LETTER XVIII.
SIR,Strasbourg, Feb. 28, 1730.
It took me up no more than four Hours to go from Carlsrouhe to Rastadt. As soon as I alighted there I notified my Arrival to the Grand Marshal, with a Request that he wou'd procure me the Honour of paying my Compliments to their Highnesses of Baden-Baden. I had for answer, that the Margrave was out a Hunting, and that therefore I cou'd not have an Audience before next day. I had patience to stay; and having by Good luck some Books at hand, I spent all that day in Reading, and the next day too, but did not hear a Word from the Grand Marshal. Mean time as I did not come to Rastadt purely to read, and as 'tis a Town does not afford much Amusement, since a quarter of an hour is enough to know all the Streets, I was very chagrin. I sent a second Message to the Grand Marshal, but had the same Answer as before. I thought it improper to insist any farther, and gave over all hopes of seeing the Court of Rastadt. However I went to see the Margrave's Palace, which his Father the late Prince Lewis of Baden built from the ground. It is very much like to the Palace of St. Cloud near Paris, and seems to be a Building conducted with more Regularity than I observ'd in several new Houses in Germany left solely to the Direction of ignorant Masons, who without a Taste for Building have the Assurance to call themselves Architects.
The principal Stair-Case is large and lightsome. The Apartments have all the Conveniences they can admit of. Those which are contiguous to the grand Stair-Case are distributed into several Partitions, for Shew and for Convenience. They are painted, gilt, and gaily furnish'd. The Margravine Dowager to Prince Lewis put them in this Condition against the Marriage of her Daughter to the Duke of Orleans; and the Furniture is indeed rich and well fancy'd. The Keeper shewed me the Closet in which Prince Eugene of Savoy and Marshal Villars sign'd the Peace in 1714. 'Tis pity that this truly magnificent Palace has no Gardens to it. There's Ground mark'd out for that purpose, and if Prince Lewis had liv'd they wou'd have been finish'd.
After having seen the Apartments and the Chapel, which is small, but exceedingly adorn'd, not knowing what to do with myself I went to a Billiard-Table fronting the Palace, where I found some Gentlemen of the Court as idle as myself. They treated me as a Foreigner, and were complaisant to me. A young Fellow of a good Appearance, and who seem'd to have an Air of Politeness, having refus'd as well as myself to play, enter'd into a Conversation with me: And by degrees that Sympathy of our Tempers, which was a Stranger to the Laws of Reason, made us talk to one another with as much Freedom as if we had been old Acquaintance. I complain'd to him that tho' I had been three days at Rastadt I cou'd not get an Opportunity of paying my Duty to their Highnesses of Baden. He told me that I need not be surpriz'd at it; that since the Death of the late Prince Lewis, the Margravine his Dowager, who was hereditary Princess of Saxe-Lawenbourg, had introduc'd into her Court the Ceremonial of the Eastern Princes; that she never appear'd but in a full Divan,
and that she did not permit any one whatsoever to come near to her Son except the Bashaws and Dervizes who were of the Council. The young Gentleman's manner of accounting for this matter made me smile, and put me upon asking him several Questions. 'How! said I, according to the Character I have had of the Margravine, she is very much of a Christian, and of that virtuous Heroine which the wise Man, if he had been still living, wou'd have propos'd to us for a Model. Indeed, said the Gentleman, the Character you have had of her is right enough: The Margravine has Piety and Virtues that render her valuable; but she has a Haughtiness, and a certain Particularity in her Temper, which is hardly to be parallell'd. For instance, if she had receiv'd you it wou'd have been standing under a Canopy by an Arm-Chair, with as much State as the Empress. She wou'd have ask'd you two or three Questions, after which she wou'd have assur'd you of her Protection, and then have dismiss'd you without detaining you to dine with her, as is the manner of all the Princes of the Empire; but 'tis not the fashion here, continued the Gentleman. The Margravine commonly dines in private, and we who are of her Court don't see her but at Mass. The young Margrave our Master wou'd like well enough to see Company, but his Mother giving him to understand that she does not care for it, he conforms to her Pleasure. The young Margravine, who is the Daughter of the Prince de Schwartzenbourg, has no Authority, because tho' naturally obliging and civil she durst not put her good Qualities in practice, because the Margravine Dowager reproaches her that she does not know how to carry it like a Sovereign; by which means this poor Princess is oblig'd to be proud against her Inclination. If you were to see her
you wou'd be charm'd with her; for she is tall and handsome, of a lively fair Complexion, but not languid, and has a very noble Air. When the Margrave marry'd her she was an only Daughter, and the Princess of Schwartzenbourg her Mother, who had not lived with her Husband for near fifteen Years, was not like to have any more Children. But the Event has proved contrary; for the Prince and Princess of Schwartzenbourg are reconcil'd, and the Princess has had a Son, who has frustrated the Hopes of our young Margravine of being some day or other one of the richest Heiresses in the Empire. This has not advanc'd her in the Favour of her Mother-in-law, who often snaps at her; but there being no Remedy, the young Princess bears her Ill-humours with Patience. As she is just brought to bed too of a Son, we hope she will have more Interest; at least 'tis what we all wish, because she is a very good Princess. 'Tis not a Year, continued the Gentleman, that our young Margrave has been of Age, nevertheless his Majority is so controll'd by the Ascendancy which the Dowager keeps over her Son, that it may be said 'tis she who governs still. This Prince accustom'd to obey knows not what is the Pleasure of commanding. There's the same likelihood of his being a Dependant as long as his Mother lives; and indeed he ought to humour that Princess, as well because she was always a good Mother to him, as for the Advantages she is capable of doing him; for she is very rich, and has a noble Estate in Bohemia, which she wou'd perhaps give to her youngest Son, who is Canon of Cologne and Augsbourg, if the Margrave disobliged her; tho' I believe it must be a great Offence indeed that wou'd provoke her to disinherit him, because he was always her Darling, and perhaps too the most dutiful of
all her Children. Such is her Tenderness for this Son that when there was a Talk of his going abroad she wou'd needs go with him; and she actually accompany'd him all over Italy. Some People were indeed so ill-natur'd as to say that 'twas not out of Love to the Prince, but because she was afraid he wou'd wean himself from her Company, and break quite away from her. 'Tis said however that she is going to quit the Court, and to retire to Etlingen, which is the Place assign'd for her Jointure. We all wish it, not that we have any reason to complain of this Princess, but because we hope then to have a gayer Court. For the rest, to do the Margravine Dowager Justice, she has manag'd her Son's Finances with a great deal of Œconomy. When the late Prince Lewis died he left a heavy Debt upon the Country, which was also ruin'd by the late War. But the Margravine Regent has paid off all, and so happily retriev'd the Government and the Finances, that when her Son came of Age she gave him considerable Sums, and the Country was in a better Condition than ever.'
There the Gentleman concluded. After putting several Questions to him I learnt that the Duchess of Orleans had been promis'd in Marriage to Prince Alexander of Tour and Taxis[123], that the Presents were made for the Wedding, and that the same was very soon to be celebrated: But when the Duke of Orleans actually sent M. d'Argenson his Chancellor to Rastadt to demand the Princess in Marriage, the Margravine her Mother thinking this a better Match beyond comparison, call'd back the Promise she had made to the Prince de la Tour, and concluded the Treaty with the Duke of Orleans. The young Margrave marry'd his Sister by Proxy, in
presence of M. d'Argenson, and the Princess was conducted to Strasbourg, where finding a Set of Domestics sent from Paris to receive her, she turn'd off all her German Servants and proceeded on her Journey to Chalons, whither the Duke of Orleans went to meet her.
The same Gentleman from whom I learnt all these Particulars told me likewise that the young Margrave, before he marry'd the Princess of Schwartzenbourg, was to have had the Daughter of King Stanislaus, but that the Margravine broke off the Marriage-Treaty which was very far advanc'd, because the King was not able to pay down a hundred thousand Crowns ready Money for his Daughter's Dowry. It was undoubtedly owing to that Princess's happy Star that the King could not raise the Sum, for in such case his Daughter would not now have worn one of the first Crowns in the World. The Gentleman told me moreover that the Margravine was mortify'd to the last degree when she heard that the Princess whom she had refus'd for her Daughter-in-law was become the Queen of France. She was apprehensive too that this Princess or the King her Father would take revenge for the Slight she had put upon their Alliance, and she wrote a Letter to King Stanislaus to congratulate him on an Event so glorious to him, and to recommend to him the Duchess of Orleans her Daughter. I intreat you, Sir, said she, to prevail with the Queen your Daughter to honour my Daughter and all my Family with her Favour. I will presume to say that both I and Mine deserve it at your Hands for the Respect we have always had for you. This Letter, which was as submissive as the Margravine's Conduct had been haughty, was receiv'd with very great Civility by King Stanislaus, who, after having read it to the Queen his Wife, could not help saying, I am much oblig'd to the
Margravine for this Letter, and he return'd her a very engaging Answer. 'Tis my Opinion that at that time, instead of bearing the Princess any Ill-will he took it very kindly of her that she had refus'd his Daughter for a Daughter-in-law. The officious Gentleman would perhaps have inform'd me of other Particulars concerning the Court of Rastadt, if the Margrave's Return from Hunting had not oblig'd him to go to the Castle. I thank'd him for the trouble he had given himself, and went and shut my self up at my Quarters.
I set out next day for Strasbourg, and in less than five Hours arrived at Kehl. 'Tis all an even Country, and admirable Roads. We travel thro' the Dominions of Spire, the Bishoprick of Strasbourg, and the County of Hanau. At Kehl I paid a Visit to the General Baron de Roth, the Governour of the Place, who entertain'd me at Dinner, and made me exceeding welcome, but so ply'd me with Liquor that I thought my self at Fulde or Wurtzbourg. After Dinner M. de Roth shewed me the Fortifications, which I found in a very bad State. The Commandant told me that he had taken a world of pains to represent it to the Dyet of the Empire at Ratisbonne, but that he might as well have talk'd to so many deaf Men. 'Tis certain that if Care be not taken, the Rhine will wash away the Fort one day or other, and carry it to Holland. The Marshal de Bourg said to me a while ago when we were talking of Kehl, that M. de Roth would do well to fasten his Fort with Chains to the Citadel of Strasbourg.
There's only a Bridge over the Rhine to pass from Kehl to Strasbourg the Capital of Alsace, and formerly an Imperial City. The French made themselves Masters of it in September 1681, when they came to the very Gates of the Place before the Town had notice of their March, and when it was
in no Condition to make resistance; for whether they thought they had no need of being upon their guard, or whether the chief Burgomasters had been corrupted, the Town wanted but every thing. The Capitulation was signed on one side by the Marquis de Louvois, and the Baron de Monclar Commandant in Alsace; and on the other by eight Deputies of the City, which was secured in all its Privileges, Prerogatives and Customs, both ecclesiastical and civil. The Bishop was nevertheless restored to his See, and the Canons to the Cathedral, which had belonged for 152 Years to the Lutherans. Lewis XIV. made his entry into Strasbourg the 23d of October following, and immediately order'd a Citadel and other Works to be erected, which have since been so augmented that Strasbourg may now be rank'd among the most important Places of Europe. The Marshal Count de Bourg commands in it, and has one of the King's Lieutenants under him, who is always a General Officer. M. Dangervilliers[124] formerly Intendant of Dauphiny, is Intendant of the Province of Alsace and the City of Strasbourg. These Gentlemen, whom I have been to see, receiv'd me with prodigious Civility, and very punctually return'd my Visit.
The Marshal Count de Bourg preserves a stately Mien in an advanced Age, and one may easily perceive he has been a very fine Man in his time. He was Page to Philip of France Duke of Orleans, Brother to Lewis the Great, and to that Duke's Favour his Advancement to Military Employments is very much owing, tho' 'tis true that he has distinguished himself in the Service. On the
26th of August 1709, he defeated near Rumersheim the Count de Mercy, who commanded a flying Camp of 9000 Men detach'd from the Army of the Empire, then under Command of the Elector of Hanover, afterwards George I. King of Great Britain. This Victory gain'd M. de Bourg the blue Ribbon. King Lewis XV. gave him the Staff of a Marshal of France, and confirmed him in the Government of Strasbourg. The French Officers accuse this Marshal of Pride, but for my part, I have all the Reason that can be to love him for his Civility.
M. Dangervilliers is really more engaging than the Marshal, and is therefore more beloved by the Officers. He is affable and civil, complaisant to Foreigners, and lives with a vast deal of Splendor. The Princes of the Empire that border upon Alsace like him very well, and think he is more candid, and less haughty than his Predecessors.
There's not many of the Nobility settled in this City, and of these few that are wealthy; and therefore they live very much retir'd. The Canons of the Great Chapter who ought all to be Princes or Counts, are not of very great Service, because most of 'em holding other Benefices, only come to Strasbourg to pass away three Months there of their Residence, and by consequence they are here as Strangers. The best Houses therefore are the Intendant's and the King's Lieutenant's. There are always a great many Officers here who are indeed amiable Fellows, and know how to serve, and to be good Company too upon occasion. The Commandants of the Corps are in Years, and Officers of Experience, and the rest are clever smart Youths who long sadly to be fighting, and would fain make you believe the four Corners of the World will quickly be on fire. I have not seen finer Infantry than the French Infantry at this present time. There
are very fine Gentlemen too in the Cavalry, but then they are not near so well mounted as ours. You know the Cry with us is that the French are ruin'd, and not able to do any thing more. How the Case stands with them, I really know not, but if one may judge of it by Appearances, it cannot be so. No Troops were ever better cloathed, better paid, more spruce, nor finer. The Officers are splendid; they game, divert themselves, and eat and drink well, which does not seem to me to be the Life of People in want. Upon these terms, I would be content to be in such want all my Life long.
The Garrison maintains a Company of Comedians who are paid by the Captains, and commanding Officers, for the Subalterns are admitted gratis. The Theatre, which is one of the prettiest in the Country, is maintain'd by the City.
A Man that has a Taste for a plain home-bred Girl may here find Amusement and good Blood. 'Tis observ'd that the Lutheran Women are the most beautiful, and the Sex at this Place is said to be very indulgent, and very tractable; so that I should be apt to think, a Man need not be very open-hearted to them.
Tho' Strasbourg may be reckon'd among the finest Towns in France, one can't say there's a single House in it that is magnificent, or makes a grand Appearance. The Cathedral is a very stately Building of Gothic Architecture; its famous Spire is one of the most lofty, and of the neatest Workmanship of any in Europe. Misson, who 'tis like always carried his Plummet and Foot-Rule in his Pocket, because he never fails to give the Length and Breadth and Height of a Thing, says that 'tis 574 Foot in height; and I believe he is not mistaken. Erkivin de Stembach who was the Architect, finish'd it in the Year 1449. 'Tis said that Lewis XIV. had a mind to have a Spire erected upon the second
Tower which seems to have been built with that View. He order'd M. de Vauban to draw a Model of it, and to compute the Cost, which he found would amount to several Millions of Livres. The King thinking that he could employ that Sum to a better purpose, contented himself with making a Present to the Cathedral of the Ornaments, and all the Priests Vestments for celebrating Mass upon the several annual Festivals; the whole of which is extraordinary sumptuous, and becoming the Magnificence of one of the greatest Kings in the World. 'Twas in the Cathedral of Strasbourg that the Duke of Orleans the first Prince of the Blood of France married as Proxy to Lewis XV. Mary Lescinski, the Daughter of King Stanislaus. This Ceremony, at which I was present, was more magnificent than what was observ'd at Fontainbleau at the Queen's Arrival; and the Concourse of German Noblemen and Princes hither upon the Occasion was prodigious. The Cardinal de Rohan, as Bishop of Strasbourg, gave the Nuptial Benediction. Nothing can be finer than the Speeches which his Eminency made upon that Solemnity: As they fell into my hands, I think I ought to communicate them to you. You will find them verbatim at the End of this Letter. Poland in this Instance, made a worthy Restitution to France, which many Years ago gave the Poles a King who was afterwards the unfortunate Henry III; and they have now in their turn given a Queen to France. But Germany may boast that the Queen derives from the Empire that Fund of Virtue which is the Source of her Happiness, and makes her admir'd by the Universe. France had for a long time left off sending to our Climates for her Queens. Mary-Anne Victoria of Bavaria was in a fair way to be one, but she died a Dauphiness[125]. Lorrain, Scotland, Italy and Spain,
had as it were engross'd the Crown of France for their Princesses. But I hope the Virtues of the present Queen and the other German[126] Princesses who are now at the Court of France will oblige the French to confess that if our Princesses have not Crowns for their Dowries like the Infanta's of Spain, they have an Estate of more Value than all the Wealth in the World, viz. Piety, Charity, and Love for the People.
A great many young German Gentlemen come hither for the sake of learning French, and their Exercises, but I don't think they are a jot the better for it, because the Masters of their Exercises are not better Scholars here than they are in many Towns of Germany; and as to the French, they speak it very ill in this City; for the Inhabitants talk High-Dutch, and our young Sparks are so pleas'd to hear their own Language spoke that they neglect to learn any other. Besides they always herd together, and too easily catch one another's Vices as well as Virtues. As they have not many Parts to shew, they spend their time at the Billiard-Table, the Coffee-House, and often at other Places not so honest, of which there are but too many here, this being a City as noted for Libertines as any in Europe.
I am, &c.
The Speech of Cardinal de Rohan to the Queen, before the Celebration of the Marriage.
MADAME,
'While I see you in this sacred Temple approaching to our Altars to contract that illustrious Alliance which is to unite you to the greatest of Kings and the most amiable of Princes, I
adore what God designs you for, and admire with Transport the Course that Providence is steering to conduct you to the Throne which you are going to ascend. You are descended, Madame, from a Family illustrious for its Antiquity, for its Alliances, and for the eminent Employments which the great Men it has given to Poland have fill'd successively with so much Glory. You are the Daughter of a Father, who, thro' the various Events of a busy Life, chequer'd by good and bad Fortune, has always shewn himself the Gentleman, the Hero, and the Christian. You have for your Mother, and your Grandmother, Princesses, who like to Judith, and to that virtuous Woman whose Character is drawn in the Scriptures, have attracted the Veneration and Respect of the whole World, by the Fidelity with which they always walk'd in the Fear of the Lord. In your Person, Madame, are center'd all the Accomplishments that can be form'd by a happy Birth, and an admirable Education, supported by Examples equally strong and affecting. In you, that Goodness, that Mildness, and those Charms are predominant, which gain Love at the same time as they inforce Respect; that Integrity of Heart which nothing can resist; that Superiority of Understanding and Knowledge which are conspicuous, as it were in spite of you, and in spite of that Modesty and noble Simplicity which are natural to you; and finally that which is the Crown of so much Merit, that Taste for Piety, and that Attachment to the true Principles of Religion, which animate your Actions, and regulate your Conduct. Adorn'd with all these Virtues, what Crown is there to which you might not reasonably aspire, exclusive of the Custom which in some measure obliges Kings to look no farther than round the Throne for Princesses that they have a mind would reign with them?
He who disposes of Empires puts the Sceptre of Poland into the hands of a Prince to whom you owe your Being, and by giving the Father that Splendor conducts the Daughter insensibly to the sublime Station he is preparing for her. But, O God, how impenetrable are thy Designs, and how far above human Prudence are the Means thou makest use of to bring about thy wise Purposes! This Prince was scarce seated on the Throne in which the Choice of the Grandees, and the Affection of the People had plac'd him, but he was oblig'd to quit it: He is abandon'd, betray'd, persecuted; one fatal Shot bereaves him of the Hero his Friend, and the chief Stay of his Hopes: He submits to the necessity of the Times without abating in his Courage: He seeks refuge in a Country which is the common Shelter of unfortunate Kings: He comes to France, and thither, Madame, you are following him. All that see you there, touch'd with your Misfortunes, admire your Virtue, the Odour of which spreads to the Throne of a young Monarch, who, such is the Lustre of his Crown, the Extent of his Power, and above all, the Charms of his Person, might have made his choice out of all the Princesses of the World: But being guided by wise Counsels, he fixes it upon You; and here the Finger of God is plainly visible in improving that very Misfortune which separates the King your Father from his Subjects, and takes you out of Poland to give Us in your Person, a Queen who shall be the Glory of a Father and of a Mother, of whom she is now the Comfort and Delight; a Queen, who shall render that Nation happy which most richly deserves it, at least for its Respect and its Fidelity to its Sovereigns; a Queen, who being inviolably attach'd to her Duty, full of Tenderness and Respect for her Husband, and her King, and wisely
employ'd in what is capable of procuring her solid Happiness, will revive to us the Reign of the Empress Flaccilla, of whom History says, that having always kept the Precepts of the Divine Law in her view, she conferr'd thereupon daily with the great Theodosius, and that her Words like a fruitful Rain, water'd with success those Seeds of Virtue which God had sown in the Heart of her Husband. Come then, Madame, Come to the Altar. May the Engagements you are going to enter into, sacred of themselves, (since according to the Apostle, they are the Symbol of the Union of Jesus Christ with his Church) may they be also sanctify'd by your own Disposition. May you be so sensible of what you are going to be, that you may acknowledge that in crowning your Merits, he crowns his Gifts: And may you Christians that hear me, when you see the shining Rewards that are bestowed in this World upon true Virtue, learn to respect and love it.'
The Cardinal's Speech after the Celebration of the Marriage.
MADAME,
'Now that august Ceremony is ended which crowns our Hopes and our Wishes; give me leave to desire your Majesty's Royal Protection for the Church of Strasbourg. This Church has not forgot and never will forget the signal Favours it has received from our former Kings. How great are its Obligations to our last Monarch! Being deliver'd up by the Misfortunes of the Times to the Furys of Schism and Heresy, it would perhaps have perish'd as many others did, if that great Prince, by resuming the Rights of his Ancestors, had not undertaken its defence, and supported it with all his Power. To him it is oblig'd for the
Advantage of being restored to the Possession of this sacred Temple from which it had been banished. There's nothing here but what puts us in mind of his Pious and Royal Magnificence. Temples adorn'd, Pastors liberally maintain'd, Missions founded, new Converts protected and supported, are so many Monuments of the Zeal and Piety of a King whose Memory will never die. He had not the Comfort to finish the Work which he had undertaken; that is to say, the reuniting of all the Sheep of this illustrious Flock in one and the same Fold: This was reserv'd to the worthy Heir of his Zeal and Crown. It will be your part, Madame, to represent to your August Spouse how much the Remembrance of his Great Grandfather, his own Glory, and our Necessities, which are even those of Religion, require of him. You will not desire that Recourse shou'd be had to those Methods which exasperate, without persuading; such would not be to your Majesty's liking, and God forbid that we should suggest them to you. Those Children who disown us are your Subjects, Madame, and the Church of Strasbourg confiding intirely in God's Mercy, still looks on itself as their Mother. We therefore conjure you by the Bowels of Jesus Christ, to employ, for the sake of uniting them, every Thing with which an active but sympathizing Charity may inspire you. God will bless your Majesty's Endeavours, and our Desires, and will employ the Instances of your Piety and your Faith to the total Confusion of Error, and the Triumph of the Truth. May your Reign be long over us, Madame, for the Happiness of the King, and the Welfare of this great Kingdom. May God hear the Prayers which the Church has now offer'd up for your Majesty, and may you be so good as to place us in the Rank of your most zealous and most faithful Subjects.'
