I forgot to tell you, that 'twas at Burges the Order of the Golden Fleece was instituted by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy on the very Day that he consummated his Marriage with Isabel the Daughter of John King of Portugal. 'Twas to this City also that Charles II. King of England came for Refuge, when his Subjects rebell'd against him; and so well was he receiv'd here, that when he was in peaceable Possession of his Throne he shew'd his Gratitude, by permitting the Citizens to send fifty Vessels every year to the Coasts of England, to catch Herrings. So much, Madame, for Bruges.
Just as I was setting out, I heard that the Prince of H—— was going for Newport[53], where there was a Battalion of his Regiment in Garison; and thither I went with him. This, which is a very ancient Town, was heretofore intirely destroy'd by the English, and afterwards rebuilt by Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. The Rebels of Ghent burnt it in 1383, because it continued faithful to its Sovereign. It held out a very sharp Siege by the French, in which the Women display'd a very great share of Valour. During the Revolt of the Netherlands it submitted to the Prince of Parma. In that same War, the Dutch who were besieging it,
under Prince Maurice of Orange, gain'd a great Victory over the Spaniards, at the Gates of the Town; and yet they thought fit to raise the Siege. They say, that with some Expence Newport might be made one of the best Harbors in the Ocean; and a Plan for this purpose was given to the Marquis de Priè, Commandant in the Netherlands; but hitherto it has not been approv'd of. Tho' 'tis a Town not very much fortify'd, yet 'tis a strong Place considering the Advantage it has of laying all the Country round it under Water. 'Tis quite encompass'd with Downs and Marshes, the former of which abound with Rabbets. The Prince of H—— gave me the Pleasure of Hunting there, which is the only Diversion that can be taken by Officers who are condemn'd to be in Garison in such a Hole as Newport. We staid there two Days, after which the Prince and Princess of H—— return'd to Bruges. For my own part I accompanied the Prince of Holstein to Ypres, of which he is Governor for the Dutch.
This is one of the best Cities in Europe, and is notable for having suffer'd several Sieges. The Rebels made themselves Masters of it in the Reign of Philip II. when they plundered the Churches and Convents, and drove out the Fryars. The Archduke Leopold retook it from those Furiosos, and it remained in Possession of Spain till 1658, when 'twas taken by the Marshal de Turenne; but by the Pyrenean Treaty it reverted to its lawful Sovereign. In 1678, Lewis XIV. besieg'd it in Person and took it; and by the Treaty of Nimeguen, which was concluded the same year, 'twas yielded to him by Spain. The French caus'd it to be considerably fortify'd; after which they remain'd peaceable Possessors
of it till the Peace of Utrecht, when they yielded it to the Allies, in exchange for Lisle which had been taken from the French. Ypres is now a Barrier for the Dutch, who keep a good Garison in it. Nevertheless, Justice is administer'd, and the Taxes raised here, in the Name of the Emperor, as Sovereign of Spanish Flanders.
From Ypres I went to Lisle, of which I have already had the Honor to give you some Account; and from Lisle in a very short time I proceeded to Paris. Who should I see there, but the famous Countess of Wartemberg? The Chevalier de B——, who being at Utrecht during the Congress, had there sign'd a Contract to marry her, returning to France as soon as the Peace was concluded, the Countess follow'd him and came to Versailles, where she had the Honor of waiting on the King. She wore the Pictures of three Kings as a Bracelet on her Arm, which she shew'd to the King, telling him at the same time, That after she had seen three Monarchs at her Feet, she was now come from the Heart of Germany to throw her self at the Feet of his Majesty. The King, who was surpriz'd at the Compliment, star'd at her, but said not a Word. Some days after this she appear'd at the Play-house, stuck all over with Diamonds; and those so large, that she was call'd, The Lady of precious Stones. All the young Fellows combin'd to have a Pluck at her, and every younger Brother of a Family thought those Diamonds would look as well upon him as they did upon the Countess. When they had pilfer'd some from her, she was more cautious how she paraded with 'em for the future. Yet notwithstanding all her Care, the Chevalier de B—— dextrously stripp'd her of all she had in one day. He had been for
some time wishing that he could revoke the Marriage-Contract which he had sign'd with the Countess; his Family also press'd him to break off his Engagement with her; and in fine, not knowing what Course to take to recover the Contract, which the Lady refus'd to restore, he made use of this very singular Expedient. One day when he was at Versailles, he set out Post from thence to find out the Countess of Wartemberg, and told her that the King had just receiv'd an Express from Berlin, by which the King of Prussia desir'd him to put her under an Arrest, and to seize her Diamonds, and other Effects, as having been stole from the King his Father. I just had the News, said the Chevalier to her, from M. de T——, who knowing the Respect I have for you, was willing to give me an Opportunity of doing you Service, by guarding you from the Misfortune that threatens you. The Countess being thunder-struck at this News, said to the Chevalier in a Fright, O my God! What shall we do? Your only way, said he, is to give me Charge of all your Diamonds; your Interests and mine are the same; I don't believe you suspect me; I will carry them all to my Father's House, where they will be safe: And as for your Person, you may be very easy; for M. de T—— has assur'd me, that 'tis your Effects they want, and not your Person. Madame de Wartemberg believ'd every Tittle of what he said, and esteeming the Chevalier as her Guardian Angel, she deliver'd up all her Diamonds to him, with every thing besides of most Value. B—— having all this Booty, took his Leave of her. The Countess thought she had play'd a very cunning Part in thus securing her Effects; but 'twas not long before she was sensible that she had play'd
a foolish one. B—— was not to be seen for four or five days. The Countess, startled at his absenting himself, wrote Letter after Letter to him, but could not obtain so much as one Answer. At last, on the fifth day, B—— made his Appearance, and gave the good Lady some Encouragement. He told her that her Jewels were all safe; and that she might have them whenever she pleas'd, upon this trifling Condition only; namely, that she would restore him the Contract he had sign'd to marry her. The Countess extremely surpriz'd at this Compliment, made Answer to the Chevalier, That Princesses of the Empire were not to be thus treated; that she was come to Paris upon his Engagement to marry her; and that she knew how to oblige him to it. B——, who was resolv'd to break with her at any rate, told her, that she was at her full Liberty to chuse either of these two Proposals that he made to her, viz. To go to Law, and thereby to be certain of losing her Effects; or else, to recover them, by restoring that Paper to him which he demanded. He made her sensible, that by going to Law, he might naturally hope to get the better of her, not only from the Justice of his Cause, but from the Interest of his Relations; and that as to her Effects, since there was no Witness that saw her deliver them into his Hands, he should take a Course which she would think pretty hard, viz. Deny that he had ever receiv'd them, and in the mean time sell one part of the Jewels to enable him to find Law to keep the rest. The Countess perceiving that the Chevalier was resolv'd to be as good as his Word, and that she had no Chance to get any thing, determin'd to give up the Contract; and B—— thereupon brought back her Diamonds;
which was such an honest Action on his part, that it engag'd Madam de Wartemberg to make him a Present of a noble Ring, valu'd at 20,000 Livres. And thus ended her Correspondence with B——.
The Countess, to make her self easy for the Loss of her Lover, resolv'd to look out for others; but she was not happy in the Variety of her Choice. They were all, said she, insincere; and for the most part knavishly inclin'd. In short, she renounc'd all manner of Society with Frenchmen; she thought them too volatile and nimble for her, and upon this Occasion she extol'd the Germans for the honestest Souls in the World; yet she soon found the contrary, to her Cost: For having made an Acquaintance with a clever handsome young German, they both promis'd each other Marriage, as soon as they came to a Protestant Country, and a Contract was actually sign'd between them for that purpose; but the Spark thought that after they had sign'd and seal'd, the Nuptial Benediction was only an insignificant Ceremony to admit them into a Partnership in their worldly Goods; and that his Right ought to commence from the very day that the Articles were agreed to. Upon this Principle he thought fit to march off with all the precious Stones of his Spouse that was to be, and set out with them from Paris, designing to elope to Lorrain. The Countess, who was soon inform'd of his Departure, was mortally uneasy at the Treachery of her Lover, tho' the Danger she was in of losing her Diamonds stuck most to her Heart. By good Luck she had Intelligence what Road her dear Thief went, and sent a Messenger after him, who found him at Meaux, where he was so unwise as to make a Halt for some days. He was