The secret history of White-Hall, from the restoration of Charles II down to the abdication of the late K. James writ at the request of a noble lord, and conveyed to him in letters, by ̲̲̲late secretary-interpreter to the Marquess of Louvois, who by that means had the perusal of all the private minutes between England and France for many years : the whole consisting of secret memoirs, which have hitherto lain conceal'd, as not being discoverable by any other hand / publish'd from the original papers, by D. Jones, gent.

LETTER XI. (Book 11)

Of the Pervertion of the Prince of Tarent, Mareschal Turenne, &c. to the Ro∣mish Religion, about the Year 1669.

My Lord,

FRance, as I have informed your Lordship in my last, having invited her Subjects of the Reformed Religion home out of all quar∣ters, the Prince of Tarent, who had been settled several Years in the United Provinces, and possest of great Employments, quitted their Service thereupon, and returned to his Native Country, where he had not been long arrived, but he was Charmed into the Popish Religion, and all his Children, (sa∣ving one Daughter, afterward Married to the Prince of Oldenburg) following his Ex∣ample; This they looked upon as a good step, but what gave them a mighty accession of strength, as much as it was a diminution of the Power of the Reformed, was their gain∣ing of Mareschal Turenne to their Church, who, because so considerable a Person, and so famed for a great Captain, I shall recount unto your Lordship all that ever I could learn in relation to him upon this account. It's true, the Mareschal never did appear

to be a Person very Zealous for his Religion; but as he had from time to time given some Proofs of his Constancy, it was attributed to the Coldness of his Temper, which made him Calm enough in all things; but that Constancy that appear'd in him for a time, was attributed afterwards to other Causes, and primarily to the ascendency his Wife and Sisters had over him, his Lady being Daughter to the Duke De la Force, and a Person of Exemplary Piety, keeping of him steady in his Profession whilst she lived, and his Eldest Sister the Marchioness De Duras, al∣ways encouraging of him to be constant; and so Zealous she was, that she began to breed up one of her younger Sons, with a Design to make him a Minister, but that De∣sign not succeeding, & that Person going over very Young into Engl. has been since, as your Lordship well knows, advanced to Honour in the Kingdom. The youngest Sister the Dut∣chess of Trimonill never failed also of her Du∣ty towards the Mareschal in that kind. That the Marshal had been often tempted to change his Religion, is manifest; Cardinal Mazarine who had a great Opinion of him, made him many suggred Promises if he would come o∣ver; when the Dauphine was Born, he had Intimations given him, that he might one day be made his Governour, but that did not move him neither; the last Effort that was made upon him, was by the King him∣self

at the beginning of the Campaign in Flanders, in the Year 1667. when he pro∣mised him a share in all his Secrets, and higher degrees of Command, if so be he would Embrace the Communion of the Church of Rome, but this had the same suc∣cess upon him with the rest, and the Mares∣chal acted his part with so much sted fastness, and in so Noble a manner, that the King took no Displeasure thereat; and for this the Church at Charenton returned Publick Thanks to God, who had inspired him with such laudable Constancy, but without na∣ming of him, but some time after that Peace was concluded, when there was no more talk of him upon that Score, he entred into the Roman Communion, and it was given out he did it voluntarily, and of his own accord, and I could ne'er learn by whose Instigation it was done, or what were the true Rea∣sons that brought him to it, but however it was, this Change of his was attended with important Consequence, which did appear in due time; and this is all I could remark or learn concerning this Illustrious Person, on∣ly that he Abjured his Heresie (as they call it) in Notre-Dame, in presence of the Arch∣bishop of Paris; and so concludes,

My Lord,

Your Lordship's most Humble Servant.

Paris; May 31. 1676. N. St.