[315] Unpublished letters from Ferriol to Pontchartrain, July 18, and September 16, 1706.
[316] Unpublished letters from Ferriol to Pontchartrain, June 1, and September 10, 1706, and February 19, 1707. It should be remarked that it is especially after the abduction that Ferriol so vehemently accuses Avedick of terrible persecutions. Extracts from his despatches, written previous to the abduction, and which we have given in Chapter XII. (pp. 149 and 153 ante), show that this accusation had much less foundation than the French ambassador wished to make believe, with the evident intention of justifying the abduction of the Patriarch.
[317] Unpublished despatch from the Cardinal de la Trémouille to Torcy, July 21, 1708:—Archives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, section Rome, 491.
[318] Unpublished letters from Torcy to La Trémouille, August 17, and September 6, 1708:—Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, section Rome, 484 and 492.
[319] Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, section Rome, 492.
[320] Only a very few persons at Rome knew that Avedick was in France, and even they were ignorant of the precise place where he was detained. The other Cardinals had, with reference to this matter, only vague and inexact information, as is proved by a letter written from Rome, July 27, 1706, in which it is stated that Avedick was a prisoner at Messina.—Archives of the Empire, Monuments Historiques, xi.: Négociations, K 1315-1326.
[321] Letter, February 14, 1707:—Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, section Turkey, 44.
[322] Manuscripts of the Arsenal Library, Dujonca’s Journal, Registres des Entrées. This new extract from this journal proves once more its perfect authenticity, since the date is corroborated by the letter to the governor which we are about to quote.
[323] Letter from Louis XIV. to M. de Bernaville, at “Marly, December 18, 1709:”—Correspondance Administrative du Règne de Louis XIV., vol. iv. p. 285.
[324] Déclaration authentique de M. Pétis de la Croix, Secrétaire-interprète du Roi en langues Arabe, Turque, et autres Orientales, Aug. 24, 1711:—Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.