We find, however, one passage which shews the atrocity and fury of the persecuting spirit which was then goading Louis into wars and inhumanities in various parts of his dominions. Scapi addressed a long letter to Bassompierre, setting forth the scandale which had occurred to all good Christians, because the heretics of Bruscio, and another village in the Grisons, who had been expelled, had returned, "a ripatriarsi," and were even permitted to baptize their children after their own fashion. This was horrible. He urges, with pious earnestness, that they may not be allowed to perform " alcuna funzione della loco superstizione:" and exhorts the Marshal to "fare un opera di somma supererogazione," by driving these poor people across the mountains again. Bassompierre, of course, thinks this all as it should be, but confesses, that, having heard that at Poschiano, another village where the Marquess de Cœuvres had forbidden the protestant ministers to exercise any of their functions, two infants had died of cold from being carried, in that very severe winter, across the mountains to obtain protestant baptism, he had relented a little.

In the Spring of the year 1626, the king's brother, Gaston of Orleans, married Mademoiselle de Montpensier. This event was followed by a temporary cordiality, or appearance of cordiality, between the brothers; which, however, was not of long duration. Just at this juncture, arrived the news of the discord which had prevailed at the court of England, and the consequent dismissal of all the queen's French attendants and priests. The queen-mother expressed to the king her desire that Bassompierre should be sent to England, "pour rémédier à tout celà," which he was compelled, very reluctantly, to undertake. We now come to that part of the memoirs which has been extracted and published in English. The Dover road was not, it appears, quite so good as it now is; at all events, the marshal found it expedient to sleep at Dover, at Canterbury, at Sittingbourne, at Rochester, and at Gravesend; making a six days' journey of it.

"On the 7th of October," says he, " I embarked on the Thames, and came by the warehouses for ship-building of the East Indies; then by Grenwich, a house of the king's, near which the Earl of Dorchet, Knight of the Garter, of the family of Hacfil, came to speak to me from the king, and having conducted me into the king's barge, brought me close to the Tower of London, where the king's carriages were waiting for me, which carried me to my lodgings, where the said Earl of Dorchet left me. I was neither lodged nor entertained at the king's expense; and they made a difficulty of sending this Earl of Dorchet, according to the usual custom, to receive me. However, this did not prevent my being well lodged, furnished, and accommodated. The same evening, after I had supped, they came to tell the Chevalier

de Jars, who had supped with me, that one was enquiring for him. It was the Duke of Bouqinkam and Montaigu, who were come to see me alone, and without flambeaux, and begged him to introduce them into my room by some private door, which he did; then came to fetch me. I was greatly surprised to see him (Buckingham) there, because I knew he was at Hampton Cour with the king; but he had come thence to see me. He began with making many complaints against France, then against me, with respect to certain persons; to which I answered the best I could, and then made those of France against England, which he also excused in the best manner he could, and then promised me all manner of assistance and friendship, and I also returned ample offers of my service to him. He begged me not to tell that he had been to see me, because he had done it without the king's knowledge; which I did not believe.

Thursday, the 8th, the ambassador Contarini, of Venice, came to visit me; and, towards night, I went to see the Duke of Boukingkam, at his residence called Jorschaux,* which is extremely fine, and was more richly fitted up than any other I saw. We parted very good

friends.

"Saturday, the 11th, the Earl of Carlisle came with the king's coaches to fetch me to Hampton Court, into a room where there was a handsome collation. The Duke of Boukingkam came to introduce me to the audience, and told me that the king desired to know, beforehand, what I purposed saying to him, and that he (the king) would not have me speak to him about any business; that otherwise he would not give me audience. I said, that the king should know what I had to say to him from my own mouth, and that it was not the custom to limit an ambassador in what he had to represent to the sovereign to whom he was sent; and that if he did not wish to see me, I was ready to go back again. He swore to me, that the only reason which obliged him (the king) to this, was, that he could not help putting himself into a passion, in treating the matters about which I had to speak to him, which would not be decent on the high dais, in sight of the chief persons of the kingdom, both men and women; that the queen, his wife, was close to him, who, incensed at the dismissal of her servants, might commit some extravagance, and cry in sight of every body. In short, that he would not commit himself in public; and that he was sooner resolved to break up his audience, and grant me one in private, than to treat with me concerning any business before every body. He (the duke) swore vehemently to me, that he told me the truth, and that he had not been able to induce the king to see me otherwise; begging of me even to suggest some expedient, and that I would oblige him. I (who saw that I was going to receive this affront, and that he asked me to assist him with my advice; to avoid the one, and to insinuate myself into his good graces by the other,) told him, that I could not,

* Jorschaux. In this strange-looking word, one has some difficulty in recognizing York House, the residence of Buckingham. It stood a little to the East of Hungerford market.

in any manner whatsoever, do any thing but what was prescribed to me by my master; but that, since, as my friend, he asked my advice as to some expedient, I told him, that it depended on the king to give or to take away, to shorten or to lengthen, the audience, in what manner he would; and that he might (after having allowed me to make him my bow, and received, with the king's letters, my first compliments, when I should come to open to him the occasion of my coming) interrupt me, and say, Sir, you are come from London, and you have to return thither; it is late; this matter requires a longer time than I could now give you. I shall send for you, one of these days, at an earlier hour, and we will confer about it at our leisure, in a private audience. In the meanwhile, I shall satisfy myself with having seen you, and heard of the king, my brother-in-law, and the queen, my mother-in-law; and I will not prolong the impatience, which the queen, my wife, has to hear of them also from you.' Upon which, I shall take my leave of him, to go and make my bow to the queen. After I had told him this, the duke embraced me, and said, 'You know more of these things than we; I have offered you my assistance, in the affair you are come to negotiate, but now I recall the promise I gave you, for you can do very well without me;' and so left me, laughing, to go and tell the king this expedient, who accepted it, and punctually observed it. The duke returned to introduce me to the audience, and the Earl of Carlisle walked behind me. I found the king on a stage, raised two steps, the queen and he in two chairs, who rose at the first bow I made them on coming in. The company was magnificent, and the order exquisite.

"I made my compliment to the king, gave him my letters, and, after having said my words of civility, as I was proceeding to those of business, he interrupted me in the same form as I had proposed to the duke. I then saw the queen, to whom I said little, because, said one, the king had given her leave to go to London, where she could see me at leisure. I then withdrew."

This is a curious instance of Charles's want of selfcommand. A man who announces to an inferior, that he shall certainly fly in a passion at what that inferior has officially to communicate, and asks the favour of him to help him out of so unbecoming a situation, certainly does not appear to be endowed with the appropriate qualities for governing. Bassompierre's address, presence of mind, and good breeding, are very favourably relieved by the conduct of the king.

Thursday, the 15th, on which the Earl of Britswater came with the king's coaches to fetch me to Hampton Court; then the Duke shewed me into a gallery, where the king was waiting for me; who gave me a long audience, and well disputed. He put himself into a great passion; and I, without losing my respect to him, replied to him in such wise, that, at last, yielding hìm something, he conceded a great deal to me. I witnessed, there, an instance of great boldness, not to say impudence, of the Duke of Boukingkam, which was, that, when

he saw us the most warmed, he ran up suddenly, and threw himself between the king and me, saying, 'I am come to keep the peace between you two.' (Je viens faire la hola entre vous deux.) Upon which, I took off my hat, and, as long as he staid with us, I would not put it on again, notwithstanding all the intreaties of the king, and of himself, to do so; but, when he went, I put it on without the king's desiring me. When I had done, and that the duke could speak to me, he asked me why I would not put on my hat while he was by, and that I did so freely, when he was gone. I answered, that I had done it to do him honour, because he was not covered, and that I should have been, which I could not suffer; for which he was much pleased with me, and often mentioned it in my praise. But I had also another reason for doing so; which was, that it was no longer an audience, but a private conversation, since he had interrupted us by coming in as a third upon us. After my last audience was over, the king brought me through several galleries to the queen's apartments, where he left me, and I her, after a long conversation; and I was brought back to London by the same Earl of Britswater."

Here we see, that Charles was a man of his word; and, having promised to be in a passion, he took care not to disappoint the ambassador-extraordinary, of so edifying a spectacle, nor to deprive him of so great an advantage, as a cool man always has over an angry one.

66

Saturday, the 24th, I went to see the queen, where the king came, with whom she picked a quarrel. The king took me to his chamber, and talked a great deal with me, making complaints to me of the queen, his wife.

"Sunday, the 25th, the Earls of Pembrac and Montgomery came to see me; then I went for the duke, whom I took to the queen's, and made his peace with her, which I had brought about with infinite trouble. The king came in afterwards; and he, also, was reconciled with her, and caressed her very much-thanked me for having reconciled the duke and his wife-then took me to his chamber, where he shewed me his jewels, which are very fine."

It will, doubtless, be gratifying to the members of the Corporation of London, to see the respect in which their civic feasts were held two hundred years ago.

"Next day, Monday, the 9th, which is the election of the mayor, I came in the morning to Sommerset, to meet the queen, who had come there to see him go on the Thames, on his way to Westminster to be sworn in, with a magnificent display of boats. There the queen dined, and afterwards got into her coach, and placed me at the same door with her. The Duke of Boukinkam also, by her command, got into her coach, and we went into the street called Shipside, to see the ceremony, which is the greatest that is made at the installation of any magistrate in the world. While waiting for it to pass, the queen played at primero with the duke, the Earl of Dorchet, and me;

VOL. XIV. PART I.

and, afterwards, the duke took me to dine with the lord mayor, who, that day, gave a dinner to more than eight hundred persons. After dinner, the duke, and the Earls of Montgomery and Hollande, having brought me home, I went to walk in the Morffield.

Sunday, 18th, the Danish ambassador came to visit me; after which, I went to the king at Withal, who placed me in his barge, and took me to the duke's at Jorschau, who gave him the most magnificent entertainment I ever saw in my life. The king supped at one table with the queen and me, which was served by a compleat ballet at each course, with sundry representations, changes of scenery, tables and music. The duke waited on the king at table, the Earl of Carlile on the queen, and the Earl of Hollande on me. After supper, the king and we were led into another room, where the assembly was, and one entered it by a kind of turnstile, as in convents, without any confusion; there was a magnificent ballet, in which the duke danced; and, afterwards, we danced country-dances till four in the morning; thence were shewn into vaulted apartments, where there were five different collations.

"Sunday, 29th, the Earl of Carlile and Lucnar came with the king's coaches to fetch me to take leave of their majesties, who gave me a public audience in the great saloon of Whital, and afterwards returned with him (the king) to his bedchamber, where he made me come in, afterwards; I went to sup in the apartment of the Earl of Carlile, who treated me magnificently. Lucnar came to bring me a very rich present from the king, of four diamonds set in lozenge, and a great stone at the end; and the same evening sent again to fetch me to hear an excellent English play.

"Saturday, 5th, I arrived at Dover with an equipage of four hundred persons, who were to cross with me, including seventy priests, whom I had delivered from prison in England. I had resolved to bear the expenses of all those who were going to France with me, thinking that I might have embarked the same day that I arrived at Dover; but a storm detained me fourteen days at Dover, which cost me 14,000 crowns. I arrived at Dover to dinner, and had my equipage embarked, thinking to cross the sea, but it was adverse."

He went back to Canterbury, at Buckingham's request, to have another interview with him.

"I found, on my return to Dover, that my suite had sailed; but they ran such chances, that, for five days, they could not reach Calais, and were obliged to throw my two carriages into the sea, in which there unluckily was more than 40,000 francs' worth of articles of dress which I had bought in England to give away. I lost, moreover, twenty-nine horses who died of thirst during these five days, because they had made no provision of fresh water for their passage, which, in fine weather, does not last above three hours. I found it impossible to embark before Friday the 18th, when I sailed with a high wind, and got to dine at Calais where I stayed the next day, to recover myself from sea-sickness."

In these days of steam and travelling velocity, it is worth while to remind ourselves of the inconveniences we are deli