No. 110. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Germain, December 5th, 1680. YOUR letter of the 27th of last month has reached me. The King does not wish you to have any soldiers in your company who are Piedmontese, Savoyards, Italians, or natives of the Government of Pignerol. With regard to the three servants of this nation, who have been with you for six or seven years, you may keep them, since you are certain of their fidelity. DE LOUVOIS.[312] [312] From the Archives of France. No. 111. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Appointment of Saint-Mars to the Government of Exiles--Measures to be taken by him thereupon. Versailles, May 12th, 1681. I READ to the King your letter of the 3d of this month, by which his Majesty having discovered the extreme repugnance you have to accept the command of the citadel of Pignerol, he has thought proper to accord to you that of Exiles, vacant by the death of the Duke of Lesdiguières; whither he wishes you to transport those of the prisoners who are under your care, whom he shall think it important not to entrust to any other hands but yours. I shall take care to solicit at the office of M. de Croissy[313] for the grants of the aforesaid government, of which, as the salary does not exceed four thousand livres, His Majesty will continue to you the five hundred livres a month he gave you at Pignerol, by means of which your emoluments will be as considerable as those of the Governors of the great places in Flanders. I have requested the Sieur du Channoy to go with you to visit the buildings at Exiles, and to make there a list of the repairs absolutely necessary for the lodging of the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower, who are, I think, the only ones His Majesty will have transferred to Exiles. Send me a list of all the prisoners under your care, and write opposite to each name all that you know of the reasons why they were arrested. With regard to the two in the lower part of the tower, you need only designate them by this name, without adding any thing else. The King expects that, during the little time you will be absent from the citadel of Pignerol, when you go with the Sieur du Channoy to Exiles, you will arrange the guarding of your prisoners in such a manner, that no accident may happen to them, and that they may have no intercourse with any one, any more than they have hitherto had during the time they have been under your charge. DE LOUVOIS.[314] [313] Charles Colbert, Marquis de Croissi, brother of the great Colbert, was employed in many embassies, which he conducted with ability and success. In 1679 he succeeded Arnaud de Pomponne as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He died in 1696. [314] From the Archives of France. No. 112. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Precautions for the Journey of the Prisoners from Pignerol to Exiles.