unheard of Hostilities And the Consternation was so general that the Duke had much ado to get his Detachements to venture out to observe the Enemy Nevertheless his Army still advanc'd and march'd in very good order But upon advice that the Enemy was within a League of a River which the Army was to cross the Cavalry retreated to avoid the Fury of the Turks and forsook the Foot notwithstanding all that the Officers could do to hinder ' em The Duke did all that could be expected from a Person of his Courage and Experience to bring back the Cowardly Fugitives but while he was using all imaginable Perswasions to make them sensible of their Honour and their Duty the Enemy had already overtaken and fallen upon his Rear-guard so that all he had now to do was to save his Foot And first of all the Baggage belonging to the Duke of Saxon Lawenbergh Prince Louis of Baden Count Caprara and Montecuculi were Plundred and the Waggoners and Guards cut to pieces and the same Troops animated with their number and the flight of the Imperial Cavalry began to fall upon the Imperial Infantry and make a most horrible Slaughter But the Duke who gave himself over for lost and was resolv'd to die like a Great General or save his Infantry after he had encourag'd the Officers to follow him made his way through the thickest of his Enemies to their Relief upon which the Infantry that were just ready to give ground and to which some of the Horse had by this time joyn'd animated by the Example of their General fought with that fury that the Turks who never expected such an Alteration and were for the most part busie in packing up the Booty which they got were so amaz'd that they betook themselves to flight and the Duke having brought off his Men let 'em go not thinking it safe to pursue them but pursuing his March got safe at length to the Island of Leopolstadt under the Canon of Vienna where the rest of the Cavalry waited for him And now the first thing which the Turks did after the Duke's Retreat was to lay Siege to Raab But the Grand Visier looking upon the winning of that Conquest not to be worth his while left the Care of that Siege to the Bassa of Buda and march'd directly for Vienna But the Siege of that City was a thing of too great Consequence to be undertaken without considering well beforehand The Grand Visier therefore call'd a Council of War to consult upon this Enterprize where most were for deferring the Siege of Vienna till the next Campagne and
continuing the Siege of Raab the winning of which would reduce Comorra while the Tartars wasted all Silesia and Moravia that the Christians might have no subsistance in those Countries This Counsel proceeded from a wonderful Prudence and Foresight and might have prov'd fatal to Christendom had the Grand Visier follow'd it But he being desirous to make himself famous by this Enterprize and confiding in the number of his Men was of a quite contrary opinion His Officers did all they could to disswade him from this Design but nothing would prevail The several Detachements which he had been forc'd to send abroad to observe the Enemy the Forces which he had left before Raab the Volant Camp which he had in Upper Hungary and the Losses he had sustain'd in several Encounters had very much weaken'd the Ottoman Army But neither the wary Counsel of his Officers nor the Diminution of his Forces could move him from his first Resolutions And now no sooner was the Grand Visier set forward but the Tartars advanc'd within two Leagues of Vienna where they defeated some Regiments and set fire to several Villages And this News of the Turks March together with the continual Ravages committed by the Tartars caus'd the Emperor to quit Vienna Which he did together with all his Court and retir'd to Lintz from whence he departed for Passau so soon as he heard that the Turks had formally Besieged Vienna The Duke of Lorrain who lay encamp'd till then in the Island of Leopolstadt with his Horse and thought not to have stirr'd from thence alter'd his Mind and resolv'd to pass his Men over four Bridges that were next Moldavia This Resolution was no sooner taken and he already upon his March but a great Body of Turks and Tartars approach'd the Bridges and began to follow him at the Heels But the Duke would not be so surpriz'd He immediately sent away General Schultz with a considerable Detachement which after an obstinate Fight repuls'd the Enemy After which he encamp'd beyond the Bridges of the Danaw Now they that did not see to the bottom of the Duke's Designs cry'd out That the Prince ought not to have quitted the Island of Leopolstadt and that it behov'd him to have preserv'd the Bridges which he was forc'd to break down In regard that by that means he had preserv'd a Communication from Vienna with the Emperor and that it had been easie had that Place been preserv'd to have reliev'd the City with Succours of Men and Provisions at any time But there was a Necessity that the Duke should betake himself to the Plain Country with his Horse And now the Emperor seeing the Turks so eagerly press on the Siege and not finding himself in a Condition to relieve the City in regard he had not a sufficient Strength he dispatch'd away several Couriers to the King of Poland to desire his Assistance and to come himself at the Head of his Army This Noble and Great Prince the Terror of the Ottomans importun'd by the Pope's Nuncio but much more spurr'd on by his own vast Courage and Generosity wrote back to the Emperor that he might depend upon him and that though at present he were not in War with the Turk he would march to his Aid and endeavour to be at Vienna by the end of September Though this were but a short time and that it was impossible for the King of Poland to make more haste than what he promis'd it would be too tedious to relate the Progress which the Grand Visier had made who had already open'd his Trenches in three several Places and threaten'd the Count of Starenbergh Covernor of the City to put all to the Sword young and old unless he Surrender'd In the mean time while the Besieged made most desperate Sallies and hindred as much as in them lay the Enemy from advancing his Works the Duke of Lorrain lay not idle He wrote Letters to Count Starenbergh which he receiv'd the 22d of August wherein he assur'd the Governor who signaliz'd himself to a wonder during the Siege that the Forces design'd for his Relief were drawing together with all speed that the Bavarians Saxons Franconians Polanders and Imperialists were come as far as Krembs That the King of Poland in Person together with the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony made all the hast that was possible to be with him that the Emperor himself to be near Vienna was remov'd to Lintz and that he had nothing more to do but to make a stout Resistance till the Succors could come up to his Relief which would certainly be toward the end of the Month That he would expose himself to all manner of Dangers and endeavour all that lay in his Power rather than abandon Vienna That he had defeated Count Teckeley near Presburgh taken all his Baggage and Burnt and Sunk all the Boats that were prepar'd for the laying Bridges over the Waag that he had reduc'd Presburgh under the Emperor's Obedience and that he had obtain'd another Victory over Count Teckeley taken six Colours and routed the best part of his Army It is impossible to relate the extraordinary Actions which the Duke perform'd while he staid for the Succors that were advancing toward Vienna his Vigilance to frustrate the Designs of the Male-Contents who endeavour'd to way-lay the Polonians and the Advantages he won over the Turks and Tartars whenever he came to any Engagement with them as he frequently did It may be said that he was in a kind of perpetual Motion that he strook Dread and Terror into the the Enemy wherever he appear'd and that it was he indeed who deliver'd Vienna by distracting the Enemies Forces in such a Manner that he could never reinforce his Camp For the Duke either kept the Principal Passes or else constrain'd the Ottomans and Hungarians to defend their own Posts and wasted their Numbers with continual Skirmishes But while thus the Duke kept the Turks and Hungarians in continual Employment the Grand Visier us'd all his Endeavours to make himself Master of Vienna and the Besieged on the other side defended themselves as Bravely So that although the Turks had layn a long time before the City they were so weaken'd by Diseases that swept away great Numbers of their Men so distress'd for want of Provisions so annoy'd by the continual Rains and had been so consum'd by the frequent Sallies which the Count of Starenbergh made that they almost despair'd of Success And the Principal Officers carried away with an Opinion of Predestination to which the Turks are extreamly addicted were become so sottish and insensible that though they had Intelligence every hour that the King of Poland was advancing and had joyn'd the Duke of Lorrain's Army yet they took little notice of it and they had suffer'd themselves to have been surpriz'd if the taking of two Messengers which the Emperor dispatch'd to Count Starenbergh to let him know that the Polanders were within three days March of
Camp and Trenches of the Enemy Nor was it any of the Dukes fault that the Turks were not immediately pursu'd But the King of Poland found his Army so tir'd that he thought it but requisite to rest 'em for some few days In a Word the Polanders enter'd the Grand Visiers Camp the same day the Turks quitted it and began to Pillage and then the Imperialists following their Example they continued Pillaging all the next day And indeed there were few People in Vienna that did not go out to see what purchase they could meet with in a Camp where the Turks had left infinite Riches behind ' em The King of Poland went in to view the Grand Visiers Tents which took up as much Ground as the City of Warsovia where you might also see Gardens and large Canals and whatever else could be desir'd in a great City The King also lay there one Night and from thence it was that he wrote a Letter to the Queen wherein after he had given her an accompt of what he had met with most costly in those Magnificent Tents he merrily added this Expression You shall not say to me as the Tartarian Women say to their Husbands when they return home from the Army with empty Hands You are no Man you return without Booty For I shall return with so many costly Spoils that you shall acknowledge I was in the Fight THE LIFE OF Charles V. DUKE of Lorrain Bar And Generalissimo of all the Imperial Forces THE FOURTH BOOK HAD the Opinion of the Duke of Lorrain been followed the Turks were in such a Consternation and in so ill a Condition to Defend themselves that they had been all cut in Pieces But during the two or three days that the Christian Army lay and did nothing and that the King of Poland and the other Generals lay in Vienna or else were visiting the Grand-Visiers Tents the Ottoman Forces who were fled in disorder having had time to recover and rally themselves put Relief into other Places that might have easily been surprized and at length secured themselves from the farther Enterprizes of their Enemies All Men agree that the Victorious Army knew not how to make the best of their Advantage since they might have secured all Hungary to the Emperor and pusht on their Conquests to a far larger extent The Duke of Lorrain was vex'd to the very Soul to see himself constrained out of Complaisance to submit to the Advice of a Prince who had left his Kingdom expos'd his own and the Lives of his Subjects for the good of Christendom and who in the last place had put to flight a numerous and formidable Army who was almost within a hairs breadth of Victory and entring Triumphant into Vienna On the other side the King of Poland who perceived by the Event that the Duke had Reason of his side could not forbear letting the Emperor see how much he was troubled for the Miscarriage For after he had told his Imperial Majesty at their first Enterview what time the Emperor returned him Thanks for the Signal Victory he had won that all the Honour of that Victory was due to God and that he had done nothing upon that Occasion but what became a Christian Prince He added that he was much troubled that he could not prosecute his Victory by a vigorous pursuit of the Enemy but that the continued March of his Men for three days and three nights together over steep Mountains and deep Valleys through unfrequented and craggy Ways without Baggage which he was forc'd to leave behind had so wearied and worn out his Army for want of Victuals and Forrage that he was constrain'd to give them a repose of two or three days to refresh themselves and enable them for farther Service towards the entire ruin of the Infidels In the mean time the Duke of Lorrain's Measures who aspir'd to nothing less than the utter Destruction of the Ottoman Forces were broken and that which put them totally out of order was this That some of the Confederates believing that they had done enough in contributing toward the Relief of Vienna began to talk of returning home and the Elector of Saxony drew off in good earnest with his Men and some other Princes were just upon following his Example which would never have so fallen out if by a speedy March all the Christian Princes had been engag'd to pursue the Victory And indeed the Duke of Lorrain rightly apprehending and fearing that his Designs would all miscarry if the Confederate Princes should forsake him labour'd so indefatigably to engage those Princes not to abandon the Emperor at such an Important Conjuncture that excepting the Elector of Saxony all the rest of the Princes were determin'd to continue the Campagne However Things fell out quite otherwise At first they talk'd of Dividing the Army into several Bodies to be employed at the same time upon several Expeditions and there were several Meetings and Conferences to this purpose But in regard there was nothing concluded upon the Duke whose thoughts were wholly bent to make his best Advantage of the remaining part of the Summer made all the Proposals which he thought most favourable either for Reducing of Hungary or laying Siege to some strong Town It was impossible to foresee where the Turks design'd to make a stand and therefore the Duke was of Opinion That the Christians should go and find 'em out And his Advice being approved by his Imperial Majesty and the King of Poland the Polish and Imperial Armies set forward upon the 18th and two days after encamped near Presburgh there to stay for the Confederate Forces which had promis'd to joyn them But they having altered their Resolutions while their Captains for particular Reasons of their own lay demurring whither they should stay in their Camp near Vienna or return home the King of Poland and the Duke of Lorrain having agreed among themselves for the Undertaking some considerable Enterprize without the rest of the Confederates in case of delay or their retiring Home resolved to continue their March and Encamp'd the 2d of October at Weswar which is not far distant from Comorra There they had Intelligence that Count Teckeley with the Forces of the Male-Contents was at Levents That the Body of the Turkish Army lay near Buda that the Grand Visier had sent a considerable Detachment toward Gran and that he had put Four Thousand Men into Newhausel to strengthen that Garison But the Season was so far advanced and the Country withal so bare and consequently in so bad a Condition to afford Subsistance for the Army the Garisons in both those Places so numerous and in a word the Enterprize so hazardous by reason that the Confederates did not come up that the Duke after mature Deliberation was of opinion that to assure himself of Gran and Newhausel it was the best way to Attack the Fort of Barcam which stands at the Head of the Bridge
then ordinary Violence upon himself that he consented to this Retreat However it was so Honourable that it redounded greatly to his Fame For notwithstanding that the Enemies Army was so numerous they never durst so much as fall upon his Rear so strangely was the Serasquier terrified with the Advantages the Duke had gained over him during the Siege Thus ended the Campagne of which the successful Beginnings propos'd a quite contrary Conclusion The Serasquier marched off to take up his Winter-quarters and the Duke his after he had furnish'd Weizen and Vicegrad with strong Garisons and ordered the demolishing of Pest as being impossible to be preserved During the Winter some little Excursions were made on both sides some few Castles were taken and retaken and the Imperial Army block'd up Newhausel in order to begin the next Campagne with the Siege of that Place However that did not prevent the Turks from putting in fresh Relief into it several times nor from committing several Ravages upon the Country The raising the Siege of Buda the continual Incursions of the Turks in a Season when Armies are usually at rest and the great Preparations which were making at Constantinople made the Emperor to judge that the Duke of Lorrain's Army could not be strong enough to undertake any new Enterprize and therefore He thought it necessary to have recourse to the Electors and other States and Princes of the Empire to prevent the danger of receiving a Check in his Affairs And indeed as it was their Interest to bring down as low as it was possible the Common Enemy of Christendom They engaged therefore against the next Spring to send an Army into Hungary of above Sixty thousand Men while the Pope on the other side promis'd to open his Treasuries and contribute as far as he could toward the payment of the Armies that were to march against the Infidels It would be impossible to relate the hardships which the Emperor 's and the Duke of Bavaria's Soldiers suffered in their Winter-quarters They wanted both Victuals and Forage which the Armies had already devoured in a wasted Country And that same little Nourishment which they could get or the bad Sustenance which they were glad to make use of begat so many Diseases and Distempers that they were all in danger of perishing However as much lessen'd as the Imperial Army was they were in a condition to march so soon as the Spring approached and to enterprize something till the Auxiliary Forces came up The Emperor therefore resolved to begin the Campagne with the Siege of Novigrade which is a little City seated about a League from the Danaw between Gran and Weizan and has a Castle belonging to it which is built upon an inaccessible Rock His Imperial Majestie 's Design being by that means to deprive the Turks of their Communication between Buda and Newhausel and after that to lay Siege again to the first Some days after this Resolution was taken the Duke of Lorrain departed from Vienna and arrived in the Army that lay encamped near Gran consisting of about Five and twenty Thousand Men. This Prince to whom the Emperor had given a full Commission to act according as Occasions presented after he had well consider'd the Resolution taken to Besiege Novigrade first and then Buda found such great Difficulties in the Execution of this Design that he almost dispaired of better Success than he had the Summer before In short besides that the Fortifications of Buda were in a much better condition than the Emperor imagined besides that the new Bassa who Commanded in that Place had utterly demolished the Houses that had been ruined during the Siege to the end he might be in a better condition to defend himself the Garison consisted of above Ten thousand Men. There were also Ten thousand Turks that lay between Buda and Alba Regalis and Twelve thousand more had passed the Bridge of Esseck to joyn Ten thousand Tartars So that the Duke of Lorrain found he had to deal with an Army of no less than Threescore thousand Men besides great Detachements which they could draw out of the Garisons adjoyning All these Considerations made him out of conceit with the Siege nevertheless he sent away the Count of Caprara with a Detachement of Three thousand Horse to take a View of Novigrade At what time although that Garison had received a reinforcement of Five hundred Janisaries they quitted the City and flung themselves into the Castle upon the sight of that Detachement However because the Count had no Order for a Siege he returned without attempting any thing And upon the Report which Caprara made of the Condition of the Place the Duke gave over the Design which he had to Attack it and resolved to Besiege Newhausel which was approved by the Emperor to whom the Duke signified his Resolution by a Letter The Imperial Army therefore invested Newhausel upon the 7th of July 1685. and the next day the Duke of Bavaria's Forces with those of the Dukes of Brunswick Lunenburg and other Princes of Germany being arrived at the Camp the Duke of Lorrain attended by some Volunteers and Principal Officers of the Army went to View the Place and laid his Design to Attack it in the same manner as the Turks had attackt and taken it before in the year 1663. Accordingly the Design was put in Execution and the Siege was prosecuted with so much Vigor that though the Besieged made continual Sallies from the very first day they were invested and made as Brave a Defence as any Men in the World could have done nevertheless they despair'd of being able to sustain the violent Efforts of the Christians In the mean time while the Christians Besieged Newhausel the Turks surprized the lower Town of Vicegrade which they first Plundered and then set on Fire after they had put the greatest part of the Inhabitants to the Sword and taken the rest Prisoners Which done they went to Besiege Gran in hopes to make themselves Masters of that Place or else to raise the Siege of Newhausel To which the Duke of Lorrain was upon the point of giving a General Assault when the News was brought him that Gran was in extream Distress that the Tartars carried on their Trenches amain and that the Serasquier whose Army was above Sixty thousand Strong had already given two Assaults Upon this the Duke no less resolved to Succour Gran than to fight the Serasquier role from the Camp before Newhausel with the Elector of Bavaria and some other Generals at the Head of Thirty thousand Men leaving only Twenty thousand to make good the Siege under the Command of the Count of Caprara The same day the Army encamp'd at Comorra and the next day having passed the Danaw over two Bridges which were made in the Night they began to march in Battle array and â—o continued their March till they came in view of the Enemy who advanced forward to meet the Christian Army
Several times the Imperialists were constrain'd to recoyle but at length after many bloody Struglings on both sides the Besieged having lost their Courage through the Death of the Governor who was slain upon the Breach the Infidels were repulsed and forced out of their Entrenchments on that side next the Duke of Lorrain's Attack At the same time also the Brandenburgers enter'd the City and piercing forward into the Streets put all to the Sword One of the Bassa's who defended the Place next the Duke of Bavaria's Attack with an incredible Courage was constrain'd to give Ground and seeing all lost next the Attacks of Lorrain and Brandenburgh retir'd into a Roundel between the Castle and the City where he yielded at Discretion with all that were with him Thus was Buda taken by Storm in every of the three Places where the Assault was made only those that were in the Duke of Lorrain's Attack were the first that enter'd This Conquest was the more Glorious in regard it was made in view of the whole Ottoman Army who without daring to make any Attempt to relieve it suffer'd the taking by Storm of so important a Place as that was and of which the Infidels had been in Possession near a Hundred and fifty years There was found in the Place between Three and Four hundred Pieces of Cannon Sixty Mortar-Pieces and an Incredible Number of Bullets Granadoes Carcasses Bombs and other Warlike Engines besides about Two thousand Prisoners taken For the Turks that were in Buda fought like Men in despair so that the greatest part were destroy'd before the City was won And for the Christian Generals they signalized themselves in this Siege by so many Actions of Courage and Prudence that the Enemies of the Duke of Lorrain have been constrain'd to acknowledge that he perform'd at that time all that could be expected from a Great and Experienced Captain I tremble to relate the Actions of the Soldiers after the taking of the Town During the first Agitations of their Fury they committed unheard of Cruelties And though the Generals us'd all their Endeavours to prevent them from defiling their Victory with Acts of bloody Inhumanity yet they put all to the Sword without distinction of Age or Sex nothing at all moved with the Cries and Tears of an infinite Number of Miserable People who begg'd their Lives upon their Knees And in hopes of finding Gold or some small Jewels they rumaged the very Bowels of those who they suspected to have swallow'd them And some there were so inhumanely Brutish that meeting Women with Children of two or three Months old they cut open their Bellies and crammed the Innocent Babes into their Wombs Such are the Calamities that attend the Sacking of Cities taken by Force which therefore the Christian Generals would have avoided had not the Obstinacy of the Governor been such as to hold out to the last Extremity But to return to the Ottoman Army which lay not above a League from the Christian Lines in regard they did not imagine that the Town was carried in that manner as it was they no sooner received the News that the Christians had Possession of the Place but they display'd a thousand ridiculous Marks of their Despair and in the mid'st of those Fears wherein they were lest the Christians should force their Camp they retreated in the Night It is said that the Duke of Lorrain's Joy for the taking of Buda wrought so extreamly in him that he never thought of pursuing the Enemy whose Forces he had entirely defeated in that Consternation wherein they then were and that this was an Error which neither Monsieur Turenne nor the Prince of Conde would have committed But if we overlook the Lives of the greatest Captains we shall find perhaps that they did not always make the best of those Advantages which they might have drawn from their Victories I have already shewn you one Example in the Person of the King of Poland after the raising the Siege of Vienna so far it is from truth that Hero's are always infallible Therefore as it is not my Business to make a Panegyrick upon the Duke of Lorrain I must acknowledge that he forgot himself at this time and knew not how to set Limits to his Joy But it is certain that they who have upbraided him for this Slip would have been no less discontented had he not perform'd it and would not have fail'd of crying out had he been repulsed by the Turks That two Victories were not to be won in one day that it had been a rash Attempt and that those other Great Men whom they favoured more than him would have been contented to have won the Town without hazarding an Overthrow after so fortunate a Success Some time before the taking of Buda the President Canon whom the Duke of Lorrain had sent to Paris return'd to the Camp This Minister had Orders to demand the Restitution of the Dutchies of Lorrain and Barr or to manage some Accommodation upon Conditions less severe than those which the King of France exacted by the Peace of Nimeguen But he return'd without effecting any thing Therefore to go on with the Series of the History the Emperor was no sooner inform'd of the happy Success of the Christian Arms but adjudging rightly of the Consternation that had seized the Grand Visier and all the Ottoman Forces he was desirous that the Duke of Lorrain should go and Attack the Bridge of Esseck and the Fort which lyes beyond the River * This Bridge which perhaps is the Biggest that is in the whole World is in length 8565 German Paces and 17 broad It is built part over the Danaw part over the River Fennes and part over a vast Marsh it was built by Solyman the Magnificent in the year 1521. after which a great part of it was Burnt by the Turks and Christians The Duke having received the Emperor's Command laid before him the great difficulty of performing his Orders without the Ruin of his Army for that he had a vast deal of Ground to cross where there was neither Victuals nor Forage but all these Remonstrances signified nothing So that after the Army had refresh'd themselves for two or three days he Embark'd Ten thousand Foot together with Twelve Pieces of Cannon Twenty Mortars and great Store of Ammunition and Provision to fall down toward the Bridge of Esseck where the Forces of Croatia had Orders also to meet him And the next day the Duke of Lorrain and the Elector of Bavaria follow'd by Land with Four twenty Thousand Horse 6000 Hungarians Twelve thousand Foot Three thousand Heydukes The Army suffered extreamly in their March and upon the Road they received Advice that the Turks had blown up the Fortifications of Harwan not finding them in a Condition for Defence that their Ammunition and Provisions were Transported to Agria and that the Grand Visier was advantageously posted on this side the Bridge of Esseck upon the
little River Saubits having a Marsh behind him and that his design was to lye in that Post and observe the Motions of the Imperialists At length the Army being arrived near Tolna from whence the Enemy lay not above three Leagues the Duke of Lorrain order'd a Bridge to be laid over the River Saubits that he might engage the Grand Visier to fight if it were possible But not being able to subsist in that Post for want of Forage he thought it not convenient to cross the River understanding besides that the Turks were retreated on this side the Drave near to Darda where they had a very Strong Castle built on purpose to secure the Bridge of Esseck Therefore the Duke of Lorrain taking another course divided his Army into two Bodies of which one was commanded by Prince Louis of Baden with Orders to joyn the Croatian Troops under the Command of Count Scherffenberg and so to Attack Five Churches which Town was taken and afterwards Darda and Capuswar the latter upon Articles the two first Surrendred at Discretion During this Expedition of Prince Lewis the Duke of Lorrain crossed the Drave at Tolna over a Bridge of Boats and returned to Pest with his Army From whence he sent a Detachment of several Regiments that marched slowly toward Upper Hungary and the Teysse where Count Caraffa and General Heusler were to take the Command of them and attack Segedin Which place Surrendred after Count Veterani had twice beaten the Infidels that attempted to relieve it The taking of Buda the Conquests of the Venetians in Dalmatia and in the Morea which had been no less considerable than those of the Imperialists in Hungary and certain Jealousies that the King of Poland had a design to declare War against the Port occasion'd such hot Allarums at Constantinople that the People began te murmur against the Grand Signior There were the Imans which are the Preachers in the Mosques who upbraided him that instead of being at the Head of his Armies after the Example of his Predecessors he kept himself shut up in his Seraglio and never stirr'd out but to go a Hunting and generally all Men complain'd of his being unsensible of the common Good But these Complaints were little regarded by the Sultan Nevertheless reflecting upon the Consequences as such that might prove unlucky to him he degraded the Mufti accusing him to have been the Cause of all the Misfortunes that had befallen the Ottoman Empire out of his Complaisance at the Request of the Grand Visier Cara Mustafa to Sign the Resolution taken to begin the War before he had Remonstrated the ill Consequences of it as it was his Duty to have done He was afterward Banish'd and his Dignity conferr'd upon another After which the Sultan made great Reformations in the Seraglio he retrench'd himself the vast Expences of his Hunting and the Retinue that belong'd to it He assembled divers Extraordinary Councils to find out a way how he might recruit the Army in Hungary and by his great Preparations prevent the Misfortunes that threatned the Empire In a Word he omitted nothing that might conduce to his own Defence and to repel the Enemy But all these Precautions could not hinder the People from continuing their Murmurs which encreas'd to that Degree that they cry'd out aloud in the midst of the Publick Streets That the Enemy was always Victorious and that the General of the Christians was Born to be the Scourge of the Musselmen so long as the Government and the Places of highest Trust and Honour were in the Hands of such Effeminate Persons But if the Grand Signior were under such Disturbances at Constantinople the Grand Visier was no less turmoild in his Thoughts at Belgrade whither he had retir'd himself Deeply apprehensive therefore of the loss of his Head he got a Writing Sign'd by all the Officers of his Army which he sent to the Port in Justification of himself to the Sultan that nothing had been done during the Campagne but by their Advice and according to the Resolutions that had been taken in the Councils of War To this Testimonial he added That the Affairs of Hungary were in such a desperate Condition when the Ottoman Forces arrived there besides that they arriv'd too late that it seem'd as if they had been only sent to be witnesses of the loss of Buda Lastly he promised the Grand Signior That if he would vouchsafe to continue the Trust of his Forces in his Hands and give orders for their necessary Supplies he would so order his Affairs as to recover in one Campagne perhaps what all the other Visiers had lost ever since the raising the Siege of Vienna 'T is true he had caus'd a Report to be spread abroad that he was going for Constantinople and that he had already sent away his Equipage before but that was the thing which was farthest from his Thoughts On the other side he made it his whole Study to avoid a Journey which he could not choose but look upon as that which would prove mortal to him And indeed he knew so well how to persuade the Sultan that his Presence was absolutely necessary upon the Frontiers that he obtain'd a Letter from his Highness wherein after he had graciously given him to understand that it was his real Opinion that the unfortunate Success of the last Campagne did not proceed from any Suspicion of his Fidelity or Conduct but that he attributed the loss of so many strong Holds to the Pleasure of God on purpose to punish the Ottoman Empire he order'd him to stay in Hungary and go on with the Fortifications of Belgrade and Esseck and diligently to attend the Motions of the Imperialists till he could send him fresh Recruits that might enable him to undertake some considerable Enterprize the next Spring before the Christians could be in the Field The Visier who by this had got what he aim'd at left no Stone unturn'd to put himself into a Condition to repel the Christians and to perform some considerable Undertaking before the Imperialists were ready for him It lay so much upon him that the Face of Affairs should change that there was nothing which he omitted during the Winter to gain Fortune on his side at the beginning of the Spring He us'd all the Endeavours imaginable to engage the Muscovites and the Prince of Transilvania to continue the Peace between them and his Highness He sent an Aga to the King of Poland who being got as far as the Black Sea seem'd to threaten the Turks that he intended to open a passage to Constantinople He made several Propositions of Peace to the Court at Vienna on purpose to lull the Emperor a sleep But finding that all his Negotiations and Stratagems could not prevent the States of Transilvania from concluding a Peace with the Emperor nor hinder the League which the Polanders and Muscovites had made together against the Turks and lastly perceiving that there were no preparations
sent another to secure Siclos and Five-Churches and then resolv'd to have besieged Sigeth But the same Reasons that frustrated his Design before he had pass'd the Drave caus'd him to give it over the second time After which he had a purpose to have pass'd the Danaw over the Bridge which had been built near Mohats But that March was put off upon fresh Intelligence that the Grand-Visier had pass'd the Bridges near Esseck with his whole Army So that now he resolv'd once more to march toward the Infidels and try if he could provoke 'em to an Engagement After the Retreat of the Duke of Lorrain the Grand-Visier was once in a mind to have pursu'd the Imperialists but then again believeing that this Retreat was but feign'd to draw him out of his Entrenchments he let them retreat without any disturbance But then again as firmly believing that the Retreat of the Christians was a real Flight he quitted the Fastness where he lay and encamp'd near Darda Nevertheless there being nothing which he dreaded more then to come to Handy-Stroaks with the Christians he took great care to entrench himself and kept himself very quiet in his Camp On the other side the Duke of Lorrain who saw that the Visier avoided fighting and that there was no probability of drawing him out of his Trenches unless he made use of some Stratagem caus'd his Army sometimes to advance sometimes to retreat as if he had been afraid of the Enemy He made several Detachements some of which pass'd the Danaw others march'd towards Siclos and Sigeth with Orders however not to remove from the Camp above a Leagues distance But all these Counterfeit shews proving fruitless and the Duke besides seeing that his Men could not subsist in the Place where they were he resolv'd to retreat in good earnest and the Resolution was no sooner taken but he began to decamp The Visier not being able hitherto to penetrate the meaning of so many Motions of the Christian Army began to believe at last that the Duke thought himself too weak to attack him and that his flight was a sign that he had no desire to fight So that being eager to make the best of the Advantage which he thought he had he hasten'd out several Detachements to fall upon the Rear and Baggage of the Imperialists and afterwards causing a greater number of Men to advance the fight began insensibly Presently Ten thousand Spahi's and five thousand Janisaries appear'd who march'd directly against the Left Wing of the Imperialists where the Duke of Bavaria commanded with Prince Lewis of Baden And these two great Bodies of Turkish Horse and Foot were preceded by another great Body of Cavalry whose charge was vigorously receiv'd by General Dunewald In a moment after that the Janisaries posted themselves upon a rising Ground with some Pieces of Cannon charg'd with Car-touches which very much endammag'd the Left Wing at what time the Ten thousand Spahi's began to come on But then the Duke of Bavaria who saw that now the Turks had a design to fight extended the Front of his Wing proportionably as he saw that the Enemy extended theirs And indeed the Turks fell on briskly and vigorously But the Duke of Bavaria stood the Shock like a great Captain and though he expos'd himself as much as any Common Soldier and flew about from one place to another he receiv'd only a slight Wound in the Hand with a Musket Bullet While the Left Wing was thus engag'd the Duke of Lorrain drew up the Right Wing in the form of a Half Moon the right Horn of which extended to the Enemies Flank with whom they were already in close fight and the left Horn extended toward a Body of Spahi's and Janisaries that were thundring down upon ' em The Combat was long and Bloody and it was observable that the Turks fought in much better Order than they us'd to do and with much more Courage but for all that they were forced to give ground The Grand-Visier who never thought the Fight would have begun so soon or that his Detachements would have charg'd the Christian Army with so much precipitancy had not drawn up all his Men in Battel Array or rather not imagining that the Christians would have made that Resistance which they did was in such a hurry such a strange amaze and gave his Orders so confusedly that it was impossible for those that receiv'd 'em to put 'em in execution which caus'd such a disorder among the Turks that the Duke and the Elector knew well how to make their best advantage of it So that while they were in that Confusion they overturn'd whole Squadrons one upon another and while Friends routed Friends made a miserable slaughter among ' em On the other side the Grand-Visier who was afraid of what he saw and could not prevent it with all his Precautions flew from place to place where there was most danger to rally his Men which he did in some measure but in regard it was impossible he should be every where the Turks gave ground in many places and the Field was soon clear'd by the Christians for those of the Turks who had made the stoutest resistance and fought with most fury lost their ground by degrees and at length betook themselves all to flight They were pursu'd to their Camp where the greatest part were cut to pieces and they that escap'd the Victor being chac'd from their Entrenchments were driv'n like Sheep as far as the Drave where they had been all cut to pieces had not the night been more favourable to them This Battel was fought very near the same place where the famous Battel of Mohats was fought in the year 1526 at what time Soliman the Second slew about Twenty thousand Christians among whom was Lewis the Second King of Hungary All the Enemies Artillery consisting of Fourscore Pieces of Cannon and twelve Mortars became a Prey to the Victor with all their Provisions and Riches The Turks so little expected this defeat that their Wagons were found without Horses their Elephants and Camels in their Stalls and their Tents standing The Duke of Bavaria who enter'd among the first into their Camp pusht on forward to the Grand Signior's Tent which was easily known by the Richness of it and other Marks particular to the Generals of the Infidels where he found a little Chest wherein were about Two Millions in Gold and Jewels And in this Tent it was that Te Deum was sung two days afterwards for joy of the Victory and so they decamp'd the next day for fear of infection from the stench of the dead Bodies For 't is verily believ'd the Turks lost near Twelve thousand Men in this Battel At the same time also that the Christians gain'd this considerable Victory in Hungary the Serasquier of the Morea was defeated by Count Coningsmark and the Rout of that General occasion'd such a Consternation among the Turks that they quitted Patras the Castles
of the Morea and Rumelia and the City and Castle of Lepanto The Grand-Visier who two days before had intelligence of the Victory and Conquest of the Venetians was at his wits end to see himself vanquish'd in his own turn For he foresaw that so many Losses one after another could not but prove fatal to him and he had all the reason in the world to be assur'd of it for the whole Army murmur'd against him and was ready to Mutiny Nevertheless being retreated toward Esseck with about Forty thousand Men and rousing up his Courage that he might not altogether sink under his bad Fortune he endeavour'd to pacifie his Men and to hearten 'em up at the same time He told 'em that the Misfortune which had befall'n 'em ought not to deject their Courage that the chance of War was uncertain that the mischief was not so great as was imagin'd that there was no City or Town lost and supposing that the defeat were greater then it was the season was so far advanced that the Christians would not be able to undertake any thing considerable This Discourse and some Money which he caus'd to be distributed among the Soldiers gave them a little new Life and for the time dispell'd their Fears so that they resolv'd to defend themselves and the Grand-Visier found himself in a Condition able in some measure to make head against the Duke of Lorrain However it was not the Resolution of the Turks that stopt the Duke in the Carcer of his Victories For in regard that his Men were animated by Success 't is most certain they would have continu'd Victorious could they but have had an opportunity to fight but the season hinder'd them from farther falling upon the Enemy 'T is true the Duke of Lorrain did all he could to engage the Grand-Visier to a second Battel but in regard he found it impossible and for that the continual Rains and overflowings of the Rivers made the ways unpassable he call'd a Council of War upon the Field of Battel to consider what to do The greatest part advis'd him to pass the Drave but the Trouble he met with in passing it the first time having silenc'd that Advice the Duke resolv'd to spend his time in repairing the Disorders which it was impossible but such a Battel as that of Mohats had caus'd in his Army till he could have a positive Accompt what was become of the Enemy In the mean time he sent a particular Relation of the Battel to the Emperor who return'd him his Congratulations and Thanks for so Glorious a Victory with his own Hands and at the same time he also wrote his Acknowledgments to the Duke of Bavaria Great was the Rejoycing at Vienna for the Defeat of the Grand Visier But the Emperor's Joy was somewhat abated by a Letter from Count Caraffa then in Upper Hungary wherein he gave his Majesty to understand that the Prince of Transilvania had declared for the Port notwithstanding the Treaty which I mentioned by which the Prince Abaffi and his Territories were obliged to contribute to the Subsistance of the Imperial Forces and to furnish them with Ammunition and Money This News was so much the more unwelcom to the Emperor in regard he had resolved since the Treaty to send his Forces to take up their Winter Quarters in Transilvania Thereupon the Duke of Lorrain who soon received the same ill Tidings finding that he must give over the Designs which he had on the other side the Drave without any hesitation march'd away into Upper Hungary with a Resolution to reduce Prince Abaffi to his Duty To this purpose he strengthen'd the Places from whence he was to remove with good Reinforcements and having left a flying Camp in those Parts by the Advice of the Duke of Bavaria and the rest of the General Officers he advanced toward the Frontiers of Transilvania Now in regard this was a tedious March and the Ways bad his Men suffer'd great Hardships but the Advantages which they hoped to find in their Quarters made them endure all their Toil and Inconveniencies with Patience However the Duke of Lorrain who omitted nothing to disappoint and distract the Counsels of the Enemy made a shew of Marching toward Temeswaert Upon which the Grand Visier apprehending that the Duke had a Design to Besiege that Place sent a numerous Detachement to secure it Of which the Duke no sooner received Intelligence but perceiving the false March which he had caused the Grand-Visier to take he sent away immediate Orders to Count Erdedi Governor of Croatia to joyn Count Dunewald and march forthwith to that Part where the Grand Visier had least Strength Upon which the Infidels who expected no such Visit were not a little surprized and abandon'd Esseck Upon which Count Dunewald made himself Master of Walpo which had been so often attempted before and took in several Castles and other petty Places which must of necessity have been reduced at the beginning of the next Campagne But to return to the Duke of Lorrain's March He was no sooner arrived upon the Frontiers of Transilvania but he demanded Winter Quarters for his Soldiers to which the States returned answer That in regard their Country lay open and without defence they could not hinder the Turks from entring into it and committing all manner of Hostilities if they should openly Declare against them But since the Imperialists were at their Gates and that they were no longer in fear of the Ottoman Forces they offer'd the Duke to allow Quarters to some of his Regiments Which tho' it were something yet the Duke was not fully satisfied He therefore sent them word that he must be constrain'd to take by Force what they would not grant him in a Friendly way and because that sort of Language produced no Effect he advanced into the Country and seized upon the Castle of Samblock in Transilvania which lay in his Road and after he had caus'd it to be fortified to make himself Master of that Passage he came before Claussenberg which is a considerable City where the States frequently meet into which Place being resolv'd to put a Garison he proposed his Resolution to the Governor To which the Commander made answer That in regard he must have an Express Order from Prince Abaffi for such an Admission he desir'd time to write to him But the Answer not coming soon enough and the Duke preparing for an Assault the Governor open'd the Gates Prince Abaffi's Garison being gone out after certain Conditions agreed to Three thousand of the Imperialists enter'd with Drums beating and Colours flying Several other Cities also followed the Example of Claussenberg and receiv'd Imperial Garisons All this while Prince Abaffi who had one of his Sons a Hostage at Constantinople having given the Turks to understand the Condition of his Affairs and how he was distress'd sollicited for Aid But while the Imperial Troops advanced and still gain'd Ground Count Dunewald having taken
Possega the capital City of Sclavonia and the Turks having quitted some Castles and several small Towns between the Drave and the Save the States of Transilvania resolved to put themselves under the Protection of the Emperor fearing lest the Duke of Lorrain should seize upon their best Towns and so a Re-assignation of Winter Quarters was made The Principal Articles that were Sign'd by the Duke of Lorrain Prince Abaffi and the States of Transilvania were I. That the Prince of Transilvania his Children all those of his Houshold all his Nobility and in in General all the Transilvanians should have free Liberty to Depart out of Weissembourgh which is the usual Residence of the Prince and out of all the rest of the Towns to return or retire where they should think most Convenient II. That the Prince and Michael Abaffi his Eldest Son who had been declared his Successor should be invested with the same Authority and should enjoy the same Power which had been Confirm'd to them by the Ottoman Port and the States and should continue in the Exercise of it according to the Laws and Customs of the Country III. That the People also should be maintain'd in their Privileges and Franchises IV. That the four Religions receiv'd in Transilvania shall be upheld the Lutheran Calvinist Roman Catholick and Unitarians that is the Arrians or Socinians Besides this General Treaty there was one in particular touching Contributions and Quarters by vertue of which the Prince and States consented to Quarter and Pay during the Winter one part of the Imperial Forces which the Duke should leave under the Command of the Duke of Croy and Count Scherffenberg After which the Duke quitted Transilvania with the rest of his Forces and march'd into Upper Hungary where they took up their Winter Quarters according to his Orders THE LIFE OF Charles V. DUKE of Lorrain and Bar And Generalissimo of all the Imperial Forces THE FIFTH BOOK THE Grand Visier after the Battel of Mohats retreated as I have already said toward Esseck with the Remainder of his Forces He encamped at Little Waradin and having call'd a Council of War the result of the Consultation was to send Twelve thousand Spahi's with every one a Sack of Corn behind him to endeavour the Relief of Agria with Provision and Men as being Block'd up by the Christians But though the Ottoman Soldiers had generally testified such an Extraordinary Resolution to oppose the Christians after the Harangue which the Grand Visier made them and the Distribution of the Money which he gave them yet the Spahi's were so afraid of meeting and being forced to fight with the Christians so accustomed to Vanquish that they refus'd to march However because they durst not let it be seen that it was out of fear of being beaten that they refus'd to obey they pretended that three Months Pay was detain'd from them which was the only Reason that constrain'd them to disobey the Orders of their General and at the same time they demanded their Pay after a most tumultuous and mutinous manner This Revolt which began only in bare Murmuring encreased insensibly to that Degree that the whole Army was in an Uproar They cast their Eyes upon a Leader who was constrain'd to appear at the Head of those Rebellious Mutineers and there was one Bassa who being in the Grand Visier's Tent was so bold as to tell him in the Presence of two other Bassa's the Treasurer of the Army and the Secretary of State That the Musulmen desir'd to be Paid their Money and that they would no longer endure that above Fifteen thousand Bags which had been taken out of the Imperial Treasury and sent into Hungary since the Beginning of the Campagne should be expended to enrich him and his Creatures while They Sacrificed their Lives for the Defence of the State The Grand Visier who at another time would soon have made the Bassa repent of such an Insolent Reproach had so much power over himself as to dissemble his Resentment and therefore said no more to him but that it was only a Pretence which the Soldiers laid hold of that he himself was a Man of deeper Judgment than not to see it but however that instead of three Months Pay he would order them to be paid six This Answer so smooth and soft for a General who has no less Authority in his Camp than the Grand Signior himself had nothing of Prevalency to soften the rugged Bassa who therefore reply'd in the same Language That he was not worthy the Place which he held since the ill Success of the Campagne concluded with so much Ignominy or rather which they were not in a condition to conclude since they were constrain'd to fly before their Enemies could be attributed to nothing but his Cowardice and want of Conduct And at last he declared to him That the Army would no longer acknowledge him for their General and therefore demanded of him the Seal of the Empire and the Standard of Mahomet In this Danger wherein the Grand Visier found himself he knew not presently what course to take nevertheless he made this quick Answer That for the Marks of his Soveraignty he could not Surrender them to any one but the Grand Signior himself who had entrusted them in his Hands Nevertheless to avoid the Fury of the Soldiers he Embark'd upon the Danaw as soon as Night came and so betook himself to Belgrade from whence he departed immediately for Constantinople The Visier was no sooner gone but the Chieftains of the Rebellious Army dispatch'd away six Commissioners who were no sooner arrived at the Port but they declar'd to the Grand Signior That they would no longer obey Solyman nor the Caimakan his Lieutenant They demanded next that Siaoux Bassa whom they had made choice of for their chief Captain might be put in the Grand Visier's Place and Cuprogli his Brother-in-Law in the Place of the Caimakan and carrying their Insolence as high as it was possible for any Ottoman Subjects they added That his Highness had nothing to do but to resolve one way or t'other for that the Army had given them no longer than a Months time to wait for his Answer How Insolent soever this Demand were and how unwilling soever the Sultan might have been at another time to have given the Command of his Army to Siaoux Bassa nevertheless he now found himself constrain'd in this disorder of his Affairs to send him the Patent of Grand Visier and the Standard of Mahomet which Solyman had already resign'd Nor was this sufficient to appease the Mutineers For above Ten or Twelve Thousand Spahi's or Janisaries having left the Army marched directly for Constantinople under the leading of one they called Little Mahomet being follow'd by a Bassa with Eight Thousand Horse And the Soldiers that staid with Siaoux compell'd the new Visier to take the same Road to demand of the Grand Signior the Head of Solyman and some others of the General
Officers It would be a difficult thing to make a true Relation of the Disturbances that were then in Constantinople and the Trouble the Grand Signior was in So that although he were convinc'd that Solyman was not Guilty he was compell'd to cause him to be Strangled and to send the Head of that Unfortunate Visier to his Rebellious Soldiers He abandon'd to their Fury the Principal Officers whose Lives they obstinately demanded He paid them all the Money which he got from them which were Arrested and who were daily Tortur'd to squeeze more out of their Bones Nor could all these low and poor Submissions prevent Mahomet himself from being depos'd in whose stead Solyman his Brother was advanced to the Ottoman Throne who had been shut up in a Dungeon above Forty Years During these Commotions in Constantinople the Duke of Lorrain having settled his Soldiers in their Winter-Quarters departed from Transilvania to visit the Blockade of Agria Where he was no sooner arriv'd but he was wellcom'd with all the great and small Shot from all the Posts of the Blockade By the Noise of which the Governor of Agria being informed of the Dukes arrival sent an Aga to him at the same time to Compliment him with Orders also to let him know That 't was in vain for him to tire his Men in a Season so inconvenient that therefore he advis'd him to draw off since it was to no purpose for him to continue in his obstinate Resolution to make himself Master of a Place which he had block'd up for so long time without any Success he being resolved to defend it to the last Extremity To which the Duke caus'd this Answer to be returned That he was not come before the place but only to streighten it more closely and that he should find in a little time which of the two was the most Resolute he that was resolv'd to Attack or he that was so well resolv'd to defend the Place In short the Duke rode round the Town to view it and advanc'd to the very Counterscarp yet not a Man from the Garison durst adventure to discharge a single Musket However as his presence was not necessary after he had given Order for a closer Blockade he departed for Presburgh where the Emperor then resided in order to the Crowning of Archduke Joseph his Eldest Son King of Hungary Nor was the Governor of Agria so resolute as he seem'd to be for some time after the Dukes departure he desired to * Agria Capitulated the 28th of Novemb. 1687 and the Garison went forth the 9th of the next Month which was the same day that the Archduke was Crown'd Capitulate And the day that he went out of the place he protested That he and all the Garison had subsisted without Bread for Seven Months together The Duke of Lorrain was receiv'd at Presburg by their Majesties with all the Marks of Joy that could be express'd Some few days after he went to Vienna and thence to Inspruck to the Queen Dowager of Poland his Wife the Differences about Precedency not permitting him to be present at the Coronation of Prince Joseph which Ceremony was perform'd the Ninth of December The new Visier flatter'd himself that the Deposal of Mahamet the IV. would restore Tranquillity to the Ottoman Empire but he found that his Expectations and his Hopes fail'd him However as it was his Interest to keep all quiet at Constantinople he sent thither Two Thousand Men under the Conduct of Little Mahomet and some time after he follow'd himself But no sooner had he left the Army but the Spahi's and Janisaries who lay encamped some Miles from the City having Disbanded themselves got into it in small Companies so that in a little time they amounted to above Five Thousand and these committed Infinite Disorders Siaoux himself had much ado to pacifie this licentious Rabble though they had chosen him for their Chieftain Because he went about to tell them their Duty they told him boldly That he began betimes to follow the ill Example of his Predecessors that he must expect as unfortunate an End as Theirs and upon some tart Answers that he gave them they demanded his Head of the Sultan and being divided into several Quarters of the City they committed most dreadful Hostilities Solyman the III. was strangely confounded at the sight of so many Disorders and seriously acknowledg'd that having been a Prisoner for Forty Years together he understood not how to Govern an Empire and besides that his Power not being well settled he knew not what course to take to pacifie those mad-Men of Soldiers However in regard these Mutineers had made the detaining of their Pay the pretence of their Rebellion care was taken to distribute among them a great part of what was their due and after the Sultan had try'd by all the ways of Mildness and Sweetness to reduce 'em to their Duty they were at length prevail'd upon to depart Constantinople and take their Winter-quarters where they were assign'd ' em After this they made it their whole business to get all things ready against the Spring They made new Levies of Men. Hassan the new Bassa of Aleppo was nominated Serasquier in Hungary according to the usual Custom of the Ottoman Empire which is That that Bassa is always to Command the principal Army in the absence of the Grand Visier And in a Divan assembled on purpose it was resolv'd That in regard the Imperialists care as little for Sieges as the Turks did for pitch'd Fields they should after an extraordinary manner supply those Garisons in their Power with Men to the end they might draw out Detachements from thence as necessity requir'd to make up small Parties to beat the Field and harrass the Duke of Lorrain Chiaux's were sent to the Princes of Transilvania Moldavia and Valachia to give them notice of the Advancement of the new Emperor and to sollicit them at the same time to stick close to the Interests of the Port. And in regard that Solyman saw well that so long as he should be at War with the Emperor he should never enjoy any Tranquillity during his Reign he declar'd That he Condemn'd the Declaration of War which had been made against him by Mahomet the IV. before the Truce was expir'd adding withal That to redeem the Credit which the Ottomans had lost by the Breach of those Treaties it could be no shame for them to signifie to the Emperor that they were ready to enter into a Negotiation of Peace to stop the Effusion of that Blood which was every day shed These prudent Precautions gave some Hopes that Solyman III. being ascended the Throne would settle a Calm in the Empire and that in case the Emperor would not consent to a Peace which he so freely offer'd of himself that he should find himself in a Condition to withstand him and to stop him in the Career of his Conquests There was but one Obstacle that could make him
fear the Disappointment of his Precautions which was that the Imperial Treasury was almost exhausted The Army was not wholly pay'd off and a great part of the Mutineers remain'd still at Constantinople to have Right done them There was a necessity of keeping several Armies on foot and of vast Expences for the Preparations against the next Campagne The only Expedient which the new Visier could find was to lay new Impositions upon the People the Immense Sums which had been already heap'd together by constraint upon the People to pay the Taxes laid upon them being not sufficient to satisfie the Soldiers And these Impositions they were that renewed the foregoing Troubles after so horrid a manner that Constantinople was within a little of being sackt and the new Sultan massacred by the Rebels The Spahi's that staid in the City joyning with the Militia and a part of the Rabble themselves depos'd the Principal Officers from their Employments and having besieg'd the Palace of Siaoux that new Visier was butcher'd after the most miserable manner in the World I only speak of some part of these Disorders in Constantinople Upon this the Grand-Signior took off the new Impositions and this begat him so much the Love of the People that having set up the Standard of Mahomet he rally'd together about the Seraglio above a hundred thousand Men which though for the most part unarmed shew'd however so great a Resolution that the greatest part of the Mutineers were disperst or cut in pieces After which Solyman created Ishmael Bassa Grand-Visier a Person much in the Peoples favour which in a manner restor'd the City to its former tranquility However this new Minister was laid aside in a little time after and Mustapha Bassa was advanced in his Room But the Bassa who commanded at Belgrade and had under him the Hungarian Army upon the news of the new Visiers advancement immediately mutiny'd and set all in a flame pretending that the Dignity was his due after he had obtain'd by his Artifices and Intreagues the Deposal of Ishmael Bassa So that the Repose which the Ottoman Empire seem'd to enjoy being but a Shadow of Peace which might have been disipated in a moment there was just reason to hope that if the Emperor had been as well serv'd then as he was in the preceding Campagnes it would have been no difficult thing for him to have continu'd his Conquests and to have render'd himself Master of all Hungary But two unlucky and unexpected Circumstances gave him cause to fear that he should not be in a Condition to make his Advantage of the Troubles and Divisions among the Infidels The first was That the Elector of Bavaria had resolv'd not to take the Field For though there had been a Regulation already made of the Body of the Army which he was to command and that the General Officers that were to serve under him were nominated yet at the same time that he was expected at Vienna there came a Courier from him who brought the news that it was impossible for him to march into Hungary by reason of the Marriage of his Sister with the Duke of Tuscany It was immediately suspected that the Elector who had so highly signaliz'd himself in the preceding Campagnes was grown weary of serving under another General and that the Marriage of the Princess his Sister was only a Pretence which he was willing to lay hold of that he might not be oblig'd to share his Honour with the Duke of Lorrain and it was thought the Elector by this design'd the sole Command to himself In short it was then reported that a Minister of State had propos'd to the Emperor to make him Generalissimo of his Armies and to keep the Duke of Lorrain at Vienna to be President of his Council of War in the Room of Prince Herman of Baden who was for that purpose to have been discharg'd from that Employment However it were in regard the Emperor was far from doing that Injustice to the Duke of Lorrain to whom he was to Sacrifice as I may so say Prince Herman of Baden by sending him to the Dyet at Ratisbonne under the Character of his First Commissioner only out of a Design to remove him out of the sight of an Enemy of whom he would have had just reason to Complain and for that he had given a thousand Testimonies of his Affection for that Prince and of the Confidence he had in his Counsels for these Reasons it was that the Resolution of the Duke of Bavaria whom he would have preferr'd before any other but the Duke of Lorrain whose presence was so necessary in Hungary troubled his Majesty very much The next Circumstance which was worse then t'other was this that the Duke of Lorrain was seiz'd at Vienna by a Distemper so dangerous that all Men were afraid for the Life of that great Prince The frequent Vomitings and other scurvy Symptoms which accompany'd his Disease made Men suspect at the same time that he was Poyson'd And in regard the Physicians unanimously despair'd of his Cure the Emperor began to be pensive past Consolation However such was the Care of of those that attended him and the Remedies apply'd so prevalent that at length he began to mend But then when it was thought the worst had been past he fell into a Relapse so dangerous that the Physicians gave him quite over 'T is true that at first they would have conceal'd his Sickness from the Queen Dowager of Poland but when they thought there was no hopes of Life a Courier was sent away to Inspruck to let her understand his Condition that she might have the satisfaction to see her Husband before he expir'd which brought her in haste to Vienna But fortunately the Judgments of the Physitians prov'd Erroneous for the Duke mended of a suddain But still the Indisposition of Body and the great weaknesses under which he labour'd were such that the Emperor well saw that he could not be in a Condition to endure the Hardships of a Campagne though perfectly recover'd in his Health So that while he waited to regain the Duke of Bavaria he gave the Command of the Army to Caprara However all this while there had been no care wanting at Vienna to prepare against the Campagne for they would not hear of any Peace with the Port. True it is that the Grand Visier Solyman after his Defeat had written a Letter full of Elogies to the Duke of Lorrain wherein he acknowledged that the Losses which the Empire had sustain'd proceeded only from the Grand Signior's Breach of Faith in violating the Treaties between the two Empires but that having sufficiently paid for it by all the fatal Events that had happen'd for Four years together since the Beginning of the War it was now time to stop the Effusion of Blood that had been spilt on both sides but the Emperor would vouchsafe no Answer to the Visier Quite the contrary he was in Treaty
would recover his Health yet in the mean time the Emperor could not build upon the Services he could do him for that supposing his Armies were ready to take the Field yet he knew not what to determine in respect of the Duke whose Presence was no less necessary in Hungary than in Germany At this time the Prince of Orange assisted with Ships and Men out of Holland made that unexpected Descent into England with which all the World has rung and which prov'd so fatal to King James while it set all the rest of Europe at Liberty from the Bondage it had so long been groaning under He set Sail from Holland the 15th of November and the 26th of the same Month the King of France declar'd War against the United Provinces under pretence that they had engag'd with the Emperor to cross the Establishment of the Cardinal of Furstenbergh in the Electorate of Cologne But there is no Person so dull in this Age as not to see that the King of France had other Motives than that But however it were that flourishing Republick was become a new Enemy to France that gave the Emperor hopes he might be reveng'd of the French In short the States General engag'd to assist him and their Ambassador at the Port press'd with so much Earnestness the Conclusion of the Peace that it was not long of the toyle of that Minister that his Endeavours did not succeed If the Emperor were afflicted for the Sickness of the Duke of Lorrain the Duke was no less concern'd than he and indeed till then he had endur'd his Sickness with a wonderful Patience but then he began to complain of his hard Fate For Affairs were come to that pass which he had wish'd for a long time He saw a large Harvest of Lawrels to be reap'd upon the Banks of the Rhine He saw all the Princes of Germany unanimously inclin'd to enter into a Confederacy with the Emperor and the Pope was his Friend nor was there any Question but that Spain would be of the Confederacy and that they might in time engage the Princes of the North the Cantons of Switzerland and all Italy And in a word the Duke must be thought very short sighted not to see that the only Revolution in England was a blow that disappointed all the King of France's Measures So that since the Death of Charles the Fourth the Duke had never such fair hopes of being restor'd to his Territories as now He knew the People lov'd him that they heartily wish'd for his return and that they only waited an opportunity never so little favourable to shake off the Yoke of France When he came to make these Reflexions he was willing to be in Germany but his Indisposition kept him at Inspruck And whatever Hopes and Encouragement the Physitians gave him he despair'd of ever being able to endure the Inconveniencies of a Campagne and these thoughts which entirely possess'd him did him more Mischief than the Ague that consum'd him If the Desire of Health could have contributed to the Cure of his Malady he had soon been rid of his trouble For never did any Prince more ardently desire to recover his Health than he did But they were ineffectual Desires However when he had the least of hope to be in a Condition to act again his Ague remitted and it was so necessary that this Commencement of his Recovery should be known at Vienna that he dispatch'd away a Courier on purpose And the Emperor being overjoy'd at the News wrote back to him at the same time that being his Counsel and his Right Arm he wish'd for his being near him so soon as his Health would give him leave While the Duke was gathering Strength at Inspruck there was nothing omitted at Vienna nor in all the Courts of the Empire that might contribute to the success of the next Campagne so that when the Emperor perceiv'd that the Turkish Ambassadors took their advantage of the War which the French King had declar'd against him and besides that the Peace which they Negotiated was impossible to be concluded or at least that it requir'd a long time to satisfie the Interests of the Venetians and the King of Poland they took all the best Methods imaginable to make Head against the King of France and the Ottomans both at one time Men were rais'd every where and while the Forces of the Elector of Saxony Landtgrave of Hesse and Duke of Hanouer march'd to take up their Winter-quarters about Francfort to be the more ready to Rendezvous again as occasion should serve the Emperor sent six Regiments of Horse and four or five of Infantry toward the Rhine The Elector of Brandenburgh also arriv'd at Weizel where lay a great part of his choicest Men. The Bishop of Munster having declared for the Emperor promis'd to put Eight hundred Men into Cologne whither also the Elector of Brandenburgh was to send Two thousand Dragoons The Hollanders sent Seven or Eight thousand Men into the Country of Juliers and apprehending lest the French should make themselves sole Masters of the Electorate of Mayence they sent a considerable Force to seize upon the greatest part of the Towns and Eight Regiments of Hanouer advanced at the same time toward Treves to secure Coblentz and the adjacent Countreys These Proceedings of the German Princes and the extraordinary Preparations that were making every where did not a little alarum France though she had been designing this War a long time ago and for that reason was provided with a much more numerous Army then that of the Confederates surprised by the Invasion Only because she had not foreseen the Revolution in England she was no less apprehensive of a Back-stroak from thence However dissembling her Fears she began with the Palatinate Wittemberg and several other Imperial Cities where she committed those Abominated Acts of Inhumanity that all Europe trembles at and at the same time that she laid all in Ashes and gave her Soldiers all manner of Licence she threw about her Declarations every where That she desir'd nothing more then Peace And at the same time also she made a particular Proposal of Peace to the Emperor imagining that her Hostilities had frighted Vienna out of her Senses And some report that the Duke of Lorrain to whom he gave some hopes of the Restitution of his Territories solicited his Imperial Majesty for an Accommodation But that was a fiction impos'd upon him there being nothing more distant from his thoughts But on the other side he wrote to him that the Offers of an Enemy were never to be accepted that they were always to be mistrusted that it behov'd him to declare War against France that to make Peace with a Crown that always took the slightest Occasions in the World to Violate it would be a fault never to be forgiven considering the good Condition of his Affairs by vertue of such Potent Alliances That as for what concern'd himself the Interests of
the Empire were his own and that he would never act but with regard to the Common Cause and that he would be bold to say There was never a Prince in Germany but what was of his Mind there being some who affirm'd that there was no need of any Publick Declarations seeing that without any Declaration preceding the King of France had declared War against the Empire by Acts of open Hostility not to be thought of without Horror In a short time after came forth the Result of the Dyet at Ratisbonne full of Thundring Expressions against Lewis XIV I. That contrary to the Treaties of Munster and Nimeguen he had seiz'd upon several Places that belong'd to the Empire That he had rais'd Cittadels built Bridges upon the Rhine cut down Woods and had assum'd the Propriety of whole Countries to himself by vertue of his pretended Pretentions II. That in the Places so seiz'd and reunited he had made most unjust Alterations as well in reference to the Spiritual as Temporal Government III. That to stop the Progress of the Christian Arms against the Ottomans he had attack'd the Empire by surprize besieg'd and taken Philipsburgh invaded and oppress'd the Countreys Cities and Fortresses of several Electorates and other Principalities violating the Treaties of Peace and Truce and his Royal Assurances so often reiterated IV. That contrary to the Faith of Capitulations Signed by the Dauphin he had Exacted from those who had submitted to him excessive Contributions had destroy'd by Fire and the endurance of a thousand Miseries whole Societies of People who living under the security of the Truce were surpriz'd without any Defence that he had sack'd and burnt whole Towns and Cities not sparing the Palaces of Princes neither the Sacred Residencies of the Religious nor the Ecclesiastical Monuments of Ancient Devotion V. That he had destroyed the Imperial Chamber and had carried away all the Rolls Records Deeds and Evidencies of the Imperial Crown VI. That he would compel the Emperor by force to acknowledge the Cardinal of Furstenberg to be Elector and Archbishop of Cologne contrary to the Electoral Canons which had been made and which the Pope had confirm'd VII And lastly That he fill'd with Armed Soldiers that Electorate and the Principalities adjoyning from whence he had exacted vast Sums by Military Executions and committed several other Spoils upon the Subjects of the Empire omitting nothing whatever lay in his power to oppress their Liberties After which Enumeration of their Grievances the Dyet declared France to be an Enemy to the Empire adding withall I. That the War with that Crown ought to be reputed a Common War for the Preservation of the Empire and that it was declar'd to be such II. That they would oppose against the Pretences of Religion maliciously invented in the King of France's Manifesto to disunite the Members of the Empire a unanimous Union of all their Forces to restore Things to their first Condition and constrain the Enemy to repair the Damages he had done and to give Security for the time to come III. That they would not entertain under any pretence whatever any Correspondence or Neutrality with France nor with her Ministers or Adherents and that all those who should assist Her directly or indirectly should be declared Enemies IV. That Notice should be given of this Result to all the Princes of Italy to all Foreign Crowns and States and generally to all that had Dependance upon the Roman Empire V. That his Imperial Majesty should be desir'd to make a Peace with the Turk to the end that by the joint Force of the Interested Princes they might be enabl'd the more strenuously to carry on the War against France Lastly That they should with all the speed that might be agree together upon the Ways and Methods how to support and continue the War according to the Constitutions of the Empire This was the Result of that Dyet which Prince Herman of Baden approv'd in every particular in the Name of the Emperor with this supply That it being notorious that the Crown of France had fomented the Rebellion in Hungary and incited the Turk against his Imperial Majesty and that there was also certain Information given that he had offer'd the Ottoman Port an Offensive Alliance with assurance that as he had begun the War to procure the Establishment of that Empire so he would not make a Peace without the Sultans Consent there was a necessity for these Reasons to declare that Crown the Common Enemy not only of the Empire but of all Christendom as well as the Turk himself as was done in the year 1544 upon the like occasion against France by the general Assembly at Spire Nor were these only bare words for the Emperor had no sooner declar'd War against France but he studied all the ways to maintain it He erected Magazines in all places where he thought them necessary he prest the hastning of the Levies which were already begun he recall'd part of his Forces that were in service against the Turks And to the end that the Army which was to be sent into Germany might be encourag'd by being under the Command of a Captain-General that was concern'd for the Success of the Enterprize he design'd the Elector of Bavaria for Germany and the Duke of Lorrain for Hungary Not that it was less the Interest of the Duke of Lorrain then of the Duke of Bavaria to have France brought down For the Concerns of Prince Clement were nothing in comparison with those of the Duke of Lorrain who was despoyl'd of his Territories by the Usurpations of that Crown But in regard the Emperor had a design to give two Blows at once and for that the very Name of the Duke of Lorrain was become a Terrour to the Ottomans he thought it necessary to appoint him against those Enemies whom he had so often vanquish'd believing that the Elector of Bavaria fighting as well for his own proper Interests as those of the Empire would be no less formidable to France then the other to the Ottoman Port after so many famous Conquests of which he had his share in the Hungarian Campagnes There was also another Reason which induced the Emperor to make choice of the Elector of Bavaria before the Duke of Lorrain to Command upon the Rhine which was the Indisposition of his Body and because France was the Aggressour whereas the Port was only upon the Offensive Part besides that there was all the Reason in the World that the French would be stronger in Germany then the Turks in Hungary and therefore there was an absolute necessity of opposing against France a General that was in perfect Health and in a Condition early to take the Field Now at the same time that the Emperor had tak'n this Resolution and made it known to the World that the Elector of Bavaria was to act upon the Rhine with a considerable Army which advanced every day to join the Confederates while the
Duke of Lorrain prosecuted his Victories in Hungary toward the total reducing of that Kingdom if his Health would permit him he found himself perfectly recover'd so that he felt himself in a Condition to leave Inspruck and attend the Emperor with his Counsels in order to the taking such Methods as were necessary for the carrying on the two great Designs And in regard there was nothing which the Duke more passionately desired than to Command in Germany so soon as he arrived at Vienna he used all his endeavours to make the Emperor alter his Resolutions protesting however at the same time That he had no other will but the Emperors That he was ready to march into Hungary and he agreed with his Imperial Majesty that his Presence was absolutely necessary in that Kingdom Nevertheless after he had made it appear that the Turks would not be in a condition to undertake any thing Considerable in regard the Ottomans were all raw Soldiers New rais'd Men or cow'd by the Victories of the Christians After he had laid before him that he wanted not Politick and wary Generals to oppose against the Ottoman Army but that the main Effort was to be made upon the Rhine where the King of France who had been a long time preparing for this War would not fail to employ the Choice and Flower of all his Forces His Imperial Majesty considering that the Dukes Presence was more necessary in Germany than in Hungary submitted to his Reasons and resolved at length after more mature deliberation to have two Armies in Germany the one Commanded by the Elector of Bavaria and the other by the Duke and to send Prince Lewis of Baden into Hungary who had signaliz'd himself in Bosnia where with four or five thousand men he totally defeated an Army of twenty thousand Turks At length the Season for Consultation and Preparations having given way to that of Action the Duke of Lorrain departed from Vienna and arrived with about fourteen or fifteen Thousand men near Coblentz where he was to joyn the Forces of the Elector of Saxony and the Landtgrave of Hesse The Elector of Bavaria marched toward the Upper Rhine with an Army of ten Thousand Bavarians Seven thousand Imperialists and four thousand Suabians while the Elector of Brandenburgh advanced toward Cleves with about Twenty thousand men of his own and the Bishop of Munster's These motions of the Confederate Armies were fatal to several Towns as Oppenheim Worms and Spire which had surrendred to the French and flater'd themselves that they should be dealt with no otherwise than according to the Laws of War but met with a destiny far more Cruel and Terrible than that of the Palatinate for they were not only utterly consumed by Fire but besides the Inhabitants who had been permitted to carry away the best of their Goods were exposed to the plunder and fury of the Soldiers For the French who during the last Wars had besieged and taken several Towns and Cities before their Enemies were in a condition to take the Field now quitted all those which they had surprised after the Siege of Philipsburgh except Bon Mayence Keyserwart and some other inconsiderable places but at the same time that they quitted 'em they set 'em on fire and of one of the most delightfull Countries of Europe made a vast and hideous Desart after they had committed such Acts of Barbarity and Inhumanity that after Ages will hardly believe During these Hostilities and Burnings the Confederate Princes did not sleep they Expell'd the French out of some Forts and petty places which they thought themselves able to keep they worsted them in several Encounters and Keyserwart which the Duke of Brandenburgh besieged surrendred in four days after he had opened his Trenches And now after so prosperous a Beginning which was taken for a good Omen all the Generals met at Francfort where they held a Council of War wherein after they had Unanimously resolved to give the Honour of the Command to the Duke of Lorrain with a promise that they would never sheath their Swords till they had restored him to his Dominions they agreed to besiege Mayence and Bon before they made any farther attempts since it was not safe to advance into the Enemies Country before they were Masters of those two Towns Mayence was no considerable Town before the King of France got possession of it but the Scituation of it was such as to be able to stop the Imperialists And therefore the King had no sooner secur'd it with a French Garison but he ordered it to be Fortify'd and the Marquis d'Uxelles who was appointed Governor continued the Work with so much assiduity that it is incredible how strong that City was become while the French had it in their hands And in regard it was expected that the Confederates would besiege it it was Garison'd with above Ten thousand men the best and choicest Soldiers under the best Officers of France However the difficulties of the Siege could not stop the Duke of Lorrain Upon the 16th of July he crossed a small River two Leagues below the Town with an Army of Twenty thousand men and presently caused four thousand Croats to advance whom the French durst not adventure to attacque tho' they were sally'd forth to meet them with a great Body of Horse The next day the Elector of Saxony and the Landtgrave of Hesse passed the Main above Mayence and posted their Men within Cannon-shot of the Town on that side where the Duke of Lorrain's Army began to encamp The 18th about three Thousand Country People wrought in the Approaches And the same day the French made a sally but were repulsed with extraordinary vigour by the Imperialists at what time the Duke of Bavaria being arrived in the Camp they prepared for a formal Siege and to batter the Town Not to stop upon the particulars of the Siege the Town was assaulted in three Places The Duke of Lorrain commanded one Attack and the Duke of Saxony and the Landtgrave of Hesse the other two The Besieged defended themselves desperately and their sallies were so frequent and so mettlesome that they often ruin'd in one what the Confederates had been toyling several days to Erect The Sixth of August when least expected they sallied out at Noon-day with about two thousand pickt men and fell with such fury upon the Saxons Quarter that they overturn'd all before 'em but the Duke of Lorrain hastning to the succour of the Elector the Imperialists animated by the Presence and Example of their General repell'd the French with so much vigour and fought with that fury that above twelve hundred men on both sides were number'd to cover the place with their dead Bodies But this same Sally was nothing in Comparison of another that followed some days after For in the two former they had made a dreadfull slaughter and cleared the Trenches and therefore those two Actions proving so successfull they resolved to try a third Sally
with three Thousand men Drums beating and Colours flying Now in regard that neither the Duke of Lorrain nor any of the rest of the Generals expected their Third Effort it caused no small Terror and Disorder in the Camp of which the Enemy taking their advantage fell on Pell-Mell upon four or five hunder'd men that sold their Lives at a dear Rate they nail'd two peices of Cannon and having fill'd up the Trenches of the Confederates posted their great Guard of Horse where the Besiegers had begun to open their Trenches But at length the several Generals having rally'd and re-encourag'd their Men they repell'd the Enemy cut to peices a great number of them and regain'd their Post And now the Duke of Lorrain being resolved to try whether he could carry the Town by Storm and fearing least the French should attempt to relieve it wrote to the Elector of Brandenburgh to send him some Regiments of his Men that being so reinforced he might be able both to carry on the Siege and fight the Enemy in case they advanced to raise it Which precaution was the more necessary because their ran a report that Marshall Durass was advancing with his Army and orders to give the Confederates Battel But it happen'd that the Brandenburgh Regiments were useless for Durass never appeared After which notwithstanding the fierce Resistance of the Besieged the Besiegers by little and little gain'd the Outworks which the French possessed and lodg'd themselves therein Batteries were rais'd in every one of the Attacks and they made themselves Masters of so much Ground while the Cannon open'd a wide Breach that the Duke resolved a General Assault To which purpose all things were prepared in readiness And the next day after this Resolution was approved by all the Generals at a Council of War they began by break of day to play upon the Town from all the Batteries and so continued till four in the Evening At what time upon the throwing in of a Bomb which was the Signal agreed on they fell on in every Quarter with so much vigour and such undaunted Courage that after a Bloody Contest of three Hours and a half they carry'd the Counterscarp At the beginning of the Assault in regard the French were desirous to keep the Town whatever it cost the ground was strew'd with dead Carcasses And the Imperialists were they that lost most Men. For the Marquis D'Uxelles who was acquainted with the Duke of Lorrain believing the Hottest work would be at the Attack which he Commanded he took not so much care of the other Attacks that he might make the greater Resistance against the Duke So that the Saxons and the Regiments of Hesse and Lunenburgh were Masters of the Counterscarp an Hour before the Imperialists But notwithstanding this Prosperous success of the Besiegers the French continued firing their great Guns and blew up three Mines that made a dreadfull havock Nevertheless the Saxons and Lunenburghers pursued the Enemy to the very Gates of the Town and the Imperialists lodg'd themselves upon one of the Principal Bastions making way through the very fire of the Cannon and an infinite number of Bombs that were thrown from the Town As the fight was desperate on both sides so the loss of the Confederates was very great several Officers of Note and a vast number of Common Soldiers But in regard the loss of the French to whom the Germans gave no Quarter was much greater the Marquis D'Uxelles no sooner began to consider with himself but he saw that if he should hold out any longer he should loose all his men However he made a shew as if he intended to stand the t'other brunt But when he saw that the Confederates began to fill up the Motes with a purpose to assault the Town it self he desired to Capitulate and Hostages being given on both sides the Articles were concluded * Mayence was invested the 17th of July 1685 and surrendred the 11th of September following This Siege lasted not above two Months And it is most certain that if the Besiegers would have made use of their Bombs they might have sooner compelled the French to a Surrender notwithstanding the strength of their Fortifications and the number of their Cannon But in regatd the Generals were willing to preserve Mayence they chose to spend a little longer time with the loss of a few more Men than to deface the City and at the end of the Siege to be the Masters only of a heap of Ruins While the Duke of Lorrain signalized himself in Germany Prince Lewis of Baden obtain'd a considerable Victory over the Turks in Servia Of which the Emperor received the News almost at the same time that he had the Tidings of the taking Mayence But notwithstanding these Successes as well upon the Rhine as in Moravia other ill News render'd his rejoycing imperfect For the French to repair the loss they had received continuing their Hostilities after the same manner as they began Burnt all before 'em from Heidelburgh to Strasburgh and at length made Frankendale taste of their Mercy the only Town in the Palatinate which till then they had spar'd At the same time that the Confederates laid Siege to Mayence they determin'd also the Siege of Bon to make themselves Masters of two Cities at a time if it were possible The Duke of Brandenburgh who was to Attack that Place and who had already carried the Fort of Bael made tryal at first to reduce the Town by his Cannon and Bombs as being willing to spare his own and the Confederates Men. To which purpose he was no sooner sate down before the Town with part of his and the Bishop of Munster's Men together with some Holland Regiments but he fell to raising his Batteries The Effect was quick and terrible for in less than two Days the City was destroy'd and laid in Ashes all but one great Tower and one Church which the Bishop of Munster's Men at last quite ruin'd with their Cannon But all this was so far from discouraging the French that instead of Surrendring they made continual Sallies so that the Elector resolv'd to have laid a formal Siege to the Place To which purpose all things were prepar'd in a readiness and there was no question but the City would have been carried in a small time after the Havock which the Bombs had made But when all things were just ready the Elector receiv'd three pieces of News that broke all his Measures The first was from the Elector of Treves That the Marquis of Boufflers having drawn together a considerable Body was advanc'd towards Coblents which constrain'd him to send away General Schening with a Detachement of Seven or Eight thousand Men to defend those Parts The second was from Prince Waldeck who finding himself not strong enough in Horse to deal with Marshal d'Humieres sent for the Dutch Cavalry then before Bon. Which constrain'd him to send away a Detachement of Seven Regiments The
third was from the Duke of Lorrain then before Mayence who desir'd a Reinforcement of Men as has been already observ'd in regard of the Resolution he had taken to Storm that Place So that the Elector was forc'd to send away a third Detachement which weaken'd his Army so very much that finding he was no longer able to carry on the Siege he only block'd it up at a Distance Which though it streighten'd the Place considerably and that the Garison were extreamly weaken'd every day by Diseases that swept away the Soldiers and that they were in great want of all things nevertheless the Count d'Asfeild who commanded there would by no means think of Surrendring but made continual Sallies For he imagin'd that the Confederates had work enough before Mayence and therefore could not be in a Condition to Besiege him till that Affair were over in which Interim he might be reliev'd and strong enough to deal with the Duke of Brandenburgh But while he fed himself with these Hopes Mayence Surrender'd and that News which he so little expected strook the Garison with such a Consternation that the Duke of Brandenburgh having Summon'd the Town the Governor desir'd to Capitulate but his Conditions were thought so unreasonable considering the Condition of his Affairs that a Siege was resolv'd on and two days after effectually prosecuted Nevertheless Mayence was no sooner reduc'd but the Saxons who were extreamly tired during the Siege were sent into new Quarters to refresh themselves The Bavarians advanc'd toward the Palatinate and one part of the Imperialists march'd with the Duke toward Bon. So that the Forces which had already form'd the Siege having receiv'd so considerable a Recruit the Duke of Lorrain immediately began to sink his Approaches and raise his Batteries which was done with so much diligence that in two or three days they were ready for a General Assault I shall say no more but that the Trenches were run on to the Foot of the Counterscarp and that the Breaches being made all things were ready for Battery though the continual Rains for some days delay'd the General Assault but then the Weather proving fair the 9th of October was fix'd The Brandenburghers Dutch and Bishop of Munster's Men were appointed to Attack the Counterscarp Half Moon and Covert Way and the Duke of Lorrain who some days before was got within a hunder'd Paces of the Horn-work with the Hessiens Lunenburghers and those others which he brought from Mayence undertook the Storming of that Hornwork The French disputed long the Covert Way firing most dreadfully upon the Assailants But at length the Count of Dona leading on the Grand Musqueteers and the Younger Brothers of Brandenburgh having broken down the Palisadoes they fell Pell-mell upon all that stood in their way and after a horrible Slaughter carried the Half Moon and lodg'd themselves upon the Counterscarp The Hollanders also and Munsterians signalized themselves highly in this Onset venturing through the Fire of the Great and Small Shot with such an undaunted Courage that they lost above Five hundred Men and had Seven or Eight hundred Wounded The Brandenburghers were not so rudely handled but they lost several Officers of Note and among the rest Monsieur de St. Bonnet who after he had performed several great Actions at the Head of a Regiment in Candy in the Service of the King of France and in the last Campagnes of Hungary where he serv'd a Volunteer had also made himself no less remarkable in the Service of the Elector of Brandenburgh While these things thus pass'd in the Brandenburgh Attack the Enemy was assail'd with no less vigor in that which the Duke of Lorrain Commanded 'T is true his Men were repulsed with much Gallantry at first but that Bravery serving only to incense them the more and stimulate their Courage they return'd with such an unwelcom fury that they dishearten'd French after they had sprung two Mines retired into the Town so that the Duke of Lorrain lodg'd his Men upon the middle of the Hornwork with the loss of no more than a Hundred and thirty Men. Nor did the Duke or the rest of the Generals think fit to stop there they were all resolv'd to enter the Town also by main Force more especially the Duke of Lorrain But the Count d'Hasfeldt who was himself dangerously wounded in the Defence of the Half Moon seeing all the Outworks lost and fearing a second Assault resolv'd at length to Surrender So that having sent out the Major of the Regiment of Castres who was Conducted to his Highness of Brandenburgh by Monsieur Dorosey his Adjutant Camp-Master General and that Major having presented him a Draught of a Capitulation the Proposals were generously accepted though extreamly Advantageous to the Governor considering the Extremity he was in But the Season being far spent it was thought the best to preserve good Soldiers by granting a fair Composition to those who had bravely done their Duty * Bon was formally besieged fome days after the taking of Mayence Count Hasfeldt Capitulated the 12th of Octob. 1685. and three days after the Garison went out For in short it is most certain that never any Garison was better defended than this It may be said that the Emperor had all the Advantages he could desire considering the Condition of his Affairs Victory accompanied his Arms wherever they advanc'd For at the same time that Bon was reduced the Marquis of Baden took Nissa after he had defeated the Turks in a Battel fought not far from that Town wherein the Infidels lost between seven and Eight thousand Men their Artillery all their Provisions and Baggage 'T was thought the Confederates would have undertaken some other Siege But the Soldiers were so tired and the Season so incommodious that all the Generals began to think of resting themselves and preparing for the next Campagne Therefore the Duke of Lorrain after he had dispos'd of his Men in their Winter Quarters departed for Vienna Only he stayed some time at Ratisbonne where he found that the Dyet had made several terrible Edicts against France For that Assembly not only forbid the Subjects of the Empire all manner of Communication and Commerce with the French not only ordain'd their Expulsion from all the Courts of the Empire of what Quality soever or Profession they were even the Ecclesiastical Persons themselves but also declared moreover That any Foreign State that should propose any thing in favour of France should be reputed an Enemy to the Emperor and the Confederates As for the D. of Lorrain he had caus'd frequent Memorials to be presented to the Dyet wherein he set forth that the Dutchies of Lorrain and Barr having been wrested from his Uncle Charles IV. after such a manner as all Europe well knew it was not just that the Heirs of that Prince should be depriv'd of them all their life-time wherefore the Dukes of Lorrain being Princes of the Empire and Members of the Circle
of the Upper Rhine he had address'd himself to that Assembly to demand of them that he might be assisted by main force against the King of France alledging that though that Monarch had in some measure acknowledged at the Peace of Nimeghen that he detain'd certain Dominions that did not lawfully appertain to him yet he offer'd no Promise of Restitution but upon Conditions so hard and unjust that he could not accept them as he had order'd his Ambassadors to declare in the Assembly of the Plenipotentiaries By the Constitutions of Germany when any Member of the Empire is disturbed in the Possession of his Territories or happens to be despoil'd of them all the rest of the Princes of that Circle are bound to defend him and use all their Endeavours for his Restoration and by the same Constitutions if that Circle is not sufficiently Powerful to effect it the Circles adjoyning are to assist And if the adjoyning Circles are not strong enough to do the oppressed Prince justice then the whole Empire is oblig'd to undertake his Defence and the Emperors themselves make the same engagement in the Capitulations which they Sign at their Election and when they receive the Imperial Crown Now as the Dyet of Ratisbonne represents the Body of the Empire the Duke had had recourse to that Assembly to be restor'd to his Dutchies of Lorrain and Barr with a design to sollicit and press them to make use of all the necessary means to compel France to make Restitution upon reasonable Terms But notwithstanding the great Inclination of the Dyet to have given the Duke a favourable Answer the best part of the Princes of the Empire had so many Cautions to observe and were so entangled with the Court of France that all the Remonstrances which the Duke had made himself or caus'd to be made prov'd always fruitless For in short since France was become so Potent The Territories of the Duke of Lorrain lay too conveniently considering the Prospects that he had for him to come to any friendly Accommodation but upon the Terms which he propos'd at Nimeghen and perhaps he had made such as should have been infinitely much harder seeing that the greatest part of the Princes of the Empire were bound to furnish the Emperor with Forces to continue his Conquests in Hungary And as Affairs then stood there was no compelling France to make the Duke Restitution but by Declaring War against her which Germany could not undertake as having at the same time to do with the Ottoman Port. And this the Duke of Lorrain knew well enough himself However these were Formalities which he was obliged to observe and of which he might make use in Season for that Great Prince had his future Prospects as well as others In short therefore the Reasons which had oblig'd the Dyet not to give any Effectual Answer in his behalf now ceasing since France had Declared War against the Empire by laying Siege to Philipsburgh the Duke laying hold of the Circumstance and reckoning much upon the great Services he had done the Emperor and which he was going to do him in Germany he presented a New Memorial to the Dyet to which the Dyet having return'd him an Answer to his Wish he had certainly made a push for it at the Beginning of the Spring But Death surprized him when he least expected that Fatal Blow and at a time that he saw himself arrived at the very Eve of a Triumphant Holiday All things seem'd to Promise this Illustrious Prince that the same Victorious Fortune that had accompanied him in Hungary with so much Glory would attend him still in Germany the taking of Mayence and Bon were sufficient to presage it He had by his Valour cut out a Glorious Way to re-enter his Dominions as soon as he appear'd upon the Rhine But he had the Destiny of that Great Captain of the People of God so famous in Sacred History to see the Promis'd Land but not the Happiness to enter into it This Prince whose loss the Confederates will have reason long to bemoan as they have already found by Experience the last Campagne gave himself almost no repose in the midd'st of those Designs he had to give but one fair Blow to disappoint the measures of France and which it was impossible for her to have Fended off He studdied Night and Day the means to humble that Crown and knowing 't was impossible to accomplish his Desires but by taking extraordinary Methods and making vast Preparations he was always in Action He had been oblig'd for some time to be absent from the Imperial Court where the Affairs of War call'd him which were the sole Affairs that employ'd him and in which he took delight But in regard the Emperor determin'd upon nothing but what was debated before hand and had therefore desir'd that the Duke might be at Vienna where there was a Council of War to be call'd he was upon the Road thither and was arriv'd at Weltz a small Village within three Leagues of Lintz when he was seiz'd by the Malady of which he died and which has put all Europe in Mourning He felt at first a Pain in one Ear but not apprehending any Danger from so slight a Matter 〈…〉 nothing of it However he was much troubled with it all that Night and the next Morning when he rose about Four of the Clock believing he might be able to continue his Journey he went to Church to pay his Devotions to Heaven but the Pain considerably increasing he was forc'd to retire to his Inn and go to Bed The Defluxion in his Ear falling down about half an hour after upon his Throat his Physician let him Blood as he desir'd himself But that Remedy producing no Effect on the other side his Pain becoming still more violent and finding his Strength decay those sad Symptomes put him out of doubt that he was near his End And the thoughts of this strook him aâ—l of a sudden but then recollecting with himself that Princes were subject to dye as well as other Men he put himself into the Hands of his Creator sent for the Capuchins made his Confession and endeavour'd to acquit himself of those Duties which the last moments of Life require Immediately after he call'd his Confessor aside and charg'd him with two Letters one to be deliver'd into the Emperor's own Hands with a Note containing these Latin Words Sacrae Cesarcae Majestati Commendat se Ultimum Vale dicit Carolus Lotharingiae Dux Charles Duke of Lorrain Recommends himself to his most Sacred Imperial Majesty and bids him his last Farewell The other Letter was for the Queen his Wife By the first he Recommended to the Emperor that Illustrious Princess his Children his Domestick Servants and the Lorrainers And by the second he Recommended his Children and his Domestick Servants to the Queen after he had giv'n her a thousand Marks of his tender Affection and his Sorrow for so Harsh
a Separation All this while he grew weaker and weaker yet as his Strength decay'd you might read in his Eyes and his Countenance and observe in all his Words that his Piety fortify'd him and that he had resign'd himself over to dye The Father Guardian of the Capuchins of Weltz with nine others of his Order exhorted him while he had time to dispose of himself and then approaching near the Bed to Kiss his Hand he drew it back only desir'd 'em all to to say the Office of the Dead which they prepar'd to do but while they were reciting the Prayers his Speech began to fail him This Symptom was as it were the last Signal of the Death of that Illustrious Prince but it nothing terrify'd him He then made a sign for Paper and Ink and wrote That he desir'd nothing else but that they should Pray for his Soul He had his right Sence and Judgment to the last Gasp At length after he had caus'd several Prayers to be said finding himself ready to expire he made another sign that they should Pray to God for him and some minutes after he gave up the Ghost This was the next day after he fell ill being the 18th of April 1690 at the beginning of the Forty ninth year of his Age. The Physicians said that he was choak'd with a Catarrh Charles the Fifth of Lorrain was a great Hero He had a noble Air though he affected an extraordinary plainness in his Habit and though he were not at all proud but modest and sober in all his Actions He was well shap'd when he was Young but too much Corpulency had alter'd his Proportion You may see through the whole Series of this History that he was Courageous and Born for Warlike Atchievements But the Qualities and Perfections of this great Prince were not only Military He was a great Lover of Learning and Reading especially of History and Politicks He was a perfect Master of three Languages Dutch French and Italian and understood Latin well He was a Man of few words but when he spoke it was to the purpose He was grave and serious with Strangers however without Affectation but with his particular Acquaintance Pleasant and Familiar He went to the bottom of all things he Discours'd of and hated Impertinence He lov'd familiar Dispute And he took great delight to maintain what he propounded and he would uphold it strongly but it was not so much to convince those with whom he disputed as to understand their Parts and Character He was as liberal as his Fortune would permit him to be a great Observer of his Word a good Friend and an easie Pard'ner of Injuries His Designs were all great and deeply laid He provided without any relaxation for the Future particularly applying himself to the most proper means to establish his Family Lastly He was an Exemplar of Devotion with the same equality of Mind entertaining his Prosperities and Adversities relying wholly upon Providence He left four Children by his Marriage with the Queen of Poland the eldest of which is now Duke of Lorrain by the Name of Leopold the First Never was Prince more generally bewail'd then Charles V. and indeed all Europe was sensible of her loss And she had reason to mourn for the loss of an Experienc'd Captain one of the greatest Generals in the Confederate Armies A Captain whose Prudence and Valour began to be dreadful to France In a word a Prince that was not to be corrupted and who acted less for his own Interests then for the Interests of the Confederate Princes But she has reason more particularly to mourn that he dy'd at a time that he was just upon the point of restoring his Family to it's Ancient Luster and to deliver his Subjects from the Yoke of Tyranny and Oppression and for that by his Death he left a disconsolate Family In short it was observ'd that those Princes who had most reason to bewail his Death were not so sorry for themselves as for the young Princes who at the same time that they lost their Illustrious Father seem'd to loose all the Hopes that began to sooth their Expectations The Duke of Newburgh who was compell'd to fly for Relief to Vienna after the French had despoil'd him of his Country declar'd to the Queen Dowager that the Desolations of his Electorate did not go so near his Heart as the Loss of the Duke her Husband and that the Princes his Children look'd upon him as their Protector who was no less sincerely mindful of their Interests then his own Several other Princes condol'd her loss in very near the same Language And the Elector of Brandenburgh wrote at the same time to the Emperor desiring his Majesty would vouchsafe him the Favour of sharing with him the Quality of being a Father to the young Princes adding withall That as he had promis'd Charles V. never to lay down Arms till he were restor'd to his Territories so he would continue the same Promise in behalf of the Successors to such a Hero whose loss he should deplore as long as he liv'd Some time after the Emperor conferr'd the Government of Tyroll upon the young Duke And the Pope has already granted to another of the Princes a Dispensation to be Coadjutor of the Grand Priory of Castile which is worth above Two hundred thousand Crowns a Year The End of the Fifth and Last Book BOOKS Printed for Francis Saunders at the Blue-Anchor in the Lower-Walk of the New-Exchange THe Life of Charles the Fifth late Duke of Lorrain Dedicated to the King The Life of Alexander the Great Dedicated to the Queen by N. Tate An Epistle to the Right Honourable Charles Earl of Dorset and Middlesex Lord Chamberlain of His Majesties Houshold Occasion'd by His Majesties Victory in Ireland ZAYDE A Romance in Two Parts Dedicated to the Ladies Sultana of Barbary a Novel in Two Parts Philantus and Bellamond a Novel in Two Parts The Baronage of England in Two Parts by Sir William Dugdale Cowley's VVorks Beaumont and Fletcher's Plays Shakespear's VVorks Killigrew's Plays Davila's Civil VVars of France History of the Council of Trent Philip de Comine's History Paulo Paruta's History of Venice Mrs. Phillips Poems Waller Denham Sucklin and Donn's Poems By Mr. Boyl Seraphick Love Style of the Scriptures Occasional Reflections Phisiological Essays Excellency of Theology Reason and Religion All Mr. Driden's Plays in Two Volumes and all sorts of other Plays Also all sorts of the Best of Divinity History Poetry Romances and all other English Books