Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq

“ Though a considerable space of time has elapsed, scarce a single Antwerp man has crossed the French frontier, although the road is open, and this, to my mind, is the surest proof that the prospects of a reconciliation are dubious; so long as there is a doubt as to the renewal of the alliance and arrangement of terms, none of them care to risk their lives by entering France. ”

“ Bellièvre stops behind with the hopeless task of trying to arrange matters; there is an idea that, by his oratorical powers and diplomatic skill, the wrath of the Netherlanders may be appeased, and the way paved to an agreement. But it is with the men of Antwerp as it was with Alençon; success was too much for his ill-regulated mind, and has proved his ruin; even so some great disaster will overtake the citizens, if they wax thus presumptuous on the strength of this unexpected victory. ”

“ Very different is the feeling at Antwerp, where the citizens will endure the worst sooner than submit to the old yoke, and have therefore determined to cast in their lot with Zealand and Holland for weal or woe. This new combination will prolong the war, as they are the wealthiest people in the world, are girt with fortifications, and have the keys of the sea in their possession. ”

“ It is folly to keep longing for that which it is in one’s power to possess. Granted, that the Netherlanders at the bottom of their hearts distrust the French, and will not submit 226to them, still, is it a small advantage to withdraw them from their allegiance to their ancient lord? Let them live in a state of semi-independence, and not as subjects of France, so long as they remain the bitterest foes of Spain. Assuredly the estranging of so many provinces will be a heavy blow to the King of Spain, even if the King of France should not succeed in subjecting them to himself. ”

“ For my own part, I have no doubt that the King would sooner have anyone than Navarre as successor to his throne, since he can have no confidence that after his accession his policy will not be reversed, the position of his connections and relations be impaired, and his friends cast down from their high estate; lastly, it is most annoying to feel that after one’s death people will be exalted, whom during one’s life one has desired to keep down. ”

“ Moreover, you are also endangering the safety of the realm, for you have brought yourself, the heir of the throne, into the most imminent peril, and every effort will be needed if you are to be extricated from your unfortunate position.’
They say that the Duke of Guise has tendered his services to the Queen, promising, if 3,000 French horse are given him, to find Alençon, wherever he may be, and bring him home. Round him accordingly the nobles are gathering, and the clatter of the armourer’s hammer is to be heard in every street. ”

“ It is strange that Frenchmen cannot find a more honourable field for rivalry.
People would fain believe that there are good hopes of the peace negotiations succeeding. The King, however, they say, after Montbrun was taken prisoner, ordered 1,000 fresh cavalry to be raised. Why he has done so, I cannot say, but I am quite certain of one thing, that, if peace is made, it will not be because he wishes for it, but because he cannot help himself. ”

“ The Queen Mother is endeavouring to arrange with him for a six months’ truce; but he demands, as a guarantee of his personal safety, the possession of four most important towns—Bourges the capital of Berry, Angers, Angoulesme, and La Charité—and I hardly think the King will consent to such hard terms, as they will be difficult places to retake, supposing the negotiations for peace to prove a failure. It is evident the Queen Mother will do her very utmost to prevent her sons from fighting, but whether she will be able to stop them is more than I can say. ”

“ And, to be fair, there is everywhere in France a feeling of great anxiety, as people cannot tell what the position of the Church will be after the King’s death. Many believe that their ancient ritual, services, and sacraments will be profaned and put down by Navarre, and that the Catholics will be in the same position as the Protestants have hitherto been, if indeed they be not in a worse case. These fears give an excellent handle to those who are desirous of a revolution, and men who have been true to the old religion are in a peculiarly good position to take advantage of it. ”

“ The élite of his foot consists of a body of four or five thousand Gascon veterans. All his troops, horse and foot alike, are devoted to their King, by whom they are accustomed to be led, and whose presence inspires them with confidence. Moreover, the King has with him veteran generals of great experience, whose advice and assistance are invaluable; namely, Biron, d’Aumont, La Noue, and many others. Round him too have gathered the Princes of the Bourbon blood, with the leading gentlemen from every part of France. ”

“ The feuds which separate the leading families of France are more bitter than those described in ancient tragedy; this is the state of feeling which exists between the Houses of Guise, Vendôme and Bourbon, not to mention that of Montmorency, which, through its alliances and connections, has a considerable party of its own.
The Bourbons are the strongest; the Guises have most influence at Court, but this is an advantage which they may lose any day by the death of the King, and then their fall is inevitable. ”

“ Men, on whose authority I can rely, tell me that the King is pressing the Duke of Lorraine to betroth his daughter, who is now grown up and a great heiress, to the Duke of Epernon, but that Lorraine, who loathes the idea of such a mésalliance, is doing his utmost to avoid giving his consent to so unsuitable a match, taking refuge in a proposition that, if the King will bring about a marriage between his son, the Prince of Lorraine, and the sister of the King of Navarre, he in return will gladly comply with his request. ”

“ Of course no one will do any harm to the Queen, but it would be impossible to answer for the safety of her French suite, and it would not perhaps be consistent with the King’s dignity to beg his enemies to grant them a sort of passage on sufferance, and to place at their mercy Frenchmen of the highest position, and ladies of exalted rank, especially as nothing is safe from the lawlessness and insolence of the times. ”

“ For there can be no question that she will live at much less expense in her own house, if I may call it so, than here in Paris, where everything is excessively dear. There is a château in the Duchy of Berry which would just suit her, called Remorantin; the Queen Mother herself is said to have sometimes thought of retiring thither. Apart from any questions of economy, a residence in the country would be more in keeping with her position as a widow. ”

“ Under these circumstances, I feel that I cannot do wrong in obeying the Queen’s orders, and that your Majesty might write to the King on the subject of Montmorency’s release in perfect confidence that such a suggestion will not be taken amiss in any quarter. Undoubtedly this great and honoured lady (Madame de Montmorency) has shown the utmost kindness and attention to the Queen during the whole of her residence in France; she has never failed to support her in every way, and on her assistance, advice, and loyalty the Queen has been always able to reckon ”

“ Nor is this all; across the Rhone, in Dauphiny itself, Montbrun has seized places, as, for instance, Livron, which is now besieged by the Royalists.
In making the statement that the rebels are powerful in Languedoc and Guienne, I must not be understood to say that the principal cities of those provinces do not obey the King; my meaning is that the insurgents occupy posts of vantage throughout the country, which enable them to render both life and property insecure; there is no peace or quiet for those who are loyal to the King. ”

“ When a man has damaged his reputation, oftentimes, if he is only patient, an opportunity will come, which will enable him to restore it. But if, in spite of these considerations, Alençon must leave the Netherlands at an early date, still, if an interval is allowed to elapse, he will be able to avail himself of those numerous excuses for departure which may arise,—or, at the worst, can be invented,—and thus diminish materially the disgrace of his failure. Accordingly they hold an arrangement to be possible on the basis of a general amnesty. ”

“ The King, they complain, has picked out a couple of young fellows on whom he lavishes his affection and caresses, treating them like sons, squandering on them the public revenues, living with them in the closest intimacy, while the Guises are not merely kept at a distance, but are actually insulted by having the doors shut in their faces when they seek to enter into the royal presence. ”

“ LETTER III. Sharp fighting is going on. The Prince of Parma, after an unsuccessful assault on Oudenarde, kept up a roar of cannon throughout the following night, and battered the walls without cessation, in order to prevent the townsmen repairing the breaches. This is the last news we have had, but people do not think the town will be easy to storm, now that Alençon’s reinforcements are coming up; they are scarcely two miles from Arras, and if they do no more than burn the ripe crops, it will be a crushing blow to that town, and also to others whose harvests will be destroyed. ”

“ There is hardly a Catholic nobleman in France who is not suspected of being concerned in the designs of the Guises, and secretly favouring the movement; almost all the provinces are wavering in their allegiance; of the great cities some are disloyal, while others refuse to receive garrisons from the King. Thus he hardly knows which way to turn, surrounded as he is with open enemies, while his friends are few and weak. Whatever efforts he may make to muster his troops, it will be too late, for he has to deal with an enemy near at hand and well prepared. ”

“ No sensible man can fail to see that the Spaniards, who are naturally greedy of empire, when they have consolidated their position, will not allow their vast powers to lie dormant, but will endeavour to make themselves masters of the whole of Christendom. But how little remains for them to win, compared with what they have already secured! Henceforth there will be no liberty in Europe, and all other princes and states will be placed in a humiliating position. ”

“ His forces will be no longer what they were at the beginning of the campaign; war, privation, and winter will have thinned their ranks. On the other hand, we must be prepared to see the exiled nobles now in Germany come to the succour of their friends with such troops as they can raise. All France will then be in a blaze once more; the issue of the contest it is impossible to foretell, for who can say how many secret allies the rebels can reckon on? Those who are thoroughly estranged from the King are not a few. ”

“ The King indeed is treating for a truce, and Alençon does not seem unwilling to come to terms, but Condé and Casimir, while quite prepared to conclude a peace, will not hear of a truce; they say that, if they throw away this opportunity, it will not be in their power to reassemble their forces, so that they are in a very different position from the King, who can raise a fresh army whenever he pleases, and therefore finds his advantage in a truce. ”

“ Some people have a notion that the idea of peace is not seriously entertained, but is simply a manœuvre to break up the confederacy by making overtures to some of its members.
Ambassadors, it is true, have been sent lately to Rochelle, but in the meantime both parties are busy fighting: the King is pressing on the sieges of Livron and Lusignan, while the rebels are using every means in their power to harass and perplex him. After the King’s departure from Avignon, they took possession of Aigues-Mortes,43 where they found a store of cannon, which will be of great service to them. ”

“ Thus, not only have precautions been taken, by the issue of a stringent proclamation, that Alençon’s opponents should get no supplies from France to relieve their famished troops, but it is evident that measures are being set on foot to prevent their henceforth having the means of purchasing provisions. The roads are everywhere blocked to all who still acknowledge the authority of the King of Spain, and so closely are they watched that no one can pass through France without being plundered or taken prisoner ”

“ All who spoke endeavoured to impress upon the King that, if he did not conclude peace, ruin was inevitable.
As regards the prospect of peace, matters are so complicated and uncertain that it is difficult to judge. There are strong reasons for desiring it: the country is in a most miserable state, the war is most unpopular, money is scarce, revolution is raising her head ”

“ It is hardly necessary for me to point out how closely the matter concerns the honour both of your Majesty and the Queen. As to the watches, about which I have received no answer, I again most humbly entreat your Majesty to send them. If we are left without the means of acknowledging the kindnesses we have received, your Majesty will hereafter find people disobliging when their assistance is needed. Matters occur every day in which the help of faithful friends is indispensable, and there can be no doubt that these little presents are of great use in securing such services. ”

“ Navarre, after halting for a time and offering battle, retreated a few miles from Paris with his booty and prisoners. He next retook Etampes, which the enemy had occupied; although it is an open town, the position is important from its commanding the road to Paris from the principal corn-growing districts. Mayenne, they say, can still muster a considerable force, but, as he has not the means of paying his troops, his presence is more a burden to the Parisians than an advantage. Whatever the enemy has either not found out or not thought worth taking, becomes their booty. ”

“ Frenchmen cannot keep quiet, and many years of war have made them more restless than ever; consequently it is a matter of the first importance to France that her adventurous spirits should find a field of action elsewhere instead of fastening on her own vitals.
Peace has been concluded between the King and the Queen of England, on the same terms as before. ”

“ After several feints, by which he kept every one in suspense as to where he would next strike, Parma has settled down to the siege of Cambrai. It will be a tedious affair, and success is by no means certain, still the capture of the town would go far towards deciding the struggle. He is said, moreover, to have recovered the town of Diest. Brussels, too, seems inclined to go over.
People are again beginning to be afraid of the plague. There are serious signs of its presence in Paris, and also in several other French towns. ”

“ LETTER XXXV. The Queen arrived at Augsburg, January 27, and on the same day the courier brought back letters from your Majesty, from which I learnt your Majesty’s gracious pleasure with regard to the Queen’s movements, to wit, that she should come to Vienna by the shortest and most convenient route. I reported this to her Serene Highness, and she, being eager to hasten on and join your Majesty at the earliest moment possible, was in favour of a voyage down the Danube, as this is supposed to be a good time for sailing. ”