nor into any the meanest Offices in the Kingdom and that it would be a very difficult thing not to say an Impossibility to embody all those that go by the Name of Jacobites scatter'd up and down in several Parts of the Kingdom and for the most part known to be such Besides that we find that no sooner a Dozen of these Rebels meet together but they are presently discover'd a visible Sign of the Care that Divine Providence takes for the Preservation of their Brittanick Majesties and that the same Providence watches over 'em while they without intermission labour to settle the Government to protect the Nation against their Enemies and to re-advance the Honour of the British Name beyond what the Princes their Predecessors have done for several Ages There is no question to be made but that the King of France or his Council is very well inform'd of the Constitution of England and that it will be in vain for their Enemies to attempt any thing there so long as the King and his Parliament are united together as we find 'em at this Day Insomuch that this good Correspondence has furnish'd the King with powerful Supplies to oppose his Enemies both by Sea and Land tho' their Number were double to what it is at this Day For that so long as the English have a formidable Fleet upon their Coasts who shall be so daring as to attack ' em Not France I 'm sure Besides that if they can but come to grapple with their lurking Enemy the French would soon be constrain'd to quit their Coasts So that all things being consider'd there is nothing more for France to do but to give over the War with England for that unless they be Masters of the Sea their Trade is lost and they are absolutely ruin'd not being able to sell their Wines their Brandies and other Products of the Kingdom besides that they are fore'd to drein themselves of all their ready Money to pay the King's Subsidies with a number of Impositions and Taxes with which the Kingdom swarms And which is worst of all their Harvests having fail'd for Two Years together from whence shall they have Corn if they be not Masters of the Sea more especially being at War with the Hollanders and excluded out of Spain which has several times supply'd their Wants So that 't is no marvel that the French begin to be weary of the War especially with England and that he no longer observes any Measures with King James who at present resembles one of one those petty Saints to whom they will not put themselves to the trouble of lighting up a small Wax Candle because they neither cure any Diseases nor are able to make their Guardian 's Pot boil France has begun a War which she will not get quit of when she pleases her self Her Monarch has a long time acted Orlando Furioso and affronted both in Word and Deed a Prince that was not in a Condition to defend himself but now that Providence by a miraculous Conduct has plac'd the injur'd Prince upon the Brittish Throhe 't is not for the Court of France to think that God by his Providence has so highly exalted that Prince has conferr'd upon him the Government of several Kingdoms and Provinces and put so great a Power into the Hands of the only Prince that France is afraid of a Prince that has so well united the greatest part of the Princes of Europe in order to make a vigorous War against the common Enemy who by degrees has so largely usurp'd upon their Dominions and all this only to render more conspicuous the Honour of Lewis XIV as his Emissaries give out 'T is never to be believ'd and they that imagine it must be either void of Sence or be of the Number of those Phanaticks that have no more Wit then to adhere to King James But if France can get nothing by a War with England she may be much a loser considering the present Condition of her Affairs For should the English once happen to set Foot in France they have not forgot their Right to Normandy Guienne Poitou and Languedock When the English quitted Calais they promis'd the French Governour who came to take possession of it to return when their Sins were not so crying loud as those of the French At least the Court of France is not to believe that the English will let 'em alone in the quiet Possession of Dunkirk a Place that is no more the Patrimony of the Kings of France then Strasburgh They that sold both the one and the other of those Cities had no right to make the Bargain France treated with those that were under Age. Now we know that what an Infant Sells or Contracts for is lyable to be cancell'd Charles the Second had neither conquer'd nor purchas'd Dunkirk he found it annex'd to the Crown upon his return to his Kingdoms nor was it for him to sell it to satisfie the Avarice of his Chancellor So that the Kings his Predecessors have still an undeniable Right either to regain it by Force of Arms or recover it by Treaty of Peace with much more Equity and Justice then the Chamber of Metz can pretend to make Reunions to the Crown of France The words surrender back are doubtless very hard of Digestion to Lewis the Great who pretends at all times to be the only Person that can restore Peace to Europe and therefore he ought in the first place to understand what Restitution is The Greatest and Wisest of Kings assures us That Destruction presses close upon the Heels of the Proud and as I have already said Fortune grows weary of always carrying the same Prince upon her Back There are many Reasons why France should sink after all the Cruelties she has committed and which are not yet at an end People trail their Chains after 'em for some time without much complaint but 't is with a design to break 'em upon the first Opportunity and there is no question to be made but that if the English once set Foot ashore with their Prince at the Head of 'em but that the greatest part will receive him as their Deliverer And I dare be bold to affirm that there are at Present a Great Number in France who wish it and wait for their Deliverance and that there is hardly a Lord at Court or a Prince of the Blood who does not pray for the bringing down their Monarch and the Prosperity of the Confederates Armes The Race of Valois ended in France for less Crimes then those that Bourbon has committed But there is a precise Time appointed for humbling the Monarchs of the World conceal'd from Humane Knowledge and it is a Folly to go about to penetrate into a Secret which Divine Providence has reserv'd to it self However we see the King of France tries all Ways and Means to Support himself like a Man that strives against Death He ruins his Subjects to maintain his Armies he
Example of Alexander VI. who notwithstanding his being the Vicar of Christ never forbore to falsify his Word when he found there was a necessity for it tho' never any man promis'd things with more solemn Oaths and his Deceit prov'd successful to him Nor was Fordinand King of Castile and Aragon beholding for his Grandeur to any thing so much as to his Breach of Faith The Emperour Charles V. was always wont to swear By the Faith of a Man of Honour when he had a Design to act contrary to what he promis'd This Mazarine maintain'd as a Maxim never to be contradicted and that it behov'd a Soveraign to observe this Rule if ever he design'd Grandeur and Puissance never to stick to or govern himself according to the establish'd Laws of a Monarchy when they agreed not with his present Interest and the Politicks requisite to enlarge his Power because the same Laws that were made in former Ages were good and wholesom at that time but could not always so continued As much as to say that a King may break and trample over the Fundamental Law of a Realm when they concur not with his Ambition and his Inclination to plunder his Neighbours and ruin his Subjects For this reason it is that for some Years since we have seen Lewis XIV practise all these Maxims with a vehement Swing but with little Circumspection consulting neither the Laws of his Kingdom nor the Prerogatives of other Princes However observing this Rule never to threaten before-hand but to execute his Design at the same time that he set forth his Manifesto that his Adversary might have no time or leisure to oppose his Torrent Morevover Men judge of the Inclinations of Princes by the Ministers and Great Personages that are in favour near their Persons and the Deceas'd Prince of Orange William the First was wont to say in his time with great Reason and upon solid Grounds That a True Judgment might be given of the Natural Disposition of Philip II. King of Spain by the Cruelties which the Duke of Alva his Chief Minister committed without fear of punishment in the Low-Countries If it may be lawful to say the same thing of Lewis XIV What Sentiment ought we to have of that Prince If we look narrowly into the Inclinations and Proceedings of the Ministers that have serv'd him all the whole time of his Reign to begin from Mazarine till this very time we shall find 'em to have been all Birds of Prey and most Cruel and Insatiable Blood-suckers of the People Cardinal Richlieu was the First who laid the Foundation of this Policy now practis'd by the Court of France for that same Minister abusing the Simplicity of Lewis XIII made himself absolute Master in the Kingdom He was naturally Violent nor could he endure any Companion all People must submit to Him He Exil'd and Imprison'd he cunningly got rid of the Baron d'Ancre of Monsieur de Thou and Cinqmarc chose rather to establish the Security of his Person and his Fortune by Rigour and Violence then to hazard either by Clemency or by too much Complacency with those that were belov'd by the King and so he triumph'd over all even over the Protestant Party which was very numerous in France and which he endeavour'd to oppress by all manner of ways against the Edicts of Pacification and ruin'd 'em all by ruining Rochell which that he might the better bring to pass he deceiv'd the English and Hollanders who in good Policy were bound to have ventur'd all to have preserv'd that Important Place which was another State within the State it self and was a kind of Sanctuary and Place of Retreat for all the Malecontents of the Court. And it may be said that the Loss of that City was the Source of all the Calamities that befell Charles the I. King of England for France not only rais'd the Tempest in the two Kingdoms of England and Scotland sent Money into England to Kindle the Fire and feed the Civil War but encourag'd Oliver to lay hands upon the Person of the King in hopes at that time to bring down the Power of that Formidable Monarchy by Sea as is easie to judge by the Entertainment which the Court of France gave to the Princes of the Royal Family of England in that Conjuncture Moreover after what a Treacherous manner did France act with the Old Duke of Lorrain that he might have an Advantage to usurp his Country For Cardinal Richlieu under pretence of Friendship drew him to Lion where Lewis the XIII then lay with a Powerful Army under a false pretence that it behov'd him to come and pay his Respects to that Monarch Thither the Prince suspecting nothing but honest and fair dealing repair'd and was receiv'd at first with Extraordinary Honour and Civility not only by the King and the Cardinal but by all the Grandees of the Court who were order'd to treat him Splendidly But that was but the Bait to draw him on for when the poor Duke laden with the Honours of the Court and satisfi'd with his Kind Reception was about to return home he was stopp'd by the Cardinal's Order nor could he procure his Release but by delivering back into the hands of France a great part of his Territories which afterwards occasion'd the loss of all the rest under pretence that the Prince was an active stirring Soldier and devoted to the House of Austria But indeed because the Policy of the Court of France could not brook so near her a Soveraign Prince whose Territories were a Goad in her sides and might serve for an Inlet into France out of Germany Now in regard it is the Policy of a Minister of State to the end he may be lamented and desir'd after his Death to justifie his Conduct in the Eyes of the People Richlieu was willing to have for his Successour a Minister that should out-do him and finish what he had begun therefore he recommended Cardinal Mazarine an Italian by Birth and of mean Extraction naturally covetous and deceitful in whatever he undertook covering himself with the Foxes Skin the better to deceive others and play his own part not caring for whatever People said of him nor what Mischief was laid to his charge so he could bring about his Grand Design which was to get Money so that all the whole time of his Ministry he was call'd The Horsleech of the People By good luck he came to his Ministry during the Regency of a Credulous Queen and a Young King whom he Christen'd that he might acquire to himself the more Respect and Veneration It was easie for him both to imprint in the mind of this Young Prince and instill into him Precepts according to his own Humour which were to Sacrifice every thing to his own Interest Honour Word Alliances Edicts Promises Oaths when all these Vertues were opposite to his Aggrandizement That it behov'd a Prince that would be great to accommodate himself to the
otherwise employ'd relying upon the Faith of Treaties As we have seen how that after the Peace of Nimeghen when France finding her Treasures quite exhausted and her numerous Armies ruin'd by Sickness Hardships was constrain'd to make fresh Provision fearing a Change of Fortune as she had already felt at the Battle of St. Dennis For this reason she sought Peace to break the Union and obtain'd it in despite of those who well foresaw that France would no longer keep it after she had once recover'd Breath or that she found a Propitious Opportunity to break it For since the King of France falsisy'd his Oath to observe the Pyrenaean Peace so solemnly sworn upon the Altar Sincerity is fled from the Court of France and return'd to Heaven from whence it descended and Corruption has taken the Place of Justice and Integrity In regard the Ministry of France was only meditated to aggrandize the King And therefore the deceased Sieur de Colbert Chief Minister never scrupled to assert That the King might break and make Laws at his own pleasure Privileges being Chimera's odious and offensive to it and that Law was only the Inclination Reputation and Authority of the Prince When the King of France has a mind to make himself Master of a Country or only of a single Town he never considers the Outward Situation but the Inward Condition of it by whom it is govern'd who defends it and the Louidores are most commonly the Cannons with which he attacks it And therefore Pompone formerly Embassadour at the Court of Sweden had in some measure good Reason to say that France with her Money would always do what she pleas'd and that it was by means of that Metal that she was at that time become Mistress of his Swedish Majesty's Cabinet and that she became Mistress of so many Places after the Peace of Nimeghen under pretence of Appendences and Dependences of which a great Volume might be made This is a Truth not to be deny'd since we have seen it with our Eyes and that we still behold the Inhabitants of those Places groaning under the severe Servitude of the Despotick Government of France But in regard that Usurpation cannot always long subsist and for that so many Princes are at last awaken'd from their Oppression the Court of France finding her self very much embarrass'd to preserve what she has usurp'd since the Peace of Nimeghen all her Policy could find out no better Expedient then to propose a Truce while the Emperour and the Empire were engag'd in a War against the Turk The Court of France had two Prospects in desiring this Truce The first That in detaining all the Places of which she had made her self Mistress she at the same time lull'd asleep the Court of Vienna on the Rhine side that she might oblige the Emperour to continue the War with the Grand Signior Secondly Not to observe the Truce any longer then till one or other of the Two Empires were reduc'd to a Low Condition Had it been the Emperour's misfortune to have lost Vienna then the Business was concerted and decreed That the King of France was to have invaded the Empire with a powerful Army and to have been proclaim'd Emperour with a high hand On the Other side if the Turks were beaten he was to declare War against the Emperour to prevent him from growing too great by his Conquests But the latter falling out for the good of Christendom presently France without any regard had to Truces or Alliances openly attacqu'd Philipsburgh carry'd it and afterwards march'd with his Army into the Palatinate which he over ran with Fire and Sword and by Violence and Conflagrations got sure footing all along the Banks of the Rhine where we to this day behold the sad and deplorable Remainders of the Rage and Fury of the French Armies However in regard the Violence never wants a Pretence and that the most Impious Actions veil themselves in like manner with some Outward Appearances the King of France to justifie himself before all the World out of a kind of Generosity pretends to declare the Reasons why he was constrain'd to resume Houstile Arms to the end he might perswade all Christendom of his sincere Intention to establish the publick Repose while his Soldiers in all Places ruin'd and burnt whole Provinces and carry'd away the Goods and Cattel of the Poor Inhabitants To this purpose the Most Christian King follows his begun Hostilities with a Manifesto wherein the Principal Reasons that France alledges to cover her Breach of Faith are first That she was well inform'd that so soon as the Emperour should have made a Peace with the Turk he had resolv'd to bend all his whole Force upon the Rhine against France To which I shall answer hereafter in Particular but in general thus much is to be said that the Most Christian King after he had broken the Truce desir'd to make a Peace upon two Conditions First That the Truce for Twenty Years might be chang'd into a Perpetual Peace and Secondly That the Cardinal de Furstenbergh might be put into the Possession of the Electorate of Cologne and that afterwards the King would endeavour to bring the Cardinal and the Chapter to such Accommodations as should be propos'd for the Satisfaction of Prince Clement of Bavaria that is to say to cause hm to be declar'd Coadjutour to the said Electorate As to the first point the Politicks of the Court of France were very fine Spun and extreamly Crafty seeing that while the Emperour and the Empire were engag'd against the Turks it was the proper time for her to appropriate to her self all the Places Lands and Signiories which by the Truce were not left to the enjoyment of France but for Twenty years of which three were expir'd and which the King was fully perswaded in his Conscience that he could not justly keep but must be forc'd to restore at the Expiration of the Truce As for the Possession of Cologne by the Cardinal of Furstenbergh the detaining of which from the said Cardinal was another specious Pretence for his resuming Arms all Europe is sufficiently acquainted with the Engaging Reason which the Most Christian King had to make himself Master of that Archbishoprick seeing the Cardinal and the King were all one and so by means of that Possession the King of France had one Foot in the Empire and upon the Territories adjoyning belonging either to the States of the United Provinces or the Palatine and Brandenburgh Electors But because it will be a difficult matter for us to treat otherwise then confusedly of the Policy of France in general we shall descend to Particulars thereby to render it more Intelligible beginning with the Holy See The Kings of France have always held themselves highly honour'd with the Title of Eldest Sons of the Church and would have made War upon any one that should have ventur'd to dispute that Title with ' em In like manner they
nor sought its own advantages that it neither commits Injustice nor possesses any thing unjustly got that it endures every thing believes every thing bears with every thing never carries it self insolently or dishonestly This is the Character of a True Christian according to the Learned Now if the Pope finds but one of these Vertues in the King of France I mean that Sincerity which Pope Gregory requir'd from a true Catholick which consists in fulfilling by our Actions what we have promis'd in Word in that case I agree that the Pope may not only embrace him as his Eldest Son but canonize him after his Death and I will be the first that will pay my Homage to the Great St. Lewis If it be enquir'd From whence this way of proceeding arises so different and irregular in reference to the Holy See more especially in a King who adorns himself with the Title of Most Christian I answer that 't is from hence because that whatever he took in hand was for the Service of that Great and Ambitious Design which aim'd at nothing less then to be the Master of all Europe To which purpose he had it in view by the Persecution of the Religionaries of his Kingdom to acquire to himself the Suffrages the Esteem the Assistance of all the Roman Catholicks in the midst of those great Designs which he had to invade the Empire by means of that Succour which he gave the Turk There is nothing makes the King of France so sick at heart as the Prosperity of the Emperour He would willingly make War against Heaven because God did not give him all the Earth to himself or at least because he thinks his Neighbour has the better share and possesses the more lovely part For this Reason you see that France is always upon the Enquiry Her Emissaries continually inform themselves what Territories what Splendour others enjoy that their Monarch may have an Opportunity to fall upon This or t' Other or Both together Envious Persons are as it were the Animated Skeletons of Demons that are nourish'd only by their own Torments Agrippina the Mother of Nero was wont to say That there was nothing in the World which a Prince ought not to Sacrifice for a Crown And therefore it was that Katherine de Medicis Queen of France finding her self ready to sink under the Burden of the Civil Wars after the death of her Son Francis II. and not knowing any longer after she had tyr'd 'em all out to what Saint to recommend her self went to the Devil with her three Younger Children Charles IX the Duke of Anjou and the Duke of Alanson And the Medal is still to be seen with this Device beneath her Figure engrav'd in Copper and the Figures of her three Children which she offer'd to the Demon Soit pourvu que je regne Let it be so I may reign If these Miserable Women have carry'd their Ambition so high for a single Crown what may it not be Lawful for Lewis XIV to do so he may gain the Universal Monarchy For still whatever he does the French have a Name for it they call it Grandeur of Soul They offer Incense at this very day to the Divinity of Lewis the Great and below his Statue the Head of which is environ'd with a Glory there are written these Blasphemous words Numini Ludovici Magni This is the Religion and this is the Idol of the Court of France and of their Emissaries that compass the Earth to make Proselytes to embrace and adore the Interests of France If among such proceedings as these if in such a Dreary Chaos the Holy See can find out Catholicity I will acknowledge him to be like God himself who alone can bring Light out of Darkness But Lewis the XIV was not content with the Crown of France nor to make himself Emperour but to be the Universal Monarch of the World and then not having any more to conquer here below like the Gyants of Old he would have built a Tower to scale Heaven and Dragoon the Inhabitants of the Eternal Mansions However the Soveraign KING of Kings who derides the Folly of Men has in a good Measure confounded the Counsels of France and dissipated all her Great Designs particularly since the raising the Siege of Vienna upon the 12th of September 1683. a fatal day for France but glorious for the Emperour and Empire and Happy for all Christendom This unexpected Blow contrary to the Hopes and Expectations of Lewis the XIV and his Ministers constrain'd him to seek a Truce which was granted him for Twenty years and by which the Policy of France had a fair Prospect of Keeping those Towns of which she was Mistress and on the other side had gain'd time to see the Issue of the War between the two Empires with a Design however as already has been said no longer to observe the Truce till the King beheld the Fate of the Two contending Parties If the Emperour fell then the King was to march in Person into Germany and cause himself to be proclaim'd Emperour and Protectour of the Christians at the Head of his Army If the Grand Signior had the worst of it then the King was to send his Forces to his Aid by ravaging all Germany and dividing the Forces of the Empire as he did under imaginary Pretences which was more then openly to Succour the Turks who in Truth had broken with the Christians barely upon the Sollicitations of Count Teckeli and the King of France promising great Assistances if they happen'd to prove the weakest and in that alone the French Monarch may be said to have kept his Word 'T is also no less true that his own Interest was at the Bottom he not enduring to behold the Prosperity of the Imperial Arms and fearing least the Emperour proving Victorious should one day re-demand the Towns and Territories which he had usurp'd from him France then seeing the Emperour's Success the Christians winning Battel after Battel the Turks driven beyond Belgrade his Design upon Cologne frustrated the Baron of Plettenberg chosen Bishop of Munster the Baron of Elderen elected Prince and Bishop of Liege and by this means all the vast Designs of Lewis XIV quite ranvers'd she was no longer to be restrain'd within the Bounds of a Truce so that her Fury fell first upon Phillipsburgh which the Emperour not being in a Condition to defend the King carry'd the Town the 29th of October 1688. and thus neither Decorum nor the Interest of the Christians neither promis'd Faith nor all the Catholick Religion it self could hinder the perfidious Victor from declaring openly for the Infidels and Enemies of Christ and the Christian Name However if on the one side France in some measure wreck'd her Revenge by the War which she unjustly declar'd against the Emperour it may be certainly said that the Acquisition of Philipsburgh cost King James his Crown as being at the same time abandon'd by Lewis the XIV to his
govern'd 't is true by one of the best Princes in the World leading a Pious and Exemplary Life and void of any Vicious Inclination and it may be certainly said that the People and Grandees of the Kingdom are happy under so Just a King if they understood their Felicity and would but correspond with the Pacifick Genius of their Prince But most commonly the Ministers and their Adherents make their Advantage of the Good Nature of their Prince to fill their own Purses by emptying his and by that means deprive him of his Ability to withstand the Sworn Enemy of Spain who environs him on every side and who for more then one Age together has study'd nothing but his utter Ruine and makes a dextrous use of his Imbecility The King of France has been a long time acquainted with the Constitution of the present Catholick King and upon that Knowledge it is that the Policy of France has built her Designs and so well understood to carry on her Affairs that she brought about a Marriage of that Monarch with a Princess of France Daughter to the Duke of Orleance and that meerly to be inform'd of what past even in this Catholick Majesty's Bed-Chamber as was seen by the Relations frequent in the Court of France and which meerly serv'd for Sport among the French Ladies who are naturally enclin'd to Gossipry Tittle Tattle and Railliery And therefore 't is a pernicious sort of Policy in the Court of Madrid to bestow the Daughters of Spain upon France and to match their Soveraigns with the Daughters of France and of this there are recent Proofs that make us sensible For it is certain that the Marriage of the Infanta Maria Teresa to Lewis XIV has brought nothing but War and continual Trouble upon Spain and still will become the Occasion of More by reason of the Dauphin's Pretensions n case the Catholick King happens to dye without Heirs 'T will be in vain then to alledge that Lewis the XIV at his Marriage renounc'd his Claims with a Solemn Oath for if he brake his Oath and all the Princes blame him for doing an unlawful and unjust Act tending to Usurpation a Sin against Reason and Conscience 't is presently told ye that he could do nothing to the Prejudice of a Third Person meaning the Dauphin of France the only Offspring by that Marriage and usually in such differences between Soveraigns the longest Sword carries it Ratio ultima Regnum was the Motto which Cardinal Richlieu caus'd to be engrav'd upon the Armes of France Or if it be not reason 't is the definitive Will of Kings and becomes Reason if once it proves successful The want of Issue by the Catholick King 's second Marriage with the Princess Palatine of Newburgh increases and swells the Ambition of France and 't is very probable that Lewis the XIV would not be willing that the King of Spain should happen to dye which God forbid during his being enga'd in a War with almost all Europe in regard that not having his Hands free he could not so easily fall upon Spain with a sufficient Force as he might be able to do to make himself Master of that Monarchy in prosecution of his Hopes and Pretensions if his Catholick Majesty did not prevent him in his Life-time 'T is the Policy of France to insinuate into the Grandees of Spain desires of enriching themselves while they have an Opportunity to the end that after his Death they may be able to erect Petty Sovereignties in every Corner of the Kingdom for there is not any Prince among 'em who wants a Pretension with a promise to every one that she will stand by Him and grant him her Protection against all Assailants They not considering all this while that France will at last swallow 'em all up one after another and that they will become the Sport of Lewis the Great their secret Enemy Who in the mean time by this means enfeebles Spain extenuates the King's Treasure and deprives him not only of the power to recover the Places he has lost but to defend those which he has yet in his Possession which the French wrest from him by degrees because that Spain is not in a Condition to make a Potent Opposition as Experience had taught us too apparently not only during the War but also in time of Peace For that since the Pyrenaean Peace Spain has suffer'd the Usurpation of a great many Provinces as Burgundy Franche Conté and Considerable Portions of the Low-Countries and Catalonia And all this because that Spain is a languishing and sickly Body whose Forces waste by degrees through the too much softness of the Soveraign and the Greedy Covetousness of the Grandees of the Kingdom Whereas if the Catholick King would make use of his Authority forsake his Cabinet and Head his Armes there is no question but that the Face of his Affairs would quickly alter It behoves him for the replenishing of his Coffers to squeeze the Spunges that have swell'd themselves with his Treasures and enrich'd themselves at the Expences of his Crown and People A Prince that leads a Soft and Effeminate Life is neither fear'd by his Enemies nor belov'd by his People He is lookt upon as a Statue and resembles those that wish for mighty Things as if they design'd to leave only their Dreams to Posterity Whereas a Monarch ought with his own Sword to make the Pen that is to write his History that is to say that his Valour and Prowess ought to afford his Historiographer Matter otherwise he only serves to fill up the Catalogue of the Kings and the Day of his Birth and the Day of his Death are the most Illustrious and Memorable Parts of all his History A King receives his Crown from his Ancestors but his Renown must spring from himself The Council of Spain falls asleep presently after a Peace and many times after a Truce not considering that France is always awake and that she never lays down her Armes but that it Costs the King of Spain some or other of his best Towns It would be superfluous to set forth in Painting to the Spaniards the misery of their Condition should they once fall under the Despotick Dominion of France They need no more then cast their Eyes upon the lamentable and wretched Estate to which the French are at this day reduc'd while some are forc'd to wander about the World expos'd to utmost Misery to Hunger and Cold and all this meerly to avoid the Cruelty and Tyranny of their Monarch and they that remain behind lie Groaning under the weight of his Iron Scepter that continually bruises 'em to death with his Oppressions and his Imposts The only way therefore for the Spaniards to prevent their Ruine is to countermine the Policy of France to supplicate their Monarch to appoint his Successour in his Life-time to the end he may be bred up in the Court of Madrid and be ready to oppose the Invasions of
France after the King's decease But more especially to beg of the Emperour to put a speedy End to the Turkish War that he may have his Hands at Liberty to be assisting to Spain at a time of need 'T is also an Affair of Great Importance and most Essential toward the Preservation of the Remainder of the Low-Countries and not to relie as the Council of Spain does upon her Neighbours which is the reason that they neglect to send the True Succour which it would behove 'em to send in time into those Provinces which were within a Fingers Breadth of being utterly lost during King James's Reign And indeed there happen so many Changes and Revolutions in the World that a well advis'd Monarch ought never to relie upon the Forces of Other Princes but his own While the Provinces of the Spanish Low-Countries were govern'd by Interested Vice-Roys who preferr'd their own private Concerns before the Preservation of the Provinces with which they were entrusted we still found that France seiz'd upon City after City and is now in Possession of whole Provinces and it may be said that a better thought never came into her Head then when she abandon'd the Conquest of Italy where she Exhausted her Men and Money to turn her Forces upon Flanders where all Appearances seem'd more easie since she saw well that Governours were sent thither only to enrich themselves among whom the Greatest Part minded more the getting of a Million into their Purses then the preservation of the Best City in the Low-Countries To avoid which Mischief there is a necessity of having a Prince for Governour whose particular Interest it is to preserve 'em who will march at the Head of his Army lay out the Subsidies of the People in defraying the Necessary Expences of the People and take care for the Timely Returns of Money for that the Low-Countries can never subsist without an Army well pay'd We have met with all these Advantages in the Person of his Electoral Highness the Duke of Bavaria and it may be said without flattery That the Choice which his Catholick Majesty made of that Prince for the Government of the Low-Countries was one of the best and most imortant Hits of State that Spain has been for some time guilty of T was such a Blow to France as broke all the Measures she had taken during the Government of Gastanaga nor could Lewis XIV ward off this Blow which the King of England gave him without ever giving him warning to guard himself 'T is a thing no less observable then wonderful That the Council of Spain having no more then this little Corner of the Earth to guard should neglect it as They do seeing that good Policy requires that Spain should drein herself rather then part with it were it for nothing else but to serve her as an Amuzement to the Arms of France as we have found it to have been in all the last and present Wars and the Counterguard that keeps the most Christian King from Marching to the very Walls of Madrid it self The reason of this Carelessness may well be thought to be the Popular Errour of the Inhabitants of Flanders and Brabant who tell the Hollanders when they upbraid 'em with their Remissness as to their own Preservation 'T is you that ought to defend us for the sake of your own Interest And indeed there is some reason for this Opinion But the chief reason proceeds from the Avarice of the Spanish Ministers who shroud themselves under this Mistake which serves 'em to heap up Wealth while the King their Sovereign is engag'd on every side to preserve himself The Policy of France together with her Louid'ors works now the same Effect with the which formerly Philip II. wrought by virtue of his Doublon's For I have heard say That ev'n in Time of Peace there was not any Place in the Low-Countries where Lewis XIV had not his Creatures and his Cabals ready to declare themselves in Time and Place and when an Opportunity requir'd And certain it is That if this were not the whole which was then said 't is a good part of the Truth For having beheld what we have seen in our days in reference to that impregnable City of Luxemburgh and the Acquisition of the whole Province that follow'd we ought to be convinc'd that that same Place of so great moment was not obtain'd by the Bravery and Courage only of the French There is no better way then to disappoint those Treacheries then by often changing the Garrisons and sometimes the Governors themselves but above all things to Pay well and Punish without Exception when there is the least Fault committed The Low-Countries are at present like an Insolvent House that must be re-settl'd by good Oeconomy and by affording the Inhabitants the Means of being able to contribute towards it The Low-Countries have a long time been the Mark at which the Court of France has aim'd Upon the least Dispute or Pretence of a Quarrell with the Court of Spain in she pours with all her Fury upon the Low-Countries like an impetuous Torrent plunders burns and never retreats without some considerable Loppings which she dismembers from the Body of the Tree Which nevertheless is not a Mischief never to be remedy'd since the Sea it self is many times restrain'd by Causeys and Mounds though it be an Element a thousand times more to be fear'd then the Policy and Pride of Lewis XIV And this is that which the Duke of Bavaria and the rest of his Brave Confederates must do to stop and curb the rapid Inundations of France They must look upon the French Monarch as one that thunders in all his Forces and his Fury upon those Places where he is sure to find but little Resistance and from such Victories as those he reaps his greatest Honour I confess that a Prince who is violent and a Usurper is happy so long as Fortune goes hand in hand with his Natural Humour But in regard she grows weary for the most part of always carrying one Man upon her Back we also find that the same Prince becomes unprosperous when Fortune changes her Mind or rather when there is an Opposition made against him And therefore if we may build upon outward Appearances and if there be any thing of Prognostication in the Presentiments of Wise and Judicious Men the Low-Countries may well hope by the Blessing of Heaven the prudent Conduct of their Great and Sage Governor and Leader and the sincere Intentions of the Confederates to be soon deliver'd from the Yoke and Barbarity of France and enjoy the Fat of a fruitful Soil that has so long fed so many Thousands of Foreigners both Men and Beasts From the Low-Countries I cross over into England where I find that the Revolution which happen'd in the Year 1689. affords a large Field and ample Matter to supply my Discourse The Court of France not only cry'd The Town 's our's but
Europe's my own so soon as she beheld James II. upon the Throne of Great Britain I shall not here enlarge upon the Accident that set him in the Throne But certain it is that France and He had long and passionately waited for the happy Minute for that according to their Saying between 'em Charles II. was a meer Slugg and had neither vigour nor courage to put in Execution the Projects that France was a Brewing But far from that Charles II. wanted neither Policy nor Ingenuity and might have gone to his Grave with the Character of Prudent and Vertuous but for his scandalous Inclinations for Women However it may be assuredly said That the Match to which he was in a manner driven against his own Consent made him disgust Matrimony and threw him into a Vein of wanton Courtship 'T is true 't was a Weakness in him too apparent for his Honour but France and his Brother the Duke of York knew how to make their Advantage of it And therefore the Joy of Lewis XIVth's Court was not to be conceiv'd so soon as both He and his Adherents understood the Death of that good Prince and the Elevation of James II. to the Throne the Jesuits rejoyc'd in particular and never was such Posting backwards and forwards between Versailles and London as after the King of England's Death came to be publickly known at the French Court And there was some reason for it for that then it was that the French Council began to take terrible Resolutions in order to the putting in Execution a Design that France had kept conceal'd in her Breast for many Years before She began with the Revocation of the Edict of Nants a Thing which she durst not meddle with so long as King Charles was alive though that Prince in his heart was none of the Devoutest Religionaries but a Politician much more and one who observ'd his Measures by reason of his Parliament that was well inform'd that England was the Garrantee of that Edict But so soon as James II. became sole Master in England the Court of France gave her self her full swinge and push'd on her Design upon Europe might and main because that then there was no longer any fear of England which was the only Puissance that could either disappoint or advance her Enterprize And this was a Truth at all times so well known by the Kings of England that Hen. VIII made a Medal of Gold upon which was engrav'd a Hand stretching it self out of a Cloud and holding a Pair of Scales that were equally poiz'd with this Motto My Friendship turns the Beam But in King James's Time it was not England turn'd the Scale but France while England like an Ox ignorant of his own Strength tamely surrender'd her Neck to the Golden Yoke of Lewis XIV Formerly the Policy of France sent to the Court of England Lovely French Nymphs to cultivate the Hearts of the English Lords and of the Monarch himself But during King James's Reign another sort of Vermin were made use of and Monks and Jesuits were sent in Shoals that like so many Caterpillers and Locusts devour'd the Country and who had already dispers'd themselves over all the Kingdom and had made themselves Masters of the King and his Privy-Council to the great grief of all his good Subjects What a Heart-breaking must it needs be to the sounder Party at Court to see a Father Peters Chief in the Privy-Council pearch'd upon one of the highest Dignities in the Kingdom slighting and domineering over the Lords and Peers of the Realm as having got the Soveraign Authority into his Hands and for that the King and the Queen a Princess transported altogether by her Passion suffer'd themselves to be deluded and govern'd by this Tartuff of a Hypocrite and he over-rul'd by Father La Chaise who had all his Orders from the Court of France By which it may be easie to judge in what Condition France was at that time what Devils haunted both the Court and the Kingdom trampl'd o're the Necks of the King 's best Subjects and were just exposing the People to the Rage of Queen Mary's Reign who allow'd her Subjects no other Choice but of the Mass or the Faggot They who seriously consider the Policy of France in respect of England during the Reign of King James the II. will find the Game but very ill play'd seeing that in so short a time it gave an occasion to a Revolution so dangerous to France But so it happen'd because that Lewis XIV not foreseeing the Consequences after he had once given a loose Liberty to the Monks and Jesuits was no longer Master of the Affair and those Vermin pusht on King James with so much precipitancy that he being desirous to do too much at once they ranvers'd at the same time all the Designs of France and cast him headlong from the Throne into an Abyss from whence he will never be able to rise again so long as he lives nor will all the Power of France nor the detestable Wealth and Politicks of the Jesuits be able to restore him again If the Court of France were so excessive in their Rejoycing upon the Coronation of King James we may assure our selves that they were no less drown'd in Tears of Grief and Rage upon his Abandoning the Crown And then it was that all the best Head-pieces both Jesuits and Courtiers met together which way to apply some proper Remedies to a Blow so fatal and so unlookt for and then it was that Lewis XIV acknowledg'd his Error in following the Marquis of Louvois's Counsel which was to attack Philipsburgh instead of Maestritcht and give the Prince of Orange an Opportunity to pass un-disturb'd into England But that which deceiv'd France was an Army of Forty thousand Men which King James had a foot of which a great part were Irish and a Fleet of Forty Men of War riding out at Sea which indeed was a Force sufficient both by Sea and Land to have resisted so small a number as attended the Prince into England But it may be said that that same great Body was a meer Monster all Arms but no Head and whose Veins were fill'd with Water only instead of Blood And if France had bethought her self to have sounded in the first Place the Heart of King James she would have found there more of Cowardice then Courage and without question she would have march'd her Troops to the Lower instead of sending them to the Upper Rhine But by this we see that there is a certain Destiny which all the Wisdom all the Force and Industry of mortal Man cannot escape But now the Constitution of the Court of England being chang'd by the Alteration of the Government there was a necessity for the Court of France to change her Batteries and to employ all her Politicks which way to dethrone the reigning King whether by the Sword by Fire or by Poyson 't was indifferent to her provided she
Impoverishes 'em to constrain 'em to turn Soldiers He calls in all their Money embases it and pays 'em with New Money enhaunc'd above a Third part of the True Value to fill his Coffers He seizes upon all the Church-Plate and what belongs to private Persons and coins it into Money and the better to inveigle the People as it were to follow his Example he sends his own Plate First of all to the Mint and sends for it back the next day There is not any Tax or Toll or Imposition that has escap'd the Invention of his Flint-Skinners so that the greatest part of all the Handycraft Tradesmen and Peasants have abandon'd their Farms and their Houses to wander about and beg their Bread or else to seek their Livelihoods in foreign Countries I have often with my own Ears heard very good Men and Old Catholicks cry out When will the Prince of Orange meaning the King of England now reigning come and deliver us from all our Miseries Rightly judging That the English are They who can only give that Lucky Blow by reason that their nearness to the Coasts of France facilitates their Entrance into the Kingdom The Court of France knows this to be true and therefore takes so much care to line their Coasts tho' the King of France's whole Army would not suffice to guard a Compass of 300 Leagues in Extent so well as they should do to prevent the Enemies landing in some part or other Where they that land have no more to do then only to stand the First Shot for the Second Discharge will prove very moderate and for the Third there will be no occasion to fear it I affirm then that the English alone are able to harrass France more then any of the Confederates to put her to an Excessive Expence which dreins her Treasury forces the King to oppress his Subjects that he may replenish his Coffers provokes the Malecontents to shake off the Yoke of a Despotick Government and to desire a Government like that of England which beyond all contradiction is the most Just and most Equitable as well for the King as for the People every one there enjoying their Rights and Privileges the King his due Prerogatives and the People their Repose If any one of the Republicks of Europe be able to infuse Jealousies and Fears into France it is the Republick of the United Provinces which is at present the most potent the most Illustrious the most glorious and the most wealthy Republick in the World I acknowledge that Venice may dispute the Point of Antiquity with her otherwise there is no Comparison to be made between ' em No wonder then that her Neighbouring Puissance has drawn upon her the Envy of France The Policy of her Ministers ever since the Beginning of this Reign has very Judiciously exercis'd it self in finding out the most clever and probable ways to swallow up those Provinces either by Conquest or by Ruining 'em to which purpose Measures have been taken a long while ago And Lewis XIV at the Beginning of the War 1672. did verily believe to have compass'd his Designs having invaded the States at a Time when they rely'd upon the Faith and Sincerity of Treaties and had neither any Forces a foot nor any General to lead 'em Good Husbandry being Natural to Republicks in Time of Peace Nevertheless France could not strike that Blow so home as she desir'd without the Consent of England and therefore it was that the Court of France was so careful to improve their Friendship with Charles II. sparing neither for Money nor the Allurements of Pleasure to inveigle and fasten him to their Interests and to cause him to bury in Oblivion all the Benefits he had receiv'd from the Republick and the House of Orange Nor would France quit her Hold till England had in conjunction with her declar'd War against the United Provinces where the Embassadors of France had for some Years labour'd underhand by the Inticing Baits of Gold and Silver to gain Creatures within the Republick since which time the Count d'Avaux understood so well to follow their Steps that he out-did ' em For that being Young and a Courtier he made his Love of Women serviceable to get him Admittance into certain Families that had some share in the Government and there were few Cities where he had not his Creatures who gave him Intelligence of all things that past in Council and some there were who like Nicodemus's came to him by Night not daring to appear in the day-time The Greatest Policy of France was always to foment Division between England and the United Provinces afraid of nothing more then a good Correspondence and Union between the Two Puissances Nor did she see any way more Probable to compass her Ends upon the United Provinces then by sticking close to England which had fallen out luckily for her during the two preceding Reigns while she amus'd those two Princes with Hopes of sharing in the Conquest And upon this Score Lewis XIV had very little trouble to perswade James the Second to close with him for that in his Heart he was an Enemy to the United Provinces and the House of Orange besides that he was besieg'd by the Monks and Jesuits and particularly by Father Peters who kept him under the awe of the Ferula putting him in hopes of Great Rewards from Heaven in case he would lend his Helping hand to destroy the Hereticks perswading him that the United Provinces were the Center of Heresie So that he added to his private Hatred that Biggotry which those Hypocrites of Monks continually blew in his Ears And indeed all things were in a ready forwardness to recommence in Conjunction with France a new War against Holland The King's Inclinations were altogether bent that way and the Thing would have had the Effect desir'd so soon as James the Second had once obtain'd to be Master of his Parliament had abolish'd the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom and lay'd low the Heads of some of the principal Lords the best Affected toward the Wellfare of the Kingdom and the Preservation of the Privileges of the Nation But the Revolution in England falling out so unexpectedly toward the end of the Year 1688. and the Year following fended off the Blow and broko all the Measures of those Two Princes to which we may add the rejecting of the Cardinal of Furstenburgh from being Archbishop of Cologne All these Events so contrary to the Expectation of Lewis XIV very much contributed toward the Preservation of the Low-Countries For there is no doubt but the Cardinal who is a Man dangerous turbulent actuared by the Demon of France to whom he has sold and devoted himself since he withdrew himself from his Obedience to the Emperor his lawful Sovereign was in t oduc'd into the Chapter of Cologne only to be the Tool and Organ by whose means the Most Christian King might the more easily disturb the States of the United
Provinces But all these ways failing tho' not his good Will and finding he could not be assisted either by Cologne nor England nor by the Bishop of Munster as in the preceding War France could no longer contain her self but under pretence of assisting King James presently declar'd War and fell upon the United Provinces to prevent 'em from aggrandizing themselves by the sincere and strict Union which they were about to make between the King and Queen at present prosperously reigning But in regard that frequently Revenge never considers the Danger to which it exposes it self for the satisfaction of its Rage in like manner the King of France has drawn upon himself all of a sudden the the most numerous and the soundest part of the Puissances of Europe who will never lay down their Arms till he has made those Restitutions which they shall think convenient for the Welfare of Europe there being no other way of Reliance upon the Promises and Faith of the Most Christian King I believe that Lewis XIV spake just according to the Sentiments of his Heart when he happen'd one Day to say That he neither Fear'd nor Lov'd the Hollanders who nevertheless fill'd him full of Jealousies and Fears and often broke his Measures And yet 't is to that warlike Nation that he is at this Day be-holding for his having got the upper-hand of Spain For as France formerly made use of the Hollanders to humble Spain so the Spaniards are now glad of succour of the United Provinces to humble the Pride of France And the Moderation and Flegin of the Hollanders proves very effectual to abate the Fury of the French which only affrights those that fear it and are not acquainted with it In the Year 1672. the United Provinces alone made Head against the Two Potent Kings of France and England were Victorious at Sea and constrain'd the latter to make a Peace and the other su'd for the Peace of Nimeghen Tho' through a remissness Injurious to the Honour of the Parties the Plenipotentiaries out of a Complyance not to be endur'd suffer'd the slipping in of those Words That the King of France being desirous to restore Peace to Europe c. Whereas it was he that begg'd for it and made such Condescentions to the City of Amsterdam that she consented to it so that to speak properly 't was she and not Lewis XIV that restored Peace to Europe But in regard it was made without any great Precautions and without taking any other Guarranty then the Sincerity of a Prince who never had any therefore it lasted but a short while and within the space of Six Years the Peace-Restorer committed several Hostilities took many Cities and Fortresses so that there was need of a new Peace and a Truce follow'd to the end he might retain what he had usurp'd Nor were all these Treaties Mounds sufficiently strong to restrain the impetuous Torrent He breaks through all the Tyes of Sanctity and Religion and falls upon Philipsburgh the loss of which was attended with several other scurvy Inconveniences Now upon what Foundation could the States of the United Provinces treat with a King that observ'd no Rule of common Morality but broke his Faith his Word his Promise even with the Emperor himself Certain barbarous People whom Alexander the Great would have oblig'd to swear Fidelity to him return'd him answer That they never swore any Oaths but gave their Word which they kept inviolably from whence I observe that they were not French The Ministry of the Court of France imagines with it self that Lewis XIV not having usurp'd any thing upon the Republick of the United Provinces during the Peace nor won any Place from her during the War that it would be always an easie thing for their Monarch to make a Peace with her besides that the Hollanders are greatly inclin'd to Peace by reason of their Trade which is much obstructed in time of War neither is it the Interest of a Republick to enlarge her Confines or to add new Provinces to those she has already but to preserve United what already she possesses and to secure her Frontiers the best she can But tho' France may be in the Right as to some Circumstances yet is she deceiv'd in the main For it is not so easie to make a Peace with the Hollanders as the King of France imagines Those People tho' naturally good-natur'd and easie are not readily twice deluded That Prudence which never forsakes the Counsels of their Soveraigns has seen by the Consequences of the Peace of Nimeghen that there is no trusting to France but that all her Promises and Treaties were only meer Amusements that is to say a sort of Recoiling to fetch the greater Leap he must be a very mean Politician and very dull-sighted who does not percieve that France had a great mind to have made her self Mistress of the United Provinces their Wealth and their Religion those three things so precious and so necessary that the Inhabitants neither can nor ought to lose 'em but with their Lives And therefore as they ventur'd all to purchase those Blessings so they will use their utmost Endeavours to preserve 'em as the most precious Jewels of the Republick For the Hollanders are not like King James who left the care of his Crown to the Count of Lausune while he ran away before the Battel of the Boyne and before his Person was in any evident Danger France knows not as yet the strength of the United Provinces as being ignorant of what she can do if once she be hard put to it Seeing that if they could find the way not only to shake off the Chains of Servitude but to make head for several Years against one of the most Potent and one of the greatest Monarchs of Europe Philip II. and come off with Honour why should the Ministers of France flatter themselves under this Reign that they are able to destroy ' em 'T is only because Men are apt to flatter themselves that they can compass what they desire and generally they never care to be dis-abus'd in regard that Hope supports and in some measure satisfies an ambitious Mind Usually the Court of France is crowded with Flatterers who make no other Prayers then for the Glory of their Monarch and sing no other Hymns then in his Praise all their Opera's sound forth the Grandeur and the Conquests of their new Deity Jupiter-Bourbon They perswade him that he was sent into the World to reign by himself and to subdue all the People of the Earth under his Dominion they have given him the Sirname of Dieu-donné or God's Gift and they make their Oblations to the immortal Man Viro Immortali To which purpose they have erected his Statue in the Piazza of Victory at Paris to the end that all his Subjects should pay the same Homages to his Figure as to his Person Marshal de la Fueillade would needs pay it the first Honours For being
a Collonel of the Foot-Regiment of Guards he march'd his whole Regiment before the Idol saluted it with his Pike and order'd all his Soldiers to salute it with a Royal Volley insomuch that at first there was no Body durst pass by it without some kind of Genuflexion And by that Statue it is that Men may make a shrew'd Conjecture of the Design and good Intentions of Lewis XIV since he had caus'd to be engrav'd upon the Predestal of the Idol the Hollanders as well as other Nations link'd and chain'd together like Slaves under his Feet By which 't is easie to discern as in a Mirror the very inside of Lewis XIV and his kind Intentions toward the United Provinces in case he could attain his Ends. And he discover'd his wicked Purposes so openly after he thought himself assur'd of King James upon his Elevation to the Throne by the hasten'd Death of Charles II. that 't was the publick Discourse in the Court of France how they were going to fall upon the Hollanders and that they would drown their Provinces under Water to the end they might never rise again to vex the King by their opposing his just Designs This was the common Language of the Court and he that should have contradicted it would have been Empal'd after the Turkish manner I must confess that at present they see with other Eyes at the French Court and their Language is quite another thing 'T is the main Business of the Court at this time to flatter and caress the Hollanders by that means if she can to disburthen her self of a War too ponderous for a Kingdom groaning under Famine and many other Calamities and which are more likely to encrease then abate So that if the United Provinces together with the rest of the Confederates do but stand their station tho' they should gain no ground upon the Enemy France must be forc'd to condescend to what Conditions they please But say some of the more peaceful and quiet sort of People what Assurances have we of being able to constrain the King who makes Head against all the Confederates to restore to Spain so many Towns and Fortresses and so well fortifi'd which he has in his Hands to the end the Hollanders may enlarge their Barriers I answer That in this War the King of France is in an Association with the Turk who by the Diversion he makes cuts out Work for the most considerable Forces of the Emperor and Empire That the Ottoman Empire consists of a capricious and giddy-headed People who have been several times of late and indeed upon all the most considerable Occasions defeated and that by consequences there is nothing of certainty for France to trust to on that side who only sways the Port by the force of her Money and a few frivolous Promises So that there needs no more then an Insurrection of the People or a humour of the Grand Signior the Prime Visier or the Mufti to produce a Treaty of Peace and overturn all the Hopes of France Besides that if we do but consider the bottom of things we shall find that this War which the Turk continues with so many Disadvantages costs the French Yearly those Summs which they are unwilling to boast of Secondly Lewis XIV alone by himself is bound to pay and maintain above Four hundred thousand Men to make head against his Enemies Whereas the Confederates are not bound to keep so many Men in constant Pay for the supply of which every one bears his Proportion nor does he that is most burthen'd bear a Fourth part of the Load of France 'T is true the Body of the Confederates is a bulky Fabrick but it moves upon several Engines which makes it go the surer Now I dare maintain that 't is impossible for the King of France to act alone by himself above Six Years as he does against a Confederated Body without ruining his People At the long-run the Soldier turns the Citizen out of his House and reduces him to beggary for want of Trade The Taxes devour that little which the Inhabitants have heap'd up during the Peace The Treasury fails because the Springs are grown dry the Merchant is ruin'd by his Losses The Customs and Gabells which were formerly the best and most ready Money the King had by reason of the great quantity of Salt that us'd to be utter'd all over the Kingdom must needs be very low when People want Money to buy Bread more then Salt And 't is not long since that I heard one of the Farmers say That the Gabells of Salt are fallen above half in half and it is the same thing with all the other Farms in France A Monarch without a full Exchequer is like a Man without Hands and Eyes Of all the Soveraign Puissances at present in Confederacy with France there is not any one can contribute more to her Ruine then the united Provinces and that two ways the one by preventing all Commerce and all manner of Trade with France and forbidding under severe Penalties the carrying of Provision and Corn to the Enemies Country in regard that Merchants are greedy of Gain and care not whether they supply Friends or Enemies insomuch that 't is said of some People to express their Extraordinary Thirst after Profit that if there were a Fair or Market in Hell they would carry their Goods to the Infernal Gate so they might put 'em off The Other way to Ruine France is to make themselves Masters of the Sea which they might easily do in respect of the French and by that means prevent any thing for going or coming out of the French Ports Add to this the Necessity that France is in to send for Horses into the United Provinces to remount her Cavalry which it is in the Power of the States with ease to prevent Besides all this the United Provinces have had a vast advantage over France during the Continuance of this War by the Trade which she has driven all along into the Indies Italy Turky Spain England the Baltick Sea c. whereas the French have only Italy and Turky free to themselves for if they will have any thing from the Baltick Sea they must put up Swedish or Danish Colours to protect 'em from the English On the other side I must confess that several Merchants Ships of both Nations fall into the Hands of the French Capers and a far greater Number then those that are taken either by Dutch or English but then we must consider that there are a hunder'd English and Dutch Ships for one miserable French-man continually trading upon the Sea and many times our Capers meet with French Prizes that are hardly worth the Taking Then again the Number of French Privateers surpasses double and Treble the Number of the Dutch in regard that the French Merchants having nothing else to do with their Vessels turn 'em all into Privateers that so they may not lie idle Insomuch that all the
Ports of France are become Nests of Pyrates and Sea-rovers only Nor do we find all this while that their ill-gotten Purchases enrich either the Soveraign or the People For according to the common Proverb That which is got with the Flute is spent with the Drum And therefore it is that the Inhabitants of St. Malo's and some other Ports of France are not a little troubled that they have no better employment then to addict themselves to Pyracy but their Trade with Holland and Spain being quite ruin'd for the present they are constrain'd to turn Sea-rovers for their Subsistance Now then we may assure our selves that 't is so far from being the Interest of France to ruine and destroy the United Provinces that 't is the Study of all her most serious Policy to gain their Friendship and inveigle 'em by fair Promises to accept a Peace either separate or general because the Intercourse between the two States in times of Peace brings more Profit to France then all the rest of Europe besides But this Peace is not to be obtain'd by France either from the United Provinces or from any other of the Confederates but upon safe Conditions For to such a Dilemma has the Most Christian King reduc'd himself by beginning an Unjust and Cruel War neither provok'd nor compell'd to it by any other Motives then those of an Inordinate Ambition So that it may be said of the Sun which Lewis XIV has made choice of for his Impress that it resembles the Sun in March which stirs and raises the Humours of the Body but has not Heat sufficient to consume their Malignity To say Truth France may be look'd upon as one of the worst Neighbours in the World for she lets no Prince along that has the Misfortune to lie near her So that after Lorraine the Spanish Low-Countries and the United Provinces had felt the Effects of her Fury she began again to prosecute her Old Designs upon Savoy And the First course she took to get footing in that Family was by the means of several Matches with French Princesses to the End she might have her Spies and Creatures in the very Beds of those Princes For that is one of the most Refin'd Pieces f French Policy for the King to make the Matches himself and to give 'em their Dowry to engage 'em the more Cordially to his Interests And at the same time he sends 'em home to their New Spouses full of Great Idea's of the Monarch of France and the vast Obligations which they owe him besides that before their Departure he causes 'em to Swear upon the Holy Evangelists That for the future they shall be absolutely devoted to France that they shall uphold the Interests of that Crown at all Times and against all Persons whatever in the Courts where they reside and shall inform either him or his Ministers of all that passes in their Husbands Cabinets and blindly obey the Orders that are sent 'em by the King or given by his Minister residing in the Court. And then there is no reason to wonder at the Troubles which Henrietta Maria and Christina the Daughters of Hen. IV. marry'd by Lewis XIII into England and Savoy occasion'd in those Countries The first never ceasing till by her ill Conduct and exasperating her Husband to act contrary to the Laws of the Kingdom she had brought Charles I. to an Untimely End and her going into England may be said to be as it were the Source and Leaven of all the Misfortunes that ensu'd in our days Leaving England take a view of the greatest part of all the other Courts of Europe and you shall find French Princesses who play their Parts with the Louidores of France In Tuscany we have seen the present Grand Duke that he might procure his own Peace at home send a Bill of Divorce to the Grand Dutchess his Wife who is a Princess of the House of Orleance and return her back to France to undergo the same hard Fortune as Henrietta Maria wasting the remainder of her Days in a mean Condition depending upon the inconstant Humour of the King of France To whom such a return cannot choose but be a tacit Reproach of the Misfortune befallen her for upholding his Interests But in regard that Large Consciences are all the Mode of the Court of France they can never be injur'd by Petty Stings or little Keckings If you look upon Portugal you shall find there Mademoiselle d' Aumale marry'd to two Brothers one after another tho' the first were alive at the time of the second Marriage King Alphonso VI. somewhat morose by nature and not willing to comply with the Counsels and Caresses of that Princess the Court of France found a way to be rid of that Prince who was banish'd to the Islands of Tercera and his Marriage after dissolv'd by the Duke of Mercoeur the Queen's Uncle made a Cardinal at the Sollicitation of France and sent Legate into Portugal with a design to out the Nuptial knot a Secret all this while unknown to the Pope who was ignorant of the Contrivances of the French Court and tho' that during the Three first Months of the Marriage it was given out that the Queen was with Child yet they parted the Wedded Couple for all that under pretence of Impotency and marry'd her to Don Pedro Successour to the Crown and her Husband's Brother and if Charles II. of England would have consented to a Divorce between Him and Queen Katherine the Court of France had design'd him the Princess of Nevers Spain has several times experienc'd to her cost the fatal Consequences of Matches with France and his Royal Highness of Savoy at present ruling had been within a Finger's breadth of losing his Territories had he pursu'd his Journey into Portugal to espouse the Infanta at the earnest Solicitation of the Princess his Mother who is a French Woman and by the Perswasion and Management of the Court of France who were very Industrious to procure that Match on purpose to remove the Duke out of his Dominions and oblige him to stay in Portugal in Hopes of a Crown while France took the Opportunity to make himself Master of Biemont and Savoy France has been a long time contriving and studying for a favourable Pretence to colour the the Execution of this Design Harry the Great in his time agreed with the Duke of Savoy that upon his resigning up to him all the Pretensions that the Duke had in Milanois he should oblige himself to conquer it and afterwards exchange it for such Lands as the Duke held on this side the Mountains which consist in Genevois all the Principality of Nissa the County of Foussigni and a part of Savoy as far as the Alps to the end it might be in his Power to call himself Master from the Pyreneans to the Alps. But the Tragical End of Hen. IV. put a stop to that Enterprize However it did not quench the greedy Thirst of the Court
of France which was rather encreas'd then abated as we have seen by what was aim'd at by the Match with Portugal which Heaven prevented by a Kind of Miracle his Royal Highness having already taken leave of his Estates The Court of France has always so narrowly watch'd the Duke that she thought it impossible for him to escape her Trains or to withdraw himself from the King's Pleasure who had so near a Relation at the Court of Turin that he had Intelligence of every thing which was acted there and of every Petty Resolution that was taken and the main Business was to hold the Duke under the King 's Ferula but above all from holding any Correspondence with the House of Austria And for proof of the Truth of this it may be remember'd that the Duke of Savoy could not go for his Diversion to Venice with his Electoral Highness of Bavaria but he was follow'd and watch'd by the Envoy of France who was then at his Court and who knew so well to work and undermine with his Louidores that he was inform'd of all that past at that Interview Which gave the First Occasion that Kindl'd the Fire of the War at present between France and Savoy And tho' there be a great Disproportion between the two Contenders nevertheless the Duke gives no small disturbance and trouble to the Court of France whether it be by the Alliances which the Duke has enter'd into or by the Constitution of the Italian Climate which has always cost France a world of Men as having been always call'd the Church-yard for the French and notwithstanding the inequality of Puissance the King has been constrain'd to keep up a numerous and chargeable Army on that side to which he is oblig'd to send at vast Expences out of the Dauphinate and Provence his Ammunition and Provision for their Subsistance Moreover France never imagin'd that the Duke of Savoy could or durst have undertaken any thing against her For which reason the Policy of France ne'er thought it worth while to fortifie her Frontiers on that side to prevent in time of War the Savoyards from entring into Provence and the Dauphinate Nor was ever the King more surpriz'd or madder then when he heard that the Confederates had got footing in those two Provinces So that had it not been for the Accident that befell his Royal Highness and the unhappy Consequences of his confiding too much in the Jesuits of Ambrune which was in part the Cause of the Return of his Army certain it is that the Duke had enter'd Victorious into Grenoble The Dread of his March reach'd not only to Lion but as far as Paris A good part of the Inhabitants of the Dauphinate and Provence had already quitted their Country but the Greatest part impatiently waited for the Conqueror's coming to deliver them out of their Misery and break their Chains but they were frustrated in their Hopes for the Reasons above mention'd The Court of France always flatter'd her self till now that if she restor'd to the Duke of Savoy some Town that she had taken from him that he would be glad to renew his Alliance with her Nay she believ'd it an Honour which he would sue for but she found her self deceiv'd For she met with a Haughty and undaunted Prince who would not listen to any Proposals that tended to disunite him from his Confederates and besides knowing France too well his Royal Highness was absolutely convinc'd that there was no relying upon the Promises and Word of a King much less upon the Faith of his Ministers who glory in deceiving those with whom they have to deal if any Benefit redounds from thence to France The Court of France had her Aim and her Prospects in her Offers which she made last to the Duke of Savoy and it was the Strife of her Policy to bring him off from the Confederates and to have render'd him liable to their Ill Opinion who would doubtless have abandon'd him and thereby have left France at her Liberty to have invaded his Country For should France resign to the Duke all the Places she had taken from him but keep Pignerol and Casal in his Hands that were still no more then lying alwayes between the Hammer and the Avnil His Royal Highness therefore having drawn his Sword against France that continually oppress'd him it behoves him never to sheath it again till he has procur'd his full Freedom and secur'd himself from future Dangers seeing he may well expect to be sincerely succour'd by the Confederates who never will forsake him but always stick by him as hitherto they have done So much the rather because they may be able in case the Catholick King dyes without Issue to seat him in a better Station to which he has already Great Pretensions by the Marriage of Charles Emanuel in the Year 1561. with Katherine Infanta of Spain the Daughter of Philip II. So that by the Addition of Piemont to Milanois he may take upon him the Name and Title of King of Lombardy Which is an Advantage he can never attain to if he depart from the Interests of the House of Austria to embrace the Promises of France which early or late will deceive him 'T is never to be thought that France will ever mend or that she will act for the future with more Fidelity then hitherto she has done To trust to her would be for a Man to put a willing Cheat upon himself The Blackmoor can never change his Skin nor the Leopard alter his Spots So France can never help her Usurping upon her Neighbours Ambition is an inveterate Disease that has seiz'd her never to be Cured but by the Prosperity of the Confederates I know very well that they flatter his Highness with a Match between the Duke of Burgundy the Dauphin's Eldest Son and who in his Turn may wear the Diadem of France with one of the Young Princesses of Savoy but this is still to cast Oyl into the Fire and give France a New Handle to lay hold on who is ready enough to grasp all Advantages without giving her an Opportunity These are Baits which the Emissaries of France throw about at a venture to try whether they will take or no. If not however it fails not to make some Impression in the Breasts of the Ladies who being Members of the Frail Sex easily fall into the Snare and willingly feed themselves with worldly Honours never considering what they will cost 'em nor the Dangers that attend ' em The Antipathy between the Danes and Swedes whether it proceeds from any Hatred of the two Nations one of another or from Interest of Trade by reason that the Dominions of Both Kings lie so close together has in some measure parallel'd 'em with France and Spain Which is the Reason that the King of France has always endeavour'd to procure their Amity or at least to have the one or the other on his side And this has been his Care
afraid of the Strength of Portugal tho' separated from Spain Quite the contrary Portugal might well make use of France to molest Spain which visibly decreas'd and perhaps will never be in a Condition again to pull that Thorn out of her Foot and to reduce Portugal under her Obedience For after that Revolution which follow'd that of the Low-Countries Spain languish'd away by degrees and Portugal encreas'd both in Strength and Riches and is become so Potent that alone by her self she can make head against Spain which at this day resembles a strong Man consum'd and wasted by Inward Sickness and Distempers and easily overturn'd by the puny strength of a Child The Portuguezes therefore who are good Politicians understanding their own Interest leagu'd themselves with the Greatest Enemies of the Spaniards that is to say the English and French who in a time of necessity might openly declare for 'em if Spain should happen to be in a Condition to attack ' em But now Portugal has no need of Assistance against Spain much rather she ought to fortifie her self against France which in this Reign has look'd with a Covetous Eye upon the Wealth that arrives at Lisbon from the East and and West Indies and I am perswaded that the Court of Portugal is truly convinc'd of it Which was the reason that enduc'd 'em to the no small Vexation of France to seek the Friendship and Alliance of the House of Austria by the Marriage of Don Pedro to the Princess of Nieubrug However the Policy of France that understands without all doubt the Design of the Portuguezes is careful at present to embrace the Friendship of the King of Portugal to the end that during the War she may have the free use of his Ports to fetch Provisions and Necessaries which she can have no where else And we have seen not long since that the French Men of War wanting Seamen and searing to be attack'd by the English and Hollanders supply'd themselves from the Coasts of Portugal So that considering the Need which the French have of the Portuguezes would Don Pedro and his Council make the best of so favourable an Opportunity there is no doubt but the House of Austria would grant him very Advantageous Conditions in case the Portuguezes would joyn with the Confederates and declare War against France And her Interest advises her to it for that if the Dauphin after the death of the Catholick King should get the upper hand in Spain there 's no question to be made but he would revive the Pretensions of Alphonso King of Arragon and Philip II. King of Spain for by the same reason that formerly the Policy of France requir'd her to support Portugal it would be then her Interest to ruine make her self Master of it 'T were well that all the other Courts of Europe would do as France does who foresees things at a Great Distance and continually builds Designs upon a Basis of Probable Futurity and for fear of being deceiv'd usually forms three or four Contrivances which way to bring about one and the same Thing so that 〈◊〉 one fail another may hold This is a Piece of Human Prudence that not only prevents Surprize but shews they way to undertake several Enterprizes which else a Man would never have thought of 'T is a Maxim to be observ'd by all Sovereigns to mistrust even their nearest Allies and so to act as if they were just ready to come to a Rupture more especially they that border upon France that never observes Peace or Treaty any longer then she finds it for her Convenience The City of Paris abounds in Persons full of Curiosity and Invention Among the rest there are a Great Number of old Practitioners who employ their Wits to get Money in searching for Claims and Rights in Old Parchments a good part of which has serv'd to feed the Rats and Mice and to invent and set up Titles so that if they are but largely pay'd they will prove their Benefactors Descent from the Royal Race tho' before that he could hardly reckon a Groom among all his Predecessors These Antiquaries tell yee that Portugal is deriv'd from Poâ—tus Gallorum Thus you you see a Foundation lay'd for the French to pretend that Portugal belongs to France Moreover there are still to be seen among the Archives certain Ancient Registers or if they are not there they can find 'em elsewhere containing the Expences that France was at some Ages since in assisting the Portuguezes against the Moors of Castile and Andalusia in the Reign of King Henry who was of the House of Lorrain and marry'd the Natural Daughter of Alphonfo King of Arragon who gave him an Army to conquer Portugal or Lusitania from the Moors Now there would not need so much were this Affair once brought before the Tribunal of Metz which is the Soveraign and Irrevocable Court of Judicature to determine the Right of the Dependences and Appendences of France However the Germans would have the first Right in regard it was to the assistance of that War-like Nation that Henry was beholding for the Conquest of Lusitania as also of Algarva which is the reason that the Germans enjoy such Privileges all over Portugal But there 's the Mischief of it that if the Case should come to be argu'd before the Despotick Tribunal of Metz between the Germans and France that Court would never do the Germans Justice As for the Switzers they are compos'd of Thirteen Cantons which are as it were so many Separate Provinces free and independent one from another These Cantons having withdrawn themselves from their Subjection to the Emperour by reason of the hard usage which they suffer'd under the German Governours bethought themselves of a Democratick Government which they have upheld till this present time after they had sustain'd several tedious Wars and fought a great number of Battels always Victorious protected by Heaven and by that means becoming so powerful as to be sought to by the Emperour and the Neighbouring Princes They very rarely sent Embassadours to the Potentates their Confederates unless it were to renew an Alliance or upon some Extraordinary Occasion However the same Princes have generally their Ministers residing among them but more-especially France whose Embassadour keeps his Station at Soleurre tho' it be one of the meanest Cantons and that Berne be one of the most powerful and the largest for which we shall give the Reason in due Place Any Prince who desires the Assembling of a Dyet in Switzerland must request it by his Embassadour or Minister there residing but he must pay for it and therefore they never refuse it to those that desire the Meeting which would not else be summon'd and consequently there would be no notice taken of the Business there intended to be propos'd This same Coldness natural to the Switzers makes me believe that that Nation cares not so much for the Friendship of their Confederates as for their Money However it
'em he appeas'd the Prime Minister by telling him That what the Court of France had done in respect to that Affair was only to deceive his Enemies and to amuse 'em with Frivolous Offers on purpose to put a stop to their Preparations against the next Campaign and to make the People the more unwilling to contribute toward the War It may be some Persons well affected to France take this to be a Calumny and will not believe that the Most Christian King persuaded the Turk to break with the Christians But to convince 'em I shall here insert what past at the Pyrenean Treaty where Lewis XIV espous'd the Infanta of Spain renounc'd all the Pretensions which that Princess might have to Spain or the Low-Countries and consented with an Oath That if ever he Pretended to what he had rencunced that his Pretension should be accounted Null and Void and that if he proceeded to force of Arms he besought all Princes and Free States observe the Expressions to repute it unlawful unjust and wickedly attempted a Piece of Tyrannical Vsurpation against Reason and Conscience This Protestation is to be met with in the Sixth Article of the Renunciation of the King of France belonging to the Pyrenaean Treaty in the Year 1660. Nevertheless we have seen how Lewis XIV brake this Peace so solemnly sworn in a few Years afterwards immediately upon the death of Philip IV. King of Spain on purpose to renew the renounc'd Pretensions of his Queen which have since cost so much Christian Blood and still are like to cost more before the Conclusion of the War These Things being consider'd all Men must be convinc'd that France fomented the War in Hungary that she encourag'd the Turks to besiege Vienna that she design'd the Dethroning of the Emperour and to have set up her Monarch Lewis the Great in his Place But she met with many Disappointments The Great Victories of the Christians the Conquest of Upper and Lower Hungary but above all the Taking of Belgrade together with the frequent Revolutions in the Ottoman Court ranvers'd all the Affairs of that Empire and then it was that all the Persuasions nor all the Promises nor Presents of the French could make any Impression upon the Turks all the Policy of the Court of France was reduc'd to this last Shift which was to persuade the Ottoman Port to continue the War but one Campaign more and then if the Face of Affairs did not alter but that their Misfortunes continu'd she would consent to a Truce such as the Turks should think fit to make This Expedient wrought well for the French For in the Year 1690. the Infidels re-took Belgrade by Assault which puff'd 'em up to a high degree Nor was it then a difficult thing to persuade 'em that their Misfortunes were at an end that Heaven was now going to punish the Emperour for refusing the Peace which they had offer'd him and that to second this happy beginning the King his Master or the Dauphin who was call'd the Young Sultan at the Port would come in Person with a numerous Army and make a Considerable Diversion upon the Rhine But in regard the Turks have never yet seen any Effects of these Mighty Promises the French Embassadour is forc'd from time to time to bear the Brunt of most bloody Reproaches from the Lips of the Grand Visier and to endure many a rugged Storm without going to Sea And the least affront put upon him is that of Dog That his Master is a man of no Faith and worse then a Christian and that if he does not keep his Word for the future the Port will make a Truce with the Emperour and leave him to himself But these are Reprimands which the French never boast of and the Embassadour has Flegm enough to stay till the Tempest be over and never to return to the Charge with his Flamms and Excuses till the first firing be over and that the Grand Visier's Fury be abated and then with new Presents he makes fresh Promises and like the Children promises to do better next time A sad Conjuncture for a Monarch who believes himself to be the first and greatest in the World and ranks himself like Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great in the Number of the Gods to be forc'd to such mean Submissions and to suffer continual Affronts and Reproaches from an Infidel to preserve the Friendship and Assistance of the Turks But this is now the Depth of the Policy of France rather to Cringe and Creep and become a kind of Tributary to the Ottoman Port then to make Restitution of what he has usurp'd from the Christians rather to allow Liberty of Conscience to the Turks then to the Huguenots And this I have been assur'd that Chasteauneuf the French Embassadour not knowing one day which way to appease the Grand Visier offer'd him that Liberty in his Masters Name and that he should give leave to the Turks to erect Mosquees at Tholoun and Marseilles The same Offers have also been made to the Governour of Algiers in any place of Bretaigne that he should make choice of provided he would send his Men of War into St. George's Channel to rob the English and Hollanders And if these Offers did not take effect 't was because the Grand Signior stood in need of the Algerines to serve against the Venetians and re-inforce his Fleet in the Levant Nevertheless these Offers fail'd not to work with the Grand Mufti who like the Romish Ecclesiasticks loves the Propagation of his Faith and the Free Exercise of his Religion and who being sweeten'd up withall by some Considerable Present openly declar'd for the French Sultan But as submissive as France is yet a while to her Ally that she may preserve his Friendship you shall see that he will leave him in the Lurch and deliver him up a Prey to the Emperour so soon as he can find a way to make Peace with the Confederates And then that Separation would infallibly beget a War between the two Sultans were the Turk in a condition to revenge himself However his want of Strength to commence a War will not hinder him from loading the French Merchants that reside in his Dominions with Terrible Oppressions and so the poor Merchants must pay for the Infidelity of their Monarch But the Court of France never troubles her Head about That provided she can but compass her own Ends. And for the Obtaining of those she will never Spare for the Blood or Estates of her own Subjects nor did she ever value the Lives and Liberties of so many poor Christians as have been sacrific'd during this War with the Turk to the Ambition of Lewis the Great But we are now ascending if we can to the Pinacle of French Policy so high that few or none can reach it that is to say the Depopulation of France and consequently the Ruine of the Kingdom for Religion's sake For it is well known that the Protestants
Pretended Zeal But the same Catholicks being more discreet and wary and well acquainted with the Tricks and Finesses of France compar'd the French Zeal to Crocodiles Tears that weep to drill Passengers within their reach and then darting themselves upon their Prey seize and devour it Nay the Pope himself smelt out the Cheat and did all that lay in his Power to oppose it as was apparently seen by the Business of Furstenberg But tho' the Event has shew'd us that France was mistaken in her Calculation yet she still goes on with her Prosecutions of the Protestants tho' less at one time then another in regard that 't is the best way for Princes to go through with Follies begun and for that the King's meaning was to make all Europe believe that he had no other End then to make Proselytes and to propagate the Catholick Religion which is a thing that most prudent and moderate Persons of the same Religion could never perceive by what is past nor discover in any Prospect of Futurity Nor has the King of France procur'd the least Advantage to the Roman Church by his Oppressions within his Kingdom or by his persuading and inveigling the Duke of Savoy to persecute the Vaudois with the same Severity quite contrary to the Sentiments of Innocent XI who openly disapprov'd Violence in Matters of Religion and who could not forbear saying That at the same time that the French Embassadour made Bonfires at Rome and rejoyc'd for the Destruction of the French Huguenots That his Heart bled Tears of Blood foreseeing that all those Forc'd Conversions would one day prove extreamly Prejudicial to the Church and that the King of France did but dispoil himself of the Lovely Robe of Primitive Charity to put on the Old Rags of Paganism dy'd with the Blood of so many Martyrs Moreover these abominable Proceedings of France have only serv'd to render the Catholicks suspected to the Protestants and to beget a Scorn and Hatred of 'em in Places where before they liv'd together in Brotherly Love and good Correspondence But what is more Considerable and for which Rome and all the Catholicks will have just Reason eternally to reproach France and complain of her Monarch Lewis XIV is this That he preferr'd the Advancement of Mahometism before the Support and Preservation of the Catholick Religion in England quite ruin'd by the Dethroning of King James whom he forsook in his Greatest Necessity more-especially seeing that unfortunate Prince had never fallen into such an Abyss of Misery had he not follow'd the Pernicious Counsels of his Confederate who incens'd him to persecute his Subjects in England as he had done his own in France and to alter the Religion and Laws of his Realm to serve the Interests and Designs of France But the English more Prudent and Circumspect then the French foreseeing the Tempest that began to gather already over their Heads and of which the Consequences could not but produce a Shipwrack like to that which had swallow'd up the Protestants of France seeing that the Dragoons began already to cross over out of France into England where there was a Father Peters animated with the same preposterous Zeal as Father La Chaise and a Chancellor Jefferies no less wicked and bloody then Tellier or Louvois the English I say beholding the Scaffolds erected and the Fires just ready to be kindl'd withdrew themselves in time from the Yoke that France was preparing for their Necks and by that Resolution for ever dash'd the vain-glorious Hopes of all the English Catholicks In short the King of France has great Reason to repent of Two Things his Persecution of the Protestants of his Kingdom and his last Siege of Philipsburgh For that those two Things were the Original Cause of the War and the Basis of all the Calamities with which France is at present overwhelm'd and which daily augment beyond any Help or Remedy which all the Policy of that Court all the Wiles the Artifices and Knavery of her Ministers and all the Bigotry of her Male and Female Hypocrites can apply to stop their spreading or prevent the sme Destiny from befalling the Reign of Lewis the Great as befell Anticohus sirnam'd Epiphanes or The Illustrious there being so great a Uniformity in their Manner of Acting the Beginning and Progress of their Atchievements that we have great Reason to hope that their Exits will be the same FINIS
under the Command of Chatillon the Fruit of which Victory was the taking of Doncheri not far from Sedan And this lucky Beginning of the Duke made the Court of France begin to look about 'em as being afraid lest that petty War should kindle a greater Thereupon the Duke of Brezé was sent the same way with Five and twenty thousand Men and the Cardinal persuaded the King and all the Court to march as far as Rethel But unfortunately for the Duke of Bouillon Lamboy quitted him with all his Men being order'd to march to the relief of Aire which the French had besieg'd So that the Duke finding himself constrain'd to shut himself up within the Walls of Sedan and seeing himself besieg'd began to think of an Accommodation so much the rather because the Count of Soissions who had been the Occasion of the War had shot himself in the head with a Pistol Bullet This was no more then what France desir'd as having at that time a War with Spain several discontented Princes and Lord within the Kingdom who waited only for an Opportunity to rise and the Siege of Aire begun uncertain therefore of Success and having so many Irons in the Fire she durst not venture the besieging of Sedan which they were convinc'd that the Duke would defend with the last drop of his Blood besides that he had Great Men that took his Part at Court as not being willing that Place should fall into the King's hands which upon many Occasions serv'd 'em for a Retiring Place Wherefore being also no less desirous to spite Cardinal Richlieu who was look'd upon as the first Author of that War they persuaded the King who was advanc'd as far as Meziere to hearken to an Accommodation Thereupon the Cardinal seeing it was not to be avoided offer'd his Mediation to the Duke of Bouillon to the end that the Affair passing through his Hands the Duke might think himself beholding to him for this Kindness though his Design were to ruine the Duke some other way To which purpose he made great Protestations to the Duke who took all for Gold that glister'd and being but a new Catholick believ'd that whatever that same Prelate and Prince of the Church assur'd him was sincere and truly honest But whatever Protestation his Eminency made he had always a Reserve which he kept close in his Breast and the better to cover his Design and shew his Good-Will he would needs enter into a Treaty as a Security for the Duke's Sincerity and a Gauranty on the King's behalf That His Majesty would perform the Agreement to the least tittle of the Stipulation the better to lull the Duke asleep and draw him to the Court. Thereupon the Articles being sign'd on both Sides the Duke went forthwith to pay his Respects to the King at Meziere where he was entertain'd with Court-Holy-Water fair Words and Complements and receiv'd by the King the Cardinal and all the Lords with all the Honours imaginable due to his Dignity the Cardinal also gave him large Demonstrations of Friendship and made him extraordinary Promises on purpose to engage him to have a Confidence in him and make him believe that he had forgot the injurious Manifesto which the Duke had printed against him Yet all this was nothing else but Snare and Decoy For his Eminency told the King in the presence of all the Court That he could not do better then to entrust an Army under the Command of the Duke of Bouillon as one that so well deserv'd the Honour seeing that with a handful of wretched Germans he had beaten the Army of France so that there was nothing which he might not well expect from his Valour and Experience when he should once come to Head the Valour of the French This the Duke took in good earnest and so fell into the Snare and though he had been forewarn'd by the Cardinal's Enemies that the more Affection and Kindness that Minister shew'd the less he was to be trusted yet he was so easily wrought upon as to accept the Command of an Army in Italy and that was the very Place where the Cardinal was desirous to keep him For being in the Post he forgot himself to that degree as during the Sickness or Lewis XIII to give the Duke of Orleance a Letter of Credence to be admitted into Sedan together with the Queen-Mother and the Children of France under pretence of retiring thither after the King's Death to avoid the Oppression of the Cardinal tho' the Count of d'Aubijoux who went to him in Italy promis'd him with great Oaths and Imprecations that he would never deliver the Letter unless there should be an Absolute Necessity But the King escap'd that Sickness and the Cardinal having notice of every thing to the smallest Circumstance gave him an account of every particular and thought it a favourable Opportunityto revenge himself for what was past and to put the Principality of Sedan into the Hand of France without the Effusion of Blood For he seldom separated the Remembrance of an Injury and the desire of Revenge It happen'd at the same time that the Duke of Orleance finding his Brother very infirm and sickly and believing that during the Minority of the Young King when the Cardinal would have all the Power in his hands he should lead but an ill life in the Court of France and seeing himself expos'd to the Resentment of his Adversary he bethought himself of making a League with the Spaniards by the mediation of a Gentleman whose Name was Fourraille whom he sent to Madrid But the Cardinal having got an Inkling of it sent his Secretary Chavigni privately to give the King notice of it and in the mean time he left no Stone unturn'd to discover the Contents of the Treaty that had been concluded at Madrid and he set so many Engines at work that he found a way to get a Copy of it from some Secretary to the Duke of Orleance So soon as he had read it he sent it to the King by the same Chavigni and order'd him to assure his Majesty that the Copy was drawn from the Origninal it self and for this same Piece it was that Cinqmarc and du Thou were apprehended and that the King order'd his Brother the Duke of Orleance to be very narrowly watch'd who finding it Impossible for him to make his Escape out of France took a Resolution to submit himself to the King's Mercy and implore his Pardon and wrote a very submissive Letter to the Cardinal which he sent him by one of his Favourites wherein he set forth his Repentance in very moving Expressions and his desire to be beholding for the Favour of his Reconciliation with the King to his Eminency who willingly embrac'd the Opportunity of gaining the Duke of Orleance's Friendship and of having at his Beck an Instrument to ruine the Duke of Bouillon Thereupon he made the Duke of Orleance's Peace with the King upon Condition that he
That the said Ecclesiasticks nomianted by the King were not Persons proper to be entrusted with the Instruction of the People but absolutely addicted to their pleasures and their worldly Interests seeing that they never scrupl'd to revolt against their Spiritual Chief and to betray the Liberty and Privileges of the Church to the end they might gain the King's Favour and augment their Temporal Means Upon this the Court of France being desirous to vex the Pope made choice of the Marquis of Lovardin for his Embassadour to Rome because he was a Known Enemy of the Apostolick See and was both able and willing to affront and molest his Holiness No wonder then if he never had Audience of the Pope seeing that according to the General Rule no Minister should be sent to a Soveraign Prince but such a one as is acceptable to the Prince with whom he is to negotiate besides that it is not sufficient for a person to be sent by a Prince to entitle him to the Prerogatives of an Embassadour but according to the Laws of Nations he must be acknowledg'd for such a one by the Soveraign to whom that Minister is sent Therefore the Court of France had no reason to complain that the Pope refus'd to give Audience to the Marquis Nor indeed would any Soveraign have suffer'd the Marquis as he did to enter Rome with Armed Force as it were to deprive him of one Part of his Sovereignty and on purpose to affront him after such a manner unheard of even among Barbarians themselves 'T is observable that when France has any occasion to court the Favour of the Holy See she sends Prelates Cardinals and Bishops for her Embassadours in regard it is a Thing both decent and becoming Ecclesiasticks to be submissive to the Pope besides that they are allow'd Admittance when Seculars are excluded But when France has a mind to affront the See she sends a Lawyer or a Sword-man who neither depends upon the Pope nor expects any Kindness from him and who dares ruffle him stoutly when it is to promote the Interests of France But France seeing the Pontiff inflexible and that he was not to be gain'd either by his Nephew nor by the Cardinals that were most Intimate with him resolv'd either to rid him out of the world or to wait for his Death But Old Age sparing France the Labour of her first design he was no sooner dead but France began her old Custom of making Parties and scattering her Louidores up and down Rome to purchase a Pope of her own Faction and the Lot fell upon a Venetian Ottoboni who took upon him the Name of Alexander VIII France thought him her Friend and attributed the whole Glory of his Election to her self But she found him to be a Venetian that is to say one that conceal'd his real Sentiments as long as he liv'd and never declar'd himself till he came to lie upon his Death-Bed but then he did it in such a Manner as was no way for the Advantage of France Now in regard he was very Old and desirous to make the best of those few Years he had to live to raise the Fortune of his Family the French Ministers fail'd not to be liberal of their inchanting Golden Philters to allure his Kindred into the Interests of the French Court But how willing soever or how Importunate to Oblige their Uncle to do something in favour of the King they could never procure from him any thing more but only that while he held the Pontificate he did France neither good nor harm However the Italians say this of him That he did like the Swan that is he Sung a little before his Death Nevertheless France suffer'd patiently that petty Mortification and the loss of all her Presents to the Family of the Ottoboni in hopes to have at length a Pontiff more favourable to her Purposes At last after much canvassing most Voices were for a Neopolitan of the Family of Pignatelli whom the Cardinals of the French Faction would not exclude upon his promise to the French Cardinals that the French Court should have no reason to be dissatisfy'd with his Pontificate But being elected he forgot the Promises he had made the rather because the Imperial and Spanish Embassadours disswaded him as much as lay in their Power from the observance of ' em The Court of France therefore finding that they had to do with one that was not less weak in Mind then infirm in Body press'd it upon him that he would occasion the damnation of a great number of People that were without Pastours if he persisted in the Refusal of his Bulls to the Bishops of France who were present at the Assembly of the Clergy in the Year 1682. And at the same time the French Cardinals according to their Instructions gave the Pontiff to understand that a War was very near breaking out in Italy and that he would be answerable for the Blood that should be spilt seeing the Most Christian King's Patience was at an end and that most certainly he would withdraw himself from his Obedience to the See of Rome and set up a Patriarch in his own Kingdom and thereby retain several Millions that went every year to Rome Thereupon those Fears that usually seize People superannuated and the Delicacy of Conscience without any necessity of a Pontiff made him determine to satisfie the Court of France upon frivolous Promises that the Bishops should submit tho' to the prejudice of the Holy See since the King retracted nothing of what he had done publickly against the Authority of the Pontiffs and the Religion of the See and for that the Registers of the Parliament of Paris containing the Injurious Appeal of the King's Advocate-General still remain upon Record and for that France will one day revive it again when she finds a favourable Opportunity to humble the Court of Rome Neither the Pope nor the Holy See are to judge of the Catholicity of Lewis XIV or his Court by the Passion which he has shown in persecuting the Huguenots within his Kingdom So far from that seeing that while the French Monarch persecuted the Huguenots in his own Realm and destroy'd their Churches and their Exercises he succour'd Count Teckeli the Head of the same Sect that were revolted from their Soveraign in Hungary and the Court of France was not only more closely Ally'd for his sake with the Ottoman Port to which he also gave considerable Assistance but made Vows for the Prosperity of the Mahometans and repair'd their Mosques even as far as Vienna it self Moreover I have frequently heard the Director of my Conscience say and have heard several of the queint Doctors of the Sorbonne preach that the Fruits of the Christian Religion were Charity and that he who was void of it could not be a True Catholick that Charity was a Vertue which produc'd a Patient Spirit that it was benign that it was not covetous of other mens Goods
Evil Fortune The Council of France soon after but too late acknowledg'd their Fault and could find no other way to excuse the Blunder but by entring into a War with England Spain and the United Provinces at the same time that they declar'd War against the Emperour and this same mistaken piece of Policy occasion'd that strict and sincere Confederacy which we see at this day between the greatest part of the Christian Princes to preserve themselves from the Invasions of France and Lewis the XIV to wreck his Revenge upon 'em for the sad Fate of K. James his most dear Allye whose Misfortunes were only the Consequences of his having follow'd the Counsels of France and her pernicious Politicks was oblig'd to raise Great Armies and equip a Numerous Fleet to restore K. James to his Throne tho' hitherto he has not been able to accomplish any thing in his Favour but rather has liv'd to see the Disappointment of all the Hopes that flatter'd his first Attempts Whereas if the Ambitious Monarch had turn'd his whole Force against the Empire only and bent all his strength on that side he might have gone a great way into the Empire and have given Mahomet his Dear Friend and Allye a fair Opportunity to recover his Losses But while he labour'd the Re-mounting of two unhors'd Princes he ruin'd both the One and the Other And here it is that we ought to adore the Divine Providence that confounded and strook with a suddain Stupidity the Counsels of France on purpose to dissipate those unjust Designs which her False Politicks had suggested to her no less then the Assailing of all Europe at a Time according to the Proverb Covet all and Lose all There is no question but that France was sensible of her Errour after the Revolution in England for which reason she discharg'd all her Fury upon poor Germany where the French Soldiery exercis'd the utmost Extremities of Cruelty and Barbarism because that Electorate belong'd to the Emperour 's near Relation and Confederate France being thus Embark'd upon this Tempestuous Sea the Prosperity of the Imperial Arms the Revolution in England and the strict League of all the Confederate Princes for the Defence of the Common Cause could not choose but raise prodigious Storms about his Ears and therefore finding there was no repairing the Fault she had committed she was constrain'd to caress and promise the Ottoman Port whatever Succour the Infidels demanded both of Men and Money to oblige the Turks to continue the War With a Design however to deceive and forsake 'em so soon as the Court of France should find it convenient to agree with the Emperour But in regard the French have drawn in the Ottoman Port and blinded with their Presents the Principal Ministers and more especially the Mufti who holds his Dignity for Life 't is almost impossible to open the Eyes of the Grand Sultan who is willing to flatter himself with the Hopes of recovering that part of Hungary which he hast lost So that as long as the French are able to domineer at the Port as they do 't is in vain to send Embassadours thither to make proposals of Peace since it so absolutely behoves the Court Politicks of France to hinder it by all manner of means cost what it will either by Money or Poyson as we have seen 'T is not long since that the French perceiv'd that the Ministers of the Mediatours had made some Progress in the Interim that our Minister was hastning to the Port but their Emissaries both at Constantinople and Adrianople overturn'd with Money all the Measures that had been taken So that there is nothing but an Insurrection in the Ottoman Empire that can ranverse the Practices and Machinations of France and this is that which the Christians ought to meditate if they desire a Peace between the two Empires and there are ways to bring it about if they would but put 'em in Practice Nor is it to be question'd but that France drives on all the Intrigues imaginable in the Ottoman Court where she is in daily fear least early or late a sudden Truce should be clap'd up between the two Empires by reason of some unexpected Insurrection as I have already said And therefore it is that the Court of France endeavours to supplant her Confederate and to make a Peace with the Emperour and the Empire by restoring several Places which she now holds in Germany because that Lewis XIV and his Ministers see very well that they cannot continue the War so long as the Confederacy continue their Union as hitherto they have done that being alone by himself to bear the Burthen of so many Enemies he stands in need of Numerous Armies to oppose the same Adversaries that environ him on every side in Germany Flanders Brabant Catalogna Navarr and Piemont but above all the Conjoyn'd Fleets of England and Holland that threaten his Coasts and enforce him to an Excessive Expence to guard himself from a Descent his Trade being quite lost his Subjects reduc'd to utmost Misery and his Exchequer decreasing every day through the decay of Trade and the Poverty of the Inhabitants of his Kingdom We must believe that France would fain have a Peace while she thinks she has some Advantage before any Terrible Blow befall her which would enforce Lewis the Great to accept of such a Peace as it would please the Emperour and the Confederates to afford him 'T is no less certain then that his Imperial Majesty together with the Confederates have no more to do then to continue the War a little longer to compass their Ends upon France that can never be able to make Head against 'em for any long time Which is the reason that we find her already beginning to change her Batteries at the same time that she sees her self oblig'd to alter her Designs in respect of the Empire Formerly nothing would serve Lewis the XIV but the Imperial Crown for himself and the Title of King of the Romans for the Dauphin his Son But now no more of that The Grapes are out of his Reach and therefore he cries They are sowre All those vast Designs having fail'd and all his Lofty Enterprizes being come to nothing the Policy that France made use of when the Turks were marching to the Siege of Vienna is now no farther useful the End failing the means must of necessity surcease Formerly France was all for dethroning the Emperour but now 't is well if she can keep the Crown upon her Monarch's own Head in preserving by the force of her Arms what he has usurp'd from his Neighbours Heaven has alter'd the Face of Affairs by the ill success of the Ottoman Armes and thereby confounding the Counsels of France the designs of both being the same and both acting in order to the same Ends. And as the Designs of France are chang'd in respect of the Emperour who is the Chief and Head of the Empire so they may
all along during this War which began in 1672. at what time Sweden declar'd openly for France Tho' he repented of it afterwards whether it were by reason of his Ill Success and the Advantage of the Electour of Brandenburgh during that War or the Infidelity of the Court of France so far from observing her Word that she never pay'd the Money which she promis'd to that Crown but on the other side depriv'd the Northern Prince of his Dutchy of Deux Ponts Which ill Usage lost the French all their Credit in the Court of Sweden where they were afterwards look'd upon as Cheats insomuch that the Good Correspondence formerly between those two Nations turn'd into Hatred and Scorn After this Change in regard the Policy of France found it Convenient to have one of these two Northern Princes tack'd to her Interests she cast her Affection upon Danemark and so well ply'd the Ministers of that Court with her Louidores that now she governs 'em as she Pleases and makes 'em daunce to the French Ayres I must acknowledge that the King of France pays the Violins but still Levis XIV has the Pleasure to see the Danes dance and foot it to his advantage The Siege of Ratzâ—nburgh cost France Three hunder'd Thousand Crowns which were pay'd at Hamborough upon throwing the First Bomb into that Fortress For the Policy of the Court of France would needs venture that Summ at a time when she had little reason to have spar'd it in hopes that this Siege would have made a notable Diversion and that all the Princes of the House of Luneburg would have recall'd all their Forces from the Low-Countries and the Rhine to defend that Place But here the French were cully'd by the Danes For the Difference was made up between both Parties France not being able to prevent the Reconciliation which seem'd to her to have been Impossible But this is not the First Attempt of the Court of France that has come to nothing So that it cannot be said that she takes her measures so truly as never to be mistaken as her Emissaries give out with high applause For to hear them Chatter a man would swear that the Resolves of the Cabinet of their Great Monarch were the Decrees of Heaven that never err which France does often and more frequently then she would her self In the Present Conjuncture France ready to sink under the Burthen of a Long Chargeable War makes use of Danish Flags and Vessels to get Corn and Naval Stores for her Men of War In short at present she embraces the Danes whom she contemn'd before as her only Patrons and Deliverers to whom she can have Recourse and she would fain have the King of Danemark declare War against the United Provinces The Minister of France residing at Coppenhaghen is continually beating his Brains day and night to furnish the Danish Ministers with Pretences to begin a Rupture he promises Ships and Money to assist 'em and that tho' it should be their Misfortune to come by the worst yet upon the making of the Peace he would never forsake 'em no more then he did he Swede when the Peace of Nimeghen was concluded The Louidores of France are most alluring Baits at the Court of Coppenhaghen but their Interest so undeniably requires 'em to hold a good Correspondence with the Hollanders rather then with any other Nation that only that Consideration out-bâ—llances all the Golden Persuasions of the French Embassadour Bonrepos who having quitted his Religion to please his Master labours by all the Artifices of Fallacy and Deceit to become serviceable to him in acknowledgment of the Honour done him in sending him upon an Embassy for which he thought him a more fit Person then any Body else by reason of his Employment in the Sea Affairs under the Marquis of Segnalai But that which most embarrases France and Danemark both together is this that Swedeland which is the far more potent Kingdom of the two being engag'd in a strict Alliance with the Emperor and the United Provinces and having also Pretensions to Danemark will not be wanting to cross the Enterprizes of the Danish King who all things being consider'd can ne'er hope for any great Assistance from the French in the Present Conjuncture Moreover such is the Jealousie between those two Nations upon the score of Trade that the Danes are always afraid least the Swedes should be too hard for 'em and agree with the Hollanders to furnish 'em with all the Wood and other Naval Stores which otherwise they fetch from Danemark and which would be a loss to 'em that France would never be able to repair If the King of France cannot oblige Danemark to break with the United Provinces he is bound at least to procure as much Succour as he can from the North and to make use of Danish Colours to pass freely without molestation with promise to reimburse all the Losses which the Danes shall sustain by their Protection in regard the Danish Ministers readily foresee that so great a Number of Passports which they give for Money to al Vessels and all sorts of Nations that desire 'em must at length open the Eyes of the Confederates and force 'em to put a stop to a Trade that only serves to carry Counter band Goods into France contrary to Justice and Reason and to the prejudice of the Treaties Bonrepos does all he can to continue this Game and he keeps by him whole Reams of Blank Passports to fill 'em up in favour of those who desire 'em and to encourge 'em to sail France he gives 'em to some and promises 'em to others and bequeaths himself a hunder'd Times a day to the Devil to assure 'em of the Honesty and Sincerity of his Master In short that Embassadour takes a world of Pains so that if he succeed in his Negotiation the King his Master may well bestow upon him the Collar of the Order of St. Lewis in recompence of his Toil and Labour and in exchange for his Religion The Count d' Avaux a Cunning and Crafty Minister at present the French Embassadour at Sweden is so well known in the World that we should do him wrong to write his Panegyrick He acted his part so well during his Embassy at the Hague that his Master sent him to King James to assist him with his Counsel during the Heroick Expedition of that Prince in Ireland His Instructions are not altogether the same with those of Bonrepos's at Coppenhaghen because those two Courts are not both of one Opinion and for that the Promises of France have not that Reputation at Stockholm as at Coppenhaghen And therefore while Bonrepos presses the Danes to a Rupture d' Avaux only sollicits the Court of Sweden to stand Neuter and to continue their Trade with France or instead of that to grant Passports to such as shall desire 'em to the end that Sweden and Danemark may be equally concern'd in case the Confederates should
take disgust at the Great Number which the Danâ—s give out to all Commers And indeed it is to be said to the Praise of Sweden that that Crown has always acted sincerely with her Confederates and even with France it self at a time when Sweden could not have reap'd any great Advantages by a Correspondence with her and when no less sedulous Endeavours were us'd to have drawn off the Court of Sweden from her France has always courted Sweden to remove the Obstacles that continually lie in her way which is the Reason of that Infidelity of the French who break with their Allies at all times when the Humour takes 'em and well understand that Sweden being so potent and considerable is able to counterpoize Affairs provided she will but concern her self For in that respect she has always observ'd a very prudent Conduct neither does the approve all the Invasions of the French She knows the Truth of what M. Lyonne reports in his Memoirs where he says That there is not any State which is not bound to oppose the Aggrandizement of the Court of France and Sweden above all the rest seeing that if the King had taken the Low-Countries he would have taken no further notice of her as believing he had no more Occasion for her This is a solid Expression and to the purpose and ought to make a deep Impression in the minds of those who have prejudice against the Court of Sweden either deluded by the Flatteries of the Ministers of France or some base and sordid Interest of their own which greatly prevails in the world and leads a world of People astray But certain it is that Sweden has long since sounded the Ambition and Arms of France more especially at the Peace of Osnabrug and if at any time she hearkens to the Ministers of France 't is without doubt because she finds some little pleasure in dreining France and doing her but little Good 'T is also certain and visible that the Ministers of Sweden and Danemark who reside in Foreign Courts and more especially in those of the Confederates are frequently and vigorously assail'd by the Emissaries of the French on purpose to fish out how Squares go among the Confederates and may well retort upon the French Satans the Words of the Lord's Prayer Lead us not into Temptation but deliver from Evil but above all from the Evil Spirits of France that continually environ us For indeed a man ought to be shod with Frost-Nails to preserve himself from falling in such slippery Ground and he that can surmount those Temptations may well be number'd in the Catalogue of Upright Ministers and Faithful to the Interests of his Master Corruption or Bribery is now a General Mischief in the world but never any advanc'd the Price of it so high as the King of France for most certain it is that that one single Expence amounts to above Twenty Millions a Year For it is a Thing past all dispute that France upholds her self more by her Gold then by her Sword 'T is true she is many times put to her Plunges in times of War which dreins her Exchequer and enforces her to advance her Coin by which she gains considerably Formerly instead of enhauncing her Money France made use of another Stratagem which was to coin Louidores rais'd in value but mix'd with a baser Alloy then those that went current in the Kingdom which were distinguish'd by a little Mark quite different from others And some there are in the Court of Danemark who if they durst own the Thing could bring a Cloud of Witnesses to make it out as having experienc'd upon several Occasions the full swing that French Knavery allow'd it self I know likewise that the Thing was murmur'd at but the Cheat pass'd for that time upon promise of doing better the next time Therefore Charles II. King of England who was well acquainted with the Knavery of France when he receiv'd any French Pension which was usually pay'd him in Louidores order'd the Receivers to cut 'em in two pieces to see what Mettal they were made of and then caus'd 'em to be refin'd into Guinea's So natural it is for the Court of France not to leave any Cheat omitted to defraud all those that relie upon her As for Poland in regard it is a Kingdom remote from France it can do her neither any great Good nor any great Harm nor is there much Trade or much Communication between the Two Nations Corn is the Only Merchandize wherein Poland abounds and which it Transports from Dantzick into Foreign Countries But the Kings of Poland may in some measure sometimes be profitable to the Designs of France tho' it were only to molest the Emperour in many occasions that may and frequently do fall out For this Reason the King of France takes Great Care to send an Embassadour with Money to the Dyets upon the Election of a New King or else if they are not marry'd to offer 'em a Princess born in France and 't is very probable that the French Embassadour Beauvais and Cardinal Fouâ—bin who was then at the Dyet in Poland contributed very much to the Election of the Present King for which he has not been ungrateful However he was guilty of two Bold Strokes which tho' they were greatly for his Honour were no way delightful to France The First was the King of Poland's March to the Relief of Vienna which was effectually perform'd with the loss of 60000 Turks to the great Grief of Lewis XIV and contrary to his Expectation and his Wishes and tho' some Remains of Decorum and Honour retain'd the Court of France from openly displaying her Resentment yet the Silence of the French discover'd how much they were vex'd and mortify'd by it at a time when all Europe resounded with loud Acclamations of Joy and Gladness and all the Churches with Thanks givings to Heaven Only the Sorrow of France notoriously display'd it self by her Prohibiting the Bishops of the Conquer'd Cities in the Low-Countries to suffer Te Deums to be sung within their Diocesses The second Blow which his Majesty of Poland gave to the Contrivances of France was the Marriage of Prince James to one of the Princesses of Newburgh Sister to the Empress notwithstanding all the Oppositions of the French Ministers and particularly of the Marquis of Arquin the Queen's Father wherein the Contests grew so high that the King of France order'd one of his Ministers to tell his Majesty of Poland That since he could not hinder the Marriage he would hinder the Prince from being King But in these two Affairs the Polanders were guided by their real Interests which was to bring down and ruine the Turks their sworn Enemy and near Neighbour as also assure to themselves the Amity and Alliance of the Emperour and the Imperial Protection for the Prince his Son when the Throne should become vacant But if the King of France prov'd unsuccessful in the main he has had his
fatisfaction in Part. For it is visible that his Intrigues in the Court of Poland have a long time hinder'd his Polish Majesty from being Master of Gaminieck for what could else have hinder'd him but the French Louidores more especially seeing the Polanders ever since this War have had only to deal with a beaten baffl'd Enemy whom their Prince had defeated and forc'd to rise from before the Walls of Vienna with Ignominy and a Prodigious Slaughter Nevertheless these Great Advantages produc'd no great Effect tho' the Pope still continu'd his Supplies of Money to carry on the War But the reason is plain for the Pernicious Policy of the Court of France who was resolv'd to march to the Succour of the Turk her dear Confederate wrought so powerfully at the Court of Poland by means of the Queen and Great Presents that the Louidores which tarnish'd the Honour of Poland surmounted the Pope's Piety and his charitable Assistance both together Moreover the King of Poland being naturally Thrifty and rightly judging that the Prince his Son may one day one day have need of ready Money to hoist him into the Throne had so much power over himself and so much presence of Mind as to keep both the Assistance of Rome and the French Pension His Majesty of Poland who is a wise and an understanding Prince knows also that Money is a good Moveable at a time of Need and by a Knack of Prudence the Criticks may call it Pitiful Mechanick and below himself if they please he provides an Apple against he comes to be adry But if this be the King's Weakness 't is the Strength of the Prince his Son The Policy of France has this particular Gift that it carefully studies the Inclination of Princes the weak sides and where lies the strength of those Courts into which she strives to introduce her self and get to be Mistress or Misrule Thither she sends such Persons as are proper for the Genius of the People either as Publick Ministers or private Spies For Example to sent to the Courts of Italy where Gallantry and Courtship abounds such Persons whose Principal Vertue consists in hard Drinking would be an Idle Thing and spoil all No the Court of France is more refin'dly cunning then so she reserves her Lovers of Bacchus's Liquor for the Courts of Germany where the Temper of the Climate induces the People to drink on purpose to steel their Bodies against Cold Weather and there it is that frequently between the Pear and the Cheese they strike the Home-strokes and do their Business when the Wine has warm'd their Courage As for the Court of Poland 't is a Place where neither Courtship nor the Pleasures of the Table are predominant but the Powder of Gold prevails with a witness and indeed not only there but in most part of the Courts of Europe There are few Courtiers and fewer Women so void of Ambition as to be proof against the Attacks of Money I mean that can refuse to embrace his Interests who courts 'em in Showers of Louidores They are such Irresistible Temptations to those that are short of Money as it usually happens in the Court of Poland where Money does not tumble about proportionable to the Expence and where the Courtiers are not so thrifty as the King The French Men and French Women who generally affect a Port answerable to the Grandeur of their Prince many times sacrifice their Fortunes and their Honour to render themselves useful to their Country and such are easily gain'd A Director of Conscience works Miracles upon the Minds of such People and therefore the Policy of France is very Careful to maintain French both Men and women in the Court of Poland and the Ministers of France are so dextrous as to recommend French Men to serve him with the Character of Publick Ministers his Polish Courts without any Expence to his Polish Majesty while France takes care to provide 'em a Maintenance and by that means the Court of France is inform'd of all that passes not only in respect of the Affairs of Poland but also of all that comes to the knowledge of the Ministers in those Courts where they reside those Ministers having sold themselves to France and only acting and actuated by the Spirit and Counsel of France their Benefactress As we have seen by Experience at the Hague during the Residence of the Sieur Moreau and of which the Proceedings against Grandval and Demont are authentick Proofs We ought to be convinc'd that France would never have pay'd those Ministers but that she receiv'd some Benefit by 'em more particularly in a time of War when she cannot send Embassadours to Princes in Confederacy against Her For tho' that France has not any publick Minister in the Courts of her Enemies nevertheless we find she is inform'd of every thing that passes there she neglects nothing but makes a dextrous Use of the Weak side of Princes that are willing to listen to her and takes her Advantage of all Opportunities 'T is the chiefest and indeed the Main Policy of France to surprize her Friends as well as her Enemies and therefore they had need be always upon their Guard and always distrustful of whatever France proposes to ' em The Kingdom of Portugal since the loss of the Battel in 1578. was possess'd by the Moors and after that by the Spaniards till the Year 1641. at what time John of Bragansa assisted by France and being the next Heir to the Crown was declar'd King of Portugal after a general Revolt of the Kingdom which not being able any longer to endure the Oppression of the Spaniards shook off their Yoke under the Reign of Philip IV. The Kings of Spain always thought they had an Ample Right to Portugal by vertue of a Donation from the Cardinal of Portugal the lawful Heir of the Crown after the Death of King Sebastian his Brother who dy'd without Issue That Cardinal being unwilling to quit the Priesthood was push'd forward by the Sollicitations of the Jesuits who besieg'd him in such a manner that they never let him rest till he had made a Donation of the Kingdom of Portugal to Philip II. King of Spain which could not be done to the Prejudice of the Lawful Heirs whom the Spaniards contrary to their Politicks suffer'd to live and grow up in Portugal Nor did they lie asleep but lay'd hold of the first Opportunity as has been already said And certain it is that France spurr'd on by her own Interest contributed toward it with all her Power for indeed the Policy of France requiring the pulling down and ruine of Spain she could not take a better Course then to dismember and rend a whole Kingdom from the Spanish Puissance in regard that Spain decreasing in Dominions and Revenues must needs decrease in Strength France during the Reign of Lewis XIII and the Minority of Lewis XIV had great cause to fear the Strength of Spain but very little to be
be this must be agreed in their behalf that they are not only faithful to what they promise but stout upon all occasions as we may see by fourteen Battels which they fouth with the Emperour Fâ—â—derick and three others which they won from Charles the Bold the last Duke of Burgundy and all the Brave Atchievements which they per orm'd in Italy as well for as against France under the Reign of Charles the VIII Lewis XII and Francis I. And for that reason it is that since that time the Greatest Potentates of Europe have always sought their Friendship and their Alliance and that the French have caress'd 'em with a great deal of Artifice and Money not so much out of any Kindness which the French have for the Switzers or for the need which they have of their Men in time of Peace but for fear least the Cantons should enter into a Solemn Engagement with the House of Austria For which reason France is careful to stipulate in all the Treaties which she renews with the Cantons that they shall not send above such a number of Men to any other Foreign Princes and those only for the Guards of their Bodies The Embassadour of France has made choice of Soleurre for the Place of his Abode because the Inhabitants of that Canton are all zealous Roman Catholicks who pin their Faith with great Submission upon the Sincerity of their Curate and the Embassadour resides here to shew the Particular Honour which his Master has for the Roman Catholick Cantons above the Evangelick and that the Monks and Priests may have free Access to him who bear a great Sway among the Catholicks Moreover the little Summs of Money which the Embassadour scatters among the Chief of 'em procure him Creatures that still will be inclin'd to the Interests of France and readily stoop to the Lure And by this means it was that the French got leave to build the Fortress of Huninghen which as long as it stands will be a Hook in the Noses of the Inhabitants of Bale to lead 'em which way the Policy of France shall judge most convenient for her purposes Nor is it long since the Governour of that Fortress made an Essay whether the Cannon of that Place would reach as far as the City that he might take his Measures accordingly For whatsoever Protestations of Friendship France at present makes to the Cantons Lewis the XIV had rather be their Soveraign then their Confederate that Monarch has a long time cast a Covetous Eye upon Bale and Geneva and had e're this been Master of 'em had not other Considerations kept him within Bounds and were he once Master of those Barricado's of Switzerland the rest would soon be expos'd to the Misfortune of lying fit for his Convenience He is a Fox but he has Lyon's Claws and he makes use of his Head to deceive the Catholick Cantons under the Specious Pretence of Propagating Catholicity but he reserves his Paws for the Protestant Cantons There is no question but that among the Switzers among whom there are some who have travell'd and seen the World there are to be found several Persons sufficiently quick-sighted Politick and such as understand how Things are carry'd 'T is not long since a Difference happen'd in the Canton of Glaris which France first kindl'd and fomented to the utmost of her Power but Innocent the XI quickly stifl'd it by his Wisdom and Piety I am convinc'd that those Persons are deeply sensible of the Affronts which France puts upon 'em from time to time and with what Scorn she treats their Embassadours the last of which were forc'd to return without being able to procure Audience of the King after sedulous Applications to Colbert Croisy Secretary of State for the Foreign Affairs But the more prudent sort of Switzers you 'll say would fain have the Lyon chain'd and his Claws par'd before they fall upon him To which I Answer That the Switzers may contribute very much toward the Chaining of the Lyon as furious as he seems to be and yet not openly declare themselves neither by demanding the dismantling of Huninghen and for want of so doing by recalling their Men out of France which compose the greatest part of the French Infantry and are the only Combatants well seconded by the Cavalry upon which the French depend for all their Success The King of France is now Convinc'd of the Value of the Switzers and so has been ever since Louvois's Ministry Formerly they were not well belov'd at Court nay they were contemn'd but since the Alteration of the Face of Affairs they are at present consider'd for the Benefit which France receives from 'em like Twins that are ty'd together and must dye together I must confess that the Establishment of the Swiss Regiments is worth some Money to that Nation and discharges the Country of abundance of idle lazy People but I 'll maintain it that the French Service is the Plague and Destruction of vast numbers of Young Men of Good Protestant Families that ruine themselves by the Debaucheries of Wine and Women which always terminates in a Revolt against their Religion and their Country Which would never happen if they serv'd the Protestant Princes The Court of France knows well that she cannot fasten an Officer of Quality to her Interests with a stronger Tye so as to make him absolutely forget his own Country then by the Change of his Religion And therefore she Labours underhand by means of the Women and Monks and those Snares take Effect with the greatest part that are attack'd by those Vermin as was seen by the Example of the Two Stoupa's Not to reckon the more Inferiour Sort all the Swiss Officers and Soldiers as well those that serve in France as those that are sent to the Mines in Sweden I look upon 'em equally lost both to their Families and their Country for they never return again unless they make their Escapes by some sort of Stratagem but it may be said that the Pleasure and Voluptuousness of France is so great that they are pleas'd with their Misfortune There they are bred and there they dye to make room for other New Commers who are Tempted thither like Young Pigeons with the smell of Roasted Dogs France has had no place from whence to supply her self during this War but the Swiss Cantons Some Seamen she may get indeed from the North but for Land-Soldiers of necessity it behoves her to caress and embrace the Helvetian Body without whose Assistance the French would never be able to bring such Numerous Armies into the Field And the Switzers are the Only Persons upon which the King of France may depend so long as he keeps his Word with 'em and that he pays 'em what he contracts for and what he promises Nor will they stand to the Losses of his enhauncing and re-inhauncing his Money They must have their Money pay'd according to the old value set down and agreed
upon in ther Contracts that is to say the Louidores at Eleven Livres and the White Crowns at Sixty Sols For the Switzers are thrifty Husbands and send a good part of their Pay to their Parents in Switzerland where there is no Variation of the Coin admitted Now it being so certain as I have already said that France stands in need of the Switzers in this Conjuncture this is the reason that the French Embassadour residing in Switzerland has Orders not to disgust 'em nor give 'em the least Subject of Complaint but in every Canton to caress all those in particular who have the best Interest and carry the greatest Sway on purpose to prevent 'em from entring into a more strict Alliance with the House of Austria the King of Great Britain and the State of the United Provinces For which reason it was that the French Minister us'd all his Power and Interest to stop the Levies which M. Cox the King of Great Britain's Envoy would have rais'd not long ago But if the Business did not then succeed France is beholding for it to the want of Management in those that understood not the right knack of dealing with the Switzers seeing afterwards others found the way to discover the forward Inclinations of that Nation toward the Confederates by the Levies that were made underhand which is a terrible Blow to France in regard that those new Regiments draw away a Great Number of their fellow Country-men out of the French Service especially the Protestants However we do not find that France dares to make any great noise about it moderating and restraining her Passion till a more propitious Opportunity but in regard the Cantons on the other side may be assur'd that she Barrels it up and that if at present they escape Scot-free yet whenever it lies in her Power France will never forget such heinous Provocations therefore 't is now the Switzers Interests to labour with the rest the humbling France now the Confederates are following her so close at the Heels For the Lower France is brought the more the French will caress the Switzers and seek their Assistance whereas in their Prosperity they slight and domineer over 'em and would utterly subdue 'em were it in the Power of the Court of France that resembles Fire or the Sea which never will acknowledge they have enough But at present the Policy of the Ministers prompts em as the wisest Course to temporize and to oppose whatever is transacted to the Prejudice of France rather by Remonstrances and Presents then by Force and Menaces As for the Turks they have been all along Enemies of Christ and the Christians because the Gospel destroys their Alcaron The Sultan takes upon him the Title of Musulman or Most Faithful as the King of France assumes the Title of Most Christian Yet we know that the Turkish Emperours have establish'd their Dominion by Cruelty only and that their Throne is soder d together with the Blood of a Great Number of Martyrs and an Infinite number of all sorts of People and Nations yet notwithstanding all this the Turk is at present the sole Refuge of France and she embraces him as her only Patron She is enter'd into a strict Alliance with the Ottoman Port furnishes him with Money Cannon and other Warlike Ammunition supplies him with Able and Expert Officers and Engineers to the great damage of the Christians And which was more pernicious the Policy of the Court of France exerted it self to that degree as to persuade the Turk to break the Truce with the Christians two Years before it came to be expir'd meerly to support the Rebellion of the Hungarians who according to the Opinion of the Ministers of France were to contribute toward the Ruine of the Empire and Emperour of the Christians Had the Bishop of Perefixe been living at this time he must have been forc'd to have recanted what he asserted in his History of Henry IV. where he says That the Valour of the French was made choice of by God to support the Christian Religion Seeing that the Court of France labours nothing more earnestly then to destroy the same Religion She never minds whether or no the Turks change the Churches into Mosquees or set up the Standard of Mahomet above the Cross of Christ provided her Monarch satisfie his Ambition and become Master of the Empire Tho' the Turks are People both Barbarous and altogether Infidels nevertheless they observe this Maxim never to abandon those that put themselves under their Protection and to keep their Words and Promises and this is one of the Points of their Law And therefore it is that they acknowledge that all the Misfortunes and Losses which they have sustain'd during this War have proceeded from their Breach of Faith and Truce And this it was which spurr'd 'em on about two Years ago to send their Envoys to Vienna with Offers of Peace to the Emperour Which hotly alarum'd the Court of France but she being Subtle and Crafty took an Occasion to insinuate into the Turks That they might continue the War without any Scruple of Conscience seeing they had offer'd Peace to the Emperour that he had refus'd it and continu'd his Hostilities against them That now the Turks were to look upon the War as purely defensive on their side and the French Embassadour at the Port understood so well by Considerable Presents to gain the Grand Mufti to his side who is the Oracle of the Ottoman Court and consulted in all Cases of Conscience that the Infidel Pontiff embrac'd the Franch Divinity and made it out to the Sultan and the People after the Return of the Envoys that they might continue the War without any scruple and that their Submission to the Christians was a sufficient Expiation for the Crime they had committed Nor is it a difficult thing to persuade the Turks to these Things who naturally hate the Christians and are easily induc'd to undertake their Destruction and so Self-interested as readily to yield to the Temptations of Presents Moreover their Extraordinary Inclination and their Interest to recover Hungary which they have lost persuades 'em without any Reluctancy to embrace the Proposals of the Court of France and to renew the League between 'em from time to time upon the Assurances Promises and Oaths of the French Embassadour that his Master will make no Peace with the Emperour wherein the Turk shall not be comprehended And yet all the World knows how earnestly the Ministers of France sollicit the Confederates to make a Peace without mentioning the Turk in the least and it was an Argument of the French at Rome to spur up the Pope that a Peace would give the Emperour great Advantages and strengthen him to carry on his Conquests to the very Walls of Constantinople for which France would not be a little Sorry But when these Projects of France were made known at the Ottoman Court and that the Grand Visier upbraided the Embassour with