to encline her to take him again into her Favour A MEMOIR Presented the King by Cardinal Richelieu after the Queen-Mother had Banish'd him from her House concerning Means to avoid Cabals at Court SInce it has pleas'd the King to make use of me in his Affairs I am assur'd he will think it just to give no Credit to what may be said in my Prejudice by those who upon this Occasion have profest themselves my Enemies His Majesty may please to be assured that as I have am and always will be faithful and zealous in his Service so I shall not in the least fear the Jealousies may be raised against me and the false Accounts may be given of me To remedy which there is no better way than to discover their Birth and to be satisfy'd of their Validity before they take Root As to the ill Offices may be done in the World I know but two ways to prevent their doing Harm One is to shut the Ear against 'em but which I cannot desire where the Persons to be heard are not my profess'd Enemies for fear it may seem that under pretence of preventing Calumnies I would obviate Truths The other to hear nothing without honouring me with the knowledge of it that I may defend my self As also on Condition that they who detect important Truths should be rewarded as they that impos'd Trifles on the State should be punish'd I say the King is oblig'd in Conscience to this for otherwise it would be impossible to serve him in his Affairs where those that are employed make so many Enemies that if it be allowed to detract in private the Malice and Cunning of the Court would not permit an Angel to subsist six Months His Majesty is so much the more oblig'd to grant this in that I submit to whatever Punishment he pleases if providing he discover any of my Enemies to me I am not willing to be prescrib'd by him what Thoughts to have of ' em Then I am humbly to conjure him that if he intends to maintain his Authority it would be necessary continually to have his Eyes open and to lose no time to perfect these Propositions unless he has a mind to be ruin'd It is with this Affair as with a stubborn Disease which one Medicine not being able to master it may be conquered by strâ—nger Remedies often repeated The Cardinal lost the Queen's Favour by not routing the Cabals in their Birth It is better in such a case to do too much than too little providing it extend to no more than banishing the Court. They who have it in their Power to do Mischief there will make us believe they have also the Will By too little one runs a Risque to be ruin'd when on the contrary doing but a little too much without offending ones Conscience one secures ones self and there can no great Inconvenience happen there being no greater Enemy of Cabals than Fear and Doubt We must not think to have Mathematical Demonstrations of Conspiracies and Cabals they are rarely known so far till they are incapable of continuing any longer They must thereofre be foreseen by strong Conjectures and prevented by speedy Remedies LETTER CCXVI To the KING SIR I Can't divine what should be the reason of your Equipage of the hundred Artillery-Horse is not yet ready I am sure I gave Orders for it assoon as ever your Majesty commanded me Monsieur Bullion and Monsieur Servien have acquainted me they have done all on their parts and I believe ' em If it were for my life I could not be more diligent and careful in your Majesty's Service which I cannot believe has been any ways retarded since I am advis'd from Monsieur Melleray by Monsieur Bouthillier that on Saturday last the hundred Horse were sent to Chaalons I must own at first I was against your Majesty's Journey fearing your Health might be impaired by your Natural Impatience of which I have often heard you accuse yourself But since having assur'd me both by yourself and other Persons that you were in perfect health and fearing lest a disappointment might be to your prejudice I have freely consented to your going Assuring your Majesty that if you can bear with the ordinary Incommodities of Travel this Journey will be very much for the Advantage of your Affairs Also I am so far from being against it that I think it ought to be speedily perform'd since you have given it out for some time and sent Expresses of it to all your Armies and Provinces After which I hope your Majesty will give me leave as an antient and faithful Confident and Servant to tell you with all the Respect that is due to a Master that if you are apt to believe the Intentions of your most confirm'd Creatures are otherwise than they appear to be it will so deaden and baffle their Spirits that they will not be able to do you such Service as they shall desire And whereas the freedom you are pleas'd to give 'em occasions their telling you frankly what they think for your good so you must not expect they will have the same complaisance in what relates to your Prejudice I conjure you a God's Name to make your Journey pleasant and not to vex yourself at a thousand things that may not happen to be perform'd just as you expect I intreat you also at the same time to believe that whatever be your Pleasure shall never be thought amiss or thwarted by a Person that prefers your Satisfaction infinitely to his own and who will be always more studious to Serve and Please you than to preserve his own Life throughout the whole Course of which he will endeavour to make known by all his Actions how much he is your Majesty's most Dutiful and Obedient Subject and Servant c. The KING's LETTER To Cardinal Richelieu Trusty and Well-beloved Cosin and Councellor I Am very much concern'd for the haste I was in Yesterday in writing you a Letter on account of my Journey I now desire you would burn and forget it at the same time As also believe that as I would not be willing to Displease you in any thing so I shall never have any other thoughts but to follow punctually your good Advice and Instructions I desire you also once more to forget and satisfie me by this Bearer that you think no more of it As likewise to assure yourself that I shall be Uneasy till I have another Opportunity to testify the extream Affection I have for you and which Death can only put an end to Beseeching God with all my heart that he would have you always under his awful Protection c. LETTER CCXVII To the KING SIR I Have not endeavoured to forget the Letter you were pleas'd to write me yesterday because I can assure your Majesty I never took any thing amiss in it I beseech you farther to acquaint me with all Transactions and I will continue to send your Majesty my
be c. LETTER CCLXXV To the Same MADAM I Cannot sufficiently commend the Care which Monsieur d'Hemery writes your Highness will have of your Affairs and that Prudence by which you distinguish betwixt good and bad Servants I could never have believ'd that which you were pleased to discover of him of the Intentions of Father Monod I do not much value his mischievous Designs which your Highness acknowledges he has against France and those who have the Honour to serve the King But I am so concern'd at that which his Behaviour made your Highness take notice of that he has against your Person and your Children that it is impossible to express it I am under a perpetual Apprehension of the continual Danger your Highness is exposed to having such a turbulent Spirit nigh you and the Mischief he may do you which may happen in an instant without any possibility of a Remedy if it be not prevented I confess I cannot be at Ease till I know your Highness has put in Execution the good Resolutions that Monsieur d'Hemery tells me you have taken to secure your Estate your Person and your Children the King desiring nothing so much as to give you a Testimony of the extraordinary Passion he has for you cannot be more afflicted than to see you in a Condition of receiving no Advantage by his Protection Beside the Letter which he has wrote to your Highness he has particularly commanded me to declare his Sentiments upon this occasion I have so enlarged to Monsieur d'Hemery that it is superfluous to say any more Your Highness will be pleased to believe what he shall say upon this Subject and also that no Man honours you more than I who desire your Welfare your Grandeur and the Advantage of your Children as much as yourself all my Actions shall confirm this Truth and that I am c. LETTER CCLXXVI To the Same MADAM THE Extremity of your Affairs makes me take Pen in Hand to tell you in a few Words That you can take no other Method for your Safety than what the King's Embassadours have proposed to you concerning the depositing some Places in Piedmont As a Man must be extraordinary wicked to desire to reap any other Advantage thereby than yours and your Son's Safery and the Re-establishment of your States so unless you be blind you cannot but see that this is the only Remedy There is no other that can preserve you from Ruine Your Highness will give me leave to tell you That the bad State of your Affairs do not suffer you to be unresolved at a Juncture wherein every Moment is inestimable and Necessity and Reason so agree together that the first commands what the other advises If you despise the Counsel that I give you you will know the Profit of it when you cannot enjoy the Effects of it and if by following it your Highness do not find it good I agree that you cry me down in the World and make me pass for what I am not It is your part Madam to have a care not to be amused by the Spaniards as sick Men who in the Intermissions of a Fever think they are absolutely cured But to imitate the Physicians who make use of that time to prevent succeeding Fits the Wisdom which God has given your Highness will so plainly manifest to you that your Interest is the only Motive which makes me speak after this manner and not doubting of the good Resolution you will take nothing remains but to assure you that I will never change that of being c. LETTER CCLXXVII To the Same MADAM THE Count of Cameran who is returning to your Highness will particularly tell you the Passion with which I will serve you upon the present occasion I conjured him to beseech you by the Consideration of your own Interest not to suffer yourself to be ensnared by the Artifices of the Spaniards who have no other Design than to delude all those with whom they treat with fair Appearance I always apprehended that which I now perceive from their Malice and have often represented it to those who belong'd to your Highness I hope their wicked Designs will not have the intended Effect at least I can assure you Madam that the King will omit nothing which may depend upon his Power to defeat them and that if the Zeal which I always had for your Highness's Service were capable of Augmentation it should now be redoubled to shew you upon this occasion as upon all others I really am c. LETTER CCLXXVIII To the Same MADAM THis Letter is only to tell your Highness that Experience having inform'd you that the Advice which you have hitherto taken was the best that could be to advance your Enemies Affairs and to ruine your own Nothing now remains to be done to save yourself but quickly to take away contrary to what you have hitherto taken If the Advice I give you may be any way prejudicial to you I myself desire you not to fâ—llow it But if it be the only remaining Means to preserve you from utter Ruine which your Enemies will endeavour to make shameful you must be deprived of that Wisdom God has given you if you do not embrace those Overtures made to you by the King's Embassadours It is not time for Deliberation nothing now remains but to execute a good Resolution which alone can defend your Life and the remainder of your Son the Duke of Savoy's States and your Liberty altogether I beseech you to behave yourself so that I may be found a better Physician than a Prophet I have been one of them but too much in your Highness's Concerns to my great Sorrow I dare take upon me tho' your Distemper be very dangerous to be the other if you are willing as I conjure you for your own sake who am c. LETTER CCLXXIX To the Same MADAM AS I have no greater Passion than to make known to your Highness that which I have for your Service I can receive no greater Joy than to understand by the Letters with which you are pleased to honour me that the Testimonies which I endeavour to give you of it are agreeable and satisfactory beseeching you to believe that as to my particular I shall always be so when I can be serviceable in any thing and that as your Interests are as dear to me as the King 's I will omit no Opportunity of managing them according as you yourself can desire as I have particularly declared to your Embassadour I do not represent to you my Joy for the taking of Coni because you being sensible of my Zeal for the Prosperity and the Advantage of the King 's and your Highness's Affairs which are conjoin'd you will judge what it was I will only tell you that I hope by God's Goodness that this good Success will make way for others which will be no less advantageous to you I wish it with all my Heart and your Highness
good Eye upon those Occasions both Resolution and Courage We think we ought to Advertise you that tho' Count St. Morice be a very brave Gentleman yet he is altogether joyn'd to Father Monod of which you shall seem to have no notice from us I do not at all doubt but being separated from this good Director he will be a very good Man for Madam In this Exigency of the Affairs of Mantua the only way to hinder the Dutchess of Mantua from losing her Son's States is so absolutely to secure Cazal that there be nothing to be feared on that side In order to that I think you must take all those who are suspected not only out of the Cittadel but the City and all Persons who may be contrary to the French Interest allied to the Little Prince You must make known the King's good Intentions to the Sieurs Guiscardi Mercurin Prat and all others who shall be capable to whom the King permits you to give Pensions as you shall see convenient which shall be paid here upon sight As this Affair must be done with Magnanimity so it must be manag'd with Prudence giving to the Princess the least occasion of Complaint that can be but it is better that by giving us occasion as she doth by declaring herself for the Spanish Interest she may have some unreasonable occasion rather than satisfie her Desires at the Expence of her Son and France together LETTER CCLXXV To the Same SIR THE Answer that Monsieur de Chavigny has given to your Letters is so particular that I do not think it necessary to add any thing I take my Pen in hand only to tell you that having seen it I think you cannot do better than to observe it punctually You are so judicious and discreet that you know I am certain how to make use of the Contents for the King's Service as Affairs in all Courts may change in a moment If any important or considerable thing happen in that in which you are it will be the part of your Prudence to do what is proper and after having conferr'd with Mareschal Crequi and Madam's Servants whom you know to be well affected to France and by Consequence to the Advantage of her Highness's Affairs to take the best Resolutions that may be LETTER CCLXXXVI To Mareschal Crequi SIR YOU will see by the Express sent to Monsieur d' Hemery and which he has Order to Communicate to you that which we think ought to be done in the places where you are for the King 's and Madam's Service and the Advantage of their Affairs it will be your part Gentlemen to see and diligently to examine the most proper and most certain Means to make the King's Intentions succeed In the Execution of which I am assured you will want neither Prudence Affection nor Courage You may also believe that I will lose no opportunity to make your Actions and Services be valu'd as you can desire of a Person who Esteems you and really is c. LETTER CCLXXXVII To Monsieur d' Hemery SIR I Cannot sufficiently commend the Goodness with which Madam has discovered to you the Malice which a certain Person of whom you write has made use of to her Prejudice perswading her that her Creatures ought to be jealous of the King and that I had told him something of this nature is so manifest an Imposture that a Man must be a Devil to invent it and it is to be fear'd that a Spirit capable of so diabolical an Artifice may commit far greater Villanies I confess that since I have known this Discovery that Madam's Generosity has made I am more afraid for her than I can speak but I hope that her Interest which has begun to give her a glimmering will wholly open her Eyes The different Attempts that this good Man has made to perswade Madam to be dissatisfy'd with France altho' without Reason upon the Account of the Solemnities which the King perform'd at the Duke of Savoy's Obsequies who were greater than any that were ever made in France for any but Kings sufficiently demonstrate his good Intentions But altho' we discover an extream Malice in this that which appears in his Endeavours to make the Cardinal of Savoy return into Piedmont and to introduce the Abbot Soldati as he has done once and would again is far greater because it directly tends to Madam's Ruine We have seen Letters which report that this good Apostle cryed down Madam's good Intentions if it be so it is easie to determine that if her Highness do not take care of herself and remove so wicked a Spirit she will find herself prevented and unable to do it I confess to you that the King is in Pain all Men in those parts are concern'd in it but above all Madam's particular Creatures being certain that they are the first whom he will endeavour to Subdue that he may the more easily Ruine Madam afterward If Madam be not sensible of her own Interests she ought to consider that of her Children having before her Eyes that in such Affairs wicked Men have no bounds Make her in God's Name set a Watch over her Mouth and after having by Reason inform'd her what may be useful take this Court for an Example which could never free itself from Trouble and secure its Peace as long it endured Factious Spirits in its Bowels I think that the Expedient propos'd to send the Person in dispute into this Court is very good provided you can make him consent to it You may let him know that Madam's Protection depends chiefly upon the King there is no probability that her Highness will make use of him in her Affairs because in his last Journey he left France not very well satisfied with his Proceedings And for this reason it is necessary for him to return to be reconciled to his Majesty and his chief Minsters If he readily condescend to this Proposal you will gain Time by this Journy and penetrate more and more into his Mind If he refuse this Overture it must be with a worse design than what can be foreseen and Madam will have more opportunity to provide for herself another way And in effect I do not see how she can make any difficulty of it knowing that the Duke of Savoy resolved before his death to use this Remedy from which she alone diverted him If he apprehended such a mischievous Spirit she ought to double her Fears and imagine that he will practice so much the more boldly against her because those who ought to revenge those Crimes may be those who shall recompence them Upon such occasions you must fear every thing and imagine that all preventing Remedies are ever gentle in respect of those which must be used when the Distemper rages There are also many Evils in Affairs of State which are no sooner begun but they are incurable LETTER CCLXXXVIII To Monsieur d' Hemery SIR AFter having discours'd Monsieur de Palluau about the
Passages of his Voyage and seen your Letter which he brought I cannot but tell you that I am extreamly amazed at the little Esteem which Madam has hitherto testified of the good Advice which the King and his most faithful Servants have given her since they have no other end but her Peace and â—…vantaâ—e and the Establishment of her Authority and Grandeur Her Inconstancy concerning the removal of Father Monod has been a manifest proof of it which surprized me the more because she knows the best of any the mortal Hatred he has against her and her Children and his inseparable Union with the Cardinal of Savoy and Prince Thomas her Enemies His Majesty thinks it very strange that Madam having declared to all his Ministers that she did not desire that he should have any thing to do in her Affairs yet she still continues to imploy him he firmly believes that she only retains him because she knows that he is an Enemy to her and her State that she may make the whole World believe that her Highness fears France more than her Brothers-in-law which may produce very mischievous Effects Madam being not ignorant of the extraordinary Passion that the said Father makes appear upon all occasions for the Interest of thoâ—e Gentlemen and the Ill-will which he has always bore her and hers must be assured if she continue him in the Authority into which his Artifice and Malice has screw'd him at her Court having such a turbulent Spirit being an open Accomplice of the Cardinal knowing the Humour of the People and Madam's Weakness the first Sickness that shall happen to her without expecting the Extremity or the Event he will send for the said Prince Cardinal into Piedmont from whence she will not be able afterward to expel him and the Life of her her Children and Creatures will not be secure She may very well judge that his Majesty is not concern'd what Ministers she imploys provided they love her and her Children but it concerns him very much that she do not employ those who give her bad Counsel and endeavour to perswade her to her own Ruin or to procure it unknown to her because in this case his Majesty knows not how to remedy it These Considerations afflict his Majesty more than I can express because he foresees that such Proceedings will either make him unable to protect a Person so dear to him as Madam or will compel him against his desire to discharge himself of her Protection that he may not be the Promoter of an Evil which she may avoid You may believe that his Majesty loving Madam as himself will not come to this extreamity but yet he cannot endure to see that her Highness will ruin herself against all Reason his Advice and Counsel and notwithstanding any Assistance that he can give her His Majesty can have no confidence in Madam in her Affairs while she shall have a Minister who is a sworn Enemy to France to his Majesty and his particular Servants who is the Cardinal of Savoy's intimate Friend and Ally of the Spaniards who by his means will be inform'd of all the Undertaking and Resolutions it is a thing altogether unpossible And I confess to you freely that the open Protection that Madam gives to Father Monod since the Resolution she took to remove him afflicts the King extreamly and makes him judge and not without reason that her Mind is not only wavering but also distrustful of France which they expresly endeavour to make her that they may more easily procure her and her Childrens ruine which is as it were inevitable if she continue in her jealousie and diffidence Tho' this good Father testifie that he imparts to you alone the Resolution that was taken to send him into France yet for all this he is not ignorant that it was with Madam's and Count Philippes's participation and so seeing himself offended by both he will infallibly seek an opportunity to revenge himself which he will do the more boldly because he will believe that he owes his Re-establishment to his own Industry and Artifice and not to Madam's Goodness whom he will never forgive As to what remains Madam having obliged you to declare against him she is too just to desire you and France to have any confidence in him he is a Serpent which she cannot keep in her Bosom without receiving suddenly a mortal Sting The Duke of Savoy knew him so well that he was resolved as Madam declared to you to remove him from Court You know the Advice he gave us of the Intelligence this good Father had with Father Caussin the good Designs of the one which were at last discover'd obliged the King to banish him from Court Madam may well judge what those of the other oblige her to do because he has as much Wit and Malice as Father Caussin has Simplicity and Ignorance Before Madam had acquainted Father Monod that she knew his mischiâ—vous Designs it was free for her to endure him but now that he knows that she has a mind to be rid of him and that he only expects the moment of the execution of such a Project she may very well believe that he thinks of nothing more than to prevent her and yet necessity obliges her to accomplish her intended Design if she will not expose herself to a certain Ruine It is your part faithfully to represent all these things to Madam to whom you may shew this Letter and to importune her for her own Childrens sake to remove that Man as soon as she can having no time to lose upon such occasions her Foreâ—ight by the help of your Advice will give her an Expedient how to execute this Design As for my part I think the shortest way will be to take him in the Evening when the Streets are clear and put him in a Coach with Six Horses and drive him all the Night to Pignerol with what Guard you shall think necessary I confess to you I tremble for fear for Madam till that is done and tell you further that the King is mightily displeas'd to see that Madam dallies in an Affair in which her safety is concern'd and that if her Highness will help herself he will double his Assistance whereas if she has a mind to ruin herself he will be glâ—d that the World knows that he has omitted nothing to hinder her I hope that will never happen and that her Highness will shew that she has a Masculine Heart I shall have the same Passion for her Interest as for the King 's and shall rejoice if I can be serviceable to her She has done me the honour to write to me two Letters by which she declares her Desires of a General or Particular Suspension I pray you represent to her That as a General Peace or Suspension would be the Safety of Christendom so a Particular one would be its Ruin The Peace which it may be she should have a Year sooner than otherwise she
Italy As to the other Business about which your Secretary spoke to me I communicated it to the King and Queen alone by themselves They desire you would sift it a little farther as Opportunities offer to the end you may not only discover the things themselves but who they are that give the Counsel You know well that you are to carry your self nicely in this Affair So that I shall say no more but only that I am c. LETTER XCVII To the Sieur de Lingendes Secretary to the Spanish Ambassador I Have taken a Resolution to send the Sieur de Puy to those Quarters where you are to buy me five and twenty Spanish Horses if he can meet with so many to his liking I make no question but that for my sake you will assist him as much as lies in your Power and chiefly for the obtaining such Pasports as will be necessary for the Exportation of the said Horses Upon which Account I desire you to deliver to the Count d'Olivarez the Letter of which I send you the Copy And if by chance you meet with any Difficulty or that according to the Spanish Custom they go about to put yee off by delaying their Dispatches never trouble your self to dance Attendance after 'em or to follow 'em with Requests and Importunities But tell the Count d'Olivarez that you will send back the said M. de Puy to give me an Account that he could not effect what he came for You are too sufficiently clear-sighted not to give us notice of the Movements you shall observe upon this Occasion So that I shall add no more but that I am c. LETTER XCVIII To M. de Nouailles Ambassador at Rome THE King having done the Marquiss of Sourdis's Daughter a Nun in the Abby of Mâ—…-Maitre the Honour to appoint her Coadjutrix in the said Abby as deeming her worthy of it my affection to her Father and all his Family has induc'd me to write you these lines to beg of you upon that consideration to be earnest with his Holiness and his Nephews not only for the dispatch of the Bulls requisite but also for obtaining a Dispensation by reason of her Age which is necessary for the said Nun so that her whole Family who are not a little glad of this her Preferment may have reason to know of what weight my Recommendation is with you and what esteem you put upon it Assuring you that in all other things wherein I shall have an occasion to testify my acknowledgment you shall find that I am really c. LETTER XCIX To M. de Fontenay Ambassador at Rome THE King being just now going to make great preparations of Men and particularly of Foreigners I thought fit by this Letter once more to renew my request to yee that you would be pleas'd to agree with Cardinal Antonio for raising of 3000 Men according to the proposals which he caus'd to be made to the King so that His Majesty may know the exact time when they will be ready for his Service And to shew the Cardinal how much the King depends upon that Levy he desires they may be sent into France rather then be left in Italy where they will be more apt to desert They may be embark'd at Civita Veechia and landed at Marseilles and by that means the Pope will have no reason to complain seeing the King intends to make use of 'em for the Defence of his Kingdom and not to employ 'em against his Enemies in Italy I beg of yee to hasten this Affair and to send me a speedy answer to what I have written upon this accompt LETTER C. To M. de Marillac Keeper of the Seals I Send you back the Declaration for the maim'd Soldiers with the memoir of what Monsieur the Marshal Schomberg and my self had thought of upon that Subject however submitting the whole to what M. the Cardinal of Rochefoucaut and you shall judge more proper And indeed it is of great importance just and necessary that care should be taken of the lives of those poor Soldiers who can so well contemn it when there is an occasion for the service of His Majesty I am very glad that Monsieur has succeeded so well in his Business I beseech God with all my heart that for the future he may meet with no more Spirits of Division I have been extreamly troubl'd to hear that the King has been indispos'd though it were but slightly and more glad that he is now well again God be thanked as they write me word LETTER CI. To the same Person I Received your Letter of the 4th of this Month in answer to which I must tell you I am very glad to understand there is such a good Correspondence between you and Monsieur the Surintendant it being a thing which I have always desir'd for the good of the King's Affairs not doubting but that it will continue and grow more united every day then other As for the slanders which you mention in your Letter you know how I have been persecuted with ' em But in regard they are altogether groundless there is no heed to be given to 'em they exercise the Patience of those upon whom they are thrown and redound to the honour of those to whose disgrace and mischief they were first intended LETTER CII To the same Person I was desirous to impart to you in this Letter the News which is come to the King which in my Opinion will not be unacceptable to you seeing it is advantageous to His Majesty's Affairs The Enemy designing to hinder the joining of the Army in Savoy with that in Piedmont by stopping up the Passage were so vigorously repuls'd that Eight Hundred were slain upon the place and two Hundred taken Prisoners among which is the Brother of Prince Doria General of the Spanish Cavalry with several other Officers of Note besides Nineteen Colours of Foot and three Cornets of Horse taken I promise my self from the Goodness of God that this happy beginning will be attended with many successes equal to it I pray for it with all my heart and beg of you to believe c. LETTER CIII To M. de Chasteau-neuf Keeper of the Seals I Found M. de Leuville to be of Opinion just as you sent me word After you have heard M. de Castelane I believe M. d' Toyras will submit I send you the Memoir which the said Sieur de Castelane sent me with my Reflections upon it M. de Toiras is one of your distemper'd Spirits who as I am apt to believe with a little help would cure himself I desire it for his own good and for the King's satisfaction because I know he would be well pleas'd to see that he has not sow'd his favours in barren Ground This day I set forward with an intention to get to Paris with that weakness which usually remains after great sickness and with a desire to let you know that I am c. LETTER CIV To the
the Duke of Lorrain were none of the worst Advices But I should be much more glad if we could but see the Effects of Toledo's Fears 'T is my Belief that by re-inforcing the Cardinal of Valetta with what the King resolv'd on and Six Thousand Switzers design'd for Champagne there ought not a Minute to be lost but forthwith to march against the Duke of Lorrain I recommend to yee once more to be severe against those of St. Michel LETTER CXV To M. de Bullion I Send you the King's Letter which Madam de Guise has so great a Desire to see but you must not deliver it to her undess she 〈…〉 yee another of her own of a preceding Date wherein she begs His Majesty to give M. de Guisâ— Permission to go for two or three Months to Loretto and Venice instead of waiting on His Majesty as 〈◊〉 was pleas'd to command him LETTER CXVI To the same THKing has commanded me to write yee this Letter whose Pleasure it is that you wait upon Madam de Guise in his Name and let her know that he wonders M. de Guise has not yet obey'd the Order which he receiv'd to attend his Person He is ignorant of the Cause of his Delay which raises in him some kind of Suspicion Nevertheless to shew his Goodness as to what both he and Madam desire that he may have Leave to travel out of the Kingdom His Majesty is pleas'd to let him know that though he will not change his Order to attend him yet if his Fears continue he gives him Permission to go to Loretto and Venice for three Months provided that at the End of that Time he gives his Attendance and acquits himself of what is laid to his Charge to the Prejudice of that Affection and Fidelity which he owes him His Majesty does not command him to depart the Kingdom but to wait upon him However complying with his Fears he permits him at his Request if that be the thing he so much desires to take a Journey for three Months and at the End of that prefixed Time to wait upon his Person without fail The King has made Choice of this Expedient to testifie the Excess of his Goodness by complying with the Infirmities of those who have the Honour to live under his Government LETTER CXVII To the same HAving in your Letters read the Offer which you may make of your Purse I thought I should do you an Injury if I should not accept it with the same Frankness that induces you to proser it Therefore I desire you to lend me Fifty Thousand Crowns To this purpose I have sent a Procuration to N. to make a Bond in such Form as you shall think fit your self I hope you will find me so good a Pay-master that the next time you will give me sull Power to dispose of what is yours as of my own of which you may always make a particular Account seeing I am sincerely c. LETTER CXVIII To the Commander de la Porte I Take Pen in hand to acquaint yee that it has pleas'd the Queen to declare that it was her Pleasure no longer to make use of me my Cousin de Meilleray nor my Neice de Combalet I was willing to give you notice of it to prevent your Mis-understanding Things upon the common Report which represents Things quite otherwise then they are I desire yee not to be troubl'd at it I am here near the Person of the King who does me the Honour to continue me that of his good Will and testifies his Sorrow for this Misfortune In regard I am not capable of having any other thing in my Heart then to live and die the Queen's Servant I desire you to talk of me always conformably to that Resolution I admonish yee of it because I know the Liberty you take which might happen to be transported by your Affection for me and it would not be just that all my Obligations to so great a Princess should be buried in Oblivion for a Disgust conceived against my Person LETTER CXIX To M. de Breze I Could no longer delay the sending you word that since the Queen has given me to understand that she will no longer make use either of mine or the Services of my Neice Combalet or my Cousin de Meitleray 't is our Duty to obey her Will and Pleasure I make no question but this News will not a little astonish yee yet I beg of yee as much as in me lies by no means to lay it to heart since there is no other Ground for it but our Misfortune And I have this to comfort me still in this unlucky Accident that the King near whose Person I still remain is pleas'd to testifie a particular Sorrow for it Time will shew the Queen that whatever Usage I receive at her hands I shall ever publish the great Obligations she has laid upon me which engage me to live and die her Servant As for your particular I beg of yee to believe that in what Condition soever I am you shall always find me with as much Affection for your Person as you can desire from a Person who is c. LETTER CXX To the Cardinal of Lyon 'T IS with a most bloody and unexpressible Sorrow that I am forc'd to acquaint you with the Resolution which the King has been forc'd to take at Compeigâ—… to beg of the Queen-Mother that she would be pleas'd for some time to reside at Moulins I would have been willing to have redeem'd with my Blood the Necessity of this Counsel and to have been separated from my Life rather then to have been the Witness of this Separation though it will not be of any long Continuance And if God would have vouchsaf'd to have heard my humble Prayers the last of my Days had preceded that of her Removal nor can I sind any Comfort in the Excess of my Affliction to see the Queen whom I have always so faithfully serv'd and and honour'd in a Condition of any Discontent But certain wicked Spirits have been so long a time contriving to trouble the King's Affairs that there was a Necessity of applying some Remedy to it During the War in Baly they omitted nothing that lay in their power to hinder his good Success Since that they have still continu'd the same Practises and in truth Licentiousness was grown to that Excess that the like was never seen Monsicur having withdrawn himself from the Court at such a time the King several times besought the Queen his Mother that she would be pleas'd with open'd Eyes to view these Mischiefs and concurr with him in the most necessary Means to put a Stop to ' em But she would not be pleas'd to hearken to his Counsels as she was wont to do but obstinately persisted in refusing to have any Share therein saying she would not have her Name made use of in the Resolutions they went about to take The King therefore finding her so
his Enemies Leisure to multiply in such a manner that they had the Boldness upon His Majesty's Return to dispute his Passage Nevertheless he attains his Ends his Marriage is accomplish'd He passes in view of his Enemies who stood their Ground because that full of Clemency he would not fall upon 'em to the end he might give 'em Time to repent He stops at Poictiers he fights 'em at St. Maixant pursues his Enemies who to avoid the Rigour of his Arms betake themselves for Security to Flight and the Protection of the Night Being quell'd and reduc'd to Extremity he admits 'em to a Treaty with him he buys their Allegiance and besides six Millions which he gave 'em to return to their Duty he gave to the Prince of Conde the City and Castle of Chinon the City and Tower of Bourges the Government of Berry and several Places in that Government and the greatest part of the Demesnes by way of Engagement And thus he puts an End to the War concludes a Peace and restores Rest and Quiet to the People harass'd beyond Measure and eaten to the Bone The good Intentions of these Reformers appear'd in this That instead of discharging the People which serv'd 'em for the pretence of their Discontents their insatiable Appetites oblig'd us to lay heavier Burthens upon 'em that instead of releasing their Pensions which they offer'd to do for the Benefit of the King's Affairs they demanded an Augmentation of 'em and exacted above six Millions more clear Money out of his Coffers The King returns to Paris the Queen advises him to recall Monsieur the Prince to be near his Personâ— and so he in like manner gave Liberty to all that had alâ—…ted themselves to attend His Majesty Monsieur the Prince being arriv'd she shares with him that Authority which she exercis'd with the Permission of the King her Son Nay she does more she despoils her self of it altogether to invest him in it absenting her self from the Councils and leaving to him the entire Administration of the Finances a thing as extraordinary as unheard of But this Obligation was no sooner laid upon Monsieur the Prince but it was forgotten Hardly was a Month expir'd before it was perceiv'd that he was possess'd by those Evil Spirits who always instigated him to the Ruin of France 'T was perceiv'd that he render'd Evil for Good desiring the Government and sowing a Thousand Reports among the People to the Disadvantage of the Queen He goes farther He throws himself into the first Factions cabals all the Societies and endeavours to make sure to himself all the Corporations of Paris To these Ends several Assemblies were held in the Night-time Darkness being proper to cover the Shame which Conspiracies imprint in the Foreheads of their Contrivers The Curates and Preachers were tamper'd with and Publick Faith was violated Peronne was taken by the Arms of the Sieur de Longueville but by the Counsels of Monsieur the Prince and his Adherents This open'd the Eyes of all the World the Aposteme breaks and the Matter appears several discharge their Consciences accuse themselves and testifie their Acknowledgment one Prince deposes a Princess talks two Dukes intervene a Prelate declares what he knows several discover what came to their Knowledge and all unanimously agree to reveal a pernicious Plot against the King his Kingdom and his Government 'T is confirm'd that they assure themselves of Soldiers Lastly Monsieur the Prince speaks believing his Plot discover'd he confesses it to the Queen palliating his Offence as much as he can tells her that the King and she are beholding to him for their Lives and promises never to procure any Meetings and to desist from his factious Beginnings The Queen pardons him resolves to forget all that is past but understanding by undeniable Proofs that the Prince's Acknowledgments were all counterfeited that he had new Meetings that he was resolv'd as before to make himself Master of the King her Son's Person and hers Nature could not permit her to suffer more She shew'd her self to be a Mother she shew'd her self to be a Queen by securing those that sought her Ruin For this Reason she arrested Monsieur the Prince and without doing any Injury to his Person procures the Good of the whole Kingdom by that Means disappointing his pernicious Designs After this Arrest some other Princes and Lords adviâ—…d by their own Fears or by their Consciences withdrew from the Court made a Bustle and a great Noise The Queen without losing her Courage advis'd the King to put himself into a Condition to reduce 'em by Force then to stretch forth his Arms of Mercy and admit 'em to acknowledge their Faults or that if innocent they might justifie themselves if guilty that they might have Recourse to his Compassion To this Effect the King goes to his Parliament and gives 'em an Account of all that had pass'd and imparts to all the World what he need not have done the Reasons which forc'd him to that Resolution promises a strict Performance of the Treaty of Laudâ—n offers Pardon to all those who having render'd themselves guilty by their Actions should deserve it by a quick Return Several Persons interpose complain of these Proceedings find fault with the Arrest though commended by all good Men approv'd by Foreigners as also by Monsieur the Prince though the Person most interested who touch'd in Conscience confesses ingenuously that by securing his Person they secur'd the Person of the King They are offer'd all the Security they could desire they accept of it the King forgets their withdrawing themselves and all that was past Their Majesties receive 'em into their Favour as if they had never given any Cause of Offence All things being now quiet People were astonish'd that M. de Nevers who was never known to have tamper'd with these Factions displeas'd at something that had happen'd between the Governor and him gives himself the Liberty to speak disrespectfully of the Queen and to the disaduantage of His Majesty People wonder'd that he should permit himself to run out into Actions which exceeded the Bounds which no true Subject can transgress in a Sovereign State or ought to exceed in reference to his Prince He provides Arms lists Soldiers takes the Field with some re-inforces his Garisons and fortifies his Towns Intelligence comes from all Parts that they gave out salfe Reports among the People Upon this our Eyes are open'd again the King resolves by the Advioe of all his Council to send Forces to the Places where those Disorders were committed not so much to do any Harm to any Body as to prevent Mischiefs He sends Commissioners into his Mutinous Provinces to inform themselves of such as deviated from their Duties and after an exact Cognizance thereof to apply requisite Remedies This is an exact Recital and as it were a Picture in short of the Government of this Kingdom for these six Years They who have nothing before their Eyes that may hinder