AN Historical Account OF THE DIVISIONS IN POLAND From the DEATH of K. JOHN SOBIESKI To the Settlement of the Present KING on the THRONE CONTAINING A Particular Relation of the Late KING's Death and of all the Intrigues of the several Candidates till the Coronation of the Elector of Saxony Translated from the French Original Written by M. de la Biazdiere LONDON Printed for H. Rhodes at the Star near Fleet-Bridge T. Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard A. Bell at the Cross-Keys and Bible in Cornhill and D. Midwinter and T. Leigh at the Roseand Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCC TO THE READER THis Work is a Continuation of the History of the Diets of Poland that was Publish'd in 1697. The Poles engaged the Author to write this Second Relation and sent him according to Promise all Necessary Instructions The Sincerity that appears in their Memoirs is such as an Historian would wish for to enable him to give an Account of a Transaction of which all the Circumstances are almost unknown to the Publick Poland may be look'd upon as the most famous Theatre of Europe for Variety of Scenes Persons of the most refin'd Wits were the Actors in this Affair and whilst the Princes of Christendom were at War every where else it would seem they reserv'd Poland for a place of Intrigue The Polish Nobility being as Zealous for their Religion as Jealous of their Liberty had not hitherto suffer'd any thing to escape them that Humane Prudence could suggest for maintaining themselves in the Possession of their Right which they had enjoy'd Time out of Mind to chuse their Sovereign They had preserv'd this Right whilst other Nations had lost it This Valorous Nation had also signaliz'd themselves by their Courage and won almost as many Battles as they had Fought In short the Poles seem'd to have surpassed the Generosity of the Ancient Romans in the most innocent State of their Republick because the Latter made War meerly to extend the Limits of their Empires and the Former had often neglected or despis'd the Fruits of their Victory like those first Conquerors of whom 't was said Contenti Victorià Imperio Abstinebant The Poles had a way of making Conquests peculiar to themselves The Mildness of their Government made other People wish to be partakers of the same Laws The famous Jagellon having embrac'd the Christian Religion by that Means became K. of Poland to which he reunited Lithuania whereof he was Apostle as well as Sovereign His Posterity govern'd that State till the Death of Sigismund Augustus who dyed at the Castle of Knichin in Lithuania in 1572. It was in the Person of that Prince that this Illustrious Family was extinguish'd Henry de Valois who succeeded him the next Year Reigned too short a while in Poland to be regretted there Stephen Battori who mounted the Throne next comforted the Poles for all the Losses they had Sustained but by a new Misfortune greater than those that had gone before that Prince left no Children and by his Death depriv'd Poland of the Hopes of finding a Successor equal to himself The Eldest Branch of Vasa did by the Election of Sigismund III Quit the Throne of Sweden to mount that of Poland and the Alliance of these two Great Monarchies became a Subject of War which made the Poles lose the Conquests they had made in the preceding Reign Uladislaus Son to Sigismund gave his Subjects cause to hope that he might repair those Disgraces by his Valour and Conduct but the Misfortune with which they were over-whelm'd after his Death by the Revolt of the Cosacks and the War with Sweden depriv'd the Poles of all hopes of Remedy for their incurable Maladies The Mighty Courage of K. Casimir gave his Subjects time to come to themselves a little Hereby that Prince found a Way to allay that Distemper that he could not perfectly Cure but by his Abdication he involv'd the Kingdom in New Misfortunes K. Michael who succeeded him lost Caminiec and Podolia It was then the Poles began to fear the Loss of their Kingdom but Providence not designing its Ruine did by the Death of that Prince deliver the Poles and all Europe from a danger which they had so much cause to Apprehend The Defeat of the Turks at Choczin and the Election of John Sobieski rais'd the Courage of the Poles who believ'd that under the Conduct of so Great a Prince they could not be Vnfortunate Their Thoughts were Just That Prince sav'd Vienna and the Empire and by that Great Action made his Subjects look upon all that he had done for them as nothing His Insensibility of their Condition join'd with one Mistake was the Cause or Pretext at least that they made use of to deprive his Posterity of the Crown which the Custom of the Nation seem'd to have assur'd them of but that Custom was abolish'd and after his Death his Family was Excluded Their Resentments have carryed them further The Aversion they entertain'd for the Memory of that Prince made them renounce their own Interests and the Blindness of that Nation became so excessively Great that they could not see their own Ruine before them tho' they had carefully avoided the same ever since the Foundation of their Monarchy The Hatred they always entertain'd for the Germans made them in 1386 prefer Jagellon D. of Lithuania to William D. of Austria Sigismund Marquis of Brandenburg was excluded from the Succession at the same time and on the same Account The other German Princes that offer'd themselves to the Poles since the Death of Sigismund Augustus had no better Success And if Ernest the two Maximilians of Austria and so many other German Princes had not been excluded it might have been said that the Poles lov'd their Money as much as they hated their Persons So many and such repeated Denials did not baulk the Germans they always presented themselves as Candidates when ever an Interregnum happen'd and Poland which in 1621 was not in the least afraid of an Army of 200000 Turks was daunted in 1697 by 12000 Saxons This is a Mystery that is not easie to be unfolded The Polish Memoirs which afforded us the Subject Matter of what follows will illustrate abundance of things The Reader may blame the Conduct of that Nation and at the same time commend their Sincerity The Affairs of this Kingdom are at present in a deplorable State But the Poles have Piety and Courage They may perhaps put on Resolutions agreeable to their Genius They came formerly to seek one of their Kings in the Abby of Cluny whither he had retired they may find this at the Court of France if the Peace continue long enough to prevent his being employd in commanding the Armies of that Crown ADVERTISEMENT IT was thought fit for to publish this part of the Secret History of Poland first There is in the Press and will speedily follow the Secret Memoirs of Poland c. during the
his Master of every thing that passed He knew that the two Princes would have less Interest for the Crown than their elder Brother that their Youth and want of Experience were Causes sufficient to exclude them at a time when Poland wanted a King that understood War Prince James's Pretensions were more specious than those of his Brothers The Aversion the Queen had shewed for him augmented his Party and some of those who owed him no good Will began to forbear wishing him any hurt in hopes that if he mounted the Throne he would entertain Resentments against the Queen who under his Reign should have no part in the Government This was not capable however of raising Prince James's Party for besides that they could not forget the Hardships put upon them in the preceding Reign he committed an irreparable Mistake One of the Conditions which the Poles impose upon their Princes is that they should not marry without the Consent of the Republick Sigismund III. for having contraveened this Law and married Ann of Austria in 1592. run the risk of being dethroned After the Death of that Princess he threw himself Headlong into the same danger and by a second Contravention to the Laws of the Kingdom married in 1605. with Constance of Austria Sister to his deceased Queen His Holiness indeed had given him a Dispensation for it but not having obtained the Consent of the Nation they took Arms and formed a Confederacy against them which he had no small Trouble to appease Uladislaus his Son improved the Severity of the Poles his Father's Mistake proved Advantagious to him This Prince who in 16â—5 demanded in Marriage the Daughter of Fredrick Elector Palatin communicated his Design to the Senate and represented to them the Advantage which the Realm might reap from a Princess who was Niece to the King of Great Britain This August Assembly was not ignorant that Princes ought to have an Allowance so long as it is not prejudicial to Religion An Embassie was deputed to that Princess and the King her Uncle but upon her Refusal to turn Catholick the Poles made no Hesitation in refusing her their Crown John III. did not improve those Examples he neither communicated to the Senat nor to the Nobility the Design that he had to marry the Prince his Son but suffered himself to be dazzled with the Lustre of a great Alliance without foreseeing the dangerous Consequences of it The Marquis de Bethune tho' of kin to the Royal Family represented to him That Prince James by being engaged with the House of Austria would lose the Friendship and Protection of the King of France but his Remonstrances were Vain and the King of Poland without any Regard to such judicious Advice married his eldest Son on Elizabeth Amelia Princess of Newburg whose Sisters were married to the Emperor Kings of Spain and Portugal Such a near Alliance with the Germans and the House of Austria did not at all affect the Poles because the Right of chusing their Sovereigns delivered them from the Snâ—â—â— which the Court thought they had involved them in The French Ambassador had ever since the Interregnum given Advice to the King his Master of the Queen's Waverings and of every thing that passed He informed him of the Design of that Princess to have Prince James elected because she had lost all her Hopes for her younger Son He did not forget to inform his Majesty of the Hatred the Poles had conceived against that Prince and that they only wanted an Occasion to shew it That if the Prince of Conti were proposed to them he would quickly find a very strong Party And that that was the surest away of excluding â—â—ince James 〈◊〉 at the same time the most Advantagious since by taking the Crown from an Enemy his Majesty should give it to a Prince of his own Blood The Orders of the Court were conformable to the Project He began to speak in Poland of a Candidate whom he had promised without telling his Name The Joy was almost universal when he declared that he did not make use of his Interest neither for Prince James nor for the Royal Family Some Lords had Ambition enough to aspire to the Crown but this Minister diverted their Thoughts from it alledging That they were 〈◊〉 many in Number that if they pretended to chuse Sovereigns from amongst themselves the Example of the two last ought to scare them from it and that the Grandees would never willingly submit themselves to those to whom they thought themselves equal in Merit and Birth The Ambassador afterwards run through all the Nations of Europe that might furnish Princes to their Republick They could no more think of a Prince in Sweden since that Kingdom was become Heretical England and Denmark had occasioned too many Disorders by the tumultuary Elections of the two Maximilians so that they must resolve to lose their Liberty as the Bohemians and Hungarians had done theirs if they did not exclude them Italy and France were the only Dominions whence they could chuse a Prince to their Mind Most of the Lords to whom he spoke had travelled in Italy the peace that people had enjoyed of a long time made them sensible that there were no such Captains there as those of the former Age and that Poland stood in need of an Hero which the present Juncture of their Affairs would not allow them time to breed up but he must be formed to their Hand So that France alone was the Place which could furnish Poland with what 't was in Vain for them to seek for elsewhere and in fine declared to them who it was that he himself would Name if it were in his power to chuse This Prince was by Birth the last of the Blood Royal of France there being ten who by the Right of Nature ought to ascend the Throne before him Poland had no Cause to fear that he would abandon her as King Henry did after the Death of Charles IX his Brother so that the only thing that the Poles had to apprehend was left a Prince so well accomplished as he whom he named to them should make a Difficulty to accept a Crown which they were resolved to offer him The contrary Party being alarmed by the Reputation of the Candidaâ—â— reunited all their Forces to divert the impending Storâ—â— The Emperor represented to his Allies the Jealousie that all Europe had at the grouth of the House of Austria when they saw that Family possessed of the Empire and Spain He put them in mind how often they had accused them of aspiring to the Universal Monarchy What Wars had been raised against them to traverse the Designs they supposed them to have formed that their Business was at present to set Boundaries to a Potentate whose Ambition ought to be so much the more suspected that he had enriched himself with the Spoils of all his Neighbours That the League of Ausbâ—â—g into which so many Princes had entred could
the Prince would arrive in a little time Nevertheless he appeared not till the 26th in the Road of Dantzick and upon the 28th came to an Anchor before Olivia at what time the Burgesses of Dantzick were in a great perplexity which part to take While the Reputation and Presence of the Prince swayed one part of the Council to his Interests and the Queen sollicited the rest in behalf of the Elector and the Jews who had been treated so favourably under the Reign of that Princess employed all their Credit to second her desires The Body of the City met and Opinions were divided They who held for Conti represented the Advantages which a Trading City might have by a free Commerce with France that they might fetch from that Kingdom Wine Salt and many other sorts of Merchandise with which they might furnish all the Northern Parts That the Trade with that Kingdom had contributed in part to render that City one of the most Flourishing of all the Hans Towns that it was not Prudence to renounce all these Advantages to gratifie the sollicitations of the Queen and that they might give the Jews leave to speak in her behalf since they were the only Persons that had tasted the sweets of her Reign On the other side they that held for Saxony made answer That Trade was an Advantage which in truth was not to be neglected but that they were rather Germans than Polanders That they ought to favour their own Nation and preserve the Lutheran Religion which was threatned with imminent danger if the Prince of Conti carried the Crown from his Competitor and therefore that it was better to acknowledge for lawful King a Protestant Prince under whose Reign there would be no Invasion upon their Religion that the Elector's pretended Abjurations were not such as the Catholicks gave out and that he was too steady in his Resolutions to betray his first Sentiments and lastly That their Statutes ordained that in case of a Fraction the City should declare for the first that was Crowned The more Judicious earnestly desired the rest to stay till the Senate and Nobility had by unanimous consent decided in favour of one of the Competitors and to forbear acknowledging either till Fortune had declared on his side And this Party seemed to be so much the more swayed by reason because they ran no hazard they further Remonstrated that their own danger ought to render them more circumspect in such a Nice Conjuncture that because they declared themselves in 1575 with too much precipitation in favour of the Emperor Maximilian against Stephen Battori the City had like to have been ruined that he had declared her to be a Rebellious City and compelled her in 1577 to rebuild the Abby of Oliva and to quit the one half of the Revenue of her Haven which the Kings of Poland at present enjoy But the fear of the same usage could not prevail with the Magistrates to make them observe a Neutrality From the 26th that the Prince arrived in the Road they had not sent to Compliment him Their Ships passed by his Squadron without either Saluting him or the French Flag But on the 29th they Discharged their Cannon in favour of the Saxon and the rest of the Cities of Prussia within a very little followed their Example And indeed they had soon reason to Triumph for having taken the Party they had chosen The News of the Victory won from the Turks made them hope to see Ten Thousand Saxons in Poland which were part of that Victorious Army which being useless to the Emperor would not fail to be called off to the Succour of their Prince On the other side it infused Consternation into the contrary Party Several that had flock'd to Dantzick slunk back again and some began to complain that the Prince had brought no Forces along with him as if France had foreseen Prince Eugenius's Victory and that all Poland had not been able to defend her King and her Liberties against Ten Thousand Germans However the Consternation was not so Universal but that several Lords and Gentlemen came to Kiss the Prince's Hand who went every Day ashore to Oliva in order to confer with them Nevertheless he had that Prudence and Moderation though they all gave him the Title of King to refuse it till he had obtained the Consent of the contrary Party But while the Primate and the Deputies of the Rokosz kept at Lowitz the Ambassador of France concluded a Treaty with the two Sapieha's by which it was agreed That for the Sum of Four Hundred and Sixty Thousand Livres that should be deposited in the presence of Commissioners of Lithuania the Son of the Grand Treasurer should come with Ten or Twelve Thousand well Disciplin'd Troops to Guard the Prince where-ever he pleased to go It was also farther stipulated that the Grand General of that Dutchy and all the Officers of the Army should Swear Fealty to him and march afterwards with all their Forces to the Place assigned by the Prince who should put himself at their Head and pay them the same Sum of Four Hundred and Sixty Thousand Livres for two other Quarters before they Marched against the Enemy The same Minister sent away the Postoki of the Crown for Podolia where the Body of Cosacks which he had mustered there together lay encamp'd with three select Troops of the House of Lubomirski He agreed also with the Grand Treasurer of the Crown the Palatinates of of Beltz and Kiovia as to what concerned them and then presently with Prince Czartoreski departed for Dantzick where he arrived the 2d of October and found the Prince expecting him a Ship-board that they might settle together such Affairs as were of greatest Importance The first Proposal which the Polanders made the Prince was go to Mariemburg Dzialinski who was Steward of the Town and Commanded the Place in the room of Bielinski his Brother-in-Law had mustered together a Garrison of Five Hundred Men and was bound to supply that place with every thing for the Sum of Twenty Seven Thousand Livres which the Abbot of Neuf-Chattel had given him But the Prince did not think it convenient to shut himself up in a Pound that 's the last thing that a Soldier can do after a Misfortune and in expectation of new Succours to enable him to take the Field Besides the danger was too great to trust himself with Dzialinski after he had proved so unfaithful to the Abbot of Neuf-Chattel That Minister had trusted him with a Hundred Thousand Livers and he desired him a little before the Prince's arrival to send them to the Cardinal for the supply of pressing Exigences more especially to encourage the Troops at Lowitz to advance towards Dantzick But that Officer kept the Money for himself nor could they ever force him to make restitution or oblige him to give an account of such an Irregular and interested Act. The second Proposal made to the Prince was to go
Reign of John Sobieski III. which will compleat the Secret History of Poland from the beginning of that Prince's Reign to the Time that the Elector of Saxony their present Sovereign mounted the Throne It contains abundance of Original Letters writ by the Emperor K. of Poland Senate of Venice D. of Lorrain Count Teckley and other Great Persons and Generals during the Campaign of Vienna discovers many Intrigues of those Courts and others not hitherto made publick and contains Geographical Remarks on Poland Hungary Germany c. no less pleasant than profitable to the Reader AN Historical Account OF THE DIVISIONS IN POLAND From the Death of King JOHN SOBIESKI To the Settlement of the Present King on the Throne c. THE Death of any Prince is always attended with a Change in the State That of his Polish Majesty made but little Impression on the Republick they forgot his Merit which they supposed to have received a sufficient Reward and his Subjects who ought to have been affected with the Loss of their Sovereign to applaud his Piety and to esteem his Valor had their Eyes fixed on one single Fault which had tarnished his other excellent Qualifications They excused it in the Person of Sobieski Grand Marshal and Great General of the Crown but could not pardon it in John III. King of Poland It was his Opinion That in order to ensure the Crown to his Family it was requisite to make himself Master of large Treasures which being distributed just at the time of Election might gain his Son those Votes which he had acquired by his great Actions Had he been as good a Politician as he was a Commander he would have followed another sort of a Conduct he would have left less Money and more Friends to his Family who are more useful for the carrying on of great Designs The States of Poland which after the Defeat of the Turks at Choczin had seen their General make his Appearance at the Diet of Election with a Magnificence worthy of a King thought fit to reward the Vertue of a Gentleman who seemed to have been born to wear a Crown They granted to his Merit what they refused to the Birth Promises and Intrigues of so many Princes who were his Competitors He had the Glory of carrying the Day from them all and dyed in Hopes that the Prince Royal his Son would have been Heir to his Fortune He imagined that he had taken all the Precautions that Humane Prudence could direct without considering that this has often failed those who thought themselves to be the wisest of Men and that 't is Divine Providence which disposes of the Crowns as it thinks fit After the King had taken such Measures which were as false as he esteemed them safe he left the Execution of them to the Queen his Consort a Princess of a Genius far above those of her Sex and yet such as had its Faults She was for making more of the Post she was in than the King desired and had the Satisfaction for two and twenty Years together to see her Designs succeed which have since raised such Regrets in her as will last while she lives Her first Project was to preserve the King's Health and to prolong a Life that was so precious to her A Jew of Casal named Jonas was then in Poland and passed for a learned Man among those of his Religion and had neglected Trade and Usury which are so alluring to the Men of that Sect that he might wholly apply himself to the Study of Physic The Queen made this Man his Majesty's Physician in Ordinary whose Reputation was established and soon after increased more perhaps by the good Constitution of the King than by the Art or Skill of the Doctor The Success of Dr. Jonas drew a great many Jews to him in hopes of having a share in his Favour Among the rest he introduced one into the Queen's Acquaintance who may be look'd upon as one of the Occasions of the Misfortunes of her and her whole Family This Jew's Name was Bethsal born in Russia and had no other Qualification but what the Jews are all endowed with but understood his Talent so well that even whilst he practised Usury with the utmost Rigor he had the Address of appearing Magnificent and Disinterested This Man waited upon the Queen whose blind side every one was acquainted with He brought his Recommendation along with him being resolved to throw away a considerable Summ of Money which he foresaw he should make up again in a little time He proposed to take the King's Lands by Lease and offered one third for them above their real Value His Proposal was very well received and they engaged him to take his Majesty's other Demeans which he accepted of upon the same Conditions The King seemed so well satisfied with his Conduct that he began to bestow several Favours at his Request They waited upon Bethsal to buy those Offices that were vacant and he who bad most was always look'd upon as best qualified This buying and selling of Offices was not at first publickly known those who could not get into any imagin'd that this Jew was the Opposer of their Fortunes and resolved to assassinate him But his Prudence prevented the Effects of the Publick Odium he maintained thirty Poles for his Guard and paid them so well that he preserved a Life against which had not their Interest interposed they would perhaps have been the first that would have made any Attempt Bethsal looked upon himself rather as a Minister of State than a Farmer of the Kings Revenue All Offices several Starostas and other Dignities that rose not so high as Palatins and other great Dignities of the Crown were distributed to none but those who made their Application to and bargain with him The Poles cryed shame on their Prince's Blindness and the Author of this so vile a Mismanagement On the contrary the Jews looked upon Bethsal as another Mordecai and Sobieski a second Ahasuerus The K. of Poland could not be ignorant of the Artifice of this Man on whom he had too much relied The Poles to this Day accuse him of having heaped up so much Treasure by the Sale of Offices and such a Conduct so full of Self-Interest has made his Memory to stink among them He had the Misfortune during his Life never to be acquainted with the odiousness of this buying and selling of Places and this Disgrace happened to him by a Fate incident to Princes of having too many Flatterers but no True Friends about them The Poles whilst the King was living could not dissemble their hatred to Bethsal whom they accused of Extortion and Sacriledge The first Crime was easie to prove He was convicted of the second by all those who had entred Foreign Merchandises into the Kingdom This Jew who had farmed the Customs caused the Merchants to appear before him presented a Crucifix to them and after he had made them worship it took an
promised in his Master's Name to advance Ten Millions for the Use of the Republick to maintain Fifteen thousand Men during the War with the Turks to retake Caminiec upon his own Charges to re-establish the Catholick Religion in Saxony and that the Electoress should make an Abjuration before she were crowned or else forfeit all her Pretensions to the Crown The Bishop was not ashamed to administer the Oath to a Calvinist Envoy in the Presence of the Holy Sacrament notwithstanding the Opposition of James Halecki Huntsman of Podlachia and Martin Grazewski Vice-Chamberlain of Vilna upon whom they drew their Hangers in the very Church where the Sacrament was exposed And this Prelate instead of redressing the Disorder cried Kill Kill whereupon they made a verbal Process before the Nuncio who publickly disapproved the action but did not think fit to punish it When the Election was over the Cardinal hoping the smaller number would be brought to comply proposed a Conference between the two Parties Accordingly it began on the 28th the most noted Lords on both Parties being present George Albert Denohoff Bishop of Premislia and Great Chancellor of the Crown opened the Conference with a Speech in which he told them the day of the Election was a representation of the day of Judgment and the Favourites of France on the Right represented the Elect and alluding to the Lamb upon the Primate's Arms quoted that passage of Scripture Hi sequentur Agnum quocunque ieret And compared Saxony's Faction to the Goats that put all in disorder applying to them that other passage Vos enim depasti est is vineam Then the Deputies were named Conti's Party demanded that according to Law the two Competitors should not enter nor send Troops into the Kingdom nor seize any Place or claim aright for Coronation till the publick were assembled again in a second Diet to confirm the Election and determine which of the Candidates should mount the Throne Saxony's Party considering Conti was far off and Saxony just at hand gave no other answer but a flat denial and on the fifth of July which was the last day of the Conference declared that they saw the French had a mind to gain time but the Saxons would not loose the opportunity While the Conference was held those who were not admitted enjoyed themselves in Feasting and their heat was so much abated that they seemed to bury the Old Polish Humour By their Voices one would have thought they were rather pleading upon some particular cause before Judges than managing the Election of a King in a General Diet of the Kingdom Some wondered the Bishop of Cujavia should encroach on the rights of the Primate in nominating a King in a tumultuous Assembly but they were more surprized to hear him say the Elector had made an Abjuration at Rome two years ago 'T was Publickly notorious that he had not performed one external act of the Catholick Religion On the contrary he continued openly in the Lutheran Profession And the more zealous among them owned that if his Abjuration was true he should be looked upon as an Apostate Others examined the qualities of the two Rivals They extolled the Prince of Conti whose Vertue they had sensible impressions of from the French Ambassador Prince Lubomirski Great Treasurer of the Crown and many other Polish Gentlemen were witnesses of his Bravery at the Siege of Newhausel and they could not but credit their Report that 't was by his means chiefly that that important Place was taken Others would have spoke on the Elector's behalf but his Defeat at Temeswaer in the Month of April 1696 was too fresh in their Memories to consist with his Glory Though afterwards the disgrace was in some measure extenuated by Prince Eugene of Savoy's Reprisals They boasted of the Elector's strength which indeed was extraordinary and declared every Day by fresh instances His Enemies could not deny it but they distinguished between Hero's and Gladiators and affirmed that Milon of Crotone went beyond him When the News of the Election of the Elector came to his own Country they were as much disturbed as Poland Prince Eugene of Furstemburg their Governour having caused Te Deum to be sung at Dresden on the 4th of July would have said Mass in the Castle Chappel But Christian Ebrarde the Electoress Daughter to the Marquiss of Brandebourg Baroth being a Calvinist ordered the Gates to be shut and refused to take upon her the quality of Queen The Electoress Dowager was not less zealous So that both these Princesses upon this occasion show'd all the transports of anger that Women in a passion are capable of I know not whether they did it out of Zeal or to serve the Elector's Interest in seeming to stand by the Country of Saxony However the States were as resolute as the two Princesses and declared they would admit of no change in the point of Religion They went upon the latter will of John II. the Elector's Grandfather which obliged all his Successors to Profess the Lutheran Religion This Act they would have looked upon as Authentick had not some former accidents given them a jealousie of what might come after George Duke of Saxony Died in 1539. He was the most Zealous Prince of his time for the Catholick Religion as it appeared by many proofs in his life-time and at his Death by his latter will He had no Children to Succeed him Henry his Brother Maurice and Augustus his Son had imbraced the Lutheran Profession in 1537 and he was unwilling his Country which by his means had kept up the Purity of the Gospel should fall into the Hands of Hereticks that had corrupted Saxony and a great part of Germany In order to compass his Pious Design and at the same time to give his Family no occasion to complain of Injustice he made a latter Will in which he determined the Succession to Henry and his Children providing they introduced no Change of Religion into the Countries which he gave them And declared that if they counteracted that Condition they had no Right to his Heritage He entreated the Emperor Charles V and King Ferdinand his Brother to be Executors of his Will and not to give the nearest of his Relations Possession of his Country without they Professed the Catholick Religion Had these Executors been possessed by the same sentiments of Piety with that Prince Leipsic might have been a Catholick City this Day but their particular Interests prevailed above Religion They gave Henry and his Children the liberty of establishing Heresie in that City at a time when they were pretending to extirpate it out of the whole Empire Henry took advantage of their weakness and invited Luther to that Town which he perverted as well as many other Cities in Germany Now the Saxons considering how Prince George's Will was executed were apprehensive of the like Treatment for Prince John's They and the Poles were equally in fear the one for the Lutheran the
absented by reason of his great Age. 'T was likewise Signed by all the great Officers of the Crown and Lithuania all the Palatines and Castelans excepting the Great-Mareshal Lubomirski who remained neuter and the Vice Chancellor Tarlo who was gone over to Saxony Then the Ambassador dispatched the third Courier on the 18th of July who had the misfortune not to arrive before the 9th of August The Ambassador could not presume the favourers of France would stand so long out as they did So by that Courier he gave the King notice that he feared all the Polish Gentry would join with Saxony unless the Prince of the Money promised to the Army were there before the 31st of July because the Lords who Signed the Act had only engaged to continue in their Union till that day as being sure by that time the Elector of Saxony would pay the Troops and then they had nothing to Object against him The Prince was so far from being able in so short a time to reach Poland where he was expected so impatiently that he was yet at Paris waiting for the Original Letter from the Cardinal And when that came the the Court received this we now speak of So the Prince saw himself Called and Countermanded by two Letters received both in one Day only that which called him was of an older Date than the other by 18 Days Then the Prince's Journey was put off a second time and by a necessary but fatal consequence The Orders for the Remitments were recalled Good Politicians will easily perceive that the most studied precautions are often times to no purpose especially if they consider that such mean matters as the Private Designs of a Courier have influenced the most important Affairs of this Age. However a little time discovered that the short Day which the Polish Gentry had given to the Abbot of Polignac was only threats for when they received the News of the Elector's Arrival their Zeal revived with fresh Vigor In the mean time t was needful to engage the Town of Dantzick in the French Interests The Abbot of Polignac was obliged to continue in the Centre of the Kingdom where his presence was necessary so the Abbot of Neuf-Chattle set out for that Place on the 2d of July in order to appease the Queen to keep the Migistrate of the Place right to satisfie the Poles that were about to come thither for Money to persuade the Banquiers to have the Money ready to be paid as soon as the Bills of Exchange arrived and in fine to make sure of Prussia where the Prince was to pass when he arrived He delivered to the Queen the King's Letter and with a great deal of submission told her the Reasons that retarded the performance of that Duty She refused to enter into any Negotiation with him and continued Resolute to maintain the Elector's Party as being the weakest and the least able to withstand her when Conti's Faction being the strongest came to be broke The Magistrate was as obstinate as she and alledged as weak Reasons The chiefest were the Losses the Town had sustain'd by Sea during the War The sollicitation of the Queen and Elector of Brandebourg the Elector of Saxony's Country and Religion which were more agreeable to the Inhabitants than that of the Prince of Conti who was but too good a Catholick It had been an easie matter to refute all these Reasons but the Magistrate thought he eluded all possible Replies when he told him that the Town in pursuance of its Statutes would acknowledge either of the two Princes that should be first Crowned and till that time they would stand Neuter The Abbot of Neuf-Chattel perceiving the Magistrate went upon the hopes of Saxony's preventing the Prince of Conti represented the advantage that would accrue to a Trading City by a Commerce with France and told him that if the Citizens would act regularly they were obliged to acknowledge him as King who was first Elected according to the Laws of the Kingdom by a plurality of Votes and by the better part of the Republick that if bad Counsel prevailed with them to take other measures they ought to call to mind how on the like occasion they acknowledged the Emperor Maximilian to the prejudice of King Stephen and drew upon themselves such disgrace as in prudence they ought now to avoid But all these Reasons had no influence upon a set of People prepossessed with a Zeal for their own Religion and an implacable Hatred against France The other Citizens were more tractable Some lent him Sums of Money 'T is true they were very small however they served to stop the Mouths of some of the great Lords Residents that teased the Abbot with perpetual Demands His abode in Dantzick was likewise useful in keeping the Prussians in order and securing the Town of Mariembourg for the Prince till he arrived While the Abbot of Neuf-Chattel was taking care of Prussia the French Ambassador at Warsaw was endeavouring to retain the rest of Poland which his Enemies had a mind to seduce The Elector of Brandebourg in his Letter to the Primate had offered his Meditation and out of respect to a Neighbouring Prince they accepted it tho' they expected to reap no advantage by it but that of gaining time The Publick Conferences commenced on the 9th of August Saxony motioned that the Diet for Confirmation should be Revoked or if the Revocation was inconvenient that the Cardinal should oblige himself by Writing to Nominate Saxony instead of Conti that the Primate by his Vniversalia should call the petty Diets as Preliminaries to the Coronation and come himself to Warsaw to put the Crown upon the Elector's Head that in case they listened to these Conditions the Elector would not admit the Bishop of Cujavia to Crown him That the Date of his Election should Commence from his Confirmation in that Assembly that he would Swear to such Pacta Conventa as they offered him and in fine would Pay in ready Money to the Heads and Lords of the opposite Faction the sum of Eight Hundred Ninety Two Thousand Crowns to be divided among them as they should think fit These Proposals were Answered in the following Articles a Copy of which was given to the Baron of Overbeck the Elector of Brandebourg his Envoy They required the Elector with his Troops should depart the Kingdom and send an Ambassador from the Frontiers to the Diet for Confirmation to desire the Crown That he should give better proof of his Conversion and renew his Abjuration in the Presence of some Bishop of the opposite Faction and in fine should renounce the Act of his pretended Election and all the other means which he and the Bishop of Cujavia had made use of to that purpose Upon these Conditions and the Execution of the Offers made by him they promised to consider of his Pretensions to treat him not as an Usurper but as a legal Candidate and to regard the Merit of
him a little before the Crown was put upon his Head Such an Accident might happen naturally but several after the manner of the Ancients look'd upon it as a very bad Omen But they who with more Reason believed that those sort of Superstitions were to be contemn'd turn'd the matter into Raillery and ask'd what was become of that Hercules whom the Germans had sent into Poland And to make some difference between the two Heroes they cry'd that the Ancient Hercules sustain'd Heaven but that the other fainted away at the sight of a Crown And now the Elector permitting those to open their Mouths who suffer'd him to act distributed the vacant Charges and made himself both Friends and Enemies After that he gave a splendid Collation to which the Polish and German Ladys were invited However the German Ladys had the Precedency which the Polish Ladys took with as much Indignation as Women are wont to do that think themselves despis'd Revenge was the only Consolation which they sought for in the midst of so sensible a disgrace and they found above a hundred Gentlemen who either out of Complacency for the Female Sex or hatred of the Elector protested against all that had been done before or should be done after the Coronation There went also sixty more that came from the Palatinate of Sandomiria who by the Intrigues of the Party opposite to the Elector made a Protestation of the same Nature and upheld it more strenuously The pretended Diet of the Coronation sat down the 16th with a strange confusion which lasted as long as the Assembly that is to say fifteen days instead of six Weeks prescrib'd by the Laws and then it was put off till the Month of February The first occasion of discontent arose from the invalidity of the Deputations but in regard the defect was Universal it was as soon repair'd while all were willing to treat themselves as true Nuncio's because not one of 'em was truly qualified But for all that the Confusion ceased not there was a dispute about the Choice of a Marshal The young Prince Wiesnowski put in to have been the Man but Zwisza carried it before him and created as many Male-contents as his Rival had Friends The Tumult augmented every day upon occasion of the Pacta Conventa of which some demanded to see the Original and others affirmed that it lay at Warsaw It contained in express Terms that the Elector should renounce the Right which he had acquired by his Act of Election if he caused himself to be Crowned before his Queen were become a Roman Catholick But the King was not not so Impolitick to let all the World see that the very next day after his Coronation he had violated the Words which he had so solemnly Sworn However no other remedy could be found to defend him against the Importunity of the Nuncios but only to say that the Original of the Act was lost However the sixty Gentlemen of Sandomiria before mentioned presented a compared Copy of it to which Przependowski would give no Credit and that Lord by his lyes so embroyled the Affair in dispute that it was put off till the Month of February Upon these several Actions there appeared a Pasquil which contained the Arguments of five Acts of the Comedy of Cracow The First a King without a Diploma The Second a Burial without a dead Body The Third a Coronation without a Primate the Fourth a Diet without Nuncios And the Fift Protestations without effect Thus it was that the Polanders comforted themselves for the Violences committed upon their Religion the Violation of their Laws and the oppressions of their Liberty while their Wives at their Wits ends did not believe themselves sufficiently revenged for a Slight affront unless the Elector were thrown quite out of Possession Soon after the Factious receiv'd News which allarm'd 'em much more then what we have already related For the Prince of Conti left Paris the 2d of September and upon the 7th took Shipping at Dunkirk under the Convoy of the Chevalier du Bast as much dreaded as well known in the Northern Seas And Fame that magnifies Objects had spread abroad all over Poland that the Prince was coming with such considerable Numbers of Men and Sums of Money that he was expected with Extream Impatience So soon as they had receiv'd Advice at Warsaw of the Saxon's being Crown'd t was presently seen that there were no longer any Measures to be observed seeing that dissimulation and submission had been so useless and therefore being unable to amend what was past they took precautions for the future The Cardinal the Heads and Council of the Rokosz assembled together at what time the Primate revok'd his last Universals and by new Ones instead of the general Assembly Summon'd against the 26 of September he convoked three particular Assemblies to meet upon the 10th of October the one in great Poland at Sencicia under Count Wladislaus Przienski Castellane of Katifck The other in little Poland at Zawichot under the Orders of Adam Sieniaustis Palatine of Beltz And the third at Grodno in Lithuania under the Palatine of Vilna The Design of calling these Assemblies was to oppose with more ease the Elector's Enterprizes and to prevent a disorder like to that which had happened at Prostowice where the petty Diet of the Palatine of Cracovia met which tho it had been only Summoned to elect Deputies to the Sovereign Tribunals yet the Saxons would have made a second advantage of it which was to have obliged 'em to receive the Result of their Master's Council against the Primate and the Rokosz With this Design six Regiments of Saxons had surrounded the Diet threatning to put all to the Sword if they did not agree to what was demanded from ' em And they would have gained their point but for the Starost of Olztein who seconded by his Friends protested against the Diet and the Violence of the Germans The Cardinal made the most of this Act in his Universals and to avoided surprizes of the like Nature called three Assemblies instead of one By means of this Precaution he hindred the Elector from coming to Warsaw with his Troops so soon as he had dispatch'd the Coronation Diet. In a Word it would not have been prudently done of the King to engage in the Center of the Kingdom where three Bodies of Nobility Equally exasperated against him might have joyned together surrounded and taken him after the Slaughter of all his Men. Requisite Orders being issued forth the Cardinal the Marshal and Council of the Rokosz retired to Lowitz attended by the Palatin of Vilna's Regiment of Foot which had guarded the Bridge of Boats upon the Vistula and six hundred Reiters with the Artillery of Warsaw which consisted of Sixty Brass Guns of all Sizes Scarcely was the Primate arrived in his Castle when the Ambassador gave him to understand that the Prince of Conti had passed the Sound which made them believe