Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A43533
|
France painted to the life by a learned and impartial hand.
|
Heylyn, Peter, 1600-1662.
|
1656
(1656)
|
Wing H1710; ESTC R5545
|
193,128
|
366
|
neither the said Infanta nor the Children born by her to the King shall be capable to inherit any of the estates of the King of Spain and in the eighth article she is bound to make an act of renunciation under her own hand-writing as soon as she cometh to be twelve years old which was accordingly performed But this being not sufficient to secure their fears it is thought that she was some way or other disabled from conception before ever she came into the Kings embraces A great crime I confess if true yet I cannot say with Tully in his defence of Ligarius Novum crimen Caie Caesar hec tempus mauditum Jaqueline Countess of Holland was Cozen to Philip Duke of Burgundie Her being fruitful would have debarred him from those estates of Holland Zealand and West-Freezland therefore though she had three Husbands there was order taken she should never have Child with her two first Husbands the Duke would never suffer her to live and when she had stollen a wedding with Frane of Borselle one of her servants the Dukes Physitians gave him such a potion that she might as well have married an Eunuch upon this injury the poor Lady died and the Duke succeeded in those Countries which by his Grand-child Marie were conveyed over into the House of Austria together with the rest of his estate I dare not say that that Family hath inherited his practises with his lands and yet I have heard that the Infanta Isabella had the like or worse measure afforded her before she was bedded to the Arch-duke Albertus A diabolical trick which the prostitutes of the heathen used in the beginnings of the Gospel and before of whom Octavius complaineth quod originem futuri hominis extinguant paricidium faciunt antequam pariunt Better luck than the King hath his Sister beyond the mountains I mean his eldest Sister Madame Elizabeth married to the King of Spain now living as being or having been the Mother of two Children His second Sister Madame Christian is married to Amadeo Victor Principe Maior or heir apparent of the Duke of Savoy to whom as yet she hath born no issue The youngest Henrietta Mariae is newly married to his most Excellent Majesty of England to whom may she prove of a most happy and fruitful womb Et pulchra faciat te prole parentem Of these alliances the first were very profitable to both Princes could there be made a marriage between the Kingdoms as well as the Kings But it is well known that the affections of each people are divided more unconquerable mountains than their dominions The French extreamly hating the proud humour and ambition of the Spaniard We may therefore account each of them in these marriages to have rather intended the perpetuity of their particular houses than the strength of their Empires and that they more desired a noble stock whereon to graft posterity than power The alliance with Savoy is more advantagious though less powerful than that of Spain For if the King of France can keep this Prince on his party he need not fear the greatness of the other or any of his faction The continuall siding of this House with that of Austria having given many and great impediments to the fortune of the French It standeth so fitly to countenance the affairs of either King in Italy or Germany to which it shall incline that it is just of the same nature with the estate of Florence between Millain and Venice of which Guicciaraine saith that Mantennero le coseâ—d Italia bilanâ—iate On this reason King Henry the fourth earnestly desired to match one of his Children into this Countrey and left this desire as a Legacie with his Council But the alliance of most use to the State of France is that of England as being the nighest and most able of all his neighbours An alliance which will make his Estate invincible and incompassed about as it were with a wall of brass As for the Kings bastard Brethren they are four in number and born of three several beds The eldest is Mr. Alexander made Knight of the Order of St. John or of Malta in the life time of his Father He is now Grand Prior of France and it is much laboured and hoped by the French that he shall be the next Master of the Order a place of great command and credit The second and most loved of his Father whose lively image and character he is said to be is Mr Caesar made Duke of Vendosme by his Father and is at this time Governor of Brittain a man of a brave spirit and one who swayeth much in the affairs of State His Father took great care for his advancement before his death and therefore married him to the Daughter and Heir of the Duke of Mercuer a man of great possessions in Brittain It is thought that the inheritance of this Lady both by her Fathers side and also by her Mothers who was of the Family of Marsegues being a stock of the old Ducal tree is no less than 200000. Crowns yearly Both these were born unto the King by Madame Gabriele for her excellent beauty surnamed labelle Dutchess of Beauforte a Lady whom the King most entirely affected even to the last gasp and one who never abused her power with him so that we may truly say of her what Velleius flatteringly said of Livia the Wife of Augustus Ejus potentiam nemo senset nisi levatione periculi aut accessione dignitatis The third of the Kings natural Brethren is Mr. Henry now Bishop of Metz in Lorraine and Abbot of St. Germans in Paris As Abbot he is Lord of the goodly Fairbourg of St. Germans and hath the profits of the great Fair there holden which make a large revenue His Bishoprick yeildeth him the profits of 20000. Crowns and upwards which is the remainder of 60000. the rest being pawned to the Duke of Lorraine by the last Bishop who was of that family The Mother of this Mr. Henry is the Marchioness of Verneville who before the death of the King fell out of his favour into the prison and was not restored to her liberty till the beginning of the Queen Mothers Regency The fourth and youngest is Mr. Antonie born unto the King by the Countess of Morret who is Abbot of the Churches of Marseilles and Cave hath as yet not fully six thousand pound a year when his Mother dieth he Will be richer The Kings lawful Brother is named John Baptist Gaston born the 25th of April Anno 1608. A Prince of a brave and manlike aspect likely to inherit as large a part of his Fathers spirit as the King doth of his Crown He is entituled Duke of Aniou as being the third Son of France but his next elder Brother the Duke of Orleance being dead in his childhood he is vulgarly and properly called Monsieur This title is different from that of Daulphin in that that title is onely appropriated to the Heir
the Country though I casually saw much Gold I could onely see two pieces of French stamp the rest coming all from Spain as Pistolets Demi pistolets and double Pistolets Neither is France onely furnisht thus with Chastilian Coin it is happiness also of other Countries as Italy Barbary Brabant and elsewhere and indeed it is kindly done of him that being the sole Monopolist of the Mines he will yet let other Nations have a share in the mettal Were the King as Catholike as his money I think I should be in some fear of him till then we may lawfully take that ambitious title from the King and bestow it on his pictures the soveraignty of the Spanish gold is more universally embraced and more seriously acknowledged in most parts of Christendom than that of him which stampt it To this he which entituleth himself Catholike is but a prisoner and never saw half those Provinces in which this more powerful Monarch hath been heartily welcommed And yet if he will needs be King let him grow somewhat more jealous of his Queen and confess that his Gold doth royally deserve his embraces whom before this extent of its dominion the ancient Poets stiled Regina Pecunia True it is that by the frame and shape of this Empress you would little think her to be lovely and less worthy your entertainment the stones which little boys break into quoyts are a great deal better proportioned If a Geometrician were to take the angles of it I think it would quite put him besides his Euclide Neither can I tell to what thing in the world fitter to resemble it then a French Cheese for it is neither long nor square nor round nor thin nor thick nor any one of these but yet all and yet none of them No question it was the Kings desire by this unsightly dressing of his Lady to make men out of love with her that so he might keep her to himself but in this his hopes have cozened him for as in other Cuckoldings so in this some men will be bold to keep his Wife from him be it onely in spite These circumstances thus laid together and considered we may the clearer and the better see our own felicities which to exprese generally and in a word is to say onely this that the English subject is in no circumstance a French-man here have we our money made of the best and purest matal that onely excepted which a charitable consideration hath coined into farthings here have we our King royally and to the envy of the world magnificently provided for without the sweat and bloud of the people no pillages nor impositions upon any private wares no Gabels upon our Commodities Nullum in tam ingenti regno vestigal non in urbibus pontium vae discriminibus publicanorum stationes as one truly hath observed of us The moneys which the King wanteth to supply his necessities are here freely given him he doth not compel our bounties but accept them The Laws by which we are governed we impart are makers of each Peasant of the Countrey hath a free voice in the enacting of them if not in his person yet in his Proxie we are not here subject to the lusts and tyranny of our Lords and may therefore say safely what the Jews spake factiously that We have no King but Caesar the greatest Prince here is subject with us to the same law and we stand before the Tribunal of the Judge we acknowledge no difference here do we inhabit our own houses plow our own lands enjoy the fruits of our labour comfort our selves with the Wives of our youth and see our selves grow up in those Children which shall inherit after us the same felicities But I forget my self to endeavour the numbring of Gods blessings may perhaps be as great a punishment as Davids numbring the people I conclude with the Poet. O fortunati nimium bona si sua norint Agricolae nostri THE THIRD BOOK OR LA BEAVSSE CHAP. I. Our Journey towards Orleans the Towne Castle and Battaile of Montliherrie Many things imputed to the English which they never did Lewis the 11th brought not the French Kings out of Wardship The Towne of Chastres and mourning Church there The Countrey of La Beausse an old People of it Estampes The dancing there The new art of begging in the Innes of this Countrey Angervile Toury The sawcinesse of French Fidlers Three kindes of Musick amongst the Ancients The French Musick HAving abundantly stifled our spirits in the stink of Paris on Tuesday being the 12. of June we took our leave of it and prepared our selves to entertaine the sweet aire and winde of Orleans The day faire and not so much as disposed to a cloud save that they began to gather about noon in the nature of a Curtaine to defend us from the injury of the Sun the winde rather sufficient to fan the aire then to disturb it by qualifying the heat of that celestiall fire brought the day to an excellent mediocrity of temper You would have thought it a day meerly framed for that great Princesse Nature to take her pleasure in and that the Birds which cheerfully gave us their voices from the neighbouring bushes had been the lowd musick of her Court in a word it was a dâ—y solely consecrated to a pleasant journey and he that did not put it to that use mis-spent it Having therefore put our selves into our Waggon we took a short farewell of Paris exceeding joyfull that we yet lived to see the beauty of the fields againe and enjoy the happinesse of a free Heaven The Countrey such as that part of the Isle of France towards Normandy onely that the Corne fields were larger and more even On the left hand of us we had a side-glance of the Royall house of Boys and Vincennes and the Castle of Bifectre and about some two miles beyond them we had a sight also of a new house lately built by Mr. Sillerie Chancellor of the Kingdome a pretty house it promised to be having two base Courts on the hither side of it and beyond it a Parke an ornament whereof many great mansions in France are altogether ignorant Foure leagues from Paris is the town of Montl'herrie now old and ruinous and hath nothing in it to commend it but the carkasse of a Castle without it it hath to brag of a large and spacious plaine on which was fought that memorable battaile between Lewis the 11. and Charles le Hardie Duke of Burgoyne A battaile memorable onely for the running away of each Army the Field being in a manner emptyed of all the forces and yet neither of the Princes victorious Hic spe celer ille salute Some ran out of fear to dye and some out of hope to live that it was hard to say which of the Soldiers made most use of their heels in the combat This notwithstanding the King esteemed himselfe the Conqueror not that he overcame but because not vanquisht