Project Gutenberg's An Answer to a Scurrilous Pamplet [1693], by Anonymous
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Title: An Answer to a Scurrilous Pamplet [1693]
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: June 2, 2010 [EBook #32659]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANSWER TO SCURRILOUS PAMPHLET ***
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AN
ANSWER
TO A
Scurrilous Pamphlet,
LATELY PRINTED,
Intituled, A Letter from Monsieur _de Cros_, to the Lord ----
_Il n' point de plus courte vie que celle d'un mauvais livre._
_Mr._ Vaugelas.
_LONDON_,
Printed for _Randal Taylor_ near _Stationers_-Hall, 1693.
An Answer to a late scurrillous Pamphlet, Intituled,
_A Letter from Monsieur_ de Cros, _&c._
The Author of the _Memoirs_ had so little to apprehend in his
Reputation either at home or abroad from the feeble Efforts of
_Monsieur de Cross_ in his late trifling _Invective_, that had it not
been for the repeated Instances of some Friends, who were unwilling
to have such a wretched Scribler escape unpunished, he had never
condescended to the severe penance of sitting an hour upon him. To
their Importunities, and not to his own Inclinations is the Reader
obliged for the following _Remarks_, which as they serve to justifie
those particular passages in the _Memoirs_ that are so outrageously
exclaimed against by Mr. _de Cros_, so they discover, _en passant_,
several Intrigues hitherto not so well known or understood.
Though we may safely allow it to be some sort of Mortificatioa for any
one to see himself lie under the lash of a Man of Wit; yet certainly
'tis infinitely more supportable than to be assaulted by a Malice
altogether made up of Phlegm and Dulness. _AEneae magni dextra cadis_,
was said by way of Consolation to young _Lausus_ as he fell by the
hands of that celebrated Heroe. When we lie under an unavoidable
necessity of being encountered in Publick, 'tis some Comfort to be
engaged with Bravery and Honour: In such a Case there is Reputation
to be got if we come off with Victory; but to be forced to enter the
Lists with a feeble, inglorious and despicable Adversary, is somewhat
afflicting; there can be no Skill, no Dexterity shown in putting by
his Thrusts, and there is no Reputation acquired by gaining the
Conquest.
Certainly there never appeared in the World a Paper so little
performing what it seems to promise in the Title page, so mean and
undesigning, and in short so below the mighty Character of its Author
who so often takes care to instruct us that _a great Prince and a King
did not disdain to employ him as a Counsellor of State_, as this
rambling, incoherent unthinking Letter. But perhaps it may be alledged
by some of its Favourers, that the sincerity of what it pretends to
relate, may atone for all its other palpable defects, since to use his
own magnificent Expression our Deserter of a _Monk_ is pleased to
assure us, _p. 9._ that _the only Heroe of his Piece shall be Truth_:
And indeed the Matter wou'd be somewhat mended if the Case were so;
but for certain Considerations best known to himself our Letter-Writer
has been so complaisant to his Heroe, as not to give him any trouble
at all. However this pleasant passage puts me in mind of a certain
person of the Long Robe who a little after the Restauration, when
writing of Plays was more in fashion than it is at present, must needs
threaten the Stage with a Play; and as a Hero is a very necessary
Ingredient in all or at least most Compositions of that Nature, he
designed to furnish himself with a Hero that should work Miracles,
defeat Armies, charm the Ladies, and make as considerable a Figure as
any Hero that had visited the World for many Ages. After he had amused
himself some Months with this painful Undertaking, a Friend of his
happens to interrogate him upon this Article, and asks him what
Progress he had made in his Play, and how his Hero fared. To which the
poor Gentleman replied, that a certain Misfortune had befallen him
which had put a stop to the Affair. In short, after a tedious Enquiry,
he informs him that he had unluckily killed his Hero in the first Act,
and so cou'd not for the heart of him tell how to advance any farther.
This was fairly and civilly done in our Gentleman. He had cut out so
much Work for his Hero in the first Act, that he had left him nothing
to do in any of the rest; and therefore was obliged to dispatch him in
his own defence; but Monsieur _de Cros_ never so much as introduces
his Hero in one single Paragraph of his Letter: He threatens indeed to
bring him in Play one time or another, but for all that keeps him
still as invisible as a Fairy Treasure, and his Hero has no more to do
throughout the whole piece, than one of the _Mutae Personae_ in the
ancient _Drama_.
Monsieur _de Cros_ is pleased to address his Letter to a certain Noble
Lord in _Nubibus_; for he no where takes occasion to name him, and
this was certainly done with no other Prospect than only to recommend
his Trifle the better to his Readers. He owns, _p. 3._ that _Sir_
W. T. _is a Man of some Merit, and that he has been employed a long
time upon very important Affairs_, but then with his usual Confidence
affirms that _he knew very little of the Secret of the late King of_
England's _Designs_. Sir _W. T._ no where pretends in his Memoirs
that he knew the bottom of all the Court-Intrigues, that were managed
with so much Artifice by the prevailing Ministry of those times; nay
he congratulates his good Fortune that he was never made acquainted
with them; and though from several remarkable Circumstances he has all
the Reason imaginable to suspect that some things were not so fairly
meant as was openly pretended, yet he knows no Reason why they should
not trust him in any Occasions wherein the Honour of his Master or the
true Interest of the Kingdom were concerned: And as for the rest, he
thinks it the highest Complement the Ministry ever made him, not to
disclose them to him.
Upon this Consideration says Monsieur _de Cros_, p. 4. _I had no great
Curiosity to peruse the Memoirs, well judging that the Author was not
able to give me any tolerable Light into the discovery of so many
secret Intrigues that were carried on at that juncture: And besides_,
continues he, _I had Reason to doubt whether these Memoirs were not
principally designed to be a Panegyrick upon himself, and to blacken
the Reputation of several Persons of eminent Quality and Merit,
because_, adds he, _I was particularly acquainted with the Pride of
Sir_ W. T. _who fansies himself to be the wisest and ablest Politician
of his Age._ If Sir _W. T._ is that vainglorious and ill-natured
Animal as Monsieur _de Cros_ represents him to be, he here solemnly
promises him that he will never come to him to learn either Humility
or good Manners; and if he has been severe upon any of the Great Men
then in Vogue, he has done no more than what every Body almost in the
Nation has done since. He barely contents himself with the
Satisfaction of having been in some measure serviceable to his King
and Country; and since he has not made his Fortunes at the expence of
either, he supposes he may lawfully mention his Services without the
horrid Crime of Ostentation or Vanity.
But to let the World see that Monsieur _de Cros_ has no Malice in his
Heart, but that he really designs Sir _W. T_'s Good, he condescends p.
5. to give him wholesome Advice, and sets him Copies to write after.
To this purpose he recommends to his Perusal _the Memoirs of_
Villeroy, _the Negotiations of_ Jeanin, _and the Letters of Cardinal_
Dossat, _in all which there reigns a Spirit of Sincerity and
Modesty_. Sir _W. T._ never presum'd to set himself in Competition
with any of those illustrious Persons; he is no Stranger to their
Merits or Character, but is afraid that Monsieur _de Cros_ has
proposed some Models to him which he never intends to follow himself.
It was not Sir _W. T_'s Bookseller that called him _One of the
greatest Men of this Age_, as Monsieur _de Cros_ falsely insinuates,
_p. 5._ but a reverend Prelate of our Church, who published the
_Memoirs_ without the Author's Consent or Privity; and who, in his
Advertisement to the Reader, does not stile him _Un des Grands Hommes
de ce Siecle_, as Monsieur _du Cros_ maliciously has printed it, but
only _an Ornament to Learning and to his Country_: So that this being
a Mystery to no body in _England_, he wonders how some People come to
make such Blunders about it in _Holland_. But by this and several
Instances of the like Nature, any man may easily guess what famous
Exploits Monsieur _de Cros_ designs to perform with the Help of his
_Hero_.
To make good the Charge of Presumption with which Monsieur _de Cros_
taxes the Author of the Memoirs, he cites a Passage, _p. 6._ which be
found accidentally at the first opening of his Book; and assures his
Noble Lord, that he doubts not but he shall be able in a short time to
produce several others to the same Effect. _The Negotiations which I
had managed at the_ Hague, _at_ Brussels, _and at_ Aix la Chappelle,
_and saved_ Flanders _out of the hands of France in 1668, made them
believe that I had some Credit amongst the_ Spaniards, _as well as in_
Holland. Indeed, as he has cited this Passage, any one would
believe, that all the Glory and Merit of Preserving _Flanders_ was
intirely owing to Sir _W. T_'s Conduct; and with this wrong Scent
Monsieur _de Cros_ runs along very furiously, talks of erecting
Statues, of the Ingratitude of _Spain_ and _Holland_, with abundance
of other bitter things, with which his Indignation plentifully
furnishes him at all times. But our Comfort is, that this Passage is
nothing near so criminal and arrogant in the Original as our
Letter-monger would have it; and therefore it may not be _mal a
propos_ to cite it fairly. [A]_This I suppose gave some Occasion for
my being again design'd for this Ambassy, who was thought to have some
Credit with_ Spain _as well as_ Holland, _from the Negotiations I had
formerly run through at the_ Hague, Brussels, _and_ Aix la
Chapelle, _by which the remaining Parts of_ Flanders _had been saved
out of the Hands of_ France _in the Year 1668._ In the first Citation
it looks as if Sir _W. T_'s Management of the Treaty had wholly
occasioned the Preservation of _Flanders_, whereas in the latter, if
it meets with a true Construction, nothing more is meant, but that the
Negotiations at the abovementioned Places, in which Sir _W. T._ had
his share amongst the other Ministers that acted there, retrieved
_Flanders_ from ruin. If we may believe Monsieur _de Cros_, he will
positively tell us _p. 8. that all the Merit and Glory of the Peace
as well as of the Triple League, ought in justice to be ascribed to
the generous Resolution and Constancy of the States-General, who
employ'd, upon this Occasion, a Minister who far surpassed Sir W. T.
in Prudence, in Experience and all Abilities_. Sir _W. T._ has nothing
to quarrel with Monsieur _de Cros_ for upon this last Article; (tho,
as he is sure, no one is the worse for his Calumnies, so he thinks no
one is the better for his Commendations,) nor is he insensible what a
generous Part the States-General acted at this important Conjuncture,
when the publick Repose of all _Europe_ so much depended upon their
Resolutions and Conduct: Only he thinks it hard that _England_ should
not be allowed the least Share in the Turn of these Affairs, and that
the Ministers of so powerful a Crown should be passed over in Silence
without any Mention or Acknowledgement, as if they had been reckoned
abroad for so many Cyphers.
[A] _Memoirs_, p. 30.
After this Fit of Passion is over, the Weather begins to clear up with
our Author, and, during this Interval, he makes bold to acquaint his
Lordship, p. 8. _that he does by no means design in this Place to
examine Sir_ W. T's _Memoirs to the Bottom; No, he will take some
better Opportunity for that, and then, if God spares him with Life and
Health, he fairly promises him a Volume of Remarks, at least as big as
Sir_ W. T's _Book_. Those Persons that are never so little vers'd in
the true Character of Monsieur _de Cros_, need not be informed that he
promises mighty things, and performs just nothing at all. This unlucky
shifting off his Resentments to a fitter Occasion, (tho 'tis certain
he can never meet with a more proper one to unload himself of them)
looks like making Exceptions to the Ground when a man is to meet his
Adversary with his Sword in his Hand in the Field. In common Prudence
he ought to have acquitted one part of the Debt now, and then the
World would have been so civil as to have taken his Word for the
Payment of the rest. However let this terrible Day come as soon as it
will, Sir _W. T._ is under no Agonies at the thought of it: For let
our Monsieur scribble a Cart-load of Books if he pleases, 'tis a sad
but undeniable Truth, that 'tis in his Power to injure no man
breathing by them but only his Bookseller.
_Had I the Vanity like him_, says the modest, self-denying Monsieur
_de Cros_, p. 8. _to print my Memoirs in my Life-time, I have now a
very fair Pretence to do it._ Well, certainly there never dropt in
this World so unwary a Passage as this from the Pen of a Counsellor of
State and all that! For who will now be ever brought to believe that
Monsieur _de Cros_ is acquainted with the Intrigues of other People,
and consequently in a Capacity of writing Memoirs, who is a meer
Stranger at Home, and so utterly unacquainted with himself. _If I had
the Vanity_; No, never fear it, do but consult a certain thing called
a Looking-Glass every Morning, and thou mayst with a safe Conscience
say _good morrow_ to one of the compleatest Pieces of Vanity in the
Universe. But once more, _If I had the Vanity like him_, meaning Sir
_W. T._ What Occasion Monsieur _de Cros_ had to pubblish so unjust and
invidious a Calumny, no body can tell but himself; for had he
consulted either the Reverend Publisher's Epistle to the Reader, or
Sir _W. T._'s to his Son, or lastly maintained any manner of
Correspondence with his old Acquaintance in _England_, it had been
impossible for him to make so gross, so unpardonable a Mistake. All or
any of these must certainly have convinced him that Sir _W. T._ knew
no more of the publishing of the Memoirs than his ungenerous Adversary
Monsieur _de Cros_.
Well, but to pursue him in his Reveries; _I should publish_, says our
mortal Foe to Vanity, p. 9. _juster and more solid Memoirs than Sir_
W. T. _has done, if I had any Inclinations to appear in Print_; and
yet to see what a strange Spirit of Contradiction possesses some
people, he adds in the very next Lines that follow, _Not that I have
the Presumption to imagine my self more capable of performing such an
Undertaking than He is_. In the first place he proclaims it to all
Mankind, that he is fitter to write just and solid things than Sir
_W. T._ and secondly, before the Words are well out of his Mouth, he
would not be guilty of so much presumption as to think himself better
qualified for such an Undertaking than Sir _W. T._ If there be any
meaning in this sensless inconsistent passage, it amounts only to
this, _viz._ That 'tis possible for a Man to write more justly and
solidly than another (as for instance Monsieur _de Cros_ (if you'll
take his own Word for it) can write more justly and solidly than Sir
_W. T._) and yet after all, with these two Qualifications, is not
capable of writing better than he that has neither of them. Writing
_justly_ and _solidly_ are none of Monsieur _de Cros_'s Talents; and
therefore he was resolved to be revenged upon them.
What follows is extremely surprizing. _Whenever I put Pen to Paper_,
says Monsieur _de Cros_, p. 9. _I will write without Complaisance,
without Flattery, without Passion_: 'Tis strange he did not add
_without Sence and Meaning_. No doubt but Monsieur _de Cros_ will
write without Complaisance let him begin when he will; so far we
readily believe him: But that he will ever be persuaded to renounce
two of the dearest Qualities about him, Flattery and Passion, is
somewhat hard to digest. 'Tis true he promises fine things all along,
but is still so unkind to himself as to give us but very small hopes
that he'll remember to be as good as his Word. And 'tis very natural
for the censorious World not to regard what a Man promises, especially
if he does not regard them himself. In this small inconsiderable
Letter, as short as it is, he has taken care to exercise both his
Flattery and his Passion; and if it was impossible for him to write
four Sheets without calling them both to his Assistance, can it be
supposed he can write threescore without a spice of them? Nay,
continues the sweet-tempered Monsieur _de Cross_, _I will not express
the least Passion, no, not so much as against Sir_ W. T. _but will do
him the kindness to instruct him in abundance of things, which he poor
Man has executed without knowing the true Reason why he was set on to
do them_. This is an Effort of good Nature which Sir _W. T._ little
imagined to receive at his Adversary's hand, and upon that score very
much questions the continuance of it. Perhaps, as was intimated
before, the Court might employ Sir _W. T._ in some Affairs, without
acquainting him with the true Grounds and Motives; and 'tis evident
Sir _W. T._ no where denies it. However if Monsieur _de Cros_ will so
far oblige him as to give him a true Light into those Matters, he
promises to receive it with all due Gratitude and Deference.
_I came not by this Intelligence_, says Monsieur _de Cros_, p. 9. _by
being a Counsellor of State to King Charles the II._ How then in the
name of Wonder came he by it? _But by having had the Happiness for
several years to possess no small room in the confidence of a certain
Minister, who has in several occasions of the last Importance been as
it were the_ Primum Mobile _of that Conduct, which has surprized all_
Europe. 'Tis a scurvy Complement, this to the Memory of K.
_Charles_ (whom for all that _de Cros_ pretends still to honour) to
tell the World that Monsieur _Barillon_ (for that is the first Letter
of this certain Minister's Name) an Ambassador of a foreign Prince,
and one engaged in Interests visibly opposite to those of _England_,
knew more of his Affairs than any of his own Subjects and
Privy-Counsellors. The whole Nation is indeed satisfied that our Court
was at that juncture too much influenced by _French_ Councils; but few
will be brought to believe that the _French_ knew more of our own
Affairs than we our selves did. By their Bribes and constant
Application to the Ministry then reigning we grant they might know as
much as we, but hardly more, unless it be proved that we did their
Business implicitly, just as Sir _W. T._ run through several
Negotiations for K. _Charles_, without knowing the Reasons and Grounds
of them. As we have already observed, 'tis no new thing for our mighty
Statesman to contradict himself, and he does it _tres grossierement_
in this particular. Here he informs us that he owes all his
Intelligence to his frequent Conversations with Monsieur _Barillon_;
and a little below, where we shall, perhaps, examine this Matter more
carefully, we are told, _p. 29._ that this Ambassador came not to
_London_ till several years after his Arrival there, and that then he
never maintain'd any Commerce with him _au prejudice de son devoir_,
i. e. to the prejudice of his Duty. Now how Monsieur _de Cros_ as
Counsellor of State to King _Charles_ the II. should be ignorant of
several important Affairs relating to that Prince, but as the
Confident of Monsieur _Barillon_, should be made acquainted with them,
and yet all this while preserve his _Duty_ inviolate, is a
contradiction fit to be reconciled by no Man but the Party that made
it.
Having thus made it appear from whence he borrowed his Materials,
Monsieur _de Cros_ very gravely assures his noble Lord, _p. 11._ that
_after his death infallibly, and perhaps while he is alive_ (for alas,
poor Gentleman, he never knew his own Mind above a quarter of an hour)
_his Memoirs shall appear in publick, and there he will discover
abundance of things the truth of which has been hitherto concealed
with so much Address and Dexterity_. Lord what an insufferable deal of
Impertinence and Noise have we already had about the intended Writings
of Monsieur _de Cros_. First of all he promises, _p. 8._ to print a
Book of Remarks upon Sir _W. T_'s Memoirs, and this Book is to be at
least full as big as the Memoirs. In the second place, _p. 9._ he
promises to visit the World with a Book of his own Memoirs, in which
(to see how strangely Children and Books do sometimes degenerate from
their Parents) there is to be neither one Word of Complaisance, nor
Flattery, nor the least grain of Passion. Nay what is more remarkable,
it shall reveal several important but hidden Truths; it shall unlock
the Cabinets of Princes; it shall turn _Whitehall_ and _Versailles_
inside out, and in short come out with a hundred more Advantages than
ever any Book before it could boast off.
But what will you say to him, if after all this Parade and
Ostentation, he never publishes his _Memoirs_; for upon my Word the
thing is extremely doubtful. Can it be imagined that a Man of Monsieur
_de Cros_'s Christian Temper and Complexion will ever be accessary to
any Man's Ruine, but especially to that of a great Minister of State,
_who can be reproached with nothing in the World_, p. 12. _but only a
blind Obedience to the Will of the King his Master_? No, no, he is far
from pursuing the Destruction of any one, tho' never so great an Enemy
to him; and therefore since his Memoirs will most _infallibly_ ('tis
his own Expression, _ibid_) produce so tragical an effect, there's no
Question but he may be easily prevailed with to suppress them. Besides
what may serve to confirm us farther in this Opinion, he solemnly
professes, _p. 12. that he still preserves a profound respect for
the Memory of the late King, and that he has a great regard for
several Persons of Quality who even at this time of day are deeply
interested that he should hold his Tongue_. Now from hence I gather
that as 'tis impossible for him to write his Memoirs without being
somewhat familiar with the Reputation of King _Charles_ the II. (and
if so, why does he quarrel with Sir _W. T. p. 38._ for _prostituting
that Prince's Reputation_, since by this passage 'tis apparent that a
Man cannot avoid the doing of it, provided he designs to write
sincerely) so 'tis probable that this Consideration may incline a Man
of his Compassion and Bowels to forbear the sacrificing a dead Monarch
to his Indignation; especially since it must be attended with the
unavoidable ruine of several eminent Persons still alive. Thus after a
due Examination of the Matter, I find 'tis a difficult Case to resolve
whether Monsieur _de Cros_ will _infallibly_ publish, or else
_infallibly_ suppress his Memoirs.
If Monsieur _de Cros_ designed this Letter as a Specimen of what he
shortly resolves to enrich the World with, he's extremely mistaken in
his Politics. To pretend it is an Answer to the Impostures of Sir
_W. T. Reponse aux impostures de Monsieur le Chevalier Temple_ (for
all this it threatens to perform in the Title Page) and yet not to
prove him faulty in one single Matter of Fact, but only in general
Terms to say he is frequently mistaken, which yet the best Man in the
World may be without deserving the Name of Impostor; and that care
shall be taken to satisfie him better at some other Opportunity, was
certainly the grossest and most absurd _Soloecism_ in the World. But
not to dwell any longer upon this nauseous Chapter, I am sorry for my
Reader's sake, who it may be expected a more agreeable Entertainment,
that I have obliged my self to pursue Monsieur _de Cros_ from
Paragraph to Paragraph: For Connexion being the least thing he
troubles his Head with, his Answerer, of Consequence, must be forc'd
to ramble along with him: But this being too late to be prevented now,
I return to him once more.
_My Lord 'tis not my Design_ (cries Monsieur _de Cros_, p. 13.) _to
write you a Letter full of Invectives against Sir_ W. T. Now if that
were not his Design, he would very much oblige the World to let them
know at his first Convenience what it was. _Neither shall I descend
into the Particulars of his Conduct._ A wonderful great Favour! and
Sir. _W. T._ to show he is resolved not to be behind-hand with him in
Courtesie, promises by way of requital, never to trouble himself with
the Particulars of his. _I shall say no more at present than what is
barely necessary to convince your Lordship and all the World, that I
have the means in my hands to revenge my self abundantly for the
injuries he has done me._ To return a full Answer to this last period,
we need only put him in mind of the Proverb, _Canes timidi vehementius
latrant quam mordent_, and much good may it do him.
The next Paragraph carries a very mournful Mien with it; for there he
complains that Sir _W. T._ set upon him first, that he writes with a
Spirit of Vengeance, that he suffers himself to be transported with
ungovernable Heats like a Man who fancies he is touch'd to the Quick:
But now mind what follows, _As for my self_ p. 13. _I protest to you
My Lord, that I write_ de Sang Froid _in cold Blood_. How consistent
Writing in cold Blood and a hot Head is, I leave it to Monsieur _de
Cros_ to determine at his Leisure. In the mean time an inconsidering
Man who sees such sort of Stuff so often repeated would imagine that
our _Letter-writer_ had all the Meekness of a Primitive Saint, and
carried no such thing as a Gall about him; when 'tis plain, we may say
the same thing of his Gall, what some Physicians have observed of the
Liver in a vitiated Constitution, _crescente Liene decrescit reliquum
Corpus_; and that his has increased at the Expence of the rest of his
Body.
To be fully satisfied of the Truth of this, let us examine what
follows next. _'Tis true_, says Monsieur _du Cros_, p. 14. _that Sir_
W. T. _has glittered for some time, but then he borrowed all his
Lustre principally from the Protection of a certain Noble-Man whom at
last he betray'd, and of whom he makes insolent mention in his
Memoirs, and that with the blackest Ingratitude that may be_. This is
a very severe Charge, if it could be made out: But neither did Sir _W.
T._ derive all his Lustre from my Lord _A----n_, nor does he treat him
insolently any where in his Memoirs. As soon as that Lord forsook his
Master's and the Kingdom's real Interests to cultivate the growing
Power of a Neighbouring Nation, Sir _W. T._ thought it high time to
leave him; but it never enter'd so much as into his Thoughts to betray
him. _After this_, continues our Pamphleteer, _he advanced himself by
the Patronage of some other Persons, to whose Service he intirely
devoted himself, to the Prejudice of his Duty; and so well did he
insinuate himself into their Confidence and good Graces, the Post he
was in giving him the privilege to have a frequent Access to their
Persons, that he was in a Capacity to have rendred very considerable
Services both to the King his Master and to his Country if he had made
the best Use of that Advantage._ If Sir _W. T._ ever failed of doing
the best Offices he could for his King and Country, it might perhaps
proceed from want of better Information, but his Duty and Affection
were never in fault. This he thinks a sufficient Reply to this
ill-grounded Calumny; for he never dedicated himself so intirely to
the Service of other Persons (Monsieur _de Cros_ must here mean the P.
of _O._) as to make the least Infringement of his Allegiance. And this
will notoriously appear by several Passages in the Memoirs, but
particularly p. 153. where Sir _W. T._ gives a large Account of a long
Conversation between the P. of _O._ and himself in the Garden at
_Hounslerdyke_. The Prince had been telling him before, that the
Dispositions and Designs of the Court were generally thought so
different from those of the Nation, especially upon the Point of
Religion, that his Friends there did not believe the Government could
be long without some great Disturbance unless they chang'd their
Measures, which was not esteem'd very likely to be done. To which Sir
_W. T._ answered _That his Friends (as they pretended) in_ England
_must see farther than he did to believe the King in any such Dangers
and Difficulties as they imagined. That the Crown of_ England _stood
upon surer Foundations than ever it had done in former times, and the
more for what had passed in the late Reign; and that he believed the
People would be found better Subjects than perhaps the King himself
believ'd them. That it was however in his Power to be as well with
them as he pleased, and to make as short Turns to such an End; if not,
yet with the help of a little good Husbandry he might pass his Reign
in Peace, tho not perhaps with so much Ease at home or Glory abroad as
if he fell into the Vein of his People._ What could Monsieur _de Cros_
himself have done more in such a Station? Here was not the least
Injury design'd to the late King, and as for the other Part of Sir
_W. T_'s Discourse, his Obligations as well as Ties of Friendship to
the Prince necessitated him to give him a faithful Representation of
Affairs in _England_. But our furious Counsellor of State is still
inveighing against Sir _W. T. for being often deficient in an exact
Fidelity, which every Minister is obliged to preserve inviolably even
in Matters of the least Consequence_. Sir _W. T._ to his great Comfort
is not the first Minister that has sometimes made bold to disobey or
suspend his Masters Orders, by the same Token that there are the Names
of several upon Record, who after they have transgress'd upon this
Point, instead of Frowns or Punishments, have received Rewards from
their respective Princes as soon as they came to be better inform'd.
After all an implicite blind Obedience may do well in _France_, or
under a despotick Climate; but all the Application in the World will
never bring it to Perfection in _England_.
Well, but says Monsieur _de Cros_, p. 15. _the late King of_ England
_found him out at last, and was so sensible of it, that tho he
dispatch'd him with a Commission into_ Holland, _he did it only out of
a Consideration of the Acquaintance he had there_. And a little lower,
_Nor was he then made use of but only in such Occasions as are never
devolv'd upon a Man with whose Conduct and Trust a Prince is well
satisfied, or for whom he has any regard and esteem; a Truth owned and
acknowledged by Sir_ W. T. _himself in his Memoirs_. If Sir _W. T._
had half the Vanity that makes so large a Share in the Composition of
Monsieur _de Cros_, he has here a fine Opportunity to tell the World
what particular Confidences his Prince reposed in him; but as this can
be no News to his Friends in _England_, so he does not esteem it worth
the while to proclaim it to Foreigners, some of whom perhaps are too
much prejudiced against him to receive any thing in his Behalf. 'Tis
true indeed, that Sir _W. T._ frequently takes notice in his Memoirs
of the many Marches and Counter-Marches of our Court, as he had just
Reason to do, and as all _Europe_ observed as well as he. However he
must humbly beg Monsieur _de Cros_'s Pardon, if he cannot believe that
they were done with any Design to _prostitute_ him to the World: For
if that were true, he thinks they carried on their Revenge too far,
and instead of prostituting his Character did but prostitute their own
more effectually.
_And thus it is visible_, continues Monsieur _de Cros_ p. 16. _that
the King, a little after the Peace of_ Nimeguen _neglected him_. If
making Offers to him of a Secretary's Place immediately after his
Arrival, be the Sign of Neglect, all this is certainly true; _and
seldom employ'd him. 'Tis not as Sir_ W. T. _would make the World
believe, the Love of Retirement, and his Indisposition of Body, that
made him throw up his Employs; for never Man more passionately desir'd
to have his Share in the Publick Administrations than he._ Well, 'tis
no Miracle however to see a Man who is perfectly so unacquainted with
his own Humour to be a Stranger to all the rest of Mankind. The Author
of the Memoirs was at this time prevailed with by the King to have a
Part in a New Constitution of Council; and after almost two years
unsuccesful Endeavours at some Union, or at least some Allay of the
Heats and Distempers between the King and his Parliaments, took up a
Resolution of having no more to do with affairs of State; and
accordingly sent his Son in 1680. to acquaint his Majesty with it.
Whether he has departed from these Resolutions since, he leaves it to
the World to judge.
After Monsieur _de Cros_ has throughly chafed himself by assigning, as
he pretends, the true Reason why Sir _W. T._ was discarded the Court,
namely, the King's being dissatisfied with his Services, and Sir
_W. T_'s endeavouring all that in him lay to frustrate the King's
Commands, contained in a Dispatch which our _Letter-writer_ left with
him at the _Hague_, as he was going to _Nimeguen_ by his Majesty's
Order, to conclude a Peace _Don't expect_, says he p. 17. _My Lord,
that I should here acquaint you with the true Cause of so
extraordinary a Resolution, which according to Sir_ W. T. _entirely
changed the Fate of Christendom. I should do him too great a Pleasure
if I should reveal so important a Secret, and several other Intrigues,
in which some Persons, both of the late and this Reign in_ England,
_are nearly concerned._ But two or three Pages above, Monsieur _de
Cros_ spoke in another Tone, _je lui fair ai le plaisir de le mieux
instruire_, p. 9. but now the Weather-Glass is alter'd with him, so
that, for all I can discover, we must e'en tarry till his Remarks, or
his Memoirs are printed, and till then blunder in the Dark. 'Tis true,
he is pleased to give a very pleasant reason why he is by no means
for opening his Raree-show at present, which the Reader may take
in his own Words; _I doubt not_, cries he, p. 18. _but Sir_ W. T.
_passionately desires it; he knows well enough that a full Discovery of
these Practises would incense the Parliament against the Advisers of
them; and 'tis their Ruin he wishes at the Bottom of his Heart_. And a
little lower, _Besides, I would not at this critical Conjuncture, when
K._ William _labours with so much Zeal and Glory to procure the Repose
of Christendom, and the Happiness of his own Subjects, revive those
Animosities and Quarrels which have already occasioned but too many
Convulsions in_ England, _and might be a great obstacle to that Union,
which is so necessary towards the happy Execution of the Designs of
this great Monarch_. Most Authors have their _le Fort_ and _le
Foible_; but this Discourse of Monsieur _de Cros_ is altogether made
up of _Foibles_. For him to imagine that the great Senate of _England_
has nothing else to do but to read his Books and be directed by them,
is such a horrid piece of Vanity that nothing can parallel. No,
Monsieur _de Cros_ may safely print his Book, and yet for all that K.
_William_ with his Confederates may re conquer _Flanders_, the
Parliament supply the King with Money, and not so much as one single
Courtier be sent to Grass. And this is so certain a Truth, that he
needs not be in a moment's pain about it; for if his Memoirs are no
more regarded in _England_ than his Letter has been, he can injure no
man living by them, but, (as we have already told him) _himself_ and
his _Bookseller_.
Well, at last, (Heaven be prais'd) we are come to the Merits of the
Cause; and now it appears that the true and real Cause why Monsieur
_de Cros_ has all along so vehemently declaimed against Sir _W. T._
proceeded not from his giving a wrong Relation of State-Affairs, from
his disturbing the Sacred Ashes of King _Charles_ the Second, from his
neglecting to execute his Master's Orders, from his inexcusable
Ingratitude to his Protector and Patron, or, in fine, from his Pride,
his Opiniatrete, or any crime of that Nature. 'Tis a Thing of a nearer
Relation, and of a deeper Concern. He had injuriously attacked the
Reputation of Monsieur _de Cros_, and now he must expect to be
severely handled for it.
_At this time_, says our incensed Statesman, p. 19. _there arrived
from_ England _one_ de Cros, _as Sir_ W. T. _has express'd it, I shall
not, my Lord, make any stop at this term of Contempt, One de Cross_;
tho to his great Commendation be it spoken, he has almost spent a
whole Page about it before he has done, _'tis in Relation to my self
an Expression of the blackest Malice_. From thence he takes the Hint
to be speak himself to his Reader, telling him that the late King of
_England_ did him the Honour to treat him with more Respect and
Civility, both in his Pass-ports, his Letters, and the Commissions he
entrusted him with. He says 'twas _fort Cavalierement_, in plain
English, impudently done to speak after that saucy manner, of a Man
that was born of a tolerable good Family, that had been honour'd near
twenty years with several Employments, and whom a great Prince and a
King did not disdain to take for a Counsellor of State. There is a
certain Figure in Rhetorick (I have forgot the Name of it) which the
Grammarians tell us we are guilty of committing, when we pretend to
pass over those very things which we design to enumerate; and this I
find has been very serviceable all along to Monsieur _de Cros; he
won't make any stop at those words, no, not he; he won't rake into the
Particulars of Sir_ William's _Life, no not he_, but all the while
does it; and to say the truth, there's nothing in the whole Rhetorick
that he copies with so good a Grace. Well, let all Authors for the
future, as they hope to avoid Sir _W. T_'s sad Destiny, whatever they
do, be sure to mind their Heraldry; for they may see what a terrible
Adversary he has drawn upon himself by making a small mistake in that
ancient and honourable Science.
The Author of the Memoirs, _p. 325._ giving a short account of
Monsieur _de Cros_ and his Character, was so ill advised as to throw
out these Words: _He had formerly been a_ French _Monk, and some time
since had left his Frock for a Petticoat_. And now 'tis worth the
while to observe what judicious Remarques our furious _Letter-Writer_
has made upon them. _This is a fine reproach_, says he, _p. 20. to
come out of the Mouth of a Protestant Ambassador, one that belonged to
a Monarch who stiles himself Defender of the Faith; and in short, one
that so loudly declared at_ Nimeguen _that he'd have nothing to do
with the Pope's Nuncio._ A very hard Case this, that Sir _W. T._ shall
not have the liberty to acquaint the World that Monsieur _de Cros had
been a Monk_, because, forsooth, his Master was Defender of the Faith:
Nor to take notice that _he had exchanged his Frock for a Petticoat_,
because he would not shake hands with the Pope's Nuncio at _Nimeguen_.
This is a strange sort of reasoning, but not very terrible. But
perhaps the Apology that follows may make some amends for the whipp'd
Cream above. _I don't know, my Lord, whether it is a scandalous thing
to be a Monk, this I am certain of, that it is infinitely less
scandalous to have been one._ Sir _W. T._ will never contradict
Monsieur _de Cros_ upon this Article, nor did he say in his Memoirs
that 'tis scandalous to be a Monk: But Monsieur _de Cros_, who values
himself much upon his Politics, seeing he was unable to carry on the
War much longer at his own Expence, was resolved to fight his Battles
with the whole Body of the Regular Ecclesiastics; and therefore making
it a Cloister Quarrel, indicts him upon a _Scandalum Monachorum_. But
to proceed, _I make no doubt_, continues he, _but that among the Monks
as well as among the rest of Mankind, one may find sad wretched
Fellows_, (Speak softly lest any of the Brothers of the Surcingle hear
thee) _of mean, base Parentage_, (Prethee for your old Acquaintance
sake, not so loud) _of infamous, irregular Lives_ (nay, now you have
undone yourself with them for ever) _Drones, good for nothing_, (I
find he'll never have done with this Chapter) _without Honour, Good
Manners, or Reputation_. And yet not a quarter of an hour agoe it was
no scandal to be in such blessed Company. _Sir_ W. T. _without
Question looked upon me to be one of this number._ This is more than
he knew; but however since he has positively asserted it, Sir _W. T._
will not contradict him. _But then_, says our _Furioso_, turning the
Tables, _p. 21. there are also to be found among them Persons
illustrious for the Sanctity of their Manners, Men of extraordinary
Merit, and of the highest Quality, Sons of Princes and of Crown'd
Heads, nay, Kings themselves, and Sovereign Pontiffs_. He is now
thinking to cajole the Monks after he had so plentifully bespatter'd
them before: And must fain let the World see how dexterously he can
blow Satyr and Panegyrick with the very same Breath. _But if this sort
of Life is not reckoned now a days, as it has been heretofore, so
certain a Character of an honest good Man does Sir_ W. T. _imagine he
dishonours me, when he says that for a Petticoat I have abandoned a
Profession which he himself looks upon to be so contemptible._ If Sir
_W. T._ has not dishonoured Monsieur _de Cros_, why all this Fury,
this Heat and Indignation? All that the Author of the Memoirs said was
very harmless. As an Historian he was obliged to give a short Account
of those persons, whose Actions he there recounts. Mr. _de Cros_
happening to be a Man very remarkable towards the conclusion of the
Treaty of _Nimeguen_, Sir _W. T._ acquaints the World with part of his
History, and in particular says he had been formerly a Monk. Nor does
Monsieur _de Cros_ deny it, and yet for all that fansies himself
abominably injured. What! because he reported him to have been of that
Profession of Life which has bred so many learned Men, furnished the
Almanack with so many Saints, Thrones with so many Kings; nay, and the
Pontifical Chair with one third of her Popes?----But some people I see
are never well, full nor fasting.
Mr. _Dryden_, I remember, amongst several other judicious Remarks that
so frequently occur in his _Essay upon Dramatick Poetry_, has this of
the famous _Johnson_, which in my Opinion (and I think I have not lost
all my Taste in my Old Age) is admirable. _Ben_, says he, never
introduces any Person upon the Stage, but first of all informs his
Reader of his Character, and by that means bespeaks his attention. As
for instance if a _La fool_ is to be brought in, he makes a Foot-boy
till _True wit_, that one Monsieur _La-fool_ is coming to pay him a
Visit; and before he makes his appearance, _True-wit_ lets his Friends
know, and consequently, by them, the Audience, what sort of a
Gentleman _La-fool_ is, and what are his best Qualities. By this
ingenious Piece of Conduct the Poet takes care to please his
Spectators, who it may be are at first as uneasie to see a strange
Face upon the Stage, as in Company at the Tavern, till they are better
acquainted with his Dispositions; and then his Conversation is always
more edifying. The same management has been used by several Historians
(and not to descend into a _detail_ of the rest) by _Sallust_ himself,
a Writer of the first Rank and Quality: And why Sir _W. T._ should not
practise it, is certainly a Mystery. If then the Matter of Fact be
true (nor dares _de Cros_ deny it) where's the Imposture? If the Truth
that is told does no ways reflect upon the Reputation of the Party
concerned (as he himself owns it) where's the Injury, where's the
Affront?
Indeed as a famous _Grecian_ Philosopher is reported thus to have
express'd himself in relation to his Thoughts of Humane Life, That it
was much better not to have been born than to live at all: So in
relation to the Monastick State, one may say without breach of
Charity, that it is (at least as the Sentiments of the World run now)
far preferable not to have been a Monk, than sometimes to have been
one: For though 'tis no scandal to wear a Cowl, I am sure there's no
Credit got by wearing it. In all such large Societies, the number _des
miserables, d'une basse naissance, gens inutiles, sans honneur & sans
reputation_, are ten to one in comparison of the _tres celebres par la
Santete de leur moeurs, d'un merite extraordinaire_, &c. And so much
in answer to Monsieur _de Cros's Princes_ and _Kings_, _Cardinals_ and
_Popes_.
_I will not here tell you_, says Monsieur _de Cros_, p. 21. _how I
came to be engaged in this Life in my younger Days_. Truly that is
somewhat hard. _Neither will I tell you the Reasons why I quitted it._
This is the hardest of all: For though we may allow Monsieur _de Cros_
to have gone into a Convent for little or no reason at all; yet 'tis a
very severe Case if a Man of his Kidney had not several good Reasons
to leave it: His Youth excuses the former; but he was certainly at
Years of Discretion, when he abdicated the Monk, and set up the
Lay-man. But let us comfort our selves. The Memoirs will be printed,
and then we shall know all.
However though Monsieur _de Cros_ at this present Writing would not
acquaint his Noble Lord with the Reasons of his Change; yet he is so
far complaisant as to satisfie him that _it was not for a Petticoat:
Ce ne fut pas au moins pour une juppe_, p. 21. And then he gives an
admirable Reason for what he says. _I passed several Years without
having any Inclinations to a Petticoat_. A pretty Argument; and
therefore a Petticoat was not the cause of his Change. But as the
Schoolmen say, _Quod primum in intentione, ultimum in executione_: And
so in the present Case, a Petticoat might be the first thing in
Monsieur _de Cros_'s Intention, though it happened to be the last in
Execution. _Nay it appeared to the World_, p. 22. _that I was very
irresolute and difficult in my Choice_. And who can blame him for it.
The Matrimonial Vow is infinitely a greater Curb than the Monastick. A
man if he can make Friends with the Pope may get himself absolved from
the latter; or in case of Necessity, may turn his own Pope, as
Monsieur _de Cros_ did: But a Wife is not to be discarded at that
easie rate. 'Tis not the old Gentleman with the Cross-Keys and
Triple-Crown, but with the Scythe and Hour-glass that can free a Man
from his Spouse, and set him at liberty.
_I had too much Advantage on my side_, p. 22. _to change the Frock for
the Petticoat I have chose, not to do it._ Well this plain Consession
makes amends for all. What was pretended a little before, _viz._ That
_some Years were passed before I had any Inclinations to a Petticoat_,
was spoke by the Politician: But here the true, the sincere, the
undebauched Monk speaks, who owns he would have taken up a Petticoat
much sooner, but only was looking sharp out all this while for one
that was well fringed with _Advantages_. And now as there are
abundance of Husbands in the World, who as soon as their Wives happen
to be mentioned in Company, cannot forbear to enlarge upon their
several Perfections and Vertues; so it fares with Monsieur _de Cros_,
for now he is got into his _Petticoat_, he will never have done. _'Tis
a Petticoat_, continues he, _d'une etoffe d' Ecosse, of Scotch Cloth,
which has been of far greater Ornament and Service to the Crown of_
England, _than even Sir_ W. T. himself. Since his Petticoat has done
such rare Exploits, by my Consent let Monsieur _de Cros_ write a
Panegyrick upon it. But by the bye this is a very figurative way of
Writing; and therefore, though I don't understand it, I hope there may
be some meaning in the bottom. _If he does not know so much already_,
p. 26. _the History of the last Transactions in_ England _and_
Scotland _will better inform him._ Here we are referr'd again to a
_Hans en Kelder_ of a History, which when it will be mid-wifed into
the World the Lord knows. But I wonder extremely why he wou'd
condescend so low to compare his useful Petticoat to Sir _W. T._ as
why in another place _p. 8._ he tells us that the _Dutch_ Minister who
forwarded the Triple-League, surpassed Sir _W. T._ in Prudence. A very
sorry Complement this, both to his serviceable Petticoat and to his
prudent _Dutch_ Minister, if as he pretends, _p. 62._ Sir _W. T._ was
taken abroad _pour dupe_, for a Cully.
_I will not say any more of this Matter_, continues Mounsieur _de
Cros_, p. 22. _because I have no mind to engage my self to publish the
Misfortunes and Disorders of Sir_ W. T's _Family_. Methinks he might
have left out Disorders, for Misfortunes is enough; _and that in my
Opinion wou'd not be fair and honest_. Why the bare mention of a
Petticoat should engage him in such a Narration, is hard to conceive;
and yet this blind Insinuation is infinitely more malicious than if he
had wandered into a large History. There the World would have been
satisfied what these Misfortunes were, with which Monsieur _de Cros_
so brutally refreshes Sir _W. T_'s memory; whereas this blind
_Innuendo_ leaves open room for the Conjectures and Surmises of all
people, who in such Cases generally imagine the worst. _I have no
Occasion_, says he, _that I know of, to complain either of his Wife,
his Son, or his Daughters_; why then all these invidious Hints? Is it
not enough for other Persons to condemn our Author, but must he pass
Sentence upon himself.
_But suppose_, says Monsieur _de Cros_, p. 23. _that I had quitted the
Frock, for the Petticoat, what of all that? 'Tis no more than what an
infinite number of Persons of eminent Worth, such as Nuncio's,
Bishops, Cardinals, Kings, and Popes have done in their time: Nay,
there have been some Princesses in the World that have changed a Veil
for a pair of Breeches, whose Posterity I don't question are held in
great Veneration by Sir_ W. T. All this may very well be; and yet I
cannot but observe how natural it is for your great Persons to excuse
themselves by the Example of their great Predecessors. And thus the
poor Ant in the Epigram that unfortunately tumbled down the Precipice
of a Mole-hill, comforted her self with the Precedent of _Phaeton:
'Tis true_, says she, _I have had a damn'd Fall here; but what then?
Sic cecidit Phaeton_, Phaeton _had one before me_.
_If I had been a sort of an Agent for Sweden_, says Monsieur _de
Cros_, p. 24. _as Sir_ W. T. _has represented me, I should not have
defended my self upon that score; I should have taken it for a great
Honour to be employed by so mighty a King_. I wonder then where was
the hurt if Sir _W. T._ conferr'd a _Swedish_ Agentship upon him.
_But at that time I was at the Court of_ England _in Quality of
Envoy-Extraordinary from the Duke of_ Gottorp, _whom Sir_ W. T. _never
so much as mentions in his Memoirs, although he had two Ministers at
the Congress, and_ France _stipulated for his re-establishment in the
second Article of the Peace_. By Monsieur _de Cros_'s leave, the Agent
was some Years older than the Envoy; and if Sir _W. T._ has omitted
the Duke of _Gottorp_ in his Memoirs, 'twas pure Forgetfulness, but
not want of respect. _Well_, concludes he, in a great Fit of Devotion,
_p. 26. Heaven be praised Sir_ W. T. _is not the Dispenser of Glory
and Immortality_. And Heaven be likewise praised, say I, Monsieur _de
Cros_ is not the Dispenser of Scandal and Ignominy.
Sir _W. T._ in his Memoirs, _p. 335._ speaking of Monsieur _de Cros_,
happen'd to let fall this short particular. _At_ London _he had
devoted himself wholly to Monsieur_ Barillon, _the_ French
_Ambassador, though pretending to pursue the interests of_ Sweden.
Upon this Monsieur _de Cros_ raises a furious Outcry, and to furnish
himself with a better pretence of complaining of his unjust usage, as
he imagines, he has quite perverted the meaning as it lies in the
Original: For whereas Sir _W. T._ barely says, that he devoted himself
to the Service of the _French_ Ambassador at _London_, without
specifying any time at all, Monsieur _de Cros_ has translated it, _Des
qu'il avoir ete a Londres_, that is, _ever since he came to_ London;
and thereupon informs his Reader that Monsieur _Barillon_ was not at
_London_ when he was sent thither, but the Marquis _de Ruvigny_, who
was afterwards succeeded by Monsieur _de Courtin_. By this piece of
_Fourberie_, to give it no worse a Name, he thought to have eluded the
severe, but just imputation cast upon him by Sir _W. T._ of being one
of _Barillon_'s Creatures, but with what Success any unprejudiced
Reader may see. For,
Observe what he says in the next Paragraph. _I never devoted my self
to that Ambassador_, p. 29. _and never maintained any Correspondences
with him to the prejudice of my Duty._ As just before Monsieur _de
Cros_, with an ingenuity peculiar to himself, had made Sir _W. T._
speak what he never designed, in order to invalidate his Testimony; so
here, forgetting it seems what he had formerly advanced, he gives
himself the Lye. There is no doubt but every man may make as bold with
his own Reputation as he pleases, but then this gives him no Privilege
to invade that of his Neighbour: and therefore Sir _W. T._ though he
allows Monsieur _de Cros_ the liberty to contradict himself as often
as he in his great Wisdom sees fit, and easily forgives him that
Offence; yet he desires him for the future not to commit the same
violence upon others.
It may very pertinently be demanded what Monsieur _de Cros_ means by
these Words, _to the prejudice of his Duty_: For a man that pays so
small a regard to Truth, as he seems to do, perhaps, may think nothing
in the World an infringement of his Duty. But let us hear him explain
himself upon this Chapter. _I confess, indeed_, p. 30. _that when
he_, meaning Monsieur _Barillon, employ'd himself for the Interests of
my Master, and of_ Sweden, _I became intirely devoted to him_. At last
Monsieur _de Cros_ owns himself to be devoted to Monsieur _Barillon_;
however to mollifie it somewhat, he pretends that he never made those
Advances till that Ambassador cultivated the Interests of his Master
and of _Sweden_. A miserable Evasion! for how perfidiously the
Ministers of that Crown have all along dealt with their Allies, let
_Candy_ and _Messina_ proclaim to the World. Their Friendship has been
fatal to all that ever depended upon it, as the Histories of the last
Times will evidently show; and though they pretended never so
cordially to espouse the Quarrel of their Confederates, yet they
seldom scrupled to abandon their Interests when it made never so
little for their Advantage to do it.
_How this Dispatch by_ de Cros _was gained, or by whom_ (says Sir _W.
T._ in his Memoirs, _p. 336._) _I will not pretend to determine._ And
a little lower: _The Account I met with at Court was, that these
Orders were agreed and dispatched one morning in an hours time, and in
the Dutchest of_ Portsmouth's _Chamber by the intervention and pursuit
of Monsieur_ Barillon. In this place Sir _W. T._ by no means
pretends, to decide the Question, but only relates what were the
general Sentiments of the Court upon it, and for the Truth of this,
appeals to several eminent Persons still living. But it is pleasant to
observe what a learned Harangue Monsieur _de Cros_ has made upon this
Account. _'Tis a great deal of pity_, says he, _p. 35. that an
Ambassador of_ England, _who had the Secretary's place so often
proffer'd him, was not only during his absence, when he was
negotiating the Publick Affairs at_ Nimeguen _and the_ Hague, _but
even at his return into_ England, _so little instructed in what had
passed there, and principally in an Affair of this Importance and
Consideration._ Perhaps 'tis a great deal of pity, as he says; but by
his favour 'tis no wonder at all, especially considering the
Constitution of our Court at that juncture, that when they were to
play any private Game, they never thought it worth their while to
acquaint Sir _W. T._ with their Intrigues; nor does he envy the good
Fortune of Monsieur _de Cros_ for being made a Party in them.
_What a horrid Impertinence_, adds our Declaimer, _p. 38. was it in
him to endeavour to perswade the World, that the most important Affair
of that time, on which according to him, the Fate and Destiny of_
Christendom _depended, was dispatched and concluded in an hour's time
in the Dutchess of_ Portsmouth's _Apartment by the Intervention of
Monsieur_ Barillon. We may well allow Monsieur _de Cros_ to Christen
Truth by the Name of Impertinence, because he's so seldom guilty of
such Impertinences; and his Memoirs when they visit the World,
whatever Faults they may be charged with, will be never liable I
believe to that Exception. Sir _W. T._ as has been already said, only
delivers this as the Opinion of the Court, without interposing his own
Sentiments: And indeed to any unprejudiced Person, who considers what
an unfortunate influence that Ambassador in conjunction with the
Mistress had upon the late King, this Account will not appear so
_impertinent_ as Monsieur _de Cros_ represents it.
Sir _William Temple_, continues Monsieur _de Cros, p. 38. according to
his Custom, so little regards the Reputation of his King, that he
makes no scruple to prostitute it upon this Occasion after the
strangest manner in the World._ Nor is this sufficient, but with his
usual vehemence and fury he attacks Sir _W. T. for representing the
King of_ England, _obliged so much as he was by his Quality of
Mediator, and much more by the Interest of his Kingdoms, to procure
repose to_ Christendom, _as corrupted by the Ambassador of_ France,
_and by the Charms of his Mistress, sacrificing all_ Europe _and his
own Dominious to a Power naturally an Enemy to_ England: _and this
hand over-head, at an hour's warning, without the advice of his
Council, lock'd up in a Woman's Apartment, as if he had been sensible
that he was going to do an Action, the most unworthy the Majesty of a
Prince, and the most opposite to the Happiness of his people_. What a
profound respect Sir _W. T._ pays to the memory of that Monarch, as he
knows best himself; so let his own Works speak for him, and
particularly his Memoirs, since Monsieur _de Cros_ has reflected so
severely upon that Book, where the Reader may find the following
Character, p. 273. _I never saw him in better humour, nor ever knew a
more agreeable conversation when he was so; and where he was pleased
to be familiar, great quickness of Conception, great pleasantness of
Wit, with great Variety of Knowledge, more Observation and truer
Judgment of Men than one would have imagined by so careless and easie
a manner as was natural to him in all he said or did. From his own
temper he desired nothing but to be easy himself, and that every body
else should be so; and would have been glad to see the least of his
Subjects pleased, and to refuse no man what he asked._ And a little
below; _Sure no Prince has more Qualities to make him lov'd, with a
great many to make him esteem'd, and all without a Grain of Pride or
Vanity in his Constitution; nor can he suffer Flattery in any kind,
growing uneasy upon the first Approaches of it, and turning it off to
something else. But this Humour has made him lose many great Occasions
of Glory to himself, and Greatness to his Crown, which the
Conjunctures of his Reign conspired to put into his Head, and have
made way for the aspiring Thoughts and Designs of a neighbouring
Prince, which would not have appeared, or could not have succeeded in
the World without the Applications and Arts imployed to manage this
easy and inglorious Humour of the King's._ The Reader will certainly
forgive this long Citation, since now he is able to judge for himself,
whether of the two holds the Memory of King _Charles_ the Second in
the greatest Reverence, Sir _W. T._ who has drawn this true but
tender Character of him, or Monsieur _de Cros_, who out of a Pretence
of borrowing it out of the Memoirs, has made the above-mentioned
invidious Representation of that excellent Prince. If there is any
thing severe in Sir _W. T_'s Character 'tis towards the latter end;
however, 'tis managed with all Decency of Language, and the Truth of
it will serve to atone for the Plainness.
But now behold a new Occasion of Quarrel, upon this Passage in Sir
_W. T_'s Memoirs, p. 336. _the King indeed told me pleasantly, that
the Rogue_ de Cros _had out-witted them all_. To which Monsieur _de
Cros_ replies, p. 43. that if Sir _W. T._ had not made the King speak
these Words, but had said them himself, he would apply to him with as
much Justice as to any man in the World, these Verses, which he had
somewhere read,
_Coquin, ce me dit il, d'un arrogance extreme
Va Cherchir les coquins ailleurs, coquin toi-meme._
Which may be thus rendred into _English_,
_He calls me a Rogue, like an arrogant Elf,
Seek your Rogues, Friend, at home, you're a great one your self._
By the Pointedness of the Conceit one would be apt to imagine that
this noble Distich was of Monsieur _de Cros_'s Composition, and indeed
'tis but fit that an Author who shews himself so phlegmatick in his
Prose, should have the same dull Genius attend him in Poetry. But be
the Verses whose they will, the merit of the Application intirely
belongs to our _Letter-Writer_, who, to his Praise be it spoken,
discreetly chose out two of the dullest Lines in the Universe, which
it was impossible for him to murder, even by his own dull way of
applying them.
After a long Discussion of the matter, he finds he is not so much hurt
as he imagined at first. For in the first place he observes that the
King called him _Coquin_ or _Rogue_ pleasantly, by way of Jest and
without Passion; and in the second place, that if he called him so on
purpose and with Design, yet he ought not to wonder at it, p. 47.
since it was so usual a Compliment with him, and he had treated not
only the most flourishing Republick in the World, _Holland_, and two
Ambassadors of his most Christian Majesty, the Count _d'Avaux_ and
Monsieur _Barillon_, but even some Members of Parliament who had
presented him with an Address, by this familiar Term. And here I
cannot but make two Remarks; 1. That Monsieur _de Cros_ does not
preserve that profound Respect for the Memory of King _Charles_, as he
would make the World believe; and that he makes no Conscience to
sacrifice that Prince's Reputation upon every trivial Occasion, where
himself is concern'd to vindicate his own No-Reputation. 2. That as we
took Notice before, our great _Letter-writer_ still takes pains to
justify himself by the Protection of great Names. Thus, if Monsieur
_de Cros_ was a Monk, several Princes, and Kings, and Cardinals, and
Popes were so before him; and if he deserted his Frock for a
comfortable Petticoat, 'tis no more than what Nuncio's, and Pontiffs,
and Persons of the highest Quality had shown him a President for: Thus
if K. Charles the Second call'd him a Rogue, it never mortifies him;
for according to our Author, he bestowed that very same Compliment
upon Parliament-Men, Ambassadors, nay the States of _Holland_: and in
like manner if he was Author of the abovemention'd dull Distich, he
may still comfort himself by the Example of _Tully_, of _Nero_, nay
and of _Augustus_ himself.
_I need not put my Invention to the rack_, says Monsieur _de Cros_ p.
49. _to revenge my self on Sir_ W. T. _If I had been minded to call
Falshood to my Assistance, I should have bespattered him with bitterer
things: but the Truth of my Remarks upon his Memoirs will revenge
me sufficiently upon him._ 'Tis needless here to question the
fruitfulness of Monsieur _de Cros_'s Invention, he having given but
too many Proofs of it in this short Letter; and were it not that
Dulness is the chief Ascendent in his Temper, he has variety enough of
_Fable_, to qualify him not for a Writer of Remarks, but a Poet. In
short if the dreadful Volume he threatens Sir _W. T._ with, perform no
greater Execution than this little Specimen, Sir _W. T._ will have all
the Reason in the World to bless his kind Stars for sending him so
harmless an Adversary.
Our Author who found it so necessary to engage other Persons in his
Quarrel, summs up all his Malice in his last Effort. Says he, p. 56.
_This the most proud and vindicative of all kind, has in his Memoirs
assaulted the Reputation even of the greatest Ministers, as the Duke
of_ Lauderdale, _the most zealous and faithful Servant the King ever
had_; (by the same Token that a[B] late Pamphlet has recorded a
celebrated Saying of his, _viz._ that he hoped to see the King's
Edicts to be Laws and above the Laws) _My Lord_ Arlington _who had
brought him out of Dust and Oblivion to place him in Employments_;
(but this Article having been cleared already, I shall now dismiss it
without any further Remark) _The principal Ministers and sagest
Magistrates of_ Holland, _the present Earl of_ Rochester, and _the
Marquis of_ Carmarthen. If this were true, as 'tis apparently false,
they don't want the Help of such a feeble Writer as Monsieur _de Cros_
to defend them. Lastly, p. 61. _Perhaps, says he, this great Minister,
this great Confident of Kings and Princes, and only Preserver of_
Flanders, _had done wiser than to enter the Lists with a Monk, with a
sort of an agent and a cunning Rogue_. To all which let this short
Answer serve. Sir _W. T._ had it never in his intentions to enter the
Lists with an Enemy of so prostitute a Character; he only mention'd
him two or three times, _en passant_, and has other Business to employ
him, than to engage himself in a War where he can Expect no Triumph.
[B] Mr. Johnson's _Argument_, &c.
FINIS.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
2. Long "s" has been modernized.
3. The words Soloecism and moeurs use an oe ligature in the original.
4. Apart from changes listed above, printer's inconsistencies in
spelling have been retained.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Answer to a Scurrilous Pamplet
[1693], by Anonymous
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