Declaration which the Assembly of the Clergy made in the Year 1682. of their Opinions concerning Ecclesiastical Power at such a Conjuncture too when some of his Predecessours would rather have been banish'd to the Extremities of the Earth then have suffer'd so man New Converts He refus'd his Bulls to several Ecclesiasticks nominated by the King to supply the vacant Churches in his Kingdom The partial Behaviour of our Holy Father in reference to the Archbishoprick of Cologne his Resolute Refusal to acknowledge or give Audience to the King's Ambassadour at that Conjuncture but thundering out Anathema's against him and Interdicting him from St. Lewis's Church in Rome will perpetuate an Example almost Incredible to Posterity of the King's Zeal for Religion and his desire to preserve the Peace of Christendom and of the Pope's proceedings so contrary to the Obligations of the Place which he supplies Wherefore seeing His Holiness stops his Ears to all the King 's most just Complaints we are constrain'd at length to defend our selves and to maintain the Dignity of the Crown and the Repose of the King's Subjects by the Rules of Justice at a time that his majesty does the same with so much glory by the Puissance of his Armes Thereupon the King 's said Advocate-General having first obtain'd the King's permission declares That he is Appellant in the King's behalf and in behalf of all his Subjects to a Universal Council which His Holiness shall be pleas'd to call in due and Canonical Form c. Protesting in the mean time in the Name and by the Express Command of the King that 't is his Intention to remain inviolably devoted to the Holy See as the true Center of the Church's Unity c. And so soon as our Holy Father being better inform'd shall shew the Equity the Sentiments and Partiality of a Judge and common Father his Majesty will pay to his Person the same Filial Respect as he did before and from which nothing but the ill Conduct of his Holiness causes him to abstain After the Court of France had put these unheard-of Affronts upon the Holy See and thus debas'd the Authority of the Sovereign Pontiff instead of making use of those means which the Catholick Church and Councils have put into his Hands to bring back Princes and People to their Christian Duty the Pope out of a peculiar Fund of Charity and Piety contented himself with making appear to all the World the Justice of his Proceedings and the Injustice of the French Court declaring all along that he was perswaded that the Truth of Affairs had never been truly represented to the King of France only that the Artifices and Passions of those who are no Lovers of Peace had infus'd into him an Idea altogether different Otherwise that it was never to be believ'd that the King would have harbour'd in his Mind those Injurious Sentiments contain'd in Cardinal d'Estree's Letter his Holiness having never fail'd to shew himself a true Father to all Catholicks but more particularly to France who upon several Occasions had receiv'd various Testimonies of his Indulgence and Esteem but instead of being repay'd with Grateful Acknowledgement his Holiness had been expos'd to most heinous Injuries and Affronts not only offer'd to his Person but the Holy See by extending the Regale to above half the the Churches in France that are no way subject to it but by the Second General Council of Lion by prescription of almost 400 Years by the Testimonies and Evidences of Edicts of several Kings Decrees of Parliament and Registers of the Chamber of Accounts as also by the Opinion of the most celebrated French Lawyers ought to be exempted from it The Pope loudly complain'd of the Violence done to the Convents of the Carognes and Urbanistes and that only for applying themselves to the Holy See in Opposition to an Invasion of their Privileges and the Canonical Rules of their Orders which imports That Abbots and Superiours ought to be Elective and continue for three Years together In contempt of which the King had introduc'd Abbots of his own Nomination Besides the Rending away of Five Abbies without the consent of the Apostolick See to erect a Commandery and applying to Other uses the Revenues possess'd by several Monks and Nuns according to the Will of the Donours But that which was more enormous was the King's Prohibiting the Bishops to have any Recourse to the Pope according to their Duty and the Custom of all Times to ask his Counsel in matter of Religion as also in reference to what concern'd Prince Clement of Bavaria tho' in granting him the Eligibility for three Churches that were Legally possess'd by the deceas'd Electour of Cologne all Christendom saw that the Pope had no other Aim then the Publick Good For besides the high Value which it behov'd him to have for that Illustrious House the Merits of the Electour his Brother who had so gloriously defended Christendom against the Invasion of the Turks his Holiness had done nothing in that particular but only imitated the Liberality of his Predecessours who conferr'd the like and greater Favours also upon Persons much Inferiour in Birth Age and Merit then Prince Clement and that too at the Request of the Kings of France And for the Bull granted to Prince Clement the Pope could not be accus'd of any Injustice for so doing since that Affair was exactly and seriously examin'd in a Consistorial Congregation at Rome Besides that the King of France had neither any Reason nor Right to intermeddle in that Affair since it was a Business that only related to a German Archbishoprick and an Electour of the Empire which no way concern'd France either directly or indirectly but the Pope only in respect of Apostolick Confirmation and the Emperour as to the Investiture of the Pincipality in admitting him into the Electoral College to which belongs the Right of Electing a new Emperour and which has a very great Sway in managing the Affairs of the whole Empire So that the Pretence for War which France lays hold on from the Proceedings at Cologne is to be imputed to the King's Passion and his own Interest After what past in the Assembly of some Part of the Clergy at Paris where among other things the King caus'd the Regale to be adjudg'd his Right notwithstanding the Appeal of the Bishops of Alets and Pamise to the Pope and the Propositions so injurious to the Apostolick See supported by Royal Edicts enjoyning every Body to receive and publickly profess and teach 'em in such a manner as was never yet practis'd His Holiness had great Reason to refuse his Bulls to the Ecclesiasticks nominated by the King to supply the vacant Bishopricks because they were present at the said Assembly of 1682. and there openly declar'd themselves Enemies of the Apostolick See and for that the Canon Law and the Agreement made with France that the Pope should be judge of the Capacity of the Persons nominated prove moreover
That the said Ecclesiasticks nomianted by the King were not Persons proper to be entrusted with the Instruction of the People but absolutely addicted to their pleasures and their worldly Interests seeing that they never scrupl'd to revolt against their Spiritual Chief and to betray the Liberty and Privileges of the Church to the end they might gain the King's Favour and augment their Temporal Means Upon this the Court of France being desirous to vex the Pope made choice of the Marquis of Lovardin for his Embassadour to Rome because he was a Known Enemy of the Apostolick See and was both able and willing to affront and molest his Holiness No wonder then if he never had Audience of the Pope seeing that according to the General Rule no Minister should be sent to a Soveraign Prince but such a one as is acceptable to the Prince with whom he is to negotiate besides that it is not sufficient for a person to be sent by a Prince to entitle him to the Prerogatives of an Embassadour but according to the Laws of Nations he must be acknowledg'd for such a one by the Soveraign to whom that Minister is sent Therefore the Court of France had no reason to complain that the Pope refus'd to give Audience to the Marquis Nor indeed would any Soveraign have suffer'd the Marquis as he did to enter Rome with Armed Force as it were to deprive him of one Part of his Sovereignty and on purpose to affront him after such a manner unheard of even among Barbarians themselves 'T is observable that when France has any occasion to court the Favour of the Holy See she sends Prelates Cardinals and Bishops for her Embassadours in regard it is a Thing both decent and becoming Ecclesiasticks to be submissive to the Pope besides that they are allow'd Admittance when Seculars are excluded But when France has a mind to affront the See she sends a Lawyer or a Sword-man who neither depends upon the Pope nor expects any Kindness from him and who dares ruffle him stoutly when it is to promote the Interests of France But France seeing the Pontiff inflexible and that he was not to be gain'd either by his Nephew nor by the Cardinals that were most Intimate with him resolv'd either to rid him out of the world or to wait for his Death But Old Age sparing France the Labour of her first design he was no sooner dead but France began her old Custom of making Parties and scattering her Louidores up and down Rome to purchase a Pope of her own Faction and the Lot fell upon a Venetian Ottoboni who took upon him the Name of Alexander VIII France thought him her Friend and attributed the whole Glory of his Election to her self But she found him to be a Venetian that is to say one that conceal'd his real Sentiments as long as he liv'd and never declar'd himself till he came to lie upon his Death-Bed but then he did it in such a Manner as was no way for the Advantage of France Now in regard he was very Old and desirous to make the best of those few Years he had to live to raise the Fortune of his Family the French Ministers fail'd not to be liberal of their inchanting Golden Philters to allure his Kindred into the Interests of the French Court But how willing soever or how Importunate to Oblige their Uncle to do something in favour of the King they could never procure from him any thing more but only that while he held the Pontificate he did France neither good nor harm However the Italians say this of him That he did like the Swan that is he Sung a little before his Death Nevertheless France suffer'd patiently that petty Mortification and the loss of all her Presents to the Family of the Ottoboni in hopes to have at length a Pontiff more favourable to her Purposes At last after much canvassing most Voices were for a Neopolitan of the Family of Pignatelli whom the Cardinals of the French Faction would not exclude upon his promise to the French Cardinals that the French Court should have no reason to be dissatisfy'd with his Pontificate But being elected he forgot the Promises he had made the rather because the Imperial and Spanish Embassadours disswaded him as much as lay in their Power from the observance of ' em The Court of France therefore finding that they had to do with one that was not less weak in Mind then infirm in Body press'd it upon him that he would occasion the damnation of a great number of People that were without Pastours if he persisted in the Refusal of his Bulls to the Bishops of France who were present at the Assembly of the Clergy in the Year 1682. And at the same time the French Cardinals according to their Instructions gave the Pontiff to understand that a War was very near breaking out in Italy and that he would be answerable for the Blood that should be spilt seeing the Most Christian King's Patience was at an end and that most certainly he would withdraw himself from his Obedience to the See of Rome and set up a Patriarch in his own Kingdom and thereby retain several Millions that went every year to Rome Thereupon those Fears that usually seize People superannuated and the Delicacy of Conscience without any necessity of a Pontiff made him determine to satisfie the Court of France upon frivolous Promises that the Bishops should submit tho' to the prejudice of the Holy See since the King retracted nothing of what he had done publickly against the Authority of the Pontiffs and the Religion of the See and for that the Registers of the Parliament of Paris containing the Injurious Appeal of the King's Advocate-General still remain upon Record and for that France will one day revive it again when she finds a favourable Opportunity to humble the Court of Rome Neither the Pope nor the Holy See are to judge of the Catholicity of Lewis XIV or his Court by the Passion which he has shown in persecuting the Huguenots within his Kingdom So far from that seeing that while the French Monarch persecuted the Huguenots in his own Realm and destroy'd their Churches and their Exercises he succour'd Count Teckeli the Head of the same Sect that were revolted from their Soveraign in Hungary and the Court of France was not only more closely Ally'd for his sake with the Ottoman Port to which he also gave considerable Assistance but made Vows for the Prosperity of the Mahometans and repair'd their Mosques even as far as Vienna it self Moreover I have frequently heard the Director of my Conscience say and have heard several of the queint Doctors of the Sorbonne preach that the Fruits of the Christian Religion were Charity and that he who was void of it could not be a True Catholick that Charity was a Vertue which produc'd a Patient Spirit that it was benign that it was not covetous of other mens Goods
Europe's my own so soon as she beheld James II. upon the Throne of Great Britain I shall not here enlarge upon the Accident that set him in the Throne But certain it is that France and He had long and passionately waited for the happy Minute for that according to their Saying between 'em Charles II. was a meer Slugg and had neither vigour nor courage to put in Execution the Projects that France was a Brewing But far from that Charles II. wanted neither Policy nor Ingenuity and might have gone to his Grave with the Character of Prudent and Vertuous but for his scandalous Inclinations for Women However it may be assuredly said That the Match to which he was in a manner driven against his own Consent made him disgust Matrimony and threw him into a Vein of wanton Courtship 'T is true 't was a Weakness in him too apparent for his Honour but France and his Brother the Duke of York knew how to make their Advantage of it And therefore the Joy of Lewis XIVth's Court was not to be conceiv'd so soon as both He and his Adherents understood the Death of that good Prince and the Elevation of James II. to the Throne the Jesuits rejoyc'd in particular and never was such Posting backwards and forwards between Versailles and London as after the King of England's Death came to be publickly known at the French Court And there was some reason for it for that then it was that the French Council began to take terrible Resolutions in order to the putting in Execution a Design that France had kept conceal'd in her Breast for many Years before She began with the Revocation of the Edict of Nants a Thing which she durst not meddle with so long as King Charles was alive though that Prince in his heart was none of the Devoutest Religionaries but a Politician much more and one who observ'd his Measures by reason of his Parliament that was well inform'd that England was the Garrantee of that Edict But so soon as James II. became sole Master in England the Court of France gave her self her full swinge and push'd on her Design upon Europe might and main because that then there was no longer any fear of England which was the only Puissance that could either disappoint or advance her Enterprize And this was a Truth at all times so well known by the Kings of England that Hen. VIII made a Medal of Gold upon which was engrav'd a Hand stretching it self out of a Cloud and holding a Pair of Scales that were equally poiz'd with this Motto My Friendship turns the Beam But in King James's Time it was not England turn'd the Scale but France while England like an Ox ignorant of his own Strength tamely surrender'd her Neck to the Golden Yoke of Lewis XIV Formerly the Policy of France sent to the Court of England Lovely French Nymphs to cultivate the Hearts of the English Lords and of the Monarch himself But during King James's Reign another sort of Vermin were made use of and Monks and Jesuits were sent in Shoals that like so many Caterpillers and Locusts devour'd the Country and who had already dispers'd themselves over all the Kingdom and had made themselves Masters of the King and his Privy-Council to the great grief of all his good Subjects What a Heart-breaking must it needs be to the sounder Party at Court to see a Father Peters Chief in the Privy-Council pearch'd upon one of the highest Dignities in the Kingdom slighting and domineering over the Lords and Peers of the Realm as having got the Soveraign Authority into his Hands and for that the King and the Queen a Princess transported altogether by her Passion suffer'd themselves to be deluded and govern'd by this Tartuff of a Hypocrite and he over-rul'd by Father La Chaise who had all his Orders from the Court of France By which it may be easie to judge in what Condition France was at that time what Devils haunted both the Court and the Kingdom trampl'd o're the Necks of the King 's best Subjects and were just exposing the People to the Rage of Queen Mary's Reign who allow'd her Subjects no other Choice but of the Mass or the Faggot They who seriously consider the Policy of France in respect of England during the Reign of King James the II. will find the Game but very ill play'd seeing that in so short a time it gave an occasion to a Revolution so dangerous to France But so it happen'd because that Lewis XIV not foreseeing the Consequences after he had once given a loose Liberty to the Monks and Jesuits was no longer Master of the Affair and those Vermin pusht on King James with so much precipitancy that he being desirous to do too much at once they ranvers'd at the same time all the Designs of France and cast him headlong from the Throne into an Abyss from whence he will never be able to rise again so long as he lives nor will all the Power of France nor the detestable Wealth and Politicks of the Jesuits be able to restore him again If the Court of France were so excessive in their Rejoycing upon the Coronation of King James we may assure our selves that they were no less drown'd in Tears of Grief and Rage upon his Abandoning the Crown And then it was that all the best Head-pieces both Jesuits and Courtiers met together which way to apply some proper Remedies to a Blow so fatal and so unlookt for and then it was that Lewis XIV acknowledg'd his Error in following the Marquis of Louvois's Counsel which was to attack Philipsburgh instead of Maestritcht and give the Prince of Orange an Opportunity to pass un-disturb'd into England But that which deceiv'd France was an Army of Forty thousand Men which King James had a foot of which a great part were Irish and a Fleet of Forty Men of War riding out at Sea which indeed was a Force sufficient both by Sea and Land to have resisted so small a number as attended the Prince into England But it may be said that that same great Body was a meer Monster all Arms but no Head and whose Veins were fill'd with Water only instead of Blood And if France had bethought her self to have sounded in the first Place the Heart of King James she would have found there more of Cowardice then Courage and without question she would have march'd her Troops to the Lower instead of sending them to the Upper Rhine But by this we see that there is a certain Destiny which all the Wisdom all the Force and Industry of mortal Man cannot escape But now the Constitution of the Court of England being chang'd by the Alteration of the Government there was a necessity for the Court of France to change her Batteries and to employ all her Politicks which way to dethrone the reigning King whether by the Sword by Fire or by Poyson 't was indifferent to her provided she
attain'd her Ends and for the Truth of this we have sufficient Proofs the Testimony of Grandvall at his Death and the authentick Depositions of Dement who is still living to the Shamne and Confusion of France the Remembrance of which will be a lasting Stain to her Honour a Fact which her succeeding Princes will deny as a Reproach to their Posterity and for which Histories only furnish us with the Example of Darius King of Persia who not being able to vanquish his Enemy Alexander in Battel treacherously labour'd to have won the Grecian Soldiers either to kill or betray their Prince And for that it was that the Macedonian Victor upbraided Darius's Embassadors when they came to sue for Peace and to return him Thanks for the Civilities he had shew'd to his Mother his Wife and his two Daughters to which Embassadour the Macedonian Monarch thus began his Answer Tell your Master that Thanks are superfluous among Soldiers that make War one upon another and therefore if I were Civil and Courteous towards his Relations 't was only to satisfie my self and not out of any Affection that I bear to him for 't is not my Humour to insult over the Miserable I never attack Prisoners nor Women I only assail those that I meet with Weapons in their Hands and who are in a Condition to defend themselves So that if he sincerely desir'd Peace I should consider what I had to do but seeing that he still continues by Letters and Money to sollicit my Soldiers to betray me and my Friends to Kill me I am resov'd to pursue him to the uttermost of my Power no longer as an Enemy but as a Poysoner and a Ruffian c. 'T is not to be deny'd but that when any man designs to murther his Enemy 't is because he dreads him with a more then Ordinary Fear and to deprive his more valiant Adversary by such a Cowardly and detestable Action of the Honour of vanquishing him in Battel But such Assassins never come to good End for Darius perish'd miserably being murder'd by his own Subjects and at the same time lost both his Life his Diadem and all the Wealth of Persia But to return to our Subject During the Reign of King James France sent into England whole Legions of Monks and Jesuits under pretence of Propagating the Faith and to screw themselves into the most considerable Families of the Realm under pretence of Religion as also to assist this Unfortunate Prince to observe his Footsteps and dive into his secret Thoughts to the end he might not be able to avoid the Chains which the Court of France had prepar'd for him But now the Emissaries of France have alter'd their Language and whereas at that time they preach'd nothing to the English but Peace and Obedience there now they breath nothing but Fire and Flame Sedition and Murder where e're they come fomenting Rebellion in all parts of the Kingdom and ready once more to fire the City of London if they believ'd the Conflagration would contribute any thing to their wicked Designs The whole Policy and Craft of France is at a great Loss at this Conjuncture to find that all her Machinations against the Life of the King of England at present prosperously Reigning are still disappointed Nor is it less a bitter Choak-Pear to Lewis XIV the Proudest Monarch upon Earth to see himself at last constrain'd to acknowledge his Brittanick Majesty the Lawful Monarch of the Three Kingdoms and sue to him for Peace and all this after he had Vaunted before all the World that he would never lay down his Arms till he had restor'd King James to his Throne not without a prophane and Daring Application of the words of God the Father to the Son Sit thou at my Right hand till I make thy Enemies thy Foot-stool Now after such a Bounce a man would think it should be a trouble to the Court of France to find her self constrain'd to dismiss this poor unfortunate Prince But there will be no such Thing For when Persons that have been profitable to the Court of France become once unserviceable she never scruples to send 'em packing in cold Blood 'T is true that she observes some Measures and lets yee know her Mind at first by Hints and indirect Whispers but if you do not understand her Mute Language and Dumb Signs she fails not to inform your Stupidity with plain and down-right Expressions it being a Maxim of the French Court never to love the Unfortunate But you 'l say what Benefit can accrue to Lewis XIV by keeping King James in France 't is not for the Benefit of his Counsel for he could never give or take any himself nor is it out of any heat of Concupiscence for the Queen of England for he has much handsome and Prettier in his Seraglio of St. Cyr where Madam de Maintenon out of her Pious Care for several Years together has kept in good decorum a numerous Bevie of young handsome Ladies who are as it were so many Victims which she offers to the Divinity of Lewis the Great and though that Monarch had not that Reserve for his little Pleasures the Court is full of Coquetts and the Mothers are such Ninnyhammers as to carry their Daughters thither to try whether or no their good Fortune will advance 'em to the Embraces of that Great Monarch and all this in hopes to raise the drooping condition of their Family Insomuch that I have known some Parents condescend to that point of Panderism as to Lesson their Daughters and instruct 'em what they were to say and do in case the King should happen to take notice of ' em So that most assuredly it would not be no Queen Jemmykin that the Sultan of France would throw his Handkerchief unless it were with that Limitation that Alexander observ'd who refus'd to exercise at the Olymptick Games unless he might have Kings for his Competitors And thus Lewis XIV grown more Great perhaps then formerly would have the World believe that he 'll no longer be a Gamester in the Sports of Love unless he may have Queens for the Objects of his Passion However the King grows old and therefore let us be so favourable to him as to believe that if the Court of France did entertain King James and all his Train at St. Germains 't was not for any Affection the French Monarch bare him but because the English Fugitive who generally feeds upon Chimera's fancy'd Himself and endeavour'd to perswade the Court of France that he had a Great Party in England not only all the Roman Catholicks but all the Fanaticks in the Kingdom That the Quaker Penn who indeed is no other then a Jesuit in Masquerade assur'd him of the Absolute Devotion of 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
Pretended Zeal But the same Catholicks being more discreet and wary and well acquainted with the Tricks and Finesses of France compar'd the French Zeal to Crocodiles Tears that weep to drill Passengers within their reach and then darting themselves upon their Prey seize and devour it Nay the Pope himself smelt out the Cheat and did all that lay in his Power to oppose it as was apparently seen by the Business of Furstenberg But tho' the Event has shew'd us that France was mistaken in her Calculation yet she still goes on with her Prosecutions of the Protestants tho' less at one time then another in regard that 't is the best way for Princes to go through with Follies begun and for that the King's meaning was to make all Europe believe that he had no other End then to make Proselytes and to propagate the Catholick Religion which is a thing that most prudent and moderate Persons of the same Religion could never perceive by what is past nor discover in any Prospect of Futurity Nor has the King of France procur'd the least Advantage to the Roman Church by his Oppressions within his Kingdom or by his persuading and inveigling the Duke of Savoy to persecute the Vaudois with the same Severity quite contrary to the Sentiments of Innocent XI who openly disapprov'd Violence in Matters of Religion and who could not forbear saying That at the same time that the French Embassadour made Bonfires at Rome and rejoyc'd for the Destruction of the French Huguenots That his Heart bled Tears of Blood foreseeing that all those Forc'd Conversions would one day prove extreamly Prejudicial to the Church and that the King of France did but dispoil himself of the Lovely Robe of Primitive Charity to put on the Old Rags of Paganism dy'd with the Blood of so many Martyrs Moreover these abominable Proceedings of France have only serv'd to render the Catholicks suspected to the Protestants and to beget a Scorn and Hatred of 'em in Places where before they liv'd together in Brotherly Love and good Correspondence But what is more Considerable and for which Rome and all the Catholicks will have just Reason eternally to reproach France and complain of her Monarch Lewis XIV is this That he preferr'd the Advancement of Mahometism before the Support and Preservation of the Catholick Religion in England quite ruin'd by the Dethroning of King James whom he forsook in his Greatest Necessity more-especially seeing that unfortunate Prince had never fallen into such an Abyss of Misery had he not follow'd the Pernicious Counsels of his Confederate who incens'd him to persecute his Subjects in England as he had done his own in France and to alter the Religion and Laws of his Realm to serve the Interests and Designs of France But the English more Prudent and Circumspect then the French foreseeing the Tempest that began to gather already over their Heads and of which the Consequences could not but produce a Shipwrack like to that which had swallow'd up the Protestants of France seeing that the Dragoons began already to cross over out of France into England where there was a Father Peters animated with the same preposterous Zeal as Father La Chaise and a Chancellor Jefferies no less wicked and bloody then Tellier or Louvois the English I say beholding the Scaffolds erected and the Fires just ready to be kindl'd withdrew themselves in time from the Yoke that France was preparing for their Necks and by that Resolution for ever dash'd the vain-glorious Hopes of all the English Catholicks In short the King of France has great Reason to repent of Two Things his Persecution of the Protestants of his Kingdom and his last Siege of Philipsburgh For that those two Things were the Original Cause of the War and the Basis of all the Calamities with which France is at present overwhelm'd and which daily augment beyond any Help or Remedy which all the Policy of that Court all the Wiles the Artifices and Knavery of her Ministers and all the Bigotry of her Male and Female Hypocrites can apply to stop their spreading or prevent the sme Destiny from befalling the Reign of Lewis the Great as befell Anticohus sirnam'd Epiphanes or The Illustrious there being so great a Uniformity in their Manner of Acting the Beginning and Progress of their Atchievements that we have great Reason to hope that their Exits will be the same FINIS
Example of Alexander VI. who notwithstanding his being the Vicar of Christ never forbore to falsify his Word when he found there was a necessity for it tho' never any man promis'd things with more solemn Oaths and his Deceit prov'd successful to him Nor was Fordinand King of Castile and Aragon beholding for his Grandeur to any thing so much as to his Breach of Faith The Emperour Charles V. was always wont to swear By the Faith of a Man of Honour when he had a Design to act contrary to what he promis'd This Mazarine maintain'd as a Maxim never to be contradicted and that it behov'd a Soveraign to observe this Rule if ever he design'd Grandeur and Puissance never to stick to or govern himself according to the establish'd Laws of a Monarchy when they agreed not with his present Interest and the Politicks requisite to enlarge his Power because the same Laws that were made in former Ages were good and wholesom at that time but could not always so continued As much as to say that a King may break and trample over the Fundamental Law of a Realm when they concur not with his Ambition and his Inclination to plunder his Neighbours and ruin his Subjects For this reason it is that for some Years since we have seen Lewis XIV practise all these Maxims with a vehement Swing but with little Circumspection consulting neither the Laws of his Kingdom nor the Prerogatives of other Princes However observing this Rule never to threaten before-hand but to execute his Design at the same time that he set forth his Manifesto that his Adversary might have no time or leisure to oppose his Torrent Morevover Men judge of the Inclinations of Princes by the Ministers and Great Personages that are in favour near their Persons and the Deceas'd Prince of Orange William the First was wont to say in his time with great Reason and upon solid Grounds That a True Judgment might be given of the Natural Disposition of Philip II. King of Spain by the Cruelties which the Duke of Alva his Chief Minister committed without fear of punishment in the Low-Countries If it may be lawful to say the same thing of Lewis XIV What Sentiment ought we to have of that Prince If we look narrowly into the Inclinations and Proceedings of the Ministers that have serv'd him all the whole time of his Reign to begin from Mazarine till this very time we shall find 'em to have been all Birds of Prey and most Cruel and Insatiable Blood-suckers of the People Cardinal Richlieu was the First who laid the Foundation of this Policy now practis'd by the Court of France for that same Minister abusing the Simplicity of Lewis XIII made himself absolute Master in the Kingdom He was naturally Violent nor could he endure any Companion all People must submit to Him He Exil'd and Imprison'd he cunningly got rid of the Baron d'Ancre of Monsieur de Thou and Cinqmarc chose rather to establish the Security of his Person and his Fortune by Rigour and Violence then to hazard either by Clemency or by too much Complacency with those that were belov'd by the King and so he triumph'd over all even over the Protestant Party which was very numerous in France and which he endeavour'd to oppress by all manner of ways against the Edicts of Pacification and ruin'd 'em all by ruining Rochell which that he might the better bring to pass he deceiv'd the English and Hollanders who in good Policy were bound to have ventur'd all to have preserv'd that Important Place which was another State within the State it self and was a kind of Sanctuary and Place of Retreat for all the Malecontents of the Court. And it may be said that the Loss of that City was the Source of all the Calamities that befell Charles the I. King of England for France not only rais'd the Tempest in the two Kingdoms of England and Scotland sent Money into England to Kindle the Fire and feed the Civil War but encourag'd Oliver to lay hands upon the Person of the King in hopes at that time to bring down the Power of that Formidable Monarchy by Sea as is easie to judge by the Entertainment which the Court of France gave to the Princes of the Royal Family of England in that Conjuncture Moreover after what a Treacherous manner did France act with the Old Duke of Lorrain that he might have an Advantage to usurp his Country For Cardinal Richlieu under pretence of Friendship drew him to Lion where Lewis the XIII then lay with a Powerful Army under a false pretence that it behov'd him to come and pay his Respects to that Monarch Thither the Prince suspecting nothing but honest and fair dealing repair'd and was receiv'd at first with Extraordinary Honour and Civility not only by the King and the Cardinal but by all the Grandees of the Court who were order'd to treat him Splendidly But that was but the Bait to draw him on for when the poor Duke laden with the Honours of the Court and satisfi'd with his Kind Reception was about to return home he was stopp'd by the Cardinal's Order nor could he procure his Release but by delivering back into the hands of France a great part of his Territories which afterwards occasion'd the loss of all the rest under pretence that the Prince was an active stirring Soldier and devoted to the House of Austria But indeed because the Policy of the Court of France could not brook so near her a Soveraign Prince whose Territories were a Goad in her sides and might serve for an Inlet into France out of Germany Now in regard it is the Policy of a Minister of State to the end he may be lamented and desir'd after his Death to justifie his Conduct in the Eyes of the People Richlieu was willing to have for his Successour a Minister that should out-do him and finish what he had begun therefore he recommended Cardinal Mazarine an Italian by Birth and of mean Extraction naturally covetous and deceitful in whatever he undertook covering himself with the Foxes Skin the better to deceive others and play his own part not caring for whatever People said of him nor what Mischief was laid to his charge so he could bring about his Grand Design which was to get Money so that all the whole time of his Ministry he was call'd The Horsleech of the People By good luck he came to his Ministry during the Regency of a Credulous Queen and a Young King whom he Christen'd that he might acquire to himself the more Respect and Veneration It was easie for him both to imprint in the mind of this Young Prince and instill into him Precepts according to his own Humour which were to Sacrifice every thing to his own Interest Honour Word Alliances Edicts Promises Oaths when all these Vertues were opposite to his Aggrandizement That it behov'd a Prince that would be great to accommodate himself to the
Necessity of Affairs that it was sufficient for a Prince to be Vertuous when he could not dispence with being otherwise that it was good and commendable to know what was just and honest but not always expedient to practise it That there were some Vices which no way hinder'd a Prince from Governing well that Solomon was subject to Women yet look'd upon to be the Greatest and Wisest of all Kings for that there is always a Distinction to be made between the Domestick and Publick Life of a Prince his Royal and his Private Vertues Cardinal Mazarine having thus found out the Genius of his Disciple 't was an easie thing for him to imprint in his Mind these New Lectures of Policy which afterwards serv'd for a Basis and Foundation to the Reign of Lewis XIV who together with the Queen-Mother out of pure Gratitude deliver'd into the Cardinal's hands the Keys of all the Favours and Honours of his Kingdom upheld him in despite of all the Princes of the Blood and notwithstanding all the earnest Importunities of the Parliament and People underwent all the Dangers of a Civil War for some Years and not being able to live without the Cardinal'd Presence the King sent for him twice out of Banishment and receiv'd him with those Honours that were no way due to him even to the going several Leagues to meet him and to express his excessive Joy for his Return by mutual Embraces I shall not here enlarge upon the Authority and Power which that Italian Cardinal had in France 't is sufficient to say That the King during his Minority had all the Deference and Respect for that Prelate which a Son could have for a Father and that it was the Cardinal who only reign'd in France In lieu of which he promis'd the King and Queen That he would make him the Greatest Monarch in Europe In order whereunto he was to do Two things The First was To heap up Treasure and augment his Revenues The Second was To lay aside all Scruples of Conscience when the main Concern was the Aggrandizing his Kingdoms The first Tryal of Skill which the Cardinal made in the behalf of France was during his Nunciature when the Peace was concluded at Chirasco where the crafty wilely Minister deceiv'd the Pope his Master the Princes of Italy and the King of Spain in favour of the French Court and so well Cully'd the Duke of Savoy that he wrested out of his Hands that Important Place of Pignerol to deliver it into the Hands of France which was an Acquisition that all the King's Money and Power could not obtain before though he had had an aking tooth for it a long time And this same Cheat and cunning piece of Knavery it was though the Court of France paid for it in good Ready-Money that purchas'd him the Good-Will of all the Court of France and the Friendship of Cardinal Richlieu which Mazarine still improv'd and kept tite by Presents which he sent him out of Italy from time to time and so well he understood to inveigle all the rest that he was call'd into France in the Year 1639. where a little time after his arrival the Death of Father Joseph the Capuchin became the Life of Mazarine This Capuchin was he who serv'd Cardinal Richlieu in all his Intrigues both within and without the Kingdom and who was sent into England during the Reign of Charles I. to sow Division and raise a Civil War which cost that Nation Rivers of Blood So that the Capuchin had good reason to say at his return out of England That he had set Fire to those Sparkles which would kindle such a Flame as would not easily be extinguish'd in Acknowledgment of which the Court of France promis'd to get him a Cardinal's Cap to cover his Blad Pate But he was not so happy as to see himself clad in Purple Death seizing him in the Habit of a Saint of a Franciscan After which the Court of France bent all her Sollicitations in favour of Mazarine To which Cardinal Richlieu was the more willing to give his Consent as being glad to see himself succeeded in the Ministry by a Person of no less Rank then he was who though he were inferiour to him in Birth yet was his Equal in Dignity Both Princes of the Church yet not without some secret Jealousies between ' em But the King and Queen favour'd him in Consideration of the business of Pignerol and his declar'd Devotion for the Interests of France so that he was advanc'd to the Purple toward the End of the Year 1641. Immediately after his Promotion he went to take Possession of the Principality of Sedan which the two Cardinals had wrested from the House of Bouillon by Violence forasmuch as that Principality border'd too near upon France and also durst make Head against it but at a time when France was not so powerful as now it is 'T is true that the Duke of Bouillon Frederick Maurice who was then Sovereign of the Place had very much contributed to the loss of it by changing his Religion upon his marrying the Countess of Berghe For being at that time Governor of Maestricht and in the Service of the States of the United Provinces whose Protection warranted his Territories from all Assaults of France yet finding himself no longer acceptable to the Prince of Orange his near Kinsman nor to the States themselves he desir'd leave to lay down his Commission and retire to Sedan there to lead a private and quiet Life and wholly to employ himself within his principality to the Propagation of the Roman Religion which he had embrac'd in which Employment he made some Progress during some Years After which he met with Business much more considerable by reason of the Refuge which he gave to the Count of Soissions one of the Princes of the Blood and who was retir'd in discontent from the Court of France by reason of some Quarrel with Cardinal Richlieu and this Count was follow'd by the Duke of Guise Now the Duke of Bouillon thought to have avoided all Occasion of Trouble by giving notice to the Court of France of the Retreat of those two Princes but the Cardinal a subtle and crafty Politician seeing he could not hinder it persuaded the King to approve what he had done till an Opportunity of Revenge presented it self as it appear'd not long after by the King 's taking the Field in order to besiege the City of Sedan Nor had the Duke at that time any other way to preserve himself but by clapping up a League in all haste with the Emperor and Spain by which they were to assist him against France with Seven thousand Men and Two hundred thousand Crowns in Ready-Money But the Emperor only perform'd his 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
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 is 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 Courship 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'twas 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 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
have all along given Marks of their Filial Obedience and a devout submission to what ever came from the Holy See And to have seen Lewis XIV persecute the Huguenots in France there is no body but would have sworn that he had been the most Zealous Catholick in the world Nevertheless we have seen the contrary and that what he has done in reference to the Protestants was only to ward off the Accusations that might have been charg'd upon him for openly opposing the Holy See while he affronted as all the world knows he openly did Pope Innocent XI only because the Holy Father would not give way to his Usurpation of the Regale in France which produc'd the Assembly of some Prelates of the French Clergy in the Year 1682. wherein the Archbishop of Paris who presided there being flatter'd in case of a Rupture with the hopes of being Patriarch of the Kingdom or in case of an Accommodation with the expectation of a Cardinals Cap got all the Prelates who were present at the Assembly to degrade the Papal Authority and of a Universal Pontiff to make him a Simple Bishop subjected to Councils And the King constrain'd all the Preachers in the Kingdom and Rectors of Universities to declaim and teach a Doctrine in Opposition to the Authority of the Pontiff Nay the Business went so high that the Court of France undertook to govern Rome it self in opposing the Suppression of the Franchises of Embassadours Quarters in Rome which indeed were no more then a Sanctuary for Robbers and Bankrupts Moreover the King of France that he might remain peaceable Possessour of the Regale went about to set a foot an Old Pretension of the Duke of Parma to the States of Castro and Ronciglione supposing 'em Guarranties only of the Treaty of Pisa which was a Pretence to seize upon the City and Country of Avignon which the Court of France had for a long time look'd upon as an Estate that lay convenient for her and only sought an Opportunity to detain it without being oblig'd to make Restitution and which had taken effect had not Innocent the XI been a quiet and peaceable Pontiff suffering with a Christian Patience while he liv'd all the Affronts of the Court of France referring the Revenge of 'em as he was often wont to say to his Crucify'd Saviour and to him it was that the Holy Father appeal'd when France sent him a Copy of the Extract of the Registers of the Parliament of Paris in the ensuing Words This day the King's Advocate-General coming into the Chamber of Vacations and declaring That the Matters of Fact explain'd by the Letter which the King wrote to Cardinal d'Estrees the 6th of this Month having oblig'd his majesty to let our Holy Father the Pope know That for the future he could not but look upon him as a Prince engag'd with his Enemies consequently that he could not acknowledge him for a Judge of every thing that concern'd his Majestly's Interests the King's Advocate General though it his Duty at the same time to take the Precautions settl'd by the Law practis'd upon several Occasions and grounded upon the Opinions of the Italian Canonists themselves to hinder his Holiness from pronouncing Effectual and Regular Judgments upon these Matters To which purpose he has put in to a Universal Council an Appeal Extrajudicial as to all Proceedings of his Holiness at present or for the Future and as to all Sentences which he may have given or hereafter pronounce to the Prejudice of the King or the Prerogatives of his Crown or of his Majesty's Subjects Of all which the Respect which he owes the Crown has oblig'd him to come and give the Court an Account and present to their view the Act which he has made wherein he cannot but acknowledge the Piety Wisdom and Moderation of the King in this particular which seem to have extinguish'd in the Person of the King those Passions that most vehemently agitage other Men. He hopes that the Court will approve his Conduct and assures himself that they will both zealously and faithfully use all the Authority with which it has pleas'd the King to invest 'em to maintain the Respect which is due to his Majesty and to preserve the Prerogatives of his Crown the Tranquillity of his Subjects and the Liberties which are not only particular to the Gallican Church but which she has preserv'd with more Learning and Vigour then any other Which things being consider'd the Chamber Ordains That the said Act of Appeal be Register'd in the Registers Office that recourse may be had to it as occasion serves and that Thanks be return'd to the King for ordering his Advocate-General to proceed according to the Usual Practise upon the same Occasions and that the First President do assure the King in the Name of the whole Society of their Devotion to his sacred Person and his Service and that they will at all times make use of that Authority which the King has conferr'd upon 'em to support the Prerogatives of the Crown the Liberties of the Kingdom and the Repose of his Subjects It was also further added by M. Harlay the King's Counsellor in his Council of State and his Advocate-General That the Reputation and Piety of our Holy Father Innocent XI causing his Majesty to rejoice at his Exaltation to the Pontificate his Majesty endeavour'd to close with his Holiness in order to a unanimous Care of what ever might be for the Glory and Service of God That his desires and the Progresses he made in order to such a Pious Design not having had that Success which he expected the King however still continu'd in his part to employ the Power which God has put into his hands for the preservation of the Purity of the Faith in his Kingdom and to bring back to the Bosom of the Church a Great Number of Children that are gone astray as also to afford the Church all the Protection which she could expect from the Authority of a Great King his Majesty also has edified by his Example and instructed all his Subjects by his particular Piety Nevertheless our Holy Father the Pope to whom so many wonderful Vertues and Actions ought to have render'd the Person of the King so dear has with great heat embrac'd the Complaint of the two Bishops about the Right of the Regale and his Holiness at the same time rejected the Testimonies of all the rest of the Prelates of the Kingdom touching the Favours they have receiv'd from the King in that particular to the Prejudice of his Prerogatives He went about to take from the King's Embassadours at Rome the Franchises which they enjoy'd even under his Pontificate in a City where it became the Gratitude of the Popes to have preserv'd to our Kings more singular Marks of that Sovereignty of which they formerly despoil'd themselves to enrich the Holy See Our Holy Father has also look'd upon as a dangerous and suspected Doctrine the
nor into any the meanest Offices in the Kingdom and that it would be a very difficult thing not to say an Impossibility to embody all those that go by the Name of Jacobites scatter'd up and down in several Parts of the Kingdom and for the most part known to be such Besides that we find that no sooner a Dozen of these Rebels meet together but they are presently discover'd a visible Sign of the Care that Divine Providence takes for the Preservation of their Brittanick Majesties and that the same Providence watches over 'em while they without intermission labour to settle the Government to protect the Nation against their Enemies and to re-advance the Honour of the British Name beyond what the Princes their Predecessors have done for several Ages There is no question to be made but that the King of France or his Council is very well inform'd of the Constitution of England and that it will be in vain for their Enemies to attempt any thing there so long as the King and his Parliament are united together as we find 'em at this Day Insomuch that this good Correspondence has furnish'd the King with powerful Supplies to oppose his Enemies both by Sea and Land tho' their Number were double to what it is at this Day For that so long as the English have a formidable Fleet upon their Coasts who shall be so daring as to attack ' em Not France I 'm sure Besides that if they can but come to grapple with their lurking Enemy the French would soon be constrain'd to quit their Coasts So that all things being consider'd there is nothing more for France to do but to give over the War with England for that unless they be Masters of the Sea their Trade is lost and they are absolutely ruin'd not being able to sell their Wines their Brandies and other Products of the Kingdom besides that they are fore'd to drein themselves of all their ready Money to pay the King's Subsidies with a number of Impositions and Taxes with which the Kingdom swarms And which is worst of all their Harvests having fail'd for Two Years together from whence shall they have Corn if they be not Masters of the Sea more especially being at War with the Hollanders and excluded out of Spain which has several times supply'd their Wants So that 't is no marvel that the French begin to be weary of the War especially with England and that he no longer observes any Measures with King James who at present resembles one of one those petty Saints to whom they will not put themselves to the trouble of lighting up a small Wax Candle because they neither cure any Diseases nor are able to make their Guardian 's Pot boil France has begun a War which she will not get quit of when she pleases her self Her Monarch has a long time acted Orlando Furioso and affronted both in Word and Deed a Prince that was not in a Condition to defend himself but now that Providence by a miraculous Conduct has plac'd the injur'd Prince upon the Brittish Throhe 't is not for the Court of France to think that God by his Providence has so highly exalted that Prince has conferr'd upon him the Government of several Kingdoms and Provinces and put so great a Power into the Hands of the only Prince that France is afraid of a Prince that has so well united the greatest part of the Princes of Europe in order to make a vigorous War against the common Enemy who by degrees has so largely usurp'd upon their Dominions and all this only to render more conspicuous the Honour of Lewis XIV as his Emissaries give out 'T is never to be believ'd and they that imagine it must be either void of Sence or be of the Number of those Phanaticks that have no more Wit then to adhere to King James But if France can get nothing by a War with England she may be much a loser considering the present Condition of her Affairs For should the English once happen to set Foot in France they have not forgot their Right to Normandy Guienne Poitou and Languedock When the English quitted Calais they promis'd the French Governour who came to take possession of it to return when their Sins were not so crying loud as those of the French At least the Court of France is not to believe that the English will let 'em alone in the quiet Possession of Dunkirk a Place that is no more the Patrimony of the Kings of France then Strasburgh They that sold both the one and the other of those Cities had no right to make the Bargain France treated with those that were under Age. Now we know that what an Infant Sells or Contracts for is lyable to be cancell'd Charles the Second had neither conquer'd nor purchas'd Dunkirk he found it annex'd to the Crown upon his return to his Kingdoms nor was it for him to sell it to satisfie the Avarice of his Chancellor So that the Kings his Predecessors have still an undeniable Right either to regain it by Force of Arms or recover it by Treaty of Peace with much more Equity and Justice then the Chamber of Metz can pretend to make Reunions to the Crown of France The words surrender back are doubtless very hard of Digestion to Lewis the Great who pretends at all times to be the only Person that can restore Peace to Europe and therefore he ought in the first place to understand what Restitution is The Greatest and Wisest of Kings assures us That Destruction presses close upon the Heels of the Proud and as I have already said Fortune grows weary of always carrying the same Prince upon her Back There are many Reasons why France should sink after all the Cruelties she has committed and which are not yet at an end People trail their Chains after 'em for some time without much complaint but 't is with a design to break 'em upon the first Opportunity and there is no question to be made but that if the English once set Foot ashore with their Prince at the Head of 'em but that the greatest part will receive him as their Deliverer And I dare be bold to affirm that there are at Present a Great Number in France who wish it and wait for their Deliverance and that there is hardly a Lord at Court or a Prince of the Blood who does not pray for the bringing down their Monarch and the Prosperity of the Confederates Armes The Race of Valois ended in France for less Crimes then those that Bourbon has committed But there is a precise Time appointed for humbling the Monarchs of the World conceal'd from Humane Knowledge and it is a Folly to go about to penetrate into a Secret which Divine Providence has reserv'd to it self However we see the King of France tries all Ways and Means to Support himself like a Man that strives against Death He ruins his Subjects to maintain his Armies he
Impoverishes 'em to constrain 'em to turn Soldiers He calls in all their Money embases it and pays 'em with New Money enhaunc'd above a Third part of the True Value to fill his Coffers He seizes upon all the Church-Plate and what belongs to private Persons and coins it into Money and the better to inveigle the People as it were to follow his Example he sends his own Plate First of all to the Mint and sends for it back the next day There is not any Tax or Toll or Imposition that has escap'd the Invention of his Flint-Skinners so that the greatest part of all the Handycraft Tradesmen and Peasants have abandon'd their Farms and their Houses to wander about and beg their Bread or else to seek their Livelihoods in foreign Countries I have often with my own Ears heard very good Men and Old Catholicks cry out When will the Prince of Orange meaning the King of England now reigning come and deliver us from all our Miseries Rightly judging That the English are They who can only give that Lucky Blow by reason that their nearness to the Coasts of France facilitates their Entrance into the Kingdom The Court of France knows this to be true and therefore takes so much care to line their Coasts tho' the King of France's whole Army would not suffice to guard a Compass of 300 Leagues in Extent so well as they should do to prevent the Enemies landing in some part or other Where they that land have no more to do then only to stand the First Shot for the Second Discharge will prove very moderate and for the Third there will be no occasion to fear it I affirm then that the English alone are able to harrass France more then any of the Confederates to put her to an Excessive Expence which dreins her Treasury forces the King to oppress his Subjects that he may replenish his Coffers provokes the Malecontents to shake off the Yoke of a Despotick Government and to desire a Government like that of England which beyond all contradiction is the most Just and most Equitable as well for the King as for the People every one there enjoying their Rights and Privileges the King his due Prerogatives and the People their Repose If any one of the Republicks of Europe be able to infuse Jealousies and Fears into France it is the Republick of the United Provinces which is at present the most potent the most Illustrious the most glorious and the most wealthy Republick in the World I acknowledge that Venice may dispute the Point of Antiquity with her otherwise there is no Comparison to be made between ' em No wonder then that her Neighbouring Puissance has drawn upon her the Envy of France The Policy of her Ministers ever since the Beginning of this Reign has very Judiciously exercis'd it self in finding out the most clever and probable ways to swallow up those Provinces either by Conquest or by Ruining 'em to which purpose Measures have been taken a long while ago And Lewis XIV at the Beginning of the War 1672. did verily believe to have compass'd his Designs having invaded the States at a Time when they rely'd upon the Faith and Sincerity of Treaties and had neither any Forces a foot nor any General to lead 'em Good Husbandry being Natural to Republicks in Time of Peace Nevertheless France could not strike that Blow so home as she desir'd without the Consent of England and therefore it was that the Court of France was so careful to improve their Friendship with Charles II. sparing neither for Money nor the Allurements of Pleasure to inveigle and fasten him to their Interests and to cause him to bury in Oblivion all the Benefits he had receiv'd from the Republick and the House of Orange Nor would France quit her Hold till England had in conjunction with her declar'd War against the United Provinces where the Embassadors of France had for some Years labour'd underhand by the Inticing Baits of Gold and Silver to gain Creatures within the Republick since which time the Count d'Avaux understood so well to follow their Steps that he out-did ' em For that being Young and a Courtier he made his Love of Women serviceable to get him Admittance into certain Families that had some share in the Government and there were few Cities where he had not his Creatures who gave him Intelligence of all things that past in Council and some there were who like Nicodemus's came to him by Night not daring to appear in the day-time The Greatest Policy of France was always to foment Division between England and the United Provinces afraid of nothing more then a good Correspondence and Union between the Two Puissances Nor did she see any way more Probable to compass her Ends upon the United Provinces then by sticking close to England which had fallen out luckily for her during the two preceding Reigns while she amus'd those two Princes with Hopes of sharing in the Conquest And upon this Score Lewis XIV had very little trouble to perswade James the Second to close with him for that in his Heart he was an Enemy to the United Provinces and the House of Orange besides that he was besieg'd by the Monks and Jesuits and particularly by Father Peters who kept him under the awe of the Ferula putting him in hopes of Great Rewards from Heaven in case he would lend his Helping hand to destroy the Hereticks perswading him that the United Provinces were the Center of Heresie So that he added to his private Hatred that Biggotry which those Hypocrites of Monks continually blew in his Ears And indeed all things were in a ready forwardness to recommence in Conjunction with France a new War against Holland The King's Inclinations were altogether bent that way and the Thing would have had the Effect desir'd so soon as James the Second had once obtain'd to be Master of his Parliament had abolish'd the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom and lay'd low the Heads of some of the principal Lords the best Affected toward the Wellfare of the Kingdom and the Preservation of the Privileges of the Nation But the Revolution in England falling out so unexpectedly toward the end of the Year 1688. and the Year following fended off the Blow and broko all the Measures of those Two Princes to which we may add the rejecting of the Cardinal of Furstenburgh from being Archbishop of Cologne All these Events so contrary to the Expectation of Lewis XIV very much contributed toward the Preservation of the Low-Countries For there is no doubt but the Cardinal who is a Man dangerous turbulent actuared by the Demon of France to whom he has sold and devoted himself since he withdrew himself from his Obedience to the Emperor his lawful Sovereign was in t oduc'd into the Chapter of Cologne only to be the Tool and Organ by whose means the Most Christian King might the more easily disturb the States of the United
a Collonel of the Foot-Regiment of Guards he march'd his whole Regiment before the Idol saluted it with his Pike and order'd all his Soldiers to salute it with a Royal Volley insomuch that at first there was no Body durst pass by it without some kind of Genuflexion And by that Statue it is that Men may make a shrew'd Conjecture of the Design and good Intentions of Lewis XIV since he had caus'd to be engrav'd upon the Predestal of the Idol the Hollanders as well as other Nations link'd and chain'd together like Slaves under his Feet By which 't is easie to discern as in a Mirror the very inside of Lewis XIV and his kind Intentions toward the United Provinces in case he could attain his Ends. And he discover'd his wicked Purposes so openly after he thought himself assur'd of King James upon his Elevation to the Throne by the hasten'd Death of Charles II. that 't was the publick Discourse in the Court of France how they were going to fall upon the Hollanders and that they would drown their Provinces under Water to the end they might never rise again to vex the King by their opposing his just Designs This was the common Language of the Court and he that should have contradicted it would have been Empal'd after the Turkish manner I must confess that at present they see with other Eyes at the French Court and their Language is quite another thing 'T is the main Business of the Court at this time to flatter and caress the Hollanders by that means if she can to disburthen her self of a War too ponderous for a Kingdom groaning under Famine and many other Calamities and which are more likely to encrease then abate So that if the United Provinces together with the rest of the Confederates do but stand their station tho' they should gain no ground upon the Enemy France must be forc'd to condescend to what Conditions they please But say some of the more peaceful and quiet sort of People what Assurances have we of being able to constrain the King who makes Head against all the Confederates to restore to Spain so many Towns and Fortresses and so well fortifi'd which he has in his Hands to the end the Hollanders may enlarge their Barriers I answer That in this War the King of France is in an Association with the Turk who by the Diversion he makes cuts out Work for the most considerable Forces of the Emperor and Empire That the Ottoman Empire consists of a capricious and giddy-headed People who have been several times of late and indeed upon all the most considerable Occasions defeated and that by consequences there is nothing of certainty for France to trust to on that side who only sways the Port by the force of her Money and a few frivolous Promises So that there needs no more then an Insurrection of the People or a humour of the Grand Signior the Prime Visier or the Mufti to produce a Treaty of Peace and overturn all the Hopes of France Besides that if we do but consider the bottom of things we shall find that this War which the Turk continues with so many Disadvantages costs the French Yearly those Summs which they are unwilling to boast of Secondly Lewis XIV alone by himself is bound to pay and maintain above Four hundred thousand Men to make head against his Enemies Whereas the Confederates are not bound to keep so many Men in constant Pay for the supply of which every one bears his Proportion nor does he that is most burthen'd bear a Fourth part of the Load of France 'T is true the Body of the Confederates is a bulky Fabrick but it moves upon several Engines which makes it go the surer Now I dare maintain that 't is impossible for the King of France to act alone by himself above Six Years as he does against a Confederated Body without ruining his People At the long-run the Soldier turns the Citizen out of his House and reduces him to beggary for want of Trade The Taxes devour that little which the Inhabitants have heap'd up during the Peace The Treasury fails because the Springs are grown dry the Merchant is ruin'd by his Losses The Customs and Gabells which were formerly the best and most ready Money the King had by reason of the great quantity of Salt that us'd to be utter'd all over the Kingdom must needs be very low when People want Money to buy Bread more then Salt And 't is not long since that I heard one of the Farmers say That the Gabells of Salt are fallen above half in half and it is the same thing with all the other Farms in France A Monarch without a full Exchequer is like a Man without Hands and Eyes Of all the Soveraign Puissances at present in Confederacy with France there is not any one can contribute more to her Ruine then the united Provinces and that two ways the one by preventing all Commerce and all manner of Trade with France and forbidding under severe Penalties the carrying of Provision and Corn to the Enemies Country in regard that Merchants are greedy of Gain and care not whether they supply Friends or Enemies insomuch that 't is said of some People to express their Extraordinary Thirst after Profit that if there were a Fair or Market in Hell they would carry their Goods to the Infernal Gate so they might put 'em off The Other way to Ruine France is to make themselves Masters of the Sea which they might easily do in respect of the French and by that means prevent any thing for going or coming out of the French Ports Add to this the Necessity that France is in to send for Horses into the United Provinces to remount her Cavalry which it is in the Power of the States with ease to prevent Besides all this the United Provinces have had a vast advantage over France during the Continuance of this War by the Trade which she has driven all along into the Indies Italy Turky Spain England the Baltick Sea c. whereas the French have only Italy and Turky free to themselves for if they will have any thing from the Baltick Sea they must put up Swedish or Danish Colours to protect 'em from the English On the other side I must confess that several Merchants Ships of both Nations fall into the Hands of the French Capers and a far greater Number then those that are taken either by Dutch or English but then we must consider that there are a hunder'd English and Dutch Ships for one miserable French-man continually trading upon the Sea and many times our Capers meet with French Prizes that are hardly worth the Taking Then again the Number of French Privateers surpasses double and Treble the Number of the Dutch in regard that the French Merchants having nothing else to do with their Vessels turn 'em all into Privateers that so they may not lie idle Insomuch that all the
fatisfaction in Part. For it is visible that his Intrigues in the Court of Poland have a long time hinder'd his Polish Majesty from being Master of Gaminieck for what could else have hinder'd him but the French Louidores more especially seeing the Polanders ever since this War have had only to deal with a beaten baffl'd Enemy whom their Prince had defeated and forc'd to rise from before the Walls of Vienna with Ignominy and a Prodigious Slaughter Nevertheless these Great Advantages produc'd no great Effect tho' the Pope still continu'd his Supplies of Money to carry on the War But the reason is plain for the Pernicious Policy of the Court of France who was resolv'd to march to the Succour of the Turk her dear Confederate wrought so powerfully at the Court of Poland by means of the Queen and Great Presents that the Louidores which tarnish'd the Honour of Poland surmounted the Pope's Piety and his charitable Assistance both together Moreover the King of Poland being naturally Thrifty and rightly judging that the Prince his Son may one day one day have need of ready Money to hoist him into the Throne had so much power over himself and so much presence of Mind as to keep both the Assistance of Rome and the French Pension His Majesty of Poland who is a wise and an understanding Prince knows also that Money is a good Moveable at a time of Need and by a Knack of Prudence the Criticks may call it Pitiful Mechanick and below himself if they please he provides an Apple against he comes to be adry But if this be the King's Weakness 't is the Strength of the Prince his Son The Policy of France has this particular Gift that it carefully studies the Inclination of Princes the weak sides and where lies the strength of those Courts into which she strives to introduce her self and get to be Mistress or Misrule Thither she sends such Persons as are proper for the Genius of the People either as Publick Ministers or private Spies For Example to sent to the Courts of Italy where Gallantry and Courtship abounds such Persons whose Principal Vertue consists in hard Drinking would be an Idle Thing and spoil all No the Court of France is more refin'dly cunning then so she reserves her Lovers of Bacchus's Liquor for the Courts of Germany where the Temper of the Climate induces the People to drink on purpose to steel their Bodies against Cold Weather and there it is that frequently between the Pear and the Cheese they strike the Home-strokes and do their Business when the Wine has warm'd their Courage As for the Court of Poland 't is a Place where neither Courtship nor the Pleasures of the Table are predominant but the Powder of Gold prevails with a witness and indeed not only there but in most part of the Courts of Europe There are few Courtiers and fewer Women so void of Ambition as to be proof against the Attacks of Money I mean that can refuse to embrace his Interests who courts 'em in Showers of Louidores They are such Irresistible Temptations to those that are short of Money as it usually happens in the Court of Poland where Money does not tumble about proportionable to the Expence and where the Courtiers are not so thrifty as the King The French Men and French Women who generally affect a Port answerable to the Grandeur of their Prince many times sacrifice their Fortunes and their Honour to render themselves useful to their Country and such are easily gain'd A Director of Conscience works Miracles upon the Minds of such People and therefore the Policy of France is very Careful to maintain French both Men and women in the Court of Poland and the Ministers of France are so dextrous as to recommend French Men to serve him with the Character of Publick Ministers his Polish Courts without any Expence to his Polish Majesty while France takes care to provide 'em a Maintenance and by that means the Court of France is inform'd of all that passes not only in respect of the Affairs of Poland but also of all that comes to the knowledge of the Ministers in those Courts where they reside those Ministers having sold themselves to France and only acting and actuated by the Spirit and Counsel of France their Benefactress As we have seen by Experience at the Hague during the Residence of the Sieur Moreau and of which the Proceedings against Grandval and Demont are authentick Proofs We ought to be convinc'd that France would never have pay'd those Ministers but that she receiv'd some Benefit by 'em more particularly in a time of War when she cannot send Embassadours to Princes in Confederacy against Her For tho' that France has not any publick Minister in the Courts of her Enemies nevertheless we find she is inform'd of every thing that passes there she neglects nothing but makes a dextrous Use of the Weak side of Princes that are willing to listen to her and takes her Advantage of all Opportunities 'T is the chiefest and indeed the Main Policy of France to surprize her Friends as well as her Enemies and therefore they had need be always upon their Guard and always distrustful of whatever France proposes to ' em The Kingdom of Portugal since the loss of the Battel in 1578. was possess'd by the Moors and after that by the Spaniards till the Year 1641. at what time John of Bragansa assisted by France and being the next Heir to the Crown was declar'd King of Portugal after a general Revolt of the Kingdom which not being able any longer to endure the Oppression of the Spaniards shook off their Yoke under the Reign of Philip IV. The Kings of Spain always thought they had an Ample Right to Portugal by vertue of a Donation from the Cardinal of Portugal the lawful Heir of the Crown after the Death of King Sebastian his Brother who dy'd without Issue That Cardinal being unwilling to quit the Priesthood was push'd forward by the Sollicitations of the Jesuits who besieg'd him in such a manner that they never let him rest till he had made a Donation of the Kingdom of Portugal to Philip II. King of Spain which could not be done to the Prejudice of the Lawful Heirs whom the Spaniards contrary to their Politicks suffer'd to live and grow up in Portugal Nor did they lie asleep but lay'd hold of the first Opportunity as has been already said And certain it is that France spurr'd on by her own Interest contributed toward it with all her Power for indeed the Policy of France requiring the pulling down and ruine of Spain she could not take a better Course then to dismember and rend a whole Kingdom from the Spanish Puissance in regard that Spain decreasing in Dominions and Revenues must needs decrease in Strength France during the Reign of Lewis XIII and the Minority of Lewis XIV had great cause to fear the Strength of Spain but very little to be
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 Conscience 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 Off spring 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 Baricado's Nor could the King himsel 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 o 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 Kin gin 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 therefore the Policy of the Court of France very sillily believ'd that the Persecution of the Huguenots would draw all the Catholicks into her Snares which she had thus baited with her