Prince as we may say forcing nature in the Child did so harass him in mounting on Horse back and fencing before he was strong enough to bear these rude Exeâ—â—ises that he thereby lost one full Third of hiâ— Boâ—y In effect those that have seen him undress'd know that he is in a manner all Thighs and Leggs Nevertheless this last opinion is scarcely believ'd if we make Reflection upon his hump back which gives him so ridiculous an Air and which cannot be look'd upon otherwise than a natural defect and it is reasonable to believe he came into the World in this condition because we certainly see by experience that the exercise of Arms contributes rather to regulate and render the Body free than to cause such imperfections Let it be as it will he has improv'd it well We may say that he is at present a Man after the King 's own Heart so it is not to be wonder'd at if he leaves to him the Government of his Armies since he has been bold several times to say That he thank'd God that he had caus'd him to be born without pity and compassion to the end he might be more capable of serving the King his Master and executing his designs A very Christian like sentiment and worthy of Monsieur de Luxemburgh But as to the Hump in his Back it will not be amiss to give an account of a thought which he had the day after the Battle of Fleurns As he receiv'd the Complements of success from the Lieutenant Generals and other Officers of his Army shewing them his Hump he told them he had there a reserve of a Body of Forty Thousand Men of which his Enemies knew nothing which would always render him Victorious thereby remarking the Artifices which he made use of which without contradiction makes up a good part of the Necromancy of which he was accused and which he himself has begun to Communicate since he has been a Commander to the other French Generals The Marquess de Bouflers who was one of his principal Disciples did him most Honour for he it is that at present seems to have profited most by the Lessons of his Master So Monsieur de Luxemburgh chose him to be at the Head of this reserve of which he spoke and was very careful in all the Battles to place him so well that he was seen running up and down like a Mad-Man not to say fly upon the least signal that he gave him The King seeing him come in turn'd towards him and spoke in these Terms Luxemburgh you are the Person at this Day in whom France places her greatest hopes my People look upon you as their Turenne and I my self esteem you as my right Hand you see me engaged in an unhappy War which consumes my Treasure impoverishes my Subjects ruins the State and makes me apprehensive of unhappy Events It is a lingring Fever which undermines by little and little my Kingdom and I fear lest it should in the issue become like Spain that is to say a poor and impotent Desert Sir answer'd Luxemburgh I thank your Majesty for having forgot my pass'd faults and for honouring me with the preference of the Command of your Armies before the Marshal d' Humieres much Older and Wiser than my self I am at the same time very much Obliged to the deceased Marquess of Louvois my good Friend and to the good Madam de Maintenon who sollicited my release and employ'd all their credit with your Majesty to get me out of the Bastile where I had been shut up upon the Death of the Count de Soissons and several other small matters which I was branded withall I vow I did not expect to be received again into your Grace and Favour your Majesty having had since tâ—e War of 1672 a particular aversion to my Pâ—rson But on the other side I am glad to see that my Enemies have for their part shame and trouble by the Triumph of my Innocence after having imploy'd all their power to ruin me I shall remember all my Life time the reverend Father La Chaise and the jealous Madam de Montespan who have been the principal actors of this Tragedy and if it is natural to keep resentment I will reserve to my self a favourable occasion to let them know that I have not been either a Necromancer nor Madam Brinvilliers Disciple But answer'd his Majesty Let us not talk of pass'd Quarrels altho' what is said of you should be true and also that you had a familiar Spirit to win Battles to gain the Love of the Ladies and to please me I will in acknowledgment of the Services that you have done me in the Wars of Holland and that you may do me in the present War order the Courts of Justice to burn the Informations and the Tryal and to forbid any upon pain of Death throughout my whole Kingdom to talk directly or indirectly of it Sir answered Luxemburg I most humbly thank your Majesty for the care that you will take of my reputation and I do engage upon my word that in remembrance of so great a Favour I will do for my part all that lies in my power to ruin your Enemies and advance your Conquests You know answer'd his Majesty That the first Campaign which was that of 1689. I gave the Command of my Army to the Marshal d' Humieres and that this General who is a good Man did really do me good service For it was him that I sent Ambassador to the Court of England immediately after the Death of King Charles and he executed my Orders very punctually For King James who came to be Crown'd King of three Kingdoms received him with open Arms and very generously accepted all the offers of Alliance and Friendship that Humieres made him on my behalf But this unfortunate Prince afterwards not having followed my Orders found himself all of a sudden overwhelm'd with great troubles and has engag'd me in a War which has Arm'd all Europe against me But to come to my purpose Having then chose him to Command in Flanders against Prince Waldeck a General of good Conduct and well instructed in what concern'd the Order that an Army in her Marches and Incampments ought to be kept in but on the other hand very unlucky to hazard a Battle I remark'd that in this first year the Marshal d' Humieres suffer'd himself to be Coop'd up as we say by Prince Waldeck and that he had during the whole Campaign the disadvantage I remember also very well the Battle of Walcourt which was on the Great St. Louis day Patron and Protector of my Kingdom where all my House-hold was Cut in pieces but I pardon him with all my heart because he did it with a good intention and belief of doing me Service that day The little Genius of d' Humieres was not only the cause of this check but we may also say that he favour'd by the little motion he made the Enterprizes
says Luxemburgh this Conquest is not important enough to imploy a King with an Army of one hundred and fifty thousand Men. What shall be done then says his Majesty shall we enter into the Country of Liege to force the Prince of that Diocess to lay down his Arms and to submit himself to my clemency No says Luxemburgh that expedition is more proper for Boufflers than your Majesty it is not glorious enough for a Prince who marches only to attack invincible places Ha! What then says his Majesty Thus Sir says Luxemburgh your Majesty must come at the Head of one hundred and fifty thousand Men divided into three Bodies the first of which shall be commanded by your Majesty having under you the Mareschall d' Humieres The the second shall be under the Command of the Marquess de Bâ—ufflers and the third shall be remitted to my Conduct The Army being thus divided the Marquess de Boufflers shall take the Van with a Body of fifteen thousand Horse and possess the passages and avenues The main Body of the Army being arriv'd your Majesty shall form the Siege of Namur and by the taking of that important place you will render your self Master of a whole County which is without contradiction the finest of the Low Countries Luxemburgh says his Majesty this enterprise is great and this place seems to me Impregnable by it Situation besides the building of a certain Fort which is called Fort William built within this little while renders it almost inaccessible Sir says Luxemburgh Art and Inteltelligence must favour force and as we say sow the Tail of the Fox to the Skin of the Lyon I know an expedient by which half of these difficulties will be overcome and thus it is as I understand it There is in the Cittadel a certain Baron de Berse which is a Major a Man fit to do any thing a high spender and much given to his pleasures I understand that this Berse calls himself Kinsman of Madam de Maintenon and that 's what we want But says his Majesty who has told you that this Berse will be a fit Man to hold correspondence Sir answer'd Luxemburgh it is sufficient that he is given to Debauchery Your Majesty must charge Madam de Maintenon with all this business and whilst we shall be preparing Bombs and Carcasses she on her side must attack the strongest part of the place by fair and good guilded Letters which will do more in one day than an Army of one hundred and fifty thousand Men in six weeks Ho! says his Majesty if matters be so my good and dear Maintenon will do that well enough to do me a kindness But what is it she must promise him in order to engage him Sir says Luxemburgh she must promise him one hundred thousand Livers for reward and after the reduction of the place a Lieutenant Generals Post I am persuaded that he will accept the proposition and that in less than eight days your Majesty will have convincing proofs thereof Ha! Well says his Majesty suppose then for example that he accepts the offers that Maintenon shall make him in your opinion what method must he take to favour the enterprize Sir says Luxemburgh it is this he must in the first place make an exact Register of all the Provisions and Ammunitions of War which shall be found in the Cittadel he must also make a very regular draught of the strength and weakness both of the Cittadel the Devils House Fort William â—e must oppose in quality of Major of thc Cittadel to all that shall be undertaken on the behalf of the Prince of Barbancon who he must also endeavour to engage if that can be done He must inform your Majesty or some of your Generals of all the designs marches and countermarches of your Enemies he must at the same time seem to do nothing but to keep himself in the Cittadel and at his ordinary Post just till you give him notice that the Mine is to be sprung Which being done Madam de Maintenon must write to him some time before to pretend to come out in a Party and suffer himself to be taken Prisoner as if it had happen'd by imprudence The Invention is not bad says his Majesty Sir says Luxemburgh being thus made Master of a Man who will inform you at bottom of the least Circumstances you ought to assure your self that from this time forth the place is surrendred If that be so says his Majesty we shall have as good a Bargain as that of Mons. But the Prince of Orange is about to repass the Sea in order to be present here early and by what I can learn here may put himself into the Field as soon as I and having a great Army and being accompany'd with the Elector of Bavaria they may well dispute this Conquest with me these two Princes are of a little hot temper so that this attacking them by so sensible an enterprise will so infâ—ame them that they will not fail to get together all their Forces to oppose me I do not doubt says Luxemburgh that whilst this Opera shall be playing in Flanders we must prepare a Tragedy in England for the Prince of Orange Your Majesty told me confidently the last time that King James had receiv'd Letters almost from all the Nobility and great ones of the Kingdom besides that there was a great number of Quakers and Faâ—aticks that had all unanimously espoused the Interest and Cause of this Prince to re-establish him upon the Throne if your Majesty would only favour and support their enterprize by Eighteen or Twenty Thousand Men which would make a Descent into the Isle of Wight It is true says his Majesty and I have my self read the Letters A Person of Quality says in express terms that his British Majesty has nothing to do but to come that he cannot believe with how much impatience and earnestness the Grandees of the Kingdom aâ—d the People wait for him that all the World generally is concern'd for his re-establishment upon the Throne That in short they begin to make proivsions of Arms and Horses which they gather together the most secretly theâ— can without forgetting good Summs of Mony which they keep ready to pay the Troops to be raised in the Kingdom which shall consist only of persons discontented with the present Government Sir says Luxemburgh if the thing be so that will be a great stroke the Prince of Orange must of all necessity repass the Sea in all hast to go to the succor of his three Kingdoms and in the mean time your Majesty may do your business without opposition and without resistance Your Majesty must give Orders without losing of time to the Count de Tourville to have the Fleet ready to Sail and that a great number of Transport Ships be got together in great diligence for the Embarquing of the Troops But says his Majesty I shall not be very well pleased that Tourville
says his Majesty if the Emperour Leopold stirr'd up by my Example or by Imitation of the Roman Emperours his Predecessors should of a sudden take the resolution to come himself at the Head of the Army upon the Rhine to govern it and see what passes there I must own I should be in a great deal of trouble upon this account and that you would be in no less than I because I am perswaded that the presence of a Prince who shews and exposes himself to danger in sight of his Soldiers and of his Generals is a mighty Example If the Ottoman Emperour my Allie would have believ'd me and have hearken'd to my Ambassadour the Baron de Chasteau Neuf he would have come in Person to have put himself at the Head of his Armies in Hungary I doubt not but he would thereby have preserv'd all his Conquests carryed the dread for the second time to the Gates of Vienna and sav'd many Battles lost by the fault of his Viziers Sir answer'd the Duke de Lorge the Emperour Leopold and his Nephew Charles the II. King of Spain are not so Ambitious as your Majesty These are two good Princes who seek only Repose and Peace and shun the Cruelties of the War And if your Majesty had not constrain'd them to take up Arms to maintain their Interests and those of all Europe they would not have troubled themselves at this time to go and gather Lawrels in the Field of Mars this God doth not Sympathize with those Princes Apollo has many other Charms and Mount Parnassus other Enchantments Formerly Orpheus by the sweetness of Instruments drew to him all the Beasts and also the insensible Creatures the Rocks and the Woods could not defend themselves from his attractive Harmony It is true that if Charlemaigne Charles the V. and Phillip the II. should come from the other World this reproach would without doubt be made them But every Prince has his Passions his Inclinations and his Weaknesses your Majesty loves War the late King Charls the II. King of England lov'd the fair Sex and your Majesty took care to make him a Present of Mistresses The Roman Emperor loves a Harmony make him a Present of Musicians and they will take care to inform you of all that passes at the Court of Vienna I understand also Sir that the Electors at present for the most part Study the Inclinations of their Prince and strive to imitate him in all things which is the reason they are all almost lovers of Musick So there remains no more for your Majesty to do than to make a provision of Musicians Brabant above all abounds of such and send them into all the Courts of Germany and this will be a Sovereign remedy to know and discover all What I have just now said furnishes me yet with one thought which is that it is not to be wonder'd at as a politick Spaniard did once very judiciously say that your Majesty has surpas'd Henry the IV. Lewis the XIII and in a word all your predecessors by a great number of events which have happn'd during your Reign and which are solely owing to the Wisdom and to the good fortune of your Majesty since we see that the Imbecility of Princes who have Reign'd in your time have as much and also more contributed thereunto If you had had for Competitors Queen Elizabeth Gustavus Adolphus and Charles the V. which would have disputed the Ground with you as you had Charles the II. and James the II. Kings of England the Emperour Leopold and Charles the II. King of Spain who have let you undertake any thing I am perswaded you would not have got so many Victories But this is the unhappy condition of States The downfal of one is the rise of the other I say also farther if it should happen by way of fatality as we may say that the Prince of Orange was not met with in your Reign and also that being met with he had not been animated with another Zeal than the rest of the Princes of Europe for the defence of their Countries and the preservation of their Liberties all would long since have fallen under the weight of your Arms and your Majesty would have finished the great Work of the Universal Monarchy But says his Majesty what do you hear of the Negotiation of the Peace between the two Empires Monsieur Harbord Envoy of the Prince of Orange has he been well receiv'd by the Grand Vizier I know the enterview was to be at Belgrade what have you learnt and what are your thoughts thereupon Do you believe that he will succeed better than Pensionary Hop and the Knight Hussey have done before Sir answer'd de Lorge I know from good Hands that the Grand Seignior wishes for a Peace and that the People will have it at any rate so your Majesty has no more time to lose and there wants but one moment to conclude it and to reconcile these two Powers The French Sirens who are at the Court of the Grand Seignior begin to loose a little of the Charms of their Singing and their Melody as well as their credit The Louis d' Ors are so strongly cry'd down at Constantinople that no Body will have any more to do with them I advise then your Majesty to push on your great designs the time presses prevent your Enemy in the Field your Majesty being at the Head of a flourishing Army may go fall on where you think fit and carry one of the strongest places of Europe I advise you again to make your last efforts to come to a Peace an to hinder the conclusion of the Truce between the two Emperours and if Mony is not capable to hinder it to employ yet more Sovereign remedies the Secrets of †Harbord poysoned Brinvilliers in the Hands of a French Cook are infallible As soon as the Mareschal de Lorge was gone out of the Chamber the King order'd that the Count de Tourville and John Barts should come in Tourville saies his Majesty I have two great designs in hand and I have chose you to execute the one whilst I am going to execute the other at the Head of an Army of one Hundred and Fifty Thousand Men. There is no time to lose the occasion is pressing and the resolution is taken First I propose to my self to re-establish King James upon the Throne of England And in the second place to constrain my Enemies who have flatter'd themselves to stop the Course of my Conquests to ask for a Peace Sir says Tourville nothing is impossible for your Majesty you have a formidable Fleet which makes you Master of the Sea which obliges your Enemies to yield you that Empire for which so many Nations have spilt their Blood The English and the Dutch boasted themselves till now to possess it but the glorious Fight of 1690. has decided it to the advantage of your Majesty so you are in a condition to undertake all that