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Made English by several Eminent Hands.
My Lord,
I Am satisfy'd, that you old Cardinals take more Authority upon you, than those of the last Promotion; because having written many Letters to you, without receiving one from you, yet you complain of my Neglect. In the mean
time, seeing so many well-bred Men, who assure me that you do me too much Honour to think of me at all; and that I am bound to write to you, and to give my Acknow∣ledgments, I am resolved to take their Counsel, and to pass over all sorts of Diffi∣culties and Considerations of my own In∣terest. This then will give you to under∣stand, that six Days after the Eclipse, and a Fortnight after my Decease, Madam the Princess, Mademoiselle de Bourbon, Ma∣dam du Vigean, Madam Aubry, Mademoi∣selle de Rambouillet, Mademoiselle Paulet, Monsieur de Chaudebonne, and my self, left Paris about six in the Evening, and went to La Barre, where Madam du Vigean was to give a Collation to the Princess. In our way thither we found nothing worth our Observation; but only that at Ormesson, an English Mastiff came up to the Boot of the Coach, to make his Compliment to me. Be pleased to take this along with you, my Lord, that as often as I express my self in the Plural Number, as for Example, We went, we found, or we beheld, 'tis always to be understood, that I speak in the Qua∣lity of a Cardinal. From thence we hap∣pily arriv'd at La Barre, and enter'd a Hall, were we trod upon nothing but Roses and Orange-flowers. Madam the Princess, af∣ter
she had sufficiently admir'd this Magni∣ficence, had a mind to see the Walks be∣fore Supper: the Sun was then just sitting in a Cloud of Gold and Azure, and gave us no larger a share of his Beams, than to supply a soft and pleasing Light: The Air was not disturb'd either with Wind or Heat; and it seem'd that Heav'n and Earth were conspiring with Madam du Vigean, in her Treating the fairest Princess upon Earth. After she had passed through a great Parterre, and Gardens full of Orange∣trees, she arrived at the Entrance of an enchanted Wood, so thick and shady, that Authors conclude the Sun, since the Day of his Birth, never enter'd it, till now that he waited on her Highness thither. At the end of an Alley, which carried the fight out of distance, we sound a Fountain, which alone cast up a greater Quantity of Water, than all those of Tivoli together; about it were plac'd four and twenty Violins, which had much ado to make themselves be heard, for the rumbling of the Streams in falling: When we were got near e∣nough, we discover'd, in a cetain Nich, within a Pallisade, a Diana, of about ele∣ven or twelve Years of Age, and fairer than the Forests of Greece and Thessaly had ever seen: she bore her Bow and Arrows
in her Eyes, and was encompas'd with all the Glories of her Brother. In another Nich, not far distant, was another Nymph, fair and gentle enough to pass for one of her Train: those who are not given to be∣lieve Fables, took them for Mademoiselles de Bourbon and la Priande; and to confess the Truth, they resembled them exactly. All the Company was in a profound Silence, admiring so many different Objects, which at once astonish'd their Eyes and Ears, when on a sudden the Goddess leapt down from her Nich, and with a Grace, impos∣sible to be describ'd, began a Ball, which lasted for some time about the Fountain. `Twas somewhat strange, my Lord, that in the midst of so many Pleasures, which were sufficient to engage the whole atten∣tion of their Spirits, who enjoy'd them, yet we could not forbear to think of you; and it was generally concluded, that some∣thing was wanting to our Happiness, since neither you, nor Madam de Rambouillet were present. Then I took up a Harp and fung this Spanish Stanza,
Pues quiso mi suerte dura, Que faltando mi sennor Tambien faltasse mi Dama.And continued the rest of the Song so very melodiously, and with such an Air of Sadness,
that there was not one of the Com∣pany, but the Tears came into their Eyes, and they wept abundantly: Their Sorrow had endur'd much longer, had not the Vi∣olins struck up a Sarabrand, with great speed and presence of Mind; upon which the Company got upon their Feet, with as much Gayety, as if nothing in the World had happen'd, and fell into the Dance; thus leaping, capring, turning round, and hopping, we returned to the House, where we found a Table already spread, and serv'd as if it had been serv'd by Fairies. This, my Lord, is one Passage of the Adventure, which is so stupendous that no words are capable of expressing it: For there are neither Colours of Speech, nor Figures in the Art of Rhetoric, which can describe six several sorts of Potages, which were at once presented to the Sight. And what was particularly remarkable, that there being none but Goddesses, and two Demi-Gods at the Table (viz.) Monsieur Chaudebonne and I, yet every one eat as heartily, and with as good Appetites, as if we had been neither more nor less, than plain Mortals. And to confess the truth, a better Treat could not have been pro∣vided. Amongst other things, there were twelve Dishes, besides other Eateables in
disguise, which were never seen before on any Human Table; and whose very Names have never been so much as mention'd in any History. This Circumstance, my Lord, by some disastrous Accident, has been re∣lated to Madam la Mareschalle—, and though immediatly upon it, she took twelve Drams of Opium, beyond her ordi∣nany Dose, yet she has never been able to close her Eyes, from that fatal Moment. During the first Course, there was not so much as one single Cup went round to your Health; the Company was so intent upon the present Affair; and at the Desert, we quite forgot it. I beg your Permission, my Lord, to relate all things as they pass'd, like a faithful Historian as I am, and with∣out Flattery; for I would not for the World, that Posterity should mistake one thing for another; and that at the end of two thousand Years hence, or thereabouts, Posterity should imagine your Health was drunk, when really there was no such thing in nature. Yet I must give this Testimony to Truth, that it was not for want of Me∣mory: For, during all Supper-time, you were often mention'd; all the Ladies wish'd you there, and some of them ve∣ry heartily, or I am much mistaken. As we rose from Table, the sound of the Vio∣lins
summon'd us up Stairs, where we found a Chamber so gloriously lighted up, that it look'd as if the Day, which was now be∣low the Earth, had retired hither, and was assembled in one body of Light. Here the Ball began again, in better Order and with more Grace, than it had been danc'd about the Fountain: And the most Magnificent Part of it, my Lord, was, that I footed it there in Person. Mademoiselle de Bourbon, I must confess, was of opinion, that I danc'd aukwardly; but she concluded, to my advantage, that I must be allowed to Fence well; because, that at the end of every Cadence, I put my self upon my Guard: The Ball continued with much Pleasure till all of a sudden a great Noise, which was heard without Doors, caused the Company to look out at the Windows; where, from a great Wood, which was about three hun∣dred Paces from the House, we beheld so vast a Number of Fire-works issuing out, that we verily believ'd all the Branches and Trunks of the Trees had been metamor∣phos'd into Guns; that all the Stars were falling from the Firmament, and that the Element of Fire was descending into the middle Region of the Air. Here, my Lord, are three Hyperboles tack'd together, which being valued at a moderate Price, are worth
three dozen of Fusees at the least. After we were recover'd out of this great Fit of Ex∣tasie, into which so many Miracles had plung'd us, we resolved on our Departure, and took the way to Paris by the Light of twenty Flambeaux: We pass'd through all the Ormessonnois, and the wide Plains of Espinay, without Resistance, and went through the middle of St. Dennis. Being plac'd in the Coach by the side of Ma∣dam—I said a whole Miserere to her, on your behalf; to which she replied, with much Gallantry, and no less Civility. We sung in our Journey a World of Songs, Roundeaux, Roundelays, Lampoons, and Ballads; and were now half a League be∣yond St. Dennis, it being two a Clock in the Morning precisely; the Fatigue of the Journey, Watching, Walking, and the painful Exercise of the Ball, having made me somewhat heavy, when there happen'd an Accident, which I verily believ'd wou'd have been my total Ruine: There is a cer∣tain little Village, situate, say the Geogra∣phers, betwixt Paris and St. Dennis, and vulgarly call'd, La Valette: At our going out of this Place, we overtook three Coach∣es, in which were those Numerical Violins which had been playing to us. Hereupon, Sathan entring into the Spirit of Mademoi∣selle,
she commanded them to follow us, and to give Serenades all Night long to the poor innocent People of Paris, who were asleep and dreamt not of her Malice: This Diabolical Proposition made my Hair rise an end upon my Head; yet all the Compa∣ny pass'd a Vote in Favour of it; and the word was just ready to be given, but by a signal Providence, they had left their Vio∣lins behind them at la Barre; for which the Lord reward them. From hence, my Lord, you may reasonably conclude, that Made∣moiselle is a dangerous Person in the Night, if ever there was any in the World: and that I had great reason at Madam—'s House to say, that the Violins ought to be turn'd out of Doors, when that pestilent Lady was in Company. Well, we conti∣nued our way happily enough, but only that as we enter'd the Fauxbourgh, we met six lusty Fellows, as naked as ever they were born, who passed directly by the Coach, to the terror of the Ladies. In fine, We arrived at Paris; and what I am now going to relate, is indeed prodigious: Cou'd you imagine it, my Lord? the Obscurity was so great, that it cover'd all that vast City; and instead of what we left it, not full seven Hours before, fill'd with Noise, and with a Crowd of Men, Women, Hor∣ses,
and Coaches; we now found nothing but a deep Silence, a dismal Desart, a frightful Solitude, dispeopled Streets, not meeting with any Mortal Man, but only certain Animals, who fled from the Lustre of our Torches. But the remaining part of the Adventure, you shall have, my Lord, another time. As Boyando tells you,
Qui e il sin del Canto; e torno ad Orlando, Adio Signor, a voi me raccomando.
Madam,
SO great a Misfortune as mine, wanted no less Consolation than that which I lately received from you; and I look'd on your Letter, as a Pardon which Heav'n granted me after my Sentence: I can call by no other name, the News which o∣blig'd me to return to this Place, and I can assure you that Sentence of Death is often∣times less rigorous. But since, in the midst of all my Misfortunes, I have the Honour
to be remember'd by you, to complain would be ill-becoming of me: for methinks he may dispence with the Favours of For∣tune, who is happy enough to obtain yours. This is the Reason that I shall make use of to comfort my self, for the Necessity of re∣maining here, and not that which you urg'd in yours, That it is better to be an Exile in a Foreign Land, than to be a Prisoner in one's own Country: For, alas! you know but one half of my Misery, if you are not convinc'd that I am both together; and if you judge of the Matter rightly, you will find that a thing, which seems very incon∣sistent, is to be found in me, which is to be banish'd from the same Person by whom I am kept a Prisoner. You will find it diffi∣cult to interpret this Riddle, unless you call to mind, that I have always been us'd to mingle a Dram of Love in my Letters: For, if as you say, I am allow'd some Li∣berty here, of which I should be depriv'd in France; I beseech you let it be that of assuring you, that there is a great deal of Passion mix'd with the Affection which I express for your Service. I should indeed be Ungrateful, if I should discover but an ordinary Friendship for a Person who does such extraordinary Things for me; and I am obliged to fall in love at least with your
Generosity. I have been acquainted what Care a Gentleman and a Lady has taken to enquire of my Welfare, which is an ad∣ditional Obligation to one whom they had extremely oblig'd before. For all the rest, they have seem'd buried in so profound a Silence, that for six Months together I have heard not the least mention of them. Whe∣ther this comes from their Forgetfulness or from their Prudence, I am unable to deter∣mine: Yet Forgetfulness may be allow'd an Excuse for Silence, but a dumb Remem∣brance is without Defence. I leave you to conclude, Madam, how much Lustre this reflects upon what you have done for me, and how much I am oblig'd to you for a long Letter at a time, when others have been afraid to send me their Service. There∣fore let me assure you, that tho' I am un∣able to make suitable Returns to such Good∣ness, I esteem it at least, and extol it as it deserves, and that I am as much as a Man can possibly be,
Madam,
yours, &c.
I Writ to you ten or twelve Days ago, and return'd you Thanks for the two Letters, which I have at length received from you. If you were but sensible of the Satisfaction they brought with them, you would be sorry for not having writ to me oftner, and for not frequently repeating the Consolation, of which I had so much need. Madrid, which is the agreeablest Place in the World, for those who at once are Lusty and Libertines, is the most disconsolate, for those who are Regular, or those who are Indisposed. And in Lent, which is the Players Vacation, I do not know so much as one Pleasure that a Man can enjoy with Conscience. My Melancholy here, and my want of Company have produc'd a good Effect in me; for they have reconcil'd me to Books, which I had for a time forsaken; and being able to meet with no other Plea∣sures, I have been forc'd to taste and to re∣lish that of Reading: Prepare then to see me a Philosopher as great as your self; and consider how fast a Man must come on, who for seven whole Months has studied, or has been sick: For if one of the chief Things that Philosophy aims at, is a Con∣tempt
of Life; the Stone-colick is certainly the best of Masters, and Plato and Socrates persuades us less efficaciously. It has lately read me a Lecture, that lasted seventeen Days, and which I shall not quickly forget; and which has often made me consider how very feeble we are, since three Grains of Sand, are sufficient to cast us down. But if it deter∣mines me to any Sect, it shall not at least be that which maintains that Pain is not an Evil; and that he who is Wise is at all times Happy. But whatever befals me, I can neither be Happy nor Wise, without being near to you, and nothing can make me one or the other, so much as your Presence or your Example. Yet am I very uncertain when I shall be able to leave this Place, and expecting both Money and Men, which are coming by Sea, and which are two things that do not always keep touch with us; I apprehend my remaining here longer than I could wish; therefore I make it my humble Request to you, That you would not forget me so long as you have done, and that you would testifie, by doing me the Honour of Writing to me, that you are convinc'd of the real Affection with which
I am yours, &c.
Sir,
You ought to give me time to recover our Tongue, before you oblige me to write to you: For it appears to me to be something absurd, that I, who have been now so long a Foreigner, and but just come from breathing the Air of Barbary, should presume to expose my Letters, to one of the most eloquent Men in France. This Consideration has kept me silent till now. But tho' I forbear to answer your Challen∣ges, I cannot refuse to return your Civili∣ties: By these you have found a way to vanquish me, in spight of all my Evasions: In my present Condition it is more reputa∣ble to you, to Conquer me this way, than to overcome me by Force: You would have acquir'd but small Glory by vigorously at∣tacking a Man, who is already driven to Extreamity, and to whom Fortune has given so many Blows, that the least may fatisfie to over-whelm him. Amidst the Darkness in which she hath plac'd us, we can have no Defence; but here all our Art and our Skill in Parring are useless. The Case perhaps might be otherwise, if you had set before my Eyes the Sun of which
you make mention; and as dejected as you see me now, I should grow daring enough to enter the Lists against you, if the Light of that were divided between us equally. 'Tis more to have that alone on your side, than all the rest of Heav'n. The Beauties which sparkle in all that you do, are only deriv'd from hers, and it is the Influence of her Rays on you, which produces so many Flowers. Nothing can ever appear more lively, than those which you scatter on every thing that comes from you. I have seen them upon the Ocean's extreamest Shores, and in Places where Nature cannot produce, no, not one Blade of Grass. I have receiv'd Nosegays of them, which made me meet in Desarts, with the choi∣cest Delicacies of Greece and of fruitful Italy: And tho' they had been carried four hun∣dred Leagues, neither the length of way, nor of time had in the least diminished their Lustre. They are indeed Immortal and cannot decay, and so vastly different from all Terrestrial Productions, that it is with a great deal of Justice, that you have offer'd them up to Heaven; for Altars alone are worthy of them. Believe me, Sir, in what I am saying, I speak but my real Senti∣ments; when my Curiosity, as you say, had oblig'd me to pass the Bounds of the
ancient World, to find out rare and surpri∣sing Objects, your Works were the wonder∣fullest things that I saw, and Africa could show me nothing more new, and no more extraordinary Sight. Reading them under the Shade of its Palms, I wish'd you crown'd with them all; and at the very time that I saw, that I had gone beyond Hercules, I found I came short of you. All this, which was capable of producing Envy in any Man's Soul but mine, fill'd mine with so much Esteem and Affection, that you then took the place there, which you are now desiring, and perfectly finish'd what you think you are still to begin. Af∣ter the Knowledge which I have bad of you, how can I form such an Image of you, as you are willing to give me? How can I Fancy you to be that little Creature you say you are? How could I comprehend that Heaven could place such mighty things in so small a space? When I give my Ima∣gination a Loose, it gives you four Yards at least, and represents you of the Stature of Men engendered by Angels. Yet I shall be very glad to find that it is as you would have me believe. Amongst the rest of the Advantages, which I expect to derive from you, I am in hopes that you will bring our Stature into some Credit, and that it is ours
which henceforward will be accounted the noblest; and that by you, we shall be ex∣alted above those who believe themselves higher than we. As we pour the most ex∣quisite Essences into the smallest Bottles, Nature infuseth the divinest Souls into the smallest Bodies, and mixes more or less of matter with them, as they have more or less in them of their Almighty Original. She seems to place the most shining Souls, as Jewelers set the most sparkling Stones, who make use of as little Gold as they can with them, and no more than just suffices to bind them. By you the World will be undeceiv'd of that sottish Errour of valuing Men by their Weight, and my Littleness with which I have been so often upbraided by Madamoiselle de Rambouillet, for the fu∣ture may recommend me to her. For what remains, the Affection is very Just, which you tell me, she has for you, and with her, six more of the loveliest Creatures that il∣lustrate the Light. But I wonder that you should think to get mine by such a Discove∣ry; and to gain it by the very Means, which were sufficient to make you lose it. You had need to have a high Opinion of my Goodness, to believe that I can love a Man who enjoys my Right, and who has ob∣tain'd the Consiscation of my most valued
Possessions: But yet I am so just, that even this shall be no Impediment, and I believe you to have so much Justice on your side, that I do not despair but that we may ac∣commodate ev'n this matter between us. They may very well have given you my Place without your putting me out of it, and my room in their Hearts was but very small, if it cannot contain us both. As for my part, I shall do my utmost, that I may not incommode you there; and shall take care to take up my Station so that we may not clash, since so powerful an Interest can∣not make me cease to be yours, you may be∣lieve, that in spight of the worst of Acci∣dents, I shall be eternally
Yours, &c.
I Have promis'd to bestow you, for a Gallant, upon two fine Women, my Friends. I am confident that you will not find the Exploit too many for you, and do not doubt but that you will confirm my Promise, as soon as you have but seen them.
LEt me see what I love as soon as you can: For I die with Impatience till that happy Moment. And since, at your Command, I have fallen in Love, it behoves you to take some care that I am belov'd too. I have thought all Night upon the two Ladies that—In short, upon you know whom. I write this Billet to one of them; deliver it, I beseech you, to her, whom you believe that I love the more passionately of the two. In Acknowledgment of the good Offices which I receive from you, I assure you, that you shall always dispose of my Affections; and that I will never love any one so much as your self, till I am con∣vinc'd that you have in good earnest a Mind that I should.
WAs there ever so extraordinary a Passion, as that which I have for you? For my part, I do not know any thing of you; and, to my knowledge I ne∣ver so much as heard of you: And yet, I Gad, I am desperately in Love with you;
and it is now a whole Day, since I have sigh'd, and look'd silly, and languish'd, and dy'd, and all that for you. Without ha∣ving even seen your Face, I am taken with its Beauty; and am charm'd with your Wit, tho' I never have heard one Syllable of it. I am ravish'd with your every Action, and I fancy in you a kind of I know not what, that makes me passionately in Love with I know not whom. Sometimes I fancy you Fair, and at other times Black; Now you appear Tall to me, by and by Short; Now with a Nose of the Roman Shape, and a∣non with a Nose turn'd up: But in what∣ever Form I describe you, you appear the Loveliest of Creatures to me; and though I am ignorant what sort of Beauty yours is, I am ready to pawn my Soul, that it is the most Bewitching of all of them. If it be your Luck to know me as little, and to love me as much, then thanks be to Love, and the Stars. But lest you should a little impose upon your self, in fancying me a tall fair Fellow, and so be surpriz'd at the Sight of me, I care not for once, if I venture to send you my Picture: My Stature is three Inches below the middle one; my Head ap∣pears tolerable enough, and is decently set off with a large grey Head of Hair; then with Eyes that languish a little, yet are
something Hagard; I have a sort of a cud∣den cast of a Face: But in Requital, one of your Friends will tell you, that I am the honestest Fellow in the World; and that for Loving faithfully in five or six Places at a time, there is no Man alive comes near me. If you think that all this will accomo∣date you, it shall be at your Service as soon as I see you: Till that long long'd for time, I shall think of you; that is, of I know not whom. But if any one should chance to ask me for whom I sigh, don't be afraid, I warrant to keep the Secret; I would fain see any one catch me at naming you to him.
Madam,
There was only one thing wanting to your Adventures, and that was to be a Prisoner of State; I have given you here the happy Occasion of being such: For∣tune, who has omitted no Opportunity of bringing you into Play, will, in all proba∣bility, make her Advantage of this. I know very well that I bring you into Danger by writing to you; yet cannot even that Re∣flection restrain me. From whence you
may conclude, that there is no Risk which I would refuse to run, to refresh your Re∣membrance of me, since I can resolve to endanger even you, you who are dear and valuable above all the rest of the World to me. I tell you this, Madam, at a time, when I would not lye, no, not in a Com∣pliment: For I would have you to know, that I am much the better for the Distemper which I have lately had: It has caused me to assume such good Resolutions, that if I had them not, I could be contented to pur∣chase them with all my Health. I plainly foresee, that this will but divert you, you who are conscious to so much of my Weak∣ness; and who will never believe that I can keep single Resolutions, I who have broken so many Vows; yet nothing is more certain than that I have hitherto beheld the Spanish Beauties with as much Indifference, as I did the Flemish at Brussels; and I hope to grow a Convert in the very Place of the World in which the Tempter is strongest, and where the Devil resumes as glorious Shapes as what he put off when he fell. The Reformation is so great in me, that I have but one Scruple remaining, which is, That I think too often of you; and that I desire to see you again with a little too much Impatience. I, who have moderated
the rest of my Passions, have been unable to reduce that which I have for you, to the Measure with which we are permitted to love our Neighbours; that is to say, as much as we do ourselves; and I fear you have a larger Share in my Soul, than I ought to allow a Creature. Look out, I beseech you, for a Remedy for this, or rather for an Ex∣cuse for it; for as for a Remedy, I believe there is none, and that I must be always, with utmost Passion,
Madam,
yours.
Madam,
THo' my Liberality should, as you tell me, surpass the Bounty of Alexander, it would nevertheless be richly recompens'd, by the Thanks which you have return'd me for it. He himself, as boundless as his Am∣bition was, would have confin'd it to so rare a Favour. He would have set more value upon this Honour, than he did on the Persian Diadem; and he would never have envied Achilles the Praise which he received from Homer, if he could but him∣self
have obtain'd Yours. Thus, Madam, on this Pinacle of Glory on which I stand, if I bear any Envy to his, 'tis not so much to that which he acquir'd himself, as to that which you have bestow'd upon him, and he has received no Honours, which I do not hold Inferior to mine, unless it be that which you did him, when you declar'd him your Gallant. Neither his Vanity, nor the rest of his Flatterers, could ever persuade him to believe any thing that was so advantage∣ous to him, and the Quality of Son of Jupitur Hammon, was by much less glorious to him than this. But if any thing comforts me for the Jealousie which it has rais'd in me, 'tis this, Madam, that knowing you as well as I know you, I am very well assur'd, that if you have done him this Honour, 'tis not so much upon the account of his having been the Greatest of Mankind, as of his having been now these two thousand Years no more. However, we here find cause to admire the Greatness of his For∣tune, which not being able yet to forsake him so many Years after his Death, has ad∣ded to his Conquests a Person that gives them more Lustre than the Daughters and Wife of Darius; and which has gain'd him a Mind more great than the World he Conquer'd. I ought here to be afraid, af∣ter
your Example of Writing, in too lof∣ty a Style: But how can the Writer be too sublime who writes of you, and of Alexan∣der? I humbly beseech you, Madam, to believe that I have equal Passion for you, with that which you shew for him; and that the Admiration of your Virtues will oblige me to be always,
Madam,
yours, &c.
That the Reader may be diverted with this Letter, he is desir'd to suppose, that there is a Club of Wits erected in London, for the Regulation of the Tongue, who have a De∣sign to abolish it.
Madam,
FOR, being of so great Importace in our Tongue as it is, I extreamly ap∣prove of the Resentment you shew for the Wrong they design to do it; and I must needs declare, that I expect no good from this Club of Wits, which you mention, since they are resolved to establish them∣selves by so great an Oppression: Even at a time like this, when Fortune is acting her Tragedies throughout all Europe. I can behold nothing so deserving of Pity, as when I see they are ready to arraign and to banish a Word, which has so faithfully serv'd this Monarchy; and which, amidst
all our English Confusions, has always been of the side of those who were truly English. For my part, I cannot for my Heart com∣prehend, what Reason they can alledge a∣gainst a Word, whose only Business is to go before Reason, and which has no other Employment than to usher it in. I cannot imagine what Interest can oblige them, to take away that which belongs to for, to give it to Because that; nor why they have a mind, to say with three Syllables, that which they say with three Letters. That which I am afraid of, Madam, is this, That after they have been guilty of this one In∣justice, they will not scruple at more; per∣haps they may have the Impudence to at∣tack But, and who knows if If may be any longer secure. So that, after they have depriv'd us of all those Words, whose bu∣siness it is to bring others together, the Wits will reduce us to the Language of Angels; or, if they cannot do that, they will at least oblige us to speak only by Signs: And here I must confess, that your Obser∣vation is true, viz. That no Example can more clearly shew us the Instability of Humane Affairs. He who had told me some Years ago, that I should have out∣liv'd For, I had thought had promis'd me a longer Life than the Patriarchs. And
yet we see that after he has mentain'd him∣self for some hundreds of Years, in full Force and Authority, after he has been em∣ploy'd in the most important Treaties, and has assisted in the Councils of our Kings with Honour, he is all of a sudden fallen into Disgrace, and threatned with a vio∣lent End. I now expect nothing less, than to be terrify'd with lamentable Cries in the Air, declaring to the World, that the Great For is dead: for the Death of the Great Cam, or of the Great Pan, was, in my mind, less important. I know if we con∣sult one of the finest Wits of the Age, and one whom I esteem with Passion, he will tell us, that 'tis our Duty to condemn an In∣novation like this, that we ought to use the For of our Fathers, as well as their Sun and their Soil, and that we should by no means banish a Word, which was in the Mouths of our Edwards and of our Henries. But you, Madam, are the Person, who are principally oblig'd to undertake his Pro∣tection: for since the Supreme Grace, and the Sovereign Beauty of the English Tongue lies in yours, you ought to com∣mand here with an absolute Sway, and with a Smile or a Frown, give Life or give Death to Syllables, as uncontroul'd as you do to Men. For this, I believe you
have already secur'd it, from the imminent Danger which threatned it, and by vouch∣safing it a Place in your Letter, have fix'd it in a Sanctuary and a Mansion of Glory, to which neither Envy nor Time can reach. But here, Madam, I beg leave to assure you, that I could not but be surpriz'd to see how fantastick your Favours are, I could not but think it strange, that you, who without Compassion could see a thou∣sand Lovers expire, should not have the Heart to see a Syllable die. If you had but had half the Care of me, which you have shewn of For, I should then have been hap∣py in spight of ill Fortune: Then Poverty, Exile, and Grief would scarce have had force to come near me. If you had not deli∣ver'd me from these Evils themselves, you had freed me at least from the Sence of them. But at a time that I expected to receive Con∣solation from yours, I found that your Kind∣ness was only design'd to For, and that his Banishment troubled you more than ours. I must confess, Madam, it is but just, you should undertake his Defence; but you ought to have taken some care of me too, that People might not object to you, That you forsake your Friends for a Word. You make no Answer at all to that which I writ about; you take not the least Notice of
that which so much concerns me: In three or four Pages you scarce remember me once; and the Reason of this is For: Be pleased to consider me a little more for the future, and when you undertake the De∣fence of the Afflicted, remember that I am of the Number. I shall always make use of him himself to oblige you to grant me this Favour, and to convince you that it is but my Due; For
I am, &c.
I Am so far from wondring that you have taken Dunkirk, that I believe you cou'd take the Moon by the Teeth, if you did but once attempt it. Nothing can be im∣possible to you: I am only uneasie about what I shall say to your Highness on this Occasion, and am thinking by what extra∣ordinary Terms I may bring you to reach my Conceptions of you. Indeed, my Lord, in that Height of Glory, to which you have now attain'd, the Honour of your Eavour is a singular Happiness; but it is a trouble∣some thing to us Writers, who are obliged
to Congratulate you upon every good Suc∣cess, to be perpetually upon the Hunt for Words whose Force may answer your Acti∣ons, and to be ev'ry Day inventing of new Panegyricks. If you would but have the Goodness to suffer your self to be beat some∣time, or to rise from before some Town, the variety of the Matter might help to support us, and we should find out some fine thing or other to say to you, upon the Inconstancy of Fortune, and the Glory that is gotten by bearing her Malice bravely. But having, from the very first of your Actions, rank'd you equal with Alexander, and finding you rising upon us continually; upon my word, my Lord, we are at a loss what to do, either with you or our selves. Nothing that we can say, can come up to that which you do, and the very Flights of our Fancy flag below you. Eloquence, which Magnifies smallest things, cannot reach the Height of those which you do; no, not by its boldest Figures. And that which is call'd Hyperbole on other occasi∣ons, is but a cold way of speaking when it comes to be applyed to you. Indeed it is different to comprehend, how your Highness each Summer has 〈◊〉〈◊〉 found out means to augment that Glory, which eve∣ry Winter seem'd at its full Perfection;
and that having begun so greatly, and gone on more greatly, still your last Actions should crown the rest, and be found the most Amazing. For my own part, my Lord, I congratulate your Success, as I am in Duty oblig'd; but I plainly foresee, the very thing that augments your Reputation with us, may prejudice that which you ex∣pect from after Ages; and that so many great and important Actions, done in so short a space, may render your Life incre∣dible to future Times, and make your Hi∣story be thought a Romance by Posterity. Be pleas'd then, my Lord, to set some Bounds to your Victories, if it be only to accommodate your self to the Capacity of Human Reason, and not to go further than Common Belief can follow you. Be con∣tented to be quiet and secure, at least for a time, and suffer France, which is eternal∣ly alarm'd for your Safety, to enjoy serene∣ly, for a few Months, the Glory which you have acquir'd for her. In the mean time, I beseech you to believe, that among so many Millions of Men who admire you, and who continually pray for you, there is not one who does it, with so much Joy, with so much Zeal and Veneration, as I, who am,
My Lord, your Highness's, &c.
My Lord,
AT a time that I am so far remov'd from your Highness, that you can∣not possibly lay your Commands upon me, I am fully resolv'd to speak freely my Mind to you, which I have so long been oblig'd to disguise, left it should bring me into the same Inconvenience, with those, who be∣fore me, have taken the like Liberties with you. But let me tell you, my Lord, you have done too much, to let it pass with∣out taking Notice of it; and you are unrea∣sonable if you think to behave your self as you do, without being loudly told of it. If you did but know how strangely all Pa∣ris talks of you, I am very confident that you would be asham'd of it; and you could not without Confusion hear, with how little Respect, and how little Fear of Displeasing you, all the World presumes to discourse of what you have done. I must confess, my Lord, I wonder what you could mean: You have shewn your self Bold with a Vengeance, and Violent to the last Degree, in putting such an Affront up∣on
two or three old Captains, whom you ought to have respected, if it had been only for their Antiquity: In Killing the poor Count de la Fountaine, who was the very best Man in the Low-Countries; in Ta∣king sixteen Pieces of Cannon, the proper Goods of the King's Unkle, and the Queen's own Brother; and in Confounding the Spanish Troops, after they had shewn so much Goodness in letting you Pass. I heard indeed, you are obstinate as a Devil, and that it was not to much purpose to dispute a∣bout any thing with you: But yet I never thought, that your Heat wou'd have tran∣sported you so far. If you go on at the rate you have begun, you will shortly grow Intollerable, I assure you, to all Eu∣rope, and neither the Emperor nor the King of Spain will either of them be able to en∣dure you. But now, my Lord, laying the Man of Conscience aside, and resuming the Man of State: I felicitate your High∣ness for the Victory I hear you have gain'd, the most compleat, and the most important, which has happen'd in our Age. France, which you have shelter'd from all the Storms that it dreaded, is amaz'd to see that you have begun your Life with an Acti∣on, with which Caesar would gladly have crown'd his own, and which alone, re∣flects
more Lustre upon the Kings your Progenitors, than all theirs have transfer∣red to you. Well, my Lord, you have verified what has been formerly said, That Virtue comes to the Caesars preventing Time: For you, who are a true Caesar, both in Wit and in Knowledge; Caesar in Dili∣gence and in Vigilance; in Courage Caesar, and per omnes Casus Casar; you have out∣run the Hopes, and surpass'd the Expecta∣tion of Men; you have clearly shewn that Experience is necessary to none but ordi∣nary Souls; that the Virtue of Heroes comes by a more compendious way, and that the Works of Heaven are finish'd when but begun. After this I leave you to judge, how you are like to be receiv'd and car∣ress'd by the Lords of the Court, and with what Pleasure the Ladies heard, that he whom they had seen Triumphant in Balls, had been Victorious in Armies; and that the finest Head of all France, was likewise the best and the strongest. There is not a Man ev'n to Mounsieur Beaumont, who does not declaim in your Praise. They who had revolted against you, are now re∣duced; and they who complain'd that you were always Laughing, have been forced to confess, that you have shown your self now in good Earnest; and ev'ry one's a∣fraid
of being of the Number of your E∣nemies, since you have defeated such Mul∣titudes of them. Pardon, O Caesar, the Li∣berty which I have taken; receive the Praise that is due to you; and permit us to render to Caesar, that which is due to Cae∣sar.
Sir,
IF it be true that I have always kept the Rank, which you tell me I have held in your Memory: Methinks you have shewn but an indifferent Concern for my Satisfaction, in delaying so long to impart the pleasing News to me, and in suffering me so long to be the happiest of Men, without dreaming I was so. But perhaps you were of opinion, that this very good Fortune, was so infinitely above any thing that I could in reason hope for, that it was necessary you should take time to invent Arguments, which might render it credi∣ble, and that you had an occasion to em∣ploy all the Power of Rhetorick to perswade me, that you had not forgot me. And thus far at least I must needs confess, that
you have been very Just, that resolving to let me have nothing but Words for all the Affection you owe me, the Choice which you have made of them, has been so rich, and so beautiful, that, let me die, if I be∣lieve the thing they assure me of would be of greater Value: This, at least, I'm sure of, that they would suffice to Counterballance any Friendship but mine. I am only discon∣tented at one thing, and that is, that so much Artifice and so much Eloquence, should not be able to Disguise the Truth from me; and that in this, I should resem∣ble your own Shepherdesses, who are too silly to be beguiled by a Man of Wit. But indeed, you must excuse me if I am some∣thing inclin'd to suspect an Art, which could invent Commendations for a Quar∣tan Ague, and an Art which you have at more command than ever Man had before you. All those Graces, and that Air of the Court, which I so much admire in yours, convince me rather of the Excellence of your Wit, than of the Goodness of your Will. And from all the fine things which you have said in my Favour, all that I can conclude, ev'n when I am inclin'd to flatter my self, is, That Fortune has been pleas'd to give me a place in your Dreams: Nay, I know not if the very Extravagancies of a Soul so
exalted as yours, are not too serious, and too reasonable, to descend so low as to me. And I shall esteem my self too obligingly us'd by you, if you have but so much as dreamt that you Love me. For to ima∣gine, that you have reserv'd a Place for me amidst those sublime Thoughts, which are, at present, employed, in Recompensing the Virtues of all the World, and Distributing Shares of Glory to Mankind; to imagine this, would be extream Presumption in me. I have too great an Opinion of your Under∣standing, to believe that you could be guil∣ty of any thing that is so much below you; and I should be unwilling, that your Ene∣mies should have that to object to you. I am perfectly satisfied, that the only Af∣fection which you can have justly for any one, is that which you owe to your self; and that Precept of Studying One's self, which is a Lesson of Humility to all besides you, ought to have a contrary Effect in relation to you, and oblige you to contemn, whatever you find without you. And there∣fore here let me swear to you, That with∣out pretending to any Share in your Affecti∣on, I should have been very well satisfi∣ed, if you had preserv'd, with never so lit∣tle Care, the Friendship which I have vow∣ed eternally to have for you, and to have
placed it, if not amongst the things which you value, at least amongst those which you are not forward to lose. But in leaving me here with that lovely Rival, of whom you made mention of in yours, you have shewn, let me tell you, too little Jealousie, and you have suffer'd her to gain so much Ad∣vantage of you, that I have reason to su∣spect that you have conspir'd with her, to do me a Mischief. And therefore I have more reason than you to complain, that she has enrich'd your self by your Losses, and that you have suffer'd her to get into her Power, that which I thought to have secur'd from her Tyranny, by entrusting it in your Hands. If you had been wil∣ling to have made never so little Defence, the better part of my self, had yet been our own; but you, by your Negligence, have suffer'd her to surprize it; and to ad∣vance her Conquest at such a rate over me, that tho' I shou'd surrender to you, all that remains of me, you wou'd not have so much as one half of that which you have lost. Nevertheless, let me assure you, That you have gain'd, in my Esteem, as much as you have lost in my Affection; and that at the very time that I was beginning to Love you less, I was forced to Honour you more. I have seen nothing of yours since your
Departure, which does not go beyond all that you had done before: And by your last Works, you have the Honour of Excel∣ling him who surpass'd all others. It can∣not therefore but appear strange, that when you have so much reason to be contented, you should yet be complaining, and that you your self should be the only great Man who remains dissatisfied with you. At present all France is listening to you, and you are indifferent to no Man, who has but learnt to Read. All who are concern'd for the Honour of their Country, are not more inquisitive after what the Mareschal de Crequi is doing, than they are after what is doing by you. And you are the Person who can make more Noise in your Solitude, than the most Happy and most Renown'd of our Generals, at the Head of forty Thousand Men. Can you wonder then, that with so much Glory, you should be obnoxious to Envy; and that the very same Judges with whom Scipio was Criminal, and who condemn'd Aristides and Socrates, should not unanimously do Justice to your Desert? The People can plead Prescription for hating the very Qualities which they admire in any one. Every thing which transcends 'em, they think affronts 'em; and they can better bear with a common
Vice, than an extraordinary Virtue. So that if that Law was in force amongst us, of Banishing the most Powerful for Autho∣rity or Reputation, I make no doubt, but that you would stand the Mark of the Pub∣lick Envy: and I believe ev'n Cardinal Richlieu would not run greater Hazard. But, for God sake, have a care of calling that your Misfortune, which is but that of the Age: And complain no more of the Injustice of Men, since all, who have Worth, are of your side; and that amongst them, you have found a Friend, whom yet, per∣haps, you may lose once more: At least, I shall do my utmost to put you into a con∣dition of doing so. For every Man's Dar∣ling Vanity, at present, is to be accounted yours. For my own part, I have always in so publick a manner profess'd my self so, that if thro' ill Fortune I should not be able to Love you so much as I have done, yet here let me swear to you, That you shall be the only Man to whom I will dare to de∣clare it; and that I will always own my self to the rest of the World, to be as much as ever,
Yours, &c.
The Character of the Marquess of Pisani, was a Man of Honour, Generosity, and Cou∣rage; but an Extravagant, Ignorant, Ob∣stinate, Disputing Gamester.
Sir,
THe Man would be to blame, or I have been very much misinform'd, who should upbraid you with having had the Mules to keep, at your Camp of Thionville: The Devil a Mule have you kept there, Sir. They tell me, that upon the weighty Consideration, that several Ar∣mies have been formerly lost by their Bag∣gage; you have made all possible haste to be disencumber'd of yours. And that ha∣ving often read in the Roman Histories, (this it is to be such a Man of Reading, look you) that the greatest Exploits that were done by their Cavalry, were done on Foot, after having voluntarily dismounted in the Extreamity of the most doubtful Bat∣tles, you took a Resolution to dispatch away all your Horses, and have manag'd Matters so swingingly, that you have not so much
as one left. And now, the important Per∣son stands on his own Legs.
Perhaps, you may receive some small In∣convenience from this: But let me die, if it be not much for your Honour, that you, as well as Bias, honest old Bias, I war∣rent you know him so wonderous well, should be able to say, that you carry all that is yours about you. No great quantity I must confess of Foppish Accoutrements, nor a long Train of Led-horses, nor abun∣dance of that which they call the Ready; but Probity, Generosity, Magnanimity, Constancy in Dangers, Obstinacy in Di∣sputes; a Contempt of all Foreign Langua∣ges, Ignorance of False Dice, and a sur∣prising Tranquillity upon the Loss of Tran∣sitory Things: Qualities, Sir, which are properly and essentially yours; and of which neither Time nor Fortune can ever deprive you. Now as Euripides, who was, as you know, or as you know not, one of the gravest Authors of Greece, writes in one of his Tragedies, that Money was one of the Evils, and one of the most pernicious ones, that slew from Pandora's Box; I ad∣mire, as a Divine Quality in you, the In∣compatibility which you shew for it, and look upon it to be a distinguishing Mark of a Great and Extraordinary Soul, that
you are Uneasie till you are rid of this Cor∣rupter of Reason, this Pois'ner of Souls, this Author of so much Disorder, of so much Injustice, and of so many Violences. Yet, I could heartily wish, that your Vir∣tue were not arriv'd at such an extraordina∣ry Pitch, and that you could be brought to some Accommodation with this Enemy of Human Kind, and that you might be per∣suaded to make Peace with it, as we do with the Great Turk, for Politick Reasons, and the Advantage of Commerce. Now upon Consideration, that it is a difficult matter to be much at one's Ease without it, and fancying that as I play'd for you at Nar∣bonne, you threw for me at Thionville; and that it is perhaps in my Name, that you have pack'd off your Baggage, I here send you a hundred Pistols at present in part of Payment; and, that these may not meet with the same Fate which befel their Pre∣decessors, I desire you not to defile your Hands with them, but to deliver them to the French Gentlemen who are with you, for whose sake I chiefly remit them.
I am, &c.
Madam,
LAst Friday in the Afternoon I was toss'd in a Blanket; because I had not made you Laugh in the time that was given me: Madam de Rambouillet pronounc'd the Sen∣tence, at the Request of her Daughter, and Mademoiselle Paulet. They had deferr'd the Execution to the return of the Princess, and your self; but they bethought them∣selves afterwards, not to delay it any longer; and that it was very improper to put off Punishment to a time, which ought to be wholly devoted to Pleasure. 'Twas in vain to cry out, and make Resistance, the Blanket was brought, and four of the lustiest Fellows they cou'd get, were pick'd out for this Ser∣vice. I may venture to affirm to you, Ma∣dam, that no Man was ever yet in so ex∣alted a Condition as I was, and I did not believe that Fortune wou'd ever have rai∣sed me so high; at every Toss they threw
me out of sight, and sent me higher than a soaring Eagle. I saw the Mountains crouch∣ing far below me, the Winds and Clouds travel beneath my Feet, discover'd Coun∣tries that I n'ver had seen, and Seas I n'ver had thought of. There can be nothing more diverting, than to see so many things all at once, and to discover half the Globe at one View. But I assure you, Madam, all this cannot be seen without some Distur∣bance; when one is in the Air, and certain of falling down again, that which fright∣ned me the most was, That, when I was very high, looking downwards, the Blanket ap∣pear'd so small that I thought it impossible to fall into it; and that I confess was some trouble to me: But, among so many diffe∣rent Objects, which at the same time struck my Sight, there was one which for some Moments took away my Fear, and touch'd me with real Pleasure: It is this, Madam, Being desirous to look towards Piedmont to see what pass'd there, I saw you at Lyons, as you cross'd the Saone; at least, I saw a great Light upon the Water, and abundance of Rays about the most charming Face in the World: I cou'd not well discern who was with you, because at that time my Head was lower-most; and I believe you did not see me, for you look'd another way; I
made Signs to you as well as I could: but as you began to look up, I fell down again, and one of the Tops of the Mountain Tarara hindred you from seeing me: As soon as I came down, I told 'em that I had seen you, and, as I was going to tell 'em how you did, they all fell a Laughing as if 'twere a thing impossible, and immediately began to make me leap higher than before. There happen'd to me a very strange Acci∣dent, which will seem incredible to those who have not seen it: One time when they had toss'd me to a very great height, in com∣ing down, I found my self in a Cloud, which being very thick, and I extremely light, I was a great while intangled in it, before I could fall down again; so that they stayed a long time below, spreading the Blanket and looking up without being able to ima∣gine what was become of me. By good Luck there was no Wind stirring, for if there had, the Cloud in marching would have carried me of one side or t'other, and so I must have inevitably fallen to the Ground, which could not have happen'd without hurting me very much. But a more dangerous Accident succeeded this, the last time they threw me into the Air, I found my self amongst a Flock of Cranes, who at first were mightily surprized to see
me so high; but when they came near me, they took me for a Pigmy, with whom, you know Madam, they have perpetual War, and thought I came to 'em as a Spy into the middle Region; immediately they fell upon me with great STrokes of their Beaks, and with such Violence, that I imagin'd my self struck with a hundred Daggers. And one of them, that had taken me by the Leg, pursu'd me so furiously, that she did not leave me till I was in the Blanket. This made my Tormentors afraid to send me back to the Mercy of my Enemies; who were now got together in great numbers, and hover'd in the Air expecting me again. At last they carried me home again in the same Blanket, but so dispirited as never Man was: To tell you the truth, this Exer∣cise is a little too violent for one of my tender Constitution. I leave it to you, Madam, to judge how cruelly I have been dealt with, and for how many Reasons you are obliged to condemn this Action; and to deal plainly with you, you that are born with so many commanding Qualities, should think it of the highest Consequence to begin betimes to hate Injustice, and to take those that are oppress'd into your Protection: I beseech you then, Madam, in the first place, to declare this an Outrage you by no
means approve; and for Reparation of my Honour, and my Strength, to order a great Canopy of Gause, to be set up for me in the blew Chamber of the House of Rambou∣illet, where I shall be waited on, and mag∣nificently entertain'd for a whole Week, by the two Ladies who were the cause of this Misfortune; that at one Corner of the Room they shall be continually making Sweet-meats; one of 'em shall blow the Fire, and t'other shall do nothing else but put Syrrup upon Plates to cool, and bring it me as often as I have occasion. Thus, Madam, you will do a deed of Justice, worthy of so great and beautiful a Princess, and I shall be obliged to be with the utmost Sincerity and Respect,
Madam,
How threatning soever your Letter be, I could not chuse but admire its Beau∣ty, and wonder how you could joyn the obli∣ging and the terrible Stile with so much Arti∣fice together. You make me think of the
Gold and Azure we find on the Skins of our Snakes, you do as it were enamel the sharpest Reflections, with the liveliest Colours of Eloquence; and, in reading them, I cannot forbear to be pleased with those very things which most affright me. You soon began to be as good as your Word, when you told me that you would no longer smile, then For∣tune frown'd on me: In the same Minute she seems to have granted me a little Repose, you begin to disquiet me, and shew me, that tho' I have escaped the Dangers of the Seas and Pyrates, I am not yet in Safety, and that you are more dreadful than they. I could not have thought, Madam, that for having refused a Quarrel with your Dwarf, I should have contracted one with yourself, nor that I should be obliged to answer a Challenge, because I did a Complement: If you think I fail'd in that, you ought rather to call it Respect and Fear, than Contempt; and believe that the same Creature who dif∣arm'd Monsieur de M—of his Sword, made my Pen fall from my Hand. Altho' he might have some Reason to complain, yet you had none to take his part against me; and if you wish me Ill for his sake, I may justly say you quarrel with me on the least Occasion in the World.
If you are resolved to persecute me, all
the Excuses I can alledge will signifie no∣thing; and I can only wonder you take so much Pains to find a Pretence for it. It will be no Advantage to me, to have come so far thro' so many Dangers; I shall find Algiers, where-ever you are; and tho' I am in Brussels, yet I was never so near Cap∣tivity, or being Shipwrack'd. However, don't perswade your self, Madam, that the Flames of those Animals wherewith you threaten me, can make me afraid. I have long since learnt to defend my self from those sorts of Mischiefs; and whatever you can say, I am more apprehensive of Death from you Eyes, than your Hands. Among all the Passages of your Letter, which seems to me admirable in all its parts, I take par∣ticular notice of what you say, how great a pleasure it wou'd have been to you, if I had been taken by the Pyrates; I can't but attri∣bute it to your extraordinary Goodness, that you cou'd wish I had been two or three Years chain'd to an Oar in the Turkish Gallies, that somy Voyage might have been more diversi∣fied. 'Twas an ingenious Curiosity, to desire to know how I could look after and dress the Camels of Barbary, and with what un∣shaken Constancy I could bear Bastinado's! After the rate you talk, I suppose you would have been glad, if I had been empal'd
for half an Hour, to have satisfied you how it felt, and what I thought of it: But that which is yet more considerable, these kind Wishes, you say, you bestow'd upon me, after you had reassum'd the mild Form of Woman, and were somewhat appeas'd, and become more Humane; neither can I any more reconcile to Justice the Quarrel you would pick with me about Alcidalis: Judge, Madam, if being embark'd in the same Seas with him, and in the same Dangers, I could forget those Perils which I suffered, to recount those he had gone through; and while I lay under my own Misfortunes, if I could amuse my self to write a History of his? Notwithstanding I did not omit it in the midst of my Troubles, I writ above a hundred Sheets of his History, and took a particular Care of his Life, at a time when I can swear to you, I had none of my own. But don't thence, Madam, make an Estimate of the Care I take to please my Friends. After I have render'd you all the imaginable Services I can, those Shadows can only shew you the least part of the Passion I have for your Concerns. If you would know that, consider it rather in the Cause than in the Effects. But your Imagi∣nation, how lively and wonderful soever it is, falls short of that; and if there is any
thing in the whole World greater then your Soul, and which is beyond its Compre∣hension, it is the Respect, Affection, and Esteem it has bred in mine. Being no less sensible to acknowledge the Obliga∣tions I owe to other excellent Persons, you'll think that the Letter I receiv'd at the same time with yours, brought me an infi∣nite Satisfaction, as well as an extreme Ho∣nour. You knew better than any other, the Inclination and Respect I have always had for the Merits of the Person who writ it, and you may remember in the time of the Civil Wars between you two, I have sometimes left your part to take his. But this last Goodness of his has gained some∣thing afresh in my Heart; and since I have receiv'd it, pardon me, if you please, that I have esteem'd him for some Moments above any other Person in the World: But that you may not think, Madam, that it is you who have procured me all the Favours I receive from him, I assure you that on another Oc∣casion very lately he has done me a piece of Service, without your being privy to it: Altho' it is none of those I take the most Pleasure in receiving, and it has given me a new Subject of reflecting on my ill For∣tune, yet I esteem it a great Honour to owe Obligations to him, which I should be a∣shamed
to do to any other, and I am glad to receive any Marks of his Gene∣rosity. He'll swear, when you speak to him of it, he knows not what you mean; and methinks I now see him telling you so: but you know his Humour and Tem∣per, never to forget to do a good Action, and never to remember it when it is done. Since the Honour of your Esteem for me, has been the first Motive to establish me in his Favour, I humbly beg, Madam, your Assistance to return him those Thanks I owe him, and that way to pay him at least as far as I can at present. I a thousand times kiss the Feet of that incomparable Per∣son who was pleased to write with her own Hand the Superscription of the Letter you sent me, and with four or five Words, render that Present inestimable, which was ex∣traordinary precious before. You have a great deal of Reason to call her the most charming and agreeable Person in the World, who can relieve the Distressed at such a Distance. I with that she, who so well knows how to manage it, may once have all the Happiness due to so much Good∣ness, Beauty and Vertue together, tho' I know this Wish is very Extensive. I hear that the Lady, which I used to call the Morning-Star, is become Greater and more Admirable
than ever, and that it at the same time enlightens and burns all France; although its beams scarce reach the dark Shades where we live, yet its Reputation does, and as far as I can understand, the Sun is not so bright as it. I am glad the Intelligence that animates it, has lost nothing of its Force and Light, and that there is nothing but the Soul of Madamoiselle de Bourbon, that can make us doubt, whether her Beauty is not the most perfect thing in the World. The manner, as I have seen in one of your Letters, she condoles me in, appears admira∣bly fine: indeed so many Crosses I have met with, ought to stir up Pity in her; in her, I say, who is so well acquainted with my Weakness, and who knows that from my Cradle, I have not had one Day of Repose. It has been disturbed at the Postscript of your Letter addressed to King Chiquito. In the Hell of Anastarax I found mine; and there I wandered three Nights and Days, without seeing a jot of any thing. I am very sorry for it, for I desired above any thing in the World to have the Comb of King Georgia; I have had a mind to it above these two Years. But since you pretend to so much Guessing, Imagine if you please, Madam, all I would farther say, if I durst make my Letter longer. Guess how much more I ho∣nour
and esteem, you than I did two Years ago; and think with how much Passion I am,
Madamoiselle,
Yours, &c.
Brussels.My Lord,
I Am apt to believe, when you writ me the Letter, you were pleased to Hon∣our me with, that you thought the E∣steem I have always had for you, has acqui∣red you some Reputation in the World: That on all Occasions, I had given you infi∣nite Testimonies of the Honor of my Friend∣ship, and had for that reason lent you two thousand Crowns on an extraordinary Oc∣casion; and that at such a Time when all your Credit fail'd you else-where; at such a Juncture too, that otherwise your Reputation must have for ever sunk. At least, after the rate you return your Thanks, and speak of your self, and me, I have reason to believe, that in a Dream, you have mistook the one for the other, and put your self in my Place. Otherwise, my Lord, you would not write
after that manner you do, unless, perhaps you are of Opinion, that there is no grea∣ter Good in the World than to do so to o∣thers, and think those oblige you, who give you an Opportunity of obliging them, and imagine you receive the Pleasures you give: Certainly if it be so, there is no Man in the World, to whom you are more ob∣liged than to me; and I deserve all the Thanks you give me, since I have given you more Occasions than any one else of ex∣ercising your Generosity, and doing Acti∣ons of Goodness, which without doubt, are worth more than all the Good you have done me, or all that you have remaining. Among the great Number of those I have received from you, and among so many Fa∣vours you have been pleased to bestow up∣on me, I assure you, my Lord, there are none I Esteem so much as the Letter, you have done me the Honour to Write to me; and if among so many Things which af∣fected me with Joy, there is any one Thing that did so above the rest, I must needs beg your leave to tell you, it is that, where you mention the two Persons, who deserve all the Respect we can pay them, and to whom, if we compare them not one to the other, there is nothing under the whole Heaven, they can be compared to. When
I think that I am in their Memory, for that Moment my Pains cease; and when∣soever, I represent to my self the Image of either the one or the other, the very Face of my Fortune seems to be changed, and that Imagination chaces from my Spi∣rit, the Darkness which oppresses it, and fills it with Light: But that which is still a greater Happiness, is, tho' I am so far from ever having deserved the Honour of their Favour, yet I flatter my self that I have some share in it; and I am so happy as to believe what you tell me concerning it. I know one, my Lord, who would not be so easie to be perswaded, if he were in my place, and who after two Years Separa∣tion could not live in so much Tranquillity, nor with so great Assurance. In the Sa∣tisfaction which that Belief gives me, be pleased to judge if I am much to be la∣mented, and if there are not many whom the World calls Happy, that are not so much as I: Without this I could not defend my self from the general Sorrow which is here on all sides, nor resist the Melancholy of Monsieur de C—, whom I am forced every Day to contend with, and who is in Truth much above what is commonly imagined of him. Besides his Fancy he has taken to let his Beard grow, which
already reaches down to his Middle, he affects a Tone more severe than ever, and which comes very near the sound of Astol∣phus's Horn: Unless he were to treat of the Immortality of the Soul, or of the Su∣preme Good, and the most Important Questions of Moral Philosophy, he could not Bawl lowder. If Democritus should come again, though he was never so great a Philosopher, he would not bear with him, because he was addicted to Laughing; he has undertaken to reform the Doctrine of Zeno, as too soft; and is going about to make the Stoicks turn Capuchins. So that, my Lord, you don't desire any Advantage to that People, whose Governour—you wish him to be.
Madam,
HAving been ever sensible of the Pow∣er of your Eloquence, assist me, I beseech you, in returning my Acknow∣ledgements to the fairest, and most gene∣rous Princess of the World: For, I swear, I have been Opprest with her Bounties, and must declare, that there is not any thing under Heaven, so Lovely, and so Charm∣ing, as the Mistress whom you serve; I had almost said whom we serve: And, in∣deed what would I not give, that I might thus express it? From the first Moment that I heard her, I presently concluded that there was not in the World so great a Genius as hers; but the Care she has been pleas'd to take of me, above all things ama∣zes me, and I can not sufficiently admire, how, among such elevated Thoughts, she can have room for any so trivial; and how a Mind, in all things else so high, can de∣scend so low. The Pastils which were presented me this Morning, have had a
wonderous Effect upon me, and I can not imagine from whence this Miracle pro∣ceeds, unless from a Touch of her Royal Highness's Hand; for I find my self infi∣nitely better, by having kist the Paper on∣ly that inclosed 'em: This, as long as I live, shall be my Antidote against all sorts of Ills, and there is but one, for which so pleasing a Remedy as this can have no Cure: But lest you should too curiously inquire, what this is I mean, 'tis much bet∣ter that I should explain my self, and tell you, that 'tis the Trouble, to have so sel∣dom the Sight of her, and to be destin'd to live far from the only Person who de∣serves to be Adored; if you reflect upon this, it will appear the greatest of Mis∣fortunes; and 'tis very hard to be a Man of Honour, and survive it.
Madam,
My Lady, your Mother, must excuse me; but never any thing was so tiresom to me as Rome: Not a Day passes, but I see something that's wonderful; Ma∣ster-pieces of the greatest Artists that ever were; Gardens where there is an everlast∣ing Spring; Buildings that are not to be e∣qual'd in the World, and Ruins yet more Beautiful than they: But all this that I tell you hath no power to divert me, and at the same time that I see 'em, I wish my self far from 'em: The most excellent Paintings, Sculptures, and Portraictures of Apelles, Praxiteles de Papardelle have no Charms for me. I shou'd be amazed at this, were I not sensible of the Cause, and did not well know that a Person who has been accustom'd to the sight of you, cou'd never be easie when he did not enjoy it: for to tell you the Truth, Madam, I have the same Sence of you, as of Health; I never so well know your Value, as when I have lost you: and
although, when I am near you, I manage not always so well as to maintain my self with you, yet from the Moment that I be∣hold you no more, I seek you with a thousand Wishes. I call to mind that you are the most precious of worldly Things, and I find by Experience, that all the Delights of the Earth are harsh and disagreeable without you: I had more Pleasure some time ago in two or three turns of the Ruel with you, than I have had since, in seeing all the Vine-yards of Rome, or that I shou'd have to see the Capitol, though in all its ancient Splendor, with even Jupiter Capitolinus there in Per∣son; but that you may know that this is no Raillery, and that I am really as Ill as I express it, 'tis but eight Days since, that walking in the Morning with the Chevalier de Jars, I had fall'n all along if he had not re∣ceived me in his Arms; and the next Even∣ing I swoon'd once more in the Apartment of the Mareshal de Estree's. The Physicians say that those are melancholy Vapours, and that these Accidents are not to be neglected; as for me, since this has taken me two Days successively, and that I was threatn'd with something worse, I have neither been stupid nor insensible; but have taken some Anti∣mony which Monsieur Nerli gave me;
this has done me some good, and I'll bring four Doses with me, which I will perswade the Dutchess d'Ainguillon to take; for there is no Volatile Salt which can have so good Effect: and this we must be contented with, till he that hath given me it, shall find the Receipt of the Aurum Potabile, which Se∣cret, as he says, he shall attain to in a Year at least. I hope to leave this place in a Week; you will be amaz'd that I can con∣tinue so long in a Place which I tell you I have been so tyr'd with; but I have been kept here till now, by some things which I will acquaint you with, and which I have not yet been able to dispatch; but I assure you once more, that I never in my Life was so uneasie and so impatient to see you; I humbly beseech you to do me the Ho∣nour to believe me, and to be assur'd that I am much more than I can here express,
Rome.
Madam
yours.
Monsieur,
You will be surprized that I solicite your Assistance in an Affair on t'other side the Mountains; that I beg your Suc∣cour against the Romans: It is not the first time as you know, that they have disturbed the Quiet of those that troubled themselves not with them. But I think they were never so unjust to any body as to me; they never gave Hannibal more Vexation than they will me, if you do not help me: Quorsum haec, I'll tell you; They have a∣mong them an Academy of Men, that call themselves Humourists, which is as it were fantastical; and indeed, they must be so to take a fancy to admit me into their Number, and to advise me of it by a Letter from one of their Society. I must write him an An∣swer of Thanks in Latin; and this 'tis puts me in such pain. But I have been eas'd from the Moment that I thought of you, for this methinks is your true Tallent, and a Man that lives in Poitou, and writes Latin Letters out of Wantonness, can't refuse me one. Their Device is a Sun raising Vapours
from the Sea, which falls back again in Rain, with this Motto out of Lucretius, Fluit agmine dulci: Pray try what you can say upon this, and upon the Honour which they have done me, and my want of Merit. Monsieur Pauquet will be sure not to fail us, and he knows more then either you or I: I leave this Matter wholly to you two; for I am no way capable of it, when you can do it if you please.
Me dulcis domine Musa Lycimnie, Cantus, me voluit dicere lucidum Fulgentes oculos, & bene mutuis, Fidum Pectus amoribus.She has been gone this nine Days: Poor Ly∣cimnia! Without Lying, I love her better than my self, but not better than you,
I am, Monsieur, &c.
To acquaint me with your Sufferings, is the way to redouble mine; and I, that have supported my own with so much Patience, doubt whether I shall be able to
bear up under yours. But whatever hap∣pens, I can't indure too much, since it is for Love of you, and the two Words which you have put in your Billet, out of Rank from the rest; are enough to render any thing sup∣portable, and make me cheerfully embrace Martyrdom. I suppose you have no doubt of it, and that you are assur'd of my Reso∣lution, since after having warned me of the Mischief you intend me, you expect that I should come and meet you: and that after Dinner, I should voluntarily ap∣pear in a place where my Pains are to be encreas'd. These Menaces wou'd terrifie any other but my self, and make a wiser Man than I, provide for his Security: But whatsoever Danger I foresee, it's impossible for me to disobey you: Or having the Ho∣nour of knowing you so well as I do, to for∣bear being,
Madam.
I Have forgot all that I shou'd say to—to whom you wou'd reconcile me, and I assure you'tis not because I have slept since; I am sorry to have so little Concern for a Per∣son so well recommended to me, and that not being able to afford her any room in my Affection, she had no more in my Memory. It's the part of my Soul in which I may with most Justice allow her a place, being that which is most opposite to the Judg∣ment, and wherein things past are laid up. But if I say any thing obliging to her after Dinner, she shall not be able to complain that I talk to her by heart; for I find that I'm so much a Stranger to all that I have to say to her, that if you do not quickly relieve me, you shall see that I know no more than you, either the Words or Time: I wish you knew no better that of your departure. For without lying, I have not Courage to endure the bare thought of it, which stifles in me all others. When I think that to Morrow you will be no longer here, I am surpris'd that I am to Day in the World, and I am ready to confess to you that there is some Faction in this Love, which I testifie, when I consider that I yet breathe,
and that my Displeasure has not yet finish∣ed my Days. Others have lost their Speech and confin'd themselves to inaccessible Solitudes for less Misfortunes than mine. I own that I could not go so far from you, to vent my Grief, but I am methinks to be excused for not seeking a Cell in the Desarts of Aegypt, since I hope for a place in that which you are making. It is this Hope only, which keeps me in the World, and my Life hangs only on this Expectation. I know not whether all that I here say be within the bounds of a passio∣nate Friendship, but you cannot accuse me of speaking too intelligibly, since all my words will bear a double Construction; nor complain that I do not write to you in such Terms as you desire, since I never met with the Person that shou'd inform me what those are: So long as some Allowance is made for my Failings, and that I may tell you some part of my thoughts, I swear to you by the same Affection that I did Yesterday, that the only Folly I shall ever be guilty of, shall be always to love the most aimiable Person that ever was, and that I will be content to be hated by you, when ever I offer you my Friendship.
Madam,
IF you be as sensible of the Uneasiness of not seeing what you love, as I am; if you suffer, during this Absence, any thing like what I endure; What Considerations, charming Diana, could prevail upon you, to be two Days without seeing me? Why do not we rather hazard the other Extremity, than this which our Misfortune reduces us to? Is it reasonable, to hinder four or five People from prating and observingour Satis∣faction we should sacrifice it, and to pre∣vent a little Noise, endure so much Misery? No, no, my dear Diana, the greatest Mis∣fortune that can befal us, is to be separated from one another; I know nothing that we ought so much to fear: Do not think that our Love is a whit the more private, for the pains we take to conceal it; the De∣jection which is visible in my Countenance, speaks plainer than any body can do. Let us then lay aside a Discretion which cost us so dear, and give me, after Dinner, an Op∣pertunity of seeing you, if you would have me live.
Sir,
MAdam de Marsilly believes that I have some Int'rest in you; and I, who am vain enough to be thought to have it, have not inform'd her to the contrary. She is a Lady esteem'd at Court, and that may in∣fluence the Parliament; and if she succeeds in a Cause to be heard before you, believing that I have contributed to her Success, you cannot imagine the Credit it will do me amongst the better part of the World: I can propose nothing to byass you farther than by putting you in mind of my Interest, be∣cause you know your own can never engage you. To serve a Friend, and to do Justice, which is all we demand, are things the severest Judges may be solicited for; and I shall be sensible you do 'em both to me, if you continue loving me as much as you have done hitherto, and if you believe that I am
Yours.
Sir,
SInce you won't permit me to mention some of your Letters, pray give me leave to take notice of that you writ to Mon∣sieur d' Arses upon my Account, and to tell you, there are very few in France, that can write in such a Manner, particularly where you say that to accommodate my Affair you'll advance a Sum of Money; you must pardon me, if I am of Opinion that to offer twenty thousand Livers to do a Friend a Service, is so gallant a way of Writing, that there are few capable of expressing themselves in such a Stile: Even we of the Academy of the Beaux Esprits, are not able to boast of any Turn of Thought equal to this.
VIs ergo inter nos, quid possit uter{que} vi∣tissim, Experiamur: No, I beg your Pardon Sir, Apollo tells me I am overmatch'd, and I am resolv'd to take his Advice; nor am I concern'd that you have so far exceeded me in your last Letter, because there you have even exceeded your self: I must tell you, I am jealous of the very Praises you give me; they are so artful and ingenious, that I shou'd be prouder of being capable of giving, then receiving them; and the very Words wherein you tell me how much I am above others, shew me how much more you de∣serve that Compliment; every Line of your Letter is extraordinary, especially the Pi∣cture you draw of Madam de Longueville, which is so ravishing, that the sight of the Original cou'd not have transported me more. You say 'tis wonderful, that at a Treaty for Peace, you cannot be safe in Munster, notwithstanding the Pass-ports from the Emperour and the King of Spain; that is, Sir, you cannot be secure in Munster because Madam de Longueville is there.
When you upbraid me, that you have had but one Letter from me in a whole Year, and that I cannot hold out to Write twice successively with the same Force, I cannot but acknowledge that even your reprimands are not less obliging than your Praise, ex∣cept where you tell me I am fifty Years old, and where you upbraid me with my Spectacles and grey Hairs. Before I make an end of this Letter, I must send you the Compliment of Madam de Sable, and Ma∣dam Monthausier: I have shown them both these Passages of your Letter, where you speak of Madam de Longueville; for the rest, fear not that any shall see it, especially that part where you speak of fifty Year old. You must know, that here I am but forty seven, therefore pray let me be no more at Munster. I had alomst forgot to tell you, those Ladies commanded me to say, that if you speak but as well as you write, Madam de Longueville cannot be tedious in any place where you are. They swear there is no Person upon Earth has Wit enough but your self, and I tell them that I have thought the same thing this five and twenty Years; but I must detain you no longer,
Ne me Crispini Scrinia lippi, Compilasse putes. Verbum non amplius addam.
Madam,
THe Letter which you desired to see, is not worth the least Line of that in which you command it; but you, who were Yesterday so devout, do you make no scru∣ple to write such Things in the Holy-week, and do you not apprehend the Consequence of 'em, and what Effect they may have? I had set my Conscience at rest, and for that reason had resolved never to see you more. But your Letter has given me a new Disorder; and as well as another, I have suffer'd my self to be overcome by your Pearls, and your four thousand Livers. I could not have thought, that you wou'd ever have made use of such Means, to re∣gain a Lover, or that these sort of Things cou'd have had any Power over me: And I assure you, 'tis the first time that I have let my self be dazled with Riches. So to tell you the Truth, the Pearls were never so well set as they are in your Letter; and your four thousand Franks as you have manag'd 'em, are worth more than three hundred thou∣sand:
You are an incomprehensible Person, and I can not sufficiently Admire, how, without reading Herodotus, and making use of the Saturnalia, you can write such delicate Letters: As for me, Madam, I be∣gin to imagine that you have deceiv'd us, I believe you are acquainted with the source of Nilus, and that Spring from whence you draw all these fine Things, which you say, is much more secret and unknown: in fine, whatsoever your Steward says, 'tis not the Marchioness d' Sable, who is the finest Person in the World: you have more Charms in a corner of an Eye, than there is in all the rest of the Earth: Nor have all the Charms of Magick a Power com∣parable to those you write.
YOu may be assur'd that neither Grief nor Love will ever be the Death of any Person, since neither the one nor the other have yet kill'd me; and that having been too Days without the Honour of see∣ing you, I have some appearance of Life
remaining: If any thing cou'd have made me resolve upon a Distance from you, 'twas the Belief I had that Death wou'd have been the only Consequence, and that so great a Pain as that wou'd not suffer me long to have languished: Notwithstand∣ing, I find, beyond all my Hopes, that I last much longer than I imagine; and whatsoever Mortal Wounds I have, I be∣lieve, my Soul can not detach its self from my Heart, because it sees your Image there: This is the only Pretence that I find not to tax it with Cowardise, and the only Rea∣son that shou'd detain it so long in a Place, where its Sufferings are so great. From that Hour when you saw me, dragg'd by four Horses, and tore in pieces at my Separa∣tion from you: I swear to you, that I have not yet dryed my Eyes, and although they can no longer distinguish Colours, or dis∣cern the Light, yet will they serve more faithfully than ever, in assisting me to Weep for your Absence: Tormented and Languishing as I am, methinks I am left all alone upon the Earth, or that I have been transported into that corner of the World, where the Sun is not much oftner seen, than Comets here with us, and where the short∣est Night is three Months long: But this Misfortune wou'd not be the worst that
might befal me, if this present Night of mine lasted no longer; but I doubt if after so long time I shall see the Light again: Judge, I beseech you, to what Extremity I am re∣duc'd, that being only at the Entrance of so long and melancholy a Night, I already begin to count the Hours, and every linger∣ing Moment with Impatience. Oh! that amidst the Darkness that overwhelms me, there were at least some Intervals of Repose, and that I cou'd sometimes have pleasing Dreams, but whatever my waking Dreams are, they are never so Extravagant as to propose to me any thing agreeable; and my Thoughts are only reasonable in this, that they never promise me any good in this Condition: I believe that I may swear to you, that the most unfortunate Man this Day in the World, is he who Honours you the most; and it were impossible that I cou'd have lived so long, had I not hoped that it would have soon dispatched me: I plainly see that I have but fifteen Days more to de∣plore your Absence; and that my Life and my Misfortunes can endure no longer: This Hope alone has made me suffer both, with less Impatience; and I believe you are not displeas'd at it, since all that I ought to hope, you are willing to indulge me; at least I cannot explain the last Words you
said to me, more advantageously to my self; and whatsoever way I take it, I cannot see, what better I have ever to expect: nevertheless, you, who are more discerning, and see much farther than I can, I beseech you tell me, if my Passion ought not to have an Event more fortunate than this, and what might have become of me if I had longer surviv'd it.
Sir,
I Write to you in sight of the Coast of Barbary: There is but a Channel be∣tween us of about three Leagues over; tho' it is the Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea together: You would be surprized to see a Man so far off, who takes so little Pleasure in Rambling, and who was in such haste to re∣turn to you. But the Advice I receiv'd, that this Season was very improper for Na∣vigation, by reason of the great Calms, and that I should find it very difficult to Em∣bark before September, has given me at once an Inclination, and Leisure to pursue this
Voyage, for I chose rather to suffer the Fa∣tigue of Travelling, than the Laziness of Madrid. So that after having seen at Gre∣nada all that remains of the Magnificence of the Moorish King's El Alhambra, the Zaccatin, and that famous Place the Vi∣varambla, where I had formerly imagin'd so many Tilts and Tournaments, I am just come to the Point of Gibraltar: From whence, as soon as they shall have equipp'd me a Frigot, I hope to pass the Streights, and visit Ceuta, and coming back from thence, to take the Road of Cales, St. Lucar, and Sevil, and so to Lisbon. Hitherto, Sir, I have not repented of this Enterprize, which at this time of the Year has seemed rash to all the World: Andalousia has reconciled me to all the rest of Spain, and having pass'd it in so many other Parts, I should be sor∣ry not to have seen it in the only Place where it appears Beautiful. You'll think it strange, that I praise a Country, where it is never Cold, and where the Sugar-canes grow: But in Recompence, I can assure you, they have such Melons, that 'twere worth coming four hundred Leagues to tast them; and that Country, for which a whole Peo∣ple wander'd so long in the Wilderness, could not be, in my Opinion, much more delicious than this is. I am attended here by Slaves, who are hansome enough to be
my Mistresses, and it is permitted me every∣where to gather Palmes without Conquest. This Tree, for which all ancient Greece has fought, which is not to be found in France, but in our Poets, is here no scarcer than the Olive-trees; and there is not an Inhabitant on this side who has not more of them, than all the Caesars. You may behold at one View the Mountains charg'd with Snow, and Vallies cover'd with Fruit. They have Ice in August, and Grapes in January: Summer and Winter here are always mixt together, and when the Year grown old in other Coun∣tries, and whitens all the Earth, here it is ever green with Lawrels, Orange-trees and Mir∣tles. I confess, Sir, I endeavour to make it seem as beautiful to you as I can; and having complained to you formerly of the Ill I have met with in Spain, if I do not retract what I have said, I think I am oblig'd, at least, to re∣present to the best Advantage, whatever I find that's Good in it: In the mean time you'll wonder, that a Man so much a Liber∣tine as I am, should be in haste to quit all this, to go and find his Master. But I'll swear ours is such a One, that there can be no Pleasure, that ought to be preferred to the Honour and Satisfaction of Serving him. Liberty, which is esteemed the most charm∣ing Thing in Nature, is not so desirable as his Highness: You know how little I am
inclined to Flattery; and one of the most remarkable Qualities which distinguishes my Lord, is that he cannot suffer it. But it must be acknowledged, that besides the eminent Virtues which are owing to the Greatness of his Birth; his Affability, his good Nature, the Beauty and Vivacity of his Ingenuity, the Pleasure he takes in hearing witty Things, and the Grace with which he speaks them himself, are Qualities which can hardly be found any where to that degree, as they appear in him; and if it were only to see something extraor∣dinary, that I ramble about the World, what need I give myself the trouble to go so far, when I should do much better to keep near his Person. I examine every thing I see with more Curiosity than I naturally have, that when the time serves I may give a sa∣tisfactory Account to his Highness: And I am well assur'd, that when I shall have once had the Honour to discourse with him about these Matters, he will know'em ever af∣ter better than I do. The prodigious Me∣mory of this Prince, has been a mighty Com∣fort to me during my Absence; for having had the Honour to be in it some time ago, I don't question but I have a place there still, because I can hardly imagine, that I am so unfortunate as to be the only thing he ever
forgot. His Highness, who never forgot a Tribune nor an Aedile, nor even a Le∣gionary Soldier, who has once been na∣med in History, will not, I believe, for∣get one of his humble Servants; and the whole Globe being in his Imagination bet∣ter represented than in any Map of the World, let me go never so far, I need not fear for that to go out of the Honour of his Remembrance. Nevertheless, I hum∣bly intreat you, Sir, (you who with so much Goodness, procure me all sorts of Honours and Advantages) to find an opportunity to tell my Lord, how much I desire to have the Honour to kiss his Hand; and the Prayers I make continually for a Life of so great Consequence to all Mankind. If af∣ter this I desire any thing more of you, 'tis only that you would be pleased to take care that time shall diminish no part of what you have so liberally given me in your Af∣fection: But see, how far the Excess of mine has carried me, that it makes me doubt the most generous Man a live. You who know, Sir, that in all those that love much, there are always some Motions that are not conformable to Reason, pardon, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 beseech you, this Fear, and consider that 〈◊〉〈◊〉 am excuseable, being with so much Passion.
Yours, &c.
Madam,
I Was so perfectly yours before, that I imagin'd you ought to have believ'd there was no need of Presents to secure me to you, nor that you shou'd have contriv'd to catch me like a Rat, with a Cat. How∣ever, I must needs own, that your Libe∣rality has created in me some new Affe∣ction for you; and if there had been yet any thing in my Soul that was stragling from your Service, the Cat you sent me has caught it, and now it is intirely your own. 'Tis certainly the most beautiful and jolliest Cat that e're was seen: The greatest Beau-cat of Spain, is but a dirty Puss com∣par'd to him; and Rominagrobis himself, who you know, Madam, is Prince of the Cats, has no better a Mein, nor can better smell out his Interest. I can only say, that 'tis very hard to keep him in, and that of a Cat brought up in Religion, he is the most uneasie to be confin'd to a Cloyster. He can never see a Window open, but immediately
he is for jumping out of it; he had e're this leap'd twenty times over the Walls, had he not been prevented; and there is no Secular Cat in Christendom that is more a Libertine, or more head-strong than he. I am in hopes, however, that I shall perswade him to stay by the kind Entertainment I give him; for I treat him with nothing but good Cheese and Naples-Biskets; and perhaps (Madam) he was not so well treated by you: For I fancy the Ladies of—don't suffer their Cats to go into their Cupboards, and that the Austerity of the Convent won't afford 'em such good Chear. He begins to grow tame already; Yesterday I thought verily he had torn off one of my Hands in his wanton Addresses. 'Tis doubtless, one of the most playful Creatures in the World; there's neither Man, Woman nor Child, in my Lodging, that wears not some Mark of his Favour. But however lovely he is in his own Person, it shall always be for your sake that I esteem him; and I shall love him so well, for the Love I have for you, that I hope to give occasion to alter the Proverb, and that hereafter it shall be said, Who Loves me, Loves my Cat. If be∣sides this Present you will give me the Ra∣ven that you promis'd me; and if you will
send me an Elephant in a Hand-basket one of these Days, you may as proudly say that you have given me all the sorts of Beasts that I love, and ev'ry way oblig'd me to be, all the Days of my Life,
Yours, &c.
Madam,
DId you ever see an Almanack in your Life? You'll say this is an odd Que∣stion. I'll give you the Reason then, why I ask'd it: There's an odd sort of a Fellow usually pictur'd in it, Madam, with the Devil knows how many Darts in his Body. And what of him? cry you. Why Madam, he's only a Type of your humble Servant, for that Son of a Whore Cupid has so pink'd me all over with his confounded Arrows, that, by my Troth, I look like—let me think, like what;—like your Ladiship's
Pin-cushion. But this is not all: Your Eyes had like to have proved more fatal to me than Cupid and all his Roguery: for, Madam, while I was Star-gazing t'other Night at your Window, full of Fire and Flame (as we Lovers use to be) I dropt plumb into your Fish-pond, by the same Token, that I hiss'd like a red-hot Horse∣shooe flung into a Smith's Trough. 'Twas a hundred Pound to a Penny, but I had been drown'd, for those that came to my Assist∣ance, left me to shift for my self, while they sorambled for boil'd Fish, that were as plentiful as Herrings at Roterdam. Some of my Fellow-sufferers I caught, of which I intend to make an Offering to your Ladi∣ship, as well as of, Madam,
Your most devoted Slave, COLLETIER.