the Affection of a Brother shall suggest as most conducing to the Interest of our Sovereign and our own Honour which we ought to prefer to our Lives Our Mother is in Health and Salutes thee with a tender Embrace Paris 9th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER VI. To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire THis Court of late makes a double Figure the one of Real Sorrow for the Dutchess of Savoy's Death who was of the Blood Royal of France the other of Counterfeit Mourning for the Death of Carolus Josephus Brother to the German Emperour For they inwardly rejoyce at this Latter and wish the whole House of Austria were laid in their Graves That Family being the only Obstacle to the Grandeur at which the French Monarchy aspires The only Rub which Cardinal Richlieu and his Successor Mazarini found in their Way when they sought to exalt the Bourbons to the Empire of the West The Rise and Fall of Kingdoms the various Changes of Government the Alternate Fate of Nations are Themes worthy of a Mussulman's Thoughts considering that the Victorious and Happy Osmans at this Day possess the Territories of ancient Renown the Provinces and Dominions which formerly made the greatest Figures and Noise in the World What is now become of the most Famous Monarchies of Babilon Persia Assyria Macedon Greece and Rome Look for the Mysterious and Learned Kingdom of Egypt the Religious State of the Jews The most Ancient Kingdoms of the Sicyonians and Argives The Commonwealths of Lacedaemon and Athens with many other Countries mention'd in the Records of Time and we shall find them all Swallow'd up in the Universal Empire of the Ottomans The Histories of Belus and how he got the Sovereignty by Hunting of Ninus his Son who first taught the World the Methods of Idolatry of Serimamis Ninyas Sardinapalus Arbaces Belochus and the rest of those Assyrian Monarchs sound now like an antiquated Tale or Dteam Neither is there any more Life at this time in the Babylonian and Persian Registers The mighty Acts of the Nebuchadnezzar's Cyrus's and the rest of those renown'd Conquerours now serve but as Foils to set off the more Glorious Enterprizes and Successes of our Immortal Sultans 'T is true the Persians at this Day retain some Fragments of that once Vast and Formidable Eastern Empire And the Germans have a Shadow of the Ancient Imperial Majesty of the Romans But both the one and the other are grown Effeminate and Weak they have lost the Vertue the Power and Fortune of their Predecessors Thou hast travell'd over all the Dominions of the Sophi and been an Eye-Witness of the Persian Luxury Libertinism and Nakedness Thou hast seen the Off-spring of Heroick Sages transform'd to Swine Dogs Asses and other contemptible Brutes as if they 'd drank of Circe's Cup. So fatal is it to decline from the Way of Vertue nay so impossible even to stand still in that sacred Path without being violently pull'd backward In a Word thou art so thorowly acquainted with the Present State of Persia and all its Circumstances that I shou'd appear too officious in pretending to describe either the Country or the People that inhabit there But as to Europe thou professest thy self a Stranger and hast commanded me to characterise this Quarter of the World Wherein Germany makes the most Majestick Figure by Land England and Holland by Sea Spain boasts of her Gold whilst France treasures it up to pay her Armies to keep foreign Kings in Pension to Build mighty Fleets and Magnificent Palaces to corrupt the German Princes and make 'em Pimps to her Ambition Instruments of her design'd Grandeur which is no less than the Western Empire As for the Duke of Savoy he is a mere Tennis-Ball or a Shuttle-Cock bandied to and fro between the Kings of France and Spain The Swisses are Poor and Mercenary They cannot stay at Home unless they cou'd banquet on the Turfs and Stones For all the Flesh Fruit and Corn in the Land is not half enough to keep 'em alive and they have little or no Money but what they get abroad This makes 'em all Travellers and most of them take up the Trade of War They serve the Pope the French King and many other Princes for Pay And where they once engage they are very true to their Trust But I can tell thee they wou'd be unwilling to fight for the Grand Signior unless he wou'd allow 'em plenty of Wine which thou know'st is contrary to the Discipline of the Mussulman Armies And these Suisses are the profess'd Adorers of Bacchus The Hollanders are Industrious and Rich They mind nothing but Merchandizing and Mechanicks They wou'd fain engross the Trade of the Indies and the Levant to themselves They traffick that they may be in a Condition to fight and they fight to establish their Commerce having no sense of Honour but only of Profit If they attempt any Conquest or make an Invasion it must be in America or some other remote Country For they 're only upon the Defensive among their Neighbours not daring to be the First Aggressors in a War in a Word they 're like a Nest of Pismires that trudge up and down continually to get Provision but sting and bite those under whose Protection they live if they have an Opportunity 'T is thought the Prince of Orange who descends from an Illustrious Stock wil e'er long reduce those Republicans to another Form of Government The French Style him the Head and Heart of the Vnited States and these thou know'st command the Hands and the Feet Germany is counted the Bulwark of Christendom against the mighty Power of the Ottomans and Tartars But in my Opinion one of our Embassadors at the Emperor's Court gave a truer Description of it when he compar'd Germany to a Great Monster with many Heads and Tails which having a desire to break through a certain quick-set Fence or Hedge and each particular Head making Way where it cou'd best among the less entangl'd Branches were all caught in so many different Noozes by the Interposition of strong Trees and so the Monster was forc'd to retire with Shame and Loss Whereas he said the Osman Empire was like an Animal with One Head and many Tails and that One Head not encountring the like Difficulties easily pass'd through being follow'd by the Tails with one Consent as the untwisted Ends of a Ten-string'd Cord pass through a Ring or Hole when the united Part has lead them the Way I shou'd have mention'd Italy Poland Denmark Moscovy and other Regions of Europe but it wou'd be too tedious for one Letter which I shou'd neither have Time to write nor thou Patience to read at once Therefore I desire thee to accept of this only as a rough Draught an Imperfect Sketch of some Parts of the West But in my future Dispatches I will imitate the Painters and endeavour to draw each Member and Lineament of this great Body
THE Sixth Volume OF LETTERS Writ by a Turkish Spy Who lived Five and Forty Years Undiscover'd at PARIS Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts especially of that of France continued from the Year 1659 to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick Translated into Italian and from thence into English by the Translator of the First Volume LONDON Printed by J. R. for I. Hindmarsh and R. Sare at the Golden Ball in Cornhil and at Grays-Inn Gate in Holborn 1694. Mahmut the Turkish Spy Aetatis suoe 72. TO THE READER AS superfluous as Prefaces seem yet there is one thing which makes it in a manner necessary to prefix a few Lines to this Volume in regard there is an Occasion given by the Objections some Gentlemen have been lately pleased to make against the Style of the English Translation These Persons having by a very costly Inquisitiveness found and procur'd the Italian Copy of these Letters and compar'd them with the English pick many Faults in the latter which they would fain improve to the lessening the Reputation of the Turkish Spy or at least to the heightening their own Characters as Wits and Criticks Masters of Languages and the Grand Patentees of Humane Sense In the First Place they say the Italian Translation keeps close to the Original Arabick whereas the English abounds too much with Anglicisms which are not sufficient to express the Author 's Primitive Sense How Impossible a Thing it is to please all People in Undertakings of this Nature Formerly they were offended that so many Turkish and Arabick Words were left untranslated And that being answered in the Preface to the Fourth Volume they have now form'd New Arguments out of that very Answer to assault us on the contrary Side and tax us with being too Vernacular 'T is true the Letters they have sent to the Bookseller on this Account are not subscrib'd at Length Yet by Accident one of the Gentlemen's Hand-Writing is known And tho' we acknowledge him to be an Ingenious Person and a Man of Learning yet I believe he would be unwilling his Letter should here be expos'd in Print or the Original shew'd to some that know him and perhaps may claim an Equal Rank among the Criticks But to come to the purpose I have often heard Translations blamed for keeping too close to the Original Phrase but never any before this for a Negligence that is absolutely necessary to retain the Sense of a Foreign Author All the World knows there is a vast Distance between Arabick and the Languages of Europe and if the Italian Translator was more exact in forming his Words up to a near Imitation of the Eastern Proprieties of Speech no doubt but Impartial Men will rather Censure it as a Fault than cry it up for an Excellency since nothing sounds well in any Language which is not deliver'd in the Natural Idiom Every thing ought to be writ in as Familiar a Style as we Discourse especially Letters which are but a Proxy-Method of Conversing at a Distance And he that Translates out of one Language into another ought to aim Chiefly at this That he be sure to retain the Original Sense and render it smooth and easy to the Reader The Flowers of Arabia and Italy when once Transplanted to our barren English Soil lose their Vertue and Beauty till they are Naturaliz'd What then must we expect from their Weeds Doubtless there are some Peculiarities in all Languages and to Translate Verbatim from so Remote a Tongue would sound as harsh as French does in an Englishman's Mouth when he pronounces it as 't is writ What I have more to say is that as this Volume contains a History of things transacted within the Memory of most Men now living so the Two succeeding Tomes fall down lower and nearer to the present Times Giving an Account of Events whereof many have been Eye-Witnesses and wherein not a few have had a Personal Share either by Way of Action or Suffering Profit or Damage which must needs afford Delight to thinking Men since there is nothing more Agreeable to Mortals than to reflect on the former Passages of their Lives according to that of the Poet Haec olim meminisse juvabit Besides for the farther Encouragement of the Candid Reader he may assure himself that toward the Conclusion of the Last Volume he will meet with several Secrets between the French and Turkish Courts which will discover the true Source of the Present War between the Emperor of Germany and the Grand Signior and give a Glimps of the Private Machinations and Springs which have put all Europe into the Hurly burly 't is now in I have but this more to say That we hope to be more Speedy in publishing the Remainder of these Letters than we have hitherto been in the Former Volumes Reader Adieu A TABLE OF THE LETTERS and Matters contained in this Volume VOL. I. BOOK I. LETTER I. MAhmut the Arabian at Paris to Dgnet Oglou his Friend at Constantinople pag. 1 He relates the Errours he committed in Point of Address and Carriage when he first came to Paris II. To the Reis Effendi or Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire 9 Of a Fellow that dogg'd him up and down the Streets of Paris and his Apprehensions thereupon III. To Abdel Melec Muli Omar President of the College of Sciences at Fez. 14 He complains of his frequent Sadness on the Account of his Employment IV. To the Kaimacham 18 Of the Quakers in Holland England Germany and other Parts of Europe V. To the Same 23 Of the Peace concluded between France and Spain Of the Match between the King of France and the Spanish Infanta Of the Duke of Lorrain's Release and the Prince of Conde's Restauration VI. To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottomam Empire 26 He congratulates his Accession to that Dignity Of the Death of the King of Sweden and the Duke of Orleans VII To Dgnet Oglou 32 He discourses against the little Superstitions of the Mahometans Of Moses and the Jews in Egypt VIII To the Kaimacham 40 Of the Prince of Conde's Reception and Entertainment at the French Court Some Passages of his Life X. To the Same 43 Of King Charles II. his Restauration to the Crown X. To Mehemet an Exil'd Eunuch at Caire in Egypt 47 He breaks forth into melancholy Excursions XI To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire 51 He relates some Passages of Henry IV's Life XII To Mustapha Berber Aga. 55 Of the Extraordinary Magnificence at the New married King and Queen's Entry into Paris XIII To Dgnet Oglou 58 Of an Earthquake at Paris XIV To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire 61 Observations on the Reign of Lewis XIII XV. To Mahummed in the Desart 67 Of the Earthquake at Paris and other Parts of France
passes The Hoofs of his Beast tread only on Silks or other Costly Stuffs And as they enter any Town or City they Chaunt aloud his Praises proclaming him the Son of David and Heir of the Divine Promises All his Followers pretend to be Prophets boasting of strange Illuminations and Raptures foretelling Things to come and reproaching the Vices of Governours and the Greatest Princes with a Boldness which has but few Precedents In a word they every where preach That God is laying the Foundation of a New Monarchy which shall destroy all the Rest in the World and shall never have an End it self This gives a Jealousy to the States where they live and therefore they are persecuted in all Places Yet they appear very constant in their Sufferings and tenacious of the Doctrines they preach They seem in my Opinion to resemble one of our Mussulman Sects who assert That Jesus the Son of Mary shall return again upon Earth That he shall Marry and beget Children be Anointed King of the Nations who believe in One God and in this Glorious State shall reign Forty Years After which he shall subdue Antichrist and then shall follow the Dissolution of all Things Yet the Orthodox Believers reject this Tenet as Fabulous Neither is there any Countenance given to it in that Versicle of the Alcoran where it is said Thou Mahomet shalt see thy Lord return in the Clouds Since that only intimates the Glorious Descent which Moses Jesus and Mahomet shall make from Paradise with Enoch Elias and the One Hundred Twenty Four Thousand Prophets to assemble the Elect at the Day of Judgment If thou would'st have my Opinion of these New Religionists in Europe and their Leader I take him to be an Impostor and his Followers to be either Fools or Mad-Men Even just such another Crew as those who follow'd Moseileima in the Days of our Holy Law-Giver This was an Arabian Impostor who pretended to set up for a Prophet and attempted to compose a Book like the Alcoran But he was Infatuated with a Vain Arrogance and there was no Truth or Elegance in his Writings no Justice on his Side nor Understanding in him or his Party To be short both he and they were all cut to pieces in the Vale of Akreb by the Troops of Abu-Bacrossadic the First Cailiph As to these Modern Seducers they are not Men of Arms but a Herd of Silly Insignificant People aiming rather to heap up Riches in Obscurity than to acquire a Fame by any Heroick Undertaking They are Generally Merchants or Mechanicks and are observ'd to be very Punctual in their Dealings Men of few Words in a Bargain Modest and Compos'd in their Deportment Temperate in their Lives and using great Frugality in all things In a word They are singularly Industrious sparing no Labour or Pains to encrease their Wealth and so Subtle and Inventive that they wou'd if possible extract Gold out of Ashes I know none that excel them in their Characters but the Jews and the Banians â—…he Former being the Craftiest of all Men and the Latter so superlatively Cunning that they will over-reach the Devil But these are no Signs of a Pure Religion For that only prescribes the Methods of withdrawing and separating the Soul from the Contagion of Earthly Things and of uniting it to the Deity which is its Sourse Illustrious Kaimacham I bid thee Adieu praying that thou and I may at last meet in that Center of all Things after our Various Epicycles and Excursions in this Lower World Paris 15th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER V. To the Same I Sent a Dispatch some Moons past to the Cadilesquer of Romeli Guardian of the Imperial Canons Interpreter of the Laws of Equity wherein I inform'd him of the Advances that were made in order to a Peace between France and Spain Now I can assure thee that Peace is concluded and the Articles Sign'd on both Sides by the Two Plenipotentiaries I need not repeat what I particularly related to that Grandee My Letters are all publish'd in the Divan and Register'd Yet it will not be unwelcome perhaps to thee to hear with what Niceness of Punctilio these Infidel Ministers met to accomplish an Affair whereon depends the Interest and Honor of their Respective Masters the Happiness of the Two Kingdoms and the General Byass of all the West There is a little Island form'd by the River Bidassoa call'd the Isle of Pheasants through the Middle of which a Line is drawn which exactly separates the Territories of both Monarchs This Place was agreed on for the Interview of the Two Ministers Each had his Bridge to enter the Island in that Part which belong'd to his Master And over the Line of Separation was erected a large Divan or Council-Room to be enter'd only by Two Private Doors one out of Cardinal Mazarini's Lodgings rais'd on the French Side of the Council-Room the other out of Don Louis D' Aro's Apartment built on the Spanish Side Each of these Ministers was accompany'd by several Princes and Grandees of the Court and above Sixty other Persons of Quality with a Guard of Four Hundred Horse and Foot to secure their Bridges and the Place of Conference In a word Things were manag'd with so much Moderation and good Success that the Mareschal de Gramont was sent Embassador Extraordinary into Spain and receiv'd at that Court with Infinite Civilities and Honour The Subject of his Negotiation was to treat of a Match between the King his Master and the Infanta of Spain His Conduct and Address were such as soon procur'd the Catholick King 's Consent And from that Time the Marshal approach'd the Infanta with more than ordinary Submissions esteeming her now as the Queen of France Soon after this the Nuptial Contract and the Peace was mutually Sign'd to the Immense Joy of the Subjects of both Sides who were very glad to exchange the Toils and Calamities of War for the Sweets and Profit of Peace It will be needless to insert here all the Articles on which they agreed Two will be worth the Knowledge of the Supreme Divan And those are the Release of Charles Duke of Lorrain on the Spanish King's Side And on the Part of the King of France the Restauration of the Prince of Conde to the Free Possession and Enjoyment of all his Estates Honours Dignities and Priviledges as the First Prince of the Royal Blood with the Government of the Provinces of Bourgoigne and Bresse A little before these Articles were Sign'd the Young Prince of Spain dy'd suddainly not having seen Twelve Moons I mention'd the Birth of this Royal Infant in one of my Letters and the Extraordinary Solemnities that were made thereupon by the King of Spain and his Embassadors at Foreign Courts These Infidels appear in all things too passicnately affected with the Glories of our Mortal State which at the Height are but Transient Shadows or something less Considerable I 'm amaz'd at the bold
Multitude of their Brethren Whereas they consider not that they are dispers'd up and down over the whole Earth like Sheep without a Shepherd not permitted to possess a Cubit of Land which they can call their own Contemn'd hated and made a Proverbial Scoff among all Nations Infamous Vagabonds Usurers Slaves and Pimps to other Men's Pleasures Men of no Fame or Character Finally in their present Circumstances the most Spurious and Ignoble of all the Sons of Adam except the Kafars of Ethiopia who feed on the Guts and Dung of Beasts 'T is true indeed their Ancestors made a Considerable Figure in the World in the Days of Solomon and other Victorious Kings during their Possession of Palestine And yet in those very Times they were often humbled and led away into Captivity by the more Fortunate Kings of Babylon Persia and Assyria and afterwards subdu'd by the Grecians till at last they were totally Ruined their Cities laid Waste their Temple burnt to Ashes and their Country quite dispeopled by the Romans If we ascend yet higher to their Celebrated Migration out of Egypt of which their own Historians make such a Noise and tell so many Fabulous Wonders We shall find a very Mean and Contemptible Character given of 'em by Egyptian Writers and those of other Nations Men of as great Authority as Josephus or any other Jewish Historian Manethos a Priest of Egypt calls 'em a Crew of Leprous and Nasty People and says they were expell'd the Country by Amenophis then Reigning and driven into Syria their Captain being Moses an Egyptian Priest A like Relation we have from Chaeremon an Author of good Credit among the Greeks who tells us That in the Reign of Amenophis Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Lepers were forcibly banish'd out of Egypt under the Conduct or Tisithen and Peteseth i. e. Moses and Aaron And tho' other Writers differ in the Name of the King then Reigning in Egypt yet all agree in asserting the Israelites to be a Nasty Sort of People over-run with Scabs and Infectious Boils and that they were esteem'd the Scum and Filth of the Nation Tacitus a Roman Writer of Unquestionable Authority adds That Moses one of the Exil'd Lepers being a Man of Wit and Reputation among them when he saw the Grief and Confusion of his Brethren bid them be of good Cheer and neither trust the Gods or Men of Egypt but only confide in him and obey his Counsel For that he was sent from Heaven to be their Conductor out of this Calamity and to Protect them from all their Enemies Upon which the People not knowing what Course to take surrendred themselves wholly to his Disposal from which Time he became their Captain and Lawgiver leading them through the Desarts of Arabia where they committed great Rapine and Spoil putting Man Woman and Child to the Sword burning their Cities and laying all Things desolate Dear Dgnet What could be said worse of a Company of Robbers and Banditi Moses is gone to Paradise and when I mention his Name it is with a profound Reverence for he was the Greatest of the Ancient Prophets Yet give me Leave to have some Regard for my own Reason He was but a Mortal as well as I and without doubt was not exempt from Humane Frailties He had the Advantage to be Educated in the College of the Royal Priests at Memphis which none of his Nation could boast of besides himself Suffer me to tell thee my Thoughts frankly and without Disguise Magick and Astrology were the only Sciences then in Vogue And he being perfectly vers'd in all the Mysteries and Secrets of Egyptian Wisdom 't was no hard Task for him to possess the Rude and Ignorant Sont of Jacob with a profound Attach and Veneration for his Person And in that distress'd Condition to mold their flexible Spirits to what Discipline he pleas'd Suspect me not for an Infidel or an Atheist because I discourse with this Freedom I have heard some of our Mollahs say a great deal more in their Private Conversation And 't is a superstitious Timerousness not to be bold in the Exercise of our Reason which taught even the Prophet Moses himself the Methods of Conquest and getting a Fame which should know no End I am not Ambitious nor would I tempt thee to aspire at an undue Grandeur But let us not be less than our selves that is Men There is no reason we should be impos'd upon by Fabulous Reports of Interress'd and Designing Writers Or that we should give Faith to every Credulous Fool Doubtless there were many Nations establish'd on Earth before the Israelites and Great Prophets who were not of the Lineage of Abrahim The Date of the Olympiads is much more certain to a Day nay to an Hour than the Hejira of the Israelites since the Former is Demonstrated by the Eclipses of the Sun and Moon interwoven by the Gentile Historians in the Body of their History whereas the Latter is defective in this Material Point and is expos'd to a Thousand Disputes among Writers My Friend let not thou and I trouble our selves with Needless Controversies or be Zealous for Things of no Moment but Adoring One God and believing what is Rational we may possess our Souls in Tranquility and Peace Paris 11th of the 5th Moon of the Year 1660. LETTER VIII To the Kaimacham AT length after a long Alienation the Prince of Conde is restor'd to the King's Favour For which he is oblig'd to the King of Spain I have already intimated in one of my Letters That this was agree'd on in the Treaty of Peace between these Two Crowns as an Article Equivalent to that of the Duke of Lorrain's Release sollicited by the King of France Now 't is put in Execution and the Rebel Prince is receiv'd with Abundance of Caresses by the King Queen-Mother Cardinal Mazarini and the whole Court He is counted the Valiantest Man of this Age and was so pronounc'd long ago by the Mareschal Turenne who is a Souldier of no mean Character both for his Judgment and Courage He was once extremely belov'd by all the French But his Wildness and Inconstancy with the Destructive Effects of the Civil Wars which he rais'd chang'd their Affections for a while into Indifference Coldness and Ill-Will But now all 's well again He and his Brother the Prince of Conti seldom agree'd being often the Heads of Contrary Parties during the Minority of this King And the Younger being crump-Shoulder'd Conde us'd to be a little Sarcastick upon him threatning to shave his uncourtly Back into the Fashion with his Sword It is certain the Prince of Conde was very wild and profuse when Young but now he begins to take soberer Measures During his Father's Life he was call'd the Duke of Enguien And to reflect on the Parsimony of the Old Prince he us'd to take several Handfuls of Gold with one Hand and fill a Purse saying This is my Father's Practice Then he would turn the
Second Repeal Which was granted him And then he took a wet Sponge and wip'd off all the Varnish he had daub'd on the Picture And the Crucifix appeared the same in all Respects as it was before The Pope who looked on this as a great Secret being Ignorant of the Arts which Painters use was ravished at the strange Metamorphosis And to reward the Painter's treble Ingenuity he absolv'd him from all his Sins and the Punishments due to them ordering moreover his Steward to cover the Picture all over with Gold as a farther Gratuity for the Painter And they say this Crucifix is the Original by which the most famous Crucifixes in Europe are drawn I need make no other Reflection on this Than that as the Suppos'd Murder of Jesus the Son of Mary is the Source of all the Christians Devotion so the real Homicide which this Painter committed has made it more intense and fervent by how much the Crucifixes drawn after this Pattern excel all that were seen before them in the Tragical Portraiture of the Martyr'd Messias And from this Reason it is that Painters are in so great esteem among the Italians because they form the Gods which those Infidels Adore It is no wonder therefore that the Chief Head of their Church should so easily Absolve Murder in a Painter as a Venial Sin especially when it is done in Ordine ad Deum as the Jesuits say that is to promote God's Glory as the Pope easily persuaded himself this was Since Idolatry is the main Engine which supports the State and Grandeur of the Roman Court And all the World knows that Holy City is a Type of Heaven or at least the Crafty Priests would fain represent it so My Friend thou and I have seen enough of their Tricks and Holy Frauds in Sicily Praise be to God they had not Power to pervert us Our Faith remains inviolate We still possess the Integrity of Mussulmans the Native Attach we owe to the Prophet who was sent to Exterminate Idols In a word we Adore none but One God Creator of the Worlds May that Incomprehensible for ever keep us in the same Faith and Practice till the Release of our Souls Paris 13th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1661. LETTER VIII To Lubano Abufei Saad an Egyptian Knight THIS Court is now at Fontainbleau and all seems to be dissolv'd in Joy for the Birth of a Dauphin The Queen was delivered of this Young Prince on the First Day of this Moon There 's Nothing but Feasting Dancing and Revelling on this Account with Bonefires and Congratulatory Addresses Only the Duke of Orleans the King's Brother has little Reason to be over-merry since he was the next Presumptive Heir of the Crown in Case the King died without Issue Male For the Laws of France exclude a Female from Reigning Yet this Duke dissembles his Inward Grief for being thus put by his Hopes and appears as Joyful as the Father himself He huggs and admires the Royal Babe wishing him Health and Long Life in a Compliment whom he really could rather wish out of the World or at least that he had never come into it So violent are the Temptations to a Crown so strong the Desire of Empire That the Nearness of Relation which endears the Rest of Mortals one to another enranges the Hearts of Princes from those of their own Blood if they stand in the Way of their Ambition And I can assure thee the French do not spare to say the Duke of Orleans has enough of this Vice to attempt great Things were not his Genius over-aw'd by the Matchless Fortune and Spirit of his Brother Neither is the King himself Insensible of this remembring with what Warmth the Duke received the Flattering Addresses of some Courtiers during his Brother's dangerous Sickness when the Physicians had well-nigh given him over for a Dead Man I was acquainted with this Passage but lately by Osmin the Dwarf who watches all the Motions of this Court. He tells me that the King being inform'd a Rumour was whispered among the Grandees of his Death caused them all to be sent for and to pass through his Chamber whilst the Curtains of his Bed were drawn open that they might see their Sovereign alive tho' in a bad State of Health He says moreover That the true Reason why several Lords of late have been removed from their Offices about the King is because he resented ill the too early and passionate Court they made to the Duke of Orleans on the Report of his Brother's Death 'T is natural to all Men to love themselves and to desire the Disposal of their own Affairs No Man would be content to have his Estate given away by his Servants at their own Discretion And Sovereign Monarchs are the most Jealous of all Men in such Cases Particularly the King of France is known to be a Prince very sensible of his Honour and soon touched in that Point by the least Appearance of Dis-respect in his Subjects and of Encroachment in his Neighbours As for the Duke of Orleans he is a Prince of no great Character either as a Souldier or a Statesman Neither has he been much talked of in the World till the Beginning of this Year when he Married an English Princess by Name Henrietta Daughter to the late Murder'd King of that Nation We have had another Match here also between the late Duke of Orleance's Daughter and the Prince of Toscany These things occasion various Discourse among those who pretend to weigh exactly the different Interests of Christian Courts especially of such as are concerned in the New Alliances For the Greatest Monarchs here in the West marry only for Profit and Advantage to Fortify themselves by a closer Union with the House to which they are Ally'd Whereas our Eastern Princes only indulge their Passions in the Choice of their Wives admitting none to their Embraces but the most Exquisite Beauties that can be found And where they once pitch their Phancy they neither regard Riches Honour or any other Recommendation save what their Love suggests being themselves Inexhaustible Fountains of Wealth Nobility and good Fortune to all who have the Happiness to be in their Favour They scorn to sell themselves and prostitute the Glory of their Diadems to a Foreign Prince for the Sake of a little Gold and much Trouble with a proud Female whom perhaps they never saw Yet this is the common Practice among the Princes of the Nazarene Belief Who consider not that instead of a Wife a Partner of their Empire and a Friend they often entertain a Snake a Traytor an Enemy Especially if she be a Woman of Wit and Intrigue as most of them are This made the now Queen-Mother the Relict of Lewis XIII suspected by her Husband and the present Queen of France is under the like Circumstances And it will always be so where Princes Match themselves after this manner and cannot debar their Wives from holding a
I tell thee this Monarch wou'd not willingly come short of any of the Caesars At the Beginning of this Year he aggrandiz'd his Court by a Promotion of Sixty Two Knights of the Holy Spirit I have often mention'd this Order in my Letters to the Ministers of the Port and thou that hast beeen in France know'st That 't is the next Step to being made Peer of the Realm I shall only inform thee that during the Ceremonies of this last Promotion the Dukes of Vendosme and Longueville had a Feud about the Precedency which at last was adjusted in Favour of the Former In a Word the King declar'd the House of Vendosme to have a Right of Priority before all other Princes and to succeed in the Throne it self next after the House of Bourbon This is look'd upon as a Bold Effort of Royal Power and has startled all the Court No less surprized were they to see the Duke of Lorrain resign all his Estates to the King of France reserving only the Possession of 'em during his Life And now the King having weather'd the Point with all his Enemies both Foreign and Domestick studies Nothing more earnestly than to divert his Queen and to let his Subjects taste the Sweets of Peace the Effect of his Matchless Fortune to which even Crowned Heads find themselves compell'd to stoop and submit On the 5th of the foregoing Moon by his Appointment was held a Tournament or Carousel as the French call it This is a Sort of Exercise on Horse-Back in Imitation of the Ancient Manner of Fighting with Spear and Shield The Place where they run was raild about and Magnificent Choiscs erected for the Queen and Ladies of the Court to sit in as Spectators The Divertisement was very Pompous And the King was one of the Combatants The Rest were the Duke of Orleans the King's Brother the Prince of Conde the Duke of Enguien Son to the Prince and the Duke of Guize Each of these led a Troop of Horse into the Field That of the King 's was habited after the Manner of the Old Roman Knights The Duke of Orleans's made a Figure like the Persians the Prince of Conde's represented the Ottomans The Duke of Enguien's Troop were in Indian Habits and the Duke of Guise's appear'd like the Salvages of America It wou'd be too tedious to describe the Particular Magnificences of each Suffice it to say That they were all prodigiously Majestick and Rich in their Equipage The Courses also they made were Brave and full of Gallantry But the Prize which was a Diamond of Great Value was adjudged to the Prince of Conde by the Queen-Mother One of the Former Kings of France lost his Life at this Royal Exercise being run through the Eye into the Brain by the Spear of an English Knight then at the French Court and one of the Combatants For which Reason the Following Kings of France forbore to expose themselves to the like Danger But this Young Mars fears nothing being as Venturous and Bold as was Sultan Amurat the Trophies of whose Victorious Combat with the Persian Challenger at the Siege of Babylon hang up in the Treasury to this Day as Monuments of his invincible Courage and Strength Sultan Achmet also took great Delight in throwing the Lance with his Courtiers in the Atmeidan These are Sports fit for Kings and Great Generals And some of the Roman Caesars themselves wou'd play the Gladiators It is not lawful for me to censure or reflect on the Actions of my Sovereign But I will tell thee what the French say of him by Way of Contempt That he never Combated in his own Person with any Thing but Timorous Hares and Hinds It makes me blush to hear the Great Emperour of the East thus blasphem'd by the Prophane Mouths of Infidels And it were to be wish'd he wou'd do some surprizing Action to raise himself another Character I say no more but recommend thee to God and the White Angel Paris 12th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1662. LETTER XV. To Zedi Alamanzi a Merchant at Venice THOU hast oblig'd me beyond my Expectation in that Ample History of thy Life which thy Letter contains I esteem thee not the worse because thou wert born of Christian Parents but rather put the higher Value on thy Merit in that being bred in Superstition and Error Thou hast voluntarily embrac'd the Truth without any Prospect of advancing thy Interest When a Man of a Noble Stock born to Riches and Honours bred in Softnesses and Delights and actually possess'd of a fair Estate shall thus abandon his Country his Relations Friends and Acquaintance with all his Native Rights and Enjoyments purely for the Love of God resigning himself wholly to the Will of Destiny and the Conduct of Providence without consulting his own Ease and Delight in this World 't is an Evident Sign of a Faithful Heart and that his Integrity is without Stain All this and much more it seems thou hast done and therefore thou can'st not fail of being Happy in this World and in Paradise I am extremely pleas'd in reading the various Adventures of thy Youth thy early Inclinations to visit Foreign Countries and thy Actual Travels through Europe Asia and Africa This is the only Way to learn true and complete Wisdom For a Man edifies a Thousand Times more by his own Personal Experience of Things than by all the most Elegant Descriptions that can be made by others Besides the Advantage of becoming expert in the several Languages and Dialects of the Earth which he can never learn so perfectly in Books as by conversing with the Natives of each Country through which he passes Beyond all this there is an infinite Pleasure in seeing the Variety of Objects which every where expose themselves to a Travellers Eye There is nothing more delightful to Humane Nature than to try all Things Man is cloy'd with what is too Familiar to him The most Magnificent Palace wou'd appear as a Prison to him that were always Confin'd to it The Greatest Fields and most shady Groves wou'd afford us no Refreshment if we had not Liberty to straggle out of them when we pleas'd Man is Naturally wild as other Animals and 't is as bad as Death to be restrain'd of his Freedom I had rather at certain Seasons range in a Wilderness all over-run with Weeds and Briars than in the most Regular and Fragrant Garden in the World I would willingly chuse the Fatigue of Climbing up a High Steep Craggy Mountain for the sake of a new and larger Prospect before the Ease of walking always in a Low Valley or Even Plain tho' grac'd with never so many Inviting Objects which must always be the same So fulsom are the very Pleasures we are daily accustomed to I doubt not but that it was very agreeable to thee in thy Journeys when every Remove thou made'st from Stage to Stage promis'd thee Something Novel and fresh A Man in such Cases is
Duke of Beaufort's Exploits on the Coasts of Barbary He is Commander of the French Navy in those Seas and has done great Injuries to the People of Algier Sarcelle Bougie and other Ports Tho' these Rebels are deservedly punish'd for deserting the Protection of the High Port yet let us remember that the Algerines are Mussulmans and therefore ought not to be abandon'd to the Malice of Infidels Mighty Bassa sail thou in the Strength of God against the Enemies of the Ottoman Empire And when thou hast finish'd thy Voyage here below may a Wind of Mercy waft thee o'er the Waters which are above the Firmament and land thee safe in one of the Ports of Paradise Paris 3d. of the 9th Moon of the Year 1665. The End of the Third Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. VI. BOOK IV. LETTER I. To Achmet Beig THIS Court has put on the Exteriour Semblance of Mourning whilst they inwardly rejoyce at the Death of Philip IV. King of Spain He deceas'd on the 17th of the 9th Moon 'T is possible their Grief is more real for the Death of the Duke of Vendosme a Prince of Royal Extraction and whilst living not far remov'd from a possibility of inheriting the Crown of France But now he is gone to the Grave the General Receptacle of all Mortals and which makes no Distinction between the Noble and the Vulgar There have been Abundance of Ceremonies perform'd on the Part of the King the Dauphin the Duke of Orleans the Duke of Valois and other Princes of the Blood for the Health of the Departed Soul For the Nazarenes to give them their due fall not short of the True Faithful in believing the Resurrection and Immortality to come They consign the Bodies of the Dead to their Sepulchres with solemn Rites of Religion perfuming them with Incense and sprinkling them with Holy Water Rehearsing also certain Sacred Hymns and Prayers appointed for that Purpose Neither do they neglect to Fast and give Alms to perform any Pious Office which is practis'd by the Mussulmans for their Friends who are gone to the Invisible State They agree with us in Abundance of good things and if they mix some Superstitions and Errors let us pity their Weakness and praise God who guides us into the Right Way and suffers us no to be seduced into the Way of Infidels He is the Merciful of the Merciful the Joy of the Elect and the Hope of all Nations Should he punish Men according to their Hourly Demerits the Earth would soon be depopulated and void of any other Inhabitants save the Beasts But he knows our Mold and remembers that we are no more than a mere Froth or Spume of the Elements and that in a very little time by the Course of Nature we shall vanish like Bubbles which yield to every Blast of Wind. Therefore he spares us and connives at our Infirmities because he is the Lover of Souls I speak this as an Incentive to Charity among our selves and to our Fellow-Mortals It seems to me unreasonable that we should pursue with Inexorable Hatred all the Followers of Jesus He was a Holy Prophet humble mild chaste and harmless He did many Good Works himself and commanded his Disciples to imitate his Example He rebuk'd those amongst them that would have call'd down Fire from Heaven to consume his Enemies Enjoyning them to return Blessings for Curses Prayers for Blasphemies and Good for Evil. There are those amongst them who obey his Precepts As for the Wicked I am not their Advocate If the Greatest Part of the Christians live contrary to the Law of the Messias let us consider also how many Hypocrites Libertines Hereticks and Atheists there are among those who profess the Mussulman Faith Doubtless there are Good and Bad of all Religions And 't is impossible to find an Assembly of Just Men without a Mixture of Sinners As for our Difference with the People of Jesus in Matters of Worship it ought not to make us forget that we are Men compounded of the same Flesh and Blood as they And for ought we know God who made all the Nations of the Earth may accept of their various Rites and Ceremonies in paying him Divine Adoration We that are the Posterity of Ismael and worship the Eternal after the manner of our Fathers who followed the Pattern of Ibrahim the Beloved of God cannot deny but that the Law of Moses was of Divine Original And yet it contains Precepts and Injunctions to which we are wholly Strangers in our Practice tho' the Jews who are the Descendents of Jacob obey them to this Day So we believe what the Alcoran says of the Messias That he is the Breath and Word of God That he heal'd Diseases rais'd the Dead wrought many other Miracles and preach'd the true Heavenly Doctrin Yet there 's abundance of Difference between the Ceremonies which the very Apostles us'd in the Service of God and the Worship establish'd by Mahomet our Holy Lawgiver But he tells us That they who live up to the Law of Jesus shall go to Paradise as well as the Mussulmans The greatest Scandal which the Christians give us is their Setting up Pictures and Images in their Temples and the Reverence they pay to those Insensible Pieces of Humane Art And yet for ought we know they may be excusable before God since they profess openly in the Publick Decrees of their Councils That the Veneration and Honour they pay to the Figures of Saints and Angels is only Relative their Devotion at the same Time resting not on this side the Prototypes If this be true I see no more Hurt in their Worship of Images than in Bowing and Prostrating before the Alcoran which is but another Sort of Imagery representing the Divine Will In a word if the Hieroglyphicks of the Ancient Egyptians are allow'd to be Lawful Letters and Instruments to express the Inward Conceptions of the Mind in my Opinion the Painting and Sculpture which we see in the Churches of the Christians ought not to be condemn'd as an Idolotrous Practice when 't is only us'd as an easier way to convey the History of Jesus and the rest of the Prophets and Saints to the Vulgar who are generally Ignorant of Letters Unless we shall say That the Son of Mary was an Idol and the Prophets and Saints were Devils which God avert from the Mouth of a True Believer Paris 13th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER II. To William Vospel a Recluse of Austria THY Dispatch came to my Hands in a good Hour I perus'd with Reverence the Paternal Instructions it contained the Grave and Judicious Apothegms the Sacred Rules and Institutions of a Regular and Spiritual Life the Morals more refin'd than those of Pindar Epictetus Seneca or Cato But pardon me if I relish not so well thy Panegyrick on some of the newly Canoniz'd Saints from which you take Occasion to extol the the Pope's Infallibility and to exclude from
the Moors from whom a great Part of that Nation are said to descend Every Country in Europe has suffer'd mighty Changes by the Incursions nd Conquests of the Moors Goths Huns and Vandals So that 't is difficult to trace the Original of any People in such a Hotch-Potch of Foreign Blood Neither have they any Care of their Genealogies as we Arabians have in the East Illustrious Aga tho' it signifies Nothing to spring of a Noble Stock unless we inherit the Vertues of our Ancestors as well as their Splendid Titles and Estates Yet 't is both profitable and pleasant to have by us a Register of our Families that reading their Characters and Heroick Actions we may imitate their Examples and add to the Glory of the Tribe from which we descend Paris 26th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1660. LETTER XIII To Dgnet Oglou I Know not whether I shall finish the Letter I begin or if I do whether it will be above Ground or in the Bowels of the Earth However I cannot forbear writing to thee my Dear Friend though both the Paper and I with the House wherein I lodge and all this Beautiful City may for ought I know be transported to another Region before Morning Nay 't is possible this very Hour may People Elyzium with a New Colony from France and Paris may descend with all her Magnificent Palaces to the Shades below changing the Banks of the River Seyne for those of Acheron or Styx and the Refreshing Airs of Champagne for the Choaking Sulphurs of Hell In a Word we have felt the Menaces of a Terrible Earthquake this Evening but as yet have suffered no Damage When I liv'd in Asia an Earthquake was almost as Common as the Yearly Revolutions of Summer and Winter And we took as little Notice of it as we did of Lightning Hail or Rain Besides one Mussulman encouraged another and the General Faith of True Believers confirm'd us all That we ought to be resign'd to God and to the Appointments of Eternal Destiny whether it were for Pleasure or Pain Good or Evil Life or Death But now I have been so long disus'd to these Convulsions of the Globe for I have not felt one above these Two and Twenty Years and am also separated from the Society of the Faithful that I am become like the rest of the World and even like these Infidels Timorous astonished void of Reason and of little or no Faith My Mind at first stagger'd as much as my Body when I was walking cross my Chamber and felt the Floor rock under me with that Singular Kind of Motion which no Humane Art or Force can imitate I soon concluded 't was an Earthquake but knew not how to bear that Thought with Indifference Death is familiar to me in any other Figure but that of being so surprizingly buried alive It appeared horrible to sink on a sudden into an Unknown Grave I knew not whither Perhaps I might fall into some Dark Lake of Water or it may be I might be drench'd in a River of Fire or be dash'd on a Rock For who can tell the Disposition of the Caverns below or what Sort of Apartments he shall find under the Surface of the Earth We walk on the Battlements of a Marvellous Structure a Globe full of Tremendous Secrets And whether Nature or Destiny Providence or Chance occasion the Ruptures that we find are made in divers Parts of the Earth it matters not much so long as we are in Danger of tumbling in Such a terrible Fall would put the best Philosopher in the World out of Humour and Spoil all his Reasoning I 'm sure 't would vex me thus in a Trice to be plundered of my Thoughts Which makes me either wonder at the Vanity of Empedocles if he threw himself into the flaming Chasm of Mount Aetna only for the Sake of being esteemed a God as the common Report is or gives me Reason to conclude he had some other End in his Venturous Leap Since 't is not probable that empty Fame could be esteemed by that Great Sage as his Final Happiness A much easier way had Aristotle who disgusted at his Ignorance of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea threw himself in to put an End to his Disquisitions if the Story be true But I can hardly believe the Stagyrite was such a Fool. I guess of other Men according to the Experience I have of my self I am as little sollicitous about Death as any Man yet I should be unwilling to hurle my self out of the World headlong without a Firm or a Tefta I love New Experiments but am not very fond of such as take from us irrecoverably the means of trying any more We had News here of an Earthquake which has overthrown Part of the Pyrenaean Mountains some Days before this happened at Paris but few regarded it Calamities at a Distance frighten No-body Yet those which we feel put us all in Tears For my Part it has this Effect on me that I am improved in my Carelessness and become fearful of Nothing And I think there is Reason on my Side since all my Care Apprehension and Forecast can never defend me from the Underminings of the Omnipotent Paris 15th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1660. LETTER XIV To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire LET not the Distance of Time between my Letters prompt thee to conclude I forget my Duty or that I am careless to oblige so Illustrious a Friend I have many Obligations to discharge and therefore endeavour to husband my Hours to the best Advantage and so to divide my Dispatches That the Grand Signior may be served the Divan inform'd of all Material Emergencies and the Expectations of each Minister gratified As to the Reign of Lewis XIII It was shar'd successively between the Marshal D' Ancre the Duke of Luines and Cardinal Richlieu The First was the Queen-Mother's Favourite the Second was the King's As for the Third he was absolute Master both of King Queen and Kingdom During the King's Minority indeed Queen Mary de Medicis the Relict of Henry IV. took the Regency into her own Hands and managed Things in an Arbitrary Manner But the Princes of the Blood with other Grandees not able to brook the Government of a Woman conspired against her Among these were the Prince of Conde Father to the present Prince and the Duke of Bovillon The Former was a Bold Man and durst do any Thing that was Brave The Latter was a Cunning Statesman They Caball'd not so privately but the Queen-Mother was acquainted with their Meetings and the Duke of Bovillon was the First who knew his Party was betrayed This Intelligence was brought him from assured Hands whilst he was sitting with the Prince of Conde and other Nobles at the Place of their Private Rendezvous Whereupon he acquainted them with it exhorting all to abscond immediately lest they should be seized on the Spot But they retorting
has put all France into a great Consternation astonish'd every Body and encreased the Thoughtfulness of the Wise The First Effects of it were felt by the Inhabitants of the Pyrenees which are certain Mountains dividing France and Spain There it did great Mischief overwhelming some Medicinal Baths many Houses and destroying Hundreds of People Only one Mosque or Church which sunk into the Caverns below was thrown up again and stands very Firm but in another Place This is look'd upon as a great Miracle especially by the French who for ought I know may censure Partially favouring their own Interest in regard this Church has been disputed between them and the Spaniards each Nation claiming Right to it as standing before exactly on the Frontier Line But now their Quarrel is uncontestably decided For 't is removed by this Convulsion of the Globe near half a League from its Former Situation which is so far within the acknowledg'd Limits of France This the French Priests magnify as an apparent Proof of the Justice of their Pretensions and the People seem very willing to believe it As for me I have another Opinion of Earthquakes and am persuded that they are as Natural as the Winds which no Man knows how to draw into any Party or Faction unless we believe the Stories of the Lapland Witches I am persuaded that this Globe is much more Ancient than the Generality of Mankind imagine it to be That it has undergone various Changes by the Predominance of Fire and Water And that it is now hastening towards another Revolution I believe the Central Fire has eaten its Way almost to the Surface and kindled all the Mines of Sulphur and other Inflammable Matter which it meets with in its Circular Ascent These corroding and daily consuming their own Vaults approaching also sometimes too near the vast Receptacles of Subterranean Waters which lie nearer the Surface over-heat those Lakes which being thus rarified into Vapours and pent up in the Hollow of the Globe strive to break forth with Immense Violence which causes that Heaving and Rocking of the Superficies that so terrifies Mortals But then the Cause is very deep and far from us For where the Surface is shallow in such Passions of the Globe the Earth commonly breaks and tumbles in with whatsoever is upon it Nay whole Cities sometimes have been thus swallowed up And the Danger is easily fore-known by a short Snatching and Trepidation of the Ground Houses Trees Men and every Thing within its Reach for then the Convulsion is Generally Fatal But where the Motion is Heavy Grave and Regular 't is a Sign that both the Source and the Danger of it are far off And this is so much the more Evident by how much farther the Earthquake is felt above Ground For the nearer any such Passion happens to the Center it must be granted that its Force is extended the wider on the Circumference This depends on a Mathematical Demonstration and there needs no more be said to thee who art Consummate in the Sciences What I esteem a due Reflection on this is That tho' there be no Peril in these Remote Earthquakes yet we know not how soon they will come nearer to us neither can we be assured where or when they will happen or how far they will reach It follows therefore by a Natural Consequence That since these Things are Unavoidable and all the Wit of Man cannot invent a Means to escape sinking into the Bowels of the Earth where it breaks in we ought to be careless and Indifferent what Death we die and only be solicitous to live like Men that is according to Reason For whether our Souls survive or no 't will be comfortable to expire in Peace and full of our own Innocence Paris 5th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1660 The End of the First Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. VI. BOOK II. LETTER II. To the Venerable Mufti HERE is now like to be a great Change at this Court Cardinal Mazarini is dead He died at the Castle of the Wood of Vinciennes on the 9th of this Moon having been sick a long Time There happened a great Fire at the Louvre so they call the King's Palace in this City about Five Weeks ago which obliged the Cardinal who log'd there at that Time to remove to his own House From whence for the Sake of Air he was advised by his Physicians to go to the aforesaid Castle But all in vain For Death which finds Access into the strongest Fortresses pursued him thither and led him in Triumph to the Region of Silence and Forgetfulness who had made so great a Noise and Bustle in this our World It is reported that a certain Astrologer foretold him he should die in this Moon But the Cardinal gave no Credit to him Tho' one would think he had some Reason to believe him in this for the Sake of a Former Prediction of his concerning the Duke of Beaufort I have mentioned this Prince and the Enmity that was between Mazarini and him which occasioned the Duke's Imprisonment in the Castle of the Wood of Vinciennes During his Restraint the fore-mentioned Astrologer gave it out in Paris That the Duke should escape out of Prison precisely on such a Day The Cardinal being informed of this waited till the Day came designing to punish the Astrologer as a Cheat or at least to expose him for an Ignorant Person To which End he sent for him and upbraiding him with Presumption and Folly in that the Day was now come and yet the Duke of Beaufort was still a Prisoner without any Hopes or scarce a Possibility of escaping order'd him to be sent to the Bastile But the Astrologer addressing himself with much Submission and Earnestness spoke to this Effect May it please your Eminence only to respite my Sentence till to Morrow and then hang me if you do not find that I have spoke Truth The Day which I foretold is come indeed but it is not past A Courtier will soon convince you that I have not studied this Science in vain The Cardinal mov'd with these Words only confin'd the Astrologer in a Chamber of his own Palace And the next Day he receiv'd an Express which gave him an Account of the Duke's Escape and the Manner of it viz. That on the Day before he had let himself down by a Ladder of Ropes into the Castle-Ditch and was no more to be seen or heard of Thus the Astrologer escap'd the Cardinal's Revenge and got much Fame at the Court which was encreas'd by the Cardinal's Death falling out exactly according to his Prediction This Minister was a very subtle Man and Cardinal Richlieu us'd to say of him That if he were minded to put a Trick on the Devil he would only set Mazarini to Work Therefore he made him his Confident instructed him in all the Secrets of the French Court the Art of Government and on his Death-Bed recommended him to
am guilty of Error and Presumption Correct me in thy Wisdom For before thee I am but as an Idiot Paris 22d of the 12th Moon of the Year 1662. LETTER XVIII To Hasnadar-Bassi Chief Treasurer to his Highness THE French have newly felt the Motions of a Joy whose Birth and Growth was like that of a Mushroom sudden and swift the Product of a very little Time and which ended in Mourning and Tears The Moon of November beheld a Daughter born to the Queen of France But that Planet had hardly carried the News through all the Signs of the Zodiack and commanded the Stars of France to celebrate a Dunalma before she was oblig'd to be the Messenger of more sad Tidings and to proclaim the Death of this Young Princess to the Constellations that assisted at her Birth In a Word She was born on the 18th of the 11th Moon and died on the 30th of the 12th It looks as if she only came into the World to be a Witness of the Conclusion of the Peace between her Father Lewis XIV and her Grandfather Philip the King of Spain and so return to the Region of Separate Souls This Peace was in General Terms sign'd and seal'd long ago but there remain'd some Difficulties in adjusting the Limits of the French Conquests which were referr'd to the Management of Commissioners on both Sides And these after they had debated the Matter for the Space of Two Years at St. Omers Arras and Metz at length finish'd their Negotiation on the 25th of the 11th Moon of the last Year Which was just Seven Days after the Nativity of the French Princess This Royal Infant also liv'd to see Dunkirk one of the strongest Sea-Ports in the World re-deliver'd to her Father by the English in whose Hands it had been ever since 't was first taken from the Spaniards The King took Possession of this Important Place in his own Person entring the Town on the 2d of the last Moon 'T is look'd upon as a grand Oversight in the English thus tamely to part with a Fortress which is inexpugnable be Land and commands the Northern Seas But Money over-rules all other Considerations And it seems the English Court had Occasion for Gold There is lately a good Understanding establish'd between this King and the Emperour of Germany They often write Friendly Letters one to another and seem to be perfectly reconcil'd To speak the Truth this may be call'd the Pacifick Year among the Inhabitants of Europe For excepting some Skirmishes and Bravado's of War between the Spaniards and the Portugueze all the Rest of Christendom is in Peace And the Portugueze have so strengthen'd themselves by marrying their Infanta to the English King that what through his Assistance and the Aid of France she has almost reduc'd Spain to a Necessity of making Peace Thou wilt say the Portugueze have over-reach'd the English in the Dowry they give with their Infanta This is only the Town of Tangier in Barbary A Place which will cost them far more to defend against the Moors than it is really worth For those bold Africans will perpetually assault the Town and oblige the King of England to maintain a vast Garison in it besides a Multitude of other Expences This makes the Portugueze secretly smile to find themselves handsomly rid of Two great and burdensome Charges a Daughter of the Royal Blood and an Old Fortress of no Use or Service save only to diminish the Publick Treasure and make away with some Thousands of Men every Year Illustrious Grandee 't is no small Encouragement to the poor Exil'd Mahmut that though he be malign'd slander'd and persecuted by his Enemies yet he still finds Protection and Friendship from the Principal Ministers And that instead of Checks and Reproaches to which I was formerly accustomed my Salary is now augmented to the Proportion of my Necessary Expences Money is sent me with a Liberal Hand and my Slanderers are put to Silence and Shame Thou may'st accquaint the Divan that there is now at this Cour the Eldest Son to the King of Denmark What his Business is People conjecture variously Some say 't is Love others affirm 't was only the Desire of seeing Foreign Courts drew this Prince from his Native Country Thou mayst also inform them that the Duke of Savoy has married a Princess of the Blood Royal they call her Madamoiselle de Valois Eliachim the Jew lies dangerously sick of a Fever As for me who never had my perfect Health since I came to Paris yet I retain a sound Mind and a Heart inviolably devoted to the Interest of the Grand Signior Whom God long preserve on the Throne of the Ottomans Paris 10th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1663. LETTER XIX To the Kaimacham HERE is a Man come to this City a Calabrian by Birth and of all Countries by Education For he has been a Traveller from his Infancy if what he relates of himself be true He speaks all or most of the Languages of Europe very fluently and is resorted to by People of divers Countries under the Character of a Fortune-Teller and Physician He performs both Parts to the Admiration of all that have been with him The Princes and Nobles of France visit him daily and so do Persons of Meaner Birth They discover to him their Secret Maladies and this Apollo seldom fails of Success in curing them He bestows Ten Hours a-Day in freely conversing with People of all Ranks and Qualities healing the Diseases of some and telling to others their Future Destinies I went to his Chamber one Day not to learn my Fate for I have little Faith in Modern Prophets or Astrologers Nor to be cur'd of any Distemper having no Esteem for Quacks and Empericks besides I was in good Health at that Time but Curiosity was the only Motive which led me thither that I might improve my self in other Respects by this Stranger 's Company and learn something which I knew not before of Foreign Courts whereby I might become more Serviceable to the Grand Signior in this Station and farther unravel the Secrets of Christian Princes For so it often falls out that a Man reaps some Considerable Advantage from the Society of Travellers and Men of Experience And I had good Reason to hope for some Profit by this Man's Acquaintance who is thought worthy to be Courted by the Grandees of France Wherefore I address'd my self to him with Abundance of Ceremony and Regard using also as much Dissimulation as I thought necessary to conceal my self and the Design I had in coveting his Friendship I seem'd a great Admirer of Judicial Astrology and told him I was very ambitious to learn the Rudiments of that Science from him having heard his Skill highly commended not only by Vulgar Fame but by the Mouths of Men of Sense and Quality who gave him a fair Character I said a great deal more to insinuate my self into his good Opinion But there being Company with him
their Mother's Breasts Toil and Recreation with them are one and the same thing since they know no other Pleasure but what consists in Riding Fighting and Conquering or else in Death which they believe translates them to new Joys and those more poignant than they knew before Therefore they bravely court it at the Point of a Sword or the Mouth of a Cannon Nothing being more scandalous or hateful than a Coward among them I protest the very Idea of Palus Maeotis and Taurica Chersonesus with the Rest of those Horrible Fens and Marshes on the North of the Black Sea which encompass the Dominions of the Tartars affects me with a Passion or rather such a Medly of Passions as I know not how to name Those ample Desarts those untrack'd Solitudes appear to my Imagination like the Limits of this old Habitable World and the Frontiers of some new strange and unknown Region some Terra Incognita where an Universal Desolation and Silence keep their Seat for ever Where no Voices are heard but those of uncouth Satyrs Fauns and other Exotick Tenants of the Woods and Moors No other Sound but the whistling and roaring of the Winds No Prospect but that of Trees which have appear'd from the Infancy of Time and where those are wanting the Eye is wearied in a long endless Waste which nothing seems to bound but the declining Arch of distant Skies or low black melancholy Clouds skirted with Mists and Fogs Eternal Mantles of the Northern Climes This is the Figure of those solitary Tracts where I wou'd chuse to live rather than in a City which stifles me with too much Plenty of every Thing but fresh Air and honest People Isouf the Contrarieties which we find in Earthly Things give a Gust to each other And the most Magnificent Palace wou'd seem a Prison were a Man always confin'd to live in it Cousin I wish thee perpetual Liberty and Happiness Paris 7th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER XXI To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire AMidst the Variety of Obligations which I have to discharge I forget not to obey thy Commands I have already in my former Dispatches acquainted thee with the Characters and some Remarkable Passages of Henry IV. Lewis XIII Lewis XIV Cardinal Richlieu Cardinal Mazarini and the Prince of Conde Now I will say something of the Famous Mareschal de Turenne whose Fame reaches wheresoever the French Wars have been talk'd of for these Forty Years The Name of this great General is Henry de la Tour d' Auvergne Son to the Duke of Bouillon When his Father was near his Death he call'd for both his Sons whereof this was the youngest And among other Exhortations he recommended in a special Manner Three Things to their Practice Never to renounce or change their Religion Never to take up Arms against their Sovereign Nor to provoke the First Minister As to the First the Mareschal de Turenne has hitherto kept it inviolably but he has faulter'd in both the other having revolt-from his Master's Service during his Minority and oppos'd the Interest of Cardinal Mazarini when the Parliament persecuted that Minister However this hinders not but that he is a Great Souldier and besides he is since reconcil'd to the King He seems to be born for Martial Affairs And they relate of him That when he was but Ten Years Old and his Governour missing him had sought up and down every where for him he at length found him fast asleep on a Cannon which he seem'd to embrace with his little Arms as far as they wou'd reach And when he ask'd why he chose such a Couch to lie on he made Answer That he design'd to have slept there all Night to convince his Father that he was hardy enough to undergo the Fatigues of War though the Old Duke had often perswaded himself to the Contrary And to speak the Truth no Man was more Careless of his Body than this Prince At Fourteen Years of Age he was sent into Holland to serve in the Army under the Prince of Orange who was his Uncle There he apply'd himself to all the Discipline of War doing the Duty of a Private Soldier Which is the common Way that Cadets or Younger Brothers take to rise to the most Eminent Offices He was equally forward in Labours and Perils never shunning any Fatigue or Hazard which might bring him Glory yet he was not rash the Common Vice of Youth but temper'd all his Actions with an extraordinary Prudence and Solidity of Judgment beyond what was expected from him at those Years Yet on the other Side his Counsels were not slow and Flegmatick being of a very ready Forecast and he seldom fail'd in his Contrivances He was soon promoted to a Place of Command And the Exactness of his Conduct rais'd him a vast Reputation so that by Degrees he at last arriv'd to that Height of Power and Honour he now possess He appears Indefatigable in his Body and of an Invincible Resolution He hates Flatterers that think to gain his Friendship by praising him And is equally averse from making Use of such fawning Insinuations to others though the Greatest Princes of the Blood or the First Minister himself He has also a certain Stedfastnese of Spirit which cannot be warp'd by any Artificial Addresses though made to his own apparent Advantage if they propose to him any Thing that has the least Semblance of what is base and dishonourable Thus he wou'd never consent that the Honour of taking Dunkirk some Years ago should be ascrib'd to Cardinal Mazarini tho' that Minister privately courted him to it offering him the Greatest Commands in the Kingdom if he would do him that Service and the Mareschal knew it might prove his Ruin if he did not Yet such was his Integrity and Love to the Truth that by no means would he be brought to condescend to this Meaness of Spirit Yet perhaps it might only proceed from the Aversion which in those Days he had for the Cardinal Many times it is evident That a Natural Passion is made to pass for a Moral Vertue Besides perhaps he was unwilling to be depriv'd of the Glory due to him for that Important Service He is a Man of few words and so secret in all his Counsels that no-body knows any thing of his Designs till he puts them in Execution Every Man esteems him the most Liberal Prince of this Age having no other Regard for Money than as it serves the Necessities of his Family and enables him to oblige his Friends In a Word whatever Vices he may have he is yet endu'd with so many Good Qualities and Vertues that he is belov'd by all the Nation and in Particular Favour with his Sovereign who treats him not as a Subject but as one of his most intimate Friends May God who has rais'd up this Great Genius to aggrandize the French Monarchy continually supply the Grand Signior with Valiant and