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Prince told me, was, that he ought not to be consulted upon that head; that the Duke of Monmouth's deportment with regard to him, was not unknown to any body; and that to tell the truth, he did not know what designs the Duke of Monmouth could have by remaining so near the coasts of England in the present conjuncture.

His Britannic Majesty told me also the Ambassador of Spain had spoken to him about the treaty of alliance which had been concluded some time ago between the late King of England and his Catholic Majesty, to which he did not. doubt his Britannic Majesty thought himself to be bound in the same way as the late King his brother was; that he had answered him, that he had very little information of that kind of matters; that if the Ambassador wished for some explanation thereupon, he might present a memoir which should be examined by his ministers in order to answer him in the usual forms. The Ambassador of Spain was puzzled by this answer, and understood well that the King of England does not hold himself to be bound by the treaty the King his brother had made. I told him that, besides he was not bound by this treaty according to the common rules, he recollected that the late King of England himself thought he was sufficiently disengaged thereof by the refusal of the Spaniards to submit to his arbitrament, and by the alteration in affairs since that time; since after a war a treaty of truce had been made, the warranty of which the King of England had not taken too much trouble to be concerned in; and that it was his business to consider what will suit him thereupon. The King of England told me "I do not hold myself in any way bound by the treaty the King my brother made with Spain, but I "deem myself very much obliged to preserve the friend

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ship and the support of the King your master, and I "shall do every thing in my power to deserve them."

I am, &c.

BARILLON.

THE KING TO M. BARILLON.

March 9, 1685.

M. Barillon, I received your letters of the 26th of February, and the first of this month; and saw with pleasure by the first, that the King of England was as sensibly moved as I could wish for, by the means I afforded you to assist him in his most urgent wants, without waiting for his requesting me to do so; but though I believe that the declaration you made him thereof without any reserve, has produced very good effects, and that it has perfectly well persuaded that Prince how much he ought to rely upon my friendship, and how much he ought to prefer it to any other, nevertheless it would have been well, as I ordered you to do by my dispatch of the 20th of February, to wait till he had felt a more urgent want of this assistance, as it is probable that now, that you have completely explained yourself thereon, his ministers will press you forthwith to put the whole fund into their hands. However I leave it now to your prudence to conduct yourself in this respect, in a manner which can neither displease the King, nor diminish the obligation under which he is to me, for so essential a proof of my friendship.

In regard to what you had engaged me to pay to the late King of England, as you have sufficiently perceived by the orders I gave you, and the letters you sent me, that I only granted two millions of livres for the first payment; and fifteen hundred thousand livres for each of the two

others which ended in the month of April of last year, you could easily have undeceived the Earl of Rochester, and the other Ministers of their ill grounded pretensions; and for the future, as I do not pretend to forsake the King of England in his wants, it is also to be hoped the new Parliament he convenes, will be disposed to give him in the beginning of his reign, all the means which he needs to support his dignity. He ought however to rely so much more upon the continuation of my friendship, as before hand, and spontaneously, I enabled you to give him very effective marks thereof.

The King of England could not take a better resolution for the good of his dominions and the relief of his conscience, than openly to hear mass, and this act of firmness is more capable of inspiring his subjects with respect and awe, than of giving new forces to the disaffected. You have seen by my last dispatch, that he anticipated therein my sentiments, and that I should not have been able to approve a long dissimulation of the religion he professes. You shall also represent to him that I learn with pleasure that his authority is daily better consolidated by the submission of all his subjects, and that I am assured his good conduct will dissipate all the cabals that threatened to disturb the repose of his reign.

My Lord Churchill spoke to me in the sense you wrote to me, and I have ordered the Marshal Lorge forthwith to set off in order to go and condole with the King and Queens of England, and express to the first the concern I take in his happy accession to the crown of his ancestors. Whatever murmurs may be excited by a continuation of the same duties which were granted to the late King of England, there is room for belief that they will be stifled

by the convening and assembling of Parliament; but whatever effect it may produce the King of England acts very wisely by preserving this means to supply the wants of his state. It likewise appears to me that it is more prudent to get himself crowned before the session of Parliament, than when it shall be assembled; I shall be very glad to be informed by you of all the difficulties that may arise upon that business, and of the expedients which shall be resorted to in order to overcome them.

You are in the right to let the King of England know that he ought not implicitly to credit every thing M. Overkirk may advance of himself under the name of the Prince of Orange; but should he even be fully authorized, the King of England is too well informed of the conduct the Prince of Orange has shown toward him when he was only Duke of York, and against the religion he professes, even since the accession of the said King to the Crown, to believe that the protestations which will be made him from the Prince of Orange are very sincere; and if the English Minister at the Hague gives the King his master a faithful account of what he has heard and knows himself of the sentiments of the Prince of Orange, he will easily judge that the only intention of that Prince is to use, against the King's interests, not merely the facility he may meet with to regain his good graces, but also the apparent marks he may receive of the King's good will; and he can not more effectually mortify the prince of Orange and render him submissive, than by rejecting with cold dignity all the proposals he makes to amuse him, and above all, by preventing his passing into England. Continue to inform me with exactness of every considerable event that takes place at the court where you are, as I have no doubt that the new government will furnish you with ample materials.

ABSTRACT OF ONE OF THE KING'S LETTERS TO

M. BARILLON.

March 16th, 1685.

It is very likely the King of England who now so openly professes the Catholic religion will soon ask the Pope for bishops of his communion; and as it must not be questioned, that his holiness will select them from the clergy of England, among which, as I am informed, there are many persons infected with the doctrine of Jansenism, I should be glad that you dexterously suggest to the King his interest in a proper discrimination; so that, should the good example the King gives to his subjects be followed, as it is to be wished for, that kingdom may not just emerging from one heresy, fall into another, which would not be much less dangerous.

M. BARILLON TO THE KING.

I executed with my utmost punctuality your Majesty's orders conveyed by the dispatch of the 6th of April. I / endeavoured to give the King of England and his Ministers to understand, that your Majesty had already given him essential marks of friendship by anticipating his wants, that your Majesty would continue to succour him in his necessity; and that your design was to exceed your promises, that, however, your Majesty thought it was sufficient from you to perform, rather than promise, and that without any engagement your Majesty had sent me a fund to a large amount. The King of England declared to me, he was very sensible to all your Majesty has done for him; but he told me the state of his affairs was such that he had to take measures beforehand, and that he could not undertake what

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