The Lock and Key Library: The Most Interesting Stories of All Nations: Real Life
Science
The Lock and Key Library: The Most Interesting Stories of All Nations: Real Life
Detective and mystery stories; Fiction; Parapsychology
The substance of the letter (given in full in Note I.) is to the
following effect. P. du Moulin (Paris, May 19/29 1669) writes to
Arlington. Ever since, Ruvigny, the late French ambassador, a
Protestant, was in England, the French Government had been anxious
to kidnap Roux de Marsilly. They hunted him in England, Holland,
Flanders, and Franche-Comte. As we know from the case of Mattioli,
the Government of Louis XIV. was unscrupulously daring in breaking
the laws of nations, and seizing hostile personages in foreign
territory, as Napoleon did in the affair of the Duc d'Enghien.
When all failed Louis bade Turenne capture Roux de Marsilly
wherever he could find him. Turenne sent officers and gentlemen
abroad, and, after four months' search they found Marsilly in
Switzerland. They took him as he came out of the house of his
friend, General Balthazar, and carried him to Gex. No papers were
found on him, but he asked his captors to send to Balthazar and get
"the commission he had from England," which he probably thought
would give him the security of an official diplomatic position.
Having got this document, Marsilly's captors took it to the French
Ministers. Nothing could be more embarrassing, if this were true,
to Charles's representative in France, Montague, and to Charles's
secret negotiations, also to Arlington, who had dealt with
Marsilly. On his part, the captive Marsilly constantly affirmed
that he was the envoy of the King of England. The common talk of
Paris was that an agent of Charles was in the Bastille, "though at
Court they pretended to know nothing of it." Louis was overjoyed
at Marsilly's capture, giving out that he was conspiring against
his life. Monsieur told Montague that he need not beg for the life
of a would-be murderer like Marsilly. But as to this idea, "they
begin now to mince it at Court," and Ruvigny assured du Moulin
"that they had no such thoughts." De Lyonne had seen Marsilly and
observed that it was a blunder to seize him. The French Government
was nervous, and Turenne's secretary had been "pumping" several
ambassadors as to what they thought of Marsilly's capture on
foreign territory. One ambassador replied with spirit that a
crusade of all Europe against France, as of old against the
Moslems, would be necessary. Would Charles, du Moulin asked, own
or disown Marsilly?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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