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<DATE>2013-09-17</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Leigh Rupinski</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B20762">
<STC T="W">C6597</STC>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<P>THE CONDUCT OF FRANCE Since the PEACE AT NIMEGUEN.</P>
<P><HI>Written lately in</HI> French <HI>by a Per&s;on of Quality, made</HI> Engli&s;h.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>H. Hills</HI> Jun. for <HI>William Cademan,</HI> at the Sign of the <HI>Popes-head,</HI> in the <HI>New-Exchange</HI> in the <HI>Strand.</HI> 1684.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>THE PREFACE TO THE Reader.</HEAD>
<P><HI>I</HI> Can't well tell of all Mankind, how I come to be giving to the Public what I now pre&s;ent them with; was neither by my Birth, nor Profe&s;&s;ion, cut out for an Au|thor, and without vanity
<PB REF="4">could much better draw up a Regiment, than write a Book: Have made one however be|fore I was aware, heard by &s;ome Friends of mine to di&s;|cour&s;e pertinently enough, or as they thought I did, of the pre&s;ent conjuncture of Af|fairs, engag'd me in&s;en&s;ibly to couch it them in a Me|moire to the End, as I &s;uppo&s;e, they not all &s;peaking &s;o good <HI>French,</HI> as I perhaps might do, not having been the time I was in the Country, &s;hould by the means be better un|der&s;tood
<PB REF="4">by that Nation, as they happen'd to have con|ver&s;e together. But as 'tis ob&s;ervable plurality of words &s;teals from a Mans Mouth when Tongue is once upon the Wheel, fluency of Ink too is generally occa&s;ion'd, when once People take their Pen in hand: The remembrance of one thing brings another into Mind, and when one thinks to be drawing to conclu&s;ion, wonders to &s;ee we again are to begin afre&s;h.</P>
<PB REF="5">
<P>A Book then 'tis I have writ, as I told you, when I thought nothing le&s;s, and more, have let the Book ap|pear in Print; va&s;t Field I had for &s;ubject, and could &s;till have had &s;omething yet to &s;ay, would I &s;ay all I knew: But I conceiv'd this &s;uf|ficiently enough to let the de&s;igns of a Crown be under|&s;tood, who&s;e Ambition reaches at more then it can gra&s;p: Now as I make no manner of Que&s;tion, Ocean of Faults will be found in this &s;mall
<PB REF="5">Tract, I beg the Reader will forgive, con&s;idering as I have all my days profe&s;s't Arms, may be better at my Sword than Pen.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="6">
<PB N="1" REF="6">
<HEAD>THE CONDUCT OF FRANCE Since the Peace of NIMEGUEN.</HEAD>
<P>THere is not any tho but little ver&s;t in Publick affairs ignorant, what 'twas &s;ome years &s;ince induced <HI>France</HI> to make a Peace; She then &s;aw the better Part of <HI>Germany</HI> United again&s;t Her, and <HI>Spain</HI> with <HI>Holland</HI> agreed to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, And though till then their Arms had all along met with favourable Succe&s;s, be|ing
<PB N="2" REF="7">more then they could promi&s;e the continuance of, was glad to prevent with caution tho&s;e Po&s;&s;ible misfortunes, which might have happened in ca&s;e once their Good Fortune &s;hould begin to leave them: But what mo&s;t power|fully obliged to the taking of tho&s;e mea|&s;ures, was, finding <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">er &s;elf loudly threat|ne'd from <HI>England,</HI> who&s;e Weighty Arms in Conjunction with &s;o many o|thers, were capable of Sinking Her to as low a Pitch, as She then &s;eem'd Flou|ri&s;hing in a topping Condition.</P>
<P>It had been Remon&s;trated by more then one hand to the Kingdom of <HI>Eng|land,</HI> that of all Things they &s;hould lay hold of the Fair Occa&s;ion to invade <HI>France,</HI> where they had formerly been the Ma&s;ters of many Fair and Rich Pro|vinces, that whil&s;t <HI>France</HI> had her For|ces imploy'd without, and her hands full abroad, tho&s;e of <HI>England</HI> would meet with no re&s;i&s;tance, means not only to an acce&s;&s;ion of Dominion, but al&s;o of Glory.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="7">
<P>The&s;e Con&s;iderations, or the Jealou|&s;ies rather that people had of the Grow|ing Greatne&s;s of the <HI>French,</HI> &s;way'd with them to re&s;olve to do &s;omething more, then the bent of &s;ome Private In|tere&s;ts had a mind they &s;hould: There being then a good under&s;tanding be|tween the Court of <HI>France,</HI> and that of <HI>England,</HI> a Rupture of this Kind went much again&s;t the hair: The French no &s;ooner &s;en&s;ible how far tho&s;e rea&s;ons I now touch't upon were prevailing, pre|&s;ently &s;atisfied <HI>England</HI> they not only were ready to lay down their arms, but even to &s;ubmit to Terms. Store of good Guineys cleverly be&s;towed in the right place, and among&s;t tho&s;e mo&s;t violent for a War with <HI>France,</HI> rebated imme|diately the pa&s;&s;ion, and rendred their propo&s;itions for a Peace the mo&s;t rea&s;o|nable imaginable; upon the point of declaring, <HI>England</HI> was now become a Solicitous Mediator of an accommodati|on. Propo&s;als were accordingly made on either &s;ide, and whil&s;t each in&s;i&s;ted upon the matter of their right, which
<PB N="4" REF="8">was long in debate without Redre&s;&s;ing of the mi&s;chief in matter of Fact, <HI>France,</HI> who&s;e Aim it was to take <HI>Hol|land</HI> off from her other Allies, hand&s;om|ly in the mean while in&s;inuated by her Agents thither expre&s;s &s;ent among&s;t the Common Sort of People, How their State was not to be Retriev'd in Na|ture, but by the means of a Peace, that their only Shoulders had hitherto born the burthen of the War, and mu&s;t expect to bear on &s;o long as War con|tinued: That trade never flouri&s;ht in a time of de&s;olation and mi&s;ery, and &s;ince in Trading their chiefe&s;t welfare, as that of their State it &s;elf did ab&s;olute|ly con&s;i&s;t in, the regaining of their Peace again, which had made that State once &s;o flouri&s;hing, ought now to be the &s;cope of their utmo&s;t endeavours.</P>
<P>The &s;trength of the&s;e rea&s;ons carry'd a poi&s;on not to every Eye perceivable, for though a truth it was the United Provinces did really &s;tand in need of a Peace, they &s;hould however have had regard to the proper Intere&s;t of their
<PB N="5" REF="8">re&s;pective Allys, who for their only pre&s;ervation had engaged in the War. But as reflections of that kind went not with the Grain of the People, who long'd for nothing &s;o much as the re|turn of their dear Trade, they made no impre&s;&s;ion. They were be&s;ides ex|treamly harra&s;t now, and weary of War, for as the <HI>French</HI> had right enough ob&s;erved to them, that State of theirs was forc'd to pay a good part of the Emperor's <HI>Brandenburg</HI>'s, and other of their Allys Forces, which oc|ca&s;ioned of nece&s;&s;ity an Augmentation of Sub&s;idies, &amp; Sub&s;idies &s;o extraordinary heavy that the whole thing it was rais'd out of, did not an&s;wer: And indeed a Man of Four hundred Pound a Year Rent was obliged to pay the <HI>State</HI> Five hun|dred, and to &s;ee him&s;elf undone, and mouldred to nothing, without the po&s;|&s;ibility of a remedy: Every Body then &s;en&s;ible of their particular inconvenien|cies, thought of nothing but pre&s;ent redre&s;s, without the lea&s;t concerning for what might be hereafter: Of the whole
<PB N="6" REF="9">Body of that Common-wealth, none but his Highne&s;s the Prince of <HI>Orange</HI> truly penetrated the con&s;equences of the Peace, which in that pre&s;ent face of things mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity to all the Al|lys in general prove very di&s;advantage|ous; &s;ince without lending hand to deceive our &s;elves, we could not flatter with the hopes of Re&s;titution from <HI>France,</HI> high, and haughty, in the glo|ries of her Conque&s;ts; and common &s;en&s;e might tell us, we fir&s;t ought to have obliged it to one by force of Arms, before &s;o much as the propo&s;al of any thing like it could be proper. Now to leave <HI>France</HI> in the actual po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of &s;o many important places, bordering upon <HI>Germany</HI> and <HI>Flanders</HI> &s;o clo&s;e, and &s;o many Baits to its u&s;ual Ambition, was properly by leaving him one foot in the Country, to give him the oppor|tunity of placing the other, as they &s;aw occa&s;ion; 'twas a thing not unnotic'd the great difficulty occurr'd in the uniting of the <HI>German</HI> Princes, which neither more nor le&s;s, but ju&s;t like an Engin
<PB N="7" REF="9">of many Springs, was brought into motion, but with all the pains and trouble in the World: It was rational then Enough to fear, if once &s;uffered to knock off, they were not when one would have them to be got together again; the Prince of <HI>Orange</HI> had repre|&s;ented all this at large in the A&s;&s;embly of the <HI>States</HI> General, where &s;ome he ne|ver mi&s;t of, oppo&s;ing his Opinion, 'twas flatly told him there, the Charge of the War was not a thing &s;upportable, the exce&s;s of which had quite already drain'd their Bank, and reduced the People to the la&s;t degrees of Indi|gence; that a re&s;pite of nece&s;&s;ity mu&s;t be given, or re&s;olve in a very little to &s;ee the utter ruine of the Nation: That Prince would have reply'd the re&s;pite not at all like to la&s;t, and <HI>France</HI> &s;eek|ing but to &s;ever them from their Allys, having, once wrought their Ends, would again be playing over her Old Pranks within a Year or two: But Burgima|&s;ter <HI>Ofte&egrave;,</HI> of <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> &s;topt his Mouth, in telling the Provinces were
<PB N="8" REF="10">indeed con&s;enting with all their Hearts to the carrying on the War, if his Highne&s;s could but hit the way of do|ing it without&punc; Mony, that the Pro|vince of <HI>Holland</HI> would give not a Sti|ver more towards it, or at lea&s;t the City of <HI>Am&s;terdam</HI> would not, as who&s;e Repre&s;entative he was commi&s;|&s;ion'd to &s;peak: Now you mu&s;t know all the Sub&s;idies whatever, rais'd upon the Seven Provinces, that of <HI>Holland</HI> furni&s;hes almo&s;t the half, and of that half more then the two Fifts are paid by the City of <HI>Am&s;terdam.</HI> That in the <HI>Quota</HI> of Sub&s;idies if the Province of <HI>Holland</HI> be reckon'd to pay Fifteen Mil|lions, of that Fifteen, Seven is near pay'd by that City.</P>
<P>After <HI>Ofte&egrave;</HI>'s having thus declar'd him|&s;elf there was no likelihood of thinking to continue the War any longer, chiefly for that the re&s;t of the Provinces confor|med for the mo&s;t part in Opinion much with that of <HI>Holland,</HI> was ea&s;ily ob&s;er|vable, and that though they yet had not explain'd them&s;elves &s;o fully upon
<PB N="9" REF="10">the point as <HI>Holland</HI> had, their great in|clination to Peace was like their's appa|rently obvious. As the Emperor tho|roughly under&s;tood at bottom, the <HI>French</HI> intentions drove of a long time at Univer&s;al Monarchy, at hearing what had pa&s;t in <HI>Holland</HI> was much concern'd at the News: Yet to divert if po&s;&s;ible tho&s;e Provinces from the re|&s;olutions they had taken, had it told them, he required no more of them the Sub&s;idies they us'd to pay him, of|fering to return them again upon the like occa&s;ion the &s;ame a&s;&s;i&s;tance: The <HI>Hollanders</HI> thank't the Emperor for his good will, but could not be induced for that to continue the War, adding that &s;eeing his Imperial Maje&s;ty as well as the re&s;t of the Allys produced every day &s;ome fre&s;h Ob&s;tacles or other to the Peace then in Treaty at <HI>Nimeguen,</HI> warn'd him, that if he did not think good to conclude the Peace, and that very &s;uddenly, they &s;hould be oblig'd to do it without him; what made the <HI>Dutch</HI> &s;o pre&s;&s;ing was, that as <HI>France</HI>
<PB N="10" REF="11">laid the conditions of the Treaty very di&s;advantageous to the re&s;t of the Allys, as advantageous and beneficial were the Terms &s;he made for <HI>Holland,</HI> for <HI>Ma|&s;tr&iacute;cht</HI> they offer'd to re&s;tore, the only remaining place of all their Conque&s;ts, upon that State &s;ince the fir&s;t of the War, &s;o that though once reduced within an Inch of their De&s;truction entire, they were now in pro&s;pect of a re-e&s;tabli&s;h|ment by Vertue of the Peace to the &s;ame it ever had in times of its great|e&s;t Pro&s;perity: Something too there was over and above that care&s;s't their Courage in the propo&s;ed Treaty, as they &s;aw the King of <HI>France</HI> made it his bu&s;ine&s;s to di&s;tingui&s;h them from the other Allys, they thence imagin'd they &s;hould retrieve their lo&s;t reputation among&s;t other Nations, who formerly held their Forces in &s;uch good Opinion, and &s;hould yet think very well of them, &s;eeing they were able to make their party good, and to defend them&s;elves again&s;t a prevailing Power &s;o very for|midable: To &s;ay the Truth 'tis won|derfully
<PB N="11" REF="11">&s;trange, and worthy without doubt of the admiration of Po&s;terity for ever, that a little Nook of Land, as one may &s;ay, and Handful of People, has not been only able to with&s;tand &s;uch mighty Armies, but likewi&s;e in condi|tion to afford &s;uccour to her Neigh|bours. 'Twill be &s;ubject of &s;urprize enough to them who &s;hall &s;ucceed us, to read in Hi&s;tory, that <HI>Hollanders, Spa|niards</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">rreconcilable Enemies, &s;hould be the People who have &s;av'd the Pro|vinces to the King of <HI>Spain,</HI> nor the <HI>Spaniards</HI> heretofore &s;o inveterate a|gain&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">e <HI>Hollanders,</HI> to find no where a more firm &s;upport, nor a more ready a&s;&s;i&s;tance, then that they receiv'd at hands of their mo&s;t Ancient Enemies: That by a fetch of Fortune &s;o very &s;trange, the <HI>Spaniards</HI> mu&s;t have been ruin'd had tho&s;e of <HI>Holland</HI> never revol|ted from the <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> &s;ubjection, &amp; &s;hould there come to find their &s;afety, where they ever reckon'd on as their certain De&s;truction: One may well enough &s;ay the <HI>Hollanders</HI> have twice &s;cap't
<PB N="12" REF="12">a &s;cowring, by their freeing of them|&s;elves from the Tyranny of the <HI>Spa|niards,</HI> for had they &s;till continued un|der that Dominion, the whole Seven|teen Provinces had equally been lo&s;t. And indeed there needs no &s;tre&s;s of Po|liticks to di&s;cover the &s;afety, and well being, of the United Provinces, is meerly to be own'd to the prudent conduct of tho&s;e who were at Helm, as a peculiar reward in &s;tore from Hea|ven, for what their Fore-Fathers had endured for their Religion's &s;ake:</P>
<P>But to re&s;ume my Di&s;cour&s;e, the <HI>Hollanders</HI> &s;uffering them&s;elves to be thus over-reach't by all tho&s;e glo&s;&s;y appearances, &s;igned cheerfully to the Peace apart, &s;eeing their Allys re|main'd ob&s;tinate in pur&s;uing of the War, contrary to their Opinion; I &s;hall neither &s;ay in doing &s;o they did well or ill, one may judge enough of it by what &s;ince has happen'd: The Empe|ror, however and <HI>Spaniard,</HI> finding their &s;tronge&s;t recour&s;e had thus aban|don'd them, accepted of the Peace on
<PB N="13" REF="12">their &s;ide too, and in like manner aban|don'd the Duke of <HI>Brandenburg,</HI> who could not be brought to admit of Con|ditions offer'd him &s;o very prejudicial. <HI>France</HI> then direct'd her Arms that way, and as that Elector was not of him&s;elf to re&s;i&s;t alone, did what &s;eem'd good in her Eyes in Treaty with that Prince, with this comfort at the lea&s;t, what he was forc't to by <HI>France,</HI> was with his Sword in his Hand, and that his la&s;t action did not derogate from a Thou|&s;and others, wherein he had during the War &s;o worthily behav'd him&s;elf: The Peace being then &s;o happily fini&s;ht to the content of <HI>France,</HI> as it rather had &s;u&s;pended then relinqui&s;ht its de&s;ign of Univer&s;al Monarchy, began now to manage tho&s;e Princes &s;he &s;aw divided, where there was ground to hope &s;he might do it to effect, The Duke of <HI>Brandenburg</HI> could not be well more di&s;contented with the Emperor, then he then was, obliged to re&s;tore back all he had made Conque&s;t of, without the lea&s;t &s;hew of the Imperial a&s;&s;i&s;tance,
<PB N="14" REF="13"><HI>France</HI> therefore propo&s;es an Alliance with him, with high Promi&s;es of a more Honorable Faith then he had yet found with any of the other; at the &s;ame time the <HI>French</HI> Money was not wanting in its Benevolencies to that Court for the acquiring of &s;ome confiding Per&s;on proper for the backing their de&s;ign, and &s;oothed was that Elector with the a&s;&s;u|rance of a prop from &s;uch a Crown as &s;hak't be&s;ides tho&s;e of all its Neighbours, great things were offer'd him and to &s;ay in a word his re&s;olutions in the Matter &s;tagger'd by Thou&s;and of advantage|ous tempting proffers. He did ob+ject though again&s;t the project of that Alliance his Di&s;putes with <HI>Swede</HI> at that time &s;iding with the Intere&s;t of <HI>France,</HI> &amp; as tho&s;e Di&s;putes have often produc't but ill effects, 'tis not forreign to our pur|po&s;e for the Readers better in&s;truction, to di&s;cour&s;e it in a word or two.</P>
<P>A certain Marquis of <HI>Branden|burg,</HI> made in former time &s;ome agreement with the Duke of <HI>Pome|rania</HI> by which they &s;ettled their
<PB N="15" REF="13">Dominions re&s;pectively upon one ano|ther, and to their Children after them of both Parties in ca&s;e any who &s;uccee|ded of either &s;hould happen to decea&s;e without I&s;&s;ue of his Body: The Entail taking place, and the Duke of <HI>Pome|rania</HI> dying without I&s;&s;ue &s;ome Two hundred years ago, or thereabouts, the Marquis of <HI>Brandenburg</HI> by Virtue of the &s;aid Settlement &s;ucceeded to the Dutchy of <HI>Pomerania</HI> remaining the peaceable Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or thereof till the Great <HI>Gu&s;tavus</HI> took it from him by force of Arms: <HI>Gu&s;tavus</HI> or his Succe&s;&s;ors were confirmed in their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of that Country by the Treaty of <HI>Mun&s;ter,</HI> but as the Marquis thereunto con&s;en|ted but with regret and <HI>per</HI> force, a &s;ecret certain inckling of having it again has remain'd, which &s;o often as the occa&s;i|on pre&s;ents him 'tis not to be doubted but he makes it his endeavor. When <HI>France</HI> then under&s;tood what 'twas &s;tuck with the Duke of <HI>Brandenburg,</HI> and hinder'd his engaging in her Inte|re&s;ts in favour of him &s;he re&s;olv'd to
<PB N="16" REF="14">make a Sacrifice of <HI>Swede,</HI> but pre|vious to it, made fir&s;t &s;ure of the King of <HI>Denmark</HI> for that Crown, then in conjunction with <HI>Brandenburg,</HI> found her &s;elf by the projection of that Confe|deracy of Strength enough in the North, not to fear what the re&s;t of its Princes might be undertaking in oppo&s;ition to the <HI>French</HI> de&s;igns: The King of <HI>Denmark</HI> who had a &s;ample him&s;elf like others of the Pui&s;&s;ant force of <HI>France</HI> in the la&s;t War, rejected not the Alliance; but as <HI>Brandenburg</HI> had before oppo&s;ed the interferings too of his Intere&s;t with that of <HI>Swede,</HI> let <HI>France</HI> under&s;tand it only declin'd Propo&s;als upon that account: <HI>France</HI> was otherwi&s;e not over &s;atisfied with <HI>Swede,</HI> for its hove|ring as one may call it &s;o long about the Matter before it could finally de|clare it &s;elf in the late War, that after its declaring, had acted nothing an|&s;werable to that high Reputation the great <HI>Gu&s;tavus</HI> had gain'd his Nation by the great things he had done, that far from managing as formerly that
<PB N="17" REF="14">People &s;eem'd to have no great regard of upon &s;everal occa&s;ions.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t token &s;he gave of this was in the pretentions &s;he made appear relating to Homage claim'd for the Dutchy of <HI>Deux-ponts</HI> of which &s;he was got &s;eized in the War time, even in the life of its late Duke, upon pretext of keeping it for the King of <HI>Swedes</HI> U&s;e, who was then the pre&s;umptive Heir, but in effect to keep it for them|&s;elves, and to make their own u&s;es of it, for the Promotion of their De&s;igns: And &s;ince it here falls out to treat of the Fealty and Homage that Crown lays claim to from &s;o many Sovereign Heads, 'twill not be improper to re|late upon what bottom that <HI>Chimera</HI> is grounded, &amp; which at this very time is the coercive cau&s;e why the quiet of all <HI>Europe</HI> is &s;o unhappily di&s;turbed.</P>
<P>At <HI>Metz</HI> there is a Sovereign &s;ort of Court of Judicature, and a Solicitor Ge|neral belonging to it, who having had commands from the King of <HI>France</HI> to give in an exact Memoir of all that ever
<PB N="18" REF="15">was within the juri&s;diction, limits, and precinct of that Parliament, and to re|mit up the &s;ame to Court, he pre&s;ently fills his Paper with &s;everal Villages which never had been belonging, but withal with their remarks upon them, how they had been formerly &s;eparatd, &amp; how they had acknowledged the juri&s;|diction of other Neighbouring Princes who had been very well &s;atisfied to U|&s;urp that Power. The In&s;trument was drawn with Argument enough, and though it might want a foundation, did not want for colour and pretext; the State Mini&s;ters reli&s;hing the Draft, Mr. Solicitor General is forthwith &s;ent for to Court, to help clear &s;ome few Scruples, which yet remain'd upon their Mind, the Solicitor come not only maintain'd what he had before &s;ent up, but plea&s;ing of him&s;elf with the offici|ous part of u&s;eful Man depo&s;es he had found &s;ome old Records by which it was to be made out that the Dutchy of <HI>Deux-ponts</HI> had ever held of the Bi&s;ho|prick, and that many more con&s;iderable
<PB N="19" REF="15">Lands by the connivance, and contri|vance of the &s;everal Bi&s;hops with their own private Relations had been alienated and di&s;member'd, for that tho&s;e Bi&s;hops being but Tenants for life, were well enough content in E&s;tates of ea&s;ie acqui&s;ition to accommodate their re&s;pective Families with the convenien|cies of Church-Lands. The <HI>French</HI> Mini&s;ters &s;avour'd well the Opinion of Mr. Solicitor, and order'd him dili|gently to in&s;pect all publick Regi&s;ters, for what might there be found of New, and thereof to forthwith make an Ab|&s;tract with Care, to be afterwards made u&s;e of in time &amp; place. But to avoid a par|tiality which all &s;hould do, who under|take a publick Information; &s;omething there was of what Mr. Solicitor did al|ledge for many of the Good Bi&s;hops to oblige their Kindred, had truly let them have &s;ome Lands within their particular Donation, but in exchange had received other Lands back again in lieu; &s;o that tho&s;e Lands in Ju&s;tice ought to be re&s;tored again which had
<PB N="20" REF="16">been given to the Bi&s;hops, or to what had been alienated and granted by the Bi&s;hops to make no pretence. But to the thred of my Di&s;cour&s;e, the Soli|citor General was no &s;ooner return'd home again to <HI>Metz,</HI> but fell a &s;ear|ching not only all the public Regi&s;ters, but too of all the old Archives of Churches and Abbeys he could lay his Hand on, and as he was provided with Commi&s;&s;ion from above Expre&s;s, &s;wept them all away without the act of any Witne&s;s or making of the lea&s;t Invento|ry in the point, which he ought not to have done, that every Body that way might have the better under&s;tood what properly pertain'd to them, and that the Jealou&s;ie &s;ince conceived of the great Antiquity of tho&s;e Parchments, (not &s;o very Old as made believe) might &s;o have been remov'd; &s;o be it Mr. <HI>Soli|citor</HI> was ob&s;erv'd long clo&s;eted clo&s;e up about fixing his <HI>Memoirs,</HI> which having fram'd as he pleas'd him&s;elf re|turns again to Court &s;well'd with the pre&s;umption of an Eminent Service, not
<PB N="21" REF="16">doubting what he brought could be ill received: Now the Contents of tho&s;e <HI>Memoirs</HI> are the preten&s;ions which we have &s;ince &s;een break out, and at this day make &s;uch a rattle all <HI>Europe</HI> over.</P>
<P>The Marquis of <HI>Louvois</HI> State-Secre|tary at Wars, who has a very great In|tere&s;t in that Kingdom, whom Mr. Solici|tor pre&s;ented his Memoirs to, could not at &s;ight of them forbear laughing, for tho 'twas his Bu&s;ine&s;s more then any Bodies to di&s;turb the Peace which turned not to that account time of War might do, perceiving little in them that would hold Water, was not &s;o willing to expo&s;e his Ma&s;ter upon a light occa&s;ion, who when he had mind to be making of a War, wanted not variety of &s;pecious pretexts: He would needs know tho of the Solicitor whence he had fi&s;ht all tho&s;e Di&s;coveries; Mr. Solicitor Gene|ral &s;eeing him &s;o hard of belief draws out of his Pocket another Schedule which contain'd the Dates of all the true and fal&s;e deeds from out of which he had collected the In&s;trument he be|fore
<PB N="22" REF="17">had given in; as Mr. Solicitor propo&s;ed to him&s;elf the making of a great fortune from the &s;ucce&s;s of that Affair he &s;o clo&s;ely ply'd Mr. <HI>De Lou|vois</HI> with the Scheme of &s;o many u&s;eful things that at la&s;t prevail'd with that Mini&s;ter to promi&s;e, when at better lei|&s;ure, the full peru&s;al of his Memoir, and thereon to return his An&s;wer.</P>
<P>The An&s;wer to Mr. Solicitor prov'd more in his Favour then off hand the fir&s;t Reception had given him rea&s;on to expect: Mr. <HI>De Louvois</HI> directs him to pur&s;ue his undertaking, and after the In&s;titution of a judicial Court for the Examining of &s;uch preten&s;ions which the King of <HI>France</HI> might have to &s;e|veral Territories and Principalities; Mr. Solicitor for his pains was nomi|nated of that Court Judge in chief which is no more than &s;etting the concern'd party in the Cau&s;e upon the Bench.</P>
<P>I know not if I have ex&s;patiated a little too far upon the &s;ubject, but I thought it an incumbent upon me to report here the Original cau&s;es of the
<PB N="23" REF="17">Mi&s;eries which afflict us, and ready now to involve &s;o many States in trou|ble and confu&s;ion.</P>
<P>We revert then to where we left, which as I take it was, the King of <HI>France</HI> not caring greatly for his <HI>Swe|di&s;h</HI> Alliance, Summons that Crown to do him Fealty and Homage for the Dukedome of <HI>Deux-ponts:</HI> The King of <HI>Swede</HI> being a young Prince, brave, and inferior to none in Re&s;olution and courage, thought the Chimerical pre|tention very &s;trange, but not willing to fall out with <HI>France</HI> upon a frivolous Matter, his Amba&s;&s;ador had In&s;tructi|ons to &s;hew that King the inju&s;tice done him. That the Dukedom of <HI>Deux-ponts</HI> had ever been a Sovereign State, and that they who had it acknowledg'd Fealty and Homage for it to no Man living, except they meant for a Fealty and Homage, the u&s;ual inve&s;tures they were obliged to take at the hands of the Emperor.</P>
<P>The&s;e Rea&s;ons the Court of <HI>France</HI> ap|prov'd not of, proceeding on &s;till in her
<PB N="24" REF="18">unju&s;t demands of a Homage, and af|ter a canvas pa&s;t of <HI>pro</HI> and <HI>con</HI> between the Amba&s;&s;adors and Mini&s;ters, the new Court of Ju&s;tice pronounces round|ly decree of Re-union, and that Dutchy to be annex't to the Crown of <HI>France,</HI> unle&s;s within &s;uch a &s;et time the King of <HI>Swede</HI> acknowledged for the &s;ame his Fealty and Homage: Now that the World might &s;ee it was not from any covet of our Neighbours goods that Decree of <HI>Metz</HI> aris'd, the King freely offer'd the Inve&s;ture of that Dukedom to the Duke <HI>Adolphus</HI> Uncle to the King of <HI>Swede</HI> in ca&s;e the King his Nephew conform'd not to the Te|nure of the Decree which to be &s;ure he was not like to do.</P>
<P>Whil&s;t Duke <HI>Adolphus</HI> halted between the hopes of getting that Dukedom and fear of di&s;obliging the King his Nephew the King of <HI>France</HI> &s;ends in the interim the Prince <HI>Palatine</HI> of <HI>Bir|kenfield,</HI> a Prince of the <HI>Palatine</HI> Fami|ly, to keep that Dutchy in the Name of Duke <HI>Alfon&s;us</HI> his near Kin&s;man, pro|mi&s;ing
<PB N="25" REF="18">in ca&s;e that Duke accepted of it not upon the conditions propo&s;ed him, he him&s;elf &s;hould be then immediately inve&s;ted; the Prince of <HI>Birkenfield</HI> ha|ving return'd his thanks for the Kings good will towards him, and having done him Fealty and Homage for the the Dukedom in name of Duke <HI>Alphon|&s;us,</HI> he repair'd accordingly to the Ex|ecution of his Commi&s;&s;ion, I &s;hall be &s;i|lent here in reflecting upon the Extra|vagancys of this way of proceeding. A Reader does not &s;o much care to have the point decided to his hand, 'tis limi|ting his Fancy, and by rea&s;oning fir&s;t upon the &s;ubject, but giving Laws to his Faith in what he &s;hould believe: And indeed 'tis as much as is requi&s;ite for the Relator to tell of things as they nakedly are, and for the Reader to judge as he thinks good: But to clo&s;e the &s;mall digre&s;&s;ion not un&s;ea&s;onable to the profe&s;&s;ion of Writers, the King of <HI>Swede</HI> had no &s;ooner heard what had been tran&s;acted in <HI>France,</HI> but upon it immediately de&s;erted the Alliance he
<PB N="26" REF="19">had embrac't during the late Wars at the hazard of his whole Country, and peril of his Life, having expo&s;ed him|&s;elf the fir&s;t Man in Per&s;on, in Three or Four &s;everal Battels for the &s;ake and intere&s;t of that Crown, expecting ano|ther kind of u&s;age for his pains from <HI>France</HI> then that he met with: <HI>Den|mark</HI> and <HI>Brandenburg</HI> no &s;ooner well a&s;&s;ur'd what &s;ide the King of <HI>Swede</HI> would take, but both &s;trike up with <HI>France,</HI> which had engaged to furni&s;h the King of <HI>Denmark</HI> both with Ships and Men for the recovery not only of &s;ome Provinces which the Father of this King of <HI>Swede</HI> had taken from the <HI>Dane,</HI> but likewi&s;e for that of <HI>Lubeck,</HI> upon which City by vertue of &s;ome imagina|ry Titles <HI>Denmark</HI> of long hand had great De&s;igns: <HI>Brandenburg</HI> did pro|mi&s;e to him&s;elf too a beneficial Alliance; in&s;omuch as the&s;e Three Potentates united but to the breeding a di&s;tur|bance in the Northern Peace: <HI>France</HI> having thus made &s;ure of the&s;e two lea|ning Staffs, by Vertue of the like De|crees
<PB N="27" REF="19">I now mention'd, proceeds in the &s;ame way again&s;t other Sovereign Princes, requiring of them the &s;ubmi&s;&s;i|on of Fealty and Homage: Many who &s;aw them&s;elves not in condition to re&s;i&s;t acquie&s;c'd in all they would demand, others &s;hew'd them&s;elves more &s;tub|born, but &s;marted for their &s;tanding out by the Quartering, and Gari&s;oning their Country, forc't by fowl means, to do what by fair they had refu&s;ed. But here I mu&s;t give account what happen'd to the <HI>Rinegrave,</HI> his Autho|rity in the Country being great, and his example of influence to others, <HI>France</HI> let him under&s;tand he had to comply immediately without a boggle, and that after they would replace him again in all his Rights &amp; Priviledges: The <HI>Rinegrave</HI> not &s;u&s;pecting the honorable Word of &s;o augu&s;t a Crown was over|joy'd to be &s;o advantageou&s;ly di&s;tin|gui&s;ht among &s;o many unfortunate &s;uf|ferers, and having given his Obedience wrought in others the &s;ame acknow|ledgment, which as they thought was
<PB N="28" REF="20">unavoidable, having without &s;o much as he&s;itating &s;een the <HI>Rinegrave</HI> Count per|form the like &s;ubmi&s;&s;ions, but when the Count on his &s;ide expected they &s;hould keep their Word with him, was told they were not the Ma&s;ters, and that he mu&s;t make his Applications to the Court, thither then mu&s;t he take a Jour|ney &amp; little to the purpo&s;e, for in&s;tead of gaining the thing he made demand of, they e'en told him he might go as he came, and wonder'd in their Hearts &s;uch a petty Fellow as he &s;hould be un|willing to hold his Country in Fee of &s;o great a King as was the great King of <HI>France:</HI> A little before &s;uch another An&s;wer had been made to the <HI>Palatine</HI> Elector who &s;ending to the Court of <HI>France</HI> to complain of his Country be|ing made daily havoc of by the Licen|tiou&s;ne&s;s of the <HI>French</HI> Forces, to an in|fringement of the late Peace, the com|plainer was an&s;wer'd when a little Prince like that Elector had the Honour to be Neighbour to &s;o great a King 'twas not for &s;uch as he to be that nice:
<PB N="29" REF="20">Short and &s;weet this, hitherto Ro&s;es; but in conclu&s;ion we &s;hall have Thorn and all.</P>
<P><HI>France</HI> &s;till claims on their right of Dependencys, and finding <HI>Spain</HI> weak &amp; apparently helple&s;s, the County of <HI>Alo&s;t</HI> is demanded of them as an ap|pertenance of the late Conque&s;ts; <HI>Spain</HI> troubled at the demand, becau&s;e <HI>Ou|dermond</HI> with other Towns and Villa|ges did all belong to the &s;ame County, let <HI>France</HI> under&s;tand the great Iniqui|ty of her pretended right, but whil&s;t this was under debate between the <HI>Spa|ni&s;h</HI> Emba&s;&s;ador and the Mini&s;ters they yet made more demands as intricate all out and as perplext as their fir&s;t: The County of <HI>Chini</HI> had been granted <HI>France</HI> by the Tenure of the Treaty with all its appertenancies, and as tho&s;e Dependancies had not receiv'd their full Explanation in the wording of the Peace, <HI>France</HI> now become what <HI>Spain</HI> did u&s;e to be, to &s;ay, a wrangler, and full of her fetches, and quibling tricks, alledged the Dependancies of <HI>Chini</HI>
<PB N="30" REF="21">reacht to the very Gates of <HI>Luxemburg,</HI> and therefore requir'd to have po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion thereof given them by the <HI>Spaniards,</HI> if not they would give it them&s;elves: The <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> Emba&s;&s;ador as very able Man as he was, was puzzled at the new quiddity, and demanded time to make his Ma&s;ter acquainted; the time he ask't was granted him, but when ex|pir'd, <HI>France</HI> finding <HI>Spain</HI> endea|vouring to elude its preten&s;ions cau&s;es Forces openly to march into the Country of <HI>Luxemburg,</HI> blocks up all the High-ways that lead to the County, Town, rai&s;es Forts round about, and tho then in the mid&s;t of a profound Peace, commits all the acts of an actu|al Ho&s;tility which could po&s;&s;ibly be committed in a declar'd War; the Go|vernor of <HI>Luxemburg</HI> &s;ends his Trum|pet to the Commander in chief of tho&s;e Forces to know if <HI>France</HI> mean'd a De|claration of a War with <HI>Spain:</HI> But he was an&s;wer'd they meant no &s;uch thing, and that they only were about taking po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of what belong'd to them.
<PB N="31" REF="21">Mean while under the Notion of po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion-taking they hindred every thing from coming into the Town of <HI>Luxem|burg,</HI> and every thing from going out on't, and if any offer'd to pa&s;s their way, they &s;ent them back to the Town again, pretending they came out as Spies upon their actions, and if there came any from the Country, &s;uch as their Market-people, or the like with Provi&s;ions to &s;ell in Town as they were us'd to do, they &s;ent them back too, having fir&s;t &s;trip't them of all they had, to teach them not to come again a &s;econd time, and if tho&s;e Country People offer'd to pa&s;s them without Provi&s;ions were &s;uffer'd to go by after a due Examine of all they had about them, but when they would repa&s;s home again, were drove back into the Town, that &s;o the Provi&s;ions of the Place might be con&s;umed the &s;oo|ner.</P>
<P>When for my part, I reflect upon the&s;e violent Cour&s;es I could not but be extreamly &s;urpriz'd to &s;ee <HI>England</HI> the
<PB N="32" REF="22">Mediator and Garanty of the Peace, troubled them&s;elves no further in its due execution, they &s;aw before their Eyes what pa&s;s'd, but without the lea&s;t concern for the vi&s;ible infraction; and as if <HI>France</HI> had made all &s;ure upon that hand, pur&s;ued in their con&s;tant and daily acts of open Ho&s;tility; but yet offer'd &s;till to make <HI>England</HI> the Umpire of their debate, which left <HI>Spain</HI> without all &s;ort of hope; for upon one &s;ide not having confidence enough in <HI>England</HI> to tru&s;t its Intere&s;t in their hands, upon t'other knew not what well to &s;ay to the King of <HI>France</HI> &s;o fairly offering to refer the Matter: Perplext on both hands, <HI>Spain</HI> re&s;olves to put &s;omething to the ven|ture of a chance, and &s;eeing the Town of <HI>Luxemburg</HI> mu&s;t apparently be lo&s;t for want of Provi&s;ions &s;ent the Governour of the place private Orders to open a pa&s;&s;age by force come what will: The Governour who for a long time de&s;ir'd no better, &s;allies out at a time when the <HI>French</HI> lea&s;t expected him, and &s;etting
<PB N="33" REF="22">upon one of their Quarters, charged them home as they ju&s;t were upon the point of making head to di&s;pute the pa&s;&s;age: The <HI>French</HI> made a great re|&s;i&s;tance, but over-power'd by number, being forc't to give way, the Gover|nour advancing and joining his con|voy which he of long hand held before in a readine&s;s, put his relief into the Town. Some two hundred of the <HI>French</HI> were killed in the action, and about Eighteen or Twenty of the <HI>Spani&s;h,</HI> but among all the&s;e not a Man of note lo&s;t, nor &s;o much as one Offi|cer.</P>
<P><HI>France</HI> no &s;ooner had the News, but thunder'd it again&s;t the <HI>Spaniards</HI> as much indeed to blame they quietly would not endure &s;tarving: Drew eve|ry where pre&s;ently their Forces down towards the Towns that held for <HI>Spain,</HI> but at the in&s;tant of acting with them, <HI>England</HI> hinder'd from further procee|ding by making <HI>France</HI> get full &s;atis|faction in the point from <HI>Spain,</HI> who di&s;own'd not only all the Governor of
<PB N="34" REF="23"><HI>Luxemburg</HI> had done, but offering even to di&s;charge him of his Govern|ment, and in &s;hort &s;o &s;upinely weak, paid for the Damage in conclu&s;ion &s;u|&s;tain'd by the <HI>French,</HI> for a certain Sum of Money agreed upon. After this de|licate Treaty, the <HI>Blocus</HI> of <HI>Luxem|burg</HI> was afre&s;h begun again, and the <HI>French</HI> reinforc't their Quarter, and pa|trol'd the Avenues duly for their grea|ter &s;ecurity of being in ha&s;te catcht as they before had been: Truly I can't contain from a little digre&s;&s;ion here, and &s;ay Po&s;terity will be hardly made believe that in the mid'&s;t of Peace, the one &s;ide &s;hall be allow'd them to make War, but the other &s;hall be puni&s;ht be|cau&s;e they &s;ubmit not in every thing their Enemies would impo&s;e upon them. Howbeit the <HI>Luxemburg</HI> Gar|ri&s;on being large, and the Convoy not &s;ufficient for a long &s;upply began again to feel the &s;ame inconveniences it had before: The Governour being a brave Man, who had much rather have cho&s;e to die with his Arms in his Hand, then
<PB N="35" REF="23">lead out a life &s;o very &s;hameful and &s;o unworthy of any Man of Courage, was for all that nece&s;&s;itated to bear with a Thou&s;and of their In&s;olencies, and in|&s;ults without the lea&s;t daring to gain|&s;ay: For the <HI>French</HI> who well knew his In&s;tructions, and who&s;e Fingers itcht to be doing, would frequently come within half a Mile &s;ight of the Town, where having trodden down the Corn under their Hor&s;es feet made &s;hew of a defying to engage. Whil'&s;t this was doing <HI>France</HI> Treats for <HI>Cazal,</HI> with the Duke of <HI>Mantoua,</HI> which threw not a little Jealou&s;ie <HI>Italy</HI> all over: The Emperor too re&s;ented it in a high mea&s;ure for <HI>Cazal;</HI> be&s;ides, being a Feif of the Empire, he was by de&s;cent too the pre&s;umptive Heir, and &s;o doubly intitled as Emperor, and the next near Kin&s;man to the Duke of <HI>Mantoua:</HI> It was not to be expected, the King of <HI>France</HI> would &s;o much le&s;&s;en him&s;elf to be &s;ending to the Emperor, to demand inve&s;ture as was cu&s;tomary to be done for all Feifs of the Empire, he was not
<PB N="36" REF="24">a Prince to be pre&s;crib'd the confor|mity of ordinary rules, and his uncon|trolable power freed him in every thing; which indeed Mr. Solicitor Gene|ral of the Court of <HI>Metz,</HI> of whom I have before &s;poken, did ingenuou&s;ly confe&s;s as much one day, to &s;ome of his Friends ta|king freedom to be telling him they did not conceive the &s;trength of his Decrees was of validity &s;ufficient to be binding in the ca&s;e of &s;o many Sovereign Princes: Reply'd he &s;erv'd a Ma&s;ter who had at beck, a Hundred pieces of <HI>Canon,</HI> a Hundred thou&s;and Men, and a Hun|dred Millions of Money to put tho&s;e Decrees in Execution. The Taking of <HI>Cazal</HI> was not the only thing <HI>Italy</HI> was alarm'd at, <HI>France,</HI> who&s;e ambition nothing le&s;s then the &s;ubjection of the whole World could &s;atisfie, began now to grumble too at the Republic of <HI>Genoua,</HI> to have that colour of invading its liber|ty: They of <HI>Genoua</HI> &s;end their Em|ba&s;&s;ador to <HI>France</HI> at the &s;ame time, to excu&s;e them&s;elves in what they could, but as <HI>France</HI> was not without her Rea|&s;ons,
<PB N="37" REF="24">I mean good or bad, the Excu|&s;es of the poor <HI>Genoe&s;&s;es</HI> were ill recei+ved, took the occa&s;ion to pick a New quarrel in requiring them to make re|&s;titution of an E&s;tate formerly of the Hou&s;e of <HI>Fieske,</HI> with the Intere&s;t of the whole for an Age before &s;ince ac|crued; now as every Body is well &s;atis|fied what the ca&s;e of the Hou&s;e of <HI>Fieske</HI> is, and how they were, and for what expell'd <HI>Genoua</HI> would be here &s;uperflu|ous to mention: I &s;hall but &s;ay, never Demand appear'd more extraordina|ry then that did, not to &s;ay never a more unju&s;t, and a more unrea&s;onable. <HI>France</HI> would oblige a Gree State to re|&s;tore to the Heirs and Succe&s;&s;ors of a Traitor, and E&s;tate forfeited and con|fi&s;cated for its delinquency, as if <HI>France</HI> never had her &s;elf confi&s;cated, and daily did not confi&s;cate E&s;tates of &s;uch as &s;he found faulty, and deficient in their duty: Mean while though the Matter has not been drove much further, 'tis not to be imagin'd notwith&s;tanding wholly laid a&s;ide, 'tis a &s;mothering Fire in A&s;hes,
<PB N="38" REF="25">which one day will con&s;ume all <HI>Italy,</HI> if not prevented by the Hand of Hea|ven; and indeed 'tis not to be thought <HI>France</HI> has quitted therefore the De|&s;ign of ma&s;tering that Common-wealth, becau&s;e &s;he defers the doing it to another time, for that the pre&s;ent was of more con&s;equence to be looking to the Conque&s;t of <HI>Flanders</HI> which hi|therto had been &s;o tedious a work, and now lay naked and expo&s;ed to his am|bition through the unfortunate diver|&s;ion of the Imperial Arms: 'Twas then ill Policy to draw &s;o many Enemies upon her Hands at once, who&s;e Bu&s;ine&s;s &s;he the ea&s;ier might all do, the one after the other: 'Twas an advice worth ta|king which a grand Politician once gave his Children upon the point of Death, caus'd a great many arrows to be laid before them, &s;ome of which in bundle, others lo&s;e, and bid the Children to try the breaking of tho&s;e unbound, which they ea&s;ily &s;nap't in two, then commanded them to try the other, bid|ding them to break tho&s;e likewi&s;e,
<PB N="39" REF="25">but that being more then they were able, took his occa&s;ion from that In|&s;tance to admoni&s;h them to remain ever in Union with one another, if they expected their Enemies &s;hould take no hold upon them. Now <HI>France</HI> deals with mo&s;t of the other Princes, as the Children by tho&s;e Arrows not bound to|gether, &s;he ea&s;ily &s;ubdues them one after another, which in ca&s;e they were linkt, and united as they &s;hould be, might perhaps be in a po&s;ture of reducing her again within the bounds of Rea&s;on: In|deed what hinders the &s;etting Armies upon foot as well as <HI>France,</HI> and there|by an endeavor u&s;ed for the re&s;ettling of things in that condition again, where every one concern'd might find his &s;ecurity.</P>
<P>It looks as if our Fore-Fathers were much the prudenter People: For I re|member well after the Battel of <HI>Pavie,</HI> where <HI>Charles</HI> the Fifth Triumph't over the Affairs and Fortune of <HI>Francis</HI> the Fir&s;t, they wi&s;ely con&s;ider'd not fit to &s;uffer any more the growth and
<PB N="40" REF="26">mightine&s;s of that Power, which al|ready was become but too formidable among them, and &s;o retrieved again the State of <HI>France</HI> at that time much more de&s;perate, &amp; at a lower Ebb then is ours now. But 'tis not for want of every Bo|dies knowing what cour&s;e was taken in the times of our Ance&s;tors, but few they be make a true u&s;e of what they know.</P>
<P>But all this while, I perceive not my deviation in&s;en&s;ibly &s;tealing me from my Subject, too far carried off by force of Truth: To come then to the point again, I &s;hall tell you, that whil&s;t <HI>Italy</HI> took the alarm at the &s;urrender of <HI>Ca|zal,</HI> another bu&s;ine&s;s was then brew|ing in that Country, which might well occa&s;ion its further di&s;turbance. <HI>Sa|voy,</HI> as every one knows, lies clo&s;ed up between <HI>France</HI> on one &s;ide, and the Provinces of <HI>Spain:</HI> I mean between tho&s;e Countrys in <HI>Italy</HI> under <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> Dominion: The Neighbourhood of the&s;e two Powers has been Rea&s;on enough in all former Ages, why the Dukes of <HI>Savoy</HI> enjoy little quiet: For
<PB N="41" REF="26">at the &s;ame time that either of tho&s;e two Crowns denounced War upon the other, he mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity &s;ide with one of the two, to prevent his Coun|try from being over-run by both, as is the general ca&s;e of all Neuters. Now as <HI>Savoy</HI> turn'd very much the Scale to the &s;ide it inclin'd to, the two Crowns &s;trove their utmo&s;t which &s;hould have him of their party, that &s;ometimes the Daughters of <HI>France,</HI> &s;ometimes the Infanta's of <HI>Spain</HI> found Wives of State for that Duke, and the need both had of him, was &s;till the <HI>Mediums</HI> of new advantages from either: <HI>France</HI> who knew at what dear rates that Alliance was &s;ometimes to be purchas'd, proje|cted a Treaty with him, &s;uch as for ever &s;hould debar him from being <HI>Spa|ni&s;h</HI> any more. The Cardinal <HI>De|&s;tr&eacute;e</HI> they &s;end to <HI>Savoy,</HI> a Rela|tion of that Dutche&s;s, and as &s;he Go|vern'd all during the Minority of her Son, propo&s;es to her a Match between the young Duke, and the Infanta of <HI>Portugal,</HI> his Cou&s;in German, Heir pre|&s;umptive
<PB N="42" REF="27">of that Crown, the then Prince Regent having no more Chil|dren: The Dutche&s;s of <HI>Savoy</HI> being Born in <HI>France,</HI> and <HI>French</HI> in all her Inclinations reli&s;hes the Propo&s;al with plea&s;ure: Thinking the Quality of a King of <HI>Portugal,</HI> was every whit Equivalent to a Duke of <HI>Savoy:</HI> But as they have a Law in <HI>Portugal,</HI> which Forfeits in a Daughter her right of Succe&s;&s;ion to the Crown in ca&s;e of Marriage with a Stranger, that Law how to aboli&s;h mu&s;t fir&s;t be thought of; The Cardinal <HI>De&s;tr&eacute;e</HI> in Name of his Ma&s;ter undertook the thing: <HI>France</HI> &s;ends then to <HI>Portugal</HI> to that effect, and as &s;he was in a happy po&s;t of carrying all before her, did in that conjuncture too carry that Affair, in&s;omuch as the having of that Law abrogated, and the Dukes Marriage with their Infanta fi|nally agreed upon: The Grandees of <HI>Savoy,</HI> without who&s;e advice this Bu|&s;ine&s;s had been determin'd un&s;atisfied with the Match, which ended in a de|privement of their natural Prince, and
<PB N="43" REF="27">the Subordination of a Governour, had their private Cabals to con&s;ult the breaking the Neck of the Marriage, and &s;top it from further going on. I cannot ju&s;tly &s;ay, if they confederated for &s;ake of public good, or meerly for their private ends; howbeit the <HI>Por|tugal</HI> Match far from being of advan|tage to the Duke, one may truly &s;ay he was a lo&s;er by the Bargain, no le&s;s then the Princes in general of his Family; be&s;ides, whil&s;t he was to have re&s;ided in <HI>Portugal</HI> who &s;hould have &s;uccor'd <HI>Savoy,</HI> in ca&s;e <HI>France</HI> had had a mind to &s;et up right of Conveniency, a right which they endeavor'd equally to e&s;tabli&s;h as well as right of Depen|dency, and for no other Rea&s;on indeed was the Prince of <HI>Montbelliard</HI> drove out of his Country then that it did ac|commodate the Crown: But they hee|ded little all that could be &s;aid again&s;t it, and &s;till went on their Road, where but a glimp&s;e appear'd of probable &s;uc|&s;ce&s;s: Madam, the Dutches of <HI>Savoy</HI> &s;moakt the drift, as well as any, but
<PB N="44" REF="28">the powerful de&s;ire of Sovereign Rule, carried it above all other con&s;iderations; and as <HI>Alexander</HI> of <HI>Farne&s;e,</HI> Duke of <HI>Parma</HI> &s;ent off his Mother in former days, not to be oblig'd to &s;hare with her the Government of the Low-Coun|tries: So the Dutche&s;s of <HI>Savoy</HI> was for packing away her Son, that &s;he might remain &s;till the ab&s;olute Mi&s;tre&s;s of that State: She knew well enough they would not fail detaining the Duke in <HI>Portugal</HI> to inure him to the ways and cu&s;toms of a Nation which one day he was de&s;ign'd to govern; and by the &s;hift &s;ecure to her &s;elf the Supreme Authority: In the mean while di&s;con|tents among&s;t the Grandees encreas'd daily, and have frequent meetings to advi&s;e upon what they had to do; could not for all that meet &s;o in private, but the Dutche&s;s had Intelligence, willing to &s;ecure her &s;elf from the De&s;igns her Grandees might well have of troubling the Government, cau&s;ed Forces to be fetcht from <HI>France</HI> in good &s;tore to be di&s;pers'd in the Neigbourhood about,
<PB N="45" REF="28">under a pretence of covering <HI>Cazal.</HI></P>
<P>The Nobility of <HI>Savoy,</HI> though alarm'd at the <HI>French</HI> a&s;&s;i&s;ting thus of the Dutche&s;s, gave not over for all that their Intentions of helping their young Duke, and having found her out in her Treaty with <HI>France,</HI> into who&s;e hands &s;he had agreed to deliver the mo&s;t im|portant places of &s;trength in the Coun|try, in Pledge of &s;ome Loans of Money &s;he had borrow'd of them, for the de|fray of her Son's Marriage, were una|nimou&s;ly re&s;olv'd to hazard all than &s;uffer thus a general ruine; and as they watch't their opportunity to compa&s;s their de&s;ign, the Dutche&s;s her &s;elf favour'd them with one, which they conceiv'd might &s;erve their turn, for having left her Son at <HI>Turin,</HI> contrary to her cu&s;tom, whil&s;t her &s;elf &s;tept a Mile or two out of Town, the Gran|dees, took that Time to &s;peak to their Duke: That he mu&s;t look upon him&s;elf in <HI>French</HI> hands, every where &s;urrounding him as now their Pri&s;oner in a manner, that the Dutche&s;s his Mother had &s;old
<PB N="46" REF="29">them his be&s;t Towns, and would yet be &s;elling what remain'd if not preven|ted by his great goodne&s;s to his Peo|ple: That &s;he &s;ent him to <HI>Portugal</HI> not to be the Soveraign there, but that at home &s;he might be &s;o: That in ca&s;e he met with freedom to his Per&s;on there, he mu&s;t at lea&s;t expect to meet a Ma|&s;ter, whereas if he vouch&s;afed to &s;tay with them, he &s;hould meet with no|thing but their entire obedience and dutiful re&s;pects, that the <HI>Portugui&s;es</HI> naturally hated Strangers; and if they did a&s;&s;ent to his marrying their Infan|ta, 'twas by con&s;traint, and with re|gret: That he might re&s;t a&s;&s;ur'd the Prince Regent once dead, they would retract again from what they had done, and bar him of his Crown as formerly they had done to the King of <HI>Spain,</HI> that it was not ea&s;ie to fore&s;ee what might then become of him, for that the <HI>French</HI> having once &s;eized his Country perhaps might not be in hu|mor to re&s;tore it him again.</P>
<P>The&s;e remon&s;trances &s;tartled the
<PB N="47" REF="29">young Duke, who yet had not Brains ripe enough to apprehend among a great many Truths they repre&s;ented, there was Lies in an equal number, he ask't them what be&s;t for him to act to &s;hun &s;o many threatning misfortunes: They an&s;wer'd no other way left, then the &s;e|curing of his Mother; the expedient was &s;urprizing, but finding they had &s;truck from the fir&s;t an impre&s;&s;ion up|on the young Prince, gave him no time to the recollections of a Natural affecti|on, pre&s;t him with telling his own &s;afety lay for the future in his own power, to re&s;olve for good and all of being a happy or unhappy Duke the remain|der of his life; as for their parts re&s;olv'd to be the lookers on of what every Day produced no longer, had de&s;ign'd retiring into &s;ome other Country, where at lea&s;t they &s;hould gain that comfort of Knowing they had no kind of Hand in any thing that would be attempted again&s;t his Dignity or Per|&s;on. A few Tears artificially &s;hed, or out of compa&s;&s;ionate good Nature,
<PB N="48" REF="30">accompli&s;ht per&s;uading of the Duke, calls for Pen and Paper, and &s;igns a War|rant immediately for the &s;eizing of his Mother: In the mean while before they could get together to take their mea|&s;ures for execution of their Order, the Dutche&s;s was return'd into the Town, and being arriv'd at her <HI>Palais</HI> was extremely &s;urprized to find her Son &s;ad and pen&s;ive, and much be&s;ide him|&s;elf, askt what he ail'd, conjuring him to tell her, but finding him not an|&s;wering, &s;he adds to her entreaties the blandi&s;hments of a Mother, as &s;he em|braced him, perceiv'd he wep't, and Tears to tricle down his Cheeks which troubled her to the highe&s;t degree, &s;ell then to a redoublement of muching, calls him her own deare&s;t Child, falls her &s;elf a crying, and in the end &s;o &s;oftens, he confe&s;&s;es to her they had &s;ur|prized him, and that he had &s;igned an Order for the commitment of her Per|&s;on: The Dutche&s;s was her &s;elf &s;truck with amaze at the &s;ort of News, but having now no time to lo&s;e, and
<PB N="49" REF="30">that every Minut was to her of highe&s;t con&s;equence, &s;ent for tho&s;e about her immediately &s;he could mo&s;t confide in, doubles the Palace Guards, and cau&s;es tho&s;e to be &s;eiz'd in fine who had re|&s;olv'd her ruine &amp; makes her <HI>manife&s;to,</HI> tho&s;e very Per&s;ons were intended to take away the young Duke, and carry him to <HI>Spain,</HI> which is more then I can &s;ay they meant, not knowing whether true or not, or whether only a Sham to render them the more odious to the People: Be it as 'twill, the Dutche&s;s having once retriev'd her &s;elf from &s;o very great a danger, order'd the <HI>French</HI> Forces to March into the Town thereby to &s;hew &s;he tru&s;ted more to them, then to tho&s;e of the Country.</P>
<P>A certain Print for all this remain'd with the young Duke of what had been remon&s;trated; in&s;omuch that though his Equipage was gone already before to <HI>Portugal,</HI> and him&s;elf &s;oon to follow after, he talk't no more of the Voyage: And as &s;till &s;ome body there was in place about him, who privately che|ri&s;ht
<PB N="50" REF="31">the &s;u&s;picion they had rais'd, broke him clean off, order'd his Family to return their ways home again, to the un&s;peakable &s;atisfaction of his whole People; <HI>France</HI> only remain'd much mortifid, promi&s;ing already to it &s;elf the conjunction of <HI>Savoy</HI> to that Kingdom, and to encha&s;e it among&s;t the faire&s;t Flowers of the Crown: The di&s;&s;atis|faction conceiv'd lay not long hid, the Count of <HI>Soi&s;&s;on</HI> who in ca&s;e of decea&s;e of the young Duke was Heir pre&s;ump|tive to the Dukedom of <HI>Savoy,</HI> after the Death of Prince <HI>Carignan</HI> his Uncle, was then in love with a private Damo|&s;el in <HI>France,</HI> call'd <HI>Madamo&s;eille de Beauais;</HI> all the Relations had thither|to oppo&s;ed the thing, in fear of his de|&s;ign to marry her, the King him&s;elf had &s;ignifi'd as much, and that he ought to think of be&s;towing him&s;elf &s;ome other way, but being thus di&s;oblig'd by the Grandees of <HI>Savoy,</HI> he &s;uffer'd Count <HI>Soi&s;&s;on</HI> to do what he had mo&s;t mind to, to humble him, and that Count did do what his pa&s;&s;ion per&s;uaded.</P>
<PB N="51" REF="31">
<P>This what pa&s;t in <HI>Piemont,</HI> let us now go &s;ee a little what a doing in <HI>Germany; France</HI> for a long time had a Months mind to the City of <HI>Stra&s;|burgh,</HI> it had defeated them a number of its mea&s;ures during the late War, and <HI>France</HI> had &s;o well felt the importance of that place to re&s;olve upon the having it, co&s;t it ne're &s;o much: To &s;peak of having it by force, lookt a little dif|ficult, and to do that a War mu&s;t be openly declar'd, and the adjacent Princes round about would have en|gag'd in her defence. The ea&s;ier way then &s;eem'd the getting it by trick: A Re&s;ident they kept at <HI>Strasburgh,</HI> in Character more of Spy then public Mi|ni&s;ter, who&s;e Bu&s;ine&s;s was to ob&s;erve all that pa&s;t; he had given the King often times account no good was to be done till tho&s;e Burgema&s;ters of the Town in pre&s;ent &s;tation were out of place, when new came to be made, had by that time gain'd a great many of the Votes, got Per|&s;ons elected to the Magi&s;tracy affection'd to the Intere&s;ts of <HI>France,</HI> ready fitted to make &s;ale of their Country for a piece of
<PB N="52" REF="32">Money, with the&s;e after that, he &s;trikes a Bargain for the delivery of the Town upon the fir&s;t occa&s;ion, and they for their Reward to have each a Hundred Thou&s;and Crowns a Man. The Mar|ket being thus &s;et, the&s;e Traytors give the Town to con&s;ider the great Burthens of their Debt they &s;tood charg'd with occa&s;ion'd by her va&s;t Expences incurr'd in the late War, and that now in time of Peace they &s;hould reduce the Gari&s;on which was too nu|merous: That the King of <HI>France,</HI> whom they had the mo&s;t cau&s;e to fear, had his whole thoughts took up towards <HI>Italy,</HI> whither he had drawn the be&s;t part of all his Forces, and that before he could march them back again they &s;hould have time enough to implore the a&s;&s;i|&s;tance of their Neighbours, who&s;e pro|per concern in their pre&s;ervation was too great not to afford them aid; hap|pen what would they had the Winter before to look about them, which was now at hand: That the King was great way di&s;tant from them, as indeed he was, and Summer then near &s;pent,
<PB N="53" REF="32">there was no manner of likelihood, he dur&s;t undertake any thing actually that &s;ea&s;on, &amp; by the means &s;ave a good Sum of Money in their Pur&s;es; that when Spring time came, they then &s;hould &s;ee what other mea&s;ures were fitte&s;t to be taken.</P>
<P>The advice took with the People, who were all for the &s;paring point, and for all the able&s;t men among&s;t them could formally oppo&s;e what the People once would have of nece&s;&s;ity to be, there was no with&s;tanding, one part of the Gari&s;on mu&s;t then be di&s;mi&s;t, and which was re|markable of tho&s;e the Forces of the El|de&s;t &s;tanding: But as the King of <HI>France</HI> lay perdue, but for the occa&s;ion, took Journey forthwith from <HI>Fountain-bleau</HI> at the &s;ame time caus'd his Men to draw down with expedition and inve&s;ts the City, at a time they imagin'd him in the mid&s;t of his Kingdom. Some play|ing with the Cannon there was upon both &s;ides, to take off all &s;u&s;picion off In|telligence, which hinder'd not, but tho&s;e of <HI>Strasburgh</HI> well enough un|der&s;tood them&s;elves betray'd. And tho
<PB N="54" REF="33">they now under&s;tood &s;o with the late&s;t, they yet entertain'd thoughts of ma|king a Defence: But a rable of Peo|ple hired at the &s;ame time by the <HI>French</HI> Re&s;ident, or it may be as well by the Burgema&s;ters them&s;elves came flocking to the Town-hou&s;e, crying out for a &s;urrender of the Town, which otherwi&s;e would be &s;uddenly con&s;um'd by the Fire of the Booms, and by the red hot Bullets. The Burgema&s;ters &s;oon li&s;tn'd to that demand, cau&s;e beat a Parly, &s;et up the White Colours for token of a general readine&s;s to capitu|late, and in a word to &s;ay all, yields up the Town.</P>
<P>I do not condemn <HI>France,</HI> for an act of this importance, &s;ince not of humor to matter much her Faith in point of Treaty; but what I am mo&s;t &s;candal'd at, to have the Face to colour it with a &s;hew of Ju&s;tice. The Emperor indeed having &s;ent Count <HI>Mansfeld</HI> to com|plain of the Breach of Peace, was an|&s;wer'd that they much wonder'd the Emperor would concern him&s;elf, where
<PB N="55" REF="33">he had not to do, that it was but lawful for the King to reduce a rebellious City: That <HI>Strasburgh,</HI> as the Capital of <HI>Al&s;ace</HI> did belong to him, by Ver|tue of the <HI>Mun&s;ter</HI> Treaty, and if he did not lay hold on't &s;ooner 'twas be|cau&s;e he had more pre&s;&s;ing work in Hand: But any would but an&s;wer me, if that City had been granted him as pretended, why entertain'd he there his public Mini&s;ters &s;o long time, why did he in the la&s;t War treat with her in Order to her remaining Neuter, and why &s;o often complaining of her not remaining &s;o? But all that <HI>France</HI> can &s;ay upon the &s;ubject, is indeed not &s;o much as worth an an&s;wer, &amp; &s;o I proceed to her Enterprizes el&s;ewhere: The taking of <HI>Strasburgh</HI> open'd the Eyes of a great many <HI>German</HI> Princes, lull'd for a long time like <HI>England</HI> in a profound Sleep. Every one was for revenging the inju|ry, but when they came to act accor|ding there was none but met with a Difficulty and Lyon in the way, one had no Money to begin a War, another
<PB N="56" REF="34">for not hazarding his Men, which he re&s;erv'd for &s;ome other time, another he would fir&s;t know, to whom the Town &s;hould fall when retaken; in &s;hort, if any &s;eem'd to be accorded together 'twas but as they con&s;pir'd each by their mutual ill conducts in the twi|&s;ting of Cords for their own Bondage. In the mean while <HI>France</HI> lo&s;t not her good time thus in unu&s;eful Di&s;cour&s;es: During the la&s;t War had all along kept a corre&s;pondence with <HI>Teckely,</HI> by the help of one <HI>Bohan</HI> of <HI>Ardenn</HI> by Nation, and whom I remember to have &s;een a Lieu|tenant of Hor&s;e in the <HI>French</HI> Army. He afterwards was in Service with the <HI>Pole,</HI> but being reform'd upon the Peace made between the Port and that Nati|on, went to &s;eek his Fortune with <HI>Tecke|ly,</HI> who took care to advance him, for that be&s;ides being a Man of good parts, was very likely to make a good Offi|cer; &s;ome three or four years &s;ince he had been in <HI>France,</HI> di&s;cours'd the Mini&s;ters, &amp; &s;etled there corre&s;pon|dence with them, that being call'd up|on
<PB N="57" REF="34">to make good his Word he had given them, order'd &s;o his matters, as to con|tent their expectations, and to the pur|po&s;e; <HI>Teckely</HI> engages to give diver&s;ion in <HI>Hungary,</HI> and that he might be the bet|ter in condition to bring in the <HI>Turks,</HI> has granted him great &s;upplies of Mo|ny, and far greater promis'd him, if once able to put in execution, the thing he had undertaken.</P>
<P>This Bu&s;ine&s;s has been &s;o generally known, that 'tis not to be doubted, by any who have had the lea&s;t in&s;tru|ction of what pa&s;&s;es in the World: Let|ters went from <HI>France</HI> to <HI>Germany,</HI> from <HI>Germany</HI> to <HI>Bohan</HI> by the means of a Se|cretary, to a certain Envoy the King there entertain'd, and from <HI>Bohan</HI> to <HI>Teckely:</HI> The Secretary lay long by the heels for this Bu&s;ine&s;s, and had not the King of <HI>France</HI> clapt up Count <HI>Mans|feld</HI>'s Secretary in requital, he had not been freed upon &s;o ea&s;ie a reckoning; but he being committed to the <HI>Ba&s;tille,</HI> and told he might be &s;ure to have the &s;ame u&s;age, whatever the other had at
<PB N="58" REF="35">the hands of the Emperor, oblig'd him quickly to po&s;t &s;ome a way to <HI>Vienna</HI> to give notice: The Emperor upon that &s;topt any further proceedings, and ra|ther cho&s;e to forgive the Guilty, then de|&s;troy the Innocent; yet to let &s;ee how &s;en&s;ible he was of the Injury, had the Pri&s;oner let loo&s;e, but at <HI>Bri&s;ac,</HI> where for the greater Marks of Infamy he was brought upon a Cart, bolted with Irons Hand and Foot, and under Guard &s;uf|ficient; 'twas fear'd <HI>France</HI> provoked by the Treatment, might do as much to Count <HI>Mansfeld</HI>'s Secretary; but whe|ther out of a better knowledge of her &s;elf, or that &s;he fear'd offering violence to the Right of Nations, of which I mu&s;t needs &s;ay &s;he is a mo&s;t Religious Ob&s;erver, he was let go out of the <HI>Ba|&s;tille,</HI> without u&s;ing of any Repri&s;als in the ca&s;e, and even &s;uffer'd to con|tinue in <HI>Paris,</HI> where I have been told he yet remains.</P>
<P>The Mighty Huff that follow'd after the taking of <HI>Strasburgh</HI> being vani&s;ht into Air: <HI>France</HI> as I &s;aid before, who&s;e
<PB N="59" REF="35">Stomach &s;till mended at the &s;ight of a fre&s;h Di&s;h, began again in Right of her Dependencies, which in proportion to her greedy Belly &s;he extended, to de|mand one part of <HI>Liege,</HI> even to the Moity of its Capital City, mean while as a Country frontier to <HI>Ger|many,</HI> as well as the Low-Countries, and for the de&s;igns &s;he had on both it was expedient for her purpo&s;e to meet with no re&s;i&s;tance, &s;he had during the late Wars, thrown down all the Forts, and di&s;mantled the Walls, already was in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Ca&s;tle of <HI>Dinan,</HI> by force of an Article in the <HI>Nemiguen</HI> Treaty by which the <HI>Spaniards</HI> lay un|der an Obligation to procure them the Propriety of from the Elector of <HI>Cullen,</HI> Prince and Bi&s;hop of <HI>Liege,</HI> to whom it of Right pertain'd, and the &s;ame to get ratifi'd at the Diet of <HI>Ratisbonne,</HI> or otherwi&s;e to give them <HI>Charlemont</HI> in &s;tead. The <HI>Spaniards</HI> not able to pre|vail with the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Cullen,</HI> to di&s;|member the place from off his Country, or rather <HI>France</HI> having underhand
<PB N="60" REF="36">hinder'd him from di&s;membring to have always pretext in hand to be tormen|ting of the poor <HI>Spaniard</HI> with, when they &s;o pleas'd: Be&s;ides, the Diet of the Empire would con&s;ent to no &s;uch alienation; <HI>France</HI> finding all the&s;e ob&s;tacles lay daily pre&s;&s;ing of the <HI>Spa|niards</HI> to put <HI>Charlemont</HI> into their Hands, according to the Tenure of the Treaty; the <HI>Spaniards</HI> they hung back all they could, as if they had fore&s;een what would come on't. But at la&s;t &s;eeing <HI>France,</HI> who well knew how to make her u&s;e of the mi&s;under&s;tandings of one and t'other, threatned to fall downright upon <HI>Flanders</HI> if they made not good their Engagements, <HI>Charlemont</HI> was deliver'd, which is one of the be&s;t places <HI>France</HI> is this day in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of, though po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of a great many good ones. When once <HI>Charlemont</HI> was in their Hands, the redelivering of <HI>Dinan,</HI> was no more mention'd, and &s;o blocks up <HI>Namur</HI> by the <HI>Meu&s;e,</HI> that when &s;he plea&s;es, can hinder any thing from coming
<PB N="61" REF="36">to it by Water carriage: For as Mi|&s;tre&s;s of the whole <HI>Liege</HI> Country, I know not which way <HI>Namur</HI> can re|ceive relief, but on the Land &s;ide. The <HI>Spaniards</HI> might complain their Heart out of being thus dealt with <HI>France,</HI> was ne're the more concern'd, but the contrary, the fir&s;t to cry out, The <HI>Spaniards</HI> had not perform'd to them their Peace of <HI>Nimeguen,</HI> &s;ince as yet they could not oblige them to a rendi|dition of the County of <HI>Alo&s;t,</HI> which of Right did to them belong.</P>
<P>All the Electors, bordering upon the <HI>Rhine,</HI> had a Crow to pull with <HI>France,</HI> about her Right of Dependance by the help of it pretending to &s;wallow all places that lay commodious for her pur|po&s;e, but when the thing demanded was had, or indeed the thing &s;he would give her &s;elf, like the Fire which ha|ving con&s;um'd all near to it in&s;en&s;ibly &s;preads it &s;elf to places more remote, &s;o &s;he having laid her clutches upon an in|finite Tract of Country pu&s;hes on her de&s;igns upon the very Capital
<PB N="62" REF="37">Towns of the Electoral Princes; to that effect alledg'd &s;he that the ground where &s;tood the Stables be|longing to the Elector of <HI>Mayence</HI> did ap|pertain with all the <HI>Hame,</HI> Country Soil, remarkable for the excellent Rheni&s;h that there grows: Her pretentions up|on the City of <HI>Cullen,</HI> and upon that of <HI>Mayence,</HI> bounds not with &s;o &s;mall a Bu&s;ine&s;s; <HI>France</HI> maintain'd that as the&s;e two Cities were much encreas'd by length of time, all that had been built for Four or Five preceeding Ages; was built upon what was granted her by Vertue of the Treaty, that therefore the buildings mu&s;t be demoli&s;ht, and the City re&s;train'd again to its Antient limits, or the Proprietors of tho&s;e Hou&s;es from thence forward to pay Allegiance to the Crown of <HI>France.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e Things thus acted by that King, nothing more could &s;hew how extremely they were deceived who &s;aid he aimed &s;o much at having his Son cho&s;e King of the <HI>Romans,</HI> &s;o far was he from de&s;igning that he &s;hould
<PB N="63" REF="37">ever arrive at the Empire, that 'twas his Bu&s;ine&s;s to give it rather an ab&s;olute overthrow; and &s;o began fir&s;t with the Electors, that for the future &s;uch a thing as Emperor might be no more in Nature.</P>
<P>The Emperor, the Princes of the Empire, the <HI>Spaniards,</HI> and in fine, all tho&s;e of the Cordial Allies &s;aw but too plain the tendency of all the&s;e De|&s;igns; but it &s;eems &s;uch was the Fate of <HI>Europe,</HI> whil&s;t they lo&s;t whole years in deliberating about triffles, <HI>France</HI> brings them under in the mean while, and prepares their Chains, who&s;e weight is known by none, but by tho&s;e they load: For in fine, her own Ancient Subjects, and tho&s;e very Men, who daily &s;pend them&s;elves to the la&s;t drop of their Blood in a&s;&s;i&s;ting them to compa&s;s their intentions meet with the &s;ame &s;ort of Treatment is mett to others, and to begin with tho&s;e who &s;erve in their Armies mu&s;t be under&s;tood are all obliged to make a profu&s;e Expence till
<PB N="64" REF="38">their all be whole run out, when &s;he Knows they have nothing left them, they pick a Fob-quarrel as one may call it, are after all glad to take to an Ho&s;pital for the final recompence of Service. 'Tis for that end, has &s;he truly built, and that a mo&s;t &s;umptuous one, but which &s;tands them not in no great matter of keeping, having laid hold on certain Lands which the par|ticular Devotion of &s;ome People had given towards the relief of Lepers, and converted to the u&s;e of that Ho&s;pital, but as tho&s;e Rents &s;uffice not for the maintenance or at lea&s;t will have it &s;o &s;uppo&s;ed, &s;he detains in her Hands a cer|tain Sum from both of the pay of Soul|dier and Officer, and that way makes them purcha&s;e their Places beforehand which each is very well plea&s;ed to do for that they are &s;atisfied, thither they all mu&s;t come and lay their Bones. And tho&s;e out of her Service have not a much better time on't, for though not oblig'd to &s;o great an Expence as others are, they &s;quee&s;e them to little by lit|tle
<PB N="65" REF="38">till they have &s;queezed out the la&s;t of what they have. And though they have continu'd &s;ome time in Peace, they have dimini&s;ht nothing of their Taxes, &s;o that their King is the only Gainer by the War, all be&s;ides lo|&s;ers.</P>
<P>The <HI>Franch</HI> County he has added to his Provinces with a great many more &s;everal Conque&s;ts, which have very much augmented his Revenue, which by his &s;everal new impo&s;itions he has greatly added to, readier to lay more on then to &s;uppre&s;s the Old. Now if they who &s;erve, and who &s;erve him not have &s;o much to &s;uffer, there yet re|mains another &s;ort of People in that State who certainly are yet much more to be pittied: I mean tho&s;e of the Re|form'd Religion, who mu&s;t endure on all &s;ort of outragious violences, for tho they do not outright put them to death by the Hands of a Hangman, as they are daily made to peri&s;h by little and little, their death is but the crueller in that it is the more langui&s;hing, and have
<PB N="66" REF="39">for all that never given but Eminent proofs of their Fidelity and Allegi|ance; and though when <HI>Henry</HI> the Fourth came to the Crown did he de&s;ert them, it came not into their Thoughts to do as much by him, which at that time had wholly ruin'd his Affairs; &s;ome time they did remain quiet, and enjoy'd the benefit of their Edicts, but ju&s;t it was they who were the great di|&s;turbers of <HI>Europe,</HI> &s;hould too di&s;turb a company of poor unhappy wretches, ex|cluded for ever from all Marks of Ho|nour and places of tru&s;t, have this how|ever to comfort them&s;elves, that for their Religion 'tis that they &s;uffer. Among&s;t the many of all &s;orts <HI>France</HI> thus undoes, whether within or without the Kingdom, the Prince of <HI>Orange</HI> was the only, as one may &s;ay, that nos'd them. And though his power was no more then what the Common|wealth of <HI>Holland</HI> were plea&s;ed to li|mit him, his great Heart was not &s;o bounded, and was incomparably grea|ter then his Fortune, he never gave
<PB N="67" REF="39">over remon&s;trating to &s;ome, that rather they &s;hould choo&s;e to peri&s;h, then &s;ub|mit to Power &s;o terribly dangerous, to other &s;ome the ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of ar|ming again&s;t her: many things that Prince had retrencht him&s;elf to rai&s;e a Fund for the &s;ub&s;i&s;tance of &s;ome well de&s;erving Officers, which that State at making of the Peace had reform'd, that &s;o through nece&s;&s;ity of Bread, they might not be oblig'd to &s;eek Employ|ment el&s;ewhere, and when he had occa|&s;ion for them, might know where to find them. <HI>France</HI> which knew &s;he had in him an Enemy &s;he mo&s;t of all fear'd, re&s;olv'd he &s;hould feel in his Per&s;onal concerns, a touch of her Re&s;entment, not to &s;ay of her Inju&s;tice, his Princi|pality of <HI>Orange</HI> lies between <HI>Languedoc</HI> and <HI>Avignon,</HI> which as Sovereign of, he had enjoy'd, he, and his Predece&s;&s;ors from the time it pa&s;t out of the Hou&s;e of <HI>Chalon</HI> into that of <HI>Na&s;&s;aw.</HI> But that King who was for &s;uffering no Sove|reign in <HI>France,</HI> nor in <HI>Europe</HI> neither, be&s;ides him&s;elf, had the Town of
<PB N="68" REF="40"><HI>Orange</HI> di&s;mantled; and the Prince of <HI>O|range</HI> left without any reparation, what complaint &s;oever at that time he made of it to the King never &s;o In&s;tant: But the King &s;topt not there in relation to his Affairs, for having re&s;olv'd to &s;trip him ab&s;olutely of that Sovereignty, he makes the Dutche&s;s of <HI>Nemours</HI> put in, who by colour of &s;ome fooli&s;h and idle pre|tences, had the Prince cited at Law to their Courts of Judicature, where not giving his appearance, the Prin|cipality of <HI>Orange</HI> was adjudg'd her; no body can, no more than I, tell upon what bottom that Decree could ground: For if by Vertue of &s;ome pretended old Entail from the Hou&s;e of <HI>Chalon,</HI> to which they will &s;ay the Predece&s;&s;ors of the Prince of <HI>Orange</HI> did not comply with, as it is ea&s;ie to give proof &s;uffi|cient to the contrary, 'tis not without a likelihood of Truth to &s;ay, that tho Madam <HI>de Nemours</HI> could make out the Title, her time was laps'd in point of claim; for that by the Laws of that Kingdom, &s;uch at lea&s;t as I have &s;een
<PB N="69" REF="40">them in ca&s;e of Cu&s;tom, the pre&s;crip|tion of Thirty years Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion was &s;ufficient to quiet a Title, and that the Prince of <HI>Orange,</HI> I mean, the Prince and his Predece&s;&s;ors together have en|joy'd for above a Hundred and fifty years: But whether this be &s;o or not, it hinder'd not, but Madam <HI>de Nemours</HI> obtain'd her Decree, which tho has for all that been &s;ince revok't, in the mean while the Prince has &s;ent Mr. <HI>Hem&s;ius</HI> to <HI>Paris,</HI> to &s;hew the King the wrong done him: The <HI>States</HI> General upon their part have particularly recom|mended that Affair to their Emba&s;&s;a|dour in <HI>France,</HI> but hitherto ineffectu|ally; and tho 'tis now &s;ix Months that Mr. <HI>Hem&s;ius</HI> is working at it, it yet appears not to have made any pro|gre&s;s; but let us pa&s;s to &s;ome other matter, this being but trifle in com|pari&s;on with what I have yet to &s;ay.</P>
<P>The King of <HI>Poland</HI> had ever been a Friend of <HI>France,</HI> 'twas by her means he got the Crown which every foot was &s;ending him pre&s;ents, in token of her
<PB N="70" REF="41">Friend&s;hip, had given him her Order of Holy Gho&s;t, and the only Prince &s;he in fine, thought well of in <HI>Europe</HI> be&s;ides. Now let us &s;ee how they came to break with him, and at who&s;e Door lies the fault; 'tis indeed with difficulty I mu&s;t di&s;cover this, but out it mu&s;t being got &s;o far there is no going back: The Money &s;ent by <HI>France</HI> to <HI>Teckely</HI> was no u&s;e|le&s;s &s;upply, he had for it engag'd the <HI>Turks</HI> to fall upon the Emperor; and <HI>France</HI> having due Intelligence of all that pa&s;t, both of time and place, and of the other &s;ide preferr'd the carrying on of her Intregues to all other con|cerns, made no Bones of Soliciting the King of <HI>Poland</HI> at that time to attack the Emperors Country upon his &s;ide, as the right of conveniency was an at|tractive &s;ort of right in her Eyes, which &s;way'd with her, imagin'd it might do the &s;ame with the King of <HI>Poland,</HI> and propos'd to him the Conque&s;t of <HI>Sile&s;ia,</HI> where in probability he was not like to meet with any great re&s;i|&s;tance from the Moment the <HI>Ottoman</HI>
<PB N="71" REF="41">Forces had made their de&s;cent into <HI>Hungary,</HI> the King of <HI>Poland</HI> who is a &s;harp Prince, and who needs no prompters to teach him his Le&s;&s;on, thought it improper to his own Ho|nour, as to that of his Crown, to make u&s;e of the advice, on the con|trary, he accepts of an Alliance with the Emperor then propos'd him by which they mutually engaged by League Offen&s;ive and Defen&s;ive to a&s;&s;i&s;t each other again&s;t the <HI>Turk: France</HI> had no &s;ooner learnt what the King of <HI>Poland</HI> had done but her former Kindne&s;s was immediately chang'd into an irreconci|lable hate, &s;ends to the Marquis of <HI>Vitry</HI> her Amba&s;&s;adour in that Court a Man of Parts, and good at an Intregue, to employ his skill to &s;et all at work in creating mi&s;under&s;tandings betwixt him and his people, and <HI>Mor&s;tein</HI> high Trea&s;urer of <HI>Poland,</HI> who was a Pen|tioner of <HI>France,</HI> and where he had thoughts to &s;ettle him&s;elf, and where he already had purchas'd great po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ions, a&s;&s;i&s;ts <HI>Vitry</HI> in his de&s;ign; already
<PB N="72" REF="42">had they tamper'd with &s;ome of the di&s;contented Senators, who talk't at no lower rates then the obliging the King of <HI>Poland</HI> to relinqui&s;h the Government. For the purpo&s;e already ca&s;t their Eyes upon a Per&s;on they had de&s;ign'd the Throne to in his &s;tead; When as good fortune would have it, the King of <HI>Po|land</HI> intercepted a Letter of <HI>Mor&s;tein</HI>'s writ in Cyphers, he &s;ends for him forthwith, and having enquir'd of him the meaning of the Letter, and find|ing he endeavour'd to &s;hift the Truth, bid him give the Key, <HI>Mor&s;tein</HI> re|ply'd 'twas with his Wite, which forc't the King to &s;end for her, when &s;he came, and found for what the King had &s;ent for her, told, &s;he had burnt the Key, and not being able to get out any better account, commanded the Commitment of them both under a &s;trong Guard till he &s;ifted the af|fair a little more narrowly: I &s;hall &s;ay no more upon this Chapter; every one knows the <HI>French</HI> Emba&s;|&s;ador convinc'd of Tampering in the
<PB N="73" REF="42">Bu&s;ine&s;s, a certain Senator out of pure love to his King and Country was bold enough to &s;ay in full a&s;&s;embly, &s;peaking of <HI>Mor&s;tan,</HI> that for attempts of a le&s;s na|ture the <HI>Turks</HI> had given Two hundred Ba&s;tinadoes to an Emba&s;&s;adour of <HI>France,</HI> and 'twas his Opinion, Mr. <HI>De Vitry</HI> de&s;erv'd four hundred: The King of <HI>Poland,</HI> a &s;agacious Prince, and great Politician, would &s;uf|fer him to &s;ay no more, for fear the heat he was in might tran&s;port him too far, hinder'd al&s;o the Entry of his Opinion upon their publick Records, contenting him&s;elf to let Mr. <HI>De Vitry</HI> know he had &s;train'd his Character of Emba&s;&s;a|dour; Mr. <HI>De Vitry</HI> remain'd not long after this in <HI>Poland,</HI> and if ever he have Emba&s;&s;y el&s;ewhere, I make no doubt the Princes they fend him to, will take due care to watch his Water. I have formerly toucht upon &s;ome circum|&s;tances of <HI>Luxemburg,</HI> but as in&s;en&s;i|bly I fell to other &s;ubjects, 'tis yet not un&s;ea&s;onable to relate what was the &s;ucce&s;s, though to have done
<PB N="74" REF="43">things, exactly methodical it &s;hould have been before handled. As the Conque&s;t of <HI>Strasburgh,</HI> and the acqui&s;ition of <HI>Ca|&s;al</HI> had &s;trangely alarm'd both Empe|ror and <HI>Spaniard,</HI> had been in&s;tant with all their Neigbouring Princes to u&s;e their Endeavours for their regaining of them again, but as &s;ome were feeble in all re&s;pects, others gain'd by the <HI>French,</HI> they remitted all to the Diet of <HI>Franckfort,</HI> where whole Months were &s;pent in canva&s;ing a Pa&s;s-port, four or five Months more took up in a debate whether they &s;hould &s;peak <HI>La|tin,</HI> high <HI>Dutch</HI> or <HI>French,</HI> that &s;o far from hopes of &s;ome Redre&s;s that way our Di&s;ea&s;e became the more incurable. The&s;e delatories then making the <HI>Im|periali&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Spain</HI> de&s;pair of gaining their point by means of the Diet, they by concerted Mea&s;ures march their Forces towards <HI>Strasburgh</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;al,</HI> which the <HI>French</HI> was then beginning to fortifie, &amp; which lay almo&s;t every where open for that the old works had been thrown down to put new in the room:
<PB N="75" REF="43">The Emperor &amp; <HI>Spaniard</HI> were but in an ill condition to go through with any thing they undertook. But the King of <HI>France</HI> newly &s;ettled in his Conque&s;t of tho&s;e two places, imagining they marcht not their Forces but with &s;ome de&s;ign, and might not be without hold|ing &s;ome private Intelligence in both the Towns, rai&s;es the <HI>Blocus</HI> of <HI>Luxemburgh</HI> to have Forces in readine&s;s to oppo&s;e.</P>
<P>Now as he was willing to have the thanks of that action, &s;ends for the Marquis of <HI>Fuentes</HI> Emba&s;&s;adour of <HI>Spain,</HI> to tell him, that upon the advice he had receiv'd the <HI>Turk</HI> was falling upon <HI>Hungary,</HI> he thought good to withdraw his Forces from <HI>Luxemburg,</HI> that &s;o the King of <HI>Spain</HI> might have the greater liberty to a&s;&s;i&s;t the Em|peror: The Marquis of <HI>Fuentes</HI> who knew well enough what to think of the Bu&s;ine&s;s, made his Compliment of thanks to his Maje&s;ty notwith&s;tand|ing, as an act of great grace and favor, but among&s;t Friends where he could be free, would be telling them what
<PB N="76" REF="44">was the real cau&s;e of &s;o great a change, which was in every Bodies mouth al|ready who had but the lea&s;t &s;macker|ing in publick Affairs: And indeed if I may be allow'd a little to argue the point, who is it does not &s;ee the art of this management was too too gro&s;s to pa&s;s upon good Eyes? For if true, <HI>France</HI> had &s;uch good natur'd, and &s;uch pious con&s;iderations, why has &s;he &s;ince contradicted them by &s;o many of her actions to the contrary? why a cor|re&s;pondence with <HI>Teckely?</HI> why Intregues carried on in <HI>Poland?</HI> why tho&s;e Alli|ances with <HI>Denmark</HI> and <HI>Brandenburgh?</HI> why Princes &s;o warmly ply'd to draw them to her &s;ide? And in &s;hort, why tho&s;e Huffs at the Imperial Diet, if they con&s;ent not to her preten&s;ions? I know before hand what an&s;wer I &s;hall have, I know nothing le&s;s will be al|low'd neither in regard to <HI>Teckely</HI> nor to the King of <HI>Poland,</HI> that to what concerns the re&s;t will be an&s;wer'd, it was the Ma&s;ter-piece of a Politick King vers'd in King-craft, and the Arts of
<PB N="77" REF="44">Government to be making &s;ometimes &s;uch &s;ort of Alliances which have their u&s;e, not &s;o much in order to the &s;upport of War abroad among&s;t his Neighbours, as to hinder his Neighbours from car|rying the War home to his own door. I do know, as I &s;aid, the unthinking part of Mankind may be put upon in di&s;|owning of the one, and in giving &s;ome kind of glo&s;s to palliate the other, but I would a little fain know if they can an&s;wer this too which I am now about &s;aying, <HI>France</HI> was willing to rai&s;e the <HI>Blocus</HI> of <HI>Luxemburg</HI> a whole year be|fore the <HI>Turks</HI> came down upon <HI>Hun|gary,</HI> and when effectually they came with a Vengeance he frames a Camp in <HI>Al&s;atia,</HI> to hold the Emperor in play, makes another in <HI>Flanders,</HI> to oblige <HI>Spain</HI> to be upon her Guard, a Camp upon the River <HI>Soare</HI> he orders, to frighten the Electors, and in fine, has another Camp drawn upon the <HI>Saonne</HI> to keep the re&s;t of <HI>Europe</HI> in a Jealou&s;ie: <HI>France</HI> would &s;hew to the World &s;he becomes le&s;s rapacious upon the con&s;i|derations
<PB N="78" REF="45">of the great misfortunes that hung now over the Head of <HI>Chri&s;ten|dom,</HI> and when tho&s;e misfortunes are actually befallen her, it then Thun|ders, Threats and Rants, and lets the Diet be roundly told he onely will give but &s;uch certain &s;hort day to grant her inju&s;t pretentions in and if not then granted would do her &s;elf that right by force of Arms: And to be doing as well as &s;aying, pre&s;ents with a great Army upon the Frontier, ready at a mouthfull to &s;wallow &s;everal of the <HI>Spaini&s;h</HI> Provinces; War indeed they can't be &s;aid to make, but make alto|gether as much mi&s;chief, by their hindring tho&s;e Princes which &s;he ju&s;t dreaded as &s;he did the <HI>Turk,</HI> from em|ploying their Forces in favour of the Emperor: The Emperor indeed him&s;elf obliged to leave his to guard the <HI>Rhine,</HI> whil&s;t a Company of Infidels invades his Dominions, ravages to the very Heart of his Country, and carries off for Slaves a hundred Thou&s;and Souls, burns his Palaces, lays wa&s;te the Coun|try
<PB N="79" REF="45">round, and in conclu&s;ion claps Siege to <HI>Vienna,</HI> his Capital City, and place of Re&s;idence.</P>
<P>But I perceive not all this while, that having but now documented others, I in&s;en&s;ibly fall into the &s;ame Error my &s;elf I would have them avoid: I fall off arguing the point, as if every one could not do it as well without me, let us have done then with the&s;e kind of entertainments, and go on to our Exa|mine of other places whether <HI>France</HI> a&s;piring to the Univer&s;al Monarchy be Truth, or Fiction, or rather let us &s;ee if &s;he already u&s;urps not upon the right of Sovereigns as if &s;he actually were the Mi&s;tre&s;s of the World: Let us &s;ee what &s;he is about, with her Mines in all the Courts of <HI>Europe;</HI> not that I pretend to &s;ay Policy is a thing forbid|den among&s;t Princes, but that her meaning may no more be doubted of, every one can tell what an Errand &s;he &s;ent the Republic of <HI>Genoua,</HI> who&s;e Coat &s;he fain would pick a hole in, &s;ends word &s;he will not have her put her
<PB N="80" REF="46">Gally's out, le&s;t they &s;hould come to joyn with tho&s;e of <HI>Spain,</HI> if otherwi&s;e &s;hould take it for an act of Ho&s;tility, and &s;hould u&s;e her accordingly as an Enemy declared: The <HI>Hollanders</HI> ju&s;t &s;o dealt with about a Month or two &s;ince, upon the intent they had of &s;end|ing &s;ome new Ships to the King of <HI>Swede:</HI> So that over tho&s;e two Com|mon-wealths, where &s;he hath nothing to do, &s;he already Lords it as ab&s;olute Sovereign, &s;he will not &s;uffer Free States, who have bought their Liberty with the Price of their Blood &s;hall think to make Alliances, and &s;uccour their Allies, and they that call them|&s;elves the elde&s;t Sons of the Church can yet &s;uffer an Alliance with her mo&s;t mortal Enemy: But then let us &s;ee how &s;he deals with tho&s;e that leave her Intere&s;t, and tho&s;e it &s;elf, who are mean &s;pirited enough to adhere to her, let us look a little upon the different Springs &s;he &s;ets at work to bring her matters about; what &s;ays &s;he not of the Duke of <HI>Bavaria,</HI> for de&s;erting the
<PB N="81" REF="46">&s;ide, and his &s;o very generou&s;ly em|bracing that of the Emperor; what does &s;he not at <HI>Leige,</HI> where &s;he makes it her Bu&s;ine&s;s to &s;oment the Rebellion of that People again&s;t their lawful Prince, that &s;o the Prince not able to ma&s;ter them, may not with the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of other Princes be in a po&s;t to make a Barrier of that City, and &s;top her pa&s;&s;age that way into the Territories of other States? What does &s;he not act at <HI>Cullen,</HI> where the Inhabitants are all banding one again&s;t t'other, and cutting one ano|thers Throats, whil&s;t the Enemy is at their Gates, ready to devour? What not at <HI>Hamburgh</HI> and <HI>Lubec,</HI> where Intregues apparent as the Sun are car|rying on to the ruine both of their Li|berty and Country? What leave they undone in the Courts of the <HI>Lunebourg</HI> Princes, where People bani&s;ht <HI>France</HI> are mo&s;t in Credit, but bani&s;ht after &s;uch a fa&s;hion as to return again into that Kingdom, when they will, and privately to &s;ee, and di&s;cour&s;e the Mi|ni&s;ters? Indeed what is &s;he not brewing
<PB N="82" REF="47">in the Emperors Court it &s;elf, where &s;he foments Jealou&s;ies among the chief, where &s;he opens the very Cabinet Coun&s;els with her Silver Key, where not one re&s;olution can be taken, but &s;he gets notice of, at the &s;ame time? Some may &s;ay, I di&s;cour&s;e but of the&s;e affairs conjecturally: I &s;hall mo&s;t willing|ly leave them to their own thoughts after, &s;aying, what I have in an&s;wer.</P>
<P>After the routing the Mar&s;hal of <HI>Crequi</HI> at the Seige of <HI>Treves, France</HI> lay open to the prevailing &s;ide, there then &s;tood no more Forces in their way, and had they been &s;o minded might well have carried the Terror of their Arms into the Heart of the Coun|try: The <HI>French</HI> were much afraid they would, and begun to pack their mo&s;t valuable goods within the wall'd Towns, when Mr. <HI>De Louvois</HI> told a certain Per&s;on with whom I had par|ticular acquaintance during the time I was in <HI>France,</HI> and whom I have it from, that the Enemy would act no far|ther that Campagne, and were then
<PB N="83" REF="47">upon their drawing off; I willingly would ask now if this was news one could rea&s;onably well credit in the then pre&s;ent po&s;ture of Affairs, if one ought not to be &s;upernaturally gifted, if one needed not a &s;pirit of Revelation to be believing the contrary to what every one el&s;e had rea&s;on to believe: But what will not a Man do, as a certain old Author has remark't, who devotes his whole thought to become rich? To that very effect have the <HI>Sui&s;&s;es</HI> took the Bridle in their Mouths by the Fort of <HI>Huninghen,</HI> and made &s;ale both of Liberty and Country; a Coun&s;ellor of their State might remon&s;trate his Heart out in full a&s;&s;embly, the Intere&s;t tho&s;e People had to be early in their oppo&s;ition to a power, who in her am|bitious thoughts devour'd <HI>Europe,</HI> the Pen&s;ioners of <HI>France</HI> &s;oon &s;tops his Mouth, and as they &s;truck the greate&s;t &s;troke with that Common-wealth, mu&s;t &s;ubmit to what they pleas'd to do: That way 'twas that Nation &s;uffer'd without oppo&s;ing the <HI>Franch</HI> County to be &s;ei|zed
<PB N="84" REF="48">by <HI>France,</HI> from whence it might have hoped the &s;peedy a&s;&s;i&s;tance of a Neighbour: I &s;peak not of a great ma|ny more things happen'd of the &s;ame batch in the time of the late Wars, will &s;eem too &s;uperannuated, and too tri|fling: For in fine, who is't, but right well knows that to be the opening Key the <HI>French</HI> have with unlockt the Gates of &s;o many Towns; every one can tell 'tis with that In&s;trument &s;he renders all undertakings to her prejudice Abor|tive, and did retard the Seige of <HI>Phil|lipsburgh;</HI> but 'twere too much work to &s;ay here how very u&s;eful their Coin has been in their regard, and how very prejudicial to the World be&s;ides. And yet can't hold from &s;peaking of a late pa&s;&s;age happen'd in <HI>Denmark,</HI> to &s;hew &s;he is no &s;uch &s;quanderer neither of her Mony, as one would well ima|gine, <HI>Denmark</HI> becoming Pen&s;ioner to <HI>France,</HI> or &s;ay rather took Her Money to act as <HI>France</HI> would have her, <HI>Mr. Colbert,</HI> through who&s;e hands the Mo|ny went de&s;ign'd for that Court, having
<PB N="85" REF="48">fancy to try, how the <HI>Dane</HI> would take it to have his Pen&s;ion retrench't, caus'd write to that effect to the <HI>French</HI> Emba&s;&s;adour in <HI>Denmark</HI> by the Hand of <HI>Mr. Colbert De Croi&s;&s;y</HI> his Brother, who&s;e Province 'tis to take care of <HI>For|reign</HI> Affairs; the Emba&s;&s;adour having receiv'd his In&s;tructions went imme|diately to wait upon the King of <HI>Den|mark</HI> &s;urprized in the highe&s;t Nature, at the proceeding told him, he had no an&s;wer to return, but &s;hould give the King of <HI>France,</HI> one by the hands of his own Envoy then in Court, and at the &s;ame time &s;end Directions to his Envoy to &s;peak to the King in the Bu|&s;ine&s;s, and to let him know how ill he took it at his hands: The King told the Envoy of <HI>Denmark,</HI> that he under&s;tood not what 'twas he &s;poke to him about, that his Emba&s;&s;ad our had acted with|out order, that 'twas never his thought neither to add nor dimini&s;h any thing in the Treaty he had made with the King his Ma&s;ter, and &s;hould call home his Emba&s;&s;adour to teach him under|taking
<PB N="86" REF="49">thus things of his own Head, &s;o the poor Emba&s;&s;adour was Sacrificed ju&s;t like the Governor of <HI>Luxemburg,</HI> di&s;own'd by the <HI>Spaniards,</HI> as before related: <HI>France</HI> too di&s;owns her Em|ba&s;&s;adour to pre&s;erve Amity with the Crown of <HI>Denmark.</HI></P>
<P>It now remains to in&s;pect the cau&s;e why <HI>France</HI> &s;o potent in her Arms, and knowing how di&s;united and divided were all her Neighbours, has for all that been &s;o long without engaging. To this a rea&s;on is given with much fa|cility, nor is there in it much of puzzle.</P>
<P>The private Alliance &s;he had made with the <HI>Turks,</HI> was the String to her Bow &s;he mo&s;t tru&s;ted to, but that Al|liance could not be expected &s;hould produce the wi&s;h't effect of a &s;udden, for the Truce then a foot between the Em|peror and the Port expired but in the Year 1682. and had a mind it &s;hould expire fir&s;t before any thing was to be undertaken, was not over &s;ure whether the <HI>Turks,</HI> who&s;e Faith in that affair could not be well relied on, would ef|fectually
<PB N="87" REF="49">declare again&s;t the Emperor, or whether would accept tho&s;e very ad|vantagious Terms propos'd by the <HI>Impe|riali&s;ts,</HI> ont'other hand &s;he was upon the fortifying of a world of places, where much time was requi&s;ite to fini&s;h the works, and was again&s;t the Rules of common Policy, not to enter upon a War, till &s;he had &s;een tho&s;e places in &s;ome probable Perfection, and thi|therto truly one might do her that right &s;he had let &s;lip no favourable occa&s;ion, but on the contrary had been imprudently done to act otherwi&s;e: And indeed to &s;hew clearly her De&s;ign was to draw her men into the Field from the very critical Minut: The <HI>Turks</HI> began the dance with theirs, that no &s;ooner had advice they had fall'n upon <HI>Hungary,</HI> but the King parts froms <HI>Ver&s;ailles</HI> to head their Army, at the &s;ame time a Detachment had already been drawn of tho&s;e en|camp't upon the <HI>Saone,</HI> with orders for their March towards the Frontier, and nothing now in Mouths of the
<PB N="88" REF="50"><HI>French,</HI> but the be&s;eiging of <HI>Cullen</HI> or <HI>Philipsburgh,</HI> when all of a &s;udden a very extraordinary piece of news alter'd the re&s;olutions of that Prince: he had heard the <HI>Hungarians</HI> had abandon'd the pa&s;s at <HI>Raab,</HI> and that the <HI>Turks</HI> without the lea&s;t of &s;topping at <HI>Raab,</HI> or <HI>Comorra,</HI> as was pretended they would have &s;topt at, advance on with an innumerable, va&s;t Army towards <HI>Vienna,</HI> which they had determin'd to be&s;eige: Now <HI>France</HI> was well enough &s;atisfi'd the <HI>Turks</HI> &s;hould make Diver|&s;ion, but &s;orry they &s;hould make them|&s;elves Ma&s;ter of the Empire which he now look't on as his proper Patrimo|ny: <HI>France</HI> tru&s;ted to their be&s;eiging <HI>Raab</HI> and <HI>Comorra</HI> places of great &s;trength both by Art and Nature, and that they would &s;pend both their time and pains before they gain'd their point, in the <HI>interim</HI> made &s;ure of doing his own Bu&s;ine&s;s, and to oblige the Ele|ctors &s;eeing them&s;elves on all hands &s;o &s;urrounded with Enemies to conde|&s;cend to what &s;he pleas'd her &s;elf: Hoped
<PB N="89" REF="50">after the reinforcing his own, with the Forces of the Empire, to march them &s;traight up to the <HI>Turk,</HI> &amp; force him to a Battel or to retire home again: Noble de&s;igns of a great Prince, and brim full of Ambition; But learning as I &s;aid, the <HI>Turks</HI> had laid Seige to <HI>Vienna</HI> was oblig'd to take new mea&s;ures: To that effect he found it was no more to his purpo&s;e to &s;et upon the Empire which another was about taking the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;i|on of by the taking of a &s;ingle Town: For as that was the only place of De|fence it was po&s;&s;ible for him indeed to have caus'd a great deal of de&s;olation, and terror of his &s;ide, but was the wrong way to &s;ettle in the Throne.</P>
<P><HI>France</HI> then cho&s;e rather at a di|&s;tance to take her pro&s;pect of what might be the event of the Seige of <HI>Vi|enna,</HI> and &s;end her Creatures about &s;till repre&s;enting to all the Princes of the Empire, how the Emperor was but a weak Prince, fitter to hold beads then a Scepter, and to fit in a Cloi&s;ter by much then at Helm: That the Em|pire
<PB N="90" REF="51">was Tottering, and even now ready to fall under his conduct, that henceforth they would need rather a &s;tout, vigorous Prince, which with a Thou&s;and good qualities be&s;ides un|der&s;tood perfectly well that of Leading of an Army: That if the <HI>Turks</HI> come once to get <HI>Vienna,</HI> they ought all to expect no better then ab&s;olute de&s;tru|ction: That their true and only means to be &s;ecured from &s;o imminent a mi&s;|chief was to implore the aid of the King of <HI>France,</HI> who would &s;oon li&s;ten to it, provided they elected the <HI>Dauphin</HI> King of the <HI>Romans,</HI> as 'twas a thing he had been in&s;tant with them for of a long time, they &s;hould no &s;ooner have an&s;wer'd his de&s;ire in that particular, the Face of their Empire &s;hould &s;oon &s;ee chang'd, that the Kings Forces lay ready at their Gates for their nearer a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and would in &s;hort retrive the Empire again into that flouri&s;hing condition it had ever yet been in under its greate&s;t Emperors.</P>
<P>Prince <HI>William</HI> of <HI>Fur&s;tenburgh</HI> Bi|&s;hop
<PB N="91" REF="51">of <HI>Strasburgh</HI> de voted wholly to the Intere&s;ts of <HI>France,</HI> who for &s;ome Years has been labouring to deliver up his Country, was one of tho&s;e mo&s;t powerfully endeavor'd to in&s;inuate the&s;e kind of things: But the aver&s;ion the Empire had for the <HI>French</HI> in general, was &s;o great, and &s;o univer&s;al, &s;o far from calling of them into their help, would have much &s;ooner call'd in the <HI>Turk:</HI> And indeed the <HI>Turk</HI> troubles no Body for his Religion &s;ake, leaving every one to his Liberty of Con&s;cience, keeping &s;trictly to their word, where they once give it, and provided their Tribute be but paid which you promi&s;e them, Exact no more, no Leeches there preying upon the Blood of the People to be &s;een as in <HI>France</HI> &s;war|ming under the Name of <HI>Parti&s;an,</HI> or Farmers of the Kings Revenue, there no laying of new Taxes upon every &s;ort of thing, or when nece&s;&s;ity obliges them to lay any are taken off again, as the nece&s;&s;ity cea&s;es, the Souldier is not there ill handled, nor the Mini&s;ters at
<PB N="92" REF="52">every turn threatning to lay them by the heels; on the contrary the Sword-Man is in great e&s;teem among&s;t them, and a brave Fellow there is not without his Mark of Di&s;tinction: In a word they had heard &s;o much of the <HI>French</HI> Do|mination and way of Government that they had re&s;olv'd as one Man to &s;tand it out to the la&s;t then ever have &s;ub|mitted.</P>
<P>In vain then did all the&s;e good <HI>French</HI> men take the pains in giving out as I was &s;aying they did: The King then &s;eeing he lo&s;t his time that way, re&s;olv'd upon the employing it &s;omewhere el&s;e to better purpo&s;es, whil&s;t the occa&s;ion was opportune; his Pretentions to the County of <HI>Alo&s;t</HI> he &s;till kept up, and &s;o marches to <HI>Flanders</HI> &s;ide with his Forces, proceeds to nominating of his general Officers, which he is never accu&s;tom'd to do but upon the neck of a War, and in fine making all ready to enter upon the Country: But ju&s;t upon the point of putting his de&s;ign in execution, God
<PB N="93" REF="52">was pleas'd to take out of this World the Queen his Wife, one of the be&s;t Prince&s;&s;es upon Earth, after a &s;ickne&s;s of two or three Days.</P>
<P>Her Di&s;ea&s;e appear'd not vi&s;ibly dan|gerous, and was but a &s;welling, which kindly enough inclin'd to &s;uppuration, but the Doctors in&s;tead of letting Na|ture have her Cour&s;e which was e'en ready to throw off the malignity as I was &s;aying, having through Ignorance let her Blood, contrary to the Opinion of Mr. <HI>Fagon</HI> her chief Phy&s;ician, it &s;truck in again to the Heart, and kill'd her: So &s;oon as the Queen's con|dition was perceiv'd Dangerous, the King had notice, who came pre&s;ently to her Chamber, and &s;eem'd mo&s;t ex|tremly &s;en&s;ible, threw him&s;elf upon her Bed, with the Tears in his Eyes &s;peak|ing to her in <HI>Spani&s;h,</HI> but the Queens Eyes now &s;etting in Head, and Death approaching died in his Arms without being able to an&s;wer: They had an Hour or two before given <HI>Emetick</HI> Wine but had not &s;trength enough
<PB N="94" REF="53">to bear it, that in&s;tead of doing her good, &s;erv'd only but to &s;horten her time, they forc't the King away from her, who lay taking on like wild in her Arms, and the Queen they left upon the Bed of State, till the next Day, then put her into a Coffin of Lead, placing in&s;tead of the Body a waxen Image made in re&s;emblance, which for Nine days together was &s;erv'd up as if yet alive, or rather as if it was the Queen her &s;elf: She was afterwards carried to St. <HI>Dennis</HI> the ordinary Bu|rying place of the Kings of <HI>France,</HI> with a Magnificence truly Royal: Six|teen thou&s;and Flambeauxs, Six hun|dred poor People clad in Black, be&s;ides the Servants of her own Family, and tho&s;e of all the Princes, and Prince&s;&s;es of the Blood Royal, an infinite of other Per&s;ons of the fir&s;t quality, with an endle&s;s train of Coaches. Her Heart had been carried &s;ome days before to <HI>Val-de grace,</HI> and placed in the Nuns Quire, right again&s;t the Chappel, where is kept that of the Queen Mo|ther.</P>
<PB N="95" REF="53" MS="y">
<P>Two or three days before the Queen dy'd, there happen'd a thing of an odd Nature enough: That Prince&s;s who was extremely addicted to her Religi|on, having call'd for an <HI>Almanack</HI> to her Bed-&s;ide to &s;ee when &s;uch a Holy|day would fall to which &s;he had a par|ticular Devotion, perceiv'd the Com|po&s;er of the <HI>Almanack</HI> in his Predicti|ons upon the Month <HI>July,</HI> foretold the withdrawing of a Prince, and Death of &s;ome great Lady who would be much regretted, and as the Prince of <HI>Condy</HI>'s leaving the Court, &s;hew'd perfectly he had hit extreme right, She turns her &s;elf to Madam <HI>La Mar&s;halle de Hu|miers</HI> Lady of her Bed-chamber, who &s;tood at her Beds-head and askt if 'twas not &s;he they meant; The particular of this I had from Madam <HI>La Mar&s;halle d' Humiers</HI> her &s;elf, and &s;ince have had the curio&s;ity to view the <HI>Almanack,</HI> where tho&s;e very two things are litterally to be found. However the grief of the King &s;lopt his <HI>Flanders</HI> expedition, re|tir'd immediately to St. <HI>Clou,</HI> his Bro|thers
<PB N="96" REF="54">the Duke of <HI>Orleance</HI>'s Country Hou&s;e, from thence to <HI>Fountain-bleau,</HI> where in vain they &s;trive to divert him, as the Queen took great plea&s;ure in that place made him often call to mind his Queen, tears are frequent in his Eyes, and nothing but length of time can make him forget her.</P>
<P>Notwith&s;tanding they give out, he per&s;i&s;ts &s;till in his great de&s;igns the Truth of which we &s;hall &s;oon Know with a little patience: But for me, I think God &s;ent him that affliction to move him, and that in a little time, he not only will leave <HI>Europe</HI> in Peace, but by joining his Arms with the <HI>Chri|&s;tians</HI> will force the <HI>Turk</HI> to leave the Empire in quiet, which we ought all to wi&s;h.</P>
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<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's note">
<P>THis Book was given to the Book&s;eller, the Fifteenth of <HI>Augu&s;t,</HI> by which 'tis to be &s;een, the Author mu&s;t be well enough acquain|ted with the Bu&s;ine&s;s of <HI>Alo&s;t,</HI> the <HI>manife&s;to</HI> in Relation to it being to come out upon the <HI>Satur|day,</HI> and her Maje&s;ty dying but the day be|fore, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<PB REF="54" MS="y">
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
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