THE New Politicks OF THE COURT OF FRANCE Under the Reign of LEWIS XIV WHEREIN Are to be seen all his Intreagues and his present Manner of Acting in respect of all the Potentates of Europe to satisfie his Ambition and Grandeur Made English from the Original Printed at Cologne 1694. LONDON Printed for Henry Rhodes at the Star the corner of Bride-lane in Fleet-street And John Harris at the Harrow in the Poultry 1695. THE Secret Intrigues OF THE COURT of FRANCE THat which we call the Policy of a State very nearly resembles the Oeconomy of a Private Family the Ministers and Treasury-Officers of the One are like the Steward and Caterer in the Other And therefore it was that an Ancient Author made no difficulty to say That a Politick Court supported the State in like manner as Oeconomy kept up the Grandeur and good Discipline of a single House And as there are two sorts of Oeconomy the one Honest and Praise-worthy the other Mechanick and Sordid which a Lunatick Person makes use of to pile up Riches any manner of way thereby rendring himself odious to all Men of worth 't is very near the same thing with Policy which may be also distinguish'd into two Classes the one Lawful the other Illegitimate Which latter having only usurp'd the Name of Policy as Usurpation has done conceals it self under the Appellation of Conquest On the other side True Policy is not only beneficial but commendable and permitted by the Laws of God and Man She is the Daughter of Prudence and the Prince that makes use of her Profitably and Sincerely wins to himself by that means the Admiration of Foreigners as well as the Love and Respect of his own Subjects and frequently merits the Epithetes and Sirnames of Great â—aâ—â—â—â—ise Oâ—â—he other â—â—de False Policy is meerly â—lyâ—â— cunning wilâ—ly Craft or in a word downright Knavery and Cheat always covetous of other Mens Goods leaving no Stone unturn'd to aggrandize it self at any rate whatever come what will come of it and tacking according to the Proverb The Foxes to the Lyons Skin And these two different sorts of Politicks are as two Opposite Mirrours that openly display the Inside of Princes and shew their vertuous or wicked Inclinations Nor can I forbear divulging to the World that the Court of France ever since the Death of Hen. IV. has very much studied the Practice of this same false Policy on purpose to endeavour the Aggrandizing of her self by Cheat and Usurpation And it may be said to have had extraordinary Success in this last Reign of Lewis XIV under a false Idea of Conquest having thereby augmented his Revenues to above two Thirds and his Dominions above a Third Part as might be easily prov'd were it not visible to all his Neighbours or if his Neighbours were not sensible of it by woful Experience And I do farther averr that it was almost impossible for France to aggrandize her self and every way to enlarge her Dominions as now we see her Limits extended or for her Monarch to raise himself to the present Pinacle of Grandeur had she not made a smart use of Violence Usurpation Breach of Faith To which I may moreover add the Hypocrisie and Deceit which the King of France has us'd in these latter times of Religion on purpose to trample under foot and appropriate to himself the Estates of his Subjects and the Treacherous Leagues he has made with Foreign Princes the more easily to deceive 'em and lay hold upon favourable Opportunities to invade their Territories when least they dream'd of any such thing but lay reposing under the Security of a Peace and all this to make himself Master of their Dominions when it was not in the Power of their Allies to assist ' em Formerly indeed the Romans who were Pagans made use of the same Maxims and the same Stratagems to grow great upon their Neighbours and to make themselves universal Masters of the World And now Lewis XIV believes he cannot fail of obtaining the same Success in his vast Expectations by treading the same laudable and worthy Steps We have seen that since the Church-Men for most part greedy Heapers of Wealth have intruded into the Ministry of the Court of France they have instill'd into the Government Sentiments like their own that is to say Sentiments of Usurpation and Covetousness and a Liberty to do whatever they please and as it is usually seen that a Master endeavours to bring up his Disciples in his own Sentiments and to be of his humour so the Cardinals of Richlieu and Mazarine inspir'd into Lewis XIII and Lewis XIV eager Desires to make themselves Great by Usurpation infusing into 'em by all the ways imaginable that a Prince was always cry'd up in his Undertakings let 'em be good or bad provided that they prosper'd in their Enterprizes because the People adore and like the Sun-flower turn toward the Glitter of Prosperity That it was neither necessary nor beneficial for a King to be good sincere or merciful only that 't was sufficient to appear so in regard it was frequently dangerous to be so indeed and for that it became a King above all things to be always his own Master by acting quite the contrary when his Affairs requir'd it whether it were to make himself Great or for his own Honour seeing that Men judge rather by the Eyes then by the Hands every body having the Liberty to behold and consider the Actions of Kings but not to handle 'em that is to examine and dive into 'em those are Mysteries conceal'd like the Oracles of the Pagans in times of Old Lewis the XIV is so strongly perswaded that the People are only taken with Appearances and gaudy Shew that he affects no more then only to appear outwardly honest sincere and Religious when in reality and at the bottom of his Soul there is nothing of all this in him as has been seen by all the World ever since his first coming to the Crown Seeing there is no better way to judge of the Inward Heart then by the Constancy of a Mans outward Actions then which there can be nothing more plain if we consider the Opressions the Exactions the Cruelties committed during the whole Course of his Reign as also his Usurpations upon his Neighbours Nor can the more Moderate of his Subjects alledge any thing fairer in his Excuse then only this that his Design is to aggrandize himself and that this is the surest Means to render himself formidable as well to his Friends as to his Enemies both at home and abroad Therefore to become Great according to Lewis the Fourteenth's Method there was a Necessity for him to fail of his Word and Faith so soon as he found the Keeping of either prejudicial to Him to break his Alliances concluded and solemnly sworn with his Neighbours and nearest Relations so soon as an Opportunity presented it self to invade their Territories It may be said that this
Promise and sent him some Forces under the Conduct of General d'Amboi Nevertheless the Germans together with about Four thousand Men which the Duke of Bouillon had rais'd at his Charges defeated the French Army under the Command of Chatillon the Fruit of which Victory was the Taking of Doncheri not far from Sedan And this lucky Beginning of the Duke made the Court of France begin to look about 'em as being afraid lest that petty War should kindle a greater Thereupon the Duke of Brezé was sent the same way with Five and twenty thousand Men and the Cardinal persuaded the King and all the Court to march as far as Rethel But unfortunately for the Duke of Bouillon Lamboy quitted him with all his Men being order'd to march to the Relief of Aire which the French had besieg'd So that the Duke finding himself constrain'd to shut himself up within the Walls of Sedan and seeing himself besieg'd began to think of an Accommodation so much the rather because the Count of Soissons who had been the Occasion of the War had shot himself in the Head with a Pistol Bullet This was no more then what France desir'd as having at that time a War with Spain several discontented Princes and Lords within the Kingdom who waited only for an Opportunity to rise and the Siege of Aire begun uncertain therefore of Success and having so many Irons in the Fire she durst not venture the besieging of Sedan which they were convinc'd that the Duke would defend with the last drop of his Blood besides that he had Great Men that took his Part at Court as not being willing that Place should fall into the King's Hands which upon many Occasions serv'd 'em for a Retiring Place Wherefore being also no less desirous to spite Cardinal Richlieu who was look'd upon as the first Author of that War they persuaded the King who was advanc'd as far as Meziere to hearken to an Accommodation Thereupon the Cardinal seeing it was not to be avoided offer'd his Mediation to the Duke of Bouillon to the end that the Affair passing through his Hands the Duke might think himself beholding to him for this Kindness though his Design were to ruine the Duke some other way To which purpose he made great Protestations to the Duke who took all for Gold that glister'd and being but a new Catholick believ'd that whatever that same Prelate and Prince of the Church assur'd him was sincere and truly honest But whatever Protestation his Eminency made he had always a Reserve which he kept close in his Breast and the better to cover his Design and shew his Good-Will he would needs enter into a Treaty as a Security for the Duke's Sincerity and a Gauranty on the King's behalf That His Majesty would perform the Agreement to the least Tittle of the Stipulation the better to lull the Duke asleep and draw him to the Court. Thereupon the Articles being sign'd on both Sides the Duke went forthwith to pay his Respects to the King at Meziere where he was entertain'd with Court-Holy-Water fair Words and Complements and receiv'd by the King the Cardinal and all the Lords with all the Honours imaginable due to his Dignity The Cardinal also gave him large Demonstrations of Friendship and made him extraordinary Promises on purpose to engage him to have a Confidence in him and make him believe that he had forgot the injurious Manifesto which the Duke had printed against him Yet all this was nothing else but Snare and Decoy For his Eminency told the King in the presence of all the Court That he could not do better then to entrust an Army under the Command of the Duke of Bouillon as one that so well deserv'd the Honour seeing that with a handful of wretched Germans he had beaten the Army of France so that there was nothing which he might not well expect from his Valour and Experience when he should once come to Head the Valour of the French This the Duke took in good earnest and so fell into the Snare and though he had been forewarn'd by the Cardinal's Enemies that the more Affection and Kindness that Minister shew'd the less he was to be trusted yet he was so easily wrought upon as to accept the Command of an Army in Italy and that was the very Place where the Cardinal was desirous to keep him For being in that Post he forgot himself to that degree as during the Sickness of Lewis XIII to give the Duke of Orleance a Letter of Credence to be admitted into Sedan together with the Queen-Mother and the Children of France under pretence of retiring thither after the King's Death to avoid the Oppression of the Cardinal tho' the Count of d'Aubijoux who went to him in Italy promis'd him with great Oaths and Imprecations that he would never deliver the Letter unless there should be an Absolute Necessity But the King escap'd that Sickness and the Cardinal having notice of every thing to the smallest Circumstance gave him an account of every particular and thought it a favourable Opportunity to revenge himself for what was past and to put the Principality of Sedan into the Hands of France without the Effusion of Blood For he seldom separated the Remembrance of an Injury and the desire of Revenge It happen'd at the same time that the Duke of Orleance finding his Brother very Infirm and sickly and believing that during the Minority of the Young King when the Cardinal would have all the Power in his hands he should lead but an ill life in the Court of France and seeing himself expos'd to the Resentment of his Adversary he bethought himself of making a League with the Spaniards by the mediation of a Gentleman whose Name was Fourraille whom he sent to Madrid But the Cardinal having got an Inkling of it sent his Secretary Chavigni privately to give the King notice of it and in the mean time he left no Stone unturn'd to discover the Contents of the Treaty that had been concluded at Madrid and he set so many Engines at work that he found a way to get a Copy of it from some Secretary to the Duke of Orleance So soon as he had read it he sent it to the King by the same Chavigni and order'd him to assure his Majesty that the Copy was drawn from the Original it self and for this same Piece it was that Cinqmarc and du Thou were apprehended and that the King order'd his Brother the Duke of Orleance to be very narrowly watch'd who finding it Impossible for him to make his Escape out of France took a Resolution to submit himself to the King's Mercy and implore his Pardon and wrote a very submissive Letter to the Cardinal which he sent him by one of his Favourites wherein he set forth his Repentance in very moving Expressions and his desire to be beholding for the Favour of his Reconciliation with the King to his Eminency who willingly embrac'd the
Opportunity of gaining the Duke of Orleance's Friendship and of having at his Beck an Instrument to ruine the Duke of Bouillon Thereupon he made the Duke of Orleance's Peace with the King upon Condition that he should deliver into his hands the Original of the Treaty But the King's Brother protested that he had burn'd the Original and had only kept a Copy sign'd with his own Hand and Counter-sign'd by the Secretary of his Commands by vertue of which Copy both Cinqmarc and de Thou were both arraign'd and the Fatal End they came to is well known But to return to the Duke of Bouillon you are to understand that Fontraille who was sent into Spain to conclude the Treaty that he might bring it the sooner to pass and imprint a higher Opinion of the Business in the Court of Madrid would needs insert the Duke of Bouillon's Name in the Treaty without his Knowledge and promis'd that he should not only ratifie it but allow Sedan for a Place of Refuge tho' the Duke never ratify'd the Treaty nor ever caus'd his Name to be inserted but quite the contrary had always oppos'd it when the Duke of Orleance had formerly made some Overtures to him of the same nature However there needed no more to ruine him so that the Cardinal dispatch'd away a Courrier forthwith into Italy with Orders for seizing his Person which was done at Casal by the General Officers who commanded under him from whence he was conducted by a numerous Convoy to the Castle of Pierre-en-Cize And there it was that the Duke first understood That he had been comprehended in the Treaty of Madrid of which the Duke of Orleance had given him a Copy sign'd with his own Hand and that he at the same time had discover'd the Queen's and the Duke's Design to retire to Sedan upon the King's Decease The crafty Cardinal observ'd by this Confession how much he was fear'd and dreaded which serv'd to render him more absolute then ever and impower'd him to revenge himself of his Enemies more loftily and more inexorably For whatever Excuse the Duke of Bouillon could make and tho' it could never be prov'd that he ever sign'd or ratify'd the Treaty or gave any order for the inserting of his Name therein there was no other Choice for him to make but either to lose his Head or his Principality of Sedan Which was no more then what France had sought a long time and for the bringing of which to pass there was no foul Play which the Minister had not put in Practise no Snare that he had not laid to entrap the Innocent The Dutchess of Bouillon having notice of her Husband's Imprisonment and of the danger he was in of his Life sent her Sister in Law to Court to let the Cardinal know that if the Duke were put to death she would deliver Sedan to the Spaniards to which purpose she had already sent to Brussells to sollicit their Approach to the Town But Mademoiselle de Bouillon arriving at the Court of France and understanding that du Thou had been condemn'd for only being privy to and concealing Cinqmarc's Design chang'd her note and was so far from delivering the Dutchesses Menaces to the Cardinal according to her Instructions that she told the Cardinal she had Orders to enter into a Negotiation and to engage for the Life and Liberty of her Brother This was that which the Cardinal expected and therefore without giving her any time to recollect her self the Treaty was concluded That the Dutchess should deliver Sedan to the King of France and that the Duke her Husband should be put into possession of other Lands of equal value in the Kingdom and that at the same time that the French Garrison should enter the Town the Prisoner should be releas'd Thereupon Cardinal Richlieu not being able to go himself sent his Coadjutour in the Ministry who took possession of it and secur'd it to all Intents and Purposes Thus that Important City which had withstood the King fell into his Hands partly through the ill Conduct of the Duke of Bouillon but chiefly through the Snares which the Policy of France laid for him ever since he quitted his Religion and the Service of the States For in good Policy they ought to have preserv'd that City which gave Protection to the Protestant Party The Death of the Cardinal happening in one and the same year the Queen being declar'd Regent and Duke of Orleance Chief of the Council the Duke of Bouillon returrn'd to Court flattering himself with being restor'd to his Dominions considering that his Misfortune did not befall him but for the good Services which he was ready to have done those Two Illustrious Persons that now sate at the Helm of State and who had engag'd him without his Knowledge But when he came to Court he only found a change of the Regency but not of the Ministry which was still cunning and wilely For Mazarine who succeeded Richlieu in the Government out-did his Predecessor He found that the Disciple knew more then the Master that he had a double portion of Avarice and Self-Interest that Italian Knavery had succeeded French Refinedness and that he had no mind to let go the Prey which he already held fast in his Gripes and for which he had labour'd conjoyntly with his Predecessour 'T is true that when the Duke of Bouillon first arriv'd he receiv'd a world of Complements from the Queen the Duke of Orleance and all the Court but when he came to talk of Business all that Courtship vanish'd nor could he obtain so much as Audience either of the Queen or the Duke of Orleance till at length by dint of Pressing Importunity he got so much favour that the Abbot de la Riviere a Favourite of Orleance's was appointed to conferr with him about his Pretensions and that meerly to be ridd of him Bouillon therefore seeing he could do no better fell upon the Matter with the Abbot and told him That he was willing to fulfill the Treaty made with Lewis XIII but that the Evacuation the Verification in Parliament and so many other Formalities absolutely requisite would infallibly take up a tedious Space of several Years therefore till all those Ceremonies were at an end that 't was but just that Sedan should be restor'd him to be surrender'd back into the King's Hands so soon as he should be put into Possession of the Equivalents that considering the Present Posture of Affairs he foresaw long Delays and infinite Cavils whereas if Sedan were in his Hands it would be look'd upon as the King's Business no less then the Enlarging of France by the Acquisition of a Soveraignty and a City of great Strength and Importance That if these Reasons would not work upon the Queen nor Monsieur he desir'd the Abbot to lay before 'em that the One or the Other might happen to dye before Things could be brought to that perfection as to be fit to be put in Execution
were Charity and that he who was void of it could not be a True Catholick that Charity was a Vertue which produc'd a Patient Spirit that it was benign that it was not covetous of other mens Goods nor sought its own advantages that it neither commits Injustice nor possesses any thing unjustly got that it endures every thing believes every thing bears with every thing never carries it self insolently or dishonestly This is the Character of a True Christian according to the Learned Now if the Pope finds but one of these Vertues in the King of France I mean that Sincerity which Pope Gregory requir'd from a true Catholick which consists in fulfilling by our Actions what we have promis'd in Word in that case I agree that the Pope may not only embrace him as his Eldest Son but canonize him after his Death and I will be the first that will pay my Homage to the Great St. Lewis If it be enquir'd From whence this way of proceeding arises so different and irregular in reference to the Holy See more especially in a King who adorns himself with the Title of Most Christian I answer that 't is from hence because that whatever he took in hand was for the Service of that Great and Ambitious Design which aim'd at nothing less then to be the Master of all Europe To which purpose he had it in view by the Persecution of the Religionaries of his Kingdom to acquire to himself the Suffrages the Esteem the Assistance of all the Roman Catholicks in the midst of those great Designs which he had to invade the Empire by means of that Succour which he gave the Turk There is nothing makes the King of France so sick at heart as the Prosperity of the Emperour He would willingly make War against Heaven because God did not give him all the Earth to himself or at least because he thinks his Neighbour has the better share and possesses the more lovely part For this Reason you see that France is always upon the Enquiry Her Emissaries continually inform themselves what Territories what Splendour others enjoy that their Monarch may have an Opportunity to fall upon This or t'Other or Both together Envious Persons are as it were the Animated Skeletons of Demons that are nourish'd only by their own Torments Agrippina the Mother of Nero was wont to say That there was nothing in the World which a Prince ought not to Sacrifice for a Crown And therefore it was that Katherine de Medicis Queen of France finding her self ready to sink under the Burden of the Civil Wars after the death of her Son Francis II. and not knowing any longer after she had tyr'd 'em all out to what Saint to recommend her self went to the Devil with her three Younger Children Charles IX the Duke of Anjou and the Duke of Alanson And the Medal is still to be seen with this Device beneath her Figure engrav'd in Copper and the Figures of her three Children which she offer'd to the Demon Soit pourvu que je regne Let it be so I may reign If these Miserable Women have carry'd their Ambition so high for a single Crown what may it not be Lawful for Lewis XIV to do so he may gain the Universal Monarchy For still whatever he does the French have a Name for it they call it Grandeur of Soul They offer Incense at this very day to the Divinity of Lewis the Great and below his Statue the Head of which is environ'd with a Glory there are written these Blasphemous words Numini Ludovici Magni This is the Religion and this is the Idol of the Court of France and of their Emissaries that compass the Earth to make Proselytes to embrace and adore the Interests of France If among such proceedings as these if in such a Dreary Chaos the Holy See can find out Catholicity I will acknowledge him to be like God himself who alone can bring Light out of Darkness But Lewis the XIV was not content with the Crown of France nor to make himself Emperour but to be the Universal Monarch of the World and then not having any more to conquer here below like the Gyants of Old he would have built a Tower to scale Heaven and Dragoon the Inhabitants of the Eternal Mansions However the Soveraign KING of Kings who derides the Folly of Men has in a good Measure confounded the Counsels of France and dissipated all her Great Designs particularly since the raising the Siege of Vienna upon the 12th of September 1683. a fatal day for France but glorious for the Emperour and Empire and Happy for all Christendom This unexpected Blow contrary to the Hopes and Expectations of Lewis the XIV and his Ministers constrain'd him to seek a Truce which was granted him for Twenty years and by which the Policy of France had a fair Prospect of Keeping those Towns of which she was Mistress and on the other side had gain'd time to see the Issue of the War between the two Empires with a Design however as already has been said no longer to observe the Truce till the King beheld the Fate of the Two contending Parties If the Emperour fell then the King was to march in Person into Germany and cause himself to be proclaim'd Emperour and Protectour of the Christians at the Head of his Army If the Grand Signior had the worst of it then the King was to send his Forces to his Aid by ravaging all Germany and dividing the Forces of the Empire as he did under imaginary Pretences which was more then openly to Succour the Turks who in Truth had broken with the Christians barely upon the Sollicitations of Count Teckeli and the King of France promising great Assistances if they happen'd to prove the weakest and in that alone the French Monarch may be said to have kept his Word 'T is also no less true that his own Interest was at the Bottom he not enduring to behold the Prosperity of the Imperial Arms and fearing least the Emperour proving Victorious should one day re-demand the Towns and Territories which he had usurp'd from him France then seeing the Emperour's Success the Christians winning Battel after Battel the Turks driven beyond Belgrade his Design upon Cologne frustrated the Baron of Plettenberg chosen Bishop of Munster the Baron of Elderen elected Prince and Bishop of Liege and by this means all the vast Designs of Lewis XIV quite ranvers'd she was no longer to be restrain'd within the Bounds of a Truce so that her Fury fell first upon Phillipsburgh which the Emperour not being in a Condition to defend the King carry'd the Town the 29th of October 1688. and thus neither Decorum nor the Interest of the Christians neither promis'd Faith nor all the Catholick Religion it self could hinder the perfidious Victor from declaring openly for the Infidels and Enemies of Christ and the Christian Name However if on the one side France in some measure wreck'd her Revenge by
which would inevitably prove the Ruine of his Family and that they were engag'd as well in Honour as in Conscience not to expose him to that Extremity To this he added That tho' the Queen and the Duke had the least reason in the world to distrust his Words nevertheless he offer'd to give his Children in Hostage or to submit to whatever Precautions they desir'd to take for the Security of the Young King But this was like knocking at a deaf Man's door for the Abbot who had his Instructions told him with a great many Complements That he had only Orders to hear him but that he would make a faithful Report of what he had said adding with great Protestations That it should be none of his Fault that he had not a favourable Answer but that was a thing which was never intended So that Bouillon finding that the Abbot never came at him more resolv'd to address himself directly to the Queen and the Duke of Orleance but both the One and the Other knew so well how to avoid meeting him that he could never find an Opportunity to speak to ' em Which put him into a Rage and caus'd him to let fall some hard words against the Queen and the Duke as being too forgetful of what he had done for ' em However Bouillon unwilling to return Home without a positive Answer apply'd himself again to the Abbot but then he could never find the Abbot at home his Servants having Orders still to deny him whenever Bouillon came to ask for him Nay it happen'd one day that tho' he knew that the Abbot was at home by certain Persons of Quality that waited in his Antichamber to speak with him yet the Abbot was so unmannerly as to send out one of his Servants to tell him bluntly in the hearing of those Gentlemen That the Abbot was gone abroad which put the Duke of Bouillon into such a Rage that he bid the Servant tell his Master That had it not been for the Respect which he bore the Duke of Orleance he would have return'd him such a Treatment for his Sawciness that should have stuck to him as long as he liv'd This Transport of Passion in the Duke made a great noise at Court so that the Queen and the Duke of Orleance were glad of this pretence to ridd themselves of a Person whose presence continually Reproach'd 'em with his past Services and the Cardinal propos'd in Council a second seizure of his Person But Bouillon having notice of it underhand took Post for Turenne there to spend the Remainder of his days having lost not only the Important City of Sedan but the promis'd Equivalent besides Nor does the Court of France do any thing more for the Family of Bouillon then only lull 'em asleep with Cardinals Caps and Benefices of the same value Thus we send Trifles to the Indians and bring away their Gold and Silver I would fain have the French Emissaries tell me what reason the Most Christian King had to make himself Master of the Principality of Orange to beat down the Fortifications of the Castle in the year 1667 when the Sovereign was under Age and afterwards utterly to demolish the Castle and Walls of the City and not content with that same Desolation to sollicite the Corporations to submit themselves to the King threatning if they refus'd to burn and totally ruine the Inhabitants as afterwards the French Forces did notwithstanding their Independant Sovereignty I am perswaded the best reason those Emissaries can give is because the Policy of France cannot brook a Foreign Sovereignty within her Dominions and so it was the Interest of the Court to make themselves Masters of it before the Sovereign was in a Condition to withstand their Power by means of his Friends and Confederates and all the while they pretended that they had done the Prince of Orange a signal Piece of Service because they had spar'd him the Expence of a Garrison But if such be the Charity of the Most Christian King what may we expect from his Severity Without Question the same Spirit it was that inspir'd France to seize upon Burgundy and Franche Conté without any pretence of Claim after the Pyrenaean Treaty and without any other reason but because Spain being weak was not able to defend her self and because it is really the Court of France to aggrandize her self so soon as she finds an Opportunity without any respect to Treaties or Alliances And it may be said that the Ministry of Mazarine was a continu'd Chain of Oppressions and that he made it his Study all his Life-time to extinguish the Nobility of France by all the ways imaginable whether right or wrong tho' he were cunning enough to support 'em during the Troubles which happen'd in the Kingdom during the reigning King's Minority But so soon as he had manag'd 'em so soon as he had humbled their Power by ruining 'em for he who deprives a Prince of Money takes from him the Soul of Authority the Princes of the Blood did nothing but cry out and openly reproach the Court that she was full of nothing but Craft Artifice and juggling Tricks to abuse the People and the Confederates but they might cry as loud as they pleas'd the Ministry went its own way and the Cardinal let 'em say what they pleas'd provided he did his own business For it may be said of him that his Tongue bely'd his Heart and that his Countenance quite differ'd from his inward Thoughts He was often wont to say that the French were naturally Turbulent given to Novelty and prone to Sedition and that the Court was full of Restless Spirits Which was the Reason that he always endeavour'd to cut 'em out Employment without the Kingdom But in regard he had no reason to be satisfy'd with the People he was the Inventor of the greatest part of the Taxes now raging in France the Father of the Publicans and Toll-gatherers He suck'd the Blood of the Subjects in imitation of the Grand Signior for the Support of the Soldiery preferr'd before the People at the Expence of the People and tho' it should be to their utter Ruin to the end he might be able to quell 'em when ever they should be inclin'd to Mutiny and Insurrection Insinuating into the Young King that the Preservation of his Crown depended upon his Soldiers as heretofore the German Legions vaunted to hold the Empire in their Hands And in pursuance of that Maxim we have seen that during this Reign the Court of France has practis'd this Lesson which has ruin'd her People that she has impoverish'd her Subjects depriv'd the Nobility of their Privileges and all this meerly by keeping great Armies on foot to serve her at all times with both Hands to ruin the People when ever they went about to shake off or complain of the Excessive Taxes and Imposts with which they are daily overwhelm'd to chastize the Parliaments when they refus'd to
countermine the Policy of France to supplicate their Monarch to appoint his Successour in his Life-time to the end he may be bred up in the Court of Madrid and be ready to oppose the Invasions of France after the King's decease But more especially to beg of the Emperour to put a speedy End to the Turkish War that he may have his Hands at Liberty to be assisting to Spain at a time of need 'T is also an Affair of Great Importance and most Essential toward the Preservation of the Remainder of the Low-Countries and not to relie as the Council of Spain does upon her Neighbours which is the reason that they neglect to send the True Succour which it would behove 'em to send in time into those Provinces which were within a Fingers Breadth of being utterly lost during King James's Reign And indeed there happen so many Changes and Revolutions in the World that a well advis'd Monarch ought never to relie upon the Forces of Other Princes but his own While the Provinces of the Spanish Low-Countries were govern'd by Interested Vice-Roys who preferr'd their own private Concerns before the Preservation of the Provinces with which they were entrusted we still found that France seiz'd upon City after City and is now in Possession of whole Provinces and it may be said that a better thought never came into her Head then when she abandon'd the Conquest of Italy where she Exhausted her Men and Money to turn her Forces upon Flanders where all Appearances seem'd more easie since she saw well that Governours were sent thither only to enrich themselves among whom the Greatest Part minded more the getting of a Million into their Purses then the preservation of the Best City in the Low-Countries To avoid which Mischief there is a necessity of having a Prince for Governour whose particular Interest it is to preserve 'em who will march at the Head of his Army lay out the Subsidies of the People in defraying the Necessary Expences of the People and take care for the Timely Returns of Money for that the Low-Countries can never subsist without an Army well pay'd We have met with all these Advantages in the Person of his Electoral Highness the Duke of Bavaria and it may be said without flattery That the Choice which his Catholick Majesty made of that Prince for the Government of the Low-Countries was one of the best and most important Hits of State that Spain has been for some time guilty of T was such a Blow to France as broke all the Measures she had taken during the Government of Gastanaga nor could Lewis XIV ward off this Blow which the King of England gave him without ever giving him warning to guard himself 'T is a thing no less observable then wonderful That the Council of Spain having no more then this little Corner of the Earth to guard should neglect it as They do seeing that good Policy requires that Spain should drein herself rather then part with it were it for nothing else but to serve her as an Amuzement to the Arms of France as we have found it to have been in all the last and present Wars and the Counterguard that keeps the most Christian King from Marching to the very Walls of Madrid it self The reason of this Carelessness may well be thought to be the Popular Errour of the Inhabitants of Flanders and Brabant who tell the Hollanders when they upbraid 'em with their Remissness as to their own Preservation 'T is you that ought to defend us for the sake of your own Interest And indeed there is some reason for this Opinion But the chief reason proceeds from the Avarice of the Spanish Ministers who shroud themselves under this Mistake which serves 'em to heap up Wealth while the King their Sovereign is engag'd on every side to preserve himself The Policy of France together with her Louid'ors works now the same Effect with the which formerly Philip II. wrought by virtue of his Doublon's For I have heard say That ev'n in Time of Peace there was not any Place in the Low-Countries where Lewis XIV had not his Creatures and his Cabals ready to declare themselves in Time and Place and when an Opportunity requir'd And certain it is That if this were not the whole which was then said 't is a good part of the Truth For having beheld what we have seen in our days in reference to that impregnable City of Luxemburgh and the Acquisition of the whole Province that follow'd we ought to be convinc'd that that same Place of so great moment was not obtain'd by the Bravery and Courage only of the French There is no better way then to disappoint those Treacheries then by often changing the Garrisons and sometimes the Governors themselves but above all things to Pay well and Punish without Exception when there is the least Fault committed The Low-Countries are at present like an Insolvent House that must be re-settl'd by good Oeconomy and by affording the Inhabitants the Means of being able to contribute towards it The Low-Countries have a long time been the Mark at which the Court of France has aim'd Upon the least Dispute or Pretence of a Quarrel with the Court of Spain in she pours with all her Fury upon the Low-Countries like an impetuous Torrent plunders burns and never retreats without some considerable Loppings which she dismembers from the Body of the Tree Which nevertheless is not a Mischief never to be remedy'd since the Sea it self is many times restrain'd by Causeys and Mounds though it be an Element a thousand times more to be fear'd then the Policy and Pride of Lewis XIV And this is that which the Duke of Bavaria and the rest of his Brave Confederates must do to stop and curb the rapid Inundations of France They must look upon the French Monarch as one that thunders in all his Forces and his Fury upon those Places where he is sure to find but little Resistance and from such Victories as those he reaps his greatest Honour I confess that a Prince who is violent and a Usurper is happy so long as Fortune goes hand in hand with his Natural Humour But in regard she grows weary for the most part of always carrying one Man upon her Back we also find that the same Prince becomes unprosperous when Fortune changes her Mind or rather when there is an Opposition made against him And therefore if we may build upon outward Appearances and if there be any thing of Prognostication in the Presentiments of Wise and Judicious Men the Low-Countries may well hope by the Blessing of Heaven the prudent Conduct of their Great and Sage Governor and Leader and the sincere Intentions of the Confederates to be soon deliver'd from the Yoke and Barbarity of France and enjoy the Fat of a fruitful Soil that has so long fed so many Thousands of Foreigners both Men and Beasts From the Low-Countries I cross over into
that whole Sect to his Party and Service But the Court of France has been well inform'd that all these Assurances were meer Illusions seeing that neither Catholicks nor Quakers are admitted into the Parliament nor into any the meanest Offices in the Kingdom and that it would be a very difficult thing not to say an Impossibility to embody all those that go by the Name of Jacobites scatter'd up and down in several Parts of the Kingdom and for the most part known to be such Besides that we find that no sooner a Dozen of these Rebels meet together but they are presently discover'd a visible Sign of the Care that Divine Providence takes for the Preservation of their Brittanick Majesties and that the same Providence watches over 'em while they without intermission labour to settle the Government to protect the Nation against their Enemies and to re-advance the Honour of the British Name beyond what the Princes their Predecessors have done for several Ages There is no question to be made but that the King of France or his Council is very well inform'd of the Constitution of England and that it will be in vain for their Enemies to attempt any thing there so long as the King and his Parliament are united together as we find 'em at this Day Insomuch that this good Correspondence has furnish'd the King with powerful Supplies to oppose his Enemies both by Sea and Land tho' their Number were double to what it is at this Day For that so long as the English have a formidable Fleet upon their Coasts who shall be so daring as to attack ' em Not France I 'm sure Besides that if they can but come to grapple with their lurking Enemy the French would soon be constrain'd to quit their Coasts So that all things being consider'd there is nothing more for France to do but to give over the War with England for that unless they be Masters of the Sea their Trade is lost and they are absolutely ruin'd not being able to sell their Wines their Brandies and other Products of the Kingdom besides that they are forc'd to drein themselves of all their ready Money to pay the King's Subsidies with a number of Impositions and Taxes with which the Kingdom swarms And which is worst of all their Harvests having fail'd for Two Years together from whence shall they have Corn if they be not Masters of the Sea more especially being at War with the Hollanders and excluded out of Spain which has several times supply'd their Wants So that 't is no marvel that the French begin to be weary of the War especially with England and that he no longer observes any Measures with King James who at present resembles one of one those petty Saints to whom they will not put themselves to the trouble of lighting up a small Wax Candle because they neither cure any Diseases nor are able to make their Guardian 's Pot boil France has begun a War which she will not get quit of when she pleases her self Her Monarch has a long time acted Orlando Furioso and affronted both in Word and Deed a Prince that was not in a Condition to defend himself but now that Providence by a miraculous Conduct has plac'd the injur'd Prince upon the Brittish Throhe 't is not for the Court of France to think that God by his Providence has so highly exalted that Prince has conferr'd upon him the Government of several Kingdoms and Provinces and put so great a Power into the Hands of the only Prince that France is afraid of a Prince that has so well united the greatest part of the Princes of Europe in order to make a vigorous War against the common Enemy who by degrees has so largely usurp'd upon their Dominions and all this only to render more conspicuous the Honour of Lewis XIV as his Emissaries give out 'T is never to be believ'd and they that imagine it must be either void of Sence or be of the Number of those Phanaticks that have no more Wit then to adhere to King James But if France can get nothing by a War with England she may be much a loser considering the present Condition of her Affairs For should the English once happen to set Foot in France they have not forgot their Right to Normandy Guienne Poiton and Lunguedock When the English quitted Calais they promis'd the French Governour who came to take possession of it to return when their Sins were not so crying loud as those of the French At least the Court of France is not to believe that the English will let 'em alone in the quiet Possession of Dunkirk a Place that is no more the Patrimony of the Kings of France then Strasburgh They that sold both the one and the other of those Cities had no right to make the Bargain France treated with those that were under Age. Now we know that what an Infant Sells or Contracts for is lyable to be cancell'd Charles the Second had neither conquer'd nor purchas'd Dunkirk he found it annex'd to the Crown upon his return to his Kingdoms nor was it for him to sell it to satisfie the Avarice of his Chancellor So that the Kings his Predecessors have still an undeniable Right either to regain it by Force of Arms or recover it by Treaty of Peace with much more Equity and Justice then the Chamber of Metz can pretend to make Reunions to the Crown of France The words surrender back are doubtless very hard of Digestion to Lewis the Great who pretends at all times to be the only Person that can restore Peace to Europe and therefore he ought in the first place to understand what Restitution is The Greatest and Wisest of Kings assures us That Destruction presses close upon the Heels of the Proud and as I have already said Fortune grows weary of always carrying the same Prince upon her Back There are many Reasons why France should sink after all the Cruelties she has committed and which are not yet at an end People trail their Chains after 'em for some time without much complaint but 't is with a design to break 'em upon the first Opportunity and there is no question to be made but that if the English once set Foot ashore with their Prince at the Head of 'em but that the greatest part will receive him as their Deliverer And I dare be bold to affirm that there are at Present a Great Number in France who wish it and wait for their Deliverance and that there is hardly a Lord at Court or a Prince of the Blood who does not pray for the bringing down their Monarch and the Prosperity of the Confederates Armes The Race of Valois ended in France for less Crimes then those that Bourbon has committed But there is a precise Time appointed for humbling the Monarchs of the World conceal'd from Humane Knowledge and it is a Folly to go about to penetrate into a Secret which Divine
Providence has reserv'd to it self However we see the King of France tries all Ways and Means to Support himself like a Man that strives against Death He ruins his Subjects to maintain his Armies he Impoverishes 'em to constrain 'em to turn Soldiers He calls in all their Money embases it and pays 'em with New Money enhaunc'd above a Third part of the True Value to fill his Coffers He seizes upon all the Church-Plaâ—e and what belongs to private Persons and coins it into Money and the better to inveigle the People as it were to follow his Example he sends his own Plate First of all to the Mint and sends for it back the next day There is not any Tax or Toll or Imposition that has escap'd the Invention of his Flint-Skinners so that the greatest part of all the Handycraft Tradesmen and Peasants have abandon'd their Farms and their Houses to wander about and beg their Bread or else to seek their Livelihoods in foreign Countries I have often with my own Ears heard very good Men and Old Catholicks cry out When will the Prince of Orange meaning the King of England now reigning come and deliver us from all our Miseries Rightly judging That the English are They who can only give that Lucky Blow by reason that their nearness to the Coasts of France facilitates their Entrance into the Kingdom The Court of France knows this to be true and therefore takes so much care to line their Coasts tho' the King of France's whole Army would not suffice to guard a Compass of 300 Leagues in Extent so well as they should do to prevent the Enemies landing in some part or other Where they that land have no more to do then only to stand the First Shot for the Second Discharge will prove very moderate and for the Third there will be no occasion to fear it I affirm then that the English alone are able to harrass France more then any of the Confederates to put her to an Excessive Expence which dreins her Treasury forces the King to oppress his Subjects that he may replenish his Coffers provokes the Malecontents to shake off the Yoke of a Despotick Government and to desire a Government like that of England which beyond all contradiction is the most Just and most Equitable as well for the King as for the People every one there enjoying their Rights and Privileges the King his due Prerogatives and the People their Repose If any one of the Republicks of Europe be able to infuse Jealousies and Fears into France it is the Republick of the United Provinces which is at present the most potent the most Illustrious the most glorious and the most wealthy Republick in the World I acknowledge that Venice may dispute the Point of Antiquity with her otherwise there is no Comparison to be made between ' em No wonder then that her Neighbouring Puissance has drawn upon her the Envy of France The Policy of her Ministers ever since the Beginning of this Reign has very Judiciously exercis'd it self in finding out the most clever and probable ways to swallow up those Provinces either by Conquest or by Ruining 'em to which purpose Measures have been taken a long while ago And Lewis XIV at the Beginning of the War 1672. did verily believe to have compass'd his Designs having invaded the States at a Time when they rely'd upon the Faith and Sincerity of Treaties and had neither any Forces a foot nor any General to lead 'em Good Husbandry being Natural to Republicks in Time of Peace Nevertheless France could not strike that Blow so home as she desir'd without the Consent of England and therefore it was that the Court of France was so careful to improve their Friendship with Charles II. sparing neither for Money nor the Allurements of Pleasure to inveigle and fasten him to their Interests and to cause him to bury in Oblivion all the Benefits he had receiv'd from the Republick and the House of Orange Nor would France quit her Hold till England had in conjunction with her declar'd War against the United Provinces where the Embassadors of France had for some Years labour'd underhand by the Inticing Baits of Gold and Silver to gain Creatures within the Republick since which time the Count d' Avaux understood so well to follow their Steps that he out-did ' em For that being Young and a Courtier he made his Love of Women serviceable to get him Admittance into certain Families that had some share in the Government and there were few Cities where he had not his Creatures who gave him Intelligence of all things that past in Council and some there were who like Nicodemus's came to him by Night not daring to appear in the day-time The Greatest Policy of France was always to foment Division between England and the United Provinces afraid of nothing more then a good Correspondence and Union between the Two Puissances Nor did she see any way more Probable to compass her Ends upon the United Provinces then by sticking close to England which had fallen out luckily for her during the two preceding Reigns while she amus'd those two Princes with Hopes of sharing in the Conquest And upon this Score Lewis XIV had very little trouble to perswade James the Second to close with him for that in his Heart he was an Enemy to the United Provinces and the House of Orange besides that he was besieg'd by the Monks and Jesuits and particularly by Father Peters who kept him under the awe of the Ferula putting him in hopes of Great Rewards from Heaven in case he would lend his Helping hand to destroy the Hereticks perswading him that the United Provinces were the Center of Heresie So that he added to his private Hatred that Biggotry which those Hypocrites of Monks continually blew in his Ears And indeed all Things were in a ready forwardness to recommence in Conjunction with France a new War against Holland The King's Inclinations were altogether bent that way and the Thing would have had the Effect desir'd so soon as James the Second had once obtain'd to be Master of his Parliament had abolish'd the Fundamental Law of the Kingdom and lay'd low the Heads of some of the principal Lords the best Affected toward the Wellfare of the Kingdom and the Preservation of the Privileges of the Nation But the Revolution in England falling out so unexpectedly toward the end of the Year 1688. and the Year following fended off the Blow and broke all the Measures of those Two Princes to which we may add the rejecting of the Cardinal of Furstenburgh from being Archbishop of Cologne All these Events so contrary to the Expectation of Lewis XIV very much contributed toward the Preservation of the Low-Countries For there is no doubt but the Cardinal who is a Man dangerous turbulent actuated by the Demon of France to whom he has sold and devoted himself since he withdrew himself from his Obedience to the
high that few or none can reach it that is to say the Depopulation of France and consequently the Ruine of the Kingdom for Religion's sake For it is well known that the Protestants of France have always made a Considerable Body of that Realm and tho' they have been Persecuted and Massacred under divers Reigns more-especially in the Reigns of Charles IX and Henry III. nevertheless they have still reviv'd again and considerably encreas'd their Number yet always faithfully devoted to the Service of their Soveraign and that Fidelity obtain'd all those Edicts of Pacification and Liberty of Consciennce which were granted 'em by Henry IV. and Lewis XIII For as the Historians themselves confess the Huguenots were the Men that fix'd the Crowns upon the Heads of Henry IV. and his Offspring Lewis XIII and Lewis XIV now Reigning whose Crown when he was Young and in his Minority the First Prince of the Blood would have wrested from him pretending that the Succession belong'd to him by Right of Birth after the Death of Lewis the XIII openly asserting his Claim as well by word of Mouth as publick Manifesto's at the Time of the Parisian Barâ—cado's Nor could the King himself forbear to give Truth her due in several Declarations and Edicts and by Letters written to the Protestant Princes And indeed so Signal a Piece of Service and a Devotion so faithful to the Person of this Monarch gave the Protestants all the Encouragement in the World to hope for an Irrevocable Protection and an Enlargment of their Liberties Assurance of Safety both for themselves and their Posterity not only during the Reign of this King but also of his Successours Nevertheless notwithstanding all these Signal Services they only obtain'd the Title of Faithful Subjects which the King affected to bestow upon 'em in all his Edicts and Declarations Nay their Fidelity was so disserviceable to 'em as to create nothing but Fears and Jealousies in the Prime Ministers and Courtiers and augmented the Natural Hatred of the Jesuits who all together from that time forward meditated nothing more then to abase and ruine the Protestant Party and inspir'd into the Young Prince distrustful Sentiments of those to whom he was beholding for his Crown perswading him that if the Huguenots were so powerful as to settle him in his Throne they would be able at another time to throw him down again whenever he refus'd 'em any Privilege which they demanded These Disturbers of the Repose of France having thus found the Monarch dispos'd and inclin'd to follow their pernicious Counsels the Jesuits Directors of the Prince's Conscience fail'd not to improve those Sentiments so Opposite to his Real Interests and his Promis'd Faith and for the Expiation of some Great Sin impos'd upon him by way of doing Pennance the cancelling some Privileges granted to the Protestants by the King his Predecessours and with an Oath confirm'd by the Reigning Prince And as it is usual for Scorn to degenerate into Hatred the King having lay'd a Design to ruin the Vnited Provinces thought it then high time to begin with the Destruction of the Protestants of his Kingdom And then it was that every Body study'd who should be most forward to second the Bloody Design of their Soveraign and to invent new Torments for the more quick dispatch of the Great Work as the Court of France call'd it and the King himself could not refrain himself from saying That he would have the satisfaction in his Life-time of having the Honour to destroy Heresie and that he had rather leave the Dauphin a Beggarly then Heretical Kingdom and thus enflam'd Men Women Children Monks and Ministers of State all cry'd out To the Sack to the Sack with the Churches of the Huguenots and every one according to his Power lent a willing hand to the Diabolical Work Madam de Maintenon an Old Female Sinner was the Jesuits faithful and sedulous she-Intelligencer who for that purpose held their Cabals both day and night the Marquis of Louvois sent away the Dragoons into the Provinces and St. Ruth put in Execution with great delight the Cruel Orders that were dispatch'd from Court and recommended to his Executioners and Hangmen the Care of tormenting the poor Creatures with all sorts of Barbarism and Cruelty And while this Tragedy was acting in the several Provinces the Chancellor Tellier sent forth Declaration upon Declaration against the Protestants and issu'd out the Revocation of all their Edicts Privileges and Liberties with so much Satisfaction that as he was sealing the Revocation of the Edict of Nants he could not forbear declaring That it was the greatest Blessing that ever overjoy'd him in his Life and that he could be content after he had seen that happy Day to dye and he was so impious as upon that Bloody occasion to repeat the Song of Simeon and indeed God took him at his word for within a few days after he deliver'd France from that same Monster of Men. However the Persecution did not cease with the Life of that Minister who left very good Disciples behind him for that Father La Chaise finding one day the King in a Good Humour obtain'd an Order from him for a General Massacre of the Huguenots all over France grounding his Persuasions upon the Constancy of some of 'em with whom the Prisons and Convents were cramm'd and upon the Hypocrisie of the New Converts who when Opportunity served would be as so many Enemies within the Kingdom and that therefore there wanted a little Blood-letting to cure the Mischief And if this Order were not put in Execution the Protestants were beholding to the Two First Princes of the Blood Condé and Contà who took it out of Father La Chaise's Hands and return'd it to the King This Persecution which produc'd nothing but Hypocrites and forc'd Catholicks constrain'd a vast number of People to quit France and retire with their Effects into Foreign Countries contrary to the Expectation of the Court and the Policy of the King and his Ministers who never intended to dispeople the Kingdom as the Spaniards did their Country by expelling the Moors and for fear of falling into the same Blunder again they committed another as bad setting forth Rigorous Prohibitions forbidding all People to stir out of the Kingdom guarding the Passes and ordering all to be brought back Prisoners that should be taken upon the Frontiers and filling the Prisons Convents and Galleys with their Captives which was very near the same thing as expelling 'em the Kingdom All this so barbarous and unheard-of Usage was premeditated however notwithstanding the outward shew of Piety to be serviceable to the King's Design as having been for some Years contriving the Utter Ruin of the Protestants and therefore rightly judging that the Potentates their Confederates would never consent to their Destruction in regard their Downfall would only serve to aggrandize France and augment her Strength in order to the carrying the whole Universe before Her