303 [=305]

Lett. lxxxi. Letters Historical and Galant. 303

" Heresy, which they want to advance, and against the Defender of Royal Majesty, and against the only
" Asylum of Kings persecuted for the Faith." What follows are wishes for the happiness of France, and
" the preservation of the greatest and best of Kings. All this is fine and flattering: and that is the reason
" we hear of it, but they don't care to talk of a Sermon of Father la Rue's a Jusuit, whose Eloquence was
" admired at the funeral Oration of the Marshal de Luxembourg. That celebrated preacher turning
" his speech to the King; "Your Majesty, said he, knows that the beginning of your reign was difficult
" the End of it is rough and thorny: the middle was sown with Lillies and Roses; perhaps Sir, you
" did not offer them to God, and therefore he makes you feel the effects of his Anger by Wars, Distemper,
" and a general Scarcity of all things. Happy still, if so many misfortunes oblige you to return to him
" and disarm his Anger, by consecrating to him, the few days you have to live!"— Those Words
" sounded harshly enough. They were nothwithstanding spoke before the King, who was present at
" that Sermon; and I never heard that Father la Rue was censured for his boldness. Tis true the
" Jesuites can bring themselves out of trouble better than other people. Tho' the Decree given at Rome
" the first of October about the Chinese Ceremonies, was not in their favour, yet they say they
" found means to give it a turn that seem'd to be their Advantage, and that upon it the Holy Father
" ordered the assessor of the Holy Office to write them the following Letter, dated the 11th of October.—

" To put a Stop to Interpretations False and Contrary to the Intentions of our holy Father
" the Pope, which some persons give to a Decree published lately, touching the affair of the Chinese
" Worship as if the Second part of the said decree had destroyed all that is regulated in the first: I declared
" to you last Week by Order of his Holiness, that as he never thought that his decree of the Year 1704
" was Conditional, so that it was free to all to observe it or not to observe it according as they believe it
" conformable or not Conformable to truth; so his Holiness is not willing that under any such pretence
" the Exact observation of the Decree of 1704 be dispensed with, or the Mandate of Mr. the Cardinal de
" Tournon, under the pains contained in the said Mandate, the execution of which is so strictly con-
" tained in the Last decree. To this I add, that, as I told you already, his Holiness's principal
" Design, to take away all pretence of giving this pretended Conditional Sense to the first decree, that his
" Holiness ordered the following Words to be inserted in the last: quovis contra faciendi quosito
" colore seu protextu penitus sublato. In obedience to a new Command from his Holiness I
" advertise you that as this is post day you take an Opportunity to send the Said Decree to your
" Religieux in China, and to acquaint them with the Declaration I have made you, that according
" to the full Confidence his Holiness has In them, there may happen on their part no retarding the
" Punctual Execution of the said decree, which you know his Holiness has so strongly at heart.

" The General of the Jesuits replyed by Promising the Entire obedience of all this Religieux
" as well to the Pope's Decree, as to the Mandate published at China by the Legate, from whom the Jesuits had
" appealed. Their appeal was brought to nothing by the last decree, and the Pope has ordered that the assessor's
" Letter, and the Answer of the General should be inserted in the Registrations of the Holy Office. Which made me
" thing that those two pieces, or at least one and the sense of the other merited a place in this Mercury. We
" may see from hence that the Jesuites are very cunning follows: that know how to make their advantages
" and yet politick enough to yield to time when they cannot do better. But they never give up but by Provision
" and wait till the Storm is pass'd after which they always find pretences, to unsay all that they promised
" and to call it abuse.

" We have deceived Advice here that the Grand Prior de Vandôme, going from Venice to Switser
" land [Switzerland], where he thought to make some stay, was arrested in the Country of the Grisons by Mr. Masner of
" Coire, who thought he had a right to use Reprisals, because his Son was Continued a Prisoner in France,
" tho' the Count du Luc, our Embassador in Switserland [Switzerland] had given his Word that he should be released as
" soon as the Secretary Merveilleux arrested by the said Mr. Masner should be set at Liberty. Mr.
" Masner delievered him immediately, and vex'd at their not keeping their Word with him in regard to
" his Son, was resolved to try to be revenged by making some Considerable Capture, and was so happy
" as to get the Grand Prior into his Ambuscade. He did not even know the Importance of his Prize
" and it was the Prince that discovered it to him. For upon his asking him whether he was and