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
These explanations by Arlington do not tally with Marsilly's
communications to him, as cited at the beginning of this inquiry.
Nothing is said in these about getting the regicides of Charles I.
out of Switzerland: the paper is entirely concerned with bringing
the Protestant Cantons into anti-French League with England,
Holland, Spain, and even Sweden. On the other hand, Arlington's
acknowledged letter to Balthazar, carried by Marsilly, may be the
"commission" of which Marsilly boasted. In any case, on June 2,
Charles gave Colbert, the French ambassador, an audience, turning
even the Duke of York out of the room. He then repeated to Colbert
the explanations of Arlington, already cited, and Arlington, in a
separate interview, corroborated Charles. So Colbert wrote to
Louis (June 3, 1669); but to de Lyonne, on the same day, "I trust
that you will extract from Marsilly much matter for the King's
service. It seemed to me that milord d'Arlington was uneasy about
it [en avait de l'inquitetude]. . . . There is here in England one
Martin" (Eustace Dauger), "who has been that wretch's valet, and
who left him discontent." Colbert then proposes to examine Martin,
who may know a good deal, and to send him into France. On June 10,
Colbert writes to Louis that he expects to see Martin.[1]
[1] Bibl. Nat., Fonds. Francais, No. 10665.
On June 24, Colbert wrote to Louis about a conversation with
Charles. It is plain that proofs of a murder-plot by Marsilly were
scanty or non-existent, though Colbert averred that Marsilly had
discussed the matter with the Spanish Ministers. "Charles knew
that he had had much conference with Isola, the Spanish
ambassador." Meanwhile, up to July 1, Colbert was trying to
persuade Marsilly's valet to go to France, which he declined to do,
as we have seen. However, the luckless lad, by nods and by veiled
words, indicated that he knew a great deal. But not by promise of
security and reward could the valet be induced to return to France.
"I might ask the King to give up Martin, the valet of Marsilly, to
me," Colbert concludes, and, by hook or by crook, he secured the
person of the wretched man, as we have seen. In a postcript,
Colbert says that he has heard of the execution of Marsilly.
By July 19, as we saw in the previous essay, Louvois was bidding
Saint-Mars expect, at Pignerol from Dunkirk, a prisoner of the
highest political importance, to be guarded with the utmost
secrecy, yet a valet. That valet must be Martin, now called
Eustache Dauger, and his secret can only be connected with
Marsilly. It may have been something about Arlington's
negotiations through Marsilly, as compromising Charles II.
Arlington's explanations to the Foreign Committee were certainly
incomplete and disingenuous. He, if not Charles, was more deeply
engaged with Marsilly than he ventured to report. But Marsilly
himself avowed that he did not know why he was to be executed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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