French Hands and that the Emperor of Germany be subjected to the Laws of the Osmans Thou seest the Time come wherein the French make Conquests without being present at them The King of this Nation appears not only Happy but is so in Reality all Things succeeding that he undertakes His Queen 's being with Child and the Cardinals Policy puzzle the Spaniard the Empire and Italy it self What will happen none knows but God and Mahomet 'T is our Duty to humble our selves and say what we see and not be so rash as to penetrate into the Future Do what thou canst by thy Intrigues to augment the Germans Losses for the Reasons thou knowest and particularly to facilitate the Sultan's Conquests in Hungary Assist in the mean Time the poor and faithful Mahmut not with the Sword that cuts every Thing but by good Counsel by which we ordinarily perceive the Re-union of what the Sword hath separated And I will pray the most High that all the Infidels bow the Knee before Amurath and that all that breathe may enjoy their Lives but by an Effect of his Clemency Paris 20th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XVII To Ahmet Beig I Receive none of thy Letters I receive none from the Divan and I have none from any of my Friends Italy where there are so many People proper for War that Province which hath Commanded the World is at this Time troubled by the Arms of France The Pope and Venetians who appear to have the Principal Interest there make no Advance to divert the Storm that threatens them Piemont which belongs to the Duke of Savoy begins to feel the Incommodities that War draws always with it That State is in the midst of the Spaniards who attack it and the French Ruine it in defending it These last cannot abandon the Interest of the House of Savoy the Dutchess being their King's Sister and her Children his Nephews The French are already strong on that Side having a great Garrison in Pigneroll a Place very considerable which they call one of the Gates of Italy whereof they have been Masters since the Year 1631. and their Power will much increase by the Accession of the Fort of Breme which may be termed a Rampart covering Cazal and Vercelle and which also defends both Montferrat and Piemont The Marquess of Leganez Governor of Milan having render'd himself Master of the Field had laid Siege to Breme and Marshal Crequi having in the Name of the King his Master undertaken the Defence of the young Duke of Savoy opposed the Designs of the Spaniards 'T is believed the War will be cruel in this Quarter being these are very Strong and the other very Expert Thou shalt know the Event In the mean Time all the Affairs of the French do not appear so Fortunate in Italy and at this Hour that I write to thee the Court laments the Loss of the General that Commanded their Armies in that Country There is certain News of the Death of Marshal Crequi who was shot with a Cannon-Bullet through the Body as he was going to view the Spaniards Works before Breme This Loss was by so much the more sensible to the French in that they saw their Enemies make such great Rejoycings at it All men conclude this Crequi was both a good Souldier and a good Captain a wise man and of Excellent Conduct He had acquired great Reputation for the King his Master in Italy He slew Don Philip Bastard of Savoy who challenged him in the sight of Two Armies He several Times defeated his Sovereign's Enemies in Montferrat and in Piemont and beat back the Duke of Feria to the Gates of Milan There remains no more of this Great Man who did so many brave Things but the bare Remembrance of ' em Scarce any thing of his Body save his Entrails was left for his Souldiers to celebrate his Obsequies with His Soul is before the Throne of God his Friends honour his Memory with their Elogies his Kindred mourn for him his Sovereign Praises him and his Souldiers Crown his Tomb with Herbs and Flowers The Italians say highly upon this Occasion That Italy has been Fatal to the French and that it will be so always They affirm That the Duke of Savoy will lose his Estate if defeated by his Enemies which he will likewise do by the Victory of his Friends But these are the Conjectures and ordinary Reasonings of Men which I write to thee to the end thou maist not only know what is done but also the Discourses which are entertained upon the Events that happen We shall shortly have News of the Siege of Bremen in the mean time it imports the French much to conserve the Opinion had of their Valour and Goodness The Business in hand is to defend a great and illustrious House which moreover pretends to the Sovereignty of the Kingdom of Cyprus troubled by the Ambition of Kindred and the Politicks of the Spaniards These Ingagements import much to Princes who have as many Maxims as differing Interests but we have nothing to do with the Differences of others May it please God that our Affairs be always attended with an Equality of good Luck for the Ruine of these Infidels Be thou constant in the Friendship thou promisedst me and always faithful to thy Friend who recommends himself to thee as the Law obliges thee to be to thy Sovereign Paris 20th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XVIII To Berber Mustapha Aga. I This day entertained a man which came from Italy and hath served in the French Troops He gives this account of the Death of Marshal Crequi The 17th of this Mouth this General having approached the Lines of the Spaniards to view their Works and to Fight them in case he judged it Expedient a Cannon-Bullet separated his Body in two and the Bullet being taken up they were surprised to see a Cross graved upon it about which were also engraved Letters which made these two Words TO CREQVI This Bullet the Cross and the Letters caused no less Astonishment than the Death of this Captain did Sorrow and every Body spoke his Sentiment of it Many treat the Spaniards as Magicians and Sorcerers Those who are perswaded of the Power of Negromancy affirm That the Devil can carry a Bullet to the Place whither 't is designed others are of a contrary Sentiment and believe there is no Power without the Commandment of the Great God There are others who believe neither Charms nor Characters nor Magick who despising all these Superstitions attribute All to Destiny and I believe the same Ahmet Celebi explains this perfectly well in his Journal which begins in the One thousand twenty sixth Year of our Hegira when he affirms That all things which pass here below are effected by the Orders of Heaven We cannot doubt says he but the Events which we see are the Effects of the Will of God yet we must believe he suffers all Things
the late Conspiracy against this State by Raggi and Torne and to shew that he understood their History he says somewhat of Vachero and Balbi Thou wilt see Reader by the Progress of the Work what this secret Envoy of the Ottoman Port thought of the other Princes of Italy and those of the North And I have drawn his Picture because thou maist understand better what I give thee of him This Arabian for he declares himself in his Writings to have been of that Nation having been taken and made a Slave by the Christians was brought into Sicily where he applyed himself to Learning He studied Logick in his Captivity and applyed himself much to History he overcame them by suffering with Patience the Blows of his Master who often beat him for endeavouring to acquire those Lights which this Brute had not And finally after much Labour great Assiduity and long Watchings he came as he writes himself to understand Greek and Latin Authors he had commerce afterwards with the best Masters and during his sojourning in the French Court he joyned Experience to the Knowledge he had acquired He explains himself neatly and speaks of Things with great Frankness His Style shews a great liberty of Spirit and never Passion and if it appear that he accommodes himself to the Fashion of the Court one may see that it is not out of design to please but that he wisely conforms himself sometimes to the Genius's of Nations Thou wilt find in his Letters Wit and Learning If sometimes he appears tart 't is to shew his Vivacity not disoblige and he appears all over fully instructed in Ancient and Modern History He is very reserved when he blames and seems perswaded when he praises When he speaks to the great Men of the Port his Style is very grave and he changes when he writes to meaner Persons He never tells News that he is not assured of nor thinks of divining Things that seem obscure to him He gives rare Lessons when he writes of the Revolutions of Catalonia the Kingdoms of Naples Portugal and England which happened in our Days with strange Circumstances terrible Murders and the Death of a Potent King Martyr'd by his own Subjects upon a Scaffold before his own Door He weighs much the Duke of Guise's hardy Resolution of going to Naples to succour the Revolted there and he reasons not as a Barbarian but like an able States-man and wise Philosopher on the Rise and Ruin of States He always discourses with Liberty and what he says is filled with solid and agreeable Thoughts He speaks sometimes of the Cruelty and Tyranny of the Turks of the Violence of the Ministers of the Port and upon the precipated Death which many of the Sultans Basha's and Vizirs are forced to suffer But this Language is only to his Friends and Confidents However though these Letters be neither Greek nor Latin nor written by a Christian they contain nothing of Barbarous and though the Ignorant be in great Numbers amongst the Turks there are yet Men of great Understanding that write the Annals of the Ottoman Empire though they are not easily come by for their Books not being Printed they scarce ever reach us We may notwithstanding believe That amongst this Nation that we term Barbarous there are great and wise Captains good Men and learned Authors as we have amongst us Generals without Conduct Hypocritical Votaries and ignorant Fellows that pretend to be Masters To justifie what I affirm of the Turks let us but consider their Victories which have gained them so many Kingdoms their Power at Sea their Exactness to punish Crimes and to reward Merit As for Printing they would never endure it amongst them A Grand Vizir's judgment of it was remarkable which shews rather their Prudence than any effect of their Ignorance A famous Printer of Holland by Religion a Jew came to Constantinople bringing Presses with him with Characters of all Sorts of Idioms particularly Arabick Turk Greek and Persian Letters with design to introduce the use of Printing into that great City As soon as the Vizir was informed of it he caused the Jew to be Hanged and broke all his Engins and Millions of Characters which he had brought declaring it would be a great Cruelty that One Man should to enrich himself take the Bread out of the Mouths of Eleven Thousand Scribes who gained their Livings at Constantinople by their Pens Peruse Gentle Reader what I offer without fear of tiring thy self or being deceived As Christian Authors think of nothing ordinarily but of writing Panegyricks in hopes of Reward we have reason to believe not to find all the Truth in their Works Interest and Passion do often make good Princes pass for Tyrants and unjust and cruel Princes are sometimes transferred to Posterity for Models of Justice and Clemency This occasions Histories which issue from so corrupt a Source to serve like a pitch'd Field for Modern Writers where the one and the other combat for the destruction of Truth the one falsly reporting what they have heard and the other by as badly representing the things they seem to witness Most Princes will have their Altars and then 't is no wonder if there are Priests found to sacrifice to Falshood and Idolaters to deface the Statue of Truth There is no General that will not always seem Conqueror and Princes never confess their Losses which occasions a Confusion and the Actions of Men do thereby become doubtful How many times have we seen both the Victors and Vanquished make Bonfires for their Successes And in our Days we have known the French rejoyce and the Spaniards and Germans sing their Te Deum for the same Thing As we are perhaps now less just than in Ages past it is difficult to write Things as they are particularly during the Lives of Princes whose History cannot be writ without Fear nar the Truth said without Danger For these Reasons we ought not to question the Credit of our Arabian who reports with Liberty what came to his Knowledge Besides he being an universal Enemy to Christianity and a concealed one neither disobliged or gained by any and religiously true to his Prince whom he adores as a Divinity it cannot be imagined that he says any thing for Fear or Favour As these Relations have been read with Attention and diligently examined we may be assured of an exact History abounding in considerable Events and this History being separated into Letters as the Author writ them the Reader may read them without repining If he will not acknowledge the Translator's Pains let him at least receive the Labours of a dead Man with Civility one that never dreamt his Memorials would be Printed and that served his Master faithfully These Sentiments made him exactly follow that Sentence of S. Austin found in the Front of his Works Where Love is there is no Labour and if there be Labour the Labour is loved The Translator hath thought fit to retrench some
from a Mahometan These Barbarians are sufficiently Instructed in Morality to Teach others that which they do not always Practise themselves Vertue and Truth are respected every where Turn thee from East to West from the South to the North thou wilt find on all Sides impious Men who Blaspheme against the Deity but true Vertue has that of singular That she is always Respected and even by the most Profligate Consult once again thy Forces and thy Courage and take a better Resolution if thou art not yet well fixed in thy first Titus salutes thee out of this World and prays Heaven to give thee the Pleasures of the Happy in thy Solitude if thou beest no Hypocrite and if thou hast not yet Repented of the Resolution thou hast taken Paris 28th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XV. To Ibrahim who Renounced the Christian Religion THou hast Renounced thy Religion either to save thy Life or for some other Consideration I do not say this to make thee Scrupulous but in Quality of Resident in this Kingdom to serve here the Sultan Emperor of both Seas and of the Two Parts of the Earth Distributer of all Crowns the Grandeur of whose Majesty I beg of God may last till the last Day of Universal Judgment I advise thee to take heed not to sollicite those Infidels whose Religion thou hast abandon'd to run the same Course that thou hast done Thou hast written to thy Brother that he is become a Beggar because he Renounces his God a Thousand Times at Play and that thou art at present very Rich for having Renounced him but Once and by that thou exhortest him to turn Mussulman I thought good to write to thee That Souls are not to be gained with a Letter and a scurvy Jest Think of becoming a Good Man after thy Change of Religion and give no Occasion to the Marsilians to say That thou art Infamous because thou hast Renounced thy Faith and that we are all damned because we are Mahometans If thou dost not approve the Advice I give I shall he obliged to acquaint the Port with what shall come to my Knowledge which I shall do with Regret because thou may'st suffer by it The Great God make thee rather Wise than Fortunate Paris 28th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XVI To Dicheu Hussein Bassa AS the Knowledge which I shall have of Affairs will augment daily so I shall have the more Matter to write and will omit no Occasion to remark what occurs which I will not fail immediately to communicate Thou who with great Application observest what passest amongst Men and art desirous of knowing the most secret Transactions of Potentates thou may'st observe That there are more violent Enmities betwixt the Christian Princes of Europe than all the other Princes of the World I cannot comprehend whence it is that these Infidels cannot live in Peace and perhaps they do not comprehend it themselves It seems a Decree of Heaven That Man ought to be contrary to Man and that whilst there are Kingdoms there will be Wars and Enmities The Wars which are carried on at present in Alsace look as if they would last long The Death of Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden the second Scourge of the Imperialists who was slain Six Years since did not terminate the Differences of Germany they are greater than ever and there appears in the New Generals of the Armies vaster Designs than those in their Predecessors Perhaps they will revenge the Death of Gustave who was kill'd not as the Christians affirm but by one of the Forty Germans who had bound themselves by Oath never to quit their Swords before they had slain him as the Turkish Historians do write Duke Bernard Weymar of no less Valour than Gustave commands the rest of the Swedish Army with a good Number of French Troops and many Christian Hereticks of Germany Victory attends the Arms of this General and the Princes which are united for Defence of the Empire begin to apprehend a Captain who observes less the Rules of War than the Emotions of his Valour and whom they perceive seconded by Fortune But he doth not consider That in weakening an Emperor he doth augment the Forces of a King who will enjoy the Fruits of his Labours and suppress him in Spite of his Bravery when he pleases In the mean time I am of Opinion That it is our Interest that Weymar be always Victorious It may be said of him That he hath sold to France all but his Glory having reserved nothing for himself but Hope All that this Duke can Conquer from the Germans is for the French King who furnishes him with Troops with Arms and with Moneys besides wise Advice Cardinal Richlieu who is an able States man fails not to perswade his Master That the Places which Weymar shall take in the Empire with the Army which he Commands are the Effects of his Councils and his Majesty's Moneys The French begin to preserve their Conquests and know how to defend the place which are subject to their Power This Prince makes Acquisitions which are in truth of more Importance than they seem considerable for their Greatness He took Rhinfeld almost as soon as he had Besieged it The Place was strong seated near the Black Forest where the Garrison was furnished with Abundance of all Sorts of Ammunitions John de Wert General of the Imperial Army had reliev'd it with Nine Regiments of Horse and Five Thousand Foot He defeated Weymar's Horse took part of his Baggage and Artillery The Duke of Rohan a great Captain and great States-man was hurt and taken Fighting and the City relieved with Men Ammunition and Victuals which rendered the taking of it more Glorious They write that Two Imperial Generals the said John de Wert which had succoured Rhinfeld Enhenfort as also Duke Savelli had been taken in a Combat which preceded the Rendition of the Place besides Thirty Eight Cornets and Nineteen Foot Captains These Spoils were gained by the Blood of the Swedes and sent to the French King who after he had caused them to march through all the Streets of this Great City commanded them to be hung up in the Principal Church where I saw and considered them as Marks of the Triumphs of Policy The Siege of this Place lasted but Eightteen Days The Duke of Weymar after this Victory marched into the Marquisate of Durlach where he took the Castle of Rotelen Defended by the King of Hungary in which he found great store of Provisions and all sorts of Ammunitions which served greatly for the refreshing of his then needy Army In the mean time Duke Savelli escaped out of Prison and retired to Luzerne in Switzerland The Officers that guarded him were accused of Favouring his Escape which cost them their Heads All I write to thee is most true and thou may'st cause my Letters to be inregister'd God grant that Brisac together with all Alsatia may fall into the
Cabals of the Princes of the House of Savoy who designed to put by the Dutchess from her Regency and make themselves Master of the Government during the Minority of the young Duke There is a Cardinal of this Name an ambitious Man a great Lover of War and given to Liberality He would fain have the chief Share in the Government and be the Master of his Nephews Fortune This Cardinal lay concealed in the State of Genoa being cloathed in an Habit little becoming his Character and whence he sent his Orders for the Execution of whatever he had concerted with his Partisans but the Conspiracy got Wind and proved a Bloody Tragedy to his Accomplices 'T is said that this Prince having twice disguised himself in the Habit of a Peasant had entred with a Bag of Fruit on his Back into one of the most considerable Towns of Piemont to give by his Presence more Heat to his Party and that with a greater Boldness he had entred into Turin in the Habit of a Capuchin with a long thick Beard and abode there two Days not in design of ridding himself of the Prince or his Mother but to become Master both of one and the other to govern the State alone But the Conspiracy having been discovered and the Accomplices seized Fourscore of them were put to Death by the Common Hangman and he escaped by a new Stratagem A Secretary of State of Savoy is to be reckoned amongst this Number Another Cardinal who commands the Army of France sent to the Assistance of the Duke and Dutchess had also put to Death the Governour of Cazal accused of Treason though he was not fully convicted of it 'T is Written from Rome That two Embassadours from the King of Hungary who is lately Elected Emperour of Germany had made a magnificent Entrance into that great City clad after the Hungarian manner with Vests called here a la barbaresque That they had above an Hundred Horse whose Harness were of Gold and their Shoes of Silver and 't was especially observed that all the Foreign Ministers in that Court had sent their Retinue to accompany them in their Entrance that it might appear more Magnificent and that these two Embassadours of the new Emperour being arrived in the Presence of the Infidel's Mufti whom they call the Pope they told him their Prince would continue to render him the Obedience which his Father Ferdinand now deceased paid him and that he recommended to his Holiness his Person his House and his State as a new Emperour elected by the Suffrages of the Princes Electors of the Empire Observe Magnanimous Vizir the Authority of this Mufti those who are so audacious as to resist the Mussulmen will yet abase themselves at his Feet which they really kiss before they open their Mouths to speak to him The greatest Christian Princes are wont to choose from amongst the most considerable Persons of their State the Embassadors which they send with great Expence to pay their Homage to this Supream Head of their Church Moreover these Embassadors of the New Caesar have assured the Pope as from him that he will never cease to make War with the Enemies of the Christian Faith and 't is said they received this Answer That he ever respected the King of Hungary the late Elected Emperor as his Son to whom he would never be wanting in Concil and all other necessary Assistances and exhorted him to employ his Victorious Arms against the Enemies of the Cross and that on his side he would employ the Succors of his Prayers that the Church should open her Treasures by granting Indulgences and that he would besides this give Supplies of Men and Mony People who are idle amuse themselves with Discourses on future Events and those that consult the Stars to penetrate into what is to come have made a Marriage between the Dauphin of France a Prince born some Months since and the Infanta of Spain lately come into the World 'T is true that at the moment this Princess saw the Light the King of Spain and the Grandees of the Kingdom tryed who should out-do one another in Feastings to solemnize this Birth And the like was done in France for that of the Dauphin both being accompanied with extraordiary Magnificence and prodigious Liberalities The Catholick King has given the Quality of Grandee to the Duke of Modena who was Godfather to the Infanta and has declared him Generalissimo of the Four Seas with a Pension of Twenty Thousand Sequins of Gold He has moreover made magnificent Presents to the Dutchess his Wife esteemed at an Hundred Thousand Crowns and besides made Knights of the Order of St. James several Gentlemen of this Princes Court The Elector of Brandenburg has also given several splendid Entertainments in his House and State for the Marriage consummated with the Duke of Saxony's Son and whilst I am writing I am told there is a Son born to this King of Hungary now Emperor of Germany But whilst these Rejoycings are in several parts of Europe an unforeseen Tempest has ruined whole Countries in Germany the Damage done thereby in Franconia and near Francfort is incredible And it lackt but little but this same King of Hungary now mentioned being at the hunting of a Boar had been slain through a Whirlwind which having pull'd up a great Oak by the Roots of prodigious Greatness fell so near this Prince that he received some slight Hurt by a Branch of it I pray Heavens that all the Wisdom of our Holy Prophet and the Blessing of the Great God be always upon thee and in thee and ever augment thy Strength and good Fortune to the Ruin of these Persian Hereticks whose Country I hope will be subjected by thy Sword to our Dread Emperor Paris 10th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1639. LETTER VIII To Breredin Superiour of the Dervices in the Convent of Cogny in Natolia THou art happy in living long and holily too I cannot choose but reflect with Regret on thy great Age considering how infirm I am After Fifteen Days Illness my Strength quite failed me so that necessitated I was to look out for a Physician for I cannot easily commit my self to the hands of those of this Country who kill such as trust them in the same manner as if they were their Enemies When I discourse these Doctors about the State of my Health they tell me I am in eminent Danger and that my Cure is hazardous In writing thus think not I rave for I speak the pure Truth They will certainly kill me should I discover to them under what Climat I am born whereas if I tell them I am of Moldavia they may chance to do me good though that Country Air is very different from that of Arabia where I first drew my Breath To how many Miseries is the Life of Man subject especially mine when I cannot speak the Truth though it be to save my Life Pray for me Holy Dervis and if you
Children and hinder them from devouring one another That he would cause sharp Nails and Rasors to be fastened to the Seats where the Judges sate that those who suffered themselves to be corrupted might sit thereon and indeed in this particular I cannot but wonder at the Christians Blindness We see oftentimes decided in one only Campaign the Differences of Two great States but a Suit in Law for Twenty Sequins shall often last a Mans whole Life and perhaps be entailed on his Heirs But hear a remarkable Example of the Sincerity of this Sovereign There were who would have perswaded him to have apprehended the Duke of Savoy who came to Paris to terminate some Differences he had with him He answered those that advised him with this That Francis I. one of his Predecessors had learnt him A Prince was more obliged to do what he had promised than to obtain what he desired that 't was in his Power to have apprehended a Prince far more considerable but would not do it suffering the Emperor Charles V. to pass out of his Kingdom who had come therein on his Word after this added he shall Henry give such an Example to Princes If the Duke of Savoy has often broke his Word with me it does not therefore follow I must imitate him Crimes can never be authorised by Examples The same Duke of Savoy having asked him What Revenue he drew from his Kingdom He answered him in these Terms I draw as much as I will because I make my self beloved whence it is that my Subjects count all our Estates are common He answered very pleasantly to a Prince's Envoy who came with a Complement of Condoleance for the Death of his Son who had been dead near a Year That he was no longer grieved at that Loss seeing God had given him Two more since A Captain of great Reputation having said That the Kings Liberalities tho several Times reiterated could not oblige him to love him Henry sent him Word He would heap so many Favours on him that he would force him at last He oft used this Proverb That more Flyes are taken with a Drop of Hony than a Tun of Vinegar A Monk entertaining him one Day about Military Affairs Open your Breviary Father said he and shew me where you learnt these fine Lessons One Day a Taylor presenting him with a Book of Politicks he said to the Chancellor who was there present Monsieur Chancellor cut me out a Suit of Cloths here 's a Taylor who understands your Trade and tells me how I shall govern my Kingdom One Day when the Pope's Nuncio was at a great Feast where there were between Twenty and Thirty Ladies of great Beauty he told this Prelate He had been in several Battels but never found himself in so great Danger before Nothing seems more agreeable than the Answer he made to the Provost of the Merchants of Paris who was urgent with him to consent to an Impost which was to be laid on the Fountains of the Town to furnish the Expence of Forty Deputies of the Switzers who came into France to renew their ancient Alliance with this Kingdom and his Answer was That this Magistrate should find some other Expedient than to change Water into Wine which was a Miracle that never any Body wrought but Jesus Christ who is as thou knowest the Christian's Saviour and for thy further Instruction 't is necessary for thee to know The Switzers love Wine above all Things in the World and that not without Reason This Prince went to the Wars at the Age of Fifteen and at Seventeen killed an Enemy and in the Year following he saved the Life of one of his Captains and had his Horse killed under him He was in Five Battles and in more than an hundred Combats and at the Siege of above Two hundred Places He sustained Seven different Wars in which his Enemies aknowledged that he had Fifty five Armies upon him at several Times and in different Places and always obtained some considerable Advantage Those that have given him the Term of Great have given him his true Name He was highly esteemed by all Nations and thou knowest very well that our Sultans tho the mightiest Monarchs in the Universe have admired this great Prince's Fortune and Valour Above Fifty Historians have written his Life above Five hundred Poets have published his Praises I will leave thee at present the Liberty of comparing this King with those whom thou wilt choose from amongst the Hero's If Mahomet XI has not done more than him he may be compared to him in Warlike Actions with this Difference That King Henry conquered the Gauls who were of his Patrimony and Mahomet conquered Twelve Kingdoms and an Empire because he was perswaded that all the Earth belonged to him Henry subdued the City of Paris and Mahomet made himself Master of Constantinople The King of France left an infinite Number of Marks behind him of his Grandure on Marble and in the Writings of famous Authors and Mahomet left only on his Tomb those which shewed what he had designed to execute but never could do it which was to take Rhodes and subdue proud Italy We must also acknowledg there was never found in any Mahometan Prince the admirable Clemency of Henry shewing himself herein greater than in vanquishing his Enemies Contrary to Mahomet who shewed only great Kindness to an Ox whom he caused to be carefully fed because he would never forsake the Tomb of his Master whom this Prince had killed abiding always by it and expressing his Sorrow by horrible Bellowings In all other Occasions he was very cruel far from the Humor of this French King who heapt Benefits on those who drew Blood of him Mahomet by a barbarous Cruelty caused the Bellies of Twenty of his innocent Pages to be ript open to discover him that had eaten a Melon in his Garden Henry was a great Lover of Ladies and an extream Admirer of that Sex and Mahomet jealous of the too great Beauty of his Mistriss cut off her Head himself in a full Divan And farther if Mahomet gave in the East a great Example of Justice in putting his own Son to Death for deflowring the Daughter of the Bassa Achmet in a Bath Henry gave a greater in his own Person in repairing at the Head of his Army the Outrage offered to a young Girl from whom he could not fear any vexatious Consequences Be sure however be silent in these Judgments I make and shew thy self discreet if thou intendest to hold any Correspondence with me Imitate the Bees gather from so many Flowers presented thee what appears to thee sweetest and most proper to form Mustapha's Mind and supple his Spirit like Wax I could relate to thee more Things touching this Henry but there 's no Necessity of writing all that thou maist have space to imagine what such a Prince might have done who had re-established his Fortune by his Valour alone Let me know of