which is due to thy sublime Grandeur whereunto thy Merit has raised thee And having cast my self at thy Feet in Spirit seeing I cannot really kiss them I obey the Orders thou sendest me which are to me inviolable Laws Banniere the Swedish General is dead when Picolicomini one of the Generals of the Emperor's Army lay just by him In half an hours time he saved himself the Army all the Baggage and Cannon and retired with incredible Swiftness over Mountains and Forrests where the Beasts alone could make Passages having continually the Emperor's Army at his back He was a Man of great Valour had been highly serviceable to the Crown of Swedeland and acquired the Reputation of an excellent Commander The Emperor had offered him some time before great Recompences and the Dignity of Prince of the Empire if he would change his Master and forsake the Confederates Party He had also offered thinking this might more move him to make him General of his Army against the Grand Signior but he refused all these Offers his Fidelity being unmoveable This great Captain was born in Swedeland and when a Child he fell down from a high Window without receiving any Hurt which made the King imagine Heaven design'd him for some thing extraordinary He travelled much in his Youth and he was seen never tired in running to all places where there was any War sometimes in Poland and otherwhiles in Muscovia And being become General of his King's Army he soon acquired the Reputation of one of the greatest Captains of the Northern Part. He was perfectly skilled in the Art of Encamping and no body could ever better draw up an Army for Battel His way of Retreat from before an Army stronger than his must needs be admired by all the World He ever chose good Posts and when once he was possess'd of them he knew well how to keep them so that he was never defeated whatever Forces his Enemy might bring against him He has destroy'd Fourscore Thousand Men in different Rencounters and Swedeland glories in having above Six hundred Standards He was so like King Gustovus thaâ— they have been often taken for one another He was never covetous but was observ'd to be a good Husband Among so many Occasions wherein he signaliz'd himself what he did when the Swedish Army was worsted at Norlinge is most remarkable he preserved the Rest though wholly forsaken by the Allies and so ordered the Matter that he raised fresh Troops almost in an instant and gave his Party Time and Courage to rise up And this is all I could learn of this great Captain whose Reputation has given thee Curiosity Although Don Duarte de Braganza the new King of Portugal's Brother served with great Reputation in the Emperor's Army yet 't is said the Spaniards had been very urgent with this Monarch to make him be apprehended as soon as ever they heard the King his Brother was raised to the Throne But 't is said the Emperor was scandaliz'd with such a Proposition alledging this would be against the Rules of Hospitality But the Empress's Confessor found such Reasons in his Divinity as brought over the Emperor to yield he should be delivered into the Spanish Minister's Hands who conducted him with a very strong Party to the Castle of Milan whence he is not like to stir out till his Brother shall restore the Crown of Portugal to Philip IV. of Spain I shall write what remains behind to the Kaimakan who has the Honour of being thy Lieutenant that I may not the thee who art to be reverenced as the instrument of the Wills of the Master of Lights and all whose Hours are destin'd to the Government of the World May it please him who of nothing has created all things that thou maist lay one day at the Feet of the Grand Signior the Crowns of all the Monarchs who command in the Infidels Countries and become thereby the Arbiter of the Universe Paris 18th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER XII To the Kaimakam at Constantinople THis King here has mortified his Parliament by the Advice of Cardinal Richlieu The Parliaments are Bodies of Learned Men who decide all Affairs in the Kingdom as well Civil as Criminal and the Parliament of Paris has a larger Jurisdiction than all others and as considerable Prerogatives What I have to say on this Subject has happened from the beginning of the last Year and I now relate it because I forgat to do it when the thing happened And I will inform thee before I enter on the Matter what obliged heretofore the Kings of France to set up this great Seat of justice The ancient Kings of France gave it Authority of approving and verifying the Edicts and Declarations which they should make which was a Bar which these wise Princes would fix between the People and the Sovereign Authority Whence it appeared that Monarchy was mix'd with Aristocracy without which the Wise have thought that States could not long subsist And the Princes of this Age have submitted to a Tribunal re-established by themselves the Resolutions they take to the end they may discharge themselves towards God to whom they are accountable as well as other Men and to obtain Confidence from their Subjects in taking from amongst them Arbiters to regulate them Yet they have ever reserved the Liberty of making use of their Absolute Power as is seen in their Letters Patents where they forget not to insert these Words For such is our Will and Pleasure These Monarchs also thought hereby to have found out a way to defend themselves from the Importunities of the Grandees who often demanded such things which could not be granted without Prejudice to the whole Kingdom The Authority of the now reigning King being out of danger of being shaken or destroyed this Monarch having his Exchequer well stored has valiant and experienced Captains stout Soldiers and numerous Armies and good Fleets of Ships at Sea whereby he would make known to this puissant Tribunal That if it had been set up to assist the Kings by its Counsels when required yet it must not pretend that its Decrees should become Laws to their Sovereigns He went to the Parliament with all the Marks of Grandeur with which he is usually attended on these Days of Ceremony and with such a great Company of Lords as made the Power of this Monarch easily discerned He gave these Gentlemen to understand he would have them ratifie without more adoe the Orders he would send them which they term Edicts requiring them to be immediately enregistred He afterwards gave them an express Charge not to concern themselves henceforwards in Affairs of State and to humble them the more he declared to them That he would be henceforward the Disposer of Graces and Offices and bestow Recompences to such as deserved them He added hereunto an Order of giving an account every Year to his Chancellour of their Deportments and to come and receive every year
so terrible and so greatly damnify one of the finest Countries in the World as Greece is and this Island which is the Delight and Nurse of almost all the Provinces situated on the Banks of the Mediterranean-Sea We find also in Ireland these Mountains of Fire yet with this Difference that their Flames do no Hurt which make 'em no ways dreadful to the Inhabitants I think too I have heard my Father say That being in Company with certain Arabians in our Lycia he saw these kind of Fires come out of the Earth but they broke out gently and caused no Damage I am now perswaded of one Thing which I would never believe before which is That Old Pliny intending to relate to the Emperor Titus and leave to Posterity a Relation of the Effects of Vesuvius and a perfect Discovery of the Causes of so many prodigious Effects he therefore went himself on the Place because that in his Time this famous Mountain had cast out an horrible Quantity of Fire Stones and Ashes with so great Violence and such terrible Noise that the Effects of it were selt in Syria Africk and especially in Egypt But the Curiosity of this wretched Philosopher having cost him his Life the Romans expect still with his Return the Discovery of the secret Causes of so many prodigious Effects Take care of thine own Health and let not any of thy Patients miscarry through thy Neglect or Rashness Continue to love me though I am at a great Distance from thee Write to me sometimes and believe that I am not able to conform my self to the way of Living of Strangers amongst whom I reside I shall be always a good Mussul man and a Faithful Friend Paris 10th of the First Moon of the Year 1639. LETTER XII To the Venerable Mufti Prince of the Religion of the Turks THY Decree is very cruel to separate me without having committed any Crime from the Communion of the Faithful I have read the Holy Answer thou hast made me with great Veneration but this has not been without many Tears Thou hast not untyed the Knot of the Difficulties which perplex me but made it indissoluble So that I only live in the Certainty of having no Certitude and my Soul which is encompassed with Fear will be in Dread till Death If I do what thou proposest how shall I be sure of not failing seeing I do not understand what I ought to do I am so dull that I cannot distinguish Whether thou exhortest me to do what I have ever done or whether thou forbiddest me what I asked of thee I intreated thee to let me know Whether I might live amongst the Christians and do in Appearance what they do effectually in the Observance of the Ceremonies of their Religion And thou answerest me That the Circumcised or Faithful should have no Doubt in his Law and needs no other Precepts to observe it than the Law it self Moreover That the true Mussulman must be willing to lose his Estate his Life and Honour in the Sultan's Service That the Christians are Enemies to the True God the Emperor and Religion and that in fine one ought to sacrifice all Things not to betray this God who is our chief Master Tell me I intreat thee on my bended Knees Cannot a Man be a True Mahometan without hating eternally the Followers of Jesus And in living amongst them secretly a true Mussulman must one shew ones self to be of another Religion or pretend to be of theirs Thou wilt tell me the Alcoran speaks with great Clearness yet how many obscure Passages do we find in the Words of our holy Prophet wherein we need thy Expositions I have no Belief for Tagot neither will I give Credit to the Devil my Law expresly forbids it for I believe in one only True God who knew the Intention of our holy Lawgiver and sees what we cannot discover And the Prophet cries out That he that has such Principles leans on the strongest Prop he can ever meet with there being nothing which is able to overthrow it Disperse Reverend Sir as much as thou canst the Darkness of my Spirit I conjure thee by the Almighty Father who can make live Flesh come on the dry Bones of the Ass which dyed an hundred Years past I do not discontinue here my usual Prayers which I make in the Manner they are prescribed me by the Law with my Face always turn'd to the Side of Mecha When I fast I eat only at Night and I continue my Repast till Aurora advancing the Day gives me Light enough to distinguish black Thread from white And I pass over the Day without taking any Nourishment till the Darkness be so great that I cannot see the Eye of a Needle 'T is true I give no Alms to the Poor because I doubt Whether it be lawful to do good to those who continually move Heaven against us The Bishops here are in great Veneration they have not an absolute Authority because they depend on the Roman Prelate and the King Yet their Jurisdiction is very large the Kingdom being full of Churches and these Churches frequented by Millions of People They wear about their Necks a Golden Cross They live in publick good Lives are obliged to know all the Points of their Law they must be Doctors are obliged to Gelibacy to be Sober Hospitable Prudent Irreprehensible without coveting others Goods they must never be drunk or shed Human Blood Their Habit is a long Vest reaching to the Ground of black Silk or Violet They go little on Foot but are carried in Coaches to avoid the Wearisomness which would oppress them in a Town which seems the greatest in the World which thou wouldest do too perhaps wert thou designed to be their Sovereign Prelate The great Arbiter of the World favour by his Mercy or by an Effect of his Justice the inconceivable Honour of suffering thee to sweep during thy Life his most Holy and only Temple of Mecha in the Company of Ismael and Abraham that thou maist keep it clean without any Filth of what Kind soever Paris 10th of the first Moon of the Year 1639. LETTER XIII To the Kaimakam THE French Armies are at present in Winter-Quarters and the Court is busied in contriving what they shall do in the Spring I do not believe I writ thee any false News for it is to be believed that the Sharpness of the Winter will hinder any Thing from being undertaken before that time The Eyes of all the Court are fixed on Three Objects the King the Dauphin his Son and Cardinal Richlieu but they more carefully observe the latter than the former This Man has made himself Creatures by his Benefits the Thankfulness for which and the Hopes of new ones has bound them to his Interests Yet 't is to be believed he has more Enemies by means of the great Credit he is in with his Prince and the Occasions he finds to increase it His Anti-chamber is always full
thy Feet and be acknowledged to be of the number of those for whom he has written his Holy Alcoran Paris 25th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER XXIV To Berber Mustapha Aga at Constantinople I Cannot tell whether thou hast Knowledge of the Use of Defiances which are made amongst the Christians when they be dissatisfied or offended with one another which they term Acts of Honour or the Marks of a gallant Spirit This Custom of Duels is become so common in Italy and especially in the Kingdom of Naples that the greatest Affairs as well as the smallest are therein decided by the Sword and the Gentry affirm this to be the best way of terminating their Disputes and Quarrels which belonging onely to them cannot be referred nor so well determined by the grave and cool proceedings of Courts of Justice This Invention of deciding these Differences by Arms either with the Sword or Pistol alone in a close or open Field naked in their Shirts so that one has no Treachery to fear is a Way of drawing Satisfaction for the Injuries received found out by Men of great Courage who more esteem their Honour than their Lives The offended Person sends a Challenge to him from whom he has received the Injury this note of Defiance is express'd in choice and elegant Words which invite and press the Offender to fight in such a Place on Horseback or on Foot cloathed or in their Shirts single or attended by an equal Number of Friends which they call Seconds with Sword and Dagger or Sword alone or pistol If the Challenge be received he is civilly treated who brings it and it may be has rich Presents given him But before they sight the Enemies embrace as if they were reconciled and then in an Instant following the Inclinations of their Hatred and Revenge they would one another they spill each others Blood and oftentimes their Souls go out furious through the Wounds they have made Those that have the Honour of dying in these Combats do oft refuse their Lives which a generous Enemy would give them believing they cannot live without Shame should they receive them from an Enemy But the Roman Church as a note of the Horror she conceives at these Combats shuts Heaven's Doors against the Souls of those who leave this Life without doing Pennance denying Burial to those who dye in the Field of Battle or yield them onely that which is granted in some Parts of the East-Indies to certain Women who prostitue themselves whose Corpse are thrown a Prey to the Birds of the Field and other Animals who live on Carrion It is not only in Italy People kill one another in single Combats 't is the same in France amongst the Nobility who manage these Combats in a different Sort. The best Friends tear one another on the smallest occasion and they prepare for a Duel in such a manner as will appear to thee without doubt ridiculous These Enemies sup together the Night before the Combat and often lie together in the same Bed The Friends which serve as Seconds do the same and when they are come to the Place where they be to fight a Friend is forced by the Maxims of Honour to cut his own Throat with the Man's he perhaps most loves Nothing happens more frequently in Paris than these Kind of Combats and they produce several Adventures of which I would give thee an Account had I not a particular Story to tell thee on this Subject It is of a Challenge of a Spanish Prince sent to a King whose Crown could not exempt him from a Letter of Defiance Thou hast without doubt heard of what has hapned in Lisbon where D. John de Braganza has been elected and proclaimed King of Portugal as the true Heir of the Royal Race Thou knowest also he drove the Spaniards out of his Kingdom The Duke of Medina Sedonia a Grandee of Spain and this new King's brother-in-Brother-in-law could not hinder himself from being suspected of having underhand assisted this Prince to ascend the Throne whether it be true or an Artifice of his Enemies God onely knows But however it 's certain that the Count Duke d' Olivarez the King of Spain's chief Minister sent an order to him to appear at Court to justifie himself from this Suspicion he thought to clear himself perfectly from the Jealousies of the Catholick King by sending a Challenge to D. John of Braganza to oblige him to fight with him which Letter of Defiance was conceived in these Terms D. Gaspar Alonzo Peres Gusman the Good Duke of the Town of Medina Sedonia Marquis Count and Lord of the Town of St. Lucar of Barameda Captain General of the Ocean and Gentleman of his Catholick Majesty's Chamber I say that John of Braganza who was never but a Duke calls himself King of Portugal that his Treason known to all the World is detestable and in Abomination for having thrown a Stain on the Faithful House of Gusman which has never failed in any Duty to her Soveraign and for this reason defie and challenge to a single Combate Body to Body with Seconds or without Seconds this Don John heretofore Duke of Braganza leaving all this to his Choice as also the Arms or Weapons and Place of Combat Written near Valentia d' Alcantara where I shall expect fourscore days News of him and the last twenty Days I shall transport my self into the Place he shall appoint accompanied or alone with such Arms as he shall prescribe Not only the Tyrant of Portugal shall be advertised of my Challenge but all Europe and the whole World I pretend to make known in this Combat the infamous Action of D. John and in Case he does not accept of this Defiance and fails in the Duty of one who is born a Gentleman I desire this King who is only a Phantasm may perish in some sort or other I promise to give my Town of St. Lucar the principle Seat of the Dukes of Medina to him that shall kill him In the mean time I entreat my Lord the King of Spain to give me no Command in his Armies but to grant I may onely serve him as a Volunteer with a Thousand Horse which I will maintain at my own Charge till that serving him in this manner I may help to recover the Kingdom of Portugal and may bring along with me and cast at his Majesty's Fleet the Duke of Braganza if he will not fight with me in the Manner I proposed If thou shewest this Letter of Defiance to the Janizaries that Militia which is terrible to all Nations whom nothing can resist when they execute the Grand Seignor's Orders they will tell thee what such a Challenge requires from Men of Courage and explain to thee the Laws which People of Valour prescribe to themselves For my part who am ignorant of the Art of War and the Maxims of such as make Profession of Arms I shall not make any Judgement hereupon only take the
THE First Volume OF LETTERS Writ by a Turkish Spy Who lived Five and Forty Years Undiscovered at PARIS Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts especially of that of France from the Year 1637 to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick first Translated into Italian afterwards into French and now into English The Second Edition LONDON Printed for Henry Rhodes near Bride-Lane in Fleet-street 1691. Mahmut The. Turkish spy Aetatis suae 72. F. H. Van. Hove sculp TO THE READER I Here offer you a Book written by a Turk whose Matter is as instructive and delightful as the Manner of finding it was strange and surprizing I do not doubt but you would know where 't was written and perhaps whether the Author be living and whether you must expect a Romance or a real History Hear then in short what will fully satisfie you The Curiosity of seeing Paris made a Man of Letters leave Italy in the Year 1682 where being arrived he found such Diversions as caused his stay longer than he intended Scarce had he been Two Months in Paris when by changing his Lodging he discovered by meer Chance in a Corner of his Chamber a great heap of Papers which seem'd more spoil'd by Dust than Time He was at first surprized to see nothing but barbarous Characters and was upon the Point of leaving them without any further search if a Latin Sentence which he perceived on the top of a Leaf had not retained him Vbi amatur non laboratur si Laboratur labor amatur The Surprize of the Italian was yet greater when after having considered these Characters with more Attention he found them to be Arabick which Language was not altogether unknown to him which made him look narrowlier into them where he found That they treated of Affairs of State that they contained Relations of War and Peace and discoursed not only of the Affairs of France but of those of all Christendom till the Year 1682. The curious Italian was in no small Impatience to know how and where these Memorials had been writ and by what Adventure they came to lie so neglected in a Corner of his Chamber But before he further informed himself he thought it expedient to transport these Manuscripts into another House as a Place of greater Security He afterwards questioned his Landlord with great Precaution concerning the Papers and he inform'd him even to the least Circumstances He told him That a Stranger who said he was a Native of Moldavia Habited like an Ecclesiastick greatly Studious of small Stature of a very course Countenance but of surprizing Goodness of Life had lived long at his House That he came to lodge there in the Year 1664 and had staid Eighteen Years with him that being gone abroad one day he returned no more and they had had no certain News of him since He was about Seventy Years old had left Manuscripts that no Body understood and some Moneys which was an Argument that his Departure was not premeditated He added That he had always a Lamp Day and Night burning in his Chamber had but few Moveables only some Books a small Tome of St. Austin Tacitus and the Alcoran with the Picture of Massaniello whom he praised very much calling him the Moses of Naples He said further That this Strangers greatest Friend and whom he saw often was a Man which most People took for a Saint some for a Jew and others suspected to be a Turk According to the Landlord's Report he came to Paris in the Year 1637 being then but Twenty Eight Years of Age. At first he had lodged with a Flemming he went oft to Court Moneys never failed him he had Friends and passed for very Learned As for his End this Man thinks he died miserably it being suspected that he had been thrown into the River The Italian being sufficiently instructed by what he had heard applyed himself to the Study of the Arabian Language and as he had already some Knowledge in it he quickly learnt enough to Translate these Manuscripts which he undertook a while after and he examined with care the Truth of what the Moldavian had writ confronting the Events he met with the Histories of those Times and to succeed the better searched the most approved Memorials having had Access into the Cabinets of Princes and their Ministers These Letters contain the most considerable Intrigues of the Court of France and the most remarkable Transactions of Christendom which have been sent to several Officers of the Ottoman Court. By these may be known the Perspicacity of this Agent of the Turks and by him the Prudence of those that command in that Nation who chose the better to penetrate into the Affairs of Christians a Man who could not be suspected by his Exterior who was deform'd but prudent and advised and for the better concealing him destined his ordinary Abode in one of the greatest and most peopled Cities of Europe During his being at Paris which was Forty Five Years he has been Eye-witness of many great Changes has seen the Death of two great Ministers of State has seen that Kingdom involved in War without and within He was scarce setled in Paris but he was witness to the Birth of a King who surpasses those that preceded him in a time when the Queen's Barrenness caused the King her Husband to despair of ever having a Son that should succeed him During the Course of so many Years he hath seen Cities revolt and return again to the Obedience of their Sovereign Princes of the Blood make War against their King and Queen Mary de Medicis Wife Mother and mother-in-Mother-in-Law to some of the greatest Kings in Europe die in Exile in Cologne He speaks frankly of the Princes of Christendom and explains his Sentiments with Liberty He saith The Emperor commands Princes the King of Spain Men and the King of France sees Men and even Kings obey his Orders He adds That the First commands and prays the Second sees oft times more effected than he commanded and that the Third commands many brave Souldiers and is well nigh obeyed by Crowned Heads There appears no Hate or Animosity in him in what he writes against the Pope In Discoursing of the Emperor and King of Spain he says That both of them having Provinces of such vast Extent they are not much concerned at the Losses they sustain He believed that England was more powerful than the Empire and Spain he might have added France at Sea He apprehended more the Counsels of the Republick of Venice than their Arms. He magnifies what passed in the Wars of Candy which the Venetians supported with so much Bravery against the Forces of the Ottoman Empire The Genoeses with him are perfect Chymists He speaks of the last Plague and last War that this Commonwealth hath been afflicted with he touches something of
called Gallogrecians for having over-run Italy and sack'd Rome they settled in the middle of Asia and could not be overcome but by the Romans because the Heavens had ordained that the Romans should subjugate all Nations But now that these Gauls are no more and there are no more of these brave Romans we must pray the Infinite Goodness of the most High that the Power of these Modern Gauls may be limited If the French however would do what a Spaniard who fled from the Passion of Philip II. counselled Henry IV. their King which was To set himself right with Rome to have a great Power at Sea and a Council composed of Wise Secret and Faithful Men by that means he might one day perhaps equal the Ancient Romans I think he that gave this Advice was named Antonio Perez I observe every thing with care but shall observe them nearer for the future It appears to me that the Genius of this Nation is to aggrandize it self and extend its Limits The French have a common saying That Kings having nothing above them that may limit them God hath given the Empire of the Earth to the strongest They add That Adam left no Kingdoms to his Children but that they made them for themselves They glory in certain Prophecies which promise them the Empire of the World In relating this I tell what they say not what ought to happen They entertain here the same hatred for us as others do when our Power is Formidable but wise Men who have Knowledge of our History speak with more Admiration of the Ottoman Empire than of that of the Romans and if these last were destroyed by the Civil Wars which tore them in pieces the other will encrease and maintain it self by the great Pre-cautions used to hinder them and by the Union of their Forces Thou knowest more of the Extent of the City of Paris than I can tell thee It appears to me great and full of People but Constantinople is yet Greater and more Populous Thou wilt pardon me after all if I make not a certain Judgment of a Nation which I do not yet well comprehend However I will assure thee the French are no Fools and I believe never were They do not love Novelty through Levity but for Reason of State and when they are unconstant it is not to do Ill but to acquire Good They are Happy and Unfortunate in Wars like others but what is considerable They do not combat their Enemies because they hate them but in Obedience to their Prince which occasions the great Discipline which is in their Armies And what seems worthy of Reflection is That they love their King by Inclination and this Love produces in them that which our Attachment to the Precepts of the Law does in the Hearts of the best Turks I use this Comparison which I learnt from thee who art the Wisest Man in the World from whose Mouth I have heard as from an Oracle That it is not much material whether Subjects love their Master by Inclination or Fear provided they always faithfully serve him and are always humble If ever it happen I am discovered thou wilt do me a great Honour to let me know If I ought to avow my self an Agent from the sublime Port or whether I ought to die without confessing any Thing I end with my Head in the Dust without ever ceasing to supplicate the most High that he will shower his continued Happiness upon thee and the Empire Paris 15th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1637. LETTER VIII To Muzlu Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire THis is the second Letter which I have writ to thee My Dispatches hitherto have not been filled with Things of great Importance by reason I have not yet had Time to learn them I wish greatly to write what may please thee Receive therefore what I offer kindly and be perswaded That I fear thy Censures as much as if I did deserve them I live here according to the Instructions which were given me and live easie enough The Country is good and fat the Men good Companions are frank and seem Discreet I have not as yet any Acquaintance with Women and yet it is necessary I find Means to introduce my self into their Companies It is a Sex that will not pardon when they think themselves neglected They are proper to discover Things one would know and to say them when one would have them published and likewise they as much penetrate into the Secrets of Hearts as the most refined and spiritualest Courtiers Further there are many of them that can conceal nothing but what they do not know I frequent not the Monks but when necessitated If I see them it is to seem Devout upon Design of being introduced by them into the House of a Minister of State when I teach his Son the Greek Language We must not expect to find here the great Tranquility which is at Constantinople The Town is so full of Coaches of Horses and Waggons that the Noise surpasses Imagination Thou wilt certainly find it strange that Men who are in Health and have no sore Legs should cause themselves to be drawn in an Engine with four Wheels but I more wonder to see these same Men can resolve to suffer the Inconveniency of the Noise and of the Expence which they throw away out of Vanity The more moderate French which do not approve of this Luxury say That in the time of Henry III. there were but three Coaches in Paris whereof two were the Kings But the Number is now so great that they are not to be counted I can tell thee no more of the Genius of the French thou knowest it perfectly There is in all their Actions a Spirit very delicate and an Activity like that of Fire It seems as if none but they knew the short Duration of Man's Life they do every Thing with so much haste as if they had but one Day to live If they go on Foot they run if they ride they fly and if they speak they eat up half their Words They love new Inventions passionately I can say nothing certain of their Fidelity though methinks we might suspect such who do not read as they write nor write as they speak They love Moneys which they look upon as the first Matter and second Cause of all Things They well-nigh adore it and that is the Original Sin of all Nations Paris ought to be destroyed to enrich many Cities in Europe Whence thou mayst comprehend her Greatness her Traffick how Rich she is and how all Sorts of Arts do flourish in her The French Nobility is always ready to get on Horse-back at their King's Commands And they love War so well that it is to be supposed we should have enough to do with them if we were as near them as the Spaniards and they did not want Infantry I shall hereafter observe every Circumstance with so much Care as well in this
to write to thee of Two Things and to do Three Thou wilt first know If this King be Aged and of perfect Health and afterwards If there be any Hopes that the Queen may have Children Thou wouldest also have me send his Highness the Pictures of the King the Cardinal of Richlieu and the Eldest Son of the Prince of Condé As thou art one of the principal Supports of the Power of the Sublime Port elevated above all the Thrones of the World after the Vizir Azem whose Orders are the Rule of the Universe Minister and first Slave of the happy Emperor of the Ottomans I ought to do what thou commandest me I tell thee then I have seen this King thrice nor doth he appear by his Countenance by his Hair or by his Shape to be yet Old neither would it be easie to divine the Number of his Years if we were ignorant of the Day of his Birth But it is known to every Body That this Prince was born the 27. of the Ninth Moon of the Year 1601 according to the Style of the Christians By this thou mayst justly calculate the Age of this Monarch who though he is in his Flower seems fading because he hath as yet given no Heir to his Kingdom besides his Years being near Forty surpass that of a Young Man and 't is observed That few Princes arrive to a great Age. The Queen may still lie in if she prove with Child which if it should happen after Twenty three Years of Barrenness 't is certain a Fruit which hath been so long in ripening will give an ample Subject of reasoning to the Astrologers of Europe For my part I fancy this King will scarce become a Father unless he Repudiate this Wife and marry another It is not permitted to be inquisitive into the Cause of this Sterility Hereby thou seest the Weakness of those Christian Princes who are subjected to the Laws of Rome which think it a Crime to give themselves Heirs that are not born of Lawful Wedlock tho' it often happens that when such are wanting this Kingdom is exposed to Ruine by the Dissensions and Civil Wars which on these occasions are always inevitable The Most High who hath always protected the Grandeur of the Ottoman Empire hath left the Infidels in these Errors to the End that he might give our most Mighty Monarch who is the Avenger of the Divine Vnity an Eminence Superior to that of all Kings who are his Slaves and at the same Time made him Holy above all the Saints in the World and permitted us to have Children that may succeed us from as many Wives as we can entertain the Children of True Believers being always Legitimate I humbly beg Pardon I forgot I spoke to thee who art Wisdom it self and to whom no Secrets of the Law or State are unknown I wlll send to Carcoa at Vienna the Pictures of the King of the Prince of Conde's Son and of the Cardinal Richlieu according to the Orders I received from thee and they shall be dispatch'd in little Time I would to Heaven I could as easily send thee the Originals I should at one Stroke disarm this Kingdom which would thereby be suddenly involved in Fire and Blood The Habit I wear and the Manner after which I live hath already gained me many Friends I find Means to go once a week to Court My Deformity protects me against the Jealousies of Husbands Some People take me for a Wise Man and discourse confidently in my Presence of Politicks and Affairs of State neither do I neglect the making Use of every Thing which may be advantageous to me in my Ministry Thus in doing a Thing for the which I have much Aversion I compass all I desire and I assure thee upon my Faith If thou wilt continue to protect me and assist me with thy Counsels I will do somewhat extraordinary I supplicate the Great God to give a perpetual Health to thy Body and make thy Soul enjoy upon Earth and in Heaven the Felicity of the Blessed Paris 1st of the 1st Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XI To Bedredin Superior of the Convent of Dervises of Cogny in Natolia I Write to thee who art Venerable by thy Age and so many long Voyages which thou hast made Thou who hast been so many Times in Pilgrimage to Arabia Tartary Persia and the Indies always bare-foot and begging out of pure Devotion to the Saint of Saints our Great Prophet Mahomet I address this Letter to thee Thee who bearest the Scars of five and twenty Great Wounds Thee who hast pray'd nine and fifty Times in the Sacred Porch and adored the Holy Mysteries in the most retired Sanctuary of Mecha and hast lived more than seventy Years of Religion amongst the Dervises where thy Merit caused thee to be elected Superior of the Convent in Natolia Thou knowest well that I serve him who is Arbitrator of the Destiny of the Universe I mean the Sultan Sovereign of the World Learn what I heard here from the Mouth of Christians and pardon me if I have not sufficiently answered them but do not accuse me to have deserved Death for having seemingly cursed our Holy Law and Him that gave it us and if I have seemed to reject his Successors Ali Osman and Omar it was expedient that I should commit some Evil not to lose the Opportunity of doing much Good Thou knowest well I am destined to serve and that being absolved from all the Perjuries I shall commit I may transgress the Law by being permitted to lye That suffices Read my Letter and learn how far their Malice does extend who are Enemies to our Religion To instruct thee better in what has happened to me I must tell thee that amongst these Infidels there is an Order of Religious much in Vogue called the Company of JESVS wherein there is an infinite Company of Men some more able than others in all Sorts of Scienes sacred and prophane and according to Appearance ought to be very recommendable for the Holiness of their Manners These Religious who are ordinarily called Jesuites have the Education of the Youth almost in all the Cities of Europe as well as in the Indies and many excellent Wits are brought up in the Seminaries they have established When they preach the People crowd to their Sermons They are the Confessors of almost all the Princes and Monarchs of Christendom who discover to them their Weaknesses their Sins and the Vices whereunto they are enclined and receive from them upon their Knees like Slaves such Penance as they think fit to impose on them A Man may say of them That being Dispensers of Penances they are also the Masters of Recompences They are Habited in a long Vest of black Wooll which descends to their Heels They go not bare-foot but their Vestments are simple They observe great Modesty in all their Actions they march with Gravity never go alone and suffer not their Beards to grow They
apply themselves to edify the Good and to correct the Bad. The Founder of this Order was a Souldier called Ignatius The Spaniards will have him to have been of their Nation and the French affirm that he is of that Part of Navarre which is subject to the Crown of France If thou wouldst have me to speak the Truth I think this Founder was a good Man seeing all his Disciples are Men of good Example of great Modesty in their Actions and very Discreet in all their Undertakings This Ignatius began to study his Grammar in his seven and thirtieth Year which would make one believe he took less pains to become a Saint than a Scholar His Enemies call his Disciples the Politicians of the Church and I on the contrary call them the Camels of Esau because in bearing the Burthen of the Affairs of their Religion they are loaded more than others and forced to couch under their Burthens There is one thing seems strange in them to wit That they should name themselves the Religious of the Society of Jesus as if they had a design to distinguish themselves from other Christians and that this Title which is particular to them ought not only to agree to all the other Religions but to all the Followers of the Nazarite If they follow the Precepts of their Father Ignatius thou must needs approve their Way of living He has taught no other â—ay than that of Obedience to those that profess his Order He ordains That those who enter into this Society do abandon themselves to the Discretion of their Superiours And they affirm That if the Pope commands them to pass the Sea in a Vessel without Oars without Sails and without a Rudder they would obey and must pass And some having reproached them That there was Folly in such blind Obedience they answer That Wisdom ought to be observed in the Commandments and that it ought not to be searched in Obedience Make Reflection upon this Sentence which is conformable to our Laws To inform thee of the Power and Greatness of this Order it suffices to tell thee That during sixteen Years that this Souldier govern'd it he saw an Hundred Colleges in Italy in Germany in France and in Spain and that in Rome which was founded by Borgia hath been as may be said the Parent of all the rest Judge hereby the Number of their Houses and Disciples Having one day met with one of this Society who understood the Oriental Languages and who conversing with me did not believe he discoursed with a Mussulman I heard him vomit injurious and fearful Imprecations against Mahomet against his Law and against all true Believers I have so much Horror to write to thee all he said that I will tell thee but some few of them and the rather to divert thee by the knowledge of the Errors of our Enemies and also that thou maist not be afflicted at some things not very reasonable which are observed in many of the Precepts of the Law which we follow Let this be said as if I had not spoken it seeing I pour frankly the Secrets of my Heart into thy Bosom no ways doubting but thou knowest to be silent in what may cause my Death This Jesuit maintains That the Mussulmans are not Wise in following the Precepts of a Drunkard who forbad drinking of Wine and committed Excesses himself when he thought he was un-observed He maintains further That it is foolish to give Credit to such a Fellow who makes a Paradise to consist of Beautiful Women where one may abandon himself to all sorts of Pleasure and Debauchery and that he hath not foreseen a Hell where he and all his Followers ought to suffer the Pains due to their Crimes He adds further That one must be very foolish to adore a Blasphemer who hath commanded his Law should be maintained by the Sword when it could not be supported by Reason The Father did not leave off so he said That seeing the Alcoran is filled with Dreams with Bestialities with Blasphemies and Impurities the Mufti 's the Doctors and Interpreters of the Law must be in a great Blindness not to condemn a Possessed an Enchanter who gives for the Precepts of his Religion the committing of Violences Robberies and all that may satisfie the most Irregular Appetites What Extravagancy urged he to adore the Heel of so vile a Slave as Mahomet and to believe upon his Report that Jacob's Father was his Porter to Deifie his Camel and to place it in Heaven He adds further That there is nothing so absurd as to command the Turks to wash their Bodies when their Souls are defiled with Filth to give them at the same time Charity by Precept and to command them Robberies by Devotion It seems also to him foolish to believe that Mahomet is the only true Prophet the only agreeable Person to God and to swear afterwards by One hundred twenty four thousand Prophets He still entertains me with this Sort of Discourse But all this O great Dervis is nothing he vomits yet this damnable He esie That the wickedest Wretches and the most detestable that ever liv'd were Judas Mahoment and Luther That these two last as most impious are the more tormented in Hell Judas he said suffered less Pains because if he betrayed his Lord he was one of the Instruments of the Redemption of all Mankind whereas the others in damning themselves damn'd also an infinite Number of other People This Jesuit would have continued his Blasphemies if Cardinal Richlieu in whose Anti Chamber we were had not come out of his Closet to go to the King I had been silent all this while because he gave me not a Moments liberty to speak At length he asked me at parting If I was not of his Sentiments and I answered precisely thus My Father If thou art a good Man I approve what thou sayst because thou speakest out of true Zeal but If thou beest a Hypocrite I disapprove all because thou shalt be damned with Mahomet and all the Mussulmans The Jesuit smiled not comprehending the Venom which lay hid in my Answer Btu dost thou not believe thou who art a Dervis the most illuminated That a Man of what Religion soever he be provided he be a Good Man may be Happy after his Death Tell me I pray thee thy Opinion herein it is a Point very important to be decided As for me I begin really to think That there may be Saints even amongst the Christians as there are amongst Vs I have seen and understood many Things that denote true Piety in some of them and we must acknowledge That the Precepts of their Law have somewhat of Just and if they be well observed they seem no less Holy to me than our own They have one Article that puzzles me They affirm There is but one Truth so that we are lost if we are not Christians or they are damned if they are not Mahometans And this is what I had to
That a Creditor to whom he owed for a Shirt being dead he had put the Price into the deceased's Hand and went his ways This new way of paying Debts seems very extraordinary to me There is an Author whether Greek or Latin I have forgot which tells another Adventure not unlike this of a Man who not finding his Shooe-maker alive threw the Price of the Shooes he had made him into his Shop If these Actions be not done for Oftentation they seem vertuous but if out of Vanity I cannot believe that our Negligence to pay our Creditors whilst alive can be excused by the Care we take to pay them after their Death The Dead want nothing in the other World they are Living that have need of Supplies in this and who suffer sometimes very much when they are not punctually paid The Ancients could never sufficiently describe the Excess which Men committed by their Passions and the Moderns do it as little They are Just sometimes even to Superstition and sometimes Unjust even to Excess Sultan Mustaphâ—â—â— Charity for the Poor was very great He was not satisfied according to the Precepts of Pythagoras to give Life to Beasts his Simplicity went yet farther not presidented by any Prince or Saint he threw Pieces of Gold to the Fishes in Ponds and Rivers alledging for his Reason that the most Secret Alms were the most agreeable to God and that these Animals would never tell of it Thou wilt answer me when thou hast Time and Convenience God give thee the Succour which is necessary for thee and let our Great Prophet be always favourable to thee Paris 20th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XXI To the Kaimakam MY last Letters shew what happen'd in Italy on the Side of Piemont which thou may'st have seen at the Divan I have informed the Council what the Infidels have done there where three different Nations which have but one Religion fight together The French make War upon the Spaniards to assist the Savoyards and these latter would drive the other out of Italy and reduce Savoy under their Power which does what it can to avoid the Yoke of both these Nations It is to be feared that new Troubles may arise from this War which will undoubtedly happen if it be not suddenly terminated by a Peace 〈◊〉 will only write to thee what I know and perhaps what is not come to thy Knowledge I will not repeat what I have already written because my Letters pass securely by the good Order which thou hast taken The different Interest of the Princes of Italy occasion small Intelligence betwixt them As their Estates are separated the one from the other so they are divided by their Maxims their Interests and Pretensions They have however but one Religion which they make to serve for a Pretext to their Desigâ—s which are all different and there is not one of them which wholly minds his Religion which can have but one only End There are few that can suffer the Conquests of the French in Italy because that Nation seems restless and Men would not see the Spaniards more powerful than they are because they play too much the Masters But however as the least of these Princes have their particular Inclinations and secret Interests with these two Nations thou art ignorant of those of the Republick of Genoa with the Spaniards with whom they have strong Alliances But peradventure thou hast not been informed of a Conspiracy which appears to have been carried on in the City to introduce the Spaniards into it which the Republick will in no wise suffer The said Conspiracy is thus related The Marquiss of Montercy having finished the time of his Government of Naples and being imbarked with some Galleys for his Return into Spain came incognito into Genoa having had a Conference in a Village near the Town with some of the Conspirators to render himself Master of the Port and afterwaâ—â— built a Cittadel upon the highest Side of the Far. Some of the most qualified were to open one of the Gates by Night and receive the Troops that should be disbarked out of the Galleys The Marquiss of Leganez Governor of Milan promised to send to Genoa a Chain of Slaves stronger and more numerous than ordinary which instead of consisting of condemned Criminals was to be composed of the bravest Officers of Milan and some Nobles of the Acomplices who were to share in the Treaty were to receive the Troops and come armed for effecting of the Enterprize After a Design so well laid the Spaniards were ready to execute so hard an Undertaking when the Republick being suddenly advertised of the Plot caused it to miscarry without Noise by redoubling the Guards which did not a little surprize the Conspirators Cardinal Richlieu's Creatures give out That one Doria called their Prince did dissuade or hinder the Plot which was profitable for Italy but contrary to our Interests for thence undoubtedly had sprung a War which would never have had End whether betwixt the Subjects of this Common-wealth who would have ruined each other or France and Spain and thou wilt also find that in preferring the Liberty of their Country and keeping the Spaniards at a Distance they will maintain themselves still in a Condition advantageous for the Common-wealth and necessary to the Crown of Spain They say That the Constancy of Doria hath acquired the Honour of having twice saved the Liberty of his Country This Doria is descended from Andrew Doria that great Captain who did so many brave Actions against our Nation commanding the Maritime Armies of Charles V. Emperor of Germany and since those of Philip II. his Son King of Spain and who often combated the Invincible Ariaden I do not believe that Adonai which was at Genoa hath writ this Adventure to thee either because it may not be true or because the thing being very Secret it was in a manner stifled as soon as discovered If thou wilt know the particular reasonings made upon this Occasion I will tell thee That the most advised French believe that the Spaniards did attempt so fair a Blow but that the two Parties in the City the one to preserve their Liberty and the other to maintain their Authority did both avoid the Conclusion The Discourse is at Present various concerning this Republick and the French do as much endeavour to make secret Treaties with it as the Spaniards to hinder its change of Master It being always of great advantage to such who have Pretences in Italy to be in good Correspondence with this Place which may be termed the Principal Port. The French make a great Noise with their Pretences upon Genoa and they at Present revive many Ancient Histories They affirm That the Genoese when they had Differences amongst themselves have often-times changed their Laws and their Masters and that they have been subjected to strange Powers That Two Charles's One Lewis and Francis I. all Kings of France have taken them
Kaimakam HAving given thee an Accompt of the Imprisonment of Casimir I will relate to thee the Voyage of King Ulidislaus his Brother who is gone a Progress into Hungary and Germany The News here is That the King of Poland was gone to make a Visit to the King of Hungary who to do him Honour sent the chief of his Nobles to receive him upon the Confines of Moravia They write also That Arch-duke Leopold went from Vienna to meet him They embraced like Brethren and returned together with the Queen of Poland and her Sister back to Court 'T is added that the People received this Company with great Acclamations with the Noise of the Cannon and all the small Shot of the City The Day following having dined in the Imperial Palace they went together to Luxemburg to visit the Empress Eleanor Widow to the late Emperor of Germany If Carcoa hath not informed thee of these Particulars thou wilt receive them from Mahmut who watches incessantly to give true Intelligence and penetrate as much as may be into all that occurs and is done in this great Court which gives motion to all the Courts of Europe Reprove me if I do not well and punish me ' if the Emperor be not well served and thou satisfied Paris 15th of the Eighth Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XXVII To Kerker Hassan Bassa DO not accuse me of being ill advised or negligent if I write to thee things that thou knowest already I am only careful in telling thee what happens here and my Business is not to enquire whether thou art better informed another way When I am ordered to write all that comes to my Knowledge I do my Duty in doing it and I ought not to be reprehended for it I am told that the Sultan is gone with an Army more numerous than all the Leaves on the Trees to destroy the * Persians Red-Heads and conquer Babylon I know that the Mufti the Grand Vizir and all the Grandees of the Divan followed him but am ignorant of what he did in his first Expedition when he took Revan An old English Merchant who comes from Ispahan and has served in the Army of the faithful Mussulmans passed this Way in his Return to England He hath been an Eye-witness of the great Actions of Amurath He says that this mighty Emperor after his taking of Revan left Twelve thousand Souldiers in Garrison there with Two hundred thousand Crowns in Silver besides Copper Moneys to pay them He saith also that our mighty Monarch being wearied to see so much Blood of the faithful yea of the Heretick Mussulmans spilt he had sent the King of Persia a Challenge offering to fight singly in Duel with him but he would not accept of his Defie He tells how Amurath being fallen in the Water in passing the River Haret was in great hazzard of being laid up in Expectation of the last Judgment Day in the other World had it not been for a Young lusty Solack who took him by the Arm and dragged him out of the River This Accident was the Prelude of a great good Fortune which happened to this mighty Prince upon the Bank of another River called Mako where he had the News of the Birth of a Son born to him in the Seraglio at Constantinople whom they call Alaaddin whose Nativity hath been celebrated with infinite Demonstrations of Joy This English-man tells us further that Amurath has taken Tauris and appeared publickly there with all the Marks of a formidable Power that he had destroyed the King of Persia's Seraglio burnt the publick Markets and caused a Million of fine Trees which renders the Loss irreparable to be cut down Let me know when thou art at leisure whether this News be true and do me the Favour to tell me our great Emperors Success in the Expedition of Babylon The Politicians here attend the News of it with much Impatience 'T is allow'd that Amurath is the most Potent of all Princes the strongest Man alive and that only he can vanquish and ruine the Kings of the Earth Two Strangers of differing Nations and both of Royal Blood are dead in this City The one is Don Christopher Son of Don Antonio King of Portugal who after he had lived Sixty six Years without ever attaining the Crown of his Father died in a Convent of Dervises called Cordeliers where he was buried in the same Place where his Father's Brother had been formerly The other Stranger was called Zaga Christos who was the legitimate Successor of the Kingdom of Aethiopia a Young Man of Twenty five Years Son to the Empress Nazarenne Widow of Jacob Emperor of the Abyssins who died in a Village near Paris He quitted his Kingdom as thou knowest forced by Civil Wars he arrived in France in the Year 1635. of the Aegyra of the Christians After many Adventures he composed the History of his Travels which he performed with Troubles and Incommodities which seemed insupportable What has he not suffered in traversing many Kingdoms Arabia the Desart Egypt Asia Minor and Jerusalem where he ran the Hazard of being arrested by the Bassa that resides there whom he escaped by retiring by Night to Nazareth amongst the Christian Dervises where he concealed himself five Months He said here that an Eunuch of the Bassa of Cairo had much sollicited him to forsake the Christian Religion to which he would never consent and refused to go to Constantinople to humble himself by prostrating his Face in the Dust of the Grand Signior's Feet although the Bassa extreamly pressed him to it with very advantageous Offers This King has done much Honor to the Manes of the dead Prince whilst perhaps he suffers everlasting Torments which neither thou nor I shall suffer if we always live like faithful Mussulmans according to the Precepts of the Law ordained by Mahomet and written in the Alcoran I shall gladly hear that thy Life is safe and my Friendship agreeable to thee Paris 20th of the Eighth Moon of the Year 1638. LETTER XXVIII To the Kaimakam THat which hath been so long expected is at length happened The Queen is brought to Bed of a Dauphin the King is a Father the Kingdom seems to desire nothing more and the People witness their Joy by a Thousand differing Festivities The Men the Women the Children and the Aged run through the Streets as at Bacchanals They rejoyce with their Friends they go to Church and thank God as if a Messiah had been born to them All the Priests praise God in their Temples for such a Present and the Monks not so content deafen the People with the Noise of their Bells and do more than the Drums and Trumpets of the Souldiers and all the Cannon of the Cittadel and Arsenal I did in Company of others what I should not have dared to perform if I had been alone or had not been observed Those who affirmed the Queen would be brought to Bed of a Son pretend now they had
other Predecessors had been before him He began to govern his Kingdom ruined by so many Wars Pillages and Concussions made by all sorts of People and so repaired it by his good Government that he was soon in a Condition to embellish it He built several magnisicent Bridges raised stately Edifices and forgot nothing which might re-establish those good Orders which the Licentiousness of the Times had overthrown But what this King designed against us as soon as he was setled on the Throne will appear at the same time to thee both dreadful and admirable As soon as ever he had made a general Peace with his Enemies he laid the Foundations of the most Heroick Design that ever Man invented wherein he shewed himself not inferior to the first of the Caesars nor the Conqueror of Asia He undertook to overthrow all the Monarchies of the World to give a new Face to all the Affairs of it and to destroy in a short time the Empire of the Ottomans But before he began such a great Enterprize he was for paying all the Debts of the Crown and his own in particular which amounted all together to near an Hundred Millions and 't was a prodigious thing to find so much Money without selling the Kingdom or engaging the People yet it is true that he got this Money and paid those Debts with it He was for dividing Christendom into Fifteen equal Dominations Five of which should obey Kings that were so by Succession and Six to be subject to Kings that were Elective and the Four remaining should be Republicks By this Division he left the Pope the Countries belonging to the Church and added thereunto the Kingdom of Naples with the Homage of Sicily and the greatest part of Italy modelled into a Republick with Obligation to give the Pope every Year a golden Crucifix and Four Thousand Sequins Only Venice was left in the Condition 't was in with its Laws and Customs But there were allotted to this Republick Kingdoms and Isles which were to be taken from us in the Archipelago with an Homage to the Roman Prelate of an Embassy to kis his Feet and at the End of every Twenty five Years a small Statue of Gold representing St. Peter whom they term God's Vicar on Earth Flanders should make a Republick with therest of the Low-Countries which would be a Loss for the Spaniards and to this Republick should be added some of the neighbouring States The Franche County Alsatia Tirol and Trante were added to the Democratical State of the Swisses with the Homage every Fifteen Years of an Hunting Dog with a golden Collar about his Neck fastned to a Chain of Gold which this Republick should present to the Emperor of Germany This Emperor should be obliged to renounce the aggrandizing of his Family and only dispose of vacant Fiefs the Investiture of which he should not bestow on any of his Kindred and there should be a Law inviolably observed in the Empire That never Two Princes of the same Race should enjoy successively the Imperial Crown The Dutchy of Milan should be added to the other Provinces belonging to the Duke of Savoy together with the Title of King of Lombardy The Kingdom of Hungary should be enlarged with the Principalities of Transylvania Walachia and Moldavia And the King who was to be Elective should be chosen by the Suffrages of the Pope the Emperor of Germany the King of France England Spain Swedeland Poland and Denmark and Bohemia should be submitted to the same Laws France England Spain Poland Swedeland and Denmark should not change their Form of Government when for the general Affairs these Kingdoms were to be subject to the Universal Republick of which the Pope was to be the Head Things thus established Henry was to be the Umpire of all Christendom to decide all Differences which might happen between the aforesaid Princes and States with Fifteen Persons chosen from amongst the most famous for Learning and Arms which could be found among these Fifteen Dominations and besides these there was to be established a great Council consisting of Sixty other Persons for all the Differences which might happen in all the Kingdoms and Republicks between those who govern'd them and this great Assembly should make their Residence in the Capital City Rome Every State was to be obliged to furnish a certain Number of Troops and Summ of Mony to make War against the Turks and the Business of Poland and Swedeland should be to make War together against the Moscovites and Tartars There were afterwards Three Generals to be chosen by common Consent for the conquering of Asia one for the Sea and Two for the Land and Three hundred Thousand Foot entertained with One hundred and fifty Thousand Horse and Four hundred Pieces of Canon and the Naval Army was to consist of an Hundred and fifty Vessels and one Hundred Gallies and a Fund was to be raised for this of an Hundred Millions of Gold This Treasure was to be put into the Pope's Hands the Isle of Malta was to be the Store-house of all things belonging to the Sea the Port of Messina the Arsenal for the Gallies and the City of Metz one of the principal Magazins for the Land Forces All the Christian Princes were to be obliged to lessen their ordinary Expences and to contribute to this great Design according to their Ability There were to have been several Spies in Constantinople in the Habit of Greeks who were persectly skill'd in the Eastern Languages to observe the Motions of our Empire And besides these Forty resolute Men who were at a certain Time and Signal to set Fire to the Seraglio and Arsenal and several other Quarters of the Town There was found in this Hero's Closet after his Death a Memorial written with his own Hand wherein he had already markt Twelve Embassadors for several Places in Christendom for the negotiating of so great an Affair and the Pope and Republick of Venice and Duke of Savoy had been already acquainted with it In the mean time this King had an Army already of Forty thousand Foot with Eight thousand Horse and he was under Petence of visiting the Frontiers of Flanders thence to begin the Execution of his Project affirming That as to his own part he had no other Pretension but the Glory of delivering Christianity from the Tyranny of these Barbarians 'T is said he applied himself for Ten Years together in searching the Means to make his Project take he gave great Pensions to the Cardinals at Rome and in Germany to several Officers and he had in France besides the Troops I have already mentioned Four thousand Gentlemen who were so devoted to him that they were ready to mount on Horseback on the least Order from him He had already Fifteen Millions in the Bastil and he that had the Superintendancy of his Treasure promised to add thereunto in less than Three Years Forty other Millions without touching the ordinary Revenues I have no
Liberty to ask of thee If the King of Portugal accepted the Combat and killed the Duke of Medina which of the two would have been declared Infamous Whether there be any Certainty in the Decisions made by Arms I am willing to think Justice is on the Side of the Conqueror But if on the contrary the Event of the Duel be uncertain I take it to be a foolish thing for the Duke to expose himself and thus Affront the King his Brother-in law In short the Duke's Prudence is not to be admired in this Occasion and Braganza has had the Advantage on his Side seeing he has shewed by his Conduct that he is effectually King of Portugal I cannot but call these Christians Fools who suffer such Customs among them and yet adore a Messias who is a God of Peace and who calls us Barbarians when they are the only People that teach us and all other Nations the Arts of single Combats which is the most pernicious Custom that can be introduced amongst Men who cut one anothers Throats oftentimes on slight Occasions and become Prodigals of that Treasure with which the Immortal has intrusted them Neither can I any more approve of Kings and Princes of the same Beliefs making War with one another as we see every Day amongst those who profess the Christian Religion which yet as far as I can find scarcely permits any Wars but such as are Defensive Pardon this tedious Letter excuse my Conjectures in it and honour me with thy Commands which will be respected by me as so many Obligations Paris 25th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1642. LETTER XXV To the Invincible Vizir Azem at Constantinople WE hear of nothing now-a-days but Wars and Conspiracies Seditions Treasons Infidelities and Revolutions of State and it is in the Kingdoms of Vice wherein these Plagues of Heaven make these Disorders I mean in the Christians Countries Infidelity reigns amongst the People of Catalonia England and Portugal the Revolutions which have hapned in Barcellona have no Example the Defiance or the Challenge of a Subject to a King as is that of the Duke of Sidonia to the King of Portugal as his brother-in-Brother-in-law and his Enemy does equally surprize all the World We have reason to think that God is angry with the Christians when we consider Flanders Germany Italy and the Frontiers of Spain pestered with Wars which they make one against another The Animosity of most of the great People of France against the Cardinal Favourite enduces them to lay Plots against his Life whence we may see that great Places are good for nothing but to expose men to great Dangers The last Conspiracy discovered against the Life of D. John IV. of Portugal raised to the Throne by the Nobility and betrayed by the same Nobility not by the whole Body of them but by a small Number of those who had taken an Oath of Fidelity to him as well as the rest does plainly shew us That there is nothing in this World whereon a Man may rely with any Certainty and that here are many People who undertake just Actions by the Motions of an unjust and turbulent Spirit which cannot suffer Things to remain long in a quiet State and aspire continually after Change and to whom every Thing is good that is new I shall relate to thee in few Words this last Event Thou hast been informed of the others by the Letters I have written to thee Invincible General of the Ottamon Armies and Steward of the Emperour's Laws who is the Soveraign of Soveraigns and by those which the Kaimacam and the Bassas have received from me who are obliged to give thee an Account of whatever comes to their Knowledge Several of the great ones in Portugal and amongst them some of the new King's Kindred hatched a Conspiracy against him and resolved to put the Kingdom again into the Spaniard's Hands and entirely ruin the Family of Braganza The principal Author of the Conspiracy was D. Sebastian de Mattos Archbishop of Brague the Count Duke d' Olivarez's Creature to whom he owed his Fortune The chief who conspired with this Seditious Priest were the Marquis de Ville Reale and the Count d' Armamar these two Men of great Birth and Credit soon drew several others into their Party some by the Hope of Recompences and others through Weariness of obeying their new Sovereign or weary with the new Form of State which they thought might change to their Advantage They long held a secret Intelligence with the Catholick King 's Council who promised them all possible Assistance for the Execution of their Design and after that infinite Recompences This Conspiracy was to produce a dreadful Tragedy wherein all the Bloud of the Royal House and Family of Braganza was to be spilt The King was to be the first Victim with his Children and the Queen his Wife D. Duart also was to be put to Death who was kept close Prisoner in the Castle of Milain A Domestick affectioned to his Master and who was attentive to what past delivered the King and Family of Braganza out of this Danger He was ordinarily employed in secret Intrigues and made frequent Courses into Spain to discover the Designs of the Court of Madrid He met by chance in an Inn a man who seemed of a mean Condition born in the Kingdom of Bohemia with whom having entered into a strict Friendship as it happens usually amongst Travellers he came to discover he was often dispatched by the Catholick King 's principal Minister on Affairs of great Weight and that he expected in a short Time to raise his Fortune to a considerable Pitch being entrusted with Packets of Letters containing Things of the highest Importance to the State The crafty Portuguese soon discerning he might get out Secrets of great Concernment from this imprudent Man for the good of his Master resolved to kill him in a desart Place where they were to pass which he did having first made him drunk with strong Wine Assoon as he had done his Work he stript him and found Letters and Instructions to the Conspirators which he speedily carried to D. John who thereby discovered the whole Conspiracy Others say that D. Alphonso of Portugal Count de Vermissa having been solicited by the Achbishop of Brague who thought he could easily bring him into the Conspiracy being discontented at the King for taking away from him a great Office went to his Soveraign and freely discovered to him the Conspiracy which had been made to deprive him both of his Crown and Life And 't is added That this Count appeared since one of the hottest of the Accomplices till the very Instant wherein they were to execute their Project at which Time they were apprehended and punished as they deserved Others say the Duke of Medina Sidonia the King's brother-in-Brother-in-law who appeared to the Accomplices to be of the Plot gave notice of it to the King his Brother In fine the Conspirators were executed