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 XXXVII. (Book 37)

Of the French Ambassador's, the Ma∣reschal d'Estrades, and Monsieur Colbert's Instructions, to attack Sir William Temple, and Pensioner Fagell, to engage the Prince of Orange into the French Interests, and to promote the Peace.

My Lord,

THis Court have left no Stone unturn'd, neither in England nor Holland, in or∣der to the winning of the Prince of Orange over to their Interests; but they have met with more constancy, in him than could be expected from a young Prince of his years, which has plainly manifested him to be an Inheritor as well of the Vertues, as of the Fortune of his great Ancestors; and when they found there was nothing to be done with him directly by any of their own Emissaries, they resolved to attack him in the most sensible part, by the Ministry of two persons whom they knew he as much valued as any other on this side, and they were the English Ambassador Sir William

Temple, and Monsieur Fagell Pensionary of Holland. Their Agents, in this hopeful bu∣siness, were Monsieur Colbert, and the Ma∣reschal d'Es••rades, their Plenipotentiaries for the Treaty of Nimeguen, who quickly began their attack upon Sir William, accord∣ing to the Instructions I find they had given them.

I. To insinuate slily, what a value the French King their Master had for his Person and Character; and that therefore during the course of the Negotiation they were to enter upon, they had Orders to make their application to him; That they knew how much he was in the confi∣dence of the King his Master, and of his chief Ministers, and therefore how filly qualified he was to put the finishing-stroke to a Treaty he had had the greatest hand to set on foot, and of which he must needs reap all the Glory; That he might reckon very much upon the facility of the King their Master in that weighty Affair, but yet so far still as to have a just regard had to the great Successes of his Arms during the War.

II. They were to make a Mien of their being fully possest of the States great for∣wardness to strike up a Peace, which

their Allies must comply with, tho' they might for a time retard it; That there∣fore the only way they could see for to give Europe Tranquillity, was for the Prince of Orange to interpose his Autho∣rity, which was so great with all the Allies, that they were very well satisfied in their willingness to agree to whatever terms he should be resolved on, in pro∣posing the Peace: That therefore in or∣der to bring that grand affair to an hap∣py and sudden issue, it was their Opinion, there was no other or better way for it, than for his Highness first privately to agree with France upon the Conditions, and what each Party's Proposition should be; and when that was once done, after∣terwards, in the course of the Treaty, which was to be supposed, could not spin out to any great length of time, then to draw all matters by concert together to the scope agreed upon between them.

III. To seem very confident this Me∣thod would do; but that if it should so happen that the unreasonable pretences of the Allies should obstruct or delay a Ge∣neral Peace, that then the Prince might make use of the usual Temper of the States to bring it to a sudden issue, and make a separate Peace; that if the Prince pursued this method, it would be in his

power to do great things for himself and his Family, for which they were to pro∣duce as many instances as they could of parallel cases; And that as for what con∣cerned the Prince's own personal Advan∣tages and Interests, the King their Ma∣ster had given them full power to assure him, That he might set down his own Conditions, and they should be accep∣ted.

IV. That tho' they had many others to, make these Overtures to his Highness, some whereof they were also darkly to intimate, yet that they were to pursue their Master's Orders, which was to apply themselves to none but to him, if he thought fit to charge himself with it; That they were very sensible of the Credit and Con∣fidence he was in with his Highness, and how much deference he had to his Judg∣ment in what concerned the publick In∣terests of the Allies at that time, as well as his own; and that if he would effe∣ctually espouse that Affai••, he might reck∣on upon what he pleas'd himself from the Generosity of the King their Master, whose constant Character it was, never to let the least Merit go unrewarded.

But if it should so fall out, that Sir William proved stiff in the matter, as it

seems he did by the sequel, they were to turh the same Batteries upon Pensioner Fagel, with a variation of Phrase, and Com∣plement agreeable to the Person and Cir∣cumstances, and more especially to try what the force of the French Pistols might effect that way; And if so be matters were carried so far as that the Prince was found to give any ear to it, then he was to be rounded briskly what mighty things the French King would do for him in relation to his future Greatness both in England and Holland; That for his Prin∣cipality of Orange, he should have it resto∣red to him again, or such a compensa∣tion nigher Home, as he would reckon on himself; as also for his Lands in Burgundy, and any other Losses, Damages, &c. Nay, they were ordered to offer him a very large annual Pension, if he would have complied: But half these things were ne∣ver actually Proposed, because the said two Ministers, and the Prince himself more than any, were as so many 〈…〉〈…〉, for they would not so much 〈◊〉〈◊〉 hearken to the Voice of those dangerous Charmers; A rare Instance, My Lord, to withstand such great Temptations, and not to be parallell'd perhaps in any other young Prince of our Age, as it was indeed also in the two Ministers, many of which En∣gland, at this time, is not over-fruit∣ful

of; I wish it were, our Affairs would have been in a better posture than I hear they are, and I dread much worse to come. I pray God avert it, and pre∣serve your Lordship from all Dangers, which shall ever be upon the Heart of,

My Lord,

Your Lordship's Most Humble and Most Obedient Servant.

Paris, Octob. 19. 1678.