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SOME ACCOUNT OF THE
COURTS OF LONDON AND VIENNA;
AT THE
CONCLUSION OF THE XVIITH CENTURY.
THE
าธ
LEXINGTON PAPERS;
OR,
SOME ACCOUNT OF
THE COURTS OF LONDON AND VIENNA;
AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
EXTRACTED FROM THE OFFICIAL AND PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF
ROBERT SUTTON, LORD LEXINGTON,
BRITISH MINISTER AT VIENNA, 1694-1698.
SELECTED FROM THE ORIGINALS AT KELHAM, AND EDITED, WITH NOTES,
BY THE HON. H. MANNERS SUTTON.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1851.
PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, Stamford stREET.
Librar.
01-16-331 PA
Harding
1-5-33
29429
INTRODUCTION.
THE correspondence from which the following extracts
have been selected was lately discovered in the library
at Kelham.¹
1
From the appearance of the MSS., which (although
uninjured) were almost buried in dust, there can be
no doubt that they had remained undisturbed for a
long series of years in the partially-concealed closets
in which they were found. Their existence was cer-
tainly unsuspected by this generation; and as far as I
can learn, it was also unknown to the last.
The papers thus unexpectedly brought to light con-
sist principally of the official and private correspondence
of Lord Lexington during his mission to the Imperial
Court in the years 1694-5-6 and 7,2 and of an equally
complete series of his letters during his residence, as
Ambassador, at Madrid in the years 1712-13.3
1
¹ Formerly the residence of Robert
Sutton, second and last Lord Lexing-
ton, and now the property of his
descendant, J. H. Manners Sutton,
Esq., M.P. for Newark.
2 The treaty of Ryswick was
signed the 20th September, 1697.
3 The peace of Utrecht was signed
on the 31st March, 1713.
vi
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
There are also many miscellaneous manuscripts, of
various dates, but generally diplomatic, and connected
with the negotiations in which Lord Lexington was
engaged.
Among these papers is a copy or translation of
the journal kept by Mr. Hop, the Minister of the
United Provinces at Vienna, in the years 1688-89.
An authentic account of the policy of the Imperial
Court at that critical time may be considered to possess
some interest, and I have therefore been induced to
insert in an Appendix extracts from this journal,
although it refers to a period antecedent to Lord
Lexington's appointment as Minister to the Emperor.
With this exception the following pages consist ex-
clusively of extracts from Lord Lexington's corre-
spondence during his mission to Vienna.
I have, for the sake of uniformity, translated the
letters that are written in French. Many errors of
style may be detected in the translations; but I have
endeavoured to adhere as closely as possible to the
literal meaning of the original text.
It will be observed that the extracts are not always
arranged according to their dates.
This apparent
confusion arises from the difference between the old and
the new style: both were in use by Lord Lexington's
correspondents. In some instances the task of arrange-
ment has been rendered difficult by the omission of the
symbols which usually distinguish the two styles; but
I believe that the letters are, with very few excep-
INTRODUCTION.
vii
tions, if any, placed in the order in which they were
written.
I am well aware that it is the duty of an editor to
keep himself in the background; but I hope that neither
the number nor the length of the notes which I have
inserted will subject me to censure.
It only remains for me to acknowledge my obliga-
tions to many friends, and to some to whom I am
personally unknown, for the uniform kindness with
which they have received my applications for assistance
on doubtful points, or for the permission to inspect the
manuscripts in their possession.
Berghapton Cottage, August, 1850.
CONTENTS.
•
INTRODUCTION
MEMOIR OF Lord Lexington .
CORRESPONDENCE.
Letters
Date
1 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
. Zell..
Enquiries respecting the fate of Count Koningsmark. Sept. 18, 1694.
2 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
The Dukes of Brunswick Wolfenbüttle.
3 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Acknowledges a present of ten pounds.
4 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
The Lancashire Conspiracy.
5 Lord Paget to Lord Lexington
6 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
M. d'Odyck's ball.
Prospect of a Peace between Austria and Turkey.
8 Mr. Greg to Lord Lexington
•
·
7 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Opening of Parliament—A ball.
•·
•
Refusal of a Danish Captain to strike his flag in the
Downs.
9 Prince Louis of Baden to Lord Lexington
Offer of services.
11 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
10 The Pensionary Heinsius to Lord Lexington
12 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
M. Dyckvelt's interview with French emissaries at
Maestricht-Proposals for Peace.
The Duke of Zell-French intrigues at the Court of
Hanover.
•
Debate in the House of Commons on the Bill of
Offices-The Lords have passed the Triennial Bill.
Ipsdorphe
Sept. 24.
Whitehall
Oct. 16, 1694.
Whitehall
Oct. 26, 1694.
Constantinople.
Nov. 5, 1694.
Hague
Nov. 9-19, 1694.
London
Nov. 21, 1694.
•
No date, but probably
about Dec. 1694.
Hague
Dec. 6, 1694.
•
Page
V
Winsen
Dec. 6, 1694.
Whitehall
Dec. 18, 1694.
1
Page
10...
11
12
Copenhagen. 17
Nov. 21, 1694.
12
13
14
15
17 -
18
21
22
X
CONTENTS.
Letters
13 The Pensionary Heinsius to Lord Lexington
Rejection of French proposals for Peace.
14 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
Divorce of Princess Sophia Dorothea.
15 Mr. Prior to Lord and Lady Lexington
Emoluments of English ministers abroad-Mr. Prior
secure from starving until April.
16 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
The Queen is unwell-Sir Richard Verney claims
the Title of Willoughby de Broke.
17 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
Divorce of Princess Sophia Dorothea.
18 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Baron Zeyler-Secret negotiation at Steckborn.
19 Lord Paget to Lord Lexington
The Turks lose Scio.
20 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
The Queen's illness.
21 Duke of Shrewsbury to Lord Lexington .
Death of the Queen.
22 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
Account of the Queen's illness and death.
23 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
Preparations for the funeral of the Queen-The
King's sorrow.
24 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
The Princess Anne's Letter to the King.
25 The Duke of Shrewsbury to Lord Lexington
The Duke is not consulted on Foreign Affairs.
26 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
•
The King transacts business-Reconciliation with
the Princess Anne.
27 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
28 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
State of affairs in Catalonia and Navarre.
29 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
•
Date
Hague
Dec. 28, 1694.
The King and Princess Anne-Sir E. Seymour and
the Papists.
Zell
Dec. 20, 1694.
•
Hague . 25
Dec. 21-31, 1694.
. Zell
Dec. 23, 1694.
Turin
Dec. 23,
Jan. 3,
•
Whitehall . 26
Dec. 21, 1694.
•
1694-5.
Hanover
Rejoicings of the Court of Hanover on the Divorce Jan. 10, 1694.
of Princess Sophia Dorothea.
•
Whitehall
Dec. 28, 1694.
Whitehall
Jan. 1, 1694.
Whitehall
Jan. 4, 1694.
Dec. 24, 1694.
Whitehall . 31
Dec. 25, 1694.
London
Dec. 28, 1694.
London
Jan. 8, 1694-5.
Whitehall
Jan. 8, 1694.
Page
24
. 27
Whitehall
Jan. 11, 1694.
24
•
Madrid .
Jan. 10-20, 1694-5.
28
•
30
32
. 36
33
. 38
40
41
42
43
44
CONTENTS.
xi
Letters
30 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
The Duke of Savoy.
31 Mr. Prior to Lord and Lady Lexington
The death of the Queen.
32 Lord Portland to Lord Lexington
The Death of the Queen-Unreasonable expectations
of Spain.
33 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Illness of Secretary Trenchard.
34 Lord Portland to Lord Lexington .
Sir James Montgomery.
35 Prince de Vaudemout to Lord Lexington
37 Lord Paget to Lord Lexington
Death of the Grand Signor.
36 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Preparations for the Queen's funeral.
•
The King expected at the Hague by March-The
French fear that he may marry the Princess of
Sweden.
39 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
38 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Arrangements for the Queen's funeral.
•
41 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
•
40 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Contested succession to the Duke of Albemarle's
Estates-Dispute between the Ladies of the Bed-
chamber and the Maids of Honour of the late
Queen.
42 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
•
The King of Spain and his Confessor-The Conde
de Oropesa recalled and dismissed-The Marques
de Balbaces.
44 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington .
•
News from England-Distich on the Queen's death.
William III. and the Princesses of Denmark and
Brandenburgh.
45 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
The Elector of Saxony.
43 Mr. Prior to Lord and Lady Lexington
Verses on the Queen's death--Feasting and fasting.
Rumoured changes in the Administration.
Date
Turin
Jan. 12-22, 1694-5.
!
Hague
Jan. 14-24, 1695.
•
Kensington
Jan. 15-25.
Whitehall
Jan. 18, 1694.
Brussels
Feb. 4, 1695.
Adrianople
Jan. 29, S.V., 1695.
Richmond
Jan. 25.
Feb. 4.
Whitehall
Jan. 29, 1694.
•
Whitehall
Feb. 5, 1694. -
Whitehall
Feb. 8, 1694.
Madrid
Feb. 8-18, 1094-5.
•
•
Hanover
Feb. 14, 1694-5.
•
•
Hague
Mar. 1, 1695.
•
Hague
Mar. 8, 1695.
•
Dresden
Mar. 4-14, 1695.
Page
45
46
48
50
Wesel
Feb. 13-23, 1694-5.
50
51
52
53
55
56
58
59
62
62
64
65
xii
CONTENTS.
Letters
46 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
The Queen's funeral.
47 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Siege of Ceuta by the Moors.
48 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington ..
Corruption in the House of Commons.
49 Sir Paul Rycart to Lord Lexington
Mustapha II.
50 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
51 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington .
Hamburg.
Mar. 9, 1694-5.
Whitehall
The Speaker (Sir John Trevor) convicted of Bribery Mar. 15, 1694.
-Election of Mr. Foley to the Chair.
The King dissatisfied with proposed arrangements
for approaching campaign.
52 Lord Portland to Lord Lexington
Weakness and pretensions of Spain-Venality of the
House of Commons.
53 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Poem on the death of the Queen.
54 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
Count Koningsmark's Ghost German Princes
jealous of Austria.
55 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington .
56 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Dr. Busby's Will.
C
•
57 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
•
58 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
Trial of Crosby.
Disturbance in London-Death of Lord Halifax.
59 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Bravery of the Catalans.
61 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
•
60 Duke of Shrewsbury to Lord Lexington
Negotiations for Peace at Stockholm.
•
62 Lord Portland to Lord Lexington
Date
Whitehall
Mar. 5, 1694.
Hague
The Elector of Saxony's wine-Mr. Prior's prospects April 5-15, 1695.
for the winter.
Madrid ..
Mar. 7-17, 1694-5.
Whitehall
Mar. 8, 1694.
Corrupt practices of the East India Company.
Kensington
Mar. 22.
April 1.
April 2, 1695.
Zell
Mar. 28, 1695.
•
•
Whitehall . 70
Mar. 19, S.V. 1694-5.
Whitehall
April 9, 1695.
Whitehall
April 12, 1695.
Whitehall
April 16, 1695.
•
•
Page
66
Whitehall
April 19, 1695.
. 68.
Hague..
Movements of Allied and French Armies in Flanders. April 19-29, 1695.
April 18-28, 1695.
Kensington
April 23.
May 3.
66
67
. 71
69
72
73
Madrid . 78
74
74
75
76
79
79
80
CONTENTS.
xiii
Letters
63 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
East India Company-Examination of Sir Thomas
Cook.
64 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
M. Hayfield.
65 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
East India Company-Charges of Corruption.
•
66 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington .
The Elector of Saxony.
67 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
•
Death of Sir John Trenchard-The Duke of Leeds
impeached.
69 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington .
68 Mr. Cartwright to Lord Lexington
Insecurity of Property in England.
70 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
72 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington .
Flemish Officer and his Wife poisoned by Papists.
71 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Defeat of the French in Catalonia.
73 Lord Paget to Lord Lexington
·
May 4, 1695.
Hague
Hopes of promotion-Poem on Queen Mary's death. May 17-27, 1695.
Lord Villiers-Mr. Prior's Plans for the future.
The Turks indisposed to Peace-Preparations for
the Campaign.
74 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
76 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Festivities at Carlsbad.
The Duke of Savoy's Secret Negotiation with France.
75 Mr. Broughton to Lord Lexington
Defeat of the Venetian Fleet.
77 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
78 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Marriage of Prince Charles of Brandenburgh.
•
Privations of the French Army in Catalonia.
79 Sir W. Trumbull to Lord Lexington
80 Mr. Broughton to Lord Lexington
Misconduct of Venetian Officers.
•
Birthday of the pretended Prince of Wales.
Date
Whitehall
April 23, 1695.
May 4, 1695.
Whitehall
April 26, 1695.
April 26,
May 6,
Whitehall
April 30, 1695.
•
1695.
Brookhusen
May 28, 1695.
Dresden . 85
Madrid ..
May 30,
June 9,
Hague
June 9, 1695.
1695.
Adrianople
May 31, 1695.
•
Paris
June 10, 1695.
Venice
June 11, 1695.
•
Carlsbad.
June 4-14, 1695.
•
Vienna
June 22, 1695.
Madrid.
June 13-23, 1695.
Whitehall
June 14, 1695.
Venice
June 25, 1695.
Page
81
.82
83
85
. 87
87
88
89
89
91
91
92
93
94
95
96
96
xiv
CONTENTS.
Letters
81 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Siege of Namur-Arrival of Lord Villiers.
82 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Capitulation of Casal.
83 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Mr. Sutton-The Elector of Saxony.
84 Sir W. Trumbull to Lord Lexington.
Bombardment of St. Malo and Granville.
85 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
86 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington .
Frankfort
July 2-12, 1695.
Whitehall
July 12, 1695.
Frankfort
Retreat of the Prince de Vaudemont-Position of July 13-23, 1695.
the contending Armies in Flanders.
The King continually in the Trenches.
87 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington .
Retreat of French Army.
88 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
The Duke of Savoy's Suspicions.
89 Lord Portland to Lord Lexington
90 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
Negotiations at Stockholm for Peace with France.
91 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
Rumours at Vienna of secret Negotiation with
France.
92 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
Cowardice of Garrisons of Dixmude and Deynse- Aug. 5, 1€95.
Surrender of Namur.
•
Denial that secret Negotiation is in progress.
93 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
94 Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington
•
•
Failure of Mr. Meesters' Invention.
96 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
95 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington .
A Battle expected.
•
Progress of Siege of the Castle of Namur.
•
Date
Hague
July 8, 1695.
•
•
Camp near Casal
June 30,
July 10,
1695.
Before Namur
July 16-26.
Hague
Bombardment of Brussels-Failure of Attempt to Aug. 9-19, 1695.
bombard Dunkirk.
•
Vienna
Aug. 13, 1695.
Page
97
. 101
•
99
Frankfort . 103
July 20-30, 1695.
· . At
102 ·
Camp near Casal 104
July 30, N.S.
102
Camp near Numur 105
103
Camp at Maloigne 106
Aug. 12, S. N., 1695.
Before the Castle 108
of Namur
Aug. 6-16, 1695.
107
108
Whitehall . 109
Aug. 9, 1695.
Before the Castle 110
of Namur
Aug. 16-26.
the King's 110
Quarters before
Namur
Aug. 16-26, 1695.
CONTENTS.
XV
Letters
97 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Count Chinski-Negotiation at Stockholm.
98 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Deliberations of the Allies in Piedmont.
99 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington .
The Castle of Namur attacked
English.
100 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
The Siege of Palamos abandoned.
102 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
101 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
The Castle of Namur again attacked.
103 Lord Portland to Lord Lexington
•
•
The Duke of Savoy suspected by the Allies.
•
C
The Castle of Namur surrendered to the Allies.
104 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
105 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington .
M. de Boufflers arrested.
107 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
State of Affairs in Catalonia.
Louis XIV. and the Fall of Namur-Maréchal de
Villeroy.
106 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Arrest of M. de Boufflers-French Army in Cata-
lonia-Plans of the Allies in Piedmont-the Pope
and Republic of Venice offer Mediation-MM. de
Villeroy and De Boufflers-M. de Callières and
secret Negotiation in Flanders.
108 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
109 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Disasters in Hungary.
112 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
110 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Release of M. de Boufflers.
•
111 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Rumoured Defeat of the Turkish Flect.
At the King's 114
Quarters at the
Repulse of the Abbey of Ma-
loigne
Aug. 20-30, 1695.
Madrid
Sept. 1, 1695.
Date
Vienna
Aug. 27, 1695.
Defeat of the Imperial Army at Lugos-Lord Lex-
ington's Salary in Arrear.
Paris
Aug. 29, 1695.
•
Camp at Ostin
Sept. 2, 1695.
..
Paris
News from Spain-Close of Campaign in Flanders- Sept. 16, 1695.
Mutual Recriminations.
Paris
Sept. 5, 1695.
Camp near Casal 118
Sept. 2, 1695.
Paris
Sept. 12, 1695.
Madrid
Sept. 15, 1695.
Camp d'Austin 119
Sept. 3.
•
Vienna
Sept. 21, 1695.
Page
112
Camp at Bouquet 121
Sept. 6, 1695.
Paris
Sept. 23, 1695.
113
Paris
Sept. 30, 1695.
Vienna
Oct. 1, 1695.
117
118
. 119
122
125
126
128
128
128
129
xvi
CONTENTS.
•
Letters
113 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Evacuation of Casal-Suspension of Armament at
Toulon.
114 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Plans of the Allies in Piedmont-Forced Enrolments
in Paris.
115 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Dissimulation of the Duke of Savoy.
116 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
M. de Callières in Holland.
117 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
Count Chinski and Instructions to the Imperial Mi-
nister at Stockholm.
118 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Suspension of Hostilities in Piedmont-French Pri-
vateers.
119 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Departure of the King.
120 Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington
The King's Arrival at Kensington.
121 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Return of M. de Callières-Failure of Negotiation-
France and Denmark.
122 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
123 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Imprisonment of an Author-Arrest of Protestants.
•
124 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Admiral Russell-Allied Fleet in the Mediterranean.
125 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
'The King's Visit to Althorp.
•
126 Mr. Yard to Lord Lexington
The Garrison of Casal and the French Officers in
the Allied Army.
•
127 Mr. Cartwright to Lord Lexington
Festivities in Nottinghamshire.
128 Mr. Yard to Lord Lexington
The King in Oxfordshire.
The King at Welbeck-His Progress-Irish Affairs.
-Conflict of Etiquette between the Lord Chan-
cellor and the Speaker.
Date
Paris
Oct. 3, 1695.
Paris.. 131
Oct. 7, 1695.
Camp of Rivalta
Sept. 29,
Oct. 9,
1695.
Paris
Oct. 10, 1695.
Vienna
Oct. 15, 1695.
Paris ::
Oct. 17, 1695.
Hague
Oct. 10-20, 1695.
Whitehall
Oct. 11, 1695.
Paris
Oct. 21, 1695.
Paris
Oct. 24, 1695.
Paris
Nov. 4, 1695.
. 133
•
Whitehall
Nov. 8, 1695.
Page
130
•
Madrid.
Oct. 28, 1695, N.S.
. 134
•
132
133
No date, but before
Nov. 18, 1695.
133
135
135
136
137
Althorp . . 138
Oct. 25, 1695.
Whitehall
Nov. 5, 1695.
137
. 140
142
. 143
CONTENTS.
xvii
Letters
129 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Removal of M. Schonenburgh from Madrid.
130 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Refusal of Passports to Venetian Ambassadors.
131 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
Mr. Prior appointed Secretary at the Hague.
132 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
•
Count Kaunitz and the Papists in Ireland.
133 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Mr. Foley re-elected Speaker.
134 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
French Intrigues.
135 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
France desires the Mediation of Portugal.
136 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
137 Mr. Greg to Lord Lexington
Debate on the Coinage - Message to the Spanish
Ambassadors at the Hague and London.
•
Marriage of the Prince of Denmark.
•
138 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Papal Brief in favour of Peace with France.
139 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Sanguinary "duel de trois."
140 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
The Council of Trade-Rumoured Change in the
Scotch Administration.
141 Lord Lexington to Sir W. Trumbull .
Denmark and Holstein-French Overtures to the
Elector of Saxony.
142 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
144 Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington
•
143 Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington
Mr. Stanhope forbidden to appear at Court.
•
Denmark and Holstein-Sweden offers Mediation
and prepares for War-Curious Regulation with
respect to foreign Merchants in Sweden.
•
146 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Discussions on the Coinage, and Council of Trade.
145 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Anecdote of two French Ladies.
•
Mrs. Potter and Mr. Thynne's Courtship.
Date
Page
Madrid . 144
•
Nov. 14-24, 1695.
Paris
Nov. 25, 1695.
Hague
Nov. 15-25, 1695.
•
Nov. 25, 1695.
Whitehall
Nov. 22, 1695.
Paris
Dec. 2, 1695.
Paris
Dec. 5, 1695.
•
•
Turin
Dec. 24, 1695.
•
Paris
Dec. 26, 1695.
Whitehall
Dec. 17, 1695.
. . 149
Vienna
Jan. 4, 1696.
Whitehall. 149
Nov. 29, 1695.
•
Copenhagen. 151
Dec. 6, 1695.
Madrid
Jan. 5, 1696, S.N.
•
•
Stockholm
Jan. 1, 1695-6.
Jan. 3, 1695-6.
Paris
Jan. 13, 1696.
145
•
Jan. 10, 1695.
b
146
•
147
147
149
152
153
153
155
Whitehall . 160
157
158
. 160
Whitehall. 161
xviii
CONTENTS.
Letters
147 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Count Windisgratz-Prince Louis of Baden.
148 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Jealousy, and a Game at Blind Man's Buff-Punish-
ment of Protestants.
149 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Preparations for Invasion of England.
150 Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington
Holstein Affairs-Swedish Succours to the Allies-
The Count d'Avaux announces the terms on
which France will accept the Mediation of
Sweden.
151 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Journey of the Duke of Savoy to Loretto.
152 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Financial distress in France-Advices from England:
Affairs there in great disorder-Hopes of the Court
of St. Germain's.
153 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Sir R. Atkins and Sir E. Seymour-Lord Wharton's
Will.
154 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington . .
Barcelona threatened.
155 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Preparations for invasion of England-King James
at Calais.
156 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
The King of the Romans and the Princess of Den-
mark.
•
157 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
King James, and the descent upon England.
158 Mr. Cartwright to Lord Lexington
Clipped Money.
•
159 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
Speculations on result of Invasion.
160 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
French Armaments at Calais and Dunkirk.
161 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
162 Lord Portland to Lord Lexington
•
Embarkation of French troops delayed-Meteors
seen in Brittany.
Assassination Plot-Arrest of Conspirators.
Date
Turin
Jan. 11-21, 1696.
Paris
Feb. 3, 1696.
Paris
Feb. 13, 1696.
Paris
Feb. 20, 1696.
Stockholm . 163
Feb. 12, 1695-6.
Turin . 165
Feb. 18, 1696.
Paris
March 2, 1696.
. 162
March 3, 1696.
Whitehall . 168
Feb. 14, 1695.
Paris
March 5, 1696.
1 163
Madrid . 169
March 1, 1696, N.S.
Page
162
. 166
•
•
Feb. 24, 1695.
Hague
March 6, N.S. 1696.
Hague
March 6, N.S. 1696.
•
Paris
March 12, 1696.
170
172
173
174
175
176
177
Kensington. 177
March 3-13.
.CONTENTS.
xix
Letters
163 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Examination of Prisoners.
164 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Preparations for trial of Conspirators.
•
165 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Projected descent upon England abandoned.
•
166 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
167 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
"The Association."
168 Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington
Paris
Disappointment of King James-Satirical Medal of March 19, 1696.
William III.-Louis XIV. and James II.
Foreign Ministers and their Chaplains.
169 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington .
The trial of Conspirators-Charnock.
170 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Purchase of Nobility-King James.
171 Mr. Greg to Sir W. Trumbull
•
Discovery of Assassination Plot-M. de Jessen and
respect due to Kings.
172 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
The Duke of Berwick.
•
173 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Sir John Friend-Sir W. Williams.
174 Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington
The French Ambassador and the Invasion.
175 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
•
176 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Lines on (6 Two wicked Kings."
177 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
French Armies and their Officers.
178 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Date
Whitehall
March 3, 1695.
179 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Illness of Queen Mother of Spain.
Whitehall
March 6, 1695.
180 Sir W. Trumbull to Lord Lexington
Paris
March 16, 1696.
Execution of Sir W. Perkins and Sir J. Friend.
Whitehall
March 13, 1695-6.
Paris
March 23, 1696.
Cassel . . 185
March 10-20, 1696.
Paris
March 26, 1696.
Whitehall
March 17, 1695.
. 182
•
Manifesto of King James-Illness of King of Spain. April 9, 1696.
•
Page
181
0
Whitehall . 186
March 13, 1695.
March 18, 1695-6.
Madrid ..
The Prince of Hesse and the Marques de Gastanaga. March 29, 1696, N.S.
193
182
184
Copenhagen. 189
March 14, 1695-6.
March 21-31, 1696.
Paris
April 6, 1696.
April 3, 1696.
186
. 188
191
€ 192
•
192
194
Paris . 195
. 194
Madrid .. . 195
April 12, 1696, N.S.
196
b 2
XX
CONTENTS.
Letters
181 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
The King of the Romans and Protestant Princesses-
Prince Louis of Baden and the Landgrave of
Hesse Lord Aylesbury - Lord Nottingham-
Mr. Hill and Mr. Wolseley.
182 M. Blancart to Mr. Stepney
Proposed excommunication of King James-Count
Auersperg and Papists in England.
183 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
184 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Reinforcements necessary in Piedmont.
Madrid
The Queen Mother of Spain and the Archduke April 26, 1696, N.S.
Charles.
185 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Queen Mother's illness and our Lady of Atocha.
186 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt .
Defeat of Turks in Asia-Preparations for cam-
paign in Hungary-The Muscovites and the
Grand Alliance.
187 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
French Armies and their numbers.
188 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Maréchal de Villeroy.
189 Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington
The Princess Sophia Dorothea.
190 The Pensionary Heinsius to Lord Lexington and
Mr. Heemskerck.
M. de Callières and negotiations for Peace.
191 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
192 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
The French march on Turin.
193 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt .
The Imperial Forces in Hungary.
Date
Page
Frankfort. 196
April 11-21, 1696.
194 Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington
Negotiations for Peace at Stockholm.
London . 200
March 27,
1696.
April 6
195 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
Proposed Neutrality in Italy.
•
Turin
April 27 1696.
May 7'
Vienna
May 12, 1696.
Madrid . 202
May 10, 1696, N.S.
· 202
Paris
May 18, 1696.
Paris
May 21, 1696.
The Hague
May 22, 1696.
Madrid. . 206
Death of Queen Mother of Spain-Alleged Miracle. May 24, 1696, N.S.
•
Vienna
May 26, 1696.
201
Brookhusen . 204
May 12, 1696.
•
. 201
Stockholm
May 30, 1696.
Camp de Mon-
callier
June 7-17, 1696.
. 203
204
Camp de Mon- 207
callier
May 15-25, 1696.
· 204
•
. 208
•
• 209
210
CONTENTS.
xxi
Letters
196 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
The Duke of Lorraine..
197 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
The Treaty of Vigevano.
198 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington .
The King and the Negotiations at Stockholm.
199 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
200 Mr. Hill to Lord Lexington
Close of campaign in Flanders-William III. and
the Princess of Brandenburgh.
Vienna
The Portuguese Ambassador and the Murder of Aug. 15, 1696.
Count Hallwell.
201 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Recovery of the King of Spain-Illness of the
Queen.
202 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
•
The Pensionary and French proposals for Peace.
203 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
The War in Italy - The Mission of Count de
Mansfelt.
204 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
205 Lord Galway to Lord Lexington
The Treaty of Turin.
Illness of the King and Queen of Spain - Recall
of the Conde de Oropesa-The Archbishop of
Toledo.
206 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington .
•
Diplomatic arrangements-Lady Athlone and the
King's deer.
207 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
208 Mr. Hill to Lord Lexington
Festivities on the Recovery of the King - Retire-
ment of the Conde de Oropesa.
William III. and the Princess of Brandenburgh.
209 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
210 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
The Elector of Saxony-The Elector Palatine and
the Landgrave of Hesse.
Date
Vienna
June 30, 1696.
The Emperor and the Treaty of Turin-Lord and
Lady Villiers-Diplomatic arrangements-Lord
Villiers's ball.
Camp de Mon-
callier
July 5, 1696.
Attre
Aug. 4-14, 1696.
Brussels
Aug. 21-31, 1696.
•
Sept. 16, 1696.
Madrid .. 217
Aug. 31, 1696, N.S.
Page
212
Hague
Oct. 9, 1696, N.S.
213
. 213
Vienna
Nov. 7, 1696.
214
Sept. 3, N.S., 1696.
Camp of Terra 219
Nova
Sept. 3, 1696.
217
Hague
Nov. 5-15, 1696.
218
Vigevano . 221
Sept. 28
Oct. 8'
1696.
220
Madrid.. 224
Oct. 11, 1696.
223
Brussels.. 225
Oct. 16-26.
. 226
227
xxii
CONTENTS.
u
Letters
211 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
Preliminary Negotiations-MM. de Callières and
Dyckvelt.
212 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
Sir Joseph Williamson.
213 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
Treaty with Denmark.
•
214 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
Recognition of William III. by France.
215 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Tallies and Diplomatic Expenses.
216 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
Austrian Intrigues.
217 Sir W. Trumbull to Lord Lexington .
Plenipotentiaries appointed.
218 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington .
Disappointment of Lord Lexington.
219 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
The Earl of Monmouth and Sir John Fenwick.
•
220 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
Proposal that the Congress should be held at
Ryswick.
221 Sir W. Trumbull to Lord Lexington .
Lord Lexington appointed Plenipotentiary.
222 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
Austria and the Negotiations for Peace-Instruc-
tions to Lord Lexington.
223 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
The Princes Sobieski.
224 Sir Paul Rycaft to Lord Lexington
The Duchy of Gustraw-Dissensions in Germany.
225 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Manifesto of King James.
226 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
The Congress requests the Mediation of Sweden.
227 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
•
Preliminary Negotiations and the Duke of Lor-
raine-Promotions in England.
228 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington .
Mr. Blathwayt and Sir W. Trumbull.
Date
Hague
Nov. 17-27, 1696.
•
Whitehall
Nov. 20-30, 1696.
Hague
Dec. 7, 1696.
Hague
Dec. 11, N.S., 1696.
•
Hague
Dec. 4-14, 1696.
Hague
Dec. 18, N.S., 1696.
Dec. 11, 1696.
Hague
Dec. 30, 1696.
•
Whitehall 234
Whitehall
Jan. 8, 1696-7.
Hague
Jan. 8, N.S., 1697.
. 230
•
Paris
Feb. 1, 1697.
Whitehall
Jan. 19-29, 1696–7.
Jan. 23, 1696-7.
Paris
Feb. 4, 1697.
Hague
Feb. 5, 1697.
•
Whitehall . 236
•
Dec. 25, 1696.
•
Feb. 5, N.S., 1697.
Page
228
231
232
•
232
233
235
. 239
239
240
. 241
Hague . 243
•
241
243
244
Whitehall . 245
Feb. 5-15, 1696-7.
CONTENTS.
xxiii
Letters
229 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
French Intrigues in Spain-Illness of the King.
230 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
The Prince de Conti and the Crown of Poland-A
Masquerade.
231 Sir W. Trumbull to Lord Lexington
Count Buselli and Plot to assassinate William III.
232 Sir Paul Rycart to Lord Lexington
The Scotch East India Company and the Ham-
burgh Merchants.
233 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
The English Plenipotentiaries and their Passports.
234 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
The Ninth Electorate-Baron Zeiler.
235 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Arrival of Flota from the Indies-Proposed Neu-
trality in Catalonia.
236 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
237 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
Louis XIV. and "L'homme au Spectre” — King
James's second Manifesto.
238 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
239 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
240 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
Mecklenburgh Gustraw-The Spanish Ambassador
and a Neutrality in Catalonia.
241 Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington
Death of the King of Sweden-His Will.
242 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
Date
Madrid.
Feb. 15, 1697.
243 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
Count Buselli.
Paris
Feb. 22, 1697.
244 Mr. Swinford to Lord Lexington
The King's Arrival-The Congress Opened.
Hamburgh . 248
Feb. 20, S.V., 1696–7.
Paris
March 8, 1697.
Arrival of Mr. Prior with Powers and Instruc- March 16-26, 1697.
tions for the Plenipotentiaries-Perverseness of
Austria.
Whitehall. 247
Feb. 16, 1696-7.
Frankfort
Feb. 27
March 9'
Vienna.
Instructions to the Imperial Ministers at the Hague. March 30, 1697.
Hague
Illness of Mr. Prior-An equivalent for Strasburgh. April 12, 1697, N.S.
Vienna
April 13, 1697.
•
1697.
1 246
Page
245
•
Madrid . . 251
March 15, 1697, N.S.
Stockholm
April 7, 1697.
Hague
Formal Opening of the Congress fixed-The King May 7, N.S., 1697.
expected immediately.
Vienna
May 8, 1697.
Paris
. 251
March 25, 1697.
249
250
252
252
253
254
· 255
•
258
258
Hague . 261
May 10, 1697, N.S.
xxiv
CONTENTS.
Letters
245 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
The Count de Harrach in Spain.
246 Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington
Charles XII.
247 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
A "Dish of Congress News."
248 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
M. La Tour.
249 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington .
The Emperor's Postulata.
250 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
The Elector of Saxony and French overtures.
251 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
•
Count Harrach-The Catalans and the Standard
of Santa Olalia.
252 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
William III. his own Minister.
•
253 M. de Bruynise to Lord Lexington
A Practical Joke.
254 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
Prince Furstenberg.
255 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Barcelona Besieged.
256 The Earl of Pembroke to Lord Lexington
Assassination of an Informer,
257 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
The Bishop of Ancona and his Mission.
258 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt .
The Elector of Saxony chosen King of Poland.
259 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
The Siege of Barcelona.
260 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
261 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
•
The Elector of Saxony and Prince Furstenberg-
Rebellion in Hungary.
262 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
The Secretary of State and the proposed Treaty of
Peace.
Hungary-The Emperor and the Pope.
Date
Madrid
·
May 10, 1697, N.S.
263 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
Defeat of the Rebels in Hungary.
Stockholm
May 1, 1697.
Hague
May 7-17, 1697.
Hague
May 24, N.S., 1697.
Vienna
June 5, 1697.
•
Hague
May 21-31, 1697.
Hague
June 12, 1697.
•
•
June 6, 1697, N.S.
June 13, 1697.
Vienna
June 19, 1697.
•
Hague
June 15-25.
Madrid . 267
Vienna
July 3.
•
Vienna
July 3, 1697.
June 20, 1697, N.S.
Hague . 269
•
Page
262
263
Hague.
July 5, 1697.
263
. 266
264
Madrid.. 270
265
. 268
. 269
July 4, 1697, N.S.
. 271
Madrid . 274
272
. 273
275
Vienna .. 276
July 6, 1697.
Vienna.. 276
July 10, 1697.
Vienna . 278
July 13, 1697.
CONTENTS.
XXV
Letters
264 Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington
The Two Kings of Poland.
265 M. de Bruynise to Lord Lexington
M. Van Haren and the French Plenipotentiaries.
266 Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington
The Bishop of Plosko.
267 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
Mr. Sutton-The Elector of Saxony.
268 Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington
Charles XII. of Sweden.
269 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
Interview between Lord Portland and M. de
Boufflers.
270 Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington
Declaration of the French Plenipotentiaries.
271 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
272 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
273 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
Progress of the Treaty.
274 Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington
Result of the Conferences between Lord Portland
and M. de Boufflers.
275 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Surrender of Barcelona.
276 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
The Earl of Jersey.
Madrid
Changes in the Spanish Administration - Count Aug. 2, 1697.
Harrach.
•
277 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
278 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
The Turks in Hungary.
The Elector of Saxony and the Crown of Poland.
•
280 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Date
Page
Camp at Cocklen- 278
berg
July 5-15, 1697.
Hague
July 15, 1697.
Vienna
The Elector of Saxony-Death of the Emperor's Aug. 3, 1697.
Favourite.
279 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
Hague
July 19, 1697.
Cocklenberg
July 19, 1697.
Stockholm
July 10, 1697.
•
July 23, 1697, N.S.
Hague
July 20-30, 1697.
•
Hague . . 284
•
•
Hague
Aug. 6, 1697.
Hague
Aug. 16, 1697.
Madrid
Aug. 6-16, 1697.
•
Hague
Aug. 16, 1697.
Vienna
Aug. 31, 1697.
с
Vienna
Sept. 4, 1697.
Brussels.
Louis XIV. and the Prince de Conti-M. de Pointis. Sept. 9, 1697.
Madrid
The French in Catalonia-Failure of Count Har- Sept. 13, 1697.
rach's Mission.
•
•
280
281
282
283
286
. 287
289
289
291
291
292
293
293
294
295
xxvi
CONTENTS.
Letters
281 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
The Battle of Zenta.
282 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Lord Portland and M. de Boufflers
Articles of the proposed Treaty.
283 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
284 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
The Imperial Ministers will not sign the Treaty. Sept. 20, N.S., 1697.
285 Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington
Loo
The Equivalent for Strasburgh-Count Auersperg Sept. 20, 1697.
and the Papists in Ireland.
286 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt. .
The Plenipotentiaries of England, Spain, and the
United Provinces have signed the Peace.
287 Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington
The German Princes and the Peace.
The Victory at Zenta-The Prince de Conti and the
Elector of Saxony.
288 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
•
289 M. de Bruynise to Lord Lexington
The Czar and his Suite.
290 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
Rejoicings in Spain on the Peace,
Mr. Prior has carried the Treaty to England-His
Reception there-The Dowry of Queen Mary (of
Modena).
291 Anonymous Letter to Lord Lexington
292 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
———
•
295 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
•
Intelligence of the Peace received with Indifference
in France The Ducs de Bourgogne and d'Anjou-
The Princess of Savoy.
294 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
The Contest in Poland.
Hague
The chief Sept. 17, 1697.
Exchange of the Ratifications-" Rex Franciæ."
293 The Electress Sophia to Lord Lexington
Congratulations on the birth of a Son.
French claims on the Palatinate.
Date
Page
Camp three hours 296
from Zenta
Sept. 15, 1697.
296 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
•
The Preliminaries disregarded by the French-
Proposed renewal of the Alliance between the
Emperor and William III.
Hague
Sept. 24, 1697.
•
Hague
Oct. 1, 1697.
•
Vienna • 307
Sept. 25, 1697.
Hague . . 308
Sept. 29, N.S., 1697.
Hague
Oct. 1, 1697.
Paris
Oct. 11, 1697.
•
. 300
Hague
Oct. 17, 1697.
Herenhausen
Oct. 8-18, 1697.
Vienna
Oct. 19, 1697.
Madrid. . 310
Oct. 11, 1697, N.S.
•
303
. 305
304
Loo
Oct. 19-29, 1697.
. 309
•
Hague
Oct. 15-25, 1697.
308
. 312
311
313
313
314
315
CONTENTS.
xxvii
**
Letters
297 Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington
The Ministers of the Emperor and of the Roman
Catholic Princes have signed the Treaty-" The
Protestants will sign because they must."
•
298 Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington
The Ratifications have arrived-The King's Birth-
day.
299 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
300 Mr. Greg to Mr.
The Treaties of Ryswick and Munster, and the Pro-
testant Churches in Germany.
The Prince de Conti at Copenhagen.
301 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
•
The Marques de Leganez-The Duke of Savoy and
the Duchy of Milan.
302 Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington
303 Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington
Irish Refugees in Germany.
304 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt
305 Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington
Lord Lexington's Return to England-Death of the
Queen of Poland.
Date
Hague
Nov. 5, 1697.
Resignation of Sir W. Trumbull - Mr. Vernon
appointed Secretary of State-Fire at Whitehall.
306 Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
The Duke of Zell.
.. Hague
The Imperial Ministers and the Protestant Princes. Nov. 11-21, 1697.
Whitehall
Dec. 7, 1697.
Vienna
Dec. 18, 1697.
Madrid. . 318
Hague
Nov. 8, 1697.
Nov. 9, and Nov. 13, 1697.
Nov. 8, 1697, N.S.
Page
. 316
Copenhagen. 319
Vienna
Nov. 20, 1697.
. 319
Amsterdam
Jan. 28, 1698.
•
322
323
APPENDIX.
Extracts from the Journal of Mr. Hop, Minister of the United Pro-
vinces at Vienna in the Years 1688, 1689
Documents referred to in the Appendix
323
Whitehall . 325
Jan. 11, 1697-8.
324
€ 325
327
354
ERRATA.
Page 29, note 1, for "Protestants and Roman Catholics, Allies;" read "Protestant and
Roman Catholic Allies."
,, 132, line 16, for "intercourse" read" interview."
,, 140, note 2, last line in the left-hand column: "the" should be altered into "this.
241, line 1, for "1696" read "1697.”
,, 267, line 5, for "1696" read “1697.”
""
THE
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
MEMOIR.
ROBERT SUTTON, second and last Lord Lexington, was
born at Averham Park in 1661. The inscription on
his monument, which is more than usually grandiloquent,
states that "the House of Sutton, of which he was a
member, had given Earls to Warwick and Leicester,
and Lords to the Barony of Dudley."
The family of Lexington, of which he was in the
female line the representative, was of still greater anti-
quity. Of Robert, Baron de Lexington, little more is
known than that he lived in the time of Henry III.,
and died without issue; but John de Lexington, his
younger brother, was four times appointed Keeper of
the Great Seal by that king; and another brother,
Henry de Lexington, was Bishop of Lincoln A.D. 1254.
With this generation the male line of the De Lexing-
tons became extinct; but Alicia, the sister and co-heiress
of the last Baron, married Roland' de Sutton, from
whom was descended, in a direct line, the subject of this
memoir.
1 Oliver de Sutton, who was pro-
bably a nephew of this Roland de
Sutton, was consecrated Bishop of
Lincoln, A.D. 1280.
B
2
[1646.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
1
To the remote ancestry of Lord Lexington it is
needless to refer at greater length; but his father, on
whom the Barony of Lexington was again conferred by
Charles I., claims a separate although brief account.
Robert Sutton, afterwards first Lord Lexington of
the second creation, was born in 1594. In 1640 he
was returned to Parliament, as one of the representa-
tives of the county of Notts.
Early in 1643-4 he joined the King at Oxford; his
estates were in consequence sequestered by the Parlia-
ment, and his house at Averham burnt by their troops.
In reward for his services, and as some compensation
for his losses, Mr. Sutton was, in 1645, created Lord
Lexington by Charles I. At the surrender of Newark
in the following year, he fell into the hands of General
Fairfax, and it is painful to be compelled to add
that he shortly afterwards subscribed the Covenant.
But the fact is indisputable, for the certificate of his
having thus condescended to avert the wrath of his
captors is in the State Paper Office. Lord Lexington,
however, was a prisoner, and the cause of his master
was irretrievably ruined; his conduct, therefore, on
this occasion may perhaps be excused, although it can-
not be defended. He succeeded at length, but with
great difficulty, in recovering his estates, on the payment
of a very heavy fine-5000l., which was granted to
¹ There is a curious entry in the
parish register of Averham, which
marks the untimely death of one of
Mr. Sutton's retainers:—“A.D. 1618.
Richard Linley, clerk to Mr. Robert
Sutton, Esq., and Matthew Browne-
ly, servant to Sir George Manners,
of Haddon, Knight, each of other in
single combat slaine, were buried
the twentieth day of June." The
feud between the servants did not
extend to the masters, or it was
speedily adjusted; for Mr. Sutton
shortly afterwards married Elizabeth,
daughter of this Sir George Manners,
whose son, on the failure of male
heirs to the elder branch, succeeded
his cousin as eighth Earl of Rutland.
1693.]
MEMOIR.
3
Lord Grey de Werk; but the Parliament refused to
acknowledge the validity of his patent of peerage, and
Lord Lexington was compelled to relinquish the title
until the Restoration.' He died full of years in 1668,
having been married three times, but leaving issue only
by his third wife, who was the daughter of Sir Anthony
St. Leger. Robert Sutton, second Lord Lexington,
was his only son. When very young he served in a
military capacity, but it does not appear that he took
an active part in public affairs previously to the Revo-
lution. He attended, however, the meetings of the
Convention in 1689, and gave his vote in favour of the
joint sovereignty of the Prince and Princess of Orange.
In the month of June in the same year, he was de-
spatched by William on a mission to the Elector of
Brandenburgh; and in 1691 he was sworn a member
of the Privy Council. In 1693 he was again employed
on a foreign mission, and it was one of delicacy and
importance. A contest had arisen between the House
of Lunenburgh and the Princes of Anhalt with respect
to the succession to the estates of the deceased Duke
of Saxe Lauenburgh, and almost every prince of the
North took part in the contest. The Emperor, the
King of Denmark, and the Electors of Brandenburgh
and Saxe, espoused the cause of the Princes of Anhalt,
while the King of Sweden supported the claims of the
Dukes of Zell and Brunswick. Hostilities had already
commenced at Radzeburg between Denmark and
Lunenburgh. The other Powers were preparing for
¹ There is in the State Paper
Office a petition addressed by Lord
Lexington to the House of Com-
mons, to which is attached the sig-
nature "Lexington
nature "Lexington;" this signature,
however, has been erased, doubtless
by the order of the House, and that
of "Robert Sutton" substituted.
B 2
4
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
war; and the very existence of the Great Continental
League against France was threatened. The mediation
of England and of Holland was offered and accepted,
and Lord Lexington was, with Mr. Hop, the Pen-
sionary of Amsterdam, selected to conduct this media-
tion. Their mission was successful, and peace was
restored among the Allies. In the same year, 1693,
Lord Lexington was appointed one of the Lords of the
Bedchamber to the King.
In the following year (1694) Lord Lexington pro-
ceeded to Vienna as Envoy Extraordinary to the
Imperial Court, and he remained there in this capacity
until the year 1697. On the conclusion of the Peace
of Ryswick in this year, he was recalled at his own
request, and his kinsman and former Secretary Robert
Sutton¹ was appointed resident Minister at Vienna.
Various changes in the Administration at home were
at this time in contemplation. The Duke of Shrews-
bury and Sir William Trumbull, the two Secretaries of
State, were both anxious to resign; public rumour
named Lord Lexington as the probable successor of
one or other of these ministers, and there are some
passages in Mr. Blathwayt's letters which would seem
¹ Robert Sutton, born in 1671,
was the grandson of Henry, younger
brother of the first Lord Lexington.
He was educated for the church, and
took deacon's orders. In 1695 he
proceeded to Vienna in the joint
capacity of Chaplain and Secretary
to Lord Lexington; on whose recall,
in 1697, Mr. Sutton was appointed
Resident Minister at the Imperial
Court. He was subsequently sent
to Constantinople as Envoy Extra-
ordinary to the Ottoman Porte. In
1720 he succeeded Lord Stair as Bri-
tish Minister at Paris, and in 1721
he was elected Member of Parliament
for Nottinghamshire. Upon the re-
vival of the order of the Bath, in
1725, Mr. Sutton received the red
ribbon. It is well known that holy
orders were not at that time con-
sidered any disqualification for civil
employments, but I do not recollect
any other instance of a clerical
knight of the Bath.
1703.]
5
MEMOIR.
to imply that the King was at one time not indisposed
to such an appointment. The Duke of Shrewsbury,
however, at the earnest request of his master, consented
to postpone his retirement from office, and Mr. Vernon
succeeded Sir William Trumbull.
Lord Lexington was shortly afterwards named a
member of the Council of Trade and Plantations,' and
it appears that he devoted much of his time and
attention to the business of that Board.
•
The Council of Trade and
Plantations was first established
Dec. 17, 1695.
As one of the Lords of the Bedchamber, he was in
frequent attendance upon the King, and was present
when William III. expired. Smollett states that
"Lords Lexington and Scarborough, who were in
waiting, no sooner perceived that the King was dead
than they ordered Ronjat to untie from his arm a black
ribbon, to which was affixed a ring, containing some
hair of the late Queen Mary!" It is difficult to con-
ceive an adequate motive for this act, which, in the
absence of any explanation, would appear to be one of
ill-timed and heartless curiosity. Such an inference,
however, would be totally at variance with the general
character of Lord Lexington, who was remarkable for
the warmth of his feelings and for his affectionate dispo-
sition. In 1703 Lady Lexington died, and Lord
Lexington deeply felt the loss of his wife, to whom he
was most sincerely attached. This was, perhaps, one
of the causes for the retirement in which he lived during
the earlier part of the reign of Queen Anne; but it is
also probable that neither the Queen herself, nor those
who then governed her, regarded Lord Lexington with
2
2 Margaret, only daughter and
heiress of Sir Giles Hungerford, of
Coulston, co. Wilts.
6
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1713.
+
favour; for Mackay states, in his Memoirs, that Lord
Lexington "was Gentleman of the Horse to the
Princess (now Queen) when the difference happened
between her and King William,' and left her service,
and was made Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the
King." If this account be true, and there is no reason
to doubt it, the Duchess of Marlborough, who was
herself the chief cause of the breach between the King
and the Princess, was not of a temper readily to forget
or to forgive such an affront. In the year 1712 both
the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough were in dis-
grace, and the Queen's advisers were resolutely deter-
mined to close the war. The preliminaries of a peace
with France had already been arranged by Lord
Bolingbroke; the Congress of Utrecht had been
opened, and Lord Lexington was selected to conduct
the negotiations with Spain. He embarked for Madrid
on the 4th of October (N. S.), 1712; and a few months
afterwards, Philip V. formally renounced, for himself
and his successors, all claims to the crown of France.
Whatever doubts may be entertained with regard to
the policy of the instructions by which Lord Lexington
was governed, it would appear from the despatches of
Lords Bolingbroke and Dartmouth that his conduct was
approved by those under whom he acted.
Lord Lexington's health suffered severely during his
residence at Madrid, and his spirits were broken by the
untimely death of his only son, who had accompanied
him to Spain, and died at Madrid in October, 1713, in
the sixteenth year of his age. At that time the burial
of a Protestant in Spain was attended with great diffi-
culty; and even the high station of Lord Lexington,
1 ¹ In 1692.
1713.]
MEMOIR.
7
as the British ambassador, afforded no security that the
remains of his son would be suffered to rest in peace,. if
committed to the earth at Madrid. On a previous
occasion, when one of his domestics had died, Lord
Lexington had found it necessary to conceal, rather than
to bury, the body in his garden, and even this precaution
had failed to preserve the corpse from disturbance and
insult.
Mr. Stanhope,' also, when resident at Madrid, as
British minister there, had experienced similar or even
greater difficulties in the burial of his chaplain, who died
there in 1691. On this occasion, although the previous
consent of the authorities had been obtained, and the
body was quietly buried in a field by night, the grave
was violated, the coffin broken open, and the corpse
insulted and mutilated; it was in this state returned to
Mr. Stanhope, who was forced to bury it in his cellar.
Warned therefore by his own experience, and by that
of his predecessor, Lord Lexington determined to
transmit the body of his only son to the burial-place of
his ancestors in Nottinghamshire.
The corpse was concealed in a bale of cloth, and
safely, but with great difficulty, conveyed to England.
It had always been supposed that the remains had been
finally interred at Averham; but in 1842, when the
vault at Kelham, which was built for Lord Lexington
himself, was opened for the funeral of one of his de-
scendants, the late Lord Manners, a coffin was dis-
covered, which, unlike the others, bore no inscription.
It was carefully opened; and although nearly 130
years had elapsed since it was first placed in the
¹ Vide page 24, &c. of 'The Court of Spain under Charles II.,' by Lord
Mahon.
8
[1714.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
ground, the body within was in so remarkable a state of
preservation, that its identity was at once determined by
the resemblance of the features to the picture of Lord
Lexington's son, which is now in the gallery at Kelham.
On the death of his son, Lord Lexington, who was
himself dangerously ill, solicited his recall, and returned
to England. Tindal states that on the removal of Lord
Oxford, in the following year (1714), from the post of
Lord High Treasurer, Lord Lexington was named as
likely to hold high office in the Government about to
be formed under the auspices of Lord Bolingbroke ;
but the sudden illness and death of the Queen defeated
the intrigue.
1
Whatever may have been the intentions of Lord
Bolingbroke at this critical period, it is clear that Lord
Lexington at least was by no means disposed to promote
the cause of the Pretender. He had served William
III. faithfully and without reservation; and there is not
the slightest ground for believing that he was ever con-
nected with any of the numerous intrigues during the
reign of Queen Anne, by which the partisans of the
exiled Prince attempted to retrieve his fortunes.
Lord Lexington had, moreover, maintained from a
very early period (1693) an intimate and constant cor-
respondence with the houses of Zell and Hanover; and
he had received many marks of favour from the Duke
of Zell and the Electress Sophia, who honoured him
with their confidence and correspondence.
2
The letters from the Electress, which are holograph,
are couched in very familiar and friendly terms. There
1 Tindal's History of England.
2 The Duke of Zell and the
Electress of IIanover, with William
III., stood sponsors for Lord Lexing-
ton's son, who was born at Vienna
in 1697.
1715.]
9
MEMOIR.
1
is one in particular, bearing date the 15th May, 1713, ¹
and addressed to Lord Lexington at Madrid, which,
although unimportant in other respects, shows clearly
that his connexion with the Tory Government of Queen
Anne had not diminished his desire to serve the House of
Hanover or the kindly feelings with which the Electress
had long regarded him. It was, perhaps, partly on this
account, and because no suspicion of Jacobite principles
attached to him, that Lord Lexington escaped impeach-
ment, in 1715, for his share in the negotiations for the
Peace. He was nevertheless severely censured in the Re-
port of Mr. Walpole's Committee, on which the articles.
of impeachment against the Duke of Ormond and the
Lords Oxford, Bolingbroke, and Strafford were founded;
but no further proceedings were taken against him.
2
With the accession of George I. the public career of
Lord Lexington terminated. The remainder of his
life was passed in retirement.
He died at Averham Park, on the 19th September,
1723, in the sixty-third year of his age, and was buried
at Kelham. 3
'The Electress died on the 28th
of May, 1714, in the 84th year of
her age.
2 Lord Strafford was one of the ple-
nipotentiaries at Utrecht, and was im-
peached. His colleague, the Bishop
of London (Dr. Robinson), was more
fortunate.
3 The elder of Lord Lexington's
two daughters died unmarried in
1715. In 1717 his only remaining
child, Bridget, was married to John,
Marquis of Granby, afterwards third
Duke of Rutland, who held various
important offices in the reign of
George II. The eldest son by this
marriage was John, Marquis of
Granby, whose distinguished mili-
tary services have established for
him a permanent reputation.
The second son, Lord Robert
Manners, assumed, in accordance
with the will of his maternal grand-
father, Lord Lexington, the name of
Sutton, and on the death of his
mother, in 1734, succeeded to the
Lexington estates.
He died un-
married in 1762, and was succeeded
by his next brother, Lord George
Manners, who likewise took the
name of Sutton; and from him are
descended all who bear conjointly
the names of Manners and Sutton.
( 10 )
[1694.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.'
2
Zell, Sept. 18, 1694.
The King was pleased to command me, when I
came away, that, if I had an opportunity, I should
offer his good offices at Hanover towards satisfying the
Elector of Saxony about this Koningsmark, which I
have done; and the Elector bids me say that he thinks
3
4
5
¹ William Blathwayt, Esq., M.P.
for Bath, and Secretary at War;
which office he continued to hold
until the year 1704, when he was
succeeded by Mr. St. John, after-
wards Lord Bolingbroke.
Mr. Blathwayt was one of the
Clerks of the Council in the reign of
James II.; and on the trial of the
Seven Bishops in 1688, he was called
to prove that they had acknowledged
to the King in Council their sig-
natures to the petition which formed
the subject of the charge against
them. His name appears as one of
the attesting witnesses to the will
executed by James II. on the 17th
November, 1688.
As Secretary at War, Mr. Blath-
wayt was in constant attendance upon
the King during his campaigns in
Flanders; and at these intervals he
performed the duties, although he
did not enjoy the rank, of a third
Secretary of State.
2 Lord Lexington had proceeded
thus far on his way to Vienna as
Envoy Extraordinary to the Imperial
Court.
3 Frederick Augustus had suc-
ceeded his brother as Elector of
Saxony a few months before.
+ Count Koningsmark disappeared
in 1686. The renewed inquiries
respecting his fate were probably
owing to the influence of the Coun-
tess of Koningsmark, his sister, to
whom the young Elector of Saxony
was at this time passionately at-
tached. Their son, Marshal Saxe,
was born 1696.
* Ernest Augustus, Elector of
Hanover.
1694.]
11
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
¿
himself mightily obliged to his Majesty for the kind
offer, though there are hopes that there may be no
occasion for it; their Minister at Saxony giving
them so good assurances from the Elector, and by
his order, that he was satisfied with the answer from
Hanover; though Banniers still continues to press for
a more positive one what was become of that fellow,
and says it is by his master's orders, so one does not
know what to make of it; but I find this, that here we
have no mind to own any knowledge what is become
of him, though in confidence to one's best friends, and
after so kind an offer; but I think one need not trouble
oneself much about him, for I dare swear he is safe
enough.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Ipsdorphe, Sept. 24.
Since my last I have been at Wolfenbuttle, where
I saw Duke Antoine,' but Rodolph was in the
mountains stag-hunting. I find he has a great mind
the two brothers 2 should differ about this business of
the Princess, in hopes that he may profit, and indeed
I wish that one time or another it does not happen so.
3
¹ Dukes Rodolph and Antoine
governed jointly the dominions of
Brunswick Wolfenbuttle. Rodolph
cultivated letters and philosophy, and
left the chief management of affairs
to his younger brother, who was
exceedingly jealous of the Dukes
of Zell and Hanover (the reprc-
sentatives of the younger branch of
Brunswick), and inclined to the
French interest.
2 The Duke of Zell and the Elec-
tor of Hanover.
3 A divorce was in progress be-
tween George Lewis of Hanover
(afterwards George I.) and his wife,
Sophia Dorothea of Zell, whose sad
fate
fate is well known.
12
[1694.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Vernon' to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Oct. 16, 1694.
When Mr. Varey gave me the enclosed, he
made me a present in your Lordship's name, which I
am to return you my humble thanks for, and I beg
your Lordship to believe that I should have been
always at your commands without being thus retained.
2
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
3
Whitehall, Oct. 26, 1694.
The trials in Cheshire and Lancashire have
miscarried, though there is little doubt made but the
¹ James Vernon, Esq., had been
secretary to the Duke of Monmouth.
He was at this time confidential
secretary to the Duke of Shrews-
bury. In December, 1697, Mr.
Vernon was promoted to the office
of Secretary of State. But although
this appointment caused the greatest
surprise, and probably no one was
more astonished than Mr. Vernon
himself, he was by no means ill
qualified for the important post to
which he was thus suddenly raised.
He possessed considerable abilities
and great prudence: he was, more-
over, perfectly master of the business
of the office. His manners were un-
pretending, and he was personally
obnoxious to no one. Mr. Vernon's
correspondence with the Duke of
Shrewsbury was published in 1841,
edited by J. P. R. James, Esq.
2 Mr. Varey was Lord Lexing-
ton's private agent; and the present
referred to was a douceur of 107.,
with which Mr. Varey bespoke the
assistance of Mr. Vernon in passing
Lord Lexington's bill of Extra-
ordinaries. Neither of the partics
engaged in this transaction seems to
have thought that there was any im-
propriety-and there certainly was
nothing uncommon-in the attempt
to propitiate an officer of the Govern-
ment by a present of money. It
appears from one of Mr. Varey's
letters to Lord Lexington, that Mr.
Ellis, the under secretary in Sir
William Trumbull's office, received
a similar present on a similar oc-
casion; and indeed it was the com-
mon custom of the day to offer and
to receive such fees.
3 The "Lancashire Conspiracy "
was discovered in the summer of
1694, and many gentlemen of wealth
and distinction in the counties of
Chester and Lancaster were arrested
and tried. But the Government
failed to convict any of the accused,
and the prosecutions formed the
subject of warm debates in both
Houses of Parliament.
1694.J
LORD PAGET TO LORD LEXINGTON.
13
prisoners were many of them guilty in the main of
what they are charged with. But that which appeared
most, was a plot and contrivance to bring them off, laid
by one Taaf,' who from a Papist
who from a Papist turned Protestant,
and from an evidence against the prisoners turned evi-
dence for them, and not only discovered to them what
others had to depose, but, as they say, even guided and
directed the testimony of some of the witnesses so as to
run them into errors which should be easily detected.
I suppose he will not carry it off without being prose-
cuted himself.
2
Lord Paget to Lord Lexington.
Constantinople, Nov. 5, 1694.
I cannot send such a relation as I would of the
negotiation agitated here, but I am agoing to Adria-
nople shortly, from whence I may give your Lordship
a better account; and I will transmit it as occasion
requires, and as I may have opportunity for the con-
veyance of my letters, which we have not so frequently
here as in Christendom.
¹ Taaf, alias Thomas O'Mullen,
and Lunt, were the chief witnesses
for the prosecution.
Tindal says that the consideration
for which Taaf (who was a man of
infamous character) consented thus to
turn the tables on the Government,
was a present of 207. and the promise
of an annuity.
2 Lord Paget had preceded Lord
Lexington as ambassador at Vienna.
He was appointed ambassador to the
Ottoman Porte on the death of Mr.
Harbord in 1692.
The war between Austria and
Turkey compelled the Emperor to di-
vide his forces, and materially weak-
ened his exertions against France.
The preservation of Hungary was
his first object, and the Allies on the
Rhine and in Piedmont suffered in
consequence. Louis XIV. was well
aware of this, and sedulously endea-
voured to promote and to prolong
the contest, while William III., on
the other hand, tried every expedient,
by the offer of his mediation and that
of Holland, to put an end to it, and
thus to enable the Emperor to em-
ploy the whole of his forces against
the common enemy, France.
14
[1694.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
The present Grand Vizier is a brisk old man, and,
as I am told, well inclined. The Caimacan¹ of
Adrianople is particularly civil to us, and has of late
expressed great dislike to the French; all these are
good ingredients to enter into business, and I hope I
may be able to give a good account of it if he will be
persuaded to reason: however the height of their
spirits keeps them from owning it, yet I know they
have as much need of a peace here as the Germans
have.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
2
Hague, Nov. 19, 1694.
4
For news here I have no other than that the
King was very merry on Monday night at Mrs.
D'Odyck's' ball, where he led in your sister Kaunitz,¹
so bedaubed with diamonds, that one might mistake
her for Mrs. Barry in the 'Maiden Queen;' she
danced, too, a little like Mrs. Barry, with her
up, her toes in, and her head below her shoulders,
much to the satisfaction of the Envoyess of Lapland,
who mended the matter with my Lord Cutts," who had
¹ Caimacan, or governor.
2 Matthew Prior was at this time
employed in an inferior diplomatic
capacity at the Hague. His salary
was small and ill paid, and his posi-
tion was precarious, as it depended
upon the arrival of a minister pleni-
potentiary from England; he was
therefore anxiously expecting an
appointment elsewhere. Upon Lord
Villiers's arrival, Prior was retained
by him as his secretary; and in 1696
he was named secretary to the pleni-
potentiaries for conducting the ne-
gotiations at Ryswick.
3 M. d'Odyck was the brother of
M. d'Auverquerque. His father,
Lewis of Nassau, was the natural
son of Maurice of Nassau and of
Madame de Mechlin.
4 Count Kaunitz was the Austrian
minister at the Hague.
5 Lord Cutts, colonel of the 2nd
Regiment of Foot Guards, and Go-
vernor of the Isle of Wight. This
gallant officer was present at almost
every action of importance during the
reigns of William and of Anne; and
Mackay states that he was invariably
wounded.
1694.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
15
1
only the pretence of having his foot broke for dancing
most exquisitely ill. Lord Selkirk lost a heart there,
and one of the States a diamond buckle of greater value.
I just now receive your Lordship's to Mr. Blathwayt
and Stepney. I am a little jealous of the last, since
there came not one word to him who is from his heart
and soul, &c., &c.
2
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
London, Nov. 21, 1694.
The first day when the Parliament was opened,
and yesterday, some jests have flown about, as is usual
in the beginning of Session, when people come up to
town full of illnatured reflections. The three chief
members who have been taken notice of for talking
freely, are Sir Edward Seymour, Jack Howe, and Sir
J. Thompson. You know, my Lord, the two first are
grumbletonians for being turned out, and the last has
a mind to be a Lord. The King has got cold as he
was hunting last Saturday. He had shiverings last
night as if he would have an ague, but to-day he is
4
5
The Earl of Selkirk was the
third son of the Duke of Hamilton,
who resigned the Earldom of Selkirk
in his favour, 1688.
2 George Stepney, the poet, was
employed in various negotiations of
importance by William and Queen
Anne, and displayed considerable
abilities as a diplomatist. Very soon
after the date of this letter, Mr. Step-
ney was despatched to Dresden on a
mission to the Elector of Saxony.
3 Sir Edward Seymour was ap-
pointed a Lord of the Treasury in
1692, and was for a short time a pro-
minent member of King William's
administration. He was dismissed in
3
1694. But, if it be true that he only
consented to join the Government
under the threat of a prosecution for
high treason in the event of his re-
fusal, there seems to be no ground
for believing that his removal from
office was peculiarly distasteful to
him.
4 Mr. Howe, the younger brother
of Sir Scroop Howe, who was raised
to the Peerage in 1701 as Viscount
Howe. Mr. Howe had been re-
cently dismissed from the office of
Vice-Chamberlain to the Queen.
5 Sir John Thompson obtained the
object of his ambition: he was in
1696 crcated Lord Haversham.
16
[1694.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
2
better. The Archbishop of Canterbury' is taken ill
of an apoplexy since Sunday, and, I believe, will die.
Mr. Roberts (brother to Lord Radnor) has married my
Lady Mary Warrington, who will be worth 12,000l. to
him. He fell sick soon after the ceremony of mar-
riage. His illness hindered him to dance at our ball,
which was very fine. Perhaps my Lady Lexington
may be desirous to know the persons who performed.
The Duke of St. Alban's danced the best rigadoon,
the Duke of Richmond the best minuet, the Duke of
Northumberland was graceful in a courant; the rest
were Lord Essex, young Overkirk, Sir Scroop Howe's
son, and Mansy Howe, who made but indifferent stuff
of it. Our women were the Duchess of Grafton, my
Lady Essex, my Lady Macclesfield, Mrs. Villiers,
Mrs. Grenville, Mrs. Moon, Lady Betty Cromwell,
and Lady Betty Cavendish.
3
*
6
7
I would have given you more of this chat, but time
draws nigh for making up their pacquets at the office.
Nothing is yet done either in my business, or in Mr.
Prior's, because Duke Shrewsbury has been indisposed
with the colic for three or four days, but now he be-
gins to find himself something better.
¹ Dr. Tillotson; he died the next
day.
2 Lady Mary Booth, daughter of
Henry, second Lord Delamere and
first Earl of Warrington.
3
George Fitzroy, third son of
Charles II. by the Duchess of Cleve-
land; the three best performers
therefore at this ball were half-
brothers.
5
• Created in 1698 Earl of Gran-
tham.
5 Anne Countess of Macclesfield,
the mother of Richard Savage.
• Elizabeth Villiers (sister of Lord
Villiers and of the Countess of Port-
land), whose intrigue with the King
embittered the married life of her
mistress, Queen Mary. It is said
that the Queen on her deathbed im-
plored the King to discontinue the
connexion. In 1695 Mrs. Villiers
married Lord George Hamilton, who
was created Earl of Orkney in 1696.
7 Both Stepney and Prior were in
daily expectation of receiving diplo-
matic appointments.
!
1694.]
17
MR. GREG TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Mr. Greg' to Lord Lexington.
Copenhagen, Nov. 21, 1694.
2
3
As to what happened in the Downs about the
Danish commander refusing to strike his pennant to
our fleet, the King has now disavowed him in expres-
sive words, and promised that he shall be punished
exemplarily for the same upon his return; and this in
an authentic manner.
4
From Prince Louis of Baden to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
No date, but probably about Dec. 1694.
Being entirely devoted to His Britannic Majesty,
it gives me particular satisfaction to show on every
occasion my respectful attachment to his august per-
¹ Mr. Greg was British minister at
Copenhagen. He was cousin to the
William Greg, who, when employed
by Mr. Harley as a confidential clerk
in the secretary of state's office, was
detected in a treasonable correspond-
ence with Monsieur Chamillard, the
French minister, and executed at
Tyburn, 1707.
* The following extract from a
letter written by Sir Cloudesley
Shovel will explain the transaction
to which Mr. Greg refers. My
copy of this letter is in French, and
it is dated,
"The Neptune, in the Downs,
Aug. 11, 1694.
"This is to acquaint you that on
my arrival I found here a Danish
and a Swedish man-of-war. The
latter struck her flag, but the former
refused to strike hers, although I
sent orders to that effect three times.
I therefore directed the Stirling
Castle to bear down upon her, and
to oblige her, by force if necessary,
to lower her flag. Very early this
morning (for it was too late yester-
day evening before they could ap-
proach sufficiently near to her) the
Stirling Castle fired some cannon-
shots one after the other. This
failed to produce the desired effect,
and he then gave her a broadside,
which the Dane returned; after
which he quickly struck his flag.
"There are several dead and
wounded on both sides."
Notwithstanding the subsequent
disavowal of the Danish captain, there
is no doubt that, in refusing to strike
his flag, he acted in accordance with
instructions which he had received.
3 Christian V., King of Denmark.
+ Prince Louis of Baden, in 1691,
succeeded the Duke of Lorraine in
the command of the Imperial forces
on the Rhine: he had visited Eng-
land in 1693.
с
18
[1694.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
son, and I have thought it right to place myself and all
that belongs to me at your disposal immediately upon
your arrival at Vienna.
I beg of you to accept the offer of my services, and
to look upon me on every occasion as the most humble
and zealous of all the servants of the King your master;
and to believe that as regards yourself, I recollect with
pleasure all the civilities which you were pleased to
show me in England, and that I shall be delighted to
mark my sense of them by any services in my power.
LE PRINCE Louis de Baden.
(Signed)
If, in my absence, my house can be of use to you, I
willingly offer it to you: until you obtain another, you
will be more agreeably lodged there than elsewhere.
The Pensionary Heinsius' to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
The Hague, Dec. 6, 1694.
* *
2
You will doubtless have heard, even on
your journey, that two French gentlemen have had an
interview with M. de Dyckvelt.³
I think that it is my
duty to explain this affair to you, in order that you may
be able to remove the bad impressions which I under-
stand they wish to excite among the Allies with regard
1 Anthony Heinsius probably pos-
sessed a greater share of the confi-
dence of William than any other
statesman, with the exception of
Lord Portland. The former may
perhaps be regarded as the minister
in whom the King placed the great-
est reliance, while the latter was pre-
eminently his friend. Heinsius held
the office of Grand Pensionary of
Holland for thirty years, and died
1720, aged 87.
• Messieurs de Callières and de
Harlai were employed by Louis
XIV. in this delicate negotiation.
a M. de Dyckvelt was as subtle
and as well versed in the chicanery
of negotiations as any diplomatist of
his time. His successful intrigues
in England previously to the Revo-
lution contributed much to place
William on the throne of Great
Britain.
!
1694.]
19
HEINSIUS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
2
to it. You, Sir, are aware, by the instructions which
the King has given you, that His Majesty and the
States General formerly proposed at the Congress¹ of
the Hague that no negotiation should be entered into
until France had laid down, as the basis and ground-
work of the peace to be made, the treaties of West-
phalia and of Nimeguen, and the restitution of all the
Reunions, those of Strasburgh and Luxemburgh espe-
cially being therein comprised. The King, having heard
that France showed an inclination to acquiesce in the
said preliminaries, and that these two gentlemen could
give some information on the subject, was desirous that
M. de Dyckvelt should speak with them upon it at
Liège or at Maestricht, which he did. As soon as he
had an opportunity of meeting them, he inquired of
them whether France was willing to treat with all the
Allies, and to make a general peace. They replied in
the affirmative; and they gave a similar reply with re-
spect to the proposed basis of the negotiation; excepting,
however, that part which related to Strasburgh and
¹ This congress was held in 1691.
It was attended by William III. in
person, by the Electors of Bavaria
and Brandenburgh, and by many
other princes of the Empire or their
representatives.
2 The peace of Nimeguen was
scarcely signed before Louis XIV.
established three tribunals or cham-
bers of reunion, at Brisach for Al-
sace, Metz for the three bishoprics,
and Besançon for Franche Comté.
The object of these tribunals was to
investigate musty records and worm-
eaten manuscripts, and to collect
traditional information relative to all
the obsolete rights which had been
enjoyed, or were supposed to have
been enjoyed, by former sovereigns,
in order to appropriate the territories
subject to such rights as fiefs and de-
pendencies. These reunions did
not merely comprehend towns and
districts, but extended to whole
principalities, duchies, and counties.
-Coxe's History of Austria.
The truce of Ratisbonne, con-
cluded in 1684, left in the possession
of Louis the greater portion of the
territorics thus acquired, but it did
not check the proceedings of the
chambers of reunion, which formed
the chief cause of the renewal of the
war between France and the Empire
in 1688.
c 2
20
[1694.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Luxemburgh, for which they were willing to give equi-
valents; as regards the Reunions, they were prepared
to restore many, but not all of them. They did not
enter into any explanation with respect to the equiva-
lent for Strasburgh, but for Luxemburgh they hinted
at Ypres, the fortress of Knock, and Furnes; being
disposed, moreover, to give Dinant to the Bishop of
Liège. To Savoy they were willing to restore that
which they have taken from her, and they stated that
they should be prepared to satisfy England' as soon as
the other points were agreed upon, but they were
unable to make any statement upon the subject before-
hand. The King departed from hence before the
result of this interview could be communicated to
him. He directed M. de Dyckvelt to inform these
gentlemen that he would never take any step but
in concert with all the Allies, and that he should
feel himself bound to communicate everything to
them; and he desired M. de Dyckvelt (or me in case
M. de Dyckvelt should not come to the Hague) not to
delay this communication until he (the King) could re-
ceive, on the other side of the water, an account of the
interview, but to impart it at once to the Allies. On
his return here, M. de Dyckvelt immediately requested
M. de Voinitz and myself to consult with him on the
matter; he related all that had passed, and it was
determined to communicate it in confidence to the
Ministers of the Allies. It was further resolved that
M. de Dyckvelt should despatch his secretary to Maes-
tricht to inform the gentlemen there that he would not
fail to lay before the King a report of the conference,
1
By the recognition of the King
of Great Britain, which was the
•
third preliminary insisted upon by
William.
1694.]
MR. CRESSETT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
21
and to request that they would retire to their own
country. The communication has already been made
to the Ministers of the Allies; the two gentlemen have
been requested to retire (as we have reason to believe
they did yesterday); and a full report has been sent
to the King. We have thought it right to make this
communication one of a confidential nature, as it is not
desirable that it should become the subject of general
discussion.
1
Mr. Cressett" to Lord Lexington.
Winsen, Dec. 6, 1694.
3
This, I hope, will find my good lady and yourself
safe arrived at Vienna, and when your Lordship has
seen the great Roman Emperor, I hope I shall hear
something of him. My old Trojan here is a better
huntsman than his Imperial Majesty, though he is a
little affected with the gout at present.
The Court of Hanover is gone for Berlin, and in
this absence (probably) they will judge the Princess
and conclude the divorce; they never could have
brought it about, but by managing her so in prison that
she herself desires it, and so 'twill go upon what the
doctors call malicious desertion.
6
The French tool, General Birch, has been plying
-
¹ It would, however, appear that
although the terms offered by MM.
de Callières and de Harlai were po-
sitively refused, William III. indi-
rectly continued to avail himself of
the medium of communication thus
opened with France.
2 James Cressett, Esq., British
Minister at Zell.
3
Leopold I., Emperor of Ger-
many, Archduke of Austria, &c.
4
* George William, Duke of Zell,
elder brother of the Elector of Han-
over.
5
Sophia Dorothea.
• There was still a strong French
party at the Court of Hanover, al-
though both the Duke of Zell and
the Elector of Hanover had recently
signed a fresh treaty with the
Allies.
By a secret article in this treaty
22
[1694.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
about here, but I have kept him out of this court,
sorely against the will of all the folks in power here..
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 18, 1694.
The Parliament affairs at present don't afford
much to enlarge upon. What debate was yesterday
arose upon the Bill of Offices, which was then consi-
dered of in a committee. It was gone through with so
carelessly, as if people were unconcerned how it was
drawn up, as not thinking it would be passed at last;
but when the Bill was settled even to the preamble,
Sir Ralph Dutton2 offered a clause-that all who had
held offices under King Charles II. and King James
should be made incapable of being chosen. Sir Ed-
ward Hussey' was likewise for adding those who were
of the late King's Council. To this Col. Titus an-
swered that he had indeed that title, but knew no more
of that King's Council than the yeoman of the guard
who stood at the door. The Speaker' took this matter
4
William III. engaged to assist the
Elector in rendering the Bishopric
of Osnaburgh hereditary in his
family. By the treaty of West-
phalia it was provided that a Roman
Catholic and a Protestant bishop
(who was also to be a member of the
House of Brunswick) should be
alternately appointed to this see.
1
¹ A similar bill for rendering
members of the House of Commons
incapable of places of trust and pro-
fit had passed both Houses of Par-
liament the preceding Session; but
the King refused to assent to it.
2 Sir Ralph Dutton, M.P. for
Gloucestershire.
1
-
³ Sir Edward Hussey, M.P. for
Lincoln.
4 Colonel Silas Titus, M.P. for
Ludlow, had concurred in the pro-
posal to repeal the penal laws, and
in 1688 he was admitted to the Privy
Council by James II. But although
Col. Titus was in favour of tolera-
tion, it was very well known that he
was by no means disposed to aid the
King in his designs for the re-esta-
blishment of Popery.
5 Sir John Trevor was elected
Speaker in 1690, and appointed
Master of the Rolls on the death of
Mr. Powle, in 1692. He had held
both these offices in the preceding
1694.]
23
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
up more seriously, and said it was a scandalous clause,
and could be brought in for no other end but to lose
the bill; that he had an office under the late King, and
was put out of it afterwards without cause; that he
owed his being restored to it to the good opinion that
House were pleased to have of him, that he neither
served the late King nor any King dishonourably or
contrary to his duty. Sir Edward Seymour' said he
had the honour to serve King Charles II.; that under
the late King he had no employment-not but that he
might if he had sought it; but he was no complier
with the times. In this reign he had been brought into
the Council and into employment unknown to him, and
without his desire, and he thought himself as much
obliged for putting him out as taking him in.
2
The Lords passed the Triennial Bill this day with-
out a division or amendment, yet eight or ten Lords
were against it; that is, they would have this Parlia-
ment determine in 1695. The Earl of Monmouth ³
3
reign, and was a member of the
Privy Council of James II. Burnet
states, that "had Lord Jeffreys
stuck at anything, he (Sir John Tre-
vor) was looked on as the man like-
liest to have had the Great Scal."
¹ Sir Edward Seymour was Speaker
of the House of Commons, and held
other high offices in the reign of
Charles II. In 1679 he was chosen
Speaker for the second time. The
Crown, however, claimed the right
of nomination, and Mr. Meers was
placed in the chair, and his appoint-
ment sanctioned by the King. The
next day Sir E. Seymour was pre-
sented as Speaker elect, but rejected
by Charles II. At length the mat-
ter was adjusted by the rejection of
both the rival candidates for the chair,.
and a third person, Mr. Gregory,
was proposed by Lord Russell, and
elected Speaker. Although Sir Ed-
ward Seymour's election was allowed
to drop, the point was settled that
the choice of the Speaker rested with
the House of Commons, and not with
the Crown. Vide Burnet.
2 This bill was brought in by
Mr. Harley, afterwards Earl of Ox-
ford, and received the Royal assent
on the 22nd December, although but
a few months before the King had
rejected a similar bill.
3 Better known as the Earl of
Peterborough, to which title he suc-
ćeeded on the death of his uncle in
1697.
24
[1694.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
began it, but did not insist upon it, as being convinced
if the Commons should oppose the amendment, the
Bill was not to be hazarded, or the House put to re-
tract for so small a difference as one year; but my
Lord Halifax was for maintaining that opinion, be the
consequences as they would, and after all desired to
protest.¹
{
The Pensionary Heinsius to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
The Hague, Dec. 28, 1694.
I hope that on your arrival at Vienna
you received
my
former letters: I can add nothing to them, unless
it be that the King is of opinion that the proposals (for
peace) were not of a nature to be accepted; and ap-
proves of our having communicated the result of the
interview to the Ministers of the Allies without waiting
for his answer.
Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington.
We are now informed that the gentlemen have with-
drawn from Namur and returned to Paris.
This protest was signed by the
Duke of Devonshire (the Lord Stew-
ard), and Lords Halifax, Aylesbury,
and Weymouth.
Frederick III., Elector of Bran-
Zell, Dec. 20, 1694.
They are still puzzled at Hanover about their
divorce, and I cannot see what way they will get out
of their filthy business. The Court is come back from
Berlin, and they say that the Elector 2 of Brandenburgh
is prevailed with to come to the carnival.
denburgh, who afterwards assumed
the title of King of Prussia, mar-
ried in 1684 Sophia Charlotte,
daughter of the Elector of Hanover.
!
}
1694.] MR. PRIOR TO LORD AND LADY LEXINGTON.
25
Mr. Prior to Lord and Lady Lexington.
Hague, Dec. 1694.
31
21'
I have received yours, my good Lord, of the 1st
(11th), and yours, my honoured Lady, of the 15th (5th)
of December. It is the honour of my embassy to hold
such correspondence, and the joy of my heart to hear you
are well. I should entertain you with some public news,
but that it does not signify very much that the States
have bargained with particular persons for all the horses
they are to employ in their carriages for the artillery
this next campaign, or that my Lord Athlone and Mr.
Dyckvelt cannot go to Brussels by reason of the frost.
My Lord's own letters will inform him how matters go
in England: we have three millions already founded
on tonnage, and 4s. per pound on land, so my Lord
pays the fifth part of his estate in ready money to have
his extraordinaries in tallies, 2 but that is a considera-
1
¹ Godart de Ginckell was, in 1691,
created Earl of Athlone, for his
eminent military services in Ireland.
2 Money was very scarce in Eng-
land, and the British ministers who
were resident at foreign Courts
were most irregularly paid. Even
tallies, which were sometimes at 30
or even 40 per cent. discount, were
not obtained without great difficulty
and frequent application, as will ap-
pear from the following extract of a
letter, addressed to Lady Lexington
by Lord L.'s private agent, Mr.
Varey. The date of this letter is
June 4, 1695. There are many others
on the same subject, and written in a
similar strain :-"I formerly wrote
you word that the King had passed
all your bills of extraordinaries; and
the Lords (of the Treasury) had
passed them, too, before the King
went, and tallies were ordered to be
struck for my Lord, and everybody
else that is abroad: but of a sudden
everything was stopped, and no tallies
to be struck for the extraordinaries;
and for the ordinary but one quarter,
which I have now a tally for, for
4557.; it will not be paid these two
years or thereabouts. We cannot
get them discounted under eight or
ten per cent.
We
that are concerned for our friends
abroad, do tease the Lords of the
Treasury so, that I hope they will
give orders for striking the tallies in
a week or fortnight's time at furthest,
for the extraordinaries, which you
shall have an account of when done;
and then I will present Mr. Vernon
with ten guineas, as my Lord orders.
But
26
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694.
tion which touches very few foreign ministers (I mean
of ours) besides his Lordship, since most of the rest,
from D'Hervaert' to Prior, stay abroad because they
have nothing at home, and are sent to preach politics,
as the Apostles were on a better errand, without purse
or scrip. "In the midst of thy anger remember jus-
tice," says the wise man, so I must own I have got
money enough out of the Treasury to secure me and
mine from starving till towards April, upon which I
make so great a figure that everybody takes me for a
resident, and two or three public ministers have been
dupes enough to invite me to dinner. Stepney has got
47. a day and 300l. advanced for equipage, which,
being a very discreet person, he intends (I presume)
to spend before he leaves London, for as yet I do not
hear when he will set out.
I wish my Lord well quit of his gala coat and visits,
my Lady wax tapers and good perfumes, and Mrs.
Davers 2 Pam and black aces.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 21, 1694.
His Majesty, dining yesterday with the Earl of
Romney,³ came in a chair to the Duke of Shrewsbury's
in the afternoon, and was there half-an-hour before he
But I must now get him to speak to
my Lord Duke* to speak to Lord
Godolphin,† to get them despatched,
and then I will present him."
1
Envoy to the Swiss Cantons.
2 Mrs. Davers was a cousin of Lord
Lexington.
* Duke of Shrewsbury.
3 Henry Sidney, Earl of Romney,
was Master of the Ordnance, Lord
Warden of the Cinque Ports, and a
Lord of the Bedchamber. He was
supposed to rank next to Lord Port-
land in the personal favour of the
King.
+ First Commissioner of the Treasury.
1694-5.] MR. CRESSETT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
27
went to Council. The Queen has been out of order
this day or two; we wish it may only prove a cold,
but her physician, Sir Thomas Millington, has this day
prescribed her a vomit, which I hear has worked well.
I hope by the next post I may send you the account of
her being well.
I know not how Sir Richard Verney may succeed
in his petition before the House of Lords, which the
Attorney-General is to argue against to-morrow se'n-
night. He is like to insist upon a clear proof of the
pedigree, which my Lord Brook's counsel, who appeared
yesterday (together with Sir Richard Verney's), were
willing to allow and take for granted, contesting only
that he cannot take the name of Brook, but not opposing
his being Lord Verney of Brook.¹
It seems 172 years have passed since any one sat in
the House of Lords by virtue of the writ that they
now claim by, and it is said there are sixteen or
seventeen petitions more of the same nature, that only
wait the success of this. I know not whether this be
given out to raise up an opposition in those who are like
to be set lower by the revival of these old pretensions.
Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington.
Zell, Dec. 23, 1694.
I believe the Princess was divorced yesterday,
some hours before I married the little kinswoman. 2
The Court of Brandenburgh will come to rejoice at
Hanover next Saturday, even to the Electoral Prince.
¹ The claim was allowed, and Sir
Richard Verney was summoned to
the House of Peers, as Lord Wil-
loughby de Broke, on the 25th
Feb. 1695.
2 Mr. Cressett married Madame
de la Motte, who was related to the
Princess Sophia Dorothea through
her mother, the Duchess of Zell.
28
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Lord Galway' to Lord Lexington.
Turin,
(Translation.)
We are preparing here for the siege of Casal,"
which we shall commence the beginning of March.
It is, in truth, the only plan which presents a chance of
success; and if we do not undertake this siege in the
spring, our campaign this year will be as useless as the
last. His Royal Highness's feelings are in accordance
with the King's wishes. 3
¹ On the death of the young Duke
of Schomberg, who was killed at the
battle of Marsaglia in 1693, Henri
de Rouvigny, Viscount Galway, suc-
ceeded him in the command of the
British troops in Piedmont, and as
Minister at Turin. The frank and
open character, however, of Lord
Galway rendered him a very unequal
match for the subtle and faithless
Duke of Savoy.
Dec. 23, 1694.
Jan. 3, 1695.
2 Prince Eugene, who commanded
the Imperial forces in Piedmont, in-
sisted upon the siege of Casal as a
pledge of the sincerity of the Duke
of Savoy, of which he entertained
strong and well-founded suspicions.
But the Duke succeeded in turning
to his own advantage the siege which
4
I will now tell you what I know of the conference at
Steckborn: It is certain that Baron Zeyler, the Emperor's
commissary at Ratisbonne, was there with a Venetian
called Cornaro, a Frenchman, and another unknown
person who goes by the name of Acierto, which is
apparently a fictitious name, and who has been since
arrested at Rhinfeld, but released on his passport.
They were also at Stein. You know better than I do
that M. de Chinski, at Vienna, states that neither he
5
2
he was thus unwillingly compelled
to undertake.
⁹ In the original, "Son Altesse
Royale est dans les sentiments que
le Roy peut souhaiter." The mean-
ing obviously is, that the Duke of
Savoy continued firm to the cause of
the Allies; and such was Lord Gal-
way's belief.
* The Diet was no longer attended
by the Emperor, Electors and Princes
of the Empire in person; it had, in
fact, become a congress of ministers,
to which the Emperor sent his com-
missary, the Electors and Princes
their envoys, and the towns a com-
mon or particular agent.
5 Count Chinski, chancellor of
Bohemia, and the principal minister
of the Emperor.
!
;
1694-5.] LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
29
nor the Emperor knows anything of this affair, and that
M. de Kaunitz, at the Hague, says that he has never
heard any mention of it. This is not probable.' I
believe that it is an attempt on the part of France to
sow dissension among the Allies; and having first
circulated the rumour of a secret treaty between the
crowns of the North and the Protestant Electors, and
thereby caused some jealousy at Vienna, they have
now, for the purpose of rendering the Protestants
uneasy in their turn, set on foot this conference at
Steckborn through some Jesuit, under the pretext of
its being necessary for the Catholic Princes to take
measures to prevent the Protestants from gaining any
advantage in the peace, of which they speak so much.
It would seem that the Pope and the Venetians have
taken part in this affair.
2
3
The Baron Zeyler, who is the principal person in
the matter, is of the Palatinate: he has turned Catholic
since this electorate has fallen into the hands of the
Neuburgh branch. The Elector Palatine placed him
4
¹ Nor was it true: a secret nego-
tiation of the character described by
Lord Galway was in progress, and
Baron Zeyler, who managed it on
the part of the Emperor, was in con-
stant correspondence with the Im-
perial ministers. The partial success
which attended this and other at-
tempts on the part of Louis XIV.
to increase the jealousy which ex-
isted between the Protestants and
Roman Catholics, allies, warned
William III. of the danger of pro-
tracting the contest, and rendered
him more anxious to conclude a
peace.
2 Cardinal Pignatelli succeeded
Alexander VIII. Jan. 30, 1691, and
3
assumed the title of Innocent XII.
Burnet says that Zeyler, or
Zeiler, was a creature of the Jesuits:
he was, therefore, in every way
fitted for the conduct of an intrigue
of this kind.
* Charles, the last Elector Pala-
tine of the Protestant house of Zim-
meren, died in 1685; and on his
death the collateral branch of Neu-
burgh, which was warmly attached
to the Roman Catholic faith, suc-
ceeded to the Palatinate. The
Empress was the eldest sister of
John William of Neuburgh, Elec-
tor Palatine, who had also married
Mary Anne Josepha, the sister of
the Emperor. She died in 1689.
30
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694-5.
in the service of His Imperial Majesty; and, if I am
not deceived, the Emperor is ashamed of the proceed-
ing, and dares neither to avow the Baron Zeyler nor to
punish him. Perhaps my conjectures may be ill
founded: you will easily learn, for you are on the spot.
Lord Paget to Lord Lexington.
Dec. 24, 1694.
The Grand Vizier has sent his army to their
winter quarters, and is returned to Adrianople well
satisfied, as he would make men believe, with the last
summer's expedition. It is said that if the violent
rains had not hindered his design, he had defeated the
Imperial army, and taken Peterwaradin: that however
they returned to Belgrade without any loss or incon-
venience. This report, howsoever false it be, quiets the
Grand Signior, whose great concern is for the loss of
Scio. The Grand Vizier has orders to use all means
possible to recover it, and great preparations are making
to march into Morea next spring, to carry a diversion
thither, that they may have an opportunity to land men
on the isle. They threaten mightily what they will
do; but I think they will not be able to remove the
Venetians from their quarters, where they have had
leisure to fortify themselves. '
1
'The Republic of Venice declared
war against the Porte in 1683; and
their Ambassador having by stealth
sent the declaration to the Divan,
escaped in the disguise of a sailor.
Astonished by their own success
at the commencement of this contest,
the Venetians were in the habit of
calling it the Miraculous War: but
François Morosini, their celebrated
Doge, and the Captain-General of
their forces, died in 1693. From
that time the power and energy of
the Republic rapidly diminished;
and in 1701 her position was thus
described by the Duke of Mantua.
He said that she was irresolute in
her councils, tardy in her measures,
torn by factions, embarrassed by the
insolence of her younger citizens, and
!
1694-5.] MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
31
I lately received the Grand Vizier's letter, that calls
me to Adrianople, whither I intend to go next week.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 25, 1694.
Here has been an universal concern for Her Ma-
jesty's indisposition, but none more sensible of it than
the King, who would never be persuaded to lie out of
the Queen's bedchamber, and therefore had his field
bed brought in thither, to be at hand and ready upon
all occasions to assist her. It was not till this morning
that we have had any abatement in our apprehensions.
On Sunday, about nine in the morning, the Queen
began to break out with spots, from whence the doctors
concluded she had the small pox, and continued in that
persuasion till last night that the nurse who lives with
my Lady Pulteney, and is now appointed to attend
Her Majesty, discovered it to be more like the measles,
which the physicians being called to advise upon, Dr.
Ratcliff came over immediately to the nurse's opinion,
but Sir Thomas Millington suspended his judgment, as
thinking there were symptoms both of the one and the
other. The Queen slept several hours last night, and
waked in very good temper, and has continued so ever
since, getting some more sleep this afternoon, so that
the King is more and more satisfied it is the measles,
accompanied with an erysipelas, or rash. She is full of
spots in her arms and extreme parts, and her head is a
little swelled, and her eyes contracted, that she can
destitute alike of treasures, of gene-
rals, and of armies. Vide Daru's
Hist. of Venice.
Scio was taken by the Venetians
in Sept. 1694, but was shortly after-
wards recovered by the Turks.
32
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
scarce see; but we hope all will go off again in a short
time.
The doctors do say that there was a puzzling compo-
sition in this distemper; but if Her Majesty goes on in
this way of recovery, as, we thank God, there is great
probability of it, the nurse will clearly have the better
of the physicians, for they all along, expecting those
spots should have filled, and finding they did not, began
to think the Queen in danger; and there was a great
dejection of people's spirits till this happy alteration.
Duke of Shrewsbury' to Lord Lexington.
London, Dec. 28, 1694.
It is my duty more than my inclination that
obliges me to trouble you at this time; I should not
else be fond of being the first to acquaint you with so
ill news as this will bring. About a week since, her
Majesty was taken with an indisposition which seemed
at first but slight, but turned afterwards to the small-
pox, and that of so fatal a kind, that as soon as the
physicians agreed that to be her disease, their appre-
¹ On the formation of his first
administration in 1689, William III.
attempted to conciliate both the
Whig and the Tory parties by the
appointment of the Earls of Shrews-
bury and Nottingham as joint Secre-
taries of State.
King; and yet there can be little
doubt that he was indirectly and oc-
casionally, at least, in communication
with the court of St. Germains, and
that William was aware of it. The
Duke, however, was naturally timid,
but not treacherous; and the King
probably attributed this want of good
faith to his fear of the consequences,
should James II. succeed in regain-
Lord Shrewsbury, however, re-
tired from office in 1690, but in
1694 he received a dukedom and the
Garter, and was induced, or rathering the crown, and not to any real
forced, by the King to resume the
Seals, which were at that time taken
from Lord Nottingham.
desire to restore the exiled Monarch.
This, indeed, would appear to be
the true solution of an enigma which
is otherwise incomprehensible.
The Duke of Shrewsbury was re-
garded with especial favour by the
1694-5.] MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
33
hensions for her life grew very great; and ill symptoms
increasing upon her, it pleased God this morning, about
one of the clock, to take her out of this world. Never
did grief appear more general in a town, or more real
sorrow in a court; and his Majesty's afflictions have
been so passionate, and the neglect of his health so
great, that it has given too just grounds for that request
the Lords and Commons have made to him to take
more care of his own person.
In this dismal scene, it is a considerable comfort to
perceive such ready and warm resolutions in both
Houses to defend his Majesty against his enemies at
home and abroad.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 28, 1694.
My Lord Duke' writing to your Lordship on this
sad occasion, there will be little left for me to trouble
you with; but I can't but pay my tribute of sorrow to
the memory of so great a Queen, whom we expected
to be a more lasting blessing to these nations. But it
has pleased God to frustrate our hopes, so that you will
now receive an account far different from my last, the
alteration beginning that very night; for the next
morning the physicians receded from their former
opinion of the Queen's having the measles, and were
then satisfied it was the small-pox, though a very unkind
sort of them, with a mixture of St. Anthony's fire,
which is said to have occasioned the swelling about her
eyes and mouth. Some few spots that were upon her
temples began then to appear discoloured, and there were
The Duke of Shrewsbury.
D
34
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694-5.
2
some other ill symptoms; whereupon more physicians
were sent for-viz. Stockham, Coladon, and Gibbons,
and the Queen was let blood in the temples, and many
blisters drawn. She got a little rest towards the former
part of that night, but any glimpse of hopes soon
vanished again, and death seemed to advance upon
her, she visibly declining, and her pulse growing weaker
in spite of Sir Walter Raleigh's cordial and King
Charles's drops. The Archbishop of Canterbury¹ made
known to her her condition on Wednesday, without
any dismay, as one long prepared for all extremities;
and yesterday she received the Sacrament with great
devotion and resignation. Last night a Council was
called at Kensington, and some of the physicians were
sent for to give an account how they found the Queen.
Sir Thomas Millington told them they had observed
the Queen to decline very fast till that noon, insomuch
that they expected a speedy issue of it, but that she had
not grown worse since; but upon her taking the bezoar
cordial she appeared to be a little more lively, and that
Dr. Ratcliff thought her pulse to rise again, but he could
not say he perceived any such thing. He told them the
spots appeared all along but like so many flea bites,
none of them raising the skin, which continued (as he
expressed it) smooth like glass.
3
My Lord President was then sent from the Council
to his Majesty, to desire he would have some consi-
deration of his own health; which was very neces-
sary advice, since his Majesty has so much neglected
¹ Dr. Tenison, Bishop of Lincoln,
was appointed to the primacy on the
death of Archbishop Tillotson.
2 So in the original. The mean-
ing, however, of the sentence is ob-
vious.
3 The Duke of Leeds.
•
1694-5.]
35
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
himself since the Queen's first falling ill. It was but
two nights since that he has been persuaded to lie out
of her bedchamber, and then he would only remove to
the next room. He has scarce got any sleep or taken
any nourishment, and there is hardly any instance of
so passionate a sorrow as the King has been overtaken
with, which seemed excessive while life yet lasted, and
'tis risen to a greater degree since; so that he can
hardly bear the sight of those that were most agreeable
to him before. He had some fits like fainting yesterday,
but to-day they have prevailed on him to bleed. Last
night the Queen grew delirious, and continued so till
she died.
A council has been called this evening to consider
of burying the body, but I don't hear anything is yet
resolved on. I hear it has been opened and embalmed,
and that to-morrow night it will be removed to White-
hall. The King continues still at Kensington; they
say he will remove only till the mourning furniture is
put up, but whether it will be out of the house, or only
down stairs, I don't hear. My Lord Steward¹ has
offered him Arlington House.
2
I hope the vigour of the Parliament will keep the
ill-intentioned in awe. There was a rumour begun to
be spread to see how it would take, as if the Parliament
were dissolved by the Queen's death, they being called
by writs in both their names. * I know not whether
any member of either house were possessed with that
notion, but none appeared to own it; and if they had,
they would have found themselves but coarsely treated
for doctrines that tend only to subvert the Government.
'The Duke of Devonshire.
2 It is said that this point was
raised by the Earls of Nottingham
and Rochester.
D 2
36
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694-5.
So that if his Majesty be pleased to moderate his grief,
as I hear he is in something better temper this evening,
I hope our affairs will go in the same train, though the
death of this excellent Queen must always be reckoned a
grievous loss.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
1
Whitehall, Jan. 1, 1694.
I sent you by the last post the most afflicting news
of the Queen's death, and therefore shall not return to
that melancholy subject, but proceed only to tell you
that the body was opened on Friday, and embalmed on
Saturday; those who were present at the doing it
have, according to custom, delivered their observations
to my Lord Chamberlain² in writing, and sealed up;
and they are under an oath not to disclose them but
when required or permitted. The Council have had
several meetings about the Queen's burial, and are of
opinion it ought to be with as much decency and show as
may be consistent with a prudent and necessary frugality.
The body is to lie for some days in state at Whitehall,
and in order thereunto it was brought thither about
three o'clock on Sunday morning, and is laid in the
Great Bedchamber. The bowels were buried soon
after at Westminster, and the mourning furniture is
now putting up at Whitehall and Kensington, where
I find his Majesty intends to continue. He is still very
disconsolate, and does not well bear any access to him,
and not at all as yet to hear of business. There was a
necessity of admitting the two Houses yesterday, but in
what condition he was to receive them will best appear
Old style.
2 Charles Sackville, Earl of Dor-
set and Middlesex, the patron of
Prior.
1694-5.] MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
37
by his answer to their addresses, which, as short as it
is, he had no small difficulty to deliver, his grief inter-
rupting him. It can't be expected but he must look
thin, and like one wasted with sorrow, but he has not
been blooded as was reported, the reasons ceasing for
which the doctors once thought it necessary; so I hope
what is excessive in his sorrow will wear off by degrees,
and that he will begin to admit the diversion of busi-
ness, which must be allowed to have its turn. On
Saturday his Majesty sent the Earl of Romney to the
Prince' to return his compliment, and thank him for
his visit, who I have already mentioned was on Friday
at the bedchamber door to inquire of the King's health.
My Lord Duke2 is not yet got rid of his pain: it has
since Sunday last occasioned a weakness in his sight,
which must needs be very mortifying, considering how
he lost his other eye. This has not hindered but he
ventured out to see the King both on Saturday and
yesterday, but it could not be to talk of business, his
Majesty not being yet able to bear it.
3
The Office paper will inform you that all the two
Houses did on Saturday was to form their addresses,
and yesterday to present them at Kensington, where I
find his Majesty intends to continue.
I know not whether they will meddle any more with
the Lancashire business, no day being named for it;
but if they do, I hear it can be proved after all that
Mr. Walmesly was in England when his servant says
he was in France, and that he landed at Whitehaven.
The Lord Howard of Escrick, who not long since
4
5
¹ Prince George of Denmark.
2 Of Shrewsbury.
3 Of condolence.
• Mr. Walmesly was implicated
in the Lancashire conspiracy, but
was acquitted with the rest of the
accused.
5 Charles, fourth and last Lord
38
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
married the Lady Inchiquin, has left her already for
the sake of another woman, whom he was in league
with before, and it is said they are both gone together
for Holland. I find all his lady's concern now is to
prove, if she can, that he was first married to that
woman, for since she is like to lose her husband she is
desirous to preserve her jointure.
My Lord Cutts is going down to Plymouth to make
the draughts of soldiers to be sent to Jamaica; they
are to be twelve hundred men, that are to compose a
regiment of six companies, under the command of
Colonel Lillingston.
Mrs. Booth, the fine dancer, is lately married to Mr.
Hudson, a young gentleman of the North.
Mr. Russell' has now a commission sent him of Cap-
tain-General of the Fleet.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
lat
Whitehall, Jan. 4, 1694.75
3
I am come so late this evening from Kensington,
where I have been attending for the letters of notifica-
tion, that I shall have little time to write to your
Lordship; but in recompense I can give you a better
account how the King does, which I am sure your
Lordship will be best satisfied to know. I can tell you,
therefore, what I have from the Archbishop of Canter-
bury (who scarce stirs from thence), that the King is
Howard of Escrick, in 1694, suc-
ceeded his father William, the no-
torious Lord Howard, on whose tes-
timony Lord Russell and Colonel
Sidney were convicted.
¹ Edward Russell, created in 1697
Earl of Orford, was at this time in
command of the British fleet in the
Mediterranean, and at the head of
the Admiralty.
2 Old style.
3 Of the Queen's death.
1694-5.]
39
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
much better than he was, and begins to think of affairs.
His sleep and his appetite are more regular. This day
he walked into the garden, which he had not done
before; only a day or two ago he was carried out
thither in his chair: he does not yet allow access, even
to great men. Some of them have been with him, but
his grief rising at the first sight of them, makes them
that they can't continue long in his presence; but that
wears off too. My Lord Duke' has been there two or
three times, but he does not yet admit him to enter
into several particulars he has to lay before him. I
suppose he may have a better opportunity to-morrow,
when his Grace thinks of going again.
2
The Princess, I hear, has, within two or three days,
writ a very submissive letter to the King, so that she
is entirely disposed to be wholly governed by his Ma-
jesty; and there is no prospect for any to build their
hopes upon a division of those who so well understand
how much it is their interest to be united. The Coun-
cil have had frequent meetings about the Queen's
funeral, and it is at last referred to a select committee
to adjust all particulars, and it is like to be done with
more solemnity than was at first discoursed of. It is
thought all things may be ready for the Queen's lying
in state towards the latter end of next week, and that
she may be buried the week following.
¹ Of Shrewsbury.
2 The breach between the King
and the Princess was of long stand-
ing; and indeed their relative posi-
tions rendered it impossible that any
real cordiality should exist between
them. It is said that the letter re-
ferred to by Mr. Vernon was written
by the Princess at the instance of
Lord Sunderland, who, in thus ef-
fecting a reconciliation between the
King and his sister-in-law, rendered
an important service to the former;
for the title of William to the Crown
had become even more defective
than before, by the death of the
Queen.
40
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
The Duke of Shrewsbury to Lord Lexington.
London, Jan. 8, 1695.
Yours of the 5th, 8th, 12th, 15th, by express, and
15th by the post, with one since of the 19th December,
Old Style, want an answer; but I hope your Lordship
will consider that as my own indisposition during this
whole time has not allowed me to be very assiduous in
watching the fittest opportunity to receive his Majesty's
commands, so if my health had been better, and my
diligence greater, the passionate concern his Majesty
has, and still continues to express, would not admit
my receiving from him such a thorough informa-
tion of affairs as is necessary to my great ignorance,
before I could be enabled to make pertinent answers to
matters of so great consequence as are contained in your
Lordship's letters; for besides my inability and want
of experience in the management of affairs of this
nature, I am so great a stranger to all proceedings, that
perhaps you will wonder at it; having never had the
least light or intimation of this treaty from any of the
ministers abroad, except what I have received from
your Lordship, or been acquainted with the particulars
of it from anybody at home, so that I am very glad you
are furnished from other hands with what to answer
upon the meeting at Maestricht. Had you expected
any information or to have been helped with an excuse
from me, I must have assured your Lordship it is what
I am now as much unacquainted with as any gentleman
that lives in the country, having never heard otherwise
of it than as they may do in news letters.
My long knowledge of your Lordship makes me not
in the least doubt you have pursued your instructions
1694-5.j
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
41
·"
with great exactness; but those you received at your
parting with his Majesty having not yet been communi-
cated to me, I hope it will nowhere be expected I
should say anything upon what I have not seen.
As soon as it is possible to obtain so long an audi-
ence of the King as will be requisite to lay your letters
before him, and to instruct my own ignorance, I will
give you the best account I can of his Majesty's com-
mands; but the first being difficult, and the second.
perhaps invincible, I cannot promise when I shall be
able to perform this. '
1
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Jan. 8, 1694.2
The King begins now to set about business, and
to appear more openly. The bedchamber people are
¹ I have inserted this letter as a
curious proof of the manner in which
the business of the Government was
carried on at that time.
It will be observed that the Se-
cretary of State frankly avows that
he is entirely ignorant of that which
it was his chief business to super-
intend and direct. Nor were the
circumstances themselves unimpor-
tant, for it will be remembered that
at the meeting at Maestricht, to
which the Duke refers, Louis XIV.
had offered terms of peace to the
Allies, which terms had been refused.
But the Duke of Shrewsbury was
probably as well informed on this
subject as most of his colleagues; for
William III. retained under his own
immediate superintendence and con-
trol the conduct of all important
foreign negotiations. He was, more-
over, annually absent from England
for many months. With the excep-
tion of the Earl of Portland, none of
his ministers accompanied him; and
the orders of the King were gene-
rally conveyed to the British en-
voys at their several stations, through
Lord Portland or Mr. Blathwayt.
During these intervals the Secretary
of State was frequently entirely ig-
norant of the negotiations in pro-
gress; and the despatches which he
continued occasionally to address to
the ministers abroad were mere
matters of form; at least they con-
tained no directions, although they
were probably valuable to those to
whom they were sent, as giving an
account of the gossip of the day,
both political and private. In the
foreign policy therefore of England
at this time the ostensible Ministers
of the Crown had but little share.
2 Old style.
42
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
admitted to waiting, which they were not before, and
it began with the Earl of Romney's turn on Saturday.
All belonging to the bedchamber have been let in ever
since, but the doors are not yet open to others. The
Prince waited on the King on Sunday, and was kindly
received. The Princess should have been there yes-
terday, but was taken ill, and there are some appear-
ances as if she were in danger of miscarrying; this may
defer her going to Kensington for some days. I hope
an accommodation is secured by reasonable submissions
on one side, and their being accepted on the other;
but as to her removing to St. James's, I can't say how
forward that is.' The Queen's burial is not like to be
near so soon as was talked of; the preparations will be
great, and require time-for aught I know, to the
middle of next month.
Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington.
Hanover, Jan. 10, 1694. 2
The impertinent rejoicings of this Court your
Lordship will believe are very provoking to me at pre-
sent; but I must stay in the town, though I shall
never be present at their opera. The Elector of Bran-
denburgh is here, but goes away on Saturday, and has
a mind to seę Dresden shortly; the Electress stays
to the end of their unseasonable carnival. They have
dragged the good Duke of Zell here to see the triumph
for the divorce; he has heartily wept the Queen's
death.
¹ The Princess had been deprived
of her apartments in 1692.
2 Old style.
1694-5.] MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
43
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Jan.
10, 1694.
20, 1695.
'Tis necessary to know the ill as well as the good
of our affairs, and I assure your Lordship I can send
you nothing good from hence at present, nor have any
prospect of doing it in haste. This Court has not
begun yet to make the least preparations, either by
levies of men or money, for their defence in Catalonia²
or Navarre next summer; they seem to depend on the
coming of foreign troops, as Germans, Italians, and
Irish. What grounds they have to hope from Ger-
many and Italy, your Lordship will know better than
I, though I believe not much without money: there
is no more than in Switzerland: and as to the Irish
they expected, I believe they will soon be disabused.
The Marques de Gastanaga, when he arrived at Bar-
celona, found not above 3000 men, and those in want
of all necessaries, insomuch that he has since pressed
earnestly for leave to quit his new government, if they
would not send him speedy supplies both of men and
money; upon which, four days ago, they sent him
30,000 crowns. This Court is so divided in factions,
that they mind nothing but their private quarrels, and
³
¹ Alexander Stanhope, British mi-
nister at Madrid, was the youngest
son of Philip, first Earl of Chester-
field. Mr. Stanhope was the father
of James, first Earl Stanhope.
2 The campaign in Catalonia of
the preceding year had placed the
greater part of the province at the
mercy of the French troops. In
May, 1694, the Maréchal de Noail-
les, who commanded the French
forces in that quarter, defeated, on
the banks of the Ter, the Spanish
army under the command of the
Duke de Escaleona.-He then re-
duced in succession some of the
strongest places in the province; and
Barcelona itself was threatened.
9 The Marques de Gastanaga had
recently succeeded the Duke de Es-
caleona, as viceroy of Catalonia.
44
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
wholly neglect all care of the public; the prevailing
party thinking it of more importance to remove a
German lady, Madame Berlips, her son lately made
Envoy of Poland, and one or two more of the young
Queen's' servants, from about her person and the Court,
than the providing an army to save the monarchy.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
2
Whitehall, Jan. 11, 1694. ²
3
The Princess of Denmark has not yet been well
enough to venture to Kensington, but I believe she
may go thither to-morrow or next day. I don't find
there is any apprehension of her miscarrying. They
have now guards ³ appointed them, both of horse and
foot. I hope all things are disposed to a sincere union
of interests, which cannot be disjoined without great
prejudice. I hear the Earl of Clarendon has desired
leave to wait on the Princess, but had for answer
that for many reasons she did not think it fit; and
one particularly was, she did not desire to see any
who had not first waited on the King. I can't omit
mentioning, that in the debate in the House of Com-
mons on Wednesday, whether those should be excused
from paying double taxes who took the oath of fidelity,
though they did not that of supremacy, (which was
chiefly set on foot by some of my Lord Dover's"
friends,) Sir Edward Seymour was against it, saying
4
¹ Maria Anna, sister of the Elector
Palatine and of the Empress of Ger-
many, was married to Charles II. of
Spain, in 1690. She was his second
wife.
2 Old style.
3 The Princess had been deprived
of her guards in 1692.
4 The Earl of Clarendon was a
nonjuror.
5
Henry Jermyn, crcated Lord
Dover 1685, was a Roman Catholic.
1694-5.]
45
LORD GALWAY TO. LORD LEXINGTON.
this was not a time of day to compound with
Papists, and wished too much of it had not been done
already.
The Lords intend to appear at the funeral in their
robes, by reason they come as a House. The King is
still so far retired, that none came to the levée but
such as are of the bedchamber. There is a discourse
as if the King would remove to some pleasant house
near the town, while Kensington is new furnishing. I
think no doubt is to be made but his Majesty will make
the campaign as if this misfortune had not befallen us.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
Turin, Jan.
¹ Lord Lexington had informed
Lord Galway that grave suspicions
were entertained of the good faith of
the Duke of Savoy. It is curious to
observe how completely the Duke
succeeded in deluding Lord Galway
into the belief of his continued and
firm attachment to a cause which he
had for years betrayed, and which
he was now on the point of openly
deserting.
(Translation.)
2
I thank you for the information' which you give
me with respect to his Royal Highness. I confess
that one may be deceived with regard to this Prince,
and I am not so bold as to rely on my own acuteness ;
but there is not a courtier, a minister, or indeed any
one, who suspects him of wavering. I believe him to
2 The Duke of Savoy: Victor
Amadeus, afterwards King of Sar-
dinia, equally renowned for consum-
mate ability, and notorious for his
12, 1694.
22, 1695.
disregard of all solemn engage-
ments, was born in 1666, and suc-
ceeded his father, Charles Emanuel,
as Duke of Savoy in 1675.
Surrounded on all sides by
princes more powerful than himself,
and constantly at war with one or
other of them, his career was never-
theless one of almost uninterrupted
advancement; but having at length
obtained everything to which he
could aspire, he cast his honours from
him in disgust, and died in retire-
ment in 1732.
46
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694-5.
1
be true; he only fears that peace may be made before
the French are reduced to give up Pignerol to him.
Ever since he declared war, the King of France has
done everything in his power to recall him to his
interests; and failing in this, to disparage him among
the Allies, in order that our want of confidence in him
might alienate him from the League. He is, however,
a prince of great penetration, and knows his own
interests too well to labour for the augmentation of
the power of France. He is exasperated against her.
Through the subsidies which he receives, he has a
larger revenue than if he were re-established in all
his estates. He aims at power, and wishes to maintain
a large military force, but this can never be in concert
with France; and lastly, if he were not well disposed,
he would not increase his foreign troops. Besides those
of the Emperor and of the King of Spain, he has in
his pay 4000 men of the King of England, 3000 of
the Elector of Brandenburgh, 1500 of the Elector of
Bavaria, and we are, moreover, raising a battalion of
Swiss.
Mr. Prior to Lord and Lady Lexington.
24
14'
Hague, Jan. 1695.
Since the horrid loss of Her Majesty, at naming
of which my Lord will sigh and my Lady will cry, I
protest I have written nothing but nonsense, which is a
present I humbly offer to some of my correspondents,
but it is not so very proper for you. Upon this occa-
¹ The Castle of Pignerol, which
was of great strength, was used as a
state prison as well as a fortress. It
will be remembered that Fouquet,
Lauzun, Matthioli, and many other
distinguished prisoners were con-
fined there.
1694-5.] MR. PRIOR TO LORD AND LADY LEXINGTON. 47
sion I have lost my senses and 100l. a year,¹ which
is something for a philosopher of my circumstances {
but Deus providebit, which being interpreted is (to
my Lady) God will provide, is my motto (and for it I
hope Mrs. Davers will have a good opinion of me,
for it is taken from the Scripture). I have given
notice of this cruel change to the States and Ministers
here, in a long trailing cloak and a huge band, the one
quite dirty with this thaw, the other really slubbered
with my tears. I am so much in earnest in this sad
affair that people think I am something very consider-
able in England, that have such a regard to the public,
and it makes me cry afresh when they ask me in what
county my lands are. Whether this proceeds from
loyalty or interest God knows, but I have truly cried a
basin full. Je ne puis plus; 'tis impossible for me to
tell you the sorrow that reigns universally in Holland:
these people, who never had any passions before, are
now touched, and marble weeps. I dare not presume
to tell my Lord how I think our affairs will go in
England; he has better correspondence there than I;
I only say we expect the King will make the campaign,
and the public be left in the hands of commissioners.
I have had here my Lord Paget's secretary, who is
gone into England on his Lordship's affairs; he speaks
of my Lord Lexington as he ought, and not one word
of his own master, which is a sign in whose house
bread and beer is most plentiful, for amongst all secre-
taries there is a great correspondence between the
brain and the stomach. Stepney is not yet come from
England; he has got 4l. a day, and 300l. equipage
¹ Prior held a small appointment in the establishment of Queen Mary.
48
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694-5.
money, with the advantage of a frost that keeps him
on that side. God Almighty turn all ill from your
Lordship and your family, and make us all less melan-
choly.
I am, very sincerely,
(My Lord and good Lady),
which I think was the style in Cranmer's time,
&c.
&c.
Lord Portland to Lord Lexington.
15
Kensington, Jan. no date but 1695.
25'
(Translation.)
You will not be
you
learn the cause.
tained by the death of the Queen has quite over-
whelmed me. Apart from the interest which I take in
all that concerns the King and the public, I and my
family have lost, as it were, everything, and I assure
you that I can scarcely recover myself. No one in the
world could have been more generally regretted; the
King is inconsolable, and indeed we have had great
cause to be alarmed for his health. Thank God this
fear is now passed, and the strength of feeling and of
reason, which caused him fully to appreciate the extent
of his loss, now begins to enable him to bear it with
resignation and patience. One consolation remains to
us in our misfortune-our enemies will gain nothing
by it either here or abroad. It seems indeed to have
roused the spirit of all. Every one wishes, in his
heart, that His Majesty should not now leave the king-
dom, but all sensible persons are so well aware that the
critical state of the affairs of Europe requires his pre-
surprised at my long silence when
The sad loss which we have s
sus-
1694-5.] LORD PORTLAND TO LORD LEXINGTON.
49
sence beyond the sea, that they will rather request him
to go than press him to stay here. Of this you may
give strong assurances to those who have any cause for
anxiety on this subject. From the unanimity of feel-
ing, moreover, which now exists, there will be much
less to apprehend at home than has heretofore been
the case.
You will learn from other letters that all
goes on well in Parliament. Mr. Stepney is ready to
start for Saxony.
P.S. The ministers of Spain here and in Holland'
press the King and the States to send from 7000 to
8000 men into Catalonia, as the only means of saving
that province, and indeed Spain itself. It is impossible
to comply with this request. They desire to charge us
with the whole expense of the war, while they do
nothing themselves, and yet they cry out against peace,
and refuse to negotiate with France except on the con-
ditions of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. This is ex-
traordinary conduct, and it will be well that you
should speak to the Marques de Courgomanero, 3 in
order that he may inform his court that it is impos-
sible to save them if they do nothing for themselves.
2
'The Marques de Canales was
Spanish Ambassador in London. In
1699 this Minister protested against
the second treaty of partition in so
violent a manner, that William or-
dered him to quit England without
delay. Don Bernardo de Quiros was
Spanish minister at the Hague.
2 The Treaty of the Pyrenees was
concluded in 1659: the conditions
were much more favourable to Spain
than those of the Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle, concluded in 1668; or of
Nimeguen, in 1678-9. By the last
treaty the province of Franche
Comté and the most important for-
tresses of the Flemish frontier were
ceded to France.
3 The Spanish Ambassador at
Vienna.
E
50
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Jan. 18, 1694. '
2
Mr. Secretary Trenchard, I think, grows rather
worse, so that it is believed we may have another
secretary declared before the King goes over for Flan-
ders, but there is no mention who the person is like
to be.
Lord Portland to Lord Lexington.
Jan. 25
Richmond, Feb. 4'
3
(Translation.)
I hope that you will have received my last letter:
I forgot to answer you with respect to Sir James
Montgomery, whom we had thought to have been in
¹ Old style.
2 Sir John Trenchard was ap-
pointed Secretary of State 1693. He
was a calm and sedate man; had
been engaged far with the Duke of
Monmouth; had lived much abroad,
and it was supposed that his appoint-
ment was owing to the influence of
the Earl of Sunderland (Tindal).
Sir J. Trenchard was the first man
who moved the exclusion (of the
Duke of York) in the House of
Commons. Vide Burnet.
3 Sir James Montgomery was one
of the three commissioners deputed
by the Convention in Scotland to
carry to William and Mary the offer
of the Scotch Crown. On the for-
mation of the new administration in
that country a considerable post was
offered to him, which he refused, as
an inadequate reward for the services
which he had performed. He then
wrote, in conjunction with Ferguson,
a pamphlet called 'The Grievances,'
which gave great offence; and
shortly afterwards he joined, or
no date but 1695.
rather organized a conspiracy against
the Government, in which many of
the Scotch nobles, and other persons
of distinction, both in Scotland and
England, were engaged. This plot
was discovered by Lord Portland and
Bishop Burnet, and Sir James
Montgomery himself made some dis-
closures to the Queen; but fail-
ing to obtain from the King the
terms which he required, he fled
the country; and Burnet says that
after this time "he continued in
perpetual plots; was once taken, but
made his escape; and, at last, spleen
and vexation put an end to a turbu-
lent life.”
The Duke of Shrewsbury sent, by
the same post, similar instructions to
Lord Lexington for the seizure of
Sir James Montgomery. This at-
tempt to capture a refugee in a
foreign land is by no means in ac-
cordance with the moderation which
was generally displayed by William
in dealing with those who had been
engaged in plots against his govern-
1694-5.] PRINCE DE VAUDEMONT TO LORD LEXINGTON. 51
the other world for some time; but if he be still in this,
His Majesty would wish you (in case he should fall
into your hands) to think of some mode of sending
him here in safety.
The King has come here in this bitterly cold
weather, while Kensington is hung with black, in order
that he may not hear the noise. He returns to-morrow,
and the day after, he will admit everybody to see him.
Prince de Vaudemont to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Brussels, Feb. 4, 1695.
*
In a letter of the 21st of last month, his Majesty
has done me the honour to inform me that by March
he will be at the Hague, whither he commands me to
repair at that time.
This information has arrived most opportunely to
arrest the mischief which would have arisen from a
continuance of the uncertainty with respect to his
journey. It is certain that France hoped that the King
of Great Britain would be obliged to remain in Eng-
land, and expected to profit by the opportunity. This
is the tenor of our advices from Paris, which also state
that immediately on the death of the Queen of England,
the Most Christian King summoned a council, in which
it was determined to despatch a courier to the Count
d'Avaux in Sweden, with instructions to take every
1
ment. But Lord Balcarres states,
in a letter to James II., that some-
thing which had passed in private
rendered Sir James Montgomery
peculiarly obnoxious to the King.
1 The Count d'Avaux was at this
time French minister at the court
of Stockholm. It will be remem-
bered that he accompanied King
James in his expedition to Ireland
in 1689.
E 2
52
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
possible precaution to prevent their giving the daughter
of the King of Sweden to his Britannic Majesty, in case
he had any thoughts of remarrying, it being considered
that in the present conjuncture of affairs this alliance
would be most prejudicial to the interests of France.
Although there is at present no question of any such
thing, this fear on the part of France with regard to
such an alliance deserves consideration.
(Signed)
HENRI CHARLES DE LORRAINE.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
1
Whitehall, Jan. 29, 1694.2
The King returned from Richmond on Saturday
last. He saw company on Sunday morning, and will
continue to do so, but the time for it is now changed
to an hour before dinner, and the like before supper.
His Majesty, God be thanked, appears to be as well as
ever.
They say everything will be in readiness for the
Queen's lying in state towards the latter end of this
week; whether it will be then done or not I know not,
but whenever they begin, the funeral will follow in eight
or ten days more.
There are some things, it seems,
not yet adjusted, particularly whether any of the Lords
should assist at the carrying the Royal banners, according
to custom, since they now resolve to appear as a House;
and till all things are determined relating to the Lords,
The Prince de Vaudemont was
the son of Charles IV. Duke of Lor-
raine, by the Princesse de Caute-
croix, whom he married during the
lifetime of his first wife, the Duchess
Nicolæa. The Prince therefore was
rightly held to be illegitimate; and
the Duke of Lorraine was succeeded
in his dominions by his nephew, who
was, however, speedily dispossessed
of them by Louis XIV.
2 Old style.
1694-5.]
LORD PAGET TO LORD LEXINGTON.
53
•
the Commons defer entering upon the consideration of
what part they are to have in the procession. My
Lord Duke of Shrewsbury has forced himself to come
abroad these two days, as thinking it fit for him to hear
what passed in the examination of the Lancashire busi-
ness, though my Lord Nottingham' had before de-
clared that no reflection could lie, in this matter, upon
him, since he had done no more than the duty of his
place required.
Lord Paget to Lord Lexington.
Adrianople, Jan. 29, S. V. 1695.
Upon the 23rd instant I arrived here; the 24th
I sent to desire an audience of the Grand Vizier, who
promised I should have it the 31st, which would be the
first day he could be at liberty to receive and discourse
with me as he desired. I had good reason to hope my
propositions would have been well received, for I know
the Grand Vizier and the Caimacan of this place were
well inclined to hear me, and not averse to a reasonable
peace: I therefore desired earnestly to see these Mi-
nisters, but upon Sunday the 27th instant I was ex-
tremely surprised to hear the Grand Signor was dead.
He died that morning, as I am informed, of a catarrh,
which carried him off in a few hours. He desired,
before his death, to speak with his successor, who would
not be persuaded to go to him; so that with his attend-
2
¹ The testimony of Lord Notting-
ham on this point was of the greater
value, because on his dismissal from
office in 1694 the Duke of Shrews-
bury succceded him as Secretary of
State.
Lord Nottingham was the recog-
nised chief of the Tory party. Al-
though inferior in ability to some of
his contemporaries, his integrity was
unquestioned, and his reputation un-
sullied by any act of mean com-
pliance or treachery.
G
2 Achmet II.
54
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
ants he left his desires that his young son might be
suffered to live. So soon as he was dead, Mustapha,
eldest son to Mahomet IV.,' was saluted and pro-
claimed Emperor, and all passed without any disturb-
ance, disorder, or inconvenience in very few hours.
The body of the deceased Achmet was despatched that
very day to Constantinople, and the Sultana had orders
to retire to Constantinople immediately; also expresses
were sent thither to carry the news of this Emperor's
exaltation to his mother, who is in Constantinople, from
whence she is expected here in a few days. He has,
for the present, confirmed the Grand Vizier in his
place, restoring the seal to him, and giving him a caftan
lined with zibeline (or sables). It is said the Grand
Signor will not do anything till his mother's arrival, for
whom he expresses a great kindness and particular
esteem, so that she is like to have a great part in the
management of affairs. She is a native of Candia, 2
taken from thence when that place was first possessed
by the Turks. Her father was Protopapas of that
place. She is reported to be a cunning, intriguing
woman. Yesterday the Grand Signor asked the Trea-
surer what money he had in the treasury; he said
fifteen purses. He inquired what was become of the
rest; it was told him his predecessor had disposed of it.
""T is well," said he, "and I ´shall take it from them
that have received it." He is a mettled man, about
3
Mustapha II., son of Maho-
met IV., who was deposed in 1688,
and was succeeded by his brother,
Solyman III., upon whose death in
1691 Achmet II. ascended the
throne.
2 Candia was first attacked in
1645 by the Turks, who did not,
however, gain entire possession of
the island until 1674.
8
³ Protopapas, chief priest or pa-
triarch. The patriarch of Candia
wore a triple tiara, and possessed the
privilege of writing his signature in
red ink.
1694-5.] MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
55
thirty-three years old, strong, and a great lover of all
manly exercises. I fear he will prove a troublesome
neighbour; however, I can say nothing certainly yet.
The appointment for my audience continues yet; so
soon as I have had it, I shall be able to send your
Lordship a better account of affairs.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Feb. 5, 1694.'
4
The Queen is to lie in state on Monday next, and
the week after she will be buried. The Duchess of
Somerset² attends the funeral as chief mourner, and
two Duchesses assist in carrying her train, viz., the
Duchess of Grafton and Duchess of Southampton,
and there are to be fourteen Countesses assistant
mourners. To all which, as well the chief as the
assistants, mourning is to be given, they expecting it,
since they do not go as Peeresses, but by appointment.
Last night the King sent for the principal servants of
the Queen, viz., the Marquis of Winchester, my Lord
Villiers, and Mr. Nicholas the treasurer. It was to tell
them the Queen had in a particular manner recom-
mended to him her family, and therefore, as he should
otherwise have taken care of them, he now thought
himself more strictly obliged to it, and, as he had de-
3
¹ Old style.
² Elizabeth, Duchess of Somerset,
only child and heiress of Joceline
Percy, Earl of Northumberland.
Isabella, Duchess of Grafton,
only child and heiress of Henry Ben-
nett, Earl of Arlington, and Countess
of Arlington in her own right. The
Duke, her husband, died in 1690, of
a wound received at the siege of
Cork. The Duchess married in 1694
Sir Thomas Hanmer, who was in
1714 elected to the chair of the
House of Commons.
Anne, Duchess of Southampton,
daughter of Sir William Pultency of
Misterton, county of Leicester.
56
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
ferred sending for them sooner, because of the sad
thoughts this brought to his remembrance, so the same
reasons would not suffer him to enlarge further; and
tears expressed the rest on both sides.'
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Feb. 8, 1694.2
You have a short account in the Office paper of
the great trial on Wednesday, between Pride and the
Earl of Bath. The first, being sister's son to George
Duke of Albemarle, 3 thinks he has a title to the estate
if he could prove bastardy upon Duke Christopher,
by virtue of Duke George's settlement, who gives his
estate to Christopher and his issue, and, for want of
such issue, to his own heirs general. The point, there-
fore, to be proved was, that the old Duchess of Albe-
marle had two husbands living in the year 1652, when
Duke Christopher was born. It was first insisted on
by the Earl of Bath's counsel, with whom were joined
4
'The Marquis of Winchester,
eldest son of the Duke of Bolton,
was Lord Chamberlain, and Lord
Villiers was Master of the Horse to
the Queen.
The King redeemed his promise.
Lord Winchester was in 1697 named
one of the Lords Justices of Ireland.
Lord Villiers was in 1695 appointed
Minister Plenipotentiary at
the
Hague; in 1697 he was created
Earl of Jersey; and he held in suc-
cession during the reign of William
the high offices of Ambassador to
Paris, Secretary of State, and Lord
Chamberlain.
& Old style.
³ The celebrated George Monk,
Duke of Albemarle.
* Sir John Granville, the repre-
sentative of one of the most ancient
families in Great Britain, distin-
guished himself when very young
by his loyalty and gallant conduct in
the field during the contest between
Charles I. and the Parliament. In
1660 he was the chief instrument in
the negotiation with his kinsman,
General Monk, by which the Rc-
storation was effected.
In reward for his eminent services
Charles II. created Sir John Gran-
ville Earl of Bath, and he also passed
a warrant under the Privy Seal,
1694-5.]
57
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
some counsel for the Earl of Montague (I suppose
pro formâ, to keep up his pretensions), that no proof of
bastardy ought to be admitted after the party's decease,
but the Court were of opinion they should proceed.
Then it was agreed that the old Duchess had been
formerly married to one Radford, a perfumer in the
Exchange, and that he broke long before '52, and went
beyond sea. All that the Earl of Bath's counsel
could say to it was, he was never heard of since his
first absenting himself; but Pride produced two old
women to swear they knew Radford, and saw him after
the year '52; nay, one went so far as to swear he
outlived the Duchess, and was by when she was put
into her coffin, and received a pension from her as long
as she lived, with many other circumstances that must
have carried the point if she had been believed; but
they were both thought to swear too much, and the
verdict was brought in for my Lord Bath next
morning.
The Maids of Honour and dressers have had a
dispute with the Ladies of the Bedchamber about their
attending the corpse within the rail; but the Committee
have determined it against them, and thought they
could so little pretend to be on the same foot with the
obliging himself, and recommending
his successors, to grant to the Earl of
Bath, or his representative, the
Dukedom of Albemarle, in the event
of the failure of male issue to Gene-
ral Monk, on whom that title had
been conferred. Christopher Monk,
second and last Duke of Albemarle,
executed a deed, by which he settled
his estates on the Earl of Bath;
hit by a will subsequently made he
otherwise disposed of his property.
He shortly afterwards died without
issue. The contest between the
Earl of Bath and the claimants under
the will was long protracted. It
was at length decided by Lord
Keeper Somers in favour of the
Earl.
'Lord Montague had married the
widow of the late Duke of Albe-
marle.
58
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Ladies of the Bedchamber that they are not to wait in
the same room.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Feb.
1
The difference I told you in my last between his
Catholic Majesty and his confessor, Father Matilla,
then designed to be banished the Court, is since
accommodated, and the confessor is as much in favour
as ever, by the mediation of the Queen and Almirante
de Castillo; insomuch that he is now one of the fairest
pretenders to be Inquisitor-General. This, it
This, it may be,
would not seem worth taking notice of in another
Court, but in so Catholic a one as this is very con-
siderable, where he must always be a great man who
has the management of a scrupulous King's conscience.
The Palatine Envoy, her Majesty's Secretary, goes in
three days to Parma, having actually received ten
thousand crowns for his voyage and equipage, though
money be very scarce here.
2
3
The greatest news in our Court at present is what
has passed lately with the Condé de Oropesa, whom
the King invited by a very kind letter to come and
exercise his charge of President of the Council of Italy;
and when, in obedience to that summons, he was come
¹ The Almirante de Castillo: the
Duque di Medina del Rio Seco, one
of the most powerful grandees in
Spain. He possessed the confidence
of the Queen, and was warmly at-
tached to the Austrian interest.
2 The ostensible object of this
mission was to arrange a marriage
between the Duchess Dowager of
Parma, sister of the Queen of Spain
8, 1694,
18, 1695.
and of the Elector Palatine, with the
Duke of Parma, the brother of her
deceased husband: the real object,
however, was to remove from the
court the Queen's secretary, who
was supposed to excrcise too much
influence over her Majesty.
3 The Condé de Oropesa had been
disgraced and banished in 1691.
1694-5.] MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
59
within five leagues of Madrid, at a place called Naval
Carnero, met there a counter-order to return back to his
house. This latter is said to have been procured by
the Queen, who would not see him again First Minister,
which probably he would be if once he were permitted
to speak with the King. I should be glad if he or any
body else were fixed in that post, for the present con-
fusion is such that no foreign Minister knows who to
apply himself to. They are now beginning to raise
men here for Catalonia: five thousand Spaniards are
designed for that service, and for the rest they depend
on Germans and Italians, to be transported from Italy,
and convoyed by a squadron of our fleet. The Marques
de Balbaces, of the Council of State, and above seventy
years old, lately received the first clerical orders, and
goes in priest's habit; his next step, it is supposed, will
be a cardinal.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
Wesel, Feb.
1
That you may not think I am quite lost, it is just
I should give you some account of myself, since I have
lost my mother, natural and politic. I had crossed
the water sooner, but the King would not that I should
venture in the packet-boat; and so I was obliged to
stay, but without any great violence, you may swear,
till the Centurion could be ready to carry me to
Ostend, it being impossible to find any entrance for
great ship in any port on the coast of Holland because
of the thick ice. I lay windbound at the Nore fifteen
days, but afterwards had a sort of amends made me by
a
Mr. Stepney's mother, who had recently died, and Queen Mary.
23, 1694.
13, 1695.
60
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694-5.
a very easy passage in ten hours' time from Margate to
Ostend. I landed there the 1st (11th) inst., and have
been ever since running through the garrisons of Bruges,
Ghent, Antwerp (where I laid in champagne), Bois le
Duc, Gravelines, and so to Cleves, without meeting
French parties or Spanish troopers. I have made shift
to cross the Rhine over the ice: though now it is over,
it almost makes my heart tremble to think on't, and I
have been waiting here two days till my coach could
come up from Loo, which it did last night, and I am
this minute jogging on to Cassel.
I suppose you have seen Count Harrach, who, I
understand, has been at Vienna for new instructions,
and know what resolutions may have been taken at the
Imperial Court. Towards the end of January it is
their grave way to hold conferences with all the
Ministers of the Allies, and you would think, by their
formal way of proceeding, the world was to be directed
by their projects. I have been at this sport with them,
and can assure you it is only so much time lost, and the
Ministers mean nothing but showing their eloquence.
•
Count Ilarrach the younger,
Austrian minister at Dresden.
1
I should send your Lordship some news from
England, but I know not where to begin. If you have
anything particular to ask me, state your queries, and
I will resolve them as well as I can when I get to
Dresden. The great Court is at Barclay House, 2 for
the ladies must have some place to show themselves.
I had an audience of congé, both of Princess and
Prince, and never saw a greater concourse. The King
will certainly make the campaign, and, I believe, will
declare as much to the Parliament when he sees them
2 Barclay or Berkeley House, the
residence of the Princess Anne.
1694-5.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
61
next, to have, in a manner, their consent, lest his
crossing the water in this nice conjuncture be called
abdication. This is the talk of the Jacobites, who say
likewise he will take Prince George over with him to
be sure of him. Poor Duke Shrewsbury will be quite
blind, and Sir J. Trenchard stone dead, very shortly.
We have a weak Ministry at present, and, for aught I
see, nobody brigues the employment. Mr. Blathwayt
might have it, but seems to decline it, because, without
envy, he is warmer as he is. The vogue of the town
speaks of Lord Montague' and Comptroller Wharton. 2
I wish your Lordship were at home to end the dispute
and be our provincial, instead of our correspondent. I
humbly offer my services to my Lady and your cousin.
I have several elegies from good hands on the Queen's
death, which I will forward to Vienna for their enter-
tainment when I get to Dresden. I have had no time
to settle to it, and could only hammer out one distich
upon the Queen's dying resolutely, and the King's
grieving immoderately, which is as follows:-
1
Ralph, Lord Montague, was
twice named ambassador to Paris by
Charles II., and was in high favour
with that monarch. In 1678, how-
ever, he quarrelled with Lord
Danby, at whose instance the King
sent to secure his papers. But Mon-
tague had already taken the precau-
tion to place in security the letters
of which the King and Lord Danby
were most anxious to obtain posses-
sion. He produced in the House of
Commons the instructions on which
he had acted, and thus turned the
tables upon Lord Danby, who was
impeached of high treason. Lord
Montague was created Duke of Mon-
tague in 1707.
2 Mr. Wharton was Comptroller
of the Household and a member of
the Privy Council; but neither his
services or talents, or the pressing
solicitations of the other Whig
leaders, could induce William III. to
promote him to the office of Secretary
of State. It is probable that the
King personally disliked him; and
it is certain that he feared his violent
and uncompromising temper.
Mr. Wharton succeeded his father
as Lord Wharton in 1696, and was
subsequently created Earl and Mar-
quis of Wharton.
62
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
So greatly Mary died and William grieves,
You'd think the hero gone, the woman lives.
Which a friend has thus burlesqued:-
·
Sure Death 's a Jacobite that thus bewitches,
His soul wears petticoats, and hers the breeches;
Alas! alas! we 've err'd in our commanders,
Will should have knotted and Moll gone for Flanders.
Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington.
3
The re-establishing of L.' any way is imprac-
ticable, though Toby' is afraid lest Livy should have
some thoughts of it.
The Danes have really a fancy that our master has
an eye upon their Princess; the Elector of Branden-
burgh has the same imagination for his daughter. God
send him life and health, and all will go well every
where.
The Electress has had two fits of an ague; not-
withstanding Moses'' sister rejoices.
4
Mr. Prior to Lord and Lady Lexington.
Hanover, Feb. 14, 169.
5
Hague, March 1, 1695.
I am as yet so afflicted for the death of our dear
mistress, that I cannot express it in bad verse, as all
the world here does; all that I have done was to-day
on Scheveling Sands, with the point of my sword:-
2 "Toby." The Elector of Ha-
nover.
3 (4
1 "L." The Princess Sophia Princess, but was killed in 1676, at
Dorothea.
the siege of Philipsburg.
4 The Electress of Hanover.
5 "Moses." The Prince Electoral
of Hanover. His sister was the
Electress of Brandenburgh.
Livy." The Duke Antoine
of Brunswick Wolfenbuttle, whose
eldest son had been betrothed to the
1694-5.] MR. PRIOR TO LORD AND LADY LEXINGTON. 63
I
Number the sands extended here;
So many Mary's virtues were:
Number the drops that yonder roll;
So many griefs press William's soul.
2
The fair ones are all well here; Madame Kaunitz
wins money, and Madlle. Starenburg hearts. Our
Lady Eleanor Colvil, my Lord Clancarty's sister, who
ran over seas after Count Dona,¹ and (which is worst)
married him, has stayed for him here these three
months very lovingly, while he has been with a come-
dian at Brussels; they met two days since, and all is
joy and ecstasy. Count Frize is at the Hague, keeps
a very good house, and I dine with him very often,
where we drink my Lord Lexington's health regularly
after the King's. I have had the women-namely, as
we say in memoirs, Countess Frize, Countess Dona, an
ugly sister that they call Esperanza, and an &ca. of
the fair sex-to dine with me; which day cost me
fourteen pounds, of which I have one from my great
master per diem, and consequently Abraham and I
eat cold meat thirteen days, and concluded, like Solo-
mon, that all was vanity. Mrs. Davers ought not to
know this, for the man that treats married women thus
is not likely to make a faithful lover, and he who
spends fourteen times more than he has will not be the
properest husband that a woman of her prudence would
choose.
3
¹ Count Dona, the Swedish envoy Frize under his protection, and em-
at the Hague.
ployed him in various capacities,
both civil and military, and at length
succeeded in obtaining for him the
pardon of the Elector.
Abraham, a name given (I
know not why) by Prior to secre-
taries: he here refers to his own.
2 Count Frize was a native of
Saxony. Having offended Schoning,
who was all-powerful at the court of
Saxony, he was dismissed from the
service of the Elector. William III.,
to whom Schoning was for many
reasons especially odious, took Count
3
64
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1694-5.
I must take my Lady's excuse that the paper is
full, but a true secretary should take another leaf¹ and
spoil it, though it be but to make my leg, and tell
my dear Lord and good Lady with how much truth I
am, &c. &c.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, March 8, 1695.
Your Lordship is to pardon my Abraham; in
recompence I almost adore yours. 2 This is a pretty
confidence to make to your Lordship, but there are
distance, quality, virtue on one side, and common
sense, common honesty, and common gratitude on the
other, that refine my passion for Mary Lexington³ to
the same degree as that I had for Mary Stuart, who
has left a platonic void in my heart that nobody can
better fill than the lady in a baize gown at Vienna,
except Cousin Davers please to cure my speculations
by taking my heart a little more materially with all its
appurtenances: your Lordship will speak to her con-
cerning it, for I have now a coach and 2007. ready
money, which are not things to be despised by any
young woman that does not stand in her own light;
another thing is, she shall be my Abraham, and have
all the perquisites of the place into the bargain. I will
trouble your Lordship with no other English news
than what relates to myself; some say we shall have
new Secretaries, and most name my Lord Lexington and
A new sheet of paper is here
here
begun.
2 In this instance the name Abra-
ham is applied to Lady Lexington,
who occasionally aided her husband
was
in the capacity of a secretary.
3 Lady Lexington's name
Margaret, not Mary; but she signed
her letters M. Lexington, and this
no doubt caused the mistake.
1694-5.1 MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
65
Sir William Trumbull: Dieu le veuille, as the French
divines say, for I am impudent enough to know who
will be the better for it. Every body agrees that we
shall have a Plenipotentiary here, named before the
King's coming, in which case I presume they will do
something for my worship: Dieu le veuille again. They
talk of sending me to Ratisbonne, and I need not say
how glad I should be of it while my Lord is at Vienna.
I protest I blush whilst I say, that if my Lord Lex-
ington would be pleased to hint that I should not be
wholly useless there, 'twould, I believe, clinch the nail;
but for God's dear sake, my Lord, pardon me if the
request be unreasonable, for all that I ask or desire in
this or anything is to approve myself always, with the
greatest respect and duty, &c. &c.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
1
Dresden, March
14'
After the fair of Leipsic (six weeks hence) the
Elector will go to some waters, I hope Carlsbad, where
I should be glad to meet your Lordship, for I intend
to follow his Electoral Highness, though, I thank good
Providence, I do not stand so much in need of rinsing.
If the project of Hungary should succeed, I must begin.
to look about me which way to turn myself next, as
soon as I shall have got these lazy Saxons out of their
1 Mr. Stepney had recently ar-
rived at Dresden: he had failed
to accomplish the chief object of
his mission, which was to per-
suade the Elector to send some of
his troops to reinforce the army
under the command of Prince Louis
F
1695.
of Baden, on the Rhine; and a nego-
ciation was at this time in progress
between the Courts of Vienna and
Dresden, by which it was proposed
that the Elector should take the
command of the Imperial forces in
Hungary.
66
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
↑
nests. The credentials I have for the Landgrave of
Hesse may justify my sauntering. some time at Cassel;
but when my small job is done there likewise, I think
of going to Flanders, and making my campaign there
with Mr. Blathwayt on the score of my 4l. per day
(as has been projected), or I intend to ask leave to go
to Vienna, and wait there till the Elector returns from
Hungary; for I am not fool enough to follow him
thither to be knocked of the head or die of the rot, as
I am sure he will, who cannot restrain himself to any
regular diet, for by his way of living I believe I shall
change Electors as often as Lord Paget has Grand
Signors.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, March 5, 1694. '
2
This is a melancholy day with us, as renewing
the remembrance of our loss.
They have had but a very indifferent day for the
procession from Whitehall to the Abbey, a great snow
falling in the midst of it. One who comes now from
the Abbey tells me that the ladies had but draggled
trains by the time they got thither.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, March
Malaga, the 8th of March, N. S.-They advise
from Ceuta the Moors do still persist with their mines
and approaches towards the Plaça de Armas, which it
is feared they will at last blow up or take; they are
1 Old style.
2 The day of the Queen's funeral.
7, 1694.
17, 1695.
1694-5.]
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
67
so intrenched and covered that with their great guns
they can do but little harm. Yet being advised by a
watchman (who with his prospective glass discovers
their whole camp) that there was a fresh recruit of
horse coming in to join them, they made several shot
at them by elevation, and killed some of their chief
leaders. What they want are mortars; they have but
one, which they fill with stones instead of shells, but
they are casting of two more in Malaga.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
There is something working in the House of
Commons that don't yet appear; not but that it is suf-
ficiently talked of without doors, particularly against
the Speaker, 2 for having taken money to promote pri-
vate bills. The Chamberlain of London has given the
committee an account, that, by order of the Court of
Aldermen, he paid the Speaker 1000 guineas, as their
acknowledgment for his kindness to them in expediting
the Orphans Bill, and the Clerk of the House, Mr.
Joddrel, had 1007. "Tis said that more has been
given for that bill, by the parties concerned, to whom
above 5000l. has been brought to account for the
charges of that act, but to whom the same has been
disbursed does not yet appear.
I hear Mr. Guy' had a petition ready to be deli-
¹ Old style.
2 Sir John Trevor.
1
Whitehall, March 8, 1694. '
3 Henry Guy was Secretary to
the Treasury, and had held that
office for many years. It was proved
that he had received a bribe of 200
guineas for procuring the payment of
arrears to a regiment; and he was
committed to the Tower. He was
also dismissed from his office, in
compliance with an address from the
House of Commons.
F 2
68
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS,
vered yesterday, but this flame breaking out it was not
presented.
Sir Paul Rycaut' to Lord Lexington.
Hamburgh, March 9, 169.
I have this forenoon received the honour of your
Lordship's letter of the 9th inst. N. S., together with
the copy of a letter from my Lord Paget at Adria-
nople, whereby he advises us of the death of Sultan
Achmet, which hath much disappointed our hopes of
a peace, and hath fallen out in an unhappy hour: how-
soever, we know not as yet the temper of his successor,
who is called Sultan Mustapha. He was born about
the time that I first came into Turkey, and may now
be about the age of 33. He was shown to the world
in the year 1675, and was then a fine and a handsome
youth, but that was not an age to discover his intel-
lects: but we have not found that any of the descend-
ants of Sultan Ibrahim have had any brains; so that
we may believe that this Mustapha will not degenerate
from the rest of his predecessors; yet I cannot but
reflect on the fate of our peace, which when it hath
seemed to be near, it hath always been crossed by
some misfortune or other. It is a curse upon the
Turks, who may shortly meet both at sea and land a
more adverse fortune than ever, of which I believe this
young Prince will resolve to make the trial.
1 British minister at Hamburgh,
and author of a 'History of Turkey,'
in which country he had resided for
some time as secretary to Lord Win-
chelsea, the British Ambassador to
the Porte.
1694-5.]
69
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, March 15, 1694.¹
The Commons have spent these three days in
making the old Speaker' sick of his place and choosing
a new one. It is said Sir Thomas Littleton missed of
the chair only by an irregularity, as it was thought, of
his being named by the Comptroller at the same time
he delivered his message. I believe some might dis-
approve the proposing of him in that manner, but I
don't think it influenced so many as Sir Thomas lost
it by. The Herefordshire and Worcestershire men
joined, in this case, with a party they seldom otherwise
voted with, and some preferred Mr. Foley purely upon
opinion that he had the longer experience of the two.‘
4
It don't look as if the House had yet done with the
old Speaker. There is a talk as if they would proceed
against him by bill, to disable him from holding any
employment, which would tend to divest him of the
Mastership of the Rolls, for, otherwise, he holds that
¹ Old style.
2 The charge of corruption against
the Speaker was fully proved; and
he did not even venture to appear in
the House during these discussions.
แ
He wrote, however, a letter to the
Clerk, excusing his absence on the
plea of a violent colic." He was
expelled the House on the 16th
March.
Mr. Foley, who was elected
Speaker, was chairman of the Com-
mittee appointed to inquire into the
alleged acts of corruption.
3 A similar course had been pur-
sued in 1679, when Charles II. as-
serted the claim of the Crown to
nominate the Speaker, and refused
to sanction the election of Sir Ed-
ward Seymour, who was chosen by
the House.
It is not probable that W
liam III, really intended to revive this
claim; nor is it likely that Mr.
Wharton, the Comptroller, would
have sanctioned such an attempt to
extend the prerogative; but the
circumstance was suspicious, and
naturally alarmed the House of
Commons.
* Tindal, however, asserts that the
majority of the House were disposed
to elect Sir Thomas Littleton, and
that the circumstance referred to by
Mr. Vernon caused his defeat.
P
70
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
·
quamdiu se bene gesserit.' I don't know whether they
will run to that extremity, but if anything else should
be made out upon him, it would be unavoidable.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, March 19, S. V. 169
16914-
5
2
I have only to acknowledge the favour of your
Lordship's letters of the 2nd, 9th, and 12th inst., and
to observe to your Lordship that the House of Austria
has great reason to make a peace impracticable, if they
could have their will to lay all the burthen of the war
with France upon his Majesty and the States, and to
avail themselves of it to advance their conquests at our
expense in Hungary, which, nevertheless, I find his
Majesty will by no means agree to, declaring that if
half the Saxons be employed in Hungary and the
other half kept at home, as is pretended and endea-
voured, and the Brandenburghers kept at the same time
in Hungary, so that the use of the Saxons will be en-
tirely lost to the Empire and the Allies, his Majesty
and the States will not, in that case, hold themselves
-
1
¹ A curious reason to assign for
the retention in a high judicial office
of a man who had been convicted of
a gross act of corruption.
But there can be no doubt that Sir
John Trevor had been extensively
employed by the ministers of the
King, if not by the King himself, in
corrupting the members of the
House over which he so unworthily
presided.
He might have made disclosures
which would have been equally dis-
agreeable to the Government and to
the Opposition, and he remained
therefore undisturbed in the posses-
sion of the Mastership of the Rolls.
2 The war with Turkey was an
Austrian war, in which neither the
Empire nor the Allies were con-
cerned; but the Emperor used every
means in his power to draw away
from the Rhine and from Piedmont
both the Imperial troops and those of
the other German princes who had
joined the league, although these
forces were principally paid by the
subsidies obtained from England and
the States.
1694-5.] LORD PORTLAND TO LORD LEXINGTON.
71
obliged to pay the former subsidies, which I mention
only as a guidance to your Lordship in that matter,
wherein you will doubtless receive full instructions from
the office.
1
Lord Portland to Lord Lexington.
March 22
April 1
(Translation.)
Kensington,
2
If the conduct of the Spanish Ministers answered
to the words of the Marques de Courgomonero, one
could understand the reason why they wish to hold to
the Treaty of the Pyrenees; but when one considers
that the King and the States bear the expense of the
K
war for Spain, which cannot raise a brigade to defend
Catalonia, or a squadron on the sea to protect her
coasts, I declare to you that it does surprise me. It is
impossible that so great a kingdom could have become
so entirely powerless if there had not been great
supineness in the Government.
We have received intelligence of the death of the
Grand Signor. I truly fear that we gain nothing by
the change; but, being masters of the Mediterranean, ³
3
¹It appears extraordinary that
under these circumstances a claim for
a continuance of these subsidies
should be made; such, however, was
the case.
2 The treaties of Munster and of
Nimeguen had formed the basis of
the truce of Ratisbonne in 1684; and
William III. proposed that they
should be adhered to as the founda-
tion of the peace for which all par-
ties were gradually preparing. Spain,
however, persisted in demanding a
return to the terms of the treaty of
the Pyrenees, which were more
no date but 1695.
favourable to that nation, and the
Emperor favoured this demand. He
never lost sight of his claims on
the Spanish succession, and was
afraid of offending Spain. Nor, in-
deed, was he unwilling to protract the
war, so long as this could be done at
the
expense of England and of the
States, in the hope that Charles II.
of Spain, whose health was sinking,
might die before the conclusion of
the peace with France.
3 The French navy had not re-
covered from the defeat at La Hogue
in 1692.
72
[1694-5.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
1
perhaps our suggestions, as mediators, may have suffi-
cient weight to be listened to. You will have heard
enough of what has passed, and is passing, in the
Lower House, and that they are likely to push still
further their inquiry respecting the affair of the
Orphans and the East India Company, which may
touch their own members.
1
It reminds me of a party, who, having got drunk
together, 2 quarrel, and separate with bloody noses.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
،
Saturday morning, April 2, 1695.
You will find by the London Gazette' of the 11th
inst., that my poem is got into print in the advertise-
ments, among dogs and horses. Father Vernon flatters
me that the vogue of the town is on my side, and gives
me two lines to confirm it:-
Congreve is famous for a dismal scene,
But only St― represents the Queen.
Though I am not so vain to be pleased with it myself,
or inclined to believe the compliment Vernon makes
If it be true what he says, I desire, as Lord
Portland answers Schoning, that it may appear by the
me.
4
The charges of corruption.
2 Lord Portland, who, to his
honour be it said, was himself incor-
ruptible, was well aware of the
gencral venality of the House of
Commons.
³
3
Stepney, Prior, and Congreve,
each composed an elegy on the death
of Queen Mary. Prior's was not at
this time published. There can be
no doubt that Mr. Vernon and the
town were right in assigning the
palm to Mr. Stepney. Indeed his
verses on this occasion possess con-
siderable merit.
* General Schoning, the favourite
of the Elector of Saxony, was sus-
pected to have intrigued with the
French: he was arrested by the
Emperor in 1692; and although re-
leased on the remonstrances of the
Elector, was still regarded with
strong suspicion by the Allies.
1694-5.] MR. CRESSETT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
73
fruits; and, with all the beggarly impudence of a poet,
I put them in mind of a gold chain and medal, which
that very Lord promised me, four years ago, for my
poem on the King's voyage, which I have not seen to
this day.
1
Here is a lampoon my sister sends me on the
Countess of Dorchester, which is true Dorset. 2
Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington.
Zell, March 28, 1695.
We are not frighted with Koningsmark's ghost,
though the story says it appeared amongst the devils
upon the stage at the Opera. As to doing matters
generally upon our own charge, we understand no
4
Mr. Stepney embraced Whig
principles on the Revolution; but he
had addressed a poem of congratula-
tion to James II. on his accession to
the crown, in which, with more
than poetical licence, he compared
Charles II. to Atlas, and his suc-
cessor to Hercules.
2 It would appear that Lord Dor-
set bore especial ill-will to Lady
Dorchester, the daughter of Sir
Charles Sedley, and the mistress of
James II. In 1680 he attacked
her in verses too coarse for quota-
tion, but of which the following are
concluding lines:—
works, but with no date attached to
it:-
Proud with the spoils of royal culley,
With false pretence to wit and parts,
She swaggers like a battered bully,
3
To try the temper of men's hearts.
Though she appears as glittering fine
As gems, and jets, and paint can make
her,
She ne'er can win a breast like mine,
The Devil and Sir David✶ take her.
3 Wraxall states in his Memoirs
that it was reported and believed at
Hanover that the Count's ghost
haunted Madame de Platen, through
whose jealousy it was supposed that
his intercourse with the Princess
was first made known to her father-
in-law.
So have I seen in larder dark,
Of veal a lucid loin,
Replete with many a brilliant spark,
As wise philosophers remark,
4
At once both stink and shine.
The following is probably the
lampoon referred to by Mr. Stepney.
It appears among Lord Dorset's
* Although the war with France
was an Imperial, not an Austrian
war, the German Princes steadily re-
fused to furnish troops, except on the
payment of large subsidies.
* The Countess of Dorchester married David Colycar, Earl of Portmore.
Sin
74
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
such thing; and the German Princes say the House
of Austria is already as dangerous to them and their
liberty as the House of Bourbon. Your Lordship will
think this odd language, but 'tis what I hear every day.
The Electress' is dangerously ill.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
5
Hague, April 1695.
15'
The States will not give the Elector of Saxe a
passport for three hundred bottles of Burgundy to
come through the Provinces, though I gave in a me-
morial for the favour. They very honourably returned
my memorial by their agent, that they might not be
obliged to give a resolution in writing upon the subject.
I send their refusal to Mr. Stepney, and possibly it may
make the Elector determine his Hungary expedition,
that he may drink Tokay sans passeport. God keep
you all, and send us warmer weather, for I have but
eleven turfs left.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, April 9, 1695.
2
Dr. Busby is at last dead, but has not left so
great an estate as was expected. His land is less than
600l. per annum, and he had about 3000l. in money.
What he had is chiefly given to the augmentation of
several poor vicarages, but he has tacked so many
lectures to his gifts that they will be dearly earned; he
could not forbear being a pedant in his will, imposing
exercises to the world's end.
¹ Of Hanover.
2 Dr. Busby was born in 1606. He
was appointed to the head mastership
of Westminster School in 1640, and
held it until his death in 1695.
1695.]
75
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, April 12, 1695.
The chief news here is the disturbance the rabble
have made these two or three nights past. The two
provosts-marshal to the regiments of Foot-Guards have
their houses—or, rather, had them-in Holborn, not
far one from the other, where they not only kept the
soldiers committed to them, when they had offended,
but of late they have driven a trade to secure new listed
men that were designed for recruits to the regiments in
Flanders; and they have added another trade to it,
which has been undertaking to furnish officers with
recruits, as they could agree on the price, which
naturally brings such sort of factors under a suspicion
of kidnapping, and I believe there might have been
some indirect practices among them. Tooley, an Irish-
man, provost-marshal to my Lord Cutts's regiment of
Guards, lay under the worst reputation of the two.
He was before the House of Commons last year, upon
some complaint against him for pressing, and the civil
magistrate has since been obliged to require him to
discharge some persons he had got into his clutches,
which he did not always readily comply with, and that at
last has drawn upon him the fury of the people; for the
Under-Sheriff being affronted at his house on Tuesday
last, in the execution of a warrant, he called to his
assistance the posse of Lincoln's Inn Fields from their
wrestling ring, who went farther than their leader
would have them, and did not stop where they began,
but, having gutted that house, they went to the other
marshal's, where they found a greater resistance, he being
longer forewarned; so they left the enterprise that
C
76
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
night, but finished it the next. There were soldiers
drawn out, but had orders to avoid bloodshed as much
as might be; and the rabble, having wreaked their
revenge on that house likewise, retired. There was
little appearance of them last night, but they say they
attacked a small prison in Finsbury, where some listed
men had been kept, but they were removed before-
hand. I hope they have done now, though 't was said
they threatened to set open all prisons; and if they
did so, those that are in them would show them the
way to open all other houses.
My Lord Halifax' was buried last night, in a vault
where General Monk lies.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, April 16, 1695.
The Comte de Soissons, who arrived not long
since, in order to his going to Spain, had a scurvy
affront put upon him the last week, being arrested in
the street by Arrian the Jew, for a debt of 500l. which
he contracted about fourteen years ago, when he was
last in England, and they would not part with him till
he had given bail to answer the action.
It is said the Lord Ossulston is married to a young
3
1
George Saville, Marquis of Hali-
fax. Sir James Mackintosh, in
sketching the character of this able
but unprincipled statesman, says that
"his uncle Shaftesbury was a more
daring, Sunderland a more corrupt,
but neither was a more versatile in-
triguer." He was succeeded by his
son, Lord Elam, on whose death in
1700 the title of Halifax became ex-
tinct. It was, however, revived in
2
the person of Charles Montague, who
was created, in 1700, Lord, and sub-
sequently Earl of Halifax, and who
like his predecessor was distin-
guished by literary talents, as well
as by political ability.
2 Louis Thomas, the eldest bro-
ther of Prince Eugene, had recently
quitted the service of Louis XIV.
3 Charles Bennett, Lord Ossul-
ston, subsequently married the only
1695.]
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
77
exchange woman. His relations have carried him into
the country to see how he is to be brought off.
One Crosby, an Irishman, was tried this day and
acquitted. The main of the evidences against him was
from the papers seized with him, in which was treason-
able matter enough, as containing schemes for an inva-
sion, and naming particular persons that would be
assisting in it, some of which are members of the House
of Commons. His making use of these names ought not
to make them suspected, since his writing those papers
did not make him guilty. He was not ill instructed in
his defence, which was that proofs drawn from a simili-
tude of hands had been exploded in this reign, and he
quoted for it the Act of Parliament reversing Colonel
Sidney's' attainder. Aaron Smith was produced as a
witness to prove something about the papers, but he
excepted against him, as having formerly stood in the
pillory, which was for assisting Stephen Colledge³ at his
trial. The court allowed this, as a point of law, fit to
be argued, which was done by Sir Francis Warrington
without much reserve for Mr. Smith, and he was only
admitted as a good witness, as being comprehended
within an act of grace that passed since; but Sir
Francis told the jury he hoped they would consider
how they gave credit to one from whom a judgment
daughter of Ford, Lord Grey de
Werk, created in 1695 Earl of
Tankerville. Lord Ossulston was
himself created Earl of Tankerville
in 1714.
1 Witnesses were called on the
trial of Colonel Sidney to prove that
an essay of a republican tendency,
found in his study, was in his hand-
writing. The attainder of Colonel
2
Sidney was reversed by Act of Par-
liament, 1689.
2 Aaron Smith was himself im-
plicated in the Rye House Con-
spiracy. At the date of this letter
he was Solicitor to the Treasury.
3
Stephen Colledge, "the Pro-
testant Joiner," was convicted of
high treason on very defective evi-
dence, and exccuted at Oxford, 1681.
78
1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
of the law had taken it, and he was only accidentally re-
stored. The Lord Glenorchy, son to the Earl Breadal-
bane, is going to marry Mrs. Villiers, the Maid of
Honour.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
18
Madrid, April 1695.
28'
1
I was not happy in receiving any from your Lord-
ship by last post, and have little to entertain you from
hence, besides the continuance of the bravery of our
Catalans. On the 2nd (12th) instant, assisted by some
Spanish dragoons, they met a convoy of provisions
designed for Castel-follet of 2000 foot and 500 horse,
whom they entirely routed, killing 400, and took 500
prisoners, with 100 mules laden with meat, within
musket-shot of the place. Among the prisoners are 24
officers. We have now in all at least 1500.
The Marques de Cascais, Ambassador from the King
of Portugal to the French King, arrived here two days
ago, with a very numerous train, in his way to France,
having, as is said, instructions to mediate a peace,
although I can hardly believe it meant in earnest, since
his master is so great a gainer by his neutrality in the
present war.
¹ The natural spirit of the Cata-
lan peasantry had at length been
awakened by the exactions of the
invading army, and they displayed
the most daring gallantry in several
successive encounters with the
French troops. Marshal de Noailles
was himself ill, and shortly after-
wards surrendered the command of
the French army to the Duke de
Vendôme.
1695.] DUKE OF SHREWSBURY TO LORD LEXINGTON. 79
Duke of Shrewsbury to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, April 19, 1695.
Upon the relation of the conference held the 5th,
his Majesty observed three things:-
1
1st. That the Count d'Avaux's answer was rightly
excepted against, as having remitted the acknowledg-
ment of his Majesty, which is made a preliminary, to be
considered towards the conclusion of the treaty, and then
to be adjusted when all the other conditions of peace
shall be, as it were, agreed on ; which his Majesty cannot
by any means admit, or enter into a treaty where that
point is not so settled as to be no more called in ques-
tion; and therefore he cannot but expect the Allies will
receive no more papers relating to a negotiation in
which he is styled Prince of Orange; and he hopes
whoever is employed in the office of mediator will suffer
no such papers to be put into their hands. "
3
j
2
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
'At Vienna, between the mi-
nisters of the Emperor, and those of
Great Britain, Holland, and Spain.
2 The mediation of the King of
Sweden had not been as yet formally
accepted, either by the Allies or the
King of France; but the preliminary
demands of the Allies had been noti-
fied by the Swedish chancellor,
Count Oxienstern, to the Count
d'Avaux, the French minister at
Stockholm, whose answer to these
demands was similar to that given to
M. de Dyckvelt by Messrs. De Cal-
29
Hague, April 1695.
19'
We expect the Flanders post to-day, so I can only
tell your Lordship what we had by those of yesterday
lières and De Harlai at Maestricht.
By artfully combining with terms
which were by no means unfavour-
able to the Allies generally a refusal
to acknowledge the King of Great
Britain, Louis sought to throw upon
William the odium of obstructing a
general peace, on grounds personal
to himself, or at least peculiar to
England, and in which therefore the
rest of the Allies, with the exception
of Holland, felt but little interest.
3 The remainder of the letter is
unimportant.
80
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695,
morning, that the French had finished their line from
Courtray to Bossut, and fortified it with eighty-four
pieces of cannon. We lie encamping between Deynse
and Ghent, without endeavouring or (as a man may say
to his Lord Lexington) without intending anything.
I presume Stepney has sent my Lady his poem,
or I would. I roll in the press and will send her
Ladyship mine, so there will be four dollars postage for
d――d poem.¹ Your Lordship sees my mind runs
so on postage that if I was to write to my mistress, I
should think how much the letter would cost her. I
have reason for the thought, when I tell your Lordship
that I paid 136 gilders one morning last week for the
letters I received, and yet they scruple my extraordi-
naries, and say 't is a jolly sum, and wonder that a
secretary should be obliged to pay the same postage
as an envoy. Since these matters can't be redressed,
't is some comfort to complain, and I am more easy
having told it to your Lordship.
Lord Portland to Lord Lexington.
April 23,
May 3,
(Translation.)
Kensington,
You will learn from other quarters that we are in
expectation of great disclosures in our Parliament. 2 I
¹ This poem appears in all the
collections of Prior's works.
2 The success which had attended
the inquiry into the corrupt practices
connected with the passing of the
Orphans' Bill induced the House of
Commons to institute a similar in-
vestigation into the means by which
the East India Company had ob-
tained their new charter in 1694. It
no date but 1695.
was ascertained that the Company
had expended in special services
since 1688 the enormous sum of
107,000l., and that 80,000l. had
been spent by them in the year pre-
ceding the grant of the charter. A
joint committee of both Houses of
Parliament was appointed to carry
on this inquiry. Sir Basil Fire-
brace stated in his evidence before
1695.]
81
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
believe that they may very well reach some who will
find it difficult to clear themselves; all that I fear is
that it may delay the departure of the King for some
days, otherwise I should be very glad that they should
investigate this affair to the very bottom, particularly
as there are malicious people who, judging me by
themselves, think that it is impossible that I could be
proof against 50,000l., and have taken the liberty to
make use of my name to hide their own knavery. It
is annoying to be exposed to such an accusation here,
where corruption is too general. There is a Flemish
proverb which says that "It is hard to be beaten with
the spit when one has not eaten the roast." I am
much obliged to you for your intention of sending me
some wine. I assure you that your health will not be
forgotten when I receive it, but I do not know whether,
when I have got it, I shall not be guilty of bribery:
however, I will accept and drink it at all events.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, April 23, 1695.
His Grace has hardly opened his post yet, having
been all day at Sir Thomas Cook's committee,' which
this committee that Mr. Tyssen, the
deputy-governor of the Company,
was commissioned to offer a bribe of
50,000l. to Lord Portland, and that
this sum had been offered and re-
fused. Mr. Tyssen, however, denied
this; and added, that had he made
such an offer, "he must never have
seen his (Lord P.'s) face more."
It is of little consequence whether
this bribe was offered to, and re-
fused by, Lord Portland (as he
seems to imply in this letter, which
was written three days before the
evidence referred to was given), or
whether his reputation deterred these
wholesale corrupters from offering it.
It is quite clear that he was uncor-
rupted and incorruptible on this as
well as on all other occasions.
It should be added that Lord Not-
tingham, the chief of the Tory party,
was, in 1693, Secretary of State,
and he also refused a bribe of 50007.
The joint committee of both
Ilouses of Parliament.
G
82
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
I hear rise at 9 this evening. I don't hear he has
given them much satisfaction.¹
Sir Basil Firebrace, it seems, had 30,000l. to be
distributed, but he leaves it to him to tell how he dis-
posed of it. Tyssen, the Deputy Governor, had 10,0007.,
and Acton, a linendraper, who was supposed to have
an interest among Members of Parliament, had 10,000l.
more, and this man, they say, is now under a distrac-
tion. Colonel Fitz-Patrick, who is dead, he says, had
10007., and Germain 350l. to take him off from soli-
citing against the old Company, and the Attorney-
General² a fee of 500 guineas for their new charter, and
such like disbursements; but upon the whole I hear it
is not like to be satisfactory, so that the first bill may
yet pass, with a rider to make those accountable like-
wise who are named to have received any great sums.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
May 4, 1695.
I forgot to acquaint you that just about a month
ago Sir Paul Rycaut sent me word that Hayfield³ was
¹ Sir Thomas Cook, the chair-
man of the East India Company, at
first refused to give the information
required by the House of Commons.
He was committed to the Tower,
and a bill was brought in to force
him to give evidence. The House
of Lords, however, refused to pass
this bill, which was of a highly penal
character; and substituted for it one
to indemnify Sir T. Cook, in the
event of his making a full disclosure.
2 Sir Edward Ward succeeded Sir
John Somers as Attorney-General in
1693. He was appointed Chief Baron
of the Exchequer, 8th June, 1695.
3 Monsieur Bedal, Hayfield, or
Hasfelt, was the French minister at
Hanover in 1692. He was implicated
in Grandval's conspiracy to assassi-
nate William. Dumont in his confes-
sion stated that Hasfelt lent him fifty
crowns when the design was made
known to him.--Somers' Tracts.
It is difficult to believe that so
atrocious a plot could have received
the sanction of the French Ministers,
Louvois and Barbesieux; but it is still
more difficult to refuse credence to
the evidence by which their con-
nexion with it is established.
1695.]
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
83
1
about obtaining a passport from the Emperor to go
into France, upon which I spoke to Count Chinski,
who told me he knew of no such thing, and he would
take care to stop it, upon which I thought myself se-
cure. Two or three posts afterwards, Sir Paul's secre-
tary writ again, which made me speak to Windisgratz, ¹
who told me the passport had been granted above a
month before, and made a thousand excuses that he did
not know he was such a man as I now informed him,
especially of his being concerned in assassinating the
King, otherwise it should never have been granted. I
asked him if he thought the Emperor would not be
displeased if we could snap him by the way. He an-
swered, smiling, that public faith ought to be kept, but
that he would send me a copy of the road he was
obliged to keep, which seemed to me a kind of a tacit
consent, as I sent Sir Paul word. About ten days
afterwards Windisgratz came to me again, and told me
that he had spoken of it to the Emperor, who was un-
willing that the public faith should be broken now he
had granted his passport, and desired that his Majesty
would order nothing to be done in it, but that the Em-
peror would revoke his passport if he did not make
use of it within the time limited; all which I imme-
diately sent Sir Paul word of, so that it lies so, without
his Majesty pleases to command something to be further
done in it.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, April 26, 1695.
These managers for the East India Company, in
all likelihood, will appear to be strange creatures, that
¹ Count Windisgratz, Vice-Chancellor of the Empire.
G 2
84
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
corruption and bribery will be the best of their quali-
ties; for perjury they make nothing of it, and they
have spirited to others to imitate their example. The
Committee is still sitting, and the farther they go, more
work seems to offer itself, so that the season won't
suffer them to go to the bottom of this mystery. It is
probable they may abridge it by deliberating imme-
diately upon what has been made out, and devolve the
rest of the work to the Commissioners of Accounts, to
prepare it for another Session, that so the King may
not be longer detained, and therefore it is expected
some report will be made to-morrow. The late Speaker
is said to have 500l. of this money too, and that it was
lately sent back. Sir Edward Seymour, from the inti-
macy he had with Firebrace, is strongly suspected to
have had a good share of the money, but I don't know
that it is made out. I hear my Lord President' was.
at the House to-day, and should say nothing could vin-
dicate him more than for Mr. Bates to tell the truth.
¹ The Duke of Leeds, Lord Presi-
dent of the Council, was charged
with having received a bribe of
5000Z.
It was admitted that this sum had
been offered to him by Mr. Bates;
and it was proved that it had been
placed in the hands of Mr. Robart,
a Swiss, one of the Duke's servants,
by whom it was kept until the dan-
ger of retaining it longer was ap-
parent.
Mr. Bates, however, affirmed that
the Duke had refused to accept the
50007., when offered to him, but had
permitted his servant to take charge
of the money on his (Mr. Bates')
behalf. The Duke of Leeds also,
in his place in the House of Lords,
solemnly asserted that he had re-
fused to accept the proffered bribe,
or any part of it; but was apparently
unconscious of the scandal of the
confession, when he added, that he
had advised his friend Mr. Bates to
retain the 5000l. for his own use,
and had "wished him luck with it."
Hansard's Parl. Hist.'
6
But I am afraid that this defence,
incomplete as it was, was also un-
true; and the sudden disappearance
of Mr. Robart, whose evidence was
equally necessary to clear or to con-
vict the Duke, was regarded by the
public as an acknowledgment of his
guilt, although it deprived his ac-
cusers of the power of legally esta-
blishing it.
1695.]
85
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
Dresden,
The Elector has dealt about many presents at the
fair among such as follow him in this holy war.
Mighty Count Reiss is one to whom the Elector gave
1500 or 2000 R. D. towards making his equipage.
His manner of presenting Rose was handsome enough.
He saw him playing over night with a medal of 10
ducats, asked him if he was willing to part with it, and
sent him next morning 500 ducats in specie as the
change of his piece.
I believe Rose will let him have more at the same
rate.
April 26
May 6'
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Last night the Elector returned from the fair. He
came on horseback, without any servant, and so much
incognito that the guards never stood to their arms,
and immediately went to the tennis court to refresh
himself. On the 4th he goes to Carlsbad. He takes
with him his ordinary mistress Clingle, his extraor-
dinary one Koningsmark, and will find a third there
ready to his hand-Madlle. Altheim.
¹ The respective provinces of the
two joint Secretaries of State were
1695.
Whitehall, April 30, 1695.
I know not how much longer I shall have the
honour of your Lordship's correspondence, for Mr.
Secretary Trenchard dying on Saturday night, my
Lord Duke succeeds of course to that office, and I sup-
pose the King won't be long before he appoints a secre-
tary to the Northern Province.' Sir William Trum-
determined by the date of their ap-
pointments.
Sir
86
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
1
bull's the most likely to be advanced to it, and some
think that it has been long since resolved, though it
will not yet be declared before the rising of Parlia-
ment, which will now last but very few days longer.
I hear His Majesty hopes the public business may be
despatched by Saturday next; if so, I don't think the
Houses will be kept sitting for my Lord President's
trial, 2 though he presses the despatch of it; but should
they now think of it, nobody can foresee the difficulties
that would arise before the manner of it could be
agreed on: besides, the Commons would expect time
to be given them for the bringing in of Robart, who,
they say, is fled, and not sent into the country.
The Parliament relations give an account of the com-
plaint made by Colonel Beaumont against Sir William
Forester. They had a further rencontre this noon,
meeting accidentally and falling into a heat about the
particular words said in the House, which one affirmed
and the other denied: they went into St. James's
Square to decide it, where Sir William was worsted,
being disarmed.
Now, my Lord Montague has got a verdict against
Sir John Trenchard was the Senior
Secretary of State; and on his death
therefore the Duke of Shrewsbury
removed to the Southern Province,
and Mr. Vernon accompanied him.
'Sir William Trumbull had al-
ready acquired a high reputation for
sagacity and temper. He was Bri-
tish Minister at Paris in 1685, when
the Edict of Nantes was revoked, and
distinguished himself by his humane
exertions in favour of the Pro-
testants.
From Paris he was sent Ambas- articles of impeachment.
sador to Constantinople, where he
continued several years. He was
appointed Secretary of State on the
3rd of May, on which day Par-
liament was prorogued.
2 On the 29th April the Duke of
Leeds was impeached for the third
time. Parliament was, however,
prorogued on the 3rd of May, and
dissolved in the following October ;
and no further steps were taken in
the matter until the year 1701, when
the IIouse of Lords dismissed the
1695.] MR. CARTWRIGHT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
87
the Earl of Bath, and that upon the validity of the
deed, which this jury has given no credit to. His
Lordship thinks himself able to keep his hold. Sloen,
his lawyer, moved the deed might be cancelled in court,
as is usual with forged writings; but that was too quick
a motion, there being still two verdicts for the deed and
this one against it.'
2
Mr. Cartwright to Lord Lexington.
May 4, 1695.
I wish I could persuade you to turn your plate
into money; for if a revolution should happen, and Mr.
Mob is much dreaded, you may repent. I am sure the
interest of your money will more than pay for fashion,
again.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
27
Hague, May 1695.
17'
God knows how my body is to be disposed of; I
believe Ratisbonne will yet be my share. All I can
bring cold Mr. Blathwayt to, is that we will look after
you, Mr. Prior. Sir William Trumbull has mentioned
me very kindly to the King, and I will prevail with
him to recommend my establishment to Mr. Blathwayt.
If he mention me, I see no great difficulty in the affair;
¹ In 1693, the Court of Chancery
decided in favour of the validity of
the deed by which the late Duke of
Albemarle had settled his estates on
the Earl of Bath; and this judg-
ment was affirmed by the House of
Lords on appeal in the following
of good family in Nottinghamshire,
who superintended the management
of Lord Lexington's affairs during
his absence from England.
I have thought this extract (other-
wise unimportant) worthy of inser-
tion, as showing the insecurity of
property and the unsettled state of
year.
* Mr. Cartwright was a gentleman the kingdom at the time.
88'
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
in the mean time, I saunter at Court like other mortals,
and meet the King in the Forehant in my own coach
to show him something for his money. Your Lordship
must excuse my troubling you with my own affairs; if
they prosper, it is to be attributed to your goodness to
me, etcætera, for I swear I can't write sense upon that
subject. And to show how much better my verse is
than my prose, I add this poem,' which I have given to
everybody but the King. I hope my Lady will put up
her thread in t'other, or pin her hair in it. God
God preserve
it from singeing pullets, or being laid under pies.
Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington.
Brookhusen, near Bremen, May 28, 1695.
The rascally General has dealt so basely with the
poor Flanders officer recommended by your Lordship
to this Court, that 'tis a shame to see a good master
served in that manner. He has more mind to cut the
General's throat than to stay here, and, indeed, the
language and usage he has given him is insupportable.
He went to fetch his wife, but the Papists poisoned
both him and her at Amsterdam. She died, but he,
after a great sickness, has recovered, and is come
here to be more barbarously used. I had the honour
of being named with
my betters upon Acton's examina-
tion in the committee relating to the East India Com-
pany, but I was too inconsiderable to be taken much
notice of
'On the death of the Queen. It This poem is to be found in all the
begins thus:
collections of Prior's Works.
At Mary's tomb, sad sacred place,
The Virtues shall their vigils keep,
And every Muse and every Grace
In solemn state shall ever weep.
2 I have been unable to discover any
additional information respecting the
circumstance referred to in this letter.
1695.]
89
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid,
May 30
June 9'
1695.
1
The Catalans have defeated a body of 10,000
French, commanded by M. St. Sylvester, and took all
the provisions they convoyed to Castel Follet, except
thirty mules, which escaped thither in the hurry, the
whole number being 200. This was the day our Ad-
miral² arrived at Barcelona, and the next they routed
another party of 2000. The particulars of the French
loss we have not as yet, but on our side were about
thirty killed and wounded. All these late successes in
Catalonia are owing to different methods of the Marques
de Gastanaga from their former Viceroys, who were
always jealous of the natives, and would never trust
them to defend themselves; whereas he permits the
use of arms to all, encourages and trusts them equally
with the Castilians, having, indeed, no other game to
play, considering the deplorable condition he found the
country in, and it has succeeded beyond expectation. 3
4
Mr. Prior to Lady Lexington.
Hague, June 9, 1695.
Abraham's commands have equal weight with me
as her master's. Her or his must one say? A French
critic would think this worth his inquiring. Bouheurs
asks if one should say, Sa Majesté notre grand Roi est
¹ M. de St. Sylvester, the French
Intendant of the Province: he had
rendered himself especially odious
to the inhabitants by his tyranny.
The Duke de Noailles complained,
in a letter to Louis XIV., of the
carelessness of this officer in not
having previously reconnoitred and
gained possession of the passes
through which his route lay.— Vide
Mém. de Noailles.
2 Admiral Russell.
The latter part of this letter has
already been published by Lord
Mahon in 'The Court of Spain
under Charles II.'
4
Lady Lexington's.
90
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
1
maître ou maîtresse de cette ville; but these niceties are
not worth your Ladyship's trouble, who have the Secre-
taryship and the direction of the knotting work on your
hands, not to mention your care of the billets and the hogs-
head, which may long continue in your keeping if you
wait for a victory from Hungary, considering the gentle
methods of your Emperor making war; but I digress, as
Mr. Sutton² will tell you when he has talked half an hour
from his text. To jump, therefore, into the matter.
3
My Lord Villiers will be here in a fortnight, upon
which I know not what will become of me. I have an
ague into the bargain, and owe 4007.; and yet, I thank
God, I am as brisk as Mrs. Davers can be with good
health, a plentiful fortune, and the ace of trumps in her
hand. The reason of this security, however, may be,
that my Lord having recommended me so very kindly,
I think it morally impossible my affairs should mis-
carry, but of this I shall tell you, my honourable
brother Secretary, in a few posts; and I hope, at least,
either to leave your rank and fraternity, and climb up
to the step of resident on your side the world, or go
home to my college, where, though I will never take
orders till hunger or thirst necessitates my free will,
yet I shall pray for your health and my dear Lord's as
heartily as if I were your chaplain.
4
¹ Père Bouheurs was a French
grammarian, who has been justly ac-
cused of paying too scrupulous an at-
tention to the minutiae of letters. It
is said that when he was dying, he
called out to his friends (a correct
grammarian to the last), "Je vas, ou
je vais mourir; l'un ou l'autre se dit."
D'Israeli's Curiosities of Literature.
2 Mr. Sutton, afterwards Sir
Robert Sutton, was on his way to
Vienna, where he continued in the
joint capacity of Chaplain and Se-
cretary to his cousin, Lord Lexington,
until the peace of Ryswick was signed.
He was then himself appointed Re-
sident Minister at the Imperial court.
³ As Ambassador to the Hague.
4 Prior was at this time, and con-
tinued to be until his death, in 1721,
a Fellow of St John's College,
Cambridge.
1695.]
91
LORD PAGET TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Lord Paget to Lord Lexington.
Adrianople, May 31, 1695.
The Court is not inclined to talk of peace at pre-
sent, nor is it in a condition to carry on the war. The
Grand Seignor is in the tents, but none of the Asiatic
Pashas are yet come. I do not conceive the army can
march yet this fifteen days, and even then it will not
be very considerable nor numerous.
If the Imperial
army had been early in the field this year, something
might have been done that would have broken all the
measures of the Porte. Of all the great possessions the
Turks have had in Hungary, Temeswar alone remains
to them. If that were taken (in the state the empire
is now), the Germans might have leisure to secure their
conquests before these could be in a state to recover
their losses. 1
(Translation.)
Paris, June 10, 1695. 2
It is said that the Duke of Savoy is engaged in a
negotiation with France, with the view of obtaining her
consent to the demolition of Casal. Should he succeed,
Temeswar, however, was not
taken until the year 1716, when it
was recovered by Prince Eugene,
after it had been in the possession of
the Turks for 164 years.
2 This is the first of a series of
letters written in French, dated
Paris, and all in the same hand-
writing, but without either signature
or address. It would appear that
during the remainder of the war
these letters were regularly sent
twice a week to Lord Lexington.
They give a full, and judging from
contemporaneous memoirs, a correct
account of what was passing in
France, and it is clear that the writer
possessed more than common means
of obtaining information, both per-
sonal and political. I have, how-
ever, been unable to discover any
clue to his name, or even to his
position.
There are passages in the letters
which leave no doubt that the author
was a Protestant; and it will be ob-
served that he invariably refers to
the French in the third person, and
never identifies himself with that
nation.
-
92
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
he will endeavour to persuade the Emperor that it is the
act of France, and that it was his wish that Casal, when
taken, should be placed at the disposal of his Imperial
Majesty. For this purpose, he, on the one hand,
endeavours to alarm France by a prospect of its speedy
loss, and on the other to retard its fall. But as France
is convinced that the preservation of Pignerol depends
on that of Casal, she only listens to these propositions
so far as they tend to retard the operations against
Casal.¹
2
Mr. Broughton to Lord Lexington.
Venice, June 11, 1695.
The Inquisitor Menio hath told the Senate he
hath already found traitors to God and their country.
He goes to live in the Lazaretta, to make further
progress. The noble Corner is put in chains, the
nobles Quirini and Pisani are said to be much in danger
of their lives; no correspondence by letter or otherwise
'The account of the negotiation
with the Duke of Savoy is not, in-
deed, entirely correct; it falls short
of the truth; for the terms on which
Casal was to be delivered up to that
Prince were already arranged be-
tween him and Louis XIV.— Vide
Mém. de Tessé.
Such precautions, however, were
taken to conceal this negotiation, the
success of which in a great measure
depended on its not being divulged
before the appointed time, that it is
extraordinary that the writer of this
letter should have known so much.
Lord Lexington did not fail to
communicate to the British minister
at Turin his suspicions of the good
faith of the Duke; but Lord Galway,
although occasionally distrustful, was
deceived until the last moment; and
William III., in a letter of so late a
date as the 1st August, 1695, writes
thus to the Duke of Shrewsbury
"I do not think we have any
reason to fear any arrangement be-
tween France and the Duke of
Savoy; and I am of opinion that he
has acted right in accepting the capi-
tulation of Casal without any previous
negotiation." Coxe's Shrews-
bury Correspondence.'
2 The Venetian republic had hi-
therto evaded the formal recognition
of William ; but Mr. Broughton
performed the duties, although he
did not assume the official character,
of British Consul at Venice.
1695.]
93
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
is permitted at the Lazaretta, or with those aboard the
two ships of war lately come from the Armado, all
being strictly guarded. The State is much troubled
and the Senate confused at the miscarriages. There
are great animosities amongst the nobles here on
account of their relations that have miscarried in the
Armado. It is said one or two of their ships were
burnt by fire kindled in the paper screens, for they
acted plays aboard when the Turks came upon
them. ¹
1
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
4
Carlsbad, June 1695.
14'
We pass our time here as merrily as people can
do. We have built a house which cost 2000 florins,
and will last no longer than Jonah's gourd. It is of
an Italian invention, with four retirades, dim-lights,
couches, and all other moveables which make love easy.
We have brought from Dresden six waggons full of
lustres and looking-glasses to adorn the building; and
on the 6th (16th) we are to have a masquerade, wherein
Koningsmark represents Diana, and enters accom-
panied by six nymphs. I cannot tell to whose turn it
may fall to play Acteon, but I dare swear there will
2
'The Turks had recently gained
a complete victory over the Venetian
fleet, near the Dardanelles: the latter
lost three vessels and 1600 men, and
were forced to relinquish Scio to the
enemy. This disaster created the
greatest alarm and confusion in Ve-
nice. Treachery was imputed to the
Captain General Zeno, who had suc-
ceeded
the renowned François
Morosini in that office. He was im-
mediately disgraced, and conducted
to Venice, loaded with chains. On
his arrival he was, with the other
chief officers of the fleet, imprisoned,
and a strict inquiry instituted into his
conduct. He died, however, during
the investigation. The other officers
were degraded from all civil and
military employments.— Vide Daru's
History of Venice.'
2 The Countess.
6
4
94
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
be horns grafted before the night is over, for I perceive
that's the main design of this meeting.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.'
Vienna, June 22, 1695.
Our letters from Turin give us an account of a
foolish marriage Prince Charles of Brandenburgh ¹ has
1
¹ Prince Charles of Brandenburgh
was serving in Piedmont with the
allied army, to which were attached
three regiments of Brandenburgh
troops. He was young, gay, and
sensitive, and the charms of the
Comtesse de Salmoure, the widow
of an officer of dragoons, made so
deep an impression on his heart that
he resolved on a marriage with this
lady, who, although so far his infe-
rior in rank, seems by her subse-
quent conduct to have been worthy
of his love. To disarm suspicion, it
was agreed that the marriage should
be privately solemnized at the Vé-
nerie, a country house belonging to
the Duke of Savoy; and the cere-
mony was about to be commenced,
when one of the assembled guests,
to whom the secret had not been
previously confided, was so much
shocked at the proposed misalliance
of the Prince, that drawing his
sword, he furiously attacked the
priest, and forced him to fly for his
life. The Prince, however, was not
discouraged by this failure, but
warned by what had occurred, he
forthwith resolved to adopt the
royal mode of marrying by proxy,
and a few days afterwards one of
his attendants married the Countess
in the name of his master. The
Duke of Savoy was soon informed of
the marriage; and failing in the
attempt to persuade the Prince to
disown his union with the Countess,
adopted more violent measures to
break it. A party of armed men
forcibly entered the Prince's bed-
chamber, and notwithstanding a
determined resistance on his part, in
which he wounded one of the as-
sailants, they carried off his wife,
and conveyed her to a convent, in
which she was strictly guarded. The
Prince was himself placed under
arrest; but he firmly refused to
listen to the entreaties or the threats
by which his brother, the Elector of
Brandenburgh, and the Duke of
Savoy, endeavoured to induce him
to disavow his marriage. He made
several vain attempts to release his
wife from her prison, and a few
months afterwards died of a fever
caused by grief and disappointment,
leaving all that he possessed to his
widow, as a mark of his continued
attachment.
Upon his death, the Princess was
released from confinement. Although
very poor, she preferred reputation
to wealth, and honourably refused
the sum of 25,000 ducats (about
60007.), which was offered by the
Duke of Savoy, as the price of her
admitting the informality of her mar-
riage with the unfortunate Prince.-
Vide Mém. de Comte D., published
1703.
:
1695.]
95
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
made for himself, which I am very sorry for, as he was
the hopefullest of all those younger brothers.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
13
Madrid, June 1695.
23'
The French army in Catalonia is 14,000 foot and
4000 horse, but all starving for want of provisions, so
that they desert in great numbers, which our Admiral
taking advantage of, caused a paper to be printed in
English and dispersed among them, encouraging the
King's subjects to quit the French, and serve their own
Prince either as soldiers or seamen,' entering them into
'Great numbers of Irish and
some English and Scotch Jacobites
contributed to swell the armie
Louis XIV. Their case, indeed,
was peculiar. They were not fight-
ing against their sovereign, and they
believed they were fighting for their
religion. But one of the most re-
markable features of the age was the
ease with which the ties of kindred
and of country were broken; and the
readiness with which, as the occa-
sion offered, the service of one so-
vereign was exchanged for that of
another. This no doubt arose partly,
but not entirely, from the revocation
of the Edict of Nantes, and from the
conflicting claims of the rival candi-
dates for the throne of Great Britain.
The effect, however, was not the less
curious.
Maréchal Schomberg was a Ger-
man by birth. He commanded in
succession the armies of France, of
Portugal, of Holland, and of Eng-
land. He received the bâton of
Maréchal from Louis XIV., and
was created an English Duke by
William III.
The greater part of Lord Galway's
life was passed in fighting against
the land of his birth; and at the
battle of Almanza it was the curious
fate of this French commander of an
English army to be defeated by a
French army under the command
of the English Duke of Berwick.
Prince Eugene, too, was born and
educated in France. It is true that
he was not of French origin; but he
certainly owed no natural allegiance
to the Emperor.
The Prince de Vaudemont, the
friend and confidant of William III.,
espoused, in the war of the Suc-
cession, the cause of the grandson of
Louis XIV., while his son held a
high command in the army of the
rival candidate for the crown of
Spain.
Lord Feversham, by birth a
Frenchman, the nephew of Turenne,
and brother of Maréchal de Lorges,
was promoted by James II. to the
96
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
*
immediate pay and new clothing them, with a pistole in
hand to each man, which had so good effect that our
Consul of Barcelona had in a few days listed above 200
of them, who assure more of their fellows will follow.
Sir William Trumbull' to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, June 14, 1695.
All things are here quiet and well, only Captain
George Porter and Sir John Fenwick and ten or
eleven others celebrating on Monday last the birthday
of the pretended Prince of Wales at a tavern in Drury
Lane, drew upon them, besides the officers of justice,
the indignation of the people, from which they very
hardly escaped; one of them is since taken and in
prison, and warrants are out against the rest, who will
have no occasion to brag of their ill-timed frolic.
2
Mr. Broughton to Lord Lexington.
Venice, June 25, 1695.
It is said several other nobles are accused for the
ill fortune and miscarriages at Scio; and so far as I
can learn, they were all to blame to be in masquerade
and acting plays, when the enemy was so near,
ar, watch-
ing advantage to surprise them. This breeds disgust
amongst several noble families; and if the French had an
command in chief of the British
army; and the Baron de Goertz, a
native of Holstein, was employed in
a diplomatic capacity by the Land-
grave of Hesse Cassel, as well as by
William III., before he finally at-
tached himself to Charles XII. of
Sweden.
Secretary of State for the Nor-
thern Province.
2 Captain Porter and Sir John
Fenwick were both implicated in
the plot for the assassination of
William, and the invasion of the
kingdom, which was discovered
early in the following year.
1
1695.] LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
97
opportunity of blowing the bellows, I know not how
great the flame might be.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, July 2, 1695.
Yesterday the old Venetian Ambassador came and
made me a visit, and told me that his masters finding
how necessary a peace was in general amongst the
princes of Europe, both upon their own accounts and
for resisting the Turks, who now seem resolved, under
the conduct of a young Prince, flushed with victory, to
push their fortune more vigorously than ever, had or-
dered all their ministers at the several courts where
they were, to endeavour the same; and in particular, to
show their respect to his Majesty, had nominated two
Ambassadors Extraordinary, in the first place to com-
pliment him, and afterwards to offer their mediation for
the effectuating a just and reasonable peace.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
1
Hague, July 8, 1695.
"T is my duty to trouble your Lordship as a public
minister, now things move so fast in Flanders.
We
have undertaken there a great deal of work in the siege
of Namur, which is much stronger since the French
have had it. Mr. Coehorn, who had a principal hand
2
This offer was declined, and the
Venetian Ambassadors did not pro-
ceed to England with their long-
deferred compliment to the King
until the following year, 1696.
2 It will be remarked that in 1692
the defence of Namur was conducted
by General Coehorn, while the siege
was superintended by Maréchal de
Vauban, and Namur fell. Vauban in
his turn exerted all his skill to re-
store and strengthen the works, but
in 1695 his rival was victorious, and
Namur surrendered to the Allies, of
whom Coehorn was, as Prior says, the
oracle. Thus proving that the art
of attack was better understood by
these celebrated engineers than that
H
98
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
in the fortifications when the French took it, is our
great engineer and oracle. The Marquis de Boufflers'
is got into the town, where he commands in chief, and
under him the Count de Guiscar; they have fifteen
battalions of foot and two regiments of dragoons in the
town. His Majesty, on the other side, determines a
close siege, and to the Liège and Brandenburg troops
and those commanded by the Earl of Athlone; the
King has sent for twenty battalions from the army
commanded by Prince Vaudemont, which lies about
Deynse, and we are falling seriously to work. God
send us good luck, for we play high.
2
3
Our Elector Palatine is here, gaping for mass-
houses in a Protestant country, and sounding trumpets
at midnight whilst everybody is at war.
My Lord Villiers arrived yesterday, and is still at
Rotterdam. I have been all day (for I write at mid-
night) to wait on him. His Lordship designs to be here
to-morrow. I know not what is to become of me, nor
shall, I believe, till the latter end of the campaign.
Patienza!
of defence, or that no artificial forti-
fications could resist a siege skilfully
directed.
1 Louis François de Boufflers was
born of a noble family in Picardy,
and entered the Royal Guards at the
age of nineteen. He served with dis-
tinction under Condé, Turenne, and
Luxemburgh, and his military talents
attracted the notice and gained for
him the esteem of these great com-
manders.
M. de Boufflers was not a favourite
of fortune, but his reputation did not
suffer by defeat. His resolute de-
fence of Namur in 1695 (the occasion
referred to by Prior), and his deter-
mined resistance to Prince Eugene
at Lisle in 1708, with his celebrated
retreat after the defeat of the French
army at Malplaquet in 1709, de-
servedly raised him to the first rank
of the great military commanders of
the age.
He was no less conspicuous for
the honourable simplicity of his cha-
racter than for his brilliant valour.
Maréchal de Boufflers died in 1711.
2 Prior has omitted a word here.
The sentence, however, is correctly
copied from the original.
³ John William, second Elector
Palatine of the Roman Catholic
house of Neuburgh.
1695.]
99
LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Camp near Casal,
1
We were surprised yesterday morning by hearing the
chamade beat; we were as yet but at the foot of the glacis,
and had not ventured to hope the enemy would have sur-
rendered so soon. As soon as the hostages were given
on both sides, M. de Crenan sent the Lieutenant of the
King with his proposals, of which the four following
seem the most important.
2
1st. A neutrality throughout Italy until a peace.
2nd. The retention of all the artillery and the maga-
zines.
¹ The Duke of Savoy, however,
did not share in the surprise of his
army; for the surrender of Casal
was in accordance with an agree-
ment to that effect, which he had
concluded with Louis on the 29th
April, exactly two months before.
By this agreement Casal was to
be attacked vigorously by the Allies;
and after a few days' siege it was
to be surrendered; but the fortifica-
tions were to be razed, and if the
Allies refused to accede to, or neg-
lected to fulfil, this condition, the
Duke was immediately to join the
French army with all his forces.
The Duke of Savoy was not yet
in a condition openly to break with
the Allies, or to insist on the neu-
trality of Italy; but he engaged to
prevent the allied troops under his
command from acting offensively
against France during the remainder
of the year; and Louis likewise pro-
mised that the French forces should
remain inactive for the same period.
Both the allied and the French
armies were to continue in Piedmont
June 30
July 10'
1695.
and Italy; and no reinforcements
were to be sent from thence to the
other contending armies on the Rhine
or elsewhere.
These were the real terms on
which Casal was surrendered. The
first condition, namely, that of raz-
ing the fortifications, was distasteful
to the Allies, and especially to the
Emperor, but the Duke of Savoy
gained his point. The two remain-
ing conditions also were punctually
fulfilled. And although the Duke
was surrounded by the ministers and
generals of the Allies, whose suspi-
cions were already aroused, and who
therefore watched every action, and
scrutinized every order, with anxious
distrust, they failed to discover, or
at least were unable to prove, his
treachery, until, having obtained
most favourable terms from France,
the Duke threw off the mask, and
publicly announced that he had con-
cluded a separate peace with the
enemy.
2 The Marquis de Crenan com-
manded the French garrison in Casal.
H 2
100
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
3rd. The destruction of the entire place; the pre-
sent garrison to remain there until this article is fully
carried into effect.
4th. The retention of the deserters, among whom
there is a considerable number of the Emperor's troops.
The two first articles were positively refused, and
M. de Crenan gave way: to speak frankly to you, the
third did not at all displease his Royal Highness, who
is really desirous that it should be carried into effect,
and is by no means averse to the proposal that the de-
struction of the town and castle should follow that of
the citadel, and that the French garrison should be the
guarantee that this is done. His Royal Highness,
therefore, has made but little opposition to this article,
and does not think that the fourth should be allowed
to hinder so important a cession. The Prince Eugene
appears exceedingly dissatisfied with this capitulation,
and has spoken of it as being disgraceful.
His Royal Highness has availed himself of the
authority which gives him the command of the army,
and has undertaken to give an account of his actions to
his Imperial Majesty, and to obtain his approval of
them; for this purpose he sends his adjutant to Vienna
with the capitulation and his reasons. To tell you the
truth, I believe that if we had rejected all their con-
ditions, the enemy would not have surrendered, and
Casal would have cost us both time and men.
July in the Evening.
2
12
The capitulation was not signed until yesterday even-
ing, and yesterday his Royal Highness and Prince
Eugene had a conversation of considerable length
They appear to me disposed to maintain that good
1695.]
101
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
understanding which is requisite for the public service,
but it is absolutely necessary that his Imperial Majesty
should approve of the capitulation.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
Frankfort, July 1695.
12'
I got hither last night, and, as luck would have it,
I lit upon my old friend Jemmy Sanderson, and
your cousin chaplain Mr. Sutton. I would have
tempted them to have stayed a post or two (for by that
time Mr. Cardonnell assures me from Mr. Blathwayt I
shall have a positive answer whither I am to roll next),
but the man of God was inflexible.
I told him your
Lordship was in no danger of dying, and that it would
be no great load upon either your conscience or his if
he loitered three or four days more or less. But
because he presumes my Lady and your cousin Davers
may be more impatient for spiritual comforts, my two
gentlemen e'en took the resolution of leaving me and
this good Red House; and are jogged on in a caravan,
which is to lug them on at a foot-pace, so as to be at
Ratisbonne in no less than eight days.
They have a pretty young woman and an ugly old
one, who, I believe, may stick fast to them till they get
to Nuremberg.
1
I am sorry my Elector can find no better pastime
with you than dancing and tennis. I was in hopes he
would leave that sauntering life, and buckle to business
when he got into the Emperor's eye. But I begin to
fancy he will take a billiard-table and tennis-court with
him to the camp, as King James had a moving chapel
1 The Elector of Saxony.
102
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
for the campaign at Hounslow. The fancy's odd, and I
really believe he would do it if anybody put it in his head.
Sir William Trumbull to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, July 12, 1695.
We had yesterday the welcome news of my Lord
Berkeley's' having bombarded St. Malo with good
success, and his having sent a squadron to do the like
to Granville, a trading town, distant about seven leagues,
which will go a great way towards destroying the nests
of privateers that infest our western coast.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
23
Frankfort, July 13' 1695.
2
You will have found my Elector to be just the
man I described him to you. Madlle. Lambert is a
pretty creature, and I hope may make him forget his
Koningsmark.
3
Our news on all sides is very good. You have heard
what short work they have made with Casal. Prince
Vaudemont's retreat has got him much honour, and our
Englishmen before Namur have been lucky in their
first attack. Next post may bring us news what exe-
cution Lord Berkeley has done at St. Malo. We
want nothing but a vigorous action on the Rhine to
make our joy complete, and we know not how near
4
¹ Lord Berkeley of Stratton.
2 The niece of Count Harrach.
³ On receiving the account of this
celebrated retreat, William III.
wrote thus to the Prince de Vaude-
mont: "I am much obliged to you,
for in this retreat you have given
greater marks of a general, consum-
mate in the arts of war, than if you
had gained a victory."-Tindal's
'History.'
◄ Maréchal de Lorges, the nephew
of Turenne, commanded the French
army which had recently crossed
the Rhine.
1695.] MR. BLATHWAYT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
103
we may be to it; for the French army being decamped
early on the 10th (20th) inst., the Confederates have
made after them; but whether they have been able to
compass their design of falling upon the enemy's rear,
and where they lie now encamped, we expect to hear
every minute, having seen no letters these two days
on which we can rely, and our armies are at present as
much incognito as Prince Prettyman's was in the Re-
hearsal. We hope at least that the Allies will tread so
hard upon the heels of the French that they will not
dare to weaken their body by making a detachment for
Brabant, and so Namur must fall of course.
1
I have this moment received letters from Frizen, ¹ of
the 22nd from Waldorf. The French are scampering
as hard as they can over Manheim. I think to go post
to-morrow, in hopes to kill a Frenchman, which one
may do safely when their back 's turned.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
16
Before Namur, July no date but 1695.
26'
The King exposes himself continually in the
trenches and elsewhere. My Lord Selkirk, attending
his Majesty, has received a hurt in his forehead by a
stone raised by a cannon bullet. The wound is not so
dangerous as honourable.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
20
Frankfort, July 1695.
30'
* I add herewith what is last come to my
hands; whereby you will find we could not overtake
the French before they had made their escape at Man-
¹ Count Frize.
?
104
[169
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
2
heim, which is a great pity, for we had brought them
into a corner between the Neckar and the Rhine, as
he had the Turks, four years ago, at Salankamen,
between the Save and the Danube; and being ten
thousand men stronger than the French, must, in all
probability, have defeated them. What next may be
undertaken is kept a secret. At present the Confederate
army lies fairly encamped with their right wing to-
wards Heydelberg, and the left towards Schevetzingen.
On Monday I intend to go thither, as we used to make
a visit to Hounslow Heath, only for show.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington..
(Translation.)
Camp near Casal, July 30, N. S., no date but 1695.
³
4
His Royal Highness has been much gratified in
hearing that his conduct has appeared so satisfactory. *
I think that he took a very proper step, and that if he
had pursued any other course Casal would have been a
subject of dangerous dissension." It is right that I
should inform you, my Lord, that from time to time
advices are received from Vienna, which give some
¹ Prince Louis of Baden.
2 The battle of Salankamen was
fought in 1691; Prince Louis of
Baden, who commanded the Im-
perial forces in Hungary, defeated
the Turks with great slaughter.
3 The Duke of Savoy.
4 The Emperor had expressed a
cold approval of the terms of the
capitulation of Casal.
5 Casal originally belonged to the
Duke of Mantua (to whom it was
shortly afterwards restored), but by
a treaty signed in 1690, between the
Duke of Savoy and the King of
Spain, it was agreed that if Casal
were recovered from the French,
it should be given up to Spain.
The Emperor, however, was sup-
posed to desire to obtain it; and the
Duke of Savoy himself was by no
means insensible to its importance,
while fortified, for it was close to his
territories, and a place of great
strength. Lord Galway therefore
had good reason to believe that if the
destruction of the fortifications had
not formed one of the conditions of
the surrender of Casal, serious differ-
ences might have arisen among the
Allics with regard to its possession.
195.1
LORD PORTLAND TO LORD LEXINGTON.
105
hints of a secret negotiation for peace, conducted by
Mr. Dyckvelt. I am persuaded that the King will
always act in concert with his Imperial Majesty and
the rest of the Allies. His conduct throughout his
whole life ought to convince every one that he has the
interest of his Allies more at heart than his own.
Nevertheless, his Royal Highness is afraid that the
barrier for the Low Countries is much more considered
than the restitution of Pignerol. I cannot believe it,
for all the Allies have fully recognized the advantage of
the war in Italy, and must be aware that it is of the
greatest importance to maintain this Prince in a con-
dition to recommence it whenever France may show
hostile intentions; but, if Pignerol remain in the pos-
session of the French, they will always be at hand to
attack him, while he must look for support from a
distance.
Lord Portland to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Camp before Namur, Aug. 5, 1695.
We have been, I may say, night and day in the
trenches and on horseback. You will have heard of
the treason or cowardice, or both, of the garrisons of
Dixmude and Deynse; but, thank God, we are
masters of the town, 3 and the King is well.
2
¹ I have been unable to discover
any positive proof that these sus-
picions were correct; but notwith-
standing Mr. Blathwayt's denial,
there is good reason to believe that
the communications between MM.
Dyckvelt and Callières did not
cease with the interview at Maes-
tricht. However this may be, it was
good policy on the part of the Duke
of Savoy to express doubts of the
sincerity of William III.
2 General Ellemberg commanded
at Dixmude, and Colonel O'Farrell
at Deynse. The first made a slight
show of resistance, but the second
surrendered without firing a shot.
Both were tried for their misconduct.
General Ellemberg was shot, and
Colonel O'Farrell cashiered.
3 The town of Namur was sur-
rendered to the Allies on the 3rd of
106
[1695
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Camp at Maloigne, before the Castle of Namur,
Aug. 12, S. N. 1695.
Your Lordship will have been informed by Mr.
Robinson' of the declaration lately given by the Court
of Sweden to the Comte d'Avaux to the effect follow-
ing-viz. that the King 2 does think the treaties of West-
phalia and Nimeguen a very good foundation for a
peace to be treated on, and that in case this proposition
be not accepted of, the King of Sweden finds himself
obliged to comply with the treaties he has with the
Allies for the affording them succours, and doing what
is otherwise proper for settling the quiet of Christen-
3
August. The first article in the
capitulation provided that the Roman
Catholic religion should be exclu-
sively maintained, and the exercise
of any other religion absolutely for-
bidden and prevented, within the
limits of the town. It appears at
first sight curious that such terms
should have been at once accepted
by the champion of the Protestants;
but Namur belonged to Spain, and
it was obvious that any opposition to
the demand would have been fruit-
less. William therefore wisely ab-
stained from an appeal on behalf of
the Protestants, which would have
had no other effect than to cause dis-
sensions among the Allies.
¹ Mr. Robinson was a clergyman.
He was, in the first instance, ap-
pointed chaplain to the British
embassy at Stockholm.
While in this capacity he dis-
played considerable talents for di-
plomacy; and on the return to
England of the British Ambassador,
he was named resident minister,
and in 1695 Envoy Extraordinary,
to the King of Sweden.
The diplomatic and civil services
of Mr. Robinson were rewarded with
high ecclesiastical preferment. On
his return from Sweden, he was ap-
pointed Bishop of Bristol, and sub-
sequently Bishop of London. He
also filled the office of Lord Privy
Seal, and was first Plenipotentiary
for the peace of Utrecht. Mr.
Robinson wrote an account of Swe-
den, which was published in 1694.
2 Charles XI., King of Sweden.
8 The Kings of Sweden and of
Denmark were rival candidates for
the office of mediator. The offers
of neither had as yet been accepted,
or formally declined; but negotia-
tions for adjusting the preliminaries
of a peace were in progress at the
court of Sweden; and the Swedish
minister, Count Oxienstern, was the
channel of communication between
the Comte d'Avaux and the mi-
nisters of the Allies.
1695.]
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
107
2
3
dom. 1
This declaration the King and States do ap-
prove of, as what your Lordship will find most agree-
able with your instructions. I suppose your Lordship
has heard directly from Mr. Prior, or my Lord Villiers,
of the treaty that is on foot at the Congress among the
confederate ministers for renewing of the alliance, and
continuing it after this war, which is as good as con-
cluded. It is impossible to hinder the bombarding,
and perhaps the destruction, of the greatest part of
Brussels.
4
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Aug. 13, 1695.
Yesterday I was with Count Chinski at his
country house, and he seems more and more confirmed
in his jealousies of a private treaty, managed by MM.
Dyckvelt and Callières at Utrecht, and that it has
gone so far that M. Dyckvelt has given orders for the
buying of his equipage for the Congress. For my part,
I did what I could to satisfy him to the contrary, and
my reasons prevailed so far with the Spanish Ambas-
sador, that I think he is at rest about it, as likewise
the Savoy Ambassador, with whom I had a long con-
ference upon the subject of my Lord Galway's letter I
sent you; but pray, Sir, is there not an old English
proverb, that there is no smoke without fire? which
makes me not know what to think; and they have so
buzzed it in my ears, that I begin to imagine there may
be something at the bottom.
5
¹ Sweden had hitherto evaded this
engagement, and, as a strictly neutral
power, enjoyed the advantage of an
uninterrupted commerce with Eng-
land and France.
2 Of England.
3 Of Holland.
This treaty was signed at the
Hague on the 8th August, 1695.
5 The Marquis de Prié.
108
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
6
Before the Castle of Namur, Aug. 1695.
16'
I have now his Majesty's commands, which have
been explained to me by Mr. Dyckvelt-viz. that the
Court of Vienna seeming to be alarmed with negotia-
tions supposed to be carried on privately in these parts
and in Holland with the French, and particularly by
Mr. Dyckvelt, your Lordship is to assure the Emperor
and his Ministers of the contrary, and that no step is
made, or overture hearkened to, relating to peace, which
is not immediately communicated to the Emperor's
Ministers.
Mr. Dyckvelt does, indeed, own that for four or five
months past there were conferences held at Maestricht,
but that nothing passed of which Count Kaunitz had
not a particular information; so that the Court of
Vienna may be sure that neither his Majesty nor the
States will give any just occasion of the least jealousy,
though, indeed, our enemies may endeavour to raise
suspicions among us.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
19
9'
¹ Brussels was bombarded on the
13th and 14th of August, by Maré-
chal de Villeroy, who had succeeded
Maréchal de Luxemburgh in the com-
mand of the French army in Flan-
ders. More than 3000 houses were
burnt or destroyed. M. de Villeroy
Hague, Aug. 1695.
I am sorry that I have no better news to send you
than the bombarding of Brussels,
1
and (I think) the
wrote
to Prince Berghen, the
governor of the town, stating that
the bombardment of Brussels was in
reprisal for that of St. Malo, and
Granville, by the British fleet. On
the 15th he withdrew his army, and
marched towards Enghien.
1695.]
MR. ELLIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
109
¹
no-bombarding of Dunkirk. For the first, it is too
sure that the lower town of Brussels, and great part of
the high town, is in ashes; and till we have our Flanders
letters at noon, we know not what mischief is done
there, nor which way the enemy will take in order to
his doing more. For the latter, we only have it by sad
experience that Dunkirk cannot be hurt by any ma-
chines Mr. Meesters can invent. We have thrown
some few bombs into the place of some hundreds which
have failed, and having lost five or six of our wel-boats
and a Dutch frigate, are retired from before the place,
and (I think) let the Risbank stand as firm as ever it
did. This I take in general to be the state of an
affair of which the particulars will not be more agree-
able. The King hastens, as much as possible, the siege
of the Castle of Namur: it goes on, however, slow, but
we hope, sure; and so much for the public.
2
Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Aug. 9, 1695.
Lord Berkeley is come with his fleet into the
Downs, having done nothing at Dunkirk or Calais.
At the former, the machine-ships, as they are called,
did nothing but blow up themselves, and the credit of
their inventor³ as some say; but he being come hither,
complains he was not seconded with ships as he ought
¹ Mr. Meesters was a Dutch of
ficer of engineers, and was at this
time attached to the Channel fleet,
under the command of Lord Berke-
ley of Stratton. The invention
referred to by Mr. Prior signally
failed.
2 The new Under Secretary in Sir
W. Trumbull's office, Mr. Ellis, was
the brother of Bishop Ellis, who was
for some time employed by the de-
posed King (James II.) as his agent
at Rome, and of Sir William Ellis,
Lord Tyrconnel's Secretary.
8 Mr. Meesters.
110
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
to have been, so that something is like to come here-
out of the nothing done there and elsewhere.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
16
26'
Before the Castle of Namur, Aug. no date but 1695.
I have received the honour of your Lordship's
letter of the 13th, and am to make the same answer to
it as to that of the 10th, in reference to Mr. Dyckvelt;
which is, that your Lordship deny there has been of
late any such private negotiation, as your Lordship is
instructed in my former letter. Now, my Lord, our
affairs are come to a crisis. The breaches are so far
advanced in the castle, that we are ready for an assault
in a day or two. In the mean time, Mons. de Vil-
leroy is come with his army this day to Fleurus, and
the King is gone this afternoon to ours at Maese, in
expectation of a battle to-morrow morning if the French
do attack us, as there is great appearance, unless they
design to pass by us to Louvain or Liège to bombard
those places, for which they have materials with them.
Your Lordship has reason to be uneasy till you hear
further from us, which I hope may be to your satis-
faction.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
At the King's Quarters before Namur, Aug. 1695.
16
26'
You will allow me to magnify my merit in telling
you that I have brought my detachment' safe and
sound to join our armies just in time, when we have
most need of them. I have been here three days, and
¹ Mr. Stepney had been com-
missioned to hurry the advance of a
body of Hessian troops, which were
marching to Namur.
1695.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
111
►
expect to satisfy my curiosity in seeing both a battle
and a storm, for we think we shall have both within
three or four days. We have 3000 horse, who have
joined Prince Vaudemont at Mazy, and 7000 foot, who
help at the siege. The King has gone this evening to
the first of these places, and I follow to-morrow, which
you may certainly take as an omen of some great
action. I never led a more pleasant life; the King is
very gracious to me, and continues my allowance for
only attending him from one camp to another on other
people's horses. Your Lordship will easily comprehend
what I mean, for you were in the same circumstances
this time twelvemonths. We are confident the coehorn
and castle will be ours; the breaches are large in both
of them. You may believe me: I have seen them, for
I have been both on the batteries and in the trenches
without being Godfreyed. We are likewise certain of
beating the French if they dare to attack us, for we
have 70,000 men, which is as great an army as they
are able to bring together. Besides, we are intrenched,
and they must be the aggressors; and, consequently,
must be more exposed if they pretend to come at us.
This I tell you that you may drink your bottle quietly
with Mr. Heemskerck, without being molested with
what other letters and gazettes may tell you.
2
1
'Mr. Godfrey, the Deputy Go-
vernor of the Bank, was killed by a
cannon ball in the trenches, before
Namur, while in attendance upon the
King. He was the brother of Sir
Edmundbury Godfrey.
2 Mr. Heemskerck was the Envoy
of the United Provinces at Vienna.
He had recently arrived at Vienna
from Constantinople, whither he
had been sent to endeavour to ne-
gotiate a peace between Austria and
the Porte.
The Turks, however, refused to
listen to these overtures, and paid so
little regard to the sacred character
of an ambassador, that they arrested
Mr. Heemskerck at Belgrade, and
detained him there for several
months.
112
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
This day the Duke of Ormond' remembered you,
and the other day Mr. Blathwayt, in the best Grecian
wine that was ever tipped over tongue. You know
Jupiter was born in Candia, and were I a god, I would
live in an island that produces such wines. Coehorn
has laid the Elector of Bavaria 400 pistoles that all
the works are ours, and we masters of the place,
before Wednesday the 31st. Others may write you
more serious news.
2
3
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
4
Vienna, Aug. 27, 1695.
He acquainted me that he had letters from
Swedland, which gave reasons for the late coldness
Count D'Avaux has shown; which are, first, the pros-
pect the French have of succeeding by some other pri-
vate canal, and of treating; secondly, the hopes they
are in that His Majesty will fall under their treacherous
plots against his person; and, thirdly, some hopes
they have of revolutions next winter in England, and
5
6
'The Duke of Ormond subse-
quently rose to high military com-
mand; but his principal post at this
time was that of Lord of the Bed-
chamber to the King.
° Maximilian Emanuel, Elector of
Bavaria, was the Viceroy of Spanish
Flanders.
The Elector married, first, the
only daughter of the Emperor Leo-
pold, by his first wife, the sister of
the King of Spain; and his son by
this marriage, born in 1692, was the
Prince to whom the crown of Spain
was allotted by the first treaty of
partition in 1698.
The Elector married, secondly, in
August, 1694, Theresa, only daugh-
ter of John Sobieski, King of Poland.
3 General Coehorn lost the wager.
The Castle of Namur was not sur-
rendered until the 1st, and the Allies
did not take possession of it until the
5th of September.
4 Count Chinski.
Alluding probably to the cor-
respondence between M. de Cal-
lières and M. de Dyckvelt.
6 The conspiracy for assassinating
the King, and for the invasion of
England, was discovered in February,
1696.
1695.]
113
LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
that the Parliament and people will grow weary of the
God in Heaven pre-
I think there is no
charges of so expensive a war.
serve His Majesty's person, and
great danger of the rest.
(Translation.)
Paris, Aug. 29, 1695.
Should an action take place, the King must be on
his guard. They think that peace depends upon him,
and that it can only be obtained by his death. We
have intelligence that the Allies in Italy are delibe-
rating whether they ought to besiege Suza, enter
France, or invest Pignerol more closely, in readiness
for its siege in the spring. The Duke of Savoy in-
clines to the first course, the Germans and Spaniards to
the last. All parties would unite in the second if they
could rely on the support of Admiral Russell, in which
case they would even besiege Nice. With these con-
flicting opinions it is expected that the season will pass
away and nothing be done. However, they have just
despatched a courier hence to Turin, under the pre-
tence of carrying from Monsieur 3 the news of the ac-
couchement of the Duchesse de Chartres.*
2
1
¹ The council referred to was held
on the 3rd (13th) August at Turin.
The account here given of the de-
liberations of the generals of the
allied army is substantially correct.
2 It will be remembered that the
Duke of Savoy had entered into a
secret engagement with Louis XIV.
that the allied army under his com-
mand should abstain from any act of
aggression against France during the
remainder of the campaign.
3.1
Orleans, the brother of Louis XIV.
The Duchess of Savoy was his
daughter by his first wife, Henrietta
Maria of England.
4
* Philip, Duc de Chartres, suc-
ceeded his father as Duke of Or-
leans in 1701, and is better known
by that title, and as Regent of
France during the minority of
Louis XV. He married, in 1692,
Mademoiselle de Blois, natural
daughter of Louis XIV., by Madame
Monsieur," Philip Duke of de Montespan.
I
114
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
At the King's Quarters at the Abbey of Maloigne,
20
Tuesday night, Aug. 1695.
30'
I promised you an account of our military exploits;
you must be contented with one without form or figure,
for I am no soldier; but I may venture to assure you
what I tell you is truth, because I have been an eye
witness of all I relate.
1
Yesterday we expected the French would attack
us, and therefore we made ready to receive them by
five in the morning. I followed the King all the day,
but we saw nothing but advanced parties of seven or
eight squadrons and as many battalions, who came to
visit the situation of our camp, but they found us too
well posted to venture to attack us, for we were half
covered by thick woods in our front, and the rest was
intrenched; besides, our army consisted of 94 battalions
and 260 squadrons, which was very little inferior to
their army. They therefore deferred coming at us
yesterday, but, by our spies, we understood they would
disturb us this morning by break of day, for which
reason I (you must take notice I make myself the
hero) lay rough in the King's quarters, expecting to
come to action as soon as the sun rose.
Our quarters
were at Brounesse, an hour and a half from this place.
Our army lay there, with the left beyond Mazy, the
centre towards St. Denis (where we thought the French
would break in), and the right to Ostin; but hearing,
this morning, that the French had fallen back behind
the Maloigne, whereby we supposed they despaired of
¹ Under Maréchal de Villeroy.
1695.]
115
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
·
relieving the rest of Namur, we resolved to attempt
making ourselves masters of it by four several attacks,
which I saw as clearly from the hills as if I had seen a
mock fight on the stage from a box.
The signal (which was blowing up two barrels of
powder) was given between twelve and one. The
English marched first out of their trenches to attack the
old castle, and what we call the Terra Nova. My
Lord Cutts (who, you know, loves to play the hero) had
the direction of this attack, and, as to his person, did
very bravely, for he ordered drums to beat and colours
to fly, as he says was practised at the siege of Buda:'
15 grenadiers and a serjeant began the march, seconded
by 50 grenadiers more and a lieutenant, and a small
company of cadets, who were sustained by Colonels
Colthrope's, Buchan's, Hamilton's, and Mackay's four
regiments, the worst in our army, and who had never
before seen a warm action. Our men were so eager to
engage that they ran themselves out of breath and
entered the breach, but found behind it a precipice,
which it was impossible to pass; at the same time they
were charged with an hail of stones, which scoured them
out of the post they had taken, and the four regiments
I have mentioned shamefully turned back and ran for
it, there being no officer able to rally them, every
colonel or lieutenant-colonel being either killed or
desperately wounded. Dear Colthrope is most lamented;
he was shot in the groin and died upon the spot. His
lieutenant-colonel, Sir Matthew Bridges, has his shoul-
der shattered, and will scarce recover. We had cer-
tainly avoided this disgrace of running if it had not
¹ Lord Cutts had served in Hun-
gary as Aide-de-camp to the Duke
of Lorraine.
of Lorraine. Buda was taken by
assault in 1686.
I 2
116
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
been for an ill accident which happened to Lord Cutts,
who, in the beginning of the storm, had a small shot
on the side of the head, which, as soon as he could get
dressed, he continued with great diligence and bravery
to regain our lost honour by rallying a battalion of our
scattered scoundrels, who marched to the assistance of
the Bavarians, when they began to faulter, and by
opening to the right and left, marched to the head of
their attack, and helped them to take post on the
breach. The Brandenburghers (to whom the Hessians
were joined) have likewise made a lodgment on their
side, and the Dutch on theirs. The English only are
unhappy, which makes us very melancholy for the
present. Colonel Windsor (who has a regiment of
horse in England, and who is here as volunteer) is shot
through the head, and I believe will die: so will one
Thompson, a fool of 4000l. a year, who is likewise
come a volunteering. Stanhope³ (our Envoy's son)
had his shin broken by a stone, and is shot through the
calf of the leg. Your friend Gray and I sleep to-night
in a whole skin, and give shelter to my Lord Paston,
who is at a loss for a bed. The Elector of Bavaria has
lost considerably on his side; Monsieur Revera, &c.,
who adorned his court, are knocked on the head. In
short, I believe this day's work has cost us 1600 or
2000 men. Perhaps to-morrow we shall have another
brush, and, I believe, shall be bloody enough to give no
2
1
¹ Mr. Blathwayt, in his letter of
the 2nd September, page 118, gives
a more favourable report of the con-
duct of the British troops on this
occasion; but it is probable that Mr.
Stepney's account is correct.
2 Mr. Thompson recovered; and
the King rewarded him for his gal-
lant conduct on this occasion with a
company in the Guards.
3 James Stanhope, afterwards Earl
Stanhope, was the son of Mr. Stan-
hope, the British minister at Madrid.
1695.]
117.
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
quarter, since they defend themselves so desperately,
though my Lord Portland, before the attack, sum-
moned them to capitulate, considering no army was
moving to their relief. I have no time to write more.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Sept. 1, 1695, N. S.
Our siege of Palamos is ended as I always be-
lieved it would.
Admiral Russell landed there 2500 English and 500
Dutch, at the desire of the Marques de Gastanaga,
limiting them only to eight days' stay. Meanwhile, we
flung in, from our ships, 2500 bombs, which destroyed
the greatest part of the town, after which the Admiral,
having certain advice from Toulon that the French
were coming out with 55 sail to pass to the north, he
re-embarked his men to go look after them. Though
this happened after the troops from Flanders were
arrived at their camp, yet the Spaniards were so dis-
couraged at our going away, that they have quitted the
siege, and indeed I believe they had not of themselves
materials to carry it on after ours left them, besides
the great misunderstandings that are between the Prince
of Hesse Darmstadt" and the Marques de Gastanaga.
Whether our fleet be sailed again to the Levant, or
¹ In a letter dated the 16th (26th)
August, and addressed to the Duke
of Shrewsbury (vide Coxe's' Shrews-
bury Correspondence'), Admiral
Russell justified his conduct, on the
grounds stated by Mr. Stanhope; and
he went so far as to impute treachery,
as well as cowardice, to the Spanish
commanders. But his enemies be-
lieved that his temper, which was
odious, and his dissatisfaction at be-
ing detained in the Mediterranean,
which was notorious, contributed at
least to his sudden departure from
Palamos.
2 The Prince of Hesse Darm-
stadt was first cousin to the Queen
of Spain. He commanded the Ger-
man auxiliary forces in Catalonia,
118
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
}
back to the Straits, they do not write me, but I rather
believe the latter.
We hear the King of Persia besieges Babylon, which,
if so, will make a powerful diversion in the Emperor's
favour for Hungary.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Camp at Ostin, Sept. 2, 1695.
By the last post I could give your Lordship but
an imperfect account of the attack of the castle,' which
is now rectified; and I am glad I was mistaken in ap-
prehending from some discourses that our countrymen
had not behaved themselves so well as could have been
wished, when, in truth, the difficulty, or rather imprac-
ticability, of their first attack does more than vindicate
their honour; and the assistance they gave the Spaniards
and Bavarians at the coehorn, in making the lodg-
ments upon the counterscarp (which they hardly at-
tempted before), will always be judged the chief occa-
sion of the enemy's surrendering the castle. This news
will not a little rejoice your Lordship, as it raises the
reputation of his Majesty's arms to a high pitch, and
adds great weight to the common cause.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Camp near Casal, Sept. 2, 1695.
I am convinced that the suspicions 2 which his
Royal Highness has entertained are ill founded. We
have, indeed, in our turn some cause for distrust, but I
hope that this will pass away.
¹ Of Namur.
2 Of the secret negotiations with M. de Callières.
1695.]
119
LORD PORTLAND TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Lord Portland to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Camp d'Austin, near Namur,
Sept. 3, no date but 1695.
On the 30th of August we assaulted the castle
and won the counterscarps. On the 1st of this month
the enemy offered to capitulate. They, yesterday, gave
up the outworks to us in the presence of an army
consisting of more than 100 battalions and 200
squadrons of horse. The besieged quit the place the
day after to-morrow. The enemy' retreated as soon
as they learnt that the place had surrendered, that is
yesterday, at noon. They marched the whole of the
night in haste and disorder, and are still in motion.
Before we lost sight of them yesterday we saluted them
with three salvoes of all our artillery and of that of the
army, in honour of this happy success, for which God
be thanked. If this good news does not satisfy you, I
will put another grain in the scale, and tell you that our
fleet has avenged, in part, on Calais 2 the bombardment
of Brussels.
¹ Under Maréchal de Villeroy.
2 Burnet says that a few bombs
were thrown into Calais, but that
(Translation.)
Paris, Sept. 5, 1695.
We are informed, by express, from the Duke de
Vendôme, that he marched to Palamos, with the inten-
tion of giving battle to the enemy; but, when in sight
of them, he heard that Admiral Russell had just landed
7500 troops, and the army, which he had estimated at
15,000, was thus raised to 22,000 men; he therefore
thought it prudent to retire. By a second express, M.
the French did not suffer so much
by the bombardment as was cx-
pected.
120
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
de Vendôme has announced that the Spaniards have
suddenly raised the siege, for which he is unable to
account, as he was not in a condition to force them to do
so. A courier, however, from Maréchal de Tourville ¹
has, in some degree, explained the mystery, for he
reports that Admiral Russell has appeared before Toulon
with the whole of his fleet. I am assured that M. de
Callières is at Liège, and that he was instructed, in
case Namur should be relieved, to offer the same terms
which had previously been refused. It was thought
that the alarm caused by such an event would have in-
duced the Allies to accept these conditions; but, as
affairs have taken a different course, it is expected that
M. de Callières will speedily return.
Those who know the King will readily believe that
he feels acutely the loss of Namur, which is indeed the
more mortifying, as he expected that the place would
be relieved, and even anticipated a victory over the
Allied army.
His Majesty passed a portion of the
night preceding the attack on Namur in prayer and de-
votion, and having privately sent for his confessor,
received the Sacrament early in the morning. Mde. de
Maintenon joined her intercessions to those of the King,
and engaged the Capucines of Meudon also to offer up
their prayers.
This disaster has revived public indignation against
Maréchal de Villeroy. He is loudly censured for having
aspired to a command for which neither his talents or
reputation entitled him; and they scarcely refrain from
¹ In 1690, the Comte de Tour-
ville gained a victory over the allied
flcets in the Channel, which caused
great consternation in England. In
1692, however, he was in his turn
defeated by Admiral Russell at the
battle of La Hogue.
In 1693 he received the bâton of
Maréchal, and died in 1701.
1695.] MR. BLATHWAYT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
AY
121
1
blaming the King for having preferred him to so many
others whom they consider better qualified for the post.
The Prince de Conti is the favourite with the people,
but this contributes to prevent his advancement. When
the nomination of Commander-in-Chief in Flanders
was under consideration, two of the Ministers joined in
recommending M. de Conti. "It is useless," said the
King, "for two reasons, to mention him to me in the
first place, I do not like him; and in the second, my
son, my brother, and the other princes of the blood
would justly take offence at such an appointment." 2
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Camp at Bouquet, near Templen, Sept. 6, 1695.
I know your Lordship will be well pleased to
understand that we are in possession of the castle of
Namur, and no less surprised at what has happened to
Mons. de Boufflers, whom the King has thought fit to
keep prisoner in reprisal for our garrisons at Dixmude
and Deynse, that are detained and treated very bar-
barously by the French, against all reason and justice;
it being agreed, by the first article of their capitulations,
that they shall be prisoners of war, according to the
cartel, by which it is expressly provided that all
The father of Maréchal de Ville-
roy was the governor of Louis XIV.,
when young; and the Maréchal him-
self was a personal favourite with the
King.
2 François Louis Prince de Conti,
the nephew of the great Condé, and
in 1697 the unsuccessful competitor
with the Elector of Saxony for the
crown of Poland. In 1685, this
Prince left France for Vienna, with
the intention of serving in the Im-
perial army against the Turks. The
journey was undertaken without the
permission, or rather in defiance of
the wishes of the King. The dis-
covery of a letter written by the
Prince, and containing some sar-
castic remarks against Louis, com-
pleted his disgrace; and the King
never forgave him.
122
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
"
prisoners of war shall be released within fifteen days
after their being reclaimed, as these have been more
than once, without any other effect than a plain refusal
from the Maréchal de Villeroy and the Intendant of
Flanders, which they own to be grounded upon the con-
venience to their master's service, and not any right.
This has obliged the King to proceed in this manner,
wherein he is justified by the law of nations and the
protection due to his subjects, of which there are six
regiments in captivity, and such of them, as well as of
the other troops that will not take service, kept in
dungeons, hardly with bread and water.
Your Comte Oxienstern¹ is sujet à caution, and no
friend of the Chancellor's.
(Translation.)
Paris, Sept. 12, 1695.
The arrest of Maréchal de Boufflers has caused much
surprise and conversation here. Various reasons are
assigned for it: some attribute it to his refusal to salute
King William, and this impression is strengthened by
the report that the Elector of Bavaria did not take
any part in the matter. Whatever the real reason may
be, the detention of the prisoners of Dixmude and
Deynse is alleged as the cause; and the King, there-
fore, has given the necessary orders for the liberation of
these prisoners on the payment of the stipulated ransom.
His Majesty has also permitted the Maréchal to avail
himself of the offer of the enemy, and to return on
parole. He is expected here in the course of eight or
ten days.
'The Swedish Envoy at Vienna.
He was cousin to the Chancellor,
Count Benedict Oxienstern.
2
Boufflers saluted the Elector, but
refused this honour to William.
This circumstance, however, had no
2 It is stated that Maréchal de connection with his arrest.
1695.]
123
LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
Many of the prisoners, however, have joined the
French army, and others have escaped; it is thought,
therefore, that some difficulty may arise to retard his
liberation. The King has promised to the Comte de
Guiscar the next cordon-bleu, he has conferred upon
him a pension of 12,000 livres, and has given him
reason to expect a command between the Sambre and
Meuse. The army of Catalonia is still in amazement
at the sudden abandonment of the siege of Palamos.
They cannot account for it, for they were only 10,000
strong, while the enemy, with the troops landed by
Admiral Russell, numbered 25,000. So little cause,
indeed, had the latter for alarm, that they (the French)
themselves expected an immediate attack on their
camp, or, at least, that it would have been delayed only
until the surrender of Palamos, which could not have
held out for more than three days at the longest, if the
siege and bombardment had been continued with the
same vigour with which it was commenced. It is
thought that there must have been a misunderstanding
among the Generals.
It does not appear that the Duke of Savoy has con-
certed any plan with Admiral Russell for invading
Provence; but it is feared that he will march on Suza
or Pignerol, while the fleet holds the coast in check.
The Duke thought that the Marquis de Crenan was
proceeding too leisurely with the rasure of the interior
fortifications of Casal, and he therefore sent him notice
that he would not be permitted to remain there after
¹ Louis XIV. lavished on the
officers of the vanquished garrison of
Namur pensions, decorations, and
commands. St. Simon states that
William III. sarcastically expressed
his admiration of the generosity of
the French King, and lamented his
inability to reward the victors with
equal liberality.
124
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
the 8th of September, and that he must complete the
demolition of the works by that time.
The Nuncio and the Venetian Ambassador here
thought it a favourable opportunity, and made proposals
for peace to M. de Croissy; he, however, replied that
they were greatly in error: that the fall of Namur de-
layed, rather than advanced, the prospect of a peace;
that the King was more resolute than ever, and that he
would not even hear it mentioned until next spring,
when he hoped to have an army superior to that of the
enemy.
2
Maréchal de Villeroy is abused incessantly, both by
the public and by his own troops. The soldiers have
presented a petition to the Devil, beseeching him to
take this General and give them back Maréchal de
Luxemburgh. The arrest of Maréchal de Boufflers has
stung the King to the quick; he rarely allows his
emotions to appear, but he cannot now disguise his
vexation. Their annoyance is the greater, as they have
brought it upon themselves, and have at the same time
failed to obtain the object of their violation of the
cartel, which was the relief of Namur. It is amusing
to hear the mutual recriminations of the army and the
garrison. The whole blame, however, is thrown upon
the Maréchal, who is so severely censured, that the King
has thought it necessary to support him by openly
declaring that he duly executed his orders, that he
approves his conduct, and that when he wishes to retake
1
¹ M. de Croissy, the brother of
Colbert, was at this time minister
for foreign affairs. He died in 1696,
and was succeeded in that office by
his son, M. de Torcy.
2 The Maréchal de Luxemburgh,
who preceded Maréchal de Villeroy
in the command of the French army
in Flanders, died in January, 1695.
1695.]
125
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Namur it will not cost more than 4000 men, while
it would probably have cost 20,000 to relieve it.
This, however, does not prevent the public from exer-
cising their wit at the expense of the Maréchal.
From the poets to the porters and fishwomen, every
one is ready with a jest. Maréchal de Boufflers also,
though loaded with honours, does not escape their
sarcasms. They say, that in the reign of the most
glorious of kings he should not have forgotten the
maxim that a Maréchal of France never capitulates. I
am assured that, at the commencement of the siege, M.
de Callières had almost succeeded in concluding a
peace; but the detention of the garrisons of Dixmude
and Deynse, the bombardment of Brussels, and the dis-
pute respecting the wounded at Namur, have caused
so much bitterness of feeling that it now appears more
distant than ever. Callières is not yet returned: he is,
however, expected shortly.
1
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
"The enemy have not observed
the capitulation with respect to our
wounded; for instead of sending
them to Dinant, they have detained
our boats, and have appropriated
them to their own use, without any
consideration for our poor wounded
fellows. The King has informed
Madrid, Sept. 15, 1695.
This court is very angry with the Prince of Hesse
Darmstadt for withdrawing his troops after Admiral
Russell had re-embarked ours, and have sent to the
Emperor that if they are not to be absolutely under
command of his Catholic Majesty and his Generals,
them that he has ten thousand of
their prisoners, whom he will treat
with equal severity. He will be com-
pelled to do so by way of reprisals,
though such a course is entirely
opposite to his nature and usual
course of procedure."- Vide Dan-
geau's Memoirs.
126
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
they desire their company no longer, and shipping is
providing to carry them back to Finale.
We have heard nothing of our Admiral or fleet since
they left Palamos the 27th of the last, but advices from
all parts say the French are coming, or come, out of
Toulon with fifty odd ships of the line, and twenty
galleys are to join them from Marseilles, with orders to
seek out and fight ours; though this seems next to im-
possible to be done in so short a time and with so little
noise.
(Translation.)
Paris, Sept. 16, 1695.
1
It appears by a letter from General of the
Spanish galleys, which was found on a wreck thrown on
the coast of Languedoc, that high words passed between
Admiral Russell and the Marques de Gastanaga, when
dining together. They parted in anger, and the Ad-
miral abruptly quitted the siege of Palamos, under the
pretext of obeying the orders which he had received, to
watch the armament at Toulon, and to use every pre-
caution to prevent that squadron from putting to sea.
We hear also from other quarters that the Prince of
Darmstadt, who commands the German troops brought
from Finale to Barcelona, is living on very bad terms
with the Marques de Gastanaga, by whom he conceives
himself thwarted in his endeavours to obtain the Vice-
royalty of Catalonia, and that this misunderstanding
contributed to the abandonment of the siege of Palamos.
I have seen letters from Toulon, which state that, in
the confusion caused by the unexpected arrival of Ad-
miral Russell, it would have been easy for him to have
burnt the ships there, and great astonishment is ex-
¹ The name is illegible.
1695.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
127
pressed that he did not take advantage of the oppor-
tunity. There are, however, some long-sighted persons,
who assert that they should, on the contrary, have been
surprised if he had done so, since it is not the interest,
as they say, of King William to destroy the French
navy. They suppose that he desires to maintain a fleet
which will ensure him the command of the sea against
all nations, and that he finds that the best means of
inducing the English to grant the necessary supplies is
to make France appear formidable to them. They
think indeed that this consideration has influenced him
on many occasions, and that he would otherwise have
inflicted greater injuries upon France. '
1
The campaign has ended badly, and nothing is heard
but mutual recriminations. Thus M. de Guiscar finds
fault with M. de Megrigny, and even indirectly with
M. de Boufflers. The latter and the public censure the
Maréchal, and he in his turn throws the blame on the
Duke de Maine, whose refusal to act upon the orders
which he received from the Maréchal was in truth the
cause of their missing the Prince de Vaudemont. The
Baron de Berse charges M. de Vauban with ignorance,
or jealousy, in having neglected to fortify some parts of
the castle which he had pointed out in the presence of
the King. ¹
3
4
But far from being comforted by these disclosures,
¹ The reasoning of these "long-
sighted persons is sufficiently
absurd; but it may be doubted
whether Admiral Russell did not
miss an opportunity of striking a
great blow at Toulon.
2 M. de Megrigny, the chief en-
gineer at Namur.
3 The Duke de Maine was the
""
2
eldest son of Louis XIV., by
Madame de Montespan. The occa-
sion referred to was the celebrated
retreat of the Prince de Vaudemont,
from Arsele to Ghent.
* Louis XIV. commanded in per-
son the French army, when Namur
was taken in 1692.
128
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
1
his Majesty is the more vexed to find that he has been
ill served, as well as misinformed as to the state of the
siege.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Sept. 21, 1695.
To-day the Emperor comes to town to assist at the
Te Deum for the taking of Namur, but I fear we shall
have occasion for none this year in Hungary, for our
affairs are in no very good posture there, the Turks '
having taken Lippa by assault, which was the chief of
our magazines.
We have just now received the ill news that Titul
also is taken by assault.
(Translation.)
Paris, Sept. 23, 1695.
Maréchal de Boufflers has been released on condi-
tion that the prisoners of Dixmude and Deynse should
be given up. He arrived at court the day before yester-
day, where he was well received. They say that he
will be appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army in
Flanders in the room of Maréchal de Villeroy, and that,
before many days, he will assume the command;
orders have, however, been given that the troops should
shortly retire into winter-quarters.
(Translation.)
Paris, Sept. 30, 1695.
2
They will, no doubt, be more disposed to peace,
if the report of the defeat of the Turkish fleet is fully
confirmed. This report has caused much uneasiness,
³
The Grand Seignor Mustapha
commanded the Turkish army in
person.
2 The French ministers.
3 Alexander Molino succeeded
Zeno in the command of the naval
1695.]
129
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
and the more so, as a treaty was in progress both with
the Porte and with the Turks on the coast of Africa, by
which it was hoped to derive some advantage from their
navy, either by uniting forces, or by their giving their
assistance to destroy the commerce of the Allies in the
Mediterranean.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Oct. 1, 1695.
As for the news in Hungary, you will find it very
bad, and I wish we have not worse still before the cam-
paign is ended, for our army is divided: the horse with
the Elector of Saxony has gone towards Transylvania,
with the design to join Veterani, and the foot back to
Peterwaradin, and I fear neither of them will be able to
resist the Turkish army, should they attack them thus
separated, so that the whole conquests of the Emperor
in Hungary may be in danger to be lost, should either
the foot or horse be cut off, which God forbid! Poor
Veterani¹ is extremely lamented, and with a great deal
of reason, for I think the Emperor has lost the best
general he had, and the only one among them all that
sought his master's service before his own private in-
terests and advantage. Pray, Sir, give me leave to beg
you to represent to the King how I am used by the
Treasury. That which was due to me last December,
forces of the republic. He attacked
the Turkish fleet in the Archipelago.
The contest lasted three days, and
was of doubtful issue. But although
the Venetians could not claim a
complete victory, the advantage
which they gained in this battle
rendered them masters of the sca
for the remainder of the campaign
of 1695, and for that of the succeed-
ing year 1696.-Vide Daru's His-
tory of Venice.
¹ General Veterani was killed, and
his army defeated by the Turks at
Lugos.
K
130
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
and directed by his Majesty, before he left England, to
be forthwith paid me, was not ordered by them till the
latter end of August, and then in tallies, which are not
payable till near three years hence, so that you may
easily imagine at what loss, and there is now near three
quarters of a year due to me, and all the extraordi-
naries since I came hither. I need not tell you that
the circumstances of a peer in England and an envoy
abroad are much the same, for neither will be trusted
but with ready money. The place where I am is so
very chargeable that I protest before God that in the
ten months that I have been here, I have spent very
near 20,000 crowns, and I can safely say not one shil-
ling that I could possibly avoid. His Majesty's allow-
ance does not come to quite 2500l. a-year, extraordi-
naries and all, by which you may see I have not spared
my own estate, nor hoarded up much in the service,
nor do I desire it. I only beg that what his Majesty
is pleased to allow me, may be regularly paid; for, if
my merchant should withdraw the credit he has given
me, I shall not know how to subsist, and may receive
some affront for want of money, which his Majesty may
be sorry for, and to the discredit of the Kingdom. I
beg you to lay this most humbly before his Majesty.
(Translation.)
Paris, Oct. 3, 1695.
The garrison of Casal was expected to arrive at
Pignerol on the 25th. They were aware, before they
heard of the arrest of Maréchal de Boufflers, that it was
probable that they might be detained on the same
grounds.
The intelligence of some decisive movement in Hun-
¹ Referring to their privilege from arrest.
1695.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON. 131
gary is anxiously expected here: the accounts from
thence will probably determine whether this court de-
clares for peace or war.
Orders have been despatched to Toulon to suspend
the armament there, and it is even said that the ships
in commission are to be paid off, as no hopes are enter-
tained of their eluding the enemy's fleet, which will
soon be reinforced by the squadron under Admiral
Rooke.¹ 1
I beg, Sir, to acknowledge the receipt of the letter
and the parcel which you have done me the honour to
send me.
I am overpowered by your kindness, and
look with anxiety for an opportunity of proving that
I am worthy of such favours.
(Translation.)
Paris, Oct. 7, 1695.
It is stated, in letters from Italy, that the terms
on which Casal was surrendered have been duly exe-
cuted, and the hostages have been given up.
We are also informed that the Allies have held a
council of war, and it is believed that they have re-
solved to defer active operations until the spring.
It is further reported that the Duke of Savoy has
demanded the government of the Milanese for life, but
the King of Spain will not grant it.
They write from Fontainebleau that the Court is
encouraged to continue the war by the success of the
Turks in Hungary, and the discovery that the report of
a victory gained by the Venetians is unfounded.
I am assured that they still hope to retake Namur
before the opening of the next campaign. Forced en-
Sir George Rooke succeeded Admiral Russell in the command of the
fleet in the Mediterranean.
K 2
132
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
rolments are already commenced here, and this business
is conducted in so shameful a manner, that they have
been obliged to imprison three of these traffickers in
human flesh for seizing some young men of rank, and
throwing them into an oven.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Camp of Rivalta,
1695.
1
3
I am forced to confess that it is difficult to under-
stand the conduct of this Prince, which is
very extra-
ordinary. A few days since, he spoke openly with the
Marques de Leganes; 2 he assured him that he was as
firmly attached to the League as ever, and complained
of the injustice of our suspecting him of treachery to
his allies. He spoke to me also on the same subject in
more general terms. The Marquis de St. Thomas,
moreover, sought an intercourse with me, apparently by
his orders; and gave me such positive assurances, that
I really believe he has convinced me that there is
nothing to fear, and that the Duke's dissatisfaction with
Prince Eugene has been the cause of all that has passed.
The good understanding, moreover, which has existed
between Prince Eugene, the Marques de Leganes, and
myself, has induced him to believe that we have done
many things in concert and designedly to thwart him,
and this has annoyed him.
¹ The Duke of Savoy.
2 The Marques de Leganes, Vice-
roy of Milan, and Commander-in-
chief of the Spanish forces in Italy
and Piedmont.
Sept. 29
P
Oct. 9'
3 The Marquis de St. Thomas was
the Duke of Savoy's principal mi-
nister, and his chief agent in con-
ducting the secret negotiation with
France.
1695.] LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
133
(Translation.)
Paris, Oct. 10, 1695.
We are unable to discover where M. de Callières
has concealed himself since his last disappearance.
He is, however, probably in Holland; and, no doubt,
it is from him that this Court has received the intelli-
gence that the reduction of Namur has caused a great
change of opinion in that quarter. One of the Ministers,
speaking confidentially to a friend on this subject,
stated that the manner in which the proposals of the
King were received was insolent in the extreme.
If I am not mistaken, this is the time for the Allies
(if they really desire peace) to obtain it on reasonable
terms, notwithstanding the apparent arrogance of France.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Oct. 15, 1695.
I must acquaint you that Count Chinski informed
me, the other day, that the Emperor had given orders
to his Minister¹ in Swedeland to receive no more papers
from Count d'Avaux, or anybody else, where his Ma-
jesty shall be styled Prince of Orange, and desired that
the King would give the same orders to the Baron d'Hec-
keren 2 and Mr. Robinson, that they may act in concert.
(Translation.)
Paris, Oct. 17, 1695.
The good faith with which each party has fulfilled
the conditions of the capitulation of Casal, and the kind
treatment of the hostages on both sides, have established
on that frontier so much intercourse and traffic, that it
very nearly resembles a truce.
¹ Comte Staremberg the younger.
2 The Envoy of the United Provinces at Stockholm.
134
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
It has been observed that the privateers, being small
vessels, and separated from each other, are either cap-
tured, or, fearing to attack the enemy's ships, which are
in general armed or under convoy, fall upon the neu-
trals, who bitterly complain in consequence. They,
therefore, intend for the future to send to sea squadrons
strong enough to attack the enemy's convoys, and to
take whole fleets of their inerchantmen, which are of
great value and not reclaimable. The King, for this
purpose, will give the hulls of the vessels to private
individuals, who, being encouraged by the success of
the Marquis de Nesmond,' will fit them out as privateers,
and obtain a tenfold return for the money embarked in
the enterprise.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
10
Hague, Thursday night, Oct. 1695.
20'
I saw your Sovereign on board yesterday by ten
in the morning, and I make no doubt but the fair
wind and weather he has had since may have brought
him to London by this time, and methinks I see the
mob of Southwark huzzaing after his coach. The first
news we are to expect from thence are of writs being
issued out for calling a new Parliament, which I hope
will make good the proverb we have of new brooms.
I moved for leave to make another trip for England,
but having no other mother to die in good season, I
am thrown here like a fish upon the shore, and shall
2
M. de Nesmond, a bold and
successful officer. He was the
brother of Henri de Nesinond,
who was subsequently raised to
2
the archbishopric of Toulouse.
Mr.Stepney's mother had died the
preceding year, and he had obtained
leave of absence on that ground.
!
1695.]
135
MR. ELLIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
not be fetched off till another tide serves this time
twelve months. I must confess to you, my Lord, it
went to my heart to see everybody launch off, and
myself left in the lurch, like Moses, almost in sight of
the promised land.
Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Oct. 11, 1695.
The King landed yesterday, at ten in the morning,
at Margate, in good health; lay at Canterbury, and
came through the town to Kensington, through fire and
smoke, illuminations, and discharges of great and small
guns, about eight at night. ¹
1
(Translation.)
Paris, Oct. 21, 1695.
The small property left by the Comte de Soissons
in France has been confiscated, as well as his pension.
His sisters, however, have obtained an allowance of
12,000 livres a year for their maintenance.
2
M. de Callières is returned. This last expedition
proved as fruitless as the preceding; indeed, he has lost
rather than gained ground.
The capture of Namur has produced the effect which
might have been expected. France had offered to give
up that place. It is, however, no longer in her posses-
sion, and an equivalent is now demanded by the Allies;
this her pride has not permitted her to grant.
It is still hoped that some resolution may be taken
in the Empire in favour of the ninth Electorate, in
1 The reduction of Namur in the
presence of a powerful French army
cast unwonted lustre on the arms
of William III., and invested him
with a temporary popularity.
2 Mesdemoiselles de Soissons and
de Carignan.
136
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
which case France confidently reckons on Denmark.
She is far from being on such bad terms with this power
as the public erroneously suppose. '
(Translation.)
Paris, Oct. 24, 1695.
The Maréchal de Lorges has had a fit of apoplexy,
which will delay his return. Madame la Maréchale
started to join him as soon as she received the intel-
ligence. It is doubtful whether the health of the Maréchal
will allow him to resume his command next season. 2
The Señor de la Roque, the author, who was arrested
some time since on the charge of having written sar-
castic lampoons, which were printed in Holland, has
been removed to the Château d'Angers—a sure sign that
his imprisonment will be a long one, and perhaps for life.
They have seized at Sedan a Protestant minister, re-
cently arrived there from abroad, and a dozen new con-
verts, ³ who were engaged with him in the exercise of
their former religion. It is stated that more than
thirty Protestant clergymen have left Holland with the
intention of returning to France. This information has
excited apprehension with regard to the new converts.
3
¹ Ernest Augustus, Duke of Ha-
nover or Calemberg, was invested
with the electoral dignity in 1692.
But many of the Princes of the Em-
pire protested against the establish-
ment of the new electorate; and the
Emperor was compelled to suspend
the operation of the investiture until
it should receive the assent of the
States.
Denmark took an active part in
the dispute, and was in close al-
liance with "the Corresponding
Princes," which was the name given
to the league formed by the Princes
who opposed the investiture of the
new Elector. The question was not
finally settled until 1708, when the
Duke of Hanover was formally ad-
mitted into the Electoral College.
2 Maréchal de Lorges recovered,
but was succeeded in the command of
the French army on the Rhine by
Maréchal de Choiseul.
3
"Nouveaux Convertis," the
term applied to the Protestants who
were induced by terror, nominally
at least, to change their religion.
1695.]
137
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Oct. 28, 1695, N. S.
The season of action being now over, as well by
sea as land, and most of our ships unable to stay out
any longer, Admiral Russell sailed from Cadiz Bay for
England the 12th inst., with twenty English and ten
Dutch men-of-war. Eight more of the latter have since
followed him, and there remained still twenty-five of
both nations under command of Rear-Admiral Mitchell'
a force sufficient now the French fleet is disarmed at
Toulon, whether Sir George come with his squadron or
not, which seems something doubtful.
(Translation.)
Paris, Nov. 4, 1695.
The day before yesterday the King went to Marly,
and does not return to Versailles before the 13th. The
Marquis de Crenan has been placed on the list of those
whom his Majesty allows to repair thither during his
stay, which is a high favour.
The officers of the garrison of Casal, who returned
with the Marquis, have told us many things of which
we were before ignorant, and have explained others
which had been erroneously reported.
They speak highly of Lord Galway, and of all the
French who were in the allied army, with the exception
of two or three, among whom is St. Coulon the
engineer.
They say that of these Frenchmen quite as many
'Admiral Mitchell was pressed
into the naval service as a boy, and
rose by merit alone, from being a
common seaman to high rank in the
navy. It is said that Admiral
Russell was in a great measure in-
debted to Sir David Mitchell for his
knowledge of navigation and naval
affairs.
138
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
are Catholics as Protestants, and that deserters were
continually coming in from the army of M. de Catinat,
which was suffering greatly in the mountains.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
1
Althorp,' Oct. 25, 1695.
I don't find anything particular to acquaint your
Lordship with; you know, without telling it, that the
King is every day seven or eight hours on horseback,
and the weather has been so fair and pleasant to allow
of it. Your Lordship does not doubt but the King is
treated here with all the splendour and order that can
be imagined. He came hither last Monday, and goes
away the next; then he will make two days to Lincoln,
for the conveniency of seeing my Lord Exeter's house
by Stamford, and on Wednesday he will be at Welbeck,
where the Duke of Newcastle 2 entertains him to the
Monday following. His Majesty, on his return from
C
Althorp, the seat of Robert
Spencer, Earl of Sunderland. Al-
though Lord Sunderland was ex-
cepted from the act of indemnity
which passed in 1689, the King fré-
quently sought his advice in private;
but he had not hitherto ventured to
call openly to his councils a states-
man who was alike, and with justice,
distrusted and feared, by both the
great parties in the state. The
royal visit to Althorp was the first
public mark of the favour enjoyed by
the Earl, whose influence with the
King from that time rapidly in-
creased. In 1697 he succeeded the
Earl of Dorset as Lord Chamber-
lain; and for a few months held
office as one of the Principal Mi-
nisters of the Crown. The character
and career of this most accomplished
traitor are thus tersely described by
Sir James Mackintosh :-
"The most unprincipled, the
most adroit, and perhaps the most
able of that compound class of mi-
nister, half statesman, half intriguer,
he signally failed; and neither his re-
ascent" (during the reign of Wil-
liam)
،، nor useful services have
rescued his name from contempt. It
is an apparent, not a real incon-
sistency in his character that he was
in theory a republican."
2 John Holles, Earl of Clare,
married one of the co-heiresses of
Henry Cavendish, last Duke of
Newcastle of that name, and was in
1694 himself created Duke of New-
castle.
1695.1
139
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
2
3
thence, lies at my Lord Stamford's' in Leicestershire;
on Tuesday at my Lord Brooke's at Warwick; on
Wednesday he dines with my Lord Duke of Shrews-
bury at his little house at Eyford, and lies that night
at Burford, or Sir Ralph Dutton's. I think it is un-
certain how many days' stay he may make there, but
he has accepted of the University's invitation to take
Oxford in his way to Windsor. His Majesty dined
yesterday with the Earl of Northampton at Castle
Ashby, and was very well pleased with the place, ³ the
chase about the house and gardens being extraordinary.
They hunted a hind, and might have had more sport,
but that the country people broke in upon it, and were
got together above 5000 of them. On Saturday the
King dines with my Lord Montague at Boughton, and
I hear my Lord Sunderland goes thither with him.
Upon my Lord Strafford's death, I hear the pretenders
to the Garter, among our English nobility, are the
Duke of Bolton and the Duke of Newcastle; but I
hear it is reserved for the Duke of Gloucester.
4
6
5
¹ Thomas Grey, Earl of Stamford,
was with Lord Delamere committed
to the Tower on a charge of high
treason in 1685. Lord Delamere,
however, was acquitted, and Lord
Stamford pardoned in 1686.
Lord Stamford took an active part
in the Revolution in favour of Wil-
liam.
• Charles Paulet, Marquis of Win-
2 Sir Ralph Dutton, M.P. for chester, was created in 1689 Duke
Gloucestershire.
3
³ Mackay states that the Earl of
Northampton was celebrated for en-
tertaining his friends well.
of Bolton. He was naturally very
eccentric; and it is said that he
counterfeited madness as a security
in dangerous times. In 1687 he
travelled through England with a
retinue of four coaches and a hundred
horsemen, sleeping during the day,
hunting and hawking by torchlight,
4 Ralph, Lord Montague, after-
wards created Duke of Montague.
5 William Wentworth, son of the
celebrated Earl of Strafford. On his
death the earldom became extinct;
but the Barony of Raby devolved
upon his cousin and male heir,
Thomas Wentworth, afterwards
created Earl of Strafford, who was
impeached in 1715, for his share
in the negotiations for the peace of
Utrecht.
140
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Yard' to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Nov. 5, 1695.
2
The Duke of Newcastle has entertained the King
at Welbeck with great magnificence, having kept open
house all the time his Majesty was there, and tables
being spread for all comers. The Lord Mayor and
Aldermen of York attended the King there last Satur-
day, and being introduced by the Duke of Newcastle,
they kissed the King's hand, and the Recorder made a
speech; after which his Majesty knighted the Lord
Mayor, who is now Sir Gilbert Metcalfe. The same
day the Archbishop of York waited upon the King
with his clergy, and made a very handsome speech,
congratulating his Majesty's success and safe return, and
acknowledging his care of the Church, having showed
himself truly the Defender of the Faith, and assuring
his Majesty of their fidelity and loyalty, and recom-
mending themselves to his protection, which his Ma-
jesty assured them of, and all other demonstrations of
his grace and favour. On Sunday, after sermon (which
was preached by the Archbishop of York), the King
and giving splendid entertainments
in the night.—Vide Mackintosh's
History of the Revolution.
1 Mr. Yard was chief clerk in the
office of the Duke of Shrewsbury.
During the absence of Mr. Vernon,
who was at this time in attendance
upon the King, he acted as Under
Secretary of State, to which office
he was himself subsequently pro-
moted.
$
2 Dr. Sharp was appointed Arch-
bishop of York in 1690. Speaker
Onslow says, in a note to Burnet's
History of his Own Times,' that the
prelate used to say that the Bible
and Shakespeare had made him
Archbishop of York.
In 1686, Dr. Sharp preached a
sermon against Popery, which gave
great offence to the Court. Lord
Sunderland, in the King's name,
required the Bishop of London
(Compton) to suspend the preacher.
The Bishop declined, on the ground
of his not possessing the power, and
was himself suspended by the King,
for alleged contempt of the royal
mandate. Dr. Sharp escaped with
a slight reprimand.
1695.]
141
MR. YARD TO LORD LEXINGTON.
went from Welbeck to the Earl of Stamford's at Broad-
gate; yesterday his Majesty was at my Lord Brooke's
at Warwick, and this day he intended to be at Burford,
where his Majesty will stay till Saturday, and then go
by Oxford to Windsor; and on Monday next his Ma-
jesty will return to Kensington. Yesterday came in
letters from Dublin of the 29th post, which gave an
account that on the 25th the Lord Chancellor Porter
came (with leave of the Lords) to the House of Com-
mons, and being admitted, he made a speech to them,
showing his innocence as to the Articles exhibited
against him; and being withdrawn, and what he had
said in his own vindication considered, it was, after
some debate, resolved upon the question, that what he
had said was satisfactory to the House, without any
proof, and that the Articles exhibited against him
should be rejected, and the witnesses that were sum-
moned in to prove them discharged. The same even-
ing the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House
of Commons happened to have a rencounter in the
street, of which the former having informed the Lords
the next day, their Lordships desired a conference with
the Commons, and acquainted them that the Lord
Chancellor, going home in his coach the night before,
as he endeavoured in a broad street to go by a coach, in
which was the Speaker of the House of Commons, the ·
Speaker called out to the Lord Chancellor's coachman
to stop his coach, and afterwards alighted himself and
1
2
The Lord-Deputy of Ireland,
Lord Capel, favoured the English,
while Sir Charles Porter, the Chan-
cellor, studied to protect the Irish.
The Lord-Deputy's party set on foot
the impeachment of the Chancellor,
but on grounds so frivolous that he
was cleared by a large majority.-
Vide Tindal's History.
2 Robert Rochfort, Attorney-Ge-
neral for Ireland, was elected
Speaker on the 29th August, 1695.
142
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
stopped the Lord Chancellor's horses, and so went on
in his coach before him, and that their Lordships did
not doubt but the Commons would do them justice in
this matter, wherein they were so highly affronted in
the person of their Speaker. The Commons answered
hereunto on other conference, that the said rencounter
was perfectly accidental; that their Speaker did not
know whose coach it was he stopped, and that he
alighted out of his own coach for fear of being over-
turned, without any design of offering an affront to the
Lord Chancellor; and with this excuse the Lords
rested satisfied.
Mr. Cartwright to Lord Lexington.
No date, but before Nov. 18, 1695.
I have now been ill above a week, otherwise had
given you an account of his Majesty's progress in Not-
tinghamshire before this. On Wednesday the 30th of
the last month, his Majesty came from Lincoln over at
Dunham Ferry, where all the gentry of the county met
him and attended him to Welbeck, where supper was
provided for all that would stay. The next day he
hare-hunted with his own beagles in Bethlemfall fields;
at least four hundred horse were in the fields, and about
. three o'clock went to Welbeck to dinner, where every-
body that would were handsomely entertained. On
Friday he hunted stag in Birkland with my Lord
Kingston's' hounds, and very finely killed one, with
which his Majesty was so well pleased that at my Lord
Kingston's table (where that day the company were
1
Evelyn Pierrepoint, Earl of Kingston, created in 1706 Marquis of
Dorchester.
:
1695.]
143
MR. YARD TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
2
most splendidly entertained) he said he would increase
the keeper's fees, so as to make it worth a man's busi-
ness to attend it; that he would have all the pits filled,
and roots grubbed up, and if possible would rent a house
for a summer hunting-seat for himself, with a great deal
more commendation of Nottinghamshire. He went
and saw Rufford, and in the evening went to Welbeck,
hunted hare next day with the fleet hounds, and on
Sunday, after dinner, went away to my Lord Stamford's,
and so forward. I got, as many others did for want of
lodging, and being out late at nights, and with a little
too much drink, a severe surfeit, under which I yet
languish, but am got into the garden a little when the
sun shines.
Mr. Yard to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Nov. 8, 1695.
The King has been at Burford since Tuesday
evening. The town presented his Majesty with two
hunting saddles, according to custom. This day his
Majesty hunts on Woodstock side, and lies there³ this
night for the conveniency of being the earlier at Oxford
1
A great portion of Sherwood
Forest belonged to the Crown.
Rufford, the seat of the Marquis
of Halifax, now the property of the
Earl of Scarborough.
The King found at Woodstock
an old gentleman of the name of
Cary, who occupied the royal resi-
dence there. Mr. Cary was nearly
one hundred years old. He had
served in succession James I.,
Charles I., Oliver Cromwell,
Charles II., and James II., and
now held the same office under
William III.
This ancient servant of many
masters pointed out to the King the
pictures of all his former patrons,
saying of each in his turn, that he
had been his very good master, and
concluded the exhibition with the
polite remark,
polite remark, "So is now your
Majesty, for whose picture there is
still room." But it does not appear
that the request thus modestly pre-
ferred was granted by William.—
Vide Tindal's History.
144
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
to-morrow, where his Majesty will make but a short
stay to receive the compliments of the University at the
theatre, intending to lie at Windsor to-morrow night,
and to stay there till Monday.'
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Nov. 1695.
14
24'
2
I acquainted you in a former the manner of
Mons. Schonenberg's being turned out of this court by
two Alcaldes, which our King and the States have re-
sented so much as to demand his being readmitted to
This letter would throw some
doubt upon the story, hitherto cur-
rently believed, that William re-
fused to partake of the banquet
prepared for him at Oxford, and
abruptly retired to Windsor, be-
cause an anonymous letter was found
in the street, imparting a design to
poison him. There is, indeed, no
reason to doubt that such a paper
was discovered and shown to the
King by the Duke of Ormond, the
Chancellor of the University; and it
is equally clear that the collation
was offered and refused. But Wil-
liam was not easily alarmed for his
personal safety; and it will be re-
marked that in Mr. Yard's letter,
which was written the day before the
King arrived at Oxford, no mention
is made of his intending to dine
there during a visit, which was ne-
cessarily hurried, because he had
previously determined on proceeding
to Windsor the same day. It is
probable therefore that the King
declined the collation because it
would have interfered with his pro-
posed journey to Windsor, and that,
disregarding alike the anonymous
threat, and the disappointment of the
University, he remained at Oxford
as long as he had intended, and
proceeded to Windsor at the time
originally.fixed.
2 Mr. Schonenberg or Belmont
was a Jew; but he was a native of
Antwerp, and was therefore a
Spanish subject. In 1679 he was
sent by the Prince of Orange to
Madrid, to solicit the payment of
subsidies which were in arrear, and
on the death of the accredited Envoy
of Holland at the court of Spain,
M. Schonenberg was appointed to
succeed him.
It would appear that he had on
more than one occasion given great
offence to the Spanish ministers;
but the immediate cause of his dis-
missal from Madrid was the protec-
tion which he extended to two bro-
thers of the name of Moll, Dutch
merchants, who had been guilty of
swindling in Spain, and who, as he
asserted, were privileged from ar-
rest, because he employed one of
them as his secretary.
1695.]
145
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
his Ministry, for which I delivered a memorial by his
Majesty's command, and the States wrote a letter to
his Catholic Majesty of the same tenor, intimating that
if it be not complied with, the Spanish Ministers in
England and Holland shall be treated in the same
manner.
They have given me a negative answer in writing
full of criminations against M. Schonenberg, and tell me
they have answered the States to the same purpose.
I sent an express with their answer to me ten days ago
to England, and till our King's further pleasure be
known M. Schonenberg remains at a convent three
leagues out of town. I hope some expedient will be
found to accommodate the matter, though I cannot yet
see how, both sides seeming very resolute.
(Translation.)
Paris, Nov. 25, 1695.
They refuse here to grant passports to the Venetian
Ambassadors; they say that they may have these pass-
ports as Venetian gentlemen, but not as Ambassadors.'
The Minister of the Republic here has had frequent
disputes on this subject with M. de Croissy. The
former assures M. de Croissy that Venice is prepared to
undertake the mediation so long desired by France.
The latter demands with bitterness what justice is to be
expected from a mediator who commences by a display
of partiality on the most important point in the treaty
to be discussed. 2
¹ Their destination was England,
and their mission was the acknow-
C
ledgment of the King of England.
2 The recognition of William III.
L
146
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
25
Hague, Nov. 1695.
15'
I believe I have merit on my side, because you
take such care of me. My modesty is very much seen
by my not having troubled you these two months, and,
for my luck, I shall send you word of it in a post or
two, as indeed I thought to have done sooner, which
was the occasion of my not writing till I might tell you
who I am or what I pretend to, for at present I stand
like Socia in Amphitryon, and hardly know if I am
myself or no; that is, in plainer English, the King has
ordered my stay here, and for it I must have a new
privy seal, which is not to be gotten till hunting and
horse-races get out of people's heads, and they remem-
ber that Mr. Stepney waits here his orders for the
Rhine, and Mr. Prior his appointments at the Hague;
in the mean time these two sieurs walk as gravely all
day as if they had business, though the chief of that
business is to drink your health at night. Then comes
my Lady and cross-legged cousin Davers, and at last
my young Master Sutton, who we hope will arrive at
Vienna before Count Frizen, and of whom we talk as
much as if we had known him these twenty years, and
had been drunk with him as many times. It may be a
girl after all this; no matter, 't is but nine months
more, and the young gentleman before mentioned may
see the Emperor before the Count sees his sovereign
Elector.
By next post I shall answer my Lady; in the mean
time I must beg your Lordship to desire her pardon,
since if I deferred my correspondence for some time, it
was whilst I did not know if I was fairly an Abraham or
1695.]
147
LORD VILLIERS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
no, and there were many things which one Secretary
might write to another with which Matthew Prior durst
by no means trouble my Lady Lexington. Adieu, my
dear Lord.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Nov. 25, 1695.
Count Kaunitz, who is now at Brussels about the
ninth Electorate, a little before he went thither com-
plained to me of the usage the Papists have met with in
the Parliament of Ireland. I am to assure him that
it is not upon the account of their religion, and that the
King would never persecute any for religion's sake:'
I fear if our enemies know we have such bigot allies
they will tamper with them about a peace. If anything
of that kind happens where you are, I hope you will do
me the favour to let me know it.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
There is every reason to believe
that William III. was himself na-
turally averse to religious persecu-
tion; but he was stern, severe, and
careless of human suffering when a
political object was to be gained, and
the Roman Catholics in Ireland, who
were, as might be expected, Jacobites
J
Whitehall, Nov. 22, 1695.
I shall not omit sending your Lordship some
account of our affairs in Parliament, since I understand
it will be agreeable to you; and I shall be able to do
it a little more authentically than last year, since it
happens I am now in the House of Commons, and need
not take up things upon trust and by hearsay. 2 What
to a man, were treated with great
severity.
2 The King had been advised to
call a new Parliament, while the
recollection of the recent successes
in Flanders was yet fresh in the
minds of the electors. Mr. Vernon
was chosen for Penryn.
L 2
148
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
has offered this day is only the choice of a Speaker, or
rather the accepting of one proposed by his Majesty's
order;¹ whereas otherwise there might have been a
competition between Mr. Foley and Sir Thomas Little-
ton, and the House might be again divided in a matter
and at a time in both which it ought principally to be
avoided. The former, having been so lately in the
chair, and acquitting himself so well there, deserved to
be continued; the other having been once thought
worthy of it, was now acquainted that his Majesty had
the same good opinion of him, and that he assured him he
should elsewhere employ him; 2 to which he respectfully
submitted, and desisted from any further pretensions;
and that his friends might do so too, he chose rather to
absent himself this day, though I think there would
have been otherwise a general acquiescence in his Ma-
jesty's pleasure, and I hope it will last throughout the
session.
Mr. Foley, according to custom, excused himself,
but so as to acknowledge the honour done him, and
expressed so much the greater satisfaction in it, as he
presumed it partly proceeded from their acceptance of
his former endeavours to discharge that trust.
The King has deferred making his speech till the
Speaker be presented.
¹ This is a curious expression, and
would imply that the King really
did desire to revive the claims of
the Crown to choose the Speaker of
the House of Commons, and that the
alarm caused by the nomination of
Sir Thomas Littleton, in the pre-
ceding session, was well founded;
but it would appear from the accom-
panying circumstances of this case,
that the King's wish was to prevent
a renewal of the contest between the
candidate whose pretensions he had
formerly favoured and Mr. Foley,
whom the House of Commons had
chosen in opposition to his wishes,
and who had already served the office
of Speaker with general approbation.
2 In May, 1696, Sir Thomas
Littleton was appointed a Lord of
the Treasury, and in 1698 he was
elected Speaker.
1695.]
149
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
(Translation.)
Paris, Dec. 2, 1695.
It does not appear that any negotiations for peace
are at present in progress. France is persuaded that,
in the existing state of affairs, it is very unlikely that
she should obtain such a peace as she desires. They
therefore think less of treating than of causing dissen-
sions among the Allies, and, unless I am mistaken,
they have greater hopes than ever of succeeding in
Germany, where they know that some Princes are
already prepared to create a disturbance, and, indeed,
only wait a favourable opportunity for doing so. They
are endeavouring to set them in motion, and to engage
in their interest the Crowns of the North.
(Translation.)
Paris, Dec. 5, 1695.
The new converts, who were discovered some time
since in the exercise of their worship and imprisoned
at Sedan, have been released, excepting the minister,
and it is not known what is become of him. The King
of Portugal is solicited to take steps to interpose his
mediation. This Prince is less distrusted by France
than any of those who could engage in this affair. It
is thought that an inclination towards the Allies may
be detected in the others, or, at least, that they show a
dislike to favour the pretensions of France.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Nov. 29, 1695.
The debate this day went on much calmer than it
has used to do when the state of the nation was under
The history of Germany at this
period affords abundant proof that
the French King was justified in
entertaining these hopes.
150
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
!
consideration. Everybody seemed sensible that the
mischiefs we laboured under were so pressing that their
thoughts ought to be turned rather to apply a remedy
than find fault. That which they generally agreed on
was, that if the money were not mended, the trade of the
nation must be lost, since it would be otherwise carried
on to so great disadvantage; and if the balance of
trade were not rectified, it would be to no purpose to
mind the money, since it must be all drained to pay
the debts due to an over-balance. The difficulties in
mending the coin are observed to be these: that, besides
the want of bullion to supply the species, if the public
bear the loss of clipt money, then, whatever is yet
entire will be clipt; and if every man is to bear his
own loss by clipt money, it must create an universal
discontent and cause endless disputes between the bor-
rower and lender, upon whom the loss shall fall. This,
therefore, being the case, it is not to be wondered they
could not come to a conclusion in one day, but took up
with an opinion about a free entry for things sent to
supply the army, which is, I think, of no great signifi-
cancy as it stands alone, more than that it shows a
disposition to lay hold on all means to prevent or lessen
the ruinous exportation of our coin. Your Lordship,
¹ The silver currency of the king-
dom was estimated at 5,600,000l.,
of which it was supposed that
4,000,000l. was clipped, or other-
wise deteriorated. The danger to
be apprchended from a continuance
of this state of things was admitted
by all; but great difference of opi-
nion existed as to the proper remedy
to be applied. Mr. Lowndes, the
Secretary of the Treasury, suggested
that the standard should be altered,
and the silver coin raised above its
intrinsic value. Mr. Locke, how-
ever, who, with Sir Isaac Newton,
was consulted by the Government
on this occasion, answered Mr.
Lowndes' pamphlet, and condemned
his proposal as a fraud upon all
creditors," and "the means of con-
founding the property of the sub-
ject, and disturbing affairs to no
purpose." The Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Mr. Montague, at length
66
1695.]
151
MR. GREG TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
I don't doubt, has heard from Holland what message
was sent to Don Bernardo de Quiros, to forbid his pre-
senting any memorial till satisfaction were given in the
business of M. Schonenberg; and Sir Charles Cotterell
has directions to signify the like to the Spanish Ambas-
sador here, which, I suppose, he will do to-morrow
morning. My Lord George Hamilton was married
on Monday last to Mrs. Villiers, and they say her
sister Frances Villiers is to be married to my Lord
Cassi.is.
2
They talk that Col. Howe is married to Mrs. Rupert,
Prince Rupert's daughter.
Mr. Greg to Lord Lexington.
Copenhagen, Dec. 6, 1695.
4
On Thursday last Princess Louisa³ made her
entry here with great solemnity; being conducted from
a tent, where the Prince received her a quarter of a
mile out of town, by almost all the principal officers of
the kingdom, both civil and military, who appeared
with the best equipage they could upon this occasion ;
their led horses and coaches went before, but they them-
selves followed on horseback, together with the Prince,
persuaded Parliament to pass an act
by which the clipped coin was called
in and recoined, and the deficiency
borne by the public: 1,200,000l.
was voted to meet this deficiency,
and was raised by the imposition
of a tax on windows. The real
loss, however, amounted to
2,400,000l., more than 50 per cent.
on the whole of the coin called in.
¹ Spanish minister at the Hague.
Younger brother of the Duke of
2
Hamilton, and of the Earl of Sel-
kirk. He was in January, 1696,
created Earl of Orkney, ostensibly
for military services in Ireland and
Flanders; but it is probable that
his marriage was in some degree, at
least, the cause of his promotion.
3 Princess Louisa of Mecklenburgh
Gustraw.
Prince Frederic, afterwards Fre-
deric IV., King of Denmark.
152
[1695.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
who rode immediately before his mistress's coach, and
so brought her through the city into the castle, where
the King and Queen received her at the foot of the
stairs, in the very court, and brought her up to the
Queen's bed-chamber, from whence, after having retired
herself for some time into the Prince's apartment, she
was conducted into the justice-chamber, where the
highest court is usually kept, the King himself presiding.
There the marriage was performed, after which the
whole royal family supped in state in the same place,
being served by the principal persons of the kingdom of
both sexes.
The second day the burghers, who had been in arms
the day before to line the streets through which the
Princess passed, to the number of between four and five
thousand men, did all pass by the castle, by companies,
to show themselves to the King. At night there were
fireworks and very pretty illuminations, the latter of
which made a very great show upon the water just
opposite to one side of the castle.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington..
Turin, Dec. 24, 1695.
The Nuncio has spoken in favour of peace at this
Court, and has delivered to his Royal Highness¹ a
Papal brief recommending it to that Prince, who has
replied that he will take the same steps in this matter
as the rest of the Allies. He has done me the honour
to inform me that he will send copies of this brief to
London, Vienna, and Madrid. I suppose that the
Nuncio at Vienna will take a similar course.
¹ The Duke of Savoy.
1695.]
153
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
(Translation.)
Paris, Dec. 26, 1695.
The Marquis de Seneterre, who was imprisoned
nineteen years for the murder of his elder brother, is
again implicated in a troublesome affair; having been
engaged in a conflict which they wish to pass off as a
duel of three against three,' in which two mousquetaires
of the opposite party were killed; the third, who was a
"Prévôt de Salle," 2 was immediately captured. The
Marquis, with his companions, have had the good
fortune to escape.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 17, 1695.
I send you an abstract of the Commission that
passed the Great Seal this morning, constituting the
New Committee of Trade, wherein are the names of
the persons and the powers that are given them. I
suppose we shall hear on Friday if the House of Com-
mons take any exceptions at either. 3
'In the original, "un duel de
trois."
2 In contests of this nature it was
not unusual to retain a "Prévôt de
Salle" to act as umpire between the
combatants; but these professors of
fencing were also frequently engaged
to take a personal share in the con-
flict, as appears to have been the
case in this instance.
³ The King was exceedingly averse
to the establishment of this com-
mittee or council, which he regarded
as an encroachment on the prero-
gative of the Crown; but his chief
adviser, Lord Sunderland, was afraid
of resistance, and William was forced
to submit.
The powers of the Council of
Trade were extensive, and their
duties were of a very varied cha-
racter. They were directed to in-
quire into all matters connected with
the manufactures and trade of the
kingdom; the colonies or planta-
tions also were committed to their
charge; and they were to consider
in what way the poor might be set
to work, and made useful to the pub-
lic. Each of these three branches now
affords at least sufficient employ-
ment for a separate department of
the Government.
The Earls of Bridgewater and
Stamford were placed at the head
of this council, of which John Locke
was a member.
154
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695.
1
By the King's answer this evening to the address of
the two Houses against the Scotch Act, it looks as if
there were like to be a change of the Ministry in that
¹ An Act for the establishment
of a Scotch India Company. The
people of Scotland expected the
greatest benefits from this scheme,
which was started by Patterson;
and they were highly exasperated
by the hostile and illiberal spirit with
which it was received in England.
Indeed the contest, which was long
protracted, and terminated only with
the extinction of the colony, nearly
gave rise to a civil war.
But although the English opposi-
tion to the scheme was both im-
politic and unjust, there can be no
doubt that the Act of the Scottish
Parliament, by which the establish-
ment of this Company was sanc-
tioned, was in some respects highly
objectionable. Among the pri-
vileges which it conferred on the
Company was an entire immunity
for their members, officers, servants,
ships, and merchandise from all
taxes imposed, or to be imposed, by
Parliament for twenty-one years.
William therefore was justified in the
answer which he returned to the
address referred to by Mr. Vernon,
in which he stated that "he had
been ill served in Scotland, but
hoped that some remedies might be
found to prevent the inconveniences
which might arise from the Act." I
cannot refrain from here inserting
an extract from Dalrymple's Essay
on the Darien Company,' the history
of which is rendered peculiarly in-
teresting by passing events.
Dalrymple laments the fate of the
Darien scheme, and blames the con-
(
duct of the British Government with
regard to it.
regard to it. He proceeds to say,
that "If neither Britain singly nor
the maritime parts of Europe jointly
will treat with Spain for a passage
across Darien, it requires no great
gift of prophecy to foresee that the
period is not far distant, when, in
order to procure the precious metals
at once, instead of waiting for them
by the slow returns of trade, the
States of America, who are able to
defy the fleets of England, and the
armies of England and Germany,
will seize the pass of Darien, and
with ease, by violence from Spain.
Their next move will be to take pos-
session of the Sandwich Islands in
the South Sea." He then states that
"with these acquisitions the English
Americans will form not only the
most potent but the most singular
empire that ever appeared, because
it will consist not in the dominion of
a part of the land of the globe, but
in the dominion of the whole ocean.
He concludes by saying that "these
prospects should call the attention of
the maritime nations of Europe to
the importance of laying open the
passage of Darien to all nations, in-
stead of leaving it exposed to be
seized and to become the property
of that people who lie nearest to it ;"
but that "if the States of America
should, from the supineness of rulers
and ministers, seize and make the
passage of Darien their exclusive
property, the trading nations of the
world would combine to wrest it
from them."
""
1695-6.] LORD LEXINGTON TO SIR W. TRUMBULL.
155
kingdom; and they talk already of my Lord Melville's
coming again into play. ¹
1
Lord Lexington to Sir William Trumbull.
Vienna, Jan. 4, 1696.
The Envoy of Sweden desired, yesterday, that
Mr. Heemskerck and myself would use our offices at
this court, that the Emperor would interpose his autho-
rity and interest with Denmark about the affair of Hol-
stein, for fear there should be any disturbances in the
Lower Saxony, which we will do, and had before spoke
of it. I am informed, but I hope 'tis only the fears of
2
¹ Both Lord Stair and Mr. John-
stone, the joint Secretaries of State,
as well as Lord Tweeddale, were dis-
missed from their offices; but Lord
Murray, the eldest son of the Duke
of Athol, and not Lord Melville,
was appointed Secretary of State. It
is probable that the Massacre of
Glencoe, which had formed the
subject of a strict inquiry during the
past session of the Parliament in
Scotland, increased the dissatisfac-
tion of the King with his ministers
in that country.
2 About the year 1600, Chris-
tian IV. of Denmark gave a moiety
of the Duchies of Holstein and Sles-
wick to his brother Ulric, from
whom were descended the Dukes of
Holstein Gottorp, Eutin, Ploen, &c.
The Kings of Denmark and the
Dukes of Holstein exercised
divided sovereignty over the duchies,
and constant disputes were the re-
sult of this arrangement.
a
Christian Albert, Duke of Hol-
stein Gottorp, was inclined to the
French interest; and his death in
January, 1695, alone prevented the
conclusion of a treaty of neutrality
with France; but Frederic, who
succeeded to the duchy on the death
of his father, joined the Allies, and
engaged to raise three regiments to
serve against France. The King of
Denmark, who himself preserved a
neutrality, but received an annual
subsidy from France, seized the op-
portunity of the death of Duke
Christian to revive a claim of so-
vereignty over the Duchy of Sles-
wick, as well as of Holstein, and
especially insisted that the Duke of
Holstein, as his vassal, was not en-
titled to levy troops without his per-
mission. The King of Sweden on
this as on previous occasions espoused
the cause of the Duke. His Allies;
the Elector of Brandenburgh, and
the Dukes of Zell and Hanover,
prepared to support him, and a war
between the Northern Powers ap-
peared imminent; but the dispute
was at length adjusted, after very
lengthened negotiations, by the in-
terposition of the Emperor, of
156
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695-6.
the House of Lunenburgh, that there have been propo-
sitions made lately from France either to the Elector of
Saxony himself or to Schoning, and if he hearkened to
them, Saxe Lauenburgh would be the pretence of dis-
turbance.¹ I hope, I say, 'tis only the fears of the
House of Lunenburgh, but 'tis good to have an eye
William, and of the Electors of descended from the same branch as
Brandenburgh and Saxony.
Saxe Lauenburgh, while the Dukes
of Zell and Hanover contended that
they were the nearest heirs, and
seized Radzeburgh, Mollen, and
Lauenburgh.
Frederick, Duke
Duke of Holstein
of Holstein
Gottorp, married the eldest sister of
Charles XII. of Sweden. On the
death, however, of that monarch, the
States of Sweden elected his younger
sister, Ulrica Eleanora, the Land-
gravine of Hesse, Queen. This
Princess died without issue in 1741,
and the crown of Sweden would then
have devolved on her grand-nephew,
Peter, Duke of Holstein Gottorp,
afterwards Peter III. of Russia, but
his aunt, the Empress Elizabeth,
declared him her heir.
He re-
linquished the throne of Sweden for
the reversion to that of Russia; and
the Duke of Holstein Eutin, Bishop
of Lubeck, was chosen King of
Sweden.
The King of Sweden supported
the pretensions of the House of
Lunenburgh; the Emperor, the
King of Denmark, and the Elector
of Brandenburgh favoured the
claims of the Princes of Anhalt; and
the King of Denmark went so far as
to bombard Radzeburgh. The fur-
ther progress of hostilities was pre-
vented by the joint mediation of
England and the United Provinces;
but the real question at issue, namely,
the right of succession to the terri-
tories of Saxe Lauenburgh, was
referred to arbitration, and remained
for years undecided.
¹ Jules Francis, last Duke of
Saxe Lauenburgh, died without male
issue in 1689, and the succession to
his estates was the subject of a
violent contest, in which almost
every Prince of the North took part.
The deceased Duke had signed a
mutual treaty of succession with the
Elector of Saxony in 1671, and in
virtue of this treaty the Elector im-
mediately took possession of the
whole of the territories. But the
validity of this compact was dis-
puted, and the Princes of Anhalt
asserted their claims to the suc-
cession, on the ground that they were
It was true that France had re-
cently made secret proposals to the
Elector of Saxony, and it is very
possible that these overtures might
have been accepted, had not the death
of the King of Poland (John So-
bieski) presented a new and more
attractive object of ambition to the
eyes of the Elector. In his contest
for the crown of Poland, France
was his opponent, and the Prince de
Conti his rival; the overtures of
Louis were forgotten or rejected, and
the Elector contracted new engage-
ments with the Allies.
1695-6.] MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
157
upon him; and what he said to Count Harrach¹ at
parting gives me some jealousy; "for," said he, "when
I come home I will look into the business of Saxe
Lauenburgh to the bottom, and desire from the Empe-
ror's justice the restitution and possession of it, which
if he refuses me, I don't question but by the help of my
friends to do myself justice."
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Jan. 5, 1696, N. S.
Your Lordship must have been informed from
England how, in consequence of the refusal of this
court to readmit M. Schonenberg, Sir Charles Cotterell
was sent to forbid the Spanish Ambassador the court
and King's presence, and told no memorials should be
received from him till his Majesty had that satisfaction
from this court; upon notice of which, on Saturday
last, the last day of the old year, the conductor of am-
bassadors here was sent to me with the very same
message, only changing of names, viz., that till his
Catholic Majesty had satisfaction from the court of
England for what was done to the Marques de Canales,
his Ambassador at London, he would receive no offices
from me, and further ordered me to forbear going to
court, or appearing in his Majesty's presence; to which
2
¹ Ferdinand Bonaventura, Count
Harrach, chief equerry and one
of the principal ministers of the
Emperor. He shortly afterwards
proceeded to Madrid, as Ambassador
to that court; but failing to induce
the King of Spain to proclaim the
Archduke Charles his heir, he re-
turned to Vienna, and was succeeded
at Madrid by his son Louis, Count
Harrach the younger. On the death
of Count Chinski, Count Harrach
succeeded to the principal direction
of affairs at Vienna.
2 Extracts from this letter have
been already published by Lord
Mahon in 'The Court of Spain under
Charles II.'
158
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
1
I answered I would readily obey, and give an account
thereof to the King my master, as I did the same night
by express. If I may believe the ministers here, the
same will suddenly come to your Lordship's turn; for
a few days before this the Marques de Balbaces told me
his Imperial Majesty had assured the '
he in-
terested himself so far in the cause of this court, that
whatever demonstrations should be expressed against
the Spanish ministers at London and the Hague, the
same should be returned to the English and Dutch at
Vienna; so that now, said he, the quarrel is between
Schonenberg and toda la casa de Austria. I do not
entirely credit this upon his word, although I hear from
the Hague that Count Kaunitz, in a memorial to the
States, has expressed himself in this matter with more
warmth than becomes the indifferency of a mediator.
What will be the issue I am not able to judge till I
have his Majesty's further orders, which if they be, as I
expect, for my return, I shall most willingly obey them,
after a full six years' absence from dear England, and
in a country not the most pleasant in the world to a
stranger; only I should be glad, lest the common cause
should suffer by this difference, that some expedient of
accommodation may be found.
Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington.
Stockholm, Jan. 1, 169
This King's minister at the court of Denmark,
having transmitted hither the answer given there to this
King's offer of his mediation, in order to an amicable
There is an omission here of a
word in the original, which may be
supplied either by "the King," or
the Spanish minister at Vienna.
1695-6.] MR. ROBINSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
159
1
accommodation of the present differences between the
King of Denmark and the Duke of Holstein, and an
account being also come of a late threatening declara-
tion made to that Duke's minister about his master's
levies and other matters, a council was thereupon extra-
ordinary held on Sunday last in the evening, where this
King resolved to send orders to his forces in Pomeren
and Bremen, ¹ as also to those in the kingdom towards
the frontiers of Denmark, to make themselves ready to
march upon the first order; and Baron Welling, whọ
is at Hamburgh, will be ordered to notify this resolution
to the Elector of Brandenburgh and House of Lunen-
burgh, and to desire them to have their troops also in
readiness, all which orders will be sent this day. The
great zeal this King has shown on this occasion for the
maintenance of the Duke in his rights, persuades several
that have heretofore doubted that Sweden will not sit
still if Denmark proceed to action. I believe these
resolutions will also be notified to the rest of the gua-
rantees of the treaty of Altona, and their concurrence
desired.
2
This court has taken a very untoward resolution, that
no foreign merchants shall abide in this King's domi-
nions above four months in a year. We think it directly
contradicts the treaties Sweden has with England and
Holland, and I doubt not but it will be so considered
there, and means found to get it revoked, or make the
1
¹ The possession of Pomerania and
Bremen was confirmed to Sweden
by the Treaty of Westphalia in
1648.
Bremen was subsequently seized
by Denmark, and ceded or sold to
/
George I. as Elector of Hanover
in 1715.
2 The Kings of England and
Sweden and the United Provinces
were joint guarantees of the Treaty
of Altona.
160
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695-6.
Swedish trade as uneasy as ours is like to be if it con-
tinue.
Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Jan. 3, 1695.
1
The Lords have made so many alterations in the
Coinage Bill that it is almost quite a new one. It
was well pulled yesterday on both sides, and about
eight at night, upon a division of the committee, it was
carried by one, that the Parliament shall name a coun-
cil of trade, but it is not doubted but that side will lose
it in the House, and the Court party prevail, who look
upon such an establishment as an abridgment of the
King's prerogative.2
m
(Translation.)
Paris, Jan. 13, 1696.
A few days ago two ladies met in a narrow street
at ten o'clock in the morning. Neither chose to per-
mit her carriage to be drawn back, and they remained
without moving for six hours. A little after twelve
o'clock they sent for some refreshment for themselves
and food for their horses. Each was firmly resolved to
stay the night there rather than go back; and they
would have done so, but a tavern-keeper in the street,
who was prevented by their obstinacy from bringing to
his door a cart laden with wine, went in search of the
¹ It is said that when this bill was
discussed in council, objections were
raised that it was of too sudden and
violent a character; and some of the
ministers suggested that it would be
more politic to remedy the evils
complained of by degrees. The
King, however, replied that it was
better to run through the fire than
to walk through it; and the bill
received the royal assent on the 21st
January.
2 The Crown retained the nomi-
nation of the members of the Council
of Trade.
1695-6:]
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
161
commissary of the district, who at length, but with
much trouble, succeeded in effecting an arrangement
upon these terms-that each should retire at the same
moment, and that neither should pass through the street.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Jan. 10, 1695.¹
3
The greatest subject of discourse at present is the
Earl of Ranelagh's marriage with my Lady Stawell,
and the advantageous overtures he has made her, which
is a jointure of 16007. per annum rent charge, his
house at Chelsea for her life, and his house near my
Lord Halifax in fee, the liberty to dispose of 5000l.
of her own estate, together with all her plate and jewels,
and her pin money is made up 1000%. per annum.
Be-
sides, her daughter is to live with her at my Lord's
expense, so that the increase of her fortune is to be
preserved to her.
Mrs. Potter has a cause to be heard to-morrow before
the Lords, upon an appeal of Thom Thynne's executors,
who seek relief against a decree in Chancery, that
orders the payment of a bond of 500l. that Mr. Thynne
gave Mrs. Potter for her assistance in procuring the
match between him and the Duchess of Somerset. "
2
¹ Old style.
2 Richard Jones, third Viscount
and first Earl of Ranelagh, was Pay-
master of the Army. He died in
1711, without male issue.
3
³ Margaret, the daughter of James
Cecil, third Earl of Salisbury, and
the widow of John Stawell, second
Lord Stawell.
4
Elizabeth, sole daughter and
heiress of Jocelyn Percy, eleventh
Earl of Northumberland, married,
first, Henry Cavendish, Lord Ogle,
eldest son and heir of Henry the
last Duke of Newcastle of that fa-
mily; secondly, Thomas Thynne
Esq.; and, thirdly, Charles Sey-
mour, sixth Duke of Somerset. It
will be remembered that on the
death of her first husband, Count
Koningsmark made a desperate
attempt to obtain the hand of Lady
M
162
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
11
(Translation.)
Turin, Jan. 1696.
21'
You are right in believing that this Court does not
much regret the loss of the Count de Windisgratz. The
Abbé Grimani had no great regard for him, and they
believed him to be of our religion. If the Court of
Vienna persuade Prince Louis to go to Hungary this
year, the war is at an end in the Empire, and the
Circles will the same day demand a neutrality from the
French, who will then be enabled to send large rein-
forcements from the Rhine to their armies in Flanders
and here.'
(Translation.)
Paris, Feb. 3, 1696.
The Parliament has lately confirmed the sentence
of death passed on two daughters of a gentleman of
Anjou, named Madaillon, for the murder of the lover
of their younger sister. It appears that he was engaged
to be married to the eldest sister, but deserting her, and
passing over the second, he transferred his addresses to
the youngest. The two elder sisters, in revenge, in-
Ogle, and failing, procured, or was
believed to have procured, the
assassination of his successful rival,
Mr. Thynne, who was murdered in
1682. It would appear from this
letter that Mr. Thynne also adopted
what would now be thought irregu-
lar means to promote his suit with
this great heiress.
The Elector of Saxony was dis-
satisfied with the result of his last
campaign in Hungary, and it was
doubtful whether he would consent
to return there. It was feared by
the Allies that the Emperor, whose
first object always was the prosecu-
tion of the war with the Turks,
might induce Prince Louis to accept
the command of the Imperial forces
in that quarter. It is probable that
Lord Galway did not overrate the
difficulties which would have fol-
lowed such an arrangement; and
Lord Lexington received orders to
urge in the strongest terms that
Prince Louis should be continued on
the Rhine.
1695-6.] MR. ROBINSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
163
vited him to play at blind man's buff, and while one
bound his eyes, the other cut his throat.
The twenty-eight "new converts," both male and
female, who were arrested for holding religious meetings
contrary to law, and tried at Orleans by the judge of
the Presidial Court, appealed to the Parliament of
Paris, but their sentence has been confirmed. An old
man, seventy years of age, and another, who has hitherto
escaped, are condemned to the galleys; the remainder
are to be fined, reprimanded, and discharged.
(Translation.)
Paris, Feb. 13, 1696.
It is believed, from the preparation of transport
vessels in the harbours, that there is a party in England
whom they wish to encourage by the hope of an inva-
sion; or, at least, that they desire to alarm King Wil-
liam, and thus to weaken his army in Flanders. It is
certain that the consultations with the Court of St. Ger-
main's are more frequent than is usual, and they flatter
themselves that the business of the coin will cause some
disturbance in England. I know, also, that about three
weeks or a month ago some English quitted St. Ger-
main's under the pretence of coming here (to Paris),
but really for the purpose of going to England, and that
with this view they have left France.'
1
Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington.
I expected to have been
Lordship the success of the
¹ Lord Lexington's French cor-
respondent had previously given him
an account of the unusual activity
which prevailed in preparing ves-
Stockholm, Feb. 12, 1695.
able ere this to tell your
negotiation now on foot
sels and naval munitions of war.
This letter, however, contains the
first hint of the projected invasion of
England.
M 2
164
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
:
here, about the affairs of Holstein and the succours,
which has gone on more slowly than there was reason
to believe, and is not yet come to any conclusion. In
what concerns Holstein there remains no difficulty, nor
in the business of the succours any other of moment
besides the point of money, which is expected by this
Court to be a much greater sum than the Baron de Hec-
keren thinks fit to venture. The succours are proposed
to be 3000 foot and 800 odd horse, for which 26,000
crowns per month, and more, is demanded. I believe
in a day or two a conference will be held on that sub-
ject, in which the treaty will go near to be concluded,
or in danger to break off. The French Ambassador 3
has been very industrious to prevent the conclusion of
this matter, and had several conferences, in which he
has declared that the King, his master, will admit the
treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen for the foundation
of a general peace; and being pressed to declare what
that meant, he in another conference said, when the
Allies shall have explained their thoughts upon those
treaties, the King, his master, will then declare himself
farther, and leave the peace to be made to this King's
mediation, as your Lordship will see on the other side.
Since that, he has offered the mediation of France for
composing the differences between the King of Den-
¹ Sweden was bound by treaty to
furnish 6000 men to the Allies, but
her neutrality was of great value to
her commerce, and she had hitherto
evaded this engagement; nor was it
ever fulfilled. But after lengthened
negotiations on the subject, the King
of Sweden gave a renewed assur-
ance that the troops should be sup-
plied, if France did not consent to
1
offer fair and reasonable terms for
peace; and this promise was of
great service to the Allies in induc-
ing the French King to comply
with the preliminaries demanded
of him.
2 One cavalry soldier was reckoned
equal to three infantry.
3 The Comte d'Avaux.
"
1695-6.] LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
165
mark and Duke of Holstein-upon which I cannot tell
what answer will be made, but it would be a very great
novelty to accept a declared enemy for a mediator.
"Le 9 Févr. 169;
"L'Ambassadeur de France a aussi dit, que
lorsque les Alliez auront déclaré leur sentiment sur la
Paix de Westphalia et Nimègue, le Roi son maître se
déclarera plus outre, en telle manière que le Roi de
Suède en pourra être satisfait, puisqu'alors il remet à
sa médiation et prudence l'affaire de la paix, pour
la
rendre durable." 1
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Turiu, Feb. 18, 1696.
His Royal Highness is preparing for a journey.
He says that he is only going to Milan to see the Mar-
ques de Leganes there, and at the same time to enjoy
the opera, and the other pleasures of the carnival. From
thence he will proceed to Loretto, and the Marques de
Leganes will accompany him. This pilgrimage has
been spoken of ever since last autumn, but it is asserted
by some, who think themselves wiser than the rest of
the world, that there is a secret connected with the
journey. They say that the Duke and the Marques
de Leganes intend to go to Venice, or that his Royal
Highness will even visit Vienna. For myself, I believe
nothing of the kind. I may be mistaken, but I do not
think there is any mystery in this journey."
¹ It will be observed that nothing
is here said of the recognition of
William III.
2 The Duke of Savoy went to
Loretto, but his journey was uncon-
nected with either pleasure or piety.
His secret negotiation with France
was in full progress; and he was
166
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
(Translation.)
Paris, Feb. 20, 1696.
The royal treasury is empty. M. de Pontchartrain¹
states, without disguise, to all who ask for money that
he has none; and a great number of persons are re-
duced to the deepest distress, especially the naval and
military officers, most of whom are without a sou. The
keepers of the treasury, who are accustomed to pay
regularly, and with ready money, the claims on the
civil list, now owe more than 500,000 crowns. They
hope, however, soon to obtain 12,000,000 on the secu-
rity of the new tax on postage, but the decree for im-
posing this tax is not yet published; and although the
rate of interest will be very advantageous to those who
advance the money, it is asserted by many who are well
informed on the subject, that the King will find it diffi-
cult to procure the loan. His credit is weakened as
his debts increase, and private individuals can now
invest their money in trade at 10 per cent. The war
extraordinaries, which have hitherto borne 8, or at
most 9 per cent., are now at 10 per cent., although the
bills are payable at three or four months. It is now
(
anxious to escape for a time from the
scrutiny of Lord Galway and the
other ministers of the Allies. It is
said that he met at Loretto an agent
of Louis XIV., but the Memoirs
of the Comte de Tessé,' which give
a very minute account of these ne-
gotiations, make no mention of such
an interview. It is, however, pro-
bable that while in Italy the Duke
prepared the Italian Princes, and
especially the Pope, for the step
which he was about to take.
¹ Louis Philippaux de Pontchar-
train succeeded to the office of
Minister of Marine on the death of
-
Seignelai in 1691. He was also
intrusted with the management of
the finances, and continued for many
years one of the most confidential
ministers of Louis XIV.
2 In England, tallies were 40 per
cent. below par, and, as appears
from this letter, the Government
bills in France were at an equal
discount.
In fact, the time was rapidly
approaching, when, if the war had
not been terminated by the treaty
of Ryswick, the truth of the French
King's saying, "the last guinea
will carry the day," would have been
1695-6.] LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
167
thought that some attempt on the coast of England is
in contemplation, and the advices from thence strengthen
this impression. They announce that affairs there are
in great disorder, and likely to grow worse. The Court
of St. Germain's is in high spirits, and ready to take
advantage of anything that may occur.
These people
assert that King William has recently committed three
or four grave errors, which may cost him dear. They
say that he was ill-advised-firstly, in inviting the Par-
liament to discuss the business of the coinage; secondly,
in consenting to the establishment of an India Company
in Scotland; thirdly, in making so large a grant to
Lord Portland; and fourthly, in assenting to the bill
for the regulation of the proceedings in cases of high
treason. They think that disaffection will increase,
and conspiracies be formed, which will afford a favour-
able opportunity for the prosecution of the intrigues
which they constantly carry on in England, and they
expect no less than the restoration of King James with-
out striking a blow. ³
1
3
2
cxemplified; nor were the finances
of the other contending powers in a
more flourishing state. The pres-
sure of war taxes was severely felt in
the United Provinces; and about the
date of this letter a dangerous
tumult was excited in Amsterdam,
by the imposition of a tax upon beer.
The Imperial treasury was ex-
hausted, and Spain, with all the
wealth of South America nominally
at her disposal, was in reality almost
bankrupt.
¹ The King had granted to Lord
Portland the Lordships of Denbigh,
Bronfield, and Yale, and other lands
in Wales, but was compelled to re-
voke the grant, on a spirited remon-
-
strance from the gentlemen of the
Principality, who were highly in-
censed at the proposed transfer to a
foreigner of the ancient demesnes of
the Princes of Wales.
2 William gave a reluctant assent
to this bill; and although the mea-
sure was founded upon the essential
principles of justice, its success was
justly regarded as an evidence of
the declining influence of the Court.
Vide Somerville's Political Trans-
actions.
³ The stringent measures adopted
by Parliament for the reformation
of the coinage, although necessary,
and in the end highly beneficial,
aggravated, for the time, the ex-
G
k
168
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695-6.
It is alleged that the Duke of Berwick did not go to
Catalonia, but that he proceeded to Brest, and embarked
at that port.
1
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Feb. 14, 1695.*
3
Some words passed yesterday in the Committee be-
tween Sir Richard Atkins and Sir Edward Seymour,
that the House thought fit to interpose for preventing
any quarrel. There being a question proposed for
leaving the chair, and Sir Edward Seymour being
thought in his debate to deviate from it, Sir Richard
took him down to order, which he, being surprised at,
questioned whether he understood what order was;
some others took notice of that as an improper re-
flection, and Sir Richard's reply to it was, that he
should not apply to the House for satisfaction in any
isting distress. The establishment
and subsequent disavowal of the
new India Company was a blunder
which was indeed soon forgotten
in England, but the recollection
of which rankled in the minds
of the Scotch, and was regarded
by them not only as an act of in-
justice, but an insult to the na-
tion. The open preference which
William not unnaturally but very
unwisely displayed for foreigners,
and especially for the Earl of
Portland, was a grievance of which
the Jacobites successfully availed
themselves; and they might with
some reason hope that the recent
alterations in the law of treason
would give them greater opportuni-
ties for their plots and intrigues.
On reviewing then the state of
affairs in England at this time, it is
not surprising that the exiled King,
even if ignorant of the project of
assassinating William, which is
doubtful, should have entertained
sanguine expectations of a re-action
in his favour.
¹ James Fitz-James, Duke of
Berwick, had left Paris under the
pretence that his presence was re-
quired in Catalonia, to restore dis-
cipline in an Irish regiment there,
which had mutinied for pay, but in
reality he had sailed for England,
where he remained in disguise for
some days, engaged in preparing
measures for the intended insurrec-
tion.
2 Old style.
³ Sir R. Atkins, M.P. for Buck-
inghamshire.
1695-6.] MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
169
I hear my
case where he could hope for it elsewhere.
Lord Wharton has left his personal estate to several
trustees, to be disposed of in charitable uses; and one
thing is particular, that he hath left 1507. per annum
to be only laid out in Bibles to be given to the poorer
1
sort.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, March 1, 1696, N. S.
I was favoured, by our last English packet-boat
with one from your Lordship of the 31st of December,
and another from your Secretary, with the lamentable
account of poor Czar Peter, whom I wish better
success this year. What I writ last of the French
design of abandoning Gerona was only one of their
usual feints, and is no more thought of. On the con-
trary, this Court seems at present under great appre-
hensions for Barcelona, and have alarmed Sir George
Rooke with their fears; who is so far from being able
to assist them, that if the French fleet were now ready,
as is reported, he has not a strength sufficient with him
to defend himself. But Mynheer Vandergoes is daily
expected at Cadiz with twenty-five English and Dutch
good men-of-war, who, I hope, will be in time to prevent
1
¹ Philip, fourth Lord Wharton,
the father of Mr. Comptroller
Wharton. It is to be feared that his
son, who succeeded him as Lord
Wharton, and was subsequently
created Earl and Marquis of Whar-
ton, did not profit by his father's be-
quest; at least Mackay states that
he was
"much of a libertine."
2 The Czar, who was at war with
the Porte, invaded the Crimea, and
in July, 1695, besieged Azoph.
2
This paragraph in Mr. Stanhope's
letter probably refers to the suc-
cessful resistance of the Turks dur-
ing the remainder of that year, which
compelled the Russians to relinquish
the attempt to obtain possession of
the place by storm. The siege, how-
ever, was not abandoned: Peter
established a blockade, and suc-
ceeded in reducing Azoph in July,
1696.
170
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
the French passing the Straits; which if they could do,
they threaten us at home to land King James, either in
England or Scotland, of which I have seen a letter from
Paris, as well as advices from several other ports.
Yesterday a jewel was ordered Sir G. Rooke of 20,000
pieces of eight; one to the Dutch Commander-in-Chief
of six; and another, the same value, to Vice-Admiral
Mitchell. This looks as if they design an accommoda-
tion of the differences between us as to punctilios of
Ministers, of which though I yet hear nothing, yet am
in daily hopes it will suddenly be.
(Translation.)
Paris, March 2, 1696.
1
The secret object of the recent preparations has now
transpired-it is the invasion of England. The ability
and secrecy with which this affair has been conducted
excites admiration; and people are astonished to find
that all the arrangements, which induced them to be-
lieve that a very different object was in view, related to
this enterprise. There is a rumour also of an insur-
rection in Scotland, and it is said that the Scotch have
been for a long time preparing for it. The Ministers
of this Court do not venture to predict the success of
the projected invasion, but they say that France
must be a gainer by it, since it will at least em-
barrass the plans of the King of England with respect
to Flanders, and perhaps prevent him from going
thither. The Most Christian King, in announcing the
enterprise, said that it was impossible to foretell the
result; but that had not King James received very
favourable intelligence from within his own kingdoms,
¹ This
rumour was incorrect
there
was wide-spread disaffec-
tion, but no insurrection, in Scot-
land.
1695-6.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
171
he certainly would not have engaged in it. He (King
James) departed on Tuesday to embark at Calais,
and everything is ready for his voyage to England.
Eighteen battalions of infantry, three regiments of
cavalry, thirteen squadrons and two regiments of dra-
goons are in course of embarkation, and more than four
hundred transports are in readiness. The whole is com-
manded by the Marquis d'Harcourt. There are also
several ships of war and frigates to protect the transports,
and M. Gabarett will command the naval armament.
They have sent on board a great quantity of Louis d'or,
in addition to the 60,000 in King James's chest. It is
believed here that the convoy for the Cadiz fleet has
sailed from England, and that it will be easy to land
the troops. It is also said that the King of England
has not in all more than 5000 men in England,' and the
enterprise therefore is, on this account, more likely to
succeed; but, until the troops are landed, those who
are best informed suspend their judgment. It is clear
that this Court intends to proceed with great caution.
The attempt will be made, in the first instance, with an
army of no great force; but this will at least embarrass
the King of England, and, should the landing be
effected, they will despatch reinforcements as the occa-
sion may require. For this purpose they have troops
in readiness in the neighbourhood, and everything is
prepared for their transport. I am assured that, if the
wind be favourable, they will set sail the day after to-
2
-
morrow.
'The number of troops in Eng-
land is underrated. It will be seen
that, in his letter of the 6th March,
Mr. Prior states that there were
11,000 men in England: Dalrymple
says that they amounted to 14,000.
2 Under the command of Ma-
réchal de Boufflers.
172
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695-6.
It is said that the Duke of Berwick, who has re-
turned from England, and joined King James on the
road to Calais, has assured him that his forces will be
augmented as soon as he arrives in England; but the
intelligence which King James has hitherto received
has not always proved correct. ¹
1
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
March 3, 1696.
We have now reason to believe that this Court
seriously thinks of marrying the King of the Romans
into Denmark; and, as I am informed from good
hands, Père Weser, he that has treated it all along in
Denmark, is gone to Rome to procure a dispensation
on some points of religion which the Princess scruples:
as the belief of purgatory, the invocation of saints, and
the Communion in both kinds; which granted, she is
to change her religion. I confess I don't understand
their design in taking a Princess some years older than
the King, not very handsome, and whose house is so
linked with France 2 that we see their whole councils
and ministry are entirely influenced by it, leaving the
Princess of Savoy, whose years, religion, and every-
3
'It would appear from the Me-
moirs of the Duke of Berwick' that
the report which he brought back
of the state of the Jacobite party in
England was not of the favourable
nature here described.
2 Princess Sophia Hedwig of
Denmark was born in 1677, and the
King of the Romans (afterwards the
Emperor Joseph I.) in 1678. He
He
was crowned King of Hungary in
1687, and King of the Romans in
1690. Joseph married in 1699
Wilhelmina Amelia, daughter of
John Frederick, Duke of Hanover
(and niece to the Elector of Ha-
nover), who was born in 1675.
* Princess Mary Adelaide of
Savoy was born in 1685, and was
therefore barely eleven years old.
She was, however, affianced to the
Duc de Bourgogne the same year,
1696, and the marriage was cele-
brated in 1697.
1695-6.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
173
thing are more suitable, and whose father has sacrificed
all for the House of Austria and the Allies. I wish it
does not disgust him, especially now the French make
him such advantageous offers, and these people abso-
lutely neglect him, and do everything as if 't was on
purpose to chagrin him. ¹
1
(Translation.)
Paris, March 5, 1696.
We are every moment in expectation of the intel-
ligence that King James has embarked for England.
During the last four days more than 150 vessels have
arrived at Calais from Bordeaux, laden with provisions.
for the troops. I am informed that there are now at
Calais 13 frigates and other vessels armed "en flûte,'
to convoy the transports and to aid in the landing,
which will be attempted about four leagues from Dover.
39
Yesterday the Court received intelligence from St.
Malo that the squadron which had left Spithead for
Cadiz had been forced back again by contrary winds,
and this may probably impede the enterprise. The
squadron under MM. de Nesmond and de Renault will
not be ready before the 12th of this month, which was
the time fixed by the Court; but they will not wait for
them, as King James has been urged to cross imme-
diately, both by the Scotch, for the reasons I have men-
tioned in my former letters, and by the English, who
fear that Parliament may be prorogued or dissolved
before he arrives. It is said that they have stipulated,
2
The Emperor was frequently
pressed to demand the hand of the
Princess of Savoy for his son; and
he at length consented to make
overtures to the Duke of Savoy for
this purpose, but it was then too
late. The separate treaty with
France was already concluded.
2 The rumoured insurrection.
3
³ It is clear, then (if the writer of
this letter was correctly informed),
that James expected assistance, not
opposition, from the Parliament.
He certainly had received sccret
174
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1695-6.
!
among other things, for the perpetuity of the Parlia-
ment, and that as soon as King James lands, he shall
publish a general amnesty, both on his own account and
on that of the King of France, and that the French re-
fugees shall be permitted to return to France and to
resume possession of their property. The Duke of Ber-
wick was in London six days, disguised as a postilion.
An order has been issued for the detention of all letters
for foreign countries until King James has crossed the
Channel. It would appear by those from London of
the 24th that there was, as yet, no suspicion of the in-
tended expedition, but that they believed the French
had some design upon Ostend. Sensible people here
regard as a delusion the confidence with which it is
asserted that King James will certainly be restored to
his throne, but they are not surprised that the King
should have concurred with these visionaries, for they
say that there is everything to gain and very little to
lose. King James may be restored, or he may perish;
peace in either case will be more easy, and at the
worst there will be disturbances in England, which will
render King William useless to the other Allies. A
short time will show whether this reasoning is correct.
1
Mr. Cartwright to Lord Lexington.
Feb. 24, 1695.2
I have not taken Mr. Clay's accounts, for as yet
he dares not venture to receive any money; for guineas
assurances of support from many of
the leading members of both Houses.
'But King William was now fully
aware that the object of the pre-
parations was the invasion of Eng-
land; and Lord Portland had al-
3
ready discovered the conspiracy
against the person of the King.
2 Old style.
3 Mr. Clay was Lord Lexington's
steward.
1695-6.]
175
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
which were current at thirty shillings are now twenty-
five shillings, and all silver so bad that we all live upon
trust, except for ale, where any money passes, the ex-
cisemen having orders to receive such.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, March 6, N. S., 1696.
Your Lordship will easily imagine the surprise the
French preparations give us : his Majesty has been ad-
vised of it some time since. The troops in England
are indeed dispersed, but we have 11,000 men there;
the squadron being at Spithead, some ships of war in
the river, the troops easy enough to be transported from
our side, the King and most of the officers in England,
and the Parliament sitting, the devil sure is in the
French to attempt a descent upon us.
I rather think
all this may be meant against Scotland, and the French
design to make a push for it there, or fairly leave King
James; but most are of another opinion, and my writing
my sentiments is to leave them to your Lordship's judg-
ment, and to say that I hope to make a poem and drink
a bottle upon their being ruined. 2
'It will be observed that the
recent measures for the reform of the
silver coinage had already decreased
the value of guineas.
2 The Elector of Bavaria, the
Duke of Wurtemburgh, and the
Prince de Vaudemont, each sent a
courier to William as soon as the
preparations at Calais were known;
but it would appear that he had been
already warned of the intended in-
vasion before these messengers ar-
rived. It is possible that he received
information of the intentions of
the French government from the
Earl of Sunderland, who was un-
doubtedly in communication (through
Lord Arran, his son-in-law) with
James II.
176
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, March 6, N. S., 1696.
I had not troubled you so soon after my last, but
to send you the enclosed. The news in it, I believe,
will surprise you, and make you very impatient to
know the event of it; pray God send us a good one.
As often as I have an opportunity I will acquaint you
with the progress of this undertaking.
Hague, March 6, N. S., 1696.
The French preparations at Dunkirk and Calais
seem now to be designed against England. The forces
they intend to embark are said to be 20,000 men, of
which 6000 only were arrived at Dunkirk on the 1st
instant, and the same day 104 sail were seen before
that place, making towards Calais, where King James
then was, in order to embark. The number of men-of-
war at Dunkirk, and consequently designed for this
expedition, consists in 20 for the line of battle, most of
them between 50 and 70 guns, besides which are 12
bylanders, 52 scutes, and all the fisher-boats that can
be got together; they have great store of ammunition
with them, and one vessel laden with bombs. M. de
Boufflers was at Dunkirk on Thursday last, and in all
probability is to command the troops. Upon this in-
formation all imaginable care is taken here that tran-
sport ships and convoys be ready for the embarking
such troops as his Majesty may order to go to England.
We received last night the English letters of Friday
last, which make no mention of the enemy's landing or
approaching. We shall know by our letters, which we
expect by and bye from Flanders, if they are gone out.
1695-6.] LORD PORTLAND TO LORD LEXINGTON.
177
(Translation.)
Paris, March 12, 1696.
The letters from Calais contain no information of
importance. The troops are still there, and no time
has hitherto been fixed for their embarkation. It has
been deferred under the pretext of waiting for the high
tide, which is expected about the 17th, or, as some say,
for the arrival of M. de Nesmond, who was still at
Brest on the 5th. It is stated, however, on good au-
thority that they are awaiting some intelligence from
England, and surprise is expressed that it has not been
received before this time.
1
The letters from Brittany are filled with the account
of a remarkable vision lately seen there. Two armies
appeared in the sky, one with white and the other with
red standards. They were engaged in a combat with
each other on a large plain, in the presence of a third
army, which bore no colours. The first compelled the
second to retreat; it then retired and was joined by the
third. They say that 150 persons were witnesses of
this imaginary battle, and all assert that they heard
distinctly the reports of cannon and of musketry.
The Marquis de Lavardin, who is the Lieutenant-
General of the province, has mentioned this as a well-
authenticated fact, but notwithstanding his testimony,
sensible persons refuse to believe it.
¹ It is scarcely possible to refrain
from believing that they were
Lord Portland to Lord Lexington.
Kensington, March no date but 1696.
13'
3
(Translation.)
You will have been extremely surprised to learn
the peril to which we have been exposed. We were on
W
N
awaiting the result of the attempt to
assassinate William.
178
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
the brink of a precipice and ready to fall, when, by
manifest interposition of Providence, we were made
aware of the danger which threatened us and all Europe.
On Thursday, the 13th (23rd),' a man whom I knew 2
came to tell me, that on the Saturday following (the
15th) his Majesty would be attacked and assassinated
by forty-six men, the greater part of whom had been in
the service of King James; and that there were among
them a lieutenant, a brigadier, and a sub-brigadier of his
English and Irish guards, who had been sent from
France for the purpose. He further stated that his
Majesty would be attacked at Turnham Green, on his
return from hunting, when his escort would consist of
twenty-four men. I immediately gave notice to the
King of the information which I had received, but he
would not believe it. The following Friday, the 14th,
at nine o'clock in the evening, a man, whom I did not
know, but who had been a captain of cavalry in Ireland,
came to me at Whitehall, where I fortunately was,
having been detained there by business. He informed
me that the King would be assassinated the next day;
that he was himself one of the conspirators; that the
plan was so arranged that it could not (humanly speak-
ing) fail to succeed; that the moment the fatal blow
was given, there would be a general insurrection of all
the Jacobites and Roman Catholics in the Kingdom;
and that King James was ready to embark at Calais
with a French army to invade England. I immediately
3
¹ Of February.
2
I
Captain Fisher, who was one of
the conspirators. Dalrymple says
that he refused to name his accom-
plices, fled from the sight of man,
and was never heard of more.
› Captain Prendergrass, another
of the conspirators.
He was re-
warded for this information by a
grant of 7082 acres of land in Ire-
land.
1695-6.1 LORD PORTLAND TO LORD LEXINGTON.
179
set off hither to see the King, who was on the point of
retiring to bed, and intending to hunt the next day,
had already ordered his carriages and guards for the
morning, and dinner to be prepared for him at Rich-
mond. His Majesty, however, altered his plans, and
determined on remaining here. Two days afterwards
two other persons came to me, who confirmed in every
particular the information which I had previously re-
ceived, and further stated that the conspirators, having
failed in their intended blow, had determined on making
the attempt the following Saturday. The names of
many of them were known, and all who could be found
were immediately seized. They have already been
examined; some have confessed, and all will be tried in
a few days. At the same time we received information
from Flanders that the enemy had collected a great
body of troops at Dunkirk and Calais, as well as a
large number of transport vessels and ships of war, that
the troops were either on board or being embarked, and
that it was well known there that they were assembled
for the invasion of England. The King immediately
ordered our army to march towards Kent, and gave
directions that the ships, both in the river and at Ports-
mouth, should be assembled in the Downs. Admiral
Russell was despatched to take the command, and two
days afterwards he set sail for the coast of France with
sixty ships. He found at Calais more than 400 trans-
1
2
Eight were executed, and two
pardoned. Sir George Barclay, who
was at the head of the conspiracy,
escaped.
2 But it is stated by Dalrymple
and others that Admiral Russell was
one of those who while holding high
1
office under William were in secret
communication with the court of St.
Germain's. On this occasion, how-
ever, at least, as well as at the battle
of La Hogue, he appears to have
performed his duty with zeal and
fidelity.
-
N 2
180
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
port vessels, which the enemy, who had already re-
ceived information of the approach of our fleet, had
withdrawn into the bay as far as was possible, to save
them from being burnt. He also found in the roads, at
Dunkirk, eighteen ships-of-war, which for the same
reason they had anchored behind the sand banks on
the coast of Flanders. You will learn, from other
quarters, the particulars of the vigorous and energetic
measures of Parliament on this occasion.
2
1
I do not believe that times past afford us an example
of so horrible and treacherous an attempt at murder,
recognized and sanctioned, as this has been, by a public
authority. All the conspirators who have made any
disclosure or confession allege that they had an order
from King James, in his own handwriting, authorizing
them to strike the blow; and this statement is con-
¹ Both Houses, after some dis-
cussion, voted addresses of congra-
tulation to the King on his preser-
vation, assuring him of their support,
and that if he should come to any
violent death, they would revenge
the same on all his enemies. They
also framed an association, by which
they bound themselves to defend the
succession to the Crown, according
to the Act of Settlement of 1689;
and two bills were immediately pre-
pared, and speedily passed, by the
first of which, all who refused to
take the oaths of fidelity to the
King were subjected to penalties
and forfeitures; and by the second,
those who refused to sign the asso-
ciation were disabled from holding
any office of profit or trust.
2 Lord Portland was scarcely jus-
tified in making this assertion; for
although Sir George Barclay held a
commission from James, "command-
ing his loving subjects to rise in
arms, and make
and make war upon the
Prince of Orange, the Usurper, &c.,
and to do from time to time such
acts of hostility against the Prince
of Orange as might conduce most
to his (King James's) service," &c.
yet all the prisoners firmly denied
that King James had any knowledge
of the intended assassination; and
he himself most solemnly protested
that he was in no way cognizant of it.
On the other hand, it is clear
that the plot, which was many
months in contemplation, was known
to some of the most trusted council-
lors of the exiled King. The Duke
of Berwick, for instance, was cer-
tainly aware of it; and it is difficult
to believe that the intended invasion
was in no degree dependent on its
success.
1695-6.]
MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
181
•
firmed by the fact, that he sent officers and guards from
France to take part in this abominable attempt, from
the success of which Providence has saved us almost
by a miracle. The danger is past, but I tremble when
I reflect on the atrocity of the scheme, and the state to
which all the Allies would have been reduced had it
succeeded. I should have been in the same carriage
with the King, and should have shared his fate; but
death would have been preferable to slavery under
enemies so barbarous and inhuman.
¹ Old style.
2
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, March 3, 1695.¹
2
I have been so over employed with the examina-
tions of prisoners, that I have not been able to look
near the House of Commons, and, therefore, can give
but little account of their proceedings; yet instead
thereof, I can tell you that the late villainous design of
assassinating the King is made apparent by undeniable
proof. George Porter, who was to bear a great part
in it, hath made an ample confession, which he signed
this day, and hath sworn to, and now his irons are
taken off. This villainy seems to have been contrived
by Sir George Barclay, a lieutenant of King James's
Guards; Sir William Perkins, late one of the six
clerks; Porter, and Charnock-which last is to be tried
to-morrow sennight. The two former are not yet taken,
the more is the pity. ³
3
Captain Porter, a man of in-
famous character. Dalrymple says
that he had solicited to be allowed
to strike the first blow at the King.
³ Sir George Barclay escaped, but
Sir William Perkins was taken.
Robert Charnock was the same who,
as Fellow of Magdalen College,
Oxford, had already gained an un-
182
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
1
Whitehall, March 6, 1695. '
I can send you but a short account of Parliament
proceedings, not having been able to stir to Westmin-
ster since my last by reason of the prisoners' examina-
tions, which are now pretty well over, and their trials
will next come on. To-morrow the grand jury meets
for that purpose, and Captain Porter and one Francis
La Rue are to attend there, to give evidence for
finding the bills against Charnock, King, and Keys.
This is the least reparation Porter can make for the
great share he had in so base a design. La Rue,
though he caballed with that party, seems not to have
intended that villainy, and was, therefore, pretty early
in the discovery of it. The counsel the prisoners
have desired may assist them are Tom Jones, James
Monday, and one Copley. Either Jones is indisposed
or he pretends it; and, therefore, Thornborough is
chosen by Charnock in his place.
enviable notoriety in the contest be-
tween King James and that college
(Translation.)
Paris, March 16, 1696.
Since the arrival of the last post, the expedition of
King James has assumed a very different appearance.
It is now known that King William is not only on his
guard, but that he has also discovered a conspiracy.
against his person. Since the 9th inst., the enemy's
fleet before Gravelines, which at first numbered sixty
vessels, has been increased to eighty sail, half ships-of-
war and half transports. The expedition now wears so
unfavourable an aspect, that they wish that they had
in 1686-87.
¹ Old style.
1695-6.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON. 183
never undertaken it. They cannot prevent the public
from believing that their only hope of success in it was
founded on the plot for the assassination of the King.
The stay which King James proposes to make at Dun-
kirk does not alter this opinion, but, on the contrary,
confirms it. This affected perseverance in a design
which is now rendered morally impossible induces the
belief that there is some mystery which they are anxious
to conceal moreover, the sudden appearance of the
enemy's fleet has created a bad effect in the minds
of the people. They are mortified to see a nation,
which they threatened to invade, haughtily insulting
them on their very coasts. The only advantage which
they have derived from this enterprise is the recall of
some troops from Flanders to England; but at the
moment when, wishing to avail themselves of this
diversion in their favour, they spoke of retaking Namur,
they suddenly heard that the Allies had marched to
Dinant.¹ A rumour also reached them that Pignerol
was besieged, and on the same day advices were
received from England which caused the deepest mor-
tification here; for it appears that the Prince of Orange
has acquired reputation and glory where they had
prepared for him a tomb, and that he has derived
additional strength and support from the very means by
which they sought his destruction. M. de Pontchartrain
was the only one of the Ministers of this Court who
was aware of the project, as King James requested that
it should be kept strictly secret.
2
¹A portion of the Allied army
under Lord Athlone invested Din-
ant, while another detachment under
General Coehorn bombarded Givet,
where Louis had established large
magazines. Givet was burnt and the
magazines destroyed.
magazines destroyed. Both detach-
ments of the Allies then returned to
Namur.
2 This rumour was incorrect.
184
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
(Translation.)
Paris, March 19, 1696.
I do not believe that the King ever expected any
other advantage from King James's expedition than
that of embarrassing King William, of delaying his
passage to Flanders, and of obliging him to withdraw
troops from thence. Maréchal de Boufflers received
directions not to embark a single man without an
express order from the Court, which the King was
firmly resolved not to give unless very good reasons
were shown for it. But King James himself really be-
lieved that he was to be replaced on his throne, and that
nothing was more easy. They say that his Keeper of
the Seals, on leaving Paris, provided himself with a
great quantity of wax and with silk, to the amount of
twenty pistoles, to seal pardons and official documents
when he should reach London. Other members of his
Council also showed marks of their confident belief in
the speedy restoration of their King. A medal has been
seen here, about two ounces in weight, on which is
engraved a head, with this inscription, "M. Wilhelmus
Henricus Nass: Princeps Aur: Magnæ Britanniæ
Tyrannus;" and on the other side a figure of Absalom,
suspended to a tree by his hair, with these words, "Ecce
Magnus Absalon.” As the public is persuaded that
1
¹ This medal is, no doubt, identi-
cal with one, of which Tindal gives
both an account and a representation
in the Appendix to his History; but
the inscription is there stated to be
"Ecce manus (not magnus) Absa-
lon ;" and Tindal explains the word
manus" by saying that it refers to
the statue, or pillar, which Absalom
caused to be erected to himself in the
valley of the King during his rebel-
lion, and which was called "The
(6
Hand of Absalom," or "Absalom's
Place." On the reverse of the medal
is a figure of Absalom suspended by
the hair, while his mule, which,
according to Tindal, is intended to
represent Holland, escapes from un-
der him; and the Dutch are congra-
tulated on their anticipated emanci-
pation from the rule of William in
the following words, which appear
in the excrgue : "Geluckigh Hol-
land," (Happy Holland.)
1695-6.]
185
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
both King James and the King of France were con-
cerned in the conspiracy against the person of King
William, and that their only hope of success in their
enterprise was founded on the expectation of his death,
they are preparing a statement to remove this im-
pression. Three or four persons have been sent to the
Bastille for having ventured to say what they thought
on this subject.¹
2
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
10
20'
'It is curious, that in the Memoirs
of the Marquis de Dangeau there
should not be the slightest allusion
either to the conspiracy against Wil-
liam, or to the proposed invasion of
England. The Marquis once inci-
dentally mentions, that the Queen
of England wore no rouge at this
Our English letters, I am sure, must have given
your Lordship full satisfaction; but Chinski, perhaps,
may criticise upon the wording the association, which
begins a little bluntly: "D'autant qu'il y a une horrible
conspiration formée et conduite par des Papistes et
d'autres scélérats et traîtres." Very pretty company for
our Allies; but the Emperor and the rest of our
Catholic friends must pardon the first heat after the
discovery of so damnable a conspiracy. This good
Prince has kept a thanksgiving-day, having ordered
Te Deum to be sung in all our churches, and a triple
discharge of our cannon round the walls. At noon we
had God bless the King, in a pint-glass, so heartily is
our good news received at this Court; and I make no
question it will meet with the same reception all through
Germany.
Cassel, March 1696.
time, as her husband was absent;
but he does not state the reason of
his having left St. Germain's, or even
that he had gone to Calais. There
can be no better proof that all refer-
ence to the subject was forbidden by
the French King.
2 The Landgrave.
186
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, March 13, 1695
6.
1
Little or no business is yet done here but what
concerns this abominable conspiracy, which takes up all
the time of the Ministers, who meet twice a day, and sit
several hours together upon examinations of persons
known or suspected to have a hand in it. It seems to
be so far spread that most of the Papists and Jacobites
in England had more or less knowledge of it. A great
number of priests and others, that are no friends to the
Government, came flocking lately from Flanders, under
several pretences, but surely to this one purpose. The
King has thought fit to order in Council that no foreign
Ministers of the Roman Catholic religion shall keep
any chaplains of his subjects, or subjects of his enemies,
which is to be notified to them by the Master of the
Ceremonies to-morrow.
Admiral Russell is come to town, but Sir Cloudesly
Shovel is still endeavouring to do mischief to the
French ships at Calais and in the Flemish roads. 2
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
'This was probably true as re-
gards the invasion, but it would be
unjust to impute to the great body
of the Jacobites, or of the Roman
Catholics in England, a knowledge
Whitehall, March 13, 1695.³
The greatest curiosity I can send your Lordship is
the account of the trials on Wednesday, and I have
drawn up a state of the evidence as fully as I could re-
member it not only for your Lordship's satisfaction,
but for the conviction of others, if there be any of those
of the assassination plot.
2 Calais was again bombarded on
the 3rd of April by Admiral Ben-
bow.
3 Old style.
1695-6.] MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
187
where you are (as we have had too many), who pretend
to be infidels in matters of plots, and would have it
thought that none were intended which are not executed.
But this discovery has puzzled the incredulous among
us, who never could find less to object against a thing
of this nature; and as for the malicious, among all the
ill characters they bestow upon the witnesses, as if they
were ungrateful, mean spirits, betrayers of their friends,
and the like, yet they abate them the name of per-
jured, and don't find where to fix that imputation upon
any of them.¹
I will further acquaint your Lordship
with a remark I made upon one of the prisoners, viz.,
Charnock: from what I have heard of his conversa-
tion, and observed of his demeanour at his trial, that I
think he has the greatest qualifications for such purposes
as he was engaged in that ever I saw in any man;
being in his composition a renegade from the religion of
his country, and one that was bred a scholar in the
University, and had added to it the profession of a
soldier; and he showed a specimen of both in an un-
daunted behaviour and a readiness of expression, with a
quick apprehension and great presence of mind, even
under the confusion of a trial for his life. He appeared
to be as close and reserved as the carrying on his rash
and desperate designs would admit of; and his conver-
sation was easy, generous, and insinuating, and one that
even made his pleasures and debaucheries subservient to
his ends. He is but of indifferent extraction, and there-
fore his practising could be but among an inferior rank
of people, or else he might have been another Catiline. 2
¹ Mr. Vernon here refers to the
imputations which had been cast
upon the Government for their con-
duct with respect to the "Lancashire
Conspiracy."
2 Bishop Burnct states, on the
188
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS..
I suppose their execution will not be till Wednesday
next, and I don't know but Sir William Perkins may
be tried the Saturday following.
following. He was brought
before the Lords yesterday, to be examined; he pre-
tended to be in great disorder and confusion, and there-
fore desired two or three days' time to recollect himself;
and then, he said, if he might be admitted to speak
with one of the Lords, he would answer as became a
gentleman; but that was not thought an ingenuity fit
for one in his circumstances, and so he was immediately
remanded to Newgate.
1
(Translation.)
Paris, March 23, 1696.
The royal edict for the ennoblement of five hundred
persons, on the payment of sums of money, was regis-
tered by Parliament on Tuesday last. It declares,
among other things, that merchants and wholesale dealers
will be accepted, and that they may continue in busi-
ness without the loss of their nobility. 2
authority of Lord Somers, and Dal-
rymple also says, that Charnock
sent a message to the King, offering
to disclose the names of all those
who had employed him in England,
on condition that his punishment
should be changed from death to
perpetual imprisonment; and that
William generously answered, that
he did not wish to know them: but
the testimony of Mr. Vernon (no
partial witness) to the firmness
displayed by Charnock on his trial,
would tend to confirm the previous
statement of Burnet, that the Govern-
ment endeavoured to induce him to
confess all he knew; and that he
replied, that he would not sacrifice
the lives of others to save his own.
It is, however, probable that he
sent the message referred to after
his conviction. Charnock, King,
and Keys, who were tried to-
gether, were executed on the 18th
March, old style: each left a paper
with the sheriff, in which they ad-
mitted their participation in the plot;
but the two former again most so-
lemnly denied that King James had
any knowledge of it.
' But he firmly refused to name
his accomplices.
2 Louis XIV. obtained consider-
able sums by the sale of public em-
ployments, and indeed offices were
frequently created solely for the pur-
pose of selling them; but the finan-
cial distress must have been great
1695-6.] MR. GREG TO SIR WILLIAM TRUMBULL.
189
King James's expedition has now become a subject
of raillery with all who dare to speak of it. As he is
not permitted to return to St. Germain's, but is detained
on the coast, they say that between two seats he has
fallen to the ground: that he is placed on the coast to
defend it, but that he is scarcely qualified for this office,
since it is he who attracts the enemy thither. That,
having had no opportunity at Calais of using the wax
which the Chancellor carried with him, it is to be
resold, and that it now graces the shop of a grocer
there. His unhappy star exposes him to these and
other similar jests. The King of France, however, has
derived a real advantage from the project: it has in-
duced them to recall troops to England, and this has
caused the greater satisfaction here because the failure
of the siege of Dinant is attributed to it. It is also
hoped that this proceeding may irritate the English
nation, and prevent the King from going to Flanders.
Should this be so, you will infallibly see the King of
France on the frontiers, for the execution of some great
movement. ¹
1
Mr. Greg to Sir William Trumbull. 2
Copenhagen, March 14, 169
Mnr. Meyercroon (who is this King's Envoy in
France) together with the news of the intended descent
into England sent an account hither that the late King
indeed when Le Grand Monarque
consented to confer the privileges of
nobility on persons engaged in
trade.
Probably an attempt to retake
Namur, of which the French King
despaired while William in person
directed the movements of the Al-
lies.
2 A copy of this letter was sent by
Mr. Greg to Lord Lexington.
190
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
James had shown to the French King a numerous list
of persons of quality and note, even in England, who
had invited him to the said undertaking. This, to-
gether with their opinion here of the French King's
prudence, inclined many to think that the least conse-
quence of this matter would have been a great diversion
to his Majesty's arms; and they are much surprised to
find it come to nothing so very suddenly by the good
Providence of God. Those that are anything reasonable,
finding now by the debarking of the French troops again
immediately upon the news of the discovery of the con-
spiracy against his Majesty's sacred person, that the de-
scent was concerted with the said conspiracy, do not deny
but that there is great appearance of the French King's
having been concerned in the one as well as the other,
and of his having concerted both with the late King
James; and that the French King's own words, affirm-
ing the design to have been well concerted, are naturally
to be understood of the said damnable concert. Mnr.
de Jessen (who has at last spoke to me of this matter
of himself) seems not to be adverse from this opinion;
but he says that the respect due to crowned heads
forbids us to believe it. I told him that such con-
siderations might forbid some to say it, but could not
hinder any reasonable man from believing it upon such
evident grounds; the thing being sufficiently declared
to the whole world by the French King's furnishing so
2
1
¹ Dalrymple mentions the names
of those who urged King James to
undertake the invasion; and among
them is to be found that of Lord
Sunderland, who was at this time, in
reality, the chief adviser of King
William. Macpherson also gives a
still longer list of eminent persons
1
pledged to support King James,
which includes some of the leading
members of the administration, and
many others, who were ostensibly at
least ardent supporters of the Go-
vernment of the Revolution.
2 M. de Jessen, one of the minis-
ters of the King of Denmark.
1695-6.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
191
many troops and ships and so much money to second
the intended assassination; which being happily dis-
covered by the goodness of Almighty God, the troops
immediately returned to their garrisons, and the ships
to the ports from whence they came. I told him further,
that 'twas never to be believed that the French King
would at this time have resolved to venture so many
troops and ships and so much money upon such a des-
perate attempt as an invasion of England without some
extraordinary assurance of good success, which assurance
could be founded upon nothing else but the expected
success of the said horrid assassination. In fine, I told
him that such diabolical practices ought to render the
party that makes use of them odious to all good Christ-
ians, and that I hoped many that had been favourably
enough inclined to the French cause hitherto would be
averse to it from this time forward.
(Translation.)
Paris, March 26, 1696.
Many persons here assert that there never was any
real conspiracy against King William's life. They say
that the alleged plot was a contrivance of the Govern-
ment, who, when they heard of the preparations at
Calais, used this artifice to ascertain the sentiments of
the Parliament with regard to King James, and to
revive the popular feeling against him. It is, however,
stated that the Duke of Berwick has spoken of the con-
spiracy to several persons, and that he has gone so far
as to show them the speech which he had prepared for
the scaffold, in the event of his being taken. '
1
¹ On the discovery of the plot a pro-
clamation was issued, and a reward of
10007. offered for the apprehension of
each of the parties implicated in it.
The Duke of Berwick's name was
included in this proclamation.
192
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, March 17, 1695. '
Two such designs as an assassination and an
invasion must furnish a vast field for inquiries, and one
discovery opens a door to another. I hope it will prove
a means towards our settlement that the blood-thirsty
disturbers of our peace are not like to lie long con-
cealed. Sir John Friend 2 will be tried on account of
the invasion, and when that matter comes to be opened,
it will appear what vipers we nourish who seek to betray
their country, and to deliver it into the power of a
foreigner and its natural enemy. People go on heartily
with associating, and will do what they can to preserve
their Government and religion, and the credit of some
suspected gentlemen sinks very low. Sir William
Williams was put out last night from being of the
King's Council. 3
Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington.
March 18, 1695.
The news of the great deliverance which it has
pleased Almighty God to grant all Europe in the pre-
servation of his Majesty from that execrable plot which
¹ Old style.
2 Sir John Friend was a inerchant
of great wealth and high standing in
the city, and was, with Sir William
Perkins, tried in the beginning of
April.
3 Sir William Williams refused to
sign the association. This able
lawyer, but versatile politician, was
the confidential adviser of Lord Rus-
sell, and in 1683 aided Colonel Sid.
ney in his defence. In 1687 he
accepted the office of Solicitor-
General to James II.; and in 1688
he conducted, with Sir Thomas
Powys, the Attorney-General, the
prosecution of the Seven Bishops.
Sir William Williams was twice
elected to the chair of the House of
Commons in the reign of Charles II.,
and was sentenced to pay a fine of
10,000l. for a publication authorized
by him as Speaker.
1695-6.] MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
193
his inhuman and treacherous enemy had laid against his
life, has had that effect here which it must have wher-
ever there is any sense of honour and honesty. This
King, especially, has expressed the utmost joy at the
disappointment of that horrid villany, and no less de-
testation of so hellish a design. Among these Ministers
the Count Oxienstern and several others do come up
to his Majesty's sentiments, and testify their abhorrence
of that devilish contrivance, and are sensible how
general and extensive a blessing his Majesty's life is to
all Christendom. The greatest favourers of France
are ashamed of it, and presume not to say more than
what may serve to exempt that King from having had
any hand in it; though 't is likely they neither believe
so themselves, nor will be able to persuade anybody
else. The French Ambassador had so great assurance
of the success of the descent, that he published his
master's letter to him about it.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, March 29, 1696, N. S.
The criminations and recriminations between the
Prince of Hesse and Marques de Gastanaga about the
siege of Palamos have been of late warmly debated in
the Council here; and though they are come to no
resolution, yet the Prince's case being better understood,
seems more favourable than formerly; and, were not
the campaign so near, it is believed Gastanaga would
be recalled. ¹
1
The Marques de Gastanaga was shortly afterwards dismissed from his
Government.
(
194
[1695-6.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
21
March 1696.
31'
A fourth post is come without letters from Eng-
land; however, I take it for granted your Lordship is
in no danger of losing your dirty acres: poor I have
not so good grounds for apprehension, having little to
risk, except my King and my country, and my religion
and liberty, which must not be forgot. I cannot forbear
sending your Lordship some zealous bad poetry upon
the two wicked Kings conspiring against a good one,
though I have often swore every folly of this kind shall
be my last. I need not explain the two allusions to
your Lordship: you know Alexander ordered Bessus
to be put to death for killing Darius, and Cæsar de-
throned Ptolemy for murdering Pompey. The appli-
cation out of Curtius is as pat as if it had been calcu-
lated for our two royal assassins.
1
(Translation.)
Paris, April 6, 1696.
They have named the principal Generals for ser-
vice during this campaign. The Duc de Vendôme in
Catalonia, Catinat in Piedmont, Choiseul on the Rhine,
Villeroy and Boufflers in Flanders, with separate com-
mands, Tourville in the Pays d'Aulnis, 2 D'Estrées in
Britanny, and Joyeuse in Normandy. Maréchal de
¹ The following are the concluding
lines of this "zealous bad poetry:"
"Such were the virtuous maxims of the
great;
Free from the servile arts of barbarous
hate,
They knew no foe but in the open field,
And to their cause and to the Gods
ap-
pealed:
So William acts; and if his rivals dare
Dispute his reign by arms, he'll meet
them there,
Where Jove, as once on Ida, holds the scale,
And lets the good, the just, the brave
prevail."
2 The province of Aulnis, or Au-
nis, of which La Rochelle was the
capital.
1696.]
195
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Vauban returns to the coast. The Duc de Chartres¹
will command the cavalry, and the Prince de Conti the
infantry, under Maréchal de Villeroy. The Duc de
Maine and the Prince d'Elbœuf will serve under Maré-
chal de Boufflers as Lieutenant-Generals, and the Comte
de Toulouse 2 will command the cavalry there.
(Translation.)
Paris, April 9, 1696.
A statement has been prepared by King James's
order, the object of which is to clear him from the sus-
picion of having been concerned in the conspiracy
against the life of King William, but the King of
France has dissuaded him from publishing it. The
illness of the King of Spain causes great anxiety here.
Preparations are in progress on the frontiers, in Cata-
lonia, Guyenne, and Biscay: it appears that if France
should see no prospect of succeeding in her own pre-
tensions, she would join with the Elector of Bavaria,
rather than permit the Emperor to dispose of the Crown
of Spain.³
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, April 12, 1696, N. S.
Our Queen mother here is very ill with a cancer
in her breast, which it seems she has long concealed,
but is now forced to declare is much worse by the use
of many remedies which that disease will not admit; if
4
¹ Afterwards the Regent Duke of allotted to the son of the Elector of
Orleans.
Bavaria.
2 The third son of Louis XIV. by
Madame de Montespan.
³ It will be remembered, that by
the first treaty of Partition, signed in
1698, Louis XIV. consented that
Spain and the Indies should be
• Maria Josepha of Austria, eldest
daughter of Ferdinand III., and
sister to the Emperor Leopold. She
was, at first, affianced to Balthazar
Charles, Prince of Spain; but on his
death, espoused his father, Philip IV.
o 2
196
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1696.
she should die, it will make a great change in this court,
where many of the great men are restrained within
due bounds only by the great respect they have for
her. Our differences with this court remain in the
same state here, nor do my last letters from England
bring me any new orders.
Sir William Trumbull to Lord Lexington.
April 3, 1696.¹
We are still very busy in examining and searching
into this horrid conspiracy, which is thoroughly owned,
in all parts of it, by Sir William Perkins's confession
to the Committee of the House of Commons who went
to examine him, as the invasion is, by Sir John Friend,
to the same persons: both of them have been executed
to-day. 2
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
11
Frankfort, April 1696.
21'
Without doubt your Lordship knows that the
match is broke off betwixt Prince Charles 3 and the
¹ There is a copy of this letter in
the State Paper Office, which bears
the date of the 29th of March. The
original, however, is dated as above.
Collier, Snatt, and Cook, three
nonjuring clergymen, attended them
to the scaffold, and absolved them
in the view of the populace with an
imposition of hands. They were
themselves indicted for having, by
this act, countenanced treason: the
first absconded, but the two latter
were committed to Newgate. The
two metropolitans and twelve bishops
published a declaration, condemning
the administration of absolution with-
out a previous confession made, and
abhorrence expressed by the pri-
soners, of the heinous crimes for
which they suffered.
Vide Smollett's 'Hist. of England'
and Burnet's History of his own
Times.'
(
Rookwood, Lowick, Cranbourn,
and Knightley were next tried; they
were all convicted, and the three first
executed. The last was pardoned.
3 Prince Charles Philip of Neu-
burgh, heir presumptive to his bro-
ther the Elector Palatine, who had
1696.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
197
Countess of Hohenlohe, who is to receive, in lieu of her
husband, a pension of 5000 crowns as long as she con-
tinues unmarried. The Elector Palatine pays 3000
and the Empress 2000: if she be honestly paid, she
has no bad bargain of it. When the Prince passed
through this town, the lady eclipsed, for fear she might
by her presence revive the embers; but as soon as his
back was turned, our lady appeared again in all her
brightness. They both seem gay and well satisfied,
which gives me no great opinion of their passion; at
least they put a good face outwards, and their love is
not unlike mine, which is warm enough for the time it
lasts, but afterwards gives me very little disquiet. The
father, Count Hohenlohe, is at Nuremberg.
Weser's brother, the Jesuit, who, under the title of
Baron Nierendorf, has been trying to bring over the
Princess Royal of Denmark, has had as little success
at Copenhagen as their fool, Father Wolf, had at Stock-
holm, and is come hither to meet his brother¹ as he
returns from Vienna. Some say he is to go to Rome,
to try if the Pope will dispense with the King of the
Romans having this Princess, though she should con-
tinue heretic; but I believe he is designed for Stutgard,
to try if that Princess has not a conscience more flexible
than the other two. I have moved the Landgraff
several times to tell me positively if he will meet the
2
no children. He married firstly,
Louisa Charlotte, daughter of Prince
Radzivil, and widow of Louis, Mar-
grave of Brandenburgh; she died in
1695; and Prince Charles married,
secondly, in 1701, Theresa Catha-
rine, daughter of Prince Lubo-
mirsky.
¹ Count Weser was Chancellor to
the Elector Palatine.
2 Princess Everhardíne Louise of
Wurtemburgh, sister to the reigning
Duke, and niece to Duke Frederic
Charles of Wurtemburgh, who was
taken prisoner by the French in
1692.
198
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1696.
2
Margraff here or not.' He says coldly, if the raison
de guerre demande ainsi, he will; but the day before I
left him at Wavern (where we were a hern-hawking)
he seemed well enough disposed, and Baron Görtz and
I shall have time enough to work upon him before
Prince Louis has taken his tour to Güntzburgh and
Schlachwehrt. When they come together, Prince
Louis must avoid talking as a dictator (as he uses to
do), which are airs that do not agree with our Prince,
who is really of a very good disposition, but must be
used gently. You will find by the English letters that
the plot is got among you Lords, and hatchets may be
in fashion as well as halters. Good God! who would
have thought my devout Lord Aylesbury should have
been drawn into such wicked councils, and that your
friend Lord Nottingham should so soon become the
most violent man in England against the King's inte-
rest ?4 I almost wish he had been of Charnock's as-
3
'The Landgrave aimed at the
command of an independent army on
the Rhine, and refused either to
serve himself or to allow his troops
to serve under Prince Louis, Mar-
grave of Baden.
2 This acute and versatile diplo-
matist was, at this time, in the ser-
vice of the Landgrave of Hesse; his
subsequent career as 'minister to
Charles XII. of Sweden, and his
violent death, are well known.
⁹ Thomas Bruce, Earl of Ayles-
bury and Elgin, was, with Lord
Montgomery (the son of the Marquis
of Powis) and Mr. Cooke, arrested
on the charge of having advised
King James to invade the kingdom.
They were not, however, accused of
any participation in the assassination
plot. Mr. Cooke was tried and
convicted, but his punishment was
commuted to perpetual banishment.
Lord Aylesbury was soon released
upon bail, probably by the interpo-
sition of the Duke of Shrewsbury,
to whom he was related; he then
retired from England. Lord Mont-
gomery, however, remained for some
time longer in confinement in the
Tower.
4 When the association was dis-
cussed in the House of Lords, Lord
Nottingham objected to the words
'rightful and lawful King," as in-
applicable to William. This expres-
sion was altered, at the suggestion of
Lord Rochester, but the words pro-
posed by him conveyed the same
meaning; and Lord Nottingham's
((
1696.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
-199
sembly, that he might suffer for treason; but he knows
the laws too well, and goes no further than he can do
with safety. I send you an extract of a letter from
old Blancart (whom all the world knows), that you
may see a pleasant discourse between him and Scar-
latti,' and may make your reflections on Auersperg's
project, which is odd, but very seasonable to save the
bacon of the Catholics.
2
Mr. Hill writes me word his diligent predecessor
(Bob Wolseley) still keeps his post at Brussels, and
will not be relieved. He is like Langston (the fat sea-
captain), who, being surrounded by bailiffs who would
hurry him to jail, laid himself down on the floor, and
bid them remove him if they could, which they could
not; so I believe Hill must contrive some engine to
clear the way, and when Bob is ransomed he is to be
sent to Florence, for the sake of those wines. I wish
the King had occasion of a minister in Champagne,
that I might put in for the employment, though I fear
your Lordship would carry it from me, having a stronger
interest.
name is to be found among those of
the fifteen peers who at first de-
clined to sign the association. There
is, however, no ground for believing
that he was engaged in a Jacobite
conspiracy, either at this time or any
other period.
¹ The Abbé Scarlatti, brother of
the Bavarian minister in England.
2 Mr. Hill was educated for the
church, and took deacon's orders; he
was at this time deputy paymaster of
the troops, and succeeded Mr.
Wolseley as Envoy to the Elector
of Bavaria at Brussels. On the con-
clusion of the treaty of Ryswick,
-
Mr. Hill was sent to the Court of
Savoy; and on his return to England,
he was appointed a Lord of the
Treasury. It appears from Mr. Ver-
non's letters to the Duke of Shrews-
bury (edited by Mr. James), that
Mr. Hill was at one time named for
the office of Secretary of State; but
no such appointment was made. In
the reign of Queen Anne Mr. Hill
was again despatched to Turin.
Late in life he resumed his clerical
character, took priest's orders, and
became a Fellow of Eton. It is said
that a bishopric was offered to him,
but that he refused it.
200
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Extract of a Letter from M. Blancart to Mr. Stepney.
April 6, 1696.
March 27,
(Translation.)
London,
·
This Harris will be a good witness; he was one of
King James's guards, and has been in France; he says
that he knows well that King Louis and King James
had a perfect knowledge of the plot for the assassina-
tion of the King, and no one here doubts that they
were the authors of it. I have therefore suggested to
the Abbé Scarlatti, who has interest at Rome, that, for
the honour of the Roman Church, the Pope should ex-
communicate King James, who, although he professes
to be a devotee, is in truth an assassin and a parricide.
He said that Parliament should petition the Pope to
take this step, and he believed that he would do it;
but I replied that this would not be the regular course,
and that the late Pope, Innocent XI.,' who was an ho-
nest man, would, unsolicited, have excommunicated
these two Kings. Count Auersperg, the Emperor's
Envoy here, endeavours to persuade the English priests
and other papists to sign a declaration of their fidelity
to the King and the Government, and of their abhor-
rence of the hateful maxim that a Protestant King may
be assassinated. He says that if they refuse to do so,
he will himself urge their banishment from the king-
dom. I have told him that he will fail, at least with
most of them, but he, and the Baron Scarlatti (the
Envoy of the Elector of Bavaria), and the President
de la Tour, the Minister of Savoy, continue to press
¹ Cardinal Odescalchi was elected
Pope in 1676, and took the title of
Innocent XI. He firmly refused to
admit to bishoprics many of those
who were recommended to him by
Louis XIV., and in consequence
thirty dioceses were vacant at his
death in 1689.
1696.]
201
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
the point. They have requested the Spanish Ambas-
sador and the Envoy of Portugal to join them in a
design which is in itself so good, and which, if it suc-
ceed, will save the Roman Catholics in England from
many calamities.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, April 26, 1696, N. S.
Queen Mother grows daily worse and worse in her
breast, which has opened and voided blood and corrupt
matter, with intolerable pain, yet says that does not so
much trouble her as the uncertain state she is likely to
leave Spain in as to the succession, and has recom-
mended most earnestly to the King and Counsellors of
State, her creatures, to give her the satisfaction of see-
ing that important point settled before she dies; and
by what I can hear has declared herself in favour of the
Archduke preferably to all other pretenders. The
Emperor interposes his offices so warmly in the dif
ferences between this Court and ours, as to the minis-
ters, that I hope to hear it will be speedily accommo-
dated to the satisfaction of both parties.
1
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Turin,
I have the honour to send you a list of the troops
which the French destine for Piedmont. We had
2
¹ The Archduke Charles, second
son of Leopold I., and the unsuc-
cessful competitor with Philip of
Anjou for the crown of Spain, suc-
ceeded to the Austrian dominions on
the death of his brother, Joseph I.,
April 27,
May 7,
1696.
2
in April, 1711, and was crowned
Emperor in December the same year.
According to this list the army
destined for Piedmont consisted of
93 squadrons of cavalry, and 90 bat-
talions of infantry.
202
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
thought that their plans had been changed since the
discovery of the conspiracy in England, but we were
deceived. The enemy will march into this country
with a powerful army, and we have every reason to fear
that some great movement is now in contemplation.
We have here 27,000 infantry and 9000 horse to op-
pose them indeed, my Lord, we have great need of
reinforcements.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, May 10, 1696, N. S.
This Court is at present in great trouble for
Queen Mother's illness, which is now thought without
hope; she has taken all the Sacraments, and this day
made her will. As the last remedy they brought her
this day our Lady of Atocha,' famous for miracles
notwithstanding which porters laden with black bags
are hasting about the streets, and 't is believed she will
scarce outlive this night. I will not descant on the
consequences, but his Imperial Majesty will lose in her
a good friend as well as a sister, which a little time will
show. The French fleet from Toulon passed the Strait
the 1st inst. Don Francisco de Velasco, Governor of
Cadiz, is named Viceroy of Catalonia in place of Mar-
ques Gastanaga, who is recalled; he has twice excused
himself, and he has reason, for Cadiz is more profitable.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, May 12, 1696.
We have a report that one of the rebel Bashaws of
Asia has defeated a party of the Grand Seignor's army,
¹ Atocha is a corruption of the Greek word toToxos (mother of God).
1696.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
203
consisting of 4000 horse, and cut them off every man ;
but it wants confirmation. The Generals are all going
to the rendezvous near Buda, and the Elector¹ goes
the end of next week. I believe most people here are
persuaded that they will undertake some siege, either
that of Belgrade or Temeswar; but I am afraid 't will
end like last year, for we have the same Generals, the
same factions and disunion, and the same want of
everything; and what is worse, the fleet, without which
nothing can be done, cannot be in readiness till the
middle of June. The Muscovites are labouring all
they can to be included in the Grand Alliance against
the Turks; but they will find it difficult, because 't is
thought their pretensions may be an obstruction to the
peace, and the diversion they can make can never be
worth it.²
(Translation.)
Paris, May 18, 1696.
I send you a statement of the numbers of the
French armies:
Infantry.
Cavalry.
Flanders and the Meuse . 173 battalions. 223 squadrons.
Italy
94
83
40
111
Germany
Catalonia
26
37
Normandy
5
6
Total
¹ The Elector of Saxony had con-
sented to resume the command of the
Imperial troops in Hungary.
2 Such was the estimate of the
power of Russia in 1696; nor was it
so absurd at the time as it now ap-
""
""
""
""
""
""
""
""
338 battalions. 460 squadrons.
pears. It will be remembered that
the career of Peter the Great had
scarcely commenced, and he had
been repulsed in his first attack upon
Azoph.
204
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
(Translation.)
Paris, May 21, 1696.
They say that Maréchal de Villeroy has full au-
thority to offer battle, and to act as circumstances may
require, without waiting for orders from the Court. I
know not what may have occasioned this report, but I
am sure that there is no foundation for it. It is a
、constant maxim with this Court not to allow Generals
any discretionary power in matters which may affect
the safety of the State; and should this rule be re-
laxed, it will not be in favour of Maréchal de Villeroy,
whose reputation at present does not stand sufficiently
high.
Mr. Cressett to Lord Lexington.
Brookhusen, May 12, 1696.
The Duchess' dined with her daughter 2 in coming
to this place, which has occasioned much discourse to
little purpose. Her prison has been so close since her
first confinement that she has never yet taken the air;
it may be some liberty may be allowed in time.
Pensionary Heinsius to Lord Lexington and
Mr. Heemskerck.
(Translation.)
The Hague, May 22, 1696.
I have received the King's commands to com-
municate to you an event of importance which has
lately occurred. M. de Callières, who had arrived
here on a tour through this country, expressed a desire
The Duchess of Zell.
2 The Princess Sophia Dorothea.
* This is a curious expression; it is,
however, a literal translation of the
words in the original, and was clearly
3
adopted because it would have been
inconvenient (especially after the
recent denial that any negotiation
with Callières was in progress) to
avow the true reason of his journey to
1696.] PENSIONARY HEINSIUS TO LORD LEXINGTON. 205
3
4
to state the conditions on which the King his master
would be willing to conclude a general peace; and sug-
gested to MM. de Boreel' and de Dyckvelt that the
two Treaties, 2 with certain alterations, might serve as
the foundation for the new negotiations. ³ On the
King's arrival, and as soon as this proposal was com-
municated to him, he resolved at once to impart it to
his Imperial Majesty; and accordingly he gave di-
rections that it should be made known to the Comtes
de Kaunitz, de Straatman, and d'Auersperg, in order
that they might give an account of it, in confidence, to
their Court; but the King desires that you should also
Flanders: but it affords an additional
proof that a correspondence had been
maintained with Callières subse-
quently to the refusal of the terms
offered by him in 1695.
1
Burgomaster of Amsterdam, and
afterwards one of the Dutch Plenipo-
tentiaries at Ryswick.
2 Of Westphalia and Nimeguen;
the former concluded in 1648, the
latter in 1678-9.
8 The principal alterations sug-
gested were as follows:-The reten-
tion by France of Luxemburgh and
Strasburgh, for both of which, how-
ever, equivalents were to be given.
Louis XIV. offered to restore to
the Elector Palatine the territories
of which he had been despoiled,
with an assurance that the pretensions
of the Duchess of Orleans to the
allodial possessions of the House of
Zimmeren should be prosecuted ac-
cording to the ordinary forms of law.
He further offered the restitution of
the Duchy of Deux Ponts to the
King of Sweden, and the re-esta-
blishment of the Duke of Savoy in
his dominions. The following prin-
cipalities, duchies, counties, towns,
and territories, also were to be re-
stored to their rightful owners: Vel-
dents, Boswyler, La Mark, Mar-
moutier, Dochtenstein Linnang,
Ausburgh, Zalm, Languestein, Lut-
selburg, Altheim, Othwiler, Mont-
beliard, Ericourt, Blamont, Chaste-
let, Germersheim, Stadeck, Lams-
berg, and Dinant in the state in
which it was taken. A promise
was given that the claims of the
Duke of Lorraine should be favour-
ably considered during the negotia-
tions; and lastly, the King of
France pledged himself to acknow-
ledge William III. as King of Eng-
land without any restriction, con-
dition, or reserve, before the treaty
was signed. It was in this last point
(in which alone England was directly
interested) that these proposals mate-
rially differed from those which were
rejected in 1695.
William remained in England
until all fear of invasion had been
removed by the arrival in the Chan-
nel of the Mediterranean fleet under
Sir George Rooke.
206
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
communicate it to his Imperial Majesty or to his
Ministers, as you may think best.
The King is of opinion that, since the Allies have
deliberated so long on the form of the negotiation, and
hitherto without arriving at any conclusion, it would be
unwise, now that both sides have shown a desire to
discover some expedient, to neglect this opportunity;
and he thinks that they should avail themselves of it as
far as may be deemed proper. They will thus discover
the views of France, and they may enter upon the con-
sideration of the preliminaries; above all, they will
be able to decide upon the best mode of conducting
the principal negotiation.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, May 24, 1696, N. S.
My last, of Queen Mother's dangerous illness,
would prepare you for the news of her death, which an
extraordinary to your Court on this occasion must bring
you before this. She has left to her son, the Queen,
and her grand-child' Prince of Bavaria, her three best
jewels; to the Emperor a devout picture she brought
with her from Germany to Spain; all her other jewels
to be divided among her servants, according to their
respective stations in her service; and that none of
those who had the managing her money be called to
2
¹ So in the original: but the rela-
tionship, which is very complex, is
scarcely correctly described. Joseph
Ferdinand, Prince of Bavaria, on
whom the succession to the crown of
Spain was settled by the first treaty
of partition in 1698, was the son of
the Elector of Bavaria, by Maria An-
toinetta, the daughter of the Emperor
Leopold by his first wife (who was
also his niece), Margaret Theresa of
Spain. The Prince therefore was
great grandson and grand-nephew to
the Queen Mother of Spain, and
stood in the latter relation also to her
son, Charles II.
2 Her brother and son-in-law.
1696.]
LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
207
account; several legacies to royal convents, and fifty
thousand masses to be said for her soul.
She was
carried out last Sunday night to be buried in the Escu-
rial. The procession was very mean for so great a
Queen, but it seems she desired it should be so. Since
her death she is said to have done a miracle already: a
nun, who had been lame above eight years, so as not
to stir without crutches, had such confidence in her
Majesty's sanctity that she sent to beg anything that
she had worn next her person, with a firm belief it
would cure her. They sent her a piece of a waistcoat
the Queen had on when she died, which the nun no
sooner applied to her hips but strength returned to
them; she threw away her crutches, and is as well as
ever in her life. A few such as these may in time
canonize her Majesty. Don Francisco de Velasco,
Governor of Cadiz, has at length, much against his will,
accepted the Viceroyship of Catalogne, which he is like
to enjoy peaceably this campaign, for the French have
drawn away most of their forces to Piedmont; and
though we shall have a good army there, yet shall be
very glad to be quiet if our enemies will let us alone.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
15
Camp de Moncallier, May 1696.
25
The enemy are scarcely four hours' march from
Turin, and if they have advanced to-day they are got
nearer. The army consists of more than sixty bat-
talions of infantry, and at least eighty squadrons of
cavalry. We reckon that they outnumber us by nearly
14,000 men. His Royal Highness has sent me hither
with 6000 infantry, and the cavalry has been ordered
208
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
to Carmagnoles under General St. Croix and the Duc
d'Alceste. His Royal Highness is at Turin with the
Marques de Leganes, the Prince de Commercy,' and
M. de Comignies; they have three battalions of in-
fantry and 2000 horse encamped behind Turin. We
shall there await the movements of the enemy, and if
any reinforcements should be sent to us, we shall be in
a position to avail ourselves of them.2
a
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, May 26, 1696.
The Elector of Saxony went away last Tuesday
to Buda, where the whole army already is, and the
siege of Temeswar is actually resolved. I wish them
good success, but I own I very much fear, the prepara-
tions for such an enterprise being but slenderly made,
the Generals all at disunion, and I believe some of them
so inveterate, that they would rather the whole business
should miscarry than that Caprara, who commands
again, should succeed. The Turk will be very strong,
and early, this year in the field, so that if he come upon
them before they have made an end of their siege,
when they are harassed and fatigued and their army
diminished, I do not know what the consequence may
be: I wish it may not be the hazarding of all.
¹ Charles François de Lorraine,
Prince of Commercy, the friend and
companion in arms of Prince Eugene,
was killed at the battle of Luzara in
1702. He was the son of François
Marie de Lorraine, Prince de Lille-
bone.
The Duke of Savoy was appa-
rently in imminent danger of being
overwhelmed by the invading army;
but he had himself suggested to
the King of France that an over-
powering force should be sent into
Piedmont, in order that he might
have a sufficient excuse for conclud-
ing a separate peace.- Vide Mé-
moires de Tessé.
1696.1
209
MR. ROBINSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
Prince Eugene went away the day before yesterday, '
and all he could get for the payment of the whole army,
which is near two years behind hand, was an assignation
for 100,000 florins upon a fund of money to be bor-
rowed at Genoa, when they can get it.
Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington.
Stockholm, May 30, 1696.
I sent your Lordship on the 23rd a copy of the
memorial which Count Staremberg and Baron de
Heckeren lately presented about the succours, upon
which subject they were called to conference on the
27th, and told that the French Ambassador had made
a declaration in his master's name concerning the re-
establishment of the treaties of Westphalia and Nime-
guen, the which was offered them, but they refused to
receive it, having no orders so to do, or go farther than
to receive his Majesty's answer to their memorial, which
was sent to them yesterday. The substance of it is
that this King tells them that the French King having
by his Ambassador declared that he will desire no alter-
ations in the said treaties but such as this King shall
find convenable, his Majesty declares thereupon that he
will esteem no such alterations convenable as shall be
contrary to the said treaties; and thence concludes that
this is sufficient to dispense his Majesty from the ob-
ligation of sending succours, as also to begin a treaty of
peace under his Majesty's mediation. This step seems
to promise some good effect, which I wish it may have.
In the mean time all our endeavours to keep our mer-
chants here have been ineffectual, but I have found
To rejoin the allied army in Piedmont.
P
210
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
means to retain four or five of them, who will under-
hand carry on our trade here, though not without much
trouble and difficulty.'
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
7
Camp de Moncallier, June 1696.
17'
A few days ago Maréchal de Catinat wrote to the
Marquis de St. Thomas, stating that he had received
orders from the King, his master, to offer once more
the restitution of all that his Royal Highness had lost
by the war; but that his directions were to lay
waste the whole of Piedmont, if his Royal Highness
should reject these overtures for peace. He added
that the King of France would require that at the
conclusion of the peace his Royal Highness should
allow a free passage through his dominions to the
French troops, and should provide them, at a reason-
able price, with everything necessary for their sub-
sistence in order that the war might be carried into the
Milanese; and he further stated that if his Royal
Highness would consent to join his forces with those of
France, for the purpose of compelling Spain to listen
to proposals for peace, the conditions which would be
offered to him would not only satisfy, but surprise
him. Both this letter and the reply of the Marquis
de St. Thomas were communicated to us; the latter
was written in terms respectful to the King of France,
but indefinite as regards the proposals, with the excep-
tion, however, of that for the junction of the forces of his
¹ Mr. Robinson refers to the edict,
recently published, which forbade
foreign merchants to reside in
Sweden for more than four months
in a year.
!
1696.]
211
LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Royal Highness with those of France in attacking the
Milanese. This was at once rejected as contrary to
good faith, and inconsistent with the honour of his Royal
Highness, who, as was stated at the end of the letter,
was master of his own person and of his own states
alone. M. de Catinat has again written, making the
same proposals and demanding a more explicit answer.
The Marquis de St. Thomas will shortly reply in terms
similar to those of his former letter, adding however
that his Royal Highness will send couriers to his Allies
to communicate to them that which has passed, and that
he will propose to the Emperor and to his Catholic
Majesty a neutrality not only for Piedmont, but for
the Milanese and the whole of Italy. Without doubt
his Royal Highness will give orders to the Marquis de
Prié, at Vienna, to press for the Emperor's consent to
this proposal. His Royal Highness appears to wish
¹ The Duke of Savoy had already,
on the 30th of the preceding month
(May), accepted the terms offered
by Louis XIV.; and the Comte de
Tessé and M. Grupel had signed a
preliminary treaty of offence and
defence between their respective
masters. By this treaty, which was
not, however, ratified until the 30th
June, a truce was established for three
months, and if the courts of Vienna
and Madrid did not within that period
accept the neutrality of Italy, the
Duke engaged to join his forces with
those of France, and, himself taking
the command of the combined army,
to attack the Allies, and invade the
Milanese. The King of France, on
the other hand, consented to the
marriage of the Duc de Bourgogne
with the Princess of Savoy. He
ceded to the Duke, Pignerol razed
1
(on the condition that the fortifica-
tions should not be restored), and
all the French conquests in Savoy,
with the exception of Suza and Nice.
Any territories which might be
acquired by the French Piedmontese
army in the Milanese were to be
given up to the Duke; and the King
of France further engaged to pay to
his new ally a monthly subsidy of
100,000 crowns during the remain-
der of the war, and to aid him in
obtaining possession of the whole of
the Milanese, in the event of the
King of Spain dying without issue.
Such were the principal provisions
of this treaty; and the terms ob-
tained by the Duke of Savoy un-
doubtedly were, to use the words of
M. de Catinat, such as might well
satisfy, if they did not surprise him.
P 2
212
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
to enter into these negotiations only to gain time, and
to avoid the entire ruin of his country, which he is not
in a condition to prevent by force of arms; but it is to be
feared that he may be thereby drawn into a separate
peace.
I
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, June 30, 1696.
1
All the news we have is that the army is marched
directly to Temeswar, and Father Wolf, the Jesuit, is
despatched to them with orders and money; by which
you see those holy men must have a finger in every-
thing. The Duke of Lorraine, who is as pretty a
young gentleman as ever I saw, goes to join them next
Monday; he brigues, but underhand, the crown of
Poland; the Emperor having declared for Prince
Charles of Neuburgh, and the Great Chamberlain,
Count Wallestein, is to go Ambassador Extraordinary
to assist at the Diet. Young Count Harrach, who
2
Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and
Bar, was the nephew of the Em-
peror Leopold, whose sister, Ele-
onora Josepha, married, first,
Michael Viesnovitsky, King of
Poland; and, secondly, Charles
Duke of Lorraine.
2 John Sobieski, King of Poland,
died on the 17th June, 1696, and
the vacant throne attracted a crowd
of distinguished competitors. First
in relationship to the deceased mo-
narch, at least, was Prince James
Sobieski, his eldest son. Prince
Charles of Neuburgh, the Duke of
Lorraine, Prince Louis of Baden,
and Don Livio Odescalchi (the ne-
phew of Innocent XI.), each aspired
to the crown of Poland; and it was
suspected that the Elector of Bavaria
awaited a favourable opportunity to
declare himself also a candidate. He
abstained, however, from entering
the lists; meanwhile the Abbé de
Polignac (the French minister in
Poland), aided by the Cardinal
Michel Radzieiowski, Archbishop
of Gnesne (who was Regent of the
kingdom during the interregnum),
strained every nerve to secure the
election of the Prince de Conti.
Don Livio Odescalchi was, in the
first instance, supported by the
Emperor, but he speedily retired
from a contest in which he found no
prospect of success. Prince Louis
of Baden, whose chief supporter was
the Elector of Brandenburgh, ap-
1696.]
213
LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
was at Dresden, is to go into Spain with the compli-
ment upon the death of the Queen Mother, but I
believe that is not all his errand, but he will have
private instructions about the peace now in agitation.
I will do what I can to sound him and find what they
are. He designs to go by England, and will have a
letter for the King.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Camp of Moncallier, July 5, 1696.
You will learn by this courier that M. de Catinat
has at length offered to his Royal Highness Piguerol
razed, and the marriage of the Duc de Bourgogne
with the Princess of Piedmont. These offers are so
agreeable to his Royal Highness that he has positively
determined to accept them, and all that we have been
able to obtain has been the time necessary to inform
the Allies of what has occurred, and to propose the
neutrality of Italy.
1
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Attre, Aug.
4
14'
plied to William III. for a loan to
enable him to propitiate the Polish
nobles; but having failed to obtain
the necessary funds, he also with-
drew his pretensions. The unpo-
pularity of Prince James, joined to
that of his mother, deprived him of
all chance of succeeding his father,
although the treasure amassed by
the late King enabled him to main-
tain his ground for some time; and
neither Prince Charles of Neuburgh,
1696.
The King did not at all like Count Chinski's
proposition, which was to be understood of his keeping
or the Duke of Lorraine, whose
father had in 1672 unsuccessfully
sought the crown of Poland, was
regarded with favour by the Polish
nobility. The success therefore of
the Prince de Conti at this time
appeared almost certain.
¹ The Prince de Commercy chose
to regard the Duke's conduct as a
personal insult, and sent hïm a chal-
lenge, which was accepted, but the
duel was prevented.
214
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
up a negotiation between Vienna and Stockholm, and
so making himself the umpire of everything; but his
Majesty, upon conferring with M. Dyckvelt, and having
a better account than was expected of his negotiation
with Callières, has resolved to put forward a public
treaty of peace.'
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Aug. 15, 1696.
All the discourse of this time rolls upon nothing
but the murder of one Count Hallwell, a chamberlain
of the Emperor's and son to a counsellor of state, which
they say was committed by the Portuguese Ambassador,
and, if true, take it with all its circumstances, is one of
the most barbarous and unworthy actions that ever was
1 The Comte d'Avaux had on
more than one occasion declared to
the King of Sweden that his master
was willing to assent to a peace, on
terms similar to those of the treaties
of Munster and Nimeguen; and
William III. had frequently urged
the Emperor to improve the oppor-
tunity thus afforded of opening a
negotiation with France. But the
court of Vienna had hitherto refused
to comply with this suggestion. The
change which was now apparent in
the tactics of the two courts did
not arise from any change of policy.
William III. sincerely desired to
terminate hostilities on reasonable
terms. The Emperor, on the
contrary, feared the re-establish-
ment of amicable relations between
France and Spain, and would have
preferred the continuance of the
war, or, at least, that peace should
not be concluded during the life of
Charles II. of Spain. Thus when
William failed in the attempt to ne-
gotiate directly with France, through
Callières (in 1694), he suggested
the mediation of Sweden; but the
court of Austria raised objections to
this mode of proceeding. Now that
the conferences between MM. de
Callières and Dyckvelt promised a
favourable result, Count Chinski
sought to impede the progress of
the negotiation by the establishment
of another and separate channel of
communication with France, through
Charles XI. of Sweden. William
was well aware both of the object
of the proposal and of its probable
result, if it had been carried into
effect; and he therefore determined
on the step announced by Mr. Blath-
wayt, although matters were as yet
scarcely ripe for it; and in fact, the
main preliminary, viz., his recogni-
tion as King of England, was but
imperfectly settled.
1696.] LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
215
known. The story is thus. The Ambassador had lost
at play to this gentleman a very considerable sum of
money, which being too great to be paid immediately,
he gave him a bond for it. On Thursday last the
Ambassador went out in a calèche, with only one horse,
and one man in a blue cloak, and went to a tavern by
a wood side, where they set up the calèche, and the
Ambassador and this man went into the wood on foot,
under the pretence of shooting, where they stayed about
an hour and then came back. The Ambassador took
the calèche and went home, but left the man in blue
there, who told the host when he went to bed that the
Ambassador would pass that way again in the morning,
and desired him to be sure to call him very early, that
he might be ready, which accordingly he did. The
Ambassador, when he came home, went to the Assem-
bly, where he met Count Hallwell, and told him that
now he had received bills from Portugal, and was in a
condition of paying him half the debt, and told him
that his banker had a pretty house and garden in the
country; that in the morning he would call upon him,
and that they would go into the woods and shoot till
dinner, and then go to dine there, where he would pay
him the money. He desired him to be sure to bring
the bond with him, that they might endorse the sum
that would be paid him. Hallwell accepted the party,
and accordingly the Ambassador, very early in the
morning, came and called him, and asked whether he
had the bond with him. Hallwell would have taken
some servants with him, but the Ambassador told him
he had no occasion for any; that there was but room
for one footman behind the calèche, and, for guns, he
would furnish him when they came to the hunting-
216
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
place; so they went together, and Hallwell ordered his
coach and servants to meet him at the Ambassador's at
night. They went to the village where the Ambas-
sador had been over night, and there they heard mass
together; afterwards they went to the tavern, and the
Ambassador asked if the man in blue was there, and
desired them to tell him he was gone, and bid him fol-
low him, which he did, and the host lent him a horse,
that he might the more quickly overtake the Ambas-
sador, pretending to be in great haste. About an hour
after, the Ambassador came back again to the inn with
this man in blue, but without Hallwell, extremely dirty
and wet, insomuch that they were forced to clean him
and wash him there he dined and stayed till night,
when he came home, but on foot, having quitted his
calèche some time before he got thither, which followed
him at a good distance. He could not slip in so but
Hallwell's servants, who waited for their master, per-
ceived him, and sent to him to desire to know what was
become of their master. He sent them word that as
they were coming home a gentleman met him upon the
road, and proposed a party to go to some baths, which
are not far off; that he had quitted him, and was gone
with that gentleman, which was all the account he could
give of him. In the morning his servants sent linen
to him to Baden, but there was no such man to be
heard of there, upon which they concluded by all these
circumstances that he was made away with; upon
which they made a search in all the woods thereabouts,
and on Monday, in the evening, he was found hid under
a heap of stones in a boggy place, the bond taken from
him, his ring, buckles for his sleeves, hat and shirt,
which were all of diamonds, and of great value, and his
1696.]
MR. HILL TO LORD LEXINGTON.
217
purse, so that they robbed him as well as murdered
him. The Ambassador continues to deny the fact, but
the circumstances are shrewd against him, and the Em-
peror has thought fit to clap a guard upon him, and
has sent a courier to Portugal to inform his master of
the fact and demand justice, and has sent a compliment
to all the foreign ministers to desire them not to look
upon the giving him guards as a breach of their privilege,
but that it is only to protect him from the fury of the
rabble, who are mightily incensed against him, though,
in the bottom, 'tis to keep him from making his escape.
Since I writ this I have been at court, and I hear
the Ambassador is gone from his house, but nobody
knows whither yet.
Mr. Hill to Lord Lexington.
21
Brussels, Aug. 1696.
31'
end, I think, and nobody
The King is gone to Loo
1
Our campaign is at an
but M. Dyckvelt busy now.
to hunt, and to Cleves to make love,
Our Elector 2 commands one of the
the Prince of Vaudemont the other. The Electress is
got up after her lying-in, and therefore the Elector
has given her notice of the death of her father.
as the folks say.
armies now, and
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
'To the Princess of Branden-
burgh, with whom a rumour was
current that the King was about to
conclude an alliance: but it does not
3
Madrid, Aug. 31, 1696, N. S.
The campaign seems now ended everywhere, and
indeed we have made a very unfortunate one, which is
appear that William ever seriously
thought of a remarriage.
The Elector of Bavaria.
The late King of Poland.
218
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
wholly owing to the disorder of our coin in England,
for which I fear it will be no easy matter to secure a
remedy for the future. His Catholic Majesty is per-
fectly recovered of his ague, but the Queen has been
dying this fortnight; it began by a surfeit of eel-pie,
that put her in a high fever, with convulsion fits. She
was given over several days last week, and seems now
not in such imminent danger; but so many ill symptoms
continue as give more fear than hope for her still.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Sept. 3, N. S. 1696.
;
I have let you alone for all the amusements
MM. Dyckvelt and Callières have given us this summer,
which Mr. Swinford' has bantered Mr. Sutton with as
much as these two negotiators have done each other
but there is no longer time for jesting; aux armes is
the word, for the Pensioner declared to the Congress
this morning that the effect of these negotiations was
that the Grand Monarch would enter into a treaty of
peace upon the foundations of those of Westphalia and
Nimeguen; and that thereupon the Ministers would do
well to write to their masters. As much as I can
observe by our Plenipotentiaries, the little ones are
inwardly mad that the war is likely to end. Your
Imperial brothers made difficulties, as if the treaty of
2
Probably the same Mr. Swinford
who acted as Prior's secretary during
his mission to Paris, in 1712.
2 The secondary Princes of the
Empire were, with the exception of
those whose territories were exposed
to attack from the French, great
gainers by the war. They received
large subsidies for their troops, and
the fear that they might otherwise
be tempted to accept the offers, by
which France constantly endeavoured
to detach them from the league, en-
abled them to extort various conces-
sions from the Emperor.
1696.]
LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON. · 219
Munster and Osnaburg was too large, and ought to be
explained, or else it would be subject to misinterpreta-
tion (as it has been), and might beget cavils. To this it
was answered, that these things would be adjusted after,
and that the demand at present was, if, upon these
offers, it were not fit and proper to enter into treaty.
We have letters to-day from France that the Grand
Louis is dangerously ill: (pull to the good Lord) I
would fain have the peace very soon, and signed by
Louis XV.
2
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Camp of Terra Nova, Sept. 3, 1696.
The enemy have hitherto followed the same route
by which we marched here. They have to-day con-
structed a bridge over the Dovaine, and to-morrow we
shall enter the Milanese. The negotiation of Count
de Mansfelt will fail, and I have already stated to you
that there is no alternative but war or the neutrality of
all Italy. I have but little knowledge of what is
The preliminaries of the treaty
of Munster and Osnaburgh, or West-
phalia, were signed in 1641; but the
peace was not concluded until 1648;
and after the exchange of the ratifi-
cations the congress of Nuremburgh
was engaged, for two years more, in
completing the arrangements pre-
scribed by the treaty. These were of
a very complicated and extensive cha-
racter; some of the provisions were
imperfectly carried out, and others
had already given rise to repeated
disputes.
1
2 The King of France submitted
to an operation, and specdily re-
covered.
3 Count de Mansfelt was de-
spatched by the Emperor to the
Duke of Savoy, with instructions
to induce him, if possible, to relin-
quish the negotiation with M. de
Catinat. He was empowered to
offer to the Duke the Montserrat,
on which the Queen of Poland
(the Emperor's sister) had claims,
and to give him hopes, but no posi-
tive assurance, of the marriage of
the Princess of Savoy with the
King of the Romans. These offers,
however, were not equal to those
of France, and they had been too
long delayed.
220
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1696.
passing in Holland, for I have avoided the Duke ever
since he declared that if the neutrality be not accepted
by the 15th of September, he will join the enemy with
his troops.
1
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Sept. 16, 1696.
His Catholic Majesty has been extreme ill these
seven days, which has stopped all couriers and ex-
presses; but, thanks be to God, is now much better by
taking the quinquina, yet not so safe as his good subjects
wish him. The Queen is extreme ill, though the
greater concern for the King makes that now less
minded. I was called up to write this at one this
morning, the 16th September, 1696. The Conde de
Oropesa returned to Court yesterday morning, and
kissed the King's hand, and is named by will one of the
Governors of the kingdom, in case the King fails; and
in the mean time the Archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal,
despatches all things as the King used to do.
2
3
'The Duke of Savoy was bound
by the Secret Treaty to take this
step on the 1st of September; but
he had obtained an extension of
the time originally fixed until the
15th.
2 It appears that the unexpected
return of the Conde de Oropesa to
Court was owing to the mediation of
the Cardinal Portocarrero. The will
referred to was executed on the 14th
inst., and by it the crown of Spain
was settled on the Prince of Ba-
varia.
VideCourt of Spain under
Charles II. by Lord Mahon,' where
a portion of this letter appears.
3 Portocarrero.
4.
1696.]
221
LORD GALWAY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Lord Galway to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Vigevano,
The Marques de Leganes has at length yielded to
the urgent representations of the whole state of Milan,
and he has consented to all that the Marquis de St.
Thomas has demanded. I enclose a copy of the treaty,
which was signed yesterday.'
Sept. 28
Oct. 8
The treaty of Turin, by which
the secret engagements between the
King of France and the Duke of
Savoy were formally ratified, was
signed by the Comte de Tessé and
the Marquis de St. Thomas, on the
29th August. On the 17th of Sep-
tember, as the Allies had not ac-
cepted the neutrality of Italy, the
Duke of Savoy, with his troops,
joined the French army at Sartirana,
and assumed the command in chief
of the combined army. On the 19th
1696.
M. de Mansfelt has been obliged to sign it without
waiting for the return of Baron Cernier, and without
instructions from the Emperor. He was induced to
take this step by the Marques de Leganes, who has
stated in writing that, since he could no longer continue
the war in the Milanese, and saw no other means of
saving this state, he took upon himself the responsibility
of the act and of obtaining the consent of the Emperor,
as well as that of his Catholic Majesty. M. de Mans-
felt had, in the first instance, inserted in the preamble
of the treaty that the Emperor consented to the with-
drawal of his troops from Italy, in order that his Royal
Highness might be in a better position to receive pro-
posals from both sides for a general peace; and that
his Royal Highness would use his good offices to induce
2
Valenza was invested, and the siege
was continued until the 8th October,
when the treaty of Vigevano put an
end to the war in Italy.
2 The Imperial Ministers assured
Lord Lexington, on the departure
of Count de Mansfelt from Vienna,
that he was not empowered to accept
the neutrality; but there was a
mystery with regard to his instruc-
tions, and it may be doubted whether
the assertion was strictly true.
222
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
1
France to enter into this negotiation. On the part of
the King, I opposed all mention in this treaty of a
general peace. After a dispute, which was both long
and warm, the preamble of the treaty was altered, and
you will see that the part to which I have referred has
been struck out, but I know that the Count de Mans-
felt has written on the subject to the Emperor. Between
ourselves, my Lord, I think that this Minister only
undertook the mission to Piedmont in the hope of
drawing hither the negotiation of the general peace,
and of obtaining for himself the whole direction of it.
I do not believe that the French desire it, or that his
Royal Highness cares about it; but, however this may be,
as soon as the siege of Valenza is raised and the Duke
returns here, the Count de Mansfelt should be recalled.
I did not think it right directly to oppose the treaty
which was signed yesterday, for, in truth, the affairs of
the Milanese are in a miserable condition. But I think
that, without our appearing in the matter, or incurring
the responsibility of the disasters which may result from
the war, the treaty itself will be of no effect. It appears
to me that it will be impossible to carry it into execu-
tion; and if we are in a position to take advantage of
their raising the siege of Valenza, we shall have the
game in our hands. It is the interest of the Emperor
to retain his troops in Italy. Cernier may very well
return from Vienna with instructions contrary to the
treaty which was signed yesterday, and his Imperial
Majesty may refuse to ratify it. M. de Mansfelt him-
¹ It would appear that the se-
cond article in the treaty, as sent
to the Emperor for his ratifica-
tion, did refer to a general peace,
and that the Duke of Savoy was
thereby invested with a mediatorial
character. This article, however,
was altered before the treaty was
ratified by the Emperor.
1696.]
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
223'
self told me yesterday that, in his opinion, it should not
be ratified. I hope that his actions are in accordance
with his words. ¹
1
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Oct. 9, 1696, N. S.
The match we have been talking of with Branden-
burg will, I think, come to nothing. It was the folly
of those people at Clèves that began the discourse, and
I think we had vanity enough to let them alone in it.
As to my own concerns I have been briguing and flat-
tering at Loo, and, I believe, have brought the matter
so far, as that nobody will stand before me in my pre-
tensions to the secretaryship of the embassy; but, my
God! what is it I ask or am fond of having? since
there is not five pounds to be got out of the Treasury,
and I owe five hundred. It would have been better
manners to have named your Lordship before me, but
we are in a world where no man thinks of anything but
himself. What I hear is that wherever the parade of
this Embassy may be, the substance of it will be at
Vienna, and that your Lordship is too useful there to
think, on this occasion, to be removed: this is the
terrible effect of doing your duty, and you ought to
have had less sense to be signing a treaty amongst
2
It seems improbable that the
Count de Mansfelt should really
have advised the rejection of the
neutrality. At all events, the Em-
peror accepted it without hesitation.
2 Lord Lexington wished to be
appointed one of the Plenipotenti-
aries at the Congress, and the King
had expressed an intention of com-
M
plying with this request; but the
difficulties with which the Imperial
Ministers obstructed every step in
the negotiation rendered it inex-
pedient that Lord Lexington should
quit his post at Vienna.-Vide Sir
W. Trumbull's Letter to Lord Lex-
ington, December 11th, 1696,
p. 234.
224
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
others, since you are thought to have enough to do the
thing, in effect, alone.
My obedient service is never to be omitted to the
fair Secretary; I have but one piece of news for her
this time, which is, that my Lady Athlone,' being a
provident housewife, has at several times killed ten of
the stags about Loo, and salted them for her servants,
for which the King has fined the dame 600 pounds
sterling.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Oct. 11, 1696.
Since my last we have had nothing but fiestos,
with luminaries, artificial fireworks, &c. for his Catholic
Majesty's happy recovery, as also carrying the saints and
images to their several churches with great pomp and
attendance that had the honour of the cure, although it
was the quinquina that did the business. However it
was done, his Majesty continues very well, and de-
spatches as formerly. Greater fiestos de Canos are
preparing; eight young grandees being the undertakers,
who contribute each 1500 dollars, and will perform it
with great ostentation. Her Majesty was also much
better till yesterday, when she relapsed, and is now,
they say, very ill again. The old Condestable² died
the night I wrote last, and ten days ago the Conde de
Oropesa desired his Majesty's leave to retire back into
the country, which was a favour readily granted him,
and he went out of town the same afternoon; his so
1
Philpota de Raasfelt, the wife of
Godart de Ginckell, Earl of Athlone,
was the lady whose economy, in
this instance, cost her so dear.
2 The Duque de Frias, in whose
family the office or title of Con-
destable de Castilla was hereditary.
1696.]
MR. HILL TO LORD LEXINGTON.
225
sudden retreat being as much wondered at as was his
unexpected appearance at the bedchamber door in the
King's great illness.' I am sorry to find by your Lord-
ship's favour of the 8th of September, with the inclosed
relation of the battle in Hungary, that my Lord Paget's
prognostic of the Grand Seignor proves so true, for he
is like to be a very troublesome neighbour: however,
this seems only an equal battle, and all the loss the
Christians have is only the defeating hereby the hopes
of great advantages they promised themselves this
campaign. *
2
Mr. Hill to Lord Lexington.
16
Brussels, Oct. no date but 1696.
26'
3
Our campaign is ended, and we are all got into
our winter-quarters. As to the news of the King's in-
trigues, I dare say he never thinks of 'em himself. He
went to see the Princess of Brandenburgh, because they
would have him. Now must I be glad that you have
made as ill a campaign as we have done, and I hope
you will at last see a necessity of making a peace on
the best terms we can. We blame your Court and
Ministers for all the delays which are made, and wonder
what you mean when you name Basle for a place of
conference.
The recovery of the Queen was
the cause of the sudden retirement of
the Condé de Oropesa. The follow-
ing passage occurs in a letter from
Mr. Stanhope to Mr. Vernon, dated
3rd Oct. 1696 :—“ That the Queen
"That the Queen
is likewise past all danger needs no
other confirmation than the Condé
de Oropesa's going yesterday to his
-
Majesty to desire his leave to retire
into the country."-Court of Spain
under Charles II.
2 The battle referred to was
fought on the 26th August, near the
river Begue. General Heusler was
killed in this action.
3 In Hungary.
226
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Nov. 7, 1696.
1
This will bring you the communication that was
sent us, since my last, of the Emperor's rejecting the
article No. 2¹ in the treaty of the neutrality of Italy,
which is a thing that I believe has very rarely or never
happened before, that the Emperor should take a reso-
lution of himself, contrary to the opinion of all his
council; for so it was, there not being one that opposed
it, and those of the chiefest credit violently for it, some,
I fear, gained by interest, as I have already told you,
others out of ambition and desire of getting the treaty
of peace into their direction, not caring which way nor
by whom. I dined two or three days ago with the
Elector of Saxe, and by a discourse he held with me
he gave me to understand that he wished to have the
Garter, and that if I intimated so much to the King
it would be agreeable to him, which I desire you would
be pleased to do, and let me know whether I ought to
give him hopes of it, when he comes back, if he speaks
to me of it again. I do not know whether the King
might not find it his interest to oblige that Prince when
a Garter can do it. I fear the business between the
Elector Palatine and the Landgrave of Hesse will come
to the last extremities; 2 but I do what I can to press
¹ Which referred the mediation
for a general peace to the Duke of
Savoy.
2 A dispute had arisen between
the Elector Palatine and the Land-
grave of Hesse, with regard to the
winter quarters of the Hessian
troops. These two Princes were
predisposed to quarrel each aspired
:
•
to the co-directorship, with the
Bishop of Worms, of the circle of
the Upper Rhine. The Elector
claimed the office as heir and suc-
cessor of the House of Zimmeren,
while the Landgrave contended that
the Electors Palatine of that branch
had been invested with the dignity
as Protestant Princes, and not by
1696.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
227
the Emperor to interpose his authority to prevent it,
which he might do with only one vigorous word,
speaking to the Elector Palatine; but the partiality of
this Court is so great to that House, that I almost de-
spair of it, though the Emperor is in all the engage-
ments possible to maintain the Landgrave in his
quar-
ters till the end of the war.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
15
Hague, Nov. 1696.
5'
I always looked upon old Leopold to be wiser than
all his Privy Council, and infinitely more honest to the
cause we serve. I hear he dashed out with his own
hand the clause' which deferred the mediation to the
Duke of Savoy. And it is no ordinary merit in your
Lordship to have set the good gentleman right in the
thoughts he ought to have had of that matter. When
a girl marries herself without her parents' consent, she
can have no pretence to their assistance if she appre-
hends the husband whom she has foolishly chosen should
beat and abuse her; at least the parents would be more
foolish than she, if, instead of disgracing and disinheriting
her for her disobedience, they should reward her for it,
and encourage her for throwing herself away, by putting
it in her hands to ruin them likewise. This (as I take
it) is the state of the question; and between economics
and politics the comparison holds. I have made the
compliments your Lordship ordered me to my Lord
virtue of their electorate; that the
present Elector was disqualified as
a Roman Catholic from holding the
office, and that the Protestants were
entitled to choose a Prince of their
own religion to succeed to it. This
was only one of the many causes of
contention which at this time
threatened to disturb the internal
peace of the Empire.
¹ In the treaty of Vigevano.
&
Q 2
228
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
2
Villiers, who expects the papers you promise of your
last conference. I really think both his Lordship and
my Lady' very good people to live withal; and by the
respect he bears your Lordship (which I speak sincerely)
I do not doubt but you will pull very easily together;
and for your comfort, and likewise for the good of the
negotiation, I heartily wish the third may be a friend
to both of you. As yet I cannot guess who he may be,
for both Sir William Trumbull and our friend Mr.
Blathwayt seem to avoid it; but I see no help but one
of them must come to. Both of them, as likewise
Father Vernon (in the name of Duke Shrewsbury), give
me assurances that, when your Lordship is called away,
I
may relieve you; but this depends on many acci-
dents, therefore I neither depend on it nor mention it;
and let them take their own time and measures when
and what they will do with me.
And for the present I
am resting my bones, and am extremely satisfied with
the indolent life I have at the Hague. We had great
doings last night at my Lord Villiers's: a noble enter-
tainment, a very orderly ball, and, towards two in the
morning, a masquerade. I know not if the French
Admirals understand sailing and fighting better than
ours do, but I am certain none of them dance so well as
our Lord Carmarthen.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
17
Hague, Nov. 1696.
27'
I ought by last post to have acknowledged that
with which your Lordship honoured me of the 3rd, but
I should then have been able only to give you an im-
Barbara, daughter of William
Chiffinch, closet-keeper to King
Charles II.
2
2 Plenipotentiary,
1696.]
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
229
perfect account of what, to my vexation, I know more
fully now, which is the manner in which Callières
chicanes about owning the King. Dyckvelt has hitherto
understood by him that he should now, in the pre-
liminaries, tell the mediator that he would own his
Majesty in the treaty; but he now says, that though he
will own him in the treaty, and never imagined the
peace could be made without his doing so, yet he has
no order to do it in the preliminaries. Your Lord-
ship sees that, unless this difficulty be overcome, it is
impossible to proceed in any other point; and this
Dyckvelt was yesterday charged to tell Callières, as the
opinion of the whole Congress. It is yet very dubious
what France may mean by this way of proceeding:
since at the same time their Ministers are named, and,
if they are not on the road towards Mons in order to
their coming to these parts, it is because we have not
here consented to the naming the place of treaty, and
have denied them passports till it is resolved whither
they are to steer their course. God knows if the
preparations at Brest, which are pretty considerable,
are meant against England; and if that be the occasion
of their shuffling in the negotiation, or if this scruple
they make about the King's title be the last essay they
will ever give to King James of their affection to his
interests, and to faire semblant that they have done all
that was possible for him, so that he must be satisfied if
the peace be made, we shall see in some little time. In
the meanwhile, I may say to my dear Lord that
Dyckvelt has not, I think, negotiated either solidly or
1
The Court of Vienna objected
successively to every place which
was named for the meeting of the
Congress; and indeed employed
every artifice to obstruct the progress
of the negotiations.
230
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
warmly enough; but may be, this opinion is only the
effect of a poetical constitution. His Excellency
Stepney is here still, but going towards Frankfort to
hinder broken heads, for winter-quarters, and to stand
between the Hessians and Palatines to see fair play, like
Vinegar in the ring at Lincoln's Inn Fields. He does
not like the simile, and I told him I would see if you
did or no. My Lord Frize is expected every day, to
the great joy of his domestique. My Lady is in the
right to lay down the Secretaryship, when there is no
money and difficult business. I am always her obedient
servant in whatever quality she pleases to take. I hope
to see her shortly, with a sweeping tail and a grave look,
confronting Madame Courtin in the qualification of
Madame l'Ambassadrice: and I suppose her bag here
may contain a topknot or engageants towards that
negotiation.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
20
Whitehall, Nov. 1696.
30'
As to the Garter which the Elector of Saxony
seems to desire, his Majesty allows your Lordship to
give him hopes of it when he shall renew that discourse,
when he returns to Vienna, or otherwise asks your
Lordship's opinion about it; by which your Lordship
may understand that it is not intended he should have
it immediately, but deserve it first by a hearty engage-
ment in the common cause, of which there is a great
likelihood since the death of Schoning. Your Lordship
will understand, among other things, that Sir Joseph
Williamson' was sworn of the Privy Council. His
1 Sir Joseph Williamson was the
son of a country clergyman. His
talents and acquirements, and espc-
cially his knowledge of foreign lan-
guages, obtained for him when young
a subordinate post in the Secretary
1696.]
231
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
services in Parliament have indeed deserved it; but, if
one may judge at random, this honour may be followed
by a Plenipotentiaryship, and perhaps by a better thing,
if the Duke of Shrewsbury's illness should continue
upon him.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Dec. 7, 1696.
1
We have at length got our treaty signed with
Denmark, which interdicts all commerce between that
kingdom and France, and may probably prevent M.
Bonrepos² from doing much harm when he gets to
Copenhagen. I wish to God it may hasten our treaty.
I believe there may be need enough of all helps since
Callières is mute in the great point [the manner of
acknowledging the King], and we talk of no less than
breaking off entirely with him unless he comes to him-
self before next Congress-day. If the treaty goes on,
there is another point that I wish secured, which is
my Lord Lexington's being Plenipotentiary. I know
nothing of Sir Joseph, but methinks it looks as if he
were designed that way—at least, as well as I can judge
at this distance. But I will not doubt but that your
3
of State's office. In 1673 he was
selected to accompany Lord Sunder-
land and Sir Leoline Jenkins to the
Congress of Cologne; and in the
following year he was appointed
Secretary of State. In 1678 Sir J.
Williamson was committed to the
Tower by the House of Commons
for having countersigned fifty-seven
military commissions which had been
granted to Papists. He resigned the
seals and retired into private life
but having, as Mr. Stepney said,
“dived like a duck for twenty years,"
he was, shortly after the date of this
letter, appointed one of the Pleni-
potentiaries for the Peace.
¹ This treaty was kept secret, in
the hope that the subsidies by which
France had purchased the neutrality
of Denmark might be continued
but the suspicions of the French
Court were aroused, and M. Meyer-
croom, the Danish minister at Paris,
was unable to obtain them.
2 The minister of France at the
Danish Court.
3 Sir Joseph Williamson.
232
[1696.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
interest is sure, for tallies and strange masters are too
much; and, as formerly, "there rose up a king that
did not know Joseph," so may be there may now rise
up Joseph that does not know me.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Dec. 11, N. S., 1696.
I am glad to tell you that I think Callières will
at last own the King as he should do. He acknowledges
that he has his master's orders to finish this point, and
accordingly met our negotiators last night, to agree
upon the terms in which it should be done to the
mediator. So that I hope, if the Emperor will send
his consent for Utrecht, it will not be long before we
are ready to go thither.
1
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
4
14'
To answer your Lordship's question on what
funds my tallies are, and what I am to give for discount,
I must be allowed to make grievous complaints, for I
believe we are all used alike, and that very barbarously.
Our tallies were struck together, so I suppose they are
upon the old fund, Excise and Customs, which is all I
know of the matter, for their other names are words of
art, and a sort of conjuration which, I fear, we shall
learn in time, but much to our loss. Like a puppy, I
have hitherto run out my little ready money, in hopes
this wooden estate (considering the interest which the
The Emperor refused his con-
sent. It would appear, from Clarke's
'Memoirs of James II.,' that about
this time that Prince sent, with the
sanction of Louis XIV., an agent to
Vienna, to propose to the Emperor
Hague, Dec. 1696.
a separate peace on terms more ad-
vantageous than any which he could
hope to obtain in a general treaty;
but the negotiation failed.
Lord Lexington does not mention
this intrigue in any of his letters.
:
1696.]
233
LORD VILLIERS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
King allows upon it) would turn to great advantage at
long run, but I find myself sadly mistaken, for whereas,
formerly, I could have disposed of my tallies at 12 or
16 per cent. discount, I must now give 40 or 45 per
cent., which is intolerable. Hitherto I have sold none,
having struggled with my private fortune and some part
of my sister's, in hopes they would come to more mode-
rate rates, and I fear I have ruined myself by that
seeming good husbandry. Since April last I have been
forced to pay in hard money to my bankers 3000l.
sterling, being obliged to a double expense by my tra-
velling commissions and campaign charges; and when I
demand that my extraordinaries, at least, should be
paid in ready, they answer me there is no such thing
in the treasury, and I must take timber for payment.
What is still worse, by his Majesty's commands I
arrested an officer and threw him into gaol at Maes-
tricht, where I maintain him still by his Majesty's com-
mands, and instructions from the Secretary, and even
this expense is reimbursed by tallies. It will have been
1500l. sterling out of my pocket to have been em-
ployed this year.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Dec. 18, N. S., 1696.
The progress we make towards finishing our pre-
liminaries here cannot be very great whilst the Court
of Vienna gives such contradictory orders to their Mi-
nisters here. The step which M. Staremberg has made
at Stockholm' is very extraordinary, since it was agreed
1 Count Staremberg had an-
nounced that, in consideration of the
declaration of the Comte d'Avaux
at Stockholm, and without reference
to the negotiations which were in
progress at the Hague, the Emperor
was prepared to accept the mediation
of the King of Sweden.
234
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1696.
1
here by all parties that the mediation should not be
required till the preliminaries were adjusted. Sweden
is so far off that there is not much credit to be given to
news that comes from thence; at least France says that
Comte d'Avaux never had orders to own the King, '
though Callières has now agreed to declare in the pre-
liminaries that his master will own his Majesty at the
signing the treaty. Yesterday President Canon took
his place in the congress; he desires that the business
of Lorraine may be treated of in the preliminaries, and
our negotiators have directions to speak to Callières
about it. 2
Sir William Trumbull to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 11, 1696.
Upon the advances made in Holland by M. Cal-
lières towards a general peace, his Majesty has thought
fit to name for his plenipotentiaries the Lord Privy
Seal, the Lord Villiers, and Sir Joseph Williamson;
3
'On the 2nd of November, the
birth-day of the Queen of Sweden,
the Comte d'Avaux, for the first
time, yielded to William the title
of King of England: and a few
days afterwards he informed Count
Staremberg, that, as the discussion
on the preliminaries had been com-
menced in Holland, he was instructed
to recognise the King.
2 President Canon was the minis-
ter of the young Duke of Lorraine.
The Emperor had obtained from the
Allies a promise that the settlement
of the claims of the Duke of Lorraine
should be one of the preliminary
points to be arranged before the
general provisions of the treaty were
discussed. But France positively
refused to accede to this demand, and
William III. declined to press it.
8 Thomas Herbert, Earl of Pem-
broke, filled various high offices of
state in the reign of William III.
and of Anne. His eccentric appear-
ance and manners caused him to be
known by the sobriquet of "Long
Tom;" but he possessed considerable
abilities. He formed the splendid col-
lection of medals called by his name.
Mackay states, that "Lord Pem-
broke was a good judge in all the
several sciences, a great encourager
of learning and of learned men, a
lover of the constitution of his coun-
try without being of a party, and yet
esteemed by all parties."
1696.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
235
and though he believes he may make use of your Lord-
ship at the congress, yet the service you do his Majesty
at Vienna is so considerable that he cannot at present
spare you from thence without great prejudice to his
affairs, which is the true reason why your Lordship is
not one of them.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Dec. 30, 1696.
It is a plain case that Kings and masters will do
as they please, and I hope your Lordship is armed
with temper enough to bear the disappointment of not
writing your name under our treaty of peace, which is
all any English Ambassador could have pretended
to, for we have nothing to ask of France, nor France
of us.
I own to be treated with "Excellency" at so famous a
congress would have been a feather in your cap; but
the wiser part of the world will know that my Lord
Lexington at Vienna will have more business on his
hands than our triumvirate, and will conclude he might
have been a sauntering Ambassador if he had not been
so able an Envoyé. Upon my soul, I believe this is
the King's meaning (and your Lordship's case is the
same with that of Comte d'Avaux and M. Heckeren in
Sweden), for his Majesty cannot but be sensible of your
services, and will certainly consider them by something
more solid. Give me leave, therefore, to preach up to
you patience, perseverance, and obedience; and re-
member we have to do with a Prince who will go his
own way. Add a bottle to your ordinary dose, and I'll
give you my neck if your Lordship, within a fortnight,
does not agree with me that it is to your advantage that
236
[1696-7.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
matters go on as they have done. I am of opinion
passive obedience, in point of politics, is a wiser maxim
than it is in religion, and if you resolve to go on cheer-
fully, I am assured your Lordship will be called into the
vineyard at the eleventh hour, and have an equal re-
ward with those who began at seven.
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 25, 1696.
I send you a list of Lords as they stood upon the
late division, when Sir John Fenwick's bill passed.'
1
¹ Major-General Sir J. Fenwick
was deeply engaged in the recent
conspiracies; he was arrested in
June, and committed to Newgate;
an indictment for high treason was
immediately prepared, and the grand
jury found a true bill against him;
but some of his friends successfully
tampered with Goodman, one of the
two Crown witnesses, and induced
him to quit the country. The Go-
vernment failed to supply his place,
and, as the law required two wit-
nesses in cases of high treason, they
were unable to proceed with the pro-
secution. Sir John Fenwick, how-
ever, remained in custody, and,
unfortunately for himself, he had
already, in the hope of obtaining a
pardon, made disclosures which im-
plicated the Duke of Shrewsbury,
Lord Godolphin, Admiral Russell,
the Earl of Marlborough, with others
of less note, in treasonable practices.
The Duke of Shrewsbury and Ad-
miral Russell were Whigs; Lord
Godolphin and the Earl of Marl-
borough Tories; and when Admiral
Russell laid before the House of Com-
mons the papers containing the
charges of Sir J. Fenwick, both
parties combined to vote them false
and scandalous.
and scandalous. A bill to attaint
Sir J. Fenwick of high treason was
brought in: but here the unanimity
between the two parties ceased; and
it is worthy of remark, that while the
ministers and their friends, with
some exceptions, used every exertion
in the House of Commons, where
Admiral Russell possessed great in-
fluence, to carry the measure, a
majority of the leading members of
the Government in the House of
Lords voted against it.
After fierce and protracted debates
in both Houses, the bill passed; but it
was carried by a very narrow majority
in the House of Lords-68 voting for,
and 61 against the third reading.
Lord Godolphin, who was not on
good terms with his colleagues and
shortly afterwards retired, appeared
in his place in the House of Lords
and voted against the bill; the Earl
of Marlborough voted for it. Ad-
miral Russell took a more prominent
part, and denied boldly, if not with
truth, the charge which had been
brought against him but the Dukė
1696-7.] MR. VERNON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
237
1
2
I believe you will be surprised to find all the Lords
Justices (who are in town, and have voices) against that
Bill, except the Archbishop of Canterbury, who spoke
for it with the eloquence and courage of St. Paul.
What particular reasons others had not to be convinced,
is not for me to meddle with. The Earl of Mon-
mouth, who was a great advocate for the Bill, is thought
to have had a very particular consideration in it: he
once thought himself named in Sir John Fenwick's
paper, and when he understood, by the Duchess of
Norfolk's means, both that he was not, and who were, it
is suspected he then liked the accusation so well that he
was unwilling it should be let fall, but offered his advice
how it might be supported, not expecting he should be
brought upon the stage for it. But this friendly ad-
viser was, at the same time, so violent a prosecutor of
the Bill (in order, as it seems, to drive Sir John upon
justifying his paper) that his ³ friends were provoked by
it to lay open the mystery, and one can't tell how far
it will now be carried on the other side by some who
bear no good will to that Lord. There appears to be
3
non.
of Shrewsbury remained in retire-
ment in the country during the whole
of the discussions, leaving alike the
business of his office and his own de-
fence to be conducted by Mr. Ver-
Illness was the plea assigned
for his absence; but under the cir-
cumstances, the state of his health,
although precarious, was not a suffi-
cient excuse. It appears, however,
to have been a settled rule of policy
with William not to inquire too
closely into charges affecting the
honour or loyalty of those who pro-
fessed themselves his friends. Sir
John Fenwick was executed, and his
accusations slept.
1 The Lords Justices were the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir J.
Somers (Lord Keeper), the Earl
of Pembroke, the Duke of Shrews-
bury, the Duke of Devonshire, the
Earl of Dorset, and Lord Godolphin.
All were in town, except the Duke
of Shrewsbury.
2
Mary, Duchess of Norfolk, was
sole daughter of Henry Mordaunt,
Earl of Peterborough; she was,
therefore, first cousin to the Earl of
Monmouth, and, through her hus-
band, allied to Sir John Fenwick,
whose wife was a daughter of the
first Earl of Carlisle.
3 Sir John Fenwick's.
"
238
[1696-7.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
2
a vile practice, which I know not how far he will be
und? guilty of, a plan being laid down how to colour the
accusation of the chief person mentioned in Sir John
Fenwick's paper, sent to the King, and assuring him of
assistance if the advice were followed; but I hope the
same Providence will protect the innocent that hath
been their guard hitherto. ³
So in the original; but it is clear
that Mr. Vernon did not doubt the
fact, but only whether it could be
proved.
2 The Duke of Shrewsbury.
3 There are strong grounds for
believing that Lord Monmouth had
been himself engaged in a trea-
sonable correspondence with the
Court of St. Germain's or their
agents. He did not venture openly
to support Sir John Fenwick's
charges, but he secretly aided him
with his advice; and it was fortunate
for those against whom these charges
were directed that his suggestions
were not adopted. He recommended
Sir John Fenwick to demand that
the Earls of Portland and Romney
should be examined to prove the cor-
respondence between Lord Godol-
phin and the exiled Queen, and that
some of the letters had been inter-
cepted and shown to the King. He
advised an appeal to the King him-
self to state the grounds of the dis-
missal of the Earl of Marlborough in
1692, and of the retirement of the
Duke of Shrewsbury in 1693; and
lastly, he suggested that Admiral
Russell should be required to state
upon oath, whether he had not seen
Captain Floyd (an agent of King
James) both in London and at Cadiz,
and what had passed at these inter-
views. There can be no doubt that
if Sir John Fenwick had followed
this advice, and if he had succeeded
in eliciting the truth by these pointed
inquiries, the charge of treasonable
practices would have been established
in each case; and Lord Monmouth
would have had the satisfaction of
extorting from the King the singular
confession that he was himself cog-
nizant of, and had concealed the trea-
son of two, at least, of the principal
members of his Government. But
Sir John Fenwick probably foresaw
that he was not likely to obtain a par-
don by such means: he sought to gain
by threats the good offices of those
whom he had accused, but hesitated to
proceed to extremities against them.
Meanwhile Lord Monmouth, partly
with the view of concealing his con-
nection with Sir J. Fenwick, and
partly to force him to prove his
charges, took a prominent part in
favour of the bill of attainder. The
friends of Sir John Fenwick were
deeply incensed at this conduct, and
Lord Carlisle (the nephew of Lady
Mary Fenwick), aided by the Du-
chess of Norfolk (whom Lord Mon-
mouth never forgave), exposed the
intrigue. The House of Lords com-
mitted Lord Monmouth to the
Tower, and the King struck his
name out of the list of Privy Coun-
cillors, and dismissed him from his
appointment as one of the Lords of
1696-7.]
239
LORD VILLIERS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Jan. 8, N. S., 1697.
1
We had yesterday an answer from Callières, con-
cerning the place; who, instead of choosing one of the
three we had named, has proposed that the Ministers
of the Allies should stay at the Hague, the French at
Delft, and to treat at Ryswick. This proposition was
talked of some time since, which gave me an occasion
to know his Majesty's commands in it, who willingly
consents to it (even to the exclusion of Utrecht, or any
other place) upon the account of gaining two months'
time in the negotiation, which would be lost before the
Plenipotentiaries could be assembled anywhere else.
The whole Congress is ready to agree with the King in
his consent, except the Emperor's Ministers, whose
instructions give exclusion to the Hague.
Sir William Trumbull to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Jan. 8, 169;
Having found an opportunity last night of repre-
senting to the King your Lordship's services to him in
the Court of Vienna, your experience in negotiating
there, and your general knowledge of the affairs abroad,
and how proper it would be, as well as conducing to his
Majesty's further service, that your Lordship should be
the Bedchamber. But neither Wil-
liam or his ministers ventured to
break entirely with Lord Monmouth.
Lord Sunderland visited him fre-
quently during his confinement in
the Tower, and he was shortly after-
wards restored to favour.
Vide Burnet's Hist. of his own
Times, and Letters illustrative of the
Reign of William III.,' edited by
Mr. James.
C
'The English and Dutch Plenipo-
tentiaries had suggested Maestricht,
Nimeguen, or Breda.
240
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1696-7.
employed in the treaty of a general peace, his Majesty
was pleased to direct that (though for the present your
Lordship's stay at Vienna is necessary, yet) your Lord-
ship's name should be inserted in the full powers as one
of his Plenipotentiaries, and that I should give your
Lordship notice of it by this night's post; which I do
with very much satisfaction and pleasure, wishing you
joy and all success in so great and glorious a work.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Jan.
19, 1696.
29, 1697.
His Majesty is no ways satisfied
ways satisfied with the
proceedings of the Court of Vienna, in causing delays.
and obstructions to the great work of the peace.
Whereupon I am commanded to let your Lordship
know his Majesty's pleasure that the Emperor and his
Ministers be earnestly pressed by your Lordship and
Mr. Heemskerck to give way to the opening of the
General Congress and negotiation, lest other resolutions
should be taken that would not be so agreeable to that
Court, and which the present state of Europe and con-
dition of the Allies seem to require.
a patent passing to be an English Earl. He has not
yet chosen his title, but I think it will be that of
Albemarle.¹
Mr. Keppel has
'Mr. Keppel was created Earl
of Albemarle on the 10th February,
notwithstanding a protest from the
Earl of Bath, to whom this title
with a dukedom had been promised
by Charles II., in the event of the
failure of the male line of the cele-
brated George Monk, Duke of Al-
bemarle.
:
1696-7.] SIR PAUL RYCAUT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
241
(Translation.)
Paris, Feb. 1, 1696.
It was arranged that the Polish Princes' should
receive the cordon bleu to-morrow, but the Queen, their
mother, who is dissatisfied with the conduct of France
in abandoning the interests of her family, has changed
her mind, and has desired the Princes to thank the
King for the honour which he intended to confer upon
them, but to return without accepting it. 2
Sir Paul Rycaut to Lord Lexington.
Jan. 23, 169-7.
Count d'Eck, the Imperial Minister, having re-
ceived letters from the Emperor, went hence privately
about ten days ago to Gustraw, where, meeting the
Duke of Schwerin by appointment (who entered the town
in a kind of triumph), he declared to the magistracy
of the town and country, that, by command from the
Emperor and sentence of the Imperial Chamber, he
was come to induct and invest the Duke of Schwerin
into the Principalities of Gustraw, in opposition to the
Duke of Strelitz. I formerly acquainted your Lord-
3
1 The Princes Alexander and flattered her with the hope that
Constantine Sobieski, the two France would support the claims of
younger sons of the late King of Prince James to the crown of his
Poland.
father.
2
Mary Casimira de la Grange
was a native of France, and her
father, the Marquis d'Arquien,
was Captain of the Guards to the
Duke of Orleans. She married,
first, Prince Zamoiski, and, se-
condly, in 1667, before his election
to the crown of Poland, John Sobi-
eski. The Queen sent her two
younger sons to Paris, by the advice
of M. de Polignac, who at first
3 Gustavus Adolphus, Duke of
Mecklenburgh Gustraw, died in
November, 1695, without male
issue; and the Dukes of Mecklen-
burgh Schwerin and of Mecklenburgh
Strelitz asserted rival claims to the
territories of the deceased Duke.
The Emperor favoured the pre-
tensions of the former, the Directors
of the Circle (of Lower Saxony)
those of the latter; and the King of
R
242
[1696-7.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
ship that, upon the death of the Duke of Gustraw, the
regency of the country was put into the hands of the
Directors of the Circle, namely, the King of Sweden, the
Elector of Brandenburgh, and the Duke of Zell, with
powers to guard the same and keep possession with one
hundred men each, until the difference should be deter-
mined by the laws of the Empire. Now, upon the
appearance of the Count d'Eck and the Duke of
Schwerin, the troops of Brandenburgh and Zell with-
drew, but the Swedes retired into the castle, and, as we
hear now reported, three hundred men are coming from
Wismar to reinforce those who are in the castle.
The King of Denmark hath sent some troops to
quarter on the villages of Lubeck, upon a quarrel which
the King of Denmark's postmaster had with the post-
master of Lubeck. What right the Danes may have
on their side I know not, but, be it right or wrong, the
Danes are ready to make good their pretensions; whether
by force or reason, it matters not much in this age.
Sweden, their chief, showed, in the
first instance, a disposition to aid the
Duke of Mecklenburgh Strelitz in
obtaining possession of Gustraw by
force of arms.
This new contest was the more
dangerous because the disputed suc-
cession to the Duchy of Saxe Lau-
enburgh was still undecided, and the
mediating powers had hitherto failed
to adjust the differences between the
King of Denmark and the Duke of
Holstein.
It was at length agreed (as Sir
Paul Rycaut states) that the claims
of the contending Princes should
be examined by the Directors of the
Circle, and that, pending the inquiry,
the territories in dispute should be
+
placed under their protection. The
Imperial mandate for the investiture
of the Duke of Mecklenburgh
Schwerin was a violation of this
agreement, to which the Emperor
was himself a party, and the Direc-
tors refused to obey it. They or-
dered both the Duke and the Im-
perial minister to quit Gustraw with-
out delay; the former obeyed, but
Count d'Eck refused to depart until
he was compelled by Colonel Klin-
kerstrom, the commander of the
Swedish troops.
The Emperor warmly resented the
indignity offered to his minister, and
the Swedish Ambassador at Vienna,
Count Gabriel d'Oxienstern, was
forbid to appear at court.
!
1696-7.]
243
LORD VILLIERS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
(Translation.)
Paris, Feb. 4, 1697.
The manifesto of King James, of which I sent you
a copy, has been privately distributed by some of his
adherents, and given to the Foreign Ministers.
On a more careful consideration, however, of this docu-
ment, they think that it will do harm rather than good;
for it is probable that the Catholic as well as the Pro-
testant Princes will be offended by it, and it may raise
doubts with regard to the sincerity of the engagement
into which France has entered to recognize King
William. It has therefore been suppressed, and the
persons who distributed it now say that King James
disavows it, and that when the proper time arrives he
will publish one which will be addressed to all Christian
Princes without distinction.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Feb. 5, N. S., 1697.
Comte Kaunitz yesterday, in the name of the
Congress, required the mediation of M. Lilienroot, the
Swedish Minister here; the other Ministers of the
Congress have the liberty to do it likewise, every one
in the name of his particular master; and, accordingly,
I have done it in the name of his Majesty. I have
written to Mr. Robinson to do the like at Stockholm,
in concert with M. van Heckeren. The Spanish
Minister¹ does not yet concur in requiring the medi-
ation, not being yet satisfied in the point of his re-
unions; but I hope a few days will adjust this matter,
and then we shall be one body again, and weak enough,
to oppose so potent an enemy as France. I hope you
¹ Don Bernardo de Quiros.
R 2
244
[1696-7.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
will quickly send us the Emperor's consent to treat at
the Hague: we shall go on the more cheerfully with
what I reckon now begun, since yesterday's work. Pray
God send us a speedy and happy ending!
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Feb. 5, 1697.
Count Kaunitz last night went to Mr. Lilienroot
to defer the mediation to the King of Sweden in the
name of the Congress, which is a good step towards a
treaty. Callières has consented that Luxemburgh shall
be restored in statu quo, and hopes are given that some-
thing more than was granted by the peace of Nimeguen
will be done for the House of Lorraine, not by prelimi-
nary, but when we treat; but what that something more
means, I cannot guess, unless they have a mind to give
the young Duke a French wife. This is more news
than you could expect from me, who have nothing to
do with the Congress, and who concern myself as little
as is possible with those matters. Your English letters
will tell you strange news of promotions; another
Dutchman made an English Earl, a Frenchman made
an Irish Governor, and a German-English Envoy
made General over our French troops on the Rhine:*
2
3
¹ Mr. Stepney was right in this
conjecture. On the conclusion of
the peace, the Duke of Lorraine
married Elizabeth, daughter of the
Duke of Orleans. Lorraine was
restored to him; but Louis XIV.
retained possession of the four routes
through the duchy, each half a
league in breadth, which were ceded
to France by the treaty of Nime-
guen.
It will be remembered that
Charles, Duke of Lorraine (the
father of the young Duke), refused
to accede to these conditions when
first imposed, and, quitting his do-
minions, passed the remainder of his
life in the military service of the
Emperor.
"Mr. Keppel, created Earl of
Albemarle.
3
³ On the 28th January Lord Gal-
way was appointed one of the Lords
Justices of Ireland.
4 On the conclusion of the neu-
trality of Italy, Lord Galway with-
drew from Piedmont and marched,
·
1696-7.]
245
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
one would think we were at riddles and cross purposes.
I forgot to add that of a commoner who has his head
cut off—an honour which ought to be reserved only for
your Lordships. ¹
1
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Feb. 15, 1697.
5, 1696.
Pray, my Lord, let your Secretaries be more
careful in covering your letters, most of them coming
quite open by the wearing out of the covers. Be-
sides 't were better, upon some considerations, that
they did not come to me hither, under Mr. Secretary's
packet, so perfectly open as they do."
2
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Feb. 15, 1697.
I had not before yesterday your Lordship's favour
of the 29th of December last, with the inclosed paper
relating to the resolutions of your court for continuing
the war, since which our advices from Holland say the
French King seemed then more in earnest as to peace,
having offered such a manner of acknowledging our
King as is satisfactory; yet I know not what to think
of it, since after talking so big, it will be thought a
great lessening to his pretended glory; and on the
other hand, the very ticklish state of the King of
Spain's health must make him desire it, that if possible
with the troops under his command,
to the Rhine. He shortly afterwards
returned to England; and Count
Frize, the "German-English En-
voy," was placed at the head of these
troops, which were principally com-
posed of, or at least officered by,
French refugees.
¹ Sir John Fenwick was beheaded
on Tower Hill on the 23rd January.
2 Sir William Trumbull was on
bad terms with his colleagues. He
shortly afterwards resigned, assign-
ing as the reason for this step that
the Lords Justices had used him like
a footman.
246
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1696-7.
2
the confederates might be thereby induced to disarm
before the succession of this monarchy is opened, to
which he will infallibly pretend, notwithstanding the so
solemn renunciation made at his marriage with the
Infanta.¹ Here is a warm discourse that the Duke of
Grammont is coming Ambassador from France with
proposals, and though it may seem improbable, I do
not altogether disbelieve it. However, here are not
wanting private emissaries, who can, under hand, do the
business as well. All possible care is taken to conceal
the truth of his Catholic Majesty's indisposition; they
tell us he has had no fever-fit since Monday was
se'nnight, when it was very severe, lasting eight or ten
hours; he has not since that risen out of bed, but, to
disguise the matter the better, the players are brought
to act in his chamber, and then they give out his
Majesty was pretty well such a day, and saw a comedy.
He is certainly very weak, and the greatest hope for
him is in the return of the sun, of which we are yet
very little sensible, having continued frost and snow.
(Translation.)
Paris, Feb. 22, 1697.
The hopes of the Prince de Conti have been revived
by the arrival of a courier from the Abbé de Polignac.
'Maria Theresa, eldest daughter
of Philip IV., and half-sister of
Charles II. of Spain.
3
Pope, Alexander VIII.; and in
1693 he was appointed ambassador
to the King of Poland. He soon
2 The son of the celebrated Maré- acquired great influence at that
chal de Grammont.
court; and on the death of the
King, he suggested to Louis XIV.
the nomination of the Prince de
Conti as a candidate for the vacant
throne of Poland. The failure of
this scheme certainly could not with
justice be attributed either to mis-
management or negligence on the
3 Melchior de Polignac, Abbé,
and subsequently Cardinal, de Po-
lignac, was descended from a dis-
tinguished family of Languedoc.
When very young he displayed
eminent diplomatic talents in the
conduct of a negotiation with the
1696-7.] SIR W. TRUMBULL TO LORD LEXINGTON.
247
1
He states that the party of the Prince is increasing, and
that the confederate army is at his disposal. During
the carnival Monsieur gave a dance; it was not a
formal ball, but there were masks, and among them was
an opera-dancer, named La Florence, disguised in male
costume. When requested to dance, she selected for
her partner the Duchesse de Chartres. As she is the
declared mistress of the Duc de Chartres, this was
considered exceedingly insolent, and it has annoyed
Monsieur so much that he has determined not to give
any balls this year.
Sir William Trumbull to Lord Lexington.
6
Whitehall, Feb. 16, 169;
7
His Majesty commands me to signify to your
Lordship his pleasure that you do, in his name, make a
compliment of thanks in very obliging terms to the
Emperor for his care of his Majesty's safety, in order-
ing the discovery of the villanous designs of Count
Buselli 2 to be made to him; and likewise that you
part of the French minister, who on
the contrary exhibited singular skill
and address in conciliating the Polish
nobles, and in counteracting the
intrigues of the opponents of the
Prince de Conti; but on his return
to France, in 1698, M. de Polignac
was banished the court. He was
subsequently restored to favour; and
in 1710 he was despatched, with
Maréchal d'Uxelles, to the confer-
ences of Gertruydenberg; two years
afterwards he was one of the pleni-
potentiaries at the congress of
Utrecht. Cardinal de Polignac died
in 1741, aged eighty years.
¹ M. de Polignac had gained the
confederate army by the promise of
a large sum of money. The Elector
of Saxony afterwards endeavoured
by still more liberal offers to induce
them to declare in his favour, but,
of eighty-six companies, seventy-
eight adhered to their engagements
with M. de Polignac. "The first
time," says a French contemporary
writer, "since the establishment of
the monarchy that the Polish army
refused an offer of money.”— Vide
Histoire de la Scission de Pologne,
par M. de la Bizardière. Pub. 1700.
2 A full account of Count Buselli,
4244
248
[1696-7.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
assure Count Mansfelt from his Majesty that he is
sensible of the friendly part he has acted in this dis-
covery, and in that which he takes in the preservation
of his Majesty's person; and his Majesty directs your
Lordship to use all your endeavours to have this fellow
seized, that he may be brought to examination and
punishment, if the matter of fact be true.
Sir Paul Rycaut to Lord Lexington.
Hamburgh, Feb. 20, S. V. 1699.
1
2
Here are two gentlemen arrived from Scotland,
namely, Mr. Paterson and Lieut.-Col. Erskine, who
are come in quality of Commissioners for the Scotch
East India Company, desiring (as I have heard) to be
admitted to a treaty with this Government for the
establishment of a staple in this city; but by a com-
mand from the King, I think I have ruined that design,
and diverted the magistracy from any thoughts of
treaty or concordatum with them. Their next design
is to augment their stock by subscriptions of the people
of these countries; but I think also that will hardly
succeed; the merchants having as yet taken some pre-
judicial impressions against this trade and the managers
thereof, and also have considered the many and hazard-
and of his supposed machinations
against the life of William III., will
be found in Lord Lexington's letter
to Mr. Blathwayt of May 8th,
p. 258.
¹ William Paterson was the origi-
nator of the Scotch India Company.
He was bred to the church; but
having "
a violent propensity to see
foreign countries, he made his pro-
fession the instrument of indulging
it, by going to the new Western
World under the pretence of con-
verting the Indians to the religion
of the Old World." The ruin of
the first colony at Darien deprived
him for a time of his senses; but he
recovered and survived the failure
of his scheme many years.- Vide
Dalrymple's Memoirs.
2 Colonel Erskine, the son of
Lord Cardross.
1696-7.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
249
ous difficulties which it will at first lie under, and the
doubtful contests it will find from the English and
Dutch rivals. 1
(Translation.)
Paris, March 8, 1697.
3
The Abbé de Châteauneuf departed a fortnight
ago. 2
Messieurs Boreel and Dyckvelt have com-
plained to M. de Callières that the French privateers
capture the fishing boats in the Meuse, and they fear
that the Congress will be insufficiently supplied with
fish. The King, therefore, has given letters of safe
conduct for a certain number of these boats, which will,
The merchants of Hamburgh
highly resented the interference of
Sir Paul Rycaut in this matter.
They stated that "they looked upon
it as a very strange thing that the
King of Great Britain should offer
to hinder them who were a free
people from trading with whom they
pleased, and were amazed to think
that he should hinder them from
joining with his own subjects in
Scotland, to whom he had given
such large privileges by so solemn
an Act of Parliament."
It appears,
also, that the King was of opinion
that he had gone too far; for in
answer to an address from the Scotch
Company, complaining of the con-
duct of Sir Paul Rycaut and Mr.
Cressett, he stated that as soon as he
returned to England he would take
their representations into considera-
tion, and that in the mean time
orders would be sent to Sir Paul
Rycaut and Mr. Cressett not to make
use of his Majesty's name or au-
thority for obstructing their Com-
in the prosecution of their
pany
trade with the inhabitants of Ham-
burgh.- Vide Coke's Detection of
the Court and State of England.
2 The Queen of Poland, who was
in frequent communication with the
French court, gave a very unfa-
vourable account of the prospects of
the Prince de Conti, in the hope
that Louis XIV. might be per-
suaded to withdraw the Prince from
the list of competitors for the Polish
crown.
She succeeded so far as to induce
Louis to doubt the correctness of the
reports received from the French
ambassador; and M. de Castagnères,
Abbé de Châteauneuf, the brother
of the French ambassador at Con-
stantinople, was despatched to Po-
land to verify the statements of M.
de Polignac, and at the same time to
check his proceedings; for he had
far exceeded his instructions in the
pecuniary engagements into which
he had entered with the nobles and
army of Poland.
8 Messrs. Boreel and Dyckvelt
were two of the Dutch plenipoten-
M. Van Haren was the
tiaries.
third.
250
•
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1696-7.
in return, be compelled to serve the places of Congress
before any other.
In order to avoid naming King William before the
Peace is concluded, they have determined not to give
any passports to the English Ministers, but arrange-
ments have been made for supplying the States General
with as many as they may require for the use of these
Ministers and their couriers.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
Frankfort,
'It was supposed, and probably
with truth, that Baron Zeiler was
the special agent of the Imperial
Court, and that he alone of the Aus-
Feb. 27
March 9'
1697.
If your Court does not intend really (or thinks
they cannot bring it about) to fix the bonnet on the
head of the Elector of Hanover, they would do well, at
least, to convince him by solid arguments why they
cannot, that this may not be made use of as a pretext
for not sending a timely assistance. I have writ to Mr.
Cressett many reasons to induce the Lunenburgh Court
not to be too firm in their declaration that they will not
send a man until that point is made out; which is a
false maxim of state, and may be the means of utterly
forfeiting what they would unreasonably extort.
Baron Zeiler dropped in here last night, and took post
so early this morning that I could not see him. I
believe he is afraid lest we should sign without him ;
but I am of the hangman's opinion, that there will be no
sport before he comes. ¹
1
trian plenipotentiaries possessed the
full confidence of the Emperor, and
of his chief minister, Count Chinski.
1696-7.]
251
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, March 15, 1697, N. S.
According to my advices from England, this is like
to be the last time I shall offer your Lordship my
service at Vienna, and I shall next wait to receive your
commands from the Hague, where I wish you may
meet the same sincerity you carry, which, I confess, I
am a little afraid of; yet the King of Spain's recovery,
which leaves now no room for any further apprehen-
sions, and the safe arrival of a rich flota from the
Indies last week to Cadiz, seem to facilitate the peace,
if there ever was any such thing really intended.
Sixteen ships are come in by miracle, and only one
missing, which is reported to have put in at Faro, in
Portugal, but of that we have no certainty. They
bring at least sixteen millions in plate, besides great
quantities of rich commodities. If you make no general
peace there, you must expect here will be concluded a
neutrality for Catalogne, which the Nuncio presses
hard, and has got a great party.
(Translation.)
Paris, March 25, 1697.
The King has seen l'Homme au Spectre at Marly,
but no one knows what passed at the interview. It is
believed that this phantom is a confessor, who takes
this mode of communicating to the King some important
secret which he has discovered in the confessional.
A second statement in favour of King James will
shortly be published, containing the reasons which
should induce the Protestant Princes and states to con-
tribute to his restoration.¹
About this time James II. de-
manded, but probably with no ex-
pectation of success, that his mini-
ster should be admitted to the con-
252
[1696-7.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
16
March 1697.
26'
I suppose Prior has given your Lordship notice
that he is arrived at the Hague with your powers and
instructions, and perhaps your postulata have been sent
after him. So far we are in earnest, and are willing to
believe the French are so too; but the invincible per-
verseness of your Ministry will spoil all. I imagine
they will not declare themselves till they have spun us
into another campaign, or at least till Count Harrach
has settled the point of succession in Spain, and exa-
mines more narrowly whether the King will die or not.
It would be a shorter way to knock him on the head
downright rather than all Europe should be kept in
suspense with the uncertain state of his health.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, March 30, 1697.
Count Straatman's Secretary will be quickly de-
spatched back to his master, and, as I am informed, his
orders will be to insist for obtaining a further explication
from Callières, according to what D'Avaux declared
some time ago in Swedeland, and the resolutions of the
States of the 3rd of September,' presented by us here;
gress at Ryswick. This claim, so
absurd under the circumstances, was
of course rejected. He then sent
M. Bem, disguised as a domestic,
to the Hague, to watch over his in-
terests there; and on the 9th of
June he published a formal protest
against the negotiations with the
Prince of Orange.
The French ministers already
showed symptoms of a desire to
withdraw a part of their original
proposals, and the delays interposed
by the Emperor enabled them from
time to time to explain away former
concessions, and to advance new
claims, which were not strictly in
accordance with the conditions to
which they had previously consented.
1697.]
253
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
and that once settled and adjusted, they will consent
both to the place and the opening of the Congress. I
have from the same hand, that this court may be
tempted to accept an equivalent for Strasburgh; if so,
the reasons no doubt are——
1st. Religion. The Jesuits not being willing to see
that place return again under a Protestant government,
having now two or three colleges there.
2ndly. The places proposed for the equivalent are
likely to be of the Emperor's own patrimony; there
self-interest touches.'
And lastly, in hopes to make the conditions of Lor-
raine better, the French having declared they will do
nothing more for that Prince than they offered at the
treaty of Nimeguen, if they do not accept of an equi-
valent for Strasburgh.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, April 12, 1697, N. S.
2
The fair Secretary had never so good an oppor-
tunity to triumph over the infirmities of a weak brother
as she has now, for I have neither an eye nor a hand,
one eye being civilly put out by a defluxion, and the
other weeping till it comes again, and the arm in a
scarf, having been let blood for abatement of salt
humours: these inconveniences will, I hope, be so re-
moved, that I may send your Lordship a copy of
your
plein pouvoir and instructions by the next post. In
the mean time I am trying all that physic can do, in
¹ Louis XIV. proposed as an equi-
valent for Strasburgh the following
places:-Brisac, Friburgh, Philips-
burgh, Fort Kehl, Mont Royal,
and Traerback: the two former alone
belonged to Austria.
2
Lady Lexington.
254
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
order to assist at the Congress at Ryswick, rather than
be sent home to the college at Chelsea.
The reasons your Lordship was pleased to mention
to me that might make an equivalent received at
Vienna, are mighty good ones, and if I can judge from
some people here, who have, I believe, too frequent
correspondence with the French at Delft, it is what
they would most endeavour, if they durst but begin to
mention it. In the treaty itself they will try it, but by
what I can hear, they do not think it yet time to do so.
I treat your Lordship, you see, en secrétaire, and speak
to you thus far, as to your Excellence, my master; my
Lord Lexington, my patron and my friend, shall have
all the verses I can pick up as soon as my eyes come
home again, or my hand can transcribe. 2
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, April 13, 1697.
You will find here what has passed at the dispos-
sessing of the Duke of Mecklenburgh by the directors
of the Circle, as 't is represented here. The Emperor
is extremely irritated with the proceeding, and every-
body says that he never appeared to be so moved in
his life upon any occasion whatever; indeed I think
they might have done it with more respect.
3 Mr.
Heemskerck was this morning with the Ambassador of
Spain, who told him he had orders from his court to
propose to this a general armistice, which would pre-
4
For Strasburgh.
2 This letter is in the handwriting
of Mr. Swinford, but is signed by
signed by
Prior himself.
3 Referring to the expulsion of the
Duke of Mecklenburgh Schwerin and
Count d'Eck from Gustraw by Col.
Klinkerstrom and the Swedish
troops.
4 Francis Juan de Santa Maria,
Bishop of Solsona.
1697.]
255
MR. ROBINSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
vent a separate neutrality in Catalonia, which otherwise
they should be forced to make, having no hopes of
succour from England by a squadron, and being out of
possibility otherwise to defend themselves. What the
Emperor will do in it I do not know, but I think we
ought to oppose it, or at least declaim against it, and
get it referred to the Congress, where his Majesty may
take his measures; but this I cannot help saying, as a
good Englishman, if the House of Austria will make
their separate peace on all sides where their convenience
seems to lead them, without consulting us, we ought to
take care of ourselves at the same time, and not to be
left to pay for all.
Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington.
Stockholm, April 7, 1697.
I have formerly mentioned, in my letters to your
Lordship, the indisposition this King has now a good
while been under, the issue of which I, till of late,
hoped would have been more favourable than it has at
last proved. His Majesty's whole life has been very
regular in every respect except only in the violence of
his exercises and excessive haste in his journeys, which
he seemed to take pleasure in, the effects of which, in
the expense of his spirits and the agitation of his blood,
have long been apprehended, and at last have proved
fatal. Besides he has suffered much by falls off his
horse' and other contusions, of which he received one
The King was accustomed to
ride post such long stages, and with
so great speed, that he was often
nearly suffocated by the heat. He
met with many accidents in riding
and hunting; and on one occasion
he broke a blood vessel in his eager-
ness to rescue one of his attendants
from the attack of a bear. On an-
other he fell from his horse, and
broke his leg, which was so badly
set that he was lame for the rest of
his life.
his life. Vide Robinson's Account
of Sweden.
256
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
the last summer that affected his liver, already inflamed
by the violence of his journey, and has now brought
him to his end; for, from that time, his Majesty found
his stomach very weak, and seldom able to retain either
meat or physic, and has been afflicted with most exqui-
site inward pains, which were judged to be a colic. His
Majesty bore them long without much complaint, and
if courage and firmness of mind could have done it,
would have overcome them. In the beginning of
February his Majesty retired into the country for
change of air, and not finding relief thereby, returned
hither towards the middle of March, and in few days
after his illness increased so much that himself as well
as his physicians concluded he had but few days to live,
and therefore, in the intervals of his pains, his Majesty
reviewed his will, and explained it agreeably to the
present state of affairs, and then, with an exemplary
patience under his sufferings, as also great piety and
resignation, prepared for his departure out of this world.
On Good Friday, the 2nd instant, his Majesty received
the holy sacrament, and afterwards took leave of the
Royal Family, the Senators, and others. The next
day he seemed to be somewhat better, but that soon
changed, his strength and spirits visibly decaying till
Monday the 5th instant, when he again received the
sacrament, and at ten that night expired, to the great
affliction of his relations and his subjects, who have lost
a Prince that was very exemplary, and endowed with
many most Christian and princely qualities, which
would have been without blemish, if all that were in his
favour had been as well inclined as himself. His
Majesty was born November 25th, 1655, came to the
crown at five years old, was declared major and crowned
:
1697.]
MR. ROBINSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
257
1
2
between seventeen and eighteen, and died in the forty-
second year of his age. Yesterday, the Senate being
assembled in the Queen Mother's apartment, the late
King's will was opened, by which the management of
affairs during the present King's minority (which will
be somewhat more than two years) is intrusted to the
Queen and five of the Senators, who are to determine
all matters by the majority of voices, of which her
Majesty has two. These Senators are-
The Count Benoit Oxenstiern, who, under the Queen,
is to have the direction of the Regency, the Senate, and
all foreign affairs;
Count Christopher Gyldenstiern is for the affairs of
the Militia;
Count Fabian Wrede for those of the Admiralty;
Count Nicolas Gyldenstolpe for those of Justice;
Count Laurence Wallerstedt for what concerns the
Treasury.
These Regents are to have full and absolute power
in the making of treaties and all other acts of govern-
ment, and I hope time will show that they make good
use of it, not only for the interest of Sweden, but of all
Europe. Their first care, I suppose, must be to pro-
vide a remedy against the famine which at present
afflicts the most parts of this nation to a very great
extremity. But the seas now begin to open, and relief
may speedily be expected.
¹ Charles XI. of Sweden suc-
ceeded his father, Charles Gus-
tavus X., in 1660. In 1680 he
married Ulrica Eleanora, sister to
the King of Denmark. He was
frugal, temperate, and pious, and
possessed in some degree the mili-
•
tary talents for which his more cele-
brated son was so eminently dis-
tinguished.
2 Charles XII. was born in 1682:
he was therefore fifteen years of age
at his father's death.
ΤΩ
258
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, May 7, N. S., 1697.
I am glad to tell you that all our preliminary
difficulties are over. The Imperialists are satisfied with
a requisition made to them by myself, the Spanish, and
Dutch Ministers. I send your Lordship the requisi-
tion with the answer. The Spaniards are contented,
as to their reunions, that the answer should be given
into the hands of the mediator forty-eight hours before
the opening of the treaty, and dispense with its being
communicated to them provided the Dutch Ministers
see it. Upon this the Congress yesterday thought fit
to propose Thursday to the mediator for the opening of
the treaty; and I do not doubt but that by this time
the French have consented to it, though I have not had
an opportunity of seeing M. Lilienroot. The wind
being fair, we expect the King every hour.
2
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, May 8, 1697.
'Tis some time ago I received orders from you to
thank the Emperor for the information he gave me by
Count Mansfelt, of a certain Italian that might have a
The principal points in dispute
between the Imperial and the
French ministers related to the re-
storation, without exception, of all
the reunions, and to the conditions
on which the Duke of Lorraine
should be re-established in his do-
minions. The French plenipoten-
tiaries had promised the restitution
of the reunions which had been ac-
quired since the treaty of Nimeguen,
but every successive declaration on
this point was less explicit than that
which preceded it; and they now
formally refused to entertain, in the
preliminaries, any suggestion that
the Duchy of Lorraine should be
restored, except on the humiliating
conditions of the same treaty, that
of Nimeguen.
In the requisition referred to by
Lord Villiers the ministers of Great
Britain, Spain, and Holland pledged
themselves to aid the Imperialists
in obtaining satisfaction on these
points during the negotiation.
2 The Swedish Ambassador and
mediator.
:
1697.1
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
259
design against his Majesty's life, which I did, and at
the same time desired he would be pleased to continue
his care to prevent anything of that nature. He
received his Majesty's thanks very kindly, and assured
me no care should be wanting on his side; that he
would give his orders accordingly, and that in a small
time he expected a man who could give him further
information about it, whom he had sent for on purpose,
and that as soon as he was come he would order Count
Mansfelt to bring him to me. So far I have already
acquainted you with. Two or three days ago Count
Mansfelt sent to me to tell me the gentleman was come,
and to desire me to come and dine with him at Lax-
emburgh, where I should meet him, which I did. The
gentleman is one Count Castel Barco, a man of a great
estate, one of the first families in Tyrol, and now
the Emperor's Envoy Extraordinary and Commissary
to all the Princes of Italy, a very reasonable man, and
one upon whom one may rely in what he says. He told
me that it was most certain that this Buselli had been
tempted to undertake the assassination of his Majesty;
that he had it from such hands that he could not doubt
of it, who were confidants of Buselli, and who had
assured him that they had seen the original letters from
France to that purpose. He assured me further that
this Buselli was under the protection of France, and
now actually received a pension from thence; that he
was recommended by the French Ambassador to the
Duke of Mantua to be protected by him, being outlawed
by all other States for the many villainies he has com-
mitted, and that the Ambassador added when he
delivered him, that he was a man his master had great
consideration for, and would require his safety at the
s 2
260
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
Duke's hands; that he now lives in a castle the Duke
has given him, where he subsists by assassinations and
putting all the country round about under contribution;
and that when he wants money, he only sends a note to
any reputed rich man for such a sum, and that no one
dares refuse to send it him, for if they do they are sure
not to live long after it; that all the villains that are
outlawed and fear the gallows repair to him, and he
receives them into regular pay and subsists them by the
contributions above named; that he has a hundred or a
hundred and fifty of these fellows now with him in this
castle, and that if anybody has a mind to have a man
murdered, 't is but sending to him, and for so much,
more or less according as the thing is difficult or not,
you may have it done; and that the men he has mur-
dered in this manner are innumerable. And so much
more of this kind that I own it struck horror into me
but to hear it, especially after it was all confirmed to me
by Prince Commercy; and many more particulars how
dangerous a villain this was. In short, Sir, the end of
this conference was, that this fellow, being so dangerous
and pernicious to human society, that his Majesty's life
having already been attempted by his enemies, and it
being apparent that the malice of some of them still
subsists, and this fellow so fit an instrument for the
execution of it, the Emperor should be desired to give
his orders to Count Castel Barco for the securing of
him, which is done, and he has his orders to get him
into his hands dead or alive. This, if you please, must
be kept very secret: for, should it be known, it would
not only endanger the escaping of the fellow, but the
life itself of Count Castel Barco.¹ 1
It is very improbable that Count Buselli really entertained any de-
:
1697.]
MR. SWINFORD TO LORD LEXINGTON.
261
Hague, May 10, 1697, N. S.
Last Tuesday, about noon, we had the good news
of the King's safe arrival on this side. His Majesty
landed, about ten o'clock, at Oranienpolder, and, after
having dined with M. Rhynenberg at Naeldwick, and
passed the afternoon at Houselaerdyck, came hither
that night. The Earl of Pembroke is come over with
his Majesty, Sir Joseph Williamson's indisposition not
permitting him to be of the voyage, but will follow in
a few days. The Imperial Ministers acquainted M.
Lilienroot, the mediator, on Sunday, and the Congress
here on Monday last, that they would consent, with the
rest of the Allies, to the opening of the treaty for a
General Peace without any further delay. The
mediator having the same assent from all the Allies on
one part, and the French ministers on the other,
appointed yesterday, four o'clock in the afternoon, for
the first meeting at Ryswick. Accordingly, the
Ministers of the Allies went thither at the appointed
time: the two first of the Imperial embassy, with two
coaches and six horses each, and the rest in one coach
and six. My Lord Villiers went but with one coach
and six horses, as incognito, and in complaisance to the
Earl of Pembroke, who went with him in the same
coach, his Excellency's own coaches and equipage not
being yet come to the Hague. About half an hour
after the Allies were together, the French came thither
in three coaches and six, and were brought to their
apartments, which are on one side of the house, the
Allies being on the other side and the mediator in the
signs against King William; but it
appears from the preceding letters
on this subject that the British
Government regarded the matter in
a serious light. I have been unable
to discover whether the Count was
"snapt" or what was his fate.
262
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
middle. The Assembly lasted till near eight o'clock :
and all that was done was that the plein-pouvoirs, as
well of the Ministers of the Allies as of the French,
were shown to the mediator, and copies of them left in
his hands; after which the Congress was adjourned till
Saturday morning, ten o'clock.
His Majesty, I hear, designs to leave the Hague
to-morrow. He goes for a day or two to Zuylestein,
and from thence to Loo.
My Lord Villiers kissed the King's hand yesterday
morning, for his being one of the Lords Justices of
Ireland.¹
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, May 10, 1697, N. S.
The old Count de Harrach is daily expected at
Barcelona, though I am assured all possible endeavours
have been used from hence to stop his coming, nor
will his business-which every one knows already 2—
be welcome here; so that though he may be certain of
all satisfaction in respect and ceremonials, yet I believe
he will have little in the main of his errand. I am
sorry to see it so: but, by all I can learn, the French
party is much the strongest, and I fear will appear so
whenever the case happens.
This letter bears no signature,
but is in the handwriting of Mr.
Prior's secretary, Mr. Swinford.
2 To induce the King of Spain to
declare the Archduke Charles his
successor.
3 The greater credit is due to Mr.
Stanhope for arriving at this con-
clusion (which subsequent events
proved to be correct), because it cer-
-
3
tainly was contrary to general belief
at the time.
It would appear from this letter
that the preponderance of the French
interest at the Spanish court was
apparent (at least to Mr. Stan-
hope) not only before either of the
treaties of partition was in contem-
plation, but during the continuance
of the war with France.
1697.]
MR. ROBINSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
263
to t
I cannot give you so good an account as I desire of
his Catholic Majesty's health, though it be much better
than of late; he has newly left off his course of steel,
ordered by his doctors to remove obstructions and a
swelling in one side, and yet the swelling still continues.
He is so well as to go out almost every day to take the
air, although he looks very pale and ill. The Queen
has had these three last days three very severe fits of a
fever, ten or twelve hours each, which begin with
vomitings and frissons.
Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington.
Stockholm, May 1, 1697.
Your Excellency had, in mine of the 7th, an
account of the late King's death, and of the method the
Government is put into during the present King's
minority, in which things continue to be carried on
without any disorder, though not without intrigues of
divers kinds. Some are for making a speedy end of
the regency by declaring the King major, without
waiting till he be past seventeen, as is usual; and con-
sidering, besides other things, the forward growth of his
Majesty both in body and mind, it may not be unrea-
sonable to make such anticipation. The proofs his
Majesty daily gives of judgment and prudence, as also
of great justice and equanimity, are very remarkable,
and promise much happiness to his people.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
17
Hague, May 1697.
7'
Here is, my dear Lord, the dish of Congress news.
I ought to have sent you the first course by last post,
264
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
1
but, for the essential goodness of it, I might have re-
served the whole meal till another; for a man must be
very hungry that takes up with such diet. You see,
my Lord, how it is with us; and if we go on no faster
than we have begun, we may e'en make another
Nimeguen business of it. Kaunitz is ceremonious and
punctilious about trifles; Zeiler is more so; Smeateau,
the Brandenburgh Minister, acts upon queries and
quomodos, and, in short, is a better agent at a Diet at
Ratisbonne than a Plenipotentiary at a General Peace.
Your confrères go, as yet, incognito in the same coach
my Lord Villiers's). No business is yet on foot.
I cannot boast of my eyes. I have a great respect
for the God of Love, but am not aspiring to divinity:
a blind boy may turn Cupid; but at thirty, if the mis-
chance falls on one, I know nothing but singing psalms
upon Fleet Bridge that remains for one.
My Lord Villiers is named, you will have heard, for
Ireland. The King has not been very well, but I hope
it is now over.
•
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, May 24, N. S., 1697.
The death of our mediator 2 makes no alteration
in our negotiation, which I suppose Chinski will not
like. The King has consented to have M. La Tour³
3
¹ The Congress of Nimeguen was
opened in April, 1678: it lasted for
nearly a year, and during the nego-
tiations Louis XIV. succeeded in
separating the Allies. Notwith-
standing the opposition of the Prince
of Orange, the States- General con-
cluded a separate peace with France
in August, 1678, and the King of
Spain followed their example in
December. The Emperor, thus de-
serted by his Allies, was compelled
to relinquish his pretensions, and in
February, 1679, he reluctantly signed
a Treaty with France.
2 The King of Sweden.
3 M. la Tour was the Minister of
the Duke of Savoy: a few days
1697.]
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
265
come to the Congress, who is now at my door, and
prevents me being any longer.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
21
Hague, May 1697.
31'
1
The Emperor's postulata have frightened the French
out of their wits. They have no notion, I hear, of our
Germans being in earnest for a peace after the giving in
propositions that seem so monstrous; but this, I hope,
is but grimace on the other side, and that the effect of
all will be that our Imperialists must think of speaking
reason, or nobody can treat with them, and of advanc-
ing faster, or they will founder all that walk with them.
If they cannot defend the Rhine, and will not stick to
the preliminaries, they are likely to prove hopeful com-
pany in war and in treaty.
Mrs. Davers must wish me joy of my being named
Secretary for Ireland, which I hope will prove some
settlement, and be a patent for hindering me from
starving. I know nothing that would make my new
dignity more agreeable to me than it is, but that your
Lordship in England should be in the post you deserve,
and send me the King's orders to Dublin.
before the Treaty of Turin was con-
cluded, he succeeded in obtaining
from William a large sum of money
in payment of the subsidies due to
his master. The King was deeply
mortified at having been thus duped,
and when M. la Tour appeared at
Court to offer the explanations or
apologies of the Duke, he listened
in silence, and then turned his back
on him but he never suffered his
private resentments to interfere with
the attainment of a political object;
and he consented to admit M. la
Tour to the Congress because he
was aware that his exclusion would
have afforded to the Emperor another
excuse for delay.
These postulata contained a re-
newal of the demands which the
Imperial Ministers had in vain re-
quired should be acquiesced in as
preliminaries.
266
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, June 5, 1697.
·
Three or four days ago the Elector of Saxony,
who is now making use of the baths about twenty miles
off for the curing of his leg, which he wrenched last
winter, intimated to me he wished to speak with me,
and yesterday I went thither after dinner. He told me
he was glad to see me, for that he had something que
lui pesait sur le cœur, to make use of his own words.
I asked him if I might inquire what it was; he an-
swered he designed to tell me, and that it was this.
That the King, when he was at the Hague, should tell
Count Kaunitz that he was very well informed that the
Elector had had some emissaries from France, who
made him great offers if his Highness would withdraw
his troops out of Hungary, not send them nor the rest
upon the Rhine, but remain neuter during the war;
and that his Majesty expressed himself as if he seemed
to apprehend lest his Highness should give ear to it.
I told him, for my part, I had never had the least
intimation of anything of that nature from the King,
and that I could say nothing to it. He answered that he
was very well assured his Majesty had expressed himself
in that manner, for that they had shown him Kaunitz's
letter about it, and added that he did not deny the
thing, but that the French had made him considerable
offers, nay even carte blanche for him to make what
demands he pleased, but that he never would hearken
to anything of that nature, and that 't was a great
trouble to him that the King should think him capable
of it. He then desired me to assure his Majesty of the
contrary, with all the expressions of veneration and
•
1697.]
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
267
"
respect imaginable, and with this particular one, that
the King should never find him a Duke of Savoy to
desert his friends..¹
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, June 6, 1696, N. S.
The Count Harrach arrived here about ten days
ago, is yet incognito, but has seen the King several
times in private. He has come very seasonably to
balance the Nuncio, who is very busy here in soliciting
a neutrality for Catalogne; to which the conjuncture
seems favourable, for the French army, about 24,000
men, are within five leagues of Barcelona. The
The appre-
hension of a siege has struck such a consternation
among them that some of the richest inhabitants have
removed their best effects, and several convents of nuns
are also retired thence. The principality has desired
leave of their Captain-General to set up the standard of
Santa Olalia, patroness of the province, to defend which
all persons able to bear arms are obliged to come in;
but that was refused, as a remedy which might prove of
as ill consequence as anything to be feared from the
enemy it pretended to secure them against. Yesterday
came an express thence with letters of the 3rd instant,
N.S., that nine French ships, with some other small
vessels, were then newly come before the place, and 't is
said all their galleys are expected. The Spanish army
does not exceed 18,000, and mightily divided in their
counsels by reason of the feuds between Don Francisco
de Velasco and the Prince of Hesse, which the council
1 The Elector had determined to
enter the lists for the Crown of
Poland, and it would appear that the
King of France had refused to sup-
port his pretensions.- Vide L'His-
toire de la Scission de Pologne.
!
268
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
here can find no expedient to compose. His Catholic
Majesty continues pretty well, though a little indisposed
to-day, so cannot walk in the procession of Corpus,
which ceremony is therefore put off till Sunday next.
The Queen is perfectly well again.
1
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, June 12, 1697.
Here is the copy of our project of peace. 2 I wish
your Lordship here to sign it. I have told Mr. Sutton
that we have done nothing at Ryswick this week. In
private, Mr. Dyckvelt has given in this project for us.
We have had his Majesty's approbation of it, though I
may venture to say to your Lordship I think the forming
it a little irregular, for neither Privy Council digested it,
nor Secretary of State formed or drew it up. I am
ordered to send it by this post into England, and am
not much in pain what they may say against it there,
provided there be nothing objected to it at Delft.
3
The great article of K. J. is, by his Majesty's order,
left to be treated by our friends first, vivâ voce, lest we
might ask, in a thing so delicate, what we might be
obliged to retract from. The Pensioner of Holland
has been with his Majesty, and has, I believe, his
instructions as to what will be done in earnest in the
great affair, which must advance by much greater steps
than it has done, or be quite broke off; but I think
France will not let it come to that.
¹ The Prince of Hesse Darmstadt
was on bad terms with every suc-
cessive Viceroy of Catalonia. He
himself aspired to the supreme com-
mand in the province, for which his
bravery very well qualified him, and
he at length obtained it.
2 This project differed but little
from that which was in the end
adopted.
3
King Jamies.
1697.]
269
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
M. de Bruynise' to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Hague, June 13, 1697.
M. de Harlai would do well to punish his son,
who, with the openly declared intention of breaking the
remaining arm of a gentleman who had already lost the
other, seated himself with him in a carriage, then threw
the reins on the neck of the horse, and, giving it five or six
blows with the whip, jumped out. The gentleman, who is
attached to the French embassy, broke his leg; but
young M. de Harlai openly laments the failure, as he
calls it, of his scheme, for he had hoped, he says, to
have had the satisfaction of seeing him unable to eat
his soup without assistance. You may, from this speci-
men, form a judgment of the character of this gallant,
and of the manner in which some of the French youth
amuse themselves at Delft.
2
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, June 19, 1697.
The siege of Bihatz goes on very slowly, and I
fear so many difficulties will be found at last that
nothing will come of it. I forgot in my last to acquaint
you that the Elector of Saxony has taken Prince Furst-
¹ M. de Bruynise was Secretary to
the Dutch Plenipotentiaries at the
Congress. He had previously held
the appointment of Resident Minis-
ter for the United Provinces at
Vienna.
2 Achille de Harlai, the first
President of the Parliament of Paris.
St. Simon admits his great ability,
but gives an unfavourable account
of his temper and disposition, and
adds that he ruled his family with
severity, of which, however, the
anecdote in this letter is no proof.
The following is an amusing
example of the power of sarcasm
for which M. de Harlai was cele-
brated:
When consulted by M. de Man-
sard, the architect, who wished that
his son should be named one of the
Présidents à mortier, the First
I'resident coolly replied, "Monsieur
Mansard, veuillez ne
pas mêler
votre mortier avec le nôtre."
270
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
enberg along with him to Dresden, and some think
design to make him his Grand Maréchal and factotum.
If so, I fear we had as good have Schoning alive again;
and I think there will be little doubt to be made from
whence came the propositions of France. ¹
1
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, June 20, 1697, N. S.
I am sorry to tell you the French are as forward
in Catalonia as they are in Flanders. You have heard
before of their approaches towards Barcelona, and
yesterday an express arrived from the Captain General
Don Francisco de Velasco, at his quarters at Marlordee,
that the city was actually besieged both by sea and
land: and this evening is come another, that they had
already cast in 400 bombs from their ships and by land,
and raised a battery at the convent of Capuchins, on
which their guns were mounted, and began to play upon
the place.
Their army is generally agreed not to
exceed 22,000 men, which makes both the Spaniards
and Catalans look upon the attempt with the highest
degree of contempt and indignation. They have
12,000 old troops in the town, besides 5000 or 6000
burghers, who have cheerfully taken arms, and, is said,
very well know how to use them. The Captain-General
has with him at Marlordee 3000 or 4000 foot and
3000 horse; and Don Miguel de Olazo commands, as all
the advices say, at least 20,000 Miquelets, Somatenes,
and other countrymen, all used to fire-arms from
'Prince Anthony Egon, of Furs-
tenberg, the nephew of Cardinal
Furstenberg, who was arrested for
his intrigues with the French in
1673, and whose claims to the Arch-
bishopric of Cologne formed one of
the ostensible grounds for the re-
newal of the war between France
and the Empire in 1688-89.
1697.] EARL OF PEMBROKE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
271
children, and who are voluntarily come in, in this
exigence, in defence of their country. In confidence of
this strength, orders are sent down from Court to attack
the French in their lines by the forces without and the
garrison at the same time, upon a signal given. Yester-
day was the day appointed for this attempt, which
being of so mighty consequence, our impatience cannot
be less to know the success, which will be in two or
three days, and probably the post will be detained till
then; if so, you shall either have it in another letter or
a postscript to this. His Catholic Majesty has had,
since I wrote you last, three fits of his ague, but these
last eight days has been very well. I have a little
indisposition at present, which makes me use another
hand, which I hope your Lordship's goodness will
pardon; for I would by no means omit sending you so
considerable a piece of news. The Count de Harrach
is
very assiduous at Court, but, I hear, advances little
in his main business with the King, and much less with
the Counsellors of State.
P.S. The post did not go away last night; and this
evening, being the 21st, came another express from out
the city of Barcelona, the 18th, who says the enemy
continue bombing, but had done no great hurt; con-
firms the resolution of attacking them in their lines the
next day, viz., the 19th; and they were so confident of
utterly destroying them that they had possessed several
passes to cut off their retreat.
The Earl of Pembroke to Lord Lexington.
15
Hague, June no date but 1697.
25,
I received your Lordship's letter, and look upon
272
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
it as an honour to be in commission with you. I shall
not trouble you with our affairs, Mr. Prior having di-
rections to send you an account from time to time.
Your Lordship remembers that about seven or eight
months since one was committed at Rotterdam upon an
information that he was going into England to murder
the King. The Pensioner has lately had an account
that he who made the information is assassinated at
Harlem; he is stabbed in three places, but not yet
dead. The person who stabbed him is fled, but forgot
to take with him a letter which he first gave him to
read. In it is writ, "You shall make no more informa-
tions." We have reason to pray God that all such
wicked designs may be discovered.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, July 3, no date but 1697.
The Emperor ordered Count Zeill¹ to speak to
me to write to you in favour of the Bishop of Ancona,
who is going with letters from the Emperor to the
Kings of Persia, India, and Ethiopia, which he did.
I suppose his chief business is the conversion of those
people, and, at the same time, to try if he can draw
any of those Princes into the war against the Turks,
though I don't find he is very much relied upon for
that. If his Majesty is pleased to grant him what
he desires, it may give the King a pretence of speaking
in behalf, at any time if he pleases, of the poor Pro-
testants in Hungary, who are barbarously treated. 2
'One of the Imperial ministers.
2 The Protestants of Hungary had
on more than one occasion sought to
obtain the good offices of the King
of England in their favour. In
1694 Count Tekeli implored his in-
terposition with the Emperor, and
offered to join him with 6000 men
to serve against France.
1697.]
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
273
He desires me to add, that you may know all his
qualities, that the Emperor has made him his Privy
Councillor, and that he is born Duke of St. Elie.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, July 3, 1697.
I suppose before this you will have heard the sur-
prising news of the Elector of Saxony's being chosen
King of Poland by three parts in four of the nobility,
the other having declared for the Prince of Conti.
They have already sent a deputation to him to Breslau,
where he now is, and the great Embassy, with the
crown, is following as fast as possible. Never any sur-
prise was greater at this court, for I dare swear they
never knew one word of it till 't was done, and they had
given him money to send his troops to the frontiers of
Silesia to further the election of Prince James, all
which he turned to his own advantage.' It's said he
¹ The account here given of the
election of the King of Poland is
incorrect, and the court of Vienna
was not so completely taken by sur-
prise as Lord Lexington supposed;
but the success of the Elector of
Saxony was the result of a sudden
and secret movement, in which
the Emperor had little if any
share.
John Przependowski, Castellan
of Culm, was the chief agent in
the intrigue which unexpectedly
changed the prospects of the con-
test for the crown of Poland.
The Castellan was equally versatile
in religion and politics. He de-
serted the Protestant for the Roman
Catholic faith, and having in turn
supported the claims of Prince James
Sobieski and of Prince Louis of Baden,
he offered his services to promote the
success of the Prince de Conti. He
was, however, dissatisfied with the
manner in which these offers were
received; and in the beginning of
the year 1697 he entered into a
secret correspondence with the
Elector of Saxony. This Prince
only waited for a favourable oppor-
tunity to declare himself a candi-
date for the crown, and at once ac-
cepted the overtures of the Castel-
lan. He sent an agent to the Pope,
to announce his conversion to the
Roman Catholic religion, and placed
himself in secret communication
with the Elector of Brandenburgh
and the Emperor. He sold his
claims on the Duchy of Saxe Lau-
T
274
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
:
1
changed his religion whilst he was at Baden in the
hands of the Bishop of Raab, who is a Prince of
Saxony; but I do not see any good grounds for that
report.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, July 4, 1697, N. S.
Things are mightily changed at Barcelona since
my last, and our confidence here is abated proportion-
ably. The design of attacking the French both from
enburgh to the Elector of Hanover
for 500,000 crowns, and demanded
from the Emperor the payment of
the subsidies which were due to
him, Under the pretence of re-
quiring supplies for the war in
Hungary he raised large contribu-
tions from his own subjects, and
entered into negotiations with the
Jews at Warsaw for a loan. His
army was at hand, and he was now
fully prepared for the contest. On
the day of election, the 26th of June,
the names of all the candidates were
announced in succession by the Car-
dinal Primate. Prince James's name
was the first, and that of the Elector
of Saxony the last. A large majority
of the Palatinates declared in favour
of the Prince de Conti; but the par-
tisans of the rival Princes had ranged
themselves in hostile array; blood
had already been shed; and the
Cardinal Primate, terrified at the
prospect of a sanguinary conflict,
deferred the completion of the
election until the next day. In
the interval the adherents of the
other candidates combined against
the Prince de Conti, and agreed to
support the Elector of Saxony. On
the 27th the Cardinal Primate an-
nounced that the clection had fallen
on the Prince de Conti; and M. de
Polignac immediately despatched a
courier to Paris to congratulate the
Prince on his success; but a few
hours afterwards Stanislaus Domb-
ski, Bishop of Cujavie, proclaimed
the Elector of Saxony King of Po-
land. A "Te Deum" was chanted
for each; but it was now easy to
foresee which of the two Kings
would obtain the crown. The Prince
de Conti was at Paris, while the
Elector of Saxony was within a few
days' march of Warsaw, with a
powerful army at his disposal.-
Vide L'Histoire de la Scission de
Pologne, par M. de la Bizardière.
¹ Christian Augustus de Saxe
Zeitz, Bishop of Raab, was the
grandson of John George I. of
Saxony. He was nominated to the
bishopric of Raab by the Emperor
in 1696. The laws of Poland re-
quired that their King should be a
Roman Catholic; and the Bishop of
Raab certified that the Elector of
Saxony had embraced the Roman
Catholic religion at Vienna on the
2nd of June. He was very well
qualified to give such a certificate,
for he had himself abjured the Pro-
testant religion, in which he was
educated.
01
3
1697.]
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
275
within and without at the same time, it seems, proved
impracticable, they were so strongly fortified; so that
all done hitherto has been three or four sallies of the
garrison with indifferent success, notwithstanding which
the enemy still gained ground, and, the 28th of June,
was very near the palisades, shooting continually bombs
with fifteen mortars by land and two by sea, as also
twenty-five great cannon, forty-pounders, that reach the
city in all parts, and had then burnt and destroyed
2500 houses, besides several churches and convents.
They had then cast in above 6000 bombs. The letters
I have seen give little hopes of raising the siege, if it
may properly be so called, since the French are so few
as not to be able to make the whole circumvallation of
it, but one gate has been constantly open for any to go
in or out as freely as at any time; and, the 26th, 200
mules got in without opposition, that were laden with
meal. Little other news can be expected hence till
the fate of Barcelona be determined.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, July 5, 1697.
The next post I hope I may be able to send you
our project of a treaty which, with all secrecy, has
been sent to the King, is come back, and given by
Dyckvelt to the French. I presume I shall have leave
to send it, though I am forbid to do so, even to the
Secretary of State, and to say the truth out, have it
1
¹ It will be observed that through-
out these negotiations the plenipo-
tentiaries acted under the immediate
directions of the King; and the Se-
cretary of State, and other respon-
sible advisers of the crown, in Eng-
land, were carefully excluded from
all share in the management of the
treaty. It appears, however, from
Coxe's 'Shrewsbury Correspon-
dence,' that Lord Villiers did send
on the 2nd July a copy of the pro-
T 2
276
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
not yet in my keeping, though I drew it up, which your
Lordship may wonder at.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, July 6, 1697.
Pray, what say you to the election of the Elector
of Saxony to the crown of Poland, and his making
Furstenberg President of his Council in Saxony? For
my part, I very much fear it will be the cause of great
disturbances, and one time or other bring a war of re-
ligion.
We have very ill news from Hungary, the siege of
Bihatz being as good as desperate; but what is worse,
the people in the Upper Hungary are up in arms to the
number of 10,000 men, and have fallen upon the gar-
risons of Tokay and four or five others and cut them all
off, declaring for religion, liberty, and property. How
far it may go, God knows; but if it is not quickly
stopped, the consequences may be very ill.¹
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, July 10, 1697.
The rebellion in Hungary continues, but how far it
may proceed or what has yet passed is very confused,
for they keep the relations very secret at Court. All
that I can learn is, that it had been general had the
ject to the Duke of Shrewsbury,
although his colleagues were of opi-
nion that it should not yet be com-
municated to anybody.
¹ The Hungarian Protestants were
treated with great severity by the
Emperor; and the promises which
had been held out to them in 1681
and 1687 had been very imperfectly
fulfilled, if not entirely disre-
garded.
But the discontent in Hungary
was not confined to the members of
one religion; both Protestants and
Roman Catholics were deeply of-
fended at the recent encroachments
of the Emperor on the ancient con-
stitution of the kingdom.
1697.] LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
277
Prince of Conti been chosen King of Poland, or the
Grand Seignor come earlier into the field; but the one
missing, and the other not advanced further than
Philippopoli, 't is to be hoped the rebellion may be
quelled before it can come to any great head. They
have sent several regiments against them under the
command of Prince Vaudemont, with
1 with a small
train of artillery, who had their rendezvous, as yester-
day, within ten leagues of Tokay. Whatever may be
the issue of this rebellion, 't is to be feared that if they
will not change the barbarous usage, both in religion
and civil matters, they now show the Hungarians, one
time or other they will entirely throw off the Emperor's
dominion. The quarrel between this Court and that of
Rome augments daily; the Pope, having ordered the
Emperor's declaration to be pulled down, has now
printed and fixed it up with one of his own at the
bottom, wherein he declares it null, and without founda-
tion; that the Emperor has no authority or jurisdiction
over any fief within the territories of the Church;
threatening loss of life and estate to those that shall
own any, and excommunication to the Ambassador if
he persists in carrying on his master's pretensions. So
¹ Charles Thomas de Lorraine,
the young Prince de Vaudemont,
distinguished himself in the war
against the Turks. He continued
to serve in the Imperial army during
the war of the Succession, in which
he was opposed to his father, who,
as Viceroy of Milan, held that
country for King Philip.
The ties of relationship were at
this period very lightly regarded;
and on one occasion the young
Prince deliberately planned, and
very nearly succeeded in, an attempt
¿
2
-
to take his father prisoner. The
old Prince was completely surprised,
and only escaped by mounting his
horse in his night clothes.
2 Count Martinitz, the Imperial
Ambassador at Rome, had affixed to
the door and other parts of his resi-
dence placards setting forth the de-
cree by which the Emperor required
all the feudatories of the empire in
Italy to take new investitures. The
Pope protested against this act, as
an insult to the sovereignty of the
Holy See.
278
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
that now they begin to own this as another ill conse-
quence, among the rest, of the neutrality in Italy.
{
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, July 13, 1697.
We had an account yesterday that a party of the
rebels of 1500 men were cut off by the regiment
of Slick, which I hope will be the fate of the rest
in a short time, there being a body of 8000 or 10,000
men, under the command of Prince Commercy,' gone
against them. "Tis not to be imagined the alarms the
poor country people were in, leaving their dwellings
and flying with their children and best effects into the
woods and isles of the Danube, even from the very
suburbs of Vienna; and the whole town thronged with
country people and their bundles, who came for refuge,
but were all sent back again, and now everything is
pretty quiet.
Mr. Stepney to Lord Lexington.
5
From the Camp at Cocklenberg, July 1697.
15'
Your Lordship will know sooner than we shall
which of the two Kings of Brentford get the better on't.
But I believe you will admire the folly of the French
for throwing away their powder after their money, and
making rejoicings for Prince Prettiman, which is
laughing but on one side of the face: for their Prince
will be no more King of Poland than their Dauphin
was of the Romans, their Cardinal Furstenberg
2
On the acceptance of the neu-
trality in Italy, the Prince de Com-
mercy, with his friend Prince
Eugene, joined the army in IIungary.
2 It was well known that Louis
XIV. had made overtures to some
of the Electors with the view of ob-
taining for the Dauphin the rever-
sion to the Imperial Crown; but the
Austrian interest prevailed, and the
!
1697.]
MR. STEPNEY TO LORD LEXINGTON.
279
Elector of Cologne, or their Cardinal Bouillon Bishop
of Liège.¹
1
2
The men are mad to fancy any such thing, and still
more mad to rejoice at it. The Cardinal Primate has
bubbled them of their 80,000 dollars, and has only
sung them a Te Deum for it, which may be sufficient
to give the poor man a mock title of King, and engage
him in matter of ceremony with King James.
suppose in time the French King intends to form a
band of pensioners of these gentlemen. When I have
I
Archduke Joseph, although very
young, was unanimously chosen King
of the Romans in January, 1690.
'The Archbishop of Cologne died
in 1688. Louis XIV. recommended
as his successor Cardinal de Furst-
enberg, the coadjutor of Cologne,
and Bishop of Strasburgh. The Em-
peror, on the other hand, supported
the pretensions of Prince Joseph
Clement of Bavaria, Bishop of
Freisingen and Ratisbonne. Neither
of these candidates could be elected
by the chapter, although they might
be "postulés
postulés;" but to please the
Emperor, the Pope declared the
Prince of Bavaria "eligible," al-
though he was affected by a double
canonical disqualification, namely,
the want of age required by the
canons, and the possession of the
sees of Freisingen and Ratisbonne;
while the Cardinal de Furstenberg
was disqualified only on the ground
of his being Bishop of Strasburgh.
The election took place on the 19th
July, 1688, and thirteen canons
gave their votes in favour of the
Cardinal, while nine voted for the
Prince of Bavaria. The Pope, how-
ever, rejected the "postulation," or
recommendation of the first, and de-
clared that the latter was duly elected
Archbishop of Cologne. The ground
of this decision was, that by the
canonical law, in a contest between
two candidates, one of whom was
"eligible" and the other " postu-
lable," one vote given to the former
was equal to two votes given to the
latter. The Cardinal, however, re-
fused to submit to the Papal deci-
sion; and this dispute was one of
the reasons alleged by Louis XIV.
for the renewal of the war.
On the death of the Bishop of
Liège in 1694, Cardinal de Bouillon,
the nephew of Turenne, and Grand
Almoner of France, was an unsuc-
cessful candidate for the vacant
bishopric. The Prince of Bavaria
was elected.
2 On arriving at the church of St.
John, at Warsaw, the Cardinal Pri-
mate found the gates shut against
him by the orders of the Bishops of
Posnania and Livonia, and he was
for some time unable to obtain ad-
mittance; but some of the nobles
who accompanied him fired pistols
at the windows of the offending pre-
lates, until at length the doors were
opened, and the "Te Deum" was
chanted.
280
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
mustered my rhymes perhaps I may send your Lord-
ship a dialogue between them, wherein they shall treat
one another with "Majesty," as some formal German
envoys and I used to compliment one another with the
title of "Excellence."
M. de Bruynise to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Hague, July 15, 1697.
The French Plenipotentiaries were in conference
at the residence of M. Boreel (who is always ill '), when
one of M. Bosen's suite came with the announcement
of the election of his master (the Elector of Saxony) to
the crown of Poland. They did not venture to inter-
rupt the conference, and he was therefore obliged to
leave the message with one of the attendants of M.
Boreel. The gentlemen attached to the French embassy
were dying with impatience to communicate the news
to their ambassadors; and at the departure of the
Plenipotentiaries from the conference they did not wait
for the delivery of the message by the person charged
with it to Messrs. Dyckvelt and Haren, but told it
themselves to Messieurs Crecy and Callières with so
little caution that all could hear it. M. de Haren
turned to M. de Crecy, and said, with a smile,
“Gen-
tlemen, you have gained a soul." M. de Crecy imme-
diately replied, in a tone of voice, however, both sad
and constrained, "But we have lost a kingdom.". I am
assured on good authority that the Electress of Saxony
2
3
¹ M. Boreel died shortly after- pointed Ambassador to England in
wards.
1702 (he had held the same office in
1674). He died in 1708.
3 The three French plenipoten-
tiaries were Messieurs de Harlai,
de Callières, and de Crecy.
2 William van Haren, born in
1626, was one of the most eminent
diplomatists of the time. He was,
notwithstanding his great age, ap-
1697.]
SIR J. WILLIAMSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
281
:
was deeply grieved, and that the Saxons were as angry
as Turks at the result of the election. '
1
¹ The Electress of Saxony was the
daughter of the Margrave of Bran-
denburgh Bareith, and a strict Pro-
testant. She declined to accept the
title of Queen; and when Prince
Egon de Furstenberg, as Stadt-
holder, gave directions for the cele-
bration of a mass, in honour of the
election of the new King of Poland,
she refused to acknowledge his
authority, and ordered the gates of
the chapel to be shut. The States
of Saxony also protested against the
Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington.
2
Hague, July 19, 1697.
We are expecting with impatience an account
from your parts of the final completing of that great
and surprising event of the election of a King of Poland
in the person of the Elector of Saxony. We find the
French talk as roundly and as confidently of the same
choice being fallen on the Prince of Conti, and their
Ambassadors at Delft-at least, those of their train-
offer wagers on it. In the mean time 't is certain the
Bishop of Plosko (a great partisan of their faction in
Poland) passed by here, in post, on Sunday last, with
four other persons, of which two were observed to be
Frenchmen, on their way to Paris. He stayed but a
few hours, enough to hear mass at a meeting of
some Jesuits, and to a short dinner and away. He
came disguised enough to have gone as it seems he had
come, undiscovered, quite through all the Elector of
Brandenburgh's territories; but that in shifting his
linen a servant observed a diamond cross on his breast
apostacy of the Elector, and ap-
pealed to the will of his grandfather,
John II., which required that all his
successors should profess the Lu-
theran faith.
2 Andrew Zalowski, Bishop of
Plosko. On the day of the election
(the 26th of June) this prelate
preached a sermon, in which he
compared himself to Samuel, the
Prince de Conti to David, and the
Elector of Saxony to Saul.
282
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
next his skin, which raised a jealousy that produced
inquiry, and M. Bosen, it seems, hunted it so close that
he found by the description of the person that it is
certainly he; and Mollo of Amsterdam, the Polish
Consul, comes so far as to own it was the Bishop's
nephew.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Cocklenberg, July 19, 1697.
Mr. Stepney is indeed taken care of in England,
but I cannot say he leaves a vacancy in Germany, for
that Count Frise is understood to have taken possession
of all the Courts on the Rhine or near it; and for
Ratisbonne, it is certain the King would never think
of having anything like a Minister there, to engage
himself in the affairs of the Empire, or to be made the
Judge of all the impertinences of the Diet. So what I
see most proper for Mr. Sutton is, to be left at Vienna
when your Lordship comes away, which will introduce
him into business advantageously. However, if your
Lordship can think of anything else, I shall be very
ready to promote whatever your Lordship shall judge
feasible.
1
The election in Poland has very much surprised the
world, and is like to give it no less trouble; but your
Lordship will never be able to persuade the King or
any one here that the Emperor and Count Chinski
were ignorant of the Elector of Saxony's pretensions
from the beginning. 'Tis an intrigue of the Jesuits,"
¹ Mr. Stepney was named one of testant interest in the Empire; and
the Commissioners for Trade.
his conversion therefore was a great
triumph to the Roman Catholics.
2 The Elector of Saxony was re-
garded as the head of the Pro-
1697.]
MR. ROBINSON TO LORD LEXINGTON.
283
very well carried on, but not without the privity of the
Court of Vienna.
And now his Electoral Highness or Majesty of
Poland has changed his religion, I suppose your Lord-
ship will not make any overtures to him of the Garter,
which no Popish Prince has in this age been willing to
accept of. His Majesty is very well pleased that the
political part of the business of Gustraw is so luckily
accommodated, which may secure the quiet of the
Lower Saxony.' All things here are, and are like to
be for some time, in the same situation as at my last
writing. The treaty at Ryswick goes on slowly, if at
all. The French Ambassadors have promised to give
in their project, which will show us what they mean.
Mr. Robinson to Lord Lexington.
Stockholm, July 10, 1697.
This week has employed this Court in giving
public audiences and receiving condolences on occasion
of the late King's death, and congratulations for his
present Majesty's succession to the crown. On
Monday the French ambassador had audience, and the
next day was designed for the Envoy of Denmark, but
it was put off upon a point of ceremony. On Wed-
nesday I had that honour, as the Envoy of Lunenburgh
the day after, and this afternoon the Baron de
Heckeren. His Majesty appeared with a composed-
ness and gravity suitable to the occasion, and on all
1 Lord Lexington and
Mr.
Heemskerck succeeded in effecting a
reconciliation between the courts of
Vienna and Stockholm. The King
of Sweden expressed his disapproval July.
of the conduct of Colonel Klinker-
strom, and an "acte d'accommodc-
ment was signed by Counts Chin-
ski and d'Oxienstiern on the 5th
284
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
IN
others gives proof of a judgment above his years, and
of so much justice and generosity as charms all that
have the honour to approach his person. I take the
liberty to tell your Excellency a passage, which the
Count Oxienstiern himself assures me is most true:
Upon a debate in Council, some few days ago, about
the re-establishing of foreign merchants, where it was
urged on one side that the treaties were for, and on the
other the laws of the kingdom against, their re-ad-
mission, the King said he thought it very unreason-
able that the laws should take place before treaties;
and being prayed by Count Oxienstiern to repeat those
words (which at first were heard only by those next
him), he did so, and added, that the laws mentioned
being made by the Kings of Sweden, might be altered
by the same authority; but treaties were made with
foreign Princes, and therefore nothing ought to be
changed in them but by common consent of both
parties.
1
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, July 23, 1697, N. S.
You will have heard from the army of the inter-
view between my Lord Portland and M. de Boufflers.
The Imperialists here were a little uneasy at it, and
desired to know the subject of it; which, by his
Majesty's order, we have told them was to know the
real intent of France as to the peace, and to declare to
them that, if they were not sincere in the negotiation,
his Majesty should not think himself obliged to consent
¹ In 1680 Charles XI. induced
the States of Sweden to resign their
privileges, and to invest the King
with absolute power.
1697.]
285
LORD VILLIERS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
to its continuation; and that, on the other side, M.
de Boufflers had answered that France did truly desire
the peace, and that they had given orders to that intent
to their Ministers at Delft. There passed something
in those conferences relating to France's promising
not to assist King James by name, which remains yet.
undetermined; though they promise to do it in any
general terms that can be thought on. ¹
1
¹ William III. was impatient of
the tardy progress and inconclusive
results of the conferences at Rys-
wick, to which indeed the refusal of
Louis XIV. to recognise the King
of England, until the conditions of
the Treaty had been definitely ar-
ranged, in some degree contributed;
for by this refusal the English Pleni-
potentiaries were precluded from
personally discussing with the French
Ministers the terms of the peace.
It was with the view of opening a
direct, although informal, commu-
nication with the King of France,
and of thereby removing one of the
chief obstacles which had hitherto
impeded the progress of the nego-
tiations at Ryswick, that William III.
directed Lord Portland to request
Maréchal de Boufflers, of whose
frank and honourable character he
was well aware, to name a time and
place for an interview. The first con-
ference took place on the 8th of July,
others succeeded it, and the terms of
the peace between England and
France were speedily settled by these
two unaccredited Plenipotentiaries,
each acting under the immediate
directions of his own Sovereign. It
has been frequently asserted that the
first outlines of the Treaty of Par-
tition were sketched at these inter-
views, and that proposals were made
for the future restoration, on certain
terms, of the son of James II.; but
the 'Letters of William III., &c.,'
lately published by M. Grimblot,
conclusively prove that neither of
these subjects was discussed, or even
referred to directly, by Lord Portland
or Maréchal de Boufflers. The fol-
lowing passage, however, appears in
the letter of M. de Boufflers to Louis
XIV., of the 9th of July, in which
he gives an account of what passed
at his interview with Lord Portland
the preceding day:-"Lord Portland
let fall a word, I believe purposely,
but without appearing to lay stress
upon it, that, perhaps, when peace
was once concluded, and the agita-
tion of people's minds calmed, your
Majesty would not be sorry to have
an ally like the Prince of Orange,
and that then you would find him as
conscientious in favouring the inte-
rests of your Majesty as he has hither-
to been opposed to them.” (Vide
Letters of William III., &c., edited
by M. Grimblot.) It is possible that
Lord Portland referred to the contest
which it was presumed would shortly
arise between Louis XIV. and the
Emperor with respect to the Crown
of Spain, but, further than this, no
reference was made to the question
of the Spanish succession.
The account given by Lord Vil-
286
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington.
:
liers of what passed at the interview
was substantially correct. Lord
Portland's chief object was to ascer-
tain to what extent and in what
manner Louis XIV. would consent
to pledge himself not to aid the de-
posed King in any attempt to re-
cover the Crown of England, and
if possible to induce him to with-
draw from James the protection
which he had hitherto afforded him,
and to require his departure from
France, or at least that he should
seek an asylum more distant from
England than St. Germain's. The
first point was readily conceded by
Louis, with this reservation, that
King James should not be named, and
that the promise should be couched
in general terms—not to assist either
directly or indirectly the enemies of
King William-but he refused to
give any assurance that King James
would be removed from St. Ger-
20
Hague, July 1697.
30'
The French have given into the mediator's hand a
declaration, that in case the Allies shall not, before
the end of August,' accept of the conditions offered by
their master, that from thenceforth he will not hold
himself obliged to make good to them the same terms.
This the mediator has not thought fit, for the good of
the negotiation and for fear of exaggerating matters, to
communicate formally to the Imperialists and other
Allies; yet, certain it is, that in case all imaginable
diligence be not urged on their parts to carry on and
close (if it may be) this negotiation on the French
project, a day will be set by the French beyond which
they will not tie themselves to these conditions. And
main's. Maréchal de Boufflers,
however, let fall a hint that, on the
conclusion of the peace, Avignon
might possibly be selected for his
residence, and with this Lord Port-
land was forced to rest satisfied. The
other two questions discussed by
Lord Portland and M. de Boufflers
were of minor importance: they re-
ferred to the restitution of the pro-
perty of the English and Irish
Jacobites and of the French re-
fugees, and to the exclusion of
French Protestants from the town
of Orange. These points were
settled by mutual concessions; and,
as far as England was concerned,
nothing remained but the formal
adoption at the Congress of the terms
which had thus been arranged at
these informal interviews.
-
This term was subsequently ex-
tended to the 20th of September.
1697.]
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
287
the truth is it is absolutely necessary (as to our master's
interests) that no further time be lost, but that we may
be at a certainty what we are to expect from France.
This is the great cry of England to us here; and there-
fore the King did mighty wisely (as we in England
think, and so all here seem to acknowledge) that he
did so generously, so bravely summon the French by
my Lord Portland to declare plainly if they were in
earnest as to the peace; and if not, that he did not
see any further use of continuing this assembly at
Ryswick.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
3
'The system of Spanish adminis-
tration, at this time, was to divide
business among several Boards or
Councils, such as those of Finance,
Grace, and Justice, Castille, Italy,
and Flanders—and the Presidents of
these several Councils formed again
a sort of Superior, or Cabinet Coun-
Madrid, Aug. 2, 1697.
1
The case of Barcelona is not yet quite desperate,
although, on the other side, we have no great reason to
be over confident. However, it seems something more
hopeful by the changes we have had here in few days.
Three nights ago, Don Juan de Larrea was discharged
from his office of the Despacho Universal, and the
Marques de Villa Nueva, Secretary of the southern
province, has since despatched all affairs with the King.
Larrea is accused of concealing all along from the
King the true state of Barcelona, refusing access to
their agent here, stifling the complaints of the Marques
Grini against the Captain-General Don Francisco de
cil, under the name of Despacho
Universal.-Vide Mahon's History
of the War of the Succession.
In this instance, however, the
term 'Despacho Universal' is ap-
plied to the Secretary of the Council,
and not to the Council itself.
288
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Velasco, as also letters from the kingdom of Aragon
offering levies of men. Some add further, that he has
writ letters in the King's name, by which several other
succours designed for the besieged have been retarded;
and all this in compliance with a considerable faction in
Court, who, I thank God, are no longer able to
support him. Velasco was
Velasco was yesterday recalled by the
Council of Aragon, and the Marques de la Corzana
ordered to succeed him; and the Prince of Hesse, to
whose bravery we owe that the place has held out so
long, is made Governador de los Armas. These de-
spatches were sent away by express early this morning.
The Cardinal of Toledo has been the discoverer of all
this mystery of iniquity, who has till lately been much
the Queen's enemy, but now is much in her favour, and
by her means in the King's. Greater changes are
expected daily to follow in consequence of this, as the
King's Confessor, the Conde de Adanero, the Presidents
of Castilla and Hazienda, it is said, must out; and a
greater than any of these, who influenced them, it is
supposed, will quickly be laid aside. I hope this may
do something to the saving Barcelona even now, but
had it been sooner it had never been brought to this
extremity. Count de Harrach had his first public
audience last week; his entry was with the least magni-
ficence or ostentation of grandeur of any Ambassador
that has been in Madrid, which is not much liked by
this ceremonious people. He has not been pleased to
take any notice of me since his arrival, and having
done it long since to all other Ministers, I conclude he
designs that omission as a compliment of complaisance
to his Catholic Majesty, with whom I have the mis-
Probably the Almirante of Castille.
1
1
1697.]
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
289
fortune at present to be in disgrace. The Count de
Harrach has desired the Cardinal for his Commissario,
which is granted him.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Aug. 3, 1697.
I do not question the election in Poland has sur-
prised you, as it has done us, but I believe it will in a
little time be fully determined for the Elector of
Saxony. The Grand Ambassador, with above five
thousand noblemen, is come for him, and he is marched
directly to Cracow to be crowned. I cannot help your
not believing that this Court was ignorant of the
Elector's pretensions, and, indeed, it seems very im-
probable; but still I dare venture to assure you-and
I am as morally convinced of it as a man can be of a
negative—that neither the Emperor nor Count Chinski
knew any more of it till the day before the Elector
went hence than the men at Bantam; and yet I grant
you 't was the work of the Jesuits, the chief of which,
and the Emperor's favourite, died yesterday-Padre
Edra. I wish he had gone a year sooner, and then that
peace of Italy had never been made.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Aug. 6, 1697.
As to what relates to the project, I hope the
French will find it reasonable. All that I can say for
myself in it is, that it is as good as I could draw up
upon memorials, not very perfect, which they sent me
from Whitehall about our affairs in America, where,
amongst a bundle of strange stuff, I was forced to find
U
290
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
out wherewithal to form the fourth and seventh articles. "
As to the secret articles about King James, my Lord
Portland and the Maréchal de Boufflers have fully
adjusted them. His Lordship came hither from Breda
on Sunday, and left us yesterday afternoon in order to his
meeting the King at Dieren to-morrow night. He was
with the Imperialists and Spaniards, and, I believe,
told the former what they had to trust to: they pro-
mise to give in their remarks upon the French pro-
ject on Wednesday, and are much more supple than
they were last week. The Pensioner is made one of the
ambassadors upon Mons. Boreel's illness, says common
report, but I believe some part of Dyckvelt's conduct
has contributed to this addition. I have always been
of your Lordship's opinion that the great point ought
to have been settled first; and it has been found so
necessary since, that I think Dyckvelt's not having
made it fast is a little the reason of his not being well
at Court, as it was the cause of my Lord Portland's
extraordinary way of negotiating what they perceived
had been neglected too long, and could not be other-
wise retrieved. Peace will be the word, and our
Imperialists can give no reason why they should not
accept it rather now than four months hence, except it
be that the Augustissima Casa never did anything
when they should. I would not have my Lady defer
her lying-in one moment for the box, for I will search
incessantly for it; but, for God's sake, let her have a
boy, or she will spoil a handsome panegyric I am
making for her on that occasion.
1
¹It was proposed, in these articles,
that all the captured colonies in
America and the West Indies should
revert to the rightful proprietors.
1697.]
SIR J. WILLIAMSON TO LORD LEXINGTON. 291
Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Aug. 16, 1697.
I doubt not but you have long ere this received
an account at large, as well of the contents of the
French project, as of the several conferences held be-
tween my Lord Portland and Monsieur de Boufflers,
the effect of which has been the adjusting the great
point of the peace which concerns us and our master;
to wit, the not assisting the late King James, &c. This
is finally settled to his Majesty's entire satisfaction
and as to the rest of our articles, which are not above
half a score or a dozen, they are of that ordinary and
common nature in all treaties of this kind, that there is
not like to be much difficulty in them.
;
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
6
Madrid, Aug. 1697.
16'
Having acquainted your Lordship last post of the
change of the Government of Catalonia, that Don Fran-
cisco de Velasco was recalled, and the chief command
given to the Conde la Corzana, and the Prince of Hesse
made Governador de los Armes or Lieut. General under
him, I have now to add that before these new commis-
sions arrived, Don Francisco de Velasco had begun a
capitulation with the Duke of Vendôme for the sur-
render of Barcelona, and hostages were exchanged.
This he pretends an order for doing, and here it is
said the King disowns the knowledge of any such order;
both are possible, so let them justify themselves who
are concerned. However, it seems the new Governor,
upon viewing the French mines, the great breach in
U 2
292
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
their wall, the ill contrivance of their cortaduras or
retrenchments within, on which they had so much de-
pended (being infiled by the enemy's forts), together
with the weakness of the garrison, thought fit to pro-
ceed in and conclude the treaty, which was all agreed
the 10th instant at night, and signed the next morning.
The conditions are, that the garrison should march out
by the breach the 15th, being yesterday, with all the
military marks of honour usual on such occasions; to
carry with them twenty-five pieces of cannon and six
mortars, besides all that is in the citadel of Monjuy;
that they are to march by the nearest way to Tarra-
gona, and that there be a suspension of all hostility
on both sides till the 1st day of September. As to the
city, that it shall enjoy all the same privileges it had
under the King of Spain, except that of the holy office
of the Inquisition. This is the substance of what I
can learn, brought by an express yesterday; and though
it be endeavoured to be kept a secret here, I doubt not
but, within a few days, you will see it printed more at
large in the Paris Gazette. All people generally look
very melancholy upon this news, but especially her
Majesty and the Count Harrach, it being the greatest
mortification that could happen to the German interest
here, which, however they may flatter themselves at
Vienna, was low enough before, both in the opinion of
Court and people.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Aug. 16, 1697.
My Lord Villiers is made an Earl; the warrant is
not yet signed; the title he intends to take is Jersey.
1697.]
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
293
We expect the Czar of Muscovy here in a few days,
which is all the news at present.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Aug. 31, 1697.
Things in Poland seem to go well for the Elector
of Saxony, most of the palatinates and great towns
having acknowledged him; and they that hold out, as
they say, do it only with a prospect of making their
terms the better, having little hopes of the Prince of
Conti's coming. Young Count Harrach, who was in
Spain with his father, is declared Ambassador in his
stead, and the old one returns.
2
1
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Sept. 4, 1697.
I am just come from Court, where a staffette is
come from the camp in Hungary, which brings that the
Turks, with their whole army, have passed the Tibisk,
and are advanced as far as Copila, and are actually
marching towards Peterwaradin, and their fleet are
advanced as far as the isles of that place, in order to
attack the bridge. Our army are near Segedin, where
they expect to be joined by the body under the com-
mand of General Rabutin, who commands in Transyl-
vania, and after that junction they design to march
1
In February, 1697, Peter sup-
pressed a formidable conspiracy of
the Strelitzes against his life, and in
April he commenced his celebrated
tour.
2 M. de Polignac had no intel-
C
ligence of the movements or inten-
tions of the Prince; the Queen Dow-
ager of Poland, who was at Dantzic,
intercepted his despatches, and in-
sultingly forwarded to him the empty
covers.-Dangeau's Memoirs.
294
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
direct towards the enemy, who otherwise may hinder
the communication between them and their magazines,
so that in my next I may probably send you account
that there has been a general battle. God send us
good success, for we play for the tout.
!
(Translation.)
Brussels, Sept. 9, 1697.
2
Upon advices received from the Primate of Poland,
the King has resolved to send the Prince de Conti
thither. After a long conference His Majesty caused to
be delivered to him 100,000 louis d'or and 2,000,000
livres in bills of exchange. The departure of the Prince
is regretted by the whole Court. He left on the 2nd
instant for Dunkirk, to embark with Jean Bart, who
has received instructions to convey him to Dantzic or
Marienburgh. Many persons have offered the Prince
supplies of money; and they say that the Abbé de
Lignivère, among others, has lent him 100,000 livres.
Pointis arrived at Brest with six ships on the 29th of
August, having narrowly escaped being taken by Ad-
miral Nevil. He fell in with another English squadron
in the Channel, but he changed his course in the night,
and they lost sight of him. He brings six millions in
money and a quantity of fine emeralds. The messenger
who carried the news of his arrival to the Court pre-
sented one of great value to His Majesty. He has lost
1 This letter bears no signature.
2 Jean Bart was the son of a com-
mon fisherman at Dunkirk. His
success as a privateer captain re-
commended him to the notice of
Louis XIV., and in 1691 he was
raised to the rank of Admiral in the
French navy he was presented to
1
the King; and when his Majesty
announced to him in gracious terms
his promotion, Jean Bart excited the
laughter of the assembled courtiers
by the following reply: "Sire, vous
avez bien fait." This self-confidence,
however, was fully justified by his
active bravery and naval skill.
1697.]
MR. STANHOPE TO LORD LEXINGTON.
295
more than half his men, and they require the remainder
to perform quarantine before they land. '
1
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Sept. 13, 1697.
Since the loss of Barcelona there has been no
further action in Catalogne; and though M. de Ven-
dôme refused to prolong the cessation, yet there seems
a tacit consent to be quiet till they see what will be-
come of the peace. The French are indeed very sharp
in levying contributions on the country round about,
which this Court interprets as a good sign they do not
intend to stay long among them. I know not what to
think of that matter; but this is certain, that if the
place be restored, it will be a great disappointment to
the party here who industriously contrived, and with
so much difficulty procured, to have it surrendered,
when not only the garrison, but all the citizens, were
'Jean Bernard Desjeans, Baron
de Pointis, left Brest on the 9th of
January, 1697, with a small squadron
fitted out by private subscription.
He first sailed to St. Domingo,
where he was joined by a strong
body of buccaneers: on the 12th
of April he arrived before Cartha-
gena, and on the 2nd of May this
wealthy town capitulated. The booty
acquired by the captors was esti-
mated at eight, or as some said at
ten, millions of crowns. De Pointis
then sailed for the Straits of Bahama,
where he fell in with the combined
British and Dutch fleets under Ad-
miral Nevil: he escaped, however,
with the loss of one vessel, and bore
away for Newfoundland, where Com-
modore Norris was stationed with a
strong squadron; but the council-of-
war summoned by the British Com-
modore declined to risk an engage-
ment, and De Pointis proceeded on
his voyage unmolested. He fell in
with another English squadron in
the Channel, under Captain Harlow,
by whom he was attacked, but he
again escaped, and arrived in safety
at Brest with his spoil. The im-
punity with which this small squad-
ron, fitted out by private enterprise,
had scoured the seas, and taken one
of the most important, if not the
chief, trading town in America, cast
a stigma on the British flag, and
increased the unpopularity of the
government, and of Admiral Russell
in particular, to whom the manage-
ment of naval affairs was confided.
296
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
as unanimously courageous to defend it as the first day
the French came before it. The Count Harrach is
most highly sullen and malcontent, all his projects
having miscarried. He now talks of nothing but re-
turning, and that the Emperor wants him at Vienna,
and will send us his son in his stead. He and all that
interest here are very angry at our King about the
equivalent for Luxemburgh; but now, I believe, this
Court would be glad to quit even that equivalent for
Barcelona, for, provided they can keep their dear body
of Spain entire, they little value what they part with
entre aquellos.
1
(Translation.)
Camp, three hours from Zenta, Sept. 15, 1697.2
During the day, he (Prince Eugene) received
intelligence that the enemy was still at Zenta; this
intelligence was confirmed in the evening, and it was
ascertained that at mid-day their army was encamped
there. The Prince thereupon resolved to advance
against them the following morning.
Our march was in twelve columns, six of cavalry
and six of infantry, without counting the artillery,
which with the baggage made the thirteenth. We
advanced to within three hours of Zenta without
hearing any thing of the enemy; but, at length, the
hussars of Raab brought in a Pasha whom they had
taken in a skirmish, who stated that the Turks had
The French King now insisted
on retaining both Luxemburgh and
Strasburgh-and the Spanish minis-
ters showed a disposition to accept
the equivalent offered for the former
place.
This letter is in French and
bears no signature, but it is clearly
the translation of a letter addressed
by an officer of the Imperial army
in Hungary to some one at Vienna,
which was forwarded to Lord Lex-
ington for his information.
1697.] LETTER FROM ZENTA TO LORD LEXINGTON.
297
since the previous day been engaged in passing the
Tibisk, and that the Sultan himself, with a part of
the cavalry and some Janissaries, had crossed the
river, but that the remainder of the infantry was still
on this side. His Highness continued to advance, and
further intelligence was received from other prisoners,
and also from the country people, that the enemy were
still crossing the river in disorder, and that they were
much dispirited. At length we approached them, and
prepared to form in order of battle. His Highness
had determined to advance, with all the cavalry, within
a certain distance of the enemy, to reconnoitre, and
there to await the arrival of his infantry, which, as
they came up, were to occupy positions, left for them,
between the different squadrons of cavalry, and the
whole army being formed up, was then to advance to
within a quarter of an hour of Zenta
The Prince now went to the front, and was there
joined by two regiments from the left, and three from
the right wing, cavalry or dragoons, while the army,
which was near at hand, gradually came up. He then
ordered the five regiments which had followed him, to
their respective posts. The whole army immediately
marched at an even pace to surround the enemy on all
sides, and advanced as far as the first intrenchment
which the Sultan had caused to be thrown up to secure
his position, and which the troops who remained there
were not strong enough to defend throughout its whole
extent. The Turks here commenced a furious canno-
nade upon our left. The Prince had already brought
up some cannon to annoy them, but they did little
execution, reserving their fire, as it appeared, for a
more pressing emergency.
298
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Our right and left wings at length, but with great
difficulty, pushed through the first intrenchment; the
centre met with little opposition, as the Turks were
intrenched only on their flanks. But the main body
of the army could advance but slowly, and the Prince,
therefore, having visited every post, to see that his
orders were strictly obeyed, went to reconnoitre the
second intrenchment of the enemy, behind which was
a third, which had been hidden by the second, and
was now discovered for the first time. Between these
two intrenchments was a barricade constructed of
waggons. Having examined every thing in this quarter,
the Prince then went to the left, where he found that
the Turks might be taken in the rear, for they had
neglected to push their intrenchments as far as the river,
and the bridge was uncovered. He immediately profited
by this discovery, and directing some cannon to play
on the rear of the enemy, he ordered the Prince de
Vaudemont to charge them on the flank. The whole
army was at hand, and all hastened to advance. The
Prince put himself at the head of the regiment of
Stirum, and led it to the brink of the ditch of the in-
trenchment, which, although not wide, was very deep.
Both infantry and cavalry commenced firing on all sides,
and for a full hour a most tremendous fire was heard
from all quarters. At length, and after a terrible
resistance, the Turks, who were completely surrounded,
began to fall back, and, a few moments afterwards,
they fled from the intrenchments which the Prince had
attacked. His Highness did not move from the ditch
until every one destined for the attack had passed into it.
The Turks, who were closely followed by our people,
defended but faintly the barricade and last intrench-
1697.] LETTER FROM ZENTA TO LORD LEXINGTON. 299
ment; and his Highness, seeing the success of the
attack on the left, hastened to visit the rest of the
field, and had the satisfaction of finding that victory
had everywhere declared in his favour, with a carnage
of the enemy unexampled in any previous war. The
Sultan, foreseeing the disastrous issue of the day, sent
his principal officers, and all his available troops, to
succour those who were most hardly pressed. The
Grand Vizier, who was at the head of the bridge with
his guards and some executioners, to intimidate the
fugitives and to prevent their flight, was killed by
them; and the Sultan, in dismay, fled at full speed,
leaving his cannon, tents, ammunition, and provisions.
He has lost more than 100 pieces of cannon, seven
Pashas' tails, and more than 300 standards, among
which are those which are most highly esteemed. The
signet of the Sultan also, which the Vizier wears round
his neck, and other Turkish relics are taken. The
Turks themselves admit that they have lost more than
20,000 of their best infantry, and all their most dis-
tinguished officers: our loss did not exceed 500 killed,
and 1,200 or 1,300 wounded; among whom are two
generals of our artillery, Monsieur the Comte de
Heusler, and Monsieur le Comte Reis de Saxe,
who had a leg broken, but hopes are entertained of
his recovery. It rarely so happens, but on this occa-
sion all behaved so well, that envy itself has been
unable to find fault with any one. The Tibisk was
red with blood, and the bridge was broken by the
number of corpses under it, which forced it upwards.
There are more than 6000 drowned, and they say
that the river is now covered with dead bodies. Six
pieces of cannon were found two leagues on the road
300
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
to Temeswar, and material that has been abandoned is
seen on every side. We have still detachments out in
the direction of Temeswar.
J
We were obliged to decamp yesterday, on account
of the stench, and we marched three hours higher up
the river. The action took place on the 11th, after
five in the afternoon, and ended at sunset. The bridge,
with the equipage for its transport, was built at Belgrade
last winter by a Frenchman. It is very well con-
structed, and we shall profit by it. At this moment a
deserter has arrived from Temeswar; he states that
the Sultan arrived there on Thursday, with only 2000
men, and it is reported that the whole of the infantry
has been destroyed. '
1
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Sept. 17, 1697.
My Lord Portland has been again in Flanders,
but has gained nothing more from the Maréchal de
Boufflers than a civil answer; the negotiation is, how-
ever, on foot again, though the Imperialists take no
more notice that the 20th 2 is nigh than if it were never
to come. My Lord Villiers, or Earl of Jersey rather,
¹ Prince Eugene had, on many
previous occasions, displayed the
most daring personal bravery and
great military skill, but hitherto he
had been employed in a subordinate
capacity, and the battle of Zenta was
the first general engagement in which
this great Captain directed the move-
ments of an army as Commander-in-
Chief.
The victory was complete; but
the battle was fought in defiance of
positive instructions not to risk a
general action, and on his return to
Vienna the Prince was received with
frowns by the Emperor and his
ministers, who even contemplated
placing the victorious General under
arrest for disobedience to orders.
2 The French ministers had de-
clared that, unless the peace was
concluded by the 20th Sept., the
King of France would not consider
himself bound to adhere to the con-
ditions which he had offered.
C
1697.j
301
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
has been with the King, and has brought us his Majesty's
order to act as the Dutch and Spaniards do: we are
accordingly adjusting the points in controverse between
us by the means and mediation of the Dutch Embassy.
I send your Lordship inclosed the chief articles. No. 1
is that relating to King James, to which (God be
thanked!) they have agreed, and I think it has lost
nothing in the translation from French, as I shall show
your Lordship, if ever I have the honour of being a
little nearer you. No. 2 is the thing to which the King
consents as to Queen Marie's settlements; it is fairly
giving her what the law allows her. The mediator is
to dictate this paper to the French, and enter it into
his protocol, and so I think we shall come off à bon
marché upon that article. No. 3 is the article of Orange,
which principally is now readjusted upon the foot as it
was at Nimeguen; the Pensioner and the Dutch Em-
bassy had the management of this article, and we had
nothing more to do with it than to translate it out of
d—d French into almost as bad Latin, and to insert
it into our treaties. No. 4 is the article for naming
commissioners for trade; it is ready, as your Lordship
sees, in case the French desire such an agreement with
us: the balance of trade is most evidently on our side in
case they do not, and the article may sleep. The point
yet undecided is the possession of two forts in Hudson's
Bay, which the French took from us in the peace im-
I 50,000l. per annum had been
settled on Queen Mary Beatrice by
Act of Parliament, and William III.
promised that this sum should be
henceforth regularly paid. Lord
Portland afterwards asserted that the
promise was conditional on the re-
moval of King James from St. Ger-
main's, but this was denied by M. de
Boufflers. However this may be,
King James remained at St. Ger-
main's, and William refused to pay
the Queen's dowry.
302
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
mediately preceding this war,' and which we have re-
taken since the war. The French will have possession
of them again by virtue of the article of general resti-
tution, No. 5, in which your Lordship sees that every-
thing is set upon the same foot as the beginning of the
war, this being judged both the safest and most honour-
able way.
I am forming a subsequent article to refer
the decisions of our rights to these places (which both
parties pretend to very tenaciously) to commissioners,
and to-morrow I think we may hope for a conclusive
answer from the French on that subject, as it is time
we should have, if we think of finishing the whole on
Friday. For the rest of the treaty, it is much on the
foot as that of 67,2 some alterations only made a little
better of our side, and our empire supra Maria Britan-
nica asserted, though we have no formal answer from
the French as to these less points of expression and style,
and shall have enough to do to concert the whole by
Friday. This is the present state of our affair, of which
I could not give you sooner any tolerable account, there
having been such altering and blotting till we could
make it any way bear, as your Lordship will easily
guess in a thing of this nature, especially considering
our sorry circumstance of being obliged to speak by the
mouth of other people. If I may send you the whole
signed this day se'nnight, you will be glad, I dare
swear, though I fear you may run the risk of being
impaled for a rebel to the Augustissima Casa-for as
to Count Kaunitz and his brethren, as I may say to
your Lordship, they never intended a peace without
Forts Rupert and Albany were
claimed by the French, who took
possession of them in 1686: they
were recovered by the English in
1693.
2 The Treaty of Breda.
1697.]
LORD VILLIERS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
303
being forced to it, so all they expect is time for them
to come in; for I think the Spaniard will certainly
sign, and I believe neither we nor the Dutch shall let
this term slip in a complaisance that can do nobody
good, and may be our ruin. I confess, my dear Lord
and master, I pity you. Don't dine with Kin,' and
come away as fast as you can.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Sept. 20, N. S., 1697.
This is the day that is to decide our great affair,
and unless the French have some trick that we are not
aware of, the Spaniards, Dutch, and we shall sign the
peace this evening upon the foot of the last project that
the French gave in. The Emperor and Empire (as it
was always thought) will not sign, though it is plainly
seen that most of them are well satisfied with the equi-
valent for Strasburgh. We have taken care to get them
to the 1st of November to come in, and I think they
have no reason to be dissatisfied with us, all things con-
sidered. 2
1 Count Kinsky.
2 The Emperor, however, thought
otherwise; and on the 14th Septem-
ber he addressed a letter to William,
in which he complained of the in-
justice of the conditions offered by
France, and charged him with having
deserted his allies. It will however
appear, on an impartial review of the
proceedings at the Congress, that
this charge was not borne out by the
facts. France was, no doubt, ex-
hausted by the war, but the condi-
tion of the Allies was not more
prosperous; and if the relative posi-
tions and prospects of the contending
parties are fairly considered, it will
be found that the terms offered by
Louis were as favourable as the
Allies had any right to expect.
There can indeed be little doubt
that the Emperor would gladly have
accepted these terms had he not
foreseen that the conclusion of a
peace between France and Spain,
during the life of Charles II. of
Spain, would materially interfere
with the prosecution of his own
claims on the succession to the Crown
of that country. He did not in-
deed venture to avow these views,
but William was well aware that the
304
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
Loo, Sept. 20, 1697.
I hope your Lordship will not stand in need of
more instructions relating to the peace, which we shall
be very sorry not to have concluded this day, there
being no material obstruction foreseen, a great part of
the Empire agreeing to accept the equivalent for Stras-
burgh; and should not the ministers of the Emperor do
so too, it would be yet more strange than anything that
has yet happened, since we know nothing can be really
more acceptable to them, who are the only gainers by
it, besides the advantage to Holy Church. Count
Auersperg has been very troublesome with his concern-
ing himself for the Irish, in reference to the Acts that
are passing in that parliament. He excepts particularly
against two-one for banishing the regular clergy, and
real object of the Emperor was, not
to obtain from France better terms
for the Empire, of which he could
have little, if any, hope, but to pro-
tract the contest until he had ob-
tained from the King of Spain a
declaration that the ArchdukeCharles
should succeed to the Crown, or the
death of that monarch placed him in
a position openly to assert the Im-
perial claims to the throne of Spain.
On these grounds, then, the Em-
peror was averse to peace; and the
real question at issue between Wil-
liam and his Imperial Ally was, not
whether the terms offered by France
were reasonable or not, but whether
the war should be continued by the
Allies for the purpose of aiding the
Emperor in his views with regard to
Spain.
It is true that, by a secret article Treaty with France.
in the Treaty of 1689, William was
pledged to aid the Emperor in his
pretensions to the Spanish Crown, if
the King of Spain should die without
issue, but this contingency, although
imminent, had not yet occurred, and
however unwilling William might
be to see the re-establishment of
peaceful relations between France
and Spain, he was not, at the time,
in a position, nor was he bound,
to enter into such a contest as that
in which the Emperor really, al-
though not avowedly, wished to en-
gage him; but it was not until he
saw that any further delay in accept-
ing the proposals of Louis would in-
fallibly lead to the substitution of
less favourable conditions, if not to
the rupture of the negotiations, that
he at length signed the separate
·
1697.]
SIR J. WILLIAMSON TO LORD LEXINGTON. 305
the other obliging the Papists to educate their children
in the Protestant religion. The first the King would
have pass, as being, indeed, no prejudice to the Roman
Catholic religion, and an advantage to the secular
priests, that are starved by the monks. The latter Act
the King has ordered to be stopped till he have an
account of it, which, if as represented by Count Auer-
sperg, may perhaps not pass. The order, at least, that
is given about it seems to please the Count, so I hope
your Lordship will not be importuned about it by the
ministry. Benbow is really gone in pursuit of Bart
and the Prince of Conti, it having been impossible to
hinder those light frigates from getting out of the port
and road in the night. '
1
Sir Joseph Williamson to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Sept. 24, 1697.
I am sorry I had not the conveniency of commu-
nicating to your Lordship, so early as the importance of
such an advice did deserve, the news of the peace having
been signed at Ryswick the 20th instant, between the
King our master, the Crown of Spain, and the States
on one side, and the French King on the other. We
may call it the 20th, though indeed three such several
treaties could not be got finally adjusted and writ fair,
so as to be signed and sealed, till it was near three
o'clock the next morning. We were much concerned
that we had not been able to carry the rest of our allies
along with us in this work. No pains, no endeavours,
not only among us here, but even of the King in his
personal interpositions as well as by the sending of my
Lord Portland into Flanders, had been wanting these
¹ Admiral Benbow failed to intercept the Prince.
{
X
306
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
1
last seventy days to obtain from France what they now
were willing and desirous to accept-I mean the resti-
tution of Strasburgh: but the French were immovable,
and, to say truth, it was not easy to reply on our side
to what they answered: to wit, that it was the fault of
the Allies themselves if they had not what they now
for, because for six weeks together they had it
in their power to have kept Strasburgh. But your Lord-
ship is not unacquainted with the maxims and practice
of that side of the world in these cases, and there is no
mending of them. We have each of us, in the treaty
we have made, made a provision by a particular article
that the Emperor and Empire shall have a further delay
till the 1st of November next to accept the conditions
offered by France in their declaration of the 1st instant;
and with much ado (and it did cost a very great deal of
trouble to all of us) prevailed with the Imperial embassy
to sign an article, or act, with the French, whereby
they each oblige themselves to a suspension of arms till
the 1st of November, under the good liking and appro-
bation of their masters, the one for France, the other
for the Emperor and Empire; and this was, after much
difficulty, done last night at Ryswick. The King our
master has likewise furnished an expedient for a like
cessation of all hostilities in the Spanish Netherlands,
now presently upon the signing of peace, whereas it
would not have otherwise taken place till after the
exchange of the ratification on the part of Spain; and
that expedient is, that the King gives an act or promise
under his hand to France that Spain shall ratify within
the time limited: in consequence of which the French
forces are forthwith to draw out of the Spanish Nether-
A word here is illegible, but the meaning of the sentence is obvious.
1
>
1697.1 LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
307
lands. Thus stand the rest of our matters at present,
and we are hoping our allies will take no further time
to end a business which they see must at last be done,
though I know the usual rule with some is never to do
a business till it be too late.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Sept. 25, 1697.
This post affords little to acquaint you with, only
that we find the late victory in Hungary more con-
siderable every day, and the consternation the Turks
are in cannot be greater. Yet I fear it is so late in the
year, that we shall hardly be able to make any further
use of it. Prince Vaudemont, who brought the news,
is made General of the Cavalry, and he indeed deserves
it, for there cannot be a better sort of man, and he will
be
very considerable if he lives. They say the Prince
of Conti is arrived at Dantzic with 300 officers, and
bills to a very considerable value;' however, the Elector
of Saxony has the advantage to be crowned, which is
no small matter, and, by this victory in Hungary, may
be able to withdraw his troops from thence, and will
then have a body of 20,000 of his own Saxons, besides
the assistance of the Emperor, so that I think he has a
pretty sure game; yet there will be lusty struggling
between those two young Princes. This victory has
made the Court very high; they talk of nothing but
2
¹ The Prince de Conti embarked
at Dunkirk on the 7th of September,
and arrived in the Roads off Dantzic
on the 26th; but the burghers of
this town refused to receive him,
and declared in favour of his rival.
After waiting for more than a
month in the vain hope that his
adherents would rally round him,
and enable him to strike a blow for
the Crown of Poland, the Prince
announced on the 29th of October
his determination to return to France.
2 The Elector was crowned King
of Poland on the 15th of September.
x 2
308
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
carrying on the war themselves, though we should make
a peace. The Lord help them! they are just as able
to do it as I; and whatever they may promise you
below, 't is not in their power to perform, and their
offers will prove just like Diego's will in the Spanish
Curate, who, when they asked him where they should
find all the legacies he made, answered, even where
they pleased.
Lord Villiers to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Sept. 29, N. S., 1697.
The news of the defeat of the Turkish army came
the day after we had signed the peace; if it had come
sooner, what we have done would have been more dis-
liked. The Circles and most of the German Princes
seem satisfied with his Majesty's proceeding, and see
that nothing has been wanting in him to procure them
better conditions, which the posture of affairs would not
permit. The letters from England will tell of Mr.
Prior's being arrived there, and how welcome the news
was that he carried.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Oct. 1, 1697.
You will not expect a regular correspondent in a
man who has drawn up a treaty, carried it into England,
and is returned hither in a week's time: this hurry must
not, however, hinder me from returning your Lordship
my humblest thanks for yours till that of the 18th of
September, nor must all the welcome the Lords Justices.
in England made me, let me be less dutiful to my good
Lord and master at Vienna; in one word, that noble
nation from whence I came are so overjoyed at the
1697.]
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
309
1
peace that they are all fit for Bedlam, whilst our Hol-
landers here are more soberly joyful, and some of them
with reason, for it is certain the merchants, at least
many of them, lose by the peace. I send your Lord-
ship at length a treaty, as I have sent most of it by
piecemeal before. I know not how you will like the
separate article at Vienna, nor the act which the King
has signed. The promise the King makes that Queen
Mary shall have what she may pretend to by law is
infinitely better as it was done, viz., the mediator, after
the peace was signed, reading the dicta, than if it had
been concerted and mentioned in any article; and thus
this great business is done. Your Imperialists (as I
used to call them) are heartily mad with us, but dare
not say so; they are so wise, however, in their anger as
to think seriously of coming in before November, and
then, I hope, your Lordship may not apprehend what
K——² and his mob may meditate against you. We
are paying and receiving visits to and from Delft, which
I hate more than the drudgery of making the treaty.
You, on the contrary, are, I see, killing Turks like
flies; if it had been done a year or two sooner, you
might even have hooked us on again into a war, but as
it is, 't is only bad for the poor Turks that are knocked
on the head, and there is an end on 't.
2
M. de Bruynise to Lord Lexington.
(Translation.)
Hague, Oct. 1, 1697.
The Muscovite Ambassadors made their public
entry the day before yesterday, and were attended by
For the purport of the separate
article and Act referred to, see Sir
Joseph Williamson's letter of the
24th of September, p. 305.
* Count Kinsky.
310
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
an infinite number of carriages. Their liveries, which
are of red cloth, richly adorned with pure silver, are
splendid, and their three carriages are very handsome:
in short everything is magnificent. Nothing is to be
seen but liveries embroidered with gold or silver: you
would say that all the gaiety of Venice was transferred
to the streets of the Hague, and gentlemen here appear
metamorphosed into valets, or valets into gentlemen.
The Czar is at Texel; he intends to be present in-
cognito at the public audience of his Ambassadors,
which will take place as soon as possible.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Oct. 11, 1697, N. S.
This Court is so transported with joy for a peace
so far beyond their expectation, that for these last ten
days we see nor hear nothing but public demonstrations
of it in all kinds. Their Catholic Majesties went
yesterday afternoon in great state, with a cortége of
most of the grandees, to pay their devotions of thanks
at Nuestra Señora de Atocha, and we are to have a
fiesta de toros the 24th of this month, which your Lord-
ship knows is the Spaniard's ne plus ultra of festivals.
I hear nothing of the conditions of the peace yet as to
England, but doubt not but that his Majesty, who has
done so much for Spain, has also provided for his own
and our security.'
(
¹ This letter appears in The Court of Spain under Charles II., edited
by Lord Mahon.
1697.] LETTER FROM PARIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
311
(Translation.)
Paris, Oct. 11, 1697.
It is true that we have not shown marks of great
joy at the news of the peace, for it is generally believed
that we shall not benefit much by it. The revenues of
the King are so deeply mortgaged, that it will be neces-
sary to raise taxes to pay off the debts incurred during
the war. The King, moreover, is by no means disposed
to retrench his expenses. Extensive buildings are at this
moment in contemplation, besides the new fortifications
which will be necessary when Pignerol and Luxem-
burgh are restored, and these will be very costly. The
Spaniards are treated with great consideration, in the
hope of obtaining, on the death of the King of Spain,
a large portion of that kingdom for one of our princes.
The Duc de Bourgogne is ill, and fears are enter-
tained for his chest. It has been remarked, for some
time, that he has become hunchbacked. If anything
should happen to him, the Court would soon be con-
soled for his loss; for he is of a very capricious temper,
full of whims, deceitful, and outrageously proud.' The
Duc d'Anjou, on the contrary, is mild and reasonable."
The Duchess of Savoy is excessively small, but per-
fectly formed; she is sly and designing. ³
3
The Duc de Bourgogne was
naturally haughty and impetuous,
but not deceitful: under the care of
Fénelon, his tutor, he learnt to con-
trol his passions. His wit, courage,
and piety deservedly endeared him
to the Court and people of France.
St. Simon gives an interesting account
of the character of this Prince and
of his death, which took place in
1712.
2
of Turin that the Duc de Bourgogne
should marry Marie Adelaide de
Savoy; and this Princess arrived in
Paris in November, 1696. The
marriage was celebrated in Decem-
ber, 1697.
The Princess of Savoy was at this
time 12 years old, and small for her
age; but although so young she
possessed extraordinary talents for
intrigue. She died in 1712, a few
Philip Duc d'Anjou, afterwards days before her husband the Duc de
King of Spain.
Bourgogne.
3 It was arranged by the Treaty
312
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
It is believed that his Majesty will continue to King
James the pension of 200,000 crowns.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Oct. 17, twelve at night, 1697.
The business, God be thanked, is done, and this
morning our ratification in form was changed by your
Lordship's obedient servant with the French secretary,
and is this afternoon sent to Loo; the ratification held
to be good from Friday last, when the French received
our ratification under the signet, which I withdrew
when I gave my brother secretary that under the great
seal. I will not now trouble your Lordship with the
difficulties we met with, and messages which I have
had to and fro, before we could get the thing done;
but done it is, and to our credit as to "Rex Franciæ,
which caused the whole trouble from Friday till this
morning, and has made us master of all our records
from Henry the Sixth to William the Third. Our
Imperialists are coming in, and you will think it time,
I believe. Your Lordship sees, by the inclosed, how
gallantly we have got off after all in the business of the
title.
99 1
•
¹ The French Ministers objected
to the assumption of this title by
the King of England in the Act of
Ratification. The English plenipo-
tentiaries, on the other hand, asserted
that it was the style which had been
generally adopted by his predeces-
sors on similar occasions, and they
cited, in particular, the Treaty of
Breda in 1667. They engaged,
however, to substitute another Act of
Ratification, and to omit the obnox-
ious title, if it should be found on
inquiry to be inconsistent with the
precedents to which they had re-
ferred.
On the 12th October the
mediator drew up a protocol to this
effect, and the matter was allowed to
drop.
1
1697.]
313
LORD LEXINGTON TO MR. BLATHWAYT.
The Electress Sophia to Lord Lexington.
8
Herenhausen, Oct. 8, 1697.
18'
(Translation.)
I
I assure you that I received, with much joy, the
intelligence that Providence has given you a son, and
that you have chosen me to be one of the sponsors.
hope that he will not be the less honest because he is
half German and half English; for I am myself a
mongrel of this description, and he is the son of two
persons of such merit, that I am proud of having been
named by them to be his godmother. I regard this as
a mark of your friendship, which I shall always desire
to retain, by showing you with what truth I am
1
Your very affectionate friend,
(Signed) SOPHIA, ELECTRESS.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Oct. 19, 1697.
The Bishop of Raab came hither two days ago
from Poland, where I fear things do not go the best in
the world for the Elector King. He is come to solicit
money and aid of troops, besides revoking his own from
Hungary, as I have formerly acquainted you; and the
Emperor has resolved to send him both-four regiments
of horse and dragoons, which are already marched
upon the frontiers, and 300,000 florins, for which bills
of exchange are given, so that the Emperor is entirely
engaged in this quarrel. If they go vigorously to work
this winter, and do not give the Prince of Conti leisure
to debauch the King's party, or France time to succour
him, all may go well; but if they keep their old slow
1
In the original puisque je suis mungrell mois-mesme de cette manière.
314
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697.
formal pace, I do not know what may happen. Poor
Prince! I pity him with all my heart, for he is in the
hands of people that seek only to make a prey of him,
without a friend, or a man of either honesty, honour,
or experience about him; but when a man quits his
religion for a little interest, what can he otherwise
expect?
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
25
15'
Hague, Oct. 1697.
We should now draw towards a conclusion of the
whole affair if it were not for the Palatinate, about
which, as about everything in its turn, the French
chicane extremely. Your confrères, my Lords Am-
bassadors and the Dutch, are kind of mediators in this
affair, and the thing will be agreed because it must. I
won't call our Ostrogoths any longer your Imperialists,
for they neither have the downright honesty to act
openly, nor wit enough to act with handsome hypo-
crisy; and, upon my word, we have more real concern
for the Empire than they. As to the business of the
Palatinate, he who should be master of it deserves
nobody's pity; but this is no argument, since we do
not work for him, but for a good country, of which we
wish he had possession till the thing could be decided,
and hinder (if possible) its being put into sequestre in
the Pope's hands. Two or three days may give us
light into the decisions of this affair. The poor Spa-
niards would have ratified last night (their instrument
being come), but collationing with the French, there
were some words found different, but such as may be
¹
¹ Louis XIV. now demanded that
the Palatinate should be sequestered
pending the investigation of the
claims of the Duchess of Orleans.
1697.] MR. BLATHWAYT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
315
adjusted and composed without any other danger, I
think, than that of frightening Don Quiros out of his
wits. My Lord Portland is here, going for England,
on his way to France. Who would regret being an
Ambassador when a Premier Minister is of the num-
ber? My Lord Manchester' is likewise here, on his
way to Venice. I am always Mistress Davers's ser-
vant; she is the whetstone of my ambition, and if I
would be great, it is only to be worthy her. I do
not say a word of the beautiful secretary, for I believe
she has more to do with her little gentleman at Vienna,
than we have with the old gentleman at Versailles.
May the former live long and be happy, and the latter
go off as soon as he pleases.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
¹ Charles Montague, Earl of Man-
chester, had recently been appointed
Ambassador to the Republic. In
1699 he succeeded Lord Jersey as
Ambassador to France, and in Janu-
2
Loo, Oct. 1697.
19
29'
We do not yet hear that the peace of Germany is
signed; but we had great lamentations yesterday, by
letter, from the Baron Goertz, that the French insisted
upon having Rhinfels restored to the heirs of the Land-
grave Ernst, that turned Papist, and was in treaty with
the French for selling the place to them. The King
ordered me to write very earnestly to our Ambas-
sadors and to the Pensioner to divert this blow, which
I take to be a very great one to the security of the
Empire, but fear it is a second Strasburgh, and that
more than the French are desirous of this change. His
ary, 1702, he was appointed Secre-
tary of State.
2 Lady Lexington and her infant
son.
316
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
Majesty has besides, in the general, ordered serious
remonstrances to be made to the French Ambassadors,
that if they fall off from the preliminaries, and even
their last declaration (which they have very haughtily
done in many particulars), we shall be obliged to stand
by our Allies; but what regard the French will have
to these menaces, after the great numbers of troops we
and the Dutch have disbanded and sent away, time
will show, and that very soon. The King observes
what your Lordship writes of young Count Harrach's
sounding your Lordship about renewing our alliances,
and particularly concerning the succession in Spain;
and would have your Lordship, when the occasion
offers, assure those Ministers of his readiness to renew
these alliances as soon as he shall be informed of the
terms and conditions, in both respects, which your
Lordship has now orders to receive, and send a project
of, to his Majesty, for his deliberation upon them.'
As to the formal despatches for your Lordship's return, I
expect only the first moment of the German peace being
signed to send them immediately to your Lordship.
Mr. Prior to Lord Lexington.
Hague, Nov. 5, 1697.
I ought last post to have told you that the Im-
perialists and Catholic Princes of the Empire had
signed the peace, if I had known anything more than
that they had done so. This Mr. Swinford told Mr.
Sutton, and all beyond it was such confusion that one
knew not what to make of it; whilst their Excellencies,
1
Upon reconsideration the Em-
peror thought it more politic to post-
pone any further discussion on this
subject until he had obtained pos-
session of the places which were to
be restored to him by France.
1697.]
317
MR. PRIOR TO LORD LEXINGTON.
1
by the King's order, were endeavouring to settle the
business of the Palatinate upon a better foot than the
French offered it, Count Vehlen, that Elector's
Minister here, had directions to tell them that their
master and the King of France had agreed the business
elsewhere, whilst the whole Empire were striving to
have the peace of Westphalia established in points
relating to religion, and would have an act from the
Imperialists that they intended it should be so. Count
Kaunitz says the Emperor has reason to resent the
Protestants suspecting him in this affair; and the
Imperialists, de bonnement, make their peace with so
little concern to, and regard of, the ecclesiastical points,
that the Protestants could not come in, and must be
contented to take six weeks, which is till the ratifica-
tion, to do it, or to be then reckoned enemies to France;
the peace to be good to them from the day of the
Imperialists and Catholics signing, provided they
accept the terms within the time prescribed. This is all
very hard, my Lord, to say no worse of it; and happy
were they that got first out of the bustle, since it was
impossible to have things better by continuing in it. In
the mean time seven hundred churches in the Palatin-
ate are likely to have mass said in them, as well after
they shall be restored to the Elector Palatine as whilst
they were under the dominion of the French; and the
Protestants will sign because they must, but hardly
1 The French Ministers now in-
sisted on inserting in the Treaty a
stipulation that the Roman Catholic
religion should be the established
religion in the territories restored
by France. This stipulation was
peculiarly unjust in the case of the
Palatinate; but the Emperor, the
Elector Palatine, and the other Ro-
man Catholic Princes of the Empire
"played booty with the French," to
use the words of Mr. Blathwayt,
and the Protestant Allies in vain
protested against the injustice of the
demand.
318
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
<
forget the proceedings which oblige them to it. These,
my Lord, are our present circumstances. My Lord
Jersey took leave of the States on Saturday: the King
having given him, a little before, the character of
Ambassador to them. My master Blathwayt has to-
day sent me a letter to the Pensioner, by which I am
likewise to go off. I know not who succeeds my Lord
Jersey, but we say Sir Joseph Williamson is to stay
here till all is over.
Mr. Stanhope to Lord Lexington.
Madrid, Nov. 8, 1697, N. S.
The honour of your Lordship's letter of the 18th
of September, which came in Count Harrach's
packet, he was pleased to send me by a footman, which
is all the communication that has ever passed between
us. It would be very happy if your Court would make
the only real advantage of their late great victory in
Hungary by making a good peace; to which probably
the Porte would incline now that this Grand Seignor
has spent his first fougue to so little purpose, and sees
himself as unfortunate as his father and uncle were.
The ratification of the peace with Spain arrived here
yesterday, but is not yet published with solemnity.
We are told that not only your Court will certainly
come into it, but that a marriage is near concluded
between the King of the Romans and the Duke of
Orleans' daughter, which is much better liked here than
that our King should have her, the report of which not
long since put them in a terrible fright. The Prince of
Hesse has been here about ten days, and their Majesties
have plentifully showered their favours on him; he is
made a Grandee of Spain de la premera classe, and
1697.]
MR. BLATHWAYT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
319
has the toson given him. The Queen presented him
with a jewel of diamonds, of 5000 doubloons, to wear
on the King's birthday, and he has the assurance of the
Virreynato of Catalonia very speedily, although that is
not yet publicly declared. We had, the day before
yesterday, being the Años del Rey, a fiesta de toros in
the Plaça Mayor, in which happened many disasters.
What is most regretted is, that one of the four torea-
dores, Don Juan de Velasco, had the calf of his leg
and his thigh ripped up by a bull, and lies now
agonizing; he was one of the ten in the famous desafio
last winter, and newly made Governor of Buenos Ayres,
whither he is never likely to go. I am very sorry to
hear from England there is so little hope of the Duke of
Shrewsbury's recovery to such a degree as to be able to
exercise his post of Secretary of State; if he should
think fit to lay it down, I know no person living who
can fill it so well as your Lordship, who cannot fail of
it, if you will please to accept it.
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord
1
Lexington.
Hague, Nov. 8, 1697.
All the Protestant Princes of the Empire have not
yet signed; but Count Auersperg has told me very
frankly that they don't get half so many churches by
this peace as we did by that of Munster.
Mr. Greg to Mr.
2
Copenhagen, Nov. 9, 1697.
The Prince Royal of Denmark was the more
surprised at the Prince of Conti's making any difficulty
1 Toison d'or.
copy of this letter was forwarded to
2 Probably to Mr. Blathwayt. A Lord Lexington by Mr. Greg.
320
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1697,
1
about going to see him in his own apartments, because
when his Royal Highness was in France upon his
travels, he passed under the notion of a Count, as the
Prince of Conti now does; so that if the Dauphin
himself had been here incognito in like manner, the
Prince Royal would have expected from him the same
civility here that he had paid to him in France; and
much more from the Prince de Conti, who is the last
Prince of the blood in France, and very remote from
the crown. As to the Queen, I know not whether
there was any difficulty or not about the manner of his
reception. However, so it was that the Queen expected
he would have paid his respects to her immediately
after he left the King, and had all things in readiness
to receive him accordingly, and her maids of honour
and gentlemen already passed in the ante-chamber,
where she gives audience, when the news came that
the Prince of Conti was gone directly home with the
Ambassador¹ from the King's chamber. Notwith-
standing all this, they had so much complaisance for
the said Prince that they appointed an assembly at
Court yesternight, on purpose: where the Queen,
Prince, and Princesses played at cards, as well as the
principal ladies belonging to this Court, at several tables
and divided into several small companies, as the manner
is. So the Prince of Conti was to have come in with
the French Ambassador to this assembly, and there to
have seen the Queen, Prince, and all the Princesses, as
it were, occasionally, and to have played with the
Queen, who had put on a great many extraordinary
jewels upon this occasion. But when all things were
ready again for the Prince of Conti's coming, there
¹ M. de Bonrepaux.
1697.]
MR. GREG TO MR.
321
was an express sent that he was not well, which was
worse taken than the first disappointment; and they
are vexed at Court now that the King gave him any
audience at all before he was assured that the Prince of
Conti would do the same honour to the rest of the
Royal Family as the Prince Royal of Denmark had
done to the Royal Family of France.
There are some of his principal followers that usually
sit at table with his Highness, as particularly the Count
de Lauzun,' Chevalier d'Angoulême, and Abbé de
Châteauneuf. The whole discourse of the Prince's
followers plainly implies that he has entirely abandoned
the crown of Poland, and has no further thoughts of
looking after it, being desirous to appear glad to have
missed it.
Nov. 13, 1697.
On Tuesday last, in the evening, the Prince de
Conti set sail from hence with four frigates of M. de
Bart's squadron. Yesterday morning, the wind coming
very fair, he set sail from the Sound, and, if it con-
tinues, he may probably arrive at Dunkirk towards the
beginning of next week.
One circumstance I omitted in my last was, that the
Prince de Conti offered to have made a visit to the
Prince Royal in his apartments, but then he expected
to have the right hand there, which the Prince Royal
would not consent to. Finding that the ceremonial
could not be adjusted to his (the said Prince de Conti's)
mind for his seeing of the Queen and Prince in their
own apartments, it was proposed, as I mentioned in my
¹ Mr. Greg does not give M. de
Lauzun the full honours to which he
was entitled. This successful adven-
turer, whom Bussy Rabutin describes
as one of the least men in mind as
well as body that God ever made,
was created a Duke in 1692.
Y
322
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
1
last, that he should see them, as it were, occasionally
an assembly; but when he was just ready to come,
having understood that he would be received there as
an unknown person, and that the Queen, Prince, and
Princesses, not having received a visit from him, could
not take notice of him otherwise, nor rise up from their
play at his coming in, he sent an excuse that he was
not well, and therefore could not come, though he
supped in public at the Ambassador's that same evening
an hour or two after he sent the excuse.
All the while that M. de Bart has been out he has
received his orders immediately from France; so that
he had no directions to follow the Prince de Conti's
orders, but rather the Prince was always obliged to
comply with his.
M. de Bonrepaux is to leave this Court very shortly,
being to reside in Holland, in the same quality of
Ambassador.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
None of the foreign Ministers here, except M.
Moreau' only, have seen the Prince of Conti-no, not
the Swedish Envoy.
¹ M. Moreau was the Polish
Minister at Copenhagen. He was
devoted to the interest of the Prince
Vienna, Nov. 20, 1697.
Mr. Martini, whom you writ to me about some
time ago, was yesterday with me; he seems a very in-
genuous man. He is come, as far as I can find, with a
commission from the Marques de Leganez to endeavour
to put him well with the Emperor, and to offer his
service and endeavours with his friends and relations
de Conti, but the new King of
Poland had not as yet recalled
him.
1697.] MR. BLATHWAYT TO LORD LEXINGTON.
323
in Spain for the succession-when it happens.' I had a
great deal of discourse with him; he seems to be well
informed of the affairs of Italy, and tells me he is po-.
sitively assured that the Duke of Savoy is taking mea-
sures for getting the Duchy of Milan when the occasion
happens, and now at this time for the Montserrat ;
and I am apt to believe it, for t'other day the
Ambassador of Savoy let fall something accidentally
in his discourse to me, that gives me occasion to suspect
they are working for it.
2
Mr. Blathwayt to Lord Lexington.
11
Hague, Nov. 1697.
21'
The French continue very firm to the article of
religion, and will not admit of any expedient or expla-
nation proposed by the Protestants, wherein the Impe-
rialists play booty, and show clearly their conjunction
with the French in these matters; so that the Protes-
tants have nothing more in their view than to be able
to keep themselves from being imposed on in the same.
manner upon other occasions. This disposition of the
Imperial Court will make your Lordship, I believe, very
desirous to leave Vienna if the weather permit.
3
Mr. Vernon to Lord Lexington.
Whitehall, Dec. 7, 1697.
I believe you have very few of the Irish in those
parts who have served in the French King's army
¹ In 1705 the Marques de Leganez
was seized by King Philip and sent
prisoner to Navarre for exciting dis-
affection among the grandees.
2 It will be remembered that, by
a secret article in the Treaty of
Turin, Louis XIV. promised to aid
the Duke in obtaining possession of
the Milanese in the event of the
King of Spain dying without issue.
3 On the 2nd of December Sir
William Trumbull resigned the
Y 2
324
[1697.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
during the war; but I must not omit signifying his
Majesty's pleasure that no passes should be given by
your Lordship to any such, since, by a late Act passed
in Ireland, they are to suffer as traitors if they return
thither. I send your Lordship the address the Com-
mons have voted this day. There is a fair prospect
they will make all their assurances good, though the
question for a supply preferably to the consideration of
the King's speech was carried by three.'
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Vienna, Dec. 18, 1697.
2
I am in such a hurry that I have but time to tell
you I set out to-morrow, and for that little business
there is, my cousin Sutton will acquaint you with it at
large next post. Since my last to you, I have been
like to take a journey into t'other world by a fit of the
seals. Lord Wharton had long
aspired to the office of Secretary of
State, and his claims were strongly
urged on the King by the Whig
party, of which this nobleman was
an active and a leading member.
William, however, feared the vio-
lence of his temper, and the Repub-
lican tendency of his political prin-
ciples; and Lord Sunderland was no
less averse to the promotion of one
whom he rightly regarded as a dan-
gerous and implacable foe.
But neither the King nor Lord
Sunderland ventured entirely to
break with Lord Wharton; they
held out therefore to him the hope
that he might shortly obtain the
object of his ambition, and, in the
meanwhile, the seals were delivered
to Mr. Vernon, whose humble posi-
tion naturally led to the inference
that his appointment to so important
an office was merely a temporary
arrangement.
This, however, was not the inten-
tion of the King, or of his adviser
Lord Sunderland; and Mr. Vernon
retained the seals during the re-
mainder of the reign.
He was dismissed by Queen Anne
in May, 1702.
¹ This address was highly com-
plimentary to the King, but it was
immediately followed by a vote
which was most distasteful to his
Majesty. On the 13th of December
the House of Commons passed a
resolution that "all the land forces
of the kingdom, which had been
raised since the 29th of September,
1680, should be paid and disbanded."
2 To return to England.
1697-8.]
MR. ELLIS TO LORD LEXINGTON.
325
stone; but, thank God, 'tis over, at least for this bout.
The Queen of Poland, the Emperor's sister, and
mother to the Duke of Lorraine, died yesterday of
apoplexy.
Mr. Ellis to Lord Lexington.
7
Whitehall, Jan. 11, 169ğ.
I have the honour of your Excellency's of 29th
past, from Leipsic, humbly to acknowledge. Your
Lordship did not then know of the revolution here,
by Sir William's surrendering the seals to the King,
which he did 2 past, and his Majesty's giving them
to Mr. Secretary Vernon, as he was pleased to do
the next day; neither does your Excellence know
that a fire, which happened here this day sennight
about four in the afternoon, has left nothing but the
name of Whitehall, all the old buildings and the new,
except the Banqueting-house, being down, besides the
low buildings that face the Horse Guards. His Ma-
jesty has ordered that the yacht that carries over Mr.
Stepney, who is going Envoy Extraordinary to some
princes in Germany, shall attend your Lordship's arrival
at Rotterdam.
Lord Lexington to Mr. Blathwayt.
Amsterdam, Jan. 28, 1698.
Thank God, I am at last got hither, and free from
all the plagues of Westphalia inns and Dutch foremen,
and hope in a little while to have the honour of em-
bracing you. I have been at Zell, as I told
you in
last, where it was impossible to be more kindly received;
and the good old gentleman' expects the King this
my
¹ The Duke of Zell.
326
[1697-8.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
autumn, and has reserved two or three dozen of the
best Champagne wine that ever was tasted, and of five
years old—a bottle of which he gave me for a taste,
that I might tell his Majesty how good it was. The
Duchess was pleased to make my wife a present of a
ring, and of such value that I could not let her take it
but with the condition of his Majesty's approbation.
(327)
APPENDIX.
Extracts from "The Journal of what passed in the time of Mr. Hop's
abode at the Imperial Court at Vienna, as Envoy-Extraordinary from
the High and Mighty States of Holland; from the 4th November,
1688, to the 19th July, 1689.”
4th Nov.-The Marquis de Lusignan, Envoy from France at Vienna,
was, by a note from Count Coningseg, Vice-Chancelour of the Empire, in
name of the Emperour, acquainted, that his Imperial Majesty, considering
the late designs of the French againest him, did not think fitt to permitt him
to stay longer at his Court in the quality of Envoy.
The foresayed Marquise received the note au pied de la lettre, and
remained nevertheless in the city.
The order for his removeall (to the end that they might have a guarand,
in case the great Master of the Teutonick Order should fall into the hands
of the French in the Palatinate) was delayed till France were declared at
Regensburgh ennemy to the Empire, when all French Ministers are then
to be sent away.
*
7th Nov.-The Elector of Brandenburgh and Duke of Hannover send
instructions to their Ministers resideing here, to endeavour the takeing
away of any umbrages that this Court may have of the Conference held at
Magdeburgh betwixt the Protestant Princes. Baron Görtz writes the
same thing to Count Staremburgh in name of the Landgrave of Hesse
Cassel.
The Emperour received today the Prince of Orange's letter, with ane
account of his intended voyage into England.
The same is very acceptably received, 1stly, because of the confidence
which his Highness is pleased to repose in his Imperial Majesty in com-
municateing to him this his project: 2ndly, for the great moderation with
which his Highness expresses himself, as well in regard of the King of
England as the excercise of the Roman Catholick worship in that
kingdome.
11th Nov.-The mentioned letter came the more timely, while the
Emperour (as Mr. Hop is, in great trust and secrecy, informed by the
Ambassadour of Spain) hade, a few dayes before, asked the foresayed
Ambassador what he thought fitt for him to doe, in case they should attempt
to dethrone the K. of England, and abolish there the Roman Catholick
Religion. His Excellence excused himself, not dareing to give his judge-
328
[1688-9.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
ment in such a weighty affaire, beyond, or without, the order of the King
his Master: nevertheless, by way of discourse, he proceeded to saye that
the kingdome of England was by no meanes subject; therefor whatever the
Nation, represented by the two Houses of Parliament, should doe, must be
held for good.
As to the Roman Catholick Religion, he did not believe that it would
be more hardly dealt with than was requisite for the State, wherein, as he
himself hade found, it was not so severely dealt with as is commonly pre-
tended. By this was the zeale of some Catholicks at this Court remarke-
ably moved. These, being pushed on by the clergy, endeavoured by all
meanes to render the foresayed expedition to England suspected. But now
the affection which this Court hath hade for that of England is quite lost,
since they see with what earnestness England, meerly to pleasure France,
hath interested itself in the business of Cardinal Furstemberg, wherein that
Crowne is no way concerned, and that the Earl of Carlingford, English
Envoy at this Court, doth live in such an intimate and familiar corre-
spondence with the French Ministers, and that, with ane extraordinary
heat, he hath pushed the French interests here.
Count Coningseg told Mr. Hop that the Emperour, being so unpro-
videdly assaulted by France, could not, by reasone of his troupes acting at
so great a distance againest the Turks, possibly make any active resistance
againest France, considering how much his troupes have suffered this cam-
pagne, and by the distance of the places, viz. Belgrade, Bosnia, and Tran-
sylvania, the nearest of which is not less than 80 or 90 Germane miles
distant from here, where at present they are. Wherefor it is necessary
that 9 Regiments goe to Winter quarters, where, being sufficiently refreshed
and recruited, then, in the beginning of the yeare, they may be employed,
and not sooner. That, in the meane time, his Imperial Majesty could help
his allies no other wayes but with his good councel.
1
14th Nov.-All the Chief Ministers of this Court doe, in the Emperor's
name, sufficiently attest his, and their owne, satisfaction with the resolution
of the States, dated the 28th October, concerneing the reasones that
moved them to assist his Highness, now goeing over to England, with ships
and forces. Mr. Hop hath caused translate the mentioned resolution, and
delivered it to the Emperour.
*
The Prince's expedition is looked upon as a meane to bring England to a
better correspondence, as likewise the forces of that Crown to be imployed
againest France; and that by sea, from whence the very heart of the French
power may be reached, and so consequently at the same time may be pro-
cured such a considerable diversion to the progress of the French armes in
the Empire as that it may be sufficiently unburthened of them. The Em-
peror's answer to the Prince's mentioned letter is sent with this daye's post.2
1 See No. 1, p. 353.
2 Sec No. 2, p. 354.
1688-9.]
APPENDIX.
329
;
21st Nov.-Count Stratman acquainted Mr. Hop, by the Emperour's
express order, that when Baron Görtz lately arrived here, with power from
the States to renew the preceding Allyance betwixt his Imperial Majesty
and the States, that in the negotiation of the sayed renewall, formal promises
were made that so soone as his Imperial Majesty were disposed thereto, a
good deale of the promised, but as yet not payed, subsidye should be payed
him. That thereupon the Emperour, having made the sayed Renewall, and
that with so great privacy, that, except himself and the Count Stratman,
nobody hade the least notice of it, insomuch that the Act of Renewall was
passed without the knowledge of his Chancery, His Majesty therefor,
upon this account as well as by reasone of his being intangled in a double
warr, wisheth that the foresayed promises concerning the unpayed sub-
sidies should, upon all adventure, be fulfilled, at least that so much as with-
out all dispute is as yet oweing, may be payed. His Majesty thinketh fitt
to make this his request knowen to the Prince by Mr. Hop, and not by
Mr. Crampvich at the Hague, by reasone that the last knoweth nothing of
the foresayed renewment, or any thing that passed therein.
There being a report current among foreign Ministers, that the Emperour
is, by letter on behalf of the King of England, intreated to mediate in
takeing away the differences that are arisen twixt his Majesty and the
Prince of Orange, since, by doeing of this, his Majesty may be in a con-
dition more vigorously to guarand the made, and now broken, truce;
withall, methods might hereby be found out of takeing away the animosityes
that are between his Imperial Majesty and France, to do which there
remaineth no way but the proposeing of ane equivalent whereby the dam-
mage which the Emperour hath suffered may be repaired; upon this Mr.
Hop declared his mind herein to Count Stratman. His Excellency assured
him, upon his word and honour, that the King of England hade written
nothing at all to the Emperour of that that is reported. It was,
It was, 'tis true,
indirectly tryed whether or not his Imperial Majesty would trouble himself
• with the foresayed differences. That Mr. Ronquillo.from England, Mr.
Crampvich from the Hague, together with the Pope's nuntio, Cardinal
Bonvisi, endeavoured to persuade the Emperor thereto. That his Majesty
hade reflected thereupon, but never resolved to let any devoirs be made, by
reasone that he could not imagine that they would be acceptable; at least
the Emperour's intention that way made knowen to Baron Görtz, who,
while he was here, hade made some obscure overtures of the Prince his
expedition to England, never received any answer. That his Majesty
made knowen to the foresaid Baron Görtz what at that time was, and still
is, his opinion, to wit, that the penal statutes made againest Roman Catho-
licks needed not be put in execution, but that, at the same time, due care
should be taken for maintaining of the settled and predominant religion, as
well as the preservation of the fundamental lawes of the realme, and that
endeavours should be used to bring the King to a sounder mind in publick
affairs than as yet he hath hade.
25th Nov.-That the above mentioned letter was written by the King
330
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1688-9.
of England to the Dutchess of Hanover, from whence it was sent hither.
Among the contents of it was what followeth :-" Qu'il n'avoit jamais été
capable d'un imposture aussy execrable que celle de la supposition d'un
Prince de Galles; qu'il étoit vraye; qu'il étoit depourveu, parce qu'il ne
s'étoit point attendu que ceux que le touchoient de si pres, entreprendroient
quelque chose contre luy, mais si le vent continuoit quelque temps contraire,
on le trouveroit à la tête de bonnes trouppes." The Spanish ambassadour
confirmed what is above mentioned, to wit, that Ronquillo and Crampvich
hade used their devoirs to make the house of Austria interest itself in the
English affaires. That he himself hade orders from Spain to concert with
this court thereupon; but that it was unanimously judged unadviseable to
trouble themselves with them, by reasone that this expedition to England
was looked upon not onely as sufficient, but likewise as the only meane of
quickly extricateing Europe. Count Stratman assured Mr. Hop that the
Emperour inwardly, and now also spareth not to avow the same openly,
would not be dissatisfyed to see the affaires of England upon aneother
footing; and that discourses upon that subject would not be disagreable.
Withall he added, that it was nothing extraordinary to see people, that
were concerned enough in ane affaire, hindered by particular reasones from
interesting themselves openly therein.
There hath been likewise, some dayes agone, a report, grounded, as the
ministers say, upon Mr. Crampvich his relation, that the Prince's returne
was not so much occasioned by the storm his fleet met with, as by reasone
that affaires in England were like to be accomodated, for which cause his
Highness was intreated to delay his voyage. This report, notwithstanding
that its falshood did very quickly appeare, was not very ill relished here :
perhaps by reasone that it was imagined that the King, being by the above
mentioned accomodation brought to a sounder minde, the state's interest
would be therewith satisfyed, which is the onely thing that moveth people
here to wish or hope for ane alteration in English affaires, and thus the
Roman Catholick religion should run the lesser risque; whereas, upon the
Prince's arriveall in England, the mob may, perhaps, fall upon the Roman
Catholicks, as upon monsters; and that this might have greater impression
upon the Roman Catholick zealots, as if, forsooth, they were not already
incensed enough, the English Ministers endeavour to represent unto them
what the people of London and Edinburgh at such a time, as is hoped for
at the Prince's landing, may attempt upon the two Romish chappels that
are there erected. Moreover the Spanish Ambassadour sayeth that some
disturbances are raised by what Mr. Crampvich reporteth the Prince to have
sayed, viz., that he knew not how matters might goe in case the King made
any vigorous resistance, which, as is generally supposed, will come to passe,
though it will hardly have force enough to hinder the Prince his laudable
and heartily wished-for enterprise, quidquid fit.
28th Nov.-It is evident that the business of religion in England doeth
mightily disturb people here, but the interest of state maketh them often wish
for good successe to his expedition; and his Highness's opinion that Roman
!
1688-9.]
331
APPENDIX.
Catholicks should not be persecuted for their religion is mightily praised,
openly, because they say that no man's conscience ought to be forced; but
whether their heart and tongue agree is thence to be learned, that, accordeing
to Count Aspremont's relation, which was made by the by in aneother
discourse, eight dayes agone, the Protestants and Lutherans in Offen were,
by open proclamation, commanded to quite the town. The E. of Carling-
ford, Extraordinary Envoy from England, brags of the good posture that
the King his master is in, but the general persuasion to the contrary causeth
the same to find small credit.
**
The Prince his declaration, brought here by the last post, was reade to
the Emperour. The reflections made by the Emperour upon the same,
which he communicated to Count Stratman and the Ambassadour, doe
chiefly concerne the birth of the pretended Pr. of Wales, and consist mostly
in the three following points :-
1stly. This declaration agreeth not with what his Highness wrote to his
Imperial Majesty in the abovementioned missive, wherein his Highness pre-
tends that his intention was not to attempt any thing in prejudice to the
legal succession of the Crown, whereas in this declaration the Pr. of Wales's
right of succession is disputed.
2ndly. That such a dispute is a dangerous precedent.
3rdly. That the putting by the Prince of Wales might bring along with
it the total destruction of the Roman Catholick religion in England.
Hereupon Mr. Hop answered, that there could no difference be found
twixt the Prince's letter and declaration, unless it were supposed that his
Highness was persuaded that the pretended Pr. of Wales is the sone of the
present Queen of England, and thus, by the foresayed expression, legal suc-
cession, his Highness should have meant the Pr. of Wales: but the men-
tioned generall expression will not beare this particular illation, since that
as soone as the birth of the pretended Pr. of Wales was made knowen to the
world, so soone were the circumstances likewise divulged that fully per-
suaded most of the subjects of the three kingdomes, and consequently his
Highness likewise, that the sayed Prince of Wales was not brought to the
world by the Queen of England. That ane account of the same was
brought here before ever the Prince's foresayed letter arrived, and so,
consequently, it could by no meanes be thought that his Highness, in the
foresayed letter, should have avowed, or so much as thought of avoweing
the legality of the mentioned Prince of Wales, or his right of succession to
the Crown, but that the foresayed letter referred rather to the Princess her
incontestable right of succession, or rather the decision that should be made
by a free and legally called Parliament.
That the consequence of ane example of makeing a supposititious successor,
who really was such, is more to be feared than that of maintaining the
incontestable right of succession appertaineing to her Royal Highness,
which by the pretended birth of a Prince of Wales shec is like to be robbed
of. That his Highness, in a matter of such consequence, intended not to
332
[1688-9.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
take right at his owne hand, but, in respect that it is the most tender con-
cerne that can be in the world, he is to proceed therein with all the consi-
deration that can be observed in the very smallest civil affaire, that is,
he'l appeale from himself to the decision of a lawfully called Parliament,
which is the onely competent judge to give sentence in such a business :
that the same is not onely confirmed by reasones deduced from the nature
of royall power, and of the constitution of the Parliament, but likewise with
examples of what hath been formerly practised in England, as, namely, that
of their makeing ordinances concerning the succession, as was done in the
first yeare of Edward the Sixth's reign, and at several other times. Like-
wise, when formerly it was disputed whether ane elder sone, borne without
the kingdome, were preferable to a younger, borne within the same, the
Parliament decided in favour of the eldest sone.
As to the consequence of religion, that is no way valid, since his High-
ness hade publickly declared to the Emperour that no man's conscience
should be forced that this is as little like to fall out by his Highnesse's
conduct in England, as it doeth in Holland.
Count Stratman put the question to Mr. Hop, whether this declaration
of the Prince's againest the Prince of Wales agreed with his promises made
to the Emperour in the abovementioned letter: when, in answer thereto,
Mr. Hop hade deduced what is just now related, he replyed that the same
must be held for the sone, quem nuptiæ emonstrant; and that this is pre-
sumptio juris, et de jure, that should admit no contrary proof.
Mr. Hop answered hereupon, that the rule here, when, the persone
of the mother being incontrovertably avowed, it is debated whether the
mother's husband, or aneother, is father of the child brought forth, in which
case the husband is always presumed to be the father; yet not so absolutely
but that, on certain occasions, proofes to the contrary may be admitted.
But in the present case, the rule alledged by his Excellency can no way
have place, since here the debate is concerning the mother of the pretended
P. of Wales. His Excellency gave no answer to this; but not being as yet
satisfyed, Mr. Hop hath consented to discourse more fully with him on
this subject.
*
5th Dec.-Mr. Hop, discoursing anew with Count Stratman on the sub-
ject of his Highnesse's expedition, represented to him the necessity under
which the Prince lay, by the request of a great number of the clergy and
gentry of England, who intreated him to labour to redress their infringed
lawes, to maintaine and support the Protestant religion, without forceing the
consciences of such as dissented therefrom; that her Royal Highness's
incontestable right of succession to the Crown, together with the weighty
reasones of suspecting the lawfullness of the pretended P. of Wales's birth,
required at least of him that he should see the concerns thereof decided in
a lawful Parliament, and that, in such material and essentiall business, no
greater moderation could be thought upon. Count Stratman, without giving
Mr. Hop a word of answer, showed himself not a little dissatisfied. How-
1688-9.]
APPENDIX.
333
ever, Mr. Hop urged him the more, begging that he would be pleased
ingenuously to declare his minde on this subject. At last his Excellence
sayed, that the Emperour looked upon the Prince's expedition in general
as very laudable and feasable, since the Prince's accustomed cautiousness
and foresight assured him that the measures in hand would certainely succeed.
As to the concerns of religion that may be interwoven with them, it could
not be taken ill that this Court take the part of that religion which is here
professed; that, in his opinion, to exclude people of parts and good families
from all imployes and benefices, merely on the account of their difference
in religion, was a little hard: more he would not add, nor say any thing
concerning the legality of the P. of Wales. The Prince of Salms, who,
as one of the Emperour's privy counsellers and Count Stratman's confident,
is certainely throughly versed in the affaires of this Court, runneth likewise
on the score of religion, but more at large and more freely than Count
Stratman. He sayeth it is his opinion that, on the one hand, the K. of
England, by instigation of the Jesuites and French, hath taken very bad
and discommendable measures, such as the Pope himself and most part of
Roman Catholicks dissapprove; but, on the other hand, he thought that
the rigidity of the penal statutes might well be mitigated, that it looked a
little strange that a Roman Catholick prince should not be permitted to
take into his service or advance to benefices people of his owne religion.
Mr. Hop, haveing made a deduction of the origine of these penal statutes
againest Roman Catholics, and what bad glosses were made upon the P.
of Orange's project of bringing about the peace of the kingdome of England
and concord among the subjects of all persuasions, to which end his High-
ness hath declared that he'l let no man be persecuted for conscience sake,
and that Roman Catholicks shall be dealt with in England as they are dealt
with in Holland: To this the Prince of Salms replyed that the R. Ca-
tholicks, in most of the United Provinces, excepting Holland and Utrecht,
were rigidly enough treated; withall he added that in regard of that point
of difference wayes of alleviation might be fallen upon, and, if affaires in
England come not quickly to a close, it would be necessary for such a con-
siderable persone as the Emperour to send and see whether or not the King
and Prince by his mediation could be reconciled. .
As to the Pr. of Wales, the mentioned Pr. of Salms pretended that
as yet he had not seen the depositions made in proof of the law fullness
of that supposititious Prince : yet he sayed that, in all likelihood, it could not
be presumed that the King would be brought so farr as to consent to the
stealeing in of a supposititious Prince, which would be a most abominable
action even in the eyes of Catholicks and in regard of the Roman Catholick
religion, since God would never permitt the propagation of the same by
such ane illegal way, and altho', as is sayed, the Queen Dowager be at
the head of the forty witnesses that attest the lawfullness of that Prince, yet
some remarks are notwithstanding to be made upon the sayed attestations,
particularly it was to be considered that all the witnesses were Roman
Catholicks. Upon this Mr. Hope sayed, that his Highness haveing received
334
[1688-9.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
such good and sure information of the supposititiousness of that Prince, the
least and most moderate thing he could doe was to referr himself to the
decision of the Parliament. His Grace asked hereupon, whether the sub-
jects then could judge their King, and if this was ever practised in Eng-
land? Mr. Hop haveing, in answer, adduced the reasones and examples
above mentioned, his Grace sayed that, for what he could see, there
remained noe way of makeing ane end of the business but by the Parliament
decision. The true reasone that moveth people here to be dissatisfyed
with the dispute about the law fullness of the pretended P. of Wales is not
their being convinced of his lawfullness, of which was not the least
account before the arriveal of the last post, but merely their zeale for
religion, that seemeth now to be in despair; for if the pretended P. of
Wales be putt by the crown, the Roman Catholick religion cannot be con-
served in England. Now, people of best note at this Court, and even the
Emperour's Privy Counsellers, at their first moveing in English affaires,
as they are at present, made account upon a Catholick succession to the
throne upon the decease of the present King; and thus the Roman Catholick
religion would still continue to subsist in England. By this meanes they
hoped to have reconciled the maximes of state that forced them to wish for
a change in English affaires with their zeale for the Roman Catholick
religion; for tho' perhaps by the wished-for change the provideing for and
supporting of the reformed religion would certainly follow, and thus the
growth and light of the Roman Catholick religion might be for a time
choaked and darkned, yet in the meane time the publick, and in particular
their owne state, reaped advantage thereby; and there remained still hopes
that hereafter, by a Catholick's succeeding to the crown, the Roman Catho-
lick religion would of a new get up its head and revive again; and this is
the reasone that lately people wished for ane accomodation of English
affaires without his Highness's voyage thither.
*
*
Mr. Hop applyeth himself in all convenient places, with all possible exact-
ness, to explain the true reasones and motives of his Highnesse's voyage to
England, as of the States assisting him on this occasion: herein he useth
chiefly the reasones contained in the above-mentioned resolution of the
States, dated the 28th October, and his Highness's declaration.
By this occasion Mr. Hop was advertised, by a most sure and authentick
hand, that many and powerfull endeavours were made to bring the Em-
perour to a good understanding and strait confederacy with France and
England and the motive they chiefly made use of herein is the interest of
the Roman Catholick Religion.
:
12th December.-At the same time all endeavours were used for moveing
the Pope to use his utmost interest for effectuating the sayed design at this
Court; and it was immediately given out that if the Houses of Austria,
Bourbon, and Stewart were united, they could easily govern all Europe.
Nevertheless the Emperour, notwithstanding that he alwayes passed for a
Prince very zealous for the Roman Catholick Religion, considering that it is
1688-9.]
APPENDIX.
335
his interest to oppose the groweing power of France, and judgeing that this
desired confederacy, under pretext of the interest of religion, would in
reality tend to the extending and inlargeing of the French power, altogether
declined it.
Count Stratman, with relation to the Emperour's judgement, declared that
the arguments and reasones dispersed by the French for makeing people
looke upon the Prince's expedition as the beginning of a religious warr are
looked upon at this Court as being designed to breed a distrust and diffi-
dence among the Allyes, and so at last to separate them from one another.
That his Imperial Majesty is inclined to continue the close correspond-
ence he kept with the States, with whom from time to time he would con-
cert the publick good, and its concerns and necessityes.
The general hopes and wishes of this Court are, that by the Prince's
expedition England may be engaged to make warr with France. They
commend the Prince for designeing to get a lawfull Parliament called for
restoreing and redressing abuses and violated lawes.
As to religion, they wish that the Roman Catholicks in England that are
of best note and quality, especially such as are not of the French party,
may not be excluded from all publick offices: but, however it may be, the
Prince's declaration not to persecute Catholicks is very well liked; neither
doe they intend to trouble themselves farther about this matter.
Hereto agreeth the Emperour's answer given to Jesuit Mubert, father
confessor to the Empress, who a few dayes agoe endeavoured to engage the
Emperour in support of the Roman Catholick Religion in England; to which
the Emperour replyed, "France hath been for a long time the comfort of
England, and therefor now they may seek, if they want, help from that
crown." Some ministers at Court proposeing to Mr. Hop (Count Stratman
haveing but last night pressed the same thing) whether the Emperour could
not find out a way to accomodate the differences betwixt the King and
P. of Orange, imployeing for that end either the Spanish Ambassadour at
London, or rather by despatching somebody on purpose from hence; this
allwayes being pre-supposed-that England must be brought to a sounder
minde as to the publick and common interest, the lawes likewise of the
realme, the libertyes of subjects and parliaments, together with the Church
of England, must be maintained and defended: To this Mr. Hop answered,
that for want of instructions he could not say any thing upon that proposi-
tion; but he thought that it was to be considered that the foresayed differ-
ences twixt the King and Prince were, for the most part, domestick, and
he hop'd they might be determined before any such negotiation could be
from hence sent and proposed there. These his hopes were partly
grounded on letters from Mr. Citters, dated 16 and 19 of last moneth. At
the instance of the Ambassadour of Spain and Mr. Hop, the Marquis de
Lusignan, by a letter from the Prince of Shwartzenberg, as Court Mareshal,
was commanded, in the Emperour's name, to be gone from Vienna in the
space of four dayes, and then to depart out of the empire by the road that
should be assigned him. The like orders, sayeth Count Stratman, are sent
336
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1688-9.
to Regensburg for dispatching away of M. Crecy, the French Plenipoten-
tiary, who resideth there. By this it appeareth that the imprisonment of
the foresayed two French Ministers, upon which the Emperour some few
dayes agone was in deliberation with one or two of his most intimate and
trusty ministers, is come to nothing, as well as that of secureing their papers,
both which were occasioned by their dareing (especially he at Regensburg)
in their discourses every where to attaint the Emperour's honour and fame;
but it is sayed the Emperour rejected both the foresayed propositions as in-
consistent with the law of nations. The Marquis de Lusignan, in answer
to the P. of Shwartzenberg's mentioned letter, declared his willingness and
disposition to obey the Emperour's orders, nevertheless intreated that he
might be permitted to stay here till the end of this moneth; but this was not
granted; yet his Majesty consented to allow him the space of eight dayes,
reckoning from the date of the former denunciation.
*
14th December.-Severall foreign ministers have advice from Paris that
France desired to make ane accomodation with the Emperour and Empire,
wherein he would have imployed the Pope and Republick of Venice.
16th Dec.—Mr. Hop, together with the Spanish Ambassadour, doe their
endeavour to know the truth of this. Count Stratman declared to them both,
and that by the Emperour's order, that ane accomodation with France was
not as yet mentioned either in name of the Pope or the Republick of Venice
but that the Elector of Bavaria was sollicited by France to interpose himself
betwixt the Emperour and that King. Of this, the Elector, before he
would give answer, acquainted the Emperour, who thereupon returned in
writeing thanks to his Electoral Highness, and applauded his delayeing to
imploy himself in such a mediation, and represented to him the exorbitant
invasions which France hade made in the Empire, notwithstanding the
made up truce and severall confirmations of the sincerity thereof that hade
been given since; upon which account, his Imperial Majesty judged that
such ane interposition was now out of time.
*
Cardinal Bonvisi hath received orders from the Pope to receive the
Emperour's sentiment about what Cardinal d'Etrées hade represented to his
Holiness of the interest of the Roman Catholick religion's depending upon
the affaires of England and Germany; in consideration of which he hade
intreated his Holiness to be pleased to concern himself in the reconciliation.
of the Emperour with France.
*
Count Stratman, in presence of the Spanish Ambassadour, communicated
this to Mr. Hop; and withall added, in very serious termes, that people
hade very good reasone to be dissatisfyed with the Allyes. Istly, Because
the expedition to England was never communicated till the moment it was
put into execution; 2dly, because the Emperour was not advised of the
conference held at Magdeburgh among German Princes, of whom he is
nevertheless the chief; 3dly, that neither the States' troopes, nor any of
their allyes, hade as yet drawen their sword againest France, notwithstanding
1688-9.]
337
APPENDIX.
of severall advantages that they might have hade of the French: here
likewise is to be taken in Prince Waldeck's takeing so little care of Coblentz.
His Excellence added further, that the expedition to England was either
to be considered as a business of state or of religion: if the first, then the
Emperour hade reasone to complain of non-communication; if the second,
then his Majesty hade reasone to deliberate whether or not it were his duty
to oppose it. That Mr. Hop, who was so well acquainted with and con-
cerned in publick business, could not escape meeting with much agitation
concerning this conduct from the principall ministers of this Court; so that
what was sayed could not be unknowen to him, more than many more
circumstances that clearely enough demonstrated how little regard the
Allyes, even in their particular discourses (there he means the Elector of
Saxony), hade for the Emperour.
*
Mr. Hop, haveing occasion with Count Stratman to discuss the reasones
of dissatisfaction above mentioned, found it not difficult to persuade the
Count that the Emperour's non-participation of the Magdeburgh Con-
ference was not to be imputed to the States, who (their presence not
being required) were not at all there: further, the States of Holland,
for preserving the city of Cullen, partly sent in forces to them, and partly,
for the same end, kept a considerable number of troopes under Waldeck's
command in its neighbourhood, and this was not so much, or at least not more
than they were required by Mr. Crampvich in the Emperour's name to doe.
17th Dec.-In the same manner Mr. Hop hath endeavoured, with all
imaginable arguments, to defend the confidence which the Prince hath
showen he reposed in the Emperour in regard of the English expedition,
and how sincerely he hath dealt with his Majesty herein; and now, since
his Majesty hath been pleased to make knowen the satisfaction he hath
got as to the matter of communication, Mr. Hop thinketh that other
people ought not to be dissatisfyed with it.
The Pope's Nuntius bath hade audience of the Emperour upon the subject
mentioned (page 17¹).
His Majesty hath given him for answer, that the French King, and not
he, hath begun this present warr; that there could be not the least credit
given to that King's word, which appeared not onely by the violation of
the truce, but likewise by all the accordes he hath made since the rupture,
with the cityes conquered in the Empire, particularly that made with
Heydlebergh; that France, proposeing this accomodation, doeth not so
much as mention reparation, or any conditions of a reasonable satisfaction ;
that these propositions were made to be looked upon as ane artifice to bring
the Emperour and his allyes to a mutual diffidence, and thus at last to sepa-
rate them, and therefor he would not in the least give eare thereto, but
must of a necessity decline the foresayed propositions of ane accomodation.
*
23rd Dec.-The French Envoye haveing obtained the space of 3 weekes,
¹ Of the original Journal. The passage referred to will be found in p. 336.-EDITOR.
Z
338
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1688-9.
reckoning this the first day, to depart the Empire, is gone this day from
Vienna.
The Pope declareth that he can give no more subsidyes againest the Turc,
and that because of his present feares for France.
*
6th Jan.-Mr. Hop is advertised by a certain authentick hand, and
withall desired to write to the P. of Orange, that his Highness should take
care of his life, and thereupon he was abruptly tooke leave of by the fore-
sayed person. This sentence was judged by Mr. Hop to be of greater
importance than to be passed over without narrower scrutiny, wherefor,
with reiterated instances, he pressed and begged earnestly for a more par-
ticular explication of the foresayed generall sentence; yet all that he can
bring out is, that this Court hath most certain accounts that the Prince's
expedition to England is looked upon by the French Court, not as a warr,
but as a particular quarrel between the father and sone-in-law; for this
cause they were resolved to make use of meanes againest his Highness that
are not commonly permitted in warr, and this that is sayed is made knowen
by reasone that people are as yet accustomed to discharge their consciences.
*
*
13th Jan.—The Earl of Carlingford presented a memorial, conceived in
very sharp termes, wherein he intreats his Majesty to looke upon the P.
of Orange's expedition to England as a religious warr, and that he would
be pleased openly to back his master's interest. His Lordship received for
answer, that the Emperour could not ingage himself in his master's business,
since he kept so close a correspondence with France that was declared
enemy to the Emperour and Empire.
19th Feb.—Mr. Hop received in a letter from Monsr. Dyckvelt, dated
26th Jan.,' a letter from the Prince to the Emperour, with further orders,
in his Highness's name, to endeavour to persuade the Emperour and his
ministers that by his expedition to England he desired not in the least the
persecution of Roman Catholicks. Hereupon he endeavoured to have ane
opportunity to-day of presenting to the Emperour the foresayed letter, and
to intertain his Majesty upon the matter conformable to his Highness's
intention but he being gone to the Jesuites' Colledge, where he's to be
at his devotion fore and after noone, and at night to see a comedy,
acted by the students of that Colledge, audience could not be obtained till
to-morrow.
20th Feb.-Mr. Hop, in a letter to the Prince, assureth his Highness
that it would be no great difficulty to get his Highness's design and inten-
tion brought about here, since the Emperour and his most trusty ministers
have, a good time agoe, made it appeare pretty evidently that they are not
susceptible of the bad impressions which the clergy, the partisans of the
French, and Furstemberg party, together with the King of England's
envoye, have endeavoured to make of his Highness's expedition as being a
religious warr, neither are they able to cause the violence used by the co-
monalty of England againest Roman Catholicks to be interpreted to his
1 See No. 3, p. 355.
1688-9.]
APPENDIX.
339
÷
Highness's disadvantage; and to make the same more clearely appeare, Mr.
Hop taketh the liberty to acquaint his Highness with the following points :—
1stly. That his Highness's letter, sent before his voyage to England to
the Emperour, hade given his Imperial Majesty full satisfaction in that
matter; that people, relying upon the promise made in the sayed letter, to
wit, that his Highness would cause the Roman Catholicks to be dealt very
moderately with, looke upon the expedition not onely as not being offen-
sive, but likewise as most wholesome and necessary for the publick; for
this same reasone, the Emperour then made knowen to his envoye in Eng-
land that he would not trouble himself with that King's affaires. 2ndly.
That the outrages committed by the commonality of England against Ro-
man Catholicks is not in the least layed to his Highness's charge, either by
the Emperour or his ministers, who unanimously assure Mr. Hop that such
violent actions must be looked upon as by a people irritated by a most bur-
thensome government, of which being freed, they are resolved to be
avenged before a new one is settled; and to this it must be attributed that
the Emperour, when the English envoye represented to him the said out-
rages, declined the writeing more seriously to the Prince in favour of the
Roman Catholicks, as the foresayed envoye would have persuaded him to
doe, and his Majesty wholly relyeth upon the Prince's performing the pro-
mises made to him. 3rdly. The moderation toward Catholicks that hath
evidently appeared since the time his Highness hath been pleased to take
upon him the direction of English affaires, which is every where talked of
by the ministers of the House of Austria, hath not onely stop'd the mouths
of all that were ill inclined, but hath likewise given full satisfaction even to
the very bigots; in so much that, two dayes agone, the Pope's Nuntius
himself let his satisfaction herein appeare to Mr. Hop. 4thly. Besides his
Highness's moderation, the Emperour's aim, which in all secrecy is com-
municated to Mr. Hop, is to concert with his Highness, and through him
with England, as likewise with the States, about much more important and
weighty matters, which his Majesty, because of their importance and pri-
vacy, desired to be communicated to the States by Mr. Hop in persone,
who upon the same account expecteth every moment the States' license to
take journey for the Hague.
*
27th Feb.-Mr. Hop imparteth to the Greffier his Imperial Majesty's
intention of makeing a stricter allyance with England and Holland. To
this end, by occasion of the speedy success of his Highness's expedition, on
the Emperour's part it was premised, first, by those of the Court, who for
the most part doe common business, that it were fitt the Emperour, and
in generall the House of Austria, should take hold of so favourable ane
opportunity of setting bounds to the power of France by a good confede-
racy and conjunction with England and Holland: thereafter the Ambassa-
dour of Spain, Marquis d'Este Borgomaine, whom the Emperour not only
on account of his character, but likewise of his birth, taketh more notice of,
and consulteth oftner in business of importance than his owne ministers,
conferred with Mr. Hop in the beginning of January upon this subject :
z 2
340
[1688-9.
LEXINGTON PAPERS,
thereafter Count Stratman told Mr. Hop that Baron Görtz, being sent here
last yeare, with recommendation from the Prince, and power from the
States, to renewe their allyance with the Emperour, which renewall was
granted by his Imperial Majesty, and in presence of Count Stratman and
one Secretary of State onely, was perfected with all imaginable privacy,
hade advanced further, and saied that the States were well inclined to a
nearer allyance with his Imperial Majesty: yet at that time nothing further
was done in this business, tho' his Imperial Majesty seemed, even then,
not to be averse from such a neare allyance, there being as yet no other
allyance betwixt his foresayed Majesty and the States but that which is
onely a consequence and inclusion of the League of Association, which the
States hade concluded with the King of Sweden, anno 1681. By which,
as many alledge, his Imperial Majesty, if the States be attacqued, is onely
obliged to a moderate assistance and not to a rupture, therefor it were
necessary to concert upon a mutual stricter allyance which might be main-
tained by a vigorous and mutual resistance. That what was necessary to
be done herein required the greatest secrecy and management of time,
thereby to prevent all the machinations of such who will not approve of
this neare allyance and strict conjunction. Mr. Hop is informed by sure´
and authentick hands that we have great reasone to apprehend ane acco-
modation betwixt the Pope and France; the last haveing not onely im-
ployed the utmost of his credit, but likewise granted to make great conccs-
sions to the Romish Chair for obtaineing the same: hereupon will cer-
tainely follow new propositions of reconcileing the Emperour and the
French, either from the Pope, or, as they write from Paris, directly from
the King of France; to which earc will certainely be given by four sets of
people that are at this Court: the first two are the French accomplices and
such who, by neare affinitye and other tyes, are attached to Cardinal Fus-
temberg, who, to be sure, faile not to make more friends here; a third sort
are those whose sentiments are weake and not so well grounded as to be
able to resist the two former classes; the fourth and last sort are such who,
in regard of their particular advantages by continuations of Turkish con-
quests, would rather see the warr with France put to ane end than the
Turkish warr: in consideration of both which warrs they reasone thus
The makeing ane end of a warr but just now arisen betwixt the Emperour
and the French King, in which the Emperour in his owne particular hath
not as yet suffered so much but that it could superabundantly be repaired,
is both easier and preferable to the terminateing of the Turkish warr,
which hath been carried on so long with great advantage, and by the conti-
nuation of which further advantage might be hoped for. These same people,
at the time that France made offers to this Court of restoreing to the Em-
peror Strasburg, Brisac, yea and whole provinces, were of opinion that his
Majesty should make use of so favourable ane opportunity.
The Emperour, after all, hath given no eare to these and other such pro-
positions; yet, on the other hand, it is hard to knowe what influence new
and more advantageous propositions may have, when made either by the
Pope, or rather by France after his accomodation with the Pope; and more
M
3
1688-9.]
APPENDIX.
341
uncertaine it is what the abovementioned people's operations with the Em-
perour may effectuate in this matter.
That too much stress is not to be layed upon the United Provinces, who
in the end of the last warr let it clearely enough appeare how little they
layed to heart the Emperour's interest. That England and Holland being
now so closely united and joyned together, would carry on the warr alone,
without regard to the interests of this or any other Courts that may be
ingaged in the warr; that the bad events of all the foresayed machinations
may be prevented by a speedy adjustement of the foresayed nearer allyance,
since, by help of this, the Emperour, as one who most religiously keepeth
his given parole, can and must decline all representations and propositions
that may be made in behalf of France, whether immediately, or mediately
by the Pope, who may perhaps doe it in order to his makeing a separate
peace with that Crown. Hereupon was it that the Marquis D'Este Bor-
gomaine presented in writeing his advice herein to the Emperour, who,
relishing the same, in a privy council where were present the two Princes
of Dietrichstein, Counts Coningseg, Etting, Windisgratz, and Stratman,
declared his good disposition to nearer allyance and confederacy with the
States.
25th Feb.-As to the form of the allyance, the manner of proceeding
therein, and the fittest wayes of communicateing the same and other par-
ticulars, the Emperour concerted them with Count Stratman and the
Marquis de Borgomain alone; with these it was deliberated whether it
were fittest to make knowne this his Majesty's disposition by Mr. Cramp-
vich at the Hague, or by one sent on purpose, or finally by Mr. Hop.
Mr. Crampvich is not judged fitt for this business, by reasone that he hath,
as is reported, acquired but small favour either with the States or Prince
some time agone; besides it was judged that a business of such importance
and delicatesse ought not to be trusted to the uncertaine arriveall of letters.
The sending of ane express is declined by reasone of the occasion it would
give of searcheing into the cause of such ane ambassade, and consequently
of labouring againest it: finally it was judged best to imploy Mr. Hop
herein, who could undertake the journey under pretence of other business,
and, beside this, the Emperour hereby gave a private mark of his con-
fidence in the States, in that he preferred one of their Ministers to his owne
in such a weighty affaire. Immediately hereupon Count Stratman, assisted
with one of the Secretaryes of State, communicated what followeth :
That France, many yeares agone, lookeing upon the States of Holland as
a stone of stumbling, and ane impediment in the effectuateing of his farr-
fetched designs, hade resolved, if possible, totally to ruine and destroy that
Republick: to this cnd began he the warr Anno 1672, and, ever since the
treaty of Nimuegen, hath he been picking quarrels, sometimes under one,
sometimes under aneother, pretext with the States, againest whom he hade
declared a new warr with the very same design; that the King of England
seemed to have the same design and aime. This was the cause of all the
intreaties and proposeals made by France and England for uniteing the
Houses of Austria, Bourbon, and Stewart, and for this same end it was, that
342
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1688-9.
France and England let the Emperour's conquests over the Turks goe on
so long unhindered, that so hereby he might not be in a condition to hinder
their designs upon Holland. That the interest of Cardinal Furstemberg,
in the Archbishoprick of Cullen, was backed by both these Kings, and the
Emperour, not thinking good to astipulate to their foresayed Majestyes,
was, for this cause, assaulted by ane open warr from France. That the
preparations made, and still a makeing by his Imperial Majesty, for goeing
againest the ennemy with a due and convenient force could not be un-
knowne. That his Majesty hade already drawen many of his troopes out
of Hungary, and sent them toward the Empire, there to forme a considerable
camp.
That he hade caused the Ministers of France to retire from this
place and from Regensburg; he hade likewise published avocatoria calling
home all subjects of the Empire, out of the service of France and its
adherents; and that the calling of them off from not onely correspondeing
with the subjects of the Empire, but likewise of all Christendome (as was
done againest the Turks), is declared, that it may be done upon the footeing
of the procedures againest France, Anno 1544: likewise the importation of
French wares and manufactures and all product of that countrey is prohibited;
and finally, which is most remarkeable, that his Majesty, to putt himself in a
better posture againest France, and in regard to the good of the publick,
hath resolved to stop the course of his victoryes over the Turks, and give eare
to a peace, hereby designeing to putt himself in a condition to wage warr with
France the more vigorously. Upon all which considerations his Majesty
hade commanded him to desire Mr. Hop for to make proposition to the
States, whether it would not be conduceable to the promotion and advance-
ment of a firme resisting France, and its adherents, to make a nearer con-
cert with one aneother, by which the interests of both partyes might be so
conjoyned and, with such reciprocal conveniencyes, united, as that they may
be ensured now and hereafter againest all Syrenes. With this he declared
that, if the States were disposed, the Emperour would be now, and hence-
forward, well inclined and satisfied with such a concert.
As to the pro-
poseing particular conditions, herein Count Stratman told Mr. Hop, not as
if it were by the Emperour's order, but by way of discourse, that if the
States were pleased to make any project to his Majesty herein, the same
might be brought about with very much ease; and, as the Ambassadour of
Spaine sayeth, this reservedness seemeth to proceed from the opinion they
have of the Emperour's being first in rang, who therefor cannot in honour
present a project, but may well receive one, and then declare his pleasure
therein. After these premises Count Stratman, on his owne accord, and
onely by way of discourse, proposed that, that is hereafter contained in
Mr. Hop's project presented to the Emperour, addeing nevertheless that,
if the States liked these his proposals, the Emperour would possibly be
found not averse from them. The foresayed allyance, as was proposed
among other things, should be made after the forme of the Emperour's
league with Pole and Venice againest the Turks, commonly called fœdus
sacrum. On the conclusion of this conference, Count Stratman desired
most earnestly that these affaires might be handled with the greatest deli-
1688-9.1
343
APPENDIX.
catesse, and that, in case a proportionable and correspondent inclination to
these his Majesty's intentions should not be found in the States, then all
that is sayed should be esteemed as not sayed, and as if never such a word
had been spoken.
Mr. Hop sent away his relation, whereby he incurred Count Stratman's
displeasure, who hath protested vehemently againest it, and yesternight
added thereto, that since the Emperour's pleasure concerning this neare
allyance and confederacy with the States was communicated to him meerely
and purely to the end that he should communicate the same to the States by
word of mouth, if the same were putt in writeing and sent to them, he could
not stand for, nor promise, the Emperour's approbation or avoucheing of
the same, by reasone that in affaires of such delicatesse many things might
by word of mouth be sayed, which people would not willingly commit to,
or vouch in writeing, and moreover that he would not answer for any
change of affaires that may either proceed from the advantagious proposi-
tions of peace that the French King (as we are advised from Paris) is a
new to offer to this Court, or from the difficulties and broils that are arisen
in the Franconian and Suabian circles, chiefly about Saxony's upbraideing
them for attracting the quartering of more forces among them, by which
the necessary subsistence of the Imperial Regiments that are upon their
march toward their formeing the Imperial Army in the Empire is almost
taken away, insomuch that if these affaires be not speedily redressed, the
Emperour, accordeing to Count Coningseg's report, is resolved to insinuate
to the Empire that it will be impossible for him to carry on the warr.
That which is before mentioned of ane allyance offensive and defensive to
be made up between the Emperour and States, was, by the Emperour's
order, proposed to Mr. Hop, and that with regard to England; so that if
England, by the Prince's instigation, were at the same time inclined, or if
onely Holland, with condition of includeing England, was inclined to make
such ane allyance with this Court, then his Majesty would be allwayes
found well disposed that way: on which occasion Count Stratman hath
insinuated, with protestation nevertheless that these were his owne private
sentiments which related not in the least to the Emperour, that he doubted
not but that difficulty would be made at this Court of being the first that
maketh allyance with England after the new coronation, and that therefor
expedients should be thought of for removeing this difficulty; as, for
example, proceeded his Excellence, the States of Holland may make in
their owne, so well as the behalf of England, such ane allyance as might for
the time oblige England, the Emperour, and themselves to the execution
of it. Hereupon Count Stratman not obscurely insinuated, but the Ambas-
sadour of Spain plainely declared, that the Emperour, whose finances are
mightily exhausted by the Turkish warr, at the makeing of the foresayed
allyance ought to receive some subsidies, to give which, Holland, in all
probability, would not be inclined, but that they might be well expected
from England, since that kingdome hath been so long without warr, and
may, either by spareing their forces by sea or land, finde out subsidyes for
the Emperour.
344
[1688-9.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
6th March.—Mr. Hop received a letter from the States, with their reso-
lution of the 12th joyned therewith, whereby he is desired by no meanes to
leave Vienna, but here to wait for further orders of makeing a nearer
allyance between the Emperour and them.
7th March.-By ane express currier from Paris, sent to Mons. Louvois
his son, who is still in arrest here, is brought the news of the Queen of
Spain's sudden decease.
10th March. The Turkish Ambassadours haveing declared that they
will not accept of their Highnesses' offices, maketh Mr. Hop's stay at
Vienna the more necessary, for the foresayed Ambassadours, upon notice of
Mr. Hop's having received leave to goe to Holland, urged with great zeale
his longer stay at Vienna, and that his journey, in consideration of the fore-
sayed negotiation, might be delayed.
*
*
13th March.-The Earl of Carlingford, haveing audience of the Em-
perour, presented a letter from the late King of England his master,
wherein he offereth his mediation between the Emperour, Empire, and the
French King, and to present the same formally. Mr. Skeltone, formerly
his Envoye in Holland, was on his way hitherwards. The Pope is likewise
ready to offer his mediation; but we are certifyed by sure hands that neither
of these, as this Court is at present disposed, will be acceptable.
17th March.-Mr. Hop congratulateth the Prince of Orange's elevation
to the Crown of Great Brittaine.
**
*
31st March.-The Duke of Lorraine arrived at Vienna.
The wished for newes of the Prince and Princess of Orange's elevation
to the throne of Brittaine arriveing about the same time that the Turkish
treaty of peace broke up and ended, occasioneth many and weighty reflec-
tions to be made upon both; especially in regarde of the new King; it being
much debated what conduct and measures ought to be taken, so as that not
onely all coldness and misunderstandeing be removed, but likewise a perfect
confederacy established.
*
*
6th Aprill.--The Emperour desired the Ambassadour of Spaine to write to
his master at Madrid that, notwithstanding the continuance of the Turkish
he hade effectively 27,000 men of his owne troopes, whom he is to
imploy in the Empire againest France.
warr,
*
The late King of England haveing, in a letter dated 6th February,
represented his present misfortune, and withall desired assistance from the
Emperour, received for answer that his Imperial Majesty carryeth affection
enough for him, but since his disastres are occasioned by his untimely zeale
for the Roman Catholick religion and his too great addictedness to France,
from both which he hade endeavoured to dissuade him, tho' in vane, by
Counts Thun and Caunitz, both whom he hade sent to London on purpose,
1688-9.]
APPENDIX.
345
that at present he could not help him, he being obliged to associate himself
with those who are ennemies to the ennemies of the Empire.
*
21st Aprill.—Mr. Hop received by ane express currier, that came away
the 12th instant, the States their secret resolution and instructions,' dated
11th instant, together with their required pouvoir to treate with the Em-
perour in the abovementioned allyance, together with a letter from Mr.
Heinsius, President of the Council, upon the same subject.
2
23rd Aprill.—Mr. Hop sendeth to Count Stratman a project of the
articles of the allyance to be made with the Emperour, with the two fol-
lowing remarks :-1stly. That as to the States doeing their endeavours with
the Electours that the King of Hungary may be likewise chosen King of the
Romans, that, tho' the States are well enough disposed to doe their endea-
vours, and use all friendly methods to induce the Electours thereto, yet, that
all sort of jealousies may be prevented, he thinketh it not necessary that this
be made ane article of the allyance, but rather that his Imperial Majesty be
satisfied with the promises that the States make him by letter or otherwayes.
2ndly. That the States ought to be assured that they, notwithstanding the
continuation of the warr with the Turks, should not loose the power of
effectuateing the allyances, and that, in case of the peace with the Turks,
his Excellence must, before all things, informe him how many troopes the
Emperour would imploye against France, the common ennemy; to the end
that the design of the Munster, Osnaburg, and Pyrenean peaces may be
obtained.
25th Aprill.—The reasone that they proposed that Mr. Hop should goe in
persone to the Hague was that, since the Emperour was intangled in two
warres, and that there was no mutual engagement to a rupture between him
and the States, neither was Mr. Hop like to have so soone his instructions
for makeing a new allyance, which Baron Görtz hade last yeare desired in
the name of the States.
Herein likewise was to be considered that tho' the Emperour and his
chief ministers were well enough satisfyed with the change in English
affaires, occasioned by the sudden elevation of the Prince of Orange to the
throne, yet they were willing to forbeare acknowledgeing him as such, and
would continue, as the Ambassadour of Spaine sayed, in this their reserved-
ness till either the present King of England declared warr againest France,
or entered into the forcsayed allyance with this Court for the interest of the
publick; it was, moreover, consequently to be feared that upon his Majesty's
imparteing to this Court his elevation to the throne of England, such a speedy
answer might possibly not be given him, as in reasone would be expected,
upon which might arise a coldness and indifferency, which at this time is
to be shunned; for which cause it was judged altogether convenient and
necessary fully to informe his Majesty of the disposition of this Court, not
2 See No. 5, p. 359.
See No. 4, p. 356.
346
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1688-9.
onely hereby to prevent all misunderstanding, but likewise to make up a
sincere friendship and allyance between the Emperour, the States, and him,
so much the sooner and more speedily.
*
**
27th Aprill.—Count Stratman presenteth to the Emperour a draught of
the articles of the allyance delivered by Mr. Hop to him, and translated by
his Excellence in Latin; this the Emperour hath reade over with much
attention, and generally is very well pleased with it.
Mr. Hop, desireing of Count Stratman to be informed of the remarks
which the Emperour hath made upon the foresayed draught of articles, is
told that the followeing are made :-
1stly. That the endeavours of the States to be used with the Electours,
to the end that the King of Hungary may be chosen King of the Romans,
ought to be comprehended in a secret article by itself.
2ndly. That the same way, by way of addition, ought to be inserted the
payment of the oweing subsidyes, which is the rather mentioned because
Mr. Crampvich writeth from the Hague that he hath from sure handes
that the States, if urged thereto, would grant payment of the foresayed
subsidyes.
3rdly. That the point of religion and moderation therein ought to be on
this occasion agreed upon.
Lastly. That some articles here and there, without touching the substance,
may be extended and enlarged.
28th Aprill.—The Emperour thinketh fitt to joyn to Mr. Hop, as Com-
missaryes, Counts Coningseg, Etting, Windisgratz, and Stratman.
29th Aprill.—Mr. Hop desireth Count Stratman, by billet, that his Im-
perial Majesty be requested to permitt the conferences, without further delay,
to be begun, and that, in order to the speedier proceeding and for greater
secrecy, there may be onely one or at most two Commissaries joyned to him.
The same by a billet to Count Stratman is desired by the Ambassadour of
Spaine. The Electour of Bavaria's presence, and the deliberations that are
held with him about the operation of the army upon the Upper Rhine, are
the cause of adjourneing so long the foresayed conferences.
30th Aprill.—Mr. Hop received the letters dated 16th and 19th inst.
from Heinsius, President of the Council.¹
*
*
2nd May.-His Majesty was pleased to nominate Counts Coningseg
and Stratman for his two Commissaries, and at the same time ordained the
conferences to be begun that same day.
The foresayed conference being begun in the evening late, Mr. Hop, at
the request of the Commissaries, opened the conference with ane account
of the intention and resolution of the States anent the makeing of the fore-
sayed allyance; and, after a summary deduction of what is passed for some
time in relation to the business in hand, he presented to them a draught of
the articles, which, accordeing to the minde and instructions of the States,
1 See No. 6, p. 360.
1688-9.]
APPENDIX.
347
dated 11th of last moneth, ought, as necessary ingredients of the allyance,
to be agreed upon and hereto he immediately added that tho' there is
nothing done in the treaty of peace with the Turks, and that consequently
the Ottoman warr would be carried on so vigorously as ever, nevertheless
the Emperour must be obliged to keep at least 30,000 men on foot againest
the French, besides those which he kept in his garrisones.
Hereupon the draught was read; and thereafter it was, by way of dis-
course, moved, whether the allyes that are presently allyed with both sides
should be comprehended onely, or if such who hereafter came to be allyed
with either party, as for example, the King of Denmark, Republick of
Switzerland, &c., should likewise be included. Further, whether the
former treaties betwixt the Emperour and States, and the league of associa-
tion with Swedland, in which his Imperial Majesty is likewise included,
ought here to come into consideration. The foresayed gentlemen, haveing
spoken together aside, made answer that they doubted not but that the
foresayed draught would be accepted with very great pleasure, and as a
mark of the good and sincere intention which the States hade to live in the
greatest trust and confidence with his Imperial Majesty, that they would
inquire if his Majesty hade any thing to add or change in the articles, and
thereafter would, with all speed, informe Mr. Hop thereof.
Count Stratman privately advertised Mr. Hop, that that which, accordeing
to the intention of the States, was to be agreed upon in separate articles, to
the end that it might be less subject to elimination, in his Majesty's opinion
ought to be concluded with him alone.
3rd May.-The Emperour was at his devotion.
4th May. His Majesty went to Laxenburg to pass two dayes in rest and
without business; for this cause the foresayed report was retarded till Sun-
day the 8th. Count Coningseg told Mr. Hop, that when he discoursed,
the 4th inst., with the Emperour upon this draught of allyance, he perceived
that the same was received very favourably by his Majesty, and withall
added, that Mr. Hop might write to the States, that they might be assured
that this business would be very quickly concluded.
The foresayed draught being as yet in the hands of Counts Coningseg and
Stratman, is, by his Majesty's command, likewise examined by Counts
Etting and Windisgratz, whose advice herein being drawen up, is this
morneing delivered to his Majesty at Laxenburg, who is therewith fully
satisfyed without letting this business pass through the ordinary channel of
his Privy Council, and that for the greater secrecy.
Thereafter he ordered Counts Coningseg and Stratman to enter upon this
footeing, and draw up and sign the foresayed treaty with Mr. Hop; to which
end they are provided with full power and authority from his Majesty.
Moreover, his Majesty added that he would willingly see the Duke of
Lorraine expressly included in this treaty, as effectually he was compre-
hended in the Pyrenean Treaty, to which the termini pacis in this negocia-
tion must referr, and in several other conventions made, since that time,
between the States and the foresayed Duke. And finally, that the States
would seriously thinke of payeing the subsidies still oweing to his Imperial
348
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1688-9.
Majesty but withall his Majesty insinuated that his intention was not,
by these remarks, especially the first and last, to hinder the signeing of the
treaty.
It is, therefor, desired that the articles be drawen up and made ready for
the signing.
12th May.-The treaty, with the separate articles, were signed late at
night, and the day thereafter sent to the Hague by ane express currier.
*
13th May.—The rest of the articles are all conforme to the draught sent
by the States, except that Mr. Hop, at the request of the Emperour's com-
missaries, in hopes of the States' ratification, hath consented to that part of
the 8th article where it is sayed that the Allyes shall defend one aneother's
rights againest the French King and his adherents; and to that part of the
9th article where it is sayed that all differences about the borderers shall be
friendly taken away.
The time allotted for interchangeing the ratifications is a moneth; that so
this confederation may be speedily accomplished, and the time managed for
inviteing the Kings of England and Spaine to enter into the sayed con-
federacy that thus the allyance, which is the chief end, may be corroborate
so soone as is possible.
:
The two Commissaries signed the allyance above Mr. Hop, and that
because, as they pretended, the Imperial Ministers haveing, in a commis-
sion, the character of representatives, have allwayes this privilege granted
them by all foreign ministers. To the confirmation of which they adduced,
for instance, the treaty of Breda, where the Ministers of this Court signed
above the Ambassadours of the States, so well as the Envoyes of England.
They made it likewise appeare by produceing the original of the allyance
made between the Emperour, King of Pole, and Republick of Venice, anno
1684, againest the Turks, that they hade signed above the foreign ambas-
sadours.
Mr. Hop, nevertheless, protested that by this the States should suffer no
prejudice in case it were found out that, at any other time, treatyes betwixt
the Emperour's commissaryes and the States' ministers were otherwisc
signed.
His Imperial Majesty hath urged that the States, at the ratification of
this allyance, would be pleased to consent to the inclusion of the Duke of
Lorraine; and that the same may be inserted, after the tenth article, in the
acts of ratification, where the treaty is to be transcribed verbo tenus.
His Majesty is persuaded that the States will comply with him herein,
since the States have at severall times bound themselves in associations with
the forcsayed Duke to help him to the recovery of his landes. Besides,
the King of Great Brittain, beareing a singular respect to the foresayed
Duke for the great services which he hath done to the publick, it is not
onely in all probability, but likewise undoubtedly expected that the States
will not refuse it. Yea, further; it is shrewdely suspected that this Court will
make difficulty in interchangeing the ratifications, if this should be denyed.
Mr. Hop further maketh all possible instances, urgeing that the Emperour
1688-9.]
349
APPENDIX.
*
would oblige himself that dureing the Turkish warr he should, at least,
have 30,000 men upon foot againest France, and that the foresayed number
of souldiers should be expressed in the treaty. But this was so mightily
opposed, that the allyance must have been let alone if this point hade been
insisted upon without relachement.
*
}
The separate articles concerneing the monarchy of Spaine and election
of the King of the Romans, are conforme to the intention of the States;
but, for secrecy sake, are subscribed by Count Stratman, as deputed thereto,
and Mr. Hop alone.
In the secret article the designation of the Archduke of Austria is
omitted, for the succession not being as yet positively settled upon him, tho'
it belongeth undoubtedly to this august house, his Imperial Majesty judgeth
it best onely to make mention of the House of Austria in general. It is
likewise judged unnecessary to include Spaine in these two articles, because
that the firste directly concerneth it, and because that Crowne, as a member
of the House of Austria, cannot faile to be included in the accomplishment
of the second article.
*
*
*
The Emperour's commissaries declare to Mr. Hop, and that oftener than
once, that the Emperour will hardly condescend to ratify the foresayed
alliance till the States have payed a considerable summ of the oweing sub-
sidies. Mr. Crampvich is likewise, by this post, ordered to speake to the
States, and represent unto them the Emperour's mind herein.
*
*
Four dayes agone, in a Council composed of ten Privy Counsellers, it
was unanimously resolved and found goode that, whereas the King of Eng-
land hath been pleased to give notice to this Court of his elevation to the
throne, it is likewise fitt that the Emperour be pleased to congratulate him
thereupon, and decently acknowlege him as such. But it is judged fitt
that, as it useth to be in other publick affaires, so now this ought joyntly to
be concerted with the Court of Spaine, for which cause it were requisite
to waite for the next Spanish post, by which they might know what the
conduct of Madrid were in this affaire. In the meane time the Ambassa-
dour of Spaine declareth to the Emperour that his master will undoubtedly
regulate himself by his Imperial Majesty as the eldest of that august House.
5th June.—Mr. Schelton, late envoye at Vennice, at his departure thence,
obtained from the Emperour's ambassadour a pasport to come into the Em-
perour's hereditary dominions, upon which he is arrived at Inspruck, where
was the Queen of Pole, consort to the Duke of Lorraine, who was gone
toward the Rhine: Hereupon Mr. Schelton having produced two letters,
one of which was in effect a credential, the other a particular letter from
the late King of England to the Duke of Lorraine, the contents of which,
as he sayed, besides protestations of friendship, were that his Highness
could at present obtain from the King of France full restitution of all his
lands and dominions, provided he would seriously applye himself to the
procureing of a peace between the Emperour and the French King; to
350
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1688-9.
which end he was himself intrusted with very favourable and fair proposi-
tions, for which cause he desired to have audience of the foresayed Queen;
but this being denyed him he went to Munichen, where, having desired
audience of the Electour of Bavaria, it was likewise, according to the
Queen's example, refused him, with the addition that now he could not
expect it, since his master is ane adherent to the French King, againest
who's adherents, so well as himself, the warr was already declared.
The newes of this conduct being brought to this Court did mightily
please the Emperour, who, upon the other hand, was very much dissatis-
fyed that his ambassadour at Vennice hade granted a pasport to the fore-
sayed Mr. Schelton.
12th June.— And now this Court not onely persisteth in its formerly taken
resolution, but likewise hath de novo given orders that the foresayed Mr.
Schelton come not nearer this place, so that he returned from Inspruck to
France through Switserland, haveing nevertheless left the abovementioned
particular letter to the Duke of Lorraine, which the Queen immediately
sent to the Emperour, desireing his Majesty to deliberate what ought to be
done with it. The Emperour, without opening it, sent it to the Duke.
Yesterday the Ambassadours of Pole, who were here to assist at the
Turkish treaty, hade their farewell audience of the Emperour.
19th June.—Arrived here two curriers, who came away from Madrid
26th May. Among other things they bring alongs with them two pouvoirs.
One blank for the Emperour to marry the Princess Palatine in name of
the King of Spaine, the other was to the Ambassadour for perfecting the
marriage contract between his master, the King of Spaine, and the fore-
sayed Princess.
*
20th June.—Count Stratman telleth Mr. Hop that, in case the new
Queen of Spaine should goe thither by sea from Holland, the Emperour
would take it kindly that she should be waited upon at Cullen with severall
yachts from the States, or else at Wesel, and thence conducted to the Briel,
as was done to the Queen of Portugall.
The Emperour's answer to the notification made the 11 of May of the
King of England's elevation to the throne is delayed, under pretext that,
about that time, he was busy in the concert with the Court of Spaine, from
whence the dispatches hitherwards came not so quickly as they should.
But since they have accounts that his Most Catholick Majesty hath not
onely commanded the Earl of Staffort, envoye from the late King of Eng-
land, to be gone out of his kingdomes, but hath likewise sent Count Mans-
felt to London to desire the lend of the King of Great Brittain's fleet to bring
over the new Queen of Spaine, and in consideration that the Imperial Com-
missioners at Regensburgh desire to be informed how to carry themselves in
regard of the foresayed King of England, the Emperour hath at last ordered
Count Coningseg (who is one of them to whom are entrusted English
affaires) to dispatch the foresayed congratulation.
26th June.—Today it is made publick that the Emperour is to be at New-
burgh 'gainest the 27th of the next moneth, there to be present at the cele-
1688-9.]
351
APPENDIX.
bration of the nuptials in name of the King of Spaine with the Princess
Palatine: from thence he goeth immediately to Augsburgh, thus to be
nearer the operations of warr upon the Rhine.
27th June.-President Canon delivereth to Mr. Hop the Duke of Lor-
raine's congratulation of the King of England's elevation to the throne, in
answer to the notification thereof, which his Majesty hade pleased to send
him. The foresaid congratulatory letter was dated 20th of May, so that,
as Mr. Hop observed, it should have been sent away long agoe; but in consi-
deration that the forementioned Duke is ane officer in the Emperour's
service, and was obliged to let this Court know of his conduct in such ane
affaire, it was excused, and sent away after the ordinary post, which went
away at breake of day, with ane express that will overtake him. It is cer-
tain that the two Jesuites, and perhaps more, who make up the Emperour's
and Empresse's conscience council, were consulted about the sending away
the Emperour's congratulatory letter to the King of England, and, as some
say, gave their consent to it.
The new Queen of Spain's journey is determined to be begun the 19th
of August, at which time she is to leave Newburgh in order to goe to Spaine
by the way of Holland.
30th June. The onely reasone given out for the Emperour and the
whole Court's journey to Regensburgh is that the Emperour, upon the
desire of the Electour of Bavaria, may be nearer the operations of the Ger-
mane troopes againest France. But the chief reasone is, that now, if ever,
when the Princes of Germany, together with the Electours, are so united,
and well inclined to the House of Austria, is the time for getting the King
of Hungary, eldest sone to the Emperour, elected King of the Romans,
and that because the ministers of France, before this warr, did, not ob-
scurely, insinuate at severall Courts of Germany that the King their master
intended if possible to have his sone, the Dauphin, elevated to this dignity,
and thus to have the House of Austria excluded therefrom.
To this design of the Emperour consented the Electour of Bavaria, while
here in time of the late Treaty, as likewise his brother the Electour of
Cullen, who hath since that time sent hither his consent in writeing. The
votes of the King of Bohemia, and Electour Palatine, as reposed in the
Emperour himself, are sure.
3rd July.—The Electour of Brandenburgh hath, as it's reported, declared
likewise his favourable inclinations this way. The Electour of Mentz, by
a letter brought here some dayes agone, hath not onely given his consent,
but likewise declared that it is his opinion that they proceed in this con-
juncture without any further delay to the election; there remaineth onely
the Electour of Saxony, who, upon very considerable reasones, will not, as
is thought, dissent from the rest.
Hereupon Count Etting, under pretence of takeing a turne to the
Electour Palatine at Newburgh, is really sent to Erfurt for to conferr
with the Electour of Mentz as Chancellour of the Empire, and Deane of the
Electoral College, about what is necessary to the hastening of the foresayed
352
[1688-9.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
election, and other things belongeing thereto. In the meane time the
above mentioned time is fixed thereto, and the citty of Auspurgh, where
Ferdinand the 4th, eldest brother to the Emperour, was chosen King of
the Romans, pitched upon as most proper for the election.
In the Emperour's congratulatory letter to the King of Great Brittaine,
it is to be observed, first, that the Emperour giveth him the title of
Serenitas, which is ordinarily given by this Court to all Kings, but of late
the King of France pretended the title of Majestas, and at last obtained
that, in letters sent by the Chancery from the Emperour to the King of
France, he should have the title of Serenitas, but in the Emperour's par-
ticular letters he should have the title of Majestas; the same likewise pre-
tended and obtained the Earl of Carlingford, last yeare, for his Master the
late King of England, insomuch that, after this gift, the French King, and,
in all appearance, the King of England likewise, scrupled to receive any
other than private letters from this Court, to the end that they might
allwayes have the title of Majestas, and not that of Serenitas; secondly, it
is to be wished that this illustrious example of the King of England's
moderation toward the Papists were followed, in regard of the Protestants
of these countryes, by those of this Court, who, though they have received
sufficient proofes of the foresayed moderation, forbeare not nevertheless to
burthen his Majesty upon all occasions with pressing and urgeing of him
anew to it, as they have lately againe done in the foresayed congratulatory
epistle. But how differently they are inclined, appeareth not onely from
the dayely complaints of the Protestant Churches in Hungary, but likewise
from thence, that it is not so much as allowed that the cittizens of this place
who are of the Protestant religion, to which are addicted the most part of
the most substantial merchants in town, should have the exercise of their
devotion at forreign Ministers' houses, without incurreing the hazard of being
fined in three or 400 crowns, in case they are discovered, not to mention
other examples of less importance.
The abovementioned congratulatory epistle being dispatched, the Ambas-
sadour of Spaine, together with Mr. Hop, have urged the Emperour that,
in imitation of what is done at Madrid and the Hague to the Earl of
Staffort and the Marquis d'Abbeville, he would be pleas'd to dimitt the
Earl of Carlingford. Yesterday it was told Mr. Hop that the Emperour
is resolved not onely to forbid the foresayed Earl of Carlingford to wait
upon the Court on its journey to Auspurgh, but, at the same time, to order
his Lordship to depart out of the Empire, haveing been some time agoe
determined to have sent him sooner away, for, even then, he was but very
little noticed at Court.
11th July.—Mr. Hop, conform to the States order, endeavoureth by all
meanes to get the Emperour to consent to a separate article, wherein he
obligeth himself to imploy at least 30,000 men againest France over and
above those he hath in his garrisones, and those he maketh use of againest
the Turks dureing the Turkish warr; but these his endeavours have no
more, nor other, success than formerly.
1688-9.] DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THE APPENDIX. 353
But the excuses which Mr. Hop, in name of the States, hath made for
not payeing the pretended subsidies have hade better effect, especially
while Mr. Hop was whispered privately in the eare, that it was not to be
further pressed directly in the name of the Emperour, and that tho', at the
signeing of the Treaty, it was resolved, pro formâ onely, to retard the
ratification thereof till the foresayed subsidies were payed, at least in part;
yet now the Emperour hath commanded to make this no impediment in
ratifying and interchangeing the ratifyed treaties, which was accordingly
done by both parties upon the 15th instant.
17th July.-Today were interchanged the ratifications of the foresayed
separate articles.
19th July.—Mr. Hop tooke journey to Holland.
DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THE APPENDIX.
No. 1.
Extract out of the Resolutions of the High and Mighty States-General of
the United Netherlands.
Jovis, 28 Octobris, 1688.
AFTER deliberation, it is resolved and found good to impart to the
ministers of the States who are abroad in foreign countries the reasons that
moved their Highnesses to assist with ships and forces his Highness the
Prince of Orange, now goeing over in persone to England, that with these
they may serve themselves, where it is necessary, and when occasion
offereth. It is accordingly ordered to write to the foresaid ministers that
it is known to the whole world how the nation of England hath for a long
time murmured and complained of their King's, without doubt by the evil
counsel of his ministers, incroaching upon their fundamental lawes, and
labouring, by the breach of them and introducing of the Popish religion, to
rob them of their liberty and ruine the Protestant religion, and, in fine, to
bring all to one arbitrary government: that when this perverse and wrong
conduct was more and more insisted in, and the danger of the apprehended
disasters grew daily greater and greater by this, there arose such a diffi-
dence in, and aversion of their King, that nothing but a general disorder
and confusion was to be looked for in that kingdome. Then the Prince of
Orange resolved to lend to that nation-so justly and upon so good ground
complaineing of their government-his assisting and helping hand; and this
in regard to the manifold representations and earnest and reiteral requests
made to his Highness by a great number of Lords, and others of best note
in that kingdome, together with the interest which her Royal Highness,
so well as himself, hade in the welfare of that kingdome, for which cause
he could not well stand by and see, that by these quarrels and animosities
-let them end how they would-he should run the risk of being secluded
from the crowne; and thus he is obliged to vigilat, and take care for the
good and welfare of that kingdome; and this so much the rather, because
the welfare of the State-with the care of which he is already intrusted-
dependeth much upon the peace and quiet of the kingdome of England,
and the removal of diffidence between the King and the nation. His
Highness, knoweing well enough that to succeed in this laudable and im-
portant design, and not to be hindered therein by ill-inclined people, it
would be necessary for him to goe over in persone, and to be followed by
some force of souldiers, this his intention he made knowne to the States,
and withall desired their assistance. Then the States maturely deliberated
2 A
354
[1688.
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
and considered that the Kings of France and Great Brittaine, as the States
were often informed, lived in a very good understanding and friendship
with one another, so well as in a near and strict allyance; moreover, the
States were informed of their Majestyes designing and labouring to breake
of from them their Highnesses' Allyes; and now the French king haveing
often, yea, upon all occasions, shewed the ill will he bore to this republick,
it is to be feared that if the King of Great Brittaine reach his mark, to wit,
ane absolute power over his people, then will both these kings, partly out
of a maxime of state, and partly out of hatred and zeale against the Pro-
testant religion, endeavour to ruine, and, if possible, to extirpate this re-
publick. Upon these considerations the States resolved to approve of and
applaude his Highness's design, and likewise to lend him, and assist him
with, ships and forces. Hereupon his Highness declared to the States,
that, by God's grace and assistance, he would go over in persone to Eng-
land, not with the least intention either to invade or conquer that kingdome,
farr less with any designe of dethroneing the King, or rendring himself
master there; neither hade he any thoughts of prejudgeing or inverting the
lawfull succession, nor yet of banishing or persecuting the Papists; but his
intention was, merely and purely, for helpeing the nation to the restaura-
tion of their violated lawes and privileges, and to the preservation of their
religion and liberty; to which end he would endeavour to gett a free and
lawfull parliament called in the ordinary manner, and made up of such
persons that are regulated and qualifyed by and according to the lawes and
forme of government; and by this parliament shall be deliberated and
considered and constituted all that is judged necessary to be done for the
nobility, clergy, gentry, and people, who are to be assured that their lawes
and privileges shall be no more violated or broken. Finally, the States
hope and trust that, by God's blessing, the peace and unity of that king-
dome may by these meanes be established, and that the foresayed kingdom
shall be putt in a condition of concurring vigorously to the common good
of Christendome, and to the restauration of peace and tranquillity in
Europe. Extracts of this, the States' Resolution, are to be delivered by
Agent Rosemboom to all forreign ministers here present for their infor-
mation and use, where and according as they have occasion.
This agreeth with the foresayd Register,
No. 2.
The Emperor to the Prince of Orange.
H. FAGEL.
MOST SERENE SIR,
-
YOUR letter, dated the 26th of the last moneth, was safely delivered
to me. By it, with much consolation and estime, I perceive the con-
fidence which you repose in me and my august house; and as I was all-
wayes perswaded of your designs and intentions being grounded upon
justice and equity, so now doe you give a new proof and certification of the
same, in that you are resolved to enterprise nothing against the throne,
crowne, or sceptre of the King of Great Brittaine, nor against the right of
him to whom the legal succession belongeth, but that you design to further
the layeing aside and takcing away, by lawful and fitt meanes, the mis-
takes arisen betwixt the King and his people; and this you propose as the
end and aime of your business now in hand, by which the publick good and
quiet of Christendome, that is so much disturbed by a mighty and hostile
crowne, may be the better settled and fortified. It is no less satisfaction
to me to understand that you are intended to have the irreptitious penal
statutes againest Catholics in England abolished, and to have Papists secured
from all trouble or molestation that may happen to then there for con-
1689.] DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THE APPENDIX. 355
;
science' sake. But it would yet more oblige yourself, me, and the publick,
in so much that the whole world would acknowledge it with applauses,
if your business could be so ordered, that those of the King's religion be
not declared incapable (farr less deprived meerely upon that account) of
serveing him and the kingdome, in civil and politicall employments, by
which meanes, in all appearance, the composition with the King of Eng-
land will be likewise rendred much easier: you know well enough how
that the privilege of burgeshers was granted to those of the three religions in
Germany, by the treaty of Westphalia, and in how good a harmony and
correspondence they lived so long as France raised no troubles. I observe
the same still in my armyes, and you likewise, in the glorious exercise of
your governement, have never excluded Catholick officers of merit from any
charge in your army. This, together with that that you write to me in the
letter delivered me, doeth sufficiently confirme me that, ab ipsis incunabulis,
you have had ane aversion from such who persecute Christians. Christianity
suffereth at present, not for religion's sake, but because of ambition. Ane
instance of this is to be seen in that which the French King, ex hoc ambi-
tionis principio, hath lately devised and put in execution contra dissenti-
entes a suâ religione in that kingdome, and what now he enterpriseth
against the Pope, me, and the whole Romane empire, notwithstanding that
we differ not in the matter of religion. As now I have in this my answer
entrusted all this to you, so doe I expect that by instigation of your zealous
and laudable desire of the publick good, you will, for further sinceration,
receive and intertaine with the same trust, the resolution which I now
communicate to you, to wit, that I, in my eminent station and imperial
office, doe purpose to imploy all the power which God hath lent mê, for
the good of the publick and necessities of suffering Christianity, to prevent
bloodshed, and to take away misunderstandings. In the meane time I wish
for the blessing and assistance of God to this end. Moreover I relye upon
the lately arrived here extraordinary envoye, Mr. Hop, with whom I give
orders to confer upon several things. I continue yours, &c. &c.
Vienna, 13th November, 1688.
No. 3.
MOST NOBLE AND WORTHY SIR,
London, 26th Jan. 1689.
His Highness hath desired me to address the inclosed letter written
by him to the Emperor to you; withall, to recommend to you, in his name,
that you will make use of all reasones and arguments, applicable to the
subject, for perswadeing the Emperour and his chief ministers, that, by his
Highness's expedition and undertakeing in this kingdome, it was not in
the least designed to persecute or maltreat the Papists, and that this shall
clearely appeare, at least in the sequel of time and affaires, by his conduct
here and unchangeable attachement to the interest of the Emperour's
empire and the other allies of that religion, together with his zeale for pro-
moting the welfare of the publick. It is indeed true that some things are
just in regard of the Roman Catholicks, that seem not to agree with the
above mentioned declaration. But such as are impartial will easily discern
that that which is fallen out could not be but very great in these
first motions after a general discontent and dissatisfaction with the King
and his Popish Council: especially since, by the departure of the King,
all government in a manner ceased; besides, all that can be alledged
to be done is done by the common people, and that at times and in places
when and where his Highness was not present, and consequently could
neither provide againest, nor give orders for hindering, the same.
His
Highness is likewise very much troubled for what is come to pass, and done
already, and hath likewise shewed his displeasure therewith, and is likewise
fully resolved to make all reparation in business, wherein it can possibly be
2 A 2
356
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[1689.
done, as particularly all the disorders and injuries which the Ambassadour
of Spain hath suffered in his chappell and house. That his Highness will
on all occasions incessantly endeavour and use all meanes to bring the Par-
liament and nation to more moderate thoughts in regard of the Papists, to
all of whom, who carry themselves as faithful and loyal subjects ought to
doe, he doubteth not but that he'l procure the privelege of liveing and
dwelling in peace and quiet, and of enjoyeing liberty of conscience. This
is, most noble Sir, the substance of what his Highness willeth me to write
to you, which I have so much the more willingly undertaken, because of
my haveing thereby ane occasion of assureing you that I am, &c.,
EVERARDE Van Wrede.
P.S.-I must here add two things: one is that the trainbands would have
hindered the insolence committed upon the hostel of Spaine, hade not
Ambassadour Ronquillo's people fired upon them with pistols and musquets
when they were surroundeing the house for the same end, so that they
were forced to retire, as the Captain of the foresayd trainbands, who is a
very honest gentleman and my particular acquaintance, hath declared. The
other thing is, that a certaine write printed shortly after his Highness's
descent, and spread up and downe under the title of his Highness's third
declaration, wherein are a great many sharp expressions and menaces, was
never published either by his Highness or his command, neither did he so
much as know of it; but, since that time, it is discovered that some zealot
or other hath made and caused it to be printed.
MOST NOBLE AND WORTHY SIR,
London, 28th Ditto, 1689.
YESTERDAY I gave myself the honour to write to you his Highness's
mind anent the business of the Catholicks of this kingdome, since which
time I am informed that, about two dayes agone, a declaration hath been
published here, by which, under severe punishment, Papists (some being
excepted) are commanded to retire ten miles from the citty; concerneing
this I thinke fitt to communicate to you my thoughts, and the followeing
information, because I know that, this being knowne at the Emperour's
Court, may be the occasion of giving new offence. Know then that his
Highness, being sett upon for issueing forth this proclamation, by such
instances and requests of the clergy so well as the nobility, could not delay
nor shun doeing of it, not onely by reasone that prudence requireth all
cautionesse to be used againste Romane Catholicks, who are all of the
King's, while as yet all things are not restored, nor settled in peace and
quiet, nor the governement reestablished; but, likewise, because it is here
the ordinary custome to issue forth such orders before the calling of the Par-
liament, so that now, the convention for establishing of the governement
being to sitt next week, it was altogether requisite that such orders be
published. This, the Ambassador of Spaine, as he told me this evening,
hath likewise written to the King his Master and to the Emperour's Court.
I continue yours, &c.,
EVERARDE Van Wrede.
No. 4.
Extract out of the Register of Resolutions of the States Generall of the
United Netherlands.
Lunæ, 11 Aprilis, 1689.
HAVEING, by resumption, deliberated upon Mr. Hop, Extraor-
dinary Envoy at the Emperour's Court, his letter written at Vienna the
27th of February last, addressed to Griffier Fagel, containeing a particular
account of overtures that were made to him in behalf of the Emperour, for
a most strict allyance with the States, not onely to last so long as this warr
1689.] DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THE APPENDIX. 357
continueth, but likewise after that the same shall be finished by a peace,
and that for confirmeing and establishing the same peace, as this is more at
large declared in the foresayed letter and notes dated in March last:
hereupon it is found good and ordered to write back to the foresayed Mr.
Hop, and to command him to offer to the Emperour, in name and behalf of
the States, to enter into ane offensive and defensive allyance againest the
French King and his adherents, so long as this present warr lasteth, and
likewise a perpetuall defensive allyance against the foresayed King after
the ending of the same warr, and that, for the stricter observation of the
peace that shall be made at the end of the foresayed warr, further Mr.
Hop is, upon this occasion, to doe his best and most powerfull devoirs to
move the Emperour to conclude a good and firm peace with the Turks,
seeing that, by this meanes, the foresayed allyance will be the more
effectual, and the Emperour will be put in a better condition to carry on,
together with the States, the warr more vigorously againest France, the
common ennemy. For this end a convenient power shall be sent to the
foresayed Mr. Hop, and this, together with the articles followeing, and
inserted immediately hereafter, shall serve him for instructions, onely with
this reserve, that so much as possible he shall endeavour so to order the
affaire, that the article wherein it is treated of perswadeing the Electours in
a friendly way to elect the King of Hungary to be King of the Romans
(for preventing of all jealousies in the Empire) be not inserted in the
treaty, but that his Imperial Majesty content himself with the States'
obligation and promise made him by letter or otherwise. And in case
this can by no meanes be got effectuated, then this, together with the imme-
diately preceeding and following articles, concerneing the succession of the
monarchy of Spaine, its falling into the august House of his Imperial
Majesty, and hindering of the law full election that may fall upon the King
of Hungary, must be treated upon apart, and must be signed and sealed as
secret and separate articles from the treaty; and in case the peace with the
Turk be not concluded before the entry into this allyance, then the fore-
sayed Mr. Hop is, above all things, to take care that the States, by the
diversion of the Emperour's arms againest the Turks, lose not the effect of
their foresayed allyance againest France: here he shall labour to gett his
Imperial Majesty ingaged and obliged, during the foresayed Turkish warr,
to bring to and effectually maintaine in field (besides all his garrisones),
wherever it is most necessary againest France, such a number of foot and
horse as will be requisite to hurt and weaken the ennemy, to reach the
design of this allyance, and effectuate the Munster, Osnabrugg, and
Pyrenean Treaties mentioned herein.
W. BARON VAN HEECKEREN.
This agreeth with the foresayed register.
H. FAGEL.
Articles serving for ingredients in the Treaty of Allyance between the Em-
perour on the one side, and the High and Mighty States General of the
United Netherlands on the other.
First, that there shall be between his Imperial Majesty on the one side,
and the High and Mighty States on the other side, a sincere, inviolable,
and everlasting friendship and good correspondence. Consequently they
shall mutually seek to promote the good and welfare of one another, and,
with their whole power, help to avert and hinder the hurt and disadvan-
tage of one another. And since the King of France, without the least
ground or reasone, hath assaulted the forementioned Emperour and States
with a most cruel warr, therefore, dureing this warr, shall be betwixt the
foresayed contractors ane offensive and defensive allyance, and that accord-
ingly they shall, on both sides, with all their force and power, so well by
358
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1689.
sea as land, act hostilely and carry on the war againest the foresayed King
and such of his adherents and allies who, after instances and serious desires,
will not separate themselves from him. Moreover they shall, from time to
time, concert and conferr upon what manner, whether joyntly or separately,
their armes may be best and most effectually imployed to the destruction
and hurt of the ennemy. That none of the foresayed contrahents, haveing
once tooke up arms for the ruine of the common ennemy, shall dare offer to
lay down the same, or to intermitt the warr, nor so much as enter upon the
least treaty or dealing for peace with the French King and his adherents,
without common consent and concurrence. Let matters fall out how they
will, this is not to be done till, by the mutual force of armes, all be brought
to the termes of the Munster, Osnabrugge, and Pyrenean treaties, and be
likewise redressed and restored conforme to these so well in ecclesiasticis as
profanis. That all dealings and negotiations for attaineing to a settled and
firme peace as formerly shall be made use of, not separately, but with mu-
tual communication and common consent, and this must be done with all
sincerity and bonâ fide. And thus, when the foresayed warr cometh to ane
end, and a peace fallen upon them, shall there remaine betweene the men-
tioned contrahents a perpetual defensive league againest the King of France
and his adherents, and consequently both parties contracting shall contri-
bute all that is in them to the end that the peace remaine firme and perpetual.
Nevertheless, in case that at any time (be it when it will) the French King
and his adherents should, contrary to the made up treaty and peace, come
to fall upon and attack both or either of the foresayed parties contracting,
then shall they faithfully assist one another, and, with the utmost of their
power, help to avert all hostile actions and violence, and continue herein
till all be againe restored, conforming to the treaty and peace made. Fur-
ther, his Imperial Majesty shall mantaine the principalities, rights, and
liberties of the States Generall of the United Provinces, who are likewise,
upon the other hand, to defend his Imperial Majesty's dignityes, rights, and
liberties againest the French King and his adherents, and this at all times,
by all meanes and wayes, and to the utmost of their power; that they are
thus mutually to protect and mantaine one another, and not to suffer any
incroachments to be made upon their foresayed concerns.
And in case the
King of Spaine come to die without leaving behind' him lawfull offspring,
and that the French King endeavour to oppose the lawfull succession to the
crowne of Spaine that belongeth to the august house of the Emperour, to
which is now designed the Archduke of Austria, second sone to his Imperial
Majesty, then shall the abovementioned States Generall help to mantaine
his Imperial Majesty in the settlement of the lawfull succession of the fore-
sayed monarchy of Spaine, and assist to avert all that the French King
endeavoureth and attempteth againest the same. The States likewise shall
endeavour, by all friendly wayes and meanes, and interpose their good
offices, for perswadeing the Electours of the Empire to elect for King of
the Romans the present King of Hungary. And in case the French King
endeavour to hinder the choise that may fall upon the foresayed King of
Hungary, whether by menaces and fearefull impressions, or by effectual
force, then shall the States Generall help to free his Imperial Majesty from
this, by opposeing and repelling violence with violence. In behalf of the
Emperour shall the King of Spaine, and in behalf of the States Generall
shall the King of Great Brittaine be invited to enter into this allyance, and,
besides, all other allies of either side that please shall be admitted into it.
And this allyance in behalf of his Imperial Majesty and the States Gene-
rall of the United Netherlands shall be approved and ratified within
moneths, or sooner if it be any way possible.
HEECKEREN.
W. BARON V.
This agreeth with the foresayed registrer.
II. FAGEL.
1689.] DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THE APPENDIX. 359
No. 5.
Received 21st of Aprill, 1689.
VERY NOBLE AND WORTHY SIR,
THE untimely death of Mr. Fen Hoove, of blessed memory, hath
occasioned me, tho' very unwillingly, in obedience to the pleasure of the
States, to take upon me the executing the office of Pensionary to the
Council, till such time as his place be filled up againe; upon this account I
think myself obliged to acquaint you with that which I judge necessary
for prosecuting the commission given you: To wit, that immediately after
I hade undertaken that provissionary office, your letter concerneing the en-
tring into a neare allyance with his Imperial Majesty was communicated to
me by Mr. Netelhorst, as first in the States commission for forreign busi-
ness. I have, in consideration of the importance of this business, and with
how much secrecy it must be treated, given all necessary orders, to the end
that the papers and pieces found in the house where Mr. Fen Hoove lately
died might be brought to me, not doubting but that I might find among
them something by which I could have received some light as to the King
of England's sentiments upon that subject; but I have found nothing among
them that any way concerneth this matter. Since, now, the time will not
permitt to write thither and wait for his Majesty's answer before this busi-
ness be begun, I have therefor endeavoured, so much as is possible, to
informe myself by others, and am particularly informed by Mr. Netelhorst,
that, some time agone, his Majesty knew of and relished this business,
tho' in all appearance he knew not that it would be so ordered as now it is,
which nevertheless can make no change. Thereafter, speakeing with Prince
Waldeck thereupon, he assured me of the same; and sayed that Mr. Fen
Hoove would, without doubt, have likewise taken this business in hand,
which now, without loseing of time, I have immediately begun, hopeing
that with the English letters I may be further informed therein, which is
likewise come to pass, as you will see by the depechées now going of, with
which, for your further information, I will add the remarks made thereupon
by some of the provinces in time of our deliberation.
First, That the King of England's considerations ought to be first taken
in.
Secondly, That it ought not to be treated of but conjunctly with Eng-
land.
Thirdly, That this allyance ought to be made meerely againest France.
Fourthly, That the recommendation of the King of Hungary to the
Electours for chooseing him King of the Romans may occasion jealousie
among them, and that the same was of a tender and delicate nature.
Fifthly, If the Emperour make not peace with the Turks, then the forc-
sayed allyance will not have the effect looked for.
Friseland, so well the countrey as cities, sticketh close to the first article,
notwithstanding that the Lords present at the conference seemed to be
sufficiently convinced, that if now the King of England were written to,
and his Majesty's answer expected, the whole business might in the meane
time be ruined, since the same is of so tender and delicate a nature; for
which cause, on Tuesday, the 5th of this inst., the draught of the articles,
in which there is now made but very little alteration, was transmitted to
his Majesty, withall adding that it was beleeved the business would be very
shortly concluded, for which cause his Majesty was requested, that in case
he hade any different or contrary considerations, that he would be pleased
not onely to send them hither, but likewise to send them immediately to
you, since the business would admit of no delay. I doubt not but that
befor the recept of this you 'I have received his Majesty's inclinations
about this allyance; and this so much the rather, because I thinke that in
one of your letters you write that Mr. Witzen hath written to you thereof.
360
LEXINGTON PAPERS.
[1689.
But in case you hesitate any way therein, it is fitt that you, in your wise-
dome and according to your customary prudent conduct, endeavour to order
the business so that, on the one hand, nothing be retarded nor no time
lost; and on the other, that nothing be finally concluded till you receive
from here, or else directly from England, his Majesty's considerations
thereupon.
*
*
It is generally thought that, in case the Emperour continue the warr againest
the Turks, and imploy his greatest force that way, then will the greatest
burthen of the warr fall upon us, and we shall not be able to bring affaires
to the termes required in the allyance; for this end you will find yourself
not onely obliged to continue your devoirs for makeing peace with the Turk,
but likewise, in case of obstinacy, to take care sufficiently to provide against
the foresayed apprehended trouble. It is generally inclined in this case to
oblige the Emperour to mantaine a certaine sufficient number of men, to be
expressed in the treaty, with which he is at least to acte againest France;
but it is not thought fitt to determine this number, and so to limit you too
much, haveing rather judged it more expedient that I write a line to Prince
Waldeck, and desire him to communicate with all speed his thoughts herein
to you, that this business may be so much the sooner brought to a good
conclusion, which accordingly I shall doe this day. If you thinke that I
am capable of serveing you by occasion of this my provisional function, or
any other waye, I intreat you'l doe me the honour freely to imploy me;
assureing yourself that in regard of our mutual friendship and correspond-
ence some yeares agone, dureing our ministry here in the Hague, I'l
reckon myself happy if I may testifye that I am in sincerety,
Very noble and worthy Sir,
Hague, 11 Aprill, 1689.
Your most humble servant,
No. 6.
A. HEINSIUS.
Received 30th Aprill, 1689.
VERY NOBLE AND WORTHY SIR,
Just now are delivered me two letters from the King of England,
of the 8th and 12th inst. In the first he maketh knowne to me that his
opinion is, that the allyance ought to be made and perfected with all speed;
that it is the same thing to his Majesty whether he be comprehended in,
or thereafter admitted to, the foresayed allyance; and being inclined to
both alike, he leaveth it to the Emperour to determine it accordeing as
he judgeth best. By the last, in answer to mine, dated the 5th inst., with
which I have sent over the articles, he, in the first place, approveth that
draught of the treaty with the Emperour; and, in the next, recommendeth
the bringing of it to a conclusion so soone as is possible, his Majesty being
ready to enter into the same allyance so soone as the Emperour desireth it.
As to the preparations of warr, his Majesty writeth that he hath imparted
his opinion therein to Prince Waldeck, who, without doubt, hath commu-
nicate the same either to you or Count Stratman. I thought it my duety
with all speed to informe you of this; and moreover to testifye that I am,
Very noble and worthy Sir,
Your Honour's most humble servant,
Hague, 16 Aprill, 1689.
THE END.
A. HEINSIUS.
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3
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XXVI.
VISITS TO THE MONASTERIES OF THE
LEVANT. By HON. ROBERT CURZON. Third Edition.
Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 15s.
"We hazard little in prophesying that Mr. Curzon's
work will be more popular than any other recent set of
Oriental descriptions, except Mr. Kingslake's; and however
that remarkable writer may claim the superiority in wit,
point, and artistical finish, we should not be surprised if the
respectable oddity of Mr. Curzon's objects and fancies
should be sufficient to win fully equal acceptance for his
Visits."-Quarterly Review.
XXVII.
RESEARCHES IN ASIA MINOR, PONTUS,
AND ARMENIA. By WILLIAM I. HAMILTON. Plates.
2 vols. 8vo, 38s.
"Mr. Hamilton's archæological researches, and his nar-
rative in general, have our warmest commendations."-
Athenæum.
Turkey, Egypt, and Syria.
XXVIII.
TRAVELS IN TURKEY, During the Years
1847-8. By Charles Macfarlane. 2 vols. 8vo, 28s.
XXIX.
NINEVEH AND ITS REMAINS.
With an Account of a Visit to the Chaldean Christians
of Kurdistan, and the Yezedis or Devil Worshippers, &c.
BY AUSTEN H. LAYARD. Fourth Edition. Plates. 2 vols.
8vo, 36s.
"The most extraordinary work of the present age, whe-
ther with reference to the wonderful discoveries it describes,
its remarkable verification of our early biblical history, or of
the talent, courage, and perseverance of its author."-Times.
XXX.
LAYARD'S MONUMENTS OF NINEVEH.
Illustrated by upwards of One Hundred Engravings, from
Drawings made on the spot. In a Portfolio. Imperial,
107. 10s.; or Colombier, 147. 14s.
scriptive of the excavations at Nimroud and Konyunjik,
"Following up Mr. Layard's very interesting work, de-
this folio of above a hundred engravings reveals more dis-
tinctly to us the long-buried forms and secrets of the primeval
world. It is a splendid performance."-Literary Gazette.
XXXI.
THE PALACES OF NINEVEH AND PER-
SEPOLIS RESTORED, being an attempt to explain the
Architecture of Assyria and Persia. By JAMES FERGUSSON.
Woodcuts, 8vo.
XXXII.
TRAVELS IN EGYPT, NUBIA, SYRIA,
AND THE HOLY LAND. By Captains IRBY and
MANGLES. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
"One of the most interesting and popular works of the
present century."-Aberdeen Journal.
XXXIII.
CAIRO, PETRA, AND
DAMASCUS ;
from Notes made during a Tour in those Countries. By
JOHN G. KINNEAR. Post 8vo, 9s. 6d.
"Mr. Kinnear writes extremely well, and his descriptions
proclaim him a good observer."-Examiner.
XXXIV.
JOURNEY THROUGH ARABIA PETRÆEA
AND MOUNT SINAI, to the EXCAVATED CITY OF Petra.
By M. LEON DE LABORDE. Second Edition. Plates. 8vo,
18s.
"A publication of extreme value and interest.”— British
Critic.
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Voyages and Travels.
Polynesia and the South Seas.
XXXV.
VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY AND RE-
SEARCH TO THE SOUTH POLE; 1839-43. By SIR
JAMES CLARK Ross, R.N. Plates. 2 vols. 8vo, 36s.
"The extracts we have given will speak better than we
could for the plain, modest, and manly taste of the author
-which seems entirely worthy of his high professional cha-
racter and signal services."-Quarterly Review.
XXXVI.
TYPEE AND OMOO; or, The MARQUESAS
ISLANDERS. By HERMANN MELVILLE. 2 vols. post
8vo, 12s.
"The book is excellent, quite first-rate."-Blackwood.
"Since the joyous moment when we first read Robinson
Crusoe, and believed it all, and wondered all the more
because we believed, we have not met with so bewitching a
work as this narrative of Herman Melville's.”—John Bull.
XXXVII.
RECOLLECTIONS OF BUSH LIFE IN
AUSTRALIA, during a Residence of Eight Years in the
Interior. By H. W. HAYGARTH, Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
"Lively, graphic, descriptive of man, animals, nature,
and society; and with sufficient incident to animate the nar-
rative, it possesses the interest of romantic fiction."-Spect.
"Mrs. Meredith is a pleasant unaffected writer; and the
book derives interest from being a lady's view of New
South Wales."-Spectator.
XXXIX.
WORKING MAN'S HAND-BOOK TO
SOUTH AUSTRALIA. By G. B. WILKINSON. Map. 16mo,
1s. 6d.
"Mr. Wilkinson's book is by many degrees the best in
a practical sense we have seen."-Morning Advertiser.
XL.
NEW ZEALAND. With some Account of
the Beginning of the British Colonisation of the Island.
By E. J. WAKEFIELD. With Map. 2 vols. 8vo, 28s.
"The most complete and continuous history of British
Colonisation in New Zealand which has appeared."-Spect.
Central and South America.
XLI.
VISITS TO CENTRAL AMERICA AND
YUCATAN. By JOHN L. STEPHENS. A New Edition.
2 vols. Post 8vo. Nearly Ready.
"These delightful volumes! It is grievous to quit a store
so brimful to overflowing of what we like best.”—Athenæum.
8vo, 26s.
(c
XXXVIII.
The notices of the natural history, and the mines, are
novel and interesting; and his pictures of the heroes of the
NOTES AND SKETCHES OF NEW SOUTH bowie knife are remarkably characteristic and entertaining."
-New Monthly Magazine.
WALES. By MRS. MEREDITH. Post 8vo. 2s. 6d.
XLII.
MEXICO AND THE ROCKY MOUN-
TAINS. By GEORGE F. RUXTON. Post 8vo, 6s.
"A capital book, alike attractive for its narrative of travel,
with its hardships and incidents. for its pictures of scenery
and society, for the direct information it imparts as to
Mexico and the incidental glimpses it gives us of the Ame-
ricans and their armies in Mexico."-Spectator.
XLIII.
XLIV.
North America and West Indies.
VOYAGE OF A NATURALIST ROUND
THE WORLD. By CHARLES DARWIN. Post 8vo, 8s. 6d.
"The author is a first-rate landscape painter, and the
dreariest solitudes are made to teem with interest.”
Quarterly Review.
XLVI.
"Full of novelty; we can hardly open a page which has
not its picture for the general observer, and its product for
those who, like Sir Joseph Banks, look on the earth as one
vast museum."-Athenaum.
OF
A CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT
VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS,
From the earliest period. By SIR JOHN BARROW. Maps.
2 vols. 8vo. 27s.
"Records of enterprise and endurance, of resolute
perseverance, and of moral and physical courage, which we
take to be peculiar to English seamen, and to make one
proud of the name of Englishman.”—Examiner.
XLVII.
5.
A FIRST AND SECOND VISIT ΤΟ
NORTH AMERICA, with Observations on the
United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia. By
SIR CHARLES LYELL. 2nd Edition. 4 vols. post 8vo, 39s.
science or a philosopher, but as a man of sense and of the
"Sir C. Lyell visited America not merely as a man of
world, eminently imbued with qualifications to constitute
him an astute observer.”—Literary Gazette.
XLVIII.
TOUR THROUGH THE SLAVE STATES,
from the River Potomac, to Texas and the Frontiers of
Mexico. By G. W. FEATHERSTONHAUGH. Plates. 2 vols.
XLIX.
VOYAGE TO TEXAS AND THE GULF
OF MEXICO. By MRS. HOUSTOUN. 2 vols. post 8vo, 21s.
"The information contained in this admirable work will
be very important to those who have an idea of settling
abroad."-Times.
JOURNEYS ACROSS THE PAMPAS. By Quarterly Review.
SIR FRANCIS HEAD. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
"This book has all the interest of a novel."-Eclectic Rev.
L.
FOREST SCENES AND INCIDENTS IN
CANADA. By SIR GEORGE HEAD. Second Edition.
Post 8vo, 10s.
LI.
LETTERS FROM CANADA AND THE
UNITED STATES. By J.R. GODLEY, 2 vols. post 8vo, 16s.
"Here is at least one English book of which the Ameri-
cans cannot reasonably complain."-Athenæum.
LII.
MEMOIRS OF A CHURCH MISSIONARY
IN CANADA. By Rev. J. ABBOTT. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
"The little work before us is a genuine account of what
a missionary's life is now in Canada. Under an invented
name, it is the story of the writer's own experience, told in
a straightforward and unaffected manner, with considerable
power of description."- Guardian.
LIII.
EXCURSIONS IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
By J. B. JUKES. Map. 2 vols. post 8vo, 21s.
The Cod Fishery-Fog Banks-Sealing Expedition, &c.
LIV.
THE JOURNAL OF A RESIDENCE IN
THE WEST INDIES. By M. G. LEWIS. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
"These amusing stories of actual Jamaica life."—
Europe.
LV.
Sixteen Months upon the Continent of Europe. Post 8vo,
DATES AND DISTANCES; or, a Tour of
8s. 6d.
LVI.
DALMATIA AND MONTENEGRO; WITH
A JOURNEY TO MOSTAR in Hertzegovina, and REMARKS
XLV.
A VOYAGE UP THE RIVER AMAZON, ON THE SLAVONIC NATIONS. BY SIR Gardner Wilkinson.
AND A VISIT TO PARA. BY WILLIAM H. EDWARDS.
Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
Plates. 2 vols. 8vo, 42s.
"The work is illustrated hy numerous woodcuts, which
are striking, and well executed. The information which it
contains is varied and useful, whilst its interest is greatly
enhanced by its appositeness to contemporary events."→→
Morning Chronicle.
6
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Domestic Economy.
LVII.
THE CITIES
CITIES AND CEMETERIES OF
ETRURIA; or, The extant Local Monuments of Etruscan
Art. By GEORGE DENNIS. Plates. 2 vols. 8vo. 42s.
"A valuable storehouse of classical and antiquarian lore
to every scholar; and the most general reader must be at-
tracted by their pleasant, though somewhat discursive style.
In this respect Mr. Dennis's book reminds us not a little of
Mr. Ford's very entertaining HAND-BOOK FOR SPAIN."—
Edinburgh Review.
LVIII.
RUSSIA IN EUROPE AND THE URAL
MOUNTAINS; Geologically Illustrated. By SIR R.
Murchison, G.C.S. Plates. 2 vols. royal 4to.
"Many admirable memoirs have resulted from these
excursions; but the crowning triumph is the great work
before us. It is impossible, by extract, to convey an idea
of the value of its contents."-Athenæum.
LIX.
DOMESTIC MANNERS OF THE RUSSIANS.
Described from a Year's Residence in that Country. By
Rev. R. L. VENABLES, M.A. Post 8vo, 9s. 6d.
LXI.
NORWAY AND HER LAPLANDERS ;
With Hints to the Salmon Fisher. By JOHN MILFORD.
8vo, 10s. 6d.
"A pleasant book, on a very pleasant subject: the obser-
vation of an accomplished and good-natured man.”—
Examiner.
LXII.
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA. With
Remarks on their Condition, Social, Political, and Eco-
nomical. By JOHN PAGET. 2nd Edition. Plates. 2 vols.
8vo, 24s.
"Mr. Paget never suffers our interest to flag, and appears
to have made himself accurately acquainted, not only with
the localities and traditions of the country, but with its
whole history and institutions."-Quarterly Review.
LX.
FORD. Post Evo, 6s.
LETTERS FROM THE SHORES OF THE
BALTIC. By A LADY. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
"The best English book, beyond comparison, that ever
has appeared for the illustration, not merely of the general
"A series of charming descriptions. The style is full of topography and local curiosities, but of the national cha-
ease and freshness."- Examiner.
racter and manners of Spain.”—Quarterly Review.
LXIV.
A RIDE ON HORSEBACK FROM FRANCE
TO SWITZERLAND. By A LADY. 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s.
I.
LXV.
THE BIBLE IN SPAIN; or, The Journeys,
Adventures, and Imprisonments of an Englishman in the
Peninsula. By GEORGE BORROW. New Edition. Post
8vo, 6s.
THE MODERN DOMESTIC COOKERY
BOOK, Founded on Principles of Economy and Practice,
and adapted FOR PRIVATE FAMILIES. Based on the work by
MRS. RUNDELL. A New Edition, most carefully revised and
corrected to the present time. By a Lady. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
"The most PRACTICALLY USEFUL BOOK we ever met
with."-British Critic.
"Mr. Borrow has come out as an English Author of high
mark. We are reminded of Gil Blas, in the narratives of
this pious, single-hearted man."-Quarterly Review.
LXVI.
THE GYPSIES OF SPAIN; Their Manners,
Customs, Religion and Language. By GEORGE BORROW.
New Edition. Post 8vo, 6s.
III.
INSTRUCTIONS IN GARDENING; with
a Calendar of Operations and Directions for every Month.
By MRS. LOUDON. 8th Edition. Woodcuts. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
"A most useful and agreeable Manual."-Salopian
Journal.
"A curious, a very curious work, and contains some of
the most singular, yet authentic descriptions of the gipsy
Gazette.
race which have ever been given to the public.”—Literary
LXVII.
GATHERINGS FROM SPAIN. BY RICHARD
LXVIII.
PORTUGAL, GALLICIA, AND THE BASQUE
PROVINCES. BY LORD CARNARVON. Third Edition.
Post 8vo, 6s.
"This is a very remarkable work. It is not only a graphic
description of the face of the country, and an impartial and
sagacious account of the moral and political condition of
Spain and Portugal; but it relates also a series of personal
adventures and perils, very unusual in modern Europe."-
Quarterly Review.
LXIII.
TOUR IN
AUSTRIAN LOMBARDY,
TYROL, AND BAVARIA. By JOHN BARROW. Wood-
cuts. Post 8vo, 10s. 6d.
A PHYSICIAN'S HOLIDAY, or A Mouth
in Switzerland during the Summer of 1848. By JOHN
"Agreeably written, faithful, and minute."-Athenæum. FORBES, M.D. 2nd Edition. Plates. Post 8vo. 8s. 6d.
LXIX.
IN
THE
PEDESTRIAN WANDERINGS
FRENCH AND SPANISH PYRENEES. By T. CLIFTON PARIS.
Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 10s. 6d.
"Contain better descriptive passages, strikingly pic-
turesque, and without the least strain and effort, than we
recollect in any book of the same light pretension."-
Examiner.
DOMESTIC AND RURAL ECONOMY.
LXX.
IV.
THE DOVECOTE AND THE AVIARY;
a History of Domestic Pigeons and other Birds in a Cap-
tive State. By Rev. E. S. DIXON. Woodcuts. Feap. 8vo.
V.
PRACTICAL HINTS ON DECORATIVE
NEEDLEWORK, containing minute directions as to the
choice of materials, and the best methods of employing
* Of this work upwards of 200,000 copies have been sold. them for Canvas or Tapestry Work. By Miss Lambert.
Woodcuts. 16mo, 1s. 6d.
II.
FAMILY RECEIPT-BOOK; A Collection of
1000 valuable Receipts. New Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 5s. 6d. | Woodcuts. 2 Parts. 16mo, 3s.
"A large quantity of truly valuable matter.”—British
Critic.
VII.
MY
LAMBERT.
VI.
MY KNITTING-BOOK. By MISS LAMBERT.
CROCHET SAMPLER.
Woodcuts. 2 Parts. 16mo, 4s.
VIII,
By Miss
CHURCH NEEDLEWORK,
With Practical Remarks on its Preparation and Arrange-
ment. By MISS LAMBERT. With numerous Engravings.
Post 8vo, 9s.6d.
MURRAY'S HAND-BOOKS
FOR TRAVELLERS ABROAD AND READERS AT HOME.
Giving detailed and precise Information respecting Steamers, Passports, Moneys, Guides, and Servants,
with Directions for Travellers, and Hints for Tours.
1.
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Hand-Books for Travellers.
HAND-BOOK OF TRAVEL-TALK; or, Con-
versations in English, German, French, and Italian.
18mo, 5s.
2.
HAND-BOOK FOR NORTH GERMANY,
the RHINE, HOLLAND, BELGIUM, and PRUSSIA.
Map. Post 8vo, 12s.
3.
HAND-BOOK FOR SOUTH GERMANY,
the TYROL-BAVARIA-AUSTRIA-SALZBURG and
the DANUBE, from ULM to the BLACK SEA. Map.
Post 8vo, 12s.
4.
HAND-BOOK OF PAINTING THE
GERMAN, FLEMISH, AND DUTCH SCHOOLS. From
the German of KUGLER. Edited, with Notes, by SIR
Edmund HEAD. Pust 8vo, 12s.
5.
HAND-BOOK FOR SWITZERLAND,
ALPS of SAVOY and PIEDMONT. Map. Post 8vo, 10s.
6.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE HAND-BOOKS
FOR GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND. A Series of
Maps and Plans of the most frequented Roads, Cities,
and Towns, &c. Post 8vo.
8.
HAND-BOOK FOR EGYPT. THE NILE,
ALEXANDRIA, CAIRO, the PYRAMIDS, MOUNT
SINAI, and THEBES. Map. 15s.
9.
HAND-BOOK FOR NORTHERN ITALY,
FLORENCE, SARDINIA, GENOA, THE RIVIERA,
VENICE, LOMBARDY, and TUSCANY. Map. Post
8vo, 12s.
7.
HAND-BOOK FOR MALTA AND THE WALL. Maps. Post 8vo, 68.
19.
EAST, the IONIAN ISLANDS, TURKEY, ASIA
MINOR, and CONSTANTINOPLE. Maps. Post 8vo, 15s.
G
10.
HAND-BOOK FOR CENTRAL ITALY,
ROME, the PAPAL STATES, and CITIES of ETRURIA.
Maps. Post 8vo, 16s.
11.
•
HAND-BOOK FOR SOUTHERN ITALY,
SICILY, AND NAPLES. Map. Post 8vo. (Preparing.)
12.
13.
HAND-BOOK FOR FRANCE, THE
PYRENEES, BRITTANY, the RIVERS LOIRE,
SEINE, RHONE, and GARONNE, FRENCH ALPS,
DAUPHINE, and PROVENCE. Maps. Post 8vo, 12s.
14.
OF PAINTING THE
ITALIAN SCHOOLS. From the German of Kugler,
Edited, with Notes, by SIR CHARLES EASTLAKE. Illustrated
with 100 Woodcuts from the Old Masters. Post 8vo. 21s.
HAND-BOOK
15.
HAND-BOOK OF PAINTING—THE
SPANISH AND FRENCH SCHOOLS. BY SIR EDMUND
HEAD. Post 8vo, 12s.
16.
HAND-BOOK FOR NORTH EUROPE,
DENMARK, NORWAY, SWEDEN, RUSSIA, and
FINLAND. Maps and Plans. 2 vols. Post 8vo, 245.
7
K
17.
HAND-BOOK FOR ENGLAND AND
WALES. Map. Post 8vo. Nearly Ready.
"The old Lord Treasurer Burleigh, if any one came to
the Lords of the Council for a Licence to Travel, he would
first examine him of England; if he found him ignorant
would bid him stay at home, and know his own Country
first."-The Compleat Gentleman, by Henry Peacham, 1662.
18.
HAND-BOOK FOR DEVON AND CORN.
HAND-BOOK FOR LONDON-PAST AND
PRESENT. BY PETER CUNNINGHAM. Post 8vo, 168.
"The best and most complete guide to the sights and
localities of London, that we have seen; but it is a great
deal more besides; it is a delightful literary companion,
teeming, not only with rare and valuable information, often
quite new, but with stores of apposite quotation from our
older and modern writers.”—Morning Chronicle.
21.
20.
A MINOR HAND-BOOK OF LONDON ;
or, A complete Guide to the Sights of the Metropolis.
18mo. In Preparation
HAND-BOOK FOR THE ENVIRONS OF
LONDON. With hints for Excursions by Railway, Steam-
boat, and Road. By PETER CunninghAM. Post 8vo. In
Preparation.
Critical Opinions on the Hand-Books.
"Mr. Murray's series of Hand-books seem destined to embrace all the sights of the world."-Spectator.
"The useful series of Hand-books issued by Mr. Murray.”—Examiner.
22.
HAND-BOOK TO THE PICTURE GAL-
LERIES in and near London. With Historical, Biogra-
phical, and Critical Notices. By MRS. JAMESON. Post
8vo, 10s.
23.
HAND-BOOK FOR SPAIN, ANDALUSIA,
RONDA, GRENADA, MURCIA, VALENCIA, CATA-
LONIA, ESTREMADURA, LEON, GALLICIA, THE
FOR WINDSOR AND
ASTURIAS, THE CASTILES, THE BASQUES, ARRA- | WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Woodcuts. Fcap. 8vo, 2s. 6d
GON, PYRENEES, and NAVARRE. Maps. Post 8vo, 16s. each.
HAND-BOOK
"Mr. Murray's excellent series. Compiled with great care. The information full and satisfactory."-Athenæum.
"Well considered, well arranged, and well compressed. They combine every practical information, with satisfactory
descriptions and extracts from the most accomplished travellers, unencumbered with long historical details, which not
unfrequently are uselessly intruded into these manuals."-Gentleman's Magazine.
"An immense quantity of minute and useful information respecting all places of interest, presented in a plain,
unostentatious, and intelligible manner."- United Service Gazette.
"All the information a traveller requires; and supplies an answer to every difficulty which can possibly arise.”—Atlas.
"An excellent plan, and contains much in little compass, and is an amusing resource when the road is dull and our
companion has fallen asleep."-Asiatic Journal.
Capital guides! A man may traverse half the continent of Europe with them without asking a question."-Literary
Gazette.
8
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Theology.
RELIGIOUS WORKS, THEOLOGY, &c.
I.
THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER;
OM
with 1000 Illustrations, Borders, Initial Letters, Vignettes,
&c. New Edition. Medium 8vo, 21s.
•
The most elaborate copy of the Liturgy ever executed.
A noble devotional volume and fitting Christian manual.”
-Times.
II.
THE BOOK OF THE CHURCH;
With Notes containing References to the Authorities, and
an Index. BY ROBERT SOUTHEY, LL.D. Sixth Edition.
8vo, 12s.
"A most interesting sketch of a subject which, to the gene-
rality of readers, is almost unknown; and as it cannot fail
to be popular, from the beauty of its execution, will, I trust,
have the effect of turning the attention of many persons,
who have hitherto been indifferent to such matters, through
ignorance, to the nature of the dangers which this country
has escaped, and the blessings of various kinds which have
been secured to it, through the National Church Establish-
ment."—Archbishop Howley to the Author.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LITURGY
AND RITUAL OF THE CHURCH. By REV. JAMES
BROGDEN. 3 vols. post 8vo, 27s.
"A most valuable addition to every churchman's library."
-Bishop of Exeter's Charge.
V.
FRIENDLY AND SEASONABLE ADVICE
TO THE ROMAN CATHOLICS OF ENGLAND. By
DEAN COMBER. A New Edition. Edited by the Rev.
DR. HOOK. Fcap. 8vo, 3s.
VI.
THE THREE REFORMATIONS; LUTHE-
RAN, ROMAN, and ANGLICAN. By Rev. DR. HOOK. Third
Edition. 8vo, 3s.
III.
CATHOLIC SAFEGUARDS AGAINST THE
CHURCH OF ROME, selected from the works of eminent
Divines of the 17th Century. By REV. JAMES BROGDEN. BISHOP HEBER'S PARISH SERMONS;'
Second Edition. With Preface and Index. 3 vols. 8vo.
On the Lessons, the Gospel, or the Epistle, for every Sun-
"A Selection of the ablest discourses on the errors of the day in the Year. Sixth Edition. 2 vols. post 8vo, 16s.
Church of Rome.”—Bishop of London's Charge.
IV.
VIII.
XIV.
SUGGESTIONS TO THE THEOLOGICAL
STUDENT UNDER PRESENT DIFFICULTIES. By
the DEAN OF CARLISLE. Post 8vo, 6s. 6d.
X.
XI.
SERMONS ON THE NEW BIRTH OF
MAN'S NATURE. BY ARCHDEACON WILBERFORCE.
8vo, 8s.
XV.
THE CONTROVERSY OF FAITH: Being
ADVICE TO CANDIDATES FOR HOLY ORDERS. BY REV. C.
DODGSON. 12mo, 3s.
XII.
XVI.
SERMONS PREACHED IN THE CHAPEL
of HARROW SCHOOL. By Rev. C. J. VAUGHAN, D.D.
Head Master. 8vo, 10s. 6d.
VII.
ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. | 12mo, 2s. 6d.
By the Rev. HENRY EDWARD MANNING. Second Edition.
8vo, 10s. 6d.
UNDESIGNED SCRIPTURAL COINCI-
COINCI-
DENCES. A TEST OF THEIR VERACITY. BY Rev. J. J. BLunt.
Third Edition. 8vo, 9s.
"Whoever has read Dr. Paley's Hora Pauline, will find
this volume conducted with scarcely inferior ability and
zuccess."-John Bull.
the boys of the public school; and parents will find them
"The sermons now before us are addressed specifically to
a valuable family possession."-Christian Observer.
XIII.
THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY;
or, DIALOGUES BETWEEN A BRAHMIN AND A Christian.
By Rev. WILLIAM SEWELL, B.D., Exeter College, Oxford.
Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
XVII.
NINE NEW SERMONS PREACHED AT HAR-
ROW SCHOOL. By Rev. C. J. VAUGHAN, D.D. Fcap.
8vo, 5s.
XVIII.
XIX.
REMARKS ON ENGLISH CHURCHES,
and on rendering Sepulchral Memorials subservient to
pious and Christian Uses. By J. II. MARKLAND. Fourth
Edition. Woodcuts. Fcap. 8vo, 6s. 6d.
"One of the most important steps made lately in the
restoration of a sound and efficient church-system among
us."-Quarterly Review.
A MANUAL OF FAMILY PRAYER;
arranged on a board so as to save the trouble of turning
SERMONS ON THE LEADING DOCTRINES the pages backwards and forwards. 8vo, 2s.
AND DUTIES TAUGHT BY THE CHURCH OF
ENGLAND. By the DEAn of Norwich. 2 vols. 8vo, 21s.
IX.
XX.
ON THE REVERENCE DUE TO HOLY
PLACES. By J. H. MARKLAND. Third Edition. Wood-
cuts. Fcap. 8vo, 2s.
XXIII.
THE ROMAUNT VERSION OF THE GOSPEL
OF ST. JOHN; originally in Use among the Old Wal-
ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE INCAR-denses. Edited by Rev. W. S. GILLY, D.D. 8vo, 5s. 6d.
NATION. BY ARCHDEACOn WilberforcE. 3rd Edition.
8vo, 12s.
XXI.
FAMILY PRAYERS, ARRANGED FROM
THE LITURGY. By Right Hon. W. E. GLADSTONE.
XXIV.
PSALMS AND HYMNS. Adapted to the
ON THE DOCTRINE OF HOLY BAPTISM. various Solemnities of the Church. By Rev. W. B. Holland,
By ARCHDEACon WilberforCE. 3rd Edition. 8vo, 7s. 6d. | 24mo, ls. 6d.
XXII.
XXV.
THE LAWS RELATING TO SUNDAYS,
HOLIDAYS, and DAYS OF FASTING. By E. V. NEALE.
Fcap. 8vo, 9s. 6d.
"An excellent handmaid to Nelson on Fasts and
Festivals.'"-British Magazine.
XXVI.
THE NESTORIANS, OR LOST TRIBES,
With Illustrations of Scripture Prophecy. By ASAHEL
GRANT, M.D. Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 6s.
"An important accession to our stores of geographical
knowledge."-Church of England Review.
XXVII.
SERMONS FOR CHILDREN.
MARKHAM, Second Edition. 12mo, 3s.
By MRS.
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Poetry, the Drama, &c.
(Copyright Editions of Lord Byron's Works.)
I.
LORD BYRON'S LIFE, LETTERS, AND
JOURNALS. BY THOMAS MOORE. New Library Edition.
Plates. 6 vols. fcap. 8vo. 18s.
II.
LORD BYRON'S LIFE, LETTERS, AND
JOURNALS. BY THOMAS Moore. Complete in One
Volume. New and cheaper edition. Portraits. Royal 8vo.
III.
LORD BYRON'S POETICAL WORKS.
Pocket Edition. Vignettes, 10 vols. 18mo, 2s. 6d. each.
IV.
LORD BYRON'S
BYRON'S POETICAL WORKS.
New Library
With all the Notes and Illustrations.
Edition. Plates. 10 vols. fcap. 8vo. 30s.
POETRY, THE DRAMA, &c.
V.
LORD BYRON'S POETICAL WORKS.
Complete in One Volume. New and Cheaper Edition.
Portrait and Vignette. Royal 8vo.
VI.
LORD BYRON'S CHILDE HAROLD.
New Edition. Illustrated with Portrait and 60 Vignette
Engravings. 8vo. 21s.
VII.
1. MANFRED.
2. MARINO FALIERO.
3. HEAVEN AND EARTH.
4. SARDANAPALUS.
LORD BYRON'S CHILDE HAROLD.
Vignette. 24mo, 2s. 6d.
VIII.
LORD BYRON'S TALES AND POEMS.
1. GIAOUR.
6. BEPPO.
2. Bride of ABYDOS.
7. MAZEPPA.
3. Corsair.
8. ISLAND.
4. LARA.
9. PARISINA.
5. SIEGE OF CORINTH.
10. PRISONER OF CHILLON.
Vignettes. 2 vols. 24mo, 5s.
IX.
LORD BYRON'S MISCELLANEOUS
POEMS. Vignettes. 3 vols. 24mo, 7s. 6d.
X.
LORD BYRON'S DRAMAS.
5. Two FoSCARI.
6. DEPORMEd Transformed.
7. CAIN.
8. WERNER.
Vignettes. 2 vols. 24mo, 5s
I.
No edition of LORD BYRON'S WORKS is
COMPLETE, except it be published by MR. MURRAY,
he alone being sole proprietor of all Copyright.
REV. GEORGE CRABBE'S LIFE AND
POETICAL WORKS, with all the Notes and Illustra-
tions. Copyright and Cheaper Edition. Plates. 8 vols.
fcap. 8vo. 24s.
II.
CRABBE'S
LIFE AND POEMS. Com-
plete in One Volume. New and Cheaper Edition. Por-
trait and Vignette. Royal 8vo.
III.
POPE'S LIFE AND POETICAL WORKS.
A New Edition, with Notes, an Original Life, and more
than One Hundred Unpublished Letters of Pope and his
contemporaries. Edited by MR. CROKER. Portraits. 8vo.
9
IV.
SPECIMENS OF THE BRITISH POETS.
BY THOMAS CAMPBELL. One Volume. Royal 8vo, 15s.
"Rich in exquisite examples of English poetry, and
suggestive of delightful thoughts beyond any volume in the
language."-Atlas.
V.
BISHOP HEBER'S POETICAL WORKS.
Fourth Edition. Portrait. Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
"Bishop Heber has taken a graceful station among the
favoured bards of the day."-Literary Gazette.
VI.
DEAN MILMAN'S POETICAL WORKS.
Including the Fall of Jerusalem-Samor, Martyr of
Antioch, &c. Second Edition. Plates. 3 vols. fcap.
8vo, 18s.
VII.
ALLAN CUNNINGHAM'S POEMS AND
SONGS. Woodcuts. 24mo, 2s. 6d.
"The works of the most tender and pathetic of the Scot-
tish minstrels, in a cheap and elegant form."-Blackwood.
VIII.
HORACE. A New Edition of the Text.
Edited, with Notes and a Life, by DEAN MILMAN. Illus-
trated with Statues, Gems, Vignettes, &c., chiefly from
the antique. 300 Woodcuts. Medium 8vo, 42s.
IX.
ANCIENT SPANISH BALLADS. Trans-
lated by J. G. LOCKHART. With Titles, Borders, and Wood-
cuts. 4to, 42s.
"A more appropriately as well as beautifully embellished.
volume never was offered to the world."-Edinburgh Review.
X.
REJECTED ADDRESSES. By JAMES and
HORACE SMITH. Twenty-second Edition. Portraits. Fcap.
8vo.
XI.
SPECIMENS OF ITALIAN SONNETS,
From the most celebrated Poets, with Translations. By
Rev. CHARLES STRONG, M.A. 8vo, 6s.
XII.
XI.
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE SWEDISH
LORD BYRON'S DON JUAN. Vignettes. Poems of ESAIAS TEGNER, and from the German of
2 vols. 24mo, 5s.
SCHILLER. By II. DRINKWATER BETHUNE. Post 8vo, 12s.
XIII.
FRAGMENTS FROM GERMAN PROSE
WRITERS. BY SARAH AUSTIN. Post 8vo, 10s.
"A delightful volume."-Athenæum.
10
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Instruction.
WORKS ADAPTED FOR YOUNG PERSONS.
Mrs. Markham's Histories.
I.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
From the First Invasion by the Romans, to the Present
Year's Reign of Queen Victoria. New Edition. Wood-
cuts. 12mo, 7s. 6d.
HISTORY OF FRANCE.
From the Conquest by the Gauls, to the Death of Louis-
Philippe. New Edition. Woodcuts. 12mo, 7s. 6d.
HISTORY OF GERMANY.
From the Invasion by Marius, to the Battle of Leipsic.
Woodcuts. 12mo, 7s. 6d.
HISTORY OF ROME AND GREECE.
Woodcuts. 12mo. In Preparation.
"MRS. MARKHAM'S HISTORIES are constructed on a
plan which we think well chosen, and we are glad to find
that they are so popular, for they cannot be too strongly
recommended, as adapted for youth."- Journal of Edu
cation.
II.
III.
"This skilful performance of Mr. Croker's suggested the
plan of Sir Walter Scott's Tales of a Grandfather.'
Quarterly Review.
"""
V.
LITTLE ARTHUR'S HISTORY OF ENG-
LAND. By Lady CALLCOTT. Fifteenth Edition. Woodcuts.
18mo. 2s. 6d.
FIRST PRINCIPLES OF ALGEBRA. By
"Lady Callcott's style is of the right kind; earnest and Rev. GEORGE FISHER. Third Edition. 18mo, 3s.
simple."-Examiner.
CROKER'S STORIES FOR CHILDREN,
FROM THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
Edition. Woodcuts. 16m10, 5s.
G
ÆSOP'S FABLES.
A New Version, chiefly from Original Sources, by Rev.
THOMAS JAMES. With Woodcuts by JOHN TENNIEL. Post
8vo, 16s.
VI.
"Mr. James has made a judicious selection of the Fables
themselves, and of the version to be taken as his text: his
translation is at once close and free; the wood engravings
are among the triumphs of art."—Spectator.
BERTHA'S JOURNAL DURING A VISIT
IN ENGLAND. With a variety of Information, arranged
for every Day. Seventh Edition. 12mo, 7s. 6d.
"I am reading 'Bertha' with the utmost avidity. I can
scarcely take my attention from this, the best of all juvenile
compilations."-Ren. George Crubbe.
"An excellent little work."-Capt. Basil Hall.
GOSPEL STORIES FOR CHILDREN.
Fourteenth | An attempt to render intelligible the Chief Events of the
Life of Our Saviour. Second Edition. 18mo, 3s. 6d.
VII.
THE HEIRESS IN HER MINORITY;
Or, PROGRESS OF CHARACTER. By the Author of "Bertha's
Journal." 2 vols. 12mo, 18s.
IX.
PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT MADE SCIENCE
IN EARNEST ; or, Natural Philosophy inculcated by the
Toys and Sports of Youth. Sixth Edition. Woodcuts.
Fcap. 8vo, 8s.
"The Author has endeavoured, in the following pages, to
trace the steps by which the power of self-control may be
practically developed in a young and ardent mind when
brought under the influence of high and noble motives; and
further, to show how materially the happiness of the indi-
vidual is enlarged by turning it from the selfish indolence
of pride to the active and habitual exercise of the faculties
in endeavouring to acquire useful and varied knowledge."-
Preface.
VIII.
JESSE'S NATURAL HISTORY.
"We know of no other book which so charmingly blends
amusement with instruction. No juvenile book has been
published in our time more entitled to praise."-Examiner.
IV.
CROKER'S PROGRESSIVE GEOGRAPHY
FOR CHILDREN. Fourth Edition. 18mo, ls. 6d.
“The best elementary book on the subject.”—Quarterly In English, French, Italian, and German. For Daily Use.
SENTENCES FROM THE PROVERBS.
Review.
By A LADY. 16mo, 3s. 6d.
"The design of this volume is excellent."-Atlas.
X.
WALKS AND TALKS; A STORY-BOOK
FOR CHILDREN. BY AUNT IDA. Woodcuts. 16mo, 5s.
For Schools. With Anecdotes of the Sagacity and Instinct
of Animals. Seventh Edition. Fcap. 3vo, 6s. 6d.
XI.
LOCKHART'S HISTORY OF THE LATE
WAR: with Sketches of Nelson, Wellington, and
Napoleon. 18mo, 2s. 6d.
XII.
ELEMENTS OF GEOMETRY. By Rev.
GEORGE FISHER, Head Master of Greenwich Naval
Schools. Third Edition. 18mo, 3s.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
SERMONS FOR CHILDREN.
By MRS. MARKHAM. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 3s.
XVI.
XVII.
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS. Translated for
Family Reading, and illustrated with 600 Woodcuts, by
HARVEY. Third Edition. 5 vols. Post 8vo, 18s.
XVIII.
THE FAIRY RING;
A Collection of TALES and STORIES for Young Persons.
With Illustrations by RICHARD DOYLE. Second Edition.
Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
"Rare news for young people-whole sacksful of new
fairy lore. Nicely illustrated by Mr. Richard Doyle, who
has lived a long time in Fairy Land, and knows all about
it."-Examiner.
"Three dozen legends, many among them pointed with
that humorous wisdom which none appreciate better than
children, make up a month's entertainment of charming
quality."-Athenæum.
XIX.
PUSS IN BOOTS; SUITED to the tastes of
LITTLE and GROWN CHILDREN. BY OTTO SPECKTER. With
Illustrations. 16m0, 5s.
"Twelve designs full of excellent humour."-Examiner.
"Complete pictures, and tell the story with dramatic
force."-Spectutur.
XX.
THE CHARMED ROE; or, THE STORY OF THE
LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER. BY OTTO SPECKTER. With
Illustrations. 16mo, 58.
"A book for kindly remembrances."-Literary Gazette.
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-School Books, &c.
CLASSICAL AND SCHOOL BOOKS.
Dr. Smith's Dictionaries.
I.
A NEW CLASSICAL DICTIONARY FOR
THE USE OF SCHOOLS. Edited by WM. SMITH, LL.D.
One volume 8vo, 21s.
II.
A DICTIONARY OF ANTIQUITIES FOR
THE USE OF SCHOOLS. Abridged from the larger
work. With 200 Woodcuts. 16mo, 10s. 6d.
"Drawn up in a clear and concise style, and weeded of
those references and speculative matters which tend so
much to confuse the student who is not far advanced. It is
a most valuable addition to our school literature."-Cum-
bridge Chronicle.
III.
IV.
DICTIONARY OF GREEK AND ROMAN
BIOGRAPHY AND MYTHOLOGY. 3 vols. 8vo, 5l. 158. 6d.
"The only Classical Dictionary with any pretensions to
the name, in our language; and, as such, it must form part
of the library of every student who desires to become ac-
quainted with the mind of antiquity."-Athenæum.
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries.
DICTIONARY OF GREEK AND ROMAN | Third Edition. 8vo. 14s.
ANTIQUITIES. Second Edition, revised and enlarged.
With 500 Woodcuts. Royal 8vo. 21. 2s.
""
A work much wanted, will be invaluable to the young
student, and as a book of reference will be most acceptable
on the library table of every scholar."- Quarterly Review.
I.
11.
A COMPLETE LATIN-ENGLISH AND
ENGLISH-LATIN DICTIONARY, For the use of Col-
leges and Schools. Chiefly from the German. By the
Rev. J. E. RIDDLE, M.A. New Edition, corrected and
enlarged. 8vo, 31s. 6d. The two Dictionaries separatety:
-The English-Latin Dictionary, 10s. 6d. ; the Latin-Eng-
lish Dictionary, 21s.
III.
THE YOUNG SCHOLAR'S LATIN-ENG-
LISH AND ENGLISH-LATIN DICTIONARY; being an
abridgment of" The Complete Latin Dictionary." By the
Rev. J. E. RIDDLE, M.A. New Edition, corrected and
enlarged. Square 12ino, 12s. The two Dictionaries sepa-
rately:-The Latin-English Dictionary, 7s.; the English-
Latin Dictionary, 5s. 6d.
IV.
1.
HORACE. A NEW EDITION OF THE TEXT.
Edited, with a Life. By DEAN MILMAN. With 300
Vignettes from the Antique. 8vo, 42s.
V.
DIAMOND LATIN-ENGLISH DICTION-
ARY. A Guide to the Meaning, Quality, and Accentuation
of Latin Classical Words. By the Rev. J. E. RIDDLE. New
Edition. Royal 32mo, 4s.
II.
ANTHOLOGIA POLYGLOTTA; Ов, A
SELECTION OF VERSIONS, chiefly from the Greek Antho-
logy. By REV. HENRY WELLESLEY, D.D. 8vo, 15s.
III.
MULLER'S DORIANS; Translated by TUF-
NELL and LEWIS. Second Edition. Maps. 2 vols. 8vo, 26s.
IV.
BUTTMAN'S LEXILOGUS; A Critical Ex-
amination of the Meaning and Etymology of Passages
in Greek Writers. Translated, with Notes, by FISHLAKE.
LATIN-ENGLISH LEXICON. A copious Second Edition. 8vo, 9s. each.
and critical Latin-English Lexicon, founded on the Ger-
man-Latin Dictionaries of William Freund. By the Rev.
J. E. RIDDLE, M.A., of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. One
thick volume, post 4to, 50s.
Il
V.
BUTTMAN'S GREEK VERBS; With all
the Tenses-their Formation, Meaning, and Usage, accom-
panied by an Index. Translated, with Notes, by FISHLAKE.
Second Edition. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
۲۱۰
CARMICHAEL'S GREEK VERBS. THEIR
FORMAtions, Irregularities, and DefeCTS. Second Edi-
tion. Post 8vo, 8s. 6d.
VII.
MITCHELL'S PLAYS OF ARISTOPHANES.
With English Notes. 8vo. CLOUDS. 10ɛ.—2. FROGS. 15s.
THEIR
TOMS.
VIII.
THE AGAMEMNON AND CHOEPHORE
OF ESCHYLUS. With Notes, by Rev. Dr. PEILE.
IX.
HASE'S ANCIENT GREEKS;
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE Life, Manners, and Cus-
Translated from the German. Fcap. 8vo, 5s. 6d.
X.
INTRODUCTIONS TO THE GREEK CLAS-
SIC POETS. By H. N. COLERIDGE. Third Edition.
12mo, 5s. 6d.
XI.
OUTLINES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS. BY THOS. B. SHAW. Post 8vo, 12s.
XII.
KING EDWARD Vlth's LATINÆ GRAM-
MATICE RUDIMENTA; or, An Introduction to the
Latin Tongue, for Use of Schools. Seventh Edition.
12mo, 3s. 6d.
XIII.
KING EDWARD VIth's LATIN ACCI-
DENCE; OR, ELEMENTS OF THE LATIN TONGUE,
for the Use of Junior Classes. 12mo, 2s.
XIV.
A COPIOUS AND CRITICAL ENGLISH.
ENGLISH NOTES FOR LATIN ELEGIACS;
LATIN LEXICON. Founded on the German-Latin Dic-designed for early proficients in the Art of Latin Versifica-
tionary of Dr. Charles Ernest Georges. By the Rev. J. E. tion. By Rev. W. OXENHAM. Second Edition. 12mo, 4s.
RIDDLE, M.A., and the Rev. T. KERCHEVER Áknold, M. A.
8vo, 25s.
XV.
A GREEK GRAMMAR FOR SCHOOLS.
MATTHIE by BLOMFIeld. Seventh
Abridged from
Edition, revised by EDWARDS. 12mo, 3s.
XVI.
GREEK ACCIDENCE FOR JUNIOR
CLASSES. Abridged from MATTHIE by BLOMFIELD.
Fourth Edition, revised by EDWARDS. 12mo, 2s.
12
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Art, Science, &c.
ART, SCIENCE, AND MEDICINE.
I.
THE ANATOMY OF EXPRESSION AS
CONNECTED WITH THE FINE ARTS. By the
late SIR CHARLES BELL. Fourth Edition, Plates. Im-
perial 8vo, 21s.
"The artist, the writer of fiction, the dramatist, the man
of taste, will receive the present work with gratitude, and
peruse it with a lively and increasing interest and delight.”
-Christian Remembrancer.
II.
SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY OF
CHRISTIAN ART. BY LORD LINDSAY. 3 vols. 8vo. 31s. 6d.
"As a contribution to the History of Art, Lord Lindsay's
work is unquestionably the most valuable which has yet
appeared in England, and with whatever richness of detail
succeeding writers may illustrate them, the leading lines
of Lord Lindsay's Chart will always henceforth be fol-
lowed."-Quarterly Review.
III.
KUGLER'S HISTORY OF PAINTING-
(ITALIAN SCHOOLS). Edited, with Notes. By SIR
CHARLES EASTLAKE. Second Edition. Illustrated with
100 Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 21s.
IV.
KUGLER'S HISTORY OF PAINTING-
(GERMAN, FLEMISH, AND
AND DUTCH SCHOOLS).
Edited, with Notes, by SIR EDMUND HEAD. Post 8vo, 12s.
V.
HISTORY OF PAINTING (SPANISH
AND FRENCH SCHOOLS). By SIR EDMUND HEAD. Post
8vo, 12s.
"These volumes present us with a view of the schools of
painting, and we recommend them as very candid and
excellent productions.”—Literary Gazette.
VI.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LITERATURE
OF THE FINE ARTS. BY SIR CHARLES EASTLAKE.
8vo. 12s.
VII.
AN ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF THE ARTS OF
THE MIDDLE AGES. By the Monk THEOPHILUS.
Translated, with Notes, by ROBERT HENDRIE. 8vo, 21s.
"Mr. Hendrie has done good service to this class of lite-
rature, by the publication of this work."- Spectator.
VIII.
THE ARTS OF PAINTING IN OIL AND
ON GLASS, and other styles described in several un-
published Manuscripts. With Notes by Mrs. MERRIFIELD.
2 vols. 8vo, 24s.
IX.
HISTORY OF MODERN POTTERY
AND PORCELAIN. By JOSEPH MARRYAT. With Plates
and Woodcuts. 8vo, 31s. 6d., or India Proof, mounted on
large paper, 4to.
X.
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE;
or, An Enquiry into the Romanesque and Pointed Styles,
with Notices of some of the principal Buildings on which.
it is founded. By THOMAS INKERSLEY. 8vo, 12s.
XI.
CORRESPONDENCE OF JAMES WATT,
ON HIS DISCOVERY OF THE THEORY OF THE COMPOSITION OF
WATER. By J. P. MUIRHEAD. Portrait. 8vo, 10s. 6d.
XII.
THE ECONOMY OF MACHINERY AND
MANUFACTURES. BY CHARLES BABBAGE.
By Fourth
Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 6s.
XIII.
NINTH BRIDGEWATER TREATISE.
By CHARLES BABBAGE. Second Edition. 8vo, 9s. 6d.
XIV.
TABLE OF THE LOGARITHMS OF THE
NATURAL NUMBERS from 1 to 108000. By Charles
BABBAGE. Second Edition. Royal 8vo, 6s.
XV.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. BY MARY
SOMERVILLE. 3rd Edition. Portrait. 2 vols. Fcap. 8vo, 12s.
'We have followed Mrs. Somerville through her intellec-
tual journey over the globe, delighted and improved by her
instruction."-North British Review.
"C
XVI.
THE CONNEXION OF THE PHYSICAL
SCIENCES. By MARY SOMERVILLE. Eighth Edition.
Plates. Fcap. 8vo, 10s. 6d.
"Should be placed in the hands of every youth the
moment he has mastered the general rudiments of educa-
tion."-Quarterly Review.
XVII.
A MANUAL OF SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY,
Prepared for the Use of Officers and Travellers. Edited
by Sir J. HERSCHELL, Bart. 2nd Edition. Maps. Post 8vo.
"Although the Manual is only a series of Instructions as
to what points an enquirer should direct his attention to,
and how he should record what he observes, it will not only
be found an admirable book for its express object, but may
be used advantageously by all travellers, and perused with
interest at home.”—Spectator.
XVIII.
HUMBOLDT'S COSMOS. A Physical De-
scription of the Universe. Translated by COL. and Mrs.
SABINE, Seventh Edition. 3 vols. Post 8vo.
"Here we have the authorised edition' translated at
the wish of the author, who has, moreover, read a great
portion of the proof-sheets."—Spectator.
IN
XIX.
HUMBOLDT'S ASPECTS OF NATURE
DIFFERENT LANDS AND IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES.
Translated by COL. and Mrs. SABINE. 2 vols. Post 8vo, 5s.
"The only English translation which is recognised as
authentic by the distinguished author.”—Medical Guzette.
XX.
FACTS TO ASSIST THE MEMORY, IN
VARIOUS SCIENCES. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 6s. 6d.
XXI.
NAVAL GUNNERY ; FOR OFFICERS AND
SEAMEN GUNNERS. By SIR HOWARD DOUGLAS, Bart.
3rd Edition. With Descriptions of the New Guns intro-
duced since the War. Plates. 8vo.
XXII.
ON PRACTICAL SURVEYING WITHOUT
INSTRUMENTS. By G. D. BURR, of Sandhurst. Second
Edition. Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d.
XXIII.
BRITISH ASSOCIATION REPORTS.
YORK and OXFORD, 1831-32, 13s. 6d. CAMBRIDGE, 1833, 12s.
Edinburgh, 1834, 15s. DUBLIN, 1835, 138. 6d. BRISTOL,
1836, 12s. LIVERPOOL, 1837, 16s. 6d. NEWCASTLE, 1838,
15s. BIRMINGHAM, 1839, 13s. 6d. GLASGOW, 1840, 15s.
PLYMOUTH, 1841, 13s. 6d. MANCHESTER, 1842, 10s. 6d. CORK,
1843, 12s. YORK, 1844, 20s. CAMBRIDGE, 1845, 12s.
SOUTHAMPTON, 1846, 15s. OXFORD, 1847, 188. SWANSEA,
1848, 9s.
1848, 9s. 8vo.
XXIV
SIR JAMES CLARK ON THE SANATIVE
INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE. Fourth Ed. l'ost 8vo,10s.6d.
XXV.
SIR HENRY HALFORD'S ESSAYS.
Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 6s. 6d.
XXVI.
DR. MAYO ON THE PATHOLOGY OF
THE HUMAN MIND. Fcap. 8vo, 5s. 6d.
XXVII.
DR. ABERCROMBIE ON DISEASES OF
THE STOMACH. Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 6s.
XXVIII.
DR. GOOCH ON THE MOST IMPORTANT
DISEASES OF WOMEN. Second Edition. 8yo, 12s.
XXIX.
DR. FERGUSON'S ESSAYS ON
PUERPERAL FEVER. Post 8vo, 9s. 6d.
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.—General Literature.
I.
HISTORY
LITERARY
OF EUROPE.
BY HENRY HALLAM. Third Edition. 3 vols. 8vo, 36s.
"The most important contribution to literary history
which English libraries have received for many years."-
Edinburgh Review.
III.
GENERAL LITERATURE.
ENGLAND: Political, Social, and Industrial,
in the middle of the 19th Century. By WM. JOHNSTON.
2 vols. Post 8vo.
IV.
XX.
THE STORY OF
OF THE BATTLE OF
11.
A HISTORY OF SPANISH LITERATURE, WATERLOO. By Rev. G. R. GLEIG. Post 8vo, 6s.
XXI.
With Criticisms and Biographical Notices. By GEORGE
TICKNOR. 3 vols. 8vo, 42s.
V.
VI.
STOKERS AND POKERS,-HIGH-WAYS
AND DRY-WAYS; or, THE RAILROAD, ELECTRIC TELE-
GRAPH, and CONWAY TUBULAR BRIDges. By AUTHOR of
"BUBBLES." Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
VII.
LAVENGRO, THE SCHOLAR, THE
AND THE PRIEST. By GEORGE BOrrow.
3 vols. post 8vo.
THE DEFENCELESS STATE OF GREAT SIR ROBERT SALE'S BRIGADE IN
BRITAIN. BY SIR FRANCIS HEAD, Bart. Post 8vo, 12s. | AFFGHANISTAN. By Rev. G. R. GLEIG. Post 8vo, 2s.6d.
XXIV.
THE WAYSIDE CROSS.
THE EMIGRANT.
Tale of the
BY SIR FRANCIS B. HEAD. Fifth Edition. Post 8vo, 12s. | Carlist War. By Capt. E. A. MILMAN. Post 8vo, 2s. 6d.
XXV.
VIII.
REMARKABLE CRIMES AND TRIALS.
From the German. By Lady DUFF GORDON. 8vo, 12s.
"Forms the most interesting specimen existing in our
language."-Law Magazine.
GIPSY,
Portrait.
IX.
HORTENSIUS. An Historical Essay on the
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XXIX.
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13
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XXXVI.
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14
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF BOOKS.-Natural History, Sporting, &c.
NATURAL HISTORY, SPORTING, &c.
I.
PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY; or, The
Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants. By
SIR CHARLES LYELL. Eighth Edition. Woodcuts. 8vo, 18s.
"Should be read by every one who takes an interest
in this rising branch of Natural History."-Jameson's
Journal.
II.
A MANUAL OF ELEMENTARY GEO-
LOGY; or, The Ancient Changes of the Earth and its
Inhabitants. By SIR CHARLES LYELL. Third Edition,
revised. Woodcuts. 1 vol. 8vo.
III.
GEOLOGY OF RUSSIA IN EUROPE AND
THE URAL MOUNTAINS. By SIR R. MURCHISON,
G.C.S. With Coloured Map, Tables, Woodcuts, &c,
2 vols. royal 4to, 87. 8s.
"The impulse given to geology by the publication of the
'Silurian System,' cannot be too highly appreciated. The
author at once took his place in the foremost rank of geo-
logists. But his energy did not permit him to rest satisfied
with the accomplishment of so noble a labour. Determined
to compare and confirm, he followed out in foreign lands
the research which he had so successfully commenced at
home. Many admirable memoirs have resulted from bis
excursions; but the crowning triumph is the great work
before us."-Athenæum.
IV.
THE GEOLOGY OF THE YORKSHIRE
COAST AND THE MOUNTAIN-LIMESTONE DIS-
TRICT. By JOHN PHILLIPS. Plates. 2 vols. 4to, 84s.
Y.
THE INVISIBLE WORLD, AS REVEALED
BY THE MICROSCOPE; or, THOUGHTS ON ANIMALCULES
By G. A. MANTELL. Second Edition. Plates. 16mo. 6s.
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mendable. There is no branch of science more interesting,
none whose revelations are more wonderful, than that
which unfolds the forms and nature of minute creatures.
Dr. Mantell's idea is a happy one."- Chambers's Journal.
VI.
JOURNAL OF A NATURALIST.
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outlines of a new system of classification, capable of effect-
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effected for botany. It is a work which must necessarily
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VII.
NATURAL SYSTEM OF PLANTS; or,
A POPULAR INTRODUCTION TO BOTANY. BY MRS. LOUDON.
Second Edition. Woodcuts. Fcap. 8vo, 6s.
"To any one who wishes to comprehend the names and
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mended."-Spectator.
VIII.
IX.
THE CHASE-THE TURF-AND THE ROAD.
By NIMROD. Plates. New Edition. Post 8vo, 6s.
MUCK MANUAL FOR FARMERS.
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"A valuable work for farmers." British Farmer's
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X.
FIELD SPORTS OF FRANCE; or, Hunting,
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XI.
FIELD NOTES OF A SPORTSMAN AND
NATURALIST IN SUTHERLAND. By CHARLES ST.
JOHN. Woodcuts. 2 vols. post 8vo, 18s.
XII.
WILD SPORTS AND NATURAL HISTORY
OF THE HIGHLANDS. BY CHARLES ST. JOHN.
8vo, 6s.
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Next to Mr. Scrope's Days of Deer-Stalking, and Salmon-
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agreeably on those subjects than Mr. St. John.”—Times.
"The descriptions are worthy of Scott, from their clear-
Post
XIII.
THE ROCKS AND RIVERS OF SCOTLAND,
Containing Angling, Eagle Shooting, Wild Goat Stalking,
&c. By JOHN COLQUHOUN. Post 8vo, 6s. 6d.
"This book belongs to a class of which recent years have
given us what is now almost a little library. Mr. Colquhoun,
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we believe, was the first (with one exception) who occupied
cessful cultivator. He enjoys one great advantage over
nearly all his compeers, in that he is native, and to the
manner born.'”— Edinburgh Evening Courant.
XIV.
DAYS OF DEER-STALKING IN THE
FOREST OF ATHOLL. BY WILLIAM SCROPE, F.L.S.
Third Edition. Woodcuts. Crown 8vo, 20s.
"Brief and imperfect as the preceding abstract is, we
think that it will fully justify the high praise we have
bestowed on this work, and induce our readers to sit down
Edinburgh Review.
to the luxurious repast from which we have risen."-
XV.
`DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON
FISHING IN THE TWEED. By WILLIAM SCROPE,
F.L.S. Plates. Royal 8vo, 42s.
"The fisherman will find in this volume abundance of
instruction in his art; the naturalist a large addition to his
knowledge; and the general reader a fund of adventure and
agreeable and exciting narrative."-The Critic.
XVI.
SALMONIA, OR DAYS OF FLY FISHING.
By SIR HUMPHRY DAVY. Fourth Edition. Woodcuts.
Fcap. 8vo.
XVII.
DOG-BREAKING; the most Expeditious,
Certain, and Easy Method. By LIEUT-COL. HUTCHINSON.
2nd Edition. Woodcuts. Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
"A more opportune, a pleasanter, a more useful book to
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a day. The author is a practical man, and almost every-
thing he writes about dog-breaking may be relied on."-
Bell's Life.
XVIII.
MAXIMS AND HINTS FOR AN ANGLER,
WITH THE MISERIES OF FISHING. By RICHARD
PENN, F.R.S. Second Edition. Plates. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
"C
|
They have the air of novelty, and charm by their preg-
nant brevity, sly sarcasm, and oily raciness."—Quarterly
Review.
MR. MURRAY'S HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY.
A PERMANENT LIBRARY OF ENTERTAINMENT.
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MURRAY'S HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY,
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This Series of attractive and useful works, by approved authors, was designed to furnish the HIGHEST LITERATURE
of the day, at the lowest possible price, and was commenced in consequence of the Acts which had passed the British
Parliament for the protection of Copyright, and the rights of British authors and publishers, by the entire exclusion
both in GREAT BRITAIN and HER COLONIES, of foreign pirated editions; and the volumes have been issued at a price
which places them within the means not only of the Colonists, but also of the less wealthy classes at home, who thus
benefited by the widening of the market for our literature.
The aim of the Publisher has been to produce a Series of Works as entertaining as romances, but conveying at
the same time sound information.
LIST OF WORKS INCLUDED IN THE SERIES.
Vol. 1.
BORROW'S BIBLE IN SPAIN.
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Vols. 2 and 3.
BISHOP HEBER'S JOURNAL IN INDIA. HISTORY OF THE FALL OF THE JESUITS.
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IRBY AND MANGLES' TRAVELS.
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DRINKWATER'S SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR.
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HAY'S MOROCCO AND THE MOORS.
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LETTERS FROM THE BALTIC.
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Vol. 6.
THE AMBER WITCH.
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SOUTHEY'S CROMWELL AND BUNYAN.
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Vol. 7.
MRS. MEREDITH'S NEW SOUTH WALES.
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LIFE OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.
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Vol. 8.
THE COURT OF CHINA. By FATHER RIPA.
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LEWIS'S RESIDENCE IN THE WEST
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INDIES.
Vol. 9.
SKETCHES IN PERSIA. By SIR JOHN
15
MALCOLM.
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Vol. 10.
FRENCH IN ALGIERS.
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Vol. 11.
BRACEBRIDGE HALL.
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Vol. 12. Price 8s. 6d.
DARWIN'S VOYAGE OF A NATURALIST.
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LORD MAHON'S LIFE OF CONDE.
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Vol. 14.
BORROW'S GYPSIES IN SPAIN.
"These singularly attractive pages."-Literary Gazette.
Vol. 15.
THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS.
MANN MELVILLE.
"This book is excellent-quite first-rate."-Blackwood.
C
By HER-
Vol. 16.
LIVONIAN TALES. BY A LADY.
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1.1
THE MISSIONARY IN CANADA.
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Morning Post.
Vol. 17.
SALE'S BRIGADE IN AFFGHANISTAN.
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Morning Chronicle.
LETTERS FROM MADRAS. BY A LADY.
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16
MR. MURRAY'S HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY.
Vol. 18.
Vol. 28.
HIGHLAND SPORTS. BY CHARLES ST. JOHN. GLEIG'S LIFE OF ROBERT LORD CLIVE.
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Morning Post.
Vol. 29.
HAYGARTH'S BUSH LIFE IN AUSTRALIA.
'Descriptive of man, animals, nature, and society."
Spectator.
STEFFENS'S ADVENTURES ON THE
ROAD TO PARIS.
"Original, and amusing in its style and conduct."
Literary Gazette.
Vol. 19.
PAMPAS JOURNEYS. By SIR F. B. HEAD.
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THE TWO SIEGES OF VIENNA.
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Vol. 20.
FORD'S GATHERINGS FROM SPAIN.
"The best book on Spain that has ever appeared."
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SKETCHES OF GERMAN LIFE.
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Vol. 22.
THE SOUTH SEAS. By HERMANN MEL-
VILLE.
"A companion after our own hearts."-Times.
Vol. 23.
GLEIG'S BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
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Vol. 24.
EDWARDS'S VOYAGE UP THE AMAZON.
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WAYSIDE CROSS. By CAPTAIN MILMAN.
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Vol. 25.
ACLAND'S POPULAR ACCOUNT OF
INDIA.
"Must interest all who have friends in India.
""
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GLEIG'S CAMPAIGNS AT WASHINGTON.
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Vol. 26.
RUXTON'S ADVENTURES IN MEXICO.
"Full of interest and adventure.”—Athenæum.
CARNARVON.
66
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Vol. 30.
TALES OF A TRAVELLER. BY WASHINGTON
IRVING.
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Literary Gazette.
Vol. 31.
CAMPBELL'S LIVES OF THE BRITISH
POETS.
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poetry."-Sun.
Vol. 32.
LORD MAHON'S HISTORICAL ESSAYS.
Selected from Contributions to the Quarterly Review.
Vol. 33.
STOKERS AND POKERS, HIGH-WAYS
AND DRY-WAYS.
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Examiner.
Vol. 27.
PORTUGAL AND GALLICIA. By LORD IRVING.
Vol. 34.
LADY.
THE LIBYAN DESERT. By BAYLE ST. JOHN.
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Morning Herald.
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Vol. 35.
GLEIG'S LIFE OF SIR THOMAS MUNRO.
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?
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MEMOIRS OF SIR FOWELL BUXTON.
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Vol. 37.
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G
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The "HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY" having been sustained during a period of Six years with unabated
success, Mr. Murray, anxious to guard against the objection of overloading the subscribers with too large and
cumbrous a series of books of one size, decided on concluding the work with its thirty-seventh volume. He is thus
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to be impaired by lapse of time.
At the same time, the large circulation of the "Home and Colonial Library," and the continued demand for back
numbers, convince him that there is an unabated desire on the part of the public for reading, at once cheap, popular,
and instructive; he is therefore preparing speedily to put forth a New Library, which, though equally portable, shall
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general attraction.
Uniform with the above Series.
HUMBOLDT'S COSMOS. (Sabine's authorised Edition.) 3 vols. post 8vo.
HUMBOLDT'S ASPECTS OF NATURE. (Sabine's authorised Edition.) 2 vols. post 8vo.
219
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