of a Lyon with this Inscription The Lyon of the Tribe of Judah The Christians seem astonish'd at these things yet some look on 'em only as Dreams As for honest Eliachim here he is no more mov'd at these things than I only he laughs at the Folly of the Credulous World and curses the Jews for bringing such Contempt on themselves and their Posterity But Nathan is like one Hag-ridden or defil'd by the Lamiae of the Night He has lost all Reason and 't will be no less than a Miracle that must restore it again Sage Minister whilst these Execrable People thus lose themselves for the Sake of their Counterfeit Messias let us continue to honour the True One even Jesus the Son of Mary who is now in Paradise and our Holy Prophet with him Paris the 21st of the 9th Moon of the Year 1666. LETTER XIII To Murat Bassa THis has been a Considerable Year of Actions and Events At the Beginning of it I sent to the Port an Account of the Death of the Queen-Mother of France and of the Prince of Conti now I will farther inform thee of a War that is broke out between this Crown and that of England The Occasion of it was this The English and the Hollanders trafficking in America had some Misunderstandings and Feuds about the Limits of their several Conquests in those Remote Parts of the World The Hollanders being the strongest did many Injuries to their Neighbours the English and domineer'd over them as their Lords The English resenting this very heinously and grown weary of their Oppressions sent Complaints to their King He to redress his Subjects order'd his Resident at the Hague to demand Satisfaction of the States They refus'd to do him that Justice upon which he was resolv'd to have Recourse to his Arms and accordingly proclaim'd War against Holland making all necessary Preparations to carry it on The same did his Adversaries The French King in the mean time was oblig'd by a Treaty with the Hollanders concluded in the Year 1662. to espouse their Quarrels yet that he might not break with England rashly he first sent an Embassador to that Court to mediate a Peace But that proving Ineffectual he proclaim'd a War against that Nation and commanded the English Embassador to depart his Kingdom The Duke of Beaufort who is Admiral at Sea was order'd to Equip a Gallant Fleet and joyn the Dutch-Navy Which he perform'd with all Imaginable Diligence and Expedition There has been Two Combats between these Enemies at Sea and in both the Dutch had the worst of it Neither did the French escape without some Loss having Two of their Greatest Ships severely shatter'd and a Third taken by the English The Plague still rages in England and has almost depopulated whole Provinces Whilst a milder Death has robb'd France of one of her Greatest Heroes The Count d' Harcourt of whom I have often made mention is gone to celebrate the Triumphs due to his Valour and Fortune in another World The Emperour of Germany has at last married the Infanta of Spain after abundance of Demurrs and Hesitations about that Business These Nazarenes can do nothing with Expedition The Spiritual Courts as they call them have more Tricks and Cramp Words to amuze People with than an Indian Mountebank or Juggler Neither are Sovereign Princes more exempt from their Jurisdiction than the meanest of their Subjects Especially the Court of Rome can make or annul Marriages at Pleasure And they are sure to be Excommunicated who refuse to submit to their Orders This Holy Court can also bind or release Sins open or shut the Gates of Paradise make a Devil a Saint or a Saint a Devil In a word they can do every thing if there be Gold in the Case But if that be wanting they can do nothing but shrug their Shoulders Thou mayst also inform the Divan that the French King has given Permission to some of his Subjects to undertake a Conquest in America and establish a Commerce in that Part of the World Many Vessels are equipped in Order to this Expedition and they that are concern'd in the Voyage are as merry as Jason and his Argonauts when they were preparing to fetch the Golden Fleece from Colchos That Western Continent affords immense Riches and tempts all the Nations in Europe to make an Experiment of their Fortune in gaining one Part of it or other 'T were to be wish'd it lay nearer to the Ottoman Empire No Record can discover the Origin of the Inhabitants Yet most Authors conjecture that they pass'd over from the North-East Parts of Asia where the Streights of Anian are very Narrow and would invite Sea-faring Men to seek New Adventures Besides by their being Canibals it appears very probable That either they descended from the Tartars or the Tartars from them God alone knows how to adjust the Differences and reveal the Secrets of History Brave Bassa 'T is no matter from what Stock we are descended so long as we have Vertue For that alone is the only True Nobility God regale thee with his Favours Paris 30th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1666. LETTER XIV To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs and Superintendent of the Arsenal at Constantinople WHen I hear of thy Prosperity my Heart is dilated like his who has found hidden Wealth Yet I am sorry for the Disgrace of the good Old Man thy Predecessor But we must not censure the Conduct of our Superiours The Justice of their Actions is not to be call'd in Question The Sultan cannot err This is an Establish'd Maxim in all Monarchies especially in that of the Renowned Osmans As for what relates to thee in this New Advance thou hast made thy own Experience acquir'd by many Years Travel and Observation in Foreign Countries added to the Knowledge thou hast in the Laws Discipline and Customs of thy own will be a sufficient Guide to conduct thee in the Management of thy Business Yet despise not the Counsel of others A Man is never nearer to Ruin than when he trusts too much to his own Wisdom Therefore the greatest Emperours undertake nothing of Moment rashly or without Advice Temerity often blasts the fairest Designs It will be of particular Import to thee to hear of a Tragical Event that has lately happen'd to Rezan a Great City in Russia by the blowing up of the Magazine This Gunpowder does more Mischief than Good in the World The Ancients fought as successfully with Bows and Arrows Swords Spears and other Instruments of War without running the Hazard of blowing up whole Cities into the Air in time of Peace And they could undermine the strongest Castles even those situated on Rocks without the help of this Infernal Dust Nature taught 'em to be Industrious in defeating their Enemies and they spared no Labour to gain the Victory Our Fore-Fathers were hardy and strong patient of Toils and Fatigues They cut their Way into Mountains of Stone if
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
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
Religeous Brethren He was permitted to carry good Quantities of Gold and Silver about him for his Personal Expences and to wear a Secular Habit suitable to his Birth and Quality But this Liberty had like to have prov'd fatal to him one Night during the Carnaval It was late and very dark when this Religious Bully was beating the Streets upon the Hunt for Whores and walking under certain Piazza's near the River Tyber he was accosted by a Woman mask'd and in a very good Dress who spoke to him frankly asking him the Way to Il Rotundo This is the Name of a Church in Rome dedicated to All the Saints In the Time of the Gentiles 't was call'd Pantheon or the Temple of all the Gods The Monk being in one of his Rambling Equipages and his Inclinations equally bent on Pleasure having also a Hundred Florins about him presently made Answer He wou'd conduct her to the Place she enquired for She after some counterfeit Essays of a modest Repulse at length accepted his Offer And by the Way he perswaded her into a Tavern The cunning Nymph manag'd her Business so well that the Monk over-heated with Wine and other costly Entertainments grew so in Love with her that he forgot she was to go to the Pantheon and offer'd to wait on her home She accepted the Motion and telling him her House was seated on the Banks of the Tyber they return'd the same Way as they came When they arriv'd at the Piazza's where they first met Three Persons appear'd muffled up in Cloaks Two of which suddenly seiz'd the Monk holding their Ponyards at his Breast whilst the Third disclosing the hidden Light of a Dark Lanthorn which he held in his Hand fasten'd on the Lady and made her unmask As soon as he saw her Face he stamp'd and rav'd menac'd and swore he wou'd be the Death of that Villain who had debauch'd his Wife All this was but a fore-laid Design In a Word After all the Parts of an abus'd incens'd revengeful Husband acted to the Life at last through the Intercession of the Two other Ruffians and the Monk's penitent and submissive Address it was concluded to spare his Life and only strip him naked leaving him in that Condition to seek his Fortune among the Watch. This was soon put in Execution and the Free-booters with all their Prey securely march'd off The poor Monk thus miserably abandon'd without Garments Money or any Thing to comfort him in his Calamity or to bribe the Watch gave himself over to Melancholy and Despair in regard this Accident would bring an Eternal Infamy on him and he shou'd be no longer able to shew his Face in Rome the Seat of his Nativity nor among any of his Kindred and Friends Sometimes he thought to drown himself in the Tyber or else to counterfeit a Phrensy and so run bawling driveling and talking Nonsense through the Streets hoping the rest wou'd never be divulg'd Whilst he was in these pensive Thoughts irresolute what to do the Watch walking their Rounds bolted upon him on a sudden and seeing a naked Man at that Time of Night in such a solitary Place at first were startl'd as tho' they had met a Ghost but recollecting themselves better they boldly seiz'd his Person and examin'd how he came in that Condition It was in vain for him to beg entreat and promise any Thing if they wou'd not expose him to open Shame This did but increase their Curiosity and Suspicion In a Word the Place of their Rendezvous being very near the same Tavern where this unfortunate Monk had regal'd his Strumpet they led him thither and kept him Prisoner till the Morning He that kept the House remember'd his Face again and knowing that the Governour of Rome had a secret Enmity against the Monk and all his Race sent him private Intelligence of this Adventure encouraging him to take this Opportunity of Revenge hinting withal That he need not take notice that he knew the Monk but only punish him as an ordinary Fellow breaking the Laws of the City The Governour glad of this Occasion when the Monk was brought before him order'd him to be whip'd through the very Street where his Monastery stood This was done accordingly and as he pass'd by the Gate his Brethren seeing him in that Condition rush'd out and rescu'd him from the Executioner's Hands breathing Revenge against the Governour and all that were concern'd in putting this Dishonour on their House and the whole Order I must be forc'd to break off before I have inform'd thee of half their Tricks lest I shou'd tire thee with the Length of my Letters Besides it is necessary for me to conclude unless I wou'd miss my Opportunity For the Post tarries for no Man Venerable Hadgi live thou to enjoy the Serene Pleasure of Vertue and Innocence and pray for Mahmut that he may never be stain'd with the Corruptions and Vices of Infidels among whom he resides Paris 18th of the 5th Moon of the Year 1662. LETTER XIII To the Chiaus Bassa THE French King's Genius seems altogether bent on Martial and Politick Affairs and tho' he allows some Moments to his Love yet the greatest Part of his Time is consecrated to the Necessary Affairs of State and to the Improvement of Military Discipline This has been his Course ever since the Death of Cardinal Mazarini That Minister whilst he was living endeavoured Nothing so earnestly as to divert the Young Monarch from minding Business by Plays Ballets and other soft Entertainments But as soon as he was dead the King began by Degrees to forsake his Youthful Recreations and look into the Affairs of his Government The first Bold Stroke of Regal Authority which he gave was the Suppressing the Superintendant of the Finances a very Ancient Office in France but much abus'd of late by those who have enjoy'd it For having the Management of the Royal Revenues it has been found out That they embezzel'd them to their own private Uses purchasing Houses Castles Towns and the fairest Estates in the Kingdom for them and their Posterity The last in this Office was the Sieur Fouquet who besides the waste he made of the King's Money in this Kind was laying up an Extrordinary Provision of Arms and Powder in Belle Isle a Sea-Port of France which gave the King so great a Suspicion of his ill Designs That he went in Person after him as far as Nantes and being there farther informed of a private Correspondence held between the Sieur Fouquet and some Malecontents of Cardinal de Retz's Party he caused him to be arrested and sent Prisoner to the Wood of Vinciennes From whence he has been since brought to the Bastile This was done in the 9th Moon of the last Year and was the Occasion of erecting a New Chamber of Justice to enquire into the Conduct of those who were employed by Fouquet in the Management of the Finances The great Discoveries this Chamber has already made of
the Cheats and Tricks practised by those through whose Hands the King's Revenues have pass'd will its thought move the King to establish it as a perpetual and Sovereign Court of Inquisition So that not the Value of an Asper shall henceforth be paid out of the Royal Treasury without the Approbation of this Chamber He has also retrenched many superfluous Offices in his Houshold that he may the more easily support the Charges of those that are Necessary Thou wilt better comprehend the Wisdom of this Prince when thou shalt know that he trusts Nothing absolutely to his Ministers but pries into every Thing himself He examins Matters of the smallest Moment as narrowly as the most Important Concerns He makes daily Reformations among his Domestick Servants and New-Models both the Army and the State Which is also no small Argument of his Courage and the Greatness of his Spirit in that he dares contradict the Methods of all his Progenitors take the Frame of this Mighty Government as it were to Pieces and having mended every Thing that was amiss join it together again but after a Pattern wholly depending on his own Judgment This has astonished the Greatest Statesmen of the Age who consider the Boldness of the Undertaking and yet cannot find one false Step in his Measures For whereas formerly the Princes of the Blood the Officers of the State the Governours of Provinces with other Grandees have given frequent Trouble to the Kings of France and not seldom rais'd Civil War when any Thing disgusted them so great was their Power and so small their Dependance on the King This Monarch has by a Happy Effect of his Judgment and Resolution given so dextrous a Turn to the whole System of the Publick that the Princes find themselves more aggrandiz'd than Ever the Officers of the Crown perceive their Dignity encreas'd with New Lustres and the Governours of Provinces exercise a Stronger Hand over their Subjects yet all of them are reduc'd to an entire Dependance on the King himself not being in a Capacity ever to Rebel again Which is esteemed a Miracle of Policy As he has thus gained the Point of his Subjects at Home and established his Realm in the most perfect Oeconomy that can be imagined so he has recovered a particular Honour Abroad that till this Time has been always disputed between the Crowns of France and Spain It seems an Embassador from Sueden arriv'd at the English Court in the 10th Moon of the last Year The French Embassador sent his Coaches to honour his Publick Entry as is Usual between Friends But the Spanish Embassador designing to affront the French sent his Coaches also to attend the Ceremony accompanied by his own Servants and a Rabble of Idle Persons whom he had hir'd on Purpose These fell on the French as they were passing along the Street kill'd several of them and by Force stopp'd their Coaches till those of the Spanish Embassador were got before them the Preheminence of Place being the Chief Thing aim'd at This was highly resented at the French Court and every body thought that a fresh War would break out again between the Two Nations on this Account The angry Young Monarch commanded the Spanish Embassador resident here to depart the Kingdom and when another was sent to supply his Place the King forbad him to enter his Dominions Complaints were made at Madrid and all Things tended to a Rupture Till at Length the King of Spain having promised to make Satisfaction his Embassador war received at this Court who assured the King That his Master disavow'd the Action of his Minister in England and had given express Command to all his Embassadors in Foreign Courts not to dispute the Place with those of France but to yield it to the latter where they should both be present at the same Entry This was declar'd in the Presence of Thirty Foreign Ministers residing at this Court. Which has rais'd a vast Reputation to the King of France among all his Neighbours and struck the greater Reverence into his Subjects at Home In a word he is look'd upon as the most Fortunate Prince in Christendom and every State courts his Friendship He gives the Law to the rest of Europe yet remains himself Arbitrary and above Controul How long his Affairs will continue at this Height is known only to God who exalts and abases whom he pleases who is the sole Monarch of all Things Reigning for ever without the least Shadow of Revolution or Change Paris 12th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1662. LETTER XIV To the Same IT was late when I finish'd my other Letter being the Hour of the Devil 's Range when the Infernal Spirits are permitted to air themselves in this Vpper World Methought I heard the Clattering Eccho of the Gates of Paradise which are shut at that Season to keep out the Daemons from entring and disturbing the Repose of the Bless'd This made me conclude so abruptly lest some busie Scribe of the Dark Regions shou'd have inserted Evil in my Letter whilst I were asleep I recommended my self to God and went to Bed After Two Hours Rest awaking I perceiv'd by the Crowing of the Cocks That the Troops of Hell were retir'd to their Den chas'd down by Arcturus and the Guardian Constellations of the South and by the Angels of the Second Watch. Then I arose and chearfully address'd my self to God praising him for the Successive Benefits of Day and Night and extolling his Magnificent Works with the exquisite Order that he has establish'd in the World Remembring also that I was a Man and not born to sleep but to serve the Grand Signior and my Friends I readily set Pen to Paper again to give thee a farther Account of the French King and his Court with such Occurrences as have happen'd of late This Monarch is very Singular in his Conduct and Manner of Life not brooking to be confin'd to the Maxims of others but squaring all his Actions by Rules of his own Yet 't is difficult to find a Fault in his Proceedings He hears the Advice of his Counsellors and Friends and when they have done he convinces them in many Things That they are under a Mistake which makes 'em admire the Force of his Reason and the Readiness of his Wit especially when they see the Events answering Expectation Neither is he altogether so Intent on State-Matters but that he sometimes gives himself the Diversion of a Familiar Discourse with the most Ingenious Artists of all Sorts who find themselves much improv'd by the Quickness of his Invention and the Solidity of his Judgment in the Mechanicks For he is an Excellent Gun-Smith Sword-Cutler Armour-Maker and every Thing that becomes a King to profess He is a good Architect also and takes vast Delight in Buildings having laid the Foundations of several Magnificent Structures Palaces of a Noble Design and intended to outvy the most Polite and Glorious Fabricks of Ancient Greece and Rome For
be great and extensive if the French King and the Pope should come to an open Rupture All the Princes in Europe would find themselves engag'd on one Side or other And we Mussulmans might live to see the whole State of Christendom disjoynted alienated and embroil'd in Wars among themselves whereby they would lay their Countries naked and open to the invincible Arms of the Ottomans a Lineage of high Renoun and destin'd to subdue All Things But 't is thought the Holy Father at Rome will not farther provoke so daring and powerful a Monarch as him of France by justifying the Insolences of his Janizaries who proceeded to that Height of Fury as to discharge Guns into the Windows of the French Embassador kill'd several of his Retinue and assassinated the Dutchess of Crequi in her Coach as she passed along the Streets Illustrious Minister these are Violations not practised by the most Barbarous Savages And 't is an evident Sign of a decaying Empire where the Publick Faith is thus perfidiously broke God infatuates the Infidels that he may speedily bring 'em to Ruin Whereas he daily enlightens the Just Followers of the Prophet and directs them in the ways of Prosperity and Peace Paris 3d. of the 11th Moon of the Year 1662. LETTER XVII To Mohammed the Illustrious Eremit of Mount Uriel in Arabia IN the Name of God Benigne and Merful I approach the Residence of great Sanctimony the Tremendous Solitude the Cave bless'd by frequent Visitations of Angels and by the former Presence of the most Sublime among Mortals Mahomet the Legat of the Eternal the Plenipotentiary of Alla King of Heaven and Earth Alla There is but One Whose Name resounds through all the Orbs Above when pronounc'd by the Faithful Adorers of the Divine Vnity on Earth And the Eccho thereof from the Adamantine Gates of Paradise reaches the Abyss of Hell striking the Infernal Spirits with Horrour and Astonishment They tremble at the Sound of the Dreadful Word which chains them up in their Prisons of Darkness Whereas had they Faith they would rather rejoyce believing that the same Word will one Day release 'em from their Torments For such is the Clemency of the Omnipotent as our Holy Doctors teach O Mohammed Friend of the Most High and Tenant to his Prophet I have experienc'd that it is good and wholesome to begin every Thing we do or say in the Name of God Whosoever does otherwise either fails in the Progress or the End of his Design and so remains in Confusion Tagot creeps into his Enterprize and through Malice spoils it robbing a Man of his Crown Or Negidher the Spirit of Envy winds himself in and entangles it Or Ablis the Daemon of Melancholy casts a Damp on it and bereaves the Undertaker of his Joy Such is the Fate of those who through Prophaneness Sloth or Contempt forget to pay the due Veneration we owe to the Author and Source of Providence and Good Success Let us not therefore think the Time mispent which is taken up in the Praises of Him who has neither Beginning nor End Father of all the Ganerations in this Visible World and that Other which is conceal'd from Mortals He is the Governour of our Lives and our sole Patron in all Necessities Let us extoll and magnify his Attributes without End I am by Nature Contemplative and Thoughtful but I must needs acknowledge That I owe to my Education among the Musselmans the Force of my Faith and Religion The various turns of Fortune and Experience which I have had in the World cou'd never yet blot out the impressions of my Early Years or diminish the Reverence I have for our Holy Prophet I often revolve in my Mind the Series of past Ages and the Histories of former Times the Origin of Nations and the Various Laws Religions Wars and Changes I traverse the different Epocha's of the Posterity of Ibrahim and the Gentiles comparing the Date of Israel's Transmigration out of Egypt with the Years of Nabonassar and the Olympiads In all of them I find great Obscurity Contradiction and Doubtfulness which puts me upon examining the Records of Egypt and the Assyrians The Antiquity of both is very great and yet it comes far short of the Chinese Chronology and that of the Indian Bramins When I have tir'd my Soul with a vain Search of that which can never be discover'd When I consider the Probability of an Vniversal Deluge in the Time of Noah and the Arguments which almost demonstrate the contrary comparing this with the Flood of Deucalion and that other of Ogyges In a Word when I reflect on the numberless Incongruities that are found in the Registers of Past Ages I cannot but conclude there is as much Reason for me to believe That God has determinately thus dark'ned the Knowledge of Mortals as that he confounded their Language at Babel according to the Celebrated Relation of Moses Whence it will be but lost Labour for us who live in these later Times to seek for any Assurance or Certainty of the Truth in Matters of so Remote and Early a Date Wherefore leaving every Nation to their own Traditions the Jews to the Manuscripts of Moses and their Rabbi's the Gentiles to the Fragments of Hermes Trismegistus Orpheus Homer Hesiod Theophrastus and other Sages of Egypt Phoenicia and Greece I for my Part acquiesce to the Volume of Majesty the Great Alcoran and to the Writings of our Holy Doctors Arabians the Sons of Ismael not puzzling my self with endless Disputes and Questions nor censuring others who Worship God after their own Way and the Documents of their Fathers but firmly believing That he who serves God according to the Dictates of his Reason who is Just to Men and Beasts and in all Things conserves an Innocent Purity of Life is as Acceptable to the Great Creator and Impartial Judge of the Vniverse as he that has had the Happiness to be instructed in the Positive Injunctions of Heaven the Reveal'd Will of the Omnipotent And this I take to be the Sense of our Holy Law-giver of the Messias and of all the Prophets in General Doubtless that superlatively Merciful and Indulgent connives at the Frailties of Mortals He pities the Invincible Ignorances of some and the Fatal Necessities of others He knows the infinite Variety of our Bodily Constitutions and the equally different Bent of our Souls He considers the Force of the Elements and Climates wherein we live and the unconquerable Influence of the Stars under which we were Born The whole System of Human Nature with its most hidden Circumstances is expos'd to the Eyes of him who sees All Things He is no Stranger to the Anatomy of his own Works Therefore he requires no more of Men than can be expected from the Faculties with which he has endu'd ' em Neither will he damn any Man for an Involuntary Evil. O Mohammed this is my Faith my Hope and my Confidence Otherwise I should despair every Moment If I
IV. To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire 'T IS hard to determine whether the French King excel in Martial Affairs or in those of State He is good at Both. His Counsels are Wise and his Actions great A Man both in Body and Mind form'd for Empire And out-stripping his Years in all Things save the Affairs of Love These indeed he pursues with youthful Vigour and Passion being by Nature very Amorous and esteem'd the Handsom'st Prince of this Age by those who consider a Regular Shape Graceful Features and a Majestick Awfulness in the Face as the Principal Ingredients in a Masculine Beauty 'T is certain he 's very Acceptable to the Ladies who are the most Competent Judges in this Case And they value him so much the more because his Love never abates the due Sentiments a Monarch ought to have of his Glory For he gratifies both Passions without suffering them to interfere manageing his softest Intrigues with such exquisite Prudence as he still comes off a Hero He has had many Mistresses and 't is a manifest Discovery of his Wit that he never fasten'd his Affections on any that deserv'd not the same Character She that has the greatest Share in his Heart at present is call'd the Dutchess of Vaujour a Woman rais'd to that Title by the King's Bounty for the Sake of his Love She has a Refin'd Wit and that 's all can be said in her Praise For as to her Body 't would hardly tempt an indifferent Painter to employ his Skill unless it were in describing what the Taylor endeavours to hide and that 's a Deformity much like mine a Remarkable Bunch in the Back Yet his great Monarch loves her passionately and will not be easily cross'd in his Amours The Queen and his Mother have endeavour'd by divers Methods to reclaim him but all prove ineffectual A while ago they set his Confessor to work who with Abundance of unseasonable Gravity represented to the Young Invincible Monarch the Ill Consequences of Unlawful Love for these Infidels esteem none Lawful but what is bestow'd only on One Wife He said all that was proper for a Jesuite to urge on such an Occasion and a great deal more threatning the Royal Lover with Severe Penance and I know not what Impatient of this Discourse from a Subject yet respecting the Character he bore as a Priest the King with a Reserv'd Countenance thank'd him for his Pious Counsel telling him withal that for the Future he discharg'd him from his Service being resolv'd to obey the Old Canons of the Church and confess to none but the Priest of the Parish Thus the poor Jesuite was discarded and besides the King's Displeasure he has drawn upon himself the Censures and Curses of his whole Order for disobliging so potent a Monarch only to please Two peevish Women Illustrious Minister Kings are as Gods on Earth and they esteem it a Prophanation of their Divinity when their Actions are too narrowly scann'd by their Subjects Paris 7th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER V. To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Grand Signior's Customs at Constantinople THE News which thy Letter imparts wou'd affect me with Incredible Delight were such a Thing possible to come to pass It is a long Time since I have been weary of dwelling in Paris and of conversing only with Infidels There is a perfect Antipathy between their Humour and mine And 't is no small Violence a Man does to his Nature in such a Case when all his Actions and Words are counterfeited This goes mightily against the Grain But I have thought nothing too much to do or suffer for our Great Master's Interest And I 'm still of the same Resolution Yet Nature it self abhors Force and Restraint Therefore ' twoud be a vast Comfort to be recall'd from this disagreeable Station and plac'd in some other Post where I might serve God and the Grand Signior with more Ease Besides I have met with nothing but Persecutions and Reproaches from some at the Seraglio ever since I came to this City as I have often hinted in my Dispatches to the Grandees and particularly once to the Noble Kerker Hassan Bassa our Country-man and Friend Wherein I also implor'd his Favour and Intercession that I might have leave to retire into Arabia and spend the Rest of my Days in the Place where I first drew my Breath or at least that I might be permitted to return to Constantinople and give an Account of my Agency in these Parts though it were to the Loss of my Head if I deserv'd it I perceive that generous Bassa took Compassion on my Sufferings and has done his utmost to relieve me 'T is to him I owe the Proposal that was made in the Divan of sending me to the Court of the Grand Mogul there to Negotiate some Private Affairs of Importance for the Sultan There is nothing that I have had a greater Passion for these many Years than the Happiness of visiting those remote Parts of the Earth so venerable for the Antiquity of their Inhabitants and the Excellency of their Laws Customs Religion and Government I mean the Gentile Indians and not the Race of the Moguls who came out of Tartary and are but of Yesterday in Comparison with the Aboriginal People whose Genealogies and Possession of that Country stretch beyond all the Records in the World beside Ever since I read the Journal of thy Travels in the East I was inflam'd with an ardent Desire to see that Renowned Nation to converse with the Bramins and pry into the Mysteries of their Unknown Wisdom which occasions so much Discourse in the World I know not what ails me but I promise my self more Satisfaction from their Books were I capable of understanding the Language in which they are writ or from the Lips of those Priests who have 'em in their Custody than from all the Prophets and Sages in the World I fancy I shou'd find something prodigiously strange and amazing in their History yet squaring with Human Reason and Probability of Truth I shou'd meet with Arguments which I cannot yet start to prove the Eternity of the World Arguments clear and demonstrative such as wou'd establish this Doctrin against all Objections that have or can be made to the contrary The Idea which I already entertain of so unmeasurable a Duration is only founded on my own Natural Thoughts and supported by the Concurrent Opinion of several Ancient Philosophers But I shou'd hope to see it discover'd by these Indian Records to be a Truth as bright as the Sun and fixed as the Center of the Earth There is another Thing for which I mightily admire the Indians and wherein I endeavour to imitate them to the utmost of my Power That is the Justice and Tenderness they shew towards the Beasts 'T is a Thing which needs a considerable Expiation if by chance they kill any living Creature But if they do it wilfully