;(5^| i::^! |^^| '6'A8Vaiilll^'^ ■^•Jili'JNV^OV"'"^ 'i'/îddAlNlVJk\> 'IIBRARYQ i IGM ^KlOSASCflfx^ ^-^OfCAllF0% ^OfCAllfO% ^\\\[ UNiV[RS/^ ^V"» ANCflfj^ ! AljfO/?^ %a3AisM3U^^ '^^<9Aavaan#' ''^(^xavadiii^^^^ ^JJuw-sui'^"^ '^/idMiNii-^^'v"' -■'OAavaaiv^ -v.'Aiivaaiiî^ -^OfCAllfOP^^ ^^WfUNIVfRJ-/^. ^vlOSA.'JCflfJ-;^ ^Of-CAIIFO%^ .^OfCAllFOP^ ^^V mv V/iii3AINa hVv ^o\ii\m H\^^ ' '^'oxwmn^ ' ^mmm'^' ^^W^M.m.fy v^^îllBBARYO/ ^sMllBRARYO/ CAtlFOff,^. ^:(,\\[ UNIVERS//,. ^vlOSAICFlfx^ ^OFCAIIFO^, IIUV^ '^^o.mm\n'^' ^'^o.wmm'^'' "''■■I'mwm'^' '^/sajAiNii •3\\V^ ^lOSANCElfXj, ^xMllBRARYQr ^;^IIIBRARYQ^ 1 ? ^■^0-m ^J71]MS0\^ "^/iajAINd-JlW"^ '^(ÏOJIIVDJO^ \Q\\m\^^ 'JJIJ'JSV\U\^ \\\E UNIVERî/^ ^\10SAS'r,flfr^>. ^4,OFCAlirO%^ ^OFCMIF0/?,<_>^ ^^\^f■lWIVFR% i©M ,^OfCAllF0% ^"^ommv^ VJCElfj> ^OfCAllFOfti^ ^OFCAllFOfff^ ■JilJJNV ;Fn/?i> ^ ^OFCAlIFOfî^ .^^^■lIBRARYQf '■^m\\mw- :M13UV' ^^LU. MEMOIRS O F T H E DUKE OF SULLY. MEMOIRS O F MAXIMILIAN DE BETHUNE, DUKE OF SULLY, PRIME MINISTER TO HENRYtheGREAT. CON TA I N I N G The Hiftory of the Life and Reign of that Monarch, And his own Administration under Him. Tranflated from the French. To which is added, The Tryal of R a v a i l l a c for the Murder of HENRY the GREAT. IN THREE VOLUMES. V O L. II. LONDON, Printed for A. Millar, in the Strand j R. and J. Dodsley, in Pail-Mall; and W. Shropshire, in New-Bond-Street. MDCCLVI. SUMMARY O F T H E Books contained in the Second Volume. SUMMARY OF THE ELEVENTH BOOK. MEMOIRS from the year 1 599 to i6or. Affairs of the mar- quifate of Saluces. Artifices of the duke of Savoy to avoid making a reflitution of Saluces. Journey of Henry IV. to Blois. Diffolution of his marriage with Margaret of Valois : his amours with mademoifelle d' Entragues, who perfuades him to give her a pro- mife of marriage : the courage and refolution of Rofny on this occa- fion. Articles of marriage with the princefs of Florence concluded. Foreign affairs. Rofny takes upon him the guardianfhip of his ne- phew d' Epinoy. Revocation of the permiffion for manufa6luring rich fluffs. Rofny is made grand mafter of tlie ordnance, and gives great application to the affairs of this poft. The duke of Savoy comes to Paris ; brings over the courtiers to his intereft ; endeavours to bribe Rofny, and afterwards to exclude him from the conferences; but fails in both attempts, and returns home. Nicole Mignon attempts to poi- fon the king. A public difpute betwixt the bifhop d' Evreux and Du- Pleffis Mornay. New fubterfuges of the duke of Savoy : reafons for declaring war againfl him ; preparations mady by Rofny for this war. Henry IV. marries the princefs of Florence by proxy : takes Cham- béry, Bourg, Montmélian, Charbonniers, &c. Other particulars of this camapaign : great fervices performed there by Rofny, nor.vithflanding Vol. II. a the SUMMARY. the jealoufy and oppofition of the courtiers. Cardinal Aldobrandin comes to negotiate a peace ; Rofny's reception of him : the conferences broken off by the demolition of fort Saint-Catherine : refumed by Rofny ; who concludes the treaty. The queen comes to Paris, and is received by Rofny at the Arfenal. Foreign affairs. SUMMARY OF THE TWELFTH BOOK. MEMOIRS of the year 1601. Affairs of the finances ; ofm';^ ney; of commerce, &c. Prohibition againft carrying gold or filver coin out of the kingdom. Chamber of Juftice eftablifl:ied, but to little purpofe. The author's reflexions upon luxury and corruption of manners. The officers of the robe and finances fuppreffed. Journey of Hf nry IV. to Orleans. Affairs of the United Provinces. Henry goes to Calais. The French ambaflador infulted at Madrid. Embaflies from the Grand Seignior and the Venetians. Elizabeth comes to Dover. Lette s betwixt Henry and Elizabeth. Rofny goes to Dover. Con- verfaiions between Elizabeth and Rofny, in which they lay the foun- dation of the great defign againft the houfe of Auftria : the great wif- dom of this queen. Death of young Chatillon-Coligny. Birth of Lewis XIII. Henry makes La-Riviere calculate his nativity. The af- fair of the Ifles concluded with the grand du.ke of Tufcany. Rofny procures the count of Béthune to be named ambaffador to Rome, not- withftanding the endeavours of Villeroi and Sillery to the contrary. Oppofition made by thefe miniders to the opinions and policy of Rofny. Particulars of the confpiracy of maréchal Biron : Rofny endeavours to recal him to his duty : Henry fends him ambaffador to London ; to Sweden : he refumes his intrigues at his return. La-Fin's depofitions. An a,tcount of the pretended Don Sebaftian ; and other foreign affairs. SUMMARY OF THE THIRTEENTH BOOK. MEMOIRSofthe year 1602. Foreign princes atParis. Henry IV. goes to Blois : the occafion of his journey. An account of maréchal Biron's confpiracy : a council held at Blois upon this occa- fion. A defign formed to arreft the dukes of Epernon and Bouillon : the firlt clears his condudl ; the great art and addrefs of the fécond. Quarrel between the king and queen : Henry's converfation with Rofny upon this fubjecS. The tff,.ds of Henry's journey into the provinces i he refolves to have Biron arrefted : particulars of his and the count d'Auvergne's imprifonment j and of Biron's trial and execution': 9, Rofny's s U M M A R Y. Rofny's behaviour throughout this affiur. Henry pardons the fcaron de Lux, and the count d'Auvergne, who again betrays him : rcafbns why he behaved in this manner to the count d'Auvergne. The prince of Joinville arrefted : the king pardons' him ahb ; but he is confined in prifon. The duke of Bouillon artfully avoids coming to court. The courtiers endeavour to raife lufpicions in Henry againit Rofny : curious converfations betwixt them on this occafion. Affair of the advocates : difcourfe of Sigogne. Ediifhs and regulations upon the coin, commere, finances, &c. Mines difcovered in France. Edidl againft duels. The alliance with the Swifs renewed. Journey of Flenry to Calais. Ac- count of the military exploits between the Spaniards and Dutch ; and other foreign affairs. SUMMARY OF THE FOURTEENTH BOOK. ME M O I R S of the year 1603. Troubles at Metz : Henry goes thither and baniibes the SoboUes : other affairs tranfafted in this journey. Memorial againft the cardinal d' Offat : examination of the fentiments and conduâ; of the cardinal. Affairs of the Low Countries. Intrigues of the duke of Bouillon, and new feditions of the Calvinifts. Death of Elizabeth. James L king of Great Britain. Henry's return : his converfation with Rofny upon the death of Elizabeth : refolves to fend Rofny ambaffador to London : deliberations in the council, and intrigues in the court upon this embaffy. Indifpofition of the king. Public and private inftrudlions given to Rofny : his departure with a numerous retinue. Charadler of young Servin. Rolhy embarks at Calais ; infulted by the vice-admiral of England : his reception at Do- ver ; at Canterbury, &c. he is received in London with the highefl honours : his feverity in the affair of Combaut. State of the political affairs of Great Britain. Charader of the Englifh : of king James : of the queen, &c. Several fadions at this court. Rofny's conferences with the Englifh counfellors ; with the deputies of the States General; with the refident from Venice, &c. He obtains his firft audience ; he is concerned at not being permitted to appear in mourning. SUMMARY OF THE FIFTEENTH BOOK. FARTHER memoirs of the year 1603. Continuation of Pvofny's embaffy to London : detail of what paffed at his firff audience : public converfations of the king of England with him, upon different fubjeds. Accidents at the court of London favourable and unfavour- a 2 able SUMMARY. able to this négociation. Difpofitions of the different courts of Europe. Rofny's firft conference with the Englifh minifters. Intrigues of Spain. Rofny's fécond audience, and private converfation with king James : he perfuades him to fupport the United Provinces : other affairs tranf- adled between them : his fécond conference with the Britifli minifters, who endeavours to overthrow his negotiation. Imprudent proceedings of count d'Aremberg. Third audience. Rofny admitted to the table of the king of England : public converfaticns on different fubjedts. Third conference with the Englifli minifters and the deputies ot the United Provinces. Artifice and perfidy of Cecil. Fourth audience : private converfations with king James, to whom he communicates the political defigns of Henry IV. and Elizabeth ; and endeavours to gain his aprobation of them : a Ihort abftra£t of thefe defigns : James de- clares himfelf publicly in Rofny's favour. SUxMxMARY OF THE SIXTEENTH BOOK. FARTHER memoirs of the year 1603. Continuation of the embaffy and negotiations of Rofny at the court of London. Form of a treaty with his Britannic majefly : fubftance of this treaty. Dif- patches from Rofny intercepted. Audience of leave, and Rofny's laft converfation with king James : prefents which he makes in London : his return : dangers at fea : his reception from Henry IV. public con- verfation between them on the fubjeft of his negotiation. Memoirs of the ftate of affairs in England, Spain, the Low Countries, and other foreign countries. Rofny refumes his labours in the finances. Henry fupports him openly in a quarrel which he had with the count de Soiffons : he entertains the king id Rofny. Journey of Henry into Normandy : what paffed in this journey. Mutiny of the proteftants of the affcmbly of Gap. Rofny made governor of Poitou. Eftablifliment of the filk manufadory in France : converfations on this fubjedt, in which Rofny endeavours to diffuade Henry from this delign. Remarks on his opinion of wearing filk, and on other parts of luxury. A colony fetded at Canada. SUMMARY OF THE SEVENTEENTH BOOK. MEMOIRS of the year 1604. Medals prefentcd to his ma- jefty by Rofny. Death of the duchefs of Bar : particulars con- cerning her death, and the difputes which it occafions. Deliberations upon th€ re-eftablifhment of the Jefuits. Converfations of Rofny with 2 Henry^ SUMMARY. Henry, and the arguments which he urges againil: their re-eflabliHi- ment : the conditions upon which tliey are recalled : protedion grant- ed them by Henry. Father Cotton makes his court to Rofny. Me- morial againft cardinal D'Oflat. Sentiments of Rofny not favourabk to this cardinal or the policy of the catholics. Treachery of Nicolas L'Hotej how difcovered : particulars upon this fubjeâ. Villeroi's con- duct examined. Rofny 's fentiments upon the difference of religion. Promotion of cardinals, and affairs of Rome. Curious converfation of Henry with Rofny, upon the domeftic diforders occaûoned by the queen and the marchionefs of Verneuil. SUMMARY OF THE EIGHTEENTH BOOK.. FARTHER memoirs of the year 1604. Continuation of the preceding article, upon the difquiets and domeflic quarrels of Henry IV. Rofny endeavours to put an end to them : the rifle he run upon this occahon from the queen and the marchionefs of Verneuil-; her malignity. Wife and difintereiled condud of queen Margaret. Fadion of the proteftants and feditious in the kingdom. Henry's jour- ney to the provinces defigned and prevented. Rofny vifits his govern- ment : how received at Rochelle, at Poitiers, Sec. Hatred of the pro- teftants againft him : other particulars ajid advantages of this journey : his reception from Henry at his return. Juftification of the duke d'E- pernon : falfely accufed. New intrigues of the count d'Auvergne : means ufed by Henry to have him arrefted : letters which he received and wrote to him : an account of his being feized : his tryal. The marchionefs of V'^erneuil is likewife arrefted : Rofny is employed to in- terrogate her: he can, neither by advice nor Intreaties, perfuade Henry to baniOi her from France. Weaknefs of this prince for his miftrefs. SUMMARY OF THE NINETEENTH BOOK. FARTHER memoirs of the year 1 604. Henry IV. depofites^. his treafure in the Baftille : a council held on this occafion. "Con- fiderations and maxims of Rofny upon government : means he makes ufe of to recover money. Verification of nvits : other operations and tail of the finances. Regulations of the police and army. Eftablifh- ment of a military hofpital. The talents and abiUties of Henry IV. for government. Caufes of the weaknefs of ftates. Rupture between^ France and Spain, on account of commerce. Peace reftored by Rofny,. by means of a treaty : particulars and fubftance of the treaty. Farther account SUMMARY. account of the affairs of the United Provinces, of Spain, and of England, Agreement and treaty between the two lafl: powers. Caufes of the dilcontent of the United Provinces againfl: England. The conftable of Caftille comes to Paris : his converfation with the king. Other con- verfations between Henry and Rofny concerning this ambafiador. Er- roneous maxim of Rofny 's on the balic law. ^Introduélion to the ex- ecution of Henry's great defigns. Affairs of the Grifons, and of the fort of Fuentes : proceedings of the French, and other particulars on this affair. Difpute with the Pope on the fubjedt of the bridge of Avignon ; terminated by Rofny in favour of the king. The acquifi- tion of the earldom of Saint Paul : prudent advice given by Rofny to Henry on this occafion. Religious orders eftablifhed in France. SUMMARY OF THE TWENTIETH BOOK. MEMOIRS of the year 1 605. Conclufion of the procefs againfl: the counts of Auvergne and Entragues. Complaifance and weaknefs of Henry IV. for the marchionefs of Verneuil. The Jefuits procure the demolition of the pyramid. Great difpute between Rofny and father Cotton, -on the fuhjeet of the college of Poitiers : defends himfelf againfl the calumnies of his enemies : his reconciliation with father Cotton : he quarrels with the duke d' Epernon and Grillon : their reconciliation. Infl:ances of the fantaflical humour of Grillon. New calumnies againft Rofny, by which he is in danger of being dif- graced. An affeding converfation with Henry, in which they are reconciled : an interefting detail of this whole affair. Other attempts of Rofny 's enemies to ruin him : marriage of his daughter with the duke of Rohan. Henry refufes to give the lieiitena?ice-de-roi of Saint- Jean d'Angely to the duke of Rohan : other favours and gratuities granted and refufed to Rofny by the king. Henry's defign to marry mademoifelle de Melun to the marquis of Cceuvres. SUMMARY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST BOOK. FARTHER memoirs of the year 1605. Details of the finances and of government. Reflétions of the author upon the taille, la gabelle, &c. Debts of France ; difcharged. Flourirtiing flate of the kingdom. Henry IV 's application to the affairs of ftate : his letters to Rofny. Death of Clement VII. Leo XI. owes his exalta- tion to the protedion of Henry : his death. Paul V, Pope. Panegyric of the embaffy of the count of Bethunc. Brief of Paul V. to Rofny : the s U M M A R Y. the edeem in wliich this minifter is held in at Rome. Farther affairs of Spain, Flanders, and England. The kings of France and England diffatisHed with Spain. Affairs of the proteflants : informations given to Henry of their bad defigns : Rofny's opinion of the prefent flate of this body. Indifpofition of Henry. Affembly of the proteftants at Châtel- leraut : the Views of Henry and the huguenots in calling this affem- bly : Rofny fent thither on the part of the king : his public and private inftrudtions : his converfation with queen Margaret. Intrigues of the duke of Bouillon and his party againft Rofny : his wife conduit in the affembly : his bold fpeech at the opening of it : he refufes to be prefi- dent of this affembly. SUMMARY OF THE TWENTY-SECOND BOOK. ' FARTHER memoirs of the year 1605. Continuation of the account of the affembly held at Châtelleraut. New artifices of the duke of Bouillon : his letters to the king and affembly. Imprifon- ment of the Luquiffes. Different advices given to Henry IV". concern- ing the feditious : Rofny's opinion of thefe advices. Rofny difconcerts the fchemes of the protellants at Châtelleraut : he concludes every thing at that affembly to the advantage and fatisfadion of the king. The affairs of the deputies general : that of the cautionary cities, &c. His advice is not regarded in the affair of Orange : difmiffes the affembly j declares the king's pleafure to them ; and returns to give an account of his proceedings to his majefty. Henry's journey to Limofin : Rofny accompanies him thither. Turenne, and the other places belonging to the duke of Bouillon, furrender to the king. His majefty's return. Rofny holds the chamber Les Grands yours. Myrargues, and the two Luquiffes beheaded. Death of Theodore de Beze. Rofny quarrels with the count of Soiffons, on account of fome privileges annexed to the poft of grand mafter of the ordinance : with the duke d'Eper- non, upon account of the city of Rochelle : Henry's reception of the deputies of this city. Rofny's return to Paris : account of his pro- ceedings. Qiieen Margaret arrives at Paris ; her reception from their majefties. Memorial of Rofny upon duels, wherein he explains the origin, and the different cuftoms of duelling. Henrj's blameable in- dulgence in this refpecSt : the good and bad fortune of this prince. SUMMARY ÈÎ U M M A R Y. SUMMARY OF THE TWENTY-THIRD BOOK. MEMOIRS of the year i6o5. Rofny prefents medals to the king. The king and queen confer with Rofny on the fubjedl of their quarrels. Converfation between Henry IV. and Rofny upon politics, in which they concert meafures to humble the houfe of A\x- Itria. Rofny is made duke and peer of France. The expedition to Sedan : intrigus at court upon this occafion. Letters from the duke of Sully to the duke of Bouillons his advice to Henry : difgufled up- on account of the treaty of Sedan : complains of Villeroi. Sully's ad- vice to Henry to feize the fortrefles in the earldom «f Saint-Paul ; tvliich is not liftened to : Henry oifended with him upon account of his entry into Paris. Differences of Paul V. with the Venetians. Henry gives good advice to both parties. The city of Metz has a dif- pute with the Jefuits : new favours granted them by Henry. Adven- ture of father Cotton on the fubjeû of Adrianne De-Frefne. Difputes upon religion ; with the clergy, on the fubjeâ: of the council of Trent; between the catholics and the proteftants of Rochelle. Ceremony of the baptifm of the children of France. Regulations upon the gabelle and the eledions. Other operations and regulations in the finances. Private life of Henry : his amufements : converfation between him and the courtiers. IVlilitary affairs in Spain and Flanders. Refîedions upon this war. Other foreign affairs. Confpiracy againfl the king of England. MEMOIRS MEMOIRS O F SULLY. BOOK XL THE time fettled for the agreement about the marquifate of 1599. Saluces, of which the terms were referred to the pope, had v— ^v-^ lapfed without any decifion by his hohnefs, becaufe the duke of Savoy, who knew better than any other perfon that it could not be favourable for him, had, to * elude the fentence, mad<; ufe of all thofe arts that were generally pradifed in this little court, whofe po- licy it was, when its fafety or advantage was in queftion, to employ cunning, treachery, fubmiffion, and the appearance of the flrongcll attachments. The firft thought that prefented itfelf to the duke of Savoy's mind was, to revoke an agreement which had only been made to gain time, or with a hope that France would embroil itfelf with the holy fee : but as this proceeding feemed too difingenuous, he had recourfe to another artifice to make the pope voluntarily refign the arbitration : he apprifed bis ambaifador at Rome, that he had certain intelligence from France and Italy that Clement VIII. had fufFered * This marquifate was a traniferrablg fief of Dauphine, to which the hcufe of Savoy had no right. Vol. II. B himfelf MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XL himlelf to be gained by the king, on a private condition, that his moft chriftian majefty lliould engage to yield afterwards to the pope himfelf all his claims upon the raarquij.ateof Salu.ces. The ambalTador, who was firft impofed upon by his mafter, explained himfelf in fuch a man- ner upon this coUufion, that his holinefs, who had only accepted of the arbitration for the advantage of both parties, refigned it with in- dignation. The duke of Savoy, who had not doubted but that the pope would aft in this manner, gave the king, however, to underftand, that he would rely entirely upon him, without having recourfe to any foreign arbitration upon the difpute. He thought, by piquing this prince up- on his honour, to obtain that which was the fubjeft of their conteft, which he took care to have reprefented to him, as a thing of fuch fmall value, that it could not merit the attention of fo great a king. And it was with thefe inftruftions that the fieurs de Jacob, de La- Rochette, de LuUins, de Bretons, and de Roncas, the duke of Savoy's agents, came to Paris. With views of this nature the minifter and the confidant of the prince is commonly the perfon whom they begin to engage in their ihtcreft, or (to be plainer) whom they endeavour to corrupt ; and if he fhould not appear very virtuous, do not even conceal from him the defign with which they come, and in their difcourfe make no longer any ufe of that caution which is obferved in a congrefs. Thefe gentlemen therefore told me, that their mafter did not pretend to hold the marquifate of Saluces of his majefty any otherwife than as a meer gift of his munificence ; and at the liime time infinuated to me plainly enough, that this prefcnt would produce from the duke of Sa- voy advantages for me proportionable to the importance of the requefl, and my folicitude to fecure its fuccefs. i would not feem to under- iland thefe iaft words ; and with regard to the firft, I told the agents drily, that fince, as they well knew, no one could beflow upon another what was not immediately in his own polfefiion, it was neceffary the duke of Savoy fliould firll: bei;in by refigning all claim to the mar- quii'ate of Saluces ; and that thcu his majelty, who 1 allured them had no lefs greatnefs of mind than his highnel's, would ufe his power roy- ally. And I very earneftly intreatcd them to addrefs thcmfeives dir- redly to the king : which they did, difcouraged with the manner I fpoke to them. Henry treated them with great civility, but appeared io refolute upon every thing that regarded the ilatc, that after fe- veral Book XI, M E M D I R S O F S U L L Y. 3 veral ufeleis attempts, they laid afidc all thoughts of fucceeding this 1599. Finding all f' ranee, and the court itfelf, filled with malecontents and mutinous perfons, they imagined that by pulliing them on to fome violent refoUition, they might give Henry fufficient employment within his kingdom, to make him lole fight of all that paffed without. The duke of Savoy's prefence appeared to them abfolutely ncceflary to en- gage more clofely thofe lords that liftened to their fuggeftions, and they wrote to him, that his intereft required tliat he fliould take a journey to Paris. This projedt was perfedly fuited to the duke's cha- rad:er * : he confented to it, and ordered them to demand his majefty's leave for that purpofe ; which the king would have denied, if he could have done it with any appearance of reafon. But the duke of Savoy had deprived him of the leaft pretence, by protefting, that he under- took this journey, in order that he might himfelf treat with his ma- jeftyj or rather, that he came to fubmit entirely to the king's will. This declaration he accompanied with fo many complaints againft Spain, that he feemed to be upon the point of coming to an open rupture with that crown ; and that henceforward he would place all his hopes of fecurity on an union with France. He had a fliort time before refufed an advantageous propofal made him by the king of Spain, to fend his fon and his eldeft daughter to the court of Ma- drid, to appear there as princes of the blood-royal of Spain. By this ftep of the duke of Savoy, the pope was fully determined to concern himfelf no further with the affair of Saluces : but nothing could make the king negled: two things, which from the very firfl appeared to him abfolutely neceflary ; namely, to give up no part of that fatisfadlion which was due to him by the duke, and to difcover all his tranfadtions with the malecontents of his court. Among thefe the king always gave maréchal Biron the firft rank. His majefty knew, that during the flay this maréchal made in Gui- enne, he had folicited the nobility of that province to engage in his interefts ; and that at his own table he had had fuch converfations with them, as proved him to be an enemy to the royal authority. All this might have been attributed to the pride and infolence of his difpoli- * It is faid, that this prince, during his " come into this kingdom to reap, but tc refidence at the court of France, one day " fow." let fall the following words, " I am not B 2 tion; 4 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. ■ Book XI. 1 599. tion ; but what gave moft weight to this behaviour was, that his in- O^'x- trigues at the court of Savoy, although carried on with all pofTible caution, came at the fame time to his majefty's knowledge. And the iourncy the king took this year to Blois, had in reality no- other mo- tive than to difconcert the projeds of Biron, and to retain the people in their duty ; but in public, the king talked of it as a party of plea- fure, to pafs the fummer in that agreeable climate, and to eat, he faid, fome of the excellent melons there. His removal from Paris likewife, in the ftate things then were, was a matter of indifference. I ATTENDED his majefty, whofe ftay at Blois produced nothing of confequence enough to be mentioned : he pafled his time there in the employment 1 have already mentioned, and in endeavouring to procure the fo earneflly defired diflblution of his marriage with Margaret of Valois. As long as the duchefs of Beaufort lived, no one was folicitous to prefs Henry to a divorce, either becaufe they apprehended that their endeavours would turn to the advantage of his miilrefs, \yho was uni- verfally hated, or that they did not care to expofe themfelves to the- rage of this woman ; who was always to be feared, even though her defigns fliould not fucceed : but as foon as fhe was dead, there was a general combination of the parliament, all the other bodies, and the people, to folicit him on this fubjeâ:. The procurer-general came to his majelly, and intreated him to give, his fubjeds this fatisfadion. The king, though he was not determined upon his choice, promifed, however, to yield to the defires of his people. I NOW refumed my correfpondence with queen Margaret with more ardour than before : I had taken no pains to remove the obilacle which thisprincefs made, on madam deBeaufort's account, to the confent that was required of her j for I looked upon it as a refource to which, probably, every one muft have applied ; and it was this only that could have reftrained the court of Rome, if the king had fuffered himfelf at laft to be gained by his miftrefs : befides, the compliance I obferved in Margaret aifured me that {ht did not make it a pretence for an abfo- lute-refufal.-- I was confirmed in this opinion by the anfwer flie wrote me from Ufibn, to a letter 1 had jull: fent her, in which I men- tioned the facrifice that was expecled from her, in very refpcdful but in very clear terms, as fuch negotiations require. Margaret, on her ■ fide, to fliew that fhe perfedlly undcrflood what was to be done, ex- plained herfelf abfolutely upon the bill of divorce, annexing to it fuch rcafonable conditions as took away all difiiculty for the future ; fhe only Book XI. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. - only defired a decent penfion might be affigned her, and that her I599" debts might be paid ; appointing a man to conclude this affair, either ' "' ' with the king, or with me, who, 'tliough firmly attached to her, could not be iufpeded : this was Langlois, who had fcrved his majefty fo faithfully in the redudion of the city of Paris, and had been reward- ed for it with the poll of mailer of the requefts. It was noî: eafy to find a man who was more capable of bufinefs : he brought his majefty an anfwer from Margaret * ; for the king thought he likev/ife was under a necefilty of writing to her, which he did with equal goodnels and complailance, but in terms far lefs explicit than I had done. With the letters, Langlois brought a ftate of this princefs's demands, which were immediately granted. To render the thing more firm, Langlois undertook to make her write to the pope in terms that gave his holinefs to underftand, that fhe was far from being conftrained to this aét ; that flie had the fame folicitude for the conclufion of this fair as all France had. D'Ollat, provided wiih a writing of the fame kind, found no more obftacles : he was feconded by Sillery, who en- deavoured to efface the fcandal of his firft commifllon. The holy father ufed no more delays in granting the favour that was demanded of him, than what decency and ceremony required ; and did not fufîer himfelf to be influenced by fuggeftions of envious perfons, a deteftable fort of men who are to be found in every place. He appointed the bifhop of Modena, his nephew and nuncio, to put the finifhing hand to this affair, which could be only done in France; alfociating with him two commifiîoners of that nation, the archbilhop of -f- Aries, and the car- dinal de Joyeufe : the courfe they were to take, was to declare the par- ties free from all engagements, by the nullity of their marriage. While this affair was haflening towards a conclufion, Henry re- turned to Fontainebleau j and giving great part of his time to diver- * See thefe two letters of Henry IV. to reafon of confanguinity, difFerent religion, Margaret de Valois, and of Margaret's to fpiritual affinity, compulfion, and for want Henry, in the New coliedion des lettres of the confcnt of one of t'le parties : for du Henry le Grand. Henry IV. and iVIargaret de Valois were t Horace del Monte, the archbilhop of related in the third degree; the mother of Aries, and F rancis de Joyeufe, the fécond Jane d'Albert, who alfo was called Mar- fon of William de Joyeufe. Thefe three garet, being the filter cf Francis I. See commiffaries having met in the palace of the hiftory and pieces concerning this di- Henry de GonJy, bifhop of Paris, after vorce in Matthieu, tom. II. b. ii. De maturely examining the reafons aliedged on Thou, liv. cxxiii. La Chronologie Sep- both fides, declared the marriage void, by tennaire, ann. 1599. fions. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XL fions, and the pleafures of the table, heard mademoifelle d' Entragues * often mentioned. The courtiers, eager to flatter his inclination for the fiir, fpoke fo advantageoully of the beauty, wit, and fprightlinefs of this young lady, that the king had a délire to fee her, and became im- mediately paffionately enamoured of her. Who could have forefeen the uneafmefs this new pafTion was to give him ! but it was Henry's fate, that the fame weaknefs which obfcured his glory, fliould likewife deftroy the tranquillity of his life. The lady was no novice : although fenfible of the pleafure of be- ing beloved by a great king, yet ambition was her predominant paf- fion ; and (lie flattered herfe'lf fhe might make fo good ufe of her charms, as to oblige her lover to become her hufband. She did not therefore feem in hafte to yield to his defires ; pride, chaftity, and intereft, were employed in their turns ; flie demanded no lefs than one hundred thoufand crowns for the price of her favours. And per- ceiving that fhe had only increafed Henry's paffion, by an obftacle, in my opinion, much more likely to cool it, fince his majefty was ob- liged to fnatch this fum from me by violence, llie no longer defpaired of any thing, and had recourfe to other artifices ; flie alledged the re- ftraint her relations -f- kept her in, and the fear of their refentment. The prince endeavoured to remove all thefe fcruples, but could not fatisfy the lady, who taking a favourable opportunity, at length de- clared, that fhe would never grant him any thing unlefs he would give her a promife, under his hand, to marry her in a year's time. It was not upon her own account, fhe faid (accompanying this ftrange requefl with an air of modefly, with which flie well knew how to enflame the king) that fhe afked for this promife, to her a verbal one had been fufficient, or, indeed, fhe would have required none of any kind, being fenfible that her birth did not allow her to pretend to that ho- * Catherine Henrietta, daughter fo Fran- foundation. If we may believe the mare- cis de Balzac, lord of Entragues, Mar- chal de Baflompierre, in his Memoirs, her coufly, and de Malefherbes, by Mary mother was indeed very condefcending in Touchet, miftrefs to Charles IX. whom this affair ; and it was even (he that drew he married for his fécond wife. The writ- the king to Malefherbes, a houfe where fhe ings of thofe times reprefent her as not fo lived : but her father was not fo comply- beautiful, though younger, than the fair ing, any more than the count d'Auvergne, Gabrielle, and ftill more gay, ambitious, half-brother by the mother to the lady, and enterprizing. This fketch, which cor- They wanted to pick a quarrel with the refponds with what the duke de Sully fays count de Lude, whom Henry IV. employ- here, will be very much confirmed in the ed upon this occafion ; and they carried fequel of thefe Memoirs. the lady to Marcouffis, where the king t This fear was not entirely without ncverthclefs went to fee her. Tom. I. 9 nour. Book XI. .MEMOIRS OF SULLY. nour, but that flie would have occafion for fuch a writing, to ferve as an excule for her fault to her relations ; and obferving that the king flill hefitated, flie had the addrefs to hint, that in reality (he {hould look upon this promife as of very little conlequence, knowing well the king was not to be fummoned to a court of juftice like one of ]iis coinmon fubjeâs. What a flriking example of the tyranny of love ! Henry was not fo dull but that he plainly perceived this girl endeavoured to deceive him : not to mention likewife thofe reafons he had to believe her far from being a veftal, or thofe intrigues againfl the ftate of which her father, mother, her brother, and even herfelf, had been convided, and had drawn upon this family an order to leave Paris, which I had fo lately fignified to them from his majerty ; notwithftanding all this, the king was weak enough to comply with his miftrefs's defires, and promifed to grant her requeft. One morning, when he was preparing to go to the chace, he called me into the gallery at Fontainebleau, and put this lliameful paper into my hands. It is a piece of juftice, which I am fo much the more obliged to do Henry, as the reader mufl: perceive that I do not endea- vour to palliate his faults, to acknowledge that, in the greateft excelTes to which he was hurried by his paflions, he always fubmitted to a can- did confefiion of them, and to confult with thofe perfons whom he knew were moft likely to oppofe his defigns. This is an inftance of reétitude and greatnefs of foul, rarely to be found amongft princes. While I was reading this paper, every word of which was like the ftab of a poignard, Henry fometimes turned afide to conceal his confu- fion, and fometimes endeavoured to gain over his confidant by con- demning and excufing himfelf by turns ; but my thoughts were wholly employed upon the fital writing. The claufe of marrying a miftrefs, provided flie bore him a fon in the fpace of a year (for it was conceived in thefe terms) appeared indeed ridiculous, and plainly of no eftedt ; but nothing could relieve my anxiety, on account of the fliame and contempt the king muft neceilarily incur, by a promife which, fooner or later, would infallibly make a dreadful confufion. I was alfo afraid of the confequences of fuch a ftep in the prefent conjuéture whilft the divorce was depending ; and this thought rendered me filent and mo- tionlefs. Henry, feeing that I returned him the paper coldly, but with a vilible agitation of mind, faid to me, " Come, come, fpeak freely, *' and MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XL [599. " and do not affume all this referve." I could not immediately find — Y— -' words to exprefs my thoughts, nor need I here affign reafons for my perplexity, which may be eafily imagined by thofe who know what it is to be the confidant of a king, on occafions when there is a neceffity of combatting his refolution, which is always abfolute and unaltera- ble. The king again aflured me, that I might fay and do what I pleafed without offending him ; which was buta juft amends, he faid, for having forced from me three hundred thoufand livres. I obliged him to repeat this alfurance feveral times, and even to feal it with a kind of oath ; and then no longer hefitating to difcover my opinion, I took the paper out of the king's hands and tore it to pieces, without faying a word. " How !" faid Henry, aftoniflied at the boldnefs of this adtion, " Morbieu! what do you mean to do ? I think you are mad." I am mad, I acknov/ledge, fire, replied I, and would to God I was the only madman in France. My refolution was taken, and I was prepared to fufter every thing rather than, by a pernicious deference and refpedl, to betray my duty and veracity ; therefore, notwithftand- ing the rage I faw that inilant imprefled on the king's countenance, while he colleâed together out of my hands the torn pieces of the writing, toferve as a model for another, I took advantage of that inter- val to reprefent to him, in a forcible manner, all that the fubjeift may be imagined to fuggeft to me. The king, angry as he was, liflened till I had done fpeaking, but, overcome by his paflion, nothing was capable of altering his refolution ; the only efi:brt he made was not to banifli a confidant too fincere. He went out of the gallery without iaying a fingle word to me, and returned to his clofet, whither he or- dered Lomenie to bring him a flandifli and paper ; he came out again in half a quarter of an hour, which lie had employed in writing a new promife. I was at the foot of the fiaircafe when he defcendled ; he palTed by without fceming to fee me, and went to Maleflierbes to hunt, where he ilaid two days. I WAS of opinion that this incident Hiould put no flop to the afîiiir of the divorce, nor hinder another wife from being Ibught for for the king, but rather that it Ihould haftcn both : his majelly's agents at Rome made therefore the firft overture of a marriage between H&nry and the princefs Mary of Medicis *, daughter to the grand duke " Mary de Medicis, daughter to Fran- rings and jewels. La Chronologie Scptcn- cibgianddukc of 'I'ufcany, by the arrh- nairc, anno 1600, p. 121. and Matthieu, ^ucliels Jane of Auftria, daughter to the toni. II. liv. ii. p. 336, give an account if empeior Ferdinand. She had lor her por- the negotiations of d'Oilkt and de SilJery, iiju ijji hundred thoufand crowns, bcfidcs relating to this marriage. of S Book XI. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. ç of Florence. The kingfuffercd us to proceed in this bufiiicfs, and, by iroo. the force of repeated importunities, even named the conftable, the i>^— .^^ chancellor, Villeroi, and me, to treat with the perfon whom the grand duke fliould fend to Paris. We were refolved not to let the affair fleep. Joannini, the perfon deputed by the grand duke, was no fooner arrived, than the articles were inftantly drawn and figiiej.1 by us all. I WAS pitched upon to communicate this news to the king, who did not expeft the bufinefs would have been concluded fo fuddenly. As foon as I replied to his queftion from whence I came, " We come, " fire, from marrying you," this prince remained a quarter of an hour as if he had been ftruck with a thunderbolt. He afterwards walked up and down his chamber haftily, delivering himfelf up to reflexions, with which his mind was fo violently agitated, that for a long time he could not utter a word. I did not doubt but that all I had reprefented to him had now a proper effedl : At length recovering himfelf like a man who had taken his refolution/' Well !" fiid he, rubbing his hands together, " well, depardieii ! be it fo, there is no remedy : if for the good " of my kingdom I mufl marry, I muft." He acknowledged to me, that the fear of fucceeding no better in his fécond than his firft marriage was the caufe of his irrefolution. Strange caprice of the human mind ! Aprince who had extricated himfelf with glory and fuccefs from a thoufand cruel diffenfions, which war and policy had occafioned, trembled at the very thoughts of domeftic quarrels, and feemed more troubled than when, that very year, upon notice fent from a capuchin of Milan*, an Italian, who had come to Paris with an intention to poignard him, was feized in the midfl: of the court. The marriage, though concluded on, was not folemnized till the following year. Other foreign affairs in this, which remain to be mentioned, are thefe ; the war in the Low Countries, which was vigoroufly begun when the archduke went into thofe provinces ; the king, upon reite- rated complaints from Spain, forbad his fubjeds to bear arms in the fervice of the States, but this was merely for form's fake, pjlicy not permitting him to fuffer the Flemings to be oppreffed. His majeily not only forbore to puniHi thofe who difobeyed thefe orders, but likewife affifted that people privately : the war in Hungary, which I fliall fiy * His name was Frere Honorio. Hen- made him by h's ambaffador at Rone, ry IV. tlianked him himfelf for it, and Matthieu, torn. II. liv. ii. p. 302. caufed fcveral advantageous offers to be Vol. II. C nothing 3 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XI. 599. nothing of, except that the duke of Mercœur aflced and chtahied leave ''y~><^ to ferve in the troops of the emperor Rodolph ; the revolution that happened in Sweden, where the then reigning king and eleded one of Poland * was dethroned by his fubjedts, who put his uncle Charles duke of Sudermania in his place ; and loft all hope of ever being re- ftored by the defeat he received from his rival. With refpeâ: to my own perfonal affairs, this was the moft conll- derable. This year the princefs d'Epinoi -f-, came to me when I was at Blois, to engage my intereft with the king againft the princes of Ligne, who had attempted to ufurp her eftate, and that of her chil- dren. Thefe children were five in number, four of whom, three fons and her eldeft daughter, (he had brought with her ; the youngeft was educated under the care of madam de Roubais, widow of the vifcount de Gand her uncle and mine. The princefs told me, that the neareft relation by the father's fide which her children had in France being myfelf, it was fit I fiiould be their guardian. I accepted willingly of this truft, to procure them juftice ; and had the fatisfaftion at the end of feven years, during which time I took the fame care of thefe children as my own, to reftore to them the pofleflion of all their eftates, which amounted ta a hundred and twenty thouland livres a year. I fliall have occafion hereafter, to take notice of the obligations they received from his majefty. About the fame time the merchants of Tours came to intreat my affiftance in procuring leave for them to eftabliih manufactures of filks, and of gold and filver fluffs, which had not yet been made in France, together with a prohibition for importing any from foreign countries for the future, afluring me that they had fufficient for to fupply the whole kingdom. Before 1 gave them their anfwer, I required time to ex- amine if their report was true ; and being convinced it .was not, I en- deavoured to difiliade them from an enterprife which could not mif- carry with impunity : I could not prevail. Upon my refufal they ad- dreffed thcmfelves diredly to his maiefty. I thought it necefïïiry not to oppofc an cftablifhment, which, if well condudled, might be of great * Sigifmond. This misfortune befcl of Peter de Melun prince d'Epinoi, died him 'or attempting to re-eftablilh the ca- in 1594. Tlie princes de Ligne, of whom tholic religion in Sweden. See, with re- he fpeaks here, are l'Amoral prince de gard to all thefe loreinn affairs, De 'I'hou, Ligne, governor of Artois, that married Je Scjlennaire, and other hiftorians, an. Mary de Melun, who bad the fcigniories of 1599- Roubais, d'Antoing, &c. and his brothers. f Hippalite dc Montmorency, widow ufe. Book XI. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. i; ufe. The king, overcome by their importunity, granted all they 1599. afked ; but fix months were fcarce pafTed, when, for want of having '— — y~^ taken proper meafures, they came to get their commifllons revoked, which had given general difcontent, on account of the inconveniency and increafe of expence to the purchafers, which had been produced by this new regulation *. The king believing the affair of the marquifate of Saluces would not be finillied without ftriking a blow for it, had, for fome time, thought of getting a man to perform the duties of grand mafter of the ordnance, who was capable of acquitting himfelf well of them, and above all of adling by himfelf; this good old d'Eftrées was not able to do : how- ever, his majefty would not take away the port from him for his chil- dren's fake, of whom monfieur d'Eftrees was the grandfather ; but the expedient he hit upon was, that the elder de Born being dcfirous of refigning the pofl: of lieutenant general of the ordnance, I might treat witli him for it, and unite the duties of that employment to thofe of the grand mafter of the ordnance, although I was not inverted with this laft. He even offered, in my fivour, to augment the privileges of the firft, already very confiderable, by railing it into an ofhce, giving it authority over all the lieutenant-generals in the provinces, augment- ing the lalary, and laftly by granting the patents gratis. However, I muft acknowledge, that I was not to be won by thefe offers, and could not relblve to ferve under another, after having been difippointed of the iirfl: place : I therefore excufed myfeif, upon the bufineis I was already charged with, from not complying with the king's intentions. The king was not to be impofed upon by this anfwer, and, after manylbli- citations which I knew how to defend myfeif againil, he left me in an- ger, telling me that he would mention it to me no more, but, that fince I would liflen to nothing but my own caprice, he would take his own way, * The murmurings of the bankers and the methods of manuf.iifturiiig thefe flufTs the public farmers of the revenue, whofc ourfclves of a more beu'irul, finer, or profits the new prohibition had conlidera- cheaper fabric. At this very day a great bly diminifhed, likevvife contributed not a number of foreigners ta.ce them ofF our little to its revocation. Chronologie Sep- hands, and the prohibition is in force onljr tennaire, p. 94. an. 1599. The cafe is the as to Indian ftufis and printed linens ; but fame with regard to thefe fluffs as all the it were to be wifhed that we would be other parts of trafHc. The freedom of mare careful to forbear the ufe of the lat- trade which ftiould fubfift betA-een all the tcr, or rather make in France fuch Uutrs nations of the world, will not give uj, in as would ferve inffead of thefe which are this refpe£l, any advantage over our fo commodious anJ ferviceable. neighbours, farther than we can find out C 2 His 12 M E M O r R S O F S U L L Y. Book XL I -go. His kindnefs forme made him that moment forget this threat. He L — V — J caiifed a propofal to be made to monfieur de Eftiées to refign this em- ploymjent, which, as foon as I was informed of, I offered, by monfieur and madam du Peche, three thoufand crowns to madam de Nery, who governed the old man entirely, to procure his confent ; the mafter of the ordnance being importuned by this woman, told the king that he was willing to accept of an equivalent for his pofl. The king immediately acquainted me with his refolution, adding, that he required nothing of me for the offence I had given him, but to put his artillery into a condition to obtain the marquifate of Saluces for him, which, he was every day more convinced, would not be yielded without force, that is to fay, without a great number of very difficult fieges ; for that is the ufual way of carrying on a war in Savoy. I thanked his majefly, and agreed with d'Eftrees for eighty thoufand crowns; all thei'e petty claims rifing to a confiderable fum more, I was, on this occafion, obliged to take up rents to the value of a hun- dred thoufand crowns from Morand, Vienne, and Villemontée ; and three days afterwards I was folemnly invefled with the dignity * of grand mafler of the ordnance, and took the ufual oath for it. This was the fourth great office with which I was then honoured ; the an- nual produce of it was twenty four thoufand livres. I thought my- felf obliged, in gratitude to his majefty for this lafl inftance of his bounty, to give all my cares to the artillery. I vifited the arfenal, where every thing feemed to me in fuch a milerable condition, that I refolved to take up my refidence there, that I might apply myfelf wholly towards its re-eflablifliment, although this caftle was then very ill built and deftitute of every conveniency. The affairs of the artillery were flill worfe. I began by a reform of the officers of this body, who, not having the flighteft notion of their trade, were, in faéf, only the fervants of the officers of the court of juflice. I cafliiered about five hundred of them at one flroke. Icon- * The king declared it an office of the " cation, efpecially as the importance of crown, and that in favour of M. de Sully. •' the thing itfeif and his own good fenfe Brantôme, in the place where he gives us '• would have it fo, VVitnefs what he the lift of thegrand maftersol the ordnance, " performed in the laft war w ith Savoy, jpekithus, " Since M. de Rofny has had " where, in a fhort time, he gave proof " this charge ot grand mafter, who un- " of very quick difpatch and diligence, by *' doubtcdly does the place fo much ho- " being fooner in the field than he was " nour, the arfenal is in very good order, " cxpeded." Vies des hommes illuftres, " owing to his great capacity and appli- art. i\l. Rojhy,tom. I. p. 227, 22?. feiTcd Book XL M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 13 ferred next with the commiiTaries for faltpctrc, and agreed with them 1599. for a conii'icrable provifion of powder, which I fhewed to the i'cing. <— -v-~— J I treatc 1 iikrwife with the mafters of great iron-works, for iron to make carnages and bombs; with foreign merchants for the metal; and with cart-wrights and carpenters, for the wood- work necefiary for the defigns I had formed. His majefly came to vifit his arfenal himfelf, fifteen daws after I was fettled there ; and thefe vifits became afterwards one of his chief amufements : he took pleafure in feeing all the pre- parations that were making there, and the extreme diligence with which I applied myfelf to them. That diligence indeed was no more than neceffary in the prefent pofture of affairs in Savoy, the detail of which, and that of the war they produced, will make up the fubjeét of thefe Memoirs for all the following year. It was at the end of this, that the duke of Savoy left his own dominions to come into France with thofe intentions I have already mentioned, but they were too well known to produce thofe effeds he had promifed himfelf from his artifices. The refledtions which the paft condud of this prince, together with that of his agents, and a knowledge of his charader gave' rife to, were far from being favourable to him. There was likewife fomething flill more certain againfl: him : Lefdiguieres had fent advice to his majefty, that the duke was fortifying his caftles and towns with great care, efpecially thofe of BrefiTe, and furnifhing them with ammunition and provifions. It waâ known, by means of the count de Carces and the fieur du PafTage, th^t he had flrongly folicited the court of Madrid, and prefled the pope, to procure a fécond reference of the affair ; reprefenting to him, that it was the interefl of all Italy not to fuffer that his moft chriftian majefty rtiould poffefs any thing beyond the Alps. The French refidents at Florence fent advice, that the duke's purpofe, by coming into France, was to circumvent the king ; who, on his fide, was perfuaded, that it was M. de Savoy himfelf that would be the dupe, not only of him, but of the king of Spain and other princes of Italy ; for thefe lafl: were at no pains to conceal their diflike of the duke of Savoy's ambitious and reftlefs fpirit : and the king of Spain had not forgot the public com- plaints he made, that while they gave the Low Countries and Franche Compté, of more value than the two Cafliles and Portugal, as a por- tion for one of their infantas, the other, whom he had married, had nothing but a crucifix and an image of the Virgin Mary. Many other indecent failles of the like nature, followed by reciprocal complaints, had abfolutely ruined their former good correfoondence. 8 ' The j^ M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XL 1 rng. The event proved the juftnefs of thofe obfervations which the let- L-— v-^-^ ter the king fiiewed me from Lefdiguieres occafioned ; but in public he fliewed no refentment at what he had learned of the duke's proceed- ings; he even ordered me to fpare no expence to give him, at Lyons, fuch reception as is due to foreign fovereigns. This prince, I believe, had no caufe to complain of me upon this account : but meffieurs the counts of Saint- John * did not adt in the fame manner ; they denied him certain honours which the dukes of Savoy claimed in the affem- bly of canons as counts of Villars. It was at Fontainebleau and at Paris where the fliew was moil magnificent. The -f- duke of Savoy, en his part, appeared with fplendor fuitable to his rank. Three days after his arrival at Paris, the king, who was defirous of fhewing him the new regulations in the arfenal, fent me notice that he would come and fup there with the duke and chief lords and ladies of his court. The duke of Savoy came io long before, that I could not impute fuch extraordinary hafte to mere accident. He de- fired to fee the magazines ; which was not what I wanted ; I was afliamed of the poverty of the old magazines, and therefore carried him into the new work-houfes. Twenty cannons lately caft, and as many more in a readinefs for it, forty completely mounied, and feveral other works which he faw carrying on with great diligence, furprifed him fo much, that he could not help afking me what 1 meant by all thefe preparations? Sir, replied L f'wili'ig, to take Montmelian, The duke, without giving any indications that this reply had a little difconcerted him, with an air of gaiety and freedom afked me if I had ever been there; and upon my anfwering him in the negative, " Truly, I thought *' (o, faid he, or you would not have talked of taking it ; Mcntme- " lian is impregnable." 1 anfwered in the fame tone, that I would rot advile him to oblige the king to make the attempt, becaufe I was * It w?s by order of the king, accord- fler, and giving him rank in the church iiig to F. Matthieu, vol. II. b. li. p. 323. among the canons. that the canons tf L>ons retufed the duke ■[ Not'v ithiianding this magnificent re- ef Savoy the place of honorary canon in ccption, ihc duke of Savoy, after the fiift their cathedral, which they had granted conference he had with Henry IV. became to the former duke his father, and that for fenfible that he was not liable to obtain his a very obvious rcafon, the hcufe cf Savoy demand. " I have delivered my mtfl'ag'?, having fince that ' me loll poflcffion of the " fays he, and may now go whenever I earldom of Villars. This ceremony con- " will." Mattluui fur le Vo}age de ce filled in prcftiuing f ime facred veilments prince en France, loin. il. li' to the duke at the entrance of llie cloy- very Book XI. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. very certain Montmelian would, in that cafe, lofe the title of im- pregnable. These words gave our converf\tion immediately a very ferious turn. The duke of Savoy taking occafion to mention the affairs that had brought him into France, had already, in a polite manner, begun to make me fenfible that he knew I v/as not in his interefl, when we were interrupted by the arrival of his majefty : and afterwards no- thing was thought of but pleafure. Flowever, that fame night com- miffioners were named for examining the occafion of the contefl: : the conftable, the chancellor, maréchal Biron, Meiffe, Villeroi, and myfelf, were appointed for the king ; and for the duke of Savoy, Belly his chancellor, the marquifs de Lui lin, the fieurs de Jacob, the count de Morette, the chevalier de Bretons, and des AUymes. The duke of Savoy had already brought over the greater part of 1600. our commilfioners to his intereÛs: he gained them completely at laft^ «-*--v-<- by the liberal gifts which he beftowed both on them and the whole court * at the new year. But I was the perfon that gave him mofh trouble ; for every time, when the queftion was debated amongft the commiffioners, I conftantly held firm to this determination, either that a reftitution fliould be made to his majefty of the marquifate of Salu- ées, or that Breffe, and all the border of the Rhône from Geneva to Lyons, fliould be given him in exchange. But for the apparent in- civility of fuch a proceeding, they would have folicited my exclufioa from their meetings : therefore they had again recourfe to an attempt to gain me, which they refolved to do at any price whatfoever. On the 5th of January, des Allymes -f came to make me the ufual compliments, in the name of his highnefs : he intreated me, * The duke fent the king two large diTpenfed with. The duke of Savoy play- bafons and two cryftal vafes, as a new- ing at primero with Henry, on a bett of year's gift. " In return of which, the king 4000 piifoles, the king negleded his play, " gave the duke a crotchet of diamonds, fuppofing that he had already won the *' where, among others, was one with his game: but the duke, who had it in his " majefty'spidture: it was a very fine piece, own iiand, contented himfelf with {hewing " and the duke had a great value for it : he the cards to the dukes of Guife and D'Au- *' made prefents to all who came to com- bigné, who were prcfent, and then fhufHc-d '* pliment him." Chronologie Septen. ann. them together. It is D'Aubione that re- 1600. It was faid that he had gamed over lates this circumftance of the duke's "encr the duchefs of Beaufort to his intereft. So roiiiy or policy. rhat if this lady had not died, it is probable f René de Lucinge des Allymes, am- the reftitution of Saluces might have been baliador from Savoy tu the court of France. vvitli x6 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XI. .1600. with great politenefs, to attend to his mailer's reafons ; that is, in plain vyW-' terms, to approve of them ; for at the fame time that he made me this requeft, he prefented me with his highnefs's pidture, in a box en- riched with diamonds of fifteen or twenty thoufand crowns value. To aflift me in making a compofition with my confcience, he told me, that this picture came from a daughter of France ; and while he per- ceived me bufy in admiring the brilliants, added, that it was given me by a prince whofe attachment to the king was equal to his friend- ihip for me. I ftill kept the pidure in my hand, and allied Des AUymes what were the propofals he had to make me ? He, who thought the decifive moment was now come, immediately difplayed his whole flock of eloquence ; and for want of good reafons, endea- voured to prove the advantage that was to be gained by the pretended rupture of his mafler with Spain, who offered to affift the king in conquering Naples, Milan, and the empire itfelf. All this cofl him nothing ; and to hear him, one would have thought that he had been able to difpofe abfolutely of thefe dominions ; for which he added, that he did not doubt but the king would yield willingly to the duke a paltry marquifate. I COULD keep filence no longer. I told Des Allymes, that if the king demanded the marquifate of Saluces to be reftored to him, it was not on account of its value, fince that was very inconfiderable ; but that he could not in honour fufFer the crown to be difmembered of one of its antient domains, and which had been ufurped at a time when the duke of Savoy, having received the highefl obligations from Henry III. at his return from Poland, ought in gratitude to have abflained from it. I thanked the deputy for his obliging cxpreffions . in my favour ; and to pay his compliments with others, aflurcd him, that when the duke of Savoy had made an abfolute reflitution of Sa- luces, I would not forget to ufe my intereft with his majefty, to en- gage him to procure thofe opulent kingdoms for the duke which he had offered to the king, and which would be much more convenient for him than his majefty. Saying this, I opened the box, and after praifing the workmanfhip and the materials, I told Des Allymes, that the great value of the prefent was the only reafon hindered me from accepting it; but that if he would allow me to return the box and the diamonds, I would keep the pidure with great pleafurc, in remem- brance of a prince fo obliging. Accordingly, I feparated the box and diamonds from the pidure, when Des, Allymes telling me, that it did not -Book XI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. not belong to him to make any alterations in his mafter's prefcnts, I intreated him to take back all together. And he left me in dcipair of ever being to engage me in his mafter's intereft^ and appeared but littlu fatisfied with my behaviour. All that remained now to be done was to exclude me from their meetings. Upon his majefty's refufing to gratify them in this requefl, the duke of Savoy took it in his head to délire, that the patriarch * of Conitantinople might affift at thefe meetings in the name of the pope; which the king agreed to, not thinking of the artifice concealed under this propofition. The next day, the king having an inclinadon to play at tennis, appointed the affembly to be kept at the conftable's houfe, bécaufe he could conveniently make his party when he went from thence, after he had feen the conference begun : but before he left us, he exhorted all the commifiioners to have a ftriél regard to juftice ; and whifpering me in particular, " Take care of every thing, faid he, " and do not fuffer them to impofe upon me." Upon the king's departure, I found, that inftead of taking their feats, they divided into parties, two and three together, and the nun- cio fometimes conferring with one fet, fometimes with, another, not fufFering the bulinefs to be entered upon regularly ; and, above all, carefully avoiding to fay any thing to me. At length, Eellievre told me, that the good patriarch could not fubdue his fcruples about con- ferring with an huguenot ; and intreated me, in the name of the af- fembly, to abfent myfelf, fince nothing could be done while I was prefent. I inflantly comprehended the caufe of this behaviour ; and bowing profoundly low, withdrew, intending to go and give the king an account of what had palled. I met him in the gallery, where he had flopped to fpeak to Bellengreville : he allied me, witli Ibme lur- prife, if all was over already ? and upon my acquainting him with the truth of the matter, he fell into a great rage, and ordered me to return to the commilTioners, and tell them, that if there was any perlbn amongll them to whom my prefence was difpleafing, it was his bufi- nefs to withdraw, not mine. I difturbed a little the joy of the af- lembly, by repeating this new order of the king's. The meafures they took were, to wafte the hours in feeking for expedients, till din- ner-time approached ; and then they deferred entering upon the que- * Father Bonaventure de Cjlatagirone, general of the Cordeliers, and the pope's nuncio. Vol. II. D fljon i8 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XI. 1600. ftion till the afternoon. But notwithftanding all their endeavours with ' v~— ' his majefty, I continued ftill in the number of the commiffioners, and the nuncio v. as obliged to vanquifh his reludlance. Bretons and Roncas turned themfelves on every fide, to avoid yielding to a reflitution of the marquifate ; they offered to do homage for it to his majefty, and if that was not ftiffic ent, to hold Brefie upon the lame conditions. I eafily rendered all thefe propofals ineffedtual, and got it unanimoully declared, to give the duke of Savoy this alter- native, either to refign Saluces to the king, or, in its place, the county of Brcfle as far as the river of Dain, the Vicarlhip of Barcelonette, the valley of Sture, that of Peroufe, and Pignerol ; in which cafe, all the towns and fortreffes taken on both fides were to be reftored *. The duke of Savoy expedted a quite different condudl from the commilfioners ; but the truth is, they durft not openly oppofe a deter- mination which they knew to be the king's : all the refource they had left was, to join with the courtiers in fupporting the interefts of the duke of Savoy ; and were continually reprefenting to the king, that he ought not to a6l too ligoroufly with a prince, whofe alliance he might purchafe at a very inconfiderable price, and would be much more advantageous than a fief of no value, and which would be very difficult to preferve. The alternative they offered the duke of Savoy afforded them a pretence for granting him fix months to come to a refolution : he defired eighteen ; and I maintained, there was no ne- ceffity for any delay. I went to his majefty to acquaint him with this refolution, which was taken in fpite of me, and reprefented to him the great inconveniency of giving the duke of Savoy fo long a time to renew his correfpondences, and to prepare for war. Henry, preju- diced by the difcourfe of the courtiers on the necelTity of granting a delay to the duke of Savoy, afked me how it was poffible to do other- wife ? " By granting the duke of Savoy, faid I, an honourable efcort " of fifteen thouland foot, two thoufand horfe, and twenty cannon, " to conduâ: him to Montmelian, or what other place he Ihall chule • A kind of agreement was concluded feizcd, and by that means obi ged to pcr- upon this plan between the comniifTaries, form his part of the articles. But this pro- which it was much fufpefled the duke of pofal Wjs rejuSed by the king. See the Savoy would not obfcrve, becaufe of the particulars ot the negotiation, and of the dcLiys he defired : wheieupon, as Le Grain duke's rtfidtnce at P.itis, in M. DcThou, relates it, a certain perfon propofed to and Le Septeniiaire, an. 1599, i6co," Henry, that tli« duke of Savoy (houlJ be to Book XI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. " to go to, and there oblige him to explain himfelf upon the alterna- •' tive that has been propofed to him." The king did not approve of my advice, his word was given to the contrary : I was truly grieved at it ; for I have been always firmly perfuaded, that, but for this com- pliance, his majefty might have avoided a war, and have received com- plete {Iitisfadlion. All I could obtain was, that three months fhould be taken from the fix that had been agreed upon. The duke of Çavoy, finding that his majefty, who was weary of the continual folicitations that were made him on this fubjedt, would no longer anfwer otherwile than in thefe few words, I am rejohcd to have my jnarquifate, fet out a little time after for Chambery, where, till the expiration of the time prefcribed, which was in the month of June, he employed himfelf in preparations for his defence. He would have had no occafion for them, if the plot of a woman, named Nicole Mig- non, had fucceeded. She had undertaken to poifon the king *, and thought to have engaged the count of Soiffons, who, on all occafions, made known his difcontent, in her defign ; but he conceived fo great an horror at it, that he difcovered her immediately : flie confeffed her crime, and was burnt. Nothing remarkable happened during thefe three months, except the difpute between meflieurs Du Perron and Du Pleffis. Towards the latter end of the laft year, appeared a book -j- of Du Pleflis upon the eucharift, which was looked upon, by the proteftant party, to be a mafter-piece, and which 1 fent immediately to the bifhop of Evreux, • By procuring her hufband to be ad- dercd in her fenfes. Chronologie Septen- mitted into the number of the icing's cooks, naire, anno i6co. by the intertftoi the count cJeSoiffjnSjftew- \ This book is intitled, Inftruftions ard of the houfhold. She was well known delà fainte euchariflie, and attacks the to all the princes of the blood, and to Hen- mafs by pretended arguments draw n fro.n ry, himfelf at St. Denis, where flie kept the fathers. As foon as it appeared in pub- one of the principal inns during the war. lie, many catholic divuies exclaimed The count of Soill'ons, to whom ihe had againft the falihood of a gieat number of hinted, that it would be his own fault if the quotations it contained. This obliged he was not one of the greattft:; princes in Du Pleffis to offer a kind of challen!?:e, the world, fufpedting that this woman which thofe doétors prevailed upon thebi- had f..me bad del'ign, caufed Lumenie to fhop of Evreux to accept. After lèverai conceal himftlf in a cloftt, which gave letters and Ifeps t— — v/— -j who were deafened with the noife of their own fire. I appointed La Vallée*, lieutenant of the ordnance in Brittany, and other officers, to watch over and encourage my men in this uncommon method of car- riage. It rained fo violently, that La Vallée and the reft of the officers left their poft to go to fupper, and the foldiers their cannon, when they were got about half way. This was what I had expedted ; and, having taken that road, I met them in their retreat, and gave them a fevere reprimand, threatning them that they (hould have no pay for three month-s, and brought them all back that inftant to their tafk, which they refumed, and the cannon again began to move. J did not quit them till I faw them out of danger, which did not happen without receiving fome check : their delay at length occalioned their being dif- ■covered, and fix were killed and eight wounded. I GOT back to my quarters while it was yet dark, foaked through ■with the rain, and fo difguifed with dirt, that I was not to be known, but full of joy that my fix pieces of cannon were out of danger, though not yet upon the top of the rocks. I llept an hour, and Wakfafted, and returning to my work, met La Vallée, who, not knowing what I had done, began to value himfelf upon the performance of the night. The reproaches I loaded him with, while I contradided what he faid, ought to have covered him with confufion ; but he was the moft undaunted lyar I ever knew. " What ! you have been there " then," faid he, without the fmalleft difcompofure. " Well, I fin- " cerely confefs I am a fool." " You are fo, indeed," replied I, " and fomething worfe, but avoid fuch a behaviour for the future, " and repair your fault." It was not doubted, but the befieged would endeavour to make themfelves amends for their being furprifed; which did not hinder the cannon, by the mere force of my men's labour, without any affiftance from the horfes, from being placed upon the rock at nine o clock, where, during that time, I had made provifion of gabions, planks, and every thing that was necefi'ary to make plat- forms there. But, when the gabions came to be filled, no earth was to be found within half a league of the place : all that could be got in this ftubborn ground was ftony, and could not be ufed for making port-holes and * Michael de La Vallée Piquemouche, governor of Compcr. Vol, II. F plat- 34 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XÏ. 1600. platforms, without running the danger of laming all who were em- — -v~— ' ployed in the work. The officers, for want of this ufual defence, fteing themfelves expofed to the whole fire of the place, came, in great conflernation, toacquaint me with the condition they were in. 1 told them, without any appearance of emodon, that they fhould begin di- redly the palillide, which I had ordered them to eredt along the bor- ders of the rocks, making it very high and thick to deprive the enemies, at leaft of the fight of the cannon, which otherwife, they would be able to difmount ; and this was performed immediately, thefe moun- tains being almofl all covered with wood. To fupply the reft, I or- dered the carpenters, and pioniers of the army, to cut down two hundred large beech trees, which were cleaved into billets, fome round to fill up the gabions, others fquare, to make a fecure lodgment for the fix pieces of cannon ; and the better to conceal their lail fituation from the enemy, to which the branches of the palifade greatly con- tributed, I contrived, that there fliould be on each fide feveral open- ings filled with bafkets of earth ; upon which the enemy made a con- tinual fire, without knowing at what part of the palifado the artillery was placed, till the moment when we were prepared to difmount the- battery of the fort, and throw down the palifade by which our can- non had been concealed. At two o'clock in the afternoon, this work was completed ; and about an hour afterward his majefty came to vifit it, and embracing me, afiîired me of the fatisfadion it gave him. He faw no obftacle that Ihould hinder us from beginning to batter the. place. I reprefented to him, that it was ftill necefiary to delude the befieged till night : this prince fubmitted to my opinion, but the count, of SoilTons, d'Epernon, La Guiche, and Villeroi, who followed him, making obfervations that his cannon was pointed againfi a rock, on, which it would be ufelefs to lofe more time, Henry came to me and faid, that he would have them fire, that inftant, fome voUies upon the. oppofite ravelin : again I contefted this point with him, and perhaps with rather too much heat ; for it gave me great uneafinefs to lee a. work, that had cofi: me fo much labour, likely to be ruined by too much precipitation. My refifiance put Henry into a pafiion, and he again, and in a very abfolute manner, commanded me to obey him, even adding, that 1 forgot he was the mafter. " Yes, fire," replied I immediately, *' you are the mafter, and fiiall be obeyed, though at " the expence of ruining every thing." 1 caufed the palifade to be thrown down, and gave orders that they {hould fire, but I would not be a witnefs of it, and withdrew in great difcontent. As the guns were Book XT. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 35 were not aimed, every body took upon thcni to dired: them according i6oo. to his own mind, but no one hit the right place. After a hundred in- u-— /— — ; efFeilual difcharges, the king fent La-Gueflc for me, to complain to me of the faults of my batteries. J replied, that I intreatcd his ma- jefty would excufe me, for it being now funfet, it was no longer time to undertake any thing. His majcfty ordered the firing to ccafe, and every one withdrawing, I came and lay in the midft of my batteries, which I caufed to be completed during the remainder of the night, notwithftanding the rain that fell in great abundance. The beficged, on their (ide, laboured as hard, and were not without fome apprehen- fions that they (liould find the place, to which they gave the moft attention, defcftive : I judged fo by the fires and candles which I favi^ lighted up in the fort, and contented myfelf with interrupting their fecurity, by firing fome difcharges from time to time. At the break of day, there arofe fo thick a fog, that^ at fix o'clock, the fort could not be feen : this unlucky accident gave me great uneafinefs, becaufe all my batteries were ready ; and I had boafted over night, that Î v/ould take Charbonnières the next day. I fancied, however, that the agitation of the air, occafioned by the cannon, might pofiibly difperfe the fog, and I caufed fome voilies to be fired. Either by chance, or by a natural effed:, that which I had jeftingly propofed, Succeeded almoft beyond my hopes. No fooner had the reil of the artillery anfwered the cannon from the top of the mountain, than the fog wholly difappeared. The befiegcd had been all night employed in ereding a battery of four pieces oi cannon over- againfl; my fix, which the imprudence committed the day before had difcovered to them, and which, at that inftant, they endeavoured to difmount. I found that there was no time to be given them, and caufed a piece to be pointed diredly oppofite to their port-holes, which ren- dered two of their four cannons ufelefs, killed one gunner, and wounded two others : but this did not happen till after their difcharge had killed, oji our fide, fix gunners and two pioniers, and at length made our pieces ufelefs, till they were diflodged from thence. The king ran thither, upon the noife, at nine o'clock, and ordered his dinner to be brought to a place which I had contrived in fuch a manner, that he might fee every thing that pafled without danger. This was an enclofure made with the largefl trees, laid at their length one upon another, in the form of a rampart. I fhewed his majefty the bodies of thofethat had been jufl killed, and made him fenfible, that F 2 this 36 M E M p I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XL 1600, this was the confequence of the bad counfel that was followed the day V/VN^ before. I did not fay this without defign, perceiving that the fame perfons continued flill to find fault with my work, and to prejudice his majefty againft me. I did not fuffer myfelf to be at all difcompofed with their obfervations, and told them haughtily, that, not having yet eat any thing, though I had laboured hard all night, I would leave the place free to any of them that were defirous of playing the grand maf- ter of the ordnance, but that, at my return, if they did not permit me to order my batteries as I pleafed, 1 would abandon them entirely. My table, as grand mailer, confifted of forty covers, and was placed under a kind of half arch, formed by nature in the rock, and hung, with ivy. The king fent me a large trout pye, which was fent him. from Geneva. My dinner was foon over, and I went again to intreat his majefty that he would fuffer me to perform the duties of my em- ployment alone, and renewed my promifes that I would make him mafter of Charbonnières that day. The king replied, that he would be contented if it was taken in three days: upon which La Guefle. faid, that, if he was in the place, he fliould know how to hinder it from being taken in a month. Go there then, faid I to them ail, fa- tigued with their impertinence, and if I do not hang you all to-day„ let me pafs for a boafter. The king then withdrew into his enclofure, and delivered me from the importunate prefence of his courtiers for three hours, which he pafled in waiting for his dinner, at table, and in furveying the park of artillery. At the end of this time, I faw him come back with the count of Soiflbns, to whom he faid loud enough for me to hear, " This " place will not be taken to-day." The count anfwered, with gi eat. complailance. That his majcfly, who had more knowledge of war than any perfon whatfoever, ought to make ufe of his authority to force me to obey, inftead of wafting time in battering a rock, which could not be hurt by the cannon. I had my revenge that inftant. The. king came juft at the time that the enemy beat a parley, and the lieu- tenant of the place came out to treat with me. I intreated his majefty to have no part in the capitulation ; and I told the lieutenant that he might go back again, for I would have the garrifon furrender at dif- cretion. The lieutenant returned with a perfonatcd boldnefs, faying that there were ftill two hundred men in the fort that were able to hold it out eight days longer. Henry withdrew, leaving Lefdigueres and Villeroi with me, who perfuaded me to accept of the conditions offered by the befieged. Lefdigueres even carried me towards the fort, to Book XI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. to (liew me that the enemies were not reduced to extremity. I top- ped him when we came within two or three hundred paces of the curtain, telling him, that it would be raflincfs to expofe himiclt tothe mouth of the cannon of the fort j and I withdrew to a rock a hundred paces diftant, which ferved me as a flielter, while thefe gentlemen very unfeafonably rallied me for my caution : but they foon changed their tone when a terrible fire obliged them to follow me. The lieutenant of the fort returned a fécond time, but with propo- fals little different from the former. I fent him back without hearing him : upon which Villeroi faid. That, if the city failed of being taken that day, he could not difpenfe with himfelf from acquainting the king that it was owing wholly to me. I pretended not to hear him : and, fending the befieged my laft refolutions in writing, ordered, the artil- lery again to play : the fécond difcharge fet fire to the powder of the befieged, and killed twenty or twenty-five of their men, and fix or feven women; at the third, the little ravelin fell down entirely, and they could no longer bring any afliftance to the breach, becaufe the cannon, fweeping along a low path that led to it, at every fire deftroyed feme of their bell foldiers. This made them refolve to beat a parley once more, which I pretended not to hear, although Ifaw their drum- mer carried up in the air at the heighth of twelve feet, by a cannon ball which entered the ground where he flood, but did him no other hurt. The befieged then held up a pike, with a flag faftened to the top, crying out that they furrendered, and implored us to ceafe firing. Yet the artillery continued to play, till the enemies, holding out their hands over the breach to our foldiers, I was afraid fome French would be killed amongfl them. I then mounted my horle and entered the city on full gallop. It was lawful to treat it as one carried by affault ; but that heart mufl be wholly impenetrable to compaflion, that could not be foftened by a fight fo truly pitiable as now prefented itfelf : it was the women, the wounded and fcorched by the fire, who came and threw themfelves at my feet. I never in any other place beheld the fex fo lovely as in this city, nor fo finifhed a beauty as one in particular who came to implore my mercy : inflead of executing my threat, to hang all the inhabitants, I gave the fame conditions I had offered at firfl, and caufed the garrifon to be conduded to a place of fecurity which I had appointed for them. Notwithstanding this fuccefs with Charbonnières, I flill found great oppofition in the council to my propofal of attacking the caflle of 38 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XI. 1600. of Montmelian. The debate ran very high : " Take care what you — -V*— ' " do," iliid his majeily to me, carried away by the great number that diiapproved of the attempt, *' for if we are obliged to raife the fiege, " every one will exclaim againft you, and I pofhbly fliali be aniongft " the firft." They were not fenfible at that time what a ftjcng train of artilkry, well condudled, was able to do at a fiege : what had happen- ed at Charbonnières had To confirmed me in my opinion on that head, that I did not fcruple to engage that I would carry Montmelian in ûve weeks, as 1 had already promifed in a former council : I ftipulated only for one condition, which his majefty could not deny me, becaufe he had accepted it, without its being named, and this was, that he ihould not be prefent at the fiege. I forefaw that it would be very bloody. I produced a plan of the city, and of the attack ; und every one agreeing that I iliould make the attempt, I laid fiege to the caftle of Montmelian. This caflle is fituated on a rock almofl: as hard as that of Charbon- nières, and fo high, that it commands the whole country about it: fliecp and inacceflîble on all fides except that next the city, where the afcent is lefs difficult, but on which, to make amends, there runs a ditch, cut in the rock itfelf, and which muft have been done with infinite labour with the point of a fharp chifTel ; befides which, there were three baf- tions, that could neither be fapped nor undermined, their foundations being of rock itfelf, almofl; impenetrable, and above a toife and a half deep. The country is flrev/ed with feveral mountains, but fome are fo diflant, that they appeared to be abfolutely out of the reach of can- non, and the rocks that are neareft are fo fteep and pointed at the top, and fo rugged and bare, that far from being pofTible to carry up and make ufe of cannon, it is difîicult to believe that a man could climb up. The caftle was then provided with thirty pieces of cannon, with powder for eight thoufand vollies at leafl, a proportionable garrifon, and ammunition in great abundance. The firft thought that occurred to my mind, and fupported it againft obftacles in appearance unfurmountable, was, that however folid and continued the rock feem.ed to be, upon which, or rather in which, the baftions were raifed, it was not pofTible tiiat it ihould be all of equal hardnefs ; and if one part of it only was ever fo little weaker than the reft, the artillery I had would fecure me the means of opening a paf- fage through it. In order to be convinced, I began to open the trenches before the baftion called Mauvoifin ; for otherwife it would have been 4 impofîîble Book XL MEMOIRS OF SULLY. impoflîblc to have approached near enough to difcern whether this whole mafs was an entire rock, cut with a chificl; but tiie rock which ' we found even with the ground hindered us, from carrying on the ti'enches. I WAS obliged to have reeourfe to artifice ; and one very dark night caufed a hut to be built with clay, and thatched over, very near this baftion, and fo low that it could not be thrown down by the cannon : it was fliot through and through with the fmall arms as foon as the day difcovered it to the befieged ; but it was not overturned, and none of our men were in it. I luffered the enemy to difcharge their rage for fome days upon this hut, till of themfelves they fhould ceafe to fire ; which at length tliey did, fuppofing it had been built there to make them fpend their powder in vain. When I found the befiegcd neg- leded it, I entered it in the night, taking no other arms with me but a buckler, with which, upon occafion, I could entirely cover my body againft the fire. From this hut I carefully examined the whole ba- ftion ; I perceived there a light at the bottom, from whence I concluded that it was hollow, and that it was not an entire rock which could be cut into fo deep. Without doubt the befieged were then making fome repairs there. The day beginning to appear, I perceived likewife that the flank was uncovered} and this was proof that it was not a foiid rock that formed either; and that this flank prefented itfelf naked, and eafy to be pierced with the cannon. I was now fatisfied, and had no other care but how to get out fafely, which in broad day could not be done without difficulty, the hut not being above a hundred paces di- ftant from the parapet, which was lined with foldiers, and I had above two hundred to go before I could fhelter myfelf I feized that mo- ment when the guards being relieved the foldiers began to be carelefs, and leaving my buckler in the hut, I began to run as faftas i was able; four centinels perceiving me, cried out, and fired upon me at the fame time ; their mufquet-fliot whiflled about my ears and covered me with gravel and flint ftones, but did not wound me; before the other fol-- diers were ready, I had gained the neareft lodgmeut. on the fide of the Ifere, where they might be carried up more eafily by the help of fteps cut by the hands of men ; but having obferved, on the oppofite fide of the water, another eminence which faced the cita- del, and which had this advantage, that from thence might be fcen the road that led to the wells of the caflle, and to the magazine, the en- trance. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XI trance of the donjon, and the guard-houfe : I preferred this laft, and confidered upon the means to carry up fix pieces of cannon. This eminence was perpendicularly fteep on ail fides but one, and even on this fide of the afcent was a league about : but this was not the greateft difficulty ; to plant them there we mull: level rocks of fuch hardnefs, that moil of the officers thought the enterprize ridiculous. The enemies were not of the fame opinion : as foon as they found that we had undertaken to make a lodgment upon the edge of the rock, they pointed fix pieces of cannon there likewife, and made a continual fire : the firft volley was (hot one day when 1 was giving direftions about the works, with my ftaff of command in my hand, drefled in a green coat laced with gold, and a plume of green and white feathers upon my head. I obferved that this fliot had pafled a good deal above my head, and that which followed it as much below : perceiving that they were going to fire a third time, I faid to Lefine, Maignan, and Feugeres, that this would be between both, and that, without doubt, the befieged having perceived me would take an exadt aim. I retired two or three fteps behind a flielving part of the rock, from whence I held my pike in one hand fixed in the place where I had flood myfelf ; one ball threw down the pike, the others killed three pioniers and' two gunners, and broke fome glafix-s and bottles that had iDeen brought for a refrefhment, and were placed in a hole of the rock. This accident was related to his majefty, as an inftance of railinefs in me ; and he wrote to me immediately, that my perfon being llill more necefi!ary to him for the bufinefs of the ftate than war, he delired that I would not a6l like a meer foldier of fortune, who had a reputation to raife ; and that he would recal me, if I difobeyed this command. Henry could not refift the defire he had to fee the difpofition of this fiege, and wrote to me a fécond time, defiring I would difpenfe with the promife he had given me to the contrary, afiliring me, that he would go to thofe places only that I rtiould appoint, and with no other attendants than the count of Solfions, D'Epernon, Bellegarde, and me. I entreated him at leaft to difguife himfclf in an ordinary cloak ; and, above all, to fhun, at the expcnce of going half a league about, a cer- tain field, ftrewed over with flint ftones, oppofite to which the befieged kept a party of thirty or forty Ibldiers continually, armed with mufquets ; and ten or twelve pieces of cannon were pointed there, becaufe they knew that our men pafiTed every moment through this field, to go to the Book XI. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 41 the new battery raifed upon the rock. I did not doubt but that he 1600. would have complied with this requeft ; but when he was upon the <— — v— --J fpot, he could not rcfolve to ufe this precaution ; and my intreaties be- ing ineffcdual, we marclied all five in a file. Some niufquet-fliot that we were expofed to at firil made two or three of the company look pale ; but it was much worfe when we entered the field ; there was at once lb terrible a difcharge of the heavy cannon and fmall-fliot, that we faw ourfelves in a moment all covered with earth, and our fkin fcratched with a iliower of thofe little flint-ftones. Henry making the fign of the crofs, " It is now, faid I, that I acknowledge you to be a " good catholic." " Let us go, faid he, this is a bad place." We doubled our pace, efteeming it a fingular piece of good fortune that none of us were killed, or at leaft lamed. No one thought of return- ing the fame way, but took the road from the mountains, where I caufed horfes to be brought for the company. The king was a little afliamed of his unnecefiary raflinefs, which was the caufe, that fome days afterwards, when I fent him notice that all my batteries were finiflied, his majefly, who was then returned to the Tarantaife, having an inclination to fee them, ordered me to make a truce for fome hours with the governor. The king's curiofity being fatisfied, I was feized with an inclination to exert the prerogative of a grand mailer exercifing his office in the royal prefeuce ; but as this could not be done without a difcharge of the artillery, -which would have been confidered as an infraftion of the truce, which was not yet expired, to induce the befieged to break it I ordered fome commifTaries to fend certain ammunitions to the battery upon the rock, which they had an occafion for theie. The enemy, who had not loft any part of their fiercenefs, and probably repented of having granted the truce, cried out that it was violated, and that they were going to fire. Accordingly, they fired twelve or fifteen cannon-fliot. I had given m.y men orders, in cafe this happened, to hold themfelves in readinefs to anfvver them immediately by a geneial difcharge. This was the firft, and afforded matter for ferious refletlion to the befieged, when they faw their tower battered by fifty cannon : they were the firft to demand a continuation of the truce ; efpecially when a fécond difcharge fucceeded fo rapidly. From that moment they began to alter their opinion, that the citadel was impregnable, and privately fought cut ways to procure an honourable compoiition. Vol.. II. G Two 4z M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XL loco Two women were by. chance the firft movers * of this accommo- \.,.,^^^-Lj dation. Madam de; Brandis,' wife to the governor of Montmelian, and then with him it} the caftle, amufed herfelf with making Uttle glafs toys and piece's of chair-v/prk. My wife being then in the city, Ihe fent her a pair of ear-rings and two chains of exquifite workmanfliip. Madam de Rofny, in return, fent her wine and venifon, and defired to" know if it was not poiîïble for them to fee each other: they ob- tained permifiion for it, and paiTed three afternoons together with fuch familiarity, that at length they began to confider how Montmeliaii might be furrendered with honour. They acquainted their hufbands with the fubjed; of their converfitions, who were fo far from oppofing them, that they were authorifed to go on, each concealing from the other that fh,e acfied by permiffion. Madam de Brandis had an in- difpoiltion that made the country air necefTary for her. Her hufhand thought he could procure this favour through the interpofition of my Vvife ; and flie made fo reafonable a reprefentation to him of the con- dition to which he would be foon reduced, without being able to obtain honourable terms afterwards, that he confented to treat with me, and fent me a deputation for that purpofe. I difpatched notice of it to the king, who propofed it to his council ; and it was there re- folved, that a month fliould be granted to the governor, after which, if he was not relieved, the place fliould be furrendered. I was very fure that it could not hold out fo long, and that it was relying too much upon the doubtful fincerity of an enemy to grant fuch condi- tions. I gave my opinion freely, but it was to no purpofe to oppofc a refolution in which envy had as great a fliare as fear. The king did not begin to repent of having followed the counfels of maréchal Biron and d'Epernon rather than mine, till, a little while before the expiration of the time granted to the befieged, a report was fpread, that an army of twenty-five thoufand men was coming over the Alps to their affillance. The king acquainted me with the perplexity into which this news threw him : he was determined to meet the enemies and fight them ; but he v,'as fenfible of the danger he ran, in leaving behind him fuch a fortrefs as Montmelian. He afked me if by fome means or other there vi'as not a pofTibility of putting him in pofTeflion of it before that time. Difficult as it appeared, it was neverthelefs- atcompliflied, and in this manner. • The hillorian who has given us the Life of the duke d' Epernon, afcribes to him the honour of taking Montmelian. Ever BûoR XI. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 43 Ever fince the fufpenfion of arms, the count of Brandis fuffered all 1600. Grangers to enter his caftle who brought provifions and ncceffaries '■ r—^ which the wounded, and even madam de Brandis herfelf, had occafion for. As there was only one gate to enter by, the crowd was often fo great that fome blows palled between them ; for which the governor could not chaftife them, becaufe there were a great many Frenchmen amongft them, and therefore intreated me to apply a remedy to this inconvenience : and I now believed that I had found the opportunity I fought for. 1 placed a guard of fifty chofen men at the gate of the caftle, commanded by officers, who, being informed of my defign, ac- cuftomed the guards of the caftle to fee them enter it at firft three or four only in number, afterwards more, till at length, the garrifon not daring any longer either to hinder or fire upon them, they found themfelves almoft mafters of the caftle itfelf, without giving them any afliftance ; but, on the contrary, inftead of leftening the diforder, thefe French did all they could to increafe it. Brandis imputed all to the licentioufnefs of the foldiers, arid com- plained to me of it. I told him, that he might fall upon all thofe ftrangers, whom I fuppofed to be country people. He replied, that he would have done fo, but for the great number of my foldiers that were amongft them ; and that rather than do them any violence, al- though without any intention to break the conditions, he chofe to con- fide to me the care of putting an end to the diforder. I feemed to yield to this expedient (which was what I moft ardently wiflied) only to reftore order and quiet, and told the governor, that I could eafily accomplifti it, if I had a guard within equal to that without : he con- fented to it, and I caufed fifty foldiers to enter; but thefe were not all, thirty had got in before, and a m.uch greater number had flipt in with them ; I came thither myfelf likewife, with all my train : and from that time our party was fo ftrong, that the fort and part of the tower was at our difpoial. Brandies then found the fault he had committed, but could repair it no otherwife than by fliewing himfelf ftill more generous. He came to me and told me, that he confented I ftiould take pofîèftîon of the tower, and that he remitted it wholly upon the fecurity of my word. I refolved not to abufe his confidence, and faithfully obferved all the articles. I fupped and lay in the tower that night ; and the next day after that in which 1 had received this commiffion from the king, X G 2 went MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XL went to tell him, that without any fears from Montmelian, he might march to meet his enemies; which he did in good order, and at the head of his army; but the information he had received was found ta be faife. The garrifon of Montmehan marched oat after the month wa» flnpfed, and yielded the place to his majefty, who commanded me to ietde Crequy there with his company. The garrifon v/as reinforced, and provided with great plenty of ammunition of all kinds. I would have perfuaded the king to have difmantled this place, as it muft un- doubtedly be reftored to the duke of Savoy in cafe of a peace ; and to have done the fame by all the other conquered fortreHes : but the ad- vice of the courtiers, who all feemed to ^be in the pay of the duke, faved Montmelian from a treatment that good policy required. The myftery of this condufl with regard to Montmelian, as well as many other things, was explained two years afterwards, by the difr covery of fome letters of maréchal Biron in cyphers : he told the duke of Savoy, to whom they were addreffed, that he had obtained a month for the garrifon of Montmelian, to give him time to raife the fjege : that he had nothing to expeâ: from his friends, unlefs he made an effort to fave this place, which could hold out three months longer ; and affured him, that the redudion of it would give him great concern. In the letter he wrote to this prince after the caftle was taken, he tells him, that his negligence in fuccouring it had filenced the French lords in his party, who would have declared againft the king, if, by advancing to join them, he had put it in their power to do fo with fafety. Notwithftanding the caution he obferved in not writ- ing their names, they were all fo well defcribed that it was not diffi- cult to know them. The filence I keep with regard to thefe names, is only in favour of fome whom the public perhaps has not ufpeded. Montmelian was not yet furrendered, when it was known in the French army that cardinal Aldobrandin, the pope's nephew and legate, was on his way to come and treat with his majefty concerning a peace and his marriage. The king having appointed me to go and receive his eminence with all imaginable honours, I advanced to meet him with a body of 3000 foot, and 500 troopers, all fpruce fellows. It was not difficult for him to perceive that it was the grand mafter of the ordnance who waited for him, by the manner in which he was re- ceived at his approach to Montmelian. The truce affording me an pp- portunity Book XL MEMOIRS OF SULLY. portunity to make ufe of the artillery of the'place as if it had been my i5oc own. Upon this occafion I joined them together, to pay him the ',XV"^ greater honour : the %nal was given by a white flag raifed on the battery of the Yock : mine began after a great fire of the fmall-fliot, and was anfwered by that of the caftle, in fuch a manner, that both having time to load again, this double difcharge of an hundred and feventy cannons, performedwith the utmoft regularity, and multiplied by the echoes formed amidft the mountains, had the noblefl effedl imagin- able, though not in the legate's opinion, I believe, who was more frightened than foothed, by an honour fo magnificently dreadful, believ- ing all the mountains about him were going to fall down, and had fe- veral times recourfe to the fign of the crofs. I CARRIED the cardinal to dinner at Notre Dame de Miens, and forewarned him of two things relating to the bufinefs he mentioned to me ; one was, that he fliould give no credit to any of thofe perfons who would make a boaft to him of their intereft with his majefty ; the other, that if they promifed him to get all the places taken from the duke of Savoy to be reftored without being demoliflied, he fliould believe them ftill lefs, for he might be affured this would never hap- pen. After this caution, I refigned him freely to thofe fent by his majefty to fetch him, and continued my hoftiiities, by befieging the citadels of Bourg and fort Saint-Catherine. The latter was attacked before the other, at the intreaty of the city of Geneva, whom the king was glad of an opportunity to ob- lige. Upon our arrival at this fort, which is fituated on a rifing ground, in an open field, of which it feems to be the centre, maréchal Biron, who by chance was near me, afked me to go that inltant, on horfeback as we were, and reconnoitre the place with him. I told him that we ,were too gayly drefled, and had too many plumes on, to exatfiine it in open day : for the maréchal was mounted on a white horfe, and wore a large plume of feathers of the fame colour. " No' no, faid he, " you need not be under any apprehenfion : morbieu ! they will not " dare to fire upon us." " Let us go then, replied I, if you will, for " if it rains upon me it will fprinkle upon you." Accordingly, we came within two hundred paces of the fort, and obferved it a long time, while they only fired twelve or fifteen vollies of fmall-fhot, and I be- lieve in the air, although we were about twenty horlej which furprifed me greatly. " Certainly, fir, faid I to the maréchal, there is no one " within, or they are aileep, or afraid of us." The king could with difficulty 45 46 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XI. 1600. difficulty believe this, becaufe being there himfelf the day before, t/"Y">-^ with fix horfe only, they fired repeated vollies at his approach ; and when I returned the next morning at the break of day, on foot, and with no other company than Erard and Feugeres, I vvas received with fo great a noife of the artillery, that the king fent Montefpan thither, believing it was a fally. " Whom are thefe fellows aiming at ?" faid Montefpan to me, finding no-body in fight. " At me, I believe, re- " plied I, but I have feen all that I wanted to fee." However, I gueffed foon after the reafon of that refpedl which they fhewed maré- chal Biron. I perceived that the flank of the baftions of Saint-Cathe- rine were lo bad that great part of them had fallen down, and that the ditch was in no better a condition. I alTured his majefty, that as foon as the trenches were carried to the extremity of the ditch the place would furrender. In etfed;, the befieged, who were likev/ife in want of every thing, demanded to capitulate, if they were not fuc- coured in fix days. After I had opened the trench, I defired leave from the king t» make a tour to Geneva : I arrived there the next day, with an hun- dred horfe, and came very feaibnably to relieve this city from the ter- rors which the prefence of a great number of catholics within their vvalls occafioned. Mcflieurs de Guife, d' Elbeuf, d' Epernon, de Bi- ron, de la Guiche, and many others, were there, with their feveral followers. I affured them, that his majefty had their intereft at heart, and that I would not leave them while thofe gentlemen con- tinued amongft them : but the remembrance of the late perfecutions was yet too recent in the minds of the citizens ; they could not be fatisfied till I hs.d removed the occafion of their fears ; which I did that evening by fpeaking to thofe gentlemen, Vv-ho all left Ge- neva thg next day. The city deputed twelve of their chief citizens, with Bcza, tlieir miniftcr, at their head, to compliment his majeftyi and to endeavour to obtain a requell; that they kept very fecret ; this was, the demolition of fort Saint-Catherine, which they were moft ardently defirous of. Beza delivered himfelf like a man of fenfe, and one who knew how to praife with delicacy ; congratulating the pro- teftants upon the happincfs which the reign of fo good a prince pro- mifcd them. Henry thanked the deputies and the city, offering to beftow upon it any of his conqueflis which fl:iould be moll convenient for it ; aiid preventing their requeft, told them in a low voice, that they flinuld have the plenfure to be maflers of the fate of fort Saint- Catherine ; and that he gave them his word, in my prefence (for he H held Eooit Xr. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 47 held me by the hand at the fame time) that no intreaties whatfoever 1600. flioald hinder him from razing it. Upon which the deputies withdrew^ ^--'v^— extremely well pleafed. His majefty, at cardinal Aldobrandin's requeft, confented that the conferences on the fubjedl of a peace fliould be held at Lyons, and named the cardinal Da-Perron, the conftable, the chancellor, Viileroi^ and Jeannin, to treat with the legate : they had yet cgme to no agree- ment, when the future queen * arrived in that city. As foon as the king was informed of it he quitted his quarters, and fet out in very rainy weather, riding poft, with great part of the lords of his court. It was twelve o'clock at night when we got to the bridge of Lyons, and waited there a full hour, wet through with the rain, and al'moft periflied with cold, before they would open the gate ; for his majerty, that he might have the pleafure of furprizing the queen, would not lufFer himfclf to be named. They had not yet fcen each other. The marriage ceremony was performed without any pomp. We attended * This princefs left Florence on the 17th of Oâober, having embarked at Leg- horn, and, with an efcort of feventeen galleys, landed at Toulon, from whence ihe came by the way of Marfeilles and Avignon to Lyons, where the king arrived poft on the gth of November, As foon as he alighted (I take the fallowing account •from the moft authentic Memoirs of thofe times) the queen happened to be at fupper ; and having a defire to fee her at table with- out being difcovered, he went in as far as the drawing-room, which was very much crowded ; but he was known the moment he appeared by thofe neareft the door, who opened to make way for him : upoji which, his majefty went away dhefily, without going farther. The queen, in the mean time, Vk'as well aware of all this, but ftill gave no other figns than by putting the plates away as often as fhe was ferved with any thing, and eat fo little, that fhe feem- ed to have fat down rather for form's fake than to fup. After the tablé was removed, fhe returned immediately to her chamber. The king, who waited only for this, came to her chamber door, and ordering M. le Grand to go before, he knocked fo hard, that the queen thought it muft be the king : upon this flie ftept forward ?t the very inftant that JVl. le Grand entered the room, who was followed by his ma- jelly, at whofc feet flie immediately threw herfeir. The king raifed her up, em- braced her with great tcndernefs, and all" that was polite, paffionafe, and refpectful, pafTed on both fides. After the fitA com- pliments were over, the king took her hand, and led her to the fire-place, where he continued talking with her above half an hour; he afterwards went to fupper, but eat very fparingly. Li the mean time, he bid madam de Nemours tell the queen, that he had not provided himlelf with a bed, expeding (lie would give him part of hers, which from that time was to be in common between them. Madam de Ne- mours carrying this meiTage to the queen, fhe returned for anfwer, That fhe had come thither only to obey his majefty as the humbleft of his fervants. Upon this, the king undrefi'. d, and went diredly to the queen's chamber, who by this time was in bed. Chronologie Septennaire, an. 1600. where alfo may be feen the particulars of the queen's journey, and her reception in the towns of France, Sec. De Thou,- liv, 125. Matthieu, torn. n. p. 378. the. ^g M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XT. 1600. the king at fupper, who afterwards difmiffed us to refrefli ourfelves *— -Y— -^ likevvife ; and he retired to the queen's apartment. H I s majefty's arrival only increafed the warmth with which they con- tefted the articles of the peace : the plenipotentiaries were almoft all in the duke of Savoy's intereft, and glad of an opportunity to make their court to the legate; which was the caufe that Henry thought it neceflâry to make them give an account of their negotiation, and feverely blamed the commiîlioners for ha^.-ing exceeded the power that was given them. Bellievre and Villeroi had promiled the legate, that none of the fortreffes that had been taken fliould be demoUŒed, but efpecially Saint-Cathe- rine, for which the legate particularly folicited, as being the beft, and even the only bulwark the duke of Savoy had againfi: the republic of Geneva. Henry made them fenfible, that their precipitation in fub- fcribing to an article of this importance without confulting him, had given him fome fufpicion of them ; and added, that in a few days he \\ ould acquaint them with his intentions upon that head. Then fend- ing for me, he told me, that the fliorteft way to prevent the folicita- tion which he expeded from the legate, would be to blow up the five baftions of the fort, and to fend word to the citizens of Geneva to come and complete the demolition of it. No order was ever more expeditioufly nor more effedually executed. The Genevois, in one riio^ht, laid this citadel even with the ground, and carried away all the materials fo carefully, that the next day it could with dithculty have been believed that there ever had been a fort in the place ; and at firfT: the report ran, that it was deftroyed by lightning. When the truth was known, the legate exprefled great refentment at it, and did not fcruple to confefs, in the heat of his paffion, that I was the only perfon who had not deceived him with flattering hopes on this head, and that he had not fufficiently attended to my admonitions. But his having, upon the faith of the commiffioncrs, given very different cxpedations to the pope, was what he was chiefly concerned at. For three or four days the negotiation was intirely broke off; and when it was afterwards refumed, it was with fo much animofity on his eminence's part, that he rejedted all the propofitions that were made him. Thefe propofitions were, That the duke of Savoy fliould yield to the king the coui fe of the river Rhone and its borders : That he Ihould not ercd any fort within a league of it to favour the Spaniards paflage : That he fliould leave to the republic of Geneva the enjoyment of certain villages fpecified Fronuer of likcwifc : That Béche-Dauphin fhould be dcmoliflied, Chatcau-Dau- Dauphloô. pjjjn Book XI. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 49 phin reftored : and laftly, that the duke fliould pay an hundred and 1600. fifty thoufiind crowns for the expences of the war. »-.— v— — ' The king looking upon this affair as wholly impraticable, through the obftinacy of the legate, refolved to carry on the war more vigoroufly than before, and communicated his defign to me, which was, to go in fearch of the duke of Savoy at the head of his army; while I, with tile artillery, battered the citadel of Bourg. Each of us had particular obftacles to this double projedl, hefides the want of money, which was common to both. I found the enterprife on Bourg very difficult to be executed, the feafon being now fo far advanced : the difference between this caftle and that of Montmelian, with which I think it may be com- pared, is this, that for thofe that have only ten or twelve pieces of can- non, Montmelian is equivalent to ten fuch places as Bourg, becaufe that the redudion of Montmelian depends upon having artillery fufficient to batter the out-works ; but for an army fixty cannon ftrong, the cita- del of Montmelian is not more difficult to carry than that of Bourg ; becaufe this laft being more regular than the other, it can only be at- tacked methodically and by flow degrees. Had the counfel I gave, to attack this fort immediately after the furrender of Montmelian, been followed, it would have been now in the king's poffeflion. With regard to this prince, his perplexity was occailoned by his knowing in what manner the greateft part of his general officers con- fpired with Spain and the duke of Savoy againft him : he had great reafon to be apprchenllve of engaging himfelf in the enemy's country, if they were with him : Lefdiguieres was the only one on whom he could depend ; he had lately given an inftance of his fidelity, in fend- ing notice by Calignon, that the duke of Bouillon made ufe of a man named Ondevous to carry on his correfpondence with the great lords of the kingdom. It is certain, that if Calignon had been more dili- gent to acquit himfelf of his commiffion, Ondevous would not have had time to efcape as he did, and his detention might have laid open all the fchemes of the feditious ; but there is no appearance that this happened through the fault of Lefdiguieres. I advifed the king to rely entirely upon him, and to bind him ftill clofer to his fervice, by ma- king him a maréchal of France, and governor of Piedmont. As for the reft, it was eafy to prevent the confequences of their ill intentions, by giving them employments at a diftance from the body of the army. Vol. IL H But 5^ ME\TOIRS OF SULLY. Book XI. 1600. But the affair that appeared mofi: preffing to us both, being to -—V"-—' procure a fiipply of money, it was refolved that I fnould let out for Paris in four days : and that I might be enabled to pafs fix entire weeks there, I employed thefe four days in making all the neceffary prepara- tions for the attack of Bourg, in paying the foldiers out of what little money remained, and in providing for the ordinary as well as extra- ordinary expences of the king's houflîold. The very next day I fent away my wife and my equipages before me, with direcflions to wait for me at Rouanne, where I propofed, as foon as I arrived, to fend them down the Loire as far as Orleans : they waited there for me three or four days longer, becaufe that my meafures were broke by the al- terations that happened in the affair of the peace. When I went to take leave of the king, he advifed me to vifit the legate alfo before I fet out, he having always exprelTed great efteem for me. I went to vilit him booted, my poft-horles waiting for me on the other fide of the river, oppofite to his lodgings. He afked me where I was going in that equipage .■' " To Italy, replied I, and I fhall " go with good company to kifs the pope's foot." " How 1 to *' Italy," faid he, in great amazement : " no, that mufl not be, fir ; " I beg you will alTifl me to renew this peace." 1 feemed to confent, in refped only to his mediation, the king having laid afide all thoughts of it. I repeated, in a few words, all the principal articles that had been already propofed, and afterwards afked him if he would give credit to what I was going to fay to him ? Having allured me he would, I told him, that he might be abfolutely certain, that of thefe articles, his majefly would abate none of his demands with regard to the borders of Rhone, the villages in the neighbourhood of Geneva, Chateau-Dauphin, and Beche-Dauphin ; becaufe that I was well ac- quainted with the king's intentions in all thefe refpeé1:s. He defired to know my reafbns : which I excufed myfelf from telling him, on ac- count of the fhort time I had to flay. After walking, thoughtfully, feveral times backwards and forwards in hi? chamber, he afked me if, with the fame prctellation of fincerity, I would allure him, that, pro- vided he agreed to all thefe points, there fliould be no mention made of the other. I told him, that I believed I might prpmife this. Upon which, he entreated me to go and acquaint the king with what he had laid. Henry was glad to fee me come back : and I returned a moment afterwards to the legate with full powers fiom his majefty. And we concluded Book XL MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 51 concluded * that iiiftant a treaty which had languidied fo long a time; 1600. the conditions of which were as follows. 1 — -v—.» The duke of Savoy, in exchange for the marquifate of Saluces, which the king of France gave up, was to make a ccffion to his majefty of the foi trèfles of Cental, Monts, and Roquefparvierc, all Breffe entirely, the borders and country of the Rhone on both fides as far as Lyons, except the bridge of Grezin, and feme pafTages necef- fary for his highnefs to enter Franche-Comtc ; but he was not by this ceflion to acquire a right to raife any tribute from thefe places, or to build any fort there, or to ferry troops over, but by the king's permilTion, and on condition that for this privilege of pafTing the bridge of Grezin the duke fliouid pay France one hundred thoufand crowns : That he fhould likewife refign to his majefty the citadel of Bourg, thebailiwic of Getx, Chateau-Dauphin and its dependencies, with all that could be comprehended in the province of Dauphinc on this fide the Alps : That he fliould likewife renounce the property of Aus, Choufy, Vally, Pont d'Arley, Seiifel, Chana, and Pierre-Chatel, to the borders of Ge- neva : That the fortifications of Beche-Dauphin fliould be rafed : That the king fhould on his fide reftore all the other places he had taken that are not fpecified here, withdrawing the artillery and ammunition that were then placed there. The other articles related to criminals and prifoners of war that had fled on either fide, church benefices, exchange of efi:ates between private perfons, &c. It was articled for the duke of Nemours, part of whofe eftate lay in this country, that he fhould not be difturbed in the pofiefiion of it, neither for the part which held of the king, nor for that which held of his highnefs. The other claufes common to all treaties I fliall not mention. Notwithstanding this treaty was figned by me for the king, by the legate for the pope, and the duke of Savoy's agents, yet the duke, influenced by the count of Fuentes, put ofl^fo long the entire conclu- fion of it, by his complaints and delays, that the king thought it ne- ceflary not to lay down his arms : he took pofl to Paris -f, where he waited for the duke's determinations. * M. De Thou, Matthieu, and La " one night poft from Lyons, in order Chron. Sept. agree with this account, ib. " to return to Paris ; and embarking at an. 1601. See alfo the treaty in the Mem. " Rouanne he landed at Bnare ; from de Nevers, torn. IL p. 775, &c. " whence he c.ime to lye at Fontaine- t " He departed, fays Baffompierrc, " bleau, and next day dined at Ville- H 2 In. 2 M E M O î R S O F S U L L Y. Book XI. [6co. In cafe there fliould be a neceffity for his returning into Savoy, he -~v— — ^ had certain meafures to take for the affairs within his kingdom, and in Paris efpecially, at a time when every place was filled with ill-in- tentioned perlons. He left the conftable and Lefdiguieres, till his re- turn, with fome good troops upon that frontier ; and Villeroi and two or three other commiffioners at Lyons, to conclude the bufinefs of the peace. But his majefly found no occafion to return into thefe provinces. The duke of Savoy, after having long amufed himfelf with expeda- tions from the difaffeded French lords, gave place to more prudent thoughts ; and refleding on what he had already loft by his obftlnacy, he thought himfelf very happy to accept the treaty in the form already mentioned ; accordingly the laft formalities were added, and the peace was publiflied at Paris and Turin with the ufual ceremonies : how- ever, the articles were not executed without many difficulties being raifed by the duke of Savoy, which detained Villeroi at Lyons part of the following year : it was not till then that every thing was entirely agreed to ; and Spain, who had taken great interefl in the affi\ir, even advifed the duke of Savoy to comply with the articles of the treaty. On all thefe occafions Henry paid great deference to the pope. He granted all the delays which the duke of Savoy, by count Odtavio Taflbne, engaged the legate to demand ; which was contrary to Ville- roi's advice : but his majefty having in reality obtained all that he could demand, thought he ought not to obferve too rigoroufly the manner it was yielded to him, nor hazard, for fuch a trifîe, a renewal of the war. This produced as many advantages to the king as any war ended in a (ingle campaign could poflibly do. His majefty declared, that Brefle fliould not be comprehended in the diftrift of Lyons, but that it fliould be re-united to Burgundy, and be under the jurifdidion of the court of aides of Paris. The queen did no*t fet out immediately after for Paris. She had brought with her her uncle Don John, a baftard of the family of Medicis, *' neuve; and crofling the Seine below " having rode poft with fixty frefli horfes, " the Tailleries, came in the evening to " came and carried her to Fontainebleau, " Verneuil (afterwards Senlis.) We con- " where after flaying five or fix days, (he " tinued three days at Verneuil, and tlien " arrived at Paris, and w:is accommodated " came to Paris. — At length the queen " with apartments at the houfe of Gondy." " arrived at Nemours ; and the king, Mem. de Baflbmpicrrc, torn. I. i>. 89, 90. Virgilius Book XI. MEMOIRS OF S U L^X, Y 53 Virgilius Uifinus hercoufin, who being brought up, v/Iiile young, witli . 1600, her had conceived hopes above his condition. Many more Itallaiii of botii ^— — > — fèxes were in her train ; amongft otliers, a young man named Conchini, and a girl called Leonora Galiga'i, who afterwjrds played a great part in France. I went to Paris eight days before the queen, to make pre- parations for the ceremony of her entry *, which was performed with great magnificence. The next day, the king brought the queen and the whole court to the arfenal to dine with me ; the queen was at- tended by ail her Italian ladies, who being pleafed with the wine of Arbois, drank more of it than was neceffary. I had fome excellent white wine that was as clear as rock water : I ordered fome decanters to be filled with it, and when the ladies ailced for water to temper the burgundy, they were prefented with this liquor. The king fuf- peded by their gaiety that 1 had played them a trick. This winter was wholly taken up with parties of pleafure, on account of the king's marriage. In Flanders, this year, the war broke out with great violence; prince Maurice of Orange gained a battle in the month of May againft the arch-duke Albert, in which the -f- admiral of Caftile, the man oa whom he chiefly depended, was taken prifoner. He afterwards laid liege to Nieuport, but was obliged to raife it. All I fliall fay of the war between the Emperor and the Grand Signior in Hungary, is, that the duke of Mercoeur was made lieutenant-general there by his im- perial majefty. I fupprefs a detail of the grandeur and magnificence * It does not appear that this princefs t This was the battle of Nieuport, that was complimented with the ceremony of was fought in the month of July, wherein a public entry into Paris. The citizens, the Spaniards loft 8000 men. The prince fays the Chronologie Septennaire, would of Orange was nevcrthelefs obliged to raife have prepared a very magnificent one for the fiege of Nieuport and retire to Holland, her, and addrefied the king for that pur- The greateft part of thefe foreign tranfac- pofe, but his majefty chofe rather that the tions are neither fully nor exadly related in expence of the entry fhould be laid out on our Memoirs ; and I therefore think it un- other things that were more neceflary. neceflary to give an account of them in the It afterwards adds : Upon her arrival at notes, but rather refer the reader to the the poftern-gate of the fuburb St. Marcel, Memoirs and Hiltories of that time. In like the marquis de Rofny caufed all the cannon manner confult the general and particular of the arfenal to be fired three times. She accounts of the military expeditions between was carried in a litter along the moats of the armies of the emperor and the Grand the city, and that day lodged at the fuburb Signior, which are mentioned here. St. Germain, at Gondy's houfe, and the J It was faid, that 300,000 P'rench, next at Zamet's, and after that at the men and women, went to Rome, to ob- Louvre. Ibid. tain the indulgence of the 'jubilee ; con- this MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XI. this year with an incident that afforded matter for much ferious re- fledlion upon duels : Breauté having * killed his adverfary in a very uncommon combat, v^^as afterwards affaffinated himfelf. ceming which, fee the ceremonies in La Septennaire, an. 1600, and other Memoirs of that time. * Charles de Breauté, a French gentle- man of Caux, captain of a troop of horfe in the fervice of the States ; his antagonift was a Flemifh foldier, lieutenant of a com- pany under the governor of Boifleduc, with whom he fought a fingular kind of combat, of twenty French againft the fame number of Flemifti ; he had the advantage in tha firfl encounter, in which he killed his an- tagonift, but was made prifoner in the fé- cond, and put to death by order of the governor of Boifleduc. He was one, fays the author of the Chronologie Septennaire, that eagerly fought after occafions of duel- ling, for which reafon he had been obliged to quit the court of France, MEMOIRS MEMOIRS O F SULLY. BOOK XIL IN the foregoing book I finifhed the laft military narration that will 1601. be found in thefe Memoirs, in which at leaft France was con- ' -r — cerned. The life of Henry the great, hitherto wholly paffed amidft the tumult of arms, will in the fequel exhibit only the actions of a pacific king, and the father of a family. The manner in which the campaign in Savoy had been conduced and terminated, leaving no room to fear that the peace would be again infringed by thefe an- tient enemies of the monarchy, or that it would not fubfift as long as his majefty pleafed, I refumed, by his orders, and under his infpedion, thofe fchemes with regard to the finances that the war had fufpended, and were now to meet with no more interruption. After the repre- fentation I have already given of the ftate of affairs within the kingdom, it would be injurious to confider the life which the prince and m3'felf now embraced as idle and inadlive : if it is lefs noify and tumultuous, it is probably more laborious. Behold me therefore again fliut up in my clofet, where I applied myfelf with the utmoft attention to the examination of all the abufes that flill remained to be rooted out of the chamber MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XII chamber of accounts * ; the offices of the finances, the crown lands, the aids, the fubfidies, the equivalents, the five large farms, the tenths, and all the reft. I laboured at once for the prefent and the future, by taking fuch meafures, that the method I eftablifhed in the diredtion of every part of the finances fliould not be afterwards fubjedl to any alterations. I confidered of means to enrich the king without impo- verifliing his fubjefts, to pay his debts, repair his palaces ; and ftrove, with ftill more affiduity, to complete the art of fortifying his cities, than that of attacking and defending them ; and to make provifion of arms and ammunition. I extended my cares to the repairing and re- newing public works, fuch as roads; bridges, keys of rivers, and other buildings, which reflect no lefs honour upon the fovereign than the fplendor of his own palaces, and are of general utility : for which pur- pofe I began to look into the application that had been made of the money granted for thofe ufes to the cities and corporations, or rather into the frauds that had been ufed in the management of thefe funds. The fcheme of drawing up an account of every part of the finances, under the title of a general ftate, which fliould lay down their nature uniformly and clearly, feemed always fo happy a thought, and fo pro- per to bring them to the utmoft exadlnefs, that wherever this method was pradicable I made ufe of it. On the firft day of this year, when 1 prefented to the king the gold and filver medals, as ufual, I gave him at the fame time five of thefe general fiâtes, each of which re- lated to one or other of my employments, bound up in one volume very neatly. In the firft, which was of the greateft importance, becaufe I there gave an account of all that concerned myfelf as fuperintendant, was fet down on one fide, all the money that was raifed in France by the king from every tax whatever j on the otlier, all that was to be deduded for the charge of colledion, and confequently all that was to be brought clear into his majefty's coffers. I cannot perfuade my- felf that this method was never thought of by any one fince the finances were fubjeci: to fome regulation ; but intereft alone prevented tlie execution of it. However that may be, I fliall always infift upon it, that without this guide there is no proceeding without miftakes or roguery. The fécond of thefe dates was drawn up merely for the ufe of the keeper of the royal treafury ; here was fet down, whence and upon * As to thefe icformatiojis, confult likcwife Matthieu, torn. II. liv. iii. p. 444. what Book XII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. what account he received all the king's money that pafTed through his hands during the year of his office, and how much he was at li- berty to difburfe out of the whole fum, and for what purpofes. The third was compiled for the ufe of the mafter of the ordnance, contain- ing an exadl account of money received and expended ; with a true inventory of all that relates to the artillery ; the number and forts of cannon, and of other arms, the quantity of inrtruments of war, and provifions of vi6tual,laid up in different places, ormagazines; the rtate of the arfenals and fortified places, and other obfervations of the fame fort. The fourth related to the chief furveyor of the roads, and gave an account of all the money diiburfed or to be dilhurfed for the repair of every thing under his charge, v/hether it was to be done at the expence of the king or of the provinces. And, to conclude, the fifth contained a catalogue of cities and cafiles, particularly thole on the frontiers, that required any money to be laid out upon them ; with a kind of rough draught of the works neceflary at each place, formed with due regard to their natural fituation and prefent flate. The king, upon my reprefentation, reformed many abufes with refpeét to money, which had caufed a decay of commerce, of which money is the chief inftrument ; the firft was the pradice which was then allowed, of putting money to intereft at eight, or even at ten per Cent. * a pradlice of equal mifchief to the nobility and the people j to the nobility, becaufe they being forbidden to engage in trade, have no other riches but the produce of their grounds, of which the price was brought down by high intereft; to the people, becaufe, by putting out money to intereft, they made as great profit by fitting flill as by labour, and thereby kept immenfe fums of money ufelefs to the pub- lic, which, without that method of growing rich, they would have- improved by fome means advantageous to the commonwealth. The intereft of eight per Cent, was abolifhed, and fix per Cent, allowed in its ftead. The coin of different countries was till this time current in France, and pafied in commerce equally with that of our own fovereign. A prohibition was ifiued, by which all money was put down but the coin * It is thus that a prince, in our times, tion that would oblige monied men to be- remarkable for his abilities and fuperior fkill take themfelvcs to commerce and agiicul- in politics, has judged: being firmly per- ture, which are infinitely preferable to the fuaded, that the ftate would receive great bare and dead produce of rents, advantages in every refpe(5l from a régula- Vol. II. I . of 57 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XII. of 'France *, that of Spain only excepted, which would have been too much milled in commerce had it been at once forbidden. But it was more neceffary to rid ourfelves of the merchandife of our neighbours than of their money, for the whole kingdom was filled with their ma- nufactures; and it is incredible how much mifchief was done by foreign flufts, particularly thofe of gold and filver. The importation of thefe, and of all others, v^as forbidden under fevere penalties : and becaule France had no means of fupplying herfelf with them out of her own ftock, we had recourfe to the true remedy, which is, to do without them ; the ufe of all fluffs wrought with gold and filver being forbid- den by an edidl -f-. All thefe declarations tended to introduce one, by which it was forbidden to carry any fpecies of money out of the kingdom, under the penalty of a confifcation of all that fliould be intercepted in the carriage, and likewife of all the eftates of the offenders, as well thofs that favoured as thofe that were guilty of the infringement of this law. The king gave a public proof how much he had this afîair at heart, by the oath he made, not to grant any pardon for this fort of mifde- meanors ; and even to hold all thofe fufpeded that fliould dare to foli- cit him to the contrary : yet all tliis could only oblige thofe perfbns that carried on fuch pradtices to conceal them more carefully. I was of opinion, that one example would be more efficacious in correding this obflinate evil than all the threats that had been publiflied againfl it. I was not ignorant that a great many very confiderable perfons, and even amongft the courtiers themfelves, made a fund out of this perni- cious traffic, either by fuffering this money to pals under their names, or by felling, at a high price, the authority whicli enabled them to * It is true, that the fpecies of foreign conies to handle it, in the following book, gold and iilver coin ought not to pafs cur- As to the proliibition of ufing gold and fil- rent and be confounded with that of the ver in cioaths and houlhold furniture, %ve prince in interior commerce, and in pay- (hail alio have occafion, in the fequel, to inents made between individuals ; but is it give our opinion on the principles he efta- not evident, that the more fuch coin a- blifhcs with regard to luxury, bounds among our own money, the more t He (hewed, by his example, how to flourifliing will our commerce be ? Tl.e retrench the fuperiluity of drefs, (or he hiftorian Matthieu obferves, torn. II. 1. iii. commonly went clad in a coat of grey cloth, p. 446. that this prohibition made the com- with only a pourpoint of fattin or taffety, nicrcc in France fall almoft entirely ; and without any indented edgings, lace, orem- the duke of Sully himfelf agrees, a little broidery: he commended fuch as drefled in lower, that he was obliged to have recourfe that plain fafliion, and ridiculed others, who to other means to retrieve it. We will carried, faid he, their windmills and their examine this queftion with him, when he old woods on their backs. Pertf. part iii. corrcfpond Book XII. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. ' . correfpond with the foreigners, and fecured the privileges of paflage. 1601 I thought it mofi: prudent to apply myfelf to thofe who were employed v— — v— by them for thefe corrcfpondenccs, and promifed them that, as a re- compence for their difcovery, they fiiould have the fourth part of thofe funis that were feized by their informations ; for the king having made over tlicfe confifcations to me, I liad a right to difpofe of them. Bv thefe means I was well ferved. A MONTH was fcarce elapfed, when I received notice from an inconfiderable man, the authors not being willing to make themfelves known, that there were two hundred thoufand crowns in gold col- lecting to fend abroad, which was to be fent at two different times, and chat the firft carriage would be much lefs than the fécond. After having taken all the neceiîàry precautions, this fum appearing rather too confiderable for me, I thought myfelf obliged to mention it to the king, who made this qualification in the right he had given me, that if the fum did not exceed ten thoufand crowns, I might appro- priate it to myfelf, but that the overplus fliould be his, " Which will •' come, faid he, very feafonably, having had fome lois at play that I " durfl not tell you of, nor make up with my own money." I was not mercenary enough to wait for the profits of the fécond carriage. I ordered the firft to be dogged, and with fuch vigilance, that it was flopped half a league beyond the territories of France. It could not be clone in the kingdom, though but a quarter of a league from the frontier, without furnifhing the offenders with a pretext for getting it releafed. There was found in piftoles, double piffoles, and crowns of the fun, to the amount of eight and forty thoufand crowns, which had been concealed in fome bales of common goods for expor- tation. The king's refolution on this article was fo well known, that the conduftors named no perfon as proprietor of it ; and notwithfland- ing all the noife this feizure made at court, it was difavowed by every onci and the fum was, by his majefly, divided in this manner: fe- venty-two thoufand livres he referved for himfelf, five and twenty thou- fand he ordered fhould be given to the informer, and the remaining forty-feven thoufand he left to me -, promifing me, that however large any future capture might be, he would take no part of it from me. But after this, no more money was attempted to be carried out of the kingdom j this example had given a general diflike to fo ruinous a traffic. I 2 Those 6o M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XII. 1601. t— -V ' Those that compofed the chamber of juftice * which was ereded againft the contra6tors, trealurers, receivers, and others who had been guilty of mifdemeanors in their offices, were hkely, in appearance, to exercife far greater feverities. It was my advice, that thefe offen- ders Ihould not only be obliged to refund, but that thofe who were convifted of embezzling the public treafure fliould be corporally pu- nifhed. Mone)', however, the poffeffion of which covers all crimes it is the caufe of, excepted this from the juft rigor of the law -f. I would, were itpoffible, transfufe into the breads of my countrymen fome part of that indic^nation that fills mine, againft fo pernicious an abufe, and all that contempt which I feel for thofe that owe their elevation to it. If we confider as a flight matter, the defpicable light we appear in to our neighbours by this llaameful cuftom (for none ftrikes more di- redly at the honour of the nation) we cannot conceal from ourfelves the evils it has given rife to ; nothing has contributed more towards perverting our ideas of probity, candor, and difintereftednefs, or to turn thofe virtues into ridicule j nothing has more ftrengthened that fatal propenfity to luxury, which is natural to all men, but is with us become a fécond nature, by that peculiarity of temper which makes us faften eagerly upon every thing that can gratify our paffions ; and no- thing in particular has fo greatly degraded the French nobility, as the rapid and dazling fortunes of contradors and other men of bufinefs, by that opinion which they have circulated every where, and which is indeed but too well grounded, that in France this is almoft the only method of arriving at the higheft honours, and firft employments of the ftate, in the poffeffion of which all is forgot, and to the attainment all is permitted. To go to the fource, military virtue is almoft the only quality by which true nobility can, in France, be obtained, preferved,or dignified : * OtherwifL' called the royal chamber : of the chambers of jufticc, he requires. It çonlilkd of a prefident of the parliament that they (hould not confine their proceed- of Paris, two cour.fcHois, two mailers of ings to pecuniary muliSs only, but join to requeft, a prefident and four counfellors of thefc corporal punifhments. And he feems tlie chamber of account", a prtfident and to me to have ftiU greater reafon, when, three counfellors of the court of aids, and in the fequtl, he acJvifes to fupprefs this one of the general advocates of the pailia- method as abfolutcly ufelefs ; and entirely ment, &c.Commiffionerswerefent into the abolifh, in France, the ufagc of compofi- provinces, to give them informations of tions in farming the finances : and this is fuch as were guilty of any malverfatiens. lii^''"v^ point, as the meanefl: of the people, and making no fcruple to mingle the moft illuftrious blood in a lliameful alliance with a dirty pedlar, who knows nothing but the change, his (hop, his counter, and his knavery? This abulè is neceffarily produdive of two others, confufion of ranks, and degeneracy of families ; which laft is better proved by experience than argument. We need only take a view of that great number of mongril gentry with which the court and city is filled, and we (hall find them wholly deftitute of the plain and manly virtue of their anceftors : no depth of thought, folidity of judgment, rafli, inconfiderate, a fi;rong paffion for play, a natural propenTity to difib- lutenefs, a folicitude for drefs, and vitiated tafte in every kind of luxu- ry ; that one \vould imagine they thought to exceed even the women in the effeminacy of their manners : yet thefe people engage in the army, but with fuch difpofitions, to which is often added a fecret contempt for the profeffion they embrace, what can be expefted from them ? This fubverfion of all order is indeed to be lamented, but is inevitable, while that profefilon, which has only glory for its objeâ;, is not exalted to the higheft rank, and dignified with the chiefefl fon, as one of the principal foundations of the ftrength of a ftate, a ftri(5l attention in making matrimony be honoured and re- fpedled. But after all thefe conceffions, we mud likewife agree, that one of the chief cares of a fovereign being to maintain and itrengthen unanimity between his fubjefls, by banifliing jealoufies from among the different ranks, and the mutual animoil- ties of the feveral orders towards each o- ther, and war not being, as formerly, the true, and even the only means, of rendering a kingdom fluurifliing, the grcatell part of the maxims laid down with this view are unfupportcd,' \Vould it not be much fitter to oblige the numerous families to divide themfclves equally among the different em- ployments in the army, the navy, the church, and commerce, and to permit the nobility to engage in trade, as a means with- out which it will henceforth be inipoffible for the great familits to fupport themfelves? We wiil rcfume the iiandiing this rulijcv'cen thefe two towns, ■ jealoufy which the Englifh entertained of and that this propofal conce.ded a fnare in the French. Mem. Recond. vol. I. p. 130, which El zibeth hoped to entrap Henry, by 150, Sec. But this writer, fo well ac- feizing upon his perfon in the inter', iew,ai.d quaintcd with iorelgn negotiations, efpe- kcepiiighim piifoner till he reftored CaL.i', cia'dy thofe of Italy and Spain, is not ri^hr, ind that Henry excufed liinil.U' from co n- neiiher in the h£i> nor the opinons which plving with her reqneil, only bec.iufe lie lie produces conceriiing the interior of our fufpecled the defign ; others fay, becaufe court and councils under the reign of Hen- his feais of the fea v;ere fo great, that he ry the IVth. He knew neither this prince duift not venture into a vtfTel. No o.ie nor the duke of Sully. informed 7© MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIL 1601. informed of it. I acquainted no one with my intended paffage, but -'"/——' fuch of my domeftics as were to attend me, and of thefe I took but a very fmall number. I EMBARKED early in the morning, and reached Dover about ten o'clock, where, among the crowd of thofe who embarked and difem- barked, I was immediately difcovered by the lord Sidney, who five or iix days before had fœn me at Calais : with him were Cobham, Ra- leigh, and Griffin, and they were foon after joined by the earls of De- vonfhire and Pembroke. Sidney embraced me, and aiked me if I was come to fee the queen ; I told him I was not, and even afliired him that the king knew nothing of my voyage : I likewife entreated him not to mention it to the queen, for not having had any intention of paying my refpedls to her I had no letter to prefent, my defign being only to make a fliort tour incognito to London. Thefe gentlemen re- plied fmiling, that I had taken a ufelefs precaution, for that probably the guardfliip had already given a fignal of my arrival, and tliat I might quickly expedt to fee a meffenger from the queen, who would not fuffer me to pafs in this manner, having but three days ago fpoke of me publicly and in very obliging terms. I affeded to be extremely concerned at this unlucky accident, but to hope neverthelefs, that I might fhll pafs undifcovered, provided that thefe gentlemen would be fecret as to the place where I was to lodge ; from whence, I aflured them, I would immediately depart as foon as I had taken a little refrefli- ment : faying this I left them abruptly, and had but jufl: entered my apartment, and fpoke a few words to my people, when I felt fome- body embrace me from behind, who told me, that he arretted me as a prifoner to the queen. This was the captain of her guards, whofe embrace I returned, and replied fmiling, that I fliould elleem fuch imprifonment a great honour. Hi s orders were to condudl me dircdly to the queen j I therefore followed him. " It is well, M. de Rofny," faid this princefs to me as foon as 1 appeared, " it is thus that you break our fences and pafs " on without coming to fee me ; I am greatly furpriied at it, for I " thought you bore me more affedion than any of my fcrvants, and I " am perfuaded that I have given you no caufe to change thofe fenti- " mcnts." I replied in few words, but fuch as fo gracious a reception required. After which I began, without any difguife, to entertain her with thofe fentiments the king my mafter had for her. " To give you " a proof," replied flie, " that I believe all you have told me of the " good- Book XII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 71 " goodwill of the king my brother, and of your own, I will'difcourfe i6or. " with you on the fubjedt of the laft letter I wrote to him ; though ^— '^ — " perhaps you have feen it, for Stafford (that is the name of the lord " iridney) and Edmund tell me, that the king conceals few of his fe- " crets from you." She then drew me afide, that flie might fpeak to me with the greatefl: freedom, on the prcfent ftate of affairs in Europe ; and this flie did with fuchftrength and clearnefs, beginning from the treaty of Vervins, that I was convinced this great queen was truly worthy of that high reputation (he had acquired in Europe. She en- tered into this detail, only to fhew me how neceffary it was that the king of France fliould, in concert with her, begin to execute thofe great defigns which they both meditated againll the houfe of Auftria. The neceffity of this flic founded upon the acceflions this houfe was daily fcen to make : flie repeated to me all that had paffcd on this fubjeâ in 1598, between the king and the Englilh and Dutch amb.if- fadors, and alked me if this prince did not ilill continue to have the fame fentiments, and why he fo long delayed to begin theentcrprize. To thefe queftions of queen Elizabeth, I anfwered, That his mofl chriftian majefty ftill continued to think of that affairas he always had done : that the men and money he was raifing, and the other warlike preparations he was making, were defhned to no other purpofe than the execution of the concerted plan ; but that in France things were far from being in fuch a ftate, as to enable him to undertake the de- flrudion of a power fo folidly eftabliflied as that of the Auflrian princes. This I proved, by the extraordinary expences Henry had been at fince the peace of Vervins, as well for the general neceffities of his king- dom, as toreftrain the attempts of thefeditious, and to carry on the war which he had juft ended with Savoy. I did not diffemble with thi'î princefs the opinion I had always entertained of this enterprize, which is, that though England and the United Provinces fliould ufe their utmoft endeavours to reduce the houle of Auihia, unlefs they were affifted by all the forces of the French monarchy, and on whom, for many reafons, the chief weight of this war muft fall, the houfe of Auftria, by uniting the forces of its two branches, might, without any difficulty, not only fupport itfelf againft them, but even render the balance equal ; it would therefore be ufelefs, and even an impru- dent attempt, to endeavour to fap the foundations of fo formidable a power, by the fame means only that ferve merely to keep upon the defenfive with it: and it would be indifpenfably ncceffary to defer the .attempt for fome years, during which, Francs would acquire all flie now MEMOIPvS OF SULLY. Book XIT. now wanted, to enable her to ftrike more eftedually the blow that was preparing for the common enemy ; and would, in conjunftion with her allies, endeavour to engage the neighbouring princes and ftates in their defign, the princes of Germany efpecially, who were more immediately threatened by the tyranny of the houfe of Auftria. It was eafy for the queen of England to comprehend, by the man- ner in which I expreffed myfelf, that thefe were not fo much my own as Henry's fentiments which I communicated to her, and flie gave me to underftand as much, by confeffing, that they appeared fo jull and reafonable to her, that (lie could not avoid adopting them : adding only, that there was one point on which all the parties could not be too foon agreed, which was, that the ultimate view of the intended combination being to confine the power of the houfe of Auftria within juft bounds, it would be neceffary that each of the allies ihould fo proportion all his defires or expedlations which he might conceive in confequence of the event, as that none of them might be capable of giving umbrage to the rell:: fuppofing, for example, that Spain fliould be deprived of the Low Countries, neither the whole nor any part of this ftate was to be coveted, either by the king of France, or the king of Scotland, who would one day become fo of Great Britain, nor yet by the kings of Sweden and Denmark, already fufticiently power- ful by fea and land to make themfelves refpeded by the other allies ; and that the fame condudt ought to be obferved with regard to all the other fpoils that might be taken from the houfe of Auftria by thofe princes whofe dominions fliould happen to be nearefl: to the conquered countries ; " For if my brother, the king of France, faid (lie, Ihould " think of making himfelf proprietor, or even only féodal lord of the " United Provinces, I fliould never confent to it, but entertain a moft " violent jealoufy of him ; nor fliould I blame him, if, giving him " the fame occafion, he fliould have the fame fears of me," These were not the only reflcdions made by the queen of Eng- land ; flie faid many other things, which appeared to me fo juft and fenfible, that J was filled with aftonifliment and admiration. It is not unufual to behold princes form great defigns ; their fphere of adion fo forcibly inclines them to this, that it is only neceffary to warn them of the extreme, which is, the projedting what their powers are fo little proportioned to pei form, that they fcarce ever find themfelves able to execute the lialf of what they propofed ; but to be able to diftinguifli and form only fuch as are reafonable; wifely to regulate the conduit of Book XII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. of them ; to forefee and guard againft all obftaclcs in fuch a manner, that when they happen, nothing more will be neccflary, than to ap- ply the remedies prepared long before. This is what few princes are capable of. Ignorance, profperity, luxury, vanity, nay, even fear and indolence, daily produce fchemes, to execute which there is not the lead: polTibility. Another caufe of furprize to me, was, that Elizabeth and Henry, having never conferred together on their political projedt, fhould agree fo exadlly in all their ideas, as not to differ even in the mod minute particulars. • The queen obferving my eyes were attentively fixed on her with- out fpeaking, imagined flie had expreffed herfelf fo confufedly in fomething (he had laid, that I was unable to comprehend her mean- ing. But when I ingenuoufly confeffed to her the true caufe of mv filence and furprife, Ihe then, without fcruple, entered into the moft minute parts of the defign : but as I fhall have an ample occafion to treat of this, in relating the great fchemes which were prevented by the untimely death of Henry IV. I {hall not trouble the reader with ufelcfs repetitions} but in this place juft (hew the five principal points to which her majefty reduced fo extenfive a fcheme, as from the fcquel of thefe Memoirs this will appear to have been. The firft was, to redore Germany to its antient liberty, in refped: to the eledion of its emperors, and the nomination of a king of the Romans. The fécond, to render the United Provinces abfolutely independent of Spain; and to form them into a republic, by annexing to them, if neceflary, fome provinces difmembered fi-om Germany. The third, to do the fame in regard to Switzerland, by incorporating with it fome of the ad- iacent provinces, particularly Allace and Franche-Compte. The fourth, to divide all chriilendom into a certain number of powers, as equal as may be. The fifth, to reduce all the various religions in it under thofe three which lliould appear to be moft numerous and confiderable in Europe. ,OuR conference was very long: I cannot beftow praifes upon the queen of England that v/ould be equal to the merit which I difcovered in her in this iLort time, both as to the qualities of the heart and the underflanding. I gave an exact relation of every thing that palled between us to the king, who very highly approved all Ihe had laid to me. Their rnajefties correfpondcd by letters, during the reft of the time they ftayed at Dover and Calais. All preliminaries were agreed on ; meafures were taken even on the grand objeét of the defign, but Vol. II. L with 74 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIÏ. 1601, with luch fecrefy, that the whole of this afFair remained to the death — V — -J di the king, and even much longer, among the number of thofe in wliich only various and uncertain conjedures are formed. The king did not return to Paris till he had carefully examined all the fprtreffes upon his frontier, and provided for their fecurity : in • every other refped, he appeared an indifferent fpedator of the quarrel between the Spaniards and the Flemings j and all he did in favour of Oftend, the fiege of which was ftiil continued, was not to hinder fome French from engaging in the fervice of the prince of Orange, in whiclx feveral of them loft their. lives; amongft thefe, the death of young * Chatillon-Coligny, whofe head was fhot off by a cannon-ball before Offend, deferved to be particularly lamented. The king, when he was told it, faid publicly, that France had loff a man of great merit : mylelf, in particular, was fenfibly afflided at his death. Coligny, at an early age, had already united almoft all the qualities that form a foldier; valor, moderation, prudence, judgment, and the art of making himfelf equally beloved by the foldier and officer. But Coligny was a proteftant ; and the jealoufy of the courtiers foon converted all thefe virtues into fo many crimes, in the opinion of the king ; they told his majeffy, that Coligny already afpired to the diftindion of being head of the proteftants, both within and without the kingdom, to which he was folicited by the duke of Bouillon j that he defired nothing with fo much ardour as to equal, or even to fur- pafs, the adions of his father and grandfather ; and had been heard to declare, that he {hould not regret the lofs of life, if he had the fa- tisfadion to lofe it at the head of an army, fighting for the preferva- tion of his friends. His affedion for the foldiers was treated as an artful and dangerous artifice. They hinted to the king, that he had already raifed a jealoufy in the prince of Orange ; and that his ma- jefty would one day have reafon to fear a flioot from a ffock that had given fo much trouble to our kings. Henry was fo far infiuenced by thefe infinuations, that when I went to afk fome favours of him for the mother and brother of Coligny, he dwelt continually upon what he had heard, and had given but too much credit to, and appeared * Henry de Coligny, lord of Chatillon, tiUon Coligny came originally from Savoy, foil to Francis, and grandfon to the admi- of a very noble and antient lineage, as he ral de Coligny : he carried to the afliftance fays, and who were formerly fovereign of Oftcnd a regiment of 800 French. Ac- princes, and very powerful. Tom. ilJ. cording to Braniomf, the hgufe of Cha- p. 173. to Book XII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. y^ to me not only full of indifference for the death of Coligny, but alfo 1601. fo greatly prejudiced againft: the whole family, that I deiifted from *— -^v^- -*' a folicitation which could not but be prejudicial to myfelf, my con- nedions and conformity of religion with the deceafed confidered. The king, at his return to Fontainebleau, had the pleafure to find the queen in as good a ftate of health as he left her. He was feldom from her during her pregnancy, and took all pofîible care of her health *. In a letter he wrote to me Ibme days before the queen lay in, he fays, " Bring no people of bufinefs with you at this time, *' no mention rnufl be made of it during the firll week of my wife's " lying in ; we fhall have fufficient employment to hinder her froni *' getting cold." A T length, the moment that was to fill the king, the queen, and the whole kingdom with joy, arrived ; the queen was, on the 1 7th of September -j-, delivered of a fon, whofe ftrong health, as well as the queen's, filled the kingdom with the moil: agreeable hopes :]:. I believe I may venture to affirm, that this incident gave me more joy than any one elfe. I was attached to the king's perfoii by tiie mofl tender ties of afFedion, an affedion which I felt in a higher degree than the mofl: faithful of his fubjeds, and was therefore more interefled in his happinefs. He was fo convinced of this truth, that he did me the honour to give me notice of the birth of his fon in a billet, which, at ten o'clock at night, he fent from Fontainebleau to Paris, where I then wasj it contained only thefe ï&v/ words : " The *' queen is juft delivered of a fon ; I fend you the news, that you may " rejoice with me." Befides this billet, which he wrote as to a friend, he lent me another the next morning by La-Vai"enne, as grand mafter of the ordnance ; he there mentioned the birth of the Dauphin as an * " We read," fays Bayle, in the Rep. " broke its conftitution. Tiie king, im- de Lett, for January, 1686, " that Henry " ploring the bleiîing of heaven upun tiie " reconinieiided toLouiri.BoiJrgeois,a vtry *' infant, gave him alfo his own benedic- " (kilful midwife, who Lid the queen, to " tion, and put his fword into his hand, " perform her office fo carefully, as that " praying God, that he would be pleafed " there might be no occafion for employ- " to give him grace to make ufe of it only " ing a man-midwife. Since this, added " for his giory, and the defence of his *' he, woulu fliuck female modefty." " people." Matthieu fpeaks in the very t On Thurfday night, about midnight. fame terms: " My deareft, fays he to the X Perefixefays, on the contrary, " Fhat " queen, be of good cheer, for God has '• the labour was very difficult, and the " granted us what we wanted." This " child fo much fatigued, that it was quite writer adds, that a fhock of an earthquake " purple when it was born, which pro- was felt two hours aftçr midnight. Tom. I J» ** bably impaired its vital principle?, and 1, iii. p. 441. L 2 occafion MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIL occafion of inexpreffible delight to him, " Not lb much, faid he, for " the near concern I have in this incident, as for the general good of " my fubjeds." He ordered me to fire the cannon of the arfenal -, which was performed in- fuch a manner, that the report was heard even at Fontainebleau. On this occafion it was not neceflùry to order public reioicings : all his majefty's fubjeds, from the fii ft to the meaneft, concurred in giving demonftrations of it, in wliich fear and policy had no part. The king's fatlsfadion was only inten-upted by a flight indifpofi- tion, which he had drawn upon himfelf. La-Riviere * was his fini phyfician, a man who had little more religion than thofe gener.ally have that blend with it the proftffion of judicial aftrology ; yet the world did him the honour to fuppofe, that he concealed the principles of a proteftant urder the appearance of a catholic. Henry, who al- ready felt a tendernefs for his fon, that filled him with an eager an- xiety to know about hrs fate, having heard that La-Riviere had often fuceeded wonderfully in his predidions, commanded him to calculate the Dauphin's nativity with all the ceremonies of his art ; and that the exaft moment of his birth might be known, had carefully fought for the nioft excellent watch that could be procured. It appeared, that the king thought no more of this defign till about a fortnight after, when he and I being alone together, the converfation turned upon the pré- dirions of La-Brofle, which I have formerly mentioned, concerning his majefty and me, which we had found fo exadtly accomplilTied. Henry's inclination to make the experiment with his fon receiving new ftrength by this difcourfe, he ordered La-Riviere to be fent for. The phyfician, without taking any notice of it, had proceeded in his work. " M. de La-Riviere, faid the king to him, we have been " talking of aftrology; what have you difcovered concerning my fon ? " " I had begun my calculations, replied La-Riviere, but I left them " unfiniflied, not caring any longer to amufe myfelf with a fcience " which I have always believed to be in fome degree criminal." The king immediately difcovered that tliis anfwer was not fincere, and that he concealed his thoughts, either through an apprehenfion of offend- ing his majefty, or from an effeâ: of ill-humour, whim,- or the cau- tion of an aftrologer, who held it dangerous to difclofe his fecrets. * La-Rivicre fuccceded D'AIibouft in in the family of the duke of Bouillon, who the pli.ce of firft phyfician : he had been refigned him to the king. " I fee Book XIT. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. " I fee plainly, (aid Henry, that you are not reftrained by motives of 1601 " confciencc ; yju arc not of the number of peifons that are fo very '--/"V^ " fcrupulous : [>ut, in realiry, you are afraid of not being able to tell " me truth, or of making me angry ; but whatever it be, I will know " it, and I command you, on my dlfpleafure, to fpeak freely." La- Riviere fufFered himfelf to be prelTed ilill longer; and at laft, with a difcontented air, either real or diflemblcd, faid, " Sire, your fon will " live to be a man, a!id will reign longer than you ; but his inclina- " tion and yours will be very different; he will be obftinately wedded " to his opinions, often governed by his own whims, and fometimes " by thofe of others : it will be fafer then to think than to fpeak : " impending ruin threatens your former fociety : all the cffcds of " your prudence will be deftroyed : he will perform great things, will " be fortunate in his defigns, and make a great figure in Europe : in " his time there will be a viciffitude of peace and' war : he will have " children ; and after him things vAW run into confufion. . This is all " you can know from me, and more than I had refolved to tell you." The king, after mufing a little while on what he had heard, faid to La-Riviere, " You mean the protefiants, I know ; but you fpeak thus " becaufe you are well inclined towards them.". " I underftand, " faid La-Riviere, what you would have, but I fliall fay no more." His majefty and I continued together a long time in converfation, mak- ing reflections on every word that had been fpoken by La-Riviere^ which continued ftrongly on the king's mind. It was not poffible for me to flay long at Fontainebleau ; but the king continued to give me, with great kindnefs, an account of every- thing that happened. " You cannot imagine," fays he in one of lus letters, " how well my wife is recovered of her lying-in ; flie drefîes " her head herfelf, and talks already of getting up." In another, nine days after her delivery, he fays, " The queen goes already into her " clofet; file has a conftitution furprifingly ftrong : my fon likewife is " very well, I thank God : thefe are the bed news I can fend a faith- " ful and affeélionate fervant, whom I tenderly love *." Henry fent his fon to Saint-Germain to be nurfed, on account of the goodnefs of the air : and by one of thofe little flrokes of popularity which fiiew the heart better than more oftentatious aftions, he would have him fliewn to all Paris j for w^hich purpofe, he was carried openly through. * The original of this letter of Hen- dated from Fontainebleau, the zjth of Au- ly IV. to M. de Sully is ftill extant; it is guft. Cabinet de M. le duc de Sully. 8 the 77 78 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XIÏ. 1601. the midft of this great city. The Parifians, by repeated acclamations, IX'V^-' expreffed their pleafure at this fight. The king had made a promife to the queen that, if flie brought him afon, he would prefenther with the cartle of Monceaux. " My " wife," faid he, in a letter to me, *' has gained Monceaux, by giv- " ing me a fon ; therefore I defire you will fend for the prefident For- " get, to confer with him about this affair, and take his advice con- " cerning thefecurity that muftbe given to my children, for the fum " which I pay for Monceaux." The city of Paris having likewife promifed the queen a prefent of a fuit of tapeftry hangings for her lying-in, his majefly, in this letter, reminded me to dem.andit: an infanta * was born in Spain, about the fame time that providence gave a prince to France. The negotiation, fo many years depending with the grand duke of Florence, was concluded this year : that the reader may underiland the occafion of it, it is neceflary he fhould know, that, under the reign of Henry the third, Ferdinand de Medicis, grand duke of Flo- rence, took advantage of the troubles that then raged in France, to poffefs himfelf of the little ifles of Pomegue, Ratoneau, and If, with its caftle in the neighbourhood of Marfeille. Henry, fully refolved to make the grand duke reftore them, ordered d'Ollat, who was then on the other fide of the Alps, to demand them, in the year 15ÔH. The grand duke not daring to refufe them abfolutely, reprefented only, that he had expended great fums of money upon thefe ifles, which he could not refolve to lofe : d'Offat of himfelf removed this obftacle, by engaging that the king his mafler fliould indemnify him for thefe expences, by paying him three hundred thouland crowns, for which twelve of the richelt and moft confiderable perfons in France fliould be fecurity -f, as * Anna Maria Mauriette, afterwards which he wrote to his m.jcfiy, on the 5th queen of France, born the 22d of Septeni- cf May 159-', immediately aficr the con- ber. clufion of this tieaty, and hkcwife in that f This is, in effeiSt, the import of the to M. dc Villeroi, of the 4th of Augult fifth article of the treaty that palled on the following. He .ifterwards cleared himfelf id of May 159^, between the king of more fully, in a long n.tmorial, which is France and the grand duke of Tufcany, by alfo inferted at the end of this coile<5^ion. the intervention of cardinal d'Oflat, which However, we cannot think the reafons may be (een at full length at the end of which M. de Sully produces ag.iinft tins the collcdiion of tins cardinal's letters. convention groundlcls, nor bclit\e that the The duke of Sully does not here reproach duke of Florence would have bioke the M. d'OfTat With any thing which he treaty without that condition. hud no: already excufcd in the letter if FooK Xir. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. if his majcfty alone had noi: been fufficicnt to anfwer for [o fmall a fum. The king, without greatly attending to this condition, ratified this treaty ; and a fliort time after the chevalier Vinta was fent by the duke of Florence to conclude, with Gondy, th^; bufinefs of the iflcs upon this plan. The two agents did not go out of the council to feek for their fe- curities, and the affair was propofed to me among the refi: : this me- thod of proceeding with a king, whofe power no part of Europe was. ignorant of, appeared to me fo uncommon, that I could not help laughing at thofc who mentioned it to me. Villeroi took pains to re- prefent to me the neceflity of difengaging d'Offat from his word.: I replied, that there never had been any bankers in my family ; for in- deed, this was rather the bufinefs of bankers than of gentlemen. None of the others, faid Villeroi, have made any ditficulty about it. I be- lieve it, anfwered I with fome indignation, for they are all either de- fcendeJ from traders or lawyers. Hereupon there arofe a difpute in the council, which was reported to the king, who only fmiled and faid they had done wrong to mention it to me without firll: informing him, fince he had not acquainted me with it himfelf. 1 am aftonillied, ad- ded he, that he did not give a ftill ruder anfwer : you cannot be igno- rant of his temper, and how highly he values himfelf upon the nobi- lity of his birth : let this affair be concluded without his or any other perfons entering into any obligation : I gave no permiffion to the bifliop of Rennes to agree to fuch an expedient. The grand duke did not al- low himfelf to be folicited upon this head ; he fet tl>e king freefromthe obligation of the twelve fecurities out of regard to his perfon. The adt for it was pafled on the fourth of Auguft 1598, but the affair was on neither fide concluded till the chevalier Vinta arrived in 1601. I WAS likewife employed to fetde certain eftates in Piedmont, for which the count of Soiffons was defirous of treating with his majeffy : they came to him by the death of the princefs of Conti, in right of his wife who was of the houfe of Montaffie *. My report was not very favourable for the count : I reprefented to the king, that thefe eftates, which had been too highly valued, were likewife fubjecfl to fo much litigation, and were fo difadvantageoufly fituated, that thefe con- fiderations ought gready to leffen the price. The count of Soiffons * The prince of Conti was firft married Piedmont and the count de Soiffons : had to Jane de Coenie, lady Bonnetable, and married Anne de Montaffie, daughter to widow of Lewis count de Montaffie in that Lewis by the faid JanedeCoeme. thought «o M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XII. 1 60 1, thought proper to diffemble the refentment he entertained againft me *— "V— ' for this declaration. Fresne-Canaye * was natned ambaiTador to Venice, andBethiine my brother to Rome, to the great mortification of the other minifters, efpecially Villeroi and Sillery, with whom I had often difputes, which the king had many times endeavoured to prevent. Thefe two gentle- men had undertaken to exclude me from any concern in foreign affairs, the cognizance of which they pretended belonged only to them. The nomination to embaffies falling under this head, they told his majefty, in my prefence, that, for the embalfy to Rome, they had abler perfons to propofe to him than Bethune, who, they faid, had no knowledge of the affairs of that court, and had yet performed no confiderable fervice to the ftate. My brother had, however, already been charged with the embafly to Scotland, of which he had acquitted himfelf well ; and it could not be denied tliat he was circumfpect, wife, and honeft ; qualities which, in my opinion, are not among the leaft that are effcntial to an ambaffador. What thefe gentlemen laid, therefore, was as falfe as it was contemptuous j and this I made them fenfible of in my anfwer, by fliewing them the value of thofe fervices which the ftate received from the military art, and which thofe gentle- men feemed to place below all others. Villeroi, piqued in his turn that I had not given the firll: rai-.k to his, maintained his caufe with great heat and animolity. His majcfty found himfelf obliged to command us to be filent, telling us, that he was offended at our holding fuch di(courfe in his prefence ; and that, without entering into a difcuffion of our fervices, we ought to be fatis- fied that he was pleafed with them. J afked the king's pardon for daring, after this prohibition, to add a few words to clofe the mouths of per.bns who fo unjuftly placed the lazy bufinefs of the law, and the quiet employments of the cabinet, above the toils, the dangers, and expence of the military profefTions ; and I truly fpoke my fentiments of fuch partiality. " Well, well," faid Henry, interrupting me, " I " pardon you all, and take your words, as I muff, but upon condition " that, for the future, you will avoid thefe little debates, and that *' when one of you recommends his friend to my favour, the others " do not oppofe it, but fubmit to my choice : at prefent I determine ' " in favour of the fieur de Bethune, vhofe family, wifdom, probity, * ■ * Philip Canaye deFrcfne : Philip ifoi. " both of peace and war, which he has acquitted hitnfe'if of worthily." >^-^V"v Tlie king promiled Villeroi that, after my brother's return, he would difpofe of the embaffy to Rome according to his recommendation. I le tlien put an end to his walk, which this quarrel had protradled to mo:c tlian two hours, and went to dinner. I wentfeveral times this year to Fontainebleau, to receive his majefty's orders concerning affairs that could no otherwifs be communicated to him, and, being often aiid for a confide rable time at a diftance from each other, I received, as ufual, a great number of letters from this prince : that in which he mentions the maréchal d'Ornano *, who had given him fome caufes of complaint, has fomething fingular in it. " 1 never, fiys Henrv, " faw fo much obftinacy and ignorance together in one man, but 1 " pronounced him dangerous ; he has reached the fummit of info- " lence. Take care that he gives me no occalion to be convinced, what " he is, that is, unworthy of the honours I have beftowed on him : h:?- " fidehty only could deferve them ; his many adts of difobedience will " foon take away all claim to that charadler : to fay the truth, I am " quite tired of him." The fiâtes ot Languedoc meeting this year, the king wrote to me, that he muft transfer the place of their fitting to the Lower Languedoc, " that my fervants, faid he, may not go " firft to thofe of the league." In another letter, he ordered me to fend for fome foals of his breed of horfes -j- at Meun ; and in another, to * Alphonfo d'Ornano, fon to San-Pie- decay, and were in a worfe condition than tro de Baftelica, a colonel of the Swifs. they were under Henry II. 'I'hat of Meun, ■)■ " From his early years," fays Bran- or Mehun, in Berry, was the only place of tome, fpeakingof Henry II. in his Viesdes thofe before mentioned, where horfes were hommes illuftres, torn. II. p. 24. " he was bred for the king's ufe ; and thefe ftables " always very fond of the exercife of riJ- were very inconfiderable, as may be feen " ing, and kept always a great number of from the archives of the fecretary of the " them in his grand iiables of Tournelles, king's houfhold, which are kept at Petits- " which were the principal, as alfo at peres in Paris, where Mcun is called Main, " Muns, at St. Léger, and at Oyron, apparently to diftinguifli it from another " underthe infpedion of M. de Boifl'y maf- Meun upon the Indre, that is alfo in Berry. " terof the horfe, the moft valuable part of In 1604, the duke de Bellegirde, *' which was bis breeding mares, wherein mafter of the horfe, caufed Mark Antony " he took great delight." He adds, that, de Bazy, captain of the breeding ftabies, this prince having one day fliewn his ftabies to remove the king's fet of mares to St. to theemperor's miller of the horfe, the latter Léger, a foreft belonging to the crown, told him, that his mailer had not near fo in 1618 fome confiderable additions and fine a fet of horfes, extolling them very improvements were made; and greater highly, efpecially as the greatell part were flill about 166,-, when the late M Col- of Jiis own breeding. The troubles, du- bert, minifter of ftate, enlarged the bound;, ring the laft reigns, were the caufe that the made parks therein, and got together a king's breeding ftsbles had then fallen into great number of ftoned horfes an J young Vol. IÎ. M aive z M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book Xn. 1601. give two hundred crowns to Garnier his preacher in Advent and Lent ; ■— V — - the reft, which contain only a detail of flight circumftances, I lupprefs, although they are proois of the extreme vigilance and attention of this- prince to matters of the fmalleft confequence. I SHALL comprife, in one article, with which the memoirs of this vear will be concluded, all that relates to maréchal Biron, of whofe revolt there was at length the moft convincing proofs. After the king had been at Lyons, and had there entertained very ftrong fufpi- cions againft this maréchal, his majefty had a private converfatioa with him in the convent of the Cordeliers, and appeared fo well in- formed of all his tranfadions with the duke of Savoy, that Biron, either becaufe he then thought that, after fuch a difcovery, all he could now do was to repair his fault, or that he fought only to deceive the king, confefied to him, that he had not been able to refift the offers made to him by the duke of Savoy, joined to his promife of giving him the princefs * his daughter to wife. He afked the king's pardon for thefe proceedings, and proteffed to him, with the utmofl ap- pearance of fincerity, that he would never again fufïer himfelf to be intoxicated with fuch expeûations. Henry thought he might depend upon a promife, which was ne- verthelefs forgot in the inflant that it was made. Biron refumed his firfl defigns ; went, according to his cuftom, at different times into the provinces, carefîed all the malecontents he found amongfl the gentry, entertained them continually with the injuftice he received from the king, and his credit and the correfpondence he carried on without the kingdom. He entered into ftronger engagements than ever with Bouil- lon, d'Entragues, d'Auvergne, and others -j-. He, who was pride and colts, by means of Alain de Garfault, who vefiiture of Burgundy, Franche Comté, WfS then captain. It continued in this ftate and the County de Charlois : this was one till 1715, at which time it began to be fet- part of the grand proje£t of both thefe tied in Notmaudy, under the dired^ion of courts, which confifted in difmembring, in Francis Gideon de Garfault, Lewis de this manner, the kingdom of France, and Lorraine count d'Armagnac being then parcelling it out among the governors of mafter of the hoife in France : fince its provinces. The proof of this may be this laft eflablfliment, it has every day feen in Vittorio Siri, Mem. rec. vol. L more the appearance of the ftables of the p. 103. 127. who likewife extols the fer- inoft powerful prince in Europe vices which the count de Bcthune, our ai)^ • Fhe maréchal de Biron, by marry- thor's brother, performed on this occafion, ing the duke of Savoy's third daughter, to Henry IV. during his cmbafly at Rome, was to have rece.vcd from the king of t The author fays nothing, in all this Spain, aad that duke, the feigniory and in- account, of the confpiracy of the mare- 2 fiercenefs Book XII. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 83 ficrcenefs itfelf, laid fuch a rcftraint upon his inclinations, as to appear lùoï. to the foldiers the moft humane and afFable man in the world, and '— -'^^ — -^ drew the afFedions of the mob by playing the hypocrite and the de- votee } for what appearance will not ambition aflume to attain its end ? Hitherto, however, it might ftill have been doubted, whether he had not concealed his defigns within his own breaft, and if this conduit was not an effed; of that difpofition which is obfervable in many perfons, who, by their difcourfe, appear relllefs, diftnrbed, and fond of no- velties, yet are far from any intention of throwing themfelves head- long into rebellion. Hence arofe Henry's fufpenfe concerning the conduft of ma'-echal Biron, though he ftill continued to have him carefully obferveJ, and could not help being moved at the accounts that were brought him, of Biron's condu(fl in the laft journey he had taken to Dijon, where he had palTed the end of the preceding year and the beginning of this. Biron, who on his fide had his fpies at court, being appre- henfiveof the impreffion that his behaviour made on the king, thought proper to write to me on that fubjedl. His letter is dated the third of January j it turned only upon the ill offices that were done him with the king, and the injuftice even his majefty did him in believing him capable of defigns he had never entertained. He excufed his journey to Burgundy, on account of fome domeftic affliirs that made it abfo- lutely neceflary ; and affured me, that he fliould leave that province in two days : he concluded with entreating me to believe all that would be told me from him by Prevot, one of his agents, whom he had fent to me. This letter was too foon followed by inconteftable proofs of his treachery, to make it be thought fincere ; and I was fo far from believing his profeffions in it, that they only increafed my fufpi- cions. During the king's ftay at Calais, he received ftill clearer and more circumftantial informations againft Biron, doubtlefs becaufe this maré- chal, believing himfelf lefs fufpeded than before, took greater liberties than ufual : but Henry, inftead of taking thofe meafures that in pru- dence ought to have been no longer delayed, could not yet look upon this man as incurable ; refolved, it poffible, to bring him back to his duty, by thai de Biron, his imprifonment, and the his j " The king does not at all hurt me, procels againll him, but what is confirmed " for I know how to be revenged on by the hiflories and memoirs of that time : " crowned heads, and even emperors." they mention thcfe extravagant words of Matthieu, torn. II. liv. 2. p. 333. M 2 gentle- 84 M E M O I R S OF S U L L Y. Book XH. 1601. gendenelb, kindnefs, and fuch dillindions as make the flrongeft im- >— -\ — -^ preffions upon the heart of an honeil: man. Biron having demanded a gratiiication of" thirty thoufand crowns from his majefty, the king thought it very reafonable, and granted it immediately j and becaulc that no obil;acles fhould retard the payment of it, this prince ordered me :o take proper mcafures to fatisfy Biron without delay ; accordingly i paid him inflantly one half of the fum in ready moneVj and afligned him the other half at the expiration of a year. Biron thought there was a neceflny for coming to thank me for this favour; he told me, that he was more obliged to me for it than the king, complaining to me that he had been forgotten and even defpifcd by this prince, now that he had no longer occafion for his fword, this fword, faid lie, that has placed him upon the throne. It was impoffible for me to keep filence upon this occafion ; I reprefented to the maré- chal, with a kind of reproach, that he accufcd Henry fo much the more unjullly, as this prince, to whom alone he was obliged for this gratification, had not difdained to folicit for its payment : hence I took occafion to fpeak with fi:ill greater freedom to Biron ; I remonfl:rated to him that, although he fliould even have proofs of his negledt, he ought always to remember that he fpoke of his mafi:er, and of a maf- ter who, by his perfonal qualities, ftill more than by his rank, en- gaged the efteem and refpedl of his fubjeds. I told him, that theie was nothing which kings were more fenfible of than difrefpedtto their perfons, an envious defire to lefi"en the glory of their arms, and ingra- titude for their benefits. Thcfe terms were fuPnciently plain, yet I went farther, and if I did not tell Biron pofitively that 1 thought him both ingrateful and a traitor, there was nothing to hinder him from conclud- ing it by all my difcourfe. I exhorted him to nourifii a nobler emula- tion in his foul, which might give him a title to real praifes; I dwelt upon the difference there was between making one's felf beloved by one's prince and country, and endeavouring to become the objedl of its fear ; a deteftable attempt, and almoft always fatal to thofe that make it. I told him, that if he would join with pne in mutual labours for the glory of the ftate and the public good, we might, in fome degree, make both depend upon us ; he by his abilities for war, I by the fliarc I had in the government a' home ; and hence we fiiould taffe the lufined plcafure of knowing ourfelves to be either the authors or inftru- mcnts of every public benefit. I finifhed my remonfirance by endea- vouring toprevuil upon him to go and return his majefiy thanks for the gratificatlou he had juft received. To Book XII. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 85 To all this Biron, neither moved to gratitude by kindp.efs, nor to ]6oi. repentance hy convidion, anfwcred only by exaggerating his own — -\ ' merit fo unfcafonably and in ilich boaftful terms, that I was now con- vinced of a thing that I had hitherto only fufpeded, which was, that the hardinefs of his manners and the ineejuality of his humour pro- ceeded from a flight taint of madnefs, for which io much tlie lefs al- lowance was to be made, as that, hindering iiitn from reafoning, it could not hinder him from fpeaking and adting ill : what appeared to me a complete proof of it v/as, that, after what I had juft faid to him, having reafon to look upon me as a man in whole prefence he could not be too cautious, he was imprudent enough to let fomething efcape him concerning the defign.s that filled his head. I took no notice of it, but he perceived the error he had been guilty of himfelf, and to repair it pretended to acquiefce with my reafons, and to approve of my fen ti- ments : from that moment, I fo abfolutely defpaired of ever being able to recal this man to his duty, that I thought mine obliged me to dil- guife from the king nothing which I believed him capable of doing. It was always a part of Henry's charadler, to be with difficulty per- fuaded of the treachery of any perfon about him : he anfwered, that he knew Biron perfectly well, that he was very capable of faying all that was related ; but that this man, who, in confequence of his natural violence, the effed of melancholy, was never contented, and exalted himlelf above every one elfe, was neverthelefs, a moment after, the firft to mount his horfe, and dare all dangers for thofe whom he had railed at fo much before; therefore he well deferved fome indulgence for a little intemperance of tongue : that he was affured Biron would ■never be induced to rebel againft him ; that if this fliould happen, as he Jiad already gi\en a proof on thofe occafions where he had iaved the life of this maréchal, and in the laft place at Fontaine-Françoife, that he did not yield to him in courage, he knew likewife how to lliew him that he did not fear him. 1 he king therefore made no alteradon in his behaviour to Biron, except that he gave him ItiU greater demon- ftrations of kindnefs, and loaded him with new honours, which he looked upon as the only remedy for his defedion. He was fent ambaffador to queen Elizabeth, with whom he had a very extraordinary converfation *. He was imprudent enough not * A particular account of thU embafl^, may be fçen in Matthieu, torn. I:. 1. 2. p, 426, and ftq. 86 M E .M O I R S OF S U L L Y. Book XII. î6ci. only to mention the carl ot ElTcx to this princcfs, wliom (\\e had lately I- — V — -* beheaded, but likewiic to bewail the fate of that nobleman, whole great fervices had not been able to preferve him from fo tragical an end; and Elizabeth had the complaifance, in anfwer to this im- pertinent difcourfe, to juftify her conduâ: with regard to the earl, by ihevving the necetlity fhe was under to punifh him : flie told him, that Elfex had madly engaged in I'chemes that greatly exceeded his abilities ; and that after many proofs, and a full convidion of his re- bellion, he might have ftill, by fubmiffion, have obtained her pardon -, but that neither his friends nor his relations could prevail upon him to alls. it. I know not whether the queen of England perceived any marks of refemblance between the French ambafFador and the Englifh. favourite, but the reafonable obfervations on the nature of royal heads, and the duty of fubjeûs, with which ihe concluded her difcourfe, feemed to infinuate as much j but Biron drew no advantage from it. At his return from London, the king named him likewife ambaf- fador extraordinary to Switzerland, to renew the treaty of alliance be- tween France and the Cantons ; ftill continuing to believe, that an employment which would take off his thoughts from arms, and en- gage him in a commerce with a body fo wife and politic as the Helvetic Senate is, would fubdue at length all inclinations to fedition : but am- bition, envy, and avarice, are paflîons that can never be wholly quelled; and had the heart of Biron been thoroughly founded, it might probably have been found tainted with all the three. No fooner was he returned from his fécond embaffy, than, as if he endeavoured to make amends for the time he had lolf, he laboured more aiTiduoufly than before to bring all his chimerical fchemes to perfedion; either perfuaded thereto by the duke of Bouillon and the count of Auvergne, who had likewife formed their party, or having drawn them into his. To ftrengthen their mutual engagements, thefe three gentlemen figned a form of aflbciation, of which each kept an original : in this uncommon piece, which was produced in the procefs againll maréchal Biron, they reciprocally promifed, upon the faith and word of gen- tlemen and men of honour, to continue united for their common fafety, to and agatnjl all-, without atiy exception (thefe terms deferve a par- ticular obfervation) to keep inviolably fccret whatever might be re- vealed to any one of them ; and to burn this writing, in cafe any ac- cident fhould happen to cither of the aflociates. There was no pro- fpect of iucceeding in their defigns,^but through the operation of Spain and Book XIT. MEMOIRSOF SULLY. and Savoy ; they therefore renewed their correfpondence with theCb two powers, and on their fide, to fécond their endeavours, went about picking up all the difafFe£ted pcifuns they could find amongft the gentry and foldieis. To draw into rebellion many of the cities at the greateftdiftance from Paris, particularly thofe in the provinces of Gui- enne and Poiuou, they took advantage of the fedition occafioned by the eftablifliment of the penny in the hvre, which I had oppoled fo ardently in the afTembly des Notables, and which 1 had not afterwards the power lo fupprefs ; however, it could not poffibly be raifed accord- ing to the original plan : it had been changed into a fubfidy of eight hundred thoufand franks, of which one half was funk in the taille, and the other in the cuftoms. BiRON and his afîbciatcs, to increafe the difcontent of thefe people, already flrongly incited by that impoft, perfuaded them, that to com- plete their calamities, they would fliortly be burthened with a duty upon fait ; and many perfon;> were kept in their pay in each of thefe provinces, to terrify the i habitants with perpetual alarms. What go- vernment can expert to be free from thefe difiurbers of public tran- quillity, if that of Henry the great, fo wife, mild, and popular, was not ? This evil, however, took its rife from the unhappy influence the civils wars had on the manners of the people ; that was the poifon which produced thofe turbulent fpirits to whom quiet was painful, and the happieft condition, a languid inadivity : hence arifes that refllefs ambition, which keeps their reafon enflaved, makes them murmur at heaven, and quarrel with mankind for torments they bring on them- felvs ; and raifes their malice againfl princes, whofe whole power, fo obnoxious them, is not fufficient to gratify their inordinate defires. Henry's eyes were at length opened with regard to the real cha- rader of Biron, which he had hitherto flattered himfelf he knew fo well, and he began to fear he fliould be obliged to have recourfe to the moll: violent remedy to ftop the contagion : informations multiplied every day, and came from perfons that could not be fufpedl- ed ; all agreed in the chief point of the confpiracy ; fome mentioned the adl of affociatlon, and, having feen it, related the very terms in which it was conceived. Calvairac * gave the king the mofl circum- ftantial and tnoft probable account that had been yet tranfmitted to him 5 befides the public rumour, he in.ormed him, that Biron and his * John de Sudrie, baron de Calveyrac. collègues 88- MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XII. 16: 1, coilegvies had received feveral thoufand piftolcs from perfons that '——'.'- — ' came from Spuin ; that they expected fums ftill greater, and a fupply of forces ; that the council of Madrid had agreed to it, on condition that the rebels {lionld begin by feizing fome ftrong maritime places, or fronders of Spain; that, conformably to this plan, enterprizes were al- ready formed upon Blaye, Bayonne, Narbonne, Marfeilles, and Tou- TnUprer All- Ion ; and that the count of Auvergne was to wait only till thefe were ver^na. executed, to begin openly his attempt upon Saint-Flour. All thefe informations made it abfolutely necelîliry to examine the matter thoroughly. The king came on purpofe to the arfenal, where he found me bufv in completing the labour I had begun, to com- municate to me what he had learned, and gave me the detail, leaning upon the balcony over the great walk : he went afterwards to Fon- tainebleau, whither I followed him ; and it was in this place that we were to proceed to the laft extremities with maréchal Biron. He had for a long time made ufe of La-Fin * to carry on his foreign negotia- tions, a livelv, cunning, intriguing fellow, whom Bouillon and he often called their kinfman. La-Fin had been fent feveral times to the king of Spain, the duke of Savoy, and the count of Fuentes ; but af- terwards, upon fome difguft Biron had given him, he retired to his houfe, where he remained unemployed. It was not thought impof- fible to gain him ; and for this purpofe his nephew, the vidame of Chartres -f-, was made ufe of, who endeavoured to prevail upon his uncle to come to Fontainebleau. In the mean time I returned to Paris, to make preparations for a journey his majefty thought it neceilary to take immediately into all thofe places through which Biron had pafled, namely, Poidou, Guienne, Limofin, and efpecially about Blois. La-Fin having at length refolved to come to Fontainebleau, re- vealed all that he knew concerning Biron's confpiracy. The king was * James de La-Fin, a gentleman of Bur- " planted him in the marechal's favour; and gundy, of the houfe of Beauvais-la-Nocle ; " in revenge to the count de Fuentes, upoiv " (he mod dangeious man, fays Percfixe, " thedifcovery of his attempting to betray " andthegreatelitraitorinFrance: theking " the latter, for that he had caufcd his fe- " knewhiin>vcll,and oftenfaid to themarc- " crctary to be arrelled : yet that he might " dial, Don't fufier that man to come near " the better deftroy the maréchal de Bi- '■ you, he's a rogue, he'll be the death of " ron, he prctenJed ftill to have the fame" " you. He endeavoured to accufe tlic mare- " attachment to him as before." " chal de Biron, from a jtaloufy he enter- f Pregent dc La Fm, vidame de Char- " t.iimd, that the baron de Lux had fup- très. defirous Book XII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 89 defirous that he fliould be detained and lodged at Mi- Voie, that 1601. he might be feen by none but thofe that were fent to confer with ^-*— ■>r*^J' him. His majefty judging by what he had firft declared, that my prefence would be neceffary, wrote thefe few words to me : " My " friend, come to me immediately, on an affair that concerns my " fervice, your honour, and our mutual fatisfaftion. Adieu, my dear " friend." I took poft immediately, and on my arrival at Fontaine- bleau, I met his majefty in the midft of the large avenue to the caflle, ready to go to hunt. I threw myfelf at his feet: " My friend," faid this prince to me, preffing me in his arms, " all is difcovered ; the " chief negodator is come to afk pardon, and to make a full confelïïon : " in his accufation he includes a great number of perfons of high •' rank, fome of whom have particular reafons to love me * ; but he " is a great liar, and I am determined to believe nothing he fays with- " out good proofs : he accufes one man, amongfl the relf, whom you " little think ofj come, guefs who this traitor is." " That is not " in my power, fire," I replied. After preffing me fome time longer, but to no purpofe, " You know him well, faid he, it is M. de Rolny." " If the others are no more guilty than I am, replied I, fmiling, your " majefly need not give yourfelf much trouble about them." " I be- " lieve fo, faid the king ; and to fliew you that I do, I have ordered " Bellievre and Villeroi to bring you all the accufadons againft you " and the others ; I have even told La-Fin, that I would have him " fee you, and fpeak to you freely : he is concealed at Mi-Voie, and " will meet you on the road from Moret ; appoint the hour and place, " and none (hall be prefent at your conference." I COULD not imagine how my name happened to be found in this wicked cabal j whether it came from fome one of Biron's people, who fuppofed me to be a friend of their mafter, or from Biron himfelf and his afibciates, who thought it was lawful for them' to make ufe of it to the Spanifli minifters, to fwell the number of their partifans j or of the malecontents of the kingdom : it was not impoffible, that two let- ters I wrote to the maréchal, through zeal rather than complaifance, * ^Ve may, doubtlefs, rank among the " we have at leaft this advantage," faid number of thefe, the charge which La Fin M. de La-Force to Henry IV'. throwing brought againtt Biron, of his having at- hinifelf at his feet, " that there is nothing tempted the king's life, and the Dauphin's, " proved as to his having made any at- according to Chron. Septennaire, fince his " tempt on your majelly's perfon." Vol. friends made ufe of the proofs they had of 9 1 29 of the iVlSS. in the king's library, the contrary, to obtain his pardon ; " Sire, Vol. II. N might MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XII. might have involved me in the number of thefe con fpira tors ; and the rather becaufe, in allufion to the converlation that paffed between Biron and me, which I have formerly mentioned, 1 told him plainly, that there was nothing to hinder him from making himfelf ufef ul and dear to the kingdom, by thofe meafures I had marked out to him : I like- wife told him, that although I was almoft always about the king's perfon, yet I had never heard him exprefs any refentment againft him : and I advifed Biron not to affert fuch a thing publicly, becaufe the world would not fail to believe, and to report, that he only feigned to have received fome difguft from his majefty, becaufe his own con- fcjence reproached him with having deferved it. Thus what I faid with an intention to bring Biron back to his duty, was interpreted to my difadvantage. Henry's opinion, as he has fince told me, was, that this accufation of me did not take its rife either from Biron or any of his aflbciates, but from La-Fin alone, at the inftigation of fome perlons who hoped by that means to accomplifh my difgrace : however that may be, it made fo little impreflîon on the king's mind, that his majefty, who had lately given me the government of the Baftile, and thought that the patent for it fliould not appear in my name, but only in that of La Chevalerie, altered his opinion on this occafion, and caufed it to be expedited under mine, knowing none, he faid, but me, by whom he could expeâ; to be ferved with fidelity, in cafe he fliould have birds in the cage. Accordingly, Villeroi was ordered to bring me the pa- tent a few days after, which was the beginning of the following year. Matthieu, J HAD a lopg conveifation with La-Fin alone, in theforeft; after vol. n. b. III., ^yj^j^j-i^ Bellievre, Villeroi, and myfelf, examined, with great care, all the papers that contained any proofs againfl the duke of Bouillon, maréchal Biron, and the count of Auvergne ; fuch as letters, memoran- dums, and other writings of the fame kind. The names of many perfons befides thefe three gentlemen were mentioned in them ; but as it was probably with as little juftice as mine own, which was there likewife, I fliall not, on fo flight a foundation, give them a place in thefe Memoirs, which, to diftruftful perfons, might make them ftill more liable to fufpicion, than the depufitions of La-Fin. After this examination we returned to his majelly, and a council being held, the tefult of it was, to keep every thing fecret, that Biron might not be warned of the meafures that were to be taken to bring him to court, that he might be arrefted with the greater fecurity. It was likewife refolved, Book XII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. V refoved, that his majefty fliould fet out immediately on the journey i6of. before mentioned. We ftiall fee in the following year what thele ^■^-'v-— meafures produced. It is neceffary to take fome notice of what happened this year in the feveral ftates of Europe : the court of London was thrown into confufion by a rebellion that was ftirred up by the Spaniards in Ire- land ; Elizabeth fent to befiege Kinfale, the llrongeft place which the rebels were in poffeflion of; the earl of Tyrone, their leader, and Don Alonzo del Campo, who commanded the SpaniOi troops in Ire- land, haftened to relieve it with all the forces they could get together, which were cut in pieces by the lord Piercy. Alonzo remained pri- foner there, and Kinfale furrendered. Very different reports were raifed concerning the deftination of the fleet which was fitted out about this time by tlie king of Spain, but nothing could be certainly known about it ; for after it had rode fome time in the Mediterranean, it was attacked by a tempeft, and was ob- liged to re-enter the port of Barcelona, which it did in a very (hat- tered condition : the command of this fleet had been given to prince Doria. Probably it was defigned againfl: Portugal, where the true or the falfe Doia Sebafl:ian * fl:ill continued to have a great number of par- tifans : Some fecrets which he revealed, that it feemed could have been only known to the king of Portugal ; certain natural marks upon his body which he fliewed, and fome other circumftances of the fame kind, confirmed his aflfertion. However, to confefs the truth, none of thefe proofs appeared unanfwerable ; neverthelefs, the king of Spain thought it the wifefl: way to rid himfelf privately of this pretended prince : fo that the truth was never known, or at leaft to a few per- fons only, whofe interefl it was not to pubhfh it. * There is fomething furely very fur- might likewile be applied to M. de Sully) prifing and uncommon in this perfeiEl re- than from any evidence tiiey had, perfifted femblance of al! the parts, features, and in fupportiiig the claims of this impoftor. even the defedls of ttie body, which, ac- The Septennaire is very favourable to him, cording to all the hiftorians, was between an. 1601. p. 217. See what has been faid a the real Don Sebaftian and this man,who is little higher. The Spaniards were fo th i- faid to have been a native of Calabria ; and roughly convinced of their having dilco- it is no lei's difficult to guefs, how he could vered the cheat, when Ferdinand, grand come to the knowledge of the circum- duke of Tufcany, had delivered him ftancesof this king of Portugal's life, which up into the hands of the Viceroy ofNapl.s, were fo peculiar and fecret, as to aftonifh that they no longer fcrupled to expol'e mm all the world. The Portuguefe, ftjll more as a public gazing,-flock, mounted him deceived through their natural affedtion for on an afs ; after which they fent him to the blood of their kings, as alio through the galleys. See Matthieu, torn. II. J. iii. their hatred for Spain (this laft motive p. 451. N 2 A DIET 92 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XII. 1601. Ferdinand of Auftria. By the chri- fiians called Chateauneuf; A DIET was convened at Ratiibon, with intention to make fome compofition between the popifli and proteftant religions, but this hope came to nothing : upon the firft queftion propofed, which was con- cerning the authority of the holy fcriptures *, fuch heat was raifed among the difputants, that an accommodation became impradlicable. The papifts maintained, that their authority was derived wholly from the confent of the church, that they might add the prerogative of infal- libility to the other rights with which they have fo liberally, and with fo little reafon, inverted the Pope : the proteftants treated this doctrine with contempt and ridicule -f-. The war in Tranfylvania ftill continued difadvantageous to the Vaivodes, Battory and Michael, who had revolted from the Emperor; they were defeated by George Bafte, and Claufembourg was taken. The duke of Mercœur fignalized himfelf no lefs at the head of the Imperial troops againft the Turks | ; he took Albe-Royale in Hun- gary, a fortrefs efteemed impregnable ; and afterwards drove away the Turks from it, who had returned to befiege it. The arch-duke, lefs fortunate than Mercœur, was beaten before Canife ; and the Knights of Malta took and deftroyed the city of Paffava in the Morea. Constantinople and the palace of the Grand Signor was in no Lefs commotion, through the difcontent of the Janizaries, who pro- ceeded fo far as to flrangle, in the prefence of Mahomet III. himfelf, feven of the favourites of his feraglio, and threatened to depofe him 1 he was a man, indeed, whofe vices rendered him unworthy of a throncj he was cruel, treacherous, flothful, avaritious, and liink in every kind of voluptuoufnefs. * This quertion was publickly debated, during fcveral fittings, between the catho- lic divines of Maximilian duke of Bavaria, and the proteftant divines of Ludovic count palatine of Neubourg, and of the eledois of Saxony and Brandenbourg. ; the tvi/o firft of thefe princes aflifted at it in perfon, and were obliged to put an end to this dif- pvite, the advantage in which, each of the panics, as is always the cafe, afterwards afcribed to themfelves. De Thou, Chroii. Septcn. for the year 1601. ■f This, however, will always be, in the opinion of unprejudiced perfons, one among the falfe doflrines of Calvin, the molt untenable, namely, that fcripture is the beil interpreter of fcripture ; or, what is far worfe, that its fenfe may be deter- mined by private perfons. This is the chief fource ol that monftrous confufion of feâs with which the pretended Reformation was immediately over-run. X The duke of Mercœur, by his great exploits, acquired the reputation of one of the firlt warriors of his time. See them, as alfo the other fads that are here fpoken of, in the hiftorians. MEMOIRS MEMOIRS O F SULLY. BOOK xiir. AGIT AT ED as the minds of the people were by all' thofe do- meftic infurredions we have ken in the preceding book, yet it did not hinder them from refigning themfelves, this winter, to their accuftomed pleafures and Ihews. By the queen's order, and for her amufement, a magnificent interlude was compofed : the arfe- nal was the place the king chofe for the reprefentation of thefe lliews, on account of the conveniency its fpacious apartrnents afforded both for the adors and fpedators. At the time that this interlude was to be played, the wound I had received in my mouth at the fiege of Char- tres happening to open again, I was not in a condition to give the ne- cefTary orders at the arfenal, and they had already pitched upon another place for its reprefentation ; but the king chofe rather to wait till I was cured, which retarded it eight days. Towards the middle of lent, the count of Schomberg, grand maré- chal of the empire, and envoy from the court of Vienna, arrived at Paris, into which he made his entry with a train of forty or fifty hoi fe ; the king ordered the fame honours to be paid him that the maréchal de 1602. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIII. de * Bois-Dauphin had received at Vienna, The prince, fon to the marquis of Brandenbourg, ftaid Ukevvife fome time at Paris. It was not ufual by defray the expences of |)erfons of his rank, efpecially, as it was obferved by his majefty, if they did not follow the court : but the king was refolved to fliew a particular refpedl to a prince, whofe fa- mily, one of the moft illultrious in Germany, had always profeffed a re- markable attachment for France ; and I was ordered to fend him every day, in his majefty *s name, prefents of the richeft wines, and provi- fions for his table. When everything was ready for the king's departure, and that his majerty, in the feveral journeys he had made to Paris, had given all the neceffary orders for fecuring peace and tranquillity in that city, and in the provinces he was going to remove from, as well as thofe through which he was to pafs, he left Paris on the twentieth of May, and came to Fontainebleau, from whence he took the road to Blois. The queen and all her houfliold accompanied his majefty in this jour- ney ; I likewife attended him, but did not fet out till a few days after : the king fent me notice of his arrival at Blois, and his intention of flay- ing there eight or ten days. This delay was no more than neceffary for a regimen that was prefcribed him by his phyficians, to cure a de- fluxion of humours that had fallen on one of his legs, and for the time it lafled, as Henry wrote to me, might well be called the gout. Blois likewife was the moft proper city he could chufe to difcover the fecret pradices of maréchal Biron : Henry had many perfons in this pro- vince in whom he could confide, who applied themfelves folely to the making thofe difcoveries, and almofl every hour fent couriers to him with the intelligence they had procured ; by them the king was in- for.med that Biron's cabal extended to Anjou, the higher Poitou, Xain- tonge, Mirebalais, Châtelleraudois, Angoumois, Perigord, Limofin, Marche, and Auvergne, and even took in the higher Guyenne, and Languedoc J that it was fupported by four or five noblemen of the court, whofe names were not expreffed, for fear of advancing any thing that was yet doubtful : the connexions with Spain, the fchemcs for furpri- fing the frontier cities, and the arguments they made ufe of to difguft the people with the prefent government (the fame which I have already mentioned) made up part of thefe advices, to which the following new informations were added. * Uiban de Laval, mitrquis dc Sablé, who died in 1629. Ths EooK XIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Thf, feditious, to prepoflefs the people with unfavourable thouglits ]6oi of his niajefty's iourney to Blois, which was doubtlefs a fourceof un- v— -^^— eafy apprchenfions to them, gave out every where that Henry had only . undertaken it with a defign to chaftife feverely thofe that had refifted Jambeville, d'Amours, and the other com miflaries that had been fent to exad the penny in the Hvre, upon the rivers and other places of paflage, and to fettle it himfelf in fuch a manner, that, by a new re- gulation of the rates, it rtiould produce thrice as much, and to force the duty on fait to be every where received by taking pofTeflion of the falt-pits, for which the proprietors were to have no other recompence than fome rents ill paid from the town-houfe of Paris -, and, laftly, to ftop the murmurs which it was expedted the exacting of two tenths would raife (which, they made them believe, Henry had obtained the pope's permiffion to levy) and the revocation of the draw-backs, granted on the taxes of 1594, 1595, ^'^'^ ^59^> which I have already mentioned in the account of my journey into the feveral diftridts. Thus was this good prince reprefented, throughout his whole king- dom, as a furious and implacable tyrant. They were never without one fet of arguments to engage the catholic nobility in a rebellion againft him, and another to fow fedition amongfl: the proteftant officers and gentry : to the firfl they reprefented, that this treafure and this formidable artillery, which the king was providing, were to be em- ployed in depriving them totally of their privileges, and reducing them to a ftate of llavery ; they perfuaded the fécond, that the perfe- cution againft them was already begun, that the payment of their gar- rifons, the funds for the prefervation of their cities, the pen fions of their leaders, their officers, and minifters, would be leffened this year by one third, and the next by two, after which there would be fo much the lefs difficulty in depriving them of all their flrong places, as it was already a point agreed upon by the council, to exclude the pro- teftants from all public offices and employments, by refufing to expedite the patents for them. I F the proofs againft the perfons of the confpirators had been as clear as thofe of their plots, the king might have that inftant given free courfe to his juftice ; but, with regard to the dukes of Bouillon and Tremouille, for example, there was as yet leis certainty of their guilt, than of maréchal Biron and the count of Auvergne'sj for at the moft there were only fufpicions, though thofe indeed were very ftrong, againft 95 96 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XIII. 1602. againfl: them: the other lords of the court, whofe names, to the OOTN-/ number of eight, were found in the lift, might be well ranged under a third clafs of perfons, whofe doubtful conduâ: required fome expla- nation. The dukes of Bouillon and Epernon attended the king in his journey to Blois, and his majefty was of opinion he might be able to draw from themfelves a proof of their real fentiments, by attentively obferving the air and turn of their countenance, during the recital he made them of the news he received : he began firft with d'Epernon. A juft regard to truth has fo often reduced me to the neceflîty of fpeak- ing difadvantageoufly of this nobleman, that it is with a real fatisfao- tion I feize this opportunity of fliewing hii innocence, and giving him the praife he deferves. D'Epernon hearing whifpers about the court of intrigues and ca- bals, eafily apprehended that, as it is ufual to judge of the prefent by the paft, his name would not fail to be mentioned amongft thofe that were called enemies to the ftate ; for which reafon he took the pre- caution to renew to his majefty at Fontainebleau his alfurances of fi- delity : thefe afllirances were all the proofs he had to ofter, and unfor- tunately Henry, who had been long prejudiced againft him, did not give much credit to them. Notwithftanding this ftep, he ftill con- tinued to fufj-cd him, and becaufe d'Epernon in fpeaking to him had referred to me, the king wrote to me at Paris an account of what had pafled between him and the duke, letting me know, at the lame time, that d'Epernon feemed to have an intention to make up matters with me, and he ordered me to make the firft advances to him, to the end that, if the crime with which he was charged ftiould appear to be yet only intentional, his majefty might not have any caufe to reproach himfelt with having fuffered the duke to rufli into adlual treafon, when there needed only good advice and kind treatment to prevent him. I OBEYED the king's orders, and from that moment became con- vinced of the duke of Epernon's innocence : he faid the lame to the king at Blois as he had done to me, and did not deny his having heard of fome commotions and fecret intrigues, but laid that thele were always fo general, and fometimes fo full of contradidlion, that he could not imagine that any credit was to be given to them ; that thofe who were faid to be the authors or favourers of thefe plots having never given him the leaft intimation of them, he had treated as a fic- tion, a project which appeared to him wholly extravagant, the prefent fituation of affairs rcndring the execution of it abfolutely impolTible ; but Book XIII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. ^7 but whether real or not, he offered the king to continue about his per- 1602. fon, as a fecurity for his own fidelity, during fix months ; and if that ^.•^"s^ time was not fufficient, he fwore to him that he would not quit him till his fufpicions were entirely erafed. The king could have no ob- jeftion to fo reafonable a propofition, and began, as well as I, to believe that the duke of Epernon was guiltlefs. Th e duke of Bouillon difcovered far lefs fincerity : on the firff: men- tion his majefty made of the plot to him, he treated it as a calumny invented by fpies and informers, againft the nobility of the kingdom', to exaggerate their own fervices, and appear at lead to gain the money that was given them to exercife this employment : to this reproach, which tacitly attacked his majeffy, he added an application of a paf- fage in the New Teftament, It is itnpojjibk hut that offences will come, kit nvoe unto him through ivhom they come, a pafiage, which, if taken in its true fenfe, might have been with more juftice applied to Bouillon and his adherents. Bouillon did not flop here ; he added, that it was true he was told, that the catholics, as well as the proteftants, com- plained of their being opprefied with imports, and that in proportion as the king's riches and happinefs increafed, they became poor and mi- ferable ; that, befides thefe general complaints, he had, in a certain place, heard proteftants fay, that fooner or later it would be their de- ftiny to be looked upon as the plague and nufance of the flate, that both they and their children would be hated, perfecuted, and pro- fcribed, that they would be excluded from all honours and employ- ments, and that the kingdom would never be quiet till they were to- tally extirpated : he added, that the more credit was given to thefe reports, becaufe that perfons of the greateft abilities in the kingdom, not being admitted to the council, nor confulted on affairs relating either to the difference of religions, or to the new imports that were ertablirtied, they could not inform the people of the true motive of thofe refolutions that were taken there, nor could the people attribute them to any thing but to a defign to enflave them. It was fufficiently plain that the duke .of Bouillon, by talking in this manner, fought to infinuate to the king, that all thefe reports of a rebellion had no other foundation than the cries of the people opprefied with a multitude of taxes ; and that this feeming difcontent was put on to conceal from his majefcy his real fentiments : but the infolence and the feverity of his exprelTions rtiewed plainly enough that he could not refift this opportunity of difcharging fome part of his malice ; he Vol. II. O eveo çS M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XîII. 1602. even added, with the fame fubtiky and with equal chagrin, that they y-0-'V-^ had endeavoured to perfuade himfelf, that his majefty intended to abo- lifh the privileges of his vifcounty of Turenne, and to purchafe the rights and claims of the houfe of Mark upon Sedan ; but to this, as well as to every thing elfe, he had only replied, that he was perfuaded the king would never aft in fuch a manner, on account of the fervices he had at all times received from the proteftant body ; he finiflied by protefting to his majefty, that, although all that had been told him concerning the feditious and traiterous attempts in the kingdom fhould be as true as he believed them falfe, yet it fliould never Itllen his duty and fidelity. The king, diflembling to the duke of Bouillon the opinion he con>- ceived of him from this difcourfe, made him a propofal of the fame nature with that which the duke of Epernoîî had of himfelf fo frankly made, and which he expedted would throw him into great confufion : he told the duke, that he was fatisficd with this affurance, and that he would no longer preferve any remainder of diftruft of him, provided he would give the fame fatisfadion that Epernon had offered, which was not to remove from the court while this affair continued in agita- tion, and that he might depend upon it he would not keep him about his perfon without communicating to him all bis defigns, and calling him to his councils, as he feemed to defire, that he might be himfelf a witnefs of his folicitude to relieve the people, and be able to give both the proteflants and catholics an inconteftable proof of the purity of his intei;ticns. Bouillon prcferved an uncommon prefence of mind under this blow ; he broke out into an exclamation of joy and furprife at the fentiments his majelly difcovered for him ; and as to the propofal he made him, he told him that he would go and put himfelf into a condi- tion to fatisfy it, not for fix months only, but for his whole life if ne- ceffary, by taking a journey throughout all his efiates, that nothing might afterwards interrupt the long ftay he intended to make at court. In this manner, by appearing to do all that his majefty required, he referved, nevcrthelefs, the power of doing only what he pleafcd himfelf, and of making a plaufibls excufe for the fudden departure he was meditating. Henry, comprehending his defign, refolvcd to call a fecret council to deliberate upou the meafures that were ncceffary to be taken in this eonjundure. The count of Soifibns, the chancellor, Villeroi, Maifle, ind myfelf, were all that were prefent at this council : all other affairs 8 were Book XIH. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 99 were poftponed till Defcures was heard, who had been fent by his ma- 1602. jefty to invite maréchal Biron to court, and whofe report was fuch that <- — v~ — ' it was unanimoufly refolved to arreft this maréchal and the count of J^'^[|'"''' i^^^^f Auvergne as foon as they were arrived. The king afterwards de-bcfcures. manded if it would not be proper to do the like by the dukes of Bou- illon and Epernon, while they continued at court : almofl all the coun- fellors were of this opinion, and the moft diftinguifhed amongfl: them qualified it no otherwife, than by faying that Biron was the only one to whom mercy might be afterwards extended, becaufe that ading no- thing by himfelf, he would eafily be reduced to reafon, when he was feparated from thofe who hurried him on to his ruin. I took particular notice of this advice upon account of its fingularity : mine, however, was direâly oppofite ; I could not approve of the arrefting of Epernon, or even of Bouillon : if in fuch cafes fufpicions were to ferve for proofs, it was likewife neceflary, I faid, to arreft all whom La Fin had accufed, and myfelf the firft; that in cafe they fhould afterwards be found in- nocent, they would, by this precipitate adlion, lofe an opportunity of feizing Biron and Auvergne, whofe treafons were manifeft, fince it would be impoiTible to arreft them all at the fame time, and their flight would put it out of our power to prove any thing againft the prifoners. The arrefting of Bouillon and Epernon, I added, would have this farther ill confequence, that, whether guilty or innocent, his majefty could not difpenfe with himfelf from treating them as traitors, through ajuft fear of what their refentmentonly of fuch a pub- lic outrage might induce them to a6t againft him. The king yielded to this advice, and the council broke up, it being already dinner time. His majefty being defirous of conferring with me alone upon what had been debated in the council, bid me fnatch a foldier's dinner, and come back to him before the court filled again. When I went down into the hall, where I was waited for by a crowd of people who attach themfelves to men in power, I faw the duke of Epernon advancing to meet me, who, with the fame air of confcious innocence that I had before obferved in him, told me, that fuch long and fecret councils alarmed a great many perfons, but he was not of the number', becaufe he had nothing to reproach himfelf with. I replied, that he had then nothing to fear, the king being more difpofed to pardon the guilty, who confefled their crimes, than to punifli the innocent on fufpicions only. " I perceive," added I, " many people who are leaving the court ; but thofe whofe confciences " are ckar need not have recourfe to that expedient. I am one O 2 ** of MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIIL of thefe," added Epernon, *' and I am refolved not to leave the court while thefe difcontents continue." " You cannot do better, " monffcigneur," replied I; " and I promife you, that, on this occafion,. " you fliall not lofe the merit of having taken fo good a refolution." When I came home, I ordered my maître' d' hotel not to furnifh my table as ufual, but to ferve me up any thing that was ready. Nicolas * came in juft as I was fitting down to table : " Come wafli immediately," faid I, without telling him of the orders I had juft given, " and take " your place ." He was greatly aftonillied to hear me, after I had drank two glafles and eaten a hafty morfel, aik for the fruit, and, at the fame time, order my horfe to be got ready : he who loved good cheer as well as mirth, was not pleafed at this order. " Pafdieu, mon- " fieur," faid he, " I am not furprifed that you pafs for one of the " wifeft noblemen in France, I don't know any one who can drink. " three glafles during the whole time you are at dinner." " Well,, " well, monfieur Nicolas," replied I, " do you make an end of your " dinner, as for me I have bufinefs that calls me elfewhere." I RELATED to his m.ajefty v/hat d'Epernon had faid to me a little time before. The king agreed with me that d'Epernon had no in- ducement to engage in an affair that was carried on by perfons, whofe religion and difpofition were difterent from his, by which likewife, while he had no advantages to hope for, he run the hazard of being ftript of his eftates and employments. D'Epernon had judgment enough to know that the fcheme of thefe rebels was likely to be a fatal one. " Not," faid the king, " that probably in his heart he is not " glad of thefe diforders, that he may become more necefFary to me ; " but he knows by experience fuch defigns are often blafted." His majefty charged me to make another effort to prevail upon the dukes of Bouillon and Tremouille to ftay at court, but to wait till he went to Poitiers, becaufe he might then receive intelligence that would deter- mine him. I ufed my utmoft endeavours for this purpofe, in the pre- fence of meffieurs de La Nouc^., de Confiant, d'Aubigne, and de Preaux, but all were ineifedual. * Simon Nicolas was the king's fecrc- •' more acceptable to company, according f ary, " a poet, a facetious man, and an old " to the corrupt manners of thofe wretched •' oftcnder, fays the Journal of Henry the *' times. He died two years after iu the *' IVth. believing in God only for intereft, " 70th year of his age,in hislaft illncfs ex- " and, for this reafon, he became the "prefling himfelfwiih infamous impiety." During Book XIII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. loi During their majefties ft ay at Blois, an affair of a very different 1602. nature was in agitation at court, which I am under fome perplexity in >— — v— — J relating, for it made too much noiie to be paffed over in filence ; yet I am not at liberty to enter into an explanation of it here, lefl I fhould be;ray the fecret confided to me only by the king and queen, whom it perfonally concerned ; the medium therefore which I fliall obferve, is to recount only fo much of it as got air, and came to the knowledge of the courtiers. I T was reported that the king and queen had had fome difference together, which was confirmed by the king's fending Armagnac for Firft gentle- me fo early in the morning:, that he was ftill in bed, as well as the î"^" ?^ l^'^ 1 1 • /• 1 n 1 • 1 • /- , bed-chamber queen, and, contrary to their uiual cuitom, each m their feveral apart- to the king, ments. It was obferved that I had been feveral times backwards and forwards between them, and I had been fccn kneeling three or four times before the king and queen, as if I was endeavouring to obtain fome great favour of thtm. As nothing in fuch cafes efcapes the in- quifitive courtiers, each formed particular conjeâures upon thefe cir- cumffances, as alio that with the names of the king and queen, they heard thofe of the duke and duchefs of Florence, and Mantua, Virgil Urfin,Don John, Beliegarde,Trainei,Vinti, Joannini,Conchini, laLeo- nor, Gondy, Catherine Selvage, and the marchionefs of Verneuil ; other perlons, they laid, were hinted at, under the covert name of the colour of tan. They endeavoured to difcover fomething by my wife, having learned that Conchini, who had often bufinefs with her, and who publicly paid her the fame refpeét as afervant to his miftrefs, and often addrefled her by that title, had been feveral times lent by the queen to bring her, and that fhe palled many whole afternoons fhut up with her majefty in her clofet, when ihe was alone, or when only la Leonor was with her. But that which afforded moft matter for difcourfe, was that, at the time when thefe difputes ran higheft, La Varenne came one morn- ing to acquaint me, that the king waited for me in the new gallery that he had lately caufed to be built at Blois, over thofe that were the length of the garden below ; it is that in which there is the odd re- prefentation of a hind with a flag's horns. It was obferved, that his majefly ordered two Swifs, who underftood not a word of French, to fee placed centinels at the end of this gallery which was not yet clofed up, and that, during two hours and more which we continued together, we 52 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIII. 1602. we feemed to talk with great earneftnefs and adion. They might, ' — ^ — -^-notwithftanding the diftance, hear feme of our words, from which they could draw no lights ; but it was not the fame with thofe which his majefty fpoke when he went out ; thefe they underftood, and care- fully remembered. " No more need be faid of it. I will regulate my " whole condud by your advice, faid the king, that I may be no " longer reproached with obftinately following my own will ; but re- " member, that we may probably both repent it one day, for you «' cannot but be affeded with any misfortunes that happen to me. " I knovv' the difpofition of thofe perfons who foment our differences, " they will be the caufe of great uneafmefs to the ftate : gendenefs " and indiilgence are laudable qualities, I confefs ; but you cannot de- " ny alfo, that their extremes are dangerous." It was not difficult for them likewife to diftinguifli the latter part of my reply to the king : Î' It was, indeed, a part of prudence, I told him, to forefee and to " prevent bad accidents, but it was equally necellary to avoid haften- " ing them by ufelefs precautions." On this they founded their fu- fpicion, that the king had a defign to proceed to fome violent meafures againft certain perfons of the queen's * houfliold, and who were mofl: In her confidence. From Blois the king came to Poitiers ; he afterwards fliewed him- felf in the Limohn and Guienne : his prefence produced every where fo good an effect, that he found no oppofition to his will, not even to the ©ftablifliment of the penny in the livre -f- : he might have afterwards continued this impoff:, and the colleding of it would have met with no difficulty ; but, fatisfied with the fubmiffion of his people, he took that opportunity to change it into a fmall fubfidy, and afterwards to fupprefs it entirely. The ediifl of revocation expreffed, that his majefty was wholly induced to it by the obedience of his fubjeds. Henry, pleafed * This is fpeaking very plainly ; and the Mother and Son, torn. I. p. g. that as the other Memoirs of that time all a- this prince had threatened her both with gree with this notion, it can fcarce be the one and the other. It is probable dvoubtcd, that Henry had not only taken that M. de Rofny thought this laft courfc a refolution to clear the court of thefe in- rather too violent, as, in fa<5l, it was, all formers, who cxafpcratcd the queen's mind circumflances confidered. againft him, but likewife to make this f La Septennairc fays, that M. de Rofny princefs fcnfiblc of her indifcretion, by for- was fent for this purpofc by his majefty to bearing to fee her, and obliging her to live Rocliel ; and that he was commiffioned by at a diHance from him in one of his pa- the Rochellers to make remonftrances to laces, and perhaps by fending her back to the king, for fuppreffing the pancarte or Florence. We may fee, in the Hiftory of tariff of this impoft. with Book XIIL MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 103 with the fuccefs of his journey *, returned again to Fontainebleau, 1602. whither he was foon followed by maréchal Biron. *.-— /-.*-<^ The confternation his party was thrown into by the king's journey, convinced him that his affairs were not fo far advanced as he had been willing to believe; this made him take a refolution to go to court, which feveral other motives contributed to confirm. His treaty with Spain and Savoy was not yet upon fuch a footing, as could give- him hopes of having an immediate fupply of what troops and money he had occafion for. Too glaring a refinance of the king's will might raife fufpicions of his treafonable pradices, which hitherto he imagin- ed had efcaped notice; nor was it unlikely, as the baron de Lux", his friend and confidant, reprefented to him, that the king, upon his re- peated refufals to appear before him, would march directly to him with an army, as to a declared rebel; which would be a fatal ftroke to the maréchal, who was neither in a condition to defend himfelf, nor to retire into any of his fortrefies, which were unprovided with ammunition of every kind, particularly of artillery. I HAD prepared Biron for this ftroke, by the precautions I took fome months before : I reprefented to him, that it was necefiary all the pieces of cannon in the fortified places of Burgundy fliould be caft over again, and the powder new beat. The attention with which I applied myfelf to all the duties of my employment, as grand maffer, was alone fufiicient to have made this propofal pafs unfufpedled ; but that I might not give the leaft umbrage by it to the marcchal, I was the firft to offer him to fupply the deficiencies, by furnifliing him with plenty of every thing that was necefiary from the arfenal of Ly- ons, which I had lately filled with great care. I confented that Biron fliould difpatch fome of his foldiers to Lyons, to efcort the boats that were to be loaded with the pieces of cannon I was to fend him, and that he fhould receive them before he fent away tliofe he already had. He was ignorant that I had taken fuch meafures every where, that the boats from Lyons which went up the Saone very flowly, were flopped by the way, till thofe that came from Burgundy had got beyond the places under his jurifdiftion ; and when both were in my power, my boats proceeded no farther. * During this journey to Poitiers, fays ceedings were held, except at Blois : ail la Septennaire, which lafted near two which was owing to the pubhc and private months, the court feemed melancholy, the difquiets of Henry, of which mention has king penfive ; no councils, no judicial pro- already been made, H1KÔN. 104 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIÎI 1602. BiRON did not perceive the artifice I had made ufe of till it was ""v — -> out of his power to prevent it : he difcovered fo violent a rage againft me, and boafted fo publicly that he would poignard me, that the king wrote to me never to go out without a good guard, I had likewife, as if ^ithout defign, ported the light horfe upon the paffage of the Loin. But all this, which Biron probably believed to be done only to mortify him, could not open his eyes : De Lux and he drew no other inference from the impoffibility they were now under of defend- ing themfelves, but that it was neceflary they Ihould deceive the king, till by foreign afliftance they had provided for their fecurity, Defcures and Je^nnin afted in fuch a manner with them, as to increafe this confidence ; and La-Fin had not only given Biron * the ftrongeft af- furance that he had not betrayed him, but likewife, that he had fought for an interview with the king with no other view than to found him, and that he had found him very far from gueffing the truth ; this he again confirmed to him at Fontainebleau, where, as he paffed him, he faid thefe words j " Courage, my mafter, and fpeak boldly." The council had likewife fo carefully kept the fecret, that the court was wholly unacquainted with what was defigned againft Biron ; and d' Epernon hearing of his arrival at Fontainebleau, fent him fuch of- fers of fervice as are ufual amongft perfons of high rank -f ; in which, * The maréchal de Biron imagined that he had feen the treaty that was made with Spain flung into the fire ; but La-Fin de- ceived him, by burning, inftead of it, a piece of wafte paper. I The duke d' Epernon did not deny, that upon this occalion he had performed all the offices of a friend to maréchal de Biron : " When he converfed v/ith him " upon this affair, fays the hiftorian of ♦' his life, he did not do it in ambiguous *' term?, as others did, but with great o- " penncfs and fincerity. He acquainted " him with La-Fin's treachery, and ftiew- " ed him all the proofs-of it, and exhorted " him to throw himfelf upon the king's ♦' mercy. This clears the duke d'Epernon. *' Du Fkflis-Bauflbnnicre, a gentkman of " honour, and very much attached to the •' duke (it is the fame whom he fent to " meet the maréchal) was the perfon em- " ployed to ufe all forts of arguments to *' prevail withhim to afk the king's pardon; " hence this gentleman, allured of his own " and his patron's innocence, could never " be induced to retire into a foreign coun- " try, after that the king, who was not " ignorant of this flep, had caufed the " maréchal de Biron to be arrefted ; in " which he did the duke d'Epernon a con- " fiderable fervice. And he afterwards '' gave him a fécond piece of advice, which " proved very fuccefsful, and that was, to *' confefs freely to his majefty all his pro- " ceedings with the maréchal Biron, m ith " what views and intentions he had treat- " ed with him." The fame hiftoiian, in this account, throws in fome liints, which difcover the very be ttom of the duke d'E- pcrnon's fentiments, and which at thefame time ferve to fliew his charadler : " The " duke d'Epernon, fays he, and Biron, " hdving gone toeether to the Louvre to " pay their compliments after dinner, his '• jnajefty bcjng toid beforehand of their after Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF S U L L ^'. after what had pafTcd at Blois, he was guilty of great imprudence, he has fince confeffed himfelf. 10 as i6c2. I HAD taken a tour to Moret when Biron arrived at court ; tlie king fent me notice of it in the following billet : " My friend, our man is " come : he afFedls great modefty and rcfcrve; hafte hither fpeedil-/, " that you may advife us what is to be done : Adieu, my dear friend." I returned immediately, and found the king walking before the pa\ il- lion where I was lodged, with Prallin *, whom he left to come to me. He took my hand, and continuing his walk, told me, that he had in vain endeavoured, by every method he could think of, to ex-* tort from Biron -f- a confeffion of his crime, although he was fo litde capable of concealing his thoughts, that he read them plainly in his countenance. His majefty afterwards laid open to me his mod fecret fentiments with regard to the maréchal ; he ftill felt for him all his former tendernefs, and beheld him not with refentment, but compaf- •' coming, placed himfelf at a window, to " obferve, through the glafs, their mo- " tions and countenance. A friend of the " duke d'Epernon, who wjs about the *' king, gave him notice of thi?, that he " might regulate his behaviour according- '* ly. But he acted quite contrary to what *' he was advifed ; and being more and more " confirmed in the teftimony he received " from bis confcience of his innocence, and *' filled with a juft and high indignation *' to fee his fidelity fufpeded, he walked on •' with an upright countenance, and his " eyes directed towards the window where *' he knew the king leaned. This his ma- " jefty took particular notice of, and made " thoie about him do fo too. The king " afterwards made a match at tennis, in *'. which the count de Soiffons, with the " king, played againft the duke d'Kpei- " non and the maréchal." It is at this match that the hiftorians of that time make the duke utter a good faying, telling the maréchal, " that he played well, but chofe " his fide badly." Hift. de la vie du due d'Epernon, an. 1602. p. 205. * Charles de Choifcul, marquis de Praf- lin, captain of the firft company of guards, died a maréchal of Fiance in the year 1626. Vol. II. t The king, wearied out with his ob- flinacy, fuddenly left him, faying, as he went away, " Well, I mull learn the " truth elfewhere : Adieu, baron de Bi- " ron." Thefe words were like lightning before a clap of thunder, that ftiuck hini to the ground ; the king thereby degrading him from thofe many high dignities to which he had advanced him. The fame day, after fupper, the count de Soillons al- fo exhorted him, in the kmg's name, to own truth to him ; and concluded his re- monftrance with this fentence of the wife man, " The anger of kings is the forerun- " ner of death." Peref. ibid. After dinner, fays le Septennaire, he came to wait on the king, who was walking in hk grand hall, where his majefty, (hewing him his Itatue in relievo triumphing over the van- quilhed, fays to him, " Well, coufm, if " the king of Spain had feen me thus, " what would he fay ? " To which he lightly made anfwer, " Sir, he would fear " you but little." AU the lords that were prefent took notice of this prefuniptuous anfwer, and the king looking ffernly at him, Biron, who obferved it, explained his meaning, by adding, " I mean. Sir, that *' ftatue, but not this peilon." P ' ' fion: MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIIL fion : ardently he wifhed, that I would fuggeft to him the means hj which, without incurring any danger, he might avoid treating him as a ftate criminal ; but this was not eafy to be done, confidering the dif- pofition Biron was known to be of; if it was dangerous to fufFer him to cfcape, when he fhewed no figns of repentance, it was no lefs fo to releafe him upon his word, after letting him know that he had proofs of his treafon. The king once more refumed a refolution fuggefted to him by the natural fweetnefs of his temper, which was, to endeavour to reftore the maréchal to a right way of thinking ; but as he had not been able to fucceed in this attempt himfelf, he ordered me to undertake it, and promifed me to avow all I fhould fiy to Biron to engage his fubmiflîon,, provided that I gave him no hint of what La- Fin had faid, to prevent the defign of arrefting him, to which he muft have recourfe if the maréchal perfifted in his obftinacy. " If he opens himfelf freely to " you, faid the king, upon the confidence you muft endeavour to in- " fpire him with of my favourable intentions towards him, aflure " him, that he may come to me without fear, and confefs all ; and " if he difguifes no part of the truth, I promife you, upon my royal " word, I will pardon him chearfuUy." I WENT to the caftle to fee the maréchal, who was in his majefty's chamber, talking to La-Curée at the head of the bed. I had a fuffi- cient number of attendants with me : and the maréchal, feeing his people make way at my approach, advanced to falute me, but did it very coldly. I thought I ought to begin, by endeavouring to foften the refentment 1 knew he entertained againft me : " How is this I " monfieur, faid I, embracing him, you falute me with the gravity " of a fenator, contrary to your ufual cuftom -, you muft not be thus " referved, embrace me a fécond time, and let us talk freely." When we were feated, and out of the hearing of any ptrion in the room, " Well, monfieur," faid I, in an obliging tone, " what a ftrange man " are you ! have you yet paid your refpeds to the king ? how were *' you received by him ? what has he faid to you ? you know his dif- " pofition is frank and open, he likes others to be iincere with him ; " I am told you behaved in a very referved manner to him, which " was far from being feafonable, nor did i. fuit with either his temper " or yours : I am your kinfman, your friend, ÀL. to be prepared for them, in which they were carried thither and brought back again without being feen. The hiftory ot this trial, and all the particulars of the event I am now relating, are known to every one, and that maréchal Biron *, feeiiio- Miron, the lieutenant-civil, at the foot of the fcafrold, gave him a caution againft La Fin, took his leave of the elder Rumigny, entreat- ing him to bear his refpeds to mademoifelle de Rumigny, which, he faid, was all the prefent he had to make her ; and many circumftancea of the like nature. 1 he fudden fallies of rage, the terrors and weak- nefles which this man-j-, who, amidft the greateil dangers of war, had IM 1602. * The particular account of this affdir, to which the author here refers, is to be found in all the hiftorians, and in many other writings. t Thefe inward agitations had almoft deprived him of his fenfes, and gave great troublç to the afliftants, efpecially to the executioner, who durft net let liim fee his fword, and who yet took his opportunity fo well by amufing the maréchal, that he made his head fly off at one blow, which he gave fo dextroufly that it was fcarcely feen. I cannot forbear mentioning to the honour of learning, that maréchal Biron the f.ither was as remarkable for erudition, as the fon for ignorance : he could fcarcely read. The following account of him from the Chronologie Stptennaire, will ferve to finilh his charafler. The author, after obferving that he had almoil all the qualities necefTary to make a great warrior, namely that he was brave, fuiccfsful, indefatigable, fober, and^ temperate, aJds, " He was ♦* particularly fond of fplendor, proud, " and oftentatious, and even has been of- ** ten known to deQufe the pleafures of the •*' table and live abftemioufly, that he might " gratify his fantaltic paiTion for glory ; he " was daring in battle and immeafura- ** bly ambitious : he was fo prefumptuous " as to believe that neither the king nor *' France could do without him ; he was " alfo become fo mjlevokiit and fl n 'er- " ous, that he fpoke ill of all princes; he " has been often heard to ridicule the " mafs, and make a jeft of the pretended " reformed ; there are numberlefs inftan- " ces given of his having but little religion ; " he relied very much on the predidions o-; " aftrologers and divints." The author after this gives an account of an advcntuit; that happened to liim as he was going 10 confulr, under a borrowed name, the old aftrologer La Brotle, the fame of whom M. de Sully fpeaks fo often in his memoirs. " This good man, fays he, whowasthm *' in a litile tower or garret that ferved him " for a ftudy, faid to him. Well r.iy for, " I fee the perfon for whom this horofcope " is caft will arrive at great honours " through his diligence and military bra- " very, and might come to be a kin:,', but " there hacoput a/^^/that keeps hlr.\from '* it." " And what is the meaning of " that, fays the baron de Biron." " Don't " afk me the meaning of it, returns La " Brofle?" " No, fays the baron, but " I mufl know." After many alter- cations between them. La Broffe at length faid, " The meaning is this, my '* friend, he will do fo .luth that he fhall " have his head cut off." Upon this, tlie " baron fell upon him and beat him cruelh, , " and .fterwards leaving him half dead, *' came down from the garret, taking the •' key of the door with him." This ac- count is filled with other pretended predic- tions that were made him, an;! to which I think 110 man of fenfe woulu h j. e fhewn any regard. acquired [2 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIIL 1602. acquired the character of intrepid, fliewcd at his execution, have fur- yy^'^>^ niflicd matter for much difcourfe, and doubtlefs will not be forgot by hiftorians : as for me I have nothing new to relate, except, perhaps, fome circumftances that regard me perfonally. While preparations were making for trying the two ftate prifoners, they often defired to fpeak with me * : two confiderations hindered me from giving them this fatisfadlion -, firfi:, becaufe it would be to no purpofe to hear the prayers and folicitations of Biron, whofe death was too necefTary for the good of the ftate, and too firmly refolved by the king, to give hopes of obtaining his pardon ; and fecondly, having been comprehended myfelf in La Fin's depofitions, I was not willing to give either weak or malignant perfons room to fiifpedl that I had ufed any endeavours with the prifoners to keep them filent with regard to me, or that I had any occafion to fpeak to them. It was my dcfign, on the other hand, that, if any fuppofed me to have had the leaft connexion with Biron, they fhould think that, by thus refufing to fee him, I fliould make him refolve to live no longer on terms of civility with a man whom, upon that fuppofition, he muft, for many reafons, regard as a traitor. He reverenced my innocence, and if he fpoke of me, as he often did, it was only to praife the counfels I had given him, and to condemn himfelf for not following them. Deffunctis, grand-provofl: of the I(le-de-France, took down in writing all the converfadons in which maréchal Biron had men- * l?e requefted the f.eur de Baranton, others who were prefent, that they were M. de Praflin's lieutenant, to wait on M. unable to fpeak for fome time, and fat de Rofiiy from him, and tell him that he liftening in tears. At length M. de Rofny defireJ to fee him ; but, if that favour could broke filence and faid, " I cannot fee him not be obtained, he earnuflly begged of " nor intercede for him, it is now too late ; him to intercede with the king for his life, " had he been perfuaded by me, he had not a piece of fervice which he expe(Sled from " been in this melancholy fituation, for he hint, as he always had a great efteem for " ought to have declared the truth to his him, and found him to be his friend, and " majefty from the time of his arrival at fuch a friend that, had he been perfuaded by " Fontainebleau j and fince he did not fo, him, he would not have been in the place " he has taken from the king the means of where he then was ; that there were per- " giving him his life, and from all his fons more guilty than himfelf, but that he " triends that of interceding for him." was the mofl unfortunate of thcin all ; that Chronologie Septennaire, ann. 1602. See he was content to be confined between four the whole of this affair in the hiftorian bare walls and chained down. The tarnefl Matthieu, tom. II. liv. iii. p. 482 10534, entreaties which the fieur de Baranton where an account given of what relates to made in his name fo greatly ;ifH£ted M. de the duke de Sully is conformable to that in Rofny and his lady, the licur Zamct and our Memoirs. tioned Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF S U L L Y. 113 tioned my name, and gave the manufcript to me Come time after- 1602. wards. Ey that I learned that Biron, when he came out of the ^/'~v'>^ chapel, where he had made his confcflion to the fieurs Gamier and Maignan dodtors of the Sorbonne, afked if there was no perfon there belonging to monfiear de Rofny ; and being told that the younger Ar- naud was there, he called him, and faid, *' Monfieur Arnaud, I dt- " fire you will carry my laft farewel to monfieur de llofny, and tell " him, that to-day he lofes one of his bell friends, and the moft af- " fedionate kinfman and fervant he ever had : I have always highly '' efleemed his merit and valued his fricndfliip. Alas !" faid he, after raifing his voice and ihedding fome tears, which obliged him to- keep his face covered with his handkerchief, " had I believed him, I " Ihould have avoided this fate : teH him, I befeech you, that I re- " commend my brothers to him, particularly my brother* Saint Blan- " card who is his nephew, and that I entreat he will give my youngeft " brother fome poll: about the dauphin, and that he would tell them, " that, although I have failed in my duty and obedience, yet that " they ought faithfully to perform theirs, and continue always firm " in their attachment to the king ; but that he would not let them •" come immediately to court, left they fliould fufter any reproaches " on my account." Another time Biron talking of me, faid, " The " king has, in monfieur de Rofny, a faithful fervant, and a wife and " prudent counfellor ; his majefty has done well to make ufe of him ; " for while he continues to direéi his councils, France will he happy, " and I might have been fo likewife had I governed myfelf by his " advice." On any other occafion I fliould have avoided inferting, in thefe Memoirs, fuch difcourfes in my praife ; but on this I did not think myfelf at liberty to make the leaft alteration in the marechal's wo'^ds. I was ignorant of his having given thefe public teftimonies of his efleem for me, when I joined with the reft of his relations -f- in im- * John de Gontaut, feigneur de Saint then at S. Maur des Fofî'es, but they could Blancard, had married mademoifelle de obtain no other favour than that which our Saint-Geniés, niece to M. de Sully. The author fpeaks of here. Henry comforted maréchal de Biron had no other brothers them by reminding them of the example living; he muft therefore comprehend un- of the conflable de Saint Paul, allied to the der tiiat name his brothars-in-law. houfe of Bourbon, who was beheaded for f Meffieurs oe Saint Blancard, de la a fimilar crime, and the prince of Conde, Force, the count de Roufly, de Chateau- who would have undergone tlie fame fate neuf, de Thémines, de Salignac, and de had it not been for the death of Francis If. Saint Angel, went three days after the ar- he. MS. Biblioth. royale, vol. g i 29. where reft of maréchal de Biron, to throw them- likewife may be feen a colle6lion of pieces felves at the feet of his majefty, who was relating to the maréchal de Biron's procefs. Vol.. II. Q^ ploring ÎÏ4 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIII. 1602. ploring a favour for him, a flight one indeed, it was only to change ^— ■'v— — ' the place deftined for his execution ; accordingly, infteadof the Grève, which was named in the fentence that was pafled upon him, his ma- jefty permitted the maréchal to be beheaded in the court of the Baftile- The death of Biron entirely difconcerted all the fchemes of the cabal. Lavardin, who had been fent at the fame time by his ma- jefty into Burgundy, at the head of a body of troops, took pofTelTion of all the places there which had been held by maréchal Biron, without ftriking a blow, and fent Senece to inform the king that this province had fubmitted. The government of it was given to the dauphin, to whom M. Le Grand was made lieutenant. The proceedings againfl the confpirators flopped here ; and, except Fontenelles *,whom Henry thought it neceflary to puni(h for an example to others, although he was not one of the principal criminals, he pardoned all the reft. The number of the confpirators was very great, and, upon examination, many of the moft conliderable courtiers -f- were involved in the guilt. I ftrengthened as much as poffible the king's inclinations to lenity : I forewarned thofe whom I knew to have had fome fliare in the confi- dence of Biron, and reprefented to them fo plainly, that all they had now to do was to throw themfelves at the king's feet, and implore his pardon, that almoft all purfued this method : the fecrefy which 1 pro- mifed them will not permit me to mention their names here, and, far from having any caufe to repent of a ftep of which the king and mv- felf only were witneffes, they were foon convinced that his majefty not only took care to Ihew he had no refentment againft them, but likewife appeared to hold them in higher efteem than before. Hébert, who was iecretary to the party, and had been feveral times fent into Milan and throughout all Italy by maréchal Biron, was likewife ar- refted. I was ordered to interrogate l.im in the prefence of tlie count d'Auvergne, and to receive his depofitions, the king having promiled him a pardon upon condition that he fincerely declared all he knew. * Guy Eder de Beaumanoir, baron de " own name: but hiHwry could not con- Fontenclles, was a gentleman of Brittany. " ceal it. M. De Thou, liv. 128, fpeaks He was conviâed of having intended to de- of him as of a fellow, who had been em- liver up the fort of Douarnencs to the Spa- ployed in Brittany by the league. niards, for which he was drawn upon a f According to- Siii, there was fome- fledgc, and broke alive in the Grève. "The thing mote thiii mtre fufpicions againft the " king, fays M. dePcicfixe, inconfidcra- condable dc Montmorencv, and even tion of hib fan.ily, which was very illuf- againll the duke de Montpenfier. Mem. trious, granted to his relations that, in recoud, vol. I. p. 103, the arret, he fhould not be called by his The Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. The principal difcovery he made, and that which gave the fulled: con- viaion of the perfidy of Spain, was, that Roncas and Alphonfu Cazal had been fent by that court at different times with large funis of money to maréchal Biron. To convince Hébert that his majertyhad no defign to deceive him, before I began to examine him, I delivered his pardon, figned by the king, into the hands of the count d'Auvergne. The baron de Lux was not excepted out of the general amnefty ; his perplexity, when he heard of the imprifonment of his friend, had been very great, becaufe he found it equally dangerous to leave, as to ftay in, the kingdom ; he was ftill undetermined what to do, when La Plume came from his majelly with an order to attend him, promifuig him his pardon, at the fame time, if lie would endeavour to deferve it by his obedience and repentance. De Lux, fenfible of his guilt, was now more alarmed than before ; yet he told the meiVenger that he was ready to obey the king's orders, provided he would allure him that he fliould not be expofed to the fhame of a public examina- tion, nor be confronted with his accufers; that he fhould be con - tinued'in his poft *, and permitted to retire from court after his con- felTion : he was afraid of being detained, under pretence that it was either not full enough or infincere. There being no letter from his majefty, De Lux appeared contented with a promife under my hand that he fliould receive no harm. The king having granted all that the baron De Lux demanded, he came to Paris, and meeting his majefly as he was going to hunt, threw himfelf at his feet, and was beginning a long fpeech, when the king, who had not leifure to hear him then, flopped him fhort, by laying, " Go to monfieur de Rofny, and 1 will talk to you afterwards." This order, the tone with which De Lux fancied it was given, and the place to which he was fent, raifed fuch apprehenfions in his mind, that he was upon the point of making his efcape. However, he came to the arfenal, but under fuch terrors, that, inftead of liftening to any thing I faid to him, he was continually looking round liim, and his apprehenfions were increafed when he faw his majeily's guards enter and file off in the court of the arfenal, the king having fent them thi- ther, becaufe he intended to pafs by the arfenal in his return from the chace. De Lux now thought himfelf loft. " x'\h ! monfieur, faid he " to me, I came hither upon the king's word and youis ; do youin- * He was governor of Jhe caftle of Dijon, and the town of Beaune. Q 2 " tend i66 M E M O I R S O F S U L L y. Book XIII. 1602. " tend to detain me." " Why do you afk me this queftion, mon- >— — V-— ' <' fieur, faid I." " The guards, faid he, which I perceive entering " in files, perfuaded me that it is not the king who is coming, but " th.it they are probably fent for me." Without giving me time to undeceive him, he entreated me to allow him to fpeak to the king be- fore he was confined, promifing, and I believe very fincerely, to con- ceal nothing from him. " I have obferved your uneafinefs, replied I, " hut be not afraid, I have no orders to arreft you ; fpeak freely to the " king, fvvear to be faithful to him, and keep your oath, you will then " have nothing to apprehend ; had the duke of Biron aded in that m.an- " ner, he would have been now alive." That moment a mefi'enger informed me that the king was returned to the Louvre, and defired to fpeak with me : the evening was fo far advanced before the chace was ended, that, inftead of coming to the arfenal as he had propofed, he went diredly to the palace. This meflage relieved the baron De Lux from his terrors. The next day he had a conference with his majefly, which lafted above four hours ; he gave no caufe for accufing him of indifcretion in concealing his accomplices, but named fuch a prodigious number of perfons, that Henry, glad to find in fuch general accnfations a pretence for believing none and for making himfelf eafy, treated all thofe whom- De Lux accufed, and who were continually about him, no lefs favoura- bly than before. It is certain, however, that many of them were ac- quainted with maréchal Biron's defigns, but the hope of remaining un- noticed amonglt the crowd, determined them not to own their con- nexions with him, notwithftanding all the advances and promifes which I made them. The conftable had indeed kept up a fort of intimacy with Biron, which in prudence ought to have been avoided ; but, as I was perfuaded that it was merely perfonal and extended no further, I thought myfelf obliged to iuftify him to his majefty, on whom his af- furances of fidelity made ib little impreffion, that he could not help regarding him with an eye of fufpition : I may fay with truth, that my endeavours did not a little contribute towards reftoring him to the king's favour ; and this prince had no reafon to repent of his clemency, either to him or any of the others *, except only the count of Auvergne, to whom it is time to return. * It is not certain that Henry the IVth c'e.-.ring of which becomes more and mora never had reafon to repent of this indul- difficult : but by fuppohng what is very fence. As to the affafTination of this prince hkely, namely, that the blow which took daere remains a great many doubts, tlie off Henry IV. did not procefd (rom the T HE Book XIII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. i The nature of that crime which he, as well as the diik* of Biron, 1602. had committed, and the equality of the proofs againfl: theiln, made *- ^ — it highly probable that their punifhment would be alike ; how- ever, their fates were very different ; the king not only gave him his life, which he caufed to be intimated to him by the conftable, but alfo foftened, as much as pollible, the inconvenience of his imprilbnment : he permitted him to agree with the lieutenant of the Baftile for his table, difcharged him of the expence of tlie officers and foldiers ap- pointed for his guard, and reduced them afterwards to five, comprehend- ing the exempt, upon my reprefentations that a greater number was ufelefs. At firft, indeed, he was not allowed to walk upon the ter- raffes, but afterwards he was indulged in all his defires ; and at length wholly * difcharged from his confinement. He had been fo little ac- curtomed to be treated as a criminal, that when he was told the king had granted him his life, he faid, it figoified nothing, unlefs he gave him his liberty likewife. Those who praife alike the good or bad afllons of kings, will not want arguments to juiiify Henry in this different treatment of two equally guilty ; they will alledge, as it was then reported at court, that the fervices his majefty might expeâ: from the count of Auvergne, in difcovering to him the plots of the Spanifh party againft France, made it neceffary to pardon him for his own intereft. For my own part, I am too candid not to confefs, that on this occafion the king gave no proof of his clemency, but of his paffion for the marchionefs of Verneuil, fifler to the count of Auvergne ; which was the fole caufe of the indulgence he fhewed to the count. However, I con- cealed my thoughts with great care, and, during two years, never mentioned a word to the king upon the fubjeél, being perfuaded, that all the arguments I could ufe at the time would have no force againfl: the prayers and tears of a miflrefs ; and when the thing was done, it was to no purpofe to fhew him his error. It was not till after confpiracy here fpoken of, we may flill be- who bolJlv concealed themfelves among the lieve that this cataftrophe had not happen- croud, futFjcitntly fhews, that the fpirit of cd, if the confpirators had been profecuted revolt was not cxtinguifhed by the death of with more feverity : in this cafe it mu!t be its head. allowed, that Henry IV. and M. de Rofny * In the begin'iing of October. " It was were deceived by their too great lenity, of " not, fays Ic Septennaire, without having which the prince became the viâim. What " firit: made an open confeflion to mefTieurs the author fays four lines higher of thofe " the chancellor, de Sillery, and Rofny." the MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIII. the count of Auvergne had, by new inflances of ingratitude, obliged his benefadlor to proceed againll him as a criminal, that I jaû hinted my thoughts of his former conduft, and then I was forced to it by the king himfelf. One day, when the king and I were alone, the converfation turned upon this lubjeâ: ; and Henry, after viewing me filently for fome time, at length told' me, that he had been often greatly furprized at my not afking him his reafons for preferving the count of Auvergne. I re- plied, that I had thought it my duty to keep my conjeâures on that head to myfelf, among which there were two that appeared to me to be the mofl: probable, but that I never chofe to explain myfelf to his majefty for fear of otfending him. Henry anfwered immediately, with his ulual vivacity, that he could eafily guefs, that one of the motives to which I attributed the favour he had fliewn the prifoner, regarded the marchionefs of Verneuil ; and allured me, that that alone had been but fuflficient to have commuted his punilliment into a perpetual im- prifonment; but that he was abfolutely ignorant of the fécond, to which I fuppofed his deliverance had been owing, and preffed me repeatedly to tell him what it was. I confefled to him, that it had been always my opinion, that his majefty would not inflid a iTiameful death upon a man who would be always confidered as the uncle of his children, in cafe he {hould have any by the marchionefs of Verneuil. Henry fwore to me, that he had not hitherto carried his refledions fo far, al- though that confideration, if it had occurred to him, would have had great weight with him ; and he infifted upon my gueffing, in my turn, the true reafon that had induced him to fet Auvergne at liberty : he again repeated to me, that the folicitations of his miftrefs, the intrea- ties of the conftable, his three daughters, and of Ventadour, who had all thrown themfelves at his feet, had not had fo great a lliare in that refolution as I imagined, they having contented themfelves with ail^ing only the life of the prifoner. And at length, after all this winding, he declared to me, tha this chief inducement to pardon Auvergne was the great promifes he made him, and the air of fincerity with which they were accompanied : he then related to me all that had pafled be- tween himfelf and Auvergne, when the latter implored the favour of a conference with him : he told me, that the count, after many affurances of a fincerc repentance, and proteftations of inviolable fidelity for the • future, had promifed him, with the moff facied oaths, if he would re- dore him to liberty, to get him intelligence of the mofl fecret refolu- tjons that were taken in the council of Spain j to accomplilh which, he Book XÎII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. he had only to refume, in appearance, his former engagements with that court, well knowing how to deceive them, and to make them take ' for true, what on his iide would be only feigned : but that this diffimu- lation might not, in Spain, draw upon him the puni(hment of a traitor, it was neceffary that his majefty fliould not reveal to any of liis mini- ftcrs what he then faid, nor take umbrage at his journeys to Spain, nor the packets he fliould receive from thence. The king, after this recital, added, that it was with difficulty he could bring himfelf to believe the promifes Auvergne made him, or fuppofe that he could fall fo low, as to take up the trade of a fpy, and become a double traitor ; but that after the count had allured him he really meant to perform all he had engaged for, although he hated hini more than ever, yet he was determined to expedt the effeâ of his pro- mifes, and make ufe of him to procure fuch intelligence concerning the proceedings of Spain, as he could obtain by no other means; and in this expeftation, he had promifed Auvergne fecrefy, and the other condition he had demanded. The concluhon I came to, from what the king told me, was, that he was every way deceived by the count of Auvergne, or rather, I re- peat it again, betrayed by his paffion for his miilrefs ; this was the faf- cination that clofed his eyes upon the artifice of Auvergne ; and after having prevailed upon him to fpare his life, fnatched from him likewife the grant of his liberty, and that upon fo flight a foundation, as does little honour to the prudence of Henry. It is not clear, indeed, whe- ther Auvergne had not then an inclination to keep his word, but by fuffering himfelf to be feduced a fécond time, became once more a traitor to his prince. It mufl likewife be confefTed, that he was ingenious, fubtle, pe- netrating, and naturally eloquent ; qualities very fît for the part he had undertaken to adl : but, not to mention his ambition, his inclination to debauchery, and other dangerous pafTions, he had in his heart fuch a fund of malice and perfidioulhefs, that it was eafy to fee he would refume his former difpolitions ; but he refumed them with fo much addrefs, that the king did not perceive when it happened, taking it for granted, that it did not happen the very moment he found himfelf fe- cure. He often conferred with his majefty concerning the king of Spain, and related very bad things of him, the better to play his part ; but all he faid might be reduced to matters of little cunfequence j 4 while,. 10 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XIII. i6c2. while to the court of Spain he gave very exadt and very material in- ■ — '/- — ' formations of every thing that palled in France. I fhall return to him again in the fequel. The prince of Joinville *, to whom Henry likewife extended his clemency, was a young man of a different chirader ; nothing could be more light, more whimfical, and more unlleady ; he Tiad engage^ ' himfelf with bad company, among whom, co be in the fartiion, and to appear a man of confcquence, it was neceffary that he Ihould have correipondences without the kingdom; this was fufficient to fpoil him entirely. His majefty being informed that h^ carried on his intrigues with Spain by the count of Chamnite, governor of Franche-Comté for the king of Spain, and one of his minill:ers, he ordered him to be ar- reted : as loon as he found himfelf in cuftody, he, like all the others, declared, that he was ready to make a full confelllon, provided that it was to the king in perfon, and that I fnould be prefcnt. 1 had left _ Paris in the evening, to vifit my new acquilition of Sully, and to trace out the plan of fome buildings there, to render it more habitable than it was at prefent. I was jufi arrived, and preparing to fit down to fupper, when I heard his majefly's poflilion blow his horn, and im- mediately fufpedted my flay at Sully would not be long. He gave me a billet from the king, wliich contained only an order to come to him, without explaining himfelf any farther. Believing the bulinefs to be of the utmofl importance, I let out fo early the next morning, that I only faw Sully by the light of the flambeaux. When I was made acquainted with the affair, I thought it my duty to intercede for an unexperienced youth, who was drawn into errors by his raflinefs and folly. Joinville being brought before us, confelled all he was defired to do. The king entering immediately into his character, treated him as he deferved ; he fent for his mother, the dutchefs ot Guife, and the duke, his brother, and taking them into his clofet, " Here, faid he, is the prodigal fon " himfelf, 1 fliall ufe him like a child, and pardon him for yours and " monfieur de Rofny's fake, who has entreated for him ; but 1 do it " upon condition that you will all three reprove him feverely, and that " you, nephew," added he, turning to the duke of Guile, " will an- " fwer for his condudl for the future ; I give him to your care, make " him wife, if it be poflible." * Claude de Lorraine, fourth fon to Blois ; he was afterwards duke dc Che- Henry duke of Guife, who was killed at vreufe, and died in ibsj- This Book XIII. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. i2i This chan2;e was not (o cafy a thing to efFecft on a young man of 1602. IWely paffions, incapable of inlb'ucftion, and whofe difpofition Iiad al- L-— v— — > ready taken its bent : he was fuftered to remain in prifon for fome months, where at firft he was obftinat^ly fuUen, then infolent and fu- rious, and at laft, through mere wearinefs, promifed to behave well, if he was taken from thence. The king confented to his removal, and he was told, that he might go and live in the caftle of Dampierre. Join- ville was not much better pleafed with this place than his prifon, and reprefented to the king, that he could not refide in a caftle which was not furniOied. Unfortunately for him, the king knew this to be a falfliood: having often hunted near that caftle and Chevreufc, which is but at a fmall diftance from it, the keeper of thofe two houfes had offered to accommodate him with apartments and beds there ; and he had been told by the duchcfsof Guife, that Dampierre was as well fur- nilhed as Chevreufe. Tiiis behaviour of Joinville's fo incenfed the king againft him, that he reproached me for the too great intereft I took in the affairs of that family, and ordered me to concern myfelf lefs witi) tî ■ '11 for the future. And now his majefty, inftead of re- voking his :L.jtence, declared that the prifoner fliould be again examin- ed before he was enlarged; which renewiiig his former fears, he pro- mifed to make a fuller confeffion than he had yet done ; but being, as he faid, apprehenfive that his majefty was flill angry with him, he again entreated that I might be the perfon to whom he fpoke. The duke of Bouillon took care not to return from his eftatcs, as he had promifed the king ; therefore, after Biron was arrefted, his majefty judged it neceifary to write to him, to fee if upon this occa- fion Bouillon would not give fome proof of his connexion with the pri- foner : he informed him, that maréchal Biron had been convifted of confpiring againft the ftate ; and that when he came to court he would fliew him the proofs of his treafon, and acquaint him with all the par- ticulars of it ; fatisfying himfelf with thus infinuating that he exped- ed the performance of his promife, without giving him a direét order to come. The duke of Bouillon eafily comprehended the defign of this letter, and anfwered it no otherwife, than by fending a gentle- man of his retinue immediately to his majefty, to congratulate him upon the danger he had efcaped. By this perfon he fent a letler to me, in which he carefully avoided faying any thing from which the leaft advantage could be taken, either becaufe he had already learnt that his affbciate was feized, or that his imagina- VoL. II. R tion -2 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIII. 1602. tion fuggefted to him immediately the behaviour which it was proper /"■v^v./ for him to affume. He told me, that never had any one's allonlHi- ment equalled his, when he learned that the ftate and the king's per- fon had been in danger; that his fidelity, and the readinefs he fhewed to go to every place where his duty and the king's fervice called him, would, he hoped, convince his majefty, that he fliould never have the like reafon to be apprehenllve of him ; and that he would expect the king's orders, and my good advice, that he might obey the one, and follow the other. The whole letter was conceived in terms fuch as thefe: he could not, however, hinder himfelf from hinting fomething in favour of the accufed, but in a manner {o general as could not hurt him. After expreffing his wiflies, that this event might not give his majefly any difturbance, he added thefe words, " nor alter the natural " fweetnefs of his difpofition." The king, when I fliewed him this letter, thought he might make ufe of it to draw Bouillon to court, for he durft not fend him an abfo- lute command to come, left by a refufal he fliould lay him under the neceffity of punifhing him for his difobedience by the force of arms, which he neither chofe nor could conveniently do ; he therefore told me, that fmce Bouillon afked my advice concerning what it was proper for him to do in this conjun<5ture, I fhould reply, that it was true, the king had been informed he was not wholly unacquainted with the duke of Biron's intrigues, but that this ought to ftrengthen his relblution of coming to his majefty, either to juftity his innocence, or, by confefling his fault, to obtain a pardon for it ; and that 1 ihould allure him, that I would give him my word, or if neceffary become his furety, that fo far from having any thing to fear, he fliould be received by the king with open arms. Henry knowing my delicacy on thefe occafions, pre- vented my fcruples, by telling me, that he would engage his royal word that Bouillon fliould be treated in whatever manner I promiied him ; and not faiisfied with this verbal aflurance, he gave me a writing conceived in thefe terms : " I promife to M. de Rofny, that if the duke " of Bouillon comes to court upon his letters, and the promifes he fliall' " make him, I will obferve them all faithfully, or give the duke free " leave to retire where-ever he pleafes ; and neither in his journey to " or from the court fliall he receive any difturbance : for all which I *' engage my faith and royal word to the faid fieur de Rofny. Given *' atPaiis, June 24, 1602." Book XIII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 123 I WROTE to the duke of Bouillon, and without telling bim of the 1602. engagement his majefty entered into with me concerning him, prelfed t-— y^ — j him in the ftrongeft terms, and by every argument I thought could have any weight with him, to come and fettle for feme time at court. This letter Bouillon received almoft at the fame time with the verbal anfwer the king fent him by his deputy, and took occafion, from his majefty's not having himfelf prefTed him to come, to tell me in anfwer, that the advice I gave him being inconfiftent with the king's orders, he could not govern himi'elf by it, whatever inclination he might have to do fo ; and that he would content himfelf with fending to court, as iiis majefty required, a perfon who fliould give as fatisfadiory an account of hiscondudl as he himfelf could do, and ought to be equally depended upon. This perfon was a gentleman named Rignac, who accordingly came to court about the fame time that I received Bouillon's anfwer to my letter, and whofe expences were all defrayed, as if his journey had been of great importance, becaufe, in appearance, he came by his ma- jefty's orders : but the duke of Bouillon, inftead of coming himfelf, removed ftill farther from court and went to Cailres. I Am not furprifed that my arguments had on this occafion fo little weight with him, fince he regarded me as his enemy, and did not fcruple to call me fo in public ; nor was the king ignorant that this was his opinion, having informed me of it himfelf in a letter dated the 28th day of December this year : nor was I more furprized at the manner in which the duke of Bouillon aded with his majefty. As foon as he perceived (which was no very difficult matter for him to do) that the king had recourfe to diflirnulation with him, he fuppofed it eafy enough to impofe upon his majefty and his council without rifking any d^anger ; for this purpofe, all that was neceflary was, to anfwer, in * appearance, always with great fubmiffion, without taking any of thofe meafures which they durft not formally prefcribe to him. This artifice fucceeded {o well, that he made ufe of it a long time. Nothing could be conceived in more modeft or refped:ful terms, than the letter he wrote on this fubjedl to Du-Maurier -, and which, after his majefty had perufed it, was given to me, to be communicated to the chancellor * The duke de Bouillon's letters to the of having been concerned in maréchal de king we find in the 3d torn, of Villeroi's Biron's plot, his refufing to come and wait Mémoires d'Etat, p. 158, & feq. See like- upon the king, and his flight to Caftres. wife the reafons which the hiftorians of his Liv. v. p. 222, & feq. life adduced, to clear him of the accufation R 2 and MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIII. and the duke d' Epernon, with whom, by the king's orders, I treated this affair methodically. The king ftrongly interell:ed himfelf in it, and had a conference with Confiant and Saint-Aubin about the duke of Bouillon, that lafted a whole afternoon, but it produced nothing. The game which upon this occafion was played by the king of Spain and the duke of Savoy was ftill more uncommon. All the fo- reign powers in alliance with Henry, more efpecially England and Scotland, whole amballadors were ftill at Paris, congratulated his ma- jefty, upon his having fo happily cruihed this dangerous confpiracy. Philip and Charles-Emanuel appeared more eager than any of the otliers in complimenting the king upon this event : unlefs fear was their mo- tive, it is not eafy to guefs what could oblige them to have recourfe to fo grofs an artifice. Henry was more fincere with them j he tleciaied to them, that he was well informed of the part they had both had in the plot ; all the blame of which they threw upon the count of Fucntes, as boldly, as if it had been poffible to have peri'uaded him that this Spa- niard would have dared, without their permiflion, to ad in concert with Biron and the other confpirators. The king, fome days after the execution of maréchal Biron, coming to the arfenal, I had a converhition with this prince that well deferves to be related : " You fee," faid he to me, after making fome reflexions, as ufual, upon the ingratitude of mefiieurs de Biron, d'Auvergne, de Bouillon, and three more of the mofi: confiderable noblemen of the court, whom he had pardoned, and whofe names he mentioned, " you '■ fee that thofe on whom I have beftowed the greateft favours, are the " fame perfons by whofe ambition and caprice I have fuftered the " mofi." Fie then obferved to me, that thefe fix men had, at diffe- rent times, received larger fums from him, than the five kings his pre- deceffors, except Henry IIL who had been accufed of fuch great pro- dif^alitv, had given to their favourites. Henry added, that to filence thoie who always unreafonably enumerated the fervices of thefe fix oentlemen, he would have me draw up a memorial of all the rewards they had received from him fince they had entered into his fcrvice ;. in which he did not pretend to include any thing but thofe prefents which his liberality only had induced him to make them, and not fuch pofieflions as they had acquired by his alfifiance, and enjoyed through his protedion ; fuch, for example, was the principaliry of Sedan, for which Bouillon was doubly obliged to him, havuig fiifi procured, and. Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. and then feciired him the pofTeffion of it, as has been fcen, on an occa- fion fufficiently perplexing. The king, whofe fole view in entering upon this fubjecfl was to make a particular application to me, told me, that by this difcourle, which might have fome relation to the prefent ftate of my fortune, he had no intention to give mc a leflbn, being too well perfuaded of my fidelity to think there was any occafion for it ; but that having ferioufly refleâ:ed upon the manner in which it was neceflary he fhouid behave to me, that he might not expofe himfelf to the mortification of feeing the confidence he had in me lefiened, he thought prudence required that he (hould take two precautions, with refped to me, in the rewards my fervices and family deferved from him ; " One of thefe precautions, " faid the king, has a reference to the world, the other to myfelf : , " firil, that thelis rewards fhouid neither fucceed each other fo rapidly, " nor in themfelves be fo exceffive, as to render you the objeft of pub- " lie hatred, always ready to break out againft firft miniflers : and the " fécond, that thefe eflates and thefe honours fliould be of fuch a na- " ture, as, if it fhouid happen that through religion, or any other mo- " tive, you fhouid be capable of violating your duty, they may not ""put you into a condition of giving any umbrage to your benefador " himfelf, or, after his death, of dilUubing the tranquillity ofhisfuc- " ceflbr, or of putting the ftate in danger: in one word," faid this prince, after giving me to underftand, that as he fpoke without any difguife, he would permit me to tell him my fentiments freely likewife, " 1 would take from myfelf the lead occafion of fufpicion againft you, " that my friendfhip for you may continue unalterable. I daily expe- " rience fo many inflances of ingratitude, which I never expedted, " that, contrary to my inclinations, I am obliged to be diltrufiful. " Do not imagine, therefore, that I ihall put you in poflefiion of great " cities and ftrong fortrefi'es, which, in the high credit j'ou are in, and " the great abilities you are mailer of, might make you independent " of me, and enable you, whenever you pleafed, to throw the king- " dom into confufion. I cannot do more for you than ought to be " done ior a fervant, however faithful he may be, by a prince who " has his honour, his reputation, and the intereft of his people, at " heart." Henry, without giving me time to reply, added, that till proper opportunities offered for completing my fortune, he, from this mo- ment, would join to my falaries and penfions, whieh were but fufficienè tû 126 MEMOIRS OF SULLY, Book XIIL 1602. to anfwer the expences of my table and houfe, an extraordinary gra- t— — V ' tuity of fixty thoufand livres a year; that by uniting this fum to my own eftate I might purchafe more lands, build upon them, furnifli and embellifh my new houfes, and more advantageoufly fettle my children ; telling me gracioufly, that he ftili referved to himfelf to give me other proofs of his friendfhip and liberality : " And this, purfued " he, I ihall do with the more willingnefs, as I am afTured you will " not fquander thefe iums fooliflily on entertainments, dogs, horfes, " birds, and miftreffes." During this long difcourfe of Henry's my mind was agitated with various thoughts, which made me liften to him in filence ; the reflec- tions it occafioned left me ftill more moved with his freedom, and the confidence he repofcd in me, than difcontented with a caution which many others in my fituation would have thought excefllve. The king having commanded me to be very fincere in my reply, I told him, that although I had at this moment an abfolute certainty in my own mind, that neither his majefty, nor his fucceflbrs, nor the flate, ihould ever have any caufe for thofe apprehenfions of me which his wifdom had fuggefted, yet I myfelf did not think he carried it too far; it being, in my opinion, one of the chief maxims of government, that a prince ought never to deliver himfelf up blindly to one perfon, whatever fer- vices he may have received from him, fince it is next to impoffible that any one fliould be able to anfwer for the wifdom and juftnefs of his counfels for the future : therefore, inftead of thinking mylelf injured, I found caufe, in all his majefly had faid, to admire his prudence, and to acknowledge his goodnefs, lince whatever bounds he fliould pre- fcribe to his favours, they would always equally exceed my expedations and my fervices. As I could not doubt but that the malignant infinuations of the courtiers, who were jealous of my favour with his majelfy, had had fome fhare in thofe fears he expreffed of me, I feized this opportunity to explain myfelf on an article, which from this moment I forefaw I fliould be Under a neccffity of returning to more than once. 1 begged his majefty would permit me to reprefcnt to him, that he ought not to give faith to the poifonous reports of informers, without having firfl: had good proofs of my crime, and given me an opportunity of defending myfelf. I aflured him, that he would find me fincere enough to confefs my faults, which alone deferved that he fhould treat me in th s manner; and that he ihould be convinced that what my enemies Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, enemies imputed to criminal views, could but at moft amount to a failing, which I would not fcruple to coiifefs that inftant, and for which I had lome occafion for his indulgence; and this was, that, through impatience of any obftacle or delay in any relblution that I judged neceflary to be taken, fome words of complaint or anger might efcapc me againrt: the too eafy difpofition of his majefty, of which my ene- mies would not fail to take advantage, although the purity of my in- tentions might be eafily perceived in the words themfelves that ferved for a foundation for the calumny. What I then faid to the king, I now repeat to my readers, and not through an affedation of modefty, which holds the place of jufti- fication ; I am confcious I have no occafion for it, but becaule that, however irreproachable my conduit may have been, I have, neverthe- lefs, been more than once obliged to juftify myfelf to the prince whom I ferved : if this confeffion does not hinder them from denying me that juftice I have deferved, it will not make them judge lefs fa- vourably of Henry, if they attend to the conjunélures and maxims of the times in which we both lived : and at all times, there is nothing againfl which it is fo difficult to defend one's feif, as the fecret machi- nations of envious courtiers : what effed; might they not be expeded to produce in the mind of a prince who could coUedt a thoufand exam- ples of treachery, difloyalty, and difobedience to himfelf, and hardly one of real attachment ? To judge clearly of the fentiments which Henry entertained for me, we muft not confider him in thofe moments when the remembrance of fo many inftances of ingratitude, awakened by the moft artful impoftures, opened his heart ]n fpite of him to diftruil and fufpicion ; but, when recovered from thofe imprelTions which the plots they endeavoured to comprehend me in had made on his mind, he gave me the fincereft proofs of his tendernefs and elleem. The world therefore may judge as itpleafes of thofe little difgraces which I have been obliged to fuftain during the courfe of what will be called my glory and profperity, and which probably any other might have fuppreffed, for the honour of having it faid, that he direded as he pleafed the inclinations of his mafter ; on this fubjed I fhall ufe neither djf- guife nor concealment, for truth is my guide, and inftrudion is my end. The duke of Luxembourg having l\a.d a caufe brought before the parliament this year, the advocates that pleaded for him had the af- 4 furance 128 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XIII. 1602. furance to exadl fifteen hundred crowns for their fees. The duke com- V^orx^ plained of this extortion to the king, who ordered the parliament to ifllie out an arret, by which the lawyers fees were reduced and fet- tled, and they obliged to give receipts for all the money they received, and a general receipt for what papers were put into their hands, that they might be coiiflrained to deliver up thefe, which they generally kept till their demands were fatisfied. The necelFity of putting a Ordonnance curb to the avaricc of thefe people had always appeared fo ftrong, tliat de Blois, arc. the States had already given the fame orders, but to no purpofe. ' The parliament granted the arret that was demanded of them, but the law- yers, Inflead of fubmitting to it, went, three or four hundred of them, to return into the public regifter the enligns of their otîice, which pro- duced a total ceflation of law proceedings. There was almoft a gene- ral murmur throughout Paris, particularly among pragmatical cox- combs and badauds *, a fet of wretches with which the town is crowded, who, taking upon them to be wiler than the king, the peers, and the fiâtes of the kingdom, decided againft them in favour of the advocates -f-, and found fome abettors, even at court, who, with fo much power and art exaggerated an evil, petty in itfelf and eafily remedied, tliat the king was ftunned with tlieir clamours, and began to be in pain about the confequence. While this affair was yet in agitation, his majefly being one day in his clofet converfing with fome of the courtiers, and relating the continual folicitations that were made him in favour of the advocates, " Faith, Sire, I am not furprifed at it,"faid Sigognc, raifing his voice and affuming the air of one in a violent paffion ; " thefe men make *' it plainly appear that they know not how to employ their time, fince *' they difturb themfelves fo much about a trifle : to liear their excla- " mations, one would think the ftate, without thefe bawlers,wou!d be *' ruined ; as if the kingdom under Charlemagne, and fo many other " great kings during whofe reigns neither advocates nor attorneys were " heard of, was not in as flouriHiing a condition as it is at prcfent " when we are devoured by thefe vermin." Sigogne afterwards, to prove that the eftablifliment of advocates in France was not very an- * Such as. irc ft) led cockneys at London. ■ of thefe .V'ciiioiis, he propdfes tlie ineansof ■f- Matttiieu, in rclaing this iiicidint, conlidcrably iliniiniflii.ig the numlitr ot tom.JI, !iv. ii'.p. 478. Ceems, in like man- proccffcs ; aiid 'tis for this thai endeavours ner, to take the pjrt of the advocates, and " oup;ht, indeed, to be chiefly ufed lor bull- yet, ter all this, every good man mult be of neis, to renieuy the adufcs of which he the duke of Sully's opinion, In the fcquel complains. cR;n% Booic XIII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. i: cient, produced the regifter of the chancery, of which the firfl paper 1602. is intituled, A permijjîon to plead caufes hy an advocate \ and, perceiving ^-/^"n that he was liflened to with pleafure, he added, that this fcience was ertablilhed to the ruin of the nobility and the people, and the de- ftruâion of trade and agriculture. " There is not, faid he, any artift, " or even any fimple labourer, that is not of more ufe to the com- " nuinity, than this fwarm of men who enrich themfelves by our " follies, and the artifices they have invented to fhfle truth, throw " down all right, and darken reafon. It we are fo blind," continued he, with a vivacity truly diverting, " that we will not, and lb un- " happy that we cannot, do without them, nothing remains to be done " but to command them to refume the exercife of their employment " within eight days at fartheft, upon the conditions prefcribed by the " court, upon pain of being obliged to return to the fliop or the " plough that they have quitted, or elfe to ferve the ftate in Flanders " with a mufquet upon their fhoulders. I'll anfwer for it, if this me- " thod be taken with them, we fliall foon fee them run with eager- " nefs to refume thefe magnificent enf]gns,like vermin towards a heap " of wheat." There was not one in the company who could forbear fmiling at this lively fally of Sigogne's, and the king was among the firft, and confefled that his arguments were very convincing ; but whether it was that he futtered himfe'f to be overcome by the folicitations * that were made him, or alarmed by the fears of the confequences that might attend his joining this new diforder to thofe troubles by which the king- dom was then agitated, or that, as he afterwards declared, he had re- ferved to himfelf the making one day fuch a general regulation in this affair, that not only the advocates, but the attorneys and the whole body of the law fliould be comprehended in it, he contented that the arret tliould, for this time, continue without effedt : and thus was this ludicrous bufinefs terminated ; for reflexions upon which, I refer the reader to Sigogne's own words : fo the world was left to think that it was 1 who made him fpeak them -{-. * The ir.edium made ufe of by the fame tnrie allow them to make fuch remon- k'.iig's people, who underhand favoured ftrances as th^y fliould think reafonable, the advocates in this affdir, was, that the v/ith regard to the exercife of their feverai kmg fliould lend new letters to the parlia- employments, and as they were particularly ment, whereby the advocates were ordered afTured that they might acl as before, they to relume and continue their funclions, on had no difnculty to fubmit thereto. De condition, however, of obesing the arrets Thou, liv. cxxviii. Sept. an. 1602. of parliame'nt, and the ordinances of the t Le Journal d'Henry IV. relates a lit- ftates. But, as thefe letters did at tl.e tie piece of hiftory which I fliall fet down Vol. II. S This 130 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XîIL 1602. This naturally leads me to take notice of the great law fuit com- ^-"-^^r-^ menced this year by the third eftate of Dauphiné againft the clergy and nobility, upon the manner in which the taxes were fettled and aifized in this province : myfelf, together with thirteen other commiffaries, chofen amongft perfons of the higheft diftindion in the kingdom, were named to take cognizance of it, but it was fix years before it could be decided j the animofity between the parties concerned was fo great, that there was a necefTity for fending a fécond time to take informa- tions upon the fpot. 1 took a more fpeedy method to bring a man, named Jouffeaume, to juftice ; he had been a receiver- general in the revenue, and, becoming a bankrupt, had carried off a great deal of the royal money. I caufed him to be feized at Milan, whither he had retired, and he was hanged on a gibbet. All crimes that draw along with them the ruin of a multitude of families, cannot be too feverely punilhed. The king again fhewed himfelf folicitous for the intereft of his finances, in the affair of the receivers and treafurers-general of Burgundy ; fome draughts had been made on them for the charges of garrifons and works of fortifications, which they had not paid, either through negligence, or with a bad defign. I advifed his majefty to fend thither a commifTary on whofe probity he could depend ; he did fo, and this man began by fufpending thofe men from their employ- ments, and himfelf performed the duties of treafurer. The money that was expended upon this occafion was raifed out of the fabrics of thefe receivers and treafurcrs, " That I, faid Henry, may not pay " the penalty for the fault they have committed againft my fervice " and their duty." here. Henry one time hunting on the fide him have a piece of iheir roaft-mcar, or to of Grofbois, dropt his company, as he frc- give him leave to lit at one end of their ta- quently did, and csme by binifeif to Cre- b!e upon paying for it, both which they re- teil, which is a league on the other fide of fufed him. Upon this, Henry fent pri- the bridge of Charenton, and that at noon- vately for Vitry, and eight or ten more of day, and as hungry as a hunter. Goini^ his attendants, whom he ordered to feize into an inn, he inquired of the landlady if thefe folicitor?, and carry them away to ilie had any thing for him to ear, to which Grcfljois to have them well whipped, to Ihe anfvvcrcd no, and that he was come too teach them more complailancc to gentle- late, taking him only for a private gentle- men another time. " 'I'his the faid fieur man. Henry then afkcd her, for whom is " Vitry fnw puniTtually and fpeedily per- this roaft- meat 1 (ec at the fire .? For fome " formed, fays the author, notwithl'and- gcntlemen, replies flic, that are above, and " ing all the arguments, entreaties, and t'hom I take to be folicitors. The king " remonftrances of the lawyers," fent, in a civil manner, to afli ihcm to let To Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Ï3Ï To prevent the exportation of gold and filver coin I found a me- 1602, thod iels tedious and fevere than punifhments and confifcations, which u. — ^ — . was only to raife their value *, there being no reafon why they flîould * The crown called ecu d'or au foleil, ■which was valued at fixty (oh tournois, was railed to âxty-five ; that called ecu pifto- let of fifty- eight fols, to fixty-two, and (o of the other gold fpecies : the filver franc of twenty fols was raifed one fol and four deniers, and the reft in proportion. It was in the month of September that this double ordonnance pafll-d, about the raifing the value of money, and the re-eftabliihing of reckoning by livres ; for the reckoning by crowns had only taken place about twenty- five years before, that is, fmce the ordon- nance of 1577, which had abrogated the reckoning by livres. Matthieu very highly approves of both thefe regulations of the duke of Sully's, torn. II. liv. iii. p. 540. Le Blanc, on the contrary, fays, p. 351. 372, et feq. that, whatever co2;ent reafons they mighr^iiave had for abrogating this famous ordonnance of 1577, it was very ill done, either with regard to the money it- felf, becaufe the gold and filver fpecies were afterwards raifed as much in feven years alone, as they had been during the fpace of feventy five years before ; or with regard to commerce, becaufe that goods and merchaiidife were prop )rtionably en- hanced in their prices. The opinion of this laft writer feems, to me, to be grounded upon ftronger reafons. The reckoning by crowns had been in fivour of thofe who had their revenues in filver, thofe who im- proved their money m the public funds and otherwife, and thofe v/ho fold goods upon credit payable at a certain time : the or- donnance of 1577 fecured the effefts of a confidcrable number of the natives ; and befidcs, if there had been any con- fufion found in the coin, this neither was, nor could be, the caufe of it, but only the miferable condition into which the ci- \ilwars had reduced France. The duke of Sully projeded thcfe two regulations here fpoken ot, to prevent thefe diforders, which were, according to him, ttie too great plenty of foreign fpecies that, in com- merce, occupied the place of our own ; fecondly, the enhancement of the price of merchants goods ; and laftly, the expor- tation of tiie gold and filver coin to our neighbour?. It was equally eafy to have made him fenfible, that his complaints, in all thcfe rcfpedls, fignified nothing, any more than the remedy which he applied to them. We have already fhewn, a little higher, in whatfenfe it is that this quantity of foreign coin, which abounds in our com- merce, is an advantage; and if it could be called an evil, the augmentation of the nominal value of coin, to wit, in reckon- ings, to which he has recourfe, would be more proper to helgthen than leiTen it. As to the raifing of the price of goods, the fame augmentation could not but make way for it ftill more ; and the reafon for obviating it, which he draws from the computation by livres, will appear, to every one, very infuificient, and even fri- volous. Moreover, it appears to me, that the enhancing of the price of goods follows as a nccefTary confequence and efFe<5tof the multiplication of gold and filver in Europe, fince the difcovery of America. In order to prevent it, we muft have prohibited all commerce, not only with Spain, whofe mines furnilh us now with thefe metah, but alfo with all our own neighbours, among whom they circulate as well as among us. A ftate that fluuld be conduc- ted by this principle, would, among the other ftates of Europe, make the fame fi- gure, as the republic of Lacedemon did with Tcfpeû to the reft of Greece. The only thing to be attended to, and which is of very great confequence, is, that all the merchandife and good'-', and generally whatever conftitutes a part of commerce, fhould rife at the fame time and in the fame proportion in value. If the produflion of manuf.iâures be enhanced without raifing the price of corn, for example, then agri- 8 2 be MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIII. 1602. be carried out of the kingdom, but that they would pafs for more in "-y — -^ the neighbouring countries than at home. At the fame time, I fettled, over all the kingdom, the way of reckoning by livres, inftead of crowns, as had been till then the practice ; by fome this may be thought an culture is negle£led. If the wages of jour- neymen be not proportioned to the one and the other, thole people can no longer live and pay the taxes. As to the exporting of coin out of the kingdom, which leems to have been tlie chief view of the duke of Sully, it is true, that the augmentation of its current value in reckoning miiiht, in fome meafure, prevent it, in annihilating or diminifhing the profit of the dealers in bullion ; and, apparently, this was the only reafon that determined him. The narrow views of his age, with regard to the finan- ces, and fiill more as to commerce, did not allow him to fee that he dedroyed a flight corruption by one a great deal more confiderable, nor fuffer him to go up to thefource of the evil : he would have per- ceived that the advantage of commerce, and confequently the greateft quantity of gold and filver, v.'ili remain in that nation which fhali have made all others depend molt upon them for riches, either natural or acquired ; and that as long as the bïllance of trade {hall be in favour of fome one neighbouring nation, this prohibition of exporting gold arid filver, is neither reafonable nor praflicabie. At prefent, when we begin to fee a little more clearly into thefe matters, there is no one but agree', that all thefe regulations, and this whole train of rejfoning, did not reach (he end propofed. Though the exigency of circumftances, which is almoft endlefs, , does not permit either the providing againff, or the fubjeciing every thing to a fingle rule, we may, however, aver, that on the article of money and commerce, there are two general and very fimple maxims which may be looked upon as invariable ; and thefe are, to avoid, with the greateft care ima- ginable, meddling with the coin, and en- deavour, continually, to render the French as laborious, induftrious, and frugal as polfi- hlç. The frequent variations in the coin give mortal wounds both to Uomtftic and foreign trade, by the extindlion of credit, the (hutting up of private purfes, the em- barrafihient and difadvantage of exchange, and the ruin of eftates : all this is palpable and obvious. To this we may add, that the king, who appears to be the only one who gains by fuch proceedings, to put the cafe impartially, always lofes confrderably more thereby than he gains ; befides, that the infolvency of his fuhjeâs is an evil which he always fhares with them, and even feels much longer than they doj all his expen- ces increafe with the coin, fo as not to be diminifhed even when that does. The other principle has ftill lefs need of proof. It fetms, that nature has referved to France the fovereignty of trade, from the advantage ot her fituation, and the goodnefs of her foil, which obliges a great part of her neighbours to have recourfe to her for all thofe things that fupply the firft and efTential neceflaries of life : (he has no more to do than to (hare, at leaft equally with them in the commerce of all thofe things that ferve but for mere con- veniency, or which luxury has introduced into Europe. If the confumption of the latter fliould exceed the produce of the for- mer, we (hall complain unjurtly of our con- dition ; for to pretend to hinder the expor- tation of our materials of gold and filver to foreigners, when it is we that are indebted to thefe foreigners, is endeavouring to make the efFcét ceafe, without removing the caufe ; but to feta Frenchman to com- merce that is carried on by lea, to manu- fadures and arts, to hinder him as much as poffible from expending too much on things that come from abroad, and which are but fuperfluities, and, on the other hand, to increafe his proper riches, by encouraging the cultivation of his lands ; this is what wc may truly call promoting the intcreft of trade. Befides Le Blanc and Matthieu, confult on the fubjedil of this note De Thouj liv. cxxix. Le Grain, liv. viii. Pcre- ufelefs Book XIII. MEMOIRS F SULLY. ufelefs refinement, fince all the ways of reckoning muft come to the fame thing at laft : I am, however, of opinion, experience having fhewn me, that the cultom of talking always of crowns, for want of a denomination of a money more convenient for petty traffic, had im- fixe, and other writers of that time, in or- der to find out the hiftory of thcfe regula- lations of the finances and commerce ; for in reality the reafunings of thcfe writers on tliis whole matter are but little fatisLélo- ry : we might well lay of them what the duke of Sully faid of the parliament of Pa- ris, " They are mafters of arts which none ♦' of them know any thing of." Mem. pour I'hift. de P'rance. As M. de Sully treats no more of mo- ney, I will fupply thjt part from the fanse Memoirs, tom. II. p. 275, ic feq. Tho' this writer feems not even to underlland the flate of the quclHon, and fpeaks not very favourably of the king and his minifters. " At that time," fays he, fpeaking uf all the deliberations which were entered into upon this fubjeiS in 1609, " there was ♦' brought upon the carpet, and propofed " to the council, a new edi£t for the " coin, which they wanted to diminilh " and alter, that is, to raife its value, *' and by the fame means to ruin the " people. Every one murmured at this " propofal : the king alone finding his " account in it, laughed at it, and at all " the world, even at his own minifters, " and ihfir remontrances, as he did at " the firft preiideiit of the mint (William " Le-Clerc) who being difconcerted in his " fpeecb, having been twice interrupted " by his m.ijtfty's breaking into a fit of " laughter, which made him flop fhort in " the middle thereof; and upon his ma- ♦' jefty's obferving it, he fays to him. Go *' on, Mr. prefident, for I am not laughing •' at you, but at my coufin, the count of " SoiflTuns, who is near me, and tells me, " that he fmells a flioulJer of mutton. " This fécond ftroke ftruck him quite " dumb. Upon which, the king falling " into a fit of laughter, went away and *' left him. A native of Perigord, who " was cne of the principal peifons that " had communicated this project of the " cdidt to the king, prefled much for its " being put in execution. The king, who " very well knew the iniquity of the edict, " feeing himfelf continually teafed by this " rude contrador, at length afked him " what countryman he was; to which he " anfwered, I am a native of Perigord. " Fentrefainlgris, replies the king, I al- " ways thought fo; for in that country " they are all falfe coiners. — On Saturday, " the 5th of September, the court being " met on the edit de monoies, rejeâed ic •' entirely ; Nee dubemus, nee pojfumus, we '• neither ought nor can, concluded they " with one voice. The gentlemen be- " longing to the mint were lent for; a- " mong whom one of the reformed reli- " gion, called Bizeul, fpoke his fentiments " very freely, for which he was highly " commended ; and M. le Premier prefi- " dent faid. Non in parabclis ijie locutm cjl " nobis. It muft be obferved, that as foon " ss the people belonging to the coinage " had entered the chamber, the firft pre- " fident fdid to them. Sit down and be " covered, and you fliall fpeak prefently. " On Tuefday the 8ih, in the evening, " M. de Sully went to fee the firft preli- " dent, in order to prevail on him to per- " fuade the court to pafs the edi£fs ; but " in this he found him inflexible : and as " the prefident reprefcnted to him the in- " juftice of it, M. dc Sully anfwered. The " king ought not to look upon that as un- " juft which fuits his aftairs. — On Tuef- " day the 15th of September, the king " fent his letters patent to the court, to " prolong the parliament for eight days, " during which time they were ordered •' to let about the regiftering of the edidls, " two of which were in a manner revo- •' ked ; and as to the other?, it was hoped " they would die of themfelres." perceptibly 134 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XIÏÎ. i6c2. perceptibly raifed all that was bought or fold to more than its real *~ — V I value. The intereft of commerce was ilill more concerned in the newï the king received from feveral parts of the kingdom, that thofe who had been employed to feek for mines, had difcovered a great number of * gold and filver ones. This report was fpread at court with fo many appearances of probability, that every one reprefenting to him- felf the diredion of this new labour as a fource of immenfe riches, there was not one who did not ufe his utmoft endeavours to procure the grant of it. Monfieur Le Grand obtained the office of fuperin- tendant, and Béringhen that of comptroller-general. This gave oc- cafion for La Regnardiere, a buffoon whofe jefts were equally fatiri- cal and agreeable, to fay, " that they could not have made a fitter " choice of a man for the direction of the mines, than one who was " himfelf a compofition of mmes -\-." The improvement and work- ing of filk, of which I fhall have more occaiion to fpeak in the follow- ing year, commenced in this, and an edid was publiflied for the plant- ing of mulberry trees. Among all thefe different edifls, none made fo much noife as that againft duels J. His majefty went fo far as to make death the puniHi- ment of thofe who difobeyed ; in which, I confefs, he acfted contrary to my advice. I have too plainly declared my thoughts of this perni- * Le Scptennaire men'ions the places " profit, that M. De Thou had rcafon for where thefe mines of all forts were dif- " difluading them from meddling with covered: " In the Pyrennees mines of talc " them ever fmce that time." liv. cxxix. " and copper, together with forne of gold f The jeft lies in the word viuhs, which " and filver ; in the mountains of Foix, in French fignifies grimace and afteftjtion. '• mints of jet and precious fiones, and % T^^'^ ei;i£^, in vvhich duelling is dc- " even carbuncles, iho' hut few; in the dared to be high treafon or leze mayjVr^ " ^.ndsof Gevaudan, and in the Cevennes, was pafl'ed at Blois in the month of June, " mints of lead and tin ; in thofe cf Car- and is a very fevere one: this is the <' calTonne, mmes of fih'er ; in thofe of cdidf which firft gave the conftables and " Auvergne, niinrs of iron ; in the Lyon- marechals cf France a power of pro- " nois near the village Saint-Martin, of hibiting violent methods, and appoint- " gold and filver ; in Normandy, filver ing the reparation of the injuries rc- " and very good tin ; at Annoiuy in the ccived. This the pjrliament reflridkd, in " Vivarais, mines of lead ; in La Brie the regiîlring, to thofe rencounters alone " and Picardy, mines cf marcafitc of that concerned the point of honour, and " gold and filver. Some of thefe mines, excepted all other crimes as debts, af- '•• but efpecially thofe of gold and filver, faults, &c. M. de Sully, in the courfe of •' are very difficult and troublefome to thefe Memoirs, handles this affair of duel- " work, and at the feme time of fo little ling at i;r!;atcr Itngih. 3 cious Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. cioLis and favage abufe, to fear the accufation of having endeavoured to tolerate it; but I forefaw, that an excefs of feverity in the means would be the principal obftacle to the execution. When it becomes neceffary to declare the will of the fovereign to the fubjeâ:, it is of the utmofi: importance to examine carefully, whether the thing to be for- bidden is of fuch a nature that the fear of death may prevent dif- obedience ; for otherwife thofe extremities are, in my opinion, lefs efficacious than degradation or difgrace, or even than a pretty high fine or forfeiture. If the pradtice of duelling be ferioully attended to, it will be found to be of this nature ; for it is commonly perfons of quality, and even of the greateft diftindion, who are guilty of it; for whom folicitations are fo much the more ardent and fuccefs- ful, as the punifl:iment with which they are threatened is great and in- famous : it is not therefore to be doubted, that many pardons will be granted, the example, and the hope of which, are fufficient to- en- courage others to infringe the law. It often happens, that thofe pu- nifhments are moft regarded, for which a pardon dare not, nor can- not be implored. Besides thofe embafTies I have already mentioned at the beginning- of this year, the king received a folemn deputation from the thirteen Swifs Cantons: forty-two deputies from that nation came to Paris to renew the alliance *, which had been the occafion of maréchal Bi- ron's journey to thofe Cantons. Î was appointed, together with Sillery, De Vic, and Caumartin, to treat with them ; but, not being able, on account of my other employments, to attend this bufinefs conftantly, I fatisfied myfelf with getting exad: informations from Sillery of all that palled at their meetings. The only difficulty I flarted, was con- cerning the three millions that were granted them, befides the forty thoufand crowns to which their ufual penfion was raifed : I could have wiflied that they had deducted certain fums paid on their account, during the campaign in Savoy, and on fome other occafions : as for the reft, thefe gentlemen thought good chear, and deep drinking with them, the moft effential parts of their reception. The king prefented them with gold chains and medals, and fent back the pope's- chamber- kin, who came to compliment him in the name of his holinefs, loaded with prefents : he gave h's confent to the alliance which the republic of Venice made with the Grifons againfl: Spain. * See all the ceremonies of entries, au- tennaire, ann. 1602. Matthieu, torn. IL dienccf, ami performances of oaths, which liv. iii, p. 471, &c. were obferved on this, uccafion, in le Sep- 136 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XIII. 1602. The great armaments and other warlike preparations which this '^ — -v ' crown was making for the following year, kept the crown of France in continual attention to their motions, and were the caufe that Henry, who held it for an inconteftable truth, that it was by the military power alone a ftate could be rendered flouiifliing, not only rejedtd the pro- pofal I made him, to difband part of his troops, particularly to lefTen the number of his guards by twelve or fifteen hundred men, but alio that he took a refolution to make a new levy of fix thouiand Swifs -, and it was with great difficulty that I prevailed upon him to defer this levy till the month of September. He was more folicitous than ever about the payment of his army, and I was obliged to the conflable for having folicited with great earneftnefs the payment of my company of gendarmes. And at lafl: he determined to take another journey to Calais, which was the mofi: confiderable of all his majelfy made this year, except that into the provinces. Henry took his route through Verneuil * towards the latter end of the month of Auguft, leaving his queen in the fame condition fhe was the preceding year, that is, far advanced in her pregnancy, for fhe lay in of Madame, her eldeft daughter, in November -f-. He re- commended to me with great earnefinefs to be affiduous about her, and endeavour to make her approve of this journey ; as likewife to procure her every kind of diverfion that might alleviate her concern during the firft days of his abfence. He never wrote to me without making inquiry about the fi:ate of her health, and the manner in which Ihe palled her time : and it may be truly faid, that he never omitted giving her every inftance of refpeâ: and tendernefs that was able to make her forget the uneafinefs flie received from his amours. It was about this time that he legitimated tlie fon he had by the marchionefs de Verneuil 'I, which was among the number of thofe things that gave the greatefi: oftence to the queen. J^enry was detained a little time at Monceaux by a fever, cccafioned by a cold he got in walking late in the evening to fee his mafons work ; the remedy he made ule of was, to go to the chace the next day. As foon as I had acquainted him at Boulogne, that every thing relating to the queen was in luch a fituation * Verneuil near Scnlis, a caftle which born on the 22d of November, 1Ê02, and he had given to his miltrefs, mademoifelle married to Philip IV. of Spain in 1615. d'Hntragues, and from which flie took the X Henry de Bourbon, duke de Verneuil; title of marchionefs of Verneuil. he was at fiirt hiOiop of Metz, and after- t Elizabeth, a daughter of France, was wards inairicd Charlotte Seguicr. as Book XIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. ^37 as he wiflied, he wrote to me to come to him in this city, with the 1602. prefident Jeannin, whom he expected to have occafion for. «— -v— It was from this place that his majefty was a witnefs of part of the event and exploits of the campaign between the Spaniards and the Flemings, without having any inclination to difarm, whatever aflu- rance might be given him by the king of Spain, till he had feen what turn affairs would take in the Low Countries ; where, however, they flill continued to be on the fame footing as before. The fiege of Oflend was not carried on with fo much vigour by the befiegers, as it was fuftained by the befieged. Prince Maurice of NafTau, after con- tinuing fome time at Berg, uncertain of what he ftiould next under- take, went on the 19th of September to inveft Grave, and entrenched himfelf, not doubting but he fliould receive fome oppofition in this enterprize. Accordingly, the admiral of Arragon, in the abfence of the arch-duke Albert, who was detained by ficknefs at Bruflels, en- deavoured, by means of a bridge which he threw over the river, to beat up one of the quarters of the befiegers, and to fuccour the place ; but he did not fucceed : and he had even the mortification to find, that many of his Spanifli companies mutinied, and, after feparating from the main body of his army, pofi"efled themfelves of Hoeftrate and Dele. He took fuch wrong methods to engage them to return, that they came to a refolution to apply to the prince of Orange, who gave them the city of Grave for a retreat, which he had taken, and which thefe Spaniards reftored to him, when the ravages and violences they committed upon the territories of the arch-duke obliged him to treat with them, and to accept of very ftrange conditions from them *. The council of Spain, through a defire of carrying on the war, re- folved to make new and more vigorous efibrts. A fquadron of twelve large gallies and pinnaces, fitted out at Sicily with great care, manned with a fufficient number of foldiers, and plentifully fupplied with all neceffary provifions, failed for this purpofe out of the Spanifli ports, to cruife in the channel : the command of this fquadron was given to Frederic Spinola, coufin to the marquis of that name, who condu<5ted the fiege of Oftend j he flattered himfelf that he fliould become mailer of the fea, and complete the ruin of the Flemings. But this proved * See in the hiftorians the particulars of all thefe expéditions, which are here only briefly related. Vol. II. T a vain MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIII. a vain hope ; of twelve veffels, two of them perifhed ere he had quit- ted the coafts of Spain ; the ten others, meeting with a Dutch fqua- dron, were almoft all either taken or funk ; the laft that efcaped, and in which Spinola himfelf was, happened to run a-ground within view of Calais, but fo difabled by the cannon, and in fuch a (haltered condition, that the flaves who rowed it having revolted and fled, the general found himfelf obliged to land alone, and with great labour, at Calais, from whence he went to Bruflcls, duke of the fea and the winds. Spain made herfelf amends for thefe misfortunes by the acquifition of the marquifate of Final, which was taken by the count of Fuentes. " There was not the leaii fliadow of a pretence for this ufurpation ; this litde ftate, which is on the coaft of Genoa, being inconteftably a fief of the empire; neverthelefs, when the Emperor, topreferve, in appear- ance at leaft, the right of the empire, offered to fend commillioners to diicufs this affair upon the fpot, his off'er was rejeded with con- tempt by the king of Spain *. He ufed the fame violence with regard to Piombino, a hef hkewife of the empire, which afforded him a con- venient port ; and had likewife the fame views upon Embden, when he undertook to fupport againft the Inhabitants -f- the lord of this city, although he was avowedly a proteftant; but in this he did not fucceed : the citizens of Embden maintained their liberty againft both the one and the other, and joined themfelves to the ffates. The duke of Savoy fucceded no better in the attempt he ordered d'Albigny .| to make upon the city of Genoa. This expedition ended unfortunately for the alTailants, althoug'.i they had opened themfelves a paflage into the city, by applying foldiers to the wails, and above two hundred of them had already entered, after cutting the centinel's throat whom they had forced to tell them the watch-word, which ferved them to get clear of the patrole till they had found their way through the firff guard ; and now they thought themfelves fccure of the city ; but the citizens, deriving new ffrength and courage from tlie extremity they beheld themfelves in, charged them with fo-much fury, that they drove them back, and forced them to abandon their city. Some of thefe Savoyards threw themlelves oft" the walls, to efcape the * The marquis of FinaJ, by his impor- an. 159!^. and their conclufion, an. 1602. tunitics, obtained a penfion during his life. J Liiatlcs de Siiniane d'/\lbii;ny. De t He was called count d'Oft Frife. See Thou, liv. 12 9. Septen. an. 16Ô2. Mat- the origin of thefe troubles in Chron. Sept, thieu, ibid. 544. 3 "ge I^coK XÏII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 339 rage of the enemies j many others were taken and hanged without 1602. mercy. Spain entered very deep into that black defign, which was ^— ->-— ■ followed by a peace between the duke of Savoy and the republic of Genoa *. The revolt of Battori from the Emperor continued the war in Hungary : the duke of Nevers -f- went thither, in expeâation of fuc- * The treaty was concluded the follow- ing year at Ramilly, through the mediation of the Swifs Cantons. Siri, ibid. p. 2C0. f (Jh-uIesdeGonzague, duke of Mantua, de Nevers, de Cleves, and de Rhetei, who died in 1637. See how la Chronol. Septen. relates an aûion, of which M. de Sully fpeaks with a kind of contempt. " The " duke of Nevers thinking by his own " example to recal the courage of thofe *« who withdrew from danger, and to in- " duce others to come on, went direûly " to the breach, trampling over the dead, •' the wounded, and even thofe that were " flying ; but he received there the fliot of *' a large arquebufe that was fired amidft: *' a great number of other arms, from one ♦' of the angles of the faid breach, that *' ftruck him jufl on the left fide, pene- " trating into the breaf}, near the heart *' and lungs ; but it was conduced fo " providentially, that, neither breaking or " hurling any noble part, it gained him " as much lading honour, as it fl^ewed a ** great miracle in his prefervation." Let us likewife hear this writer concerning the death of the duke de Mercœur : " Having «' an inclination, fays he, to return to " France, in order to prepare for fome " greater expedition aç^ainfl the Tuiks, he " went from Vienna to Prague, where he " took his leave of the Emperor : hut " while he was at Norembeig he was "" feized with a peflilential fpotted fever. " No fooner was the hoft brought hinr, " than the moment he fiw it, though in " a languidiing and weak lUte of body, " yet of a vigorous and found mind, having " mire faith than life (the device of the " duke of Mercœur being, jlui fuhi quam " via) he threw himfelf out of bed, and *' falling proiirate upon the giound, adored " his Saviour, uttering the moft devout " ejaculations." The whole of what this author adds concerning the adls, fayings, and fentiments, of the duke of Mercreur, till the moment of his death, is quite af- fefling, and ferves fufficicntly to form a high eulogium of his charadler : " His fu- " neral oration was pronounced in the " church of Notre Dame at Paris, by mon- " fieur François de Selles, coadjutor and " bifliop eleét of Geneve, llie Turks " imagined that die affairs of the Chri- " ftians did not profper but where-evcr th's " prince was." After the elogiuin of his family, the hiftorian pafles to that of his virtues : " He was one of the moft tem- " perate men in the world as to diet, fo as " only to eat when obliged through necef- " fity, and he drank almoft nothing but " water: he was no lefs abftemious in " other temporal enjoyments; humble in " the poflisffion of all thofe iiigh honours *' and great favours heaven had heaped up- " on him, and never abufing any'of them; " he was equally acceffible to rich and poor; " moderate in his recreations ; he had a " great contempt for idle afl'emblies: fa *' that what time remained for amufement " he employed in reading ufeful books. " He had an exj£tfkill in praétical mathe- " matics ; he alio was eloquent, and would " gracefully deliver his elegant fentiments " not only in French, but hkewife in the " Gcriraii, Italian, and Spanifh tongues, " in which he was more than moderately " fkilled ; and yet he never employed his " elocution but to enforce things that were " ufeful, praife-worthy, and virtuous." The defcription which this writer after- wards gives, with regard to his performing the duties of religion and thofe of his 11 a- tion, his piety, his prudence, and his otiier T 2 ceedinoj 140 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIII. 1602. ceedîng to the poft and reputation of the duke of Mercœur, but laying -— V— -.> fiege to Buda after Peft had been taken by the Chriftians, the Turks, who on their fide had, at length, won Alba regalis, haftened thither with fuch numerous forces, that they forced them to raife the fiege ; and the duke of Nevers retreated very much wounded. An adion of George Bafte, the imperial general, has been very much and very defervedly applauded. The rebels in Battori's party having feized Biftrith, Bafte retook this place by a capitulation, which during his abfence was violated by fome German foldiers. As foon as he was apprifed of it at his return, he hanged up all thofe foldiers, and out of his own money fatisfied the inhabitants for the damage they had received. The rebels were fo gready affedled with the generofity of this adtion, that they all fubmitted to the Emperor, and demanded no other fecurity than the general's word. virtues, form altogether a pidlure which made him undertake a confpiracy againfl: may ferve for a model to the great of our his fovereign. Matthieu, ibid, 456. fpcaks times, if we except that an immoderate of him in the fame manner, ambition and miftaken zeal for religion MEMOIRS MEMOIRS OF SULLY. BOOK XIV. TH E city of Metz had been, for fome time, fliaken with thofe intcfline divifions, which broke out in the beginning of this year. The duke of Epernon, who was governor of it, and of the whole country of Meffin, had placed Sobole * and his brother as his lieutenants there ; who made fuch an ill ufe of their authority, that they were foon hated by the whole body of the citizens. This hatred was ftrengthened by the difference of their religions ; and there was fuch a general outcry amongfl: the citizens and country people, againft the lieutenants, that d'Epernon was obliged to go himielf to Metz, to hear the complaints of both parties, and to endeavour to conciliate them to each other. Sobole complained, that the city re- fufed to furnifh the troops with viétual, and the city, in their turn, threw the whole blame upon Sobole. Some difputes had alfo rifen con- cerning a certain Provençal prifoner at Vitry ; which, through rancour and a defire of revenge, occafioned feveral others on matters lefs con- fiderable ; and thefe heats had already proceeded fo far as to make a revolt be apprehended. * Raymond de Comminges, lord of Sobole, and his brother, gentlemen of Gafcony. The J42 M E M O I Pv S O F S U L L Y. Book XIV. 160 -J. The duke of Epernon was foon convinced that the two Soboles * U-— V ' had not juftice on their fide, at lead:, witli regard to the firft com- plaint, which was indeed the chief, and by them made the occafion of a quarrel, with no other view, than to afford them a pretence for open- ing the magazines of the citadel, which was never permitted but in cafe of a war or a fiege, and this to make themfelves mafters of tliem. D'Epernon would have been glad to have pacified matters, without being obliged to deprive bis two creatures of their ports ; for he well knew, that this was an exertion of authority, which he would have fome ditîiculty to fupport himfelf in, the two brothers being at the head of a party, ftrong enough to oppofe the governor as well as the citizens. Things were in this ftate, when the king received advice of what was doing at Metz : he fent me notice that he would come to the arfenal to confer with me, and defired that I would have a fupper prepared for him, and fix other ^ erfons whom he fhould bring with him. He made me follow him alone into the great ftore-houfes of cannons and arms, and, beginning, as ufual, to difcourfe about the fituation of affairs witiiin the kingdom, with refpedt to the malecon- tents, he told me the news he had juft received from Metz. Henry, without any hefitation, refolved upon taking a journey thither, upon his refleâing that if Metz, a city fo very lately difmembered from the empire, rtiould unfortunately happen, in the prefent conjundure, to feparate itfelf from France, it would be a difficult matter to recover it. Several other political motives made this journey abfolutely necefiary, befides that of taking from the duke of Epernon a citadel, which he might make ufe of to very bad purpofes, and a confiderable extent of country, wherein, under the reign of Henry the third, he had be- haved more like a fovcreign prince than a governor; and, upon a fup- pofition that he fliould one day carry his great defigns into execution, there would be a neceffiry for having, in this country, fo im[x>rtant by its fituation, a governor from whonT he could promife himfelf more aflin-ance, than he could expeét from d'£pernon. It was probable at Icafl that fome favourable opportunity would offer to join Lorrain to France, and in that cafe.it imported his majefty highly to go himfelf in perfon, and procure a perfedl knowledge of this ftate, and give the * Sobole accufed ihe city cf Metz of the king of Spain. This acarfatiou ajï- holding incilligence v.ltli the count of peared to be falfe. Vie du doc d'EiK-inon, Man^ifield, in order to I'urrcnder itletf to p. 217. government Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. government of that province, which was upon its confines, to a man on whom he could depend. This journey hkewife would be of ufe to him, in allowinf^ him an opportunity of becoming acquainted with fome of the princes of Germany, andof founding their inclinations with re- fpeâ; to the houfe of Auftria, to know if he might expedt any affilhince from them in an advantageous conjundure, and even to attach them to himfelf, by reconciling them to one another, for he was not igno- rant that many differenices fubfifted amongft them. I T was agreed between us, that his majefty rtiould fet out without lofs of time, to the end that, by appearing at Metz with his whole court (for it was refolved that the queen Ihould accompany him) at a time when the two fadiions, not having yet proceeded fo far in their infolence as to embrace a party contrary to the king, both the one and the other fliould think of nothing but of juftifying their condud:, and fubmitting to his determination. The king would not even ftay till the coats of his guards, for about this time they were to be all new cloathed, were ready ; but leaving me at Paris to correfpond with him, ordered only Villeroi among his fecretaries of ftate to attend him, and left Paris the latter end of February, notwithftanding the rigour of the feafon, which made the roads very bad for the ladies to travel, and took his rout by La-Ferté-fur-Jouarre, Dorman-fur-Marne, Eper- nai, Chalons-fur-Marne, and Clermont : the court flopped at Verdun, and four or five days after arrived at Metz by Frefne-en-Verdunois. Henry's arrival put an end to all difputes, and nothing was talked of but fubmifTion and obedience : not but Sobole, who was fenfible this affair would be terminated by his expulfion, had ambition and re- folution enough to maintain himfelf in the citadel in fpite of his ma- jelly, and difclofed his thoughts to his particular friends ; but the moft prudent amongfl: them reprefented to him, that, if he engaged in fuch a defign, he would be irretrievably ruined ; fo that, fubmitting to the arret for his banidmient, he gave up the citadel without making any conditions, and quitted Metz and the whole country of MelTin. The king appointed Montigny * to be his lieutenant in this province, in the * Francis delà Grange, lord of Mon- in 1617. His brother was Antony, lord tigny, Scry, &c. wasxhief Itevvard of the of Arquien, commandant of the citadel of houîhold to Henry llf. governor of Berry, Metz, gov£rnor of Calais, Sancerre, &c. B'ois, &c. knight of the order of the Holy- He is mifcalled by fome, John- James Ghof}, canip-mafter-general of the light- d'Arquien ; and d'Arcy, by father Daniel, horfe, governor of Pari?, afterwards cf John-James d'Atquien was nephew of Metz, trie Pays Meflin, Toul, and Ver- maréchal de Montigny. dur, ut lift, maréchal of Fiance, and dkd MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. room of Sobole, and d'Arquien his brother to adl as lieutenant for the governor in the city and caftle of Metz. Montigny, for this new poll, quitted his government of Paris, the falary of which, however, he received this year. It was thought that d'Epernon was far from being fatisfied with all thefe changes, as may be eafily imagined, the two lieutenants being under no obligation to him for their preferment; but he could have nothing to fay, he himfelf, through neceffity, being the fir ft to require the banifhment of the two Soboles, fo that every thing feemed to be done with his confent. I HAVE taken this whole detail from the letters his majefty honoured me with during his ftay at Metz, in which he informed me fuccin(5lly of all thefe incidents, and dwelt ftill longer upon the manner in which he was received at Metz, and upon the city itfelf, which he faid was three times larger than Orleans, and finely fituated, but that the caftle was not worth any thing j he likewife told me, that he wifhed for my prefence in that country, that he might fend me to vifit the frontier, and that, before fix days, he fhould fettle every thing in fuch good order, as to be able to leave Metz. In effeft, the king accompliflied it in much lefs time, and was only detained there by an indifpofition, ^which obliged him to take fome medicines, after which he found him- felf quite well, although it was followed by a fit of the ague, which he thought had been occafioned by a cold. The duchefs of Bar, fifter to his majefty, came to Metz on the fixteenth of March, and the duke de Deux-Ponts, with his wife and children, arrived three days afterwards. The remainder of the time his majefty ftaid in this province was employed in concluding a marriage between mademoi- felle de Rohan, and the young duke de * Peux-Ponts ; in compofing a difference between the cardinal of Lorraine, and the prince of Bran- denbourg -f-, concerning the bifliopric of Strafbourg, which was ac- complKhed by dividing the revenue of this bifliopric equally between them, without having any regard to their titles and pretenfions ; in rc- ftoring tranquillity to that city, and in being ferviceable to all the princes who required his interpofition in any of their afiairs. The name of * John IF. duke of Deux-Ponts, of a fhopric of the pope ; and the prottftants, branch of the houfe of Bavarin, married on their part, got John-George, brother Catherine the daughter of Henry duke of of thee'e(5tor cf BranJenbourg, tlcfled ; Rohan. * whence a war arofe, which continued till + John Manderfcheidt, the catholic bi- this year. See the hiftorians, Baflbmpierre's (hop of Strafbourg, dying in 1594, cardi- Memoirs, vol.1. Septennairc, &c. ml Charles of Lorrain obtained this bi- Hcnry Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Henry became fo revered in this country, that feveral fovereigns of Germany took a refolution to come thither and pay their refpedls to ' him, to offer him their iervice, and demand his protedion ; which, however, they could only do afterwards, and by ambafiadors, the ne- ceflary preparations for their equipages taking up more time than his majelly had determined to ftay at Metz. There were only the cardi- nal of Lorrain, the duke de Deux-Ponts, the marquis of Brandebourg and Pomerania, the landgrave of Heife, and three or four others whofe dominions lay nearefl the Rhine, that came thither in perfon. The Jefuits, who ever fince their banifliment had been ufing their utmoft endeavours to procure their re-eftabliiliment in France, ap- peared no lefs folicitous to make their court to the king ; for this pur- pofe, they made ufe of the good offices of the fathers of their order at Verdun *, fupported by La-V^arenne, who declared himfelf their pro- tedlor, that they might one day become his, and repay his zeal by the advancement of his children, for whom he already thirfted after the moft eminent dignities in the church, D'Oflat, though not in France, laboured with equal ardour and fuccefs in their favour. The ambitious defire of being arbitrator of the affairs of Europe had often made this man undertake to treat of matters quite foreign to his com- miflion : the obffacles he raifed at Rome to the marriage of Madame, the king's fiffer, is one proof of it, and his folicltations for the Jefuits another ; for the re-effablifliment of this fociety was regarded by him, Villeroi, Jeannini, and other creatures of the Roman court in France, to be the moft effential part of that fyftern of politics, which they endeavoured to have preferred there, to that purfued by the coun- cil. D'OssAT, by printing his letters, which -f- prove the truth of my affertions concerning him, feems not to be folicitous about concealing * The fjthers Ignatius Armand, pro- kept them the whole day with him. They vincial,Chàteiller, Brodîird, and La-Tour, returned on Eafter Monday, and the kmg introduced by La- Varenne, came on Wed- promifed to recall them, and even ordered nefday in Paffion wetk to throw them- the father provincial to come to him at Pa- fclves at the king's feet, and to implore h:s tis, and bring father Cotton with liim. " I favour for their re-admiffion into France. " willhaveyou with me, added he, for L Henry IV. would not fufFer the proviiici.,1, " think you ufeful to the public, and to who fpoke for the whole order, to addreis " mykingdpm." He difmilTed them, af- him kneeling. When he had done, tiie ter having embraced them all four. De king anfwered them, that, for his part, he Thou, b. cxxix. Chronol. Sept. anno 160.5. was not an ill-wifher to the Jefuits: he MSS. Biblioth. Royale, vol. 9129, &c. required them to give him, in writing, P.Matthieu, vol. II. b. iii. p. 556. what they had been faying to him, and f To fupport thcfe accufations brought Vol. If. IJ his MEMOIRS OF SULLY Book XIV. his true fentiments from the public ; but, if he is inexcufable for hav- ing almoft always obferved a condudt quite oppofite to that which the gratitude he owed to his prince and benefactor ought to have fug- gefted to him, he deferves ftill greater reproaches for having endea- againft cardinal d'Oflat, the author quotes fourteen letters, taken out of the collec- tion printed in 1627, eight of them to the king, and fix to M. de Villeroi ; and he principally fixes on two of the fix laft men- tioned, of which he has even given an ab- ftrail. There are fome errors in thefe quo- tations, which may be placeJ to the prin- ter's account ; but truth compels us to ac- knowledge, that there are others of more moment than mere faults of the impref- fion, which may be laid to the charge of the pretended author of the memorial from Rome ; and that though the abflraft of thefe letters be conformable to the words of the text, yet it may be faid to be not more exa£l on that account, fince one cannot help taking notice of the vifible at- tempt to fupprefs thofe explanations and expedients which foften, and even fome- times totally dcitroy the bad conftrudlions which it has been endeavoured to put on them. I apprehend it will be neceffary here to make fome ihort obfervations on each of thofe letters, as well to ftand in the place of a difquifition, more fatirical than hiftorical, which I thought it incumbent on me to fupprefs, as to do juftice where it is due, and to make known the real fenti- ments pf a man, efteemed amongfl us as a great negotiator, and a very able politician. The firfl: of the eight letters to the king (though the author reckons only feven of them) is dated the 19th of February, 1600. It only contains an account given by the cardinal d'Oflat to his majefty, of fome complaints made by the pope, by reafon of the king's having created M. de la Tre- mouille, who was a prnteftant, a duke and a peer of France, and of his intending to make him admiral afterwards, as he had been informed. D'Oflat does not, in this Jetter, fay any thing as being his own fen- iiment, and even takes fome pains to juf- «ify Henry ]V. In the fécond letter of the 25th of April, it is again the pope who in- fifls on the publication of the council of Trent, and the re-aJmflion of the Jefuits into France, and who, at the fame time, complains of fome abufes in the Gillic.:n church; to which the cardinal makes no other anfvver, but that hismajelly fincerely labours to give his holinefs all poffible fatis- faflion. The third of the 22d of May, the fourth of the 17th of June, and the fifth of the 30th of the fame month, turn on the affair of the difpenfation for the duke and duchefs of Bar : he therein ac- quaints the king with the difHculties that affair meets with at Rome; he adds his own opinion, which, in truth, is not in fa- vour of his majefty's intention?, but never- thelefs does not prevent his being ready to fécond them, by all the reafons he can think of, and his (hewing himfeif, above all things, exceeding fenfible of the fhame that would redound to the houfe of France, if, as the duke of Bar fometimes gave out, it fhould be determined by the court of Lor- raine to fend the princefs back to France. The fixth letter of the 26th of November 1601, contains nothing for which this pre- late can be blamed, but his difcoverirg, perhaps with too much complaifance, to Henry IV. the dcfign his holinefs had formed, on the death of queen Elizabeth, to transfer the crown of England to the houfe of Parma. In the feventh of the 2 2d of Decembei in the fame year, d'OfTat alfo, poffibly with too much zeal, fuftains cer- tain rights of the pope, in the matter of elections. His fentiments, which mull ap- peal to be fmguLr in France, oblige me to fct forth fome of the terms he employs. " If the popes, fays he, have encroached " on the liberties of the church, the kings, " fire, (I fay this only to yourfelf, and " even in doing fo, fhew the great opinion " I have of your generofity and goodnefs) " have made no lefs attempts on their " kingdoms, and even their churches ; and " if things flioulJ be reduced to their ori- voured Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. voured, both in his difcourfe and in his writings, to give a bad itn- preffion of the king and his minifters. When removed from the center v of bufinefs, all the informations he could obtain muft be through the canal of wretches, to whom a man of fenfe and judgment ought to 147 1603. " ginal (Tate, as is attempted to be done on " your fide in the pope's cafe, in regard to " theeleiSions, the kings would be greater *' fufFerers by it than the popes." The firft of the fix lettcre, direfled to M. de Villeioi, is dated the 23d of July 1621. Our author's exceptions to this letter are, becaufe d'Offat therein maintains, with fome warmth, that the proteftants ought not to be fufFered in the Italian cities, ceded to the king by the treaty of Savoy. The fécond of the 23d of September, is m fdated. If the author meant to fpeak of that of the 3d of September, he is fo much the more in the wrong, becaufe the Spaniards are handled very roughly in that letter: but he probably fpeaks of that of th; 17th of that month, for there the pre- tended reformed religion, and the cities of Savoy, are again brought in queftion. The third of the i6th of December 1602, on the affairs of the duchefs of Bar, contains this circumftance in favour of d'Offat, that he therein declares the fufpiclon he had con- ceived, that the duke of Lorraine might have fome evil intentions againft her. The fame thing may be faid of the fourth of the 30th of December, in which his eminence feems pcrfuaded, that Spain appears to enter fo ftrongly with the pope, into the affair of thefucceffion to the crown of England, for no other reafon than to cover her own de- figns with the cloak of religion. As to the fifth of the 7th, or rather the 27th of Janu- ary 1603, which is one of the two the author applies himfelf to cenfure particu- larly, becaufe it points out, though but in general terms, the abufes in the govern- ment of France ; he is doubly to blame for concealing that D'Offat adds, at the fame time, that the wlfdom of Henry IV. had already redreffed them in part ; fince thofe words contain the real meaning, and an e.\- planation of the cardinal's fentiments, and, at the fame time, a commendation which snifiht be made to rebound from thence on M. de Rofny; The fixth of the lOth of February, is produced as being the moft vehement; and, in truth, in this letter he expreffes himfelf with more freedom, oil the evils with which the kingdom is inter- nally afBided, on the injuflicc of the war carried on againft Spain in P'landers, and on the advantage of uniting the two kingdoms of France and Spain in interefl and politics, by the marriage of the dauphin and infanta ; yet, when all thefe circumflances are drawn together, and placed in the moft un- favourable point of light, as the author has done, he fliould, in juflice, have remarked that d'Offat, in this letter, candidly fiâtes every fide of the queftion ; that he fays, he is convinced the Spaniards difcover a de- fire for an alliance with us, only to gain time to do their own bufmefs, and to amufe the king with a treaty, to furprife him the better afterwards ; that he inveighs, per- haps with equal force, againft the rapaci- oufnefs, ambition, arrogance, and perfidy of the council of Madrid. Certainly, it is not the proper time to fhew this prelate's opinion, whilft he is thus balancing the reafons on each fide ; but when he recapi- tulates what he has been faying in this letter, which is very long, he at laft fpeaks in his own name: and this is the manner in which he delivers his fentiments. " Upon " the whole, I apprehend that his holi- " nefs ought to be undeceived, in the " wrong notions he has formed of us; that " we ought, fincerely and faithfully, to " obferve the peace made and fworn with " the king of Spain and the archdukes on " our fide, provided they alio keep it on " theirs, as they have by the pope offered " to do ; that this peace fhould ftill be " ftrengthened by all forts of honourable •' and advantageous obligations ; yet that " v/e fhould not place more confidence in *' it than reafon warrants, nor abate our " vigilance and precaution ; but that we " fhould, in all other refpefls, leave the U 2 be 148 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV- 1603. be cautious of giving credit. It is not difficult to perceive that this paflage tends partly to juftify myfelf againft the cenfures of d'Olfat, this cardinal having about that time wrote a letter to Villeroi, in which he did not fcruple to attribute maréchal Biron's rebellion, and the dif- content of the other French lords, to the very little fatisfadion they received from Henry, and the oppreffion the people groaned under through the tyranny of his counfellors : and that he might not do things by halves, this able man, who valued himfelf upon his nice diicernment in affairs of flate, prefumed, by defiring Villeroi to fliew his letter to the king, to advife his majefty to remit his confidence and his authority into other hands. PofTibly if this proceeding of d'Oflat's was thoroughly examined, it would be found to have more artifice than miftake in it ; for it is not hkely that a man, who received fuch exa(5l informations from Villeroi of every thing that happened, could be ignorant that what he reprefented as a general confpiracy of all the dates in the kingdom, was, in reality, only a fadlion compofed of a few perfons, whofe heads were turned by ambition, and the licenti- oufnefs of the late times ; and that all the refl of the French nobility placed their glory and their happinefs in their firm attachment to theix prince ; that the clergy, on their fide, praifed him no lefs, and, in effeft, had no lefs realbn to praife him, having but lately received a ♦' king of Spain and the archdukes on the *' footing they now Hand with other na- •' tions, not from any evil defign or inten- •' tion againft them, but for our own pre- " fervation ; that we (hould not furnifli an " opportunity to thofe who have (hewn *' an iirclination to turn all their forces *' againll France ; and that whilft the reft " are at war with one another, we (hould " employ the peace and quiet God has " bleffed us with, in doing what is right, " improving what is gond in the kingdom, ♦' and extii paling what is bad." This difquifuion confirms me in the opi- nion I have given above, of the fentiments of the cardinal û'Oflat : for what he fays of the Spaniards, bcfides the letters already «luoted, fee p. 51, 504, 540, 692, 705, &c. on the publication of the council of Trent, 217, 2;6, 354, 396, 40c, 43^, 466, 613, 615, and many other places ; on the Jefuits, 69, 302, 303, 287, 309, 351, & ki\. 613, & feq. Had the caidmal d'OiTat even meant what his adverfary pretends he did, it could not be at all confiftent with ihe character of fo prudent and cautious a negotiator, as he is allowed to have been, to make an open difcovery of fuch blameable fentiments : his prudence appears from his letters amongit othc-r occjfions, where, unquef- tionably againft his own advice, he defends the edid of Nantz before the pope, p. 391, 393, 400, where he approves of the im- prifonment of maréchal de Biron, 705, and where he takes the part of queen Eli- zabeth, 243. In Ihort, nothing can be a ftronger proof that this cardinal had no perfonal diflike to M. de Rofny, as it has been inhnuated, than his having never once mentioned his name with ill nature. He is fpoken of, p. 44O, 377, 723: this laft is the only p'ace where he complains of him, though with all pofTiblc moderation, on account of his having fufpcnded the payment of his al- luwance. very Book XIV. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 149 very confiderable gratification from him; and hiftly, that the people, 1603. beiides the fuppreflion of the penny in the fhilling, had, by his ma- »— — r-— J jelly, been farther relieved by an abatement of two millions in the land- tax. I WAS not unacquainted with any of d'Ofîat's malicious proceed- ings, nor of his perfonal complaints againft me, for not paying his pcnfion exadtly. Villeroi undertook to recommend the fpeedy pay- ment of it to me, and acquitted himfelf of this commiffion, by exalt- ing, as ufual, the great abilities and fervices of this cardinal. Some days afterwards, I was accofted by a banker, who made me a propofal to difcharge certain penfions, given by his majefly to perfons at Rome, among others d'OlIat's, which he did with the fume unpolite free- dom that the cabal of my enemies afFeéled to ufe me with. There are fome offices in themfelves of fuch dignity, as to draw refpedl and confideration upon the perfons that pofTefTes them. I was not forry that the banker was fenfible of this truth, and I fent him away coldly enough. D'Offat found himfelf obliged to write to me four months afterwards, and I received his letter at the fame time that one was brought me from my brother, who was ambaflador at that court. D'Oifat exprefied himfcIf in io infolent a manner in this letter, that it certainly deferved no better an anfwer than I had given the ban- ker. However, being of opinion that I ought not to regard it, I was going to make out a draught for his payment, when I received an incon- teflible proof of the injurious language he publicly ufed againll me : that inftant, I confefs, I withdrew the warrant, which was a very exaét one, and fubftituted another in its room of a more doubtful payment, and from that time refolved to expediate no more, but by the king's exprefs command. I wrote to Villeroi at Metz, and acquainted him with this refolution, and, in the poftfcript of my letter, gave him a detail of the fpecches and letters of d'Oflat, in which I was concerned, and, in the heighth of my juit indignation, gave this cardinal the epi- thets of ingrateful and imprudent j which, if what i had heard of him was true, he deferved ; if falfi, 1 gave Villeroi to underftand, that I would p.ay a proper regard to his interpofition in favour of d'Olîiit. He was ftill more affedled by my threat to acquaint the king with the in- folenceof his agent, and conjured me to be pacified : I confented, and all the revenge I took upon d'Offat, was to render his intrigues at Rome ineffedual : thofe in favour of the Jefuits were continued only during this year, for the fociety returned to France in the following year. I SH.\LL 150 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIV. ^— ""V"'*-' I SHALL refume this article in a proper place, and fliall have occa- fion once more to introduce d'OlTat, on account of a memorial which was addrefled to me from Rome againft him. At prefent, what re- mains to be faid of him regards the coadjutorOiipof Baïeux, and the abbey of Coulon, if the affair was worth a long detail ; hut as it is not, I fliall content mylelf with only informing the reader, that d'OlTat pro- cured himfelf to be made coadjutor of Bafeux, and treated with the Maintenons for his abbey of Coulon, by an agreement not very ad- vantageous for them. His majefty gave me this abbey, after perform- ing the promife he made to the Maintenons, that they fliould lofe no- thing by it, fince they obtained an equivalent upon the bifliopric of Evreux, Villeroi earneftly folicited his majefty for d'Oflat, and en- deavoured to engage my intereft for his friend ; Maintenon, on the contrary, was highly diflktisfied that this favour was granted him. The pope's nuncio made me another complaint in the king's ab- fence, upon the journey his majefty had undertaken. That his holi- nefs interefted himfelf in it, was occafioned by the Spaniards having joined to the notion they formed to themfelves of the occafion of this voyage, that which was conceived of his majefty's armaments and treafures, which common fame had greatly increafed, and infedied even the holy father with their apprehenfions. Henry, whom 1 in- formed of the nuncio's fears, ordered me to reafflire him, without troubling myfelf to draw either Spain or Savoy out of their opinion. H I s majefty and I treated by letters of many different affairs, and amongft others that of Flanders. It was computed that, the lail of February this year, the Spaniards had loft eighteen thoufand men, and fired above two hundred and fifty thoufand volleys of cannon before Oftend ; neverthelefs- the fiege was but very little adf'anced, and, in the month of April, the befiegers attempting to make a general affault, they were repulfed with great lofs. From this, the archduke was convin- ced that, notwithftanding all his efforts, it would be time only, and a total want of men and ammunition of every kind, that would dehver the place into his power. Naftau, on his fide, after the reduction of Grave, laid fiege to Rhinberg, and from thence went to inveft Boifle- duc, not confidering that this enterprife exceeded his ftrength, it being impoflible» as I have already obferved, to take Boifleduc with fo fmall a number of troops. Accordingly he was on the point of lofing both his army and his reputation there ; but, in revenge, he had the fatisfaftioa Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. fatisfaiftion to drive the Spaniards out of the caftle of Vadlendonck, where they were, in a manner, already maflers. The garrifon of this place, too weak to refift them, and no longer thinking of any thing but retreating, had abandoned the city and the caille to their difcre- tlon, when they were joined by fome Dutch troops, who pafled by that place in their march to the army of prince Maurice, and altoge- ther attacked the Spaniards, and diflodged them from the caftle. It may be eafily imagined, that the United Provinces could not carry on this war without being at a great expence both of men and money, to which it was abfolutely neceflary that France fhould con- tinue to contribute. The fiege of Oftend alone had coft them one hundred thoufand voUies of cannon, and (even thoufand men. His majefty, for the intereft of both the powers, kept Buzenval in thofe Paul Choart provinces, who was then upon the point of returning to France j ^^d '^^ ^"^^"^^' the fiâtes agent to the king was a man named Aërfens*; this agent reprefented to me, that his countrymen would be foon in no condition to keep the field, unlefs his majefty would permit them to recruit the French companies that were in their fervice with Frenchmen, The king fent me an anfwer from Chalons-fur-Marne to this requeft, which I had communicated to him, and told me that he confented to it, but, to avoid an open rupture with Spain, upon thefe conditions, that it fliould be Aërfens himfelf that fhould raife the recruits, and not the officers, who would do it too publicly, having already aded in fuch a manner, as to draw upon him fome reproaches from the king of Spain : that the recruits fhould be raifed with the utmoft expedition and the utmoft fecrefy ; and that the foldiers who lifted, the number of which he defired to know, fhould file off, without any noife, to the place where they were to embark, marching fix in a company at moft, with no other arms than their fwords, and no more money than was necefiary to anfwer their expences till they got there ; that they fhould take fhipping rather at Dieppe than Calais, this laft city being too much crouded with foreigners ; and that notice (hould be fent to Chaftes, * Francis Aërfens, refident, and after- rope. " It was the received opinion of that wards ambaflador from the ftates of Hoi- *' time, fays Amelot de la Houflaye, that land at the court of France. The memoirs " Henry IV. had an amour with Aërfens' of that time reprefent him as a man of " wife, and that the hufb^nd was content a fubtil, artful, and even dangerous turn of " with it, by reafon of the profit he reaped mind. Cardinal de Richelieu fpeaks of him, " from it : this amour laid the foundation Oxenfticrn, chancellor of Sweden, andGui- " of his fortune. He left ioc,000 livres fcardijChancellorofMontferrat, as the three " a year to his fon, who was called Van only politicians he had ever known in Eu- " Sommerdyk. 9 who Hiftory of Henry duke book V. 1^2 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIV. lôo';. who was governor of it, and v'lce-admlral de Vic, whofe concurrence * V ' was neceli'ary to the defign, and for whom he fent me a letter without a feal. Some alterations, however, were made in tliefe orders ; Aerfens could not levy the men alone ; and it being my opinion, that I ought not to meddle in it, the officers railed the recruits, but did it with all polTible fecrefy. His majefty thought it would not be amifs to fend the gairifon he had forced to leave Metz to Flanders, and, for fear that they fliould enliil with the arch-duke, caft his eyes upon my coufin Bethune to condud them. As for the penfion for which Aerfens llrongly importuned me, the king deferred taking a refolution aboutit till his return. During the ftay his majefty made at Metz, the duke of Bouillon brought his atfair likewife upon the carpet : he had retired to Ger- many to the eledor Palatine, to whom he was allied by the eledlrefs : he prevailed upon this eledlor to undertake his juftification to Henry, or to deceive him again by a letter, which his majefty fent me im- of Bouillon, mediately to have my opinion of it. The purport of this letter, in which the eleâor Palatine very unfeafonably afteded to treat with the king of France as with an equal, was to reprefent to him the great afflidion it gave the duke of Bouillon to have his fidelity fufpedled by the king, and to allure him, that he himfelf was convinced of his in- nocence, by proofs that he thought unanfwerable. The king had fent for Bouillon to come to him and clear up his condud, and after- ward gave him notice by La Tremouille that he fliould at leaft ftop at Sedan, but Bouillon had done neither the one nor the other ; the Pala- tine therefore, to excufe the duke, alledged, that with regard to the firft: complaint, the quality of his accufers made it imprudent for the duke to go and abandon himfelf to them; and to the fécond he laid, that the gentleman who brought his majefty's letter had found Bouillon at Geneva, from whence he had a fincere intention to go and expedl his majefty at Sedan ; but that thinking it neceftary to take his route through Germany, that he might avoid the countries in dependence upon Spain and Lorrain, and alfo to pay hii refpcds to the eledor and elcdrefs, his kinfwoman, whom he had not yet feen, it was owing to this tedious journey that he had mifled the opportunity of receiving his majefty at Sedan. 1 he letter concluded with repeated afllirances of the duke's attachment to his majefty, for the fincerity of which, the eledor brought the connexion there was between them as a proof. X IÎENRV EooK XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Henrv anfwered the eledlor's letter with more politenefs than he 1603. had reafon to expedl, and promifed, as he had always, to reftore the <— — v — duke of Bouillon to his frienddiip and efteem, but upon conditions which Bouillon knew himfelf to be too guilty to accept. In eftedl:, nt the very time that he was making thefe new proteflations, his inajelly received, while at Metz, advice from Heidelberg, which he communicated to me, that a man, named Du-Pleflis-Bellay, bro- ther to the governor of the young Chatillon, had been fent by the duke of Tremouille to the duke of Bouillon with difpatches, in which his majefty was nearly concerned, that this courier, who was to fet out from Longjumeau, had orders to pafs through Sedan without making himfelf known, not even to Du-Maurier ; and at his return, he was again to pafs through Sedan, and afterwards Paris, with the anfwer to Tremouille's difpatches, whom he was to meet at Comblât. His majefty would not have entered into fo circumftantial an account of this affair, but that he vviflied (which however was not practicable) that I, in concert with Rapin, could arrelt this courier, not before his arrival at Paris, but in the road from Paris to Thouars, after he lliould have received letters in that city, which would fully difcovcr the nature of his commiffion. H I s majefiy had certainly no occafion for farther proofs of the duke of Bouillon's guilt. I may venture to affirm, without any dan- ger of judging too raihly, that the fubmiffion which appeared in that ilep he had lately prevailed upon the eledor to make in his favour, was only diffembled, with a view to two things ; to infpire the king with a fecurity in regard to his perfon, and to continue to draw from Iiim thofe fums which for a long time he had regularly received for . the fupport of his fortrefles. This demand he renewed by Saint-Ger- main, with whom Henry was highly difpleafed. His majefty recom- mended it earneflly to me, to have no regard to the inftances that were made me from Bouillon, but at the lame time to give him no reafon to fufpe6t that I had any knowledge of what he had jufl re- lated to me. Thefe orders were indeed unneccflary, after the difco- veries I had lately made of the new difcontents which Bouillon and Tremouille had excited in the provinces amongft the proteftants, and from the refult of the converfation I had with Henry at the Arfenal, before his departure for Metz, of which I have only mentioned what related to this journey. Vol. II. X To '5Î ,j4 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Fook XIV. 1603. To proceed, after having long confidered the cafi: of the cabal, which ^^yy^^^ ftruck a mortal blow to the heart of Henry, I found means at lail: to fet him at peace, by fliewing him, that however fprmidable might be its prefent appearance, it would, after feme ineffeftual ftruggles, fall into nothing. Whatever notions may be formed of the levity and inconfideratenefs of thofe whom we are pleafcd to term the vul- gar, I have always found, that though they may fix upon fome parti- cular aims, and follow them not only with raflinefs but rapture, yet thefe aims are always to a certain degree general, and directed to fome common intereft ; but that any private one's ends, fuch as pro- ceed from the anger or wifhes of a particular man, or of a fmall num- ber, are never long or much regarded. 1 will venture to fay farther, that of general interefls the voice of the people will give the mofi certain judgment : allovv'ing this principle, I confidered the feditious party as terrible, only on account of the mifchievous influence that it might have in the provinces, by mifreprefentations of the king and government; and the dread that might be raifed of oppreflion and. ilavery. And as thofe influences and thole terrors would be made every day lefs by efFedts of a contrary kind, and had never infeded the prin- cipal governments, or great cities, the court could never fee itfelf op- ■pofed but by a paltry rabble, and a few petty places, unable to ftand a fortnight againft a royal army. The king was at Metz when he heard the firft news of the ficknefs of queen Elizabeth, which was fent to him by the count de Beau- mont *, our ambaflador at London : his majefty, thereupon, refolved to haften his departure from that city. At his fifter's requefl, he went from thence to Nancy, where flie had caufed a m.ignificent ballad or interlude to be prepared for his entertainment. He remained there for fome days in great anxiety about the next advices which he expeéled to receive concerning the health of Elizabeth. The death -f of this . * Chiiflopher de Harlay, governor of proach for being the caufe of the earl of Orleans, wh.j died in i6iç. Effcx's death, for whom, among all her t Elizabeth died the 4th of April, N.S. favourites, (he had (hewn the greattft af- in the 70th year of her age, and the 44th fedtion. This is the opinion ot Matthieu, of her reign. The public report, and the toin. II liv. iii. p. 570. Thuanus and fome common opinion of the hiftorians at that others lay nothing of this fuppofed grief, time, weie, that her death was occafioned kit, on the contrary, fay, that, like Au- by a fecret grief and melancholy which (he guftu?, (he died without grief or fear, and could not conquer ; the occafion of which only through the mere failure of nature, was attributed to her remorfe and fclf-rc- Her hatred againft our rehgiyn, and her great Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. great queen, which he heard foon after, was an irreparable lofs fco Eu- rope, and to Henry in particular, who could not hope, in the fucceffor of Elizabeth, to find the fame favourable difpofition to all his defio-ns as he had in this princefs, " the irreconcileable enemy of his iireconcile- *' able enemies, and a fécond felf:" fuch were the terms which Henry made ufe of in a letter he wrote to me on this event, which was al- moft wholly filled with the praifes of this great queen, and exprefiions of forrow for her lofs. His majefly, who was immediately fenfible how greatly this event might influence the political affairs of Europe, determined, as I have already faid, to fend me in quality of ambaifador extraordinary to king James, He informed me of this his intention in the letter above men- tioned ; and fearing, perhaps, that I fliould oppofe it, as I had for- merly done, endeavoured to prevail upon me to accept this commifiîon by the flrongcft motives, and fuch as he knew mofi: likely to make an impreffion on me, I was the only perfon Henry could think of for this purpofe; I repeat his words, and that becauic I was the only man in France who had any knowledge of the affairs that were to be nego- tiated in this embaffy. My religion, probably, had already difpofed the new king in my favour, and would gain me free accefs to him. I dare not mention what his majefty further faid, in regard to that reputation of honour and fidelity which he faid I had acquired among foreigners. Henry foon followed his letter : from Nancy he returned through Toul, Vitry, Rheims, Villers-cotterets, and Saint-Germaine- en-laye, to Fontainebleau, which, within a few days, completed a tour of two months. I H AD received a fécond letter foon after the firfl:, in which his majefiy ordered me to meet him fifteen or twenty leagues from Paris. A re- port was current, that immediately upon the death of Elizabeth the Spaniards began to ufe their utmoft efforts to gain the new king ; we fliall afterwards fee that this report was but too well grounded. Henry had a thoufand things to fay to me on this head, which made him ex- cruelty in putting her firft coufin, queen Italian, and Spanifh ; (he was alfo well Mary, to death, have tarnifhed the luftre verfeJ in the mathematics, hiftory, poli- of her reign : neverthelefs, I acquiefce in tics, &c, Befides particular hiftories of her fhe elop;y beftowed upon her by Thuanus, life, fee Thuanus, Perefixe, Journal de who concludes his enumeration of her great Hen, IV. La Septennaire, an. 1603. Me- abilities by faying, (he had thofe of a king, moires d'Etat de Vdleroi, torn. HI. p. 200* not merely as fuch, but of a very great and other French hiftorians, ktng. She (pake Latin, Greek, French, X 2 tremely 156 M E ?.! O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XiV, 1603. tremely defirous of an opportunity to converfe freely with me about it. ky^^ '^^ I ioined him at the houfe of Monglat, where he had fcarce any at- tendants with him, at which he exprefled great fausfaâion. He em- braced me clofely three times, faid a few words publicly to me on the fuccefs of his iourney, and enquired more particularly of me about hi* buildings * at Saint-Germain and Paris. Materials were then colleâ:- ing for building his grand gallery at the Louvre, for the arfcnal, and fur other works, of which I had the infpedlion and condudt, and which had been partly tlie fubjedls of thofc letters I had received from him ; therein he had alfo direâed me to proceed in the e^xecution of what had been projeded in regard to that apartment of the Louvre called la Sale des Antiques. After I had, in a concife but fuisfadtory manner, replied to all thefe articles, Henry took me by the hand and led me into the garden, at the door of which he ordered fome of his guards to be placed. The embafly to England was the fole fubjeâ of our converfation. His ma- jefty had at firft imparted to his court his refolution to fend this em- bafly, but without naming the perfon whom he had fixed upon to execute it. The knowledge of this alone had excited fome murmurs among the partilans of the Pope and Spain ; and it was faid, that Henry fought allies only among princes who were of a different religion from his own. But when his majefty, notwithftanding, declared publicly his intention to invefl: me with this employment, tlieir difgufl: then fhewed itfelf without reflraint. This whole cabal, which I had good reafon to think was made up of my moft inveterate enemies, boldly reprefented to his majefty, that to fend a huguenot to treat concerning the intereft of the kingdom, with a prince of the fame religion, would be highly dangerous to the ftate; and more efpecially fo, were he in- trufled with a full power. Finding they could not prevail upon his majefty to revoke my nomination, they contented themfelves with get- ting my commiflion confined only to condolances upon the death of the late queen, and compliments for the new king; or, at moff, to an in- fpeftion into the flate of affairs in England ; but without any power tQ ad, or even to confer, on the principal occafion of my journey. Henrv, at the fame time that he informed me of thefe fecret pradlices in his court, of which I was till then ignorant, repeated to • * Henry IV. built the new caflle of the banks of ihc Seine, and formed its Saint-Germain, extended the gardens to beautiful tcrraffes. Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, 157 me his afTurances, that he had not been influenced by them to alter 1603. hisdcfigns, either with refpedl to the embafTy, liis choice of me, or of ^^ — v — J the pardcular point which he had at firfl: in view : and he further con- firmed this his refolution, by judlcioufly obferving, that an embafly, whofe commiflîon fliould be confined merely to ceremony, would be ulelefs and vain ; and that, if there were any hopes of ever feeing the new Icing of England purfue the maxims of Elizabeth, in regard to the political engagements of tiiat princefs, it would doubtlefs depend chiefly on the manner in which he fiiould be at firft prejudiced againll: the houfe of Auftria, and in favour of the alliance with France and its an- tient partifans : but he confeffed to me, that this point appeared to him, in all refpefts, fo extremely difficult, that, unlefs it was mana- ged with the utmofl: dexterity, both in the council of France, and at the Englifh court, it would, p.rhaps, be better not to think, of it at all. He further faid, that it would firll be neceffary fo to impofe on the enemies which I had in the court and council, that they mJght fufpecl nothing in my commilTion more than what lliould be declared to me in their prefence, and even with their conlent. His majefty, on this occafion, repeated a fimile, which he often ufed of La Riviere's, that the kingdom of France may be compared to an apothecary's fiiop, in which are contained not only the moftfixlutary remedies, but alfo the moil fubtile poifons, and that the king, like an able apothecary, ought to make the befi: advantage of both, by mixing them in the mofi: proper manner. In regard to the propofitions which I ftiould make to the Englifli minifters, he faid, I ought to be cautious not to expofe the fovereign of the principal kingdom in Europe to the fhame of having made advances which fhould be negleéted or de- fpifed, and perhaps to a necefiîty of revenging them : and as to the more fecret propofitions, which, at a proper opportunity, I fhould make to king James, he faid it would require great judgment and dexteritv, to avoid haftening, by any imprudent ftep, his engagements with Spain, which as yet were, perhaps, uncertain, or at leaft far from being concluded. His majefty fuppofed, that all caufes of dilfatisfac- tion might, as much as it was poffible, be obviated, by giving me, ia writing, and in open council, fuch inflruâions, in regard to my em- bafly, as fhould appear to be only general, and merely compliment- ary, which I might publicly produce in England as well as in France, but which, however, fliould not prevent my feconding his majefty 's more particular intentions, whenever a favourable opportunity might prtfent j provided, neverthelefs, that I did it as of myfelf, and with- out f^8 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIV. 1603. out giving this prince to underfland, that 1 was authorifed herein by s « J the king my maiter. What his majefty thus acquainted me with, appeared to me of fuch great confequence, that I defired him to grant me four days to confider of it, before I gave him my anfwer. I immediately fet out poft for Paris, to be at Uberty to make my reflexions, and Henry de- parted from thence for Jully. I eafily perfuaded myfelf to comply •with the king's defnes, but I thought it a neceflary precaution to have his majefty's more immediate avowal and authority for all thefe pro- pofitions which he had enjoined me to make to the king of England, as of myfelf, without which I thought it would be rifquing too much. To be favourably received and heard by king James, it would be pro- per to begin by gaining his confidence, to which my religion gave me the bed claim ; but I was fenfihle, that, by this, I ihould be obliged to break through thofe bounds of circumfpeétion, which, in France, I had prefcribed to myfelf, out of a deference to the religion of the prince. I had no rcafon to doubt but that, whatever words might efcape me, which, in this refpedT:, fhould appear fomewhat free, would be as induftrioufly reported by the enemies I flwuld have in that court, as they could have been in France ; and 1 had equal caufe for being apprehenfive, that fomething of this kind iliculd be afterwards reprefented in fuch a manner, as to appear criminal in the eyes of his ma'iefly, who, as well as other good princes, had his moments of miibull: and ill humour ; and fometimes one of thefe moments is fufficient to ruin a minifter, however firmly fupported ; a reverfe of fortune which it was not impoffible but I myfelf might experience. All thefe confiderations confirmed me in a refolution, not to de- part without a writing figned by his majefly, and known only to us two, whereby, whatever my condudl might he at the court of Ldu- don, and whatever expieffions I might ufe lo the king of England, I might be able, if neceflary, to juftify myfelf, and fhew that I had done nothing but to promote the fuccefs of our aifairs, and that by his majefly's exprefs orders. Thus I declared niyfelf to Henry, when, at the end of four days, he came to the arfcnal to receive my anfwer ; though indeed I made this declaration no otherwife than by faying, that I was full of fears leil any part of my condud, on this occafion, fhould draw upon me the misfortune of his difpleafure. We Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF S U L L t. We were at this inflant alone. Henry, after having taken a Hiort turn among the workmen in the grand walk, and commended what they were doing, c;:'.ied me to him, and we went, as was his cuftom, lo the end of this walk, which terminates in a kind of balcony, from whence there ib o. view of Paris. My propofal gave him a moment's thought, after which he confeffed I was in the right, and in a few days he brought me himfelf the writing I required, and, having read it to me, gave it into my hands. It was expreffed in fucli terms, as rendered it highly probable that Henry would never oblige me to make it public. I was permitted to appear, to the king of England and his miniders, (o zealous for the reformed religion, as to give them af- furances that I preferred it both to my country and king, to whom, on this account, I was not more attached than to the king of England. The propofitions which I was to make this prince were alfo enume- rated, which I fliall here omit, as being already related in the account of my conference with queen Elizabeth, and of Henry's grand deîîgn : I was alfo directed to defire the king of England, in cafe he fhould not approve of what I had to propofe to him, not to let it be known ia France, becaufe 1 was not authorifed to make any fuch propofitions ; and further (fuppoling king James approved them) I fl-iould feign to defer communicating to the king my mailer what might be agreed between us, till I fliould fee whether it v/ould be as favourably re- ceived by the northern crowns, and the ftates- general of the United-Pro- vinces, as by his Britannic majefty. Such was my fecret credential letter, which I then confidered as a great acquifition, and no doubt the king, on his fide, thought it as great a compliance ; yet it is certain, we had neither of us hereby done what was fufficient. It was neceffary to be prepared for the king of England's abfolute and entire compliance with all his majef- ty 's intentions, and to be able to make the beft of an opportunity, which perhaps might never offer again. In a word, to conclude a treaty, I ought to have carried with me a blank ligned by the king ; but our fear of the faction we had to combat in council did fcarce per- mit us even to think of this. I N regard to the general inflruftions which I have mentioned, the king deferred having them drawn up till he came to Fontainebleau, f jr which place he fet out, attended by his whole court ; and in three ■days his 'Council were to follow : but they were countermanded on ac- 5 count >59 33 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XIV. ■ 1603. count of aviolent dilorder, vvliich feized Henry immediately after his arri- - — V — *' val at Fontainebleau, which \v?.s about the twentieth of May * : this was fo ftronga retention of urine, that his phyficians at firfl defpaired of his life. The king himfelf was ilrongly perfuadcd that his lafl: hour approach- ed, and being defirous to divide the few moments which he had yet to live, between the care of his foul, and that of his kingdom, he ad- dreffed himfelf with great fervour to God, and then didated the fol- lowing letter, which was immediately difpatchcd to me at Paris, where I was making the neceffary preparations for my voyage, and little expeded fo melancholy a meffage. " My friend, I find myfelf " fo ill, that it feems highly probable God will foon difpofe of me ; " and it be'ng my duty, next to the care of my foul, to make the " neceffary difpofitions to fecure the fuccefilon to my children, that " their reign may be profperous, and may promote the happinefs of " my wife, my kingdom, my good and faithful fervants, and my dear " people, whom I love equally with my own children, I defire to " confer with you on all fheic matters : come to me therefore with " all diligence, and fay nothing of it to any one ; make an appearance " only of going to the conventicle at Ablon ; and having privately " ordered poft-horfes to be there in readinefs, proceed immediately " to this place." The perufal of this mofl fenfibly afFeded me. I let out with the greateft precipitation. When I entered the king's chamber, I found him in his bed; the queen was leatcd by him, and held one of his hands between hers ; he held out the other to me, and faid, " My good " friend, come and embrace me, I am extremely glad you are come ; " is it not ftrange that, two hours after I wrote to you, my exceflîve " pains fliould begin to abate ? I hope, by degrees, they will entirely " leave me, for I have made water three times, the laft mofl profulely, •' and with but little pain." Then turning to the queen, •' This, " faid he, of all my fervants, is he who beft underltands, and is mofl " careful of, the interior affairs of my kingdom, and, had I been taken " from you, would have been befl able to lerve both you and my * The king, fays the maréchal de Baf- fultations were in thcfc terms : Ahjîincat à fompierre, wab fcizcd vviih a retention of quavis vmlierc, etiam regina ; fin minus, u ne on the eve of Ptntecoft, which pcrkulum ejl ne ante ires rneiij'es elapjoi gave him great pain, hut he was foon freed vltam cum morte commutet. Henry thelVth from if. The phyficians being adembled, did not flridly obfcrve what was here en- (ihcfe are the words which we find in the joined him, nor did any bad confequence Journal dc L'Etoile) the refult of their con- arife therefrom. " children : Book XIV. MEMOÎRSOFSULLY. lù " children : I know, indeed, that his temper is fomewhat auHiere, 160-3. *' that he is often rather too plain for fiich a fpirit" as yours, and that, Ci-—^--- " on this account, many have endeavoured to prejudice you and mv " children againil him, that he might be removed from you ; but, if " ever this event fliould happen, and you fhould employ fuch and " llich perfons (naming them foftly in her car) and, inllead of follow- " ing the good counfels of this man, fliould be wholly guided by their " opinions, depend upon it, it will prove deftrudlive to the ftate, and " may, perhaps, ruin my children and yourfelf. I have fcnt thus " fuddenly for him, that, with him and you, I might confult upon " the means to prevent thefe evils, but I thank God my precautions " will probably not yet be neceflary." Couriers upon couriers were the next day difpatched, to diflipate the difagreeable rumours which were already fpread in all places. I did not myfelf return to Paris, till I had feen the king jnake water : he would have it fo, and he did it twice with fuch flicility, that I was perfeâly fatisfied all danger was over. Three days after, I received a letter from him, wherein he informed me, that, having been blooded in the left arm by La Riviere the evening I left him, he had been greatly relieved, and, having refted well the whole night, found him- icif grow better and better every hour. He thanked me for the in- terefl: I feemed to take in his health, and for the advice which, on this occafion, I had been free enough to give him, to be more moderate in hunting ; and he promifed to obferve what I had faid. He was al- ready able to be as circumftantial as ufual in thofe details with which his letters were commonly filled : he diredled me in this, to fend two liundred crowns to each of the perfons afHidfed with the evil, whom his own diforder had prevented him from touching, and whom neverthelefs he would not fend back. Herein alfo, he thanked nie for the portraits of the new king and queen of England, which 1 had fent him. His majefty's phyficians were unanimous, on this occa- lion, in making him the fame reprefentations which I had done, in regard to the injury his health received from the violence of his exer- cife in hunting. He followed their advice, and found liimfeif con- fiderably better for it : he alfo received great benefit from the waters of Pougues, which he drank this' year for fome time, during which the young princcfs his daughter was taken fo ill, that her life was delpaired of J both the king and the dauphin his fon went frequently to fee her. Vol.. II. Y Together i62 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XIV. 1603. Together with this letter from his majefty, the contents of which *— ■"Y-"-' I have here related, I received another much longer, which Villeroi wrote to me by his order, upon the affairs of England. Herein he informed me, that his majefty had fent to acquaint the count of Beau- mont with his recovery, that he might notify it to the king of Eng- land ; alfo that I was expeâed by his Britannic majefly, who atributed my delay to the king's indifpofition, and to the baron Du-Tour's not having notified to the king in form, the death of Elizabeth, and the accelBon of James the Vlth * to the crown of England. The baroa Du-Tour was, for this purpofe, fent by James to his mofl: chriftian majefty : he left London on the day after this prince's entry there, and arrived a few days after at Fontainebleau, where he acquitted himfelf of his commiffion. Villeroi further informed me, that my departure for England, for thefe reafons, being no longer to be deferred, the king would foon fend for me and inform me of the day : but his majefly changed his intention in this refpeft, and came himfeif to Paris. The heat which had begun early this year was excefiive, and rendered the fands of Fontainebleau infupportable to one but jufl recovering from ficknefs. Two days after his majefly 's arrival at Paris, heafTembled the chan- cellor Bellievre, Villeroi, MailTe, and Sillery, on the fubjecfl of my departure, and that I might receive my public inftrudlions in their prefence. When I entered the king's clofet, where this council was * Henry Stuart, baron of Darnly, duke *' land, joined to the defire I have to do of Rothefay, &c. efpoufed Mary Stuart, " you fervice, have induced me to write widow of Francis IL of France ; fhe hav- " to you, that, by the letter which I have ing after his death retired into Scotland. " juft received from the go\ernor of He was WiAugkd in his bed in 1567. " Dieppe, you might be infoimed ol the James Stuart, at hrft king of Scotland, and " dcceafe of the queen of England, of the afterwards of England, was his fon, and "■ acccffion, reception, and acknowledg- died in 1625. On his acceilion to the " ment of the king of Scotland to that crown of England, the marquis of Rofny " crown, and that ail things there are in wrote the following complimentary letter " a ftate of peace and tranquillity; for to the archbiihop ot Glalgow, at that time " which I rejoice with you, it being highly his ambaflador in France j the original of " beneficial to all, and the defire of every which is in the cabinet of the prefent duke " good, man. of Sully. g I ^^ To the Scots ambafTador. Your mofl humble coufia Si a, and fervant. " The intercft you have in the pro- *' fperity of the ajiairs of the king of Scot- Signed . RosNy; held. Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. held, I told his majcfly that the count of Soiffons was in the chamber without, and that it appeared to me neceflaiy that he iikewife fliould be introduced to be a witnefs of my deputation. Henry replied, that he did not know the count was there j and that, froin what I had jufl: faid, he would take occafion to reconcile us to each other ; for the count of Soiflbns' refentment flill fubfifted. Accordingly, the count meeting me two days after, as I entered the palace, told me, that he had learned from a good hand that I had rendered him an office which he had no reafon to exped: from me ; he thanked me for it, afTured me that he would forget the paft, and for the future would be my friend : but he did not long continue in thefe fentiments. The principal objedt of thefe inflrudions had always been a clofe alliance between France and England againft Spain^ notwithftanding all that had been done to prevent it by the partisans of that crown in France. The principal difterence between thefe, and the fecret inftru- tSions which Î had received from his m.ajefty, was, that in the former he had concealed the true motives to this alliance : I will not tranfcribe them here, as the particulars would be too long and circumftantial. The fubflance of them was briefly as follows : To take every oppor- tunity of difcourfing upon, and informing the king of England, of all the unjufl: and violent proceedings of Spain, thereby to infpire him with an averfion to that crown : to reprefent the various arts employed by her to embroil Europe ; her new ufurpations in Italy; her fecret pradlices in England, by means of the Jefuits ; her intrigues in Ireland and Scotland, under the fanftion of the authority which the Pope pretends to have over thofe kingdoms ; her deligns upon Strafbourg, by forcing the car- dinal of Lorrain to confent to the Pope's giving the coadjutorfliip of it to the brother-in-law of the catholic king; finally, her proceedings to obtain univerfal monarchy : all which did but too evidently appear. I N confequence of thefe reprefentations, the king of England mufl either have concluded a peace with Spain, or have entered into an open or fecret war againft that crown : in the firft cafe, I was to convince this prince, that a peace would enable Spain to get pofleflion of the Low Countries : after which, flie would not fail to turn her arms either againft France or England ; and moft probablv towards the latter, on account of the Pope's long inveteracy to it. I v/as alfo to undeceive the king of England, in regard to the report induftrioufly fpread by Spain, that (lie had no intention to get pofleffion of the Low Countries, but only to form them into a diftind: kingdom, fuch as that of Bur- Y 2 gundy MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. gundy had been, to be given to the arch-duke. As a lafl: refource, I was to infift, that Spain fhould at leaft be made to purchale this peace at a high price, or fliould be obliged to the king of France or England for it; and efpecially that llie fliould give upOflend. In cafe an open war fhould be refolved upon, I was to endeavour to difcovcr the inten- tion of the king of England on that head, and if poflible prevent it, and reprefent to him the neceffity of beginning by giving a powerful aflift- ance to the States. Finally, if a fecret war was refolved upon, in which I was to ufe my endeavours to confirm or engage the king of England, in this cafe I was to reprefent to him, that prudence required that he fliould be- oin by flrengthening himfelf upon the throne, fecuring it to his de- fcendants, and by gaining Europe in his interefts ; whereby Spain might- be one day irrefiftibly attacked : that till thi^ was effedted, it would be proper only to keep this power in awe, or engage her in a fruitlefs em- ployment of her forces againfl: Flanders ; that in the mean time the conditions of the union might be agreed on, and cemented by a double marriage between the children of the two kings; which, however, fliould not be declared till they had begun the execution of their defigns. I was moreover to be particularly careful to regulate and determine the nature of the fuccours which w-ere provifionally to be given the States ; and prevent the Englifli council from demanding the three hundred thoufand livres which that crown had lent the United Provinces, Icfl: they might thereby be induced to throw themfelves into the arms of Spain : on the contrary, I was to perfuade his Britannic majefty to be at new expences, equally v/ith his mofl: Chriftian majefty, in favour of thefc people, and to afllfh them Vv'ith the fame number of fliips as queen Elizabeth had done j alfo to obtain perniilTion, that the four hundred and fifty thoufand livres, which this queen had lent France, might be applied as exigencies fliould require in Flanders ; and that three hundred thouliind livrés rhore might be added to them by Eng- land, whereby, with the feven hundred and fifty thouftnd livres which Henry obliged himfelf to ioin to them, a fund would be formed of fifteen hundred thoufand livres for the prefent neccflities of the States- General, In cafe I could not gain a compliance with thefe articles, I was to endeavour to get the States debt to England of th.ree hundred thoufand livres difcharged, France obliging hcrfelf to pay it ; alfo, to manage this afl'air in fuch a manner, that the king of England might not have the maritime towns of Holland delivered to him as fecuritics for thefe fuccours ; ?jid to found his intentions in regard to thofe of which Book XIV. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 265 .which he was already pofTefTed in Zealand. In purfuance of this plan, 1603. I was to confult with Barnevelt, adl in concert with him and the States ^— -% — J deputies at London, feem attached to their interefts, entertain them with agreeable hopes, perfuade them that their interefts were the care of the Britilh council, without giving umbrage to this council, and make the beft advantage I could of the knowledge they might have acquired of the new court and the king. These were the principal points of my inftrudions : there were fome others which did not relate to the fame fubjedl, or at leaft not immediately ; fuch was that in regard to the piracies of the Engliflj. I was charged to complain, that iince the treaty of Vervins they had taken from France to the amount of a million; and I was to endeavour to get a diflblution of the treaty of commerce concluded between Eng- land and France in 1572, as being difadvantageous to France, which thereby had nut the fame privileges and immunities in England that the Englifii had in France. The clofe union between Elizabeth and Henry had caufed all things to be equal on both fides during the reign of that queen, and this treaty was then confidered as void, though it had never been formally annulled. My orders were, hov.'ever, to be extremely circumfpeél on this head, and even to entirely fupprefs it, if I found that by bringing it upon the carpet I might run any lifque of raifing a fufpicion in the new king, from which Elizabeth herfelf had not been exempt, that France only fought to embark England in a war with Spain, out of which fl:ie would then eafily extricate herfelf. If what the baron Du-Tour had faid in France, of his Britannic ma- jefty's refolution to fuccour Oflend, fliould appear to be well grounded, I might then fpare myfelf part of thefe precautions. The manner in which I was to treat with the ambafladors of the king of ^paln and the arch-dukes ; the attention which I was to beftow on the affairs of Ireland and Scotland; and the juftification of Beau- mont, againft whom king James had been prejudiced, and for whom I was charged to procure the fame privileges of this prince which were enjoyed by his agent in France : thefe were other articles of my in- rtrudtions. There was one article concerning the duke of Bouillon, iin refped to whom I was to be filent, unlefs the king of Bhigland fliould fpeak to me about him,, to which he would probably be induced by the cleftor Palatine ; and in this cafe I was to drav/ the duke of Bouillon in his real charadter, and not to engage the king of France in any thing on his account. We may obfcrve, that the fubjefts of my negotiations were; MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. were fufficiently extenfive, for I was to gaia a knowledge of the difpo- fitions of the king and people of England, not only with refpedt to Spain and Flanders, but alfo to the Northern crowns : to fay the truth, the political {late of all Europe was concerned in my enfuing conduct and its confequences. These inftruftions *, in which, to my other titles, his majefly had added that of marquis, having been read to me aloud, were then deli- vered to me in prefence of the count of SoilTons, Sillery, and Jeannin, figned by his majelly and Villeroi. Henry alfo gave me fix letters, one from his majefty to the king of England, befides another for the fame prince for form-fake counter-figned ; two others, in the fame manner, from the king to the queen of England, and two others from the queen of France to the king and queen of England : his majefty alfo gave me a cypher, with which the council was acquainted ; but he likewife fe- cretly gave me another, of which none but we two had the key. When I went to take my leave of this prince, he prefented me'his hand to kifs, then embraced me, wiflied me a good voyage, repeated his reliance upon me, and his hopes of my good fuccefs. The beginning of June I fet out for Calais, where I was to em- bark, having with me a retinue of upwards of two hundred gentle- men, or who called themfelves fuch, of whom a confiderable number were really of the firft: diftindtion. Juft; before my departure old Ser- vin came and prefented his fon to me, and begged I would ufe my endeavours to make him a man of fome worth and honeft:y ; but he confeffed it was what he dared not hope, not through any want of underftanding or capacity in the young man, but from his natural in- clination to all kinds of vice. The old man was in the right : what he told me having excited my curiofity to gain a thorough knowledge of young Servin, I found him to be at once both a wonder and a mon- ger ; for I can give no other idea of that affemblage of the mofl: ex- cellent and moft pernicious qualities. Let the reader repref^nt to him- felf a man of a genius fo lively, and an underftanding fo extenfive, as rendered him fcaree ignorant of any thing that could be known ; of fo vafl: and ready a comprehenfion, that he immediately made himfelf * The original of thefe inftruftions, de Villeriii, according to his deftre, to ojftjl figned with Htnry I V's own hand, is ItiU him in prepaying my inftruSfions. This piece in being ; as alfo another piece, written by is only a reca|iitulation of all the points M. de Rofny, bearing this title, J memo- which were the ol)jc£ls of his cmbafl") to roiidum made by me, and delivered to M. London. Cabinet of the duke of Sully. maflcr Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. mafter of what he attempted ; and of fo prodigious a tiiemory, that he never forgot what he had once learned ; he poffeffed all parts of philo- phy and the mathematics, particularly fortification and drawing ; even in theology he was fo well ikilled, that he was an excellent preacher whenever he had a mind to exert that talent, and an able difputant for and againft the reformed religion indifterently ; he not only under- ftood Greek, Hebrew, and all the languages which we call learned, but alio all the different jargons or modern dialeds ; he accented and pronounced them fo naturally, and fo perfcflly imitated the geftures and manners both of the feveral nations of Europe, and the particular provinces of France, tliat he might have been taken for a native of all or any of thefe countries ; and this quality he applied to counterfeit all forts of perfons, wherein he fucceeded wonderfully ; he was,, moreover, the befl comedian and greateft droll that perhaps ever ap- peared J he had a genius for poetry, and, had wrote many verfes ; he played upon alrnoft all inftruments, was perfedt mafter of mufic, and fung moft agreeably and juftly; he likewife could fay mafs ; for he was of a difpofition to do, as well as to know, all things : his body was perfedtly v^ell fuited to his mind, he was light, nimble, dextrous, and lit for all exercifes ; he could ride well, and in dancing, wreftling, and leaping, he was admired : there are not any recreative games that he did not know ; and he was fkilled in alrnoft all mechanic arts. But now for the reverfe of the medal : here it appeared that he was trea- cherous, cruel, cowardly, deceitful ; a liar, a cheat, a drunkard and glutton ; a fliarper in play, immerfed in every fpecies of vice,, a blaf- phemer, an atheift : in a word, in him might be found all the vices contrary to nature, honour, religion, andfociety; the truth of which Jie himfelf evinced with his lateft breath, for he died in the flower of his age, in a common brothel, perfedtly corrupted by his debaucheries, and expired with the glafs in his hand, curling and denying God. From the moment of my departure to that of my return, I wrote regularly to his majefty, and gave him an exatl account of whatever happened to me. My letters were of three kinds : for indifferent things I ufed only the common charafler ; my general cyphers I ufed for fuch matters as were to be known only to the council ; and my fecret cypher I employed in what I addrefled to the king himfelf, which was to be feen only by him : his majefty chofe to have the greateft part of my let- ters in this cypher, though he found the difiiculty of decyphering fo great, that he at laft entrufted the key to Lomenie, whom he encou- raged from time to time to render himfelf well fkilled in it ; but the 9 difficulty MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. difficulty which I experienced myfelf in the ufe-of this cypher, when- ever I wanted to defcend to particulars, compelled me to abridge the ordinary length of my letters; however, I complied with his maicfty's defires in this refpedt as well as I could, more efpecially after the affair of the loft difpatch. All thefe letters, which I have preferved, I fliall here reduce to the form of a narrative, wherein the public may be ex- adly informed of every material circumftance relative to my embafly at London, and my negotiations with king James, I STAYED a day at Calais, waiting for Saint-Luc and fome others who had honoured me with their company. I found the vice-adnjiral * of France ready to receive me : and the vice-admirals of England and Holland alfo came and defired I would embark in their Ihips. The re- port current at Calais, of the good underllanding between the Englifli and Spaniards, occafioned by what had palTed at the embarkation of count d'x\remberg, ambaflador from the arch-dukes, and the com- plaints which I faw made to De-Vic, of the enterprifes of the Englifh cruizers upon the coafl: of France, inclined me at firft to refufe their offers ; but finding nothing in the letters which I received at Calais from Beaumont, concerning what I was told, to prejudice me againft the new court of London, I changed my defign in this refpèd: ; and tliat I might not begin by giving them any caufe of complaint, I ac- cepted the two velTels offered me by the Englifli vice-admiral. I EMBARKED the 15th of June at fix o'clock in the morning. The Englifh, by whom I was ferved, paid me a refpedl which appeared to ine to degenerate into fervility : but I had very foon reafon to alter this opinion of them. Even at the very moment when they deiired I would command them in every refpect as if they were of my own nation, De-Vic, who only fought an opportunity of fliewing the Eng- lifli his refentment of the violences committed by their pirates, ad- vancing, bearing the French flag on his main-top-gallant-maft, I found thefe complaifant Englifli were enraged at an offence, which, accord- ing to them, was equally injurious to the king of England, and the king of France, whom I reprefented : and 1 had reafon to think them Hill more rude and unpolite, when, without deigning to confult me, fifty fliot were immediately fired againff De-Vic's -f fliip. It was with great * Dominic De-Vic, fignior d'Ermenon- f Thuanus and the Septenary Clirono- vUle, governor cf Saint-Denis, Calais, and logy, vvhcfe teflimony hereupon is of great Amiens, vice admiral of France : he died weight, more efpecially as they agree in ir, in 1610. both fay, that the captain of the Englifli diflkulty Book XIV, M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. difficulty that I made myfelf heardj which, however, I at laft cifeéled, by reprefenting to them, that De- Vic afled thus only to do me the greater honour ; and alio to give me a more diftinguiilîed mark of his refpeâ:, by dropping his flag upon my firfi: command fo to do. I thought it would be moft: prudent to do this ; and my EngllHi hear- ing what I faid, were fo far prevailed upon by it, as to make their next difcharge at random. I made a fignal to De-Vic, which he per- fectly well undcrilood, and took in his flag ; but, as I was afterwards told, he fwore at the fame time to be revenged on the Englifh when- ever he fhould again meet with them. Though I much queflion, had ftiip in which M. de Rofny wa?, did aflu- ally fire upon the French vice-admiral. But ai I fjfped our M.-moirs, cither for the honour of our nation, or perhaps from va- nity, have fomewhat quaHfied this matter, I will here lay it before the reader as it is related in the Chronology above mention- ed : " De- Vic, vice-admirjl of France, " foon after he had cafl: anchor in Dover- " r>>ad (at which place he had landed part " of the retinue of M. de Rofny) failed " frcm thence on his return to Calais, and " piffing by the fli p on board of which " M. de Rofny then wa', he ordered his " flag to be hoi/led, and gave him a fa- *' lute ; foon after which, the flag was a- " gain taken in. The Englifh captain of " the fliip wherein M. de Rofny was, fee- " ing the French flag hoifted, commanded *' his men to fire upon the vice-admiral of *♦ France, fwearing he y/ould fuffer no flag ** to be feen in thefe feas but that of Eng- " land. A gun was immediately fired upon *' Da-Vic's (hip, who, having demanded " the reafon of it, prepared to defend him- " felf. M. de Rofny complained of it to " the Englifli captain, and reprefented the *' firing this {hot as an offence done to " himfelf; but he talked to a man who " refufed to hear leafon, and v/hoanfwer- " ed him only with rage and fury ; he was " therefore forced to fubmit, and made a " fign to the vice-admiral of France to " take in his flag, which he did. De-Vic *' thinking himfelf injured, demanded fa- " tisfadion of the Englifli admiral ; who <« anfwered him, that the king of England, «' his mafler, did not permit what the Vol. II. " captain had prefumed to do, defired that " he would excufe his indifcretion, &c. *' and promifed that nothing like it fhould '• ever happen again. This reply appeaftd " and quieted all parties." Chron. Septen. and Thuanus, an, 1603. Cardinal Rich- lieu, in his Teftament Politique, makes ufe of this a? an argument, to demonftrate to Lewis XIII. the abfolute neceffity there was for a naval power: " The cannon- " fhot, fays he, by piercing the veilel, " pierced the hearts of all true Frenchmen ; " and if the words of king James were " civil, yet were they of no other effedi, " than to oblige the duke of Sully to ob- " tain his fatisfaâion from his own pru- " dcnce, by feigning to be contented, tho' " his difcontent, and his reafon for it, was " really greater, and farther from being " removed than ever. The king, your *' father, was under a neceffity to ufe dif- " fimulation on this occafion, but he did " it with the refolution, whenever it " might again be necefl"ary, to maintain " the juft rights of his crown by fuch a " naval force as time would furnifti him " with tlie means to acquire." Part II. chap. ix. In regard to the faft, which is alfo related in the Teftament, the cir- cumftances are told in a manner almoft en- tirely different. We may farther obferve, that M. de Sully, in that part of his Me- moirs where he fpeaks of the fatisfaction which he defired king James to grant him, paffes it over very fiightly ; doubtlefs, be- caufe he would not appear to have been fo very grievoufly offended as perhaps he really was. Z the MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. the opportunity now been given him, whether he could have obtained the revenge he threatened : be that however as it will, the difpute was ended by "this means, and our paflage met with no further inter- ruption. I ARRIVED at Dover about three o'clock in the afternoon. Beau- mont, too^ether with Sir Lewis Lewkenor, were there waiting for me. Sir Lewis had the fame office in England, which Gondy had in France, beino- that part of the reception of ambalTadors, which confifls in pro- viding them with lodging, provifions, horfes, or chariots, and other thinf^s of this nature : the mayor of Dover alfo came and compli- mented me ; and the acclamations of the people were fo great, that it was faid, that nothing like it had ever before been feen for any am- balîador. But I was not now to be impofed upon by thefe appearances, having (o lately received a different fpecimen of the Englilli politenefs, of which I had a fécond example, even before my departure from Dover. The governor of this place fent his nephew to me, to defire I would come with him and fee the caftle, he not being able to wait on me himfelf, being confined to his bed by the gout. This invitation was followed by a fécond, from which I conceived a good opinion of the perfon by whom they were fent ; and I thought the imputation of want of civility might juftly have fallen upon myfelf, had I after this quitted Dover, without waiting on the governor. I therefore went to the caftle the next day, with all my retinue ; but I foon difcovered, that the chief motive to this civil invitation was the pecuniary reward exatfled of thofe who have the curiofity to fee the caftle of Dover. This was demanded of every one of my retinue, and that too rudely enough, which was followed by the ceremony of making all, except myfcif, quit their fvv^ords. Being introduced to the governor, whofc name was Thomas Wymes, he received us feated in his chair, but, perceiving that fome of us were looking at the towers and walls of the caftle, he put on fo four a countenance, that, pretending to be afraid left our prefence might incommode him, I immediately withdrew, without looking at any thing further. I had exhorted my retinue, whatever might be faid or done to them^ not to forget the rules of French politenefs j and this proved to be no unneceilary caution. When we were upon our departure for London, Lewkenor no longer {hewed himfelf that polite and obliging perfon, who but juft 7 before Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF S U L L Y. r; bcfore had demanded a lift of thole who accompanied mc, that, as he '6cj. faid, they might all be furnifliied with the neceirary horfesand chariots : *-— v~— and I could not but fuppofe his ible defign, in getting this lift, was that he might fend it to London ; for he fuftered all my retinue to provide themfelves horfes as well as they could, and at their own coft ; and thefe mild people lent them at fo high a price, and at the fame tia^e with fo much arrogance, that they feenied to think they did us a fa- vour. However, we all carefully concealed our fentiments of fo rude a treatment. My own conveyance I got in the coach of the count of Beaumont. I H AD more reafon to be pleafed with the behaviour of the gentry in and about Canterbury : they came to meet me upon the road, and that they might pay nie all imaginable honours and refpeéls, they pre- tended to have received orders fo to do from the king of England. Canterbury is but a fmall city, but extremely populous, and fo polite that, in no other place, I received fuch diftinguiflied honours and civilities as there ; fome came to kifs my boot, others to kifs my hands, and others to make me prefents of flowers ; all which muft be attributed not to the Englifti of this city (they every where preferve their charader of averfion for the French) but to the Walloons and Flemings, who, having at many different times taken refuge in this city on account of their religion, have at laft almoft entirely changed it, and, at this day, compofe two thirds of its inhabitants. I vifited the church, and was prefent at the fervice, wherein the mufic was ex- cellent. The church is extremely beautiful and magnificent. When the canons underftood that I was of their religion, they redoubled their carefTes and civilities : one of them fliewed himfelf fo well afFeéted to France, as to give me an information of fomeconfequence, which was afterwards confirmed by Aërfens to Henry himfelf. This canon had been intimately acquainted with Arnold, the father of him whom I had with me as one of my fecretaries ; and being informed that this was the fon of his old friend, he came to fee him, and, among other things, told him, that he had been informed by the fecretary of count Arem- berg*, ambaflador from the archduke, who had paffed through Can- terbury only a few days before, that his mafter was charged to repre- fent to the king of England, with a view to engage him in an alliance with Spain, that Henry meditated great defigns againft England, which would openh' appear in lefs than two years ; and, at the fame * John de Ligne, prince of Barbancon, count of Aremberg. Z 2 time MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. time, to make offers to his Britannic majefty of powerful fuccours fronr the king of Spain, with which he might prevent the defigns that Henry meditated, by feizing certain provinces of France, on which the king of England had much jufter pretenfions, than any Henry could have upon England. Here my lord Sidney came and complimented me from the king of England, and made me many obliging offers of fervice. I knew that the perfon who had been charged with the fame commiflion to count d'Aremberg, was my lord Howard, whofe rank was much fu- perior to Sidney's, being the duke of Norfolk's nephew, uncle to the wreat chamberlain, and member of the privy council : at firft, there- fore, I was apprehenfive that this deputation might be a mark of fome contempt from the king of England ; but, afterwards refleding that the quality of the perfon who had received the ambafiador from Spain was inferior even to Sidney's, 1 concluded that all this might be merely accidental, more efpecially as I could not receive greater honours than thofe which Sidney, and others by his diredlion, paid me. I neverthe- lefs communicated my thoughts hereupon to Beaumont, by defiring him to get an explanation of it, but to do it with fuch addrefs, that no caufe might be given to perceive a mifunderftanding, where, perhaps, none was intended to be fliewn. Beaumont addrelfed himfelf to Sid- ney himfelf, and managed the affair with him fo well, that he imme- diately wrote to the court of London, to inform them that they fhould fend an earl of the privy council to receive me, which was done ac- cordingly. The earl of Southampton, one of the miniffers and confi- dents of James, came to me from that prince at Gravefend, accom- panied by a numerous train of nobility and gentry. Li our way to Gravefend wepaffcd through Rochefter, where our reception was ex- tremely different from that at Canterbury ; the inhabitants of that city had effaced the marks wiiich were placed by the king of England's meffengers on thofe houfes where we were to be entertained and lodged if neceffary. At Gravefend I was received In the king of England's barges, a kind of covered boats, which are very commodious and richly orna- mented j and in one of thefc I was carried up the Thames to London, where, upon my arrival, the Tower alone fainted us with upwards of three thoufand guns, befidcsthe difcharges from lèverai fhip-guns, and the mufquctry trom the mole and fort before this tower : I Icarce ever faw a finer fahite. I landed near the Tower, where many coaches, of Ç) whit h Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. which Southampton and Sidney performed the honours, were ready to carry me, and all my retinue, to the houfe of the count of Beau- mont, which I had choien for the day. The confluence of people was fo great, that we could fcarce open ourlelves a paflage. This very evening, I had an opportunity of being better acquainted with the charader of the two Englifh lords who had been fent to con- dudl me. Upon my arrival at Beaumont's, my lord Southampton took me afide, and having told me, that the king, who was at V/indfor, a caftle about twenty miles from London, had ordered him to come to him there that day, however late it might be, to inform him of the particulars of my arrival, he earneftly defired, havin^ï- firft expreifed to me his zeal, that I would impart fomething to him which he might communicate to his majefty, no doubt with an intention to do himfelf honour by it, and gain the favour of that prince : after him my lord Sidney came and made me the fame re- queft, by ingenioufly telling me, that he hoped the honour which he had received by being deputed to me the firft, and the refpedt and attachment which he had for his moft chriftian majefty, might merit my referving for him at lead fome part of the affairs with which I was charged ; and he added, that 1 fliould not difclofe myfelf en- tirely to Southampton. I plainly perceived thefe gentlemen had a mu- tual jealoufy of each other, and contended who fliould be the firft that fliould give the king any informations. I very civilly thanked them, and appeared obliged to both, but gave the preference to Sidney ; that is to fay, the former received only falfe, and the latter nothing farther than general informations of but little confequence, and fuch as I fliould have been glad to fee publiiLed. The Y both made what ufe of them they thought proper: as to myfelf, I fupped and lay this evening at Beaumont's, and I dined there the next day ; for fo lliort a time had not been fufhcient to pro- cure and prepare me lodgings, till the palace of Arundel, which was deftined for me, could be got ready. This palace was one of the fineft, and from its great number of apartments upon the fame floor, the moft commodious in London : but this greatly embarraflcd my retinue, which could not be all lodged at Beaumont's. Houfes and apart- ments were fought in the neighbourhood, but the diificulty was to gtt them ; for the inhabitants refufed to receive us, on account of the mif- behaviour which they had but lately experienced in fome of maréchal Biron's 174- M E M t) I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIV. 1603. Blron's people j the greatefl: part therefore had like to have been V>Oi' >^ obliged to pafs the night in the flreet. It muft indeed be confefled, tlwt, if what I heard on this fub- jedl was true, Biron, by the excefles which he had fuiTered his whole retinue to commit, had not ineffectually laboured to juflify the ani- mofity of the Englifli nation againll us. I am accuftomed to fpeak my fentiments freely, and never more fo than when they may be of ufe in correding our manners. The youth of our nation have not yet diverted themfelves of that vain, pert, and conceited air, nor thofe licentious and even audacious manners, with which we have, in all ages, been reproached : unfortunately too they are not more circum- fpeft among foreigners than in their own country, where they are accuftomed to fpend their lives at gaming-tables, and other places of debauchery, and run into boundlefs excelles. Ï WAS fully refolved, that, if my condu6l could not clear France from this reproach, it fliould not, at leaft, be incurred by thofe over whom 1 had authority ; and I determined to exercife this authority in fuch a manner, as to oblige all my people to a flrift regularity of be- haviour : but in thefe cafes precepts are feldom effedual ; 1 therefore enforced them by an example, for which an opportunity happened almoft immediately. I WAS the next day accommodated with apartments in a very hand- fome houfe, fituate in a great fquare, near which all my retinue were alfo provided with the neceffary lodgings j fome of them went to en- tertain themfelves with common women of the town : at the fame place they met with fome Englifh, with whom they quarrelled, fought, and one of the Englifli was killed. The populace, who were before prejudiced againft us, being excited by the family of the deceafed, who was a fubftantial cidzen, aflembled, and began loudly to threaten revenge upon all the French, even in their lodgings. The affair foon began to appear of great confequence ; for the number of people aflembled upon the occafion was prefently increafed to upwards of three thoufaad, which obliged the French to fly for an afylum into the houfe of the ambalTador. I did not at firft take notice of it ; the evening advanced, and I was playing at primero with the marquis D'Oraifun, Saint-Luc, and Blerancourt ; but, obferving them come in at different times by three and four together, and with great emotion, i at lafl: imagined fomcthing extraordinary had happened, and, having queflioncd Took XIV. M E M OIRS OF SULLY. queftioned Terrail and Gadancourt, they Informed me of the particu- lars. The honour of my nation, my own in particular, and the intereft of my negotiation, were the firfl objedls that prefented themfelves to my mind. I was alfo moft fenlibly grieved, that my entry into London fhould be marked at the beginning by fo fatal an accident ; and at that moment, I am perfuaded, my countenance plainly exprefled the fenti- ments with which I was agitated. Guided by my firfl impulfe, I arofe, took a flambeaux, and, ordering all that were in the houfe (which was about a hundred) to range themfelves round the walls, hoped, by this means, to difcover the murderer, which I did without any difficulty by his agitation and fear : he was for denying it at firfl, but I foon obliged him to confefs the truth. He was a young man, and the fon of the fleur de Combaut, principal examiner in chancery, very rich, and a kinfman likewife of Beaumont's, who, at entering that moment, deflred me to give young Combaut into his hands, that he might en- deavour to fave him. " I dp not wonder," replied I to Beaumont, with an air of authority and indignation, " that the Englifh and you ** are at variance, if you are capable of preferring the intereft of your- " felf and your relations, to that of the king and the public : but the " fervice of the king my mafler, and the fafety of fo many gentle- " men of good families, fhall not fuffer for fuch an imprudent flripling " as this." I told Beaumont, in plain terms,' that Combaut fliould be beheaded in a few minutes. " How, fir, cried Beaumont, behead " a kinfman of mine, poflefled of two hundred thoufand crowns, an " only fon ; it is but an ill recompence for the trouble he has given " himfelf, and the expence he has been at to accompany you." I again replied, in as pofitive a tone, " I had no occafion for fuch com- '* pany :" and to be Ihort, I ordered Beaumont to quit my apartment ; for I thought it would be improper to have him prefent in the council, which I intended to hold immediately, in order to pronounce fentence of death upon Combaut. In this council, I made choice only of the oldefl: and thewifefl:of my retinue, and the affair being prefently determined, I fent Arnaud to inform the mayor of London of it, and to dcfire him to have his officers ready the next day, to condudt the culprit to the place of exe- cution, and to have the executioner there ready to receive him. The mayor returned me for anfwer, that his'firfl: care had been to quiet the tumultuous populace, not doubting but I would do him juftice, and that i;6 • M E M O I R S F S U L L Y. Book XIV 1603. that he was juft coming to demand it of me, when he received my %yy><^ letter and the fentence : he moreover exhorted me to moderate it, either becaiife my feverity liad difarmed his, or, which feemed moil probable, becaufe he had already fuffcred himfelf to be corrupted bv prefents from the friends of the criminal. I fent again to this m.agif- trate to inform him, that as no fuperior authority, nor refpefl for any perfon whatever, had determined me to pronounce this fentence, I could not confent to revoke it ; that, by carrying it into execution, I • Ihould juftify the. king my mafter, and give the Engliih nation a con- vincing proof, that I had done every thing upon the occafion which my duty required ; therefore in fuch an affair, I could only acquit myfelf of it by committing it to him, and by refigning the prifoncr to fuch punifliment as juftice and the laws of England required. I ac- cordingly fent Combaut to him ; Co that the whole procedure became i\ particular aifair between the mayor and Combaut, or rather Beau- mont, who, without much difficulty, obtained this magiflrate's con- fent to fet Conïbaut at liberty, a favour which none could impute to me : on the contrary, I perceived both the French and EngUQi feemed to think, that, if the affair had been determined by me, it would not have ended fo well for Con:ibaut j and the coniequcnce of this to me, with refpedl to the EngliHi and French, was, that the former began to love me, and the latter to fear me more. This removed at Icaft one obftacle to the fuccefs of my ne- gotiation ; but there ftill remained many to encounter, from the nation in general, from the king, and fl-om other particular perfons, according as their different interefts might incline them to traverfe it. It is certain, that the En^ilifli hate us, and this hatred is fo general and inveterate, that one would almoft be tempted to number it among their natural difpofitions : it is undoubtedly an effeél of their arrogance and pride; for no nation in Europe is more haughty and difdainful, nor more conceited of its fuperior excellence : were they to be believed, underffanding and common fcnfe are to be found only among them ; tliey are obftinately wedded to all their own opinions, and defpife thofe of every other nation, and to hear others, orfufpecft themfelves, is what never enters into their thoughts. This temper is more injurious to them- felves than to us, as from hence they are at the mercy of all their ca- prices : fometimes one would be induced to think they have contrac- ted all the inffability of the clement by which they are furroundcd j with them all things muft fubmit to the reigning difpoiltions, and the fole difference between them and any the moll inconffant people in Europe^ Book XIV. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 17; Europe, is, that their inconftancy proceeds not from lightncfs, but 1603. from their vanity, which continually fliews itfelf in a thoufand dif- v^-.-v^'—j ferent fliapes. Their felf-love renders themfelves flaves to all their ca- pricious humours. What they at one time believe to have wifely per- formed, or firmly refolved, is at another time deftroycd, without their knowing or being able to give a realbn ; they are accordingly fo unde- termined in themfelves, that frequently one would not take them for the fame perfons, and from hence they themfelves fometimes appear furprifed on perceiving their own continued irrefolution. If we ex- amine what are called their maxims of (late, we fliall difcover in them only the laws of pride itfelf, adopted by arrogance or indolence. From this portrait, it may at firfl appear not to be extremely diffi- cult for an ambaffador to infpire them with new refolutions; and this is true; but then it is only for the prefent moment : this being elapfed, they no longer remember what you may have enforced to them in the ftrongefl manner. So that a king of France muft continually have near them a perfon of underflanding and authority, who might compel them, as it were, to hear him, and force them to be reafonable ; and even in this cafe, fuch a perfon would always have their pride to com- bat, which infpires them with a belief that they are infinitely fuperior to all the other nations in Europe *. France therefore can no iliore depend on the EngliHi than on any ' of her other neighbours ; her true intereft and befl policy is to render her own interior ftate and condition fuch as may make her not only en- tirely independent, but alfo able to compel all Europe to feel its want of her ; and this, after all, would only be difficult to minifiers who can conceive no other methods to efFed: it than war and violence, methods that ought never to be purfued widiout an abfolute neceffity : but let the fovereign fhew himfelf a lover of peace, difinterefted in what regards himfelf, and ftridly impartial with refpeft to others, he will then be certain to preferve all his neighbours in that dependence * I wifli, with all my heart, I could only fay, that he has here painted the Eng- have entirely fupprefled every thing in this lilh fuch as they appeared to him at that •chara(£ter, and in this whole relation, fo time : one of the mofl happy efFedls of the little advantageous to a nation, whofe vir- cultivation of arts, and the improvement of tues and genius have rendered it equally well fciences, is, that thofe prejudices and par- lefpefled and efleemed. To reconcile truth tialities which were the caufe of hatred and with the veracity of the author, w€ can jealoufy, have hereby been diflipaied. Vol. II. A a which MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. which is only durable, becaufe it conciliates the afFedions, inftead of fubjeding the perfons *. I DARE farther maintain, that peace is the great and common in- tereft of Europe, the petty princes of which ought to be continually employed in preferving it between the greater powers, by all the moft gentle and perfuafive means j and the greater powers fliould force the lefler into it, if neceffary, by affifting the weak and opprelTed -, this is the only ufe they ought to make of their fuperiority. When I confider Europe as compofed of fuch civilized people, I cannot but be aflo- niflied that fhe ftill continues to be governed by principles fo narrow, and cuftoms fo barbarous. What is the confequence of that profound policy of which fhe is fo vain, other than her own continual laceration and ruin ? War is the refource in all places and upon all occalions ; flie knows no other way, nor conceives any other expedients ; it is the fole refource of the moll inconfiderable fovereign, as well as of the greateft potentate ; the only difference between them is, that the former makes it with lefs noife, and in conjunftion with others, while the latter does it with great preparation and frequently alone, that he may fliew his grandeur, though in reality he only fliews himfelf more fignally defpi- cable. Why muft we always impofe on ourfelves the neceffity of pafling through war to arrive at peace ? the attainment of which is the end of all wars, and is a plain proof that recourfe is had to war only for want of a better expedient : neverthelefs, we have fo eftedually coh- founded this truth, that we feem to make peace only that we may again be able to make war. But let us now return to our Englifli. T H E court of London might be confidered as compofed of four forts of perfons, who formed fo many different fadions ; and from this circumftance only one may infer, what in reality was true, that this court was full of fufpicion, miflruff, jealoufy, fecret and even public difcontents. I fliall here advance nothing, the truth of which I was not well convinced of, either by my own obfervations, or from the. * It is not furprifing to hear fuch rea- improper for the ftates of mifery and weak- foning as this now we have acquired juf- nefs, in which the kingdom was at t,hat ter notions in war and politic?, and that time, or at ieaft from whence it was but France is arrived at fo great a degree of juft recovered ? It is by fuch true, fulid, and glory, that conquefts can add nothing or wife maxims as thefe, that the mtrnoirs of îjat very little to it : but what opinion muft Sully have become a lich mine, from we conceive of the views and penetration of whence all our able miniHers have finco the duke of Sully, when we behold him drawn incftimablc tieafures. tûabliûiing principles, in appearance (o lights Book XIV. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 179 lights I received from the partifans of France, from thofe who called 1603. themfclves fuch, from the difcontented, and in fliort, from many other ' v— — ^ opportunities which occafionally occurred. The firft of thefe faélions was the Scotch, at the head of which were the earl of Mar, lord Mountjoy, lord Kinlofs, and other gendemen of the king's hedchamber ; they were in the intereft of France, and endeavoured to engage the king in their party, who feemed difpofed to fuffer himfelf to be governed entirely : fome of them were tolerably fkilled in military affairs, but not one of them was acquainted with the bufinefs of the cabinet. I have not mentioned the earl of Lennox in this number, becaufe, though he was equally well inclined to France, he had neverthelefs a party among the Scots which was feparate from that of the earl of Mar, and even oppofite to it, not indeed in its political principles, but only in a competition which fhould have the advantage in the king's favour, and there was a reciprocal and inveterate hatred between them. Thus the Scotch fadlion had fubdivided itfelf into two. The fécond, in all refpedls entirely oppofite to the former, was the Spaniih fadion : in this all the Howards were engaged, having at their head the admiral of that name, the great chamberlain, the maf- ter of the horfe, the Humes, and others of lefs note. The third was compofed of a number of old Englifli, who, confidering France and Spain as equiponderous, or being equally jealous of thefe two nations, were attached to neither, and fought to render Flanders independent of both, by reftoring the antient kingdom of Burgundy. The firft movers of this fadion were the chancellor, the high treafurer, and Cecil the fecrctary of ftate, at leaft as far as one could judge of a man who was all myflery ; for he feparated from, or united with all parties, according as he judged it moft advantageous to his own particular in- tereft : he had borne the principal fway in the late government, and he endeavoured with the fame fubtilty to acquire an equal fliare in the prefent ; his experience, joined to his addrefs, had already made him be confidered by the king and queen as a neceffary man. Laftly, there was a fourth fadion, compofed of fuch as meddled in affairs, without having any connexion with thofe before mentioned, and even without having any agreement among themfelves, unlefs that they would not feparate nor unite with any other ; their charader was purely Eng- lish j they breathed a fpirit of fedition, and were ready to undertake any thing in favour of novelties, even were it againft the king himfelf. They had at their head the earls of Northumberland, Southampton, * A a 2 and i8o M E M O I R S Ô F S U L L Y. Book XIV. 1603. and Cumberland, lord Cobham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Griffin, and *— '"v — ' others. Nothing could as yet be difcovered with regard to any of thefe fadions, except that they mutually hated and were jealous of each other ; and it was impolTible to foretel which would at length obtain the afcendant, and gain the prince in its interefts. To judge from ap- pearances, his favour would be difputed only by the men of learning, and the favourites of his bed-chamber ; the firft, becaufe by their fu- perior knowledge and dexterity they commonly fucceed better than others in gaining their mafter ; the fécond, becaufe they had the ad- vantage of familiarity, and of being admitted into all his parties of pleafure : but the king's humour and inclinations were not yet fuffici- ently known, befides that his acceffion to fuch a crown as that of England might occafion fuch alterations in them as would render any judgment on this head extremely precarious. All that I had to fear was, left, among the different fentiments with which endeavours would be ufed to infpire James, thde (liould prove to be moft difficult that were to attach him to the interefts of France. Hitherto his inclinations had been conformable to thofe of the Northern powers, who were for making three divifions of the houfe of Auftria; Spain, Germany, and Burgundy : they detefted the firft,, as being too powerful and enterprifing ; the fécond they defpifed, but would however have been reconciled to it, by difuniting it from the Pope, Spain, and the Jefuits; the third was as yet only imaginary, but was what they fo paffionately defired, that they would have fpared no- thing to reftore it, provided they would have alfo feparated its interefts from thofe of Spain and Germany, or at leaft have obliged thefe pow- ers to renounce all pretenfions upon one another. King James was not fo well difpofed in favour of Henry as Eliza- beth had been } he had been informed that Henry, in derifion, had called him. Captain oj artSy and clerk of arms. There was fome rea- fon to apprehend, that it would be difficult at firft to hinder him from entertaining thoughts of renewing the anient pretences of England up- on France, of which his courtiers had not faileii to talk to him very earneftly. As to myfelf, it had been hiiUed to him, that both V and my brother had fpoke of him in terms not very refpedful. But to give the reader a more perfedt knowletige of tlie charadter of this prince, let me add, that he mcaut well, was confclcntious, eloquent, 2 and Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. ih' and had feme erudition > though lefs of the latter, than of penetration ]6o3. and a difpofition to learning. He loved to hear difcourfts on ftate- ' — -^ — J affairs, and to be entertained with great defigns, which he himlelf con- fidered and difpofed with a fpirit of method and fyfi:em ; but he never thought of carrying them fartiier, for he naturally hated war, and yet more to engage in it himfelf. He was indolent in his adlions, except in hunting, and wanted application in his affliirs ; all which were i?giis of an eafy and timid difpofition, that made it highly probable he would be governed by others; and this was fartiicr confirmed by his behaviour to the queen, his wife *. The character of this princefs was q^nte the reverfe of her huf- band's ; (he was naturally bold and enterprizing ; flic loved pomp and grandeur, tumult and intrigue. She was dti^ply engaged in all the civil fadbions, not only in Scodand, in rebnon to the catholics, whom fhe fupported, and had even firft encouraged, but alfo in England, where the difcontented, whofe numbers were very confiderable, were not forry to be fupported by a princefs deftined to become their queen. Every one knows that women, though but vyeak inftruments in folid affairs, often ad: a dangerous part in intrigues. The king could not be ignorant of this, but he was fo weak as never to be aole to refift, nor perfonally to contradidl her, though fhe made no fcruple publicly to fhew that fhe did not always conform to his fentimcnts. He came to London long before her : fhe was flill in Scotland when I arrived at that city, and James wiflied fhe would not have departed from thence fo foon, being perfuaded that her prefence would only be detri- mental to affairs. He fent to acquaint her with bis defire, and that with an air of authority, which cofts nothing to affume againft thofe who are abfent, but fhe was very little affeded by it. Instead of obeying, the queen prepared to quit Scotland,, aftec having, of her own accord, and againft the king's exprefs defire, ap- pointed herfelf a great chamberlain of her houfliold. She was alfo at- tended by the earl of Orkney, and another Scotch nobleman ; and brought with her the body of the male child of which flie had been delivered in Scotland, becaufe endeavours had been ufed to perfuade the public, that its death was only feigned. She alfo brought with her the prince, her eldeft fon, whom fhe in public affeâed to govern * Anne, daughter of Frederic II. king of Denmark, queen of Scotland, afterwards of Great Britain; fhe died in i6iç, abfo- i82 M E M O 1 R s O F s U L L Y. Book XIV. 1603. abfolutely, and whom, it wasfaid, flie fought to infpire with fentiments *— — v~— ' in favour of Spain ; for it was not doubted but that flie was inclined to declare on that fide. Neverthelefs, thç, young prince gave her no room to be pleafed with his deference for her : he naturally hated Spain, and favoured France ; and this prefage was fo much the more happy, as from the aflemblage of ambition, greatnefs, and generofity, already perceiveable in him, he promifed one day to become one of thofe princes who are the fubjed: of much converfation. He was, from report, acquainted with the charadler of the king of France, and he propofed making him his model -, which was certainly very difagree- able to the queen his mother, who, it was faid, had refolved to deftroy his French difpofition, by having him fent to be educated in Spain. Thus I have given fome account of the ftate of the court of London, at the time when I began my negotiation. The charafter of the reft of the principal perfons who compofed it, will more particularly appear in the enfuing part of thefe Memoirs. Here therefore I will only add, that befides count d'Aremberg from the arch-dukes, prince Henry of, Naffau, and the other deputies from the States General, whom I found here upon my arrival, the ambaflador from his Catholic majefty, and the envoys from Sweden * and Denmark, were alfo hourly expefted, and they accordingly arrived the day after me. There were likewife fome others, but not of fufficient confeqiience to be particularly men- tioned. Upon the whole, it appeared as though all the princes of Europe confidered the gaining England in their interefts, to be of the utmoft confequence. The firft of the foreign minifters whom 1 faw at the court of Lon- don were thofe of the eleiflor Palatine, who having already made their compliments to the new king, and being prepared to return home, came to take their leave of me, almoft immediately after my arrival, but nothing particular pafled between us. Soon after they had left me, Cecil fent his principal fecretary to be informed by Beaumont, at what hour he might conveniently fee me ; and he accordingly came in the afternoon. So long as we had any witnefies, Cecil talked to me only of the king of England's affedtion for the king of France, of the de- fire which he had of giving him proofs of it, and other things in the fame (train, which could only be regarded as compliment? ; neverthe- lefs, when we were in my chamber only with Beaumont, I pretended • Chrlftieh) IV. 4 to Book XIV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. to confider what he had faid as very ferious ; and this I did to gain an opportunity of reprefenting to hinn, how highly advantageous an union between the two kings would be to both, and of urging the engage- ments they had formerly contraded, and the fervices each had received from the other. This general introdudtion ferved me a)t leaft to form a judgment of the difpofition of the perfon who fpoke to me; and from his reply, I perceived it was not favourable to France. Cecil made me a long harangue, the defign of which was, to convince me that his mafter ought not to meddle in any of the affairs of his neighbours, but Lave Holland to adl as it fliould judge proper, in regard to its difputes with Spain. He fpoke of Oftend as a place little worth the pains v.'hich had been taken to preferve it; and of the commerce of the Indies, as an advantage, of which, in good policy, the Low Countries ought to be deprived. I oppofed thefe fentiments ; and though he feemed con- vinced by my arguments, he neverthelefs appeared very little Inclined to enforce them to the king his mafter. He changed the fubjeft, by informing me, that his majefty was gone to Greenwich, in order to avoid the folicitations which count D'Aremberg would not have failed to make, to obtain his audience before mine, which his majefty could not have refufed him, becaufe he had arrived before me, and which, neverthelefs, he was not difpofed to grant. To this favour, which Cecil gave me to underftand was not inconfiderable, he alfo added that of offering me my audience, which was a fécond obligation, no lefs valuable than the former, as all ambaffadors were cuftomarily obliged to demand it of the king ; neither was it his fault, if I did not alfo regard the deputation of fuch a man as him as a particular mark of refpedl. I was not, however, deficient in my acknowledgments to Mr. deputy, and I defired he would give himfelf the trouble to teftify my gratitude for it to the king. Notwithstanding all the pains this fecretary had taken to per- fuade me, that no one, after the king, had (o much power as himielf, and that he even governed in the councils of the prince, I thought I perceived the contrary. I likewife imagined, that, fearing left fomc of his competitors fhould deprive him of any of his important em- ployments, he had folicited, and perhaps with great affiduity, of the king his mafter, that of treating with me, wherein he adted as if he thought himfelf degraded by the execution of it. La-Fontaine, and the deputies of the States-General, who entered juft as Cecil went out,. weie. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. were, from his behaviour, of the fame opinion; and this did not appear to us an unfavourable circuniilance, no more than the obfervation which they had made, that fince James had been informed of my de- parture from France to London, he had begun to treat them with more kindnefs ; having before than refufcd both to fee or fpeak to the prince of Nalfau, and even publicly given the States the epitliet oi /editions rebels. Thefe deputies began to perfuade me, that the king of France ought not only to infpire the king of England with more favourable fentiments in regard to them, but ihould openly declare himfelf their defender. They had much more to fay on this head, but it was late, and fupper was on the tables, I therefore difmilled them, with general alTurances that they ihould be fatisfied. I GAVE then a more pofitive anfwer to Barnevelt * their principal, when he came to fee me at the palace of Arundel, of which I had taken pofîeffion. Barnevelt, like his collègues, began by magnifying the mifery to which the United Provinces were reduced, the expences they had been at fince the peace of Vervins, their debts, and their ex- haufted condition. He faid the States could no longer keep Oftend, nor refift the Spaniards, unlefs the king of France caufed a powerful army to advance without delay, and either through the frontiers of Pi- card'y, or the territories belonging to the arch-duke, enter Flanders from the land-fide, which was the only means of forcing the Spaniards from before Oftend, having proved, they faid, by experience, that the Spa- niards could eafily dedroy, one after the other, all the little fuccours that were fent them by fea, and that immediately on their landing. After all thefe complaints, he concluded, as his collègues had done, that Henry ought to declare himfelf their protestor, and enter into an ofFenfive and defenfive alliance with them. I TOLD Barnevelt, in plain terms, that he muft renounce auy fuch hopes, for that Henry was not at all difpofed, through complaifance for them, to draw upon himfelf the whole force of Spain, nor alone to fupport the burden of a war, in which fuppofing the king of Eng- land fliould refufe to be concerned, he could not cxped to have the advantage. For this reafon, I told him, as was really the cafe, that J could neither take any refolution, nor fay any thing pofitive to them, till I had at leafl founded the difpofitions of this prince with regard to them. Barnevelt having been at London for a confidcrablc time, might • John d'Olden de Barnevelt, lord of TempcJ. reafon- BooïcXïV. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 185 itafônably be fuppofed to have acquired fome knowledge of the king, 1603. I therefore afked him what difcoveries he had made ? PJe replied, that ^— — v — -» this prince having from the firft been inclined to peace, both by the advice of his counleilors, and his own pafîîve difpofition, had long deprived them of all hopes ; but, having apparently rcfleded that this peace would cofl: England dear, if by hif;inat:lion the Flemings fliould return under the dominion of the Spaniards, or fliould be obliged, ia order to free themfelves from it, to accept that of France ; and having perhaps been made fenfible what even England had to fear from a power, who, without any regard to juftice, attempted whatever feemed for its conveniency, when all other objeâs became inlufli- cient to fatisfy its unbounded defire; thefe confiderations feemed to have thrown James into a liate of perplexity, out of which he had probably not yet extricated himfelf ; for he had faid nothing more to them, than that he would not feparate himfelf from France ; on the contrary, that he only waited the arrival of the French ambaflador, to unite more clofely with Henry, by concluding a double marriage between the two families. These informations which I received from Barnevelt would have diflipated part of my fears, had the king of England been one of thofe princes on whom one could depend : but in all this, with refped to himfelf, I could only perceive didimulation, or, at befl:, irrefolution ; for thofe of his minifters, whom I had reafon to believe were beit ac- quainted with the fecrets of his councils, upon every occafion con- liantly faid, that all endeavours to infpire them with a dread of Spain would be vain, the fituation of their iiland protedting them againft the enterprifes of any foreign power whatever. It would indeed have been highly imprudent in the States and Barnevelt to have judged any other- wife, or have deferred taking meafures to prevent their final ruin, till Jfames had taken his refolution ; and I believed the States were too good politicians to have committed fuch a miftake. In confequence of this opinion, which I communicated to Barnevelt, I conjured him, by all the intereft of his country, not to conceal from me any of the moll fecret refolutions which had been there taken, upon a fuppofition that England would abandon them, or even, which was but too Ukely, that the would endeavour to augment their diftrefs, by taking this oppor- tunity to demand the cautionary towns offered to Elizabeth. Barnevelt finding himfelf preffed, and confidering me as the confidant of a prmce who was the only true friend to his country, no Vol. II. B b longer MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIV. longer hefitated to diHover all to me : and after having intimated the merit of fo important a (ecret, he informed me, that the council of the United Provinces had refolved, at all events, to avoid giving up the cautionary towns ; that the terms of their treaty w^ith Elizabeth would furnifli them with the means of doing this, by the time which might be required to examine the tenor of it; that in cafe they found themfelves too clofely prefled by the Englifh and Spaniards, they would endeavour to bring upon the carpet the treaty of Brunfwic and Van- drclep, offering Oitend to be fequcftrated till the conclufion of the trea- ty ; that during this interval, fome event might perhaps happen in their favour, and thus, at leaft for the prefent, a ftop be put to the powerful forces preparing in Spain againft Oftend. I N order to underftand what is here faid of the treaties with Eliza- beth and Spain, it is neceffary to know, that the late queen of England had demanded of the States certain towns *, as a fecurity for the mo- ney which ihe had lent them, with this gracious claufe in their favour, that they fliovild not give her the poffeffion of them, unlefs they en- tered into an accommodation with Spain Vv'ithout her confent. As to the other treaty, it was propofed, in the height of the hoftilities between Spain and the United Provinces, to put the contefted countries under the power of the houfe of Auftria ; not the branch which reigned in Spain, but that which poffeffed the empire of Germany. But whether the States or Spain, or, which is moft probable, both, were the caufe of it, the treaty that was begun by the duke of Brunfwic, and conti- nued by count Vandrelep, came to nothing : the former demanded, tliat the provinces and towns which Spain ûill preferved, or had re- gained in Flanders, (hould be comprehended in the treaty, becaufe, faid they, they rifqued too much by being fo near the power of Spain, who taking advantage of a pretended peace, might ealily regain pof- feffion of what Ihe appeared to abandon ; and the latter could not but with regret think of feparating fo brilliant a gem from her crown. In the afternoon of this day, I was vifited by the refident from Venice, who was the fecretary of that republic : he was as free and unrefervcd in his difcourfe with me as Barneveit had been ; for his Itate was in the fame fituation of jealoiffy and complaints again ft Spain, and of union with France : he further confirmed to me what I 1-iad before ftrongly fufpeded, of the irrefolution of James ; he told me, * FIcfiiiigue and Er.lJe. that Book XIV. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 187 that this prince, who To often and fo loudly repeated the high found- J 603. ing words the policy of Europe, did, in reality, concern himfelf with ^-^ — v~ — * nothing lefs ; and that his diffimulation which his flatterers compli- mented in him as a virtue, had always confifted in giving hopes to all, but accomplifhing none ; that it was not to be expeéted he would change his maxims, having frequently been heard to fay, that it was to fuch an artful condud; alone he owed his fecurity when king of Scotland ; and therefore it was highly probable that he would again put thofe arts in pradtice, and purfue them more Readily than ever, at the beginning of a reign, and at the head of a great kingdom, whofc people, affairs, and neighbours, he was utterly unacquainted with j all which were circumftances favourable to his maxim. These refledions of the Venetian were at once fenfible and juft. He afterwards informed me of the duke of Bouillon's proceedings with the new king, whom, by the envoys from the eledor Palatine, he had folicited to fpeak to Henry in his favour : but James flopped them by faying, that it did not become a great prince to intercede for a rebel- lious fubjed. After this mortifying reply, I know not what were Bouillon's thoughts of that fcheme which had been concerted between La Treitiouille, D'Entragues, Du-Pleflis, and himfelf, and had bore in their opinions fo favourable an alped : this fcheme was to make the king of England protedrar of the calvinifl party in Fi-ance, and the eledor Palatine his lieutenant. Bouillon's agent in London was an Englifhman named Wilem, who had entered into his fervice after having quitted that of his majefly, to whom he had been huntfman, and one of his grooms of the chamber, known under the French name of Le Blanc. D'Entragues' agent was named Du-Panni : he was very frequently at Beaumont's, and his principal correfpondence was with the duke of Lennox and his brother. Henry had informed me of all thefe particulars in his letters, and having by his order made enquiries concerning them, I found they were exa— ^v — -^ ment to his moft Chriftian majefty, and his defire of being ranked amongft the number of my friends. The earl of Northumberland, who had received me at my landing, and who again attended me to the river upon my departure, faid pretty hear the fame to me : no one among all the Englifli lords has more underftanding, capacity, courage, nor poffefled more authority, than he : he manifefted a great defire to have a private converfation with me upon the prefent affairs. I ga-,. thered from what he faid, though he did not fpeak in plain terms, that he was not fatisfied with the government; that he blamed the greateft . part of ihe king's adlions ; in (hort, to fay it in a word, that he had no great fliare either of fidelity or efteem for James. It is not neceffary to fay with what referve and circumfpedion I liftened to fuch dif- courfe. The open declaration which the king of England had made againft Spain, had given me feme hopes that the court of London would be infenfibly prejudiced againft that court. In the interval between my firft and fécond audience, feveral things happened which increafed thefc hopes. An Englifli catholic, who was likewife a jefuit (as was at firft reported) was feized in the habit of a poor traveller, and be- ing queftioned, he confelfed that he had difguifed himfelf in this man- ner, to deliver the catholic church from the opprefiion of the new king of England, unlefs he re-eftabliftied the romifli religion in his dominions folely, or at leaft with privileges equal to thofe enjoyed by the proteftants, and unlefs he likewife declared himfelf againft the pro- teftants of Holland ; that eight other jefuits had confpired with him in this defign, and that they had adually difperfed themfelves in different parts of London, in order to embrace any opportunity that might offer to deftroy this prince. But the report was falfe, in regard to the perfon of this fufpedted Englifliman, for he was not a jefuit *, but only a fe- minary prieft. Had the truth of all the other circumftances been equally well difcovered, probably the whole affair would have been red-uced almoft to nothing ; but this was not done. James, according to his charader, taking umbrage immediately, imagined that the realbn count d'Aremberg deterred demanding his audience, was not on account of his indifpofition, which was difiembled, and that he only waited till * Thu^nus, no more than M. de Su]ly, in this confpiracy, which is the fame that charges the jefuits with having any concern will be mentioned below, b, 129. C C 2 the MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XV. the fuppofed confpirators had accomplifhed their defign, or at leaft till by their intrigues in the kingdom they had occafioned a revolution, which would have releafed him from his obligations to wait on the king at court. It is inconceivable to what a length this frivolous fufpicion was carried. The queen was at the fame time coming to London : this, faid they, was to favour the Spanifh fadion ; which fo difturbed James, that he immediately fent the earl of Lennox exprefly to forbid that princefs to continue her journey : but whether the earl could not, or whether he rather chofe not to fucceed in his commiffion, the queea did not obey. Lennox was recalled, and the king remained only the more perplexed. After his example, his minifters, courtiers, and par- ticularly the old court, being prejudiced in favour of the maxims of the preceding reign, began to fl:iew themfelves gready difgufled both with the queen and with Spain. They called to mind the conducfl and policy of Elizabeth, who had lived in a perpetual miftruft of the court of Madrid. And now they laviflied upon her thofe praifes of which they had been before fo fparing, and feemed difpleafed with themfelves at the indifference they had fliewn to her memory : nor muft I forget that it was not without doing violence to myfelf, that I refrained fol- lowing fuch a general example. I BELIEVE the Spanifli fadlion, during all this, was in no little pain ; for inftead of talking, as before, only of peace and neutrality with all the world, nothing was now more common than to hear it laid, that fo far from having any dependence on what Spain called her friendrtiip and alliance, it was not even fafe to contraâ: with her ; that the am- baflador of this court had not dared to prefent himfelf in London, and that moft certainly he could not come thither, for fear of becoming the objedl, and perhaps the viâim, of the public indignation. The conduit of his Catholic majefty was compared with that of his moft Chriftian majefty. Henry's procedure appeared fo open and ingenuous, and fo far from all deceit, that it carried convidion with it : he, faid they, would never have fent into England the man who, of all others in his kingdom, was moft neceffary to him, to machinate a deceit un- worthy of them both ; nor would I myfelf, in quitting the court, have thereby left an open field to the malignity of my enemies, only to come and adt one of thofe charaders, whofe conclufion is generally that of beholding one's fclf at once both diftionoured and facrificed to the public indignation. In fliort, if a union between the two crowns, which 197 Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. which I propofed, was not in all refpedts the beft coiidud; that they 160?. could puri'iie, it was at leaft the fafeft ; for what would Spain be able <— ^y^-.^ to do, when the two confederate kings fliould confider all dangers v/hich might happen to either, as equally common to both ? It was thus that they fomctimes neafoned in the council, and in the prefence of the king of England, very much to the fatisfadion of thofe counfel- lors who were in our interefls, and who neglected no opportunity of gaining the prince in their party. My lord Montjoy, whom I had made my intimate friend, on account of the almofi public profefiion which he made of attachment to France, herein ufed his utmoft in- tereft and endeavours. But all this only diffipated part of my fears ; I perceived fo many other obftacles, that they almoft entirely difcouraged me ; what I might expert from the queen only fcarce appeared furmountable. My appre- henfions from the fecretary Cecil, were but little inferior to tbofe from the queen. He was at this time feparated from his former friends, and had united with the Scots. I endeavoured to penetrate into the real motives of this feparation ; for I was. ftrongly perfuaded of theinfincerity of this fubtle minifler's proceedings. Perhaps his hopes might be iix time to become head of the Scotch party, and afterwards to unite it with the Englilh, whom he might have abandoned only in appearance j but thefe Scotch lords were fo difficult to manage, and fo much upon their guard againfl the Englifli, that he could not but be baffled not- withflanding all his efforts; and he was himfelf too penetrating not to be perfedly fenfible of it. Accordingly it was faid (and when I be- came acquainted with the arts of this minifter I was myfelf of the fame opinion) that he had fought the Scots, who were real confidants and favourites of his majefty, only to make himfelf known, and render himfelf neceffary to this prince; that, having fucceeded thus far, he knew perfeftly well how to center all power in himfelf, and, making ufe of the king's name and authority, would filence the queen, the Engliili, and even the Scots themfelves, or at leaft would leave to thofe he fliould judge proper only fome faint fhadow of favour, and would then reaffume his real charadter. And what is moft remark- able, it was not unlikely that this fubtle man was himfelf the dupe of the Scots, who pretended to be fuch to him ; for is it pofTible that Cecil, known in England by every one to be the moll: ambitious and moft tenacious of power of all men, fhould remain unknown only to them ? But no doubt they all knew that the prince's ear was not alone fulTicxnt to maintain them at the head of affairs, with which they were 3 M E M O I R S O F S- U L L y: Book XV. 1603. were not in the leaft acquainted, and of which the fecretary only could — v~— ' give them the beft information. Supposing alfo that the Scotifli party was undoubtedly firm in the- interefts of France, there ftill remained a material doubt, whether fo haughty a people as the Englifh would fubmit to be governed by fo- reigners, and more efpecialiy by the Scots, who at all times had been the objeâ of their averfion : and befides, it was far from being certain that the Scots would always continue to poflefs the king's favour ; for the regard which he already began to fliew to the earl of Effex, South- ampton, and my lord Mountjoy, plainly proved that they might eafily lofe their influence. Laftly, to increafe this unpromifing afpeifl, the two kings of Sweden and Denmark, wTiofe reprefentations might have been of great weight in determining this prince, and who had hitherto been fo unanimous with Henry, that they had concurred in all his defigns, now either did it not at all, or did it with fuch indifference, that their example was far from infpiring a proper refolution. In the fi-equent conferences which I had with their ambaffadors, in prefence of the earl of Mar, lord Mountjoy, andErlkine, who was prefent three times, as being a common friend, they made me the faireft fpeeches imagina- ble ; their averfion for Spain appeared equal to mine ; they even pro- ceeded fo far as to draw up a kind of fcheme, whereby they ratified whatever Henry might do for all of them, even in regard to the divi- fion of conquefts, which they agreed might eafily be performed by mteâns of a firm and durable union. But our conference being ended, they no longer remembered any of their promifes, and beheld nothing but obftacles, in regard to which in my prefence they had kept a pro- found filence. A ftrange behaviour this ! from whence, however, I madefome difcoveiy of what fort of t^en I had to deal with. My lord Mountjoy told me oitc day in confidence, that he had been prefent at a meeting of thefe ambaffadors, wherein only thofe of his majefty's council and the ftates-deputies were admitted ; that here, in- ft-ead of labouring mutually to ftrengthen thenitHves in laudable refo- hitions, each of them had only fought to draw himfelf out of the affair. He gave me an account of their deliberations. The Danifli deputy re- prefented, that indeed his mafler poffeffed a great extent of territory, but for the moft part barren, and, by the inconveniency of its fituation, rather expcnfive than profitable ; that the fubmiffion and traftablenefs of the people was an advantage of no ufe to tijc king his mafier, be- caufe, frOih the prodigious variation of thdr manners and cufloms, he could Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. .could neither ujiderftand them, nor could they underftand one ano- ther ; and that he was now aftually engaged in endeavours to eftablifh a general and uniform regulation among them, which did not permit him to be concerned in any other enterprife. The Swede iiiid, it would be highly imprudent for his mafter to engage in a foreign war, becaute his nephew, the king of Poland, had not yet forgot his pre- tenfions to the crd^n of Sweden, but, on the contrary, Teemed dif^ pofed to renew them with more vigour than ever ; fo that the preferva*- tion of his own dominions might probably find him fufficient employ- ment. Barnevelt, in the name of the rell of his brethren, explained himfelf in a manner fo different from his ufual complaints, that, I confefs, I am at a lofs to conceive what could be the intention of fo flrange a procedure: he fpoke of Spain only with contempt; in the revolt of the Spaniards, and the forces of the States, he found refources fufficient to preferve them from all oppreflion ; he feemed no longer to defpair cf the fuccefs of Oftend as formerly, and intimated, that his mafters had conceived a defign which would more than indemnify them for that lois fuppofing it flaould happen. The Engliflî minifters taking their text from a faying of the king of England, That every new king, if he had the fmalleft degree of good conduit, ought at lead to let a year and a day pafs before he made any innovation, though of the fmalleft confequence ; concluded unanimoufly, that it would be moft prudent to wait, and they remained firm to this determination. If weconfider thefe geniufes of the North* with fome little attention, we fliall perceive they conftantly preferve fome affinity with the nature of their climate ; they have but little vigour of thought, few refources in their imagination, little conftancy in their refolutions, and not the leaft tindure of good policy. The example of Elizabeth is an excep- tion to this rule, and is fo much the more glorious to that great queen. I NOW only wanted to be as well acquainted with the Spanifh coun- cils, as Î was with thofe of Entaiu and the rurth ; or, in other words, I wanted only to kn mw what were the real defigns of that crown, what propofitions ftie had aheady maae to the king of England, how they had been received, and finally what fteps Ihe intended to take for the accomplifliment of her defires ; for barely to underftand that the king of Spain fought to detach England from France and the Low * The time' are changed ; ard I oo not dom and policy of fome of the Northern douht if the author had lived in tur days, pawers. but he would have done juftice to the wif- CountrieSj, 30 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XV. 1603. Countries, was knowing nothing, or at moft but very little. It was -— Y— i' fufpeéled that Spain meditated fomething of much greater importance ; this might be conjedlured from the information which I had already received from the canon at Canterbury ; and it appeared fo much the lefs to be negledled, becaufe Aërfens and Barnevelt both at the fame time affirmed the certainty of it, the one at Paris, the other at London. I therefore ufed my utmoft endeavours to come at the truth. What I was told by my lord Cobham and Sir Walter Raleigh was conformable to this information : but what made the greateft impreffion upon me, was, that the earl of Northumberland, whom I had gained by the offer of a confiderable penfion, under the name of a prefent, with great fecrefy, one night when I was going to bed, fent his fecretary to acquaint me with the following particulars. From the moment when king James afcended the throne of Eng- land, faid this fecretary, the king of Spain has not ceafed to foUicit him, either by his own agents, or thofe of the archdukes, or by the Englifli catholics, to enter into an offenfive and defenfive alliance with him, againft France and the United-Provinces, whom he calls their common enemies. He has omitted nothing which might perfuade him that both of them, but more efpecially that his Britannic majefty, had a title fo clear and inconteftable to feveral provinces in France, that it would be fliameful in him not to make ufe of it, at a time when the exhaufted condition of that kingdom prefented fo fair an opportunity : and the means propofed by Spain to fecure the fuccefs of this enterprife, were, that James and his catholic miijefty fliould, at the fame time, demand of France the reftitution of Normandy, Guienne, and Poitou, for the king of England ; Bretagne, and Bour- gogne, for the king of Spain ; and, upon a refufal, to fall upon thefe provinces with all their united forces. His catholic majefty, for this purpofe, has even ofi'cred to draw all his forces oat of the Low Coun- tries, moreover to renounce all his pretenfions upon the United-Pro- vinces, and grant them that liberty which they fo ardently defire, upon a fuppofition, however, that, in confideration of this flivour, they would confcnt to flrengthen the league by joining it, and by con- curring in all their defigns. The king of England having made no anfwer to all thefe great offers, farther than by faying, that they were premature, and that he chofe to begin his reign by gaining a know- ledge of all his new fubjcds, and by ftrengthening himfclf upon the throne, Spain eafily perceived that this reply was a civil refufal 3 and James not being difpofed by open force to attempt the recovery of his 9 antient EookXV. m E m O I R s O F s U L L y. zoi antient pofîeiïions, Spain then turned her endeavours to perfuade this 1607. prince, atleaft to flavour the French provinces in their defign ("of which <— — v—-j fhe informed him) to ereft themielves, after the example of Switzerland, into an independent republic. All this has been reprefented to James to be extremely eafy to efFedl. It has been fxid, thefe provinces im- patiently waited a favourable opportunity to fhake off their infupport- able yoke ; the SpaniOi emiflaries, feconding thefe difpofitions, have every where reported that it only depended upon themfelves, whether they would enjoy a profound tranquillity without taxes, fubfidies, or military garrifons, under fhelter of the two crowns their protedlors, and that they had no caufe to apprehend either the refentment of Henry, or the violences of his troops, becaufe care would be taken at the fame time to involve him in fo many other perplexities, that he would be under a neceffity of fuffering them to prefcribe their own laws. We do not yet hear, added the fecretary of the earl of North- umberland, what James replied to this fécond proportion ; we con- jeâure that it was not more favourably received than the former, be- caufe the Spanifli emiffaries, in their conferences with his Britannic ma- jefty, have feveral times been obliged to change their fyftem, or fuc- ceffively to repeat the fame again with different modifications. Some- times they have offered him the whole force and all the treafures of Spain, to ufe them againfl France in whatever manner he fliould judge proper, without requiring any thing more in return, than that he fliould conclude no treaty without their confent, nor fliould concern himfelf in any manner in their quarrel with Flanders ; at other timeSj they have defcended only to defire that he would give no affiflance to the United-Provinces. If the whole of what was here related to me was true, from thence might be concluded that France, without knowing it, was aftually in the mofl imminent danger, becaufe a fingle word of approbation from king James would have drawn upon her a moft terrible florm. But for my own part I confefs, that to me this appears fo extravagant and fo much beyond the bounds of probability, that, from whatever places it might come confirmed, I cannot believe that Spain would ever think of propofing to king James any thing hke the firfl propofitions which are here related. Suppofing all difficulties were removed between Spain and England, in regard to the armament and the partition, which, however, would be no inconfiderable difcuffion, yet had they well confidered how many other difficulties would arife from a dif- ference of religions, interefts, manners, and cufloms^ both between Vol. II. D d themfelves MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XV. themfelves and with the French provinces which they fuppofed con- formable to their fentiments. That article which concerns the United-Provinces, alone deftroys the whole of this projedt. If Spain began by endeavouring to fubjeil them, this crown and that of England could not be ignorant that iuch an enterprife was alone capable to deftroy, or at leaft for a confider- able time to prevent the execution of their common defigns, becaufe France, being once convinced that her own fafety depended on the pre- vention or retarding of this conqueft, would have confidered aflifting the States as defending herfelf : and if Spain propofcd to gain theJe provinces in her interefts, flie would herein have been more grofly deceived ; for no offer, not excepting even that of liberty, would have been able to reconcile them with their moil mortal enemy, much lefs to incline them to affift her in her conquefls, and that too of their an- tient and . only ally. I am not ignorant of the manner in which the States deputies have always thought ; they upon all occafions have conftandy faid that Spain deceived them, that England trifled with them, and that France alone was favourably difpofed towards them ; and if fometimes they have talked in a different manner, as in the con- ference above mentioned, it was either to excite the French to make ftill greater efforts in their favour, or to infpire the Englifli with the fentiments of France in regard to them : belides, will any one believe that Spain would voluntarily relinquilh territories, which her own force might acquire ? In regard to the informations which Henry and I received on this head, neither the canon of Canterbury nor Barnevelt, who with Aërfens muft be confidered only as one, becaufe the former received his information from the latter, could be fufficiently depended upoa; the firfi: might have been deceived, and the fécond might have fought to deceive us, which deceit was not ineffectual in promotiîig the fuccefs of their affairs. In regard to the three Englifli lords, I was fo far from depending upon what they fiiid, that, on the contrary, I fulpedfed they were themfelves ihe Ible authors of the whole fcheme ; that they had concerted it together, and then, with proper alterations, prefented it to the king of England, to me, to the States deputies, and to the public, thereby to appear as perfons of confequcnce ; which was quice fuitable to tlicir characters. In regard to Spain, I made no doubt but iht would be pleafed to hear fuch reports fpread, and even that /he would gladly ufe her endeavours to make them believed, not with any Book XV. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 203 any intention ferioufly to confer with his Britannic majefty concerning 160?. them, nor even that they fhouldcome to his cars, but only with defign <— --v-— J to encreafe the difcord, and augment the number of the feditious in thofe provinces of France which were interefted tlierein. It was in thefc terms that I wrote about it to Plenry, who fomctimes confidered the whole as an artifice of the States to accelerate a rupture between him and Spain, and fometimes believed it true in regard to Spain, who, from a defire to deftroy Henry, and a hope of profiting from the inex- perience of J.imes, attempted every thing. I told Henry, that, though all thefe fchemes ought to be treated only as chimerical, it would be proper, neverthelefs, to be attentive to whatever pafTcd in Poitou, Au- vergne, Limofin, Pays d'Aunis, in (hort, through all Guienne, in which places they were capable of producing the fame bad efFeéls as though they had been true. The day after my audience, being the 23d of June, and a day on which his Britifh majefty conferred the honour of knighthood on feve- ral perfons, he fent to acquaint me, that he would grant me a fécond audience the day on which I myfclf had defired it, being Wednefday the 25th ; that I fliould be with him at two o'clock, and bring but few perfons with me, in order to prevent the inconveniences caufed by great numbers, and, faid he, that he might confer with me alone with greater freedom. Upon this occafion, I was accompanied from London to Greenwich by my lord Hume, who, in France, had had the honour of feeing and difcourfing with his mofl chriftian majefty. I took fome refreftiment in the apartment wherein I was condudled to wait till I could be introduced to the king ; and here I was accofted by little Edmonds *, who made me a long difcourfe, in which he com- plained, that he was not treated fo well as his paft fervices, and his knowledge of the afi*airs of France, deferved. The earl of Northum- berland put an end to our converfation, by coming to require my ap- pearance in the king's apartment. Immediately upon my entrance this prince arofe, and, havino- commanded that no one fliould follow him, he conduced me throuo-h feveral apartments into a little ordinary gallery, wherein we held our conference. I began it by thanking his majefty for having thus given me an opportunity todifclofe myfelf to him, on the fubjedl of my com- * Edmonds had been agent and after- he liad really acquired a perfe«5l knowledge wards ambaffidor from Elizabeth to Hen- of the affairs of France. ry iV. during the wars of the league; and D d 2 miffion, 204 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XV. lôc. miffion, without referve, and without witnefl'es ; " Not, faid I, that «. V '■ " the king my mafter has fent me to require any thing of your ma- " jefty, but only to be informed of your intentions in regard to affairs " wherein your majefties may both be equally concerned ; and that the " king my maft;er may conform to them, as a good brother." The king of England replied, that the manner in which he plainly faw the king of France and I afted, with refped: to him, required that he fhould not conceal any thing from me ; and that he would therefore difcovertome his moft important fecrets. He then, in a few words, pretty juftly defcribed the prefent political affairs of Europe ; " in which, " faid he, it is necefiary to preferve an equilibrium between three of " its powers," meaning the houfes of Bourbon, Auifria, and Steuart. He faid, that of thefe three powers, the houfe of Auftria in Spain, from the fpirit of dominion with which ftîe was poffelkd, was the only one who fought to make the balance incline in her favour ; that a know- ledge of this unjuft defign was the caufe that the king of France and he, though in appearance in peace with that crown, were, however, really though fecretly at war with her ; that Spain was not ignorant of it, but that ihe could not complain, flie having hcrfelf fet them the firft example ; to Henry by her combination with maréchal Biron and the difaffeded in France, by the fuccours (he had given the duke of Savoy when at war with his moft Chriftian majefty, by the enterprife upon Geneva, finally, by feveral other proceedings of the like nature ; to him, by inftigating and encouraging the Jefuits and the Englifli ca- tholic fadion. From hence it appears, that the affair of the Jefuit had gained but too much credit with James. But that all this could, by neither fide, be confidered as fufficient caufe for an open war, and, as they were upon equal terms, it would therv.'fore be beft to avoid it, by continuing, as before, fecretly to favour the enemies of Spain, though with a refolution to purfue more vigorous and effedual meafures, in cafe Spain {hould herfelf refolvc upon any open rupture. I VERY highly applauded fuch laudable fentiments, and indeed they really deferved it ; nor could I have faid any thing further on the fub- ied, had I not, at the fame time, perceived in the perfon from whom they came a difpofition to peace, or rather to indolence and inadion, wiiich in a manner contradided his words, and fecmed to tell me, that, having promifed a little, he fhould perform nothing. This ob- fcrvation induced me to tell his Britannic majefty, that the plan of con- dud wiiich he had laid down to be purfued with Spain, was exadly conformable to the fentiments of his chriftian majefty j and that Henry 6 only Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. only feared it would be infufficlent to prevent their one day feeling the fatal effeds of the refentment of that crown, whofe charaâier, upon this occafion, I endeavoured to paint to him in the moft natural colours. I reprefented to James every thing which Spain had been accumu- lating for one hundred years part ; the earldoms of Flanders and Bur- gundy, the kingdoms of Granada, Navarre, and Portugal, the empire of Germany, the ftates of Naples and Milan, all the Indies, and, but for mere good fortune, France and England alfo, both thefe crowns owing their prefcrvation, next to the firmnefs of Elizabeth and Henry, only to the lucky incident of the revolt of the Low Countries ; and 1 concluded, that as bo:h James and Henry would one day be indifpen- fably obliged to enter into an open war with Spain, in order to fap the foundation of fo vaft a dominion, it was therefore abfolutely necefl'ary now to concert the proper meafures for it, that no ftep might be taken to the contrary ; and that this, together with the means whereby the prefcrvation of the United Provinces might be provifionally fecured, was all that I had to defire of his majefly. " But, faid the king of *' England, what better affiflance would you that the king of France " and I fhould give the Low Countries, than to comprehend them " with us in a general treaty of partition and pacification between them " and Spain, upon conditions of which we lliall ourfelves be guaran- " tees? whereby, Hiould Spain firftfail in the obfervation of them, we " fhall then have juft reafon to take arms againft her, and drive her " entirely out of thefe provinces : and 1 confent, added he, upon a " fuppofition that this will be the cafe, immediately to determine with " you, what means and what forces we fhall employ for the execution '* of it." James was not fenfible of all the objed:ions to this partition- treaty which he propofed between Spain and the Low Countries; or if he was, he artfully endeavoured to avoid entering into any engagement v/itii me. The council of Spain Vv'ould not have failed to appear fatif- fied with. what he propofed, but during the delays which negotiating this treaty would produce, efpecially with a court whofe dilatorinefs was one of the chief arts of her policy, Oftend, which was reduced to extremity, would fall into the power of its enemy, and with it a part of Flanders, Holland and Zealand being feparated from it ; and Spain would in the mean time ftrengthen herfelf in what flie did poffefs, and would be preparing the means for fucceeding more cffedually in her defign of fubjedting the reft of this ftate. I DESIRED his Britannic majefty to beftow fome ferious refledion upouthe confiderations which 1 had thus laid before him. He remained for 2c6 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XV. 1603. for feme time in filence, and feemed deeply immerfed in thought; af- t-^v— -J ter which, in a hefitating and irrefolute voice, he faid, that it mufl: be confelTed I was in the right j that the affair was of great confequence ; that he had often thought of it, though his refledions had not as yet produced any efFeft ; and that he had waited my coming, to determine him in his refolution! At this moment I penetrated into all which this prince refufed to tell me ; and 1 thought I ought not to heiitate attacking him in his inmoft receffes : I therefore replied rather to his thoughts than his words, and faid, that as often as this affair had been debated in his maiefty's council, and as often as he had heard his mi- nifters utter fentiments different from mine, his majefïy might eafily have been convinced, that they did it only from fome motives of felf- intereft, becaufe there was not herein the leaft room for doubt; that one fingle examination would demonftrate, as evidently as a million, that it was indifpenfably neceffary to prevent the reft of the Low Countries from being fubjedled by Spain, becaufe, were {he to fucceed in this, (he might, with the fame forces, fall very roughly, and without cere- mony, upon France and England. Upon this occafion, without ex- pofing thefe Englifh counfellors fo much as I could, by a difcovery of part of their intrigues, I fo far acquainted the king of England with tiiem, as to make him fenfible that I was not ignorant that they had endeavoured to make him turn thofe forces againft France, which I would perfuade him to employ againft Spain. James entered of himfelf into the fentiments with which I wanted to infpire him, in regard to this council : he told me, that he was very far from being of the fame opinion with fome of his courtiers, in re- fpedt to the antient pretenfions of England upon France ; that, befides that the prefent conjundture and political ftate of affairs did not per- mit him to think ferioufly about them, he alfo confidered thefe pre- tended rights as annulled by divine providence, which irrefiftibly gives and takes away crowns ; and by time, whofe prefcription was more than centenary ; which words he repeated feveral times : that this confideration being of no weight with him, he could therefore previ- oufly aflure me, that whatever his final refolution might be, at leaft he would not fufter the United Provinces, nor even Oftend, to come under the dominion of the Spaniards : that for the prefent I ought not to require any thing farther of him, nor prefs him to a conclufion, till he had firft conferred with two or three of his minifters, whofe know- ledge, as well as honefty, he was well convinced of; that befides, from the refledions which I had fuggefted to him, he was now able to di- ftinguifli Book XV. Tvl E M O I R S OF SULLY. ftinguifh and refift the voice of paflion and prejudice : and laftly, that he would in a fhort time acquaint me with what might be farther ne- ceflary for me to know, in regard to his fentiments and final refolution. I SHOULD have been very glad not to have concluded our conference on this head fo foon, but James broke it off, by faying, that he fliould finifh the remainder of it another time,, becaufe he wanted now to have fome converfation with me concerning the duke of Bouillon. He informed me, that the deputies of the eleftor of Palatine had ftrongly folicitedhim in favour of the duke; but that, not being perfedly well acquainted with the afl'air, he had refufed to concern himfelf in it at all, through fear left he fliould favour a rebel. He defired me to relate to him all the circumftances of it : which I accordingly did very fuccinftly ; whereby the whole affair fufficiently declared its own merits. James gave me j^is word, that however he might be folicited by the Palatine, he would never concern himfelf in it; and faid, he wiflied others would meddle as little in the affairs of the Englidi catholics. I readily apprehended, by the manner in which he uttered thefe laft words, that they carried with them a kind of reproach. In order to underfland what is here meant, it is neceflary to be in- formed, that fome time before the death of Elizabeth the partlfans cf Spain, having, as ufual, the jefuits at their head, had raifed difturbances in the three kingdoms of Great Britain. Though religion was their pretence, their real views were political, either becaufe the king of Spain, as his flatterers had perfuaded him, really believed his rights to the crown of England were fo well founded, that after the death of the queen he might openly declare his pretenfions, or becaufe he fought to involve the fuccelTor of Elizabeth in fuch perplexities as might prevent his engaging in any thing elle. The jefuits, upon this oc- calion, very imprudently, it fliould feem, had differed with the Englifh catholic fecular clergy : this was chiefly occafioned by their endeavour- ing to create a certain arch-priefl: *, which the Englilh catholics would not admit of. The affair was brought before the Pope, who upon this * Cardinal D'Offu, in his letter of the certain arch-priefl-, to whofe authority all 28th of May, 1601, to M. dc Villeroi, fays, the ecclefiaftics, and even all the other ca- that at the fuggellion of an Englifh jefuit, tholics of England, were to be fubjeâ:. By whofe name was futher Perfonio (or Par- this means, adds he, it was propofed to funs) rcftor of the Englilh college at Rome, have the greater part of the catholics of and devoted to the king of Spain, if he was England under the Pope's influence, fo to any, the Pope created in England a occafiojîi, MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XV. occafion, for reafons of which I am ignorant, neither concurred with thofe jefuits, nor Spain, but, on the contrary, liftened very favourably to the fecular clergy, who had deputed three of their body to Rome, having a pafport under the hand of Cecil himielf : which is a proof that Elizabeth thought llie ought to defend the feculars ; and alfo, that rtie looked upon the others as her real enemies. Henry had been of the fame opinion with Elizabeth, and the common interefl; had from the firft determined him at the court of Rome to fupport the Englilh clergy againfl the Spanifla cabal. From hence it was that the enemies of France had taken occafion to prejudice James againfl us *, by infinuating to him, that Henry had fupported the English clergy only with defign to gain them in his own interefts, and that from the fame views with Spain. It was not diffi- cult for me to undeceive the king of England in this refpedl. I re- prefented to him, that Henry having confidered, that to prevent the whole body of the catholics of Britain from entering into the Spanifli interefts, was a point of the utmoft confequence ; he had therefore been indifpenfably obliged to appear in their favour upon feveral occa- lions ; but that he had been fo far from having had any thoughts of entering with them into any defign prejudicial to his authority, that, on the contraiy, his fole intention had been to oppofe this common enemy ; and that had the catholics departed in the leaft from their duty, or even appeared fo to do, he would from that moment have abandoned them. James was fo fully fatified with this account, that he acquainted me with the regulations which he meditated in regard to the roman ca- tholics of his kingdom ; " from your information, faid he, and with *' the approbation of Henry." He had afterwards feveral opportunities of being convinced that I had not impoicd on him, particularly by a letter which the Pope's nuncio wrote to him from Paris, relating to the Englifti catholics. James anhvered this letter in a more obliging manner than was ufual with the court of London to letters received * The king of England cannot be con- Englifli catholics, whereby to place a ca- fidered as blameable for having taken um- tholic king upon the throne of England, brage againft France upon that account. But it is likewife true, that Henry IV. was 'I'he fame cardinal give us to underftand, not only ignorant of this defign, but alfo that the political views of the Spanifh party that he had acquiefced with Elizabeth in were by this means to unite the Pope, the quite different purpofes. This faft is re- king of France, the king of Spain, and the lated in the Stptennary, an. 1 604. from Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. from the court of Rome ; and being perhaps determined by my reafons, he not only entered into the fame views in regard to this affair which good policy had fuggefted to Henry, but it alfo feemed probable, that to fecure theEnglifli catholic party, he would chufe rather to have recourfe to the Pope and his minifters, than to any foreign prince. The Pope, on his fide, did not fliew himfelf infenfible of this preference * : one Colvil having dedicated a book to him which he had wrote again/t that prince, when only king of Scotland, his holinefs would neither receive the work, nor permit the author to ftay in Rome. Henry had acquainted me with this circumftance, that I might, if I thought pro- per, relate it to the king of England ; and Henry had been informed of it in the letters which my brother wrote to him from Rome, Upon my departure, at the conclufion of this my fécond audier.ce, I was informed that this prince was to fet out the Monday followinîj to meet the queen ; and I judged, that the audience which his maielly promifed to grant me on Sunday the 29th, would, on this account, probably be the laft I fliould obtain ; and as T was afraid I fliould not be able to conclude my negotiation in one more, I determined to de- mand another of him before that on Sunday. James replied, that he could not grant this requeft, all his time being abfolutely engaged till Sunday ; but that he would fend his miniflers on Friday the 27th, to confer with me and prepare matters. Accordingly, on Friday, at three o'clock in the afternoon, there came to me admiral Howard, the earls of Northumberland and Mar, lord Mountjoy, lieutenant general in Ireland, and the fecretary Cecil, who was the fpeaker. After the firfl compliments were over, Cecil told me, that the king of England thought that he could not better fhew his moft Chriftian majefty how fenfible he was, both of the up- rightnefs of his intentions, and his ability in the conduit of great af- fairs, than by wholly relying upon him in regard to the relief of Oftend, and the fupport of ^the States. * We muft believe either that his Holi- the king of England, who had at firft fhewn nefs had no concern in the political dcfigii himfelf fo favourably difpofed to the catho- which I mentioned in the preceding note, lies, that it was reported he would become as related by cardinal D'Oflat; or that, fo himfelf; and that he had only pretended perceiving it had mifcariicd, he had con- to be of the reformed religion, in order to ceived that of gaining, if it were poflibk, afcend the throne without oppolition. Vol. II, E e I was M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XV. 1603. I WAS immediately fenfible of this fecretnry's artifice, and the defign -^ — -' of it, in thus conftruing what I had faid to the king of England in a manner different to my real meaning. I replied, that in^'.-ed the king my mafter would have been extremely glad to have had f ome meafures taken in Europe, to prevent the invafions of Flanders by Spain; but that he was fo far from having fent me to give law to his Britannic majefty, that he did not himfelf know what condudl to purfae in regard to the affairs of thofe provinces, with the true flate of which he was not even well acquainted ; that it was therefore vain to think of penetrating into what Henry might have determined in his mind with regard to the States, becaufe, in reality, he had not as yet de- termined on any thing ; that nothing farther could be concluded front what I had faid to his Britannic majefty, than that when he Œould be well difpofed towards them, I could engage that the difpofitions of his moft Chriftian majefty would not be contrary to his ; and, in a word," that I was come about no other defign, than to be informed of the in- tentions of the king and parliament of England. Cecil replied, that he had no furreptitlous defign upon me by what he had faid, but only to hear my fentiments of the prefent lituation of affairs, and to know whether any expedient had been thought on in the council of France, to obviate the difficulties which at London this enterprife feemed to be fo full of, that it appeared impoflîble to be exe- cuted. He confeffed, in fetting forth thefe pretended difficulties, that a pacific agreement between Spain and the Low Countries would, ia the prefent fituation of aff"airs, occafion the lofs of thefe provinces. Then reafoning from the falfe conclufion, that there was no medium between fuch an agreement and an open war with Spain, he endeavoured to. Ihew, that the war would be ftill lefs agreeable, than the peace, to Eng- land, which was already exhauffed, though at a time too when great expences were requifite in confequence of the coronation : and he con- cluded yet more peremptorily than before, that France muff alone be engaged in the execution of her defigns. He added, indeed, that Eng- land might in a year be able to fécond them. The riches and power of France were alfo a fubjed: which did not efcape iiim. Finally, he attempted, with all the addrefs he was maffer of, to make me declare, that the king of France, being refolved to make the bufinefs of the States his own, defired no other favour of England than that of a neutrality, to which, no doubt, he would give his confent with joy. 1 GAVli- Book XV. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 211 I GAVE Cecil to underftand, by fmiling at his lafl: words, that he 1603. had laid this fnare for me in vain ; and I told him, that, without fe- >- — v— — J riouHy replying to propofitions which I plainly perceived he had made only to give me an occalîon of fpeaking, it was fufficient for me to defire him to take notice of one thing, which he ought to know as well as myfelf, and this was, that England, by fuffering France to adt alone for fome time before flie joined her, inftead of laying the founda- tion of an alliance with her, would thereby rather lay the foundation of a rupture, becaufe one would exped: to enjoy the conquefts which flie might make during this time, and the other would doubtlefs require to partake of them. I addrelîèd myfelf perfonally to Cecil, and told him, that, ncverthelefs, this would not prevent my agreeing with him, in cafe his propofal for an union with France within a year had been fincere on his part, becaufe the king of France would rather chufe to defer the declaration of war againft Spain, which he mentioned, till this time, an open war being altogether as inconvenient to France, in the prefent fituation of her affairs, as it was to England. Upon this occafion, I thought I ought again to repeat, and in terms the mofi: explicit, that I was not come to propofe to the Englifh coun- cil a declaration of war from the two kings of France and England againft Spain ; but only to reprefent.thatgof d policy required them not to fuffer the United-Provinces to be opprelfed for wantof fuccours, which might be given them without difturbing the quiet of the reft of Europe; and to confer with his Britannic majcfty upon the nature of thefe fuc- cours, and the other fteps to be taken, both at prefent and in future, in favour of the Flemings. Upon this, the king's counfellors thanked me for the lincerity with which I had fpoken ; and Cecil, having nothing farther to reply, told me, that he would go and con- fer with his niajefty hereupon, that then he would converfe with the deputies of the States about it, and, if I defired it, even in my pre- sence, which I did not think proper to oppofe : having faid this we feparated. Count d'Aremberg, having long I'eferred from time to time de- manding his audience, fent at laft to ddire the king of England would difpenfe with it entirely, on account of his indifpofition, and that he would only fend one of his counfellors to confer with him. James did not appear fatlsfied with this procedure ; he however granted him what he defired, and Cecil was the pei un charged with this com- E e 2 miflion. 12 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XV, 1603. million. Cecil, who was perfeftly well acquainted with the reports -»nr-— ' current at that time concerning himfelf, being defirous to avoid giving any newcaufe to vilify him upon this occallon, fought to be excufed, and deiired that he might, at icalT:, have an adjund;, that is, a witnefs of his words and actions, though he affected not to receive him in that quality. This fadt alone unanfwerably proves, t]:at he was far from enjoying that favour which he was dehrous the public iliould believe he abfolutely poffefTed. Kinlofs, a Scotchman, was the perfcn a'f- fociated with him. D'Aremberg confined himfelf wholly to compliment, and to the moft general terms : when prelTed to come to particulars, he replied, that he was a foldier, and had no llcill in negotiation ; that he was come only to hear what the king of England had to fay to him, and that, after him, his mafter would fend a man of bufinels. Thefe words were repeated and fpread throughout London, with all the ridicule and con- tempt they deferved : indeed no ambaflador was perhaps ever before guilty of fo great an imprudence, nor can one but with difficulty be- lieve it of a people fo acute as the Spaniards ; it was of great diflervice to them in the Englifli council, and brought part of thofe who com- pofed it over to favour me ; and if the defigns of Spain were not hereby entirely fruftrated, which they might have been, it was becaufe this uukward behaviour was repaired by the addrefs of the other partifans of this crown, having Cecil himfelf at their head, notwithftanding his endeavours to make the contrary be believed ; it was even entirely for- got, when it was faid that the Spanifh ambaflador, who began to be no longer expedcd, would foon arrive. Cecil, no doubt, waited his arri- val, to begin the diffipation he was preparing for my projefts, and the other counfellors appeared difpofed to fall into their former irrefolution. I was even informed from good hands, that it not being doubted but this ambaflador would make propofals to his Britannic majefliy, accom- panied by irrefiftible offers, part of thefe counfellors had begun to draw up an account of the debts of France and the States to England, whereby from the fums contained in this account on one fide, and the treafures of Spain dilburfed in London on the other, nothing might be proof againfl: them. What was moff remarkable in my reception on Sunday the 29th of June, was, that all the gentlemen of my retinue had the honour of being treated with a dinner by his majefty, and I had that of being ad- mitted to his own table. In purfuance of his majefl:y's diredtions, I ar- rived Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. rived at Greenwich about ten o'clock in the morning, and was prefent with him at divine fervice, in which there was a fermon : he faid no- ' thing particular to me from the time of my arrival to our fetting down to table ; the converfation turned almoft entirely upon the chace and the weather ; the heat was exceflive, and much more violent than was ufual at London in this month. There were only Beaumont and myfelf who fat with James at table, where I was not a little furprif.d to be- hold that he was always ferved on the knee : a furtout, in form of a py- ramid, was placed in the middle of the table, which contained moll; coftly veffels, and was even enriched with diamonds. The converfation continued the fame as before, during great part of the entertainment ': but an opportunity offering for the king to fpeak of the late queen of England, he did it, and, to my great regret, with fome fort of contempt ; he even went fo far as to fiy, that, in Scot- land, long before the death of that princefs, he had direded her whole council, and governed all her minifters, by whom he had been better ferved and obeyed than llie. He then called for fome wine, his cu- flom being never to mix water with it, and holding the glafs in his hand towards Beaumont and me, he drank to the health of the king, the queen, and the royal family of France. I returned him his health, and that too without forgetting his children. He inclined himfelf to my ear when he heard me name them, and told me foftlv, that the next health he would drink fl:iould be, to the double union which he meditated between the royal houfes. He had never till now faid a fingle word to me about this ; and I thought the opportunity which he had thus taken for it was not extremely well chofen. I failed not, however, to receive the propofal with all poffible marks of joy, and replied foftly, that I was certain Henry would not hefitate in his choice between his good brother and ally, and the king of Spain, who had before applied to him upon the fame fubied. James, fur- prized at whr.t I told him, informed me in his turn, that Spain had made him the fame offers of the Infanta for his fon, as (he had to France for the Dauphin. The king of England appeared to me to be ftill in the fentiments in which I had left him in our laft conference ; though he gave me no opportunity of converfing with him in private. He told me, indeed, before all who were prefent, that he approved every thing that had been done in the laft conference between the counfellors and me ; that he would not fuffer the States to be over- whelmed ) and that the next day, the manner in which fuccours were to be granted them fliould be fettled. For this purpofe, he gave or- 2 ders 214 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XV. 1603. ders that his counfellors fliould, the next day in the afternoon, repair '—■'v-— ^ to London, there to conclude the affair with me. I thought thefe words fufficicntly authorifed me immediately to put into the hands of his Britannic majefty the form of a treaty, which I had drawn up and brought with me ; and this I accordingly did in the prefence of his niinifters. Having found means, in the courfe of the converfation, to drop fome few complaints of the piracies of the Englifli upon the French, the king faid, that this happened contrary to his intentions ; and he was even angry with the Englifh admiral, who appeared him- felf inclined to vindicate what had been done. At laft, be quitted the company to go to bed, where he ufually pafled part of the afternoon, fometimes even the whole of it. The journey which James was to have made having been prevented or deferred, I hoped I fhould, without difficulty, be able to find an opportunity of telling him what 1 had yet to fay ; and this gave me fome confolation for having done fo little this day. For notwithfland- ing what has here been faid of refolutions and fuccours in fupport of the States, I was not ignorant that alîairs were not as yet brought to the iffue which I defired ; for the king of England ftill referred me, for the conclufion of them, to the fame perlbns as before; and thefe, I very well knew, were not difpofed in my favour : nor did Barnevelt and the deputies from hence draw a more happy prefage, for they were very far from confidering themfelves as having ilicceeded in their offenfive and defenfive alliance with France and England, with which they had fometimes flattered themfelves. They refolved to make a final effort with me, that they might at leafl fecure France in their interefts. For this purpofe Barnevelt repaired to me before any of the other?, and after having made me acquainted with his apprehenfions in regard tu the prefent fituation of affairs, and the effedts of the arrival of the SpaniHi ambaffidor, which was always faid to be very near, he told me, that the Hollanders, being reduced to the loweft ebb of defpair, would abandon every thing, and feek an afylum out of their provinces. Barnevelt obfervcd, from my reply, that I was not the dupe of his c:;aggerations : I told him, that it was the Englilh council, and not I, which was to be perfuaded ; becaufe I was fufficiently convinced the States were really in a perplexed fituation. He endeavoured to prove to me, that if nothing could be obtaiiied of the king of England, good policy required that France fliould openly and alone efpoufe the caufe of Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. of the United Provinces, before their flrength and fpirits were entirely fpent and exhauftcd. I replied, that he required of me what was not in my power, becaufe I was come to London only, if it were poilible, to enter into an afiociation Vv'ith the Englifli, and in cale they refufed this, to know their reafons. After this, we had fume difcourfe about the towns dcftined for cautionaries. Barnevelt informed me, that Cecil, in a conference with Caron, one of theFlemifh deputies, had given him to underftand, that England, being refolved to maintain peace with Spain, would require Holland to make the ceffion of thofc places as a fccurity ; and in con- fequence of this ceffion, Cecil had oijly promifed him, thatthefe towns fliould be preferved in a dnû: neutrality, till the payment of the States debt. Barnevelt, who perceived that this affair appeared to me as in- terefting as it really was, acquainted me, though with all the referve which ought to be obferved by a man entrufted upon oath with the fecrets of his council, that the States had put things in fuch a train, that the council of London would have many ditîîculties to remove before it could fee itfelf in poffeffion of thofe places. But from- hence he alfo inferred, in order to gain his point with me, that as the confequence of this would probably be a war between England and the United Provinces, it was therefore for this reafon that he prefTed me immediately to join the forces of France with theirs, without which there would be no equality betv/een the parties. I confefTed to Barne- velt, that I could not blame the refolution of his maftersj but that the king of France, upon this occafion, could only lament their fitua- tion, not being in a condition to fupport them witJi open force againll Spain and England together. In the afternoon, all the FlemiHi deputies came in a body to affift in the conference ; and foon after them the Englifli counfellors, ap- pointed by his Britannic majefty, alfo arrived. Cecil being, as ufual, the fpeaker for all of them, began by faying directly, that the king of England was really in the intereft of the States. And turning to me, he afked me, whether this was not what I defired, and the real defign' of my commiffion ? I concealed what I did but too plainly perceive, from this blunt hafty procedure of the fecretary ; and inftead of giving him a direft anfwer, I addreffed myfelf to the deputies, and told them, that two great kings dcfigning to intereft themfelves in their affairs, they ought therefore juftly to reprefent the ilate of them; that from a full and perfect knowledge of their neceflity, the fuccours which th-ey wanted 2i6 M E M O I R S- O F SULLY. Book XV. 1603. wanted might be afcertained. Barnevelt, as ufual, drew a pi6lure of *— -"V — --' the miferies to which Spain had reduced them ; and thefe he defcribed in as Hvely and affcéling a manner as he poffibly could. But to come more immediately to the bufinefs, he faid, it was neceflary that the Spa- niards flîouîd be driven entirely out of Flanders; and that the States were in hopes of being able to fucceed in this in the fpace of a year, by means which he deduced in the following manner: That the whole force of the United-Provinces amounted to about twelve or fifteen thoufand infantry, not including the garrifons, and three thoufand cavalry, befides fifty fliips adtually in a condition to ferve, with artil- lery and ammunition in proportion ; that therefore nothing more was neceffary, than for the two kings to double thefe forces, by furnifhing an equal number of each as above mentioned. I WAS apprehenfive thefe propofitions would not be received very favourably ; and that I might not appear to authorife the deputies in demands which were really too great, I told Barnevelt, that he fliould have been more careful only to afk what could be granted. I then afked Cecil, in a manner fomewhat peremptory, to acquaint me what were the real intentions of his mafter, in regard to what was here pro- pofed to him. Cecil replied, that his Britannic majefty would have been glad to have maintained himfelf in a folid and fincere peace with all his neighbours ; that, as far as could be judged from the Hate of France, and from mere appearances, his moft chriftian majefty was probably of the fame fentiments. Neverthelefs, that from the remonftranccs which I had made to the king of England, this prince was determined to purfue the medium between his own defires and thofe of the States, that is, he would confent privately to affift the United-Provinces : that perhaps a time might come when more could be done for them, but that at prefent they mufl expedl nothing farther. The deputies not doubting but this refolution was really fixed, with- drew to confer among themfelves upon what had been faid by Cecil, who in the mean time continuing his difcourfe, faid, that indeed the king of England was very willing to affift the States, but that he had no defire to ruin himfelf for them. He avoided entering upon any particulars, in regard to the nature of thefe pretended fuccours, that he might not be afterwards anfwerable for any promifes or pofitive engage- ments ; but he faid, that in cafe Spain Oiould carry her relentment fo far as perfonally to attack the two kings, protedtors of the liberty of Flanders, in order to make all things equal on both fides, France muft contribute Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY; contribute eight thoufand infantry and two thoufand cavalry, and Eng- land one half of that number ; and the fame rule might be obferved in regard to ihe fquadrons which it would be neceflary to have upon the coaft of Spain, and in-the Indies : and he farther declared, that Eiig~. land had no fund to defray the expences of thefe forces, except the money owing from France, which was to be paid in two years ; but that the king of England would willingly facrifice it for the fervice of the common caufe. I WAS extremely difTatisfied at the Englifli fecretary's thus endeavour- ing to avoid coming to any pofitive agreement, by purpofely evading the (late of the queftion, and by raifnig only anticipated difficulties ; but I concealed my indignation as well as I could, and replied, that this was not a fubjcâ to be talked of in fo vague a manner ; that it was above all things necelTary, without any equivocation, abfolutely to determine what fhould be done in favour of the United-Provinces, and for the relief of Ollend ; that, after this, whether the council of his BritiQv majefty might be inclined to a war, or whether it might be forced into one by Spain, there would be many other confiderable matters to difcufs, in regard to the following fuppofitions ; firft, that this crown fliould attack only one of the two kings, or fhould attack them both ; fecondly, that the two kings fhould declare thoinfelves the ag- grefîôrs ; and laftly, that they fliould endeavour to make conquefts upon the Spaniards in the Low-Countries. T o make Cecil yet more fenfible that he fcarce entered at all into the affair, I reprefented to him, that, in cafe of the rupture with Spain, which he mentioned, to render the fuperiority in favour of the two, kings, that of France, befides twenty thoufand men which he would have in Flanders, would alio be indifpenfably obliged to have the fime number upon the frontiers of Guienne, Languedoc, Provence, Dau- phiny, and Brefîe, not to mention the fquadrons of gallies which he mufl alfo have to fecure the mediterranean ; that it was necelTary even now to determine thefe matters, and to prevent being expofed to a thoufand perplexing ditcuffions, fufhcient to deilroy the harmony be- tween the allied princes. Then replying more particularly to what Cecil had faid, I told Iiim, I could not conceive for what reafons he was for cafling upon the king of France the whole or gi-eateft part of tfje e.vpenceof a war, in which Henry Vv'ould be only equally concerned with the king of England j; Vol. II. ' F f ' that i8 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XV. 16031- that îf by fuch means the Britifli council fought to diftrefs Henry, it y-r-^^ 'bbtilVunclerltood its interefts, nor confidered that, though an equality ofexpences {hould be ftipulated, France would certainly have other expences to defray, perhaps even greater than thefe ; fuch were thofe for the defence of her coalls and frontiers, which, by diverting part of the enemy's forces, would not be lefs ferviceable to England than to France. 'I added, that, for all thefe reafons, I thought the Englifti council took a verv improper time to demand the payment of the fum lent to France ; that Henry was io far from expediiig any fuch matter, that he had given me no orders about Itj that I only knew, from the place which I filled in the council of finances, that his intention was to difcharge it by annual payments, as had been agreed with the late queen ; and that within the current year he propofed to pay two hun- dred thoufand livres ; but again, that the Britilh council took a very wrong method to obtain the payment of this debt, by fliewing, from their unreafonable difficulties and fufpicions, that their fole view was more and more to exhauft France ; which conduâ; was very malignant, and abfolutely oppofite to that of Henry, who, in all his adions, ma- nifefted nothing but honefty and good faith, and laboured only for the public good. What I faid made not the impreffion upon my hearers which I defired ; on the contrary, the Englifh took fire, and protefted, if any thing farther was infifted on, they would abandon the States entirely. Cecil more efpecially, in this conference, completed his making him- felf known to me for what he really was ; he made ufe only ot double expreffions, vague propofals, and falfe meanings, being perfectly fenfi- ble that reafon was not on his fide. The moderation and fincerity which I oppofed to his ill defigning fubtilties, forced him into contra- didlions, which, when by a word I made him feel the ridiculoufnefs of what he faid, put him into confufion. Sometimes thinking to inti- midate me, he magnified the forces of England j fometimes he en- deavoured to fhew the advantages to England of the pretended offers of Spain ; he watched opportunities to wreft any words which might drop from me or the deputies to his advantage, and even malicioully fuppofcd that we had faid things which we never thought of j he pro- ceeded io far, as to endeavour to raife difcord between me and the de- puties, by cafling upon me the refufal of openly afiifling the States : hs, and his collègues by his direction, demanded that France flaould inunediately pay to England, in part of what flae owed, forty or fifty thoufand pounds ftcrling ; and he told the deputies, that thefe fums ihould Book XV. MEMOIRS O F ^ S;q,^rLiy. fliould be employed for the relief of their mQ[fl:i'preflirtg'i>ec«n],tifs,„^nd, upon my refufal, they all faid it could be imputed only to tr^c; becaufe, faid they, all the money in France was in my difpolal. If all the merit of thofe we ufually call able politicians confift in thus endeavouring to enfnare the open and undefigning, and to make thefc bear the blame of their wickednefs, while they at the fime time, enjoy all the benefits of it, a politician is then truly a very defpicable thing. What piqued me the moft was to fee that thefe miniflers, who wer; here only to fet forth the intentions of the king, impudently fubftituted their own inftcad of them ; for I knew well, and was firmly perfuaded, from the manner in which this prince had talked to them in my pre- fence, that he had given them quite contrary commands. The deputies, who had returned, and were prefent during this, again retired, greatly dilTatisfied no doubt, and in greater perplexity than before ; whereupon Cecil once more changed his battery ; he faid, that fince the kingof France could not enter into a war but in conjunc- tion with England, the latter could not do it, unlefs her expences therein were defrayed by France and the States ; which neither of them being really able to do, the beft condudt therefore which the two kings could purfue, would be to continue to live in friendship, but without intermeddling with any foreign difputes whatfoever. This, probably, was what the fecretary really purpofed; and, notwithftanding the length and frequency of his difcourfes, was all he had ever uttered with fincerity. A s I did not think proper to make any reply to this, the Englifli, believing perhaps that they had gained their point with me, faid, they would relate to the king every thing which had paffed in the con- ference, and would demand an audience from him for me, wherein all things fhould be expeditiouily fettled on this footing, and this au- dience would probably be my lait, and that wherein I fhould take my leave, becaufe, after this, nothing more would remain to be done. If I kept filence upon this occafion, moll certainly it was not becaufe I acquiefced in what they faid ; on the contrary, the manner in which they had again expofed themfelves, and as it were confefTed them- felves to be liars and impoflors, had infpired nie with the utmofi; con- tempt for them ; but I judged, that expoftulation or palBon would be fo far from making them quit arefolution which they had concerted to- gether, that perhaps it might rather tend to promote a rupture, where- as, as matters were at prefent fituated, friendlhip at leaft fubfifted be- F f 2 tween MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XV- «twee n the two kings, and as this friend{hip might be more ftrongiy eemented by a double marriage (which was publicly talked of) fome more favourable opportunity might probably hereafter occur. How- ever, I did not abfolutely defpair of the fuccefs of my commillion, becaufe I thought I perceived the king had no concern in the defigns which his couniellors thus endeavoured to put in execution. To come at a' certainty in refpeâ: to this, was what I propofed in 'my third audience, for I do notconfider as fuch my reception on Sun- •day. Cecil had demanded it for me from the king, and this prince fent Erfkine to tell mc, that it (hould be on the day after the con- ference here related, and that I Aould bring but few of my retinue with me, becaufe he wanted to difcourfe with me in particular j and this was further confirmedto me by a Scotch lord, who was extremely intimate with my friend the earl of Mar. The lords Hume and Sea- ford about noon came to accompany me from London, and, upon m.y landing at Greenwich,. I was received by the eail of Derby, who condudted me into the 'king's apartment. I had with me only four •gentlemen and two fecretaries. The king of England took me by the hand, and, commanding that no one (hould follow him, he led me through his- cabinet into his gallery, tliedoor of which he alfo fecured. He embraced me. twice, with fex-prefhons that fliewed how greatly he was fatisfied with the king of France and me, and how feniible he was of his moll Chriftian majefty's having fent him the man who, of all his kingdom, was -mofl: neceffary to him; he infifted, that making ufe of the prefent opportunity, I fhould fpeak to:him without any referve. This mo- "ment therefore feemed favourable to me, to complain to him of his 'minifters-; and, after the ufual complimentary thanks, I accordingly "told him, that it was much more advantageous to me in all rcfpecfls to •confer with him than his counfellors, who, after having very ill exccu- •ted- his orders inthe laft conference, had alfo, without doubt, given -him-a fdlfe account of what had paffed between them and me and die Flemifh deputies; and I promifed, if he would give mc leave, to give 'him a fmcere and jufl: relation- of every thing. T«E king approving my propofal, J acquainted him with all that "had paffed between us the preceding evening ; I inlifled more cfpcciaHy upon the demand to- difcharge the debt owing to England, and on the afpcrfion upon his moft Chriftian majelly and me, with which it had I been Book XV. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 2 been accompanied ; I added, that if after having filled my letters to Hen- 1 603. ry only with elogies on the generolity, the prudence, and the perfed: v-— y-— friendHiip of the prince to whom I had the honour of fpcaking, and this becaufe he himfelf had authorifed me do it, both by his words and actions, I fliould be obliged, on afudden, to write to him in a quite contrary ftyie, without having any reafon to alledge for it, other than difficulties entirely frivolous, the king my mafter could not but think I had adled the part of a flattering, and perhaps an unfaithful minifler, to the interdis with which he had entrufted me ; and it would belides, be confidered as theefFedof a determined friendfliip with Spain, from whence, perhaps, a rupture might enfue between the two kings, whofe intereft as well as inclination required their continuing in a .confiant flate of union. I thought I ought not to hefitate upon inform- ing the king of England, that there were feveral of thofe whom he ad- mitted into his council who were neither well difpofed in themfelves, nor well atî'eâed to his perfbn ; that, without naming them to him, he ought to confider as fuch all thofe who appeared fb little folicitous for his glory, and the honour of his crown, as to advife him, under the name of an ally, to render himfelf the Have of Spain ; that he would do well to be, in fome degree, dithdent of fuch perfons whofe charac- ters he was not perfectly well acquainted with, and to be guided rather by his own wifdom, than the reprefentations of his miniflers. It was nq difhcult matter to infpire the king of England with a ditH- dence of his miniflers, for he was naturally but too much inclined to it. The change which I perceived in his countenance when he heard my lafl words, his gefture and fome exprefhons that efcaped him, con- vinced me my obfervation was jufl ; I even thought I plainly perceived, that, either from an effeél of this difhdence, or from the prailes I laviflied on him, this prince was at lafl in thé mofl favourable difpofi- tion I could vvifh him ; I therefore embraced this opportunity to intro- duce in our converlation fome general hints of a projed:, by which, with the afTilliance of his Britannic majefly, the tranquillity of all Eu- rope might be fecured. Having laid this, I remained filent, as though I had been apprehenfive of fatiguing him by too long a difcourfe : but I knew the curiofity of James would be excited by the little 1 had fliid ; accordingly he replied, that my difcourfe had not appeared tedious to him, but that it would be proper to know what o'clock it was. He went out, and afked fome of his courtiers whom he' found at the end of the gallery, and they telling hini that it was not three o'clock, Î' Well, Sir, faid the king to me, vreturiiing, I will. break off thie party " for MEMOIR 'S OF SULLY. Book XV. *' for the chace which I had made for this day, that I may hear you " to the end, and this employment will, I am perfuaded, be of more " iervice to me than the other." The reafon that induced me to hazard a ftep of fuch confequence, as that of communicating to king James the great defigns upon Spain and all Europe, which had been concerted between Henry and Eli- zabeth, was, that being perfuaded this prince was already of himfelf inclined to the alliance with France, he only wanted to be determined in this refolution from fome great and noble motive ; and becaufe, on the other fide, his minifters conllantly brought him back to their man- ner of thinking, apparently becaufe he could not fupport himfelf againft them, from a perfuafion that they oppofed his fentiments only through ignorance of them. However, this did not prevent my taking the following precaution, which I judged to be very necefTary. I THEREFORE refumcd the difcourfe, and told him, that, without doubt, he had fometimes thought, and with good reafon, that a man in pofTeffion of the places and honours with which I was known to be inverted, never quitted his pod but for a very urgent occafion ; that this was my cafe ; that though my commiffion was only to require an union between France and England, yet neverthelefs, from the opi- nion I had conceived, which fame had not been filent in reporting, of his genius and abilities, I had refolved, before I quitted the kingdom, to difcourfe with his Britannic majefty on fomething infinitely more confiderable ; but that what I had to acquaint him with was of fuch a nature, that I could not reveal it to him without expofing myfelf to ruin, unlefs he would engage by the moft folemn oath to keep it a fecret. James, who liftened to me with a profound attention, hefitated however at taking the oath which I required ; and, to render it un- necefTary, he endeavoured himfelf to difcover what it was of fo intereft- ing a nature which I had to communicate to him. But finding my anfwers to the different queftions which he fuccelTively al'ked me gave him not the leafl: light into the affair, he fatisfied me at laft by the moft facred and folemn of all oaths, I mean that of the holy facrament. Though I had now nothing to fear from his indifcretion, yet, how- ever, I carefully weighed all my words j and, beginning with an arti- cle, in which 1 knew the king of England was moft interefted, I mean religion, I told him, that however 1 might appear to him engaged in worldly honours and affairs, and how indifferent foever he might perhaps Book XV. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 223 perhaps have fuppofcd me to be in matters of religion, yet it was no 1603. lefs certain that I was attached to mine, even Co much as to prefer it < —■—/— -J to my family, fortune, country, and even king j that I had negledted nothing which might incline the king my mafter to eftablifli it in France upon folid foundations, being under great apprehenfions left it might one day be overwhelmed by fo powerful a fadion, as that of an union of the Pope, the Emperor, Spain, the arch-dukes, the catholic princes of Germany, and lb many other ftates and communities intercfl- ed in its fuppreflion ; that my fuccefs hitherto had been tolerable ; but that perhaps I was indebted for it only to conjundiures purely political, which had engaged Henry in a party oppofite to the houfe of Auftria. That becaufe thefe circumftances might change, or becaufe I, who was the only perfon that would ufe any endeavours to make Henry continue firm in this political plan, might lofe my place and his favour, I did not fee how the king of France could refill: a party, which both his religion, and the example of others, would call upon him to em- brace. That this confideration had long infpired me with the thoughts of finding a perfon for the execution of this defign, who by his rank and power would be more proper than me to accompliih it, and fix Henry in his fentiments. That having found all that I had fought for in the prince to whom I had the honour of fpeaking, my choice had not been difficult to fix. In a word, that it depended only upon him- felf to immortalize his memory, and become the arbitrator of the fate of Europe, by a defign to which he would always appear to have put the finilhing hand, though he might not be more concerned in the ex- ecution than his moft Chriftian majefty. There remained only to explain to him the nature of this defign, of which at firfl: I gave nothing farther than a general idea, under the notion of a projedl for an afi"ociation ,of all the princes and fiâtes in Europe, whofe intereft it was to diminifli the power of the houi'e of Aufl:ria, the foundation of which fliould be an ofienfive and dcfenfive alliance between France, England, and Holland, cemented by the clofeft union of the two royal houfes of Bourbon and Stuart. I re- prefented this afi"ociation in a light which fiicwed it might be very eafily formed. There was not the leaft difficulty in regard to Denmark, Sweden, in a word, all the proteftant princes and fiâtes ; and it might be rendered fufficiently advantageous to engage in it the catholic princes alfo : for example, the turbulent and ambitious difpofition of the duke of Savoy might be foothed with hopes of obtaining the title of king ; and the princes of Gerrhany, with promifes to dillribute among them thole MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XV. thofe parts of it which the houfe of Auilria pofTefled, as Bohemia, Au- flria, Hungary, Moravia, Silefia, &c. and to re-eftablifh their antient privileges : even the Pope himfelf might be gained, by granting him the property of thofe countries of which he only pofTelled the feoda- lity. In regard to the king of France, though I endeavoured to per- fuade James tliat he had hitherto had no concern in this projedt, which I pretended was entirely of my own forming ; I, however, faid, that when I fhould have communicated it to him, I could fafely engage he would have no thoughts, either of retaining any conquefts which might be made, or of being recompenfed for them ; though, accord- ing to all appearances, the greateft part of the burthen would fall upoa him, as well in the expences necefîary for the carrying on the enter- prife, as his own perfonal fervices. I imagined it was mofl proper to give the affair this turn in regard to Henry, that he might not be un- der too abfolute an obligation. The king of England immediately ftarted fome objedions, upon the difficulty of uniting fo many different princes fo differently difpofed ; the fame nearly which Henry had made when we had laft difcourfed upon it at Montglat, upon his return from Metz : though from the flight Iketch which I had given him of the defign, he, however, ap- peared highly to approve it, and expreffed a defire of being more cir- cumftantially informed of it. In conformity with which defire, the following is the fubflance of what I faid to his Britannic majefty. Europe is divided into two fadions, which are not fo juftly diftin- guiflied by their different religions, becaufe the catholics and proteflants are confounded together in almoft all places, as they are by their poli- tical interefts ; the firft is compofed of the Pope, the Emperor, Spain, Spanifh Flanders, part of the princes and towns of Germany and Switzerland, Savoy, the catholic ftates of Italy, which are Florence, Ferrara, Mantua, Modena, Parma, Genoa, Lucca, &c. Herein like- wiie mull be comprifed, the catholics difperfed in other parts of Eu- rope, at the head of which may be placed the turbulent order of Je- fuits, vvhufe views, no doubt, are to fubjedl every thing to the Spanifli monarchy. The fécond includes the kings of France, England, Scot- land, Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden ; the republic of Venice, the United-Provinces, and the other part of the princes and towns of Ger- many and Switzerland : I do not take in Poland, Pruffia, Livonia, Mufcovy, and Tranfilvania, though thefe countries are fubjedl to the chriltian religion, becaul'e the wars in which they are almofl: continu- ally Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 225 ally engaged with the Turks and Tartars, render them in feme man- 1607. ner foreign in regaid to thofe of the weftern part of Europe. (- — / — -. Were the power to be eftimated in proportion to the pomp of titles, the extent of territories, and the number of inhabitants, it appears, on the ilighteft glance, not very favourable to the fécond of thcfe fadtions, and the fuperiority would apparently be determined in favour of the fitft : neverthelefs, nothing is more erroneous than fuch an opinion, which may thus be proved : Spain, which muft here be named firft oT her fadion (though from rank and dignity (he is only the third) be- caufe flie is in reality the foul of it; Spain, I fay, including her do- minions in the Eaft and Weft Indies, does indeed polfefs an extent of territory as large as Turky and Perfia together. But if it be true (and that it is fo cannot be doubted) that the new world, in recompence of its gold and other riches, deprives Spain both of her fbips and inhabi- tants, this immenfe extent of territory, inftead of being ferviccable, is burdenfome. And if we confider the other powers of this party, we fhall every where find reafon to diminifh our ordinary ideas. The Pope feems firmly attached to Spain ; and, furrounded as he is on all fides by this formidable power, and having no reafon to exped: fuccours from any of the other catholic princes, it is, no doubt, his intereft to be fo. But as he does, in fadl, confider his fituation as but little different from real fervitude ; and as he is not ignorant that Spain and the Jefuits only make a vain appearance of fupporting his authority ; it may, doubt- lefs, be concluded, he only wants an opportunity to free himfelf from the Spanifh yoke, and that he would readily embrace a party which fhould offer to render him their fervice, without the running any great rifle ; and Spain has in reality this opinion of him. I N regard to the emperor, he has nothing in common with Spain except his name, which feems only to ferve to increafe the jealoufies and quarrels which fo frequendy arife between thefe two branches of Auftrian power : befides, what is his power ? it confifts merely in his title. Hungary, Bohemia, Auftria, and other neighbouring countries, are little better than empty names. Expofed as he is, on one fide, to mcurfions of the formidable armies of the Grand Signior; liable, on the other fide, to fee the territories under his dominion tear themfelves in pieces, by the multiplicity and diverfity of the religions which they contain ; under continual aporehenfions alfo, left the électoral princes Vol. II. ' G g fiioukl 226 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XV. 1603, fliould rife and make an attempt to regain their ancient privileges. In- *- — , ' deed the prefent Emperor, all things juftly confidered, might perhaps be claffed among the moft inconfiderable of the European powers : be- fides, this Auftrian branch appears to me fo deftitute of good fub- iedls, that if it hath not foon a prince, either brave or wife enough to unite the different members of which Germany is compofed, it will have every thing to fear from the princes of its circles, whofe only aim it is, to get their liberty, in religion and eledion, reflored to them. I do not except even the eledor of Saxony, though he appears the mod fincerely altached to the Emperor, as to him of whom he holds his principality, becaufe it is evident his religion muft, fooner or later, fet him at variance with his benefactor. But fuppofing the Emperor to receive all the returns of gratitude which he can expeâ; from this eledlor, this will amount to nothing, or but very little, fo long as he {hall be under apprehenfions from the branch of John-Fredefic, whom he has deprived of this eledorate. Thus, from a thorough examination of all particulars, it appears, that almoft all the powers on which Spain feems to depend for aid, are either but little attached to her, or capable of doing her but little fervice. No one is ignorant, that the general view of the princes and cities both of Germany and Switzerland is to deliver themfelves from the dominion of the Emperor, and even to aggrandife themfelves at his expence. Nor has he any greater dependence on the ecclefiaftical princes, than on the others. A foreign Emperor is what they moft wifh, provided he is not a proteflant. Nothing could give the arch-dukes a greater pleafure, as much Spaniards as they are, than a regulation, by which they fliould, in Flanders, become fovereigns independent of Sjiain, wtary at length of being only her fervants. It is the fear of France alone that binds the duke of Savoy to the Spaniards ; for he naturally hates them, and has never forgiven the king Spain, for doing fo much lefs for the daughter which he beftowed upon him, than for her younger fifter. As to Italy, it need only be obkrved, that it will be obliged to acquiefce in the will of the ftronger party. It is therefore certain, that the fécond of the fadlions here defcribed has nothing to fear, provided it undcrftands its own interefls well enough to continue in a confiant Hate of union. Now it is alfo cer- tain, that in this fchcme thele fo natural motives to difunion do not occur; and that all of them, even that caufed by the difference of re- ligion, which in fome fort is the only one, ought to give place to the I hatred Book XV. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, hatred againfl: Spain, which is the great and common motive by which thefe powers are animated. Where is the prince, in the lead jealous of his glory, who would refufe to enter into an aflbciation ftrengthen- ed by four fuch powerful kings as thofe of France, England, Sweden, and Denmark, clofely united ? Is was a faying of Elizabeth's, that nothing could refift thefc four powers, in llrid alliance with each other. These truths being fuppofed, it only remains to examine, by what methods the houfe of Auftria may be reduced to the monarchy of Spain, and to pofTefs that dominion only. Thefe methods confift either in ar- tifice or force, and I have two means for each of thefe. The firfl: of the fecret means is, to divert the houfe of Auftria of the Indies ; Spain having no more right to prohibit anintercourfewith thefe countries to the reft of the Europeans, than flie has to deftroy their natural in- habitants ; and all the nations of Europe having alfo a liberty to make eftablifhments in the new difcovered countries as foon as they have pafTed the line, this enterprize would therefore be eafily executed, only by equipping three fleets, each containing eight thoufand men, all provided and vidualled for fix months ; England to furnifli the (hips, Flanders the artillery and ammunition, and France, as the moft pow- erful, the money and foldiers. There would be no occafion for any other agreement, than that the conquered countries fliould be equally divided. During this, the fécond of thefe means fhould be fecretly prepared, upon occafion of the fucceflîon to Cleves, and the death of the Emperor, which cannot be far diftant, in fuch manner, that under favour of the op- portunities which thefe two incidents might furnilh,reafons might be found to divert the houfe of Auftria of the empire, and her other dependencies in Germany, and therein to rertore the antient free manner of eledtion. The firrt of the two open and declared means is, in conjundiort to take up arm?, and drive the Spaniards entirely out of Flanders, in order to ereifl this ftate into a free and independent repub- lic, bearing only the title of a member of the empire; and this, when the forces of the allies are confidered, will not be found dithcult. The United Provinces, comprehending in them Liege, Juliers, and Cleves, form a triangle ; the firft fide of which, from Calais to Embden, is entirely towards the fea : the fécond is bounded by France, viz. by Picardy, as far as the Somme ; and by the country of Mefiin, as far as Mezieres : the third extends from Metz, by Triers, Cologn, and G g 2 Mentz, MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XV. Mentz, as far as Duffeldorp. It is only neceffary to fecure thefe three fides in fuch manner that they may be inacceffible to Spain, wliich may be done without difficulty, England taking upon her the firft, France the fécond, the eledors and the other interefted princes the third. All the towns which fhould happen to be upon this line, ex- cept perhaps Thiqnville, which might require to be forced, would, upon a menace to be put under contribution, immediately fubmit. The fécond of the two laft means, is for the league above mention- ed generally and in concert to declare war againft Spain and the whole houie of Auftria. What is moft effential to obferve in regard to this war, is, that France and England (hould renounce all pretences to any iliare of the conqueft, and relinquifh them to thofe powers who w.ere not of themfelves capable of giving umbrage to the others. Thus Franche-Comté, Alface, and Tirol, naturally fall to the Switzers. The duke of Savoy ought to have Lombardy, to be ereded, with his other dominions, into a kingdom ; the kingdom of Naples falls to the Pope, as being moft convenient to him ; Sicily to the Venetians, with what may be convenient for them in Iftria andFriuli. Thus it appears, the moft folid foundation of this confederacy would arife from all the parties be- ing gainers by it. The reft of Italy, fubjedt to its petty princes, might perhaps be fuftered to continue under its prefent form of government, provided that all thefe little ftates were together confidered as com- pofing only one body or republic, of which they fliould be fo many members. This is a pretty juft account of the manner in which I acquainted his Britannic majefty with the dclign to which I endeavoured to gain his approbation. I farther added whatever I thought might tend to obviate his doubts, and confirm him in favour of it. I confefTed that I was not myfelf able to elucidate the defign ; that I was not furprifed that his majefty had at firft perceived great difficulties in it ; that Henry would, no doubt, find many in it alio, but that they only proceeded from my own weaknefs, and the impoffibility of fliewing clearly what to be perfeftly explained required much time and long diicourfes; that I was convinced in my own mind, the defign was not only pof- fible, but that alfo the fuccefs of it was intallible ; that if any thing was found defediv<; in the fcheme as I had conceived it, it might eafily be reftified by the genius and abilities of four great kings, and fome of the beft generals in Europe, to whom the cxccuticni of it would be entrufted. I thi:n Book XV. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 229 I THEN returned to the alliance between the two kings of France 1603. and England, and I told his Britannic majefty, that this alliance being ^ — ^ -» the chief and necefTary foundation of the confederacy which I had pro- pofed to him, this muft therefore neceflarily begin it, without paying any regard to the difcourfes of prejudiced perfons, or being affeded by fuch frivolous coniiderations as thofe of the debts of France and Flan- ders to England. I affured him, that England had nothing to fear from France, for that Henry's great preparations of arms and ammunition, and his amaffing fuch vafl; funis, were only defigned hereafter to enable him of himfelf to accomplifh the greateft part of this important defign ; at leaft, that I could flatter myfelf with fuccefs in engaging him in it, from motives of glory and the public fervice, which were fo powerful upon the mind of this prince. I touched James in his moft fenfible part, his ambition to immortalize his memory, and his defire of being brought into comparifon with Henry, and of (liaring his praifes. My earneftnefs to fucceed gave fuch force and clearnefs to my ex"- preffions, that this prince, entering into my full meaning, embraced me with a kind of tranfport proceeding from his friendfhip for me, and a fenfe of the wrong meafures which hitherto endeavours had been ufed to make him purfue. " No, fir, faid he, do not fear that I fliall ever " fail in what we have together agreed upon." He protefted with the fame ardour, that he would not on any confideration have re- mained ignorant of what I had told him ; that he would never contra- didt the good opinion which the king of France and I had conceived of him ; that he really was what I thought him ; that his refledions upon what I had laid would yet farther confirm him in the fentiments with which 1 had infpired him ; that he would even now engage to fign the plan of alliance which I had prefented to him on Sunday, and wherein he had himlelf made fome inconfiderable alterations ; that I fliould alfo fign it in the name of the king of France, unlefs I rather chofe to carry it with me unfigned, to fliew it to his moft Chriftian majefly, in which cafe he gave me his royal word, that upon my bringing or fending it back at the end of a month or fix weeks, ap- proved and figned by Henry, he would immediately, and without the leaft difficulty, join to it his own fignature. He concluded, by obligingly alluring me, that for the future he would do nothing but in concert with the king of France, He made me proniit'e the fame fecrefy in regard to all perfons, except the king my malter, which I had had the boldnefs to require of him ; and this he extended fo far, as to for- bid 230 MEMOIRS OF SULLY, Book XV, 1603. bid me ever putting upon paper certain things, which upon this occafion ^— *'V~— ^ he revealed to me, and which I therefore fupprefs. Our conference had begun about one o'clock, and continued upwards of four hours. The king called in admiral Howard, the earls of Northum- berland, Southampton, Mar, lord Mountjoy, and Cecil, and declared to them, that having deliberately confidered my reafons, he was refolved to enter into a clofe alliance with France againft Spain. He reproached Cecil in very ftrong terms, for having, both in his words and allions, atfbed contrary to his commands ; which explanation the fecretary re- ceived very aukwardly. " Cecil, faid this prince to him, I command *' you, without any reply or objediion, in conformity to this my de- " fign, to prepare the necelfary writings, according to which, I ivil! " then give the dexter *, and all aflurances to the ambafladors of mef- " fieurs the States." This was the firft time he had diftinguiflied them by this title. Then turning to me, and taking me by the hand, he faid, " Well, Mr. ambalfador, are you now perfedly fatisfied with " me ?" I REPLIED by a profound reverence, and by making his majefty the fame proteflations of fidelity and attachment as if it had been to my own king, and I defired he would let me confirm it to him by kifling his hand. He embraced me, and demanded my friendfliip with an air of goodnefs and confidence which very much difpleafed lèverai of his counfellors that were prefent. Upon my departure, he gave orders to the carl of Northumberland to accompany me to the Thames, and to Sid- ney to cfcort me to London. * Th's expreffioii lignifies an oath, or promife of alliance, made by prcfenting tho right hand. M K M I R S MEMOIRS O F SULLY. BOOK XVI. ALL that now remained to be done, was to put the finifhing 1603. hand to the feveral particulars agreed on between the king of ^•""'V'^ England and me, and fignified by this prince to his minifters, and to form them into a treaty, or rather into a projedl of a treaty, be- tween the two kings : for indeed a piece, whofe final and principal effeét was to proceed from the acceptation of his moft Chriftian ma- jefty, into whofe hands it was firft to be tranfmitted, could be called by no other name. And, upon this occafion, I was perfeilly fenfible of the injury my negotiation received from the unhappy precaution which neceflity had obliged Henry and me to take in the council of France, not to propofe any thing to the king of England but as of myfelf. James, being more entirely perfuaded than I could have wifhed him, that I had adted only from the fuggeftions of my own defires, and for the fecurity of the proteftant religion againrt: all events which might happen, had never, from the fccrets which I had revealed to him, confidered me as the inftrument of the king my mafter ; and looked upon it as doing a great deal, to engage himfelf firft, upon very promifing appearances, indeed, that the king of France would concuV with 52 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XVI. 1603.. with him even with greater readinefs. But how great is the difference — -V---J between fuch a general engagement, liable to many various interpreta- thrTS-, lami a: treaty, wherein, by firtae of â full power from the king^ I might, with all the care and exadlnefs poffible, have inferted every particular in that clear and diftinâ: manner, from whence the bonds of all political treaties acquire their ftrength and duration. I fhould not fo confidently aflert, that, upon this occafion, inftead of the mere for- rrmla, I had reafon to expeâhis Britannic majefly's fignature of a com- plete treaty, which it would not be pollible for him to retraéf, had not the murmurs, of which the lett-ers of the count of Beaumont to the king are full, in regard to this deficiency of a figned blank, been an au- thentic teftimony, that I have here advanced nothing from fuggeftions of vanity or felf-love. But I fliould reproach myfelf with being guilty of injuftice, were I to appear fufpicious of the good faith of king James ; on the contrary, I afiirm no prince in Europe could fliew himfelf more jealous of it. But it happens, from I know not what fatality, that the thing in the world which one would think ought to be lead: expofed to the caprice of for- tune, I mean a political agreement or treaty, the pure eîfcd: of a mind free in its operations, and mafter of its feiitiments, is, however, the moft changeable and uncertain ; the contrading parties in no other inflance would incur the imputation of having forfeited their word, yet in this theyalmoil always fail in the execution, provided they can find the fmalleft colour or pretence for fo atrocious a perjury ; as if eluding a folemn pro- mife or engagement were not the fame as a diredl violation of it. I did not doubt, that, as foon as I was gone, the counfellors of his Britannic majelty would ufe their utmofi: efforts to render ineffeftual what they had not been able to prevent ; and I expedled that Cecil would be one of the moft active for this purpofe, for the viftory which I had gained over him, the reprimand which he had received from the king on my account, and his confufion from the converfation which I had had with him, when it came to be publicly known, were fo many wounds which altogether had abfolutely mortified him. Nevertheless, it will readily be admitted that I had reafon to be fatisfied with the fuccefs of my negotiation : my own fituation in the affair confidered *, its conclufion was as hanpy and advantageous as it * This embafiy of M. de Rofny is without taking notice of many modern mentioned with great elogiums, in almoft writers who have fpokc of it jn the fame all the hiftories and memoirs of that time, manner, though feme of thtni, as the au- 4 could Book XVI. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. could be ; for I had gained the glory of having Ricceeded in an enter- i6d prife that was thought to be extremely difficult, without running the '.^^ rifque of being accufed of exceeding the bounds prefcribed by my com- miffion. The king and his council had it in their option to retrench, augment, or alter whatever they thought proper, in an agreement, of which I had neither made them nor myfelf the guarantees ; and this was performing all that it was poffible for me to efFedt : as to its real utility, when confidered in refped of Henry's defign, to which I would readily have facrificed all other confiderations, if I had not com- pletely fucceeded, it was becaufe I could not perform more, without fhewing a difregard to the terms prefcribed, not only in my public, but even in my private inftrudlions. However, from what 1 had done theie arofeone real^nd veryfenfible advantage ; andthiswas,that,in a conjunc- ture, wherein there were fo many juft caufes to fear an intimate union between England and Spain, this union was abfolutely fruftrated, and his Britannic majefty engaged in another, from which he could nei- ther fo foon nor fo eafily return to the former. I THEREFORE immediately fet about drawing up the form of a treaty, which having finiflied, I prefented to the king of England and his counfellors, to be by them finally revifed and examined-: they read it feveral times, fucceffively retouched it, and made fome inconfiderable alterations ; at lafl it was abfolutely determined in the following manner. The king of England, after returning his moft Chriftian majefty many thanks for the very agreeable manner in which he had prevented him, and for the quality of the ambaflador he had fent him, renewed and confirmed the antient treaties of alliance between Elizabeth and Flen- ry, and alfo between Scotland and France, and exprefled his intention of applying them perfonally to himfelfby the prefent treaty, which, in a man- ner, comprehended them all, befides its other principal defign of their own perfonal defence againft Spain, and the fafety and prefervation of their dominions, fubjeds, and allies, in fuch manner and at fuch times as thors of Villeroi's memoirs of State, and of lume of Siri, Mem. recond. Befides the the hiftory of the duke of Bouillon, had detail of the marquis de Rofiiy's embafly no intereft in exalting the glory of that to London, which in every point agrees miiiifter. P. Matthieu's account of it is with what has been faid here, p. 226, & feq. conformable to that here given, even in the we find quite through this hiftorian many molt minute circumftances. Vol. II. p. 577, very curious remarks on the counvil and & ftq. See alfo the manufcripts in the perlbn of king James, as well as oji the king's library, vol. 9590, and the fiift vo- affairs of the Éngiifli court. Vol. li. H h - the 1603. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVL the two kings fhould judge proper. The United-Provinces were de- clared to enjoy the benefit hereof, and they were the only allies herein exprelsly named ; in regard to whom it was alfo ftipulated, that pro- per meafures fliould be taken, either perfedly to fccure their liberty, or at leaft, that in cafe they were conlidered as fubjedls to Spain or the empire, it fhould be on conditions which would procure them peifcd: peace and tranquility, and at the fame time free the two allied kin?s from all apprehenfions of a too powerful and abfolute dominioa of the houle of Aulhia in thefe provinces. However, befides that the two princes mutually engaged to declare themfelves openly, when either fliould require it of the other, in order to prevent the efîefts of the court of Madrid's artifices, it was alfo a'Jreed immediately to furnifh the States-general with fuccours fufficient to fecure them from oppreflion ; the number of men who were to com- pofe thefe fuccours was not determined ; it was only agreed, that they Ihould be fent from England alone, and that the expences of the whole armament fliould be defrayed by his moll Chriftian majefty, one half purely with the money of France, the other half in dedudion of the fnm due from France to England. It was likewife agreed, that thefe proceedings of the two crowns in favour of the Low Countries fhould be purfued with as much fecrefy as was poflible, to avoid a diredl in- fringement of the treaty of peace concluded with Spain. On a fuppofi- tion that this power, confidering this adion as an abfolute infraction, fiiould make reprifals upon the two protefti^ig kings, the following refolation was taken : if the king of England were attacked alone, the king of France fliould furnifli him with an army of fix thoufand French at his own expence, during the whole time of the war, and in four years, and by equal proportions, difcharge the remain- der of his debt. England Ihould ad precifely in the fame manner, in regard to France, in cafe the florm (hould fall upon her ; the choice of either fea or land fliould be in the option of ihe party attacked, nor fhould England in this cafe require any part of her debt. Finally, fliould Spain at once declare war againfl both the allied princes, in or- der to adt offenfively, and at the fame time promote the fecurity of Flanders, his mofl Chrillian majefly fliould have an army of twenty thoufand men on the frontiers of Guienne, Provence, Languedoc, Dauphiné, Burgundy, and BrelTe > he fhould likewife have the fame number of forces in Flanders ; and fliould farther divide the Spanifh forces, by directing his galleys to cruize in the Mediterranean. His Bri- tannic majefly on his fide, befides a land army of at leafl fix thoufand men. Book XVI. MEMOIR^SOFSULLY. 23 men, which he fliould keep in conftaiit rcadincfs, fliould fend a fleet 1603. into the Weft-Indies, and fhould order another to cruife upon the <— --v~— coafts of Spain. All payment of debts fliould be fufpended, and each fliould defray its own expences. The alliance, hitherto kept a profound fecret, fliould now be made public, by a treaty otfenfive and defenfive between the two kings ; neither of whom, without the other's confent, fliould either lay down his arms, diminifti the number of forces agreed on, nor begin any preliminaries or conference for an accommodation. Such was the fubftance of the projeded treaty which had given me fo much trouble and anxiety. James figned it, and I figned it after him ; after which, I thought of nothing but returning as foon as poffi- ble into France, where it was to be changed into a treaty with all the forms. I did not fail to advife Henry of it, from whom, however, I concealed or difguifed part of this important information, and likewife the detail of what had laft happened to me with the king of England, in prefence of his counfellors : my difpatches had been fo long, fo fre- quent, and yet fo imperfedl, and written in fo much hafte, that perhaps it was not adling amifs to fpare his majefty the trouble ; for he mud: have armed himfelf with great patience to read them. This, how^^ ever, was not the only caufe of my filence ; for the regularity which Henry obferved in writing to me, both to inform me of all material tranfaâions in the council of France, and to fend me new orders and new inftrudtions, conformable to the feveral changes that happened in the bufinefs of my negotiation, fufficiently perfuaded me nothing of this kind either fatigued or difgufted him ; but, befides that upon thefe occafions, it is a ftrokeof good policy, always to keep fomething in referve, to infure a better reception upon one's return, I was un- willing to expofe the whole fecret of my negotiation to the hazard of a difcovery. An accident which had but lately happened, contributed ftill more to increafe my circumfpe6tion. I have not mentioned this in its proper place, that I might not interrupt the relation of matters of greater confequence. Among the great number of letters which I fent from London, fome directed to Villeroi and the council, and others to the king only, one of thefe laft, dated the 20th of July, was never received by Henry, which he difcovered from the contents of my difpatch by the next poft, and gave me immediate notice of it : it was a letter of the greateft con- fequence. The courier to whom I entrufted it was one of my own domeftics, of whofe fidelity and honefty I was perfectly fatisfied : I H h 2 queftioned ;6 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XVI. i6o7. qneftioned him, and he aniwered, that, upon his arrival, the kin^ -— -V — J being gone to tiie chace, he had carried the letter to Villeroi, and had given it to one of his clerks ; that he did not know this clerk, and had forgot to aik his name, being at that moment interrupted by Louvet, who alfo came and fpoke to this clerk, and at the fame time de- livered him feveral other packets diredled for his mafter. This account I fent to his majefty, entreating him to make all poffible inquiries about it. After great trouble, and many informations, his majefty was able to give me no other fatisfaftion than that he had been told, and did be- lieve, the fault was in the poft-mafter of Ecouan. I HAD before had reafon to be fufpicious, and the affair of the clerk, whofe roguery I was alfo well acquainted with, having entirely opened my eyes, J no longer doubted, that there was a traytor employed in the king's office, and even that this could he no other than one of thofe under Villeroi. • I wrote to Henry, and told him, that notwithfland- ing his account of this affair, I was of opinion it could only have hap- pened at the time and place which I had defcribed to him in my for- mer letter : this clerk, whoever he was, being gained by the enemies of theftate, to difcover the contents of the letters which I wrote to his majefly from London, could not refifl his defire to open this, the di- reftion of which excited his curiofity, for I wrote upon the cover ; Packet to be given into the kings mm hands, without being opeited. He repented it no doubt, when he found he could make no ufe of it, its moft effential contents being exprefled in a cypher, the meaning of which he could no ways difcover; and this confideration confoled me for the lofs : but he had committed the fault, and apparently thought it better to throw the letter into the fire, than deliver it opened. I af- terwards difcovered the truth, which juflified thefe conjedures. Henry could have wiflied that I had pradifcd upon the queen of England and the prince her fon, as I had on king James, thereby to gain a perfedt knowledge of both their charadlers and inclinations ; but as, notvvithftanding the reports which iiad been current, this princefs remained ftill in Scodand, and would not arrive for Ibme time, his ma- jefly did not think it a fufhcient confideration for me to make a longer flay at London, whilfl feveral other affairs almofl as important required my prcfence at Paris ; and he was the firfl to prefs me to return as foon as pothble. This order was perfedly agreeable to me : envy and malice triumphs mofl over the abfent ; my friends lofl yet more than me from my Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. my not being among them. I entrufted Vaucclas * my brother-in-law with the care of carrying the queen of England the letters from their ma- jefties which I had brought for her ; and I inftrufted him in what he fhould do and fay, to obtain what the king defired to know concerning this princefs. Whilst I was very bufily employed in preparations for my de- parture, the wound which I had received in my mouth at the fiege of Chartres broke out afrefli, and caufed a fever, which retarded my departure for fome days, and even prevented my writing as ufual to the king. But as foon as I was fomevvhat recovered, I demanded my audience of leave of the king of England, who had the goodnefs to fpare me the trouble of going to Greenwich upon this occafion, by fending to acquaint me, that he would come to London on purpofe to receive me, and that he fliould be at Weftminfter ready to give me audience in the morning as early as I pleafed, becaufe he propofed to go a hunting the fame day, " to diffipate the uneafinefs, added he, very " obligingly, which he fhould feel for my departure." I ATTENDED his majefty fo early in the morning, that he was not dreffed, and waited near an hour, which dme I employed in viewing the magnificent tombs and other curious antiquities for which the ca- thedral of St. Peter's Weftminfter is celebrated. I was received by his Britannic majefty with all poffible marks of efteem and affedtion ; and he replied to the compliment which I made him on the regret I felt from my departure, that his own, of which he had informed me, was alfo moft true, and the more fo as he could not hope for my return, becaufe my many and various avocations would detain me in France j but he protefted, and confirmed his proteftations in the moft folemn manner, that, by whatever perfon his moft Chriftian majefty fhould fend back the treaty, of which I carried the form, he would fign it without any farther difcuffion. He fpoke of this his new alliance with Henry in a very afteéling manner, faid he confidered this prince as his fole model as well as his friend ; and protefted, that he fhould look upon all thofe who were enemies to him, as enemies to himfelf. To ftiew me that he had not forgot any of his promifes, he made a kind of re- * Andrew de Cochefilet, Baron deVau- The houfe of Cochefilet is mentioned irj celas, count de Vauvineux, &c. He was Du Chelne, as one of the moft antient in afterwards counfellor of ftate and ambafla- Perche, originally of Scotland, and allied dor in Spain and Savoy ; he was the bro- to the kings of Scolknd of the houfe of ther of the duke of SuUy's fécond wife. Baliol in Normandy. capitulation ,38 M E xM O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XVI. 1603. capitulation of all of them. He promifed not to permit any interceffion '—-%-'—' or accefs to him, from any of the fubjefts of the king of France ; and required the fame deference from the king of France, particularly with regard to any jefuits who might be found in difguife, either within his dominions, or on board any of his fliips ; he praifed Henry extremely for having baniflied this order out of the kingdom, and laid, that he advifed him from his heart, never to be guilty of fuch an error as to recall them ; he infifted en this article the moft : for indeed he hated the jefuits no lefs than he did Spain ; and this averfion was increafed by his confidering them as his perfonal enemies; nor did lie appear perfe6tly fatisfied till 1 had engaged, as abfolutely as I covild, to fend thefe affurances, which he required of his moft Chriftian majefty, in writing. He gave me two letters for the king and queen of France, purely complimentary, in anfwer to thofe which he had re- ceived from them, wherein the article of the French ambaffador was notfiightly touched *. Being furniflied with thefe letters and the form of the treaty, I re- folved to ftay no long^er than the next day. Having taken my leave of all thofe gentlemen who were with me for this purpofe, I departed from London, taking the fame road as at my arrival. Sidney and the Englifh vice-admiral efcorted me to the fea-fide, and took care to pro- vide me and all my retinue with every thing we wanted, both for our journey by land and paffage by fea. But I fliould before have mentioned the prefents which I made in England, in the name of his moft Chriftian majefty. That to king . James was fix fine horfes richly caparifoned, to which Henry added alfo another gift, which ought to be efteemed ftill more confiderable ; this was a gentleman called Saint- Anthony, in all refpeâs the beft and moft complete horfeman of the age ; that to the queen of Eng- land, was a large and moft beautiful Venetian glafs, the golden frame of which was covered with diamonds ; and that to the prince of Wales, was a golden lance and helmet, enriched likewife with diamonds, a fencing mafter, andvaulter: the duke of Lennox, the carl of North- umberland, in a word all thofe whom I have occafionally mentioned, befides fome others, were prefented, fome with boxes, and others with crotchets, buttons, egrets, rings, and chains of gold and diamonds ; feveral ladies alfo received rings and pearl necklaces. The value of all * Matthieu the hiftorian fays, the king prefent of a chain fct with diamonds of of England made the marquis of Rodiy a great value. thefe Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. thefe prefeiits, including twelve hundred crowns which I left with Beaumont to be diftributed in certain places, amounted to fixty thou- land crowns. Henry's views in making fo many rich prefents, a con- fiderable part of which were even continued as penfions to {ome En- glifh lords, were to retain them, and attach them more ftrongly to his intererts. I made tliem partly from my own knowledge, and partly from the recommendations of Beaumont, my chief care being to diftri- bute them fo as to avoid giving any caufe of jealoufy between thefe Eng- lifh lords, and to prevent king James himfelf from conceiving any jea- loufy of my intention. The precaution which I ufed for this purpofe was to afk his permifTion, by fome fm.ll gratifications to acknowledge the fervices I had received in his court. At Dover I received a letter from Henry, wherein he acquainted me, that he had arrived at Villers-Coterets the gth of July, at which place he impatiently waited for me : he pafTed fome days here, during which the queen made a journey to Lielle. I did not take any reft at Dover, and ordered all things to be in readinefs to embark the next day. The weather was fo bad in the night, that the Englifh vice- admiral very ferioufly advifed me to alter my refolution. The leaft delay appeared no lefs infupportable to all my retinue than to myfelf, efpecially to thofe city fparks who find themfelves out of their element, when they are off the pavement of Paris : they all preffed me with fuch eagernefs immediately to quit Dover, and Flenry's letter flattered me with fo favourable a reception, that I confcnted to fail as foon as we could. Repentance foon followed our precipitation ; we met with fo violent a tempeft, that we were in the utmoft danger ; we were the whole day in crofiling the channel, and fo extremely fea-fick, that though we were three hundred of us, had a vefiel with only twenty men attacked us, we muft have furrendered. A SFCOND letter which 1 received from Henry at Boulogne, ren- dered it neceffary for me not to lofe a moment. At this place, I quitted thofe who had accompanied me, after having thanked them for the honour they had done me, and left them to go wherever they thought proper. His majefty had taken care to order poft-horfes to be in readinefs in all the proper places upon the road, in cafe my health would permit me to make ufe of them. I therefore took poft at Ab- beville, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and arrived the next day at eight in the morning at Villers-Coterets, 2 I WOULD 240 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVL IOC. ^ WOULD not take any repofe till I had firft received the honour of „„^Y-— ' fainting his majefty. 1 found him in that walk of the park which leads to the foreft, where he propofed to take an airing on fome horfes that were to be brought there to him ; Bellievre,Villeroi, De Maifîes, and Siliery, were walking with him, and in one of the walks adjacent were the count de Soiffons,. Roquelaure, and Frontenac. Imme- diately upon his perceiving me, though at a diflance, he faid, as De Mailles afterwards informed me, " There's the man I have fomuch " wifhed to fee, he is at lafl: arrived; my coufin the count of Soiflbns " mart be called, that he may be prefent at the brief relation he will " give us of what he has feen, heard, faid, and done, of which he " has wrote me nothing: let my horfes be fent back, 1 fliall not now " go into the foreft." His maiefty would not fulTer me to kneel to kifs his hand, but em- braced me twice very clofely. His firft words were, that he was per- fealy fatisfied with my fervices ; that he had not thought my letters tedious, and that he fliould take pleafure in hearing what I had not related in them. I replied, that this relation would be fomewhat long, and could not well be made, but as opportunity ihould prefent, to difcourfe on lb many difterent matters. I began with the perfon of the king of England, which I defcribed to him nearly the lame as I have already in thefe Memoirs : I did not omit either the admiration v^hich this prince expreffed for his majefty, or the delight he took on being compared with him, nor his deiire to render himfelf worthy of thecomparifon. I related the proofs which he had given me of his at- tachment to France, of his contempt for the chimeras with which Spain had endeavoured to infpire him, and how far he was from efpoufing the party of the revolted French calvinifts. King James was fenfible from his own fituation, how very unfit this laft procedure would have been, having fo great a number of feditious in his own dominions, that I was very much deceived, if they did not one day caufe him much trouble. 1 added, that if I had myfelf been difpofed to give ear to them, the chiefs of this fadlion had given me fair oppor- tunities to enter with them into very ferions enterprifes : 1 mentioned the affair of the loft difpatch, and fpoke my fentiments of it with free- dom. I then returned to the king of England, and acquainted his majefty with what he was ignorant of in regard to my laft audience, and, together with the form of the treaty figned by us both, I prefcnted to him the two letters from his Britannic majefty, and another letter wrote Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. wrote to his majefty, fince my departure from London, by the couDt of Beaunaont, which I had received upon the road. Henry ordered Vil- Ibroi to read all thofe letters to him. Beaumont in his letter acquainted the king, that the queen of England, with her children, was inflantly cxpedled in London, from whence flie would go direftly to VVindfor to refide there with the king -, that many were apprehenfive her arrival would caufe difturbance in affairs, and might infpire the fadious with courage ; that happily there was no able man among them ; that the Spanifh amballador was at lad arrived in England, and, with another from the duke of Brunfwic, was faid to be adually at Gravefend, from whence they were immediately to proceed to London, his Britannic majefty having fent fliips to protect the Spanilh ambalfador in his paffage againfl thofe of the States ; that count d'Aremberg depended fo entirely upon the alterations which this ambaffador would make in affair?, that being informed of his arrival, he was gone before him to Wlndfor, there to wait his coming : nor did Beaumont diffemble his own fears of the effeéls which it might have on a prince fufceptible of new impreffions, not fo much from what he would gain from the magnificent offers of Spain, as from his own natural timidity, his weaknefs, and even fcruples, left, in fupport- ing the United-Provinces, he fliould countenance a parcel of rebels, Beaumont wrote thus from the communication which had beeit made to him of a plan for an agreement between Spain and the States, defigned and drawn up in Germany, of which he even gave the pur- port in this letter ; but he feemed perfuaded the deputies of the Low Countries would never confent to it, though the emperor ihould be guarantee of it, becauie they thought it neither ffrong enough to ob- lige Spain to obferve it, nor even fufficiently impartial, to hope from it a perfed peace with that crown ; befides, that they had a general fufpicion of all proportions wherein France and England were not concerned. He obferved, that thefe deputies were likewife upon the point of returning home, with a relblution to animate their republic to a vigorous defence, from the certainty my convention with his Bri- tannic majefty had given them, that they fhould not be abandoned by the two kings, and from the permiffion which James had given them to raife foldiers in Scotland, to be commanded by my lord Buccleugb, whom they had accepted as colonel of thefe recruits : finally, Beau- mont concluded his letter, by faying, that, in order to be ftill more perfeâly informed of every thing that pafted, and to remind the kinc^ Vol. II. li OÏ 242 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XVI. 1 603. of England of his promifes if neceflary, he was going himfelf to Wind- u— ->,.— ,0 for. I take no notice of thofe paflagcs in this letter, wherein Beau- mont gave the higheft praifes to my condud: and my negotiation. ViLLERoi havi:^g finiflied reading the plan for a treaty, " Well, " coufin, faid Henry, addrefiing himfelf to the count of SoilTons, *' what do you think of all this ? give me your opinion of it freely." I readily, imagined what reply he would make, and the count did not deceive me. " Since you require it of me, faid he, I mufl: fay, that " .1 think the marquis of Rofny lias very great credit with the king of " England, and that he is in a marvelous good intelligence with the " Engiifli, St leafl: if h's relation, and all which you have been informed " of, is true J for which reafon he ought to have brought much moie *• advantageous conditions, and a treaty in a better form than that *' which he has prefented to you, which is really nothing more than *' a mere projedl of hopes and fair words, without any certainty that " they will ever be executed." " What you have laid is truly very *' fine and good, replied Henry: nothing is foeafy as to difcover faults " in the adions of others." His majefly ftill continued to fpeak, as if to make my apology, and altogether my elogy. He faid, I was the only perfon in France who, with fo limited a power, could have performed what I had ; that my credential letters were not even demanded of me at the court of London, which behaviour was not to be paralleled ; that he had forefeen and expeded the difficulties with which I had ftrog- gled, and that he had not hoped I could have fo eafily conquered them ; that he was per.'*edly fadsfied, and that he only repented his not having given me Carte-blanche. " Rofny, faid he, in his condud *' has given me an example, which confirms to me the truth of a Latin " proverb, though I do not know whether I fpeak it right, Mitte " fapicntem, & ?iihil dicas : and I am certain, that, if his prefence " fhould again become neceflary on the other fide, he vyill always be " ready to return, and ferve me with the fame ability and addrefs " which he has here fliewn." I do not relate all by a great deal with which, upon this occafion, the generous foul of Henry infpired Iiim for my defence : what gave me the mofl fenfible fatisfidion, and which I confidered as infinitely fuperior to all the praifes he beftowed upon me, was his adding, that he had nothing to fear from thus praifing me to my fl\ce, becaufe he knew that, infi:ead of thofe praifes making me vain and lefs diligent, they would only increafe my defire of ading flill better. Thele words filanccd the count of Soifibns. I THEN Cook XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 243 I THEN anfwered feveral queftions which the king afkcd me, touch- 160?, ing the nature and power of the three kingdoms of Great Britain, on i-— y'^— j ' the characler of the Englifli, and what they thought of their ncv/ king. After this, the converfation turned on the affair of Combaut. Henry, after I had given him a circumltantial relation of it, gave his entire approbation of my conduit therein, confidering it as equally dangerous either to favour, or pretend ignorance of the efcape of the criminal, to endeavour to excufe him, or openly to vindicate him. I acquainted his majefty with the charader of young Servin *, fuch as I have already given. The king having twice aflced whether dinner was ready, went in to fit down to table, having firft diretffed Villeroi to provide me my dinner, and ordered me to go and take my repofe till the next day, as being what I mull very much want, after having rode poll:, and that fucceeded by a pretty long walk. He ordered my good friends Fronte- nac and Parfait, to ferve me from his kitchen, till my own equipage and attendants were arrived ; " And to morrow morning, faid he, wc ," will renew our difcourfe." In the afternoon, the king took the airing in the foreft, which he had intended in the morning ; in the evening at fupper, he fcnt me two excellent melons and four partridges ; at the fame time acquainting me, that I fhould come to him early the next morning, before any of his counfellors were v/ith. him, which I accordingly did. Though it was very early, he was dreffed, and had breakfalfed, when I entered his apartment, and was diverting himfelf with looking at a game of tennis then playing in the little court of the caftie, which was generally ufed for this diverfion. " Rofny, faid he, we will take a walk while the " freflinefs of the morning continues ; 1 have fome queftions to afk " you, and fome matters to difcufs, on which I' have been thinking " the whole night. 1 arofe at four o'clock, thefe things having preiled " my thoughts fo ftrongly, that I have not been able to fleep." He took me by the hand, and we walked into the park, where we con- tinued near two hours alone. Bellievre, Villeroi, and Sillery, havino- joined us, the king continued walking another hour with us four. Our mornings were generally fpent in the fame manner? during the three following days which his majefly palled at Villers-Coterets. In thefe converfations, I gave him an exadt and particular account of all * L'Etoile makes mention of him. " It " pen, that the plague fhould find means <' is furprifing, fays he, how it could hap- " to attack fo great a plague as he." I i 2 the 24^ M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XVI. 1603. the moft fecret and important matters, with which he ftill remained to *- — V— — ' be acquainted with. I RECEIVED feveral letters from Beaumont, the contents of which may ferve as a fupplement to the aftairs of England, which I have al- ready related. The arrival of the queen at London did not occafion all that diforder which had been apprehended ; the difcontented found her not to be what they had conceived. It feemed as though her fudden change of iituation and country had made as fudden a change in her inclinations and manners ; from an eiRd of the elegancies of England, or from thofeofthe royal dignity, flie became difpofed to pleafures and amufements, and feemed wholly engaged in ttiem and nothing elfe : Ihe fo entirely negledted or forgot the Spanilli politics, as gave reafon to believe fhe had, in reality, only pretended to be at- tached to them through the neceffity of eventual conjundures. Kin- lofs, who had accompanied her, openly continued his profeiTion of at- tachment to France. Some ladies, in whom this princefs repofcd the greateft confidence, pofitively allured Beaumont flie was not fo perfedl a Spaniard as was believed. Beaumont contrived to get himfelf pre- fented to her, and made my excufes to her for not having been able to ftay till her arrival, nor wait upon her myfelf with the letters from their majefties. During all this the Spanidi amhalîador, whofe arrival in England had beenfo pofitively alfertcd, was not yet come. Count d'Aremberg, who was fofar deceived in his expedation as to go and wait his arrival at Windfor, found himfelf at laft obliged without him to demand his audience of the king, who granted it. I am ignorant of what palTed in it : I only know that he demanded a fécond, for which the king made him iliffer a thoufand delays, which however can only be at- tributed to this prince's dlftafte of bufinels, and his paflion for the chace, which feemed to make him forget all other affairs; for at this . very time, his condudt and difcourie was fo far from giving the Spa- nilli partllixns any caufe to defpair, that, on the contrary, he appeared difpofed again to fall into his former irrefolution. Beaumont did not know to what to attribute this change, whedier to his natural difpofi- tion, or to the inlinuations of Cecil, who ufed all the means he pofli- b!y could to make him fail in the obfervance of his promifes. Happily many new incidents concurred to fupport this prince againft all temp- tations of this kind; and the Spaniards were fo imprudent in their con- dud, as to be themfclvc? the principal caufcs of it. No Book XVI. MEMOII^SOFSULLY. 245 No fooner was the Spanifli ambaffador arrived in London (for lie 1003. did at laft arrive there) than botli court and city, and all affairs were put ' — '~^ ^ into a violent ferment, the effedts of various cabals, intrigues, miftrufts, and fufpicions. He foon multiplied the number of his creatures, by his extraordinary liberalities to all thofe whom he confidered as necefiary to be gained. He endeavoured to tamper with the Scotch troops, and en- gage them in the Spanifl-i fervice, as the States had done in theirs : this would have been a decifive ftroke, which Holland could net evade any otherwife than with the afliftance of her proteftors, by retaining thefe troops in her own icrvice. All thefe proceedings of the Spaniard, being purfued with a fpirit of pride and independence, were fo much the more difagreeable to James, as his natural v/eaknefs produced in him a repugnance to oppofe them by an exertion of his authority. He would have given the world to bV freed from his perplexity, by the de- parture of the ambaiîiidor. A whifper was like wife current concern- ing a confpiracy of the Englifli catholics * againft James's perfon- Beaumont conftantly treated this infinuation as a calumny ; and in- deed, whoever is acquainted with the true ftate of this body in England at this time, will, in its weaknefs and the meannefs of its fentiments, difcover an unanfwerable argument to difprove it. But a more certain and undoubted confpiracy was that of fome ' Englilli lords, who formed the defign of ftabbing the king. Their chiefs, for the defign was proved, and it was believed they had under- taken it at the inftigation of Spain and the archdukes, were lord Cobham, Raleigh, Gray, Markham, and feveral others of the princi- pal fervants, and even the intimate confidants, of the late queen, though they had appeared among the mofl forward to do homage to her fuc- cefibr. Neverthelefs Cecil was not named in the cabal ; the affair was public, and was the fubjeâ: of much difcourfc. A religious difpute, which arole in the conference between the proteffants and puritans^ increafed the dilbrder. The converiation of the court turned cndrely upon the difputes and quarrels which happened between particular per- fons. The earl of Northumberland ffruck colonel Vere in the face, in prefence of the whole court, and was confined at Lambeth by the king's order, who was juftly incenfed at fo difrefpedlful and outrageous an infult. The earl of Southampton and lord Grey gave each other the * It produced a proclamation, whereby dominions. Mem. d'Etat de Vilien/i, vol. king James banilhed the Jefuits out of his III. p. 217. lie MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVI. lie in the queen's prefence, and ufed feveral other atrocious expreffions ; but they were reconciled to the king by afking pardon for their impu- dence of the queen, and to each other by an intervention of the royal authority, commanding them to forbear any acts of violence. After which, without any. other fatisfaftion, they converfed together as friends : from whence one would be apt to imagine they were of opi- nion, that the king's name and authority preferves the honour of thofe who cannot vindicate it for themfelves. When from the accounts which Beaumont gave me in his letters, of all thefe public and private differences, I found the affair was in the moft favourable fituation I could defire it, I embraced the opportu- nity to put thefinilhing hand to the work which I had begun at Lon- don : I did myfelf the honour of writing to his Britannic majefty ; I informed him, that the king of France had with pleafure ratified the plan concerted between his majefty and me, and that he had fent the count of Beaumont the neceft'ary power to reduce it into fuch a form as his majefty fliould judge proper ; I repeated the proteftations of obedience and attachment which I had before made him ; I aftlired him, that by this I was fo far from oftending the king my mafter, that, on the contrary, I ferved and obeyed him. I WROTE at the fame time to Beaumont, and informed him of what had happened to me upon my return into France, of my con- verfitions with the king, and his inclination to fend me again at a. pro- per time into England. With this letter I alio fent Beaumont the treaty figned by his majefty, and gave him likewile the ncceftary inftrudions fur maintaining the good intelligence which this treaty eftabliHied be- tween the two crowns : this would in fome meafure depend on that which fliould fubfift between the ambaff.idor of France at London, arid that of England at Paris. This latter had taken offence at thefu- perfcription of a letter, wherein a tide had been given him which was either improper, or fuch as he did not like. 1 took die blame of this upon niyfelf, and repaired it as well as I could. Beaumont having received the treaty, acquainted the king of Fng- land therewith, who referred him diredlly to Cecil. He was aftoniflied to find this fccretary on a fudden become tradable, give his approba- tion of it with great readincfs, and without making the leaft difficulty; on the contrary, he was lavi(h in his praifes of his moft Chriftian ma- jefty and me : all things confpired to promote it ; the treaty was there- fore Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF S U L L Y. fore received, figned, and accompliflied, in the moft authentic and folenin manner. Dauval being arrived in France from Beaumont vAth an account of this good news, I made my acl ^^ the duke of Savoy and him, that he fliould adt in this manner, to give the duke a pretence for flaying longer at Nice, where, faid thefeconjec- turers, he only waited for an opportunity to make an attempt upon Provence ; and others again thought they had difcovered the reafon of his departure, to be an order which they fuppofed he had received from Spain to go and join his fquadron to the great naval army of the Spa- niards : or poffibly the council of Madrid had nothing elfe in view, but to accufl:om her neighbours to preparation and motions, for which they could not guefs the caufe. However that may be, this did not pre- vent the voyage of the children of Savoy into Spain ; after a delay of fome time longer at Nice, they pafled on the twentieth of June within view of Marfeilles, without fainting the caftle of If; their convoy confifted of nine galleys, four of Malta, three of the Pope's, and two of Savoy. In the mean time, fome other Spanilli troops were upon their march from Italy to Flanders. His majefty was the more attentive to their mo- tions, becaufe he was informed that Hébert, who had left France and retired to Milan, continued his former intrigues with the count of Fuentes : the fecrét was difcovered by a letter that Hébert wrote to his brother, who was a treafurer of France in Languedoc. Thefe troops, as I was informed by his majefty's letters to me at London, quitted Savoy, and paded the bridge of Grefin on the firft of July ; they confirmed often Neapolitan companies, commanded by Don Imgo de Borgia, and only Don Sancho de Lune remained in this canton with a fmall body of troops, with a view no doubt to haften the treaty depending between Savoy and Geneva, which was concluded accord- ingly on the 15th of the fame month. The remainder of the Spanifli troops that were drawn from Italy, confifted of four thoufand Mila- nois, commanded by the count de Saint-George, who took the fame rout. Notwithstanding thefe fupplies, by which the archdukes re- ceived a great acceffion of ftrength, yet Henry was ftill of opinion, that the Spaniards would not complete their enterprife upon Ortend this year ; they themfelves feemed to think that time alone could bring it about, their forces being confiderably diminiflied. The thoufand horfe that attended the duke of Aumale were reduced by defertion to lefs tiian five hundred, and thofe that remained were {o great an expence to tlieir own commanders, that they expeded to be foon obliged to Vol. II.. K k dilhand o M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XVI. lôc. 3i{band them. Such was the fituation of the United-Provinces during /^v">N_ this year, wherein they gained Hkewife another advantage over their enemies ; a fmall number of Dutch veffeis who were going to load fpices, meeting with fourteen Portuguefe galleys belonging to Goa, gave them chace, took five, in which they found great riches, and dif- perfed the reft. Europe, during the courfe of this year, had not more tranquillity in the ealt, than the weft. Mahomet the third, to fccure himfelf as he thought in the throne, cut the throats of twenty of his brothers. Buried in the receftes of the feraglio, he did not perceive that his mo- thei;, to whom he entirely abandoned the government, abufed his au- thority : and was firft informed of it by the Janizaries, who came one day in a body, and in a manner that ftiewed they would neither brook a denial nor delay, demanded the head of the two Capi Agas, who di- redled the council of the fultana-mother, and the banift:ment of this fultana herfelf, which he was obliged to comply with immediately. He afterwards put his own fon, and the fultana his wife to death, and was himfelf feized with the plague, of which he died. ' But it is now time to refume the affairs of the kingdom. His majefty having returned from Villers-Coterets to Fontainebleau, I left him in this laft place, and came to Pans, to attend my ufual employ- ments : thefe were to make the receivers-general of the diftrids, and other perfons in office, bring in exaét accounts; to caftiier thofe who were con v idled of any mifdemeanour, as it happened to Palot a receiver in Languedoc and Guienne ; to make a provifion of fums neceft'ary to keep the old allies of the crown, and to acquire new ones, and the maintenance of thofe that refided in foreign courts for this pur- pofe ; and laftly, by the mere force of frugality and economy, to enrich the treafury, by difcharging all the debts his majefty had contracted during the league, and the other engagements of the ftate, at the head of which his majefty generally placed the pfenfions he allowed the Swifs canton?» and was always very folicitous to know if they were difcharged : the fewer allies we had in Italy, the more neceflary the king thought it to footh and manage them. He made a prcfent of a fuit of armour, which he had one day worn in battle, to the Ve- netian rcfidenis at Paris ; that republic earncftly requefted it of him, and fet fo high a value upon this prefent, that they hang up the fuit of armour, with a kind of ceremony, in a place where it was publicly ex- pofed to view, and ferved fora monument to pofterity, of their venera- tion of a prince who v/as fo juftly famous for his military virtues. Ag Book XVI. M E M O I R S O F S U L L T. 25J As the new economy, which I had introduced into every branch of 1603. the rexenue, cut oft the greateft part of thofe profits whicla the courtiers ^-— -v— — ' and other perfons about the king drew from different places, and lef- fened the prefents his majefty made them from his own purfe, tliey fell upon methods to fupply this vacuity ; to which the prince, delighted with an opportunity of fatisfying them, confented fo much the more willingly as it cofl him nothing; this was to prevail on his majefty to pafs innu- merable edids, granting certain privileges and tolls upon particular parts of trade, to be enjoyed by them, exclufively of all others. When thi» trick was once found, there was nothing that promiled profit, which did not get into the brain of one or other among thofe who thought they had a right to fome favour from the king ; interefl: gave every man invention, and the kingdom immediately fwarmed with thofe petty monopolies, which, though fingly of little confequence, yet al- together were very detrimental to the public, and particularly to com- merce, in which the leaff obflrudion produces mifchief. I thought it my duty to make frequent and earnefl: remonflrances to the king on this fubjeifl, and therefore made no fcruple to expofe myfelf to the anger of the count of SoifTons, with whom, as I have already faid, I could never live three months together without a quarrel. The count of SoifTons prefented a petition to the kingatFontainebleau, in which he propofed that a grant fhould be made him of fifteen-pence upon every bale of goods exported; a defign that muft certainly have been fuggefled to him by fome of his friends, for he could never have thought of it himfelf; nor did he know all the confequences of it, at leafl he affured the king that this toll would not bring in more than thirty thirty thoufand livres a year; and fo well perfuaded him of the truth of what he had afferted, that his majeflv, who thought himfelf obliged to beffow a gratification of this value upon him, and being likewife vanquillied by repeated importunities, granted his requeft, without giving me, who was then at Paris, any notice of it. Henry, that he might be troubled with no farther folicitations about it, caufed ati edidl to be expediated for the count, which he figned, and the feal was placed to it ; but ibme remains of a fcruple with regard to trade, the importance of which he was fully fenfi'ole of, made him, in granting this favour, referve a verbal condition, that it fliould not exceed fifrv tlioufand livres, prels too hard upju the people, nor be too great a bur- then upon trade. K k 2 That 2 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XVI. 1603. That very evening the king reflecting upon what lie had granted, - — r—-' began to have Ibrae fufpicion that he was impofcd upon : he wrote to me inftantly, and propofed the thing to me as an indifferent queftion, without telling me what had pafled, or naming any perfon. I knew not what to think of futh a demand, but fet myfelf to work, and, taking to my alTiftai^ce the at. counts of the cuftoms and domain, and entries of provifions, I found that the annual amount of this tax would not be Ie!s than three hundred thoufand crowns ; and I could not but think it ftill of more importance, when I reflected on the trade of hemp and linen, which it feemed likely to ruin in Brittany, Normandy, and great part of Picardy ; I therefore went immediately to Fontainebleau, to make my report to his majefty. The king confeffed to me all that had happened, with many marks of aftonilhment that his confidence had been thus abufed. The true remedy had been to have' caufed the ediâ: to be brought back, and have entirely fupprefled it, as being ob- tained by a falfe pretence : but, that I might not be embroiled with the count of Soiflbns, who could not be long ignorant that it was I who had opened his majeliy's eyes, it was agreed upon between us to have recourie to another method, which was to hinder the parliament from regiftering the edict. All that was neceilary for this purpofe, was to fend no letter with it, either under the king's hand or mine : this was an agreement that had long been made between the king and the fovereign courts ; and without this formality, whatever other orders were produced, the parliament knew what they had to do, and would not regifter any thing. I was certain however, and I told his majefty fo, that this expedient would not preferve me from the refent- ment of the count, and of the marchionefs of Verneuil, who I dif- covered was concerned in this bufinefs ; but I refolved to hold firm againft the count, provided his majefty would be proof like- wife to the folicitations of his miftrefs, which he promifed me, and added, that he would openly fupport me. Two or three days after my return at Paris, the count of Soilfons came to my houfe, and paid me many compliments, having, as he faid, occafion for a Maximilian de Beihune at full length : he thought by flievving me great kindnefs, and condefcending to be familiar with me, he fliould eafily obtain my fignaturc, without being obliged to tell me for what purpofe he demanded it. I anfwered coldly, pretending to be quite ignorant of the matter, that I never figned any thing with- out knowing what it was : the count then found that he mull have recourfc Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, recourfe to other means ; he acquainted me with what his majefly had lately done for him, and faid, that as he was not ignorant of the pri- vate agreement between the king, the fovtreign courts, and me, the fignaturc which he demanded was a letter to the parliament of Brittany, and the court of aids at Rouen. At this declaration, I affumed an air ftill more ferious, and pre- tended to be greatly furprifed that the king had given me no intima- tion of the affair, nor communicated it to the council, to whom refo- lutions of fuch confequence were always made known ; and from thence took occafion to tell the count, that an ediét of this nature, which bore fo hard upon the public intereft, deferving to be excepted from the general rule, I could not take the danger upon myfelf ; that therefore he muft addrefs himfelf diredly to his majefty, or bring me at lead an order figned by him, which would ferve to juftify me againft the reproaches I could not fliil to draw upon myit^lf fome time or other for my compliance. The count replied, with much bitternefs, that I only made ufe of this extreme caution to ruin his defign, and to break with him entirely ; but finding thefe words could not alter my refolu- tron, he went away grumbling. I heard him mutter fomething be- tween his fhut teeth concerning our former quarrels, and went to dif- charge his choler at the houfe of the marchionefs de Verneuil. This lady, although as much enraged with me as the count of Soiflbns, was yet come to make me a vilit, juli as I was coming out of my clofet to go to his majefty, who had returned to the Louvre, the could not have chofen a worfe time ; the too eafy king had jufl fuf- fereda fcore of edids, -all in the fpirit of the firft, to be extorted froni him, and, to fay the truth, of but little confequence. I fet out with a full resolution to make a new attempt upon the king, in favour of the peo- ple who would be prevented by thefe extortions from paying the land- tax. The marchionefs afking what paper it was I had in my hand, " This is a pretty bufinefs, madam,'' anfwered I in a pafiîon, yet af- fefting to be much more angry than I really was, " you are not the *' laft among thofe that are concerned in it ;" in efted:, her name made the fixth article. I then opened the memorial, and read to her all the names, with the titles of the edids. " And what do you intend to " do with this ?" faid fhe, " I intend, anfwered I, to make fome " remonftrances to the king upon it." " Truly," replied flie, no longer able to contain her fpleen, " he will have little to do to take " your advice, and offend fo many great people. And oa whom, pray. '' would M EMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVL would you have the king confer favours, if not on thofe who are msntioned in this writing, his coufms, friends, and miftrefs ?" What you fay, Madam, repHed I, would be reafonable enough, if " his majefty took the money all out of his own purfe ; but to make " a new levy upon the merchants, artifts, labourers, and countrymen, " it will never do ; it is by them that the king and all of us are fup- *' ported, and 'tis enough that they provide for a mafter, without " having fo many coufins, friends, and mifrrefles to maintain." Madam de Verneuil loft none of my words, flie dwelt particularly upon the laft ; and, in the rage with which (he was tranfported, made uie of them to form a thoufand wicked flanders. She flew imme- diately to the count of SoilTons, and told him, that I had faid the king had but too many relations, and that it would be happy for him, and his people, if he could get rid of them. The count, mad with rage, went the next morning and demanded a conference with the king j after a long enumeration of his fervices, he told him, that 1 had fo outrageoufly injured his honour, that he muft abfolutely have my life, unlefs his majefty would himfelf do him juftice. Henry, feeing him in fuch violent emotion, allced him, with great compofure, what 1 had done or faid, and whether the affront he had received was direftly from me, or had been related to him by another peribn. The count» not caring to enter into any explanation, replied, that if we were both together in his majefty's prefence, not all the refpecl he ought to have for a perfon who was dear to him fliould hinder him from doing him- i'elf juftice ; and added, that what he had faid was true, and he ought to be believed on his word, for he was not accuftomed to lie, " If " that was the cafe, coufin," faid the king, in a voice fuch as muft natu- rally put him into confufion, " you would not be like one in your fa- " mily ; for we always produce your elder brother, in particular, as " remarkable for this : but fince it was a report made to you, tell me " who made it, and what he lliid, and then I fliallknow what I ought '" to do, and will endeavour to fatisfy you, if you are to be fatisfied " with reafon." The count replied, that he had taken an oath not to name the perfon from whom he received his informations, but that he was as well convinced of his veracity as his own. " So then, coulin, " anfwered the king, you excule yourfelf from anfwering my queflion, " on account of an oath you have taken to the contrary.; and 1 like- " wife will take an oath to believe no more of your complaint, than " what monfieur de Rofny himfelf fliall acknowledge to me ; for I " have Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. ^55 " have as good an opinion of his veracity, as you can pofllbly have of i6o-?. " thofe who tell you thefe fine tales." - u-— v— - The count of SoifTons, when he went out of the king's prefence, difcovered fuch an excefs of fury againft me, that his majefty thought it neceflary to give me notice of it ; which he did by Zamet and ^La Varenne, whom, at the fame time, he ordered to afk me, if I had not byfome word or adion given offence to the count. I anfwered, that ever fince the vifit 1 had received from the count at the arfenal, which was above fifteen days ago, I had never fpoke to him, or any of his people ; that the marchionefs de Verneuil indeed had been at my houfc, but neither flie nor I had mentioned the count. " Oh !" faid the king, when thefe words weie repeated to him, " we need not doubt any " longer from whence this mifchief proceeds, fince Madam de Ver- " neuil is named, for {he is fo full of malice, and has fuch a ready " invention, that to the laft word of monfieur de Rofny's fhe would " add a hundred, nay a thoufand ; but for all that, this aftair muft " not be neglefted." The rage in which his majefty had feen the count, gave him reafon to apprehend that he would take feme violent refolution againft me ; he therefore fent La Varenne to tell me, that 1 fhould never ftir out of my houfe w.thout being well attended, and that he defired I fiwuld fpare nothing for my fecurity ; adding, with great goodnefs, that all the expence I could be at in guarding myfelf, would be far below what it would coft him if he (liould lofe me *. I CANNOT quit the article of this new creation of edids, without taking notice of an arret of council, much more antient, by which a tax of anchorage was ordered to be levied upon all foreign vefTels that anchored in our ports. This at the bottom was no more than what was piid hy our veffelsln foreign ports ; nevertheiefs it was with regret, and only by his majefty's exprefs orders, that I carried it into execution, * L'Etoile's Journal treats at large of " no confujeration for any thing, fays fa- this difference, which the king put an end " ther Chalons, but the king's fervice i to, by obliging the Ci;unt of Soiflons to be " nor could any relpeft for perfons of the contented w.th a letter of fatisfaftion which " greateil: quality, princes, or even the M. de Rofny wrote to him : and, accord- " queen herfeJf, prevail on him to make ing to Matthieu, Henry IV. mnde the " t;ie leaft concellion, where he thought count de Soiffons and the nurquis de Rof- " the king's intereft or glory came in ny crime uito his apartment, and ncuncilcd " queftion : this got him many enemies, Jthem, ibid. 592. D= Thou alfo fpcaics " and was the caufe that, after the king's of it, b. cxxix. The fteddinels of M. de " death, the queen took the management Rofny has procured him great commen- " of affairs out of his hands." Hift. de dations from our hiilorians. " He had Fr. vol. III. p. 255. looki 2^6 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book T/J. 160". booking upon it to be one of thofe exadions which was mofl: likely to ^ deprefs the vigour of our trade. The parliaments of Rouen and Rennes made great oppofition to the regiftering them, and the maréchal d'Or- nano beftirred himfelf greatly, having money ov.'ing him from the Hate, which had been charged upon that part for his reimburfement. The eftabliflament of commifiioner-examiners, lieutenants particu- liers, ajj'ejjha-s-crimijiels, and other officers of juftice, met witiî no lefs ditiiculty from the fame court of Rouen, which more than anv other oppofed thefe new edifts ; the 1 aft were made with an intention to fatisfy and fend back the colonels and captains of companies, who had waited at Paris a long time for their pay, in confequence of thefe new regulations : probably it was the meeting with fuch obftacles as thefe to his defigns, that had long made Henry folicitous to fupprefs the chamber of requefts in all his parliaments. He had laboured very earneftly to effedl this, and adually began with that of the parliament of Touloufe this year, which continued to be fupprefled, notwithftand- ing all the objedions that were made to it by his own council, in which all the debates ran contrary to him. The quarrel between the count of Soiflbns and me made a great noife ; but the king, to fhew me that it had produced no alteration in his friendfliip, fent me notice by Beringhen fome days afterwards, that he intended to pafs by Rofny, in the journey he was upon the point of making to Normandy, and that he expeded I fliould treat him there with his court. The princes, princellcs, and the conftable, were all that the king permitted to be of this party. The preparations I made were worthy of him who did me the honour to be my guefl : but the entertainment was difturbed by an unforefeen accident ; the rivers were fo much fwelled by a fudden rtorm, that the offices of Rofny were overflowed*, the fruit fpoiled, as well as the labour of his fervants; the ladies were terrified, fuppofing the danger to be much greater than it really was. I removed their fears by caufing a conduit to be opened, through which the water ufed to have a pail'age, and which had been filled up to make the paflage more commodious for his majef^y and for the carriages, I had already begun to make the road and the bridge at the entrance to Rofny, but neither were yet completed. * 1 believe L'Etoile a little exaggerates " cJe Rofny, that heaven and earth were this accident, when he fays their majeftics " combined againft him, and that he ought with great difEcuity efcaped the danger. " boldly to take c^irc of himfelf." The kin^, adds he, lau-hing told M. The Book XVL M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 257 The waters did great damage for ten leagues aboutj but I came ofVfor 160-. two or three hundred crowns. < —r—-^ His majefty proceeded as far as the Lower Normandy, but did not go beyond Caen : he took tlie government of it from Crevecœur-Mont- morency, who was accufcd ot carrying on correfpondencles with Bou- illon and d'Auvergne, particularly with Tremouille, whofe kinfman he was ; and gave it to Bellefonds. From Caen the king pafled through Rouen *, where he fettled entirely all the affairs of that province. In this city he declared his pleafure concerning the marriage of my daughter, whom, as it was formerly mentioned, the princefs Cathe- rine had propofed for the duke of Rohan, and who had lince that time been demanded in marriage by monfieur and madam de Fer- vaques, for monfieur de Laval the fon of that lady. His majefty at Rouen ordered me rather to prefer Laval ; but he once more altered his opinion. The affairs of religion were in part the occafion of the journey his majefty had lately taken ; and the duke of Bouillon had likewife a fhare -f- in it. He was not yet quite difcouraged from his attempts upon the king of England: he was ftill in the court of the ele<£tor palatine, whom he advifed to build a citadel upon the ground which divided his territories from France, for the defence, he faid, of the true religion ; and had the boldnefs, without alking his majcfty's leave, to folicit Erard, his firft engineer, to come and draw the plan of this fortrefs for him. To ferve his ambition every thing feemed lawful, and facred as well as profane things were proflituted to that purpofe. He pub- liflied a writing this year, in which he exclaimed, in a moft outrageous manner, againft the whole body of the proteftants" : he had already drawn great advantages from this ftratagem, and feconded it on his iide by counterfeiting perfedly well great uneafinefs and apprehenfion of the miferies which hung over the proteftants, in confequence of the new refolutions that were taken by the council of France, to whom he attributed thefe libels. However, it was no difficult matter to prove, that they had been compofed by his friends, and fent into England with a view to hinder his majefty from fucceeding in his endeavours to * " The king was attacked at Rouen f It is in vain to endeavour at any juftifi- " with fo violent a loofenefs, as to void cation of the duke of Bouillon. His own •' blood, which the phyficians fjid came hiftorian gives up his defence, after the de- «' from his having eaten too great a quan- pofition of the count d'Auvergne, b. v. ** tity of raw oyfters." L'Etoile an. 1603. Vol. il L 1 sain MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVL gain king James : but it was upon weak and hot-headed perfons that Bouillon always impofed ; and on them indeed his pains were not all caft away. An aflemhly of proteftants was held at Saumur and Poitou, on occafion of the king's laflindifpofition, in which Du-Pleffis extolled . this duke in a manner not only ridiculous, but likewife infolent and prefumptuous ; for the praifes he gave his hero feemed to be all at the king's expence, whom he calumniated without any refpeél to his perfon or dignity. Of all thefe afiemblies, none made fo much noife as that which was held at Gap, the latter end of this year. The eledor palatine, and the duke of Bouillon, by their letters and creatures, caufed quefhons to be propofed in it which had a ftrong tendency to the rekindling a war. The minifter Ferrier, by their orders, ufed 4iis utmoft endeavours to prevail upon the proteftants to infert amongft their articles of confeflion, that the Pope is the antichrift : furely it could not be called a fpirit of religion, but rather of difcord and intrigue, that prefided at the decifion of this ridiculous tenet, which they likewife propofed to fend printed to all the univerfities of Europe. As foon as the king was informed of this fcandalous proceeding, he fent me orders from Fontainebleau, where he had refided fmce his return from Normandy, to put a ftop to this licentioufnefs of the proteftants, and, above all, to hinder this new article of faith * from being received. Villeroi likewife, by his com- mands, prefled me to exert myfelf on this occafion. I wrote imme- diately to Saint-Germain -f and Defbordes ; and whether it was owing to the arguments I made ufe of to fhew them the folly of their condudl, or the advice ï gave them not to irritate Henry, who they faw was re- folved not to fpare them, I know not, but the article in queftion was at length iupprefled. The Pope, I believe, was under great appré- hendons about it ; for he was fo extremely enraged, that it was with difficulty his majefty could appeafe him : and probably it was to this incident, that the jefuits owed their re-cftablidiment in France. The holy father had the çonfolation to fee his dominions filled with an ac- ceffion of monks of every kind, Auguftins reformed, Recolets, barefooted Carmelites, ignorant fryars ; and amongft the other fex, capuchin nuns, folietans, and carmélites : fo many religious orders were never in- ftituted at one time as in this year. * See the life of Du-Pleflis-Mornay, f Deputies from the c.ilvinid party to b. ii. p. 296, wlicre we find the fteps taken refiile at court, according to the cuftom of by de Mornav, to procure the reception of that time. 7 Thb this abfurd tenet. Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. The boldnefs of the proteftants, on tliis occafion, will not appear 160:5. fo furprifing, if it be confidered that they had even gone greater lengths u- --»^~ upon another, when they were iniblent enough to ofîer their media- tion to the king, in favour of certain foreign princes with whom he had reafon to be dillatisfied. I was continually repeating to them, that thole rebellious proceedings would fall heavy upon them one day or other, and that they would groan for them a long time : but they had prophets whofe predidions were far more agreeable to them than mine. Bouillon, La Tremouille, Lefdiguieres, and Du-Pleffis, to render my reprefentations ineffedual, and myfelf the objeél of their hatred, infinuated every where, that I facrificed, on all occafions, that very religion for which I pretended fo much zeal ; and that, by this pradtice, I enriched myfelf with wealth and preferment, to which other men had a better claim : nor did the Papifts, except perhaps a very few, confider themfelves as at all obliged to me for that which I did upon principles of pure equity j for by the malignity of my ftars, or the invidioufnefs of my place, 1 muft honeflly own I lofl my labour. While thefe complaints of the proteftants againft me ran highefl:, I went one day to his majedy, with an intention to make him fuch re- prefentations as would fecure me againfl the effedls of their malice. The king was then in a gallery near his chamber, walking with the duke of Montpenfier, cardinal Joyeufe, and the duke of Epernon : he made me a fign to approach, and afked me whether I could guefs the fubjedl of his converfation with thofe three gentlemen. I anfwered only with a bow. " We were talking, faid the king, of thegovern- " ment of Poitou, and they have advifed me to give it to you ; could " you have imagined this? they being fuch good catholics, and you *' fuch an obfUnate huguenot." I did not even know that this go- vernment was vacant. Lavardin, who was governor of Perche and Maine, had the reverfion of it after the death of Malicorne, who was very aged and infirm, and intended to refign his own for it ; but re- fiedting that all his eftates were fituated in the provinces he was at pre- fent governor of, he releafed Malicorne from his engagement, and both together came to refign this government to the king, that he might difpofe of it in favour of one of his natural children. Henry likewife infified upon my guefllng his motives for preferring me to this poft, rather than any other perfon, or thofe even that were fo near to him. I had nothing to alledge, but the knowledge his ma- L 1 2 jelty ■59 26o M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XVI. 1603. jefty had of my fidelity and ardour for his fervice. The king replied, *-- — V— — ' that his true reafon for giving it me, was, becaufe I was an huguenot, but a reafonable one, and zealous for the good of my country ; that the proteftants beholding me in this light, could not but be highly fatisfied with his choice ; and that he did not doubt but that his whole kingdom would be no lefs fo, fince I was capable of infpiring them with more dutiful fendments, of giving them juft notions of their king, and of teaching them to rely on his goodnefs, and to refpedl: and love his perfon ; and that, by fuffering the gratifications which he granted to the principal members of this body to pafs through my hands, the authority which the duke of Bouillon ftill preferved amongft them might be deftroyed. His majefly added (without doubt becaufe thefe three gentlemen, who were aUb joined by Brifiac, Ornano, and Roquelaure, were prefent) that although he felt (o ftrong an affedion for his religion, as to wi(h with the utmoft ardour to fee it embraced by all the huguenots, and by me in particular, yet he could never forget that God had made ufe of that body, and of the cities of Rochelle, Bergerac, and Montauban efpecially, to free him from the oppreffion of Spain, to affift him in fupporting his juft claims, and to fave even his life from the fury of the leaguers ; that, on this account, however difcontented he might be with thole cities for dlfcovering lefs duty and afFedion for him than formerly, yet neverthelefs he thought himfelf obliged in honour, to continue to them the fame gratifications he had always made them for their fortifi- cations and colleges. The king repeated feveral inftances which the province of Poitou had hitherto given, of its inviolable attachment to its lawful prince, *' when no Bouillon, faid he, was there to excite ♦' them to fedition;" and could not hinder iiimfelf from faying, that, at this very time, the welfare of the kingdom depended upon maintaining a peace with the proteftants. After this, his majefty told me, that I might treat diredly with meffieurs de Lavardin and Malicorne, repeating, that it was more for the intereft of the ftate, and therefore more agreeable to his inclinations, to give this government to me, than to his own children. All that were prefent faid fomething in approbation of what his majefty had done, and praife of me; and I made my acknowledgement to all, either in words or geftures. I difpatchcd Montmartin immediately to LavarÀin and Malicorne, and he tranfaded the bufinefs with fuch pru- dence, that, by a fcafonable prefent of a thoufuid crowns to thofe whofe advice they took in this affair, I got this government from them for twenty thoufand crowns. Upon their refignation, Du-Frefne fent nic. Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. me, on the fixteenth of December, the patents for the government of Poitou, Châtelleraudois, Loudunois, &c. This made my revenue from governments amount to thirty thoufand livres ; namely, twelve thou- fand livres from the governments of Mante and Gcrgeau, which I al- ready pofTefTed, and were both very lucrative for private governments, efpecially Gergeau, on account of the garrifons ; and eighteen thoufand livres from that of Poitou : in this fum, however, I have always included my falaries for the two ports of fuperintendant of the fortifications, and of the works. I MUST not omit giving fome account of the attempts that were made this year in France, to eftablifli the fluff manufa(fl;ures, and efpecially filk ones. Henry, who was carried with ardour to every thing which in his opinion could contribute to the glory and utility of the kingdom, fuffered himfelf to be perfuaded, by Les Bourgs and Des Cumans, that it was a mighty eafy matter not only to fupply filks for our home confumption, which ufed to be brought from foreign, countries and diflant regions, but alfo to carry on a conliderable trade with foreigners for this merchandife. For this purpofe, all that is ne- ceffary, faid they, is to give encouragement to filk weavers to come amongft us, to increafethe breed of filk- worms, plant mulberry-trees, and ered large buildings fit for thefe fort of manufadtures. I ex- claimed loudly againft this fcheme, which I never approved : but the king was {9 prejudiced in favour of it, that all my remonflrances were ineffeftual. I REMEMBER that onc dav, when his majefly did me the honour to vifit me at the arfenal, to confer with me upon the neceffary methods for eftablifhing thefe manufaftures, which could not be done without a great expence, we had a pretty warm debate about it. " I know " not," faid he to me, finding I received all the propofals he made me on this fubjeél, with that referve and coldnefs which I always af- fumed when 1 was not in his opinion, " I know not, what whim this " is that you have taken in your head, to oppofe a fcheme fo well cal- " culated to enrich and embellifli the kingdom, to root out idlenefs " from among the people, and which I fhould find fo much fatisfac- •' tion in completing." I replied, that this laft reafon had fo much weight with me, that, if I could fee the leaft probability of fucceeding in the fchemes for a filk manufadure, I fhould content myfelf with reprefenting to his majefly that he would purchafe this fatisfadion at rather too high a price, and deftroy by it that which he propoied to himfelf 262 ^ M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XVI. 1603. hlmrelf in the execution of thofe great defigns, which, by his ccm- ^- — v— ^ mand, I had naentioned to the king of England ; but that I entreated him not to be offended with me, if I prefumed to tell him, that I could not, as he did, fee either glory or utility refulting from this eftablifliment. I then afked him, if he would permit me to give him my reafons for thinking fo differently from him. " I give you leave, " faid he, but upon condition that you afterwards hear mine, which " I am perfuaded, are more convincing than yours." I then made the following obfervations to his majefly. That it was through a wife difpenfation of providence, which de- figned that all the nations of the earth, or of one continent, ihould be liged by their common neceffities to have an intercourfe with each other, that this country was fitted to produce one thing, and that ano- ther, exclufively of all the reft : France had the good fortune to be fo favourably diftinguifhed in this diftribution of benefits, that no coun- try probably, except Egypt, fo univerfally abounded with whatever fupplied the neceffities, or contributed merely to the conveniences of life, to the reft of the world j her corn, grain, and pulfe, her wine, cyders, flax, hemp, fait, wool, oil, dying drugs, that immenfe quan- tity of cattle, great and fmall, which ufually ferve her inhabitants for food, putting her in a condition not only to envy none of her neighbours on the fcore of any of thefe advantages, but even to dif- pute with them thofe which make up all the trade they carry on : Spain, Italy, and Sicily, are of this number. I T is certain that her climate refufes filk ; the fpring begins too late, and an exceffive moifture almoft always prevails ; and this inconve- nience, which is abfolutely irremediable, affedls not only the filk-worms, which, on this account, are hatched with great difficulty, but likewife the mulberry-trees that thefe infedts feed upon ; for which a mild and temperate air is neceffary in the feafon wherein they put forth their leaves. The difficulty of multiplying them in a country where none ever grew, cannot but be very great: it will be five years at leaft before there can be any certainty of tlieir coming to perfcdion ; during which we rific the lofs of time, labour, and the produce of the ground they are planted in. But are thefe diftkulties, which ought to diffuade us from engaging in an enterprize, the fuccefs of which they do not render doubtful but impoffible, a real lofs to us .'' That is the queftion. A COUNTRY' Book XVI. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y, 263 A COUNTRY life affords Co many various labours and employments, ^ that in France none need be idle but thofc who refolve againft all 1..,,-^--"-' work ; therefore it is neceffary to begin, by curing people of this lazy difpofition, which, if real, is the only thing worthy of attention. But how is this done by offering them the culture of filk for an em- ployment? firft, they leave one profeffion, which brings them in a certain and fufhcient income, for another, where their gains are cafual and doubtful. It would not indeed be very difficult to make them prefer this to the former, becaufe it is but too natural to quit a hard and laborious kind of life, fuch as agriculture is, confidered in its full extent, for one that, like working upon filk, does not fatigue the body by any violent motion. But even this is another argument to prove the dangerous confequences of fuffering the country people to be thus employed : it has been a common obfervation, at all times and in all places, that the beft foldiers are found amongft the families of rebuff, laborious, and nervous workmen : if, inftead of thefe, we en- lift men who are brought up to no other labour than what a child, if taught it, has ftrength to perform, we fhall be foon convinced they are no longer fit for the military art, which requires, as I have often heard his majefty himfelf obferve, a ftrong conftitution, confirmed by laborious exercifes, that tend to maintain in its full vigour the whole ftrength and force of the body. And this military art, the fituation of France, and the nature of her politics, makes it abfolutely neceffary to hinder from being depreffed or degenerating. At the fame time that we enervate the country people, who in every refpedl are the true fupporters of the ftate, among thofe of the city we introduce luxury, with all her train of mifchiefs, effeminacy, iloth, voluptuoufnefs, and that domeftic extravagancy, which is not to be feared that people who have but little, and know how to be fatisfied with that little, will ever plunge into. In France we have already too many of thefe ufelefs citizens, who under habits glittering with gold and embroidery conceal the manners of weak women. The objection, that immenfe fums of money are carried out of France into foreign countries for the fupport of this luxury, proves the truth of what I have jull; obferved, and deftroys the inference they pretend to draw from it : would they reafon juftly upon the inconve- niency that arifes from this commerce, and this importation of vain and unneceffary merchandifes, they v/ould be convinced, that the beft thing 26. \. M E Aï O î R S OF SULLY. Book XVL 1603. thing tlut could be done, would be to fupprcfs the ufe of them en- ^■^-■Y- — ' tirely, and abfolutely prohibit their being brought into France j at the lame time to fix, by good and fevere regulations, the richnefs of cloaths and furniture; and to put every thing of this kind upon the fame footing as they were in the reigns of Lewis XL Charles VIIL and Lewis XIL * That neceffity which obliges us to drefs in one fort of fluffs rather than another, is the mere vice of fancy ; and the price that is fet upon them, an evil we fall into with full conviction. Were we to confider, though but with the flighted: attention, the fource of what is called the fafhion, we fhould find, to our fliame and confufion, that a fmal' number of perfons, and thofe the mofl defpicable of a great city, which inclofes all forts indifferently within her walls, for whom, if we were acquainted with them, we Ihould feel that contempt we have for men without morals, or that compafTion we have for fools, that thefe very men difpofe neverthelefs of our purfes, and keep us en- flaved to their caprices. But filk cloaths are not the only things which require reformation by the royal power ; there is as much to be done with refpedl to diamonds, iewels, flatues, and piâures, if it be confidered as a grievance, that foreigners take away our gold and filver : we mufl likewife take into confideration, equipages, kitchen-furniture, moveables, and every thing in which thefe metals are made ufe of. If we refledl: upon the amazing extravagance that prevails in France, the fumsfquandered fool ifhly in gar- dens, buildings, coftly works, entertaiments, liquors, and what not; if we think on the exorbitant price paid for offices, of marriages fet up to * Many edi(Sls of this kind were iffued " turned him round, the better to furvey at different times during the leign of Hen- " his old-faftiioned drcfs, being a fhort ry IV. againft which the dealers in filk at " hohday-gown, lined with tafîety, his Paris prefented many ufelefs remonihances " jacket and the reft of his cloaths orna- te the king and M. de Rofny. The Me- " mentcd with filks of different kinds, in moirs for the hiftory of France relate in " the manner they were formerly wore by what manner that minifter received the " merchants, he faid to him, Honeil fieur Henriot, who fpoke for them, a good " friend, what reafon can you and your old merchant, whofe manners and drefs " company have to complain, when you bore the marks of the fimplicity and plain- " are much finer than I am ? Is not this nefs of the traJefmen of former times. — " damafk, this tafiety ? &c. And after " The next d,iy, fays the writer of the " turning them into ridicule Cent them a- ♦' Memoirs, they waited on M. de Sully, " way without giving them any other fa- " who anfwtred thtm only with difdain " tisfadion ; which made them fay, as " and ridicule ; for Henriot having put one " they were returning. The fervant is " knee to the ground, that nobleman im- " ruder and haughtier than his mafter." " mediately raifed him up; and having Vol II. p. 27B. audlion. Book XVI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. auftion, what is there that wants not reformation ? we cannot charge to foreign manufaélures the tenth part of the money that is thrown away in France, without the leaft neceflity. The care which the law and the finances would require, would engage us in an endlefs di- grefTion : thefe two bodies of men, of which the one ought to be the guardians of regularity, and the other of parfimony, feemonlyto liave been brought into the world, to defrroy both the one and the other. Thefe are the only people that know what it is to be rich ; and how they come by this wealth, may be feen by the manner in which they fpend it : the old chancellors, firft prefidents, counfellors of ftate, and the heads of the courts and revenues, if they were to come into the world again, would not know how to find thofe who now fill their places, and refemble them in nothing but their titles *. I SAID every thing I could think of on this fubjedl, that carried with it any force, to bring the king over to my opinion j but I could not 265 i6;*'erred it, as part of her poition, to prince Thomas Fruncis of Savoy-Carignan, grandfather of prince Eu- gene. officers MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVJL officers of his bed-chamber, the grand mafter, and officers of his wardrobe, the pages, and, in a word, all his houihold j the fame re- gulation was obferved in the queen's family. The duchefs of Bar, before flie left France, had contradled fomc debts in Paris, which were not yet paid. Without doubt, this princefs had been prevented only by death from difcharging them, fince (he had fent jewels from Lorrain to be pawned to her creditors, who had made a feizure of her houles, furniture, and other effeds. Her houfes were, a palace at Paris, a houfe at Fontainebleau, and another at Saint- Germain, which the king her brother had given her ; and, among other furniture, there were pidures in her gallery, chamber, and clofets, which were well worth keeping in the royal palaces, and which the king wiflied to have for that purpofe; but they had made theduchefs's debts fo confiderable, that he did not think it fit to dtfire them till they were all cleared. Thefe debts amounted to twenty thoufand livres. I WAS afterwards commiffioned by his majefly to take an inventory of the furniture and jewels belonging to this princefs : that which ren- dered this employment very difficult to execute, befides the different kinds of debts and effeds, was the fpecifying of thofe that the king of France and the duke of Bar had a right to, and the claims they both made to the rings the princefs had pawned in Paris, Madame de Pan- geas gave us a very exad account of what rings and other jewels the princefs was poffeffed of, either before or after her arrival in Lorrain, and of what her movables in France confifted ; and the inventory was regulated by this writing. The whole was regiilered with great exad- nefs, in the prefence of two or three members of the council, named by his majefty, and the duke of Lorrain's commiffioners ; and this done, each of the two princes took polfeffion of thofe effeds that either be- longed, or were to be returned to them. The duchcfs's palace at Paris was, by the king, dcftined to be fold, becaufe part of the money for which it was firft purchafed was not yet paid ; and the fum produced by this fale was fufficient to fatisfy the firft owner of it, and all the other creditors. The king gave the houfe of Fontainebleau to the queen, and that at Saint-Germain to the marchionefs of Verneuil. But as this fale could not be made immediately, and the creditors demand- ing fureties, it was, by their confent, agreed between the two princes, that the jewels ftiould be depofited in my hands, without any other •fecurity than my word : they remained there till the following year, when the queen having taken them, I was difcharged by a writing, dated Look XVIL MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 271 dated 28 June, 1605, and figned by Des-Marquets and Bontemps. I 1604. fhall now proceed to the re-eitablifliment of the Jefuits, which I have -•^V^a^ promifed to give fome account of. Notwithstanding the arret that feemed to deprive them of all hopes of ever fettling again in France, yet they had found means to engage the court in their interetb, and to make, even in his majefty's council, fuch a great number of protestors, whofe voices, joined to the earnell and almoft continual folicitations of the Pope, the houfe of Lorrain, and many other perfons both within and without the king- dom, fo greatly ftrengthened their party, that it was not pofilble for Henry to refift any longerj and indeed it muft be confeflcd, that he yielded without much reluftance. Some Jeluits who had gained ac- cefs to his perfon on account of what had paiTed the preceding year during his journey to Metz, behaved with fo much addrefs, and made fuch advantage of that permiffion, that Henry began to fee them with pleafure *, and even to admit them familiarly to his prefence. Thofe who were thus fent to try their fortune, and who we may be af- fured had been chofen with all the difcernment of a fociety that un- derftood mankind perfeftly well, were the fathers Ignatius, Mayus, Cotton, Armand, and Alexander ; for father Gonthier did not yet fliew himfelf ; his turn of mind, which was rather ardent than com- plying, was not yet wanted. When the Jefuits were thus fecure of great part of the court, and flattered themfelves that their enemies in the council would be either the weakefi: party, or fuch as would not contradid a propofal they knew to be agreeable to the king, they prefented a petition in form to his majefty ; who having in effed: taken a refolution very favourable for them, ordered the conftable one day to affemble a council at his houfe, compofed of the chancellor, meilleurs de Chateau-neuf, Pont- * The favourable reception the Jefuits Jefuits. This Jefuit putting Henry IV. in met with at court and in Paris, was prin- mind of his promife to recall that order at cipally owing to their qualifications as a proper time, faid to him, " Sire, your preachers; thofe who are named here were " time is now come. It is nine months excellent in that refpect. We fhall foon " fmce you made this promife, and wo- have occafion to fpealc of father Cotton. " men are delivered at the end of nine Father Laurent Mayus, or Mayo, was " months." " True, father Mayo, an- born in Provence ; he was a man of great " fwered that prince, but don't you knov? wit and conduft, and one of thofe who the " kings go long,er than women do," Chro- moft effe<3ually affifted the Pope's nuncio noi. Septen. anno 1603. m procuring the re-eftabiilhment of the carré,. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVIL arré, Villeroi, Maifles, the prefident De Thou, Calignon, Jeannin, Sillery, De-Vic, and Caumartin ; there to hear from La-Varenne, the moft zealous foHcitor the Jefuits had, the Ibciety's propolals, and what arguments they could ofter to fupport them; to deliberate upon them; and to bring him an exadl account of what pafi'ed *. His majefly would have been very well fatisfied to have had me of this council, and his reafon for not naming me to the conftable among the others, was (as he told Oferai, the firft groom of his bed-chamber, who afterwards repeated it to me) becaufe he believed tliis commifiîoa would not be agreeable to me. But Sillery here exerted all the arts of a courtier; he Etteâed to his majefty fo much furprize that this council fhould be held without me, accompanied with all thole treacherous praifes that envy and malice make ufe of on certain occafions, that he laid the prince under a neceffity of telling him I fhould be there like- wife. The views of this artful courtier were, to make me only anfwer- able for all the inconveniences which they forefaw might equally attend a denial, or grant of the Jefuits requeft, for every one knew it was a ticklifli affair. I gueffed billery's motive for aéling in this manner, and it was not long before my fufpicions were fully confirmed. t The parliament of Paris having been informed of the king's refolution touching the recal of the Jefuits, fent the firrt prc- ildent de Harlay as their deputy to his ma- jefty, to prefent their remonftrance againft it. The prefident fpoke to the king with great vehemence ; the fubftance of his fpeech may be feen in De Thou, who af- ter having related, as an eye witnefs, what pafied on this occafion between the long and jiis pailiament, complains of a writing w;hich c^me, abroad at that time, under the title of. The king's anfwer to the remon- ftrance of the parliament ; and which is a continued feries of reproaches from that prince to the firft prefident, and of praifes of the Jefuits : whereas the only anfwer the king made to the deputies of the par- liament was, that he thanked them for the folicitude they difcvjvered for the preferva- tion of his life, and that he would take all neceflary meafure? not to run himfeif into any dangers. The length and fpirit of this writing tcflify in favour of M. De Thou ; but, on the other fide, this anfwer of Henry IV. whether true or fiflitious, is fet forth in the 4th volume of Villcroi's State Memoirs, p. 4C0. and cc^nfirmed by Mat- thieu, that prince's hifloriographer, whom Henry IV. himfeif furniflied with me- moirs of his hiftory, vol. II. book lii. On this authority, which is of great weight, father Daniel has cited it in his Hiftory of France, in folio, vol. III. p. 1939. Thefe things would induce one to believe this was the real anfwer of Henry IV. at leaft in fubftance ; and M. De Thou agrees, that after the king's anfwer, wliicli contained an order to regifter his edidl, the parlia- ment having made a farther attempt to avoid regiftering it, his majefty lent for them a fécond time, and declared his will to them with authority, and even with an- ger ; and afterwards fent Andrew Hurault de Maifles, one of his fecrctaries of ftate, to the parliament, to caufe his edict to be regiftercd without any modification. The Book XVIT. MEMOIRS OF S U L L Y. 27^ The council being afTembled, and myfelf prefent, as one of the 1604. members, the queftion was put to the vote; when Bellicvre, Villeroi, v_— -v-^ and Sillcry, direding their eyes to me, Sillery fpoke for the others, and faid, that" thefe gentlemen, as well as himfelf, yielded to me the ho- nour of deciding upon this quellion, as to one who was better ac^ quainted with the affairs of ftate and the king's inclinations than any that were prefent. I was already not too well difpofed towards Sillery, and this ftroke put me quite out of humour with him : inftead of a compliment, with which any other courtier would have paid his flat- tery, I anfwered to his meaning, and that without any difguife. I told him, that I faw no reafon for altering a cuftom fo generally received as that of voting according to rank, efpecially on a fubjeél that my fenti- ments, whatever they were, would, on account of my religion, be fu- fpeded of partiality ; unlefs it was with a defign to give the world a difadvantageous interpretation of my words, as I knew many that were prefent expedled to have an opportunity of doing ; and had even done it beforehand, by groundlefs charges upon a point on which I had not yet declared my thoughts ; and added, in plainer terms, that although I fliould vote firlt, yet I would not give the perfon that fpoke to me fo great an advantage as he feemed to hope for ; but that I would do nothing till I had hrft confulted my oracle. And I was refolved to have a conference with his majefty, before any refolution was taken in the matter in debate. " I find then," faid Sillery, fmiling malici- oufly, and affefting ignorance of the meaning of my laft words, " that " we mufl: wait for your opinion till you have taken a journey to the " banks of the Seine, four leagues from hence." Ablon it was thaC he meant, the place where the proteftants had their aflemblies. " Monfieur, replied I, your enigma is not very obfcure ; however, " I affure you, that as in religious matters, not men, but the words of " Gcd, are my oracles, fo in affairs of ffate I am guided only by the " voice and the will of the king; which I intend to be particularly " informed of, before any thing be determined upon a bufinefs of this " importance." Then addrelhng myfelf to the whole company, I told them, in a tone of voice fomewhat raifed, that great inconveniences- muft infallibly be the confequences of a precipitate refolution in this <;afe. After this difcourfe, which might be taken for that adl of delibera- tion I had juft before declined, the conftable taking advantage of the hint I had furniflied him with, and pleafed likewife with having an oppor- VoL. II. . . N n tunitv MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVIL tunlty to do me Tome fervice, for, ever fince that he had received from me in the affair of maréchal Biron, his former prejudice againft mc was changed into a fincere affedtion, faid, that he was entirely of my opinion, as to the neceffity there was of knowing the particular inclina- tions of his majefty, before any thing was refolved on ; and added, that it would not even _be improper to defire him to be prefent at their de- bates, if it was only to put a flop to thofe little heats and animofities, that had already begun to appear in our firft fitting. Villeroi, fhew- ing an impatience to proceed, which furprifed every one that knew his difpofition, faid, that fince this affair could no otherways be terminated than by the re-eftabli'hment of the jefuits, it was needlefs to protrad; it any longer ; and, after giving all the weight he could to his holinefs's interpofition, and anfwering for the faithful performance of the pro- mifes made by the fociety, he explained the motives of the king's con- duft in this affair, who had not, he faid, referred it to a council, the mem- bers of which were all named by himfelf, to be contradidled, but to avoid taking upon himfelf the annulling, by his authority, fo folemn an arret of parliament as that againft the jefuits; and concluded, by com- plaifantly faying, that it was fit his majefty fliould be fpared the dif- agreeable neceffity of deciding folely this queftion. Villeroi certainly highly honoured us all by this fpeech ; and the council, no doubt, owed him great acknowledgments. De Thou ridiculed this opinion, as Villeroi had done ours ; he Ihook his head, and faid, that, if his ma- jefty 's defign had been fuch as Villeroi repreiented it to be, not to meddle in this aftair, he would have referred it to the dccifion of the parhament, as likewife the examination of the jefuits propofals ; and hence taking occafion to give his own fentiments of the matter, he ad- ded, that if the king would avoid the blame he would incur by adino- otherwife, and the danger that would refult from it both to the ftate and his own peifon, this was the only part he could take, namely, to refer it to tlie parliament. Certainly this was not fpeaking like a courtier : but neither his advice nor that of Villeroi was followed. The reft of the counfellors declared, by a fingle word, that they thought it neccft'ary his majefty fliould be applied to, before they proceeded any farther ; and this was the end of our firft fitting. The next day I had a private conference with his majefty ; and the firft thing 1 brought upon the carpet being the debates on the preced- ing evening, 1 perceived the king expeded I fhould tell him my fenti- ments of them. I did not hefitate a moment as to the part I fliould take i and truth obliges me to confcfs, it was not very favourable for the Book XVII. MEMOIR SOF SULLY. the jefuits *. I told his majefty, that I could not poffibly compre- hend how, after an arret of parliament publifhed by his order, and for a caufe as nccelTary as juft, he fliould fufFer himfelf to be flill preju- diced in favour of an order, from which both himfelf and tiie (late had nothing but milchief to expedl. Here I could not help bring- ing the king of England to his remembrance; and, having no inten- tion to protraft my difcourfe to any length, I contented myfelf with barely entreating him to difpenfe with my affifting at fuch hate- ful deliberations ; or if not, to let me know his will prçcifely, and command me fo abfolutely to regulate my vote according to it, that 1 might find my excufe in the neceffity of obeying him. " Well, faid " Henry, fmce we are alone, and you have leifure to difcourfe on this " matter, tell me freely what it is you fear from the re-e(1:ablifhment " of this fociety, and afterwards I will tell you what I hope from it, " to the end that we may judge whofe arguments have the moffc " weight." I would ftill have excufed myfelf from this tafk, faying, that it was abfolutely needlefs, fince his majefty had already taken his refolution. But he replied, that that fhould not hinder him from paying fome regard to my reafons ; and commanded me fo pofitively to enter into this difcuffion, that I could no longer refufe to fatisfy him. The public has no advantage to hope from the reftoration of the jefuits in France -f-, which it may not promife itfelf from any other- religious order; and for the exclufion of the jefuits there are particu- lar reafons, arifing from the inconveniencies which follow from their eftablilliment in this kingdom. Thefe reafons and inconveniencies * It is faid in the manufcript of the terbalance the leaft real faft afcertained in king's library, which we have quoted be- four words : and, to fpealc juftly, iVI. dc fore, that meflieurs de Sully, de Bouillon, Sully does not prove any thing here, but his deMaupeou, &c. did all they were able to paflion and animofity againft the jefuits. It divert the king from this refolution. gives one horror to repeat, or even to t The following difcourfe does not con- think, of what he fays of ftabbing and poi- tain any thing more, nor is even fo ftrong foning, which could only come from the as the prefident de Harlay's, which we fee mouth of a calvinift, and an inveterate ene- in De Thou, nor than what all the writ- my ; but it ought to furprife us the lefs in ings at that time or fince are filled with coming from M. de Rofny, who was under againft the jeiuit* : I feel no lefs repugnance folemn engagements to the king of Eng- in tranfcribing it, than I hjve owned myfelf land to ad and fpeak in that manner, to be fenfible of in the preface to this work. whenever the recalling of the jefuits fhould But the reader will eafily obferve here, that come in queftion, for the intereft of he- it has been endeavoured to impofe mere refy, their common caufe, of which he was conjedures on him as certain fads, and as zealous an efpoufer, as the king of bare poflibilities as avowed defigns. Ten Great Britain a declared enemy of the pages of vain declamation ntver will coun- church, N n 2 are 2t6 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVIÎ. 1604. are reducible to four heads, which are immediately feen to be of the laft importance ; religion, the condudt of government with refpedt to foreign nations, the interior government of the kingdom, and laftly the perfon of the king. Let us now fpeak of the firîl : the only fure foundation upon which the fyflem of government, which the council will henceforth follow, can be fupported, is union and peace between the two religions prevailing in France: the jefuits mull: be fuppofed, by thofe who favour them, to promote this peace and union ; but in truth, this can be lefs expedled from them than from any other men. Their firftftatute places them in fuch ablind fubjeétion to their general, or rather to the Pope*, that, though as particular men they might have the moft pure and pacific intention, they can move only by the will of thefe two fuperiors, of whom the Pope has a great deal of aiilchief in his power j and their general is always either a Spaniard * It may be obferved, in relation i.o the article in the inititution of the jefuits, which enjoins a blind fabmiflion to their general, that by this fubmiffion or blind obedience is meant, firft, the vow they enter into alter a noviciat oi nine years ; now this vow is exactly in this, as in all other religious or- ders ; its nature is perfer— -' proteflants, unlefs I myielf llio\ild advife hitn to it : the other, that nothing fliould be capable of making him remove from his perfon, a minifter with whom, be his religion what it would, he was well fatisfied ; *' and efpecially," added he, with a moll obliging familiarity, " a man of whom I can fay, with the utmoft fincerity, what you the " other day told me Darius faid of his Zopirus *." He likewife affured . me, that he would endeavour to make the jefuits entertain the fame fentiments of me that he did ; and that 1 fliould know, before much time was part, in what manner he expefted they fliould behave towards me, I AM notfure whether he did not exert himfelf on this occafion that very day ; for I had a vifit from La-Varenne the next morning, who defired as a favour, that a jefuit, who, he afllired me, was flill more a Frenchman by inclination, than birth, might be allowed to pay his re- fpedls to me. I anfwered La-Varenne, that he well knew every one wasfure of a polite reception at my houfe, and ecclefiafUcs efpecially, who never perceived any more of my religion, than the obligation I thought it laid upon me to treat them with a diflinguilhing refpedl ; and that, if this were not the cafe, the charader he gave me of this jefuit was fufficient to infure his welcome. This French jefuit was father Cotton -f-, whom he brought with him the next day as I went into the * Zopirus, a Perfian fatrape, having cut off his nofe, ears, and lips, in order to exe- cute a llratagem which put Darius in pof- feflion of the city of Babylon, that prince ufcd to fay, He would have given twenty Babv'lonsfor one Zopirus. Herodotus, b. v. t Peter Cotton, born 15^4 at Neronde, of one of the moft diftinguiflied families of Forez. Great changes ought to be made in the idea the author here and elfewhere endeavours to give us of him : he was a man endowed with great fcnfe, an extraor- dinary eloquence, and all the neceflary qualifications to make himfelf univerfally agreeable. " The king, fays the Chrono- logie Septennaire, " conceived fo great an *' aftcdtion for him from the firft moment " he faw him, that ever after he acquainted •' him with whatever he was going to un- *' dertakc. He firft preached at Fontainc- *• bleau, afterwards at Paris, where every ** better kind of panfli was dcfuous of 9 " hearing him ; and it is no wonder they " fhoulJ, for he has fo engaging a manner, " that one can never be weary of giving " the utmoft attention to him." He narrowly efcapcd, about this time, being afTaflinated by the king's paaes, who wounded him in fcveral places with a fword, as he was coming in a coach to the Louvre ; becaufe fome of the lords of the court hav- ving complained to the king, that the pages feeing him pafs by, had cried, Old Wool, Old Cotton, (one of tlie cries of Paris) his majefty had ordered fomc of them to be whipped for it : he would even liave pu- nifhtd this attempt on his life with great fe- verity, if father Cotton had not earncftly befought him to pardon them ; they were therefore only drove from court. «' The ♦' king, fays the fame writer, on this ac- " count, increafed the favours he con- " ferredon the jefuits : he even wanted to " beftow a bifliopric on father Cotton, who hall Book XVII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. hall to give audiences as ufual after dinner. The jefuit approached me with all imaginable demonftration of veneration and refpedl, and was lavilh in his praifes of my great capacity, my fervices, and likewife upon the protedion which he faid he had been aflured I was difpofed to grant his fociety, intermingled with the mofl: profound bows, and repeated allurances of gratitude, devotion, and obedience. I was not deficient in a return of compliments and ceremony, being folicitous to omit nothing the perfon and prefent occafion required. The next day the council, ftill compofed of the fame members as before, aflembled for the fécond time ; and no affair was ever more quickly difpatched, without entering into any difcuffion, or making a needlefs difplay of arguments in favour of a queftion already decided. I faid in brief, that the prefent conjundture of the times required, that the jefuits (liould have a fettlement in France. It was refolved, that they (liould take an oath to hold all the principles of true Frenchmen, and cle(fl no one for a provincial *, who was not French by birth : this they fwore to perform, and all the pad was buried in oblivion. " by politically refufingto accept of this " offer, did a fignai fervice to the order of " which he was a member." The author of the Chronologie Septen- riaire, had fpoke more correflly, if he had faid, father Cotton was (Iriflly obliged tore- fufe the bifliopric offered him by the king, and tliat he did, in reality, refufe it in con- fequence of this obligation ; for the jefuits make an exprefs vow not to accept of any ecclefiaftical dignities ; and they can have no difpenfation from this vow, but from the Pope himfelf. Father Cotton, if we form our judgment of him from his li.'e as wrote by father Orleans, was too religious a man to be influenced in his refufal ol this offer, by any other motives than his principles of difintereftednefs and modefly. Matthieu alfo fpeaks of father Cotton with great elo- giums, vol. II. b. iii. Henry IV. in this year, made him his confeffor, on the re- fignalion of René Benoit, parifh prieft of Saint-Euftache : and he further infifted, that the office of fuperior of the college of Navarre, which had always, till that time, been joined to that of the king's confeffor, ihould from henceforth be difunited from it. Vol. il * I do not find that, in the edid for re- ftoring the jefuits, any mention is made of this eledion of a French provincial ; if there is, it is only by implication. Thefe arc the conditions exprefled in it ; That the je- fuits fhall not found any college in France, without the king's perniiffion ; that all of them (hall be Frenchmen born ; and that no other fliail be fuffcred in the kingdom ; that one of them (hall always refide near the king's perfon, to be anf'werable to him for the conduit of all the reft ; that, on their entering into the fociety, they ffiall take certain oaths before the officials, that they fhall not make any attempts on the king's perfon -, that they fhall not engage in any affairs to the prejudice of theftate, &c. that they fhall not do any thing to infringe thelawsof the kingdom, the jurifdidtion of bifhops. or the rights of the clergy, the univerfities, &c. that they fliall not preach or adminifler the facraments in any diocefe, without the confent of the bifhop of fuch diocefe ; that whatever had been taken from them (hall be reftored, but that they (hall not be permitted to make any new acquifi- tions, without the king's exprefs approba- tion ; nor (hall they be fuffered to claim O o All MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVIJ. All I l^avc to add is, that during the whole time, I was extremely referved, and a'fted with great circumfpeflion, as well with regard to father Molina's opinion of grace, that was publiflied this year, as upon fome propofitions of three jefuits, which occafioned high de- bates between thofe that favoured, and thofe that oppofed them, efpecially thefe two ; that the Pope's being the fuccelfor of Saint Peter was not a point of faith, and that confeflion might be made by letters. On this occfion, the jefuits were foon fenfible how neceffary the royal interpofition in their favour was to them. Had they been given over to the parliament, the Sorbonne, the nniverfities, and the moil part of the biihops *, and the cities in the kingdom, their dodrine had not taken deep root : but the king did not abandon his new favourites; and even, at the folicitations of La-Varenne, gave them his caftle of La-Fleche, where they foon founded a very fine college. any fliare with their relations in the inheri- tance of the eftates or efFeds of their fami- lies. The city of Lyons and La-FIeche were the only places where they were al- lowed new eftablifliments; thofe of former foundation are enumerated in the edift, amounting in all to eleven, viz. Touloufe, Auch, Agen, Rhodes, Bourdeaux, Peri- gueux, Limoges, Tournon, Le-Puy-en- Velay, Aubenas, and Beziers. We will fufFer M. De Thou to complain, that fome ofthefe conditions have fince been annulled, but not from thence to claim a right of charging the jefuits with having failed in the obi'ervance of them. As to the general of their order being a foreigner, which gives fo great offence to M. de Sully, it could not be required of them, that they (hould never have any but a native of France ; the choice of a general being made by different members of the fo- ciety, deputed for that purpofe, and cho- fen out of different nations ; thtrefore, to have required this of them, would .have been requiring an impofTibility. As to the manner of this eledlion, nothing is pofitively laid down, either by the laws or practice of the focicty ; for every jefuit, who fhall be deemed qualified for the office, whether a Frenchman, or of any other nation, is li- able to be chofen, as the whole depends on an abfolutely free choice. The only reafon why father d'Aubenton, a Frenchman, confeffor to his catholic majefty, was not appointed the laft general but one, was be- caufe the French jefuits themfelves oppofed his being chofen. Father Charles de Noy- elle, on whom the office was conferred in 1685, was a gentleman of Artois, and a fubjed of France. * The Septennary, on the contrary, in- forms us, that immediately after the reflo- ration of the jefuits, they were invited by many cities, bifhops, &c. to come to them. ibid. f. 438. " It was, fays Matthieu, p. 606, " the general defire of all the ca- " tholics to fee them reftored, from the " conviftian their abfence had given how " neceflary and advantageous their pre- " fence was for the inftrudion of youth, " and the diredion of men's confciences. " They afforded their enemies no advan- *' tage over them, either from their mo- " rals or aiSlions, which were fo conform- " able to their doârines, that not oiie " fingle difcord broke the harmony between " them, their hearts and their tongues " being in the fame tone," &c. This writer had before fpoken of them in the niofl advantageous terms, vol. II. b. ii. p. 270 ; and his evidence is rendered lefs li- ble to fufpicion, by his having a perfonal difference with the fociety, as appears in the third book, p. 681. The Book XVIÎ. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 2 The refloration of the jefuits afforded matter for a real triumph to 1604. Villeroi, Jeannin, Du-Perron, and above all to D'OiTat, who had not w-— y~— neglecfled their interefts at R.ome, where he ftill rcfided to manage his majefty's affairs at that court. And here it feems proper to intro- duce that memorial, which was addreffed to me from Italy atiainfl this ecclefiaftic, and which, as has been obferved, I had already men- tioned to the king. His majefly was then gone to Chantilly, to fpend a {ew days there in the month of April, on account of the pure air, the agreeablenefs of the place, the conveniency for hunting, and other country amufe- ments, which his phyficians feemed to think neceffary for his health. Upon fome letters 1 wrote to him. in which I could not difpenfe with myfelf from obferving that by his abfence a great number of affairs were left undetermined, he returned immediately to Paris, notwith- (landing all the entreaties of his phyficians to prevent him. The fame evening that he arrived, he remembered the memorial in queftion, and afked rile for it, by which he only prevented me, it being my inten- tion to Hiew it him that day. I had brought it with me, between my coat and waiftcoat, and I left it with him that he might examine it at his leifure. I had made no alterations in it ; and added nothing, ex- cept perhaps a few reflexions, which this paper had no great need of, to draw upon the perfon againft whom it was wrote his majefly 's ut- mofl difpleafure. The author of this memorial, who had his reafons for neither men- tioning in it his own name, nor that of the perfon to whom it was ad- dreffed, endeavoured to prove, that D'OfTat had prevaricated in every point of his commifBon, and had accepted it with no other defign, but to bring matters to that pafs, that the king fliould be obliged to enter into the views of the catholic leaguers of his council, and to purfue a political plan very different from that they found he had hitherto con- duded himfelf by. This new plan, which ftill breathed the fpirit of the league that gave it birth, confifted in uniting Prance in interell and friendfhip with the Pope, ^pain, the archdukes, and Savoy, againft all the proteftant powers of Europe in general, and the proteftants of this kingdom in particular ; to make Henry concur with the Pope in placing a Catholic prince on the throne of Great Britain ; no longer to protedt the United-Provinces ; to ufe his authority to procure a general fub- mifEon to the council of Trent ; in a word, to make him adopt all the O o 2 Auftriaji MExMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVIL Auftrian fchemes, and all the maxims of the other fide of the Alps. The jefuits were to undertake the tallc of cementing this union, which was to be founded upon a marriage between the children of France and Spain, and the firft efFedts of it the dethroning of king James *. The author of this memorial, to prove that he did not bring thefe heavy accufations againft D'Oflat like a mere declaimer, juftified the truth of them by that cardinal's own letters, as well thofe I have for- merly mentioned, as others which he had coîledted, and by his com- mon difcourfe at Rome, either in public, or to my brother, ambaflador to that court, and others in private : he explained the myflery of thofe almoft infurmountable obftacles the holy fatlier made to the king's ab- folution, and the marriage of the princefs his fifter : he fhewed that they proceeded from D'Oflat himfelf, v^'ho during the whole time that thofe affairs were depending, abufed with impunity the confidence his mafter repofed in him ; and, to prevent the reproach-es he had reafon to expeél from him, gave him to underftand, that he was under aa abfolute necelTity of perfuading the court of Rome, that his majefty was of the fame opinion, and that it was with great difficulty he fup- prefled thofe reports which from time to time were fpread to the con- trary. It is certain, that throughout this whole aftair D'Offat atfled with great art, as likewife in the infinuations he fecretly gave the king, that Spain, with refpedl to him, had only the mort; pacific intentions, for which the Pope was ready to be fecurity. All this is fo clear, and fup- ported by the author with fuch inconteflable proofs, as forces belief, notwithrtanding that fpirit of hatred and fury, which it cannot be de- nied every part of this paper breathes againft D'Oflat > he is alfo re- proached in it with aflliming the charafter of a great politician, and a confummate ftatefman, when he had fo much reafon to blufli for his ignorance and incapacity} and that in this ecclefiaftic nothing was to be found but the meannefs of his original, having, before his advance- ment to the purple, been a pedagogue and a footman -f, and owed all * I have nothing to add to this article, have come from Roiiie againft cardinal but what has been faid in the foregoing D'Oflat. His gratitude in many places ob- notes. liges him to fpcak of monlieur de Viileroi f The prejudice, the injuftice, and the his protestor, and to make an almoft open faifhood, fo apparent in this lalt place, to- profeffion of his attachment to him. What tally deftroy all the credit that might have can be concluded from hence ? certainly been given to ibis memorial, pretended to nothing in derogation of the qualities cf the Book XVIÎ. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. tlie feveral advantageous changes in his fortune to the fawning arts he pradifed on Villeroi, and to his llaviflily ierving the hatred of other catholic leaguers to the proteftants. At the conclufion of this memo- rial, the author earneflly entreats the perfon into whofe hands it fhould happen to fall, to fhew it to his rnajelty. Setting afide all that this paper contains of the extravagant or outrageous, whicli ihev/ it came from a declared enemy, it mull ftill be confeiTed, that D'OfTat could not efcape the reproach of having flandered his fovereign, and being ungrateful to his benefaftor; and that he even left to pofterity the means of conviifling him of thofe two crimes, in the letters which through vanity he caufed to be printed, wherein he calumniated Henry IV. as a prince who opprelTcd the cler- gy, deftroyed the nobility, ruined the third eltate of the kingdom, and aded hke the tyrant of his people. Nor is truth lefs violated In thofe furious exclamations he makes againft the proteftants. What can one think of the epithets of impious, horrid, deteftable, facrilegious, with which he brands a body that makes profeffion to agree with him in the belief of all the fundamental articles of the dodrine of Jefus Chrifl, and have the fame veneration his mind, and every thing in favour of the goodnefs of his heart. One cannot avoid obferving, how palpably the author here abufes the hberty of thinking freely : he endeavours to extend it over matters of re- ligion, almolt the only ones which ought to be exempt frum it ; and feems dehrous to exclude it from political affairs, which of all others ought to be moft fubjcdi to de- bate ; nothing being fo uncertain, fomuch dependant on the caprice of fortune, or fo liable to change as they. As to the private hifioiy of cardinal D'OlTat, it mud be al- lowed he was of the loweft extraction ; fome fay he was the fon of a quack do£lor; others, a baftard fon of the lord of Cafla- nabere ; whiift others, with more probabi- lity, make him the fon of a fairier, of the diocefe of Aucn. He was tutor to the young lord of Calilenau-Marnoac ; afterwards he went to Ron-^e, in the quality ot fecreta- ry to Foix, and was there appointed fe- cretary to cardinal Lewis d'Ette, protec- tor of the affairs of France at Rome. He was then Tent by his majefly to Florence ; and at laft went ambaflador to Rome, Ve- nice, &c. The bifhopric of Rennes was conferred on him in 1596; and in 1600, that of Bayeux : M. de Rofny obtained Henry IV's permiffion for him to refign the laft. He intended to pafs the refl of his days at Rome ; and adfually died there on the 13th of March, 1604, a month after the death of the duchefs of Bar, aged fixty- eight years. The laft letter he wrote was to [Vl. Villeroi, fix days before his death. bee the other particulars of his life in Amelot de la Houffaye, prefixed to the edi- tion of this cardinal's letters publifhed by him : he has carefully avoided taking the part of the cardinal in the little differences which happened betwixt him and the duke of Sully ; and he afferts, I don't know on v/hat grounds, that the reafon why that minifter would not write to him, was, be- caufe he could not prevail on himfelf to give him t!ie title of Monfcigneur. Note on the 329th letter, for 286 M E M O I Pv S O F S U L L Y. Book XVII. 1604. for the divine writings in which they are contained, the Apoftles Creed, V— -V— J the Ten Commandments, aod the Lord's Prayer *. A s to his political errors, though in D'Oflat they may well be im- puted to views too narrow and confined, yet they are not the lefs pal- pable. At a time when the ambitious projeds of the houfe of Auitria were in a manner polled up throughout all Europe, he expofed France to the danger of being the firfl vidim of them, by breaking off for ever with all her allies that were to fupport her againfl; this proud and infolent monarchy. And what is flill more furprifing, this deftrudive policy communicated itfelf, as if by contagion, to the greateft part of thofe who were employed in the adminiftration of public affairs : and what is yet more to be lamented, it gained ground upon the wifefl as well as the fmallefl party -f. It was this policy that in the month of April this year expofed Vil- leroi to one of the greateft: mortifications that could happen to a man in a public employment. The king, when he fet out for Fontaine- bleau, where it was his cuflom to keep his Eafter, during which there was a ceffation of all bufinefs in the council, took leave of his coun- * This reafon of our author's is a very weak one ; but every one knows that the profenbrs of the new religion do not ac- knowledge the authority of the holy fathers, the councils, or any other fources of tradi- tion or faith. t This fyftem of politics has not been produ(Slive of the mifchiefs M. de Sully ap- prehended it would occafion ; on the con- trary, the event of it has been as favourable as it poffibly could have been. It is never- thelefs true, and will in fome degree be a juftification of our author's manner of rea- foning on this occafion, that if the execu- tion of thefe dcfigns, of which the dcflru- clion of the proteftant religion in France was the principal, had fallen into the hands of any other than cardinal de Richelieu, the fiiccefs of it would not only have been doubtful ; but if an attempt of fo great confequcnce as this had by any means mif- carried, France would, in all probability, liave been rciilungcd into the frightful fitu- ation fhe was in during the reign of the children of Henry II. Cardinal de Richelieu did not, however, in every refpeft follow the plan attributed to D'Oflat, Villen.i, &c. fince during his whole lite he was engaged in war with Spain. The perfeft knowledge he had of the particular rcfources on which France could depend, and which, if we may judge from appearances, he had acquired princi- pally from Sully's Menoirs, made him take in, and in fome degree reconcile, both thefe oppofite fyftems, by entring into the defign of weakening the houfe of Auftria, in purfuance of the one ; and of deftroying Calvinifm in France, according to the other of them. I don't know of any one inftance that fo evidently proves as this does, what a fmgle man is capable of. The prottftants of France, who had obtained a toleration of themfclvcs, after having remained un- difturbed full thirty jears, were, almoff at once, brought into an entire fubjicSion : this happenid. bccaufe on the one fide there was a cardinal de Richelieu, and on the other there was no longer a Henry of Na- varre. fellors EooK XVII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. fellors till the Sunday after Eafter ; but on Good Friday he recalled me by a letter, in which he informed me, that he had difcovered fome treafonable practices in his court, and that he wanted to confer with me; for which purpofe he would order pofl-horfes to be ready for me at Ablon on Eafter-Sunday, that I might fet out for Fontainebleau when the communion was over. I did fo, and this was the affair in queftion. ViLLERoihadaclerk inhlsoffice named Nicolas L'Hote,whofe family, Or, as from father to fon, had been attached to that of Villeroi ; but the per- '^^^j' ^" fon of whom we are now fpeaking, before he entered into his fervice, had been fecretary to the count de La-Rochepot, when he was fent am- baffador from France to Spain. L'Hote had wit, but of that fort that ftrongly inclines the owner to artifice and intrigue. During his flay in Spain he contradted an intimacy with the Spanifh fecretaries of flate, Don Juan Idiaques, Franchefes, and Prada, to whom he betrayed the fecrets of the ambaflador his mafter. When La-Rochepot returned to France, L'Hote finding himfelf without any employment, folicited Vil- leroi, whofe godfon he was, for a place in his ofiice, and was by him entrufled to decypher his difpatches ; which was very agreeable to L'Hote, as it afiforded him an opportunity of carrying on his firft trade with fecurity. Barrault *, who fucceeded the count de La-Rochepot in Spain, perceived, a fhort time after, that the fecrets of his prince were known to that court ; and in vain tortured his imagination to difcover from whence this misfortune proceeded. Not being able to fix upon any par- cicular perfon, he entreated his majefty, in a fhort letter addreffed to himfelf, to look upon all the clerks in his fecretaries offices, efpeciallv thofe belonging to Villeroi, as fufpeâed perfons. This treachery ex- tended its influence to all our other ambaffadors to the feveral courts of Europe, who were extremely aftonifhed, and complained to the king, as Barrault had done, that the contents of their difpatches were known at thefe courts as foon as they received them from France, and very often before. * Emeric Gobier de Barrault. It is re- foot on his throat, and, in the moft out- lated of this ambaflador, that being one rageous terms, oblige him to a(k quarter, day at a comedy in Spain, in which the he got upon the ftage, and in fight of the battle of Pavia was reprefented, and feeing whole houfe, ran the a(5lor through the a Spanifli aâor throw him down who per- body with his fword. Amelot's notes on formed the character of Francis I. fet his D'Offat. But others Por- 253 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVII. 1604, But neither Barrault nor they could penetrate any farther into the V^^r-y-^>^- affair, till Barrault was one day accofted by a Frenchman of Bourdeaux,- a refugee in Spain, whofe name was John deLeyré, but better known by that of Rafis, which he had borne when he was in the fervice of the league, having been one * of the mod adive of the incendiaries, and on that account not being able to get himfelf comprehended in the pardon, was obliged to fly into Spain, where his fervices, which confifted in revealing fome advices he liill received from his affociates in France, were rewarded by a good penfion that was allowed him by that court, and which was continued to him, till the council of Spain having procured- by other means more certain intelligence than any they could get from Rafis, he foon perceived, by the contempt he was treated with at Madrid, and the difcontinuance of his penfion, that his credit was funk all of a fudden ; and changing his battery that in- flant, he applied himfelf with the utmoft diligence to find out who was the traitor in France that had enriched himfelf with his fpoils, not doubting but that if he fliould lucceed, this difcovery would purchafe his recal to his own country, which he had always in his view, and probably procure him greater advant?.ges than thofe he loll in Spain. Men educated in the arts of faftion, and the myftery of intrigue, have talents for thefe fort of difcoveries peculiar to themfelves. Rafis got acquainted with another Frenchman, named John Bias, who had fettled in Spain, and it was from him that he learned in what manner L'Hote had abufed the confidence of his firfi; mailer. Rafis, ihuck with this hint, fixed, as by infi:ind:, on this man ; and having procured from other perfons information that he was adually one of Villeroi's fecretaries, at that diftance his fagacity alone diicovered to him what fo many others upon the very fpot were ignorant of. His fufpicions being changed into a certainty, he went to Barrault, and offered to point out the traitor of whom he complained, but that care muft be taken to prevent his having any fufpicion that he was dif- covered, on condition, that if his informations were found to be true, the king would give him a free pardon in form, and a decent penfion. Barrault thought the affair of fuch importance, that he made no fcruple to promife both. Rafis likewife exadted a promife from Barrault, and this with a view to his own fafety, that he fhould proceed flowly and * L'Etoile fays, he had been one of the fix teen. 5 cautioufly Book XVII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. cautioufly in the affair ; and that when he wrote to France upon the propofals that had been made to him, he fliould addrefs himfelf to none but the king. But Barrault underftood this laft rcquefl: as an ex- cefs ^ unneccffiry caution, which did not exclude him from acquaint- ing his majefly's chief minifters with the affair : and it was Villeroi himfelf that he informed of Rafis's offer and propofals. Villeroi, who did not imagine that the traitor was in his own office, fent the difnatches immediately to the king : but L'Hote being with his malfer when this packet from Barrault was opened, drove diredtly at his purpofe ; and refleding upon the importance of the advice, aded in the very manner that Rafis had with fo much reafon been apprehenfive he would do ; for he wrote inftantly to his correfpondents in Spain, dcfiring them to take all the necefîary mealures, and that without delay, to prevent Rafis from difcovering more. This was the beft: method he could think of to fecure himfelf, and to prevent aiîy bad confequences ; and it would probably have fucceeded, had the perfon concerned been any other than Rafis. This man, when he received his pardon, which his majefty fent him, together with his anfwer to his propofals, obferved that it was not figned by Lomenie, to whom the king would naturally have referred, it, if it had not been offered him by another train of conveyance} and concluding from thence that it had paffed Villeroi's office, he went diredly to the ambaffador, and complained that he had deceived him ; and now thinking it no longer neceffary to conceal any thing, he told him his reafons for preffmg him to write only to the king, and to Vil- leroi lefs than any other perfon : he gave him, in a few words, all the informations he had promifed him concerning L'Hote's intrigues ; that done, he told Barrault, that to avoid, if it was ftill poffible, the danger with which he was threatened at Madrid, he liad nothing left for it but to endeavour to gain the French territories with the utmoft expe- dition. And accordingly he mounted his horfe that moment j and it was happy for hinr that he did ib, for the next morning his honfe was inverted by archers, who were fent after him with orders to make all poffible hafte, that they might come up with him before he reached the frontier : but Rafis, by good fortune, or rather by his own extreme diligence, efcaped with Defcartes, Barrault's fccretary, whom this am- baffador permitted to accompany him, to prefent him in France. They never refted till they found themfelves at Bayonne, from whence con- tinuing their rout without delay, they came to Paris, and hearing the king was at Fontainebleau, fet out diredly for that place. Vol. il P p On 29° MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVII. 1604. On the road they met Villeroi, who was going from Fontainebleau .— -V— — ' to his houfe at Juvify ; and believing they ought not to conceal any thing from him, intreated him to have his clerk arrefted by way of fe- curity ; and that they might have the folc honour of the affair, offered to return themfelves to Paris to arreft him. Villeroi neither approved of their propofal, nor the offer they made him of their perfons ; which, it mufl be confeffed, was an inftance of great imprudence ; but he, doubtlefs, imagined, that it was not poffible for L'Hote to efcape. He told the two couriers, that this clerk was to come to him the next day, and that it would be then time enough for them to fecure him; it be- ing likewife his opinion, that his majefty ought firft to be fpoke to about it ; and that they rifked nothing by this delay, provided they kept a profound filence. Surpriled and diffatisfied as they were at this proceeding, it was their bufinefs to obey ; and they delivered the pac- kets they were charged with, to him, to be given to his majefty, which he did the next day. The king had not yet received thefe packets on Eafter-day when I came to Fontainebleau, nor by confequence knew of the two couri- ers arrival, or the name of him that betrayed him ; the only certain intelligence he had was, the warning that had been given him to hold all the clerks of Villeroi fufpeded. As I did not reach Fontainebleau till it was very late, and was gready fatigued with my journey, I did not wait on his majefty till the next morning. I found him up and dreffed, though it was fcarcely fun-rife. Barrault's informations had given him great uneafinefs. This prince took my hand, and leading me into the gallery that joined to his apartment, conferred with me there a long time upon the news he had jufl: received from his ambaf- fador. The difpatches from London that had been loft coming into his mind, and all that I had faid when I imputed this misfortune to Villeroi's people, which at that time he took for an effeél of jealoufy and hatred, now appeared to him fo well founded, that he acknow- ledged to me he began to give credit to it, and to conceive very unfa- vourable thoughts of Villeroi. As he did not cxped: that D.cfcartes and Rafis would arrive fo foon, he ordered me to fift this matter to- the bottom, and ufe my utmoft endeavours to find out the truth. H I s majefty and I had been three days employed in endeavouring to make difcoveries, when Villeroi arrived with the packets before- mentioned. 1 was walking with the king in the long gallery of the 2 garden Book XVII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 291 garden of Pines, and preparing to take leave of him for mj'' return to 160 1. Paris, at the very moment that Villeroi came up to us. His counte- _.'——%'— —' nance exprefled all that grief the confcioufnefs of having fuch news to ^f'^nf ■fl'-'^'^^ inform his majefty of mufl: necefTarily infpire > and I may venture to fay, that for a man who had fome caufe to w'iûi to humble a rival, or at leafl: to rejoice in his humiliation, I fympathifed truly with him in his afflidion. While he read the papers, his majefty often looked at me, and prefled my hand feveral times. He did not give him time to read them out, but interrupting him at the name of L'Hote, " And " where is this L'Hote, your clerk?" faid his majefty, with fome emotion, " have you not caufed him to be feized ?" " 1 believe, lire," replied Villeroi, in great conllernation, " that he is at myhoufe, but he " is not yet arrefted." " How !" returned Henry, in a rage, " yoii " believe he is in your houfe, and yet you have not ordered him to be " feized ! Pardieu I this is great negligence indeed ; how could you " trifle thus when you knew his treachery ? this buiinefs muft be at- *' tended to immediately : go back with all poffible hafte, and feize *' him yourfelf." Villeroi departed in the utmoft grief and confufion ; and 1 did not delay a moment my return to Paris ; when the next-day I received a letter from his majelly, who charged Defcartes to tell me from hitn all that had pafled. Since I find myfelf engaged to relate this affair, that I may avoid the reproach of having fupported fuch accounts of it as have been given by the enemies of Villeroi, in what remains to be faid I fliall follow the detail he himfelf gives of it, in the apology for his condud:, which he thought it neceflary to * make public. After having recounted, in a manner advantageous for himfelf, all that had pafTed from the moment wherein he fpoke to the two couriers, to the time that he went to the king at Fontainebleau, he proceeds in the That at his return to his houfe, he found the bifhop of Chartres and fome other perfons of diftindion, who waited for him, and de^ tained him a long time in his clofet, the fubjeâ; of their conference being the fettling fome points relating to the approaching ceremony of * See the original of this apology in minifter, it being ftridly conformable to Villeroi's Memoirs of flate, pag. 522, it the accounts given of it by M. De Tliou, bears date the 3d of May. There can be the Chronol. Septen. Matthieu, and all no doubt of its containing a faithful rela- other hiftorians of credit of that time, tion of the fentiments and aftions of this P p 2 the 292 MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XVII. 1604. the order of the Garter. When Defcartes came to his apartment, to ac- «— -nr— ' quaint him that L'Hote, with Defnots, were juft arrived from Paris, his refpeft for his company hindered him from interrupting them. L'Hote, on his firft entring the houfe, was faluted with the news of the arrival of the two couriers from Spain, yet prelerved prefence of mind enough to appear but httie concerned at it; and pretending that he was hun- gry, and would go and eat a morfel in the kitchen, only pafled through it telling the rnaitre d'hotel that he would go to a public houfe and refreOi himfelf, and get his boots taken off, that he might be in a con- dition to appear before his mafter. Villeroi, after his company went away, afked where L'Hote was ; and being informed that he was in the offices, as every body thought he was, he thought he could not do better than fend a fervant to tell the rnaitre d'hotel, that he fliould amufe L'Hote with fome difcourfe, and not lofe fight of him : he him- felf, in the mean time, went toLomenie, to defire that he would lend him Du-Broc, lieutenant du prévôt, who he intended fhould arreft him. He brought back Lomenie with him, and they placed themfelves at a window that looked into the court where the whole tranfadion was to pafs. But thefe precautions were too late, L'Hote had already efcaped. Those who judge favourably enough of Villeroi to take the whole recital upon his word, will at leafl: probably exclaim here againft the dilatory manner in which this fecretary of flate executed thofe orders he had iull; received from the king's own mouth, and in a tone as ab- folute as it was preffing : he would be ftill more culp^ible, if a thou- fand circumftances of L'Hote's cfcape, made public by Defcartes and Rafis, which were not mentioned in his apology, were true : however, it would be certainly great injuftice to believe every thing that on this occafion was faid againft Villeroi * ; his enemies had too good an op- portunity afforded them to rail, not to take advantage of it ; the prote- ftants, elpecially, painted him in the blackeft colours, not able to deny themlclves the pleafure of being revenged on him, who had contributed more than any other to the king's change of religion. But, on the other fulc, it is not fit to hold him clear of any blame, as thofe that are devoted to him do, who inhft, that his whole condudl in this affair * De Thou remarks, that M. de Ville- his misfortune, bookcxxxii. P.Matthieu roi did m t abfulutL-l, efcape fufpiciuii ; but likewife aflerts, that Henry IV. was too at the fame time he fliys, that HuirylV. well acquainted with the fidelity ol this mi- far from fufFering himfelf to be influenced niltei to conceive the Ic It fulpitioii againll by it, endeavoured to comfort him under him,, vol. II. b. iii. p. 637. was Book XVII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. was juflifiable. All my friends did not fcruple to fay publicly, that, if fuch an accident had happened in my family, I lliould have been much ' more feverely refleded upon. The foreign ambalTadors refiding in France, and even the Pope's nuncio, came to my houfe at Paris, and declared to me, that if, after fuch adifcovery, their difpatches mufl: flill pafs through Villeroi's hands, their mailers would not venture to men- tion anything of confequence in them. As to the traitor, all that could be done was to fend fome archers after him, who purfued him fo clofely, that when became to the fide of the river Marne, with a Spaniard who accompanied him, and at a fmall diftance from a ferry-boat, he could not hope to reach it before they came up with him, and faw no other way to avoid their purfuiç, than to throw himfelf into the river, thinking to fwim over it ; but he was drowned in the attempt. The Spaniard chofe rather to be taken ; and he was brought back to Paris, with the body of L'PIote, which was drawn out of the water. Villeroi feemed truly afflided that they had not been abie to feize his clerk alive : indeed he had reafon to re- gret it ; it was the only means he had left to ftup the muuth of flander. He was the firlt to propofe to me, in a letter he wrote to me about this affair, to have the carcafe * treated with the utmoft ignominy, and to punifli the Spaniard in an cxem^plary manner. All this could not appeafe the king. He knew not, for a long time after this adventure, in what light to behold Villeroi; and was three days in doubt whether it was not fit to bani(h him from his pre- fence. But Villeroi threw himfelf at his majelfy's feet, with fo many marks of a profound forrow, fhed tears in fuch abundance, and made * The furgeons who examined his corps, yet could not avoid acknowledging, that were unanimoufly of opinion, if we may Henry IV. did not treat iVl. de Villeroi give credit to L'Etoile, thjt he haa not with tlie more coldnefs on tliis account ; been drowned : and, as there was no more " taking the trouble, fays he, of going appearance of his having been (tabbed or " even to his houfe, to comfort him in his ftrangled, they concluded he had been " forrow, not difcovcring the leaft figns of fmotiiered, and afterwards thrown into the " diffidence of him by reafon of what had river. The Septen.dre takes no notice of *' palt, but fecming rather to put more this examination by the fuigeons, but gives " truit in him tlian before. It was there- an ample detail ot the particulais f L'Hote's " fore did at coujt, that it was happy tor flight, and the manner n wh ch lie was " him he had fo good a mailer, iince, in found, which totally deftroys the validity " affairs ot (fate L.f fo much confequence, of the account given b, L'Ktoile, wh^j, " kings and pi inces ufually exptft miters upon other occalioiis, has given fufficient " fllould tie anfwerable for the afts of tneir pioois of his dtflike to M. de Villeroi, and " fervants." Anna 1604, p. 24. 5 . fuch MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XVIL fuch deep proteftations of his innocence, that Henry could not help believing him (though the world would never be perfuaded, but that he only feigned to believe him) and with that goodnefs, fo natural to him, granted the pardon he fo vehemently implored. Matters were in this flate, when I returned to Fontainebleau, to inform his majefty what I was indifpenfably obliged to do, of the re- ■prefentations made me by the foreign ambafladors. It was refolved, that the cypher made ufe of by our ambaffadors fhould be changed ; and the king now thought only of taking advantage of this incident, to make Villeroi more exaâ: (I repeat the king's own words) more cautious in the choice of his clerks, and lefs haughty than he had formerly been. His majefty concerted with me a letter, which he thought likely to produce this effect, becaufe I was to make it public : this letter was brought to me at Paris by Perroton from the king, as if to acquaint me with the indulgences he had thought fit to fliew Vil- leroi. The contents were, that his majefty could not refufe a pardon to the tears and entreaties of this fecretary j that I ought no longer to diftruft him, fince he did not ; and that, in his prefent condition, cha- rity required, that I Ihould write to him a letter to give him comfort, and an alTurance of my friendfliip ; and this he entreated me to do. I SECONDED the good intentions of his majefty^ without any reluc- tance, and, I may even fay, with more fincerity than he required of me, except that I could not prevail upon myfclf to write to Villeroi, that I held him entirely difculpated. This I thought would appear a ridiculous piece of flattery : I faid enough to afford him the means of perfuading the public, bv my letter, that I was convinced he was in- nocent of the capital crime of which he was accufed. I gave him the hint of the declaration he publifhed fome days afterwards, and repre- fented to him, that he ought to endeavour to fhut the mouths of the proteftants, to vvhofe cenfure he had laid himfelfopen, and that the only method he could ufe for that purpofe, was to relax a little of that violence he had fliewn againft them, by feeking to infpire the ca- tholics with more benevolent fentiments of them ; and laftly, to appear publicly the promoter of that regulation I had fo often propofed to him, to eftablifh a perfeét concord between thefe two bodies. If in this letter I added, that his abfolute juftification in the king's opinion de- pended upon his future behaviour, and if as to what hadpalled I pro- duced the example of maréchal Biron, it was only in obedience to the king's commands, who was willing to appear indulgent, but not weak. Villeroi, EooK XVII. MEMOIRS O *F SULLY. ViLLERoi, in his anfwer to my letter, thanked me for the advice 1604. I had given him, which he affured me he would exadly follow, and v_--v-— for my good offices, which he protefted he would never forget. Pie confeffed, that he ought not to have fo blindly confided in a young man like L'Hote, and was candid enough to acknowledge, that al- though his confcience did not reproach him with the guilt of any crime againft the king, yet the error he had fdlen into was fufficient to caft a ftain upon his reputation, which all the faithful fervices he was refolved to continue to render his majefty, during the remainder of his life, would never wipe off. In his defence he only laid, that the great obligations L'Hote had received from him were what made it fo diffi- cult for him to believe he could fail in his duty. Villeroi feldom wrote to me without renewing the mention of his fault, his misfortune, and his innocence, and almoft always the obligations he thought he owed to me on this occafion. It appeared, that Barrault did not give credit to the iniurious re- Eorts that were fpread of Villeroi by his enemies, fince he wrote to im, a fliort time afterwards, and gave him an account of a converfa- tion between himfelf and Prada, of which L'Hote was the fubieft. Rafis had reafon to be fatisfied with the recompence that was nVide him ; befides the fum of fifteen hundred and fixty livres, which he re- ceived from Barrault when he left Spain, a gratification of a thoufand crowns was beftowed on him, and all the condidons agreed to by the ambafiador were fulfilled. This did not hurt Barrault himfelf, being paid in the laft quarter of his penfion. Defcartes reprefented to the king, that a man could not live in Spain but at great expence ; and that, notwithftanding all my letters, his mailer had not been able to get any thing from that quarter. The paper upon religion, that has been mentioned before, confined of fome articles, which, if received by the catholics and proteftants, appeared to me capable of uniting the two religions, by deftroying that deteftable prejudice which makes them load each other with the harfli accufations of herefy and treafon, impiety and idolatry. This paper I had drawn up with the confent and approbation of his majefly ; and I fhewed it to him feveral times, in the prefence of the bifhop of Ev- reux, Bellievre, Villeroi, Sillery, and father Cotton. If J95 25>6 M E M O î R S O F S U L L Y. Book XVII. 1604. If the proterhints do not Relieve all the catholics profcfs, it cannot at W/Vn- leaft be denied, that we believe nothing which they do not likewite ; and that what we believe contains all that is effcntial in the chriftian re- ligion, the Ten Commandments, the Apoftles Creed, and the Lord's Prayer, being iht great and general foundation * of our common faith. Here then lej: us. ftop, andconfider the reft as fo many dubious points, about which men may be left at full liberty to have different opinions. We are perfuaded, that it is not only ufelefs, but criminal, to fearch into the fecrets of the Almighty; but, we not only fearch into his ftcrets, but fet up ourfelves as judges of them, when we charge one another as criminal for having different opinions, and different de- grees of knowledge, with relation to fpeculative truth, though know- ledge, in all its different degrees, is received from God. Let us leave to him alone the knowledge of his fecrets, as well as the difpenfatrons of his providence : let us allow to the fovereign magillrate, what the public good requires, the power of punilliing thofe who violate the laws of charity ;in any fociety ; for it belongs not to any human judica- ture to punilh errors only cognizable by God. Let us confider this in another view ; li our unhappinefs be fuch, that the error is on our lide, can the catholics imagine that they fl:iall bring us into their notions by abuleand perfecution .? Compaffion and tendernefs are the only means that do any fervice to religion, and the only means that religion dic- tates : the zeal which is fo n;uch boafted, is only rage or obflinacy, difguifed under a reputable appellation. This was the ground- work of my paper: nothing can be more plain or more true ; but the power which men allow truth to have over them is very fmali ; and what is generally cahed reafon in religion, if examined well, is, in mofl men, nothing more than their own paffion. If to reconcile the two religions is morally impoffible, it may, with equal certainty, be faid to be politically impoffible, fince it cannot'be done without the concurrence of the Pope, which cannot be expedted, fince it was not obtained in the pontificate of Clement VIII. who, of all the Popes that have for a long time fat in the fee of Rome, was moft free from party .prejudices, and had more of that gcntlenefs and com- paffion which the gofpel prefcribes to all its followers. * I do not think, it neceffary, to lofe any cian, we may, without injuftice, deny his time in giving a fcrious anfwer to thtfe ar- qualifications as a profound divine. What gumtnts of our author. After having al- he f-v-- u the ads of government. His inclinations, it is true, ought to he directed to the good of the fubjeds, but he always knows, that by catching too foon at happinefs it is ahîioft always miffed, and that there is no pro- portion between the real evils into which men are plunged by fuch miftakcn precipitations, and the vexations merely ideal and imaginary, which are complained of by thofe that think they want fomething. Happy is the public when it is governed by fuch principles of policy, as put it in the way to tranquillity ; all regard to fliort-lived and tranfitory advantage is caft afide in confideration of general good, and a wife king is not Icfs a father of thofe fubjc ds who rtiall live at the diftance of three or four generations, than of thofe who live in his own time; and con- fiders the falfe tendernefs which he might have (liewn to his own time, at the expence of fucceeding ages, as the partiality of a father in favour of fome of his children, which is to end in the ruin of his family. The fcheme, which Henry had foi'med for the intereft of his king- dom, making it necelfary that he fhould take all meafures to encreafe his revenues, inflead of making all thofe defalcations about which fome who pretended great zeal for his fervice were continually talking to him, he required my private atlvice. The advance which I had made in the knowledge of the finances enabled me to difcover fome fources of large profit v.'hich would very little burthen the people ; of thefe I put nine i:Uo a memorial which I prefented to his majeify, as follows. ' 1. The contraftors who in late times managed the chief farms of the revenue, had, under pretence of (everal employments which they reprefented as neceflary, mifapplied the money which they had' re- ceived, and made thofe fums pafs in their accounts, to the ruin of the exchequer, which was reprefented as having received them, thou'j-h not a penny came to it. By this article alone the crown was robbed of feveral millions. Of thefe accounts and details 1 therefore demand- ed an exad rcvifal, that I might lay hold on the contradors, who had not been able lo completely to conceal themfelves under the different names by which they carried on their robberies, but that I (hould be able to trace them. 2. The clergy of France had, by the mouths of the cardinal?, arch- bilhops, and biiliops, accufed Caftille, their receiver-general, of having detained their money. The petition which had been prefented to mè, Vol. II. Y y was MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIX. was accompanied with an account of the articles of accufation fopofitiveiy and clearly ftated, that nothing remained but that the king fliould re- claim the immenfe fum which the receiver appeared to have embezzled. ■:. All the managers of the finance?, and the people of bufinefs, particularly the treafurers of France, who had contributed much, to the ruin of the finances, might be affociated with Caftille, by the erec- tion of a chamber of juftice; which mud: produce great advantages, if private intrigues and fecret artifices could be kept out, by which thefe enquiries are often defeated. 4. The abufes in the alienation of the king's lands were fo grofs, that manv of thofe who had them in their hands held them by mere ufurpation, without any title ; and the others had them at a price fo fcandaloufly low, that they were repaid by the income of the very firft year at fix per cent, which was the interefl; then current. Of this I made his majefly fully fenfible, who would not fufter thefe alienations to be exadtly verified, that he might be drawn to confcnt to the re- fumption of all thofe poflefiions, or to fome meafures for obliging the pofl'eflbrs to pay the true price. 5. In the other offices and employments there was the fame cor- ruption to be removed by the fame means ; the perfons in poffeffion were to be obliged to fupply the déficiences of their firfl payment in proportion to their falaries, or to give back their employments for tl>e lame fum for which they had purchafed them. 6. The debts due to the Swifs Cantons were, by a bad regulation, fo far from being lefiened, that they had been always encreafing. I had already made fuch an alteration in that part of our affairs, that by the feafonable payment of one million, I had obtained an acquittance of eight ; half of it reckoned to the principal and half to the arrears; and by taking the fame method with the reft, the public was Iboti cleared of that debt. 7. As it was eafy for the king to recover the pofieilion of the crown lands that were alienated, fo it was of great advantage to him to alie- nate I know not how many little parts of them, confifting in ground- rents, and particular claims, of which the expences for repairs, leafes, and receiving, fometimes under pretence of profccutions, fometimes of drawbacks, and improvements, were rifcn, by the connivance of the treafurers Book XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. treafurers of the finances, who alone made their advantage of them, to fuch a prodigious heighth, that according to a calculation which I made, by reckoning ten years, one with another, a fifth part muft have been added, before a fingle penny could come to the king. This was the chief fource of plunder to the officers of the revenue. By alie- nating all thefe parts at the rate for money fettled by the laft edifV, the king would be more than doubly a gainer, becaufe he might buy with the money which this rate would bring in, thofe parts of this re- venue which were mortgaged at ten per cent. 8. The profit was yet greater with refpeâ: to the refumption of the royal revenues that had been alienated ; fome of the contradtors had offered me to purchafe them back to the king for forty millions, with- out obliging him to repay any part of the fum, provided he would let them take their choice of the part to be purchafed, and allow them to enjoy them for a certain numlDcr of years, after which they would reftore them to the a-own clear of all debts and incumbrance. The king, inftead of accepting their propofal, had nothing to do but to get himfelf the money which they would have gotten by the bargain. 9. France had in her hand an infallible power to draw unto her- felf all the commerce of the Ocean and Mediterranean, and to fee them, without any great expence, in the middle of her provinces : all this would coll her nothing but the labour of cutting a canal from the Seine to the Loire, from the Loire to the Saone, and from the Saone to the Meufe *j and the firfl glance of this projet prefen's us with * Before the duke of Sully came into they are yet far from being impoflible. the miniftry, it had never been thought of The joining rivers, and making roads, m France to derive any advantaa.e from which render the communication either of the rivers ; to which, nevcrthelefs, it muft different provinces, or different parts of the be owned, the kingdom is indebted for its fame province, more eaiy and conimoJious, wealth and commerce. He began with the are perhaps the two moll: important objecfts canal of Briare, but was not able to pro- to which a wife government can appiy its ceed farther. Perhaps nothing will contri- attention in time of peace ; and by employ- bute fo much to render the reign of Lewis ing the foldier)-, who are at fuch times ufe- the Great immortal, as that wonderful ca- lefs, or that prodis^icus number of beggars, nal for joining the two feas : the great be- who are always fo, in performing works of nefits refulting to the nation from thefe this nature, they will be executed at a mo- undertakings, fo happily executed, palTing derate expence. LJlenefs, which generally over the example Holland affords us, points makes beggars and vagabonds turn thieves out to us what remains to be farther done, and robbers, at the fame time will be ba- and at the fame time proves, that however nifhed from the nation, and commerce in- diiScult attempts of this nature may appear, troduced into every part of it, Y V 2 more 5 M E M O ï P. S OF S U L L Y. Eook XÎX. 1004. more than two million'; a year, which ■ -vve flio«W get from ^'^pain ' — v-"^ aîone, and which would be real *nd folid wfeakh, a^-àîl that îs which is produced by commerce. ; ■ • ■ '' ''• .• \'- '"• ■ T ENTERxn into a long feries of particulars, when J gave in my re- port to the king; and I accompanied it with a pap-er, in which 1 cleared up; .the reality of ■forrie of the revenues which were .rot com- prifed .Ln .thefe articles.. The prince, who to be iure expeded a very different fcheme, and whûfe natural livelinefs of temper kept himfrom attending tc^ aiv diicourfe fo clofcly as was necelTary, at iirft raifed a thoufand difiîcuhies to all my defigns ; he faid, that indeed the fchemes were great, but lome of them were wild and unfettled ; others of no great profit ; fome difficult to be executed, and fome hard to be made confiftent with each other. All this was becaufe he did not under- fland them. I knew well enough what his majefty was wanting, and what propofal would have fuited his inclination : an augmentatio-n of the culloms, creation of new offices, or a further alienation of his crown lands : if I would have fluewn hiai a fcheme wliich I had my- felf drawn up upon thefe means of raiâng.mouey, I might have brought fourfcore millions of ready coin into his coffers; befides r].\ty millions more, by letting a leafe of five millions a year, to which I had raifed fix of his farms above their former value. But I eafily brought the king to allow, that though thefe meUiods were eafily pradicable, they were at tJie fame tim.e -veiy burthenfome t!o the' people ; that we ought not to have recourlc: to them but in the inoil prcffing exigences; and tliat the leifure of a time of peace fliould be employed in carrying on meafures that required more time aifd application. Sucli were the nine fchemes that I had laid before, him, of v/hith i afiuredîhim, that although he feemed to rate them at To Httle, that if they were fkil fully managed and brought on one after another, they would in time make hiai richer than he was by two hundred milliqns. . The king fell into my opinion, and we determined to begin by the re-eftablifhment of the public revenue, when Ihad fhewn, by good It is ncccflary thereftiould be fome prin- whole mathine. Much trouble might be cipal ctntcr for the riches of a nation ; but faved in (hidying the nature of thofe fecrec ncverthtlcfs other cities Uiould not fjU a fprings which give motion to the niofl mi- facrifice to the capital ; which being in the nute branches of commerce, were due at- body politic, what the heart is iniiiehu- tention given to that Iniiple and obviou-s man body, conftantly receiving the blood, principle, of only fupplymg the country and as conftantly propelling it, even to the people with tlic means of living in cafe and mofl extreme parts, ihfy cannot be depriv- plenty. r^t of it without bringing a languor on the extrads Book XIX. M EMOIRS OF SULLY. extratls and autlientic papers out of the chamber of accounts, the court 1 604. of aid:^, and other offices, that this regulation would, without the leafl ".i^ — v — injuftice, bring fix millions into the royal trea'ury. He engaged in this afterwards fo warmly, that he fhewed the higheft impatience to begin, and never writ me a letter in which he did not mention it. To fucceed in this, I thought it necefiary that a new council or office ilioCild be ereo regard was had to their arguments. This council was com- pofed of Chateau- neu-f, Calignon, and Jeannin, the prefidcnts De Thou and Tambonneau alternately, andof Rebours; a treafurer, and a rcgilter, who were Le- Gras, and Regnouard ; and 1 was the chief of it, and pre- . fent at it as often as my other bufinefs would give me leave ; but whe- ther I was there or not every thing went forward according to afcheme which I had drawn as the rule * of their operations. All our pro- ceedings would be tedious to relate, it is fufficient to fay, tiiat I had made a clear and exad: diftinction between the grants made at different times and from different funds; fome had been bought for the pay- ment of the third part of their price in ready money, fome for half, others for the whole fuin; there were fome that had coil: their pofleffors very little, fome v\ere obtained by mere fraud, and others honeflly procured ; thefe laft were never touched otherwife than to fettle th;m more fecurely according to their original condition; as for the reft, ac- cording to the degree of fraud and injuflice with which they had been procured, we either ftruck them entirely off, or ordered the full pur- chafe to be paid ; there were ibme, of which the poffeflbrs were ob- liged to pay back the arrears, which they had fo unjullly got into their pofîeffion ; and others, who for having embezzled the arrears were cbiiged to deduft them from the principal, which it was fo much eafier to pay off The public gained anotiier advantage, by fupprefîîng a num- ber of receivers of the revenue, who were an ufelcfs burden upon it, and of whom I left only one remaining. The enquiry which I had fchemed out againfl monopolizers and officers of the revenue was afterwards carried on by the eredtion of a chamber of jullice ; but as the corrupt management of foiicication and intercefi'ion was not cut off, nothing was produced, but the common confequence, the ciiief criminals efcaped, and thofe who were lefs con- fiderable fufiered all the feverity of the law : fome remedy was found * A more particular detail is given of concerned in the revenue may there have thefe regulations in the old Memoirs ; thofe an opportunity of confulting them. 5 for 3r) MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIX. for this abufe, at leafl: in the time immediately following my enquiry ; for I toolc great care, that when any man was found guilty of corrup- tion he {liould be immediately puniflied. Exadl information was given of thofe that were committed at Rouen. Mankind now began to give to all thefe flrokes of art the name that they deferved ; and thofe un- lawful gains which had fo long impoverilhed France, and enriched the officers of the revenue, were treated, without ceremony, as robbery and rapine ; and honefty began to fliew her head in a fanduary where {lie had never refided before. The treafurers of France having this year prefented their accounts full of blanks for nonpayment, I could think of no better method to cure them of a praftice which I very much fufpeded of diflionefly, than to aflign them thefe pretended blanks for the payment of their next year's wages. The removal of Drouart, whofe place was given to Montauban, and feme other rtrokes of the fame kind, taught the chief of thefe men of bulinefs to do their duty, and to do it well. By a decree palled againft one Le-Roi, they were forbidden, under a pe- nalty of an hundred thoufand livres, to take any foreigner as a partner in the king's farms. This decree was declared in the name of Charles Du-Han, farmer-general of the five great farms, to the chief perlons interefted in the revenue, and the other farms of the king at Paris, and the other principal cities in the kingdom. I COMPLAINED to the king of an invafion made by the parliament of Touloufe on his authority, by forbidding of any corn to be carried out of the province of Languedoc. I was informed of this by the treafurers of the province, becaufe it threatened the ruin of the foreign cuftoms, the farmers of which demanded a very confiderable abate- ment : it likewife reduced both the galleys and the garrifons into diffi- culties, as they were generally viAualled from that part of the kingdom. The four hundred thoufand livres raifed by augmenting the taille, into which half of the tax of a penny in the fliilling had been changed, continued ftill to be paid ; as likewife the other half, laid upon mcr- chandifes : though the edid: by which thefe taxes were eftabliflied was fettled but for two years. The officers of the revenue made reprelen- tations to the king upon this account : they complained of the low va- lue to which certain fiirms were fallen which "depended upon com- merce with Spain, by the prohibition of that trade, as well as by the multiplicity of edids daily ifllied by the council, and which they re- I prefeuted Book XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. prefented as more dangerous to the public, than the taille itfelf. I allow, for my part, that their complaints were juft, and had myfelf*- remonftrated to the king long before them. He had written two let- ters upon this fubjecft, one to the council, in which he (hewed them, that the prefent ftate of affairs, and particularly the armament of Spain, did not allow him to make any abatement in his revenues for the pre- fent year ; and the other to me, to prevail upon the council to come into his opinion. I GAVE him what adlftance was in my power, as grand mafter of the ordnance. The arfenal was at that time ftored with an hundred pieces of cannon ; there were in the galleries, fmall arms for fifteen thou- fand foot, and three thoufand horfe ; and in the Temple and at the Baftile, were two millions of pounds of powder, and a hundred thou- fand bullets. I remember, that one day as Henry was walking with me in the Arfenal, he feemed alarmed at the number and power of the enemies that threatened him : but I fhewed him the formidable flore, by which he would be able to bring them all to terms. He then de- manded a lift of his arms, ammunition, and artillery, with a fummary account of his ready money, and what could be added to it, in the years 1605 and 1606. He entered into my cabinet, and made my fecretaries write thefe minutes, that he might have them always in his pocket. The regulation and difcipline of the foldiers was an article of go- vernment mofl neceflary to be confidered in order to its reformation. It is hard to conceive, that, in a nation that from its firfl eftablilliment has been engaged in war, and has indeed purfued no other trade than that of arms, no care fhould have been hitherto taken to form and methodife them. Whatever related to the foldiery of France, was ofFenfive and difgufling. The foot foldiers were enlifted by vio- lence, and made to march by a cudgel, their pay was unjuftly with- held, they heard of nothing but a prilbn, and had nothing before their eyes but a gibbet. This, treatment drove them iiTto all me- thods of defertion, which was prevented only by the prevots, who kept them in their camp like men belieged : the officers themfelves being ill paid, had ibme kind of right to violence and plunder. Henry would often fay, and he fpoke according to his own experience, that the pub- lic could never be well lervcd, till the troops were put into another ilate. TtlE 352 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIX. 1604. The firft point, on which this new regulation muft depend, was "«— -V- — ' exaélnefs of payments, which the king began by fettling it fo, that, for the future, it could neither be delayed, nor the money appointed for it applied to any other ufe. This regulation was fo lowed by another equally juft and equally proper to reconcile tlie mind to the trade of arms: by this there was a provifion made for the relief of foldiers, when, by wounds or ficknefs contra(5ted in the fervice, they were unable to live either by war or labour: things were ma::aged fo, that, in this ilate of mifery, they wanted nothing, either for tin. ir living or their cure*. The liberty with wh'ch I have told the king's faults gives me a right to praifc him for his good qualities. He was born with the vir- tues and method of ceconomy, and therefore pra£lifed them without any conftraint : parcicular details of bufinefs were to him merely an amufement. The princes that engage perfonally in the adminiftra- tion of government, fall commonly into one of thefe two inconveni- • ences; either they are incapable of fubmitting to moderate view?, or they cannot raife themfelves into any elevation. The mind of Henry adapted itfelf with the fame eafinefs to things fmall or great, of which his letters give fp-fficicnt evidence, and a way that was then ufed of applying to him immediately, fometimes for mere triucs, fliew it ftill more plainly. 1 here had been long due two hundred an^l fifty crowns to a wine merchant of Gifors, who had formerly furniflied the houlhold with wine. His majefty fent me to pay him, and to recompence him * By the king's edifl, dated the 7th of hofpital of Mar?, or the Invalids, a monu- July 1 60s ffor pofiTibly this afFdir could not mcnt alone fufficient to imnioitalife his me- be concluded till the year after) his ma- mory. This houfe of chriftian charity was jtfty granted to the gentlemen, officers, before this only an hofpitjl, without any and folditrs difab'ed in his fervid.-, the royal reveji.ue belonging to it, built by Henry llf. houfe of cbriftian charity, built with the for m .i;iicd foidiers j it flood in the fub- money arifmg from the furplus of the ac- urbs of Saint Marcellus, in the ftreet called counts of hofpitals, alms-houfcs, and fpitals rue de TOurfine, and was ready to fdll for lepers, Sic. and from the per.fions of clown. Two years after, Henry IV. alfo Lymonks, and the oblats f : the luperin- caul.d the iiofpital of Saint Lewis to be tendance of it belonged to the high confia- biiilt j for this purpofe, he granted to the ble of P'rance. This eftabliftiment has fince Hôtel Dieu, ten fous on every minot J of been changed, or rather totally abohflied, fait, within the diflri£l of Paris, during fii- by what Lewis the great fubftituted in its teen years, and five fous for ever, ftead, in building and endowing the royal ■f Lay-Monks or oblats, were foldicr.i difabled in the kinp's fervice, who bad the maintenance of a monk affigned to t!ieni on the revenues of an abbey, as a rewaid for their ftrvice. X A minot of fait contains four French bufhcis, and is fonieihing li-fs than an Englilh bufhel, for Book XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 3 Si for the delay ; " my confcience, fays he, obliges me to pity that poor 1604. " man." I have, perhaps, told too many ofthefe kind of flories ; but v- — ^ — my book would make quite another kind of a figure, if I prefented to the public all the letters which the king wrote to me. As to thofe other ideas that had a higher objedV, either of intereft, of glory, or public happinefs, the king never loft fight of them, either in his vexations or his pleafures: to fee whether my ideas agreed with his, he made many enquiries ; and concluded at laft, that I rtiould give him an enumeration of all thofe things, by which I thought the glory of a powerful kingdom might be deftroyed or fullied. I thought there was no better way of complying with his intention, than that of prefenting him a fketch, written with fuch fimplicity, and with fucli few ufelefs ornaments of ftyle, that he might at once glance it over : it contained an enumeration, without proof or expofition, of thofe abufes which commonly find their way into public affairs. I here lay it before my readers, to whom it may ferve as a compendium of the principles, which they have feen, and muft expedl to fee, difFufed throuo^h our Memoirs. The caufes of the ruin or decline of monarchies are exorbitant fub- fidies, monopolies, chiefly thofe relating to corn ; negleâ: of merchan- dife, trade, agriculture, arts, and manufadlories ; the great number of public employments, the fees, and exceffive authority of men in office ; the coft, the delay, and the injuftice of tribunals ; idlenefs, luxury, and all that is conneded with it, debauchery and corruption of manners, confufion of ranks, changes of the value of money, unjuft and impru- dent wars, the defpotic power of fovereigns, their blind adherence to particular perfons, their prejudice in favour of particular conditions or profeflîons ; the greedlnefs of minifters and favourites, the degradations of perfons of quality -, contempt and negleét of men of letters ; the con- nivance at bad cuftoms, and infraftion of good laws; an obftinate ad- herence to cuftoms, either mifchievous or indifferent ; and the multipli- city of edifts and ufelefs regulations. If I was to chufe among all the forms of government, of which this monarchy has furniflied examples, I fhould propofe Clovis, Charlemagne, Philip the auguft, and Charles * the fage; and I ftiould wifli that the * It would perhaps have been ftill bet- the duke of Sully, we fliali find the one ter, to have alfo rejcded the three firft of adeJ on the principles of a Roman, the thefe, and kept only to Charles V. On other on thofe of a true Spartan : the max- cxamining the charadlers of Henry IV. and ims here laid down difcover a mixture of Vol. II. Z z eye MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIX. eye might never fall ib low, as upon the reign of Charles VIII. and our times ; and if I was to eftablifli a fingle principle of government, it ihould be this, 'That good laivs and good manncn produce each other. But ûich is our unhappinefs, that we never perceive this valuable connexion, till corruptions and abufes have been carried together to the higheft points J fo that among men, the principle of good ariics always from the extremity of evil. The regulations, for the augmentation and fecuring of commerce, appearing to Henry to be of the firll: importance to the public, he laid nut the greateft part of his care upon them. The projeâ: of the canal for ioining the Seine to the Loire* being ratified, I removed mvfelf to thoie parts, that there might be no miiiake in the preparations that were previous to the execution ; whether in taking heights, or levelling the ground, or laying hold of any advantages that might occur. I fpent but little time in this journey, for the king recalled me as fooi) almoft as I was gone. In the like manner I regulated feveral affairs of commerce in the journey I made to Poitou, as has been already related. both thefe principles. I have obfcrved be- fore, whac conedlives were neceflary to modify the too auilere temper of the duke of Sully : I fhall here take the fame liberty with the too warlike difpofition of Henry IV. A military fpirit is undoubtedly ne- ceffary to defend a (fate ; it ought there- fore to be nouriflied with the utmoff care ; but it fhouM notwithftanding be kept in the fame ftate we do a maftifF, for the de- fence of our houfe, that is, chained up, and very feldom indulged with the liberty of perfuing its own coiirfe, le(t it fliould turn upon its niafters and tear them to pieces. The reputation alone of courage produces almoft the fame efTeift as the exertion of it can. It may be laid down as a principle, that there are no means but what arc pre- ferable to war, if the fjme end can be ob- tained by them. * This is the canal of Briare, which from that little town runs to M..ntargis, abuut ten leagues Jiflant from it." It was to have been continued to Moret ; but this part of the dcfign was left unexecuted, and the canal itfelf was neglciied, after more than three hundred thoufand crowns had been laid out upon it, through the malice 6 of thofe who envied M. de Rofny, or, ac- cording to Mezerai, through the change that happened in the miniflry. This work was far advanced at that time; ithasfincc beenrefumed, and at length finifhed. M. De Thou beftows great commendation on M. de Sulty, for being the inventor of this defign, b. cNxxii. A further proof of this may be drawn from the filver and copper plates, or a kind of medals found in 1737, when they were at work on the fluices In this canal, and which it was certainly wrong to take from thence. The count of Bu- ron, one of the parties intcreftcd in this ca- nal, fent the copper ones to the prefent duke of Sully, which are now in the duke's cabinet of medals, but kept the filver ones on account of their value. One of thefe copper medals is charged with the duke of Sully's arms, and another bears this in- fcription : 1607. Maximilian de Bethune, under the reign of Henry IV. by the hands of Meffire Peter Ozon, at this time mayor and governor of Montargis-le- Franc. The duke of Sull)', hasalfo lately recovered part of the memorials and other writings re- lating to this canal. Op Book XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 355 Of thefe affairs, the mofl: important and mofl perplexing, was an 1604. unforefeen quarrel which happened this year with Spain, concerning" — ^v — -» the mutual traffic carried on between the two nations. The king of Spain had, in the preceding year, laid a duty of thirty per cent, upon all French goods imported to Spain or Flanders ; as likevvife upon all goods exported from thefe two ftates into France ; a heavy impofition, which was at once an infult upon our nation, tended to revolt the minds of his own fubjecSls. The king returned it by exprefsly prohibit- ing all commerce with the fubjeds of Spain, and the arch-duchies, and by a duty ftill larger upon all the Spanifli goods landed at Calais : but this prohibition could not prevent the fraudulent carriage of our provifions to the enemy's country. The French merchants, notwithftanding the new monopoly, ftill found there were fuch great profits to be made on our grain and other goods, fromthefcarcity of them in Spain, that they expofed themfelves, for thofe profits, to all the rigour of the law ; and, on that account, there was a kind of fedition raifed in the city of Mar- feille, of which the prefident Du-Vair fent immediate notice to the court. The merchants of this city loft all patience, when they found themfelves obliged to fit idle and inadive, while the Italians came and carried away their provifions, and deprived them of their ufudl profits. Thispermiflion, which was granted by his majefty to the Italians, was, in my opinion, ill judged. The Englifli were pleafed at this new incident ; and fo far were they from endeavouring to accommodate the afiâir, that they fecretly flrove to make it worfe, becaufe they carried on the fame trade fraudulently, which the Italians were authorifcd to do. It was difcovered, that eight or nine Englifli vefiels had taken in their loadings of grain at Olone, and went from thence to Saint Sebaftian, to difembark them : this, doubtlefs, was the refource the Spaniards depended upon, other- ways their prohibition would have fallen heavy upon themfelves, which Henry, from the beginning, had flattered himfelf would hap- pen : and it was the hope, that Spain would fufier more from it than we, joined to his folicitude to maintain the honour of his crown, that it might not be faid his enemies could difpofe of its commerce, which made him fi;ill require a ftrid obfervation of the prohibition he had publifhed. He commanded me to fend a perfon of probity and under- llanding, to vifit all that part of the country, from the mouth of the Loire to the Garonne, and all along the borders of thefe two rivers, to fee that this ordonnance was pundtually obeyed j and he was empowered Z z 2 to MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIX. to pnnifli all that fliould be found to have aded contrary to it ; thole being generally the places where fuch illegal praftices were carried on. I gave this commiffion to La-Font, who executed it fo well, that hi* majefty kept him afterwards about his own perfon. Henry, at the fame time, ordered his ambafTador in England, to complain to king James, of the pradtices of his fiibjefts ; and to give him to underftand, that, if he made peace with Spain, with a view to' appropriate to himfelf the trade we carried on with that kingdom, he would take fuch meafures that France fhould not fuftcr alone, but that England fhould lofe more by it than (he. This was tacitly to délire, that he would offer his mediation to compofe the difference between the two crowns ; for Henry thought it probable, that the king of Eng- land might be tempted by the apparent advantage of fuch an acceffioii to t?ie trade of his kingdom, as to make peace with Spain ; and he was now fenfible, though too late, of the injury he had done hin:ifelf, and that the arguments his council had made ufe of were all falfe : this threw him into great perplexity. Villeroi and Sillery were appointed by his maiefty, to attend this affair with the utmoft alîiduity ; and I likewlfe was ordered to confer about it with the conftable, the chancel- lor, the commandeur de Chaftes, and vice-admiral De Vic. We found many difïïculties to flruggle with on both fides. Trade muft necelTariiy fuffer great injury, if the prohibition remained in force ; and if repealed, great fhame mufl: refîe6t upon the crown. Henry could not refolve to do any thing that, in his opinion, feemed to ac- knowledge his fears of Spain, which had not condefcended to take any Hep that led towards an accommodation with him ; and ail that could be hoped for from his rnoft Chriftian majefty was, that, although he fuffered the prohibition to remain in force, he would wink at the infringement of it by the merchants, that he might be at liberty to repeat it again if they too openly abufed this indulgence, to the prejudice of the royal authority : as for me, the wound that was given to trade, was the only thing almoft that I confidered ; therefore, on this account, England and Spain were equal to me ; and 1 repre- fcnted to his majelly, that the damage we mult inev-tably fuftain, made it neceflary that he llîould ufe no more feverity with the one than the other. The king of England did not refufe his mediation in this difference j he even ollcred to engage for the faithful performance of the promifes both Book XïX. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 3; both parties Hiould make on this occafion : but he afFeifted to acft as an 1604. arbitrator between the two crowns ; and the king, offended with his '- — v — vanity, would not accept of his mediation, but in the quality of a com- mon friend. The Pope likewife began to intereft himfclf greatly in the difpute, being apprehenlive that a more dangerous rupture might enfue between France and Spain. He wrote to cardinal Bufalo, his nuncio in France, to ufe his utmoft endeavours to prevent it ; and this- cardinal, a fhort time afterwards, found a fiivourable opportunity to, obey him. The count of Beaumont, who flill continued to be our ambaffador at the court of London, had often mentioned the late difpute concern- ing our trade, in the prefence of the counts de Villa-mediana and d'Aremherg, the one ambalfador from the king of Spain, the otlx;r from the archdukes ; and had even drawn up a kind of an agreement ■with their concurrence, together with that of the prefident Richardot, and Lewis Vroreylzen, which had been communicated to the conftable ofCaftile, who was likewife at London : but his fudden departure, to- gether with fome other dithculties that came in the way, hindlered this, matter from proceeding fo far as to get the preliminary of this agree- ■ ment figned. The conÛable of Caftile palled through Paris, and had an interview there with cardinal Bufalo, who prefled him fo earnelfly, and upon fo many motives concerning this affair, that he obtained a promife from him that it fhould be referred to the examination of fome commiffioners, whom he named for the king his mafter : the council of France appointed fome on their fide. But this method of proceed- ing was not likely to bring the affair to a conclufion, which, by beinp- fubmitted to fo many arbitrators, was protraded to an infufferable length, Bufalo prevailed upon Don Baltafar Stuniga, the Spanifh ambaffador in France, and upon Alexander Rovidius, a fenator of Mi- lan, who were interefted in a caufe for one of the parties, to refer every thing relating to it to him ; this done, that the bufinefs might on the fide of the other party be wholly configned to one perfon, he defired the king to give me a power equal to his, and without any fécond : from that time, the affair was thought to be in great forwardnefs. I went to vifit the cardinal, and animated his zeal by a new incitement, telling him, that we were upon the point of declaring war, and that his ma- jefly was bufied in making great preparations for it. In a few days I prevailed upon him to agree to the articles I had drawn up, by which the freedom of trade was fecured : thefe articles were almoft the fame with thofe that had been propofed and difcuffed at London. The 3^8 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIX. 1604. The fubftance of this treaty, for fuch it became afterwards, although u— V — ^ every thing had been agreed on only between cardinal Bufalo and my- felf, was, that the edidl of thirty per cent, and that for the fufpenfion of trade between the two crowns of France and Spain, fhould be and continue repealed ; this was the great point. But the two princes hav- ing both endeavoured to juftify their condud by many reciprocal complaints againft each other, which likewife related to the trade of their kingdoms ; many other articles were added, that tended to re- move thefe grievances. It was fpecified, that his moft Chriftian majefly fliould publilh an edidl, forbidding all his fubjedts either to export or authorife the expor- tation of any Dutch goods into Spain, or any ftate under the domi- nion of that crown, by lending of vefTels, waggons, or any other fort of carriages ; that the real French goods fliould be ftamped with the feal of the city which furniflied them, and fhould be inferted in a re- gifter : this was done with a view to obviate the inconveniences which might arife from a refemblance in the goods, which otherways fliould be liable to confifcation ; but they were not upon a bare fufpi- cion of fraud to flop or retard the exportation of thefe goods ; that all the Dutch, who were taken in French veflels, (hould be feized ; that the French fliould not carry Spanifli goods into any part of the Low Countries, but thofe that fliould be fpecified in the bills ; and that, to prevent any breach of faith, they fliould enter into an obligation in writing before the Spanifli magifl:rate of the place from whence they fet out, to pay the thirty per cent, which obligation fhould be returned to them upon their bringing back, within a year, a certificate from the magiflrate of the place where they difembarked, either in France, or in any part of Flanders where trade was permitted ; that the king of France fhould order all Spanifli goods to be feized, which were brought by his fubjeds in Spain, to be carried into any of the prohibited places, half of which fliould be given to the informer, the thirty jï^^r cent, de- duded : that the French magiflrate, who fliould be convidted of having given falfe certificates of difcharge, fliould be profecuted and puniflied ; and that the two kings fliould mutually engage to leave the places of paflage free. The article of the impolis, which ever lince the peace of Vcrvins, were laid upon goods carried from Spain to Flanders, or from Flanders to Spain Uirough Calais, and when they entered this port, having been already fettled in the prefence of this cardinal, nothing re- mained to be added to it. It was flipulatcd, that forty days after the date FooK XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 359 date of this treaty, it fliould be publiflicd in the refpedVives fiâtes on 1604. the fame day : it was dated the 12th of Otftober, and (figned at iîrit ' v — only by cardinal Bufalo and me *. Although I was very fure that Plenry would approve of this trea- ty, as he had been fird: confulted upon every article in it, yet I was apprehefifive of the eavi's of Sillery and the other commiffioners, frnni whom the cognifance of this affair had been taken ; the expedient 1 made ufe of therefore was, to fend Arnaud the elder with the articles to Sillery, with a civil requefl that he would give me his opinion of them. Sillery, without looking into them, anfwered quick, that the affair was in very good hands, and that the perfon who had tranfaded it alone might alfo conclude it alone. This anfvver would not fatisfy me ; I fcnt Arnaud back again to tell him, that it appeared to me ne- cefTary that the treaty fliould be figned by him and the other commif- fioners firft named, and that I entreated he would come to my houfe and fign it ; but that if he refufed, I could not difpenfe with myfelf from fending the treaty to his majefty by Arnaud ; letting him know at the fame time, that the difficulty he made in figning it would delay the conclufion for two days: and this was no more than the truth. Sillery, being afraid that if any accident ftiould happen during this in- terval that might prevent this agreement on trade from taking effeâ:, he fhould be anfwerable for -it, went to cardinal Bufalo's houfe and figned the treaty, as did alfo Villeroi. thefe free fignatures, beflowed great praifes on the cardinal nuncio, and made him a prefent of a crofs of diamonds ; he recommended him to the Pope, in a letter which was conceived in terms very advantageous for him, and honoured him with the diftindlion of eating at his table. His majefty would not publifh the treaty of commerce till the ratifi- cation of it arrived from Spain, but he ftill fecretly permitted the ex- portation of grain, which was what the people ardently delired. About this time another treaty was concluded at London between England and Spain, in which France could not avoid interefhng her- * See the treaty itfelf in the Chronologie fign it, but only meffieurs de Rofny and Septennaire. The king gives the marquis de Sillery ; Don Balthazar de Cuniga, for de Rofny no other titles in it but that of the king of Spain ; and the fenator Rovi- great mafter and captain-general of the ord- dius. Matthieu, vol. II. b. iii. p. 655. nance of France, Cardinal Bufalo did not felt MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIX. felf greatly, after what had pafled the preceding year between her and England. To be thoroughly informed of this treaty, it is neceflary to reprefent the affairs, both political and military, in Spain and Flanders, with which thole of England have in this refped an unavoidable con- nection. The fiege of Oftend continued to be ftill carried on with the fame obftinacy by the Spaniards : in the mean time, the prince of Orange, at the beginning of the campaign, attacked the ifle of Cadfan, which he made himfelf mafter of on the loth of May, and afterwards of all the neighbouring forts, defigning to open himfelf a way from thence to the frontier of Calais ; and at length laid fiege to Sluys. From Bruges the king received advices, that the arch-duke, who beheld this attempt with grief, was gone to af- femble fifteen or fixteen thoufand men, with whom he hoped to fuc- cour this place, by ftorming Ardembourg, which covered it; but that Maurice had fo well intrenched himfelf there, that it was not believed he could be forced out, provided he had a fufficient number of men to guard his intrenchments : the Flemifh general took likewife the precaution to carry his trenches as far as Ardembourg, that if he fliould be obliged to draw off his troops from the operations of the fiege, he might be in a condition to reduce the place by famine, if he could not by force. Sluys furrendered on the loth of Auguft. The Spaniards, animated by the vigorous refinance of their ene- mies, and a fenfe of the prodigious lolfes they had fuffered before Oftend, thought their honour Hill more concerned after this fuccefs of the prince of Orange, to prevent their being foiled in an enterprife which had lafted fo long. De-Vic informed his majefty by D'Auval, who was returned from England, that he had caufed three minés to be blown up before Oftend, but without fuccefs : however, it is cer- tain, that Oftend was reduced to the laft extremity ; the Spaniards boafted that they would take it before the end of July ; and that they fliould ftill have time to go and deliver Sluys with all their forces re-united. No one gave credit to this boaft, efpecially when Perfi le riche, captain of the regiment of Nertftan, who came lately from that place, faid pofitively at Faiis, that it would ftill hold out fix weeks or two months. In effeft, Sluys furrcPidered before Oftend, for the Flemings defended theinfclves with a courage that has few examples : jhey were fcconded by a reinforcement of eleven companies, which made Book XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. made up between a thoufand and twelve hundred men, all frefli, which had been jull: fent them by the States, under the condud of general Marquette. They fell upon an expedient to make an inner intrench- ment, which might enable them, when reduced to a neccffity of ca- pitulation, to obtain more advantageous terms, by holding out there ; and they found means, prefTed as they were, to throw in ammunitions and money. This was a new and furprifing fpeâacle for all Europe, that a little ftate, which forms but a fcarce perceptible point in the map, fhould dare to raife her head from the midft of her marflics, and brave, during fo long a time, the formidable power of Spain. It is furprifing to think where they found forces, or funds to pay them, for it was com- puted that this war coft the States twenty thoufand florins a day ; the perplexities to which they were often reduced were not indeed known -, they hardly any longer knew to whom they fhould have recourfe, and were obliged to apply to every one for relief. The duke of Bouillon having promifed them a fum of money, they fent captain Sarroques to receive it ; but he came back without any thing, but the regret of hav- ing put his mafters to the expence of four or five thoufand florins, which their compliments to the princefs of Orange coll them. Henry was their ufual refource : fometimes they requefted an hun- dred thoufand crowns ; at other times, two hundred thoufand weight of powder, for they confumed great quantities of it : there was no end of their demands. Buzenval, whom his majefl:y ordered to refide in thofe cantons, to give him an account of all that pafled, was of great ufe to them in fupporting their folicitations with the king, who at length was the only power that continued to be their friend, when all the others had abandoned them. The Dutch exprelîèd great fond- nefs for Buzenval, and kept him amongft them as it were by force when he was recalled home. And who indeed was there whom they did not footh, and endeavour to engage in their intereflis ? They would have made me a very .confiderable prefent, but Buzenval, whom they acquainted with their defign, aflured them I would not accept of it : and they contented themfelves with offering me, by Aerfens, fome curious pieces of fhell-work, and fome coach-horfes of their country for my wife. Henry fhewed a readinefs to oblige them, which could not proceed from felf-intereftcd motives, and which, with that people, ought to have given him the merit of one of the founders of their li- berty. They mufl be ungrateful in the highefl degree, if they ever Vol. II. A a a abandon MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XIX. abandon a crown to which they owe fuch great obligations *. Henry wrote to me this year, when I was in Poitou, that Buzenval had made him new requefts in favour of the States, which probably it was not prudent to grant ; but that he could not refolve to abandon them, what- ever reports might be raifed in England, or whatever threats Spain might throw out againft him. It is eafy to judge what the prefent war mull have coft Spain, which was in effeifl the aflailant, by what I have jufl: related of the United Provinces, who kept themtelves merely upon the defenfive, and did not ftir from their own doors ; and the refentment that Spain preferved againft us. The council of Madrid, enraged at the lolTes they fuftained by a war that had almoft drained their treafury, which, however, they concealed with the utmoft care, often threatened never to forgive the treatment they received from the French. Henry af- fecfted to be ignorant of thefe threats, and he afted wifely ; the coun- cil, by this impotent anger, fhewed its own weaknefs ; and it was well known ini^rance, that his Catholic majefty's revenues were exhaufted. OsTEND -f- was taken at length on the 22d of September, and Henry had the confolation to fee, that for five or fix hundred thoufand crowns, which this expedition had coft him every year fince it firft began, he had confiderably advanced the ruin of his enemies the Spaniards. I T might reafonably be expedled, that the treaty I had negotiated with England the preceding year would have produced greater things. Spain was convinced that flie fhould lofe Flanders entirely, if flie did not find means to make fome change in thofe difpofitions in which I had left the king of Great Britain. After my departure, therefore, from London, (lie renewed her intrigues and folicitations to obtain at leaft a neutrality in what concerned the United Provinces, if flie could not bring his Britannic majefty over to her party. The Spaniards, at firft, thought they ought to make very high demands ; and afterwards their ofters alfo were as high to procure a grant of part of thofe de- mands. Their firft propofals were rejecfled without being examined ; but thefe were followed by another, which gave them hopes that they ftiould prevail upon the Englilh to abandon the Dutch, knowing they * Grotius fpeaks of it ahnoft in the f See the furrerulcr of Oftend and Sluys, fame words, in his book, intituled, The pnd the other acSlions of this campaign, in annals and hiltory of the troubles in the Dc Thou, the Septen. Matthieu, Siri, and Netherlands. other hiftorians, an. i6o[. had Book XIX. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y, 363 had nothing fo much at lieart ; this was to make the Indian trade 1604. free to both nations. But this offer proved ineffeftual, becaufe Spain, ^— — \ — -^ forefeeing that there would be ftill a neceihty of abating fomething in her demands, added a condition that deflroyed its force, and required, that England fliould enter into a league ofFenfive and defenfive with her. The king of England's council having many flrong reafons for rejeding this alliance, made no fcruple to confefs, that it was the in- tereft of their crown to fupport Holland, inflead of openly taking part with her enemies. It was now abfolutely believed, that the Spaniards had nothing to hope for from England : Beaumont was the only one that was of a contrary opinion, and foretold, that notwithftanding all thefe apparent obftacles they would come to an agreement, which in effect they did. The Spaniards, fome time afterwards, returned to the charge, ftill lef- fening their demands according to their fubtile maxims of policy, and commiflioners were named on both fides ; the difputes ran fo high, that they were many times upon the point of breaking off the confe- rence. The affair imperceptibly turned into a négociation more peace- able J the Englifli commiflioners reduced the Spanifh ones not only to exprefs no refentment againft France, but they were the firft to fav, that fhe ought not in any manner to be excluded. They never men- tioned the two kings without joining the third to them ; and even treated the States with refpedt and confideration, appearing inclined to come to an agreement with them at all events. All this was done to conceal from his Britannic majefty whatever was contrary in the real defign of this negotiation to the firft, and to remove all his fcruples. To this battery they joined the affiftance of little anonymous writings, in which the authors endeavoured to prove, that peace was equally advantageous for the three kings. In one of thefe papers, which was fuppofed to be written by an Englifliman, becaufe the power of the king of England was greatly exaggerated, who, fays the au- thor, can fubfift independent of any other flate, tho' none can with- out him : as if the Spaniards were not capable of fo high a flight of flattery to fecure the fucccfs of their defigns : in one of tjiefe papers, I fay, it was malicioufly infinuated, that this peace was defired with equal ardour by the three kings ; but that their moft Chriftian and Britannic majefties fecretly wiflied, at the fame time, that it would give them a claim to the poffeffion of Flanders. A a a 2 However, 64 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIX. 1604. However, they could come to no agreement (Juring the fpace of I.-- — r-'^ a year ; and it was not till the aift of June this year that the negotia- tion was likely to fucceed j but it went on rapidly at the beginning of July, and was fo far advanced, that no one in England doubted of its being concluded, as foon as the conftable of Caftile arrived, who was upon the point of going to London in the quality of ambaflador extra- ordinary from his Catholic majefty, and furniflied with full powers to conclude the peace : the fame opinion prevailed in Paris j and it was even believed there, that not only England but the United Provinces, had fecretly made conditions of agreement with Spain ; and that the States, by the interpofition and arbitration of his Britannic majefty, had put an end to the difputes on occafion of the cautionary cities, the navigation of the Indies, the liberty of trading without paying the thirty per cent, and others. But why, if this was fo, did we not fee the fiege raifed, and other hoftilities ceale on both fides ? This report, however, was abfolutely falfe, at leaft with regard to the imaginary agreement and arbitration. The States perceived but too foon, and even while the conferences were fubfifting, that they had nothing more to expeél from his Britannic majefty. This prince became weary at length of ftruggling fo long with his inclinations ; he affedted to be the common friend of all Europe. He had lately given the name of Great Britain to his united kingdoms, and had made a folemn entry into London, where a conference was held by his orders to reconcile the church party and the puritans ; for his pacific notions extended to all things : he did not refledl, that by this condudt he was ;j-oing to exclude from the benefit of a peace thofe very perfons that Lad moft need of it, who were the Dutch, whom he left to the mercy of their enemies. The Englifli already began to abufe every one of that nation whom they found trading in their ports ; and when the Dutch alledged, as ufual, that the Englifti ought not to concern them- iclveswith a certain kind of traffic upon their coafts, they replied, that they had permiflion to do it from the king of Spain their fovereign. Nothing fo irritated the Dutch as fpeeches of that nature j and if the Inhabitants of Muftiing had been fuffercd, it is believed they would have murdered all the Englifti they had amongft them : but the fatal confequcnces of fuch a proceeding being reprefented to them, they rcftrained their rage. The Book XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. The States had expeded a quite different treatment, when, at the beginning of the conferences between the commiffioners, his Britannic majefty infifted that they fliould be admitted, and their agent, the fieur Le Caron, heard there. Le Caron acknowledged, that at firft he had good reafon to be fatisfied with the Englilh commiffioners : upon the Spaniards introducing the fubjed: of the Dutch cautionary cities, which they paffionately dehred fliould be put into their hands, the Englifli told them, that they could do no otherwife than furrender thefe cities to the council of the United Provinces, when the money lent upon them was repaid : and when the Spaniards retorted, with fome refent- ment, that the reltitution of them ought to be made to thofe who had given them as hofl:ages, the Englifli counfellors only anfwered, that if the States refufed to pay the money that was lent, they would make the fame propofal to the Spaniards. They were likewife favourable enough to the Dutch in the article concerning trade, which held them a long time in difpute ; the Spaniards infifted, that Holland fliould open to them the trade of the Flemifli coafl:, and particularly that of Antwerp, which flie had, as it were, locked up, by building feveral forts upon the Scheld, and among others that of Iflbt : but the Englifli foon cooled in thefe fiivourable intentions for their neighbours. Buzenval, whofe letters furniflied me with great part of what I have related con- cerning thefe conferences, judged thus of the event, that the Englifli knew well what would be the confcquences of this new plan of politics which they had embraced ; but that great iedloufy of us, and a little folly, had fuggefled all that had been done on this occafion. Matters were in this ftate, when the king of England thought proper to inform his moft Chriftian majefty, by his ambaflador at the court of France, of his intentions to conclude a treaty with Spain, the Englifli ambaflador prefenting the memorial to the king at the fame time. His Britannic majefty, in this memorial, perflfted ftill in the ftrange opinion, that this treaty was not inconfiftent with that of the preceding year. James had attempted to perfuade Beaumont to believe the fame, and promifed Henry that he would defer the conclufion of it till the difputes which then fubflfted between the two crowns of France and Spain concerning trade were terminated. The commiflion- ers, however, did not fcruple to lign the * treaty between Spain and * This treaty is no way difFerent from dom, who are all named, except the United a true treaty of peace ; the kings of Spain Provinces alone : it is fet out at large ia and England engage their ailiss in it, that the Septen. an. 1604. Matthieu, 650,^-0. is, all the princïs and ftate-. of Chriften- ^66 M E M O 1 R S O F S U L L Y. Book XIX. 1604. En«^Iand, and referred Beaumont to the arrival of the conftable of Ca- ^ — V — ^ lliile, to fettle the affair of the trade between his nation and Spain. The conftable was applied to when he palled through Paris in his way to London ; but he prevented, by obftacles which he raifed on purpofe, the concluding upon any thing with cardinal Bufalo, who had already begun to intereft himfelf in the affair. But what was ftill more fur- prifmg, thefe commifiioners, without giving Beaumont any latisfadtion on that head, had the alfurance to demand the impoft on the port of Calais to be taken oft". Beaumont, who knew it was his majefty's in- tention to continue it, even after the affair of the thirty per ce?it. was concluded, which had no relation to that, evaded the propofal, by making one of the fame nature to them. The conftable of Caftile pafted through France again the latter end of September, in his return to Spain, carrying with him the treaty con- cluded, and arrived at Paris juft as the treaty of commerce was con- cluded there like wife. He demanded permiffion, the next day, to pay his refpecSts to the king, to whom he prefented himfelf with an air and countenance full of fatisfaélion ; he made him a ftudied 'compli- ment, which for that reafon was perhaps the lefs fincere ; taking for his fubjecfl the two agreements lately made, he endeavoured to perfuade this prince, that France and Spain being the two moft powerful mo- narchs of Chriftendom, a ftridt union between them was the neceflary and infallible means of accomplifliing every enterprize they fhould undertake in concert ; he laid great ftrefs upon the alliance which had at all times been between France and Caftile ; he dwelt upon the ad- vantages of this affociation, which would give the fame friends and ene- mies to the two crowns, and upon the means of rendering it indiffb- luble ; which was, he faid, to be wholly free from all partiality ; to diveft themfelves of all jealoufy of authority, and preeminence ; to ex- plain and determine, in an amicable manner, their pretenfions upon certain cantons and cities of Europe ; he did not forget to infinuate to his majefty, that the proteftants were enemies which policy required Ihould be humbled : he concluded his fpeech with reprefenting to the king, the advantages which would accrue from a double marriage be- tween the children of the two kings; which feemed (he faid) by the circumftances of the times, to be already determined in heaven. He artfully afllircd the king, that he had no audiority from his mafter for what he had faid on this fubjeét, but entreated him to acquaint him with his fentiments on it ; becaufe, though they were only overtures made by himfelf, yet if they had the good fortune to be approved by I his Book XIX. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 367 his majefty, he (hould with the greater confidence propofc them after- 1604. wards to the king his mafter. t--^vr— j I WAS not prefent at this difcourfe, but the king came to the arfe- nal on purpofe to give me an account of it. He flopped, after relating the Spaniard's propofals, telling me he defired to know what anfwer I fliould have made to them, before he repeated that which he had given himielf. I replied, with the fame gaiety, that I could tell him im- mediately, but that I would defer fatisfying him till the next day, that I might take time to confider of it, and prevent him from accufing me of precipitation, as he often did when my opinion had not the good fortune to pleafe liim. His majefty confented to it, fmiling, and gave me a little tap on the cheek, as was his cuflom when he was in good humour. I WENT the next day to the Louvre, to acquit myfelf of my pro- mife, and found the king walking upon the terras of the Capuchins ; I told him, that if he ftill remembered a fentence which I had once applied to the Spaniards, and which he thought diverting enough, " that they preferred works * to faith," he would not be long at a lofs to know what anfwer I would have made to their amballiidor ; that after fo many breaches of faith, fo many perjuries, and violations of truth, with which Spain had di(honoured herfelf in the fight of all Europe, the conftable of Caftile's difcourfe wojld have feemed to me to be a new ftratagem of the king of Spain, to break off the alli- ance between his majefty and the United Provinces, and the other proteftant powers his friends, that he might find a ftill more favourable opportunity of invading his kingdom than his father had done. This being a fadl of fo atrocious a nature that palliation of it ought not even to be attempted, I recalled it to his remembrance, and added, that but for England, Holland, the French and foreign proteftants, but for his incredible labours and inceffant fatigues, Spain had pro- bably at this day talked to him in the ftile of a maftcr : that the coun- cil of Madrid, accuftomed tc profine all that is moft facred in religion, abufed tlie name of marriage, which had nothing binding enough in it to reftrain their lawlefs attempts. And here I made an obfervation to Henry, which appeared to me to have great weight in it. It was not, I told him, aftroke of fuch wife policy as was generally believed, to marry the fons of France into families almoft equ-il to * In allufion to one of Cdlvin's dodtrines, which is cenfured by the catholic church. their MEMOIRS OF SULLY; Book XIX. their own, fuch as that of Spain * ; for befides that there was no al- liance, however clofe, but muft yield to the hatred which ambition infpires for a rival, the advantage that was expelled from thefe unions might be deftroyed by the very caufe which made it too confider- able : but it was quite different with marriages contradted with infe- rior families ; from them, at leaft, we might promife ourfelves all the afllflance they are in a condition to give : the honour of an alliance with the molt illulfrious houfe in the world is too flattering for them not to make them contribute with all their power towards the fupport of its grandeur, and the increafe of its glory. Spain -f, by this pradlice, has found the fecret of confiderably augmenting her power, by means lefs rapid, indeed, but alio lefs hazardous, than war. I TAKE this occafion to obferve, that I am not of the common opi- nion with refpedl to the falic law ; that law fo much talked of, which is no where to be found in writing, but whofe original is fufficiently de- monftrated by the name it bears : as its antiquity is proved by the un- certainty even of this origin X- It has been generally confldered as the f By this ftroke of politics, France ne- verthelefs gained the crown of Spain to the houfe of Bourbon, after the death of Charles II. t " The houfe of Auftria, faid Guy- " Patin, has gained great inheritances, per " laticeam carnis ; that is, by alliances and *' marriages." X As to the Salic law, the abbé du Bos fpeaks of it as follows, in his Criti- cal hiftory of the eftablifhment of the French monarchy in Gaul, vol. III. b. \ii. p. 290, 291. " it probably obtained its " name from its being already in force " amongft the Salian Francs, when Clo- " vis incorporated into their tribe all the " tribes which acknowledged him asking, " in the year 510, except the tribe of the *' Ripuarii. 'I'he moft ancient digeft we " at prcfent have of this law, is what was " made by the order of king Clovis, and " afterwards corrccfed by the orders of " Childebcrt and Clotarius his children. — " In the year 79H, Charlcmaine made a " new digeft ot it, in which he added " many new ordinances to it, &c." This writer farther aflbrts, ibid. 273. That the claufe which enafls, " That the crown of " France fliall not defcend from the lance " to the diftaff," is really contained in the 62d article of the Salic laws. But another opinion has been maintained, and feems to be fupported by reafons of ftill greater force, in oppofition to the forego- mg, by an academician of equal judgment and knowledge (M. de Fonccmagne) in his excellent memoir on this fubjcdt, inferted in the colledion of the memoirs of the Royal Academy of Infcriptions and Belles Lettres, anno 1727. p. 490, & feq. it is thereby proved, that there ià no one article in all the Salic code, which excludes daugh- ters from the fucceffion to the crown ; and that the 6th paragraph of the bid title of this code, where it is faid, " That males " alone can enjoy the Salic lands; and that " females can have no fliare in the inheri- " tance," ought only to be extended to the lands and inheritances of private per- fons J but that, btfides this, there was a cuftom, exiting from time immemorial, even amongft the Germans, that daughters could not fuccced to the crown ; that Ta- citus makes mention of this, &c. — M. de Foncemagne had before demonftratcd, in another memoir (ibid, anno 1726, p. 464, furefl Cook XIX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. fureft foundation of the kingdom and of the regal power. To me k appears, from the reflections I have made on this fuhjc6t, that the fi- tuation of France, and the other advantages ihe has received from na- ture, are of themfelves fufficient caufes for that preeminence {he has over all the other dates of Europe; and that the Salic law, fo far from contributing to thefe advantages, has often hindered them from being improved by thofe which a well-direded policy might have added to them. It is certain, that if a foreign prince, by marrying an hcirefs of France, rtiould become our king, the firft kings of this race would be confidered either as Germans, Italians, Spaniards, or English ; butas there is not the leaft reafon to fear that he wjuld transfer the feat of his empire from a city which every prince, if he had it in his power, would chufe to refide in, this firft foreign prince, or king, would be foon a naturalized Frenchman ; and his pofterity, from the firft ge- neration, would be wholly French. The houfe of Aurtrw, eftablifhed in Spain, and that of Stuart, placed on the throne of England, are evi- dences of this truth. This firft foreign prince, or king, v/ould likewife unite to our crown his hereditary dominions, probably for ever. The Salic law, by forbidding (if I may ufe the expreffion) the kingdom of France from falling to the diftaff, has deprived it of one way of ag- grandizing itfelf ; and a way fo much the lefs to be defpifed, as force having no fhare in in it, it affords no occafion nor pretence for war. Henry was much pleafed with the anfwer I would have given to the Spanifh conftable ; he affured me, that his fentiments were the fame ■with mine, but that he had concealed them under fine words, that he might not give the Caftilian any fufpicion of his defigns *. & feq.) that the kingdom of France was proper deference, and be produdive of hereditary, but in the male line only, dur- many other inconveniences, of which the ing the firft race of our kings. author undoubtedly was not aware : I can- The fentiments of thefe two writers, not therefore believe but the whole is only though oppofite in themfelves, become u- an imaginary fcheme of the compilers, fince nited againft the principle laid down in this none of the duke of Sully's maxims are part of thefe Memoirs, which conveys to us difcoverable in it. On the adlual exiftence an idea in every refpe(!^ infupportable. Be- of the Salic law, confult Venderlin, Eccard fides its diremained. His majefty, perfecuted with prayers and entreaties upon * This pyramid, about twenty feet anno 1605, agree with M, de Sully, that high, and tolerably well built, ftood op- it became a kind of juftice, to deface thefe polite to the palace, there being only the infcriptions, when the jefuits were reflored, ftreet betwixt them ; over the pedeftal, on the two arrets being contradidory to one eacii of its four fides, was a plate of black another : but they alfo obfcrve, that the marble, having the arret of the parliament deftrudtion of it occafioned a violent out- (before mentioned, in fpeaking of the pro- cry, it being thrown down at noonday, in cefs againft John Chatel) engraven onthem, the month of May, by the lieutenant-civil, with fome infcriptions, conceived in terms fent for that purpofe by the king, and a the moft injurious to the jefuits. We do fountain was built in its place : " 'J he order not think it neceffary to recite thefe in- " for it," fays Matthieu, vol. II. b. iii. fcriptions, which are preferved in the me- p. 683, " was diredlcd to M. de Sully, as moirs of the league, vol. V^I. D'Aubigné " furveyor-general. The moft valuable vol. III. b. iv. chap. 4. The royal MSS, " of the ftatues belonging to it were vol. Q035. where the French tranflation " carried to the grottos of Saint-Germain." of them made at that time may alfo be The enemies of the jefuits gratified their feen, as well as in divers other writings. revenge, by publilhing numbcrlefs pam- M. DcThou's works, and the Mercure phLts, both in vcrfe and profc, containing Francoif, which may alfo be confulted the moft virulent reflexions on every thing touching the demolition of this pyramid, that pailed on this occaiion, which the rea- this Book XX. MEMOIRS O P SULLY. this article, confented at lall: that it fliould he referred to his council. 1 thought, ami feveral others were of the fame opinion, that the fo- ciety had no rcafon to complain of ill treatment, it the council came to no other refolution about it, than to erafe the infcriptioa upon this pillar, which was indeed too fevere : but they knew fo well how to gain over the greatefl: part of thofe which compofcd the council to their fide, that they obtained an arret fuch as they defired. I CANNOT admit, that my condudl, on this occafion, could merit the whole weight of the jeiuits indignation : however, my ruin ap- peared to thefe fathers, and to the three efpecially w/ho played the greatefl: game at the court, to be of fuch confequence to religion, the common caafe, and their own particular inttrefh, that it was refolved to effeél it if pofTible. With the three jefuits, a like number of the principal lords of the court aflbciated themfelves, whom I fliall name no more. All that was now necefl"ary, was to recall to their minds the forrner notions of the league, of which the name indeed, but not the fpirit nor the policy, was baniflied the court : they found no diffi- culty to increafe their party confiderably, in a very (hort time, with all the voluptuaries of the court, whofe foft and effeminate lives it was owned I had cenfured with more imprudence than injuftice. The jefuits, by making themfelves ufeful to their aflbciates, drew great advantages from them ; fo that, in a little time, a great number of colleges were founded in many of the chief cities in the kingdom, and endowed with very confiderable revenues. They did not, however, fucceed every where with equal facility : the people of Troyes, Rheims, and Langres, did not receive the offers they made them of their fervices very favourably. They were obliged therefore to have recourfe to letters from his majefly : the fathers Cot- ton and Gauthier were employed to alk them of the king, in whom e number and " weight of which are already more than I can well bear." " What! " interrupted the king, have you not written any thing againft the " jefuits, and prevented their founding a college in Poitiers? think a •' little, and rcfrelh you memory, that you may not engage to main- " tain any thing of which the contrary may be proved againft you."^ " No, fire, I replied, I fwear by my God and all my hopes of falvation, " that what I fay is true." " What malignant minds are thcie," pur- fucd the king, moved with a juft indignation, " whicii can never ceafe " to envy virtue, or be weary of their fruitlefs attempts to ruin thoffe " who are faithful to my fervice; leave this affair to me, continued " he, I will fearch it to the bottom, and difcover, if poffible, both its " fource and its authors." He Book Xt. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 3.3^; He left me at thefe words to go and hear mafs at the convent of ido-^. the Capuchins, where he knew he fhould find father Cotton; and, *-— ^/ — -* calhng him, renewed the difcourfe of the preceding days, and afked for the letters which he faid he had fecn. " Thofe letters, fire, " faid the father, are in the hands of a perfon of honour, and I wrll " anfwer for the truth of what that perfon faid, as well as that the " letters he (hewed me are genuine." " It is enough, returned the " king, but go and bring them t» me that I may fee them^, I know •' his hand-writing and his fignature as well as my own, having re- " ceived more than two thoufmd letters from him in my life." The father, perplexed by fo unfeafonable an order, endeavoured to elude it, by appealing to his majefty's knowledge of his veracity, and his aver- fion to all kinds of faUhood. " I am willing to believe you, faid this " prince to him ; but I would alfo have others believe you, by (hewing " them thefe letters ; therefore do not fail, purfued he in a fevere tone, " to bring them to me, for I am determined to fee them, that I may " convidb of malice and fraud thofe who are really guilty. Go, and " return again immediately." There was no reply to be made to an order fo pofitive ; the father retired with a low reverence ; but the king expeded him in vain all the remainder of that day : he apologized for it the next morning, on account of the abfence of the perfon who was poUeffed of thefe letters. But there was a necefîîty to find another excufe for returning without them, which would cofi the father much more. He told the king, that this nobleman's valet de chambre had unfortunately thrown thofe letters into the fire with other papers. But for want of the letters, he brought a thoufand new afîlirances of the truth of what he had ad- vanced. The king, however, was not difpofed to pay himfelf with that fort of coin : " How!" faid he, interrupting him, in a rage, " have they burned thefe letters? this is not to be believed." And perceiving that father Cotton, who was fenfible this affair would not reft as it was, equivocated in his anfwers, and feemed defirous that nothing more iliould be faid of it, he quitted him in difguft. " Rofny," li^id he, approaching and taking me afide, '* your letters have been ." burnt." I CAME again to his majefty, to propofe an expedient to him which I thought would entirely filence my accufer ; this was, to prevail up- on the king to write to the bifhop of Poitiers, and the officers of that city^, MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. city, to produce all the letters they had received from me ; and to write to them myfelf in' the moft open manner upon the fubjedt. I carried with me all the originals of thefe letters, in which his majefty found nothing to take offence at : he ordered his fecretaries to write thofe letters, which were to be in his name, immediately ; and fent them to Poitiers in the fame packet with mine, by a courier named Conftant. Upon the receipt of thefe letters, the biiliop and the ma- oillrates of the city fent the fieur de La-Parifiere to give his majefty all the informations he defired. La-Parifiere, in the name of all his fellow-citizens, attefted, with regard to me, that they had always con- fidered my letters as written with favourable intentions towards the Jefuits ; and prefented to the king all they had been able to colletft. Among a great number which related only to the affairs of the province, four were found in which the Jefuits were mentioned ; three of thefe letters, direcT:ed to Saint-Marthe the lieutenant-general, and to his brother, feparately, and the office of the finances, were copies of each other; and after other matters were dilcuffcd, concluded with thefe words : " With regard to the Jefuits college, I know not why " you make fo many difficulties about that, and perfift in your folici- " tations for the royal college, of which you have written to me, fince *' you know, as La-Parifiere has often told you from me, that you " will never obtain of the king what is necelfary for it, and that he " abfolutely commands the other (liould be allowed; it is your part " therefore to aft prudently, and do that with a good grace, which in " the end you will be obliged to do whether willing or not: be it " your care only, upon receiving them, to make fuch regulations as " may not leave it in their power to dillurb the tranquillity of the city *' or province ; or make any alteration in that union at prefent main- " tained between the two religions, that the king may be ferved with " duty and affeftion by all." The fourth letter, addreffed to the bifliop of Poitiers, is yet flronger : after fume bufinefs and fome compliments, which made up the firft part of it, the king read thefe words : " I always doubted, that the Jefuits would not find people as kind and charitable in adions as in words : for my own part, if the province is willing they iLould have a fcttlement in it, and that they will refolve to live quietly there, without embittering the minds of the people, or doing any thing to difturb that harmony which at prefent fubfifts between the two re- ligions, I fliould be glad to fee them in my government, and will do " them FooK XX. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 39, " them all the fcrvice I can; but if they foment divifions there, or 160 c *' give rife to any jealoufies and difhufts, I had rather they were any /^ >1> " where elfe." The king's courier, as he paffed through Paris, which his majefly had juft quitted and fet out for Fontainebleau, left for me a particular anfwer to (he letter I had written to the bifliop of Poitiers, of which tliefe are the contents ; That father Moufiy, the Jefuit, had brought him a letter from father Cotton, in which this father mentioned cer- tain letters, fuppofed to be written by me to him, againft the eftablifh- ment and honour of the fociety, and the complaints which this father, believing them to be true, had made of me to his majefty. The billjop added, that after reading this letter, he had obliged father Mouffy to own, that his brother had been greatly to blame to bel, eve a matter of fuch confequence fo lightly ; and aded ftill more imprudently to write it, and bring it to the ears of the king : that father Moufly had feen all the letters, and found nothing in them which could authorize fuch an accufation, and undertook to undeceive father Cotton, by ac- quainting him with what he had feen. The bifliop of Poitiers, who really believed the exiftence of this imaginary letter of accufation againft me, which father Cotton had told him in his had been fent from Poitiers, and who thought, pro- bably, that it would do both me and him fervice to difcover the au- thor of it, fent me word,, that he would ufe his utmoft endeavours to find it out; and that he had been told, the preceding day, that it was figned Guillaume; but that no perfon knew better than father Cotton himfelt ; for although, as he was likewife informed, it was that fa- ther who had thrown this letter into the lire, yet he could not have forgot the fubfcription of it : the bi(hop's letter is dated March 2-\, 1605, I fliewed it to Sillery, who fet out for Panfou, from whence he went to Fontainebleau, to make his report to his majefty : but the king ordered me to bring this letter to him at Fontainebleau, together with the copies of thofe which had been fent me from Poitiers. I |)erceived that this new proof of my lînceritv had increafed his efteem. for me. The next day he fent for Richelieu and Pont-Courlay, and afked them if they knew who it was that had fuggefted to father Cotton the complaints he had made againft me ? and whether they had any fliare in it ? They replied, that very far from engaging themfelves in the 2 affair,. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. lafFair, they had earneftly advifed father Cotton never to mention to the king thofe letters, whether fuppofititious, or written by iome impoftor under a feigned name ; becaufe that if his majefty gave credit to my words in matters wherein my rehgion might render me fufpedted, he had much more reafon to beheve me, rather than thofe idle reports received to my prejudice. The king anfwered, that they muft prevail upon me to ufe the fame moderation in this bufmefs as they had ad- vifed fadier Cotton to, and prevent, faid he, all occafions of mifunder- llanding between my faithful fervants, as well in political as ecclefi- aftical affairs. He permitted them, if they could not by any other means reconcile us to each other, to throw part of the blame upon himfelf. I SUBMITTED with a good grace to this reconciliation: after the two agents had afiured me father Cotton had no intention to injure me, they entreated me to allow the father to wait on me, and affure me of the truth himfelf. I confented, and they brought him the next day. This father told me, that it was true, he had complained of having a fecret enemy, who oppofed the eftablifhment of a college at Poitiers, but that he had no thought of me. However, his ma- jeily had underftood that he meant me, and made me believe fo likewife : that although in this whole affair there was only a miftake, yet he was extremely afflifted that it had given me any difturbance, the remembrance of which he would endeavour to efface by the moll faithful fervices. In this manner was an affair concluded, which had given both parties a great deal of trouble. It was probably in confequence of this reconciliation, that father Richeome of Bourdeaux prefented me, at the clofe of this year, by fa- ther Cotton himfelf, a book of his writing, with a moft flattering de- dication to me : he takes notice in this dedication, that although this book could not be very agreeable to the profeffors of my religion (for it treated of the pilgrimage to Loretto) yet he made no fcruple to offer it me, and did not doubt of its being favourably received, on account of my attachment to the king (to whom indeed the higheftelogiums were given in it;) to this motive he added a fécond, which was purely of his own invention, that he had been affurcd I felt in myfelf a flrong difpofition to embrace the roman catholic faith, a difpofition which increafed every day ; and reminded me of a little prefent he had made me the the preceding year, which was a book, intituled, The Apolo- getic Book XX, MEMOIRS OF SULLY. getic Remonjl ranee of the Jefuits to the King *. I told him, in my anfwer, that knowing myfelf" to be capable of loving even my enemies, his fociety might from thence judge what were my fentiments con- cerning thofe who profeffed themfelves my friends. I returned him compliments for compliments, wiflies for wiflies, and even book for book ; for I fent him the Journey to Jerufalem, in return for that of Loretto. If any one doubts that thefe profcflions of efleem which were made me by the Jefuits were not fincere, let him fufpend his judgment for a moment, and he will know what to afcribe them to ; I will not omit any circumftances of the fa<5l I am going to relate, as I do not imagine they will feem tedious to the reader, fince they concern perfons fo di- flinguiflied at court as the duke d' Epernon, and Orillon -f, colonel of a regiment of guards. * This is the laft of that father's works againft Antony Arnaud : he wrote many books with great fuccefs on behalf of his order. t Lewis Berto de Grillon or Grillon, a gentleman of Avignon, as remarkable on account of the peculiarities in his temper as his intrepidity, which had procured him the name of Dread nought. I find in the life of the duke of Epernon a flory very proper to be related along with what the duke of Sully tells us ot this gentleman. " Tlie duke of " (juife, to whom he had been f.-nt alter " the reduâion of Marfeilies, having a *' mind to try his courage, l'a)s tiie hilto- " rian, agreed with fome gentlemen, to " give a fuddcn alarm before Grillon's " quarters, as if the enemy had been ma- " fters of the town ; at the fame time " he ordered two horfes to the door ; " and going up iiito Grillon's room, told " him all was loft ; that the enemy were " matters of the port and town ; that they " had forced the guards, and broke and " put to flight all that oppofed them ; that " finding it impoffibie to refill them any " longer, he thought it was better for thcni *' to retreat, than by fuffering themfelves " to be taken, add to the enem)'s vidtory ; *' that he had therefore ordered two hoifcs " to be brought, which were ready at the •' door ; and defired he would make hafte, •« for fear they (hould give the enemy time Vol. II. " to furprize them. Grillon was afleep " when the alarm was given, and was " hardly awake whilft the duke of Guifc " was faying this to him. However, with- " out being at all difconcerted by fo hot " an alarm, he called for his cIo3ths and " his arms, faying. They ought not, on " too flight grounds, to give credit to all " that was faid of the enemy ; and, even " if the account (hould prove true, it was " more becoming men of honour to die " with their arms in their hands, than to " furvive the lofs of the place. The duke " of Guife, not being able to prevail on " him to change this refolution, followed " him out of the room ; but wlien they were " got halfway down ftairs, not being able " to contain himfelf any l^nTc-r, he burft " out a laughuig ; by which Grillon dif- " covered the trick that had been plaved " him. He thereupon ailumed a look " much fterner than when he only thought " of going to fight, and fqueczing the " duke of Guife's hand, faid to him, " fv/earing at the fame time (for he al- " ways began his difcourle with the raoft " horrible oaths) Young man, never make " it ajeft to try the cour.ige of a man of " honour; for, by God ! hadft thou made " me betray any weaknefs, I would have " plunged my dagger in thy heart : and " then left him, without faying a wj;J " more." Page i;6. E e e Grillo.v 394 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. 1605. Grillon had at firft the fame unfavourable fentiments for me with — -^< ' which ahiiod all the courtiers were tainted ; but after a little adven- ture which happened at the fiege of Charbonnières, during the war with Savov, his friendiliip for me became rtronger than his hatred had ever been. Grillon, at that time, was quartered at Aiguebelle, a little town, at the bottom of a fort, where he commanded our foot, and often came to vilit the quarter of the artillery, where I was ; he happened one day to be with me in a meadow, from whence I was obferving a ravelin which Î wanted to have battered down ; and myfelf, and thofe that accompanied me, were within reach of a battery, from whence the discharges began to be fo frequent, that I refolved to defer doing the bufinefs I was about till a fitter opportunity, when we needed not ufe- lelly endanger our lives. " How ! morbieu, my grand mafler," faid Grillon to me, with an air and tone of voice peculiar to him, " are " you afraid of guns in the company of Grillon ? Arnidieu ! fince I " am here they will not dare to come nigh us ; let us go to, thofe '' trees I fee about two hundred paces from hence, we may reconnoitre " the ravelin there with lefs danger." " Let us go then, replied I, " fmiling, fince we are trying who (hall iliew himlelf mort mad ; but " fince you are the oldeft, I would willingly allow you to be the wifeft " alfo." Probably I fhould have done better to have paid no at- tention to what he faid. I took his hand, and led him fo far beyond the trees he had pointed to, that the bullets began to whiftle- ftrongly in our ears. " Arnidieu ! faid Grillon, thefe rogues have no regard " to the grand mafi:er's baton, or the crofs of the Holy Ghofi, and " may probably lame us ; let us gain that range of trees and thofe " hedges, which may flielter us ; for, par la- corbieu, you are an ho- *' neft fellow, and worthy to be grand mafi:er : I will, during my *' whole life, be one of the mod faithful of your fcrvants ; let us vow *' an inviolable friendfliip to each other ; do you promife me yours ? " I took his hand, which he held out to me in token of union, and from that moment he continued to lov£ me with a greater affedion than he had ever fliewn to any other perfon whatever, not even, as it was faid, to the king himfelf ; and this adventure, which had given rife to it, he talked of to every one. By what means I regained the duke of Epcrnon's friendfliip has been ' already mentioned. About the beginning of the year, he came to me and defircd that I would dired: his appointments, as colonel of a regiment of guards, to be paid him in ready money. I reprefented to him, that he had been Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. been paid already all he could with reafon demand upon that account ; and that what he farther required, was but a pofleffion without a claim, or rather an ufurpation, which his favour with Henry the third had given him an opportunity of committing (for this was a difcovery I had lately made) and that I was refolved to cut it off for the future, unlefs he brought me an order from the king, by which this f.ipplement was granted him in the manner of a gratuity. D'Epernon, offended at this difcourfe, complained to the king, and endeavoured to perfuade liini that I was become his enemy. His majelly, to undeceive him, re- minded him of the council held atBlois, wherein I oppofed the advice given by the count de Soiffons, to arrefl: him with maréchal Biron. This circumftance, which d'Epernon had never before been acquainted with, made a great imprelTion upon his mind. " Do you aflure me, " Sire, faid he to the king, that it was from M. de Rofny I received " this adt of friendflfip." " Yes, I allure you of it, replied this prince, " for I am not ufed to lie, efpecially in things of confequence." D'Epernon left Fontainebleau the fame day, and fet out for Paris in a hired coach, having fent one of his own before to Effonne, where it was to wait for him ; I had left Paris in the fame manner, his majefty having fent for me to Fontainebleau : d'Epernon and I met each other in a place over-againft a chapel, above EfTonne ; the duke ordered his coachman to flop, and called out to me, . that he entreated I would give him an^opportunity to fay one word to me : we both alighted. " I " have too long," laid he, approaching me, " been under a great obli- " gation to you, without paying you thofe acknowledgements you " merit from me." He then repeated what the king had juft told him, and^ in the tranfport of his gratitude, loaded me with praifes, and affurances of the moll inviolable friendlhip. J replied, with my ufual fincerity, that he was under no obligation to me, on account of the circumlVance he mentioned, fince it v/as the bufinels of every honeft man to take the part of innocence, exclufive of all interefl: and views of any kind, and that hereafter he would be flill better convinced, that all my intentions, with refpecfl to him, had been equitable, and more lb than he had fometimes believed. This affair produced fuch a per- fedl good intelligence between us, that, eight days after, being upon the point of fetting out for Guienne, d'Epernon made me a vilit to re- queft one of thofe little favours of me with which a man takes plea- lure to oblige his friends. E e e 2 The 396 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XX. 1605. The duke had been informed that fome perfons, who were enemies I — -^r — ' to him, earnellly folicited Grillon to refign his colonel's commiirion, in favour of another whom he had likewife as little reafon to love ; and, knowing that Grillon was wholly governed by my advice, he entreated me to prevent his refigning this poft till he returned from Guienne : and this I promifed him. During d'Epernon's abfence, his majefty was told fome things to his difadvantage, which determined him to give the poft to a man who was not fo much devoted to the duke d'Eper- non as Grillon : it was not with this view, that the affair was propo- fed to Grillon from the king, but becaufe he, in reality, was not very dilicfent in the exercife of this employment, and was foon to take a jour- ney to Provence, where his ftay was likely to be very long. He was given to underftand, that it was for thefe two reafons his majelly wiflied he would difpofe of this employment, and promifed to procure him a good price for it. Grillon, lingular and fantaftic to the laft degree, and already a little diftempered in his brain, only (hook his head without anfwering the three firft times that they mentioned the king's intentions to him. He afterwards fufpeded, that it was I whom the king had in view to fucceed to his employment ; and when he came to take leave of me, aflced of me if it was not fo, making me, at the fame time, many of- fers of fervice : it was with great difficulty that I could put this notion out of his head, and was obliged to tell him, that I would not accept of this employment, although it fhould be given me for nothing. " How ! returned Grillon immediateh', fure you do not think an •' employment which Grillon has poflelTed unworthy of you; Arni- <' blsau^ my grand mafter, you are very vain, for fince I have filled it, *' it is worthy of the beff of you." " I know, replied 1, that one / " Grillon is of more value than a thoufand Rofnys ; but I have other ^' reafons which hinder me from thinking of it." " Oh, very well, " that is enough," faid he : and then, without my folicitation, engaged not to refign it till I fhould advifehim to it, and then only to that per- fon who fliould be agreeable to me : and from this time, he would not give a ferious anfwer to any of the propofals that were made him on this fubjedt. At length the king was obliged to talk to him himfelf; he fent for him, and repeated the fame arguments which were ufed to him before, to prevail upon him to refign a poft, the duties of which were incom- patible Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. patible with the long ftay he propofed to make in his native country, adding a thoufand kind and obliging things upon the valour and fervices of Grillon. " By what lean underftand, Sire, replied Grillon, you " want me to quit your fervice, and that I fliould become abfolutely " papiftical ; for you know I am born a fubjedl of the Pope." " Ah " no, Grillon, replied his majefly, that is not my intention :" then ad- ding new reafons drawn from the nature of his employment, " So " then in good earneft, faid Grillon to him again, you would have me " refign my employment ; and fince it is your defire, I will not do it, " at leaft to the perfon for whom I hear it is defigned." This fpeech indeed was no great indication of a found mind; he withdrew in a rage, but the king, who knew his humour, only laughed at him : he even took a refolution to fpeak to him no more of the matter, fo little was this prince inclined to ufeany reftraint to per- fons who had ferved him faithfully. But happening to mention this little extravagance of Grillon before Roquelaure, Zamet, Piles, Por- tia, and fome other captains of the regiment of guards, one of them faid, that there were but two ways to render Grillon tradable, which were, to employ d'Epernon in the affair, and to tell him that it was for me, and in my name, that he aflced him for his port. The king replied, that he would never difpofe of it, at the folicitation of the duke d'Epernon ; neither did he defire that I (liould accept of it : but that he believed I would not refufe to entreat Grillon to yield it to the perfon he had in view. His majefty did not name this perfon, but only added, that he was worthy of it by his abilities, and rich enough to give Grillon a good recompence for it. Henry then ordered Piles, Portia, and Zamet, to come to me and make this propofal, as of a thing that would be very agreeable to him, but without owning that they had his orders for mentioning it. At firft I made no other anfwer to thefe gentlemen, than that I had private reafons for not meddling in the affair; but upon their preffing me todifclofe thefe reafons, I informed them, with my ufual /incerity, of the engagement! had entered into with the duke d'Epernon, which was, as I may fay, the pledge of our reconciliation. When thefe words were related to the king, he was immediately feized with fo violent a tranfport of rage againft me, that, as he afterwards owned to me, he never remembered to have borne me fo much ill-will before : doubtlefs the occafion of it would appear very flight, if I did not, at the fame time, inform the reader that it was in this year^ and at this very time, that 3 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. that my enemies had then adually given me the fevereft blow they had ever aimed againft me, and brought me, in reality, within an inch of my ruin, or at lead of my difmiflion from my employments, to the laft of which I think I fliould have readily fubmitted. Libels, letters, in- formations, malicious infinuations, atrocious calumnies, all that envy could fuggeft moft injurious and moft horrid, had been pradifed, and ftill continued to be pradliled every day againfl me, all which I fliall particularife hereafter : for the prefent it is fufficient to fay, that the poifon had been fo fubtilly applied, that the king, although he had long been aware of the malice of my enemies, had not been able to avoid being tainted with it, and it had reached even to his heart. I SHALL not here ufe the ordinary ftyle of thofe who have fuffered fuch trials, when they exclaim, with fo much vehemence, againft the ingratitude and injuftice they have met with from princes ; I always fufpedt that fuch outcries proceed either from great vanity, or great ig- norance of the human heart. To make calumny againft the abfent fuc- cefsful, nothing more is requifite than to find the means of opening the mind to fufpicion, and to thofe, who, having every thing to govern and direft, have likewife every thing to forefee and to fear, innumerable arguments will occur to keep alive and juftify this fufpi- cion. How many appearances of fidelity, fo well dilguifed that truth itfelf could hardly aflume any other face, efpecially before kings, from whom one would imagine flie delights to conceal herfelf ? But are there not many minifters likewife, who, from being loyal and aftedionate, have become traitors to their fovereigns ? To all thefe conliderations, Henry, on his fide, added a too curious and too adive refearch into all poflible contingencies, wherein, for the prefent or the future, any dan- ger to the ftate might be apprehended ; and I, on mine, too little foli- citude to lefTen his fufpicion, which was not fo much the effc6t of in- difi^erence, as the mark of a conftience clear and irreproachable: it is not furprifing therefore, that the artifices of my enemies, had made fo deep an impreûîon in the mind of Henry. However, I have always, after this, laid it down for a maxim, that any fovereign who imagines fuch a conduft neceflary to fiipport his interefts and authority, takes the diredl method to ruin both, by leflening himfelf that refped and de- ference which he ought to oblige his fubjefls to fliew to thofe to whom he has confided thofe interefts, and by whom that jjonour is main- tained. When Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 399 When the three men, whom the king had employed in the affair of 1605. Grillon, had acquainted him with what I had faid, which had occa->——\ fioncd thofe tranfports of rage againfl: me, Villeroi, Siilery, La Va- rennc, and father Cotton, came very feafonably for him to difcharge this heavy burthen upon, 1 had no reafon to think, tliat this accidental meeting was a favourable effect of the influence of my ftars ; for he re- peated my words to them, and his ownfentiments upon them, with the mofl violent emotions of rage. " How !" fiid he to them, perceiving that they made him no anfwer, " you are filent, you fay not a word ; " but by heaven, purfued he, all this looks ill ; for fince fire and wa- " ter mingle fo well together (it was d'Epernon and me whom he " meant) there muft be higher defigns, at leafl: on one fide, than I " could ever have imagined ; but I {hall take care to prevent them." t was abfolutely in the power of thofe four perfons, to whom the king addreffed this difcourfe, to prevent thefe fufpicions from going fo far ; one word only would have fufficed : but they took care not to fay that word, but, on the contrary, upon the king's faying, that while I con- tinued faithful in my allegiance, and the performance of my duty, I was the moft ufeful fervant he had, and that he fliould never ceafe to lament the lofs of me, they, to add fuel to fire, under a feigned folici- tude to alleviate his majefly's difquiet, began to praife, with the utmoft ardour, my great abilities in the management of affairs, the unwearied application I was capable of, and the adtive turn of my mind. From hence they inferred the great need which all the members of the flate had of me, and the dépendance which that neceffirily introduced ; they exaggerated the high credit I had acquired among foreigners, and with what eafe I could put every thing in motion, without ftirring out of my clofet ; praifes which Î neither merited in their good nor bad fenfe. Cer- tainly envy can affume every difguife, fince it can oblige men, not only to praife thofe whom they moii abhor, but in their praifes outdo flattery itfelf. The four confidants had reafon to applaud themlelves for this laft flroke of policy, when they found they had not allayed the king's anger againft me, but only to mix with it the ftrongeft emotions of jealoufy, diftruft, and apprehenfion : that this was the ftate of his mind they were well allured, when he told them, that, if I refigned myfelf up to the ambitious defire of becoming head of a party, my credit was fo great, and my friends fo numerous, that I was able to do the ftate more harm, than admiral Coligny had ever been able to do. My enemies now thought MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. thought there was nothing more neceflary to be done, but to fuffer thofe black fufpicions to work in his mind, and wait the effeft ; accord- ingly they took leave of the prince, after having thus inftilled the poifon into his heart. Henry, inthisftate of mind, was no longer capable either of fecrefy or art ; he fpoke of me publicly as of a rebel, and the whole court was immediately filled with the nolle of my difgrace, and the ex- pectation of my approaching ruin. I HAD likewife many friends there, who had, a long time before matters came to this point, informed me of all that was pradtifing againft me by my enemies, and of what was faid by the king. I am not fure, whether it would not have been more prudent to aél upon this occafion as I had already done on many others of the fiime nature, in which Henry of himfelf returned from his fufpicions and difgufts, to his ufual manner of thinking with regard to me. It is a mortifying thing for innocence to be perpetually employed in fupporting itfclf by proofs, and exaggerate its merit by praifes : a man who thinks he ouglit to owe his elevation to virtue alone, feels an honeft fliame at being obliged to fecure that elevation by methods lefs worthy ; yet it is evident, on many occafions, that if virtue is not afîîfted by chance and induftry, her own ftrength is not f fficient to prottft her from the ha- tred, and even from the contempt of the public. So many repeated advices as I received, determined me at length to write a letter to the king. His majefty had not yet fixed, for any confiderable time,- in any of his palaces, but had confumed the months of January and February in journeysto Saint-Germain (where his children were) and Monceaux, flaying but a fliort time at each place ; and, on the 13th of March, the day on which my letter was dated, was at Chantilly. I ihall not tranfcribe this letter here, as I have no crime to eft-ace, nor no particu- lar adlion to juftify ; it contained only general afTurances of innocence, and arguments fimple indeed and unlludied, but which, on that very account, ought to have had the more weight. I OBSERVED to his maiefty, that, during twenty-two of th thirty- three years which I had been in his fervice, the fivours I had received from him had been but very fmall, although I had been at confiderable expences; yet fincethat confideration, the lownefs of my fortunes, and the profpedl of a decent cftablilluncnt elfewhcre, which might have given fome excufe for my abandoning him, could not prevail upon me to do fo ; it was not credible I fhould do fo now, when I faw myfelf i'o generoufly rewarded, when my fortune could only cncreafe, and when Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, when (o many favours, which I every year received from my king in a manner wholly obliging, attacheçl me no lefs to his perfon, than my offices and employments. It was not probable therefore, I faid, that I fhould hazard the being deprived of one half of thcfc advantages, by the hand which had heaped them on me, and of the reft by the revcrfes of fortune : that I defied all my enemies to charge me with the adual commiffion of any crimes of which I would not clear myfclf, in two words, whenever his majefty informed me of it; that all thofe accufa- tions were no more than mere pofllbilities, upon which he was too wife and too juft to condemn any perfon, under whatever colour of fuppofition, probability, imputation, calumny, or even of praife, they might be prefented to him : but fctting all this afide, I entreated him not to conclude me guilty, but upon folid proofs : that I fliould wait with- out fear the efforts of my enemies, and fubmit, without repugnance, to all the rigour of the lav/, and all the effedts of his anger, if the fmallefl: crime could be proved againft me ; being mort certain that if, in the great number of employments with which I v/as invelled, he could charge me with the commifîion of any fault, it would not be where my honour or duty was concerned, but an effecfl of my igno- rance or incapacity ; in which cafe i was ready, at his leafi: command, to refign all my offices into' his hands, chuling rather the oblcurity cf a private life with his fiivour, than thefplendor of the higheft dignities with his hatred. I WAS convinced, by the anfwer which his majefly fent me, that the informations I had received were not falfe ; he addrefîed me in it with the title of coufin inftead of friend : though (hort, it was not written with his own hand ; a kind of circumfpedtion and referve, which was not utual with him, ran through it, and not one word of conlbla- tion found a place : the king only obferved to me coldly, and in few words, that it was my bufinefs to fuffer the world to talk of me as it plealed, and continue to ferve liim well. 1 pretended, however, to be fatisfied with this letter, and, after having done all that was neceflary upon this occafion, confcious of my own innocence, I was perfuaded that eagernefs and precipitation did not become me ; I therefore waited till his majefly was willing to enter into a difcuffion of the affair with me, and continued to s.Oi as ufual. The king, after flaying at Chantilly fix or feven days, quitted it to return to Paris, where his prefence was necelîary : he "began to have a fondnefs for the former, from whence alfo he wrote to me, that be was Vol. II. F f f ciuch MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. much better in health (as I fliould perceive by his countenance as foon as I favv him) that he eat and flept well there, never rifing before leven o'clock, though he went to bed at ten or eleven. I expeded, at leaft, tkat he would mention my letter to me when he returned to Pa- ris, but I was miftaken ; he took not the fmalleft notice of it, although he flayed there eight days, and four mornings fucceflively conferred with me on many different affairs as we walked in the Tullieres : Villeroi and Sillery indeed were prefent. After giving us all the neceffary or- ders, he fet out for Fontainebleau, ftill keeping up the fame referve in all the letters he wrote me from thence, during the remainder of this month, as well upon general as private affairs. It was here, as I obferved a little before, that they fupplied all which was yet wanting to make his majefty refolve my ruin ; and, as he ftaid there during the whole months of April and May, they had time fufficient to effecft their purpofe, and brought him to the point we have already feen. Calumny is like lire, which, the fiercer it burns, is extin- guillied the fooner, if no more fuel be added to it ; and it is not fo eafy to fupport it as fome have imagined, efpecially with pdnces, who adt on principle. If their imaginations be quick and lively, and their temper precipitate like Henry's, the paffions once inflamed will, at firft, carry them very far from their purpofe, but never fo far but that they may be brought back by reafon : and from difpofitions like thefe one will have violent fits of anger to fuftain ; but to make amends, there is neither obfiinate prejudice, imperfed: reconciliations, nor fludied artifices to ap- prehend. It was this reafon which induced me to wait, with more pa- tience than I fliould othtrways have done, for the iffue of an affair fo com- plicated and perplexed ; and without altering my behaviour, either while I was at Paris, or in thofe rtiort exairfions Imade from time to time to Fon- tainebleau, I appeared always the fame. My friends were not able to comprehend how I could enjoy a tranquillity which they were not ca- pable of themfelves, although fo fully perfuaded of my innocence, that all of them would have willingly become fureties for my conduâ: : they expreffed great furprife at his majefty's behaviour to me, and could not keep filence at court, and probably in fecret taxed the prince with in- juftice. All the kind offices of fincere and affedionate relations I re- ceived from the family of Lorrain upon this occafion. At length my wifhes and expedlations were anfwered : the kiïig finding that my enemies could bring no proofs of what they had ad- 2 vanced Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. vanccd againft me, he began to fear he had been a little too hafty : my pad fervices rofe to his remembrance ; my prefent conduâ:, and the ' purport of my letter, dwelt upon his thoughts : he was Aruck with all this, and regreted that he had fufFered any exprelTions of anger to efcape him, being convinced that nothing was more jull and reafon- able than the requeft I had made Jiim, that he would not condemn me without proofs of my guilt. One day when I was at Fontainebleau, be fent La Varenne, D'Efcures, and Beringhen, to me, on pretence of fome bulinefs, fuppofing I fliould tell them in confidence my diflicul- ties and perplexity ; however, I confined myfelf wholly to the buiinefs they came about, and avoided mentioning any other fubied". Villeroi and Sillery were fent to me afterwards for the lame purpofe, which I was convinced of as foon as I found that they had nothing to fay to me, but on an affair of fo little confequence, that it was not worthy the trouble they gave themfelves ; this was about a difpatch from Ancel *,- who managed the affairs of France at Vienna. 1 behaved to thefe gen- tlemen as I had done to the others : they had orders to advance, and draw from me, at any price whatever, a confefïïon of my fentiments upon the treatment I received from his majefly. The reader will judge if they acquitted themfelves faithfully of their commifllon, and like true mediators : they turned the converfation, from bufinefs, to the danger and difficulty of ibrving princes, and the mortifications miniffers are frequently expofed to, and the uneafinefs which flander mull give to a man of honour : they afterwards gave hie to underff and more plainly, that a minifler was not defended from thefe inconveniences under the reigning king. I SAW clearly enough, that thefe two gentlemen, by talking in this manner, executed indeed the orders they had received, but with fo much additional art on their fide, as made it evident they were very fo- licitoub to find fome occalion of realifing my fuppofed crime, when they made their report to his majefty. To adopt their fentiments had been infolence, and filence might have been conflrued into obflinacy and pride : I therefore replied, with great compofure, that I did not doubt but that there were princes in the world fuch as they reprefented, but that his majefly was too juft and too good, to treat, in that man- ner, fuch fervants whofe behaviour had been irreproachable, as for example I believed my own to be ; that I was fo well perfuaded of this truth, that, although I fliould hear the contrary from his own mouth, * William Ancel, mafter of the houfhold, refident at Vienna. F f f 2 yet MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. yet 1 iliould ftill think his tongue but ill explained the meaning of his heart. Theie words were lufficient to dilconcert thefe malicious com- miffioners ; but they had recourfe to other artifices to force from me fome exprefiion of complaint or anger ; and finding that they were not able to efFeâ their purpofe, they returned to tell his majefty not what I had faid, but that I had faid nothing at all, and that, contrary to my I'lfual cuftom, I was fo wrapt up in referve, that I had not deigned to utter a fingle word. From hence it was eafy to judge what thefe two^ gentlemen would have faid, if I had given them the leafi; opportu- nity of entrapping me. During the remainder of this day, I faw only fuch meffengers as thofe ; but was fully determined not to open myfelf, on this fubjed, to the king himfelf, unlefs he led to it firft : and that he might fee no alteration in my conducS, I prepared to fet out the next morning for Paris, as the evening before I had told him I would. I WAITED on his majeftv as ufual, to receive his orders before I went away ; I found him in his clofet, furrounded by the courtiers who were come to his levee, and getting himfelf booted to go to the chace. At my entrance, he arofe half up from his chair, one of his boots being already on, and pulling off his hat to me, bid me good- morrow, ceremonioully calling me monfieur : all which difcovered a mind either grieved or perplexed. His ufual flyle to me was. My friend Rofny, or Grand mafter ; but that eonfufion of mind he appeared to la- bour under, when, without fecming to know what he did, he ftruck the little ivory cylinders which he had in his hand one againft the other,, convinced me that I was not millaken, when I concluded there was neither anger nor difguft in this behaviour. I had likewife made him a much more profound bow than ufual," which, as he afterwards told me, moved him fa much, that it was with difficulty he could reftrain himfelf from throwing himfelf that inftant upon my neck. He con- tinued mufing fome moments longer, and then told Beringhen that it was not a good day for the chace, and that he would be unhooted. Beringhen, furprifed at this fudden change of his intentions, replied, a little imprudently, that it was a very fine day. " .It is not a fine day," replied Henry, with fouie emotion, " I wiil not ride this morning, " take off my b<;ots." That done, the king entered into a converlation, dirtfting himlclf fometimes to one, fometuncs to another, and chufing fuch fubjedts as he thought would afibrd me an opportunity of Ipeak- iug : but obferving I was ftill filent, he took Bellegarde by the hand ; " M Le Grand, faid he, let us walk, I would talk with you a little, •' that you may fet out to-day on your journey to Burgundy." Thev had Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. had fome private bufinefs together, which related cliiefly to ibme idle tales and quarrels of women. Whfn they came to the door of the little ftair-cafe which leads to the queen's garden, the king called L'Oferai, and, as he afterwards told me, bid him obferve whether I followed him ; and if I turned another way, not to fail to inform him immediately of it. I ftaid in the fame place during the whole time that his majefty was talking to M. Le Grand, in the walk that leads to the garden of the Conciergerie; but 1 ob- fervcd that he often turned his eyes upon me. After BcUegarde had ta- ken leave of the king, I advanced, and defired to know if his majcfty had any orders for me. " And where are you going ?" laid he. " To " Paris, fire, replied I, upon the bufinefs you fpoke to me of two days " lince." " Well, go then, replied the king, I ftiil recommend to " you the care of my affairs, and defne that you fliould continue to " love me." I bowed low; he embraced me as ufual, and! took the road to my own houfe ; but fcarce was I got to the diflance of three hundred paces, when looking back I faw La-Varcnne running after me, crying, Monlieur, the king would fpeak with you. His majefty, feeing me return, flruck into the road which leads to the Kennel, ard calling to me while 1 was yet at a diftance, " Come hither, faid he : " have you nothing to fay to me ?" " No, fire, I replied, not at pre- *' fent." " Well then, I have fomething to lay to you," anfwered he with precipitation ; and taking my hand, led me into the grove of white mulberry-trees, and ordered two Swifs centinels, who did not under- ftand French, to be placed at the entrance of the canals which fur- rounded the grove. The king began by embracing me twice in a moft affectionate man- ner, which the courtiers eafily perceived, for we were within view, and they carefully watched all our geftures ; then calling me friend, and re- fuming his former familiarity with me, he told me with a look and accent which went to my heart, that the coldnefs and referve with which we had for a month paft behaved towards each other, muft needs be very painful to two perfons who, for three and twenty years, had been accurtomed co the moft unlimited confidence, and that it was time to deprive thofe who were the caufe of it of an occafion of triumph, which flattered too much their hatred of me, and the envy with which they beheld his and his kingdom's increafmg profperity. The heart of this good prince opening as he fpoke to me, he ad- ded, that, earneftly defiring we ftiould both forget what had happened, bethought it neceifary to leave me ignorant of nothing that had paffed: MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. on his fide, either with refpcd to the informations which had been aiven him againft me, the etfeds they had produced in his mind, and laftlv, the words and adions by which he had made thofe unfavour- able imprelTions public. He intreated, commanded, and made me promife to follow the example he was going to give me, to difcover to him all the different emotions with which I had been agitated, and my fentiments both of the treatment I had received from him, and of the affair itlelf, with the lame unreferved freedom he fliould ufe to- wards me ; " That before we leave this place, faid he, our minds may " be wholly freed from doubts and fufpicion, and both perfedly fa- " tisfied with each other ; therefore as I flTall open my whole heart '' freely to you, I muft intreat you will not difguife yours from me." I gave him my word of honour that I would mofl faithfully obey this injunction. The king then began firf^, by naming all thofe perfons who had endeavoured to injure me with him on that occafion, as well in effeds as words, among which there were fome of all ranks and ages, and many who had ferved his majefty as long as myfelf ; thefe I believe I may divide into feven claffes ; in the firft I fliall place the princes of the blood, and great officers of the crown ; in the fécond, the king's miftrefles, with their children, and fuch as either through the ties of blood or friendfhip fupported their interefts and ferved their paflions, among thefe were Cœuvres, Freines, Forget, Puget, Placin, Vallon, and many more ; the marchionefs of Verneuil was at the head of all. The rage which animated thefe two clafîes againft me was excited by my having retrenched their gratuities : the third was compofed of the par- tifans of Spain, and the remains of the old leaguers, whofe politics and principles of government could not agree with the king's or with mine; and this clafs was encreafed by many members of the council, Villeroi, Sillery, Frefnes, Forget, and others, who aded in concert with the Jefuits : in the fourth I comprehend all the petit-maitres, court-fa- vourites, and idle intignificant perfons, who load Paris with an ufclefs weight ; thefe were aétuated by their refentment againfl me, for pre- venting his majelly from befto wing fuch favours on them as they expeft- ed, and for the oppofition of my manner of living and condud to theirsj the number of thefe is too great, and themfclves too contemptible, to fully the paper with their names : the fifth was made up of the fedi- tious and malecontents of France, whom the flourifliing condition of the kingdom, the wife oeconomy of Henry, and the preparations he was making, which rendered him too powerful, incited to confpire my ruin : Book XX. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 407 ruin : the financiers and other men of bufinefs made up the llxth, and jôq - they indeed had no reafon to be much my friends. 'w<'"v >o The feventh and laft clafs was compofed of another kind of court- flatterers, fomewhat inferior to thofe I have ah-eady mentioned; thefe were ever ready to give advice, and fought to make their court to the prince by continually furnifhing him with new projeds for raifing mo- ney ; men for the moft part formerly in place, and to whom nothino- more of their once fhining fortune remained, than the deteftable fcierfce of impoverifhing the people ; which for their own intereft, and by an efFedl of a long habitude in guilt, they endeavoured to teach his ma- jefty ; but finding that this trade was become much lefs profitable to them, fince his majefty had confided to me the fole management of his finances, they pradifed another art which difcovered difpofitions nearly the fame ; this was, to invent flanders, drefs up detradtion like truth, and be the venal inftruments of thofe who either durft not or would not appear themfelves in the fatiiical libels which filled the court ; it was by them that thefe contemptible pieces were compofed, fpread abroad, and the truth of them maintained and propagated ; the dangerous talent of raillery, and lively fallies of wit, opened them a way to the company and familiarity of Henry, who loved an eafy and fpirited converfation. Although he was perhaps upon his guard againfl: their malignant ftrokes at me, yet he could not at length avoid being touched by them. Some of thofe whom at firft he had defpifed or baniflied from his prefence, found means afterwards to make themfelves be heard. In this lift would be found none but names fo obicure, that they do not deferve to be raked from the duft, fuch as Juvigny, Pa- rafis. Le Maine, Beaufort, Berfot, Longuet, Chalange, Verfenai, San- teny,&c. if Sancy,who merits the firft place among them, had not com- pleted his own diilionour by this vile trade, which helped to retard his ruin, when his folly and excefs has left him no other refource. He was obliged to fell his jewels, and oflfered them to the king, who, becaufe he was not willing they fliould go out of the kingdom, ordered me to purchafe them *. * M. de Sancy has had the misfortune whimfies, &c. It would be doing him in- to fee himfelf treated in the moft cruel juftice, to read thefe accufatioiis and in- manncr in all the writings of the Calvinifts jurious refledtions, without having before of that time, without having in any degree one, at the fame time, the apology of his deferved it from them, otherwife than by condudf, written by himfelf j which may having abjured their religion. Jofeph Sea- be feen in Villeroi's Memoirs, vol. III. liger fpeaks of him as a fanatic, full of pag. 127. He therein, among other things. The 4o3 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XX. 1605- The king, after recounting the names of the authors, gave me a i..^'^""x^ detail of their artifices. A!l that the wit of man could devife, when animated by an eager defire to deflroy, was pradifed by them ; where- ever the king turned his fteps, he faw nothing but informations, letters, libels, billets, and other papers of the fame kind, not to mention the political memorials with which they prefented him, under (liew of zeal for the ftate, and aftcélion for his perfon ; thefe papers he found under his table, under the carpet of his chamber, and under his pillow; they caufed them to be prefented to him by perfons unknown, they were given into his own hand in the form of petitions, and crammed into his lleeves and pockets. I was there painted in the moft hateful colours, and the moft injurious epithets were not fpared, except when by the refinement of thofe treacherous prailes which I have already mention- ed, they exaggerated to his majefty my unwearied induftry, my great abilities, the depth of my judgment, my manners, once rude and for- bidding, now, as they faid, became gracious and obliging to all. Henry, with great fincerity, owned to me, that he was fo impofed upon by thefe artifices, that he had aim oft entirely loft the good opinion he had once conceived of me ; and that thefe wretches had contrived to fill him with fuch a defire of knowing all their inventions, that at the very time when he feemed fo weary of that infinite number of libels and informations, as to throw them afide without taking any notice of them ; vet afterwards he could not refift the inclination he felt to col- It muft neceflarily he, that this prince was prejudiced in a ftrange manner, fince he could not perceive that thefe writings were often no lefs injurious to himfelf than to me ; as for example, when he read, that I made him niercenary and unjuft to thofe that ferved him faith- fully, to whom, under pretended compenfation for old debts, he re- fufed what they had a lawful claim to ; they likewile imputed vveak- nefs and timidity to him, in writing to me on all thefe occafions, which certainly was not greatly to his honour, whether in him they made it an excufe for his avarice, or a mark of his dependanee. It was by thefe infinuations they began at firft; and while they went no farther, the king, who found only new occafions to praife my adminiftration, was not prejudiced againft me ; but to put thefe critics to filcnce, he proves, in contradidion to what M. de Sully the king's fervice, he was obliged to fell his charges him with in this place, that by rea- jewels to the value of an hundred and fifty ion of the exptnces lie had been put to in thoufand crowns. only Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. only required fummaries of the ftate debts which I had difcharged to ihew them ; and as for me, when I had an opportunity I feverely re- proved thofe perfons for their too free cenfures, while, under a falfe pretence of being denied juftice, they fuffered exprefhons to efcape them in their rage, with which his majefty had good reafon to be of- fended. But they foon left thefe flight accufations for others of greater confequence. Henry, to excufe the credulity with which he had believed thefe ilanders, would have me judge myfelf of the libels in which they were contained. But as it would have been a tedious tafk to read them all, he fixed upon one * which Juvigny had {hewn him twelve days before, and which had been made public, becaufe in this all the different calumnies which were fcattered throughout many other libels had been coUedted, which made it as complete as a work of that kind 'could be : there was indeed fome little intricacy in it, but it was writ, however, with a fufficient force of ftyle and judgment to perfuade his majefty that it proceeded from fome other hand than Juvigny, whofe powers it greatly exceeded. The king, taking this paper out of his pocket, told me, that by reading it I might polTibly help him to find out the author, whofe name he would be glad to know. I received , it from his majefty's hands, and read it from beginning to end in his prefence. The reader, if he pleafes, may here fee the fubftance of it, for it is not my intent to conceal any part of it. The author, whoever he was, began (and indeed no writing had ever m.ore need of fuch a precaution) by endeavouring to clear himfelf of all fufpicion of envy or prejudice : the great qualities of Henry, the happinefs which France enjoyed under his reign, the advantageous fi- tuation of his affairs, made a fécond preamble, very proper to captivate the good-will of this prince, and ftill more to lead naturally to the accufation he was to make againft me, of having infolently boafted, that this happinefs was my fole work ; and from thence, with great art, introduced this refledion, that it was but too common for minifters of fuch abilities, and favourites with fo much power, to engage in de- * This book was intituled, A political " and bold for thofe times, when all truths difcourfe, {hewing the king in what refpeâs " were not allowed to be fpoke ; it never- his majefty is ill ferved. " It was privately " thclefs did not contain any thing againft " handed about at Paris, fays 1' Etoile, in " the king or his fervice, but muny things ♦' MS. the ftyle of it was foinewhat free " againft M. deRofny." Vol. II. G g g figns 410 M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XX. 1605. figns pernicious to the fovereign and the ftate. A crowd of examples, ^- — v~— ^ eloquently difplayed, finifhed this part of the pidure. From thence the author proceeded, not to examine my aftion?, which alone conld afford a juft proof of his aflertions, but to criticife my manners ; and in the gracious reception I had lately given to all perfons in general who came to my houfe, found anunanfwcrable proof (;f thofe pernicious defigns ; and added, that the number of perfons, from the princes of the blood, down to the moft inconfiderable of the people, which by this fludied civility 1 had gained over to my interefls, was almoft incredible. He attempted to enumerate this crowd of par- tilans, which could not indeed but be very confiderable, fince all that this accufation was founded upon, was that complaifance and po- litenefs of behaviour which in France it is the cuftom to treat every one with : the piince of Conti and the duke of Montpenfier were at the top of the lift-, then the whole family of Lorrain ; feveral French lords came next: my reconciliation with the duke ofEpernon, be- caufe followed by a lincere and reciprocal friendlliip, was mifrcpre- fented under the name of an union formed by a boundlefs ambition. Meffieurs de Montbazon, de Ventadour, de Fervaques, d' Ornano, de Saint-Geran, de Praflin, de Grammont, d' Aubeterre, de Montigny, de Schomberg, and others, were likewife mentioned as perfons whom I attached to my intereft by the diftindion with which I treated them, the fervices I was perpetually doing them, and the diftribution I made amongfl them of part of his majefty's treafures, which I was fo fparing, of to all others. All this not being fufficient to give probability to thofe views the author attributed to me, he added to it the correfpondences I carried on without the kingdom. He mentioned an expreffion which fell from the king of England, and which might well be confidered as a mere compliment, 'That the king of France was happy in having me, and made it an argument to prove, that I had violated the faith I owed to my prince ; that not only his Britannic majefty, but likewife the ftates- general of the United Provinces, the dukes of Wirtcmberg and Dcux-Ponts, the landgrave of Hefle, the prince of Anhalt, the mar- quiffes of Anfpach, Dourlach, and Baden, were ready to take my part blindly, and engage openly in my defence : the flighteft fervice which any of them received frm me, was conflrued into a criminal intrigue. All the proteflant bodies, whether French or foreigners, as well as the Helvetian fenatc, being gained by the regularity of their payments, and 8 ' by Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. by largefles from me, were faid to be abfolutely devoted to my in- terefts. After having thus made the firft eflay with accufations which car- ried in them fome little appearance of probability, the author became more hardy, and impudently hazarded others, the falfity of which appeared at the firfl view. According to him, I did not content my- feif any longer with my correfpondences in foreign countries alone, but by fending his majefty's money into England, the Low Countries, Germany, and Swifl'erland, I was laying up for myfelf immenfe fums, in order to retire there one day, and, as opportunities offered, make levies of Swifs, German horfe, and Lanfquenets, to fupport the proteftant religion, and, after the example of admiral Coligny, give up France to be preyed upon by thefe troops. The author, who doubt- lefs was fenfible that a minute detail of circumftances was generally confidered as a mark of truth and fincerity, particularized this event as if he was already a witnefs of it ; he alledged, that by purchafing arms, iron, lead, brafs, bullets, and other warlike flores, for his majefty's magazines, I had alfo private magazines of my own, in each of the llrongeft proteftant dties, where I depofited thofe flores in my own name. Certainly thefe people would have had reafon to congratu- late themfelves upon the fuccefs of thefe arts, if by this accufation they could have prevailed upon the king to dilcontinue his preparations. This admirable piece concluded with an exhortation to his majefty, to confide no longer to one perfon the management of his revenue, the ufe of his authority, and the adminiftration of his affairs ; but to afTo- ciate with me fome perfons who might keep a vigilant eye over my condudl. While I was reading this memorial Henry obferved me with great attention, but finding that I read it as I would have done any indiffe- rent paper in which I was not the leaft concerned, without faying a fingle word, without betraying the leaft emotion, or even any change of colour; " Well, what do you think of it?" faid he, " What Is your " opinion of it, fire ? replied 1, you that have read it more than once, " and kept it fo long in your hands; for my part, I am not fomuch fur- " prifed at thele fort of writings, which in efteâ: are nothing but the *' trifling produdtion of foolifh and wicked men, as to find thatfb great " a king, pofteffed of fo much wifdom, courage, and goodnefs, and " who has known me for fo many years, would have patience to read "' them himlelf, and hear me read them throughout in his pretence, G g g 2 " without M E M OIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. " without at leaft (hewing by his anger the violence he did himfelf in " liftening to fuch calumnies, and without ordering the authors to be " fought for to punifh them feverely." After having thus fpoken, I confidered that the moft efFedual way to reftore peace to the king's mind, and revive in him ail his for- mer fcntiments of me, was to give a direft and particular anfwer to each of the accufations which my enemies brought againft me ; and this I had given him my word I would do. I confined myfelf there- fore to Juvagny's libel, which I had ftill in my hands, that I might give a feparate anfwer to each article. The reft of my enemies, who durft not attack me openly, for fear of being obliged to produce their proofs, merited only contempt : and it was with this obfervation that I began my anfwer. To the prefumptuous and injurious difcourfes of his maiefty's government, which they attributed to me, I oppofed thofe words I had fo often in my mouth, in which I pointed out the king as a model for thofe princes who would be good and great to form them- felves by. The examples they produced of minifters who bec&me trai- tors, and favourites ungrateful, could not afFe<5t the fidelity of a man who, like me, had laboured to perfedl thofe great and amiable qualities he had derived from his illuftrious anceftors. I defied them to produce a fingle perfon, whether a friend or kinfman, to whom I had given any gratuity without a fufficient reafon, and a particular order from his majefty, Againft the traiterous defigns they imputed to me, of fomenting the civil wars, I appealed to Henry's knowledge of the afFedion I bore to- my country, the attachment I ever had to his perfon, my folicitude for my own honour and reputation, and the oppofition I had given on every occafion to the ill defigns of the proteftants, which had drawn the whole weight of their refentment upon me. Besides, what advantage could I promife myfelf from thefe chi- merical fchemes, which I did not at prefent poflefs in the greateft and moft honourable flation to which any fubjedl could afpire ? what could be my aim ? To place the crown on my own head ; my enemies them- felves did not accufe me of fuch a frantic ambition ; to carry it out of the royal family, altho' it were in my power to difpofe of it, on whom could I fix my choice, but the prince to whom I had, during thirty years, confecrated all my labours and my fervices, and for whofe interefts J had filed my blood, and devoted my life ? Why, if I was the traitor they infinuated, did I ftill bend my whole cares to the increafe of his Book XX. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. glory, by thofe noble defigns which if I Jid not fuggeft, I was at leaft the Ible confidant and promoter of? if I had vjcvvs prejudicial to his crown, or dangerous to his perfon, why did I fo earneftly feek to en- gage him in all thofe alliances with England, and the other powers of Europe? was not this afti^g diredlly againll myfclf? is it by purfuing fuch meafures as thefe, that ambitious and defigning fubjedls have en- deavoured to bring about revolutions, and to ruin the ftate ? was it not rather by enervating the mind of their mafter, foothing his inclinations to luxury, indulging his paflions, prevailing on him to violate the laws, to negledl all order and government, and to throw every part of the ftate into confufion ? whereas I was continually laying before his ma- jefty the ftate of his affairs, informing him of the ufe and deftination of his money, and carrying my folicitude for order and economy fo far, as to reproach him witli even the fmalleft needlefs expence : I amaffed him treafure, filled his magazines and arfer.als, pointed out to him the means of rendering himfelf formidable to all Europe. It is not thus that rebellious fubjedts adt, when they fecretly undermine the founda- tions of their fovcreign's power. The condudl of minifters is always equivocal in fome part or other ; however, I may truly fay, that mine might ftand the tell; of the ftrideft examination. It was eafy for me to perceive that his majefly felt all the force of thefe arguments; I concluded them with imploring him, in the moft fervent manner, to believe that I had neither concealed nor difguifed from him any of the thoughts of my heart ; Î confirmed thefe alTu- rances by the moft ficred oaths, which he knew I never uttered in vain ; I addrefted him by all thofe reverend and tender names which had, at all times, been the exprefTions of my zeal and attachment to his perfon. I would have embraced his knees, but he would not fuffer it, left thofe who beheld this pofture might imagine I had recourfe to it to obtain his pardon for a real crime : he told me, that he was fully con- vinced of my faith, that he fincerely repented of his credulity, and that he would never remember what was pafied, but to imprefs upon his mind the obligation he was under to love me the better for it. This was the refult of a conference which had been fo necefiary to reftore quiet to us both. Those who have any knowledge of a court, may eafily guefs the emotions which agitated the hearts of the courtiers, during a converfa- tion which lafted more than four hours, and with what attention our words and adions were obferved ; for though it was not poflible for than to MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. to hear what we faid, yet they could not be ignorant of the fubjeâ: we were upon. The manner in which Henry had received me in the morning, his recalling me after I had left him, the precaution he had ufed at the beginning of our converfation, the papers he had taken with him, the earneft manner in which we feemed to difcourfe, was fuffi- cient to inform them of the reft -, each, according to his fears or hopes, expeded the refult of fo important an explanation between us. Henry was willing to tell it them himfelf. After receiving the pa- pers again from me, which he was refolved to throw into the fire, he went out of the grove of mulberry-trees holding me by the hand, and afked this crowd of courtiers who were got together, what it was o'clock ; they anfwered it was one o'clock, and that he had been walk- ing a long time. " I have fo," faid the prince, in an accent which fpread a palenefs on every cheek ; " but there are fome prefent who " are more weary than I am : however, to confole them, I here de- " clare before you all, that Rofny is dearer to me than ever, and that *' our friendfliip will continue till death ; and you, my friend, purfued he, turning to me, " go home to dinner, and love me and ferve me, " for I am fully fatisfied with you." Many others in the fame fituation I was in, would have * made ufe of their returning favour and intereft, to exadl vengeance on thofe who had laboured thus to procure their difgrace ; but I thank heaven that I have not the reproach to make myfelf, of having even entertained fuch a thought. I carefully con- cealed their names from my fecretaries, nor will I mention them here ; I likewife fupprefs part of what the king faid to me to their difadvan- tage : though they have adted in a quite contrary manner, yet it can- not alter my opinion, that this fort of revenge is unworthy of a generous mind. That I might remove all caufe of uneafinefs from the king, con- cerning the affair which has led me into fo particular an account of this great difference between us, I managed Grillon with fuch art, that he at length confented to take thirty thoufand crowns of Crequy for his poft, which, in refpeft to Lefdiguieres, his majefty had permitted that nobleman to purchafe -j-. This drew many acknowledgments to me " The fieur de Juvigny or Divigny, a guilty, condemned to death, and all his French gentleman, author of the above- eftcdis to be confifcated, but having made mentioned memorial, fuffercd for ail the his efcape, he was hanged in cftigy at Paris. ri:(l : a profecution v/as carried on againft f Henry IV, though extremely diflatis- him for high treafon, and he was found ficd with the duke ot Epcrnon, who had from Book XX. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 415 'ram the father-in-law^ and the fon. Cœquy came in perfon to make 1605. me thefe compliments, and added to them repeated afflirances ofgrati- *— ■ — r~~J tude and afFedion : Lefdiguieres wrote to me from Grenoble, and ex- prefled himfelf in terms ftill Itronger than Crequy had done. As we were before conneded by alliances between our families, this laft fervicc they had received from me, made every one expcd to fee us for the fu- ture intimate friends ; however, there was not any perfon by whom I was fo eafily abandoned, or received fo many bad offices from, after the death of Henry, as from thefe two men : gratitude is not a virtue to be found amongft courtiers. . The heart of Henry being once tainted with fufpicions to my preju- dice, it was not impofliblc but that the wound might again be opened. It was this hope, that fupported my enemies amidft the mortifications and grief they fuffered from the adventure at Fontainebleau. It was not long before they again returned to the charge, and (it is with regret I fay it) were almofl as fuccefsful as before*: the aifair, however, did not become as public as the former had been, becaufe it was fooner fol- lovVed by an explanation, and it is needlefs to repeat it here. If my enemies from time to time enjoyed the pleafure of believing that I fhould fmk under their efforts, yet they were foon undeceived, and thofe ineffedual attempts but increafed their iliame and rage ; and had 1 been of a difpofition to enjoy fuch vidtories, this laft, being not lefs complete than the other, would have afforded me fufficient matter for triumph : it was likewife at Fontainebleau, that the king and I came to an expla- retired to Angoulême, and made great " him to the hatred of many, againft whom complaints of the injuftice he pretended the " he was very able to protedl him, in order king had done him on this occafion, yet " to keep him under apprehenlions of what infilted that M. de Crequy fhould wait on " might be the efFedfs of his failing in his him as his colonel, at the diffance of a " duty." This paffage in our Memoirs hundred leagues from Pari?, to take the feems, at firft figiit, to offer fomething in oaths before him, get his commiffion al- favour of this conjeflure : the opinion of lowed by him, and receive his orders for thofe neverthelefs, who think there was no being invefled in his port. 1*he duke of artifice in the fufpicions Henry IV. con- Epernon made him dance attendance after ceived againft the duke of Sully, appears to him for feveral days, and fuffered him to me better founded ; but whether his fufpi- wait a whole day at the door of his cham- cions were feigned or real, I alfo think, as ber. Hiftory of the duke of Epenion, many other perfons of fenfe do, that they p. 212. _ ought to be reckoned among that prince's * ".The king," fays le Grain, b. vii. defedts. According to the firft fuppofuion, *' advanced the duke of Sully in fuch a a low cunning unbecoming the charadter of ." manner, that he always referved a fufH- fo great a king is apparent ; and according " cient authority over him; and who to the fécond, a piece of injuftice, for which " knows but it might perhaps be a pruden- the firft movements of a hafty padion *' tial meafure in the king, thus to expofe would be no excufe, there being a kind of nation MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. nation of this fécond difference ; and the morning afterwards the king fent for me very early. As foon as I entered his chamber he took my hand, and led me towards a crofs-barred window which looked into the queen's garden, having fomewhat to impart to me in private ; but aswepaffed, he faid aloud, in the prefence of the whole court, " You " cannot conceive, my friend, how eafily and happily I have flept this *' night, after having opened m.y heart to you, and had all my doubts " cleared up." Hethenafked me, if I did not feel the fame calm fa- tisfadion ; I replied that I did, and that he fliould always find in me the fame fidelity and affedlion. In the midft of a favour fo often interrupted by little jealoufies and heats, what convinced me that the heart of Henry always leaned towards me was, that however difiatisfied my enemies might fometimes by their infinuations make him with me, yet it never interrupted the courfe of thofe benefits with which it was his confiant cuftom to load me and my family. I had proofs of his beneficence with refpedl to my eldeft daughter, amidft thofe very ftorms I have mentioned *. I had en- gaged my word to Fervaques, to give her to the young Laval, whom his majefty, as I have formerly obferved, ordered me to prefer to the duke of Rohan ; and the affair was upon the point of being concluded. One day, about the beginning of this year, when I was walking with the king upon the terrace belonging to the Capuchins, he again intro- duced this fubjedt, and told me his reafons for defiring me to rejed the duke of Rohan, which were, that the marriage of this lord with my agreement between this prince and his mi- nilter, that the firft ftiould overlook, in the charafter of the other, that firmnefs and inflexibility of temper, incapable of a bafe (ubmiflion and flattery, in confideration of a fidelity eftabliflied on fuch numberlefs proofs. This is a fufficient evidence, that the performance of the moft important fer- vices will not difpenfe aman from a flexi- bility to, and compliance with, the humour of princes, even the moft perfect. * Margaret de Bethune. This lady, to be revenged on her only daughter, who, againft her will, had married Henry de Chabot, in the year 1645 fet up a boy about fifteen years old, as being really her foa by the duke of Rohan who died fevea years before. " Many perfons of credit, " fays Amelot, who have feen Tancred " (the name of this pretended heir to the " houfe of Rohan) have alTured me, that *' he had the topping of the Rohan family, " which is afmall tuft of hair on the fore- " head, and that the features of his face " were remarkably like thofe of his fup- " pofcd father." To this anecdote we may add another, by which it is pretended that the duke of Rolian had a mind to pur- chafe the kingdom of Cyprus of the Grand Seignnr for this child: it was alfo laid, that his father and mother had kept him con- cealed only that they might marry their daughter to the count ofSoiflbns, and af- terwards to the duke of \Veimar. See thefe curious fables in Amelot de La-Houf- fayc, article Bethune, «5ic. and art. Chypre, daughter EookXX. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 417 daughter had been propofed by the princefs Catharine to the duchefs of 160 <■ Rohan, and accepted by my wife, without acquainting him with it ; •'VX^ and hkewife becaufe monfieur and madam de Fervaques had fo earneftly folicited his intereft in favour of Laval, that he had promifcd them to give him to me for a fon-in-lavv, rather than the duke of Rohan^who was not fo rich indeed, but had the honour to be fo nearly related to him, that, if he died without children, as the princefs his fifter had done, the duke of Rohan would fucceed to his kingdom of Navarre, and the other eftates of the families of Albert, Foix, and Armagnac : he then added, that, for other reafons which he would acquaint me with, he had again altered his opinion, and that it was his intention I fliould break with the family of Fervaques as decently as I could. Having already prepared them for this change of my refolution, he defired me to withdraw the contrads and articles which had been agreed uiion be- tween us, in fuch a manner, that the breaking off the match ihould appear entirely my own ad, and that they might not have any room to fay they had refufed an alliance with me. He added, that he would himfelf bring the duke of Rohan to pay his compliments, with the du- chefs his mother, and expeded that I would receive him as one who was to be my fon-in-law within three days, having already fettled every thing relating to the marriage himfelf j that he would have the contrad drawn up in his prefence, and would fign it as the kinfman of both parties. I THANKED his majefly for the Intereft he took in my family, and the honour he conferred upon me. The affair was managed as he had direded ; the king gave the bridegroom ten thoufand crowns for the wedding cloaths and expences, and a like fum to my daughter. The year before, I had married mademoifelle Du-Marais, my wife's daughter by her firft hufband, to La-Boulaye, the fon of him whom Henry had loved fo much : Ihe had no reafon to exped any other gratuity from his majefty, than that which is generally given to all the queen's maids of - honour, under the title of a prefent for the nuptial robe, and had been fetded at two thoufand crowns : the king raifed it to five thoufand in favour of my daughter-in-law ; but that it might not be made a prece- dent for others, he ordered me to carry it to acccount. It was ulual with his majefty, after he had cleared the accounts of his expences in fortifications and buildings, to fay to me, in the pre- fence of the officers employed in thofe works, who attended to know his pleafure concerning farther improvements in them, " Well, you ' Vol. II. H h h " fee MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XX. '< fee my fortifications and buildings are refolved upon, what have you " done to your houfes?" To which, when I replied, as I feldom failed to do, that I could do nothing to them for want of money ; he would anfwer, " Well, fliew me your plans, that I may know what you " would do if you had money." And after examining them, and tell- ing me what /he thought it would be necelTary to alter, he added, that he would give me twenty thoufand livres to enable me to make thofe alterations he pointed out to me. HowLVER, I fometimes requeued favours of him which he refufed to grant, and I ihull not have the vanity to conceal it : he would not give the poft which had formerly been the baron de Lux's to my bro- ther, or to La-Curée, for either of whom Î requefted it ; telling me, that for Bethune, he defigned a poft in Brittany which would fuit him better ; and that as for La-Curée, he did not think that employment compatible with the poft of lieutenant of a company of light-horfe, and the government of Chinon, which he already polleffed. The truth was, he chofe to give it to Ragny, who could do him greater fervice in the province. I alked two other favours of him in the fame let- ter, the one for my nephew de Melun, and the other for La-Boulaye : he told me, that La-Boulaye had not yet, by his fervices, merited fuch an inftance of his bounty, but he granted the other, which was, the abbey of Moreilles in Poitou, lately become vacant. 1 received ano- ther refufal from him, if it may be called fo, in which my fon- in-law the duke of Rohan was concerned : the occafion of it was this, Th e duke of Rohan was governor of Saint-John d'Angely, of which place Des Ageaux was the king's lieutenant : it was not the governor, to whom in juflice it belonged, that named this lieutenant, but his maiefty, who thought it necellary, for the good of his fervice, to deprive the go- vernor of this privilege, that the lieutenant, who, in troublefome times, had hitherto always played an important part in affairs, might in fome degree be independent of the governor, and in a condition to render his power ineffeétual, if lie fhould not ufe it to the king's fatisfadion, and for the advantage of the ftate. The lieutenant therefore was, in reality, poffefied of the whole authority, and the governor had only an empty title. The duke of Rohan, who earneftly widied to have this prerogative rertored to the governor, entreated me to folicit the king for that purpofe, a favourable opportunity offering itielf by the ficknefs of Des Ageaux, who, it was thought, would never recover. What- ever Book XX. MEMOIRS^ OF SULLY. ever inclination I had to do my fon^in-Iaw this fervice, I dmll not make the propolal to "the king diredly, the reijiieil having too mucli conformity with that ftate of dependence into which my enemies. had infinuated I fought to pkce all the * proteftant citjes : nothing more would have been wanting to renew all his fufpicioiis. I refolved there- fore to found him firll upon the fubjed, whicli I did very artfully, taking occafion, upon the news of Des Ageaux's ficknefs, to aûi his maiefty whoni he had thought of to fupply his place if he died : it was by letters that I made this attempt ; but I would go no further till I had received his majefty's anfwer. The king, in his anfwer, told mc, that he did not intend to renounce his right of naming the lieutenant oj Saint- John, becaufe it would not always be the duke of Rohan, nor my fon-in-law, who would be governor of that place. I mentioned Poufou, the mayor of that city, to him, whom he continued in that office upon the charafter I gave of him. Des Ageaux recovering of his ficknefs, no farther fleps v/ere taken in the affair. Before I quit this article of marriage, I fliall take notice of what happened at court, with regard to mademoifelle de Melun my niece, whom they thought likewife of marrying at that time, as her fortune was extremely large, the marchionefs de Roubais my aunt having made her her fole heir. The family of D'Eftrées call their eyes on her for a wife to De Cceuvres -f- ; they thought themfelves fure of the king's intereft ; and the affair was propofed to him by M. de Vendôme him- felf, to whom the king promifed that he would fpeak to me of it before he left Chantilly. He recolleded the affair when he was at Louvre- en-Parifis, where they went to dine, and wrote to me concerning it in terms which (hewed how earneftly he delired the marriage might be concluded. I WROTE to the young lady's relations, who were all Flemmings ; but the anfwer they gave me being fuch as I neither ought nor could repeat to my fovereign, I fent him none at all ; and when at his return he afked me the reafon, I only told him, that mademoifelle de * It is faid in the Hid. de la mere & du one doubt of the truth of thisfaS, befides fils, vol, I. p. 15, that Henry IV. refufed M. de Sully's filence in relation to it, the the duke of Sully the government of Saint- facility with which that prince granted him Maixant, which the queen herfelf, at the the government of the whole province ilirke's requeft, defired of the king for him, muft be fufficient. laying. Prudence would not permit the f Prancis-Hannibal D'Eftrees, marquii making a Calvinift mafter of that place, of Cœuvres, duke and peer and maréchal (aiail as it was. If any thing could make of France. H h h 2 Mel un s !o MEMOIRSOFSULLY. Book XX. 1605. Melun's relations did not approve of the propofed alliance. The king .— ,^..^; iuppofing that it was myfelf who anfwered for them, and that I had not wrote to them about the affair, I was obliged to fhew him the let- ters 1 had received from the marchionefs de Roubais, the prince and princefs de Ligne, the princefs d'Epinoy, the countefs de Barlemont, and the counts de Fontenay, and de Buquoy, who had all written to me upon the fame fubjed:. Henry, in thefe letters, finding, what I would not tell him, that notwithftanding the honours he had conferred on the houfe of D'Eftrées, they thought it beneath their alliance *, " I fee," faid this prince with fome refentment, " that fince we have *' to do with all thefe proud Flemmifli fools, we muft think no more of " it." Accordingly the affair went no farther, his majefty being re - folved not to meddle in it any more. * The houre of D'Eftrées is undoubtedly one of the moft ancient noble families of Picardy. Confult our geneologifts. MEMOIRS MEMOIRS O F SULLY. BOOK XXI. THE uneafinefs I fufFered from the king's relapfe into doubts and fufpicions of my conducft encroached upon part of that time I ufed to devote entirely to the adminiftration of the fi- nances ; but it never lelTened my attention to the duties of my feveral employments. I laboured this year to prove the alienations and ufur- pations that had been made upon the crown lands, and to clear ex- aâly all the penfions upon the tallies, gabelles, décimes, aides, and other parts -of the revenue ; as well as all the debts contradled either by the king, or by the cities, counties, and communities. Upon cal- culating thefe fums, I found that the alienations, penfions, and debts, from the time they were firfi: fettled and contrafted to the prefent year, had coft the kingdom above an hundred and fifty millions *. * " Nothing lefs than the infurmount- " able courage of the duke of Sully was " fufficieiit to retrieve the diforders in the " revenue, by difincumbering the mon- " gaged crown lands from a charge of an ♦' hundred millions, by paying off (ome, " and l-ffening others of the debts of the *' crown, &c. He always fecomled the " king in the glorious defigns of eafing his " people," Political Effay on Commerce, ch. 19. M. Claudius de L'Ifle fpcaks of him in the fame manner, and with the greateft encomiums, in the Abridgtnent of his Univerfijl Hift'.-ry, vol. V. p. 501. It ^22 IVÎ E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XXI. i5c-. It is ftill more extraordinary, that all the money arifing from thofe taxes with which the llate was overburdened, and in appearance no advantages gained by tliem, had fop the raoû-partiseen either ufurped by thole perlons who were at firfl employed in the verification of them, or divided, fold, and alienated by them to others. The king would not believe- this ; but I made it plain, by means of two papers which fell into ray hands ; the firft was, a lift of thofe perfons who had been concerned in' the farm of the fait, during the leafe of Champigny and Noel de Here : the number amounted to twenty, from Paris, the court, and even the council, and each had from fifty thoufand livres to one hundred and fifty thoufand crowns a-piece, the whole amounting to nine millions feven hundred thirty-eight thoufand livres : the other pa- per, dated Odober 27, 1585, is an agreement between the fuperin- tendant D'O and thofe who farmed the fait, for a fifth part : D'O pre- vailed upon Antony Fafchon, a notary, to be fecurity for that whole fum to the farmers before mentioned. By the fime praâ:ices his majefty was defrauded of almoft all the revenue arifing from the aids and parties cajiielles. Gondy had prevailed with Incarville, and the other members of the council with whom he fliared, to have that money aflîgned to him, for the payment of fome debts which he pretended were due to him from the king. Difficult as it was to find out thefe frauds and connivances, I made fuch ftddt enquiries, that I difcovered three millions that were to come to the trea- fury. As it was merely with a view to relieve the people, that I thus from time to time ftripped the ufurpers of money that did not belong to them, in proportion to my difcoveries, I made very confiderable abatements in the king's name upon the taille, that perpetual fource of abufes and vexations of all kinds, as well in the afieflment as colle<5lion : it is greatly to be wifhed, though hardly to be hoped for, that one day or other the fund of this part of the king's revenue may be wholly changed *. * Thefc abufes and vexations are fo fla- our days, which fcemed to promife a more grant and apparent, that our kings and happy fuccefs, though hitherto its progrefs tlicir miniftcrs have frequently attempted has not been very rapid : I will take the ii- to find fome remedy for them, by entirely berty of explaining the nature of it here, changing the form of this branch of the re- An unh.ippy prejudice prevails in this venue of France ; but the difficulties the kingdom, and I believe in all monarchical author fpeaks of have always intervened, governments, which we cannot be too fo- and rendered their endeavours fruitlefs. licitous to deftroy ; for the minds of the Uowever, one attempt has been made in people being thereby kept in a perpetual I PLACE Book XXÏ. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, 423 I PLACE the gabelle after the taille. I never thought any thing 1605. more capricious and tyrannical, than to oblige a private man to buy v-.^v'^ up more fait than he is willing or able to ufe, and then hinder him to fell the overplus. I once exprefled my fentiments of this pradice ftate of diftruft of every thing undertaken by their fovereign. From this diffidence alone great part of the fame mifchievoiis efleâs arife, which an abfolute difobedieuce could produce. The prejudice I mean is, that the good of the people is never the motive of the adions of kings ; but that, on the con- trary, no changes are made in their fitua- tion, but fuch as tend to render tntm more miferable. It is impoflible but fo confiderable a change as is propofed to be made in the taille, muft, from its own nature, befubjeâ to great difficulties. Now I apprdiend it will not De fufficient that thefe difHcuities have been overcome in the minds t f the few who have formed and perfefted this fcheme, but they muft alfo be cleared up to thofe whom it is neceflary to employ in the execution of it ; for the manner of executing a work of this nature is in no degree analogous 10 that in which a building may be ercfleJ ; the latter being efFefted by the mere me- chanical co-operation of :he hands of the workmen with the defigii of the archited ; whereas to carry on and complete the for- mer, it is abiolute'y necefTary that the na- ture of it ftiould be as clearly conceiveJ by thofe who are to put it in execution, as by thofe who formed the plan. But f.vo things ftand in oppofition to this, which it will become neceflary to remove, the one by the means of inTormatlon, the other by puniftiment ; thefe are, the want of know- ledge, and the want of diligence in the fub- altern officers ; the latter making them dif- obey the ordeis of their fuperio.'s, and the former, though their intention be ever fo good, occafioning them to execute every thine wrong. This reafon alone would be fufficient to prove, that what relates to the general re- ceipt of (he taille proportionelle^ ought not to be entruikd to the afl'tiii'!;; and othw I officers of the intendants of the finances ; I dare not fay, to the intendants theniftlves, and thofe adfing in immediate fubordinaiion to them, who are generally taben by ihem at random, out of the offices rif the police, or the revenue} and who having other bu- finefs of their own, cannot fpare the time necefiary for the other : but as artificers are fent for from the metropolis, when any woik is to be performed exceeding the ca- pacity of common workmen; fo the coun- cil ought to chufe and appoint, for the ma- nagement of the general receipts, commk- fioners ot integrity and capacity, fufficient- ]y authorifed, and perfedlly inflrucfled in the nature of their bufinefs, and who fhould be allowed all the time and expences that are requifite. If they are too much hur- ried, part of the remarks necefiary for them to make on the different particulars of the bufinefs of the provinces will efcape their obfervation ; and if their falaries are ill paid, or not to be received by them without dif- ficulties, neceffity may induce them to be- tray their truft. This important work cer- tainly demands all poffiblc attention. When one conliders how powerful an influence the bonds of parentage, friend- fhip, fociety, or even mere neighbourhood, have on mankind ; how ftrongly they are afFefted by different interefts, as well per- fonal as focial ; the tear of difpleafing, the defire of obliging, the ambition, ot being honoured and carefled by their countrymen, ttie dépendance on a fuperior, who, accord- ing to his caprice, can make his dependant fenfible of his fuperiority, 'by depriving him of his office, or by unjult reprimands ; and the innumerable other motives which tie up a man's hands in the midft of his famdy and countrymen; a thoufand reafons^will appear againft employing the ordinary offi- cers in the bufinefs ot the new taille. This gffet'.ion is ccnGrmed by tin- lelfimony of freely MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXI. freely to the king, who defired me to give him a circumftantial me- moir upon it ; as for example, the prime coft of the fait at the falt-pits, of the expences till it was fold, of its diflribution into gra- naries, and other queftions relating to it : his majefty did not tell me what ufe he intended to make of this memoir. I drew it up with the ucmoft expedition, and as near the truth as I was able ; for, on account of the reafons I there gave, it was hardly poffible to fix the true value of things. However, this memorial produced no confequences, every thing remained in the fame flate as before; which fliews how difficult it is to reform abules, which the ignorance, precipitancy, and fhort- fightednefs of thofe antients who are propofed to us as infallible guides, have introduced into the firft regulations, even when other imports, far more reafonable, fuchas the tithes and entries, feem both to point out the way, and make it eafy *. feveral perfons, who having with great ap- phcation confidered what were the defigns of the council, in conftituting this kind of operation, and afterwards kept a watchful eye on the manner in which it daily appears to be executed by the officers in their fe- veral diftriolf, have with great concern found, that, out of fifty of ihefe officers, there is perhaps not one whofe manner of executing his bufinefs does not render the new method more odious than the old. Thefe motives and thefe difficulties, a perfeft knowledge of M. de Vauban's plan, the fmall difficulty there was in eftablifhing it when trial was made of it, the happinefs thofe few parifhes ftdl continue to enjoy which have found the means of preferving it amongft them, the experience every day furnifhcs that the dixième (which in its own nature is but a fpecies of the dixme) has every poffible advantage over the taille and other impofitions ; all thefe, I fay, mult convince every judicious man, that it will he found abfolutcly neceflary to recur to the eltablifliment of the royal dixnie, as being of all methods the molt fimple, the leaf! cxpenfive, and the leafl burdenfome to the people ; and that when it was pro- pofed by this able and virtuous patriot, it wa^ not received with all the regard it merited. The maxim, that enabling the people to live at their eafe will endanger ti.eir revolting, is as falfe as ic is cruel. It moft certainly is alfo the intereft of the people, if well underftood, that the king ihould be perfedly acquainted with the true value of what they poflefs, and confequcnt- ly the real ftrength of his kingdom ; that, without regard to exemptions or any un- iult privileges, all his majerty's fubjefls fliould be equally taxed ; and that com- merce and induftry fiiould meet with all poffible encouragement. As to any further refledions which may be made on this mat- ter, we will refer to that excellent work itfelf, compofed by M. Vauban, and inti- tuled, Dixme Royale, &c. * It is well known what is the net pro- duce to the king of the gabelle, or fait du- ty, after all expences paid ; and it is not, confequently, difficult to difcover, to what thofe expences amount on each minot of fait. Why fhould not the king at once take the price of each minot of fait on the firfl fale, and at the fait pits themlelves ? VVhy fliould not the fame be done in the cafe of the aids? This queftion, fimple as it is, has been alked long ago. The cardinal of Richelieu, in this refpefl, following the opinion of his predeceflor in the miniftry, Tefl. Politique, part II. ch. ix. § 7. Perc- fixe, the author of the Efiay on Commerce, ch. V. and many other able politicians after him, unanimoufly pronounce fentence a- gainft an import like this, not only bur- dcofomc from the manner in which it is The Book XXI. MEMOIRS OF S U L L V, 425 The debts contrafted by the province?/ town-houles, and corpo- 1605. rations, were n-r,t Icfs troublefome to the king than his own : I was i— — >, — -^ continually foliciting him to call on me to review and lettle them, in the fame manner as I had done the others ; I prevailed at laft, and his majefty left me the choice of what meafures I thought moil: likely to attain this end. The commifliouers I named for this purpofe were feleâed from among thofe perfons, whom I knew to be moft faithful, and capable of the greateft application to bufinefs, in the fovereign courts, among the mafters of requefts, the treafurers of France, and other officers ; but as this work could not go on fo expeditiouily as the former, I (hall defer giving an account of it till I come to relate the efFeds it produced. And here a reflecStion occurs to me, not more common than juft, which is, that regularity and ceconomy mufl certainly have infinite re- fources; for notwithftanding the ordinary expences of the flate, and the extraordinary ones his niajefty was at in his kingdom ; notwith- ftanding that three or four millions were fent every year out of the kingdon to be diftributed in foreign countries; notwithftanding the ru- inous and exhaufled condition in which the king at his acceffion to the throne, found France, his finances, and his treafury, and many more difficulties almoft infurmountable ; yet the government had al- ready an appearance of opulence and ftrength, which baniflied all re- membrance of its former indigence. Could it be poffible for any perfon to imagine ten years before, that in 1605. the king would find himfelf as rich as he really was; if they refleded, that the fums which were demanded of him when he was acknowledged peaceable pofTeflbr of the crown, and thofe that were owing from his exchequer, with all the intereft and arrears, did not amount to lefs than three hundie- and thirty millions ; and that all which could be paid of this enormous fum, fuch as the mere debts, Hiould really be done 3 and fuch meafures taken with regard to the p'enfions and affignments, that they fhould be regu- levied, but becoming ftill more unjuli, from thus fpçaks of it, adds, jhat he had foua,d, the unequal manner in which it is affefled. from the moft knowing amongll the fuper- It is true, they perceive great difficulties in intendants of the finances, that the produce altering it ; but this alteration being once of ihe duty on fait, if levied at the pits, made, one of the principal fources of the would be equal to what the king of Spain eafe, and at the fame time of the opu- receives from the Indies, See alfo on tiiis lence, of the nation, would be opened fubjed the Dixime Royale of M. de Vau- thereby. The cardinal de Richlieu, who ban. Vol. II. I i i larly MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXL larly paid, without exhaufting the treafury, or incurring the lead in- convenience ? Yet all this was adually effedlied. And probably the reader has not yet found any thing in thefe Memoirs lb interefting as the following account in grofs, of the particular fums which made up the whole. There was due to queen Elizabeth at the time of her demife, for ready money lent to Henry in his neceflities, advanced by her to the German troops and the army fent into Bretany, as well as for all the other fums, to which the maintenance of thofe fupplies that Henry was fur- nifhed with by the Englifli, amounted; confifiing of men, vefTels, and provifions, for the fiege of Dieppe, and that of Rouen, and during the war with the league; the fum of feven millions three hundred and fe- venty-eight thoufand and eight hundred livres : To the Svvifs Cantons, for their fervices and their penfions, comprehending the intereft: due upon them ; thirty-five millions eight hundred twenty-three thoufand four hundred and feventy-feven livres and fix fols : To the States-General, for money lent for pay, due to their troops, and for the furnifliing vefiels, powder, provifion, ammunition, &c. during the league likewife ; nine millions two hundred feventy-five thoufand four hundred livres : To feveral French noblemen, colonels, and other officers, for fervice, pay, penfions, falaries, &c. during the civil wars ; fix millions five hundred and forty-feven thoufand livres : To the farmers of every part of the revenue; to princes, cities, coorporations, and private perfons; compre- hending the falaries, appointments, and penfions of the officers of the king's houfliold, of the police, and the finances, and the civil magifiirates, by fettled accounts, twenty-eight millions four hundred and fifty thou- fand three hundred and fixty livres : To feveral private perfons, accord- ing to their bills, refcriptions, receipts of the treafury, warrants, acquit- tals, patents, &c. almoil all in the reign of Henry III. twelve millions two hundred and thirty-fix thoufand livres : Mortgages of the crown lands, compofitions of penfions, where the principal being exorbitant was moderated by the creditors themfelves, or dedu(fl:ed by his majefty; one hundred and fifty millions : Treaties made at the abolition of the league, which have been calculated already, thirty-three millions one hundred and fifty thoufand nine hundred and twenty-four livres *. * There is a mifcomputation of about as in the fum total j but this is of fmall a million, in die Old Memoirs, as well in moment, the account of the contracts of the league, It Book XXI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, 427 It is certain, as I have already obferved, that upon the examination 160 c. of thefe different demands upon the exchequer, many that were found u— -v-* to be unjuft: were totally annulled ; others were compounded for with the creditors, and others were got clear of by feveral expedients, fuch as thofe upon the taxes, and the crown lands ; but it may be eafily imagined, that there remained a very conliderable number of debts to be difcharged : and here I muft anticipate my flory, for the fake of ob- ferving that good examples are not always efficacious. After Henry's death, thofe that were placed at the head of affairs, began their admi- niftration by deftroying part of that economy, and abolifliing many of thofe regulations, which he had eftablifhed : this condudt, while it wore an appearance, and only an appearance of lenity and compafiion, gave me reafon to apprehend, that under the new reign, the national debt would be increafed rather than leffened. But to quit thisfubjeâ: for the prefent, I fhall content myfelf with barely mentioning here, as an eternal monument of Henry's glory, the flourifhing condition into which the wifdom of his government had already brought France ; both foreign and domeflic payments were regularly made, and no hardfliip was fuftained by any of his fubjefts, either from thofe payments, or the expences of the current year, though the king ftill continued to lay out very large fums in rebuilding, furnifliing, and adorning his palaces ; repairing the old fortifi- cations, and raiiing new onesj eredting public buildings *; re-edifying churches, hofpitals, and convents j in funds for repairing pavements, moles, and bridges J inbuildingagreat number of gallies upon the Mediterranean j * Henry the Great caufed the chapel of of beauty, with the works of the Romans j Fontainebleau to be painted and gilt, cut but which, for want of being kept in order avenues through the fotefl, and in many for a hundred and thirty years paft, are at other refpefls decorated this royal palace : prefent in a very indifferent ftate : that, by he finifhed the Pontneuf, built the fquare his order, elms and other trees were planted and ftreet Dauphin, repaired many ftreets along the fides of thefe roads, fome of which in Paris, built wharfs, &c. Beiides what are ftill growing in different places, where is faid in thefe Memoirs, fee the detail of all they are called Rofnys : there are many thofe buildings, in the Mercure François, ordinances made by this king on this fub- anno 1610, p. 404, Le Grain's Decade, jed, and fome others, by which the con- b. viii. Morizot. chap. 46, and others who verting arable land intopafture is forbidden, have written defcriptions, or the hiftory, of and vineyards are ordered to be flubbed up. the antiquities of Paris, &c. No one is Thefe buildings and works, and this ap- ignorant that this great prince, through the plication to render his kingdom flourifhing, reprefentations of the duke of Sully, re- contributed, perhaps as much as his military paired the highways in almoft every quarter exploits, to procure Henry IV. the title of of the kingdom ; built many caufeways and Great, which was conferred on him in his bridges in places before impaffable, ef- lifetime, and, as it appears, about the year pecially in Berry, which might vie, in point 1 602. Ilia in M Ë Mo 1RS Of SULLV. Book XXÎ. in filling his magazines and arfenals ; redeeming the jewels of the crown, and purchafing niore; and after all this, there flill remained, at the end of thër year, a confiderable fum to depofit in the Baftile "*. But what is ftill more valuable than all thefe treafures, Henry ac- Xjuiî'êd them not only 'without ihcreafing the people's poverty, but even lightened the weight of their foriTier burthen, as has been fliewn in -thele Menmirs. Hé always regretted that the prefent fituation of affairs would not permit him to carry this tendernefs for his fubjedxs farther ; if the enemies of his government will not c^fefs this truth, if fn'ïileir writings they have averted the contrary, yet it is abfolutely 'GCTtain, that plenty and affluence began now to be perceived over the whole kingdom -, the yiobility and foldiery were de?livered from their ty- rants in the revenue ; the peafant foxVed and reaped in full fecurity-f ; the artift enriched himfelf by his profeffion 3 the meanefi: tradef- man rejoiced in his profits j and the nobleman himfelf improved his eftates. Sdfne examples of feverity, which his majefty had been obliged to make, were (o far from difturbing the tranquility of the king- dom, that it was never more fully eftabliflied, nor never more fincerely enjoyed ; the licentioufnefs which had been correded in the army, pro- cured the people a real advantage, without doing any prejudice to the officer and foldier, who were paid with the utmoft exaétnefs, rewarded in proportion to their fervices, and efteémed, honoured, and carefled, as their merits and valour deferved. The medals which I prefented as ufual to his majefly, had a lilly fliooting out a bud on each fide, point- ing to two flars which reprefented the polar ilais, with thefe words. Hi fries. It is by adtions like thefe, that a king may afpire to the glory of having accomplifhed this motto. I SHALL not repeat here what I have fuid before, concerning the let- . ters I received from Henry ; I had fo many this year, and on all forts of fubjeds, the finances, trade, policy, thatlfiiall not attempt to produce * The fliare the duke of Sully ba^ nothing could be more juft, was, that they fliould confine their delibe- rations to religious affairs ; whereas, under this pretence, tliey often treated of fuch as related merely to the civil government. If the defign be to fettle fomething relating to the adminiftration of juftice and the police, there is no reafon for excepting them from the general rule, by which all controverted matters of thofe two kinds, are referred to the tribunals of the judges, and the ordinary magiftrates ; and laflly, thofe which are matters of favour, and depend merely upon the king's indulgence, are to be treated by way of petition and fupplication : no- thing is more ufelefs than thofe great expences and commotions, whicii an extraordinary affembly occafions, for an affair in itfelf of little im- portance. There was another reafon for fuppreffing thefe affemblies, which, although I cannot difguife, I may foften a little, by barely faying, that they often gave occafion for judgments not very favourable for the pro- teftant party ; for the public are willing enough to fliut their eyes upon wife and prudent determinations, though not to the intrigues of the difaffedled, who, in thefe tumultuous affemblies, remain confounded ■with perfons more equitable, but whofe proceedings are iefs taken notice of. If it happened that any of thefe articles, or others of the fame nature, fhould be contefted at Chatelleraut, it was left to me to put an end to them in whatever manner I judged beft; and I was even permitted to take thofe advantages which the profeffion of one common faith afforded me, to merit their confidence and engage their votes : it was only in cafes of obftinacy or declared difobedience, that I was obliged to inform his majefty, and fufpend all refulutions, till 1 had received his orders ; as likewife not to fuffer the affembly to break up without his leave. With refped to the article of the deputies, it is neceffiry to inform the reader, that the proteftants always kept two men of their party at court, one for the ecclefiaftic order, the other for the fecular ; they were to treat with his majefty's miniliers, or with the prince himfelf, upon all affairs neceffary to be communicated to him, and to receive his orders con- cerning them. Thefe deputies entered upon this office by eieélion, which was renewed every three years, when others fucceeded to their place. If we go back to the fource of this inftitution, we uizW not find that the proteftants had any legal title to this pretended right of reli- VoL. U. M m m dence ;o M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XXl. Î 605. dence and nomination of the deputies, which they aflerted fo ftrenu- ^'"V'^ oufly ; it was not mentioned in the edidls, nor even in the writings that contained thefe private articles, which were fometimes feparatc from the treaties : it was only a cuftom merely tolerated, and firil in- troduced on account of the refiflance fome fovereign courts made to re- giltering the edidt of Nantes, and only to be continued till that was- done. However, his majefty had no inclination to deprive the prote- ifants of this privilege : all he required, and this was one of the princi- pal points of my commiflion, that, for the nomination of thefe deputies,, they fhould adhere to one of thofe two methods prefcribed by him to their own deputies, when they defired leave to hold the ailembly, and if poffible to the fécond, by which his majefty expedled thac the prote- llants fhould prefent to him the names of lix perfons chofen from their body, out of which he fhould name two who were mofl; agreeable to him. It might pofhhly happen, that the heads of the party would endea- vour to elude thofe regulations which his majefty propofed to get. re- ceived in the affembly, and for that purpofe affedt to confine them- felves to this fingle queftion ; an artifice I was likewife to prevent. As to the affair of Grange, which it was certainly expeded would be brought upon the carpet (as indeed it was) I had orders to reprefent to them, that Henry had laboured in vain to manage it fo as that this city, which he could not refufe to reftore to the prince of Orange, might by him be left to the French proteftants. All therefore that could be done upon this occafion, was to prevail upon Maurice, that in the room of Blaccons who commanded there, and who himfelf defired per- miflîon to leave it, he would place a proteftant officer as his lieutenant, whom they might oblige to take the oath of obedience to his majefty. I fhall refume this affair in the fec^uel. Such were my general inftruc- tions, dated July 3d 1605, and figned Henry and Forget. All the difference between thefe general inftrudlions, and the par- ticular memorial joined to them, confifted in this, that the latter made no mention of the declared fubjed of the affembly, but was confined to fome other queftions which might probably be difcufTcd there, and tended to prevent thofe defigns from being effeded, which it was fuf- peded the heads of the cabal would endeavour to get the multitude's approbation of. This detail, which was not inferted in the firfl writ- ing, becaufe there was a probability of its being needlefs, was however of Book XXI. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 45, of great ufe to me ; and it was upon that account, that I made a fepa- 1605. rate memorial of thefe inftrudions. Uii.-v——' They imported, that I (hould not fuffer the ailcmbly, either in their debates or in writing, to advance any thing injurious to the Pope, or to ftir up again that trifling dodtrine of Antichrift, worthy of the fynod of Gap, where it had taken birth ; that no perfon fhould have a feat in the aflembly in the quality of a deputy, from any individual whatever, not even from Lefdiguieres liimfelfj that they fliould not, as they had done in that fynod, receive letters from foreign princes, particularly from the duke of Bouillon. It feemed of importance to his majefty, that an ungrateful fubjeft, fuch as Bouillon, fliould be publicly known to have rendered himlelf unworthy of any favour from his fovereign. The manner in which others, vyho might be ranked in this clafs, fliould behave in the aflembly, was to regulate the treatment they were to receive from me. If the quality of prefident of the aflembly, which his majefty earneflly wiflied they would confer upon me, and which, on this oc- cafion, he would not have been offended with me for accepting, fliould not be fufficient to give weight to what I faid to them, I was to ioin to it the authority of governor of the province ; and, as opportunities offered and the difpoiition of their minds required, I might give them to underftand, that the king was not ignorant of the defigns of the fe- ditious proteftants ; provided that from thence they did not conclude, he was informed of the places where they were carried on. There was fo much the more appearance that the article of the cau- tionary towns given to the proteftants would bedifcufled, as the term, to which the poffeflions of thefe places was prolonged by his majeily, was now near expired ; and if this fliould happen, I was to hint, either to the aflembly in general, or the deputies in particular, that, provided his majeft:y found in them that readinefs to comply with his nieafures as he required, he would willingly agree to a farther prolongation. I had orders not to give them any abfolute affluances of this favour, but to mention it as what might be granted, and to proniife I would obtain it of his majefty : although I had then in my poffTeffion the letter of grant for that prolongation, I only obliged myfelf to keep it fecret, till I received the king's commands to make ufe of it. As to thofe fortified towns which had been given to the duke of Bouillon, and which from thence forward were to have no fliarb of the M m m 2 funds MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXL funds deftined by the king for their maintainance, they were to be de- clared for ever excluded from that advantage, as likewife from all hope of ever being paid the fum promifed by the edid of Nantes for the fup- port of the garrifons. This fum, at that time, amounted to five hundred feventy three thoufand four hundred and thirty-two livres, of which ninety thoufand livres had been already cut off. Nor were they to exped: a new appropriation for thofe funds which had been affigncd them. I had already received fome petitions upon thefe feveral fupprefTions ; to which I always anfwered, that I thought this proceeding of his ma- jefty abfolutely juft. Laftly, by this writing I obliged myfelf to do no- thing without Henry's advice ; with whom, from that moment, I began a regular intercourfe of letters, moft of them very long, and feveral in cvphers. This memorial is dated July 4. figned by his majefty, and counterfigned by Villeroi. Two days afterwards I fet out on niy journey. Queen Margaret's refidence at the caftle of Uflbn, gave her frequent opportunities of hearing news of the rebels ; arnd as foon as ihe was in- formed that I was upon the road to Poitou, (lie thought herfelf obliged to acquaint me with all the particulars which had come to her know- lege : (he had likewife fome aifairs of her own to impart to me, which I fhall take notice of after I have related thofe which concerned my journey. For this purpofe Hie came from Uflbn to Toury, from whence fhe wrote to his majefty, telling him the motive which had in- duced her to take this ftep, and the earneft defire fhe had to confer with me. I had left Paris, taking my rout through Rofny and Lavinville, two hours before the melfenger who brought this letter for his majefty, and another for me, arrived. The king feeing by his own letter, and by mine, what this princefs defired of him, fent La-Varenne after me on the 9th of July, to deliver me a letter from him, in which he told me, that he fliould be glad if I would vifit queen Margaret, although I fhould be obliged to leave the road to Chatelleraut, and go back as far as Or- leans. La-Varenne gave me the letter queen Margaret had wrote, dated from Toury, July 7. by which I learned that this princefs waited for me between Paris and Orleans ; and that I might not fail to meet her, fhe fent Rodelle her mafter of the horfe, to defire J would come as far as Orleans, if I did not meet her before on the road : but flie fpared me the trouble of going fo far i for, upon my arrival at Cercote, I was informed that fhe was there likewife. My wife having accompanied me to Rofny and Lavinville, I brought her to Cercote with me, that (he might take advantage of this opportunity to pay her refpedts to this princefs. It Book XXI. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. 453 It was ftill fo early in the morning when I arrived at Cercote, that 1605. queen Margaret was not up ; however, (he ordered me to be admitted •— —n ' into her chamber, where I had the honour to confer with her a full , hour before flie arofe. We refumcd our converfation after (he was dreffed, and Ipent the whole day in the fame manner. I fhall not re- peat the polite and obliging things this princefs faid to me : but what I had been told in general by Murat, concerning the civil fadions,was mi- nutely particularifed to me by her and Rodelle, They named a great number of perfons of the firfl quality in Provence and Languedoc, and even fomeofthe relations of the dukedeMontpenfier and cardinal Joy- eufe, who were engaged in the confpiracy : fome of thefe perfons had been in the fecret of maréchal Biron's defigns, and had afterwards joined themfelves to thofe whom they found determined to purfue them. The revenge of this maréchal, was not one of their leafl motives j and they made ufe of the fime methods he had done to excite a rebellion among the people. Befides thofe towns which, as we have feen, the confpirators endeavoured to furprife, they had views likewife upon Be- ziers, Narbonne, and Leucate. All thefe informations queen Marga- ret and Rodelle offered to fupport with evidences fo clear, as would not, they faid, leave me the leaft room to doubt of their certainty. J gave his majefty an exad account of what I had heard, in a letter I wrote to him from Cercote, dated July 14. 1 likewife fent him a \ii\ of the con- fpirators names, as I had received it from queen Margaret and Rodelle, 'but I ftill perfifted in my former opinion j nor, in all they had faid to me,. did I find occafion to alter it. It is certain, however, that thefe informations were too circum- ftantial and well fupported not to merit fome belief; for Rodelle had been himfelf of the cabal, and had left it, only through a re- iiexion upon the raflinefs of all their meafures. He told me, that La- Chapelle-Biron, and above thirty gentlemen, more of his acquaintance, had taken the fame refolution to leave the cabal, and inform his ma- jefty of all they knew, provided they could be fure of obtaining the pardon they would implore of him : that they had applied to him to take this ftep in their favour ; and this he proved by the letters they had written to him for .that purpofe. He added, that they had violent fuf- picions that my journey to Poitou concealed a fecret d-;iign of furpriûng them : that they had prevailed upon queen Margaret to declare their in- tentions to me, and the earnefl defire they had to efface the remem- brance of their error, by their future fidelity and f^rvices to his majefty. 8 All MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXî. All this was fufficiently clear, and I had no doubt of it remaining ; but they endeavoured in vain to perfuade me that the whole kingdom was in a flame, while I faw only an inconfid érable number of rafti zealots, whom it was eafy forais majefty to crufli, whenever he would condefcend to treat as a ferious matter, a dcfign which deferved only derifion and contempt. For what remained, as often as I attempted to examine flridtly into thefe informations, in appearance of fuch weight, and fupported with fuch proofs, I always found that the falfe greatly exceeded the true. In this, however, Henry was of an opinion contrary to mine : he thought the (lightefl: difturbance within his kingdom merited all his at- tention, " becaufe, faid he, the French were ever fond of novelties, " and eagerly admit every change." He often complained, in his an- fwers to my letters, that fome of his other minifters had as llight a no- tion of the prefent evil as myfelf : he was more confirmed in his ap- prehenfions, when a memorial from Vivant fell into his hands, which exactly agreed with all that had been told me by queen Margaret and Rodelle. He difpatched orders immediately to Vivant, to fend him the perfon from whom he received thofe informations; and to me, to make, in concert with Vivant, as foon as I arrived at Châtelleraut, the ilridteft inquiries into every thing that concerned this cabal. Vivant being one of the proteftant deputies to the alTembly, this quality might poffibly render me fufpeited by him : the king, however, had taken care to obviate this diflkulty, by writing to him that he might place an entire confidence in me. The letter pafled through my hands, with a pre- caution that Vivant fhould not be named in the affair, left, by lofing his credit with the proteftants, he fhould not have it in his power to ferve his majefty effeftually with them. As to Rodelle, and the other gentlemen before mentioned, Henry approved of the refolution I had taken with queen Margaret to fend them to him : he heard what they had to fay, gave them his orders, and fent them back to perform the promifes they made him, to labour there for his fervice. This prince never regretted any expence which thefe emiflaries and informers put him to.j SoMK of them had intercepted the copy of a letter written to the duke of Bouillon, by one of his confidants, whom they fufpeded to be Saint-Germain-de-Clan, and brought it to the king : this perhaps was the caufe of his increafed vigilance. 1 fhall give an account of this letter here, that the reader may be able to judge whether the inferences that Book XXI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. that were drawn from it at A4onceaux were altogether juft. It made part of the packet which Henry fent me from this place. Saint-Germain, or whoever this correfpondent of Bouillon's was, by this letter endea- voured principally to perfuade him, that it was neceflary he fhould fend fome perfon in his name to the affemby at Châtelleraut, who might fupport his interefts there ; or write at leaft a letter, which his friends might produce. The very confiderable part the duke aéted among the proteftants, the neceflity of proving his innocence, and the advan- tage to be acquired from fhewing how much he fuffered. for the com- mon caufe, the general intereft of the whole party, his own credit to be maintained with foreigners, the folemnity of this affembly, and the example of that of Gap, were fo many motives which in the beginning of this letter were urged with the utmoft earneftnefs to move him. The reft was a confufed mafs of conjectures, inferences, and pre- cautions, on the fubjefl: of this aflembly ; all intended to prove, that the proteftant churcli had nothing to hope or expedl: but from his ef- forts alone. The author of this letter fuppofe5, that Henry had totally forgot all his former promifes ;. and that he openly facrificed the pro- teftants to their moft cruel enemies : as proofs of which, he alledged the connexion between the king's council and that of Rome, the im- menfe fums which he faid were expended to make a Pope, the re- joicings for his eledlion, and the favour the Jefuits enjoyed, fuffici- ently fhewn by the demolition of the pyramid. He afterwards confi- dered what, in the prefent circumftances, might be the refult of the aflembly j and prefaged nothing but misfortunes, as well on account of the timidity of the party, as the artifices the king would make ufe of to obtain his ends.. Hrre I began to appear upon the fcene, and' it may be eafily guefled what fort of figure I made. According to the author of this letter, I had propofals to make, which could not fail of removing all difficulties ; among others, that of prolonging the time for the pof- feffion of the cautionary towns. Saint-Germain hoped contrary to his firft hopes, or rather, to reaflure Bouillon, depended upon my ar- tifices with refped: to the choice of the deputies all failing, and rea- foning his own way upon the ftruggles he fuppofed I ftiould have in my mind between my confcience, which could not yield to adopt the policy of the council, and my ambition, which would not fuffer me to make the Pope and the papifts my enemies, he fometimes faw no probability that I would take upon myfelf a commilTion which I could. net MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXI. not execute to the king's fatisfadion, without betraying my rehgion ; nor ferve my rehgion, without exp^fing myielf to unavoidable difgrace. He Jilcewife faw nothing but obftacles and difficukies in fuch a com- miflîon, which I fliould never be able to furmount. As he did not know that his majefty, befides leaving the general places of fecurity to the proteftants, would confent alio that the individuals of that body fliould keep thofe they were at prefent in poflefllon of j and believing that this circumftance alone was fufficlent to alienate their afFedlions, he triumphed in my perplexity and confufion : he alledged, that the king had faid, the perion whom he fliould fend in his name to the afiembly, would have nothing to do but to declare his will there. Upon thefe words, he affirmed boldly, diat rather than go to any place in my government where the people would not pay me the honours I thought due to me, nor even allow me to be prefent at their confulta- tions, I would hnd reafons to get myfelf difpenfcd with from taking that journey ; or at the worft, if I fliould go, Saint-Germain engaged to the duke of Bouillon, that all my authority fliould not hinder the affembly from giving his letter a refpedful reading, or his deputy an honourable reception. The misfortune was, that the weaknefs of this duke's partifans was a point fo generally known, that, notwithflanding all this fliew of confidence, and oftentation of power, his friend was obliged to con- fefs, that the coldnefs of the provinces, and the negledt of the party, with refptd- to him, was very great. And having thus fpared the duke's confufion by thefe foftened expreflions, he approved of the caution which Bouillon had been the firfl: to advife fliould be ufed when he was mentioned, which was, not to make any demand for him in his name, which was the leafl: liable to oppofltion ; but confine themfelves to remonflrantes from the protcflant body in general, upon the depriving liim of his places, refufing him jufliice, his banifliment, and the perfecution he was expoied to on account of his zeal for his religion. He confidered what danger might be apprehended from a letter written in this form to the afiembly, and finding none, although • they fliould even pay no regard to it, and, fgppofing the worft, facri- fice it to the king ; he exhorted the duke of Bouillon ^to write fuch a one, giving it as his opinion, that it fliould not be made public at firft; but, being read on a fudden to the afiembly, derive f .me advantage from thofe firfi: emodons of compalfion which it was likely to excite. He added, that the party would look upon it as a fi:rokc of great con- fequence for the duke, if the letter, inllead of being prelented to the afiembly Book XXf. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. affembly by one fingle peifon, fliould be brought thither by the depu- ties from the upper and lower Guyenne, where his fortrefles were fitu- ated ; or that they fliould appear to have undertaken the comminion of themfclves, or, what was ftill better, by the orders of their pro- vincials. This was the letter which made fo much noife at court. To the packet his majefty fent me, Sillery thought proper to add a letter from himfelf upon this fubjecfl alone. Sillery was the perfon whom Henr^ kept near him, and who was then employed, as well in reconciling the prince of Conti and the count of Soillons, at that time at variance with each other, as in the affair of Orange, which, according to the advices his majeffy received from Lefdiguieres and others, was tak-ng an unfavourable turn. When I read the copy of this letter to the duke of Bouillon, I was convinced that the court would take a falfe alarm at it. I faw nothing in the contents which did not confirm me iii my opinion that the feditious party was very inconfiderable, care- lefs, unfteady, deftitute of all refources, and far from any intention to undertake any enterprife of importance ; and that Bouillon, who had more experience than the reft, would not engage in fuch extravagant fchemes as were propofed to him one after the other, fchemes with- out order or connexion, and leading to no fixed end, fince there was nothing but confufion to be expecfled from them. In a word, amidft that falfe courage which is infpired by great prefumption, and not- withftanding that affeélation of fine policy, I thought I could plainly perceive difunion among the members of this body, and defpair in its leader. I therefore perfifted in my former opinion, and declared my fentiments freely in the anfwer I fent to Monceaux ; although probably, by doing fo, I rendered my fincerity a little doubtful : but I comforted myfelf by the refledion that thofe fufpicions would laft at moft, but till the difcovery of this myftery, which would be effeded by the af- fembly at Chatelleraut. As for the other affertlons in this letter, I can aflure the reader, that I never felt thofe ftruggles and perturbations of mind, which the writer of it, and many other perfons, attributed to me upon the choice I was to make, between ferving my prince, and my religion ; fince in reality, in this affair, I faw no foundation for making fuch an alter- native. A common prejudice prevails among all feds of religion ; a man is never fuppofed to be a fincere profeflbr of the one he has embraced, unlefs he fupports it obftinately, even in fuch points where it is moft Vol. IL N n n vifibly MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXI. viniuy wrong. Upon this footing, I confefs, the method I was deter- mined to pinTue might, by the author of that letter, and thofe who judged Hke him, di.iw upon me the epithets of falfe brother, deferter, and if they pleafe, traitor ; however, it was not the approbation of fuch as thofe, that I propofed to obtain, but of perfons who, of whatever party or religion they were, would, in their iudgment ot my condudl, preierve the ballance of equity and difintereftednefs. If ever religion admits of the affillance of policy, it ought to be of a policy pure, ^mple, and upright as itfelf ; any other may indeed appear to ferve it, put does not in reality, and fooner or later never fails to ruin it. Having determined to be guided by no other principle in my tranf- adions with the affembly, I thought I could not too carefully avoid all appearances of afFedation or difguife in my conduit; that thofe who were influenced by an imprudent zeal, or aduated by a fpirit of cabal, might have no hopes of gaining or feducing me : therefore, from the beginning, I fhewed myfelf folicitous to fupport, on this occafion, that charader by which all France was to know how I would ad on every other; that is, of a man as iincerely attached to the true principles of the proteflant religion, as incapable of drawing the falfe confequences which many of the proteftants did, or of approving their irregular pro- ceedings. The fpeech I made at the opening of the afl'embly, which lafted half an hour, was wholly calculated to produce this effed, with- out troubling myfelf to confider whether it would give pleafurc or of- fence to the greatefl number. I BEGAN by reprefenting to them, that, among fo many perfons blindly devoted to the will of the prince, his majelly would not have fixed upon a peri'on to treat with them whofe unihaken conllancy to his religion was fo well known, if he was more folicitous to fupport or increafe his rights, than to perfuade tlîeir judgments and gain their hearts : that this reafon was fufficient to make them place an abfolute confidence in all that I fliould fay or do, fince I certainly had not waited for this moment bafely to betray my religion. But I declared to them, at the fame time, that they muft expcét to fee me as zealous for the interefi: of my prince, when it did not injure what I owed to my re- ligion and the general good, fince it was incumbent upon me to juiliiy, to his majefty himfelt, the choice he had made of me; and^ to fup- port, in the view of the whole kingdom, the reputation of a prudent and upright minifiier ; which 1 flattered myfelf 1 now enjoyed. I in- vited them to fhare this honour with me, obl'erving, that liere honour and Book XXI. M E M O I II S O F S U L L Y. 4*59 and good policy were the fame. This point indeed I found mofl diiTi- i6oç. culty to perfuade them of; and when they heard mc af*ert, that their i— — /— ~-^ cautionary cities had no fence but their own good inclinations, they, inftead of taking my words Hterally, looked upon them as a paradox, or a figure in oratory. Nothing, however, was more certain : and to fliew the proteftants, that the firfl: foundation of their policy was falfe, I entered upon the difcuflion of this principal point ; that is, the keeping of their towns, in which they fancied their greateft ftrength confifted, and concernin;^ which, as I was informed, they were incited to make very earneft and veiy bold reprefentations to his majefty. I fhewed them, that the great number of little paltry places which they held under this title, was fo far from being advantageous to them, that they would haften their ru- in, if ever they had an attempt made upon them by a king of France, the prefent king efpecially, to whom many of their officers were at- tached ; becaule that not having any fortrefs fo mean, or governor To inconfiderable, who would not pretend to the honour of making fome refiftance, it mufi: neceflarily happen, that their tolerable cities, which were about ten or twelve in number, mufl fuffer greatly from this ufelefs difperfion of their foldiers and ammunition, and from time to time fall into the hands of their enemies ; I did not even except Lef- diguieres *, their Achilles, provided that he waited for this extremity, to feparate himfelf from them : in reality, without judging too raflily of this officer, it might be confidendy afferted, that the only religion capable of fixing him, was that uTiich could fecure him in the pof- feffion of his riches, and the authority he had always exercifed throughout his province. Some other proofs of his being but (lightly attached to the doiflrine of the proteftant church, might be produced. I am obliged to difcover in this manner the real principles of Lefdi- * TheCalvinift writers have treated the " he did not aflually become a catholic, conftable de Lefdiguieres in the fame nian- " he muft notexped to be conftable, iho* ner we fee them treat all thofe who abjure " that office had been promifed him. Bul- their religion. Le Vaflbr is the moft cruel, " Ln, who had long been a ftaunch Hu- and the duke of Sully one of the mofl mo- " guenot, going to the maréchal, aflced derate of his cnem;es ; he is not the on- " him aloud, Sir, do you believe the tran- !y one who believed that his deiirc to be " fubftantiation ? I do, ahfwered the made conftable, was a fmall inducement " maréchal, who had guefleJ at the mean- to his converfion. " After the death of " ing of the queftion. Since you allure " the conftable de Luynes, fays /\melot " me of that, ùys Bullo.i, I inforin you *• de La-Houflaye, Lewis XIII. feiit the " that you will be made conftjible." Art. " fieur Claude de Bullon to the maréchal Bonne, 5;c. «Je Lefdiguieres, to acquaint him, that if .N n n 2 guieres, ^6o M E M î R S O F S U L L Y. Book XXÎ. lôoç. g'-iicres, becaufe it was one part of my commifiion, to fliew that the ^>-— ,- — ' moft fecret difpoiitions of the party weie not unknown. The conduit of Du-Pleflis was very different, hut ftill more to be pitied : this man, in whom an ardent zeal for his party held tile place of experience and military virtue, had taken it into his head to fortify his caftle of Saumur, and did it in fuch a manner, that to defend it would require a garrifon of eight thoufand men, with ammunition in proportion. I dehred to know where Du-Pleffis would procure all this„ ihould he be attacked unexpeftediy ; and added, that what I faid to them was not by way of information, fince I was not ignorant that they were condemned to know this truth, by the refult of the delibera- tions in their provinces, as well as by their own lofTes ; but only to ihew them, that the king's council reafoned juftly upon their iituation : and that if, notwithflanding this knowledge, they were left in peace, that confideration ought to increafe their gratitude and affedion for the prince their benefaftor. I THEN proceeded to acquaint the deputies with his majefty's inten- tions, in a manner that would admit of no doubt or equivocation : that they were for the future not to receive in their fynods, or even in their houfes, any deputies or letters from foreign princes, cities,, communities, or French lords ; namely, meffieurs de Rohan, de Bou- illon, de Lefdiguieres, de La-Force, de Châtillon, and Du-Pleffis, be- caufe the king would not fuffer any affairs of importance to be treated of in his kingdom, without his participation : that upon no pretence or reafon whatever, they were ever more permitted to hold an affembly like thofe they had formerly held ; but if they had any requefl: to make to his majcfty, they were to apply to the deputies, who were allowed to ftay at court for this purpofe, and that it fliould be expreffed in the cahier of their province. I declared to them, that if they pretended, in this aiïembly, to take refolutions contrary to thefe orders, befides the other inconveniences to which they would expofe themfelves, they muft exped to fee me make ufe of all the power annexed to my com- miffion, and all the authority granted to a governor in his province, to. bring them back to their duty. This was the fubftance of my fpeech. to the affembly; leaving it to them to fettle at leifure the affairs of the deputies, and the cities of fecurity. This fpeech, and particularly the declaration with which I concluded it, gave great offence to many deputies of the affembly j it occafioned feveral Book XXI. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. feveral warm difputes in their private confultations, and four or five deputations to me : thofe whofe interefl it was that the affembly fliould not proceed to more effential affairs, defired no better than to wafte the time in this kind of preliminary queflions and protrafted them on purpofe. But with a little induftry, and fome addrefs, I put an end to this ufelefs prelude. The king highly refented their not chu- iing me prefident of the affembly^ though afterwards, altering his opinion on that head, he had advifed me not to accept of it : he thought that, upon feveral confiderations, I merited this honour from them J and faid publicly with great refentment, that on this occafioa the proteftants had given an equal proof of their difregard to the pub- lic good, as jealoufy of mc ; but it is certain, that I was the firfl, and even the only one, who made any objedion to it *, and this for rea- fons which I wrote his majefty word I would tell him myfelf, and with which he would be fatisfied. * The author of Du-Pleflis-Mornay's he could, to get himfelf chofen prefident, life, on the contray, maintains, that the but that he had only two votes for him. duke of Sully endeavoured, by all the means Book ii. p. 309, MEMOIRS MEMOIR S O F S U L L Y. BOOK XXII. i6of. ^'i A HE general afîembly of the proteftants at Châtelleraut was ,„,-y — «j m already opened, when the king received a letter from the duke J*- of Bouillon, which was brought by a man named Rufly. In this letter Bouillon acquainted his majcfly, that a league was adually forming among the German princes againft the houfe of Auftria ; and that thefe princes, being defirous of llrengthening themlelves with the power and alTiftance of his majefty, had fixed upon him to be a me- diator between the king and them. On their part, he promiled a full lecurity to the king and kingdom ; and on his own, he offered, with an effufion of the nobiefl: fentiments, to affift this defign with his per- fon and forces, exprefling great joy at his having found an opportunity fo often hinted at by Montluet, when, in writing to him by the king's orders, he told him, that it was by real and effe(5tual fervices, and not by words only, thst for the future he could perfuade this prince of the purity of his intentions. Henry, at the receipt of this letter, was neither much moved in favour of the duke of Bouillon, nor greatly plcafcd with the preter.ded fcheme : far from accepting an oifer in appearance fo favourable to his defigns, Book, XXIL MEMOIRS OF SULLY. defigns, he was apprehenfivc of raifing an unfurmountable obftacle to the execution of them by too great precipitation ; befides, the fnare which Bouillon laid for hirn, was too thinly difguifed to produce the effed it was defigned for. >7othing could be more improbable, than that the German princes fliould chufc Bouillon to a6t the part of a me- diator and reconciler, he who was himfelf confidered by the council of France as a criminal. Henry therefore contented himfelf with tell- ing Rufly, in anfwer to it, that the duke's informations were too inde- terminate, and came too late. Bouillon would certainly have expeded very little fuccefs from this artifice, if he had known that a letter,which he had written to the proteflants afTembled at Chatelleraut, fell at the fame time into his majefty's hands. This letter was a kind of anfwer to that which, as we have obferved, had been lately fent to Bouillon by Saint-Germain-de-Clan, and it was well known was defigned for him ; though, in one part of it, he mentions Saint-Germain as a third perfon. By the contents, it was plain, that the letter he wrote his majefty from Germany, was done with no other view but to induce the king to treat him more favourably in the afiTembly, and to hinder him from fufpe;miledhis tnajeily by Roquelaure and me, that he would break with the duke of Bouillon, and recall his children from Sedan, the king chofe him from among the three perfons propofcd for the nobility, and Du-Cros from thofe for the gown, who had Lef- diguieres tofolicit for him. This choice, which was very agreeable to Henry, and highly prailed by his minillers themfelves, was maJe very feafonably to flop the mouths of fome flanderers, who reported that the king, after receiving a letter from me, appeared fo greatly enraged, that it was evident his defign did not fucceed well under my manage- ment. One trifling letter ferved them for a pretence to propagate this flory. In my anfwer to Villeroi, who lent me a copy of it, I told him, that there were no perfons who gave fo little credit to this re- port as thole who fpread it. As to the fuccefs of this affair, the glory of which was attributed entirely to me, without affeâiiiig a milplaced modelly, I Hiall freely own that I accomplilhed my defigns, by convincing the greatefl part of the proteflant body, that they might lafely rely upon Henry's inten- tions and fentiments with refpeâ: to them, for the prefervation of their perfons and interefts ; and that thole few examples of feverity, or ra- ther juftice, which they complained of, were greatly dilproportionate to the injuries he had received from them. I would not have it ima- gined, that by fpeaking in this manner, I gave the proteftants the leafl hint of thofe favourable defigns for the party, with which the mind of Henry was then employed : to ferve a prince at the expence of his le- cret was to betray him. I was even particularly cautious upon this ar- ticle with his majeily's miniflers ; and I don't know that I ever men- tioned it in any ot thofe letters I wrote to Henry himfelf, except one, in Vol. II. P P P which 473 MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIL which I made feme reflexions upon the embalTy to England, that were necefiary to the fubjeâ: I wrote upon : however, I earneftly intreated him to burn this letter, left the fame accident fliould happen to it as he knew had done to others. What his ma'iefty had mofi: reafon to complain of in the affair of the deputies, was, that his intention of appointing them himfelf, in the manner we have jufl: feen, being fignified to the ailcmbly, feven pro- tellant provinces met together, and fent to con'blt Du-Plefîïs upon this reiblution, a fault which Henry with good reafon attributed to Con- liant and D'Aubigné. The laft inflance which was made by the pro- teftants on this fubjeft was, that the duration of the deputies fervice with his majefty fliould be regulated by them, and be exprefled in the brevet of eleing fo little ; fhe was the " refuge of men of letters, loved to hear " them talk, her table was conftantly fur- " rounded with tlitm, ana fhe learned fo " much from convcrfmg with them, that ■' fhe fpoke better than any v/oman of her *' lime, and wrote more corredlly than moft *' perfons of her fcx arc capable of doing. " Ir. (hort, as charity is the queen of all " virtues, this great princefs crowned hers *' by giving alms, which fhe did with \'o *' liberal a hund to all who flood in need of " them, that there was not a religious " houfc in Paris which did not feci the " effe£ls of her bounty, nor one poor per- " fun who had recuurfe to her that did not " meet with iclief; therefore God out of " his mercy repaid her with ufury, for that " which file fl:cwed to his people, giving " her grace to make a truly chriflian end." &c. vol. I. p. 326. This is furely fufficient to compenfate for a fmall number of levities and human weaknelTes, which are the ut- mofl of what this princefs could ever be charged wiih. If any one is defirous of feeing lurther what has been written for or againft her on this head, let him read mefEeurs De Thou, Dupleix, Mezerai, father Daniel, father Hilarion de Cofte's elogium of illuftrious ladief, BafTompierre, M. Bayle's dictionary under the word Uflbn, and an infinity of oiher writers. She died on the 27th of March 1615, at her paLce in the Fauxbourg-Saint-Ger- main, which has fince been demolifhed ; file w.is interred in the church of the re- formed Auguftins, fince called the Little Auguft ins, which had been founded by her. »' She was greatly regreted," fays the Me- moirs of the Regency of Mary de Medicis, " being a princefs abounding in goodncfe " of heart, eagerly lond of the welfare " and repofe of the flate, who did no harm " toany oncbtfides herfelf." Thefc few words, I apprehend, are fufficient to give us the petfcit idea wc ought to form of her chara(£ler, and fuflititntly agree with what M. de Sully fays of her. at Book XXII. MEMOIRS OF SU L'L Y. at feven o'clock in the evening, and returned at ten. This interview i6o^, pafled with equal fatisfadbion on both fides. The king fpoke of the ^^— ./i> eallle of UiTon to this princefs : (he confented to what he propofed ; and, in that whole affair, he never did any thing without firft knowing whether it would be agreeable to her. On the zSth of the fame month (lie came to Paris, to pay her refpeds to the queen, who came to the Louvre to receive her : (he afterwards, on the 4th of Auguft, went to Saint-Germain to (ee the Dauphin, and ftaid there four or five dav^: with their majefties. Henry had no greater pleafure than tîie companv of his children, as his frequent journeys to Saint-Germain fufficientlv proved. Queen Margaret returned to Bois de Boulogne on the nth of the fame month, greatly a(feded with their majefties obliging be- haviour to her. By the orders which (lie gave to her officers who remained at tKTon, Barenton, who was fent thither by his majefty, found no op- pofition, and was put in immediate pofTellion of the caftle. He drew up a memorial of the ftate in which he found it, and brought it to,the king, who, perfifting in his refolution of difmantling this caftle, or- dered me to fend an engineer or commhTary of artillery there as foon as poflible for that purpofe. I was commifTioned to thank queen Marga- ret in his name, for the chtarfulnefs with which (lie had made this Ù-- crifice, and to pay her the full value of all the (lores and ammunition which were found at Ullbn, whicli Margaret had delHned for the pay- ment of the garriibn (lie maintained there; if that princefs did not la- ther chufe to give her foldiers thefe (tores and provifions themfelves. I SHALL conclude the menicirs of the prefent year with an article, which I am already certain wiil have the approbation of all jult and fenfible perfons ; and for which I am alfo as (ecure of their acknow,- ledgments. In all the principal cities of the kingdom, efpccially thofc which have arfenals and academies, there are alfo for the young nobi- lity fchools, in which are taught all kinds of fports and exercifes, as well military, as thofe defigncd merely to form a graceful carriage, and' give ftrength and aâivity to the limbs : and thefe exercifes are no where more carefully cultivated than at Paris, where the fpacious courts of the arfenal, deftined to this ufe, are full almoft every hour in the day. I was always of the lame opinion as Henry concerning thefe exercifes : he often a(rerted, that they were the moft (olid foundr.rion, not only of difcipline and other military virtues, but alfo of thofe noble fentiments,; and that elevation of mind, which give one nation the pre-eminence over ■93 ^g^ M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. Book XXII. loor. <^vcr every other. I uied to be prefcnt at them myfelf, when I could i_,-,^— ._> fteal a moment from bufinefs, as well through the tafte I had for fucli amufements, as becaufe I thought my preience would excite a laudable emulation amondl: the youth. One afternoon in carnival time, when thefe fports were mod fre- quent, I left my clofet to fliew mylelf to this ailembly of young men, and came very feafonably to prevent the confequences of two quarrels, which, from that miflaken notion of honour to which France has made herfelf a Have, were likely to have been very fatal. Thefe quarrels had taken their rife from a trifle, as it generally happens with the greatell: part of thofe which have been followed by the moil bloody cataflrophcs ; but the king (I am grieved to fay it) took fo little care to enforce the obfervation of the ediv5ts piibliihed by fome of his predeceflbrs, againll that barbarous cullom of duelling, that every day, and for the flighteft occafions, fome blood was fhed. I THOUGHT it my duty to endeavour to convince thefe young men who crouded about me, of the error they were in with regard to true valour ; *' It is, fald I to them, in fields of war, and in adions which " have the fervice of our country in view, that courage is permitted to " be fliown ; that which arms us againd our friends, or countrymen, " in contempt of all laws, as well divine as human, is buta brutal fierce- " nefs, madnefs and real pufillanimity." I perceived, that the moral I endeavoured to inculcate appeared very ftrange to thefe young men, who were carried away by the heat of blood and ardour of youth : one of them, who, it was apparent, fought to give himfelf confcquence with his fellows, replied, that princes having at all times permitted, nay authorifed duels, they had palled into a cullom, which holds the place of a law. I CONTENTED myfelf for the prefent with making the youth fenfible that he fupported his argument upon falfe and erroneous principles, and with preventing the challenge from proceeding any further ; but as foon as I retired, I gave free courfe to my reflexions upon the fingu- larity of an abufe, unknown to the moll polifhed, and at the fame time bravell people. Thefe reflexions, when thrown upon paper, com- pofed a kind of memorial, wliich I thought it my duty to prefent to the king. Duels, Book XXIf. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 4^^ Duels, it is true, are of long (landing in France, and'indeed in Eu- i6oç. rope, but in that part only that has been overwhehned by barbarians, v_-— v-~— > from whofe time this hateful cuftom takes its date, and appears there- fore to be derivei from them ; and if hiflories of times more remote, fuch as that of the emperor Otho the fiift, and that of the divorce of Lothario, gives fome inftances of lingle combat, they may be oppofed by prohibitions of equal antiquity, ilTucd out by the power of the church, as that of the council of Valentia in 855, or by temporal aii- thority. We have in France a very ancient editt, which forbids them in all civil caufes, and in criminal caufes limits them to five cafes ; high treafon, rape, houfe-burning, murder, and nightly thefts. Saint Lewis* afterwards took away all rell:riâ:ion ; and when Philip the IVth, his grandfon, feemed to reftore them, 1303, in charges of ftatc crimes, rapes, and houfe-burning, to which he reduced them, he was incited only by a motive at once deferving praife and cenfure j the hope of aboiiihing infenfibly this cuflom of bloodflied, which had gathered ftrength in his time, by confining it to thefe rare cafes fet down in a pofitive law : to make this more evident, he forbad all manner of perfons to allow them, by receiving what was called pledges of batde, and de- clared that right referved to himfelf alone. To fhew, by explaining the difference between the ancient duels and thole of our time, what a number of na*nelefs abufes have crept into a pra<^tice, which itff If was from its firft original a corruption, it will be fufficient to lay down the circumftances and formalities which were obfervcd in thofe times. In the firft place, no body, however offended, might take vengence in his own right; and as it is now pradtifed in the firit emotion of ca- price and paffion, and much lefs in mere bravado, which, in my opi- nion, is of all things the moft contrary to the laws of fociety. Th^y had their judges, before whom he that thought himfelf injured in his- honour, was to give an account of the wrong fufFered, and demand permiflîon to prove, in the way of arms, tliat he did not lay upon his * On the fubje i6oc. I COULD not wait for his majefty's return to Paris, to communicate u- -v"-— ' to him the memorial of which I have now mentioned the contents j. to inform him of the accidents to which this pradlice gave occalion j and to defire him to put a ftop to an evil which was every day fpread- ing by his indulgence. I intreated him to attend to the counfel which I had prefumed to give him, to renew the edidts againll duds, to aggra- vate the panifhment confiderably, and execute it feverely ; and to for-- bid all men to profecute any word of injury or otFence otherwife than by courfe of law ; but to manage fo, that the juftice obtained might be fpeedy and fatisfaftory ; to make the complainant eafy, and the aggrefior penitent ; and laftly, to have this new order fixed op, at the beginning of every year, in the courts of the Louvre, the palace, the arfenal, and in other places that were moft frequented *. It is cer- tain, as I reprefented to his majefly, that a reputation for perfonal va- lour, fuch as this prince had eftabliflied, was able to give to an edidt concerning duels, twice the authority that it could derive from mere royal pleafure, but the pleafure of the mafter of kings,, a power far fuperior, did not allow to the reign of Henry the Great, the extirpa- tion of this abufe. It may be faid, without pretending to jufllfy this prince, that hi& eafinefs with refpedt to duels proceeded from a habit contracted by hi& long wars, by which he faw bloo attendants on your children, and *' among the queen's maids. And in the third b^'g, which Le- *■ Gendre carries, there are thirty little bags, of a hundred crowns each, *' in demy-franks, all new, and fo large that they look like whole •' ones; thefe are for prefents to the queen's maids, and the women *' of her chamber, and thofe belonging to the children of France, ac- *' cording to your orders. I have left two large bags in my coach, to "' the care of my fervants, full of douzains, all new likewife, and *• each bag worth a hundred crowns, which make twelve thoufand " fous ; thefe are to be divided among the poor invalids who are upon " the keys of the river near the Louvre, which I am told arc almofl " full. I have fent thither twelve of the mofl charitable men in the *' city to range them in order, and dilbibute the prefents. You cannot " imagine how much thefe trifling new-year's-gifts, in little pieces " new coined, will pleafe thefe poor men, and the queen's maids and *' women of her chamber : they all declare, that they do not regard " thefe gifts for the value, but as being inftances of your regard for " them ; efpecially the queen's maids, who fay, that what is given " them to purchafe cloaths they muft lay out as diredted, but thefe *' hundred crowns they may lay out in what trifles they pleafe, which " is more to their talk." " But, Rofny, laid his majefly to me, will ** you give them their new-year's-gifts without making them kifs you " for them?" " Truly, fire, replied I, fince you once commanded '• them to kifs me, \ am under no neceffity of ufing prayers and in- ♦« treaties, they come very willingly; and madam de Drou, who is '• fo devout, only laughs at it." " Ah! Rofny," continued Henry, with the fame gaiety, " fince it is fo, pray tell me truly, who kifles " you inofl willingly? and which of them do you think the hand- " fomell?" " Faith, fire, returned I, I cannot tell you, I have no " leifure to think of gallanty, and I believe they take as little notice *' of my beauty as I of theirs : I kifs them as we do relics when wc *' prelent our offerings." The king could not help laughing aloud; and addreffing himfelf to thofe who were prefcnt, " What do you think, laid " he, of this prodigal financier, who makes fuch rich prefents out of " his mailer's pocket for a kifs ?" After diverting himfelf a few mo- ments Book XXIII. MEMOIRSOFSULLY. ^o^ ments with this thought, " Go to breakfaft, faid he to the courtiers, 1606. " and leave us to confer a Httle upon matters of more importance." *-— \ — -^ Every one retiring but Renouillere and Catherine, the king gently pufliing the queen, *' Awake, you dormoufe, faid he, give nie a kifs, " and groan no more, for all our little quarrels are already forgot by " me ; I am felicitous to keep your mind eafy, left your health fhould " fuffcr during your pregnancy : you imagine, purfued he, that Rofnr " favours me in our little difputes ; but you would be undeceived, if " you knew with what freedom he fometimes tells me truths : and tlîo' " I often refent thofe liberties, yet I any not really offended with him •' for them ; on the contrary, I iliould believe he no longer loved me, " if he ceafed to make me fuch remonftrances as he thought were ne- " ceflary for the honour of my perfon, the good of my kingdom, and " my people's happinefs; for be allured, my dear, added he, there " are none fo juft and fo upright, who would not wholly fall, if, when " they began to flumble, they were not fupported by the good coun- " cils of prudent friends and faitliful fervants : and to convince you " of the truth of what i fliy, know that Rolny has been continually / " telling me, for thefe fifteen days paft, that you are in your eighth x ' " month, and that I ought not to dilcompofe you, for fear of hurting " your fon, for a run he infiib upon it, it is *►" This good prince, affuming air air ftill more tender and obliging^ intreated her to to tfll h;m, before me, what was the caufe of her waking fighin;::; and in tears. The queen at laft, turning to him, faid, that her grief 'vas occafmned by a dream, which feemed to confirm what had been predideci to her a few days before, but that her mind had been relieved by weeping. She then, in her turn, intreated the king to fpare her any farther uneafinefs, at leaft while (lie was with- child, and to a\oid giving vent to fuch exprefhons, " which, faid {he, " make me, as well as others, believe, that you are happier in the " company of other perfons than in mine, and thofe too, purfued flie, " wlïom I well know are not only unfaithful to you, but hate youi * The nftrologers had foretold it, fays gaiety» that if this daughter flioirid not hap- L'Etoile's Jou.nal, and that the queen's pen to meet with a proper eUabliQimenr, Kfe v.ould be in danger. She was happily there would he many others in the fame brought to rt-d of a diugtittr on the loth condition ; and that if her mother had not ©f Fd'iruiiry. Menry IV. in order to com- bore a daughter, fhe would not har/e beeii! fort fN • t]ueen (for fhe pafTionately defircd queen of France. I U.i-V ■ e a fun) fdid to her, with his ufual ^o^ M £ U O ï R 5 OF S U L L V. Book XXIII. J 606. " '"- ^^'^^'^^ hearts ; I know the realbn alfo, and I appeal for the truth of \..-— v'-^^ " this to M. dc Rofny, whofe word 1 will take," I AVOIDED this explanation, hy anfwering in a general manner, that It gave me great joy to Ice their majefties open their minds thus frankly upon their Uttle quarrels ; that I found it would not ùe difficult to put a final end to them for the future, if they would ferioufly refolve to yield to fuch means as would be ufed for that purpofe, by perfons who chofe rather to ferve their true interefl than footh thtir refcntment. This propofal was accepted immediately, and they defired me to prdpofe thofe means ; the queen faying, that flie was refolved to make ufe of them, and the king, that they would be highly agreeable to him. I then declared to their, majefties in plain terms (having firft convinced them, that any other remedy would end only in talking and ading to no purpofe, as had hitherto been the cafe) that there was only one way of gotting rid, at once, of all the occafions of thcfe perplexities ; that fmce they had reafon to diftruft their ovvn fteadinefs, in taking and keeping refoiutions, they lliould make choice of fome perfon for this bulinefs, who during the determination, and afterwards, ihould take the ■whole upon himfeif, and ad as if the king and queen were abfolutely without concern in it, I advifed them to chufe a man fteady enough not to let himfeif be ftvaken by any coniideration, and capable oi' fuch pure and honeft affedions, as to ferve them, when the cafe fliould re- quire, by oppofing their inclinations. I DISCOVERED not the leaft inclination to be employed in this buli- nefs, which indeed was not very agreeable ; but 1 allured their maje- fties, that if it was upon me they caft their eyes, they muft begin by being abfolutely filent with rcfped to the means they fiw me make ufe of; and that, to give me a fecurity that my work fliould not be de- ftroyed by any return of difguft, they fliould oblige themfelves, in the moft folemn manner, not to oppole any thing 1 iTiould do, nor to preferve any refcntment againft me, although one of the parties, and perhaps both, muft, by admitting the remedy I fliould make ufe of, do fome violence to their inclinations. I believe thev gueflcd what this remedy was '* ; and I may venture to aflert, that if they had agreed to my propofal, no human coniideration (hould have hindered me from * M. de Suliy has acquainted us with it tains, and the like number over the fcas, before, in the advice he gave the king, to as he e;tpreffes himlelf. fend four or five perfons ever the melinefs of his temper, did not give me time t(j reply, but procetded to difcover the notion he had enter- tained of my alarms and apprehenfions with refped to the pro'eflant body in France. He protelled with great earnertnefs agaaifl: the fufpi- cion of his labouring to ruin the chief p'oteftants one after the other; he appealed to the know.edoe I had ol his fentiments, and afked whe- ther it was not true, that it was generally known that, in wha-.ever con- cerned the fervice of his perfon and his table, he chnfe rather to trull himfelf in the hands of the pro.eftants than the catholics; and he af- fured me alfo, that he had no perfonal hatred to the duke of Bouillon ; that he would require notlnng difhonourable of him ; in a word, that he would make me judge of the manner in which he ouglit to be treated. I WAS pleafed to hear the king fpeak thus, and afllired him, that I was well convinced of his fiivourable fentiments for the proteftants in general, and for me in particular; yet I owned, that the fufpicion he had enteitained of me with regard to the affair of Sedan had given me uneafinefs : I declared to him the true caufe of that coldnefs he taxed me with ; and, having afterwards exhaufted all the reflexions which the mind could fugged on this occafion, I difclofed one to him which had occured to no one but myfelf ; and this was, that the ex- pences Bouillon had been at in fortifying Sedan having enti ely ex- baufted his funds, and probably involved him in great debts, this might be the real caufe of his not yielding to his majefty's defires, fince, if he refigned Sedan to him, he would deprive himfelf of the only refource he had to retrieve his affairs ; and this fuppofed, perhaps all that was neceffary to bring the affair to a happy conclufion, was to ofTer Book XXIII. M E M O I R S OF S U L L Y. offer the duke of BoLullon a fiim fufHcicnt to pay his debts. I reprc- lentcd to tlie king, that if, by giving Bouillon two hundred thoufand crov/ns, he might be prevailed upon to accept all the other conditions, his majefty would be llill a gainer of ûx hundred thoufand, fince the expen.e of the armament he was preparing could not amount to lefs than eight hundred thoufand crowns. A new motive for treating Bouillon with the utmoft rigour of war, if he obliged the king to attack him, was to declare not only the principality of Sedan, but the vifcounty of Turenne likewife reunited to the crown ; although he pretended to hold them both of France in the fame manner, as they do the great fiefs of the crown : I added, that unlefs his majefty did this, he would have the mortihcation of having made advances, for which afterv/ards nothing could make amends. It Oiould feem that it was a kind of fore- fight of what happened, which made me infift: fo earnefily upon this al- ternative, either to (hew an extreme indulgence before the enterprife was begun, or, when we had once taken up arms, an inflexible refolution., The king replied, that to enter into a négociation with Bouillon, would be to confirm him in the opinion, it appeared by the letter already mentioned he entertained, that his majefty durft not attack him : he confented, however, to let me try this method in concert with the prin- cefs of Orange * who was then at Paris, and that we fliould fend Du- Maurier -f- to the duke with difpatches, the purport and terms of which he left wholly to me. " But you muft likewife promife me, added " Henry, that, if he (laould not accept the offers you make him, you " will ferve me impartially in this affair, and in the manner you have " done before," purfued he, inftancing the liege of Amiens, the cam- paign of Savoy, and other enterprifes of the fame kind. This I faithfully promifed. " It is enough, faid Henry, taking my hand, " I am fatil- " fied, and will rely entirely upon your capacity and fidelity." Saying this he left mc. I WENT the next day to the princefs of Orange, and concerted with her the manner in which we fhould both write to the duke of Bouillon. We fettled the deputation of Du-Maurier, and the matter of the in- ftrudlions which were to be given him. This is the fubftancc of the letter I v/rote to the duke 3 I began by calling to his remembrance the '■'' Louifade Coligny the admiral's daugh- princeof Orange, whofewilowfhetlien was. ter, firll murried to the count de Teligny, f Iknjamin Auiicry du Muurier, at who was killed on St. Bartholomew's day j firiï attached to the duke of Bouillon, after- and a. fécond time to William of Naflau wards to the duke of Sully. Vol. IL U u u power MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIII. power and perfonal abilities of the prefent king, botli as well known to himfelf as to me; and I intreated him to refleit well upon the advantages they gave him, fince this was the luieft way to avoid the dangers with which he was threatened, and to prevent being blinded by his own prej-udices, or cairied away by the violence of his paflîons. This was not indeed to flatter, but, as I told him, it was to give him a clear no- tion of what he might expedl, and to prevail upon him to follow the. advice offered him by the princeis of Orange, and by a man who fo- liated him as a friend, not to reduce himfelf to the neceffity of giving to force, what nothing but his own obftinacy would hinder him from granting to conditions didtated by the utmofl gentlenefs. I did not enter into a detail of the propofals, but informed him, that Du-Mau- rier was commilTioned to make them to him perfonally ; befides which, we had reduced to writing all that he had to fay to him in our names, that nothing might be forgot or miftaken. I prevented the objedions which I fuppofed he would make, that his majefty did not appear, to have any part in the propofals we made him, by giving him my word of honour, and even offering to become furety, if neceffary, that his niajefty would ratify whatever fliould be agreed on betwixt U5 1 adding, that I was willing to be branded with the names of bafe, per- fidious, and diHionourable, if every article was not performed, I con- cluded with earneftly intreating him not to fuffer matters to come to an extremity. This letter, which cxadly agreed with that written by the princefs of Orange, was dated the iff of March. The duke of Bouillon anfwered by a letter, dated the 4th of the fame month : he told me, that he had received a letter from me, as iikewife one from the princefs of Orange; that he had heard whatDu- Maurier had to fay, and read his paper attentively, but that he had rcafon to complain he fhould be obliged to purchafe the king's favour by a meannefs which would render him unworthy of it ; that what was pî^mifed him was only by a writing, which could be known but to a fmall number of perfons, while all France would be witnefs of his humiliation, and the little regard the king would afterwards have for him ; that «Iris friends whom he had confuked, and who were not fo inconfiderable for their number as has been reported, were all of his opinion ; that his majefly was very far from having thofe favour- able thoughts of him which he had been made to hope for, fince he diftrufted^his fidelity fo much as not to allow him to keep a place of fo little ftrength as Sedan. And here he added, but with more confi- dence, and in contradidion to what he had juft faid, that he was well 2 informed Book XXTIL MEMOIRS OF SULLY. informed there were perfons who attempted to inipofc upon his m:i- jefty, by promifing to make him mailer of Sedan in lefs than r. month, and without the lois of one fingle man. Bouillon, no doubt, con'^ra- tulated himfelf here on the ingenious way he had found to give me the lye in fpeaking to myfelf. The whole letter was in this Ih-ain of complaints without foundation, and proteftations of innocence, equally vague and uncertain. He took care to avoid making any confeflioa or promife ; and all that he faid to the purpofe, after this idle preflice, was, that if he had given the king any caufc to be offended with him, i-nther than aggravate his fault by denying, he was ready to make a frank confelTion of it, and to fubmit to any reparation his majelty fhould require, provided it was not expeâed the return of his favour and con- fidence fliould coft him his poor inconfiderable city, which he was ready to declare, in an authentic manner, he held only from his goodnefs ; but that if the king perfifted in his refolution to deprive him of it, he fhould be forced to believe, that though his words exprelTed kindnefs, yet his aftions teftified hatred. Bouillon's letter to the princefs of Orange was conceived almoft in the fame terms ; and what Du-Maurier related from himfelf having nothing more fatisfadory in' it, the king began to confider the duke of Bouillon as wholly untraiflable. I thought it neceflary, however, to anfwer Ws letter : I told him that his majefty was difpleafed at the manner in which he had refufed the offers he had made him by me ; that he had thought his letters full of diftruft, doubts, and expreffions very difrefpedful to him ; befides his affedtation of not anfwering pre- cifely to what was propofed to him. 1 added, that I was truly grieved my advice would have no other effed but to imbitter his mind, as it had happened formerly, when I wrote to him upon the iraprifonment of maréchal Biron ; but that the time would come, and perhaps it was already near, when he would be fenfible that the counfel I had given him was in the prefent conjunfture the bed that could be offered ; and I warned him, for the laft time, to think ferioully'of it, and ear- neftly entreated him to take fuch a refolution as would be moft: for his true intereft, fuice nothing (whatever he might think to the contrary) would give me more fatisfadion. In the mean dme I had found means to get a plan. of Sedan drawn, both of the upright and the ground-plot. The king came to the Arfe- nal to look at it, and brought with him the count of Solfions, the duke of Epernon, the marechals Briflac, Fervaques, Bellegarde, and U u 2 Roauelaure. s M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XXIIL [606. Roquelaure, Don John de Medicis, De-Vic, Montluet, La-Nouë, Bo- -v-*-J ëfle, Nereftan, D'Efcures, Erard, and Châtillon, who had drawn the plan, but whom I had exprcfsly ordered not to give his ooinion before {o many witnefles. The lituation of the place, its ftrength, and the form of the attack, were fubjeds for endlefs debate among I'o many perfons : Montluet, La-Nouë, and Erard, maintained with great obfti- nacy, that it was impregnable, and could only be reduced by famine. AU this while I fcarce made any anfwer, though they generally ad- dreffed themfelves to me, and often demanded my thoughts of thofe terrible fofles, all cut in the rock, for fo they alledged they were. The aflembly feparating without taking any refolution, I waited upon his majefty the next day ; and after telling him my reafon for keeping filence the day before, which was, that among fo many per- fons fecrecy is but ill kept, I made him fenilble, that none of thofe diligent obiervers had attended to any of the defeds in the fortification, amonp- which were, the valley of the fountain, that of Ginmenés, the folles, which in fome places were not defended by the natural rock, but flanked with earth brought thither for the purpofe ; and the two approaches by the river fide, one above and the other below, fo fpacious,. that I allured his majefty I would lodge, and that with very little dan- ger, all the troops within tvs^o hundred paces of the city, and even un- der the counterfcarp of the artificial ditches, becaufe that the turning of the valleys would cover them from the difcharge of the fmall arms, while the befieged would not be able to ihew themfelves upon their parapets, nor fcarcely in any other place, without being perceived from the eminences in the field, which fo abfolutely command the whole body of the fortification, that we might have a full view of the infide of the lodgments, from before, behind, and of each fide : and I gave his majefty my word, that within the eighth day after the batteries were railed, I would put him in poflefiion ot Sedan. This once the king believed me, and in the joy that tranfported him he flew to impart it to meffieurs de Medicis, de La-Force, De-Vic, de Nérefl^an, and f5oëflê, whofe difcretion he was well aflured of, and who greatly praifed my caution. After this, Henry no longer hefitated whether he Ihould attack Sedan, but prepared to let out as foon as pof- fible, at the head of a body of cavalry, and fome companies of the re- giment of guards j while I, in the mean tiuiC, afiembkd the re 11 of the troops in a body, and fent away the artillery before ; taking care that the country people and citizens ihould receive no infult, or fuffer the Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 517 the leaft inconvenience, by the quartering of fo great a number of 1606. foldiers. U--Y-— J The defîgn of falling upon the duke of Bouillon could not fail to raife murmurs among the proteftants ; and it is probable, that the duke depended upon a general infurreftion in his favour. If this was the cafe, he was deceived in his expedations ; to which, I confefs, I con- tributed. I took occafion, from a letter that Parabere wrote to me upon this fabjeft, to give in my anfwer a kind of manifcfto, which might juftify to the proteftants the king's proceedings, and ihew that the duke of Bullion fuffered only through his own fault. It was for this reafon that I took much more pains in the compofition of this letter, and extended it to greater length, than I fhould have done if Parabere only had been to fee it ; for I fufpedted, and with reafon, that it would be made public. I BEGAN with enumerating the chief favours which Bouillon had received from his n\aje{ty, who laad preferred him to the prince of Condé himfclf, made iiiin maréchal of France, firft gentleman of the bed-chamber, and railed, before any other of the proteftants, to all honours and dignities, rewarded widi penfions and appointments much larger than what were given to the others, his penfions, falaries, &c. amounting to one hiuidred and twenty thoufand livres a year; befides which, his majefty had married him as advantageoufly as he could have done his own fon or brother; favoured him in the lucceflion of Li- meuil, and, after the death of the duchefs his wife, fupported him with all his power : ^his particular I was myielf an ocular witnefs of, and I fpoke of it as fuch. To all thefe afts of kindnefs, and thefe repeated benefits, I oppofed the ingratitude with wliich Bouillon had behaved to Henry; his fecret pradices, his feditious conduél at the fiege of Ami- ens, his retiring from court when maréchal Biron was arrefted, and his leaving the kingdom, which was attended with circumftances more than fufficient to condemn him. I took Parabere to witnefs, that not- withftanding all this, himfelf, Confiant, and I had been greatly in- flrumental in foliciting thofe favours which his majefty had hnce been ftill willing to beftow upon him : I obferved to him, that Bouillon had in fome fort confefted himfelf guilty of high treafon, by his requeuing a full and general pardon; and when his majefty appeared ready to grant it, eluded all by a fubterfuge which was in itfelf a crime ; for he, tho' a fubjecl and domeftic of the king, from whom alone he held the principality of Sedan, refufed to hold it upon the fame conditions of protedicn îS M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y." Bfiok XXIIL 1606. proteaion which the late duke of Bouillon had accepted from Francis 11. — -V— J of whom he was neither a fubjeû nor domeflic. I AFTERWARDS enumerated all the conciliatory methods which fome of his chief friends had fent Du-Maurier to propofe to him, with full affurance that his majefty would confent to them, namely, that it fhould be propofed to the king, that Sedan fliould be confidered as one of the cautlonarv cities given to the proteftants ; that the duke fliould fell it tb the king ; or if not, that La-Nouë fliould be made governor of it, the fovereignty, and even property, remaining to the duke : but that while the king offered him more tlian he had reafon to expedl, he would liften to nothing, and, by his ill-timed obftinacy, obliged us to draw our fwords againll each other, and to reduce the church of Seda:n to the extremity it would be fhortly in : that his majefty was fo greatly affefted at this misfortune, that he had refolved, and even faithfully promifed the deputies from the church, to make no change, or intro- duce any innovation in the religion of Sedan, although he fhoirld take it by ftorm. I concluded with earneftly intreating. Parabere to do me juftice in, public, as to the purity of my intentions, and my grief at beholding one, who profefled the fame religion as myfelf, running fo blindly upon his deftrudlion. Henry thought it neceffary to ufc the fame precaution with die proteftant party. Bouillon having made, by La-Nouë, fome propofals not fit to be received, the king publiihed and anfwered them by a f writing which was diftributed among the duke's friends, tho' at the hazard of confirming both him and them in their belief, that his ma- jefty was defirous of ending this afi^air by gentle means ; and they ac- cordingly gave out, that the king now deipaired more than ever of the fuccefs of his enterprize ; to which Bouillon added (as being reported to him by La-Viéville, D'Arfon, and Du-Maurier, who were deputed to him at difi'erent times) that it was I who thus raflily engaged his majefty, againft his inclinations, in a war; and that I one day boaftcd to this prince, I would take Sedan in three months, by attacking it on the fide of Fer-a-Cheval. Tiiis laft report indeed was true, and made the king begin to refleâ: upon the pretended fidelity of thofe he had admitted into his councils; for when thofe words efcaped me there were none prefcnt but the king, Don John, and Erard. Bouillon accordingly confidered and treated me as one of his moft dangeous enemies, who en- deavoured to fupprefs every favourable thought which arofe in the mind of his majefty for him. It was the king's part to anfwer this reproach, and BookXXIII. m E m O I R s O F s U L L y. 519 and he did it in the manner I wiflied ; and as for thofe otTier reports, j6c6. which were flill more infolent, he relblved to force Bouillon foon to u»^y— -j change his ftyle. H I s majefty left Fontainebleau the latter end of March, carrying with him the queen, who would go part of the journey "*, notwith- ftanding the badnefs of the roads ; and took his rout by Rheims, Rhe- tel, Mézieres, Doncheri, and Moufon. As I did not fee his majefly again till the whole affair was concluded, I iliall take the relation I give of it from the letters he wrote to me, and thofe which by his orders were continually fent me by Villeroi and La-Varenne. Bouillon kept up his firft arrogance as long as he could : heboad- ed to Du-Maurier, that as foon as he founded a trumpet he would drive the forces of France from his gates. The king, while he pur- fued Bouillon with arms, was defirous alfo that préparations fliould be made for his trial, which he commanded me to pufli on vigoroufly be- fore I fet out to join him. ' The duke tampered fo fuccefsfully with four of his majefty 's gunners, that they fuftercd themfelves to be pre- vailed on to defert to him, making ufe of the horfes he fent them to La-Fére in Tartenois for that purpofe; a crime which well deferved an exemplary punifliment. Although the duchefs of Bouillon did not leave Sedan, yet he managed with fuch art, that thofe whom his ma- jefty employed to briilg him an account of every thing that was doing there, reported that flie had retired to Germany, to avoid the incon- veniences flie might be expofed to in a befieged city. He was heard to boaft likewife, that by ftamping his foot upon the ground, he would bring four thoufand men into Sedan ; and would have had it believed, that he had the abfolute difpofal of feventeen companies of horfe, and fome regiments of foot, \viiich were in Luxembourg ; and that he fhould procure a powerful fupply from the Swifs Cantons. The moil circumftantial advices we received were, that before the 20th of April he expedfed to be reinforced by five or fix hundred foldiers, which he had caufed to be levied in Gafcony and in the neighbourhood of Li- meuil, and ordered them to embark at Bourdeaux. A nephew of Rignac, and a man named Prépondié, raifed them, under colour of * The queen only made this journey, tageous conditions that were poflible for according to De Thou, the Merc. Franc, the duke of Bouillon, who had engaged her and the moft authentic memoirs of that in his intereft. îime, in order to obtain the moft adv and to remain in force four years. By this treaty, the duke of Bouillon confented that the king ihould place a governor^in the caftle, with a company of fifty men ; and that the inhabitants of Sedan Ihould take the oath of fidelity to the king, which Bouillon alfo engaged to do himfelf. Villeroi filled up the refl of his letter with the praiies which he faid his majefty publicly beftowed X X X 2 o.a MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book Xa/IL on my vigilance, and the advice I had given on this occafion ; yet furely this was unneceflary, for all my endeavours and all my counfels produced nothing: therefore, I was n.t to be dazzled by Villeroi's flattery, nor could I alter my opinion, of his proceedings. I HAD no reafon to doubt, that his majefty fincerely defired to give me Ibme part in the conclufion of this affair, after the aiîurances I had received from him, and the letters he wrote to me for no other purpofe but to prefs me to come, that nothing might be done without me. 1 do not pretend to know Villeroi's reafons for thinking fo diiferentlv rium his majefty in this refped ; perhaps he was afraid I fliould deprive him of the honour of this treaty, or probably, he thought Bouillon might by my interpofition, obtain terms more advantageous, in which cafe, our fricndfliip would unite us againfi: his policy, which was to keep the mofb confiderable proteilants at variance with each other. This, how- ever, was certain, that he prefled the conclufion of the affair fo much the more eagerly, as his majefty appeared folicltous for my being pre- fent, and repeated his invitations to me to come ; and to effed: his pur- pofe, did not fcruple to make ufe of a litde artifice. Henry having given him the letters before mentioned to be difpatched to ire, he committed them to the care of a footman, whom he ordered to ride llowly to Amiens, Saint-Quindn, and Rheims, that I might not re- ceive them till I had got another letter from his majefty, which he wrote to me eight days afterwards, and was brought to me by a courier fent exprefsly with it. My aftoniftiment may be eafily imagined, when by thefe laft difpatches, I found that ids majefty was under great un- eafmefs on my account, fearing that I vi'as indilpofed, fince he had re- ceived no anfwers to letters he had wrote to me eight days before, which was the caufe that every thing had been concluded without me. In this letter, which was dated Saturday, April the ift, Henry defired me to delay no longer, but to leave my heavy baggage at Chalons, and meet him on Monday following at Cazine, whither he went to fee the queen. . Having received thefe two letters both in one day, I law I had not a moment to lofe, if I would meet his majefty at the place appointed. I found, by the reception he gave me, that, after a little reflexion, he would eafily pardon the fault Villeroi had committed with regard to me *. This prince treated me with more than ufual kindnefs and * De Thou, in the account he gives of but a fmall degree of inclination to the duke this expedition of Sedan, b. cxxxvi. (hews of Sully, but a great one to the duke of 2 refpedl, Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. refpeéV, fuppoHng perhaps, that I refented his not waiting for me. *' You are welcome, faid he to me aloud, I have provided a fupper " and a bed for you ; you fhall have good accommodations." " Can " you guels," faid he afterwards in a low voice, and leaning towards me, " why I have made fuch hafte ; it was becaufe I knew that, as " foon as you arrived, you would be for viewing every thing, and " throwing yourfelf into the moft dangerous places, fo that I was ap- " prehenfive of fome accident happening to you; and I would rather " Sedan was never taken, than hazard fuch a misfortune, for I have " need of you for affairs of much more confequence." After this, any reflexions I fliould make upon this agreement, and the whole conduâ: of the aftair, might poffibly not be free from partia- Eouillon, He would perfuade us, that Henry IV. having been convinced, during this journey, that M. de Sully pe/fecuted the maréchal de Bouillon only from a per- fonal enmity to him, he was glad to take the opportunity his abfence affoided, to de- termine this affair by a treaty, becaufe in rea'ity, his connexions with meflieurs de Biron and d'Auvergne, had not extended to any thing criminal. The evidence of tiie Merc. Franc, of almoft all the hiftorians, and of the author of the Apology for the duke of Bouillon himfelf, who, on the contrary, fpeaks more favourably on this cccafion of the duke of Sully, than of the duke of Bouillon ; and the other proofs in- terfperfed through thefe Memoirs, incon- teflably evince, according to my judgment, the invalidity of what M. De Thou here alFerts, of the opinion Henry IV. formed of the duke of Bouillon's fentiments and difpofition. A quite different degree of credit is due to ùiXs eftiblifhed on the evi- licnce of original letters and difcourfc, as t!:e greatelt part of thofe produced in the duke of .Sully's Memoirs, ^nd the prefent in particular, are, than to fuch as are founded only on the teflimony of public report ; and, if I am not millaken, it would not be difficult to convince M. De Thou, that he is inconfUtent with himfelf in what he fays on this fubjedï. It may be afked, what was it then that 0(.Ciitioned that precipitation in concluding the treaty, that appearance of favour whirh is manifeft in it, that myftery which M. de Sully himfelf infuiuatcs the king made of it with refpeff to him? I fubfcribe to the reafons Marfolier gives: firft, that Henry IV. had no mind to ruin the duke of Bou- illon, but only to make him fenfible of the weight of his power, to contain him wichin the bounds of his duty for the future; fe- condly, that the duke of Bouillon feeing the inftrument of his aflbciation with me!- fieursde Biron and d'Auvergne in the hands of M. dc Villeroi, thought it high time to make his fubmilïion to the king in earncft, in order to obtain his pardon, wliich his haughtinefs prevented him from aficing, fo' long as he could flatter himfelf his machina- tions were concealed : thirdly, that on due refleiftion, Henry IV. concluded the duke of Bouillon would be able to do him lefs mifchief at Sedan than any where elfe ; and that for tl.is reafon he was fo far from driv- ing him from thence, that he fent him back thither in a month's time afterwards. As to M. de Villeroi, whole behaviour on this cccafion the author condemns, he certainly a— ^v- — ^ the foitrefs of the earldom of Saint-Paul. And liere it is neccffary to remember what I have already faid concerning the acquifition of this earldom in 1604, that when Gouillauire came from the count of Soif- fons to propofe this bargain to the king, his majefty intrurted the ma- nagement of this affair, in my abfence, to meilleurs Bellcviere, Villc- roi, Sillery, and Maiffes ; and that upon the difficulties which I rqpre- fented to this prince, would arife in the affair, he caufed a contrad: to be drawn up, in the name of a third perfon, until the king, by making himfelf mafler of thole forts, they fliould be declared his by right of conquefl:. When Henry propofed to me to pay the troops and difband them ; *' How! fire, replied I, difband them, what then will become of your " contrail for the earldom of Saint-Paul ? Have you forgot the refo- " lution you made when it was paft? Since you have been at the ex- " pence of raifing an army, what now remains but to employ it that " way?" I reprefented to his majefly, that it would be the work of fifteen days only. The Spaniards had not the leafl expedation of fuch an attempt, and when it did happen, could have no jufl: caufe to com- plain, lince the king only made ufe of that power granted by treaties to the earls of Saint-Paul, to chufe between France and Spain, which fhould be declared to the council of Madrid at the fame time that we fet forward. " I am convinced," faid Henry, after having heard me attentively, " that you are in the right, but it requires fome delibera- " tion before we engage in this affair; and I fhould chufe to mention " it to the principal perfons here with me, and to my ordinary coun- *' cil." I know not with whom his majefty confulted, or what advice was given him, but two days afterwards this prince took me afidc, and endeavoured to perfuade me, that at prefent it was beft to let this affair lleep. I confefs, when I quitted the king, I could not help fayinf, " Ah! de-par-Dieu ! — I find we are going to put our fwords in the " Icabbards : with fo fine an army, and fo favourable an opportunity " of employing it, we are preparing to difband our men." I was not able to alter the king's relblution ; the troops were paid and difbanded, and I fent back the artillery to Paris. The king having a defire to enter this city'with a difcharge of all the ordnance, La-Varenne, by his order, came to acquaint me with it. 7 l\ What MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIII. " What does the king mean, monfieur La-Varenne," cried I, furpriled at the nropofal, " we have not drawn our fwords, nor fired one fingle " volley of cannon, and fhall we play the viftors ? we who in two " refpeds are the vanquiHied, for we have bought with too great cre- " dulitv, what the king ought only to hold by his own courage, and " afterwards have been afraid to publilli our own acquifition. I was " always apprehenfive that things would be managed thus ; tell the " kirtg that all the world thinks as I do on this occafion, and would " laugh at us if we fired the cannons." I probably carried my free- dom a little too far, but the-grief I felt at what had happened was the caufe of it. The king would not hear this anfwer without great emo- tion ; he concealed it from no one but myfelf. Praflin, and afterwards Bélhune, came back immediately, to tell me from him, with great gentlenefs, that there was nothing unreafonable in what he required of me. And I, in my turn, thought I was able to convince them of the contrary. Henry began now to be extremely enraged with me, gave my refiftance very harfli names, and fent me an abfolute com- mand to obey him : which I did with fuch expedition, and with fo great a noife of the artillery, that he was appeafed immediately, and fent for me to come and embrace him *. Bouillon was in the king's train when he made his entry ; he would certainly have injured his majefty greatly to have feared from him any appearance of contempt. The king refumed his former familiarity with him; and if there was any change in his behaviour, it was only to greater kindnefs ^and re- fpeft. About this time broke out the famous quarrel between pope Paul V. and the Venetians j the foundation of it had been laid long before, on occafion of fome pretended ecclefiaftical rights which the holy father undertook, at a very unfeafonable time, to maintain againft this repub- * The Journal of Henry IV. makes no " days 'tis pajl : fo much was I in love mention of this difpute, but, on the con- " with Sedan. You are now able to judge trary, fays, that M. de Rofny was at the " whether I was in the right ornot ; and king's fide, converfing with him, and " whether 1 did not know the condition (hewing him fome beautiful ladies : that " of that place better than thofe who the maréchal de Bouillon was very plainly " wanted to make me believe I (hould not drcfled and mounted, and his look very " be able to take it in lefs than three forrowful. A letter wrote by the king to " years," &c. M De Thou is alfo mif- the princefs of Orange on the furrender of taken, when hef;)», ibid, that the duke Sedan, is fct forth in this Journal in thefe of Bouillon did m t arrive till thej cays af- words : »♦ Coufin, I may fjy as Caefardid, ter. See the M; re. Franc, where a delcri- " Veni, vidi vici : or as the fong does : tion of his m^jclty's entry into Paris is " Tbrte days my love viilUaJi, and in three given. lie; Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. He ; who, on their fide, oppofed them by very firm decrees *. Frelné- Canage, our ambafi*ador at Venice, had given me notice of it fince the month of Odober. Thefc decrees, joined to the imprifonment of the two ecclefiaftics by an arret of the fenate, the interdid fulmi- nated by the Pope upon their refufal to revoke thofe decrees, and to do him judice with regard to their imprifonment; and laftly, the prote- ftation lately made by the republic againfl; this excommunication, had brought matters to extremity on both fides. To fpeak candidly my fentiments of the affair, I thought the pro- ceedings of both parties much the fame, equally violent and impru- dent. I have ever had a real refpedl for Paul V. and have profelfed to honour him greatly; nor do I think what I am going to fay has any thing in it contrary to thefe fentiments. We live not now in thofe times when the popes exercifed that fpiritual authority from which they thought, and with reafon, their greateft advantages were derived, and exercifed it in fuch a manner, as gave them, in reality, a fovereign power over the princes and fiâtes in Chriftendom. At prefent, their ufurpa- tion of temporal authority is clearly known and diflinguiflied, and is llrongly contefted with them. I may almoft venture to fay, that they are difabled with regard to their fpiritual power ; at leaft it is cer- tain, that the jproteftants deprived them of two thirds of it at once ; an example fo recent, and fo eafy to imitate, that it was certainly very injudicious in the Roman court, to expofe the republic of Venice to fuch a temptation, furrounded as it is by provinces who have fliook off the yoke of the apoftolical fee, and who would receive them with * By one of the decrees, of the loth of January, 1603, it is forbidden to build any church without leave from the government; and by a fécond, of the 26th March, 1605, ecclefiaitics, and perfons holding in mort- main, are reftrained from making any ac- quifition without fpecial authority. 1 fliall not enter into a difcuflion of thefe points of law, there being an infinity of treatifes wrote at that time on each fide of the que- ftion ; the chief are thofe which came from the pen of cirdinal Baro ius, in favour of the Pope ; an J of friar Paul Sarpi, a monk of the order of the Servîtes, on behalf of the Venetians. All thefe may be feen in M. De Thou, the Merc. Franc. Mat- thieu, an. ï 60b. and other hiftorians; and Vol. II. in particular in the writings on this famous difpute. The Jefuits, the capuchins, and a fmall number of other monks, were all that paid any obedience to the interdicSiion, and thereby got themfclves drove out of the Venetian territories: the excommunication was treated with contempt by all the other orders in the republic, and divine fervice continued to be performed as before. It is reported, that the vicar general to the bifliop of Padua, faying to the governor, that he would aâ on this occafion as the Holy Ghoft fhould infpire him ; the Go- vernor made anfwer, That the Holy Ghoft had already infpired the council of ten, to order all thofe to be hanged who (hould re- fufe to obey the order of the fenate. Yyy open MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXÏIÎ. open arms as foon as they had done the Hke : thefe I fpeak of were the Lutherans, the proteftants of Germany, Switzerland, Bohemia, Hun- gary, Auftria, and Tranfilvania; to whom may be added, the fchifmatic Greeks and Turks. Rome ought to refledt upon the ravage made in her empire, by three or four monks only ; and. that this misfortune pened through the ill-timed pride of Leo X. and Clement VII. too like what Paul V. difcovered in the prefent conjumSlure. The Venetians, it is probable, run greater rifks than the Pope, by making him their enemy. All thefe difcuffions, which at firll: the con- tending parties pretended to regulate and guide by the judgment or award of confcience, terminate, fooner or later, in being fupported by arms ; when, as it always happens, arguments, far from being relifli- ed, "ive rife to proceedings more and more violent. And there was nothing which this republic ought fo carefully to avoid as war, fince fhe may be convinced, that if the Emperor and the king of Spain do not profecute their claims upon her dominions, which they fcarce ever conceal, it is certainly becaufe they have not pretences in readinefs, or want opportunities. It is the part of the Venetian policy, therefore, to aim continually at maintaining the republic and all Italy in the flate they are at prefent : for them no change can be advantageous, and any revolution fatal. I have often examined this matter in my converfations with the cardinals de Joyeufe and Du-Perron, and laboured with more candor than is generally fhewn by a zealous Huguenot, to find out means to prevent the new religion fr^m getting a footing either in Italy or Spain, provided that they, on their fide, would promife, that the Pope, who was the head of Italy, fliould fpare himfclt the trouble of taking any intereft in that part of Europe with which he had no connexion ; for it has been always my opinion, that the true fyftem of politics, that which may give and preferve tranquillity to Europe, depends upon fixing her in this equilibrium *. Could they have thought in this manner at Rome and at Venice, every one there would have confpired to ftifle the prefent quarrel in its birth ; and for this a feafonable and mild difculfion had been fufficient : thofe aftairs in appearance the mofl intricate and perplexed, are ftill * It is eafy to diftinguifh in this difcourfe, yonJ the bounds of truth. I (hall not make as well as in all others where matters of any furtiicr obfervation on it, as I appre- religion come iii queftion, how M. de hend the reader mult before this time be Sully's belief induces him to fpeak with accuftomed to it, and not afteded by it. too much vehemence, and carries him be- capable Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 53^ capable of being happily tempered by proper management, and this 1606. more than many others : we ought to confider them without any re- <— -— v~— » gard to the conlequences, with which it is wrong to alarm one's feif, for we ought never to be alarmed with what is merely poiTible ; but they had defignediy increafed the difficulties, by propofing things which always rendered the prudence of the ableft mediators ineffeétual. The malicious infinuations of*thofe perlons who fought to take advantage of this difunion, had alio fome fliare in heightening it. If there is a perfon in the world who, amidft the emotions of anger, is capable of liftening to the voice of realbn, I Ihould advife him then to diflrall the difcourfe of thole perfons who, when thus agitated, offer to affift his vengeance : it is on fuch an occafion, that hatred and envy lay their moil dangerous fnares. Canaye, when he confulted me upon what, as ambafîlador from Phiiip Ca- France, it was fit for him to do, in the prefent pollure of affairs, thought "^yp ^^'^'^ <^' it neceffary, for my better information, to fend me a long memorial of '^^ "^' the grievances complained of, and arguments ufed by both parties. I made no great ufe of this paper ; for to examine their reafons, and pro- nounce upon each, would not have been ierving them efl'edlually : I therefore told Canaye plainly in my anfwer, that, without having any regard to the foundation of the quarrel, the Venetians had no other part to take but to refer themfelves to arbitrat,ors, who might perform the office of a common friend to both, by pacifying their refentment, not judging with rigor. I named the king of France, as being, in my opinion, the only one who was likely to produce this effed; ; and recommended to them to make ufe of the nuncio Barberini, whole wifdom and in- tegrity. I was well afîured of, to make a report of all to his majefty. They followed my advice, but not till paffion had aflerted its ufual rights. However, during the refl of the year, it was confined to v/rit- ings, wherein invedive was carried to great excefs ; but happily, the contending parties were the two powers in Europe who vvei-Q floweft in declaring war, which was what each relied on. We ihall lee in the following year the event of this quarrel. It was of fome ufe to the nuncio Barberini to obtain for hisn a cardinal's hat, which the Pope fent him upon making a promotion of cardinals, out of the ufual order of time. His majefty, to whom he was chiefly obliged for this dignity, congratulated him upon it. Bar- berini often declared, that he had a good friend about the king in me j cardinal Du-Ferron thought likewil'e, that my intereft had been of Y y y 2 fome MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIIL fome ufe to him, with regard to the archbifhopric of Sens, and the port: of areat ahnoner ; both which were beftowed upon him by his ma- jefty : he made his acknowledgments to me for this fervice, and in- treated me to procure him, during his abfence, the enjoyment of all the privileges of his office. The citizens of Metz received a fervice of fi.111 greater importance from me, on occafion of the difpute they had about that tim.e with the Jefuits ; thefe fathers had two years before made an attempt to procure a fettlement in Metz, the inhabitants of which avoided the blow by an application to his maiefty, which I fupported. The Jefuits returning to the charge, I again encouraged the people, fending them an account by Saint Germain and Des-Bordes, and afterwards by La-Nouë, of the king's opinion of the matter. But at the beginning of this year theic fears were again awakened, by the Jefuits raifing new batteries flronger than before, obliging the clergy, and all the catholic burghers, to unite with them ; thev had like wife fecured the duke of Epernon's vote, who was governor of Metz, and arrived there on the 15th of April, to put the lart: hand to the work ; at leaft this was what the people apprehend- ed, and that the governor ad:ed in this affair only by the king's order's. Alarmed at his arrival, they fent me a letter the next day, which was followed by another, dated April 25, and delivered to me by the fieur Braconnier, who was ftridly charged to urge all the reafons that had induced me to undertake their defence, which they were afraid I iliould forget: they likcwife deputed two of their countrymen, one after the other, to court, to attend this affair ; not, faid thofe protellants, that they were apprehenfive the Jefuits would turn them from their faith, but becaufe they were perfuaded the fociety, by its intrigues, would caufe fome revolution at Metz ; the confequences of which, in a city fa lately re-united to the crown, might be fatal. 1 T was by this motive, that I endeavored to gain over his majefty, who likewife knew the importance of this city to his great defigns. I filled the inhabitants with joy when I fent them word by their lafl deputy, that the king had granted their requcft, and would fuffer no innovation to be made in their city; which I afîured them of, in the king's name. They made me greater acknowledgments in a third let- ter, dated the loth of July; but I could perceive they were not quite freed from their fears, their adverfaries boafling, they faid, that it was in their power to alter the king's determination. In Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 53: In efFedl, the Jefuits received every day fuch ftriking proofs of the 1606. king's favour and protedlion, as might well authorize the fears of the •— — v — - people of Metz : this very year Henry made them a prefent of one hundred thoufand crowns for their college of La-Fléche alone, and con- defcended to regulate thedifpofal of it himlclf, in the following manner : one hundred and fixty thoufand livres for building the college, twenty- one thoufand for the purchafe of the ground, feventy-five thoufand in lieu of church lands, which were feized upon, in order to credi: a per- petual revenue for this houfe ; for as thefe lands were pofleffed by per- fons who were not ecclefiaftics, it was allowable to compel them to fell, (and that fi:ep was here adtually taken) a pecuniary equivalent being granted them ; twelve thoufand for a dwelling houfe for the fathers, three thoufand to purchafe books for them, as much for the decora- tions of their church, fix thoufand for their fubfiftence for tlie prefent year (for Henry forgot nothing) and fifteen thoufand, which had been lent them by Varenne after they cme to La-Fléche, which this prince kept an account of. The paper was dated Otftober 16, and ligned by the king. But here follows another much more extraordinary. A counfellor of parliament, named Gillot *, had in the year 1603 lent a book to father Cotton, which he could not get again, though he had fèveral times afked the father for it ; at length he fent a fervant to demand it, with orders not to leave him till it was returned : the counfellor gettino- his book by thefe rneans, happened, in opening it, to find a flieet of paper between the leaves, which had apparently been forgot by the Je- fuit, and was written all over, as he fuppofed, with his own hand: this paper feemed to him to be worth my notice ; he brought it to me, and after obliging me to promife that I would not name him in the affair, he left the paper in my hands, to make what ufe of it I thought pro- per. After coavincing myfelf that it was the hand-writing of father Cotton, which it was eafy to do, with the affiftance of fome letters he knew I had receivid from him, we accordingly compared them, and found them exaétly the fame : the following is a tranflation of it, for it was in Latin, and contained a long lift of queftions which the Jesuit defigned to afk the devil, when he exorcifed a certain perfon who was poflefled, and who made much noife at that time -f : the reader will * James Gillot, counfellor-clerk in the f Her name was Adriana de Frefne, fhe great chamber ol the parliament of Paris. was born in the village of Gerbigny, near, find MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIIL find queftions of every kind in it, thofe merely of curiofity, fome trifling, and even ridiculous, and others upon lubjeds which it is not fit foi: nie to examine into : the writing begins thus. " By the merits of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, apoft'es ; of Saint " Prilca, the virgin martyr ; of Saint Mofes and Amnion, martyred " foldiers ; of Saint Antenogenus, martyr and theologian ; of Saint " Volufien, bifhop of Tours j of Saint Leobard the monk, and of " Saint Liberata the virgin." After this follow the queftions which the exorcift defigns to afk the demon ; they are without method or connexion, the author hav- ing, no doubt, jufl thrown them on paper as they occurred to his mind ; and fome are expreffed in fuch a manner, as makes it impoflible to gueis what he would be at. " All that God permits me to know (obferve that it is father Cot- *' ton that fpeaks) with regard to the king and queen ; with regard to " thole who live at court; with regard to public and private admoni- " tions; with regard to the news of life, and the right way ; with re- " gard to thofe who converfe with princes ; with regaVd to La^'al, di- " vine fervice, the knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew tongues, vows, " the ceremonies of coniecration, and cafes, of con fcience, the conver- *' fion of fouls, and canonization; and if it may be permitted me to infift Amiens; afterwards fhe fettled at Pari?, of father Cotton in L' Etoile's Journal; m Sjint Anihony's-ftreet : fiie drew to the " which became, fays he, the ordinary convent of Saint Victor, where (he was *' fuhjedl of conveifation in all company." exorcif^id, almoft as great a conçourfe of The author of father Cotton's life, after people, as Martha Broffier had done to having given a detail of every thing in the iiaint Genevieve. De Thou, who did pot hiftory of Adriana de Freine, which has iuiîcr this piece of hiftory to pafs unno- any relation to him, book ii. pag. 90. thus ticed, fpeaking of father Cotton as one of concludes : "It appeared father Cotton her principal exorcifls, according to his " had never fpokcn to the perfi n who cuftom, treats that father's curiofity on this " was charged with having publifiied the occafion with great fcvcrity : he further oh- " writing; he was a coLnftllor of the par- I'crvcs, that Henry IV. earneftly defired the " liamtnt, and it was faid that he found it duke of Sully to preveiit this writing from " in a book M^liich taiher Cotton had bor- becoming public ; and that the contrary, ei- " rowed of him : bcfide5,the perfons {killed ther through imprudence, or by fome other " in thecomparifi 11 of hands, to whom this mcaps, having happened, he pretended to " paper, which wasprttendcd to be the orj- treat the thing as a matter of no moment '' ginal of all the reft, was ftiewn, and which before his court ; though inwardly he was " was falfly ailerted to be figntd with father much difpleaftd with father Cotton. De " Cotton's own hand, atidled, after hav- Thou, book cxxxii. " ing ctmpared it with fome of his letters. Mention is alfo made of this writing " that it had never been wiote b\ him." 2 " faruier. Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY, " farther, with regard to the war againfl: the Spaniards and heretics, " the voyage to New France, and all the coafts oppofite to America ; «' and with regard to the means I ought to ule, in order to perfuade " men with efficacy, Co as to induce them to relinquifh their fins. To " know from the devil what danger it may be in my power to " prevent, and that he would inform me what .... If the pcrfon " poflefTed hath been baptized; if flie be a religious; if any foul play " hath been meditated, by the malice of Clarençal, againfl Mary de «* Valence *, or againfl the foul of La-Faye. To alk the demon when " Clarençal will go from home, the time, and the means, and if it " v>?ill be at night; if I have any concealed danger to apprehend ; if " languages are infpired from God ; by what means Chamieres-Fer- " rier .... by what means, or by reading what books, ws may ren- <• der fermons mofl ufeful ; what is my greatefl danger ; what reflitu- " tion his majefty is obliged to ; what he (the demon) would have " me fay to dame Acharia -f-, Du Jardin, and the brothers and fifters ;. " what was the apparition that was feen in Languedoc ; if it be conve- " nient that mother Fafithea + Ihould come, and fifler Anne de Saint " Bartholomew go to Pont-a-MouiTon ; and if he would inform me " what I ought to know, with regard to the king and M. de Rofny ; " what hopes may be formed of his converfion ; what proteftants at " court are moll eafily converted ; if no danger may befal him who *' is proteded by demons ; if I am not threatened on that occaficn " myfelf; what hinders the foundation of the college at Poitiers; what " are the dudes of a niece ; what pafTage of fcripture is mofl clear and " mofl efficacious to prove purgatory, the invocation of faints, and the " power of the pope ; where the animals drank in Noah's ark ; what " fons of God loved the daughters of men ; if the ferpent walked on " feet before Aciam's fall ; how often our fathers had been in heaven *• in the terreflrial paradife; what fort of fpirits fland before the throne " of God; if there is a kingof the arch-angels ; what ought to be done " to eflablifh a folid peace with Spain ; if God will be pleafed to in- " form me when the herefy of Calvin will be extinét ; of my father " and his condition ; of my brothers John and Anthony ; how many " pafTages of faith have been corrupted by heretics ; of the Geneva " plagiary; of the voyage of the father general in Spain ; of the brief, ** and father general, with regard to Baqueville, and the young ** man who livea near Notre-Dame; when animals fîrfl migrated into * One of father Cotton's devotees. f Another devotee of father Cotton's. % A nun, who will be mentioned again in thele Memoirs, MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIII. the iflands ; and when the iflands were firfl: inhabited by men ; where is the terreftial paradife ; how the king and queen of England, and all the Englith nation, may be moft eafily coverted; how to conquer the Turk, and make converts of infidels ; what part of the angels fell ; what adoration the cherubims pay to the fupreme Being, and what are his ideas of it ; how I may corredt my errors of writing, printing, and preaching ; what embarrafles the demon and liis companions in the ceremony of exorcifing ; what hath fo often occafioncd the pre- fervation of Geneva ; what he knows touching the king's health ; what may unite the grandees of the realm with him ; how one may alTifl the fieur de Verdun, and what his motives of adion are ; on the hoflage towns; on Lefdiguieres and his converfion ; on the honour of my relics ; on the letters written to madam de Clarençal ; to be more than commonly particular with regard to that lady ; what obftrudls the college of Amiens and Tours ; of the duration of herefy." The king, when he returned from Sedan, flaid a few days at Paris^ and towards the end of April went to Fontainebleau, from whence he wrote to me, that, by his phyficians prefcriptions, he was beginning a flricf regimen, that was to continue for ten days at leaft ; upon which account, he deferred for fo long the ceremony of the feaft of Whitfon- tiJe, and fent orders to his council not to attend him for fifteen days. He permitted me to pafs this interval at Sully, provided I fometimes ■came to vifit him. By this remedy, together with perfpiration, his health was great'y mended. The affiiirs of greatefi: importance, in which his majefty was em- ployed at Fontainebleau, were thofe which related to religion. The clergy of France affembling at Paris, renewed their folicitations for the publication of the council of Trent * ; the public peace being con- * In the Merc. François, anno 1606, miy be feen the remonilrance which the clergy got Jerome de Vilars, aichbifhop of Vienne, to make to his majcfty, with this anfA'er to it by Henry IV, " You have mentioned a council to me, I de- fireoneniay be called; but,as you rightly obferve, the conliderations of this world frequently clafli with thofe of heaven : nevertlielcfs, I fliall always be ready to fupport thejood of the church, and the fervice of God, with the hazard of my Jilood and life. As to fimony, and the " holding benefices in truft for others, " let thofe who are guilty, by their own re- " formation, fet others an example to do " the like. In the elcdlions you fee my " manner of proceeding; lam proud of " the footing on which 1 have placed them, " which is greatly different from wha' it *' was,"&:c. The king, notwithftanding', in confequence of their complaints, iflued two ediiSts, prefcribiiig many ccclefiaflical regulations, which were confirmed, the one in i6of, the other in 1609. See alfo M. De Tliou, book Cxxxtv. ' cerned Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. cerRed in this propofal, as well as in fome others of the fame nature which it was refolved in the aflembly Should be made to the king. His majefty oppofed them both with his arguments and authority, and treated the proteftants in the fame manner, wlio, in imitation of the clergy, feemed difpofed toabufe their privileges. Some provinces wrote to the deputies-general at court, to folicit the grant of a petition they fentthe king for holding a national fyned, while at the fame time in other provinces, they laboured to procure particular alîëmblies to be held,wherein it was the cuflom to appoint the deputies of the fynod, and to draw up inftrucflions upon the atîairs which were to be treated there. Henry had fent me orders by Villeroi on the 2 2d of March, to take proper meafures on thisoccafion in conjundion with my fon, to whom he allowed me to give a fliare of almofl all my bufinefs, and that I (hould afterwards confer with Servian the deputy from Dauphiné. He wrote to me himfelf from Fontainebleau, defiring that I would fend for the deputies-general, and oblige them to declare what were the in- tentions of the proteftant body, and to render their projeét ineffedual. I made him entirely eafy on this head, by alfuring him that, if I could not hinder the fynod from being convoked *, I would at leall contrive to have fo many faithful fervants of his there, as (hould render them mafter of all the debates. It appeared necelfary likewife to ufe this precaution in the particular alfembly of Dauphiné ; and to fatisfy the prefident Parquet that he might not iuffer his office, which he was defi- rous of refigning, to be filled by any of the faâious party, I fent Bul- lion into Dauphiné, and Efperian into Guyenne, with proper inftruc- tions how to aft. Des-Ageaux dying this year, his pofl of king's lieutenant ofSaint- John-d'Angely, was immediately folicited for by feveral perfons, and among others by Beaulieu and La-Roche-beaucourt ; the former had had a brevet for it before Des-Ageaux, but the duke of Epernon, Pa- rabere, and all the burghers of Saint- John, uniting in favour of La- Roche-beaucourt, his majefty ordered me to fend for him, and to give him all the necefTary inftrudtions for the faithful execution of this office, which he had determined to entrufl to him. I took care not to fpeak for the duke of Rohan, Soubife -f- and he at that time not fland~ * In the royal MSS. fee the original of of the duke of Rohan, both of them foi • a letter from M. de Sully, dated the 2oth of of René duke of Rohan, and grandfons of May 1606, directed to the proteftants of John de Parthenay-Soubife. The duke of the province of Burgundy, by which he Soubife was one of the principal leaders of endeavours to dilTuade them from this no- the calviniftical party in France, during tionof holding a fynod at Rochelle. the religious wars in the following reign. I Benjamin de Rohan-Soubile, brother Vol. II. . Z z z ing MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIIL m^ well in his majefty's opinion, on account of fome fteps taken by them, which others perhaps would tax only with imprudence, but I, who on fuch occafions am not accuftomed to manage my terms, fliall notfcruple to call difobedient. Rohan applied to me to re-inO.ate him in his majefly's favour, as foon as he fhould have returned to Paris, to- wards the clofe of the year. The king, to whom I wrote, had the goodnefs to give me hopes that he would pardon the duke, and even furniflied me with the means of improving this pardon, by bringing the criminal to him after having firfl: inftruded him by my fon, either at his own or fome other houfe, in all that he was to do to render his fo- vereign favourable to him, provided that Rohan did not put off till then a public acknowledgment of his fauU, and forrow for having committed it. As to the manner in which he (hould treat him, and how he iLould for the future expeft him to ad with the proteftants^, he deferred explaining himfelf till he came to Paris, With regard to Soubife, as he had demanded the king's permiffion before he went to Flanders, hismajefty confented that he fhould wait for him at Paris, or come to him at Fontainebleau. At La- Rochelle new quarrels arofe between the proteftants, and the roman catholic clergy of that city, upon the extent and exercife of thofe privileges, which the latter were to enjoy there. Both parties made re- ciprocal complaints of each other; the ecclefiaflics, that their adverfaries- often attempted to do themfelves juftice by force of arms, which was always forbidden ; the proteftants, that the clergy conftantly fuppreffed the arrets of council, to authorile their encroachments; and both defired a -decifive arret. The king, conceiving that an arret would increafe their animofity, would have me undertake the office of mediator upon this occafion. I began by fliewing them feparately, what were their real interefts ; and, after 1 had affured myfelf of their obedience, didated to them the following articles of accommodation, which will explain the caufesof their difputes. That the proteftants fliould not prohibit the ecclefiaftics from vifit- ing thchofpitals and prifons, or from hearing confcffions, provided all this was done without any pomp, efpecially that of carrying the facra- ment to thofe places : that the clergy had no right to afTift at burials and public ceremonies, to carry the crofs there, or attend criminals to the place of punilhment : that the ecclefiallics fliould receive no bad treatment either in word or deed, when they pafled through theftreets in the habit of their order : that tlie proteftants fliould not make any oppofition Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. oppofition to the building of their church there; nor to the commif- fioners appointed by them to mark out the place, provided this place was neither inconvenient, nor fufpeded by the city, in either of which cafes they ihould affign them, another, or leave this point to be decided by the king and his council. I regulated likewife fome other articles relating to the police : that the catholics fliould be contented with the fliare they had in the public ports and offices to which they fhould be raifed by a plurality of votes, and the ufual methods ; but, with re- fpeiTt to mechanic trades and corporations, as there was no reafon they fhould be excluded from them, the proteftants, by driving away their youth from the fliops of the catholics, had fet an example of violence to thofe cities where the catholic party was the ftrongefl:. L\ the mean time, at Paris, great preparations v/ere making for the ceremony of the baptifm of the Dauphin, and the two princefîes of France *. The duchefs of Mantua, who was to have the principal part in this folemnity, fet out from Italy with a train of two hundred horfe, and two hundred and fifty attendants. She arrived at NaiicV on the beginning of June, and from thence lier train and thofe bclong- iingtothe duke of Lorrain, fent to know of his majefty if, at the end of eight days, which flie propofed to ilay at Nancy, Ihe might continue her journey. This requiring fome confideration, Henry wrote to me, for I was then at Sully, to come to Paris on the fourth or fifth of June ; adding, that he would come thither himfelf the latter end of May, and till I arrived make fome (hort excurfions to Saint-Germain to fee his children, and likewife that he thought it neceflary to fend fome perfon to Nancy with his orders. A kind of debate arofe upon the manner in which the duchefs of Mantua fliould be received, which was at length decided in the queen's favour, who alleged, that this prlncefs coming into France only to oblige the king, and do honour to an extraordinary ceremony, too great refpedl could not be paid her. Accordingly nothing was omitted ; flie had the precedence not only of all foreign princes, but alfo of the princes of the blood, at which the latter were lb difgufted, that they refufed to aflift at any ceremony where flie was prefent, alledging, that it was a very extraordinary thing for princes of the moll; auguft houfe in Europe, to be preceded by a duke of late date, dcfcended from a citizen of Mantua, who, after killing Bonnacolfy his lord, procured the adminiftration of Mantua to be con- * Eleonora de Medicis, eldeft daughter cany, and wife of Vincent de Gonzague of Francis de Medicis, grand duke of Tuf- duke of iVIantua. Z Z Z 2 tided MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIIL fided to him, and afterwards ufurped the fovereignty of it. But not- withftanding all that could be urged, the king would not make the fmalleft conceflion on this point, confidering only in the duchcfs of Mantua, the title of an ally to the royal family, and eldeft fifter of the queen. The duke of Bouillon fought to» take fome advantage of this exam- ple, but he was not regarded; he had been appointed to carry the re- galia in the ceremony, and would have taken place of the dukes, claim- ing this privilege as duke of Bouillon and prince of Sedan, and ap- pealing to the examples of fome of the princes of Sedan to whom he had fucceeded. He was told,, in anfwer to thefe pretenfions, that ths difference between them and him was, that they were really defcended from fovereign princes, a quality which in effeél gave them the firft rank, while he was only defcendedfrom a private gentleman *. On the 20th of July, the duchefs of Mantua arrived at Villers-Co- terets, where fhe found the king, who waited for her. From thence they were to go by Monceaux to Paris, where I was employed in caufing fcaffolds to be built in the church of Notre-Dame in the palace,, and in the fquare of the manufactures, and in making all the other pre- parations, when we were informed that a contageous difeafe had broke out in that vafl city ■f ; for which reafon the king, after confulting the duchefs, refolved that the ceremony of the baptifms fliould be per- formed at Fontainebleau. The tournaments and all the {hews and di- verfions, which were to have been exhibited at Paris, were fet afide by this new plan, which took in only the ufual expences for the baptifm of the children of France, and the dreffes of his majefly and the royal family. The nuncio waited upon the king at Fontainebleau, as did alfo queen Margaret. The chapels of the caflle being too fmall for fuch a ceremony, and that of the monaflery unfinilhed, I propofed that the floor of the latter fliould be fpread and the walls hung with tapeftry,, or that they fliould make ufe of the great faloon J for that purpofe. » To (hew how little reafon the duke of tion, and contradifled by all other hifto- SuUy has to fpeak in this manner of a houfe rians. fo illuliriuus as that of Bouillon, we need J It was performed in the court called only have iccourfe to the gencalogifls in ge- Cour du Donjon, which had been prepared neral. for the purpole. The cardinal de Joyeufe» f " The plague, or rather the king's the Pope's legate, reprefented Paul V. as •' thriftynefj, fays L'Etoile malicioufly, god-father, with the duchefs of Mantua as " deprived the city of Paris of this ho- god-mother to the dauphin. The eldeft " ngur." an afl«riion without any founds- Madame of France was called Elizabeth, The Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. 54 r The king himfelf took thetrouble to examine the palace of Fleury, 1606. and caufed it to be prepared for the reception of the dauphin when the ^-^-^ — i ceremcny was ended ; for the contagion in i'aris, inftead of ceafing, had fpread itfelf into fome of the neighbouring places ; nor was Fontaine- bleau entirely free from it. Henry * wrote me word, the latter end of September, that of fix perfons who had been feized with the difteinpcr only one had recovered, but that there were no more taken ill. He withdrew the regiment of guards from Mclun, where he had been told fome flimil.cs were infefl-ed with the diftemper. It was about this time, that their majefties, croffingthe river of Neuilly in a ferry-boat-f-, were in danger of being drowned, which was the caufe that a bridge was afterwards built there. after the name of the archduchefs her god- mother, wife of the a: chduke Albert, and grand-daughter of Henry II. reprefented by mauam d'Angouleme without a god-father ; and the youngeft Madame of France had for god-father the duke of Lorraine in per- fon, and for godmother the grand duchefs of Tufcany, whofe proxy was prince John de Medicis ; {he was called Chriftina. See in the Merc. Fran, anno 1606, and in P, Matthieu, vol. II. b. iii. the defcription of the manner of performing this ceremony, and the magnificence and rejoicings which preceded and followed it See alfo vol. 9361 and 9 3 64 of the Royal MSS. * It is obferved, in the journal of Henry IV. that no more than ufual died in Paris this year, which are therein computed at eight in a day ; whence the author con- cludes, that people gave way to a groundlefs panic. f " On Friday the gth of June, fays *• the fame journal, as the king and queen •' were crofling the water in the ferry- •« boat at Neuilly, on their return from " Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the duke of «• Vendôme being with them, they were ♦« all three in great danger of being •' drowned, efpecially the queen, who was •• obliged to drink a great deal more than •* was agreeable to her ; and had not one •' of her footmen and a gentleman called «« La-Châtaigneraie, who caught hold of *• her hair, defperately thrown themfelves •' into the water to pull her out, fhe would •* inevitably have loft her life. This ac- " cident cured the king of a violent tooth* " ach ; and, after having efcaped the dan- " ger, he diverted himfelf v.ith it, faying, " he had never met with fo good a remedy " for that diforder before, and [hat they " had eat too much fait meat at dinner, " therefore they had a mind to make them " drink after it." This accident happened, according to the Merc. Fran, becaufe as they were going into the boat, which probably had no rail Work round it, the two fore- horfes, draw- ing towards one iide fell over board, and by their weight dragged the coach, in which were the king, the queen, the duke of Vendôme, the ptineefs of Conti, and the duke of Montpenfu-r, whom the rain had prevented from alighting with them. *' The gentlemen who were on horfeback, " fays thithiftorian, threw themfelves into '♦ the water, without having time to take •' off either their cloaths or fwords, and " haftened towards the pl.ce where they " had feen the king, who, being faved " from the danger, notwithftanding all the " entreaty that could be made to the con- " trary, returned into the water 10 aflift " in getting out the queen and the duke of " Vendôme. As foon as the queen had " recovered a little breath, fhe gave a iigh, " and a/ked where the king was. She '• teftified her gratitude to La-Châtaigne- " raie, whom fhe had obferved to be parti- " cularly inltrumental in faving her, by a " prefentof jewels, and a yearly penfion." Anno i 606, De Thou, b.cxxxvi. I STAIJ? 543 M E M O I R s O F s U L L Y. Book XXIII. 1606. I STAID longer this time at Sully than ufual. The king, who ■^ was informed that I continued indifpofed at Briecomte-robert, wrote to me on the 29th of Auguft, and defired to know the flate of my health. This prince made me captain-lieutenant of the company of gendarmes, which was formed in the queen's name, and, at my entreaty, granted a full pardon to La-Saminiere. Thefe favours alone gave him a right to require and expeâ: every thing from me : he was much afflided to find, that the marriage of the fon of Noailles with the daughter of Roquelaure, inftead of uniting thofe two families, proved only a fource of difcord between them. Henry fo often and fo earnefliy prelfed me to attempt to reconcile them, that I ufed my utmoft endeavours for that purpofe. It is the part of a good prince, to keep all who are about his perfon united ; and of a wife one, to effeil this union rather by the interpofition of others than by his own. I WAS likewife well rewarded for my labours in the finances ; the contradlors giving his majefty an hundred and fifty thoufand livres, and the continuance of the leale of the fait for fix years produced him likewife a gratification of fixty thoufand crowns. The king difpofed of thefe two hundred and ten thoufand livres in the following man- ner : eighty thoufand livres were fet apart for the purchafe of Moret, and thirty-fix thoufand for fome occafions of his majefty ; the queen had twelve thoufand, the duke of Nemours thirty, Verfenai eighteen, and myfelf thirty thoufand. I likewife received, during the courfe of the year, twice this fum in different gratuities. T o execute the edicts, the court of aids fent every year a deputation of councilors into thofe diftridls where the excife was levied upon fait, in order to make a diftribution and regulation thereon ; to lay fines upon thofe whom they found cx^rcifing the trade of felling fait with- out licence. Nor was this the only reafon for fending thofe commif- fioners ; for the lieutenant-general of Blois fent me word, that two of the commiffioners that were appointed to levy the excife upon fait and the other taxes for the different officers of the difiridl:, were guilty of many crimes in the difcharge of- their employment. To whicli I an- fwered, that he was in the wrong to make a complaint without fpeci- fying any particulars ; but that, however, I had fent him a regulation with regard to thofe two points, in order for him to fliew to the com- miflloncrs, which if they difobeyed, I promifed to give him ample fa- tisfadion. The Book XXIIf. M E M O I R S O F S U L L Y. 543 The import of the regulation was, that the excife upon fait Hiould j 606. not for the future be augmented merely upon the diilriéts, but that <— -^/— 1j the particular parifhes fhould be fpecified in proportion to the number of chimnies, at the fame time eafing the poorer parishes of an equal fum. With regard to the contraband traders in fait, it was my opinion, that there was a diftinftion to be made between them ; for as thofe who fold the contraband fait could not be puniHied too feverelv, fo thofe who only purchafed it from the unlicenfed traders, merely becaufe they got it cheaper than the other filt, deferved to be treated with more lenity, efpecially when they were not taken in the fadl. As to the tax upon the officers of the finances, there are two kinds of it, one upon all the officers in general, into whith the king had thought proper to confent that enquiries fhould be commenced againft them ; and the other upon the eleds in particular, founded upon the re-eftablilhment of their rights, taxations, and exemptions, of feveral kinds. It was eftablifhed by the regulaùon, that the firft of thefe taxes fhould not be exaded for the future but by mutual confent ; fo that they who fliould declare before the officer that gave them notice of it, and afterwards before the judge or notary of the place, that they did not intend to take advantage of the king's abolition, fliould not be com- pelled to pay it ; but in that cale they were fubjeél to a criminal pro- fecution, if they were difcovered to have failed in the execution of their truft. The fécond tax was the fame ; thofe eleéts who liked better to give up the privilege of their office, were difcharged from it j but they were obliged to repay whatever they might have received under that title, contrary to the edids and eftablifhments of the king and the ftates. The commiffioners fent to Rouen gave it as their opinion, that it was but reafonable to flrike eleven thoufand crowns off the account of the taxes of the province of Normandy, becaufe the treafurers of France were to write to me upon this head, and had prepared to fend deputies to the king, in order to obtain his approbation of this retrenchment. I anfwered them, that there was no need for their taking this ftep, for that I would undertake to perfuade his majefty thereto, who was already fufficiently inclined of himfelf to give them much greater marks of his affedtion, if the flate of his affairs, and the donations he was obliged to make to a number of nifatiable courtiers, had permitted him, I further promifed, that I would join with them, in order to eafe the provinces MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIII. provinces of a much greater fum than this, from which the poor could obtain but a very fmall relief. I perceived the reafonablenefs of the promife I had made them, when I faw a fum of two hundred forty-fix tlioufand three hundred and eighty-one livres joined to the taille of Provence, though it had nothing to do with it. This fum confifted of the following articles : Thirty-three thoufand livres for the bridges and caufeways of the whole province, which ex- tended both to Rouen and Caïen : Thirty-feven thoufind five hundred livres for the fupprefhon of the edidl on hnen cloth in thofe two di- ftricts : Twenty-two thoufand five hundred livres for the maintainance of the bridge of Rouen, raifed by an afleffment on thofe two diftrids ; although on this account feveral fums were levied upon Paris and other cities : Fifteen thoufand livres for the bridges of Mantes and Saint-Cloud : Thirty thoufand livres for the canal of communication between the Seine and the Loire : And eight thoufand three hundred and eighty- one livres for the grand prevofl of the province. I repeat it again, that all thefe difterent colledions were foreign to the taille. And it was not reafonable, that perfons who received no advantage from the public repairs, fliould be obliged to furnifh money for them. For fome years part they had confiderably augmented thefe fums, which, in appearance, were defigned for that ufe ; but which, in reality, re- mained in the purfes of fome individuals, without one penny being returned to the king. I OBLIGED the receiver of Angouleme to be anfwerable for fome money which he alleged was not now in his hands : had that been true, he was not the lefs liable to pay it, becaufe it could not have been legally demanded of him without letters patents from the king. Al- though it might happen that fome things efcaped me, yet Flenry let nothing pafs unnoticed ; he had been informed that fome powder had been embezzled, and he defired me to have thofe who were guilty of that mifdemeanor profecuted for it. It being abfolutely neceiîary for the fecurity of the ftores in the magazines, that fuch pradices fhould be punifhed, as being a matter of great confequence with refped to all the magazines in general. He knew that there was carrying on in my abfence a commilhon for recovery of the fums omitted to be re- ceived, and of falfe feizures : he wrote immediately to the chancellor, that the affair fliould be fuperfeded, becaufe, as I muff: certainly have been acquainted with it before I went away, I Ihould have taken Ibme meafures Bo«K XXIÎI/ M E M O I R S O F 5 U L L Y. meafiires about it, -if I had thought it would have been brought into queflion. His expences this year, were as great as ufual, I don't mean in pre- fents of jewels fuitable to fo opulent a prince, for in thefe Henry did not fliew himfelK prodigal; as, for. example, dcfigning to make a pre- fçnt of a jewel to an Italian lady, he v/as defirous that it fhould not bie mean ; but at, the fame time, that the price might not exceed a thoufand .or twelve hundred crowns : and he wrote to me to look out for a ring for him, with the diamond cut in the form qC a heart; or in any other, rather than to be cut table-fafliion, beeaufe the expcnce would be lefs and the fliew greater,: but his perfonal expences, and thofe at play efpecially, always made up a very confiderable article. I often received meiïages, like tlrat of the i ith of December: Henry having loil all his money at play, fent me word in a billet, of whicli Lomenie's nephew was the bearer, that Morand muft bring him that evening two thoufand piftoles. I had exceffive large accounts to fettle with Parfait, for the extraordinary expences of his houdiold. On the 4th of Oétober he fent me orders to pay eighty-five thoufand five hundred »nd four livres to mademoifelle Du-Beuil, for which that billet was to ferve for a receipt. He had remitted to Zamet, as payment of the re- mainder of an account he was indebted to him for the year 1602, the tax of two fols, fix deniers, upon three bufl:iels of fait ; but as this tax did not now fubfift , 1 was obliged to pay Zamet, this year, thirty-feven thoufand four hundred and ninety-two livres, to which that old ac- count amounted ;_ and to payhim befides, thirty-four thoufand two hundred and twenty livres, which he had fince lent to his majefiy, or difburfed for him. He made La-Varenne a prefent.of a .thoufand crowns. Villeroi, by his orders, wrote to my fon, that I muft pay a debt which this prince owed to Balbani, who was confined in Fort^- r Eveque; and that I muft endeavour to procure his releafe. ^ Among other expences, which did Henry more honour, I take in thofe for repairing the gates of Saint-Bernard, and the Temple, and the fountains before the fefiions-houfe, and the crofs du Tiroir. Plis majefty had written to the lord mayor of Paris, that he defired this work might be finJfhed before Midfummer. The council, 1 know not for what reafon, gave an arret afterwards which rendered this order inef- fectual, by applying the money defigned for thefe fountains to paving the ftreets of Paris, contrary to their firft intentions, when, in the con- trad with the paviors, it was ordered, that the fum necelfary for this . Vol. II. A a a a purpofs MEMOIRS OF SULLY. Book XXIIÏ. purpofe fhould be levied upon the inhabitants of the city, according to the number of feet the pavement before each door confifted of j his majefty, however, inlifted upon knowing why thefe works were delayed, and upon what account the council had committed this error. This prince had often defired me to give him general accounts^ which fhould contain a detail of every thing relating to my three prin- cipal offices, of fuperintendant of the finames, grand mafter of the ord- nance, and fuperintendant of the buildings and fortifications. I took an opportunity, when he was at the Louvre, and when 1 thought he had but little bufinefs upon his hands, to carry him thefe papers : but although it was very early in the morning when 1 left the Arfenal, yet when I came to the Louvre I found that his majefly was already gone out ; I therefore fent all my papers back to the Arfenal, except a very fhort abftrad, which I intended to fhew him, and went to madame de Guife, to wait his return, (he having often intreated me to dine with her. It was to make a party for the chace, that Henry had rifen fo early that morning, and he was refolved to dine upon the partridges he fliould take in hawking : he ufed to fay, that he never thought them fo tender and good, as when they were taken in this manner ; -and efpeciafly when he could fnatch them himfelf from the hawks. Towards the middle of the day Henry returned, extremely well fatisfied with his morning's diverfion, and in a gaiety of humour, which his good flate of health, and the happy fituation of his affairs, contributed greatly to increafe : he entered the great hall, holding his partridges in his hand,, and cried aloud to Coquet (who waited there for his return, and wa& talking to Parfiiit at one end of the hall) "Coquet, Coquet, you mUfb " not complain of Roquelanre, Thermes, Frontenac, Arambure, and. " me, for want of a dinner, forwe have brought fomething to treat you " with; but go immediately and order them to be dreffed ; let eight " be refervcd for my wife and I j Bonneval here (hall carry them to " her from me, and (liall tell her, that I am going to drink her health ; " but take care and keep thofe birds that are leaf! bit by the hawks " for me ; there are three very fat, which I took from them myfclf^ '* and which they have fcarcc touched." As Henry was diftributinghis partridges, La-'Clielie came in, and with him Parfait, bringing in a large bafon, gilt with gold, and co- vered with a napkin ; *' Sire, cried he twice, embrace my knees, for I • -^have Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. " have brought you a great many, and very fine ones.'*' *' See how " rejoiced I'arfalt is, faid the king, this will make him fatter by an " inch upon the ribs ; I find he has brought me fome good melons; " I am glad of it, for I am refolved to eat my fill of them to-day j " they never hurt me when they are good, and when I eat them " while I am very hungry, and before meat, as the phyficians diredt. " I will give each of you a melon before you have your partridges, " when I have firft chofen out fome for my wife and myfelf, and for " another perfon to whom I have promifed fome." The king then going to his own apartment, gave a couple of melons to two boys who were at the door, whifpering fomething in their ear at the fame time : and as he came out of his long clofet to go to his aviary, perceiving Fourcy, Beringhen, and La-Font, the latter bringing fomething co- vered up in his hand, " La-Font, faid Henry to him, are you bring- " ing me a ragout for my dinner?" " Yes, fire, replied Beringhen, " but thcfe are raw meats, fit only to feafl the eyes with." " That " is not what I want, replied his majelly, for I am excefllvely hun- " ë^y> ^'id would rather have my dinner than any other thing : but; " La-Font, what is it you have wrapped up fo?" " Sire, faid Fourcv, " he has got patterns of feveral forts of ftuffs, carpets, and tapeftry, << which yc, partridges, " and quails I fent you very good ? if your appetite has been as keen " as mine, you have dined extremely well; I never eat fo much as I " have done to-day, or was ever in a better humour ; afk Rofiiy, he " will tell you the occafion of it, and will acquaint you with the news " 1 have received, and the converfation we have had." The queen, who was likewife more than ufually chearful, replied, that to contri- bute, on her fide, to divert his majefty, (lie had been making prepara- tions for a ballet and an interlude of her own invention; the ballet was to reprefent the felicity of the golden age ; and the interlude, the amufe- ments of the four feafons of the year. " I do not fay, added fhe, that " I have not had a little alfirtance, for Duret and La-Clavel!e hav-c " been with me the whole morning, while you were at the chace." " How charmed am I to fee you in this humour, my dear, faid Henry " to her, I befeech you let us always live together in this manner." Fourcy was then ordered to (hew the patterns for the ftufFs and tapeflry. The king defired the queen to tell him her opinion of them ; and turn- ing to me, " I know what yours is already, faid he ; but now let us " fee your abftratfts of accounts ?" Of thefe there were three, the fame number with the general ac- counts : this is a fimple fketch of this undertaking ; in the firft, which regarded the fuperintendancy of the buildings and fortifications, the kinfT found what was contained in the general account; ift, a memo- rial of all the fortifications made in the frontiers fince the diredtion was in my hands; 2d, of all the buildings and royal houfes; 3d, of all the moveables, hangings, gold and filver plate, which I had colleÛed for him. The fécond compendium, which related to the finances, was an index to the memoirs ; i ft, of the changes and improvements which I had made in all the different parts of the king's finances and reve- nues ; 2d, of all the gold and filver money adlually in the treafury ; 3d, of the improvemements which I had got to make, and of the fums which I hoped to add to the former. The third compendium, which related to the office of the grand mafter, (hewed the particulars of the general account; ift, of pieces of fix different bores, repofited in my Arfenal, and of all that related to the cannons j» ,2d, of the number of bullets, with the means of keeping all the. train of artillery^ 8 and Book XXIII. MEMOIRS OF SULLY. and employing them in good order; 3d, of the quantity of three forts of gunpowder commonly ufcd ; 4th, of the quantity of arms, tools, and inllruments of the train of artillery; 5th, of the number of fol- diers, as well gentlemen as volunteers, whom the king could fet on foot, reckoned according to the divifion of the kingdom. That the reader may the better underftand what has been faid a little higher, with refpedt to Spain and the United Provinces, it is ne- ceflary to fee what palled this year in Flanders*. The Spaniards, to whom the army deftined fur the expedition of Sedan had given great umbrage, finding that they had nothing to apprehend from that quarter, the marquis Spinola let out Irom Genoa on die 6th of May, that he might arrive in Flanders on the 19th. The fiege of Rhinburg, which the Spaniards undertook this year, was the only confiderable adtion per- formed this campaign : at firft the beficged defended themfelves with their ufual vigour, aud made feveral failles, by which two Spanifh co- lonels loft their lives ; the name of one of them was Thores, and the other commanded the new terfe -f-, which came from Savoy. This bold defence made the event of the fiege appear very doubtful, at beft it was thought that it would be protrafted a long time ; Spinola was of this opinion, and the king fuppofed that Rhimberg would not fur- render before the 20th of Oftober : however, they capitulated the be- ginning of this month. If the courier was to be credited, who, the the next day after the rcdu6tion of this city, was fent by Spinola to carry the news to Madrid, and who paffed through Paris in his way, the befieged had not more than fix tons of powder left ; but, it muft be eonfeffcd, that the Dtuch did not, upon this occafion, exert the valour they had done in the preceding years ; they were then indeed difpirited and weary of the wai-. The garrifon, which was left by the fenate to its ■own condu(ft, were fatisfied with obtaining, that they fhould be per- mitted to march out with all marks of honour, fuch as carrying away their cannon, &c. They threw all the blame of their furrender upon •the prince of Orange, who they faid would neither fuccour the place, nor give any difturbance to the Spanilh army. This reproach was not wholly without caufe j prince Maurice's reputation fuffered greatly from the inaction he lived in during this fiege and the whole cam- paign. * Confult De Thou, the Merc. Franc. in two or three places of Sully's Memoirs, anno i6q6. and Siri, ibid, on «his fu,bjc father Garnet and father Oldecorne were convifted of being parties in the plot. This father Parfons, or Robert Perfonio, was a jefuit of great merit and knowledge. END OF THE SECONDVOLUME. ti '^/iajAINll 3l\V^ ^HIBRARYQ^ ^F-UWIVfRS^ ^l(R«Elfr^ ^HIBRARY^.^ ..v^tlBRARY^, University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388 ~' ' LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from wliich it was borrowed. ■-'dOdiiVjjO^ ■^-fJlJ'JNV .xVlOSAS'Cflfr, ^nMIIBRARY/ ',M!Df;ARY--> ^''.ÏOJIlVJJO'i^ ^^\lf t'MVFRJ/; ■^■TJliïWSÛl^' ^OFCAllfOff^ ^^ME UNIVERjy^ svinvWCFlfj:, ■'^''SaiAINIUWV^ .s\MI[!RA[nV(. ^vmmUs^ ^UfCAllfO% ^-;,.OfCAllFOff^^ (^i l\€)l ivei ' ^&Ay v<;ai]#- -'i^^Ativaaiii^^'^ ..OFCAll. i^ A^Nî-' Plii I Ml xWMIBRAR ^OFCAIIFC i3n AWEUNIVERi'// : V P* ' <,\\MIBRARY< -^ ' "^^mmniQ ^0FCAIIF0%, ^.OFCAIIFOR jyuwiiUi^' ^/idJAiNiijHv ■'^aujiivjjo'^ '"'.ïojnvjjo'- I^FliNIVfRV//)^ ^VlOS-A*ICF(fr^ ,^OF-fA[IF0%^ ^OF-fAIIFO^^ I IJJ,ntt!,lll!lllllll]||lll| -^'"''^''^ 3 1158 01164 7061 k\tllBRARYQA^ :OF-CA1IFO% --CiFfAiFn/'/ &Aavaan-^^ yom. 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