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Aug. 2.
Senato,
Secreta.
Deliberazioni.
Corti.
Venetian
Archives.
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233. To the Ambassador in England.
We enclose a copy of the exposition of the Secretary of England
in the Collegio three days ago. We wish you to express once
more to Lord Fildin our appreciation of what he has said and
done. We rejoice to hear of the arrival of the French ambassador.
We enclose a summary of the news of Italy.
Ayes, 77. Noes, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
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Aug. 2.
Senato,
Secreta.
Dispacci,
Inghilterra.
Venetian
Archives.
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234. Giovanni Giustinian, Venetian Ambassador in England,
to the Doge and Senate.
The energetic preparations of the queen to proceed with the
princess to Holland have caused parliament much anxiety this
present week, and obliged them to take steps to thwart a purpose
so open to suspicion, considered by all to be prejudicial to the
interests of the parliamentarians, and by no means honourable
to the crown or to her husband himself. With this in view the
parliament, on Friday, pointed out to the king the objections to
this journey, the impossibility, under present circumstances, of
carrying it out with the amount of state that the greatness of
England requires, and the ignominy that would ensue in the end
if the queen should humiliate herself by taking her daughter to
the Prince of Orange, who in birth and other prerogatives is so
inferior to this august house. They petitioned him to banish
the thought from her mind and to allow these very sensible
considerations to be represented to her Majesty. The king
admitted the force of these representations and agreed that
they should be put before his wife. But she, being determined
to carry out her purpose, merely made a formal and general
reply to this office and declared in set terms that considerations
of her personal safety persuaded her to take the step and did
not admit of postponing it any longer.
Impressed by the inflexibility of this reply the parliamentarians
considered that severe measures would prove most efficacious
to constrain her Majesty to change her mind. So they
immediately brought forward once more the affair of the conspiracy,
which I reported, letting it be freely understood that they
would pursue the enquiry until everything was thoroughly
sifted. They sent an intimation to the lady, who is entrusted
with the custody of the crown jewels, to have them ready so that
she may answer for them and not to permit them to be taken
elsewhere. To the officials who receive the queen's revenues
they sent an order to produce their transactions, and they
threaten other and more violent measures should her Majesty
persist in her original intention to go. Under such vigorous
pressure and moved by the strong arguments of the king and of
the French ambassador she has finally yielded to what all desire
and yesterday she sent word to parliament that on this occasion
also she would give proof of her zealous desire to please the people.
Parliament expressed satisfaction at hearing this new decision
and to show their pleasure they have selected six members to go
and thank the queen, to promise her every reasonable satisfaction
and to hold out some hopes that some of her fugitive servants
may even be permitted to return. (fn. 1) And so this affair will be
terminated. It has kept the whole Court in great agitation for
several days. With a view to pleasing the king and the French
ambassador I have not failed, when it was opportune, to encourage
in the queen the sentiment of gratifying the generality and
the French ambassador has been to this house to day to express
to me his gratitude.
Although all the provisions for the king's journey to Scotland
have been sent forward as well as the attendants, the talk about
it is dying away. The Scots do not now seem so eagerly desirous
of it as they professed to be in the past, and there is some indication
that this journey also may ultimately be prevented by
parliament, or at any rate postponed to some other time, that is
to say until the affairs have been adjusted and the Scottish and
English troops alike dismissed, so that no occasion whatever may
be left for the fear that with the help of those forces Ins Majesty
may in the future reestablish his former authority and avenge
himself for the licence of the most seditious, and so that he may
be compelled hereafter patiently to endure the hard laws which
the audacity of his subjects has prescribed to him, which leave
him destitute of credit and stripped of all authority, with nothing
but the bare title of king.
Parliament has passed a bill forbidding all military officers and
soldiers from proceeding to the service of foreign princes without
a fresh permission. The levies I reported for the French and
Catholic ambassadors are thus suspended. The French ambassador
is labouring to obtain the licence and hopes to succeed without
much trouble. The Spaniard on the other hand does not feel
so confident, suspecting with reason that this last order is directed
to preventing the transport to the coast of Spain of the Irish, to
whom, on the strength of agreements made, he has disbursed
considerable sums of money. He considers this as lost, which
only adds to the hurt and shame.
The French ambassador here has made cautious overtures to
induce this crown to consign an army to the Palatine immediately,
and has intimated that his king will add to its strength as well
with a paid body of troops. The proposal gave pleasure but it
will not be accepted, the parliamentarians standing steadfastly
to their original opinion not to involve themselves in new expenditure.
All the same they talk of sending very soon another
ambassador to Caesar, charged to inform him of the last declaration
of parliament here and of their fixed determination to have
recourse to arms if the negotiations for the restitution of the
Palatine house to their ancient patrimony prove fruitless. But
even if this mission takes place its sole object will be to stir
alarm in the minds of the imperialists, without any real intention
of proceeding to acts, as I have reported before.
Although France has shown her good will towards the Palatine
by such advantageous proposals, yet the Prince does not seem to
attach any value to the assistance of that crown and goes about
saying freely that at the price of his interests the Most Christian
is turning his thoughts to promoting the greatness of the House of
Bavaria, the Palatine's principal enemy, so that amid such
palpable coolness and such public differences little or nothing
that is good can be hoped for from those princes.
The French ambassador has approached the Queen mother
with fresh representations that if she is disposed to dismiss from
her service the three ministers banned by France, (fn. 2) all the goods
which she enjoyed in times past will be restored to her and she
will be received in that kingdom with the most conspicuous
demonstrations of esteem and honour by the king, her son.
But she has declined to receive this generous advance, in order
not to lose the services of Fabroni, which are so grateful to her.
So two days ago she sent an individual to the Cardinal Infant to
ask again that passports may be granted to her although she
previously asked in vain. (fn. 3)
Parliament has recently been holding several debates upon the
reform of religion, but all without result owing to the differences
of opinion, every one persisting obstinately in advocating the
opinions of his own sect. Meanwhile confusion in this matter
has reached the utmost limit, as every one openly professes the
religious opinions which please him best, and all are tolerated,
except the Catholic. Preaching in the churches is no longer
confined to the ministers, but any person from the common
people may venture to proclaim the forms and dogmas of the
particular faith which he follows. Quite recently, in particular,
some women have held forth from the pulpits, bringing forth a
new faith before a numerous concourse of people, so that one
may say that there are as many religions as there are persons.
This is a disastrous state of affairs which threatens ruin to the
state unless such scandalous licence is speedily and vigorously
restrained.
London, the 2nd August, 1641.
[Italian.]
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Aug. 5.
Senato,
Secreta.
Dispacci,
Haya.
Venetian
Archives.
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235. Zuanne Zon, Venetian Secretary at the Hague, to the
Doge and Senate.
There has been much talk of late about the coming of the
Queen of England and they have been preparing quarters for her,
but on the arrival here of the decisions of the parliament there,
of which your Excellencies will have heard, they have stayed the
principal measures. They seem glad of this circumstance,
because it relieves the state of a great expense.
The States have permitted their ambassador to return during
his Majesty's sojourn in Scotland. There is talk of the queen
mother seeking a union with the princes of Sedan.
The Hague, the 5th August, 1641.
[Italian.]
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Aug. 9.
Senato,
Secreta.
Dispacci,
Inghilterra.
Venetian
Archives.
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236. Giovanni Giustinian, Venetian Ambassador in England,
to the Doge and Senate.
With all my caution I have not succeeded in escaping trouble
amid the disturbances of this kingdom, but thank God, I have
come through it all with honour and glory to the name of your
Excellencies. From this sheet you shall hear all that happened
and all the perils met.
When I came to this Court, I brought with me from France an
English priest to act as my chaplain, (fn. 4) as my predecessors had
always done, and in accordance with the actual practice of the
ambassadors of France, Spain and Portugal, as well as the
Resident of Florence. These also keep their chapels open without
fear, with the same publicity as they have used in the past.
But in my anxiety to avoid all unpleasant incidents, so as not to
involve your Serenity in troublesome affairs, at the beginning of
the outcry against the Catholics, when severe laws were being
issued against the very priests, I considered it advisable, under the
circumstances of the time, to have the divine offices celebrated
in my chapel with closed doors, the idea being to prevent a
crowd of people gathering, with disturbance to this house, without
showing a conspicious lack of zeal. Later on I also sent the
Secretary Agostini to Mr. Fildin, who is a member of parliament,
to represent to him, as he did very wisely, that I had heard the
declarations against English priests, and being anxious, consistently
with the dignity of my office, to conduct myself in a manner
satisfactory to the government here, I wished to inform him that
I had brought an English priest with me for my own service
exclusively. Although I knew that ambassadors were not
subject to the laws here, yet I should be glad to have some further
assurance as to whether the position of this priest was sufficiently
safe. He thanked me for the confidence and replied that he
would give notice of the matter to parliament and would then let
me know their intentions. Four days later he came to this
house and said that parliament highly appreciated my cautious
procedure. As for the priest, since he was in my service, there
was no doubt but that he would be perfectly safe. These assurance
have since proved false, and derived solely from his imagination.
But as I could not conceive that he would take the name
of parliament in vain, I thought no more of the matter. By
dint of the circumspection of which I have written before I have
kept trouble at a distance from this house, amid all these perils
and popular threats, to the no small astonishment of the other
ambassadors, who have not been so fortunate.
In the mean time an individual had arrived in this city, an
Englishman, who after having been a Jesuit for some time,
changed his religion and turned preacher and an implacable
persecutor of priests. Being anxious to distinguish himself
against his order by some conspicuous exhibition, it occurred to
him to bring about the arrest of my chaplain. So he laid his
snares and meeting the chaplain in the city, denounced him as a
priest, calling for assistance to arrest him. The chaplain was
accordingly seized, (fn. 5) and although he announced that he was a
gentleman of my household, he was told that that was the very
reason for his arrest.
I heard of this incident at a time when I happened to be at the
house of the Earl of Arundel, a leading minister who holds
Venetian ministers in special regard owing to courtesies shown by
your Excellencies to his wife. I informed his Excellency of what
had happened. He seemed greatly vexed and undertook to
speak to the king about it, advising me to lose no time in informing
his Majesty myself. In the mean time I sent the Secretary
Agostini to tell Fildin, who was greatly perturbed. Although
it was the middle of the night he insisted on coming to see me
and promised to do everything in his power to secure the release
of the prisoner as well as the punishment of the over zealous
preacher. I thanked him and reminded him of what he had told
me, and though it was not true, he repeated it again. On the
following day I saw his Majesty and told him what had happened,
asking him for the release of the priest and for the punishment of
the other. The king expressed great displeasure and constrained
me to give him a memorial. On the following morning he himself
took this to the Upper House of parliament. There it was decided
that his Majesty had the power himself to release the prisoner
and to oblige the preacher to do penance to me. The king sent
me word of this decision by the Earl of Arundel and Fildin,
promising that everything should be done that very day. But
when he gave orders for this to be carried into effect to the
Secretary of State, who is a Puritan and an enemy of the Catholics,
that minister said that it could not be done without the consent
of the Lower House as well. The king regretted this suggestion
and sent the Earl of Arundel to me again to warn me of this
hitch and suggest speaking to the Secretary to conciliate his
goodwill in the matter. I did so and he courteously promised
me a prompt and happy dispatch.
After all this the king sent to pray me, through one of the
queen's leading ladies, to write nothing to your Excellencies about
this affair, which he realised hardly enhanced his dignity. At
the same time he assured me that he would be as solicitous for
the safety of this religious as he would be for the preservation of
his own royal person.
To these humble and friendly representations I returned
suitable thanks. In order to keep your Excellencies out of the
matter I added that I was a minister of good intentions, my aim
was to promote good relations and not to create differences
between his Majesty and the Senate, and I assured him that I
would abstain from communicating with your Serenity until it
was all over, as I thought would be right.
When the business was in this position and discussed by everyone
in accordance with his own particular prejudices, the ambassadors
of France and Spain came to this house to offer their
services and, if necessary to make protests, declaring that my
interests included their own as well. I expressed my extreme
gratification to them for it all but did not think it desirable to
avail myself of their help, as I did not wish to prejudice the
prestige of your Excellencies or impair the vigour of my offices.
I was also waiting for the results of the king's efforts. His
Majesty had noticed the disinclination of the secretary to settle
this affair and he sent a secret intimation to me that he would not
take it amiss if in a special audience I should repeat my instances,
to afford him a basis for bringing the matter to a satisfactory
termination. I responded to this suggestion performing a very
complete office, to which his Majesty replied with a frank expression
of his own sentiments. He said that I was in the right
and thanked me for my patience. His honour was concerned,
and upon his royal word I should have satisfaction within two
days. He added more about the merits of your Serenity and in
appreciation of my activities.
After these offices His Majesty again asked the Upper House, in
a paper, for the release, of the priest. This was agreed to and the
proposal was then sent to the Lower House for their consent,
which was promptly given. The king then directed the secretary
of state to carry this decision into effect and send back the prisoner
to me. But this minister through negligence or deliberate
malice, tarried so long that the term arrived in which accused
persons must unfailingly be dealt with by justice. This priest
in company with another priest, in the presence of a great crowd,
was brought forward and condemned to be hanged on the gallows
on the following day, after being dragged through the city at the
horse's tail, with other humiliating circumstances. Although it
was late in the evening when I heard about this, yet in order to
prevent this mischief and such shame, I went straight to the
secretary, told him the state of affairs and asked him to put it
right and to carry out the orders of the king and the parliament.
He made various frivolous excuses and caused the execution of the
sentence to be suspended for a single day only, promising that
at the end he would settle the matter to my entire satisfaction.
But he did nothing until the middle of the day which preceded
the one determined for the execution of the sentence. Orders
were issued to the prisons for his release. As I heard that the
king was about to leave the city in a few hours and would not
return until the evening of the following day, I made up my mind
to see the queen, and ask her to use her influence to make sure
that his Majesty's commands should not be delayed any longer,
involving the death of this religious. The queen waxed angry
at the behaviour of the secretary. She bore witness to the king's
goodwill and promised to speak to him at once. She did so and
when his Majesty heard the facts he was greatly incensed. He
sent for the secretary and in the queen's presence reprimanded
him severely. When the minister tried to excuse himself by
inventions he only inflamed the king's wrath, and his Majesty
angrily told the secretary that he was telling lies. The minister
being stirred by the fear of losing with the royal favour his office
as well, broke out into the following words : he marvelled that
his Majesty should permit ambassadors to avail themselves of
English priests, thereby infringing the laws of the realm. If the
king would allow him, his secretary should write to Venice in
such a way that your Serenity would be induced to disapprove
my offices and of my employing a chaplain of this character.
He asserted boldly that the republic has not the same sentiments
towards the Roman Court as other Princes have and that this
example would serve as a warning to the other ambassadors
as well.
His Majesty made no reply to these bold and scandalous
suggestions inspired by anger and uttered in the presence of many
gentlemen of the Court, by one of whom I was immediately
informed in confidence. The king, indeed, ordered the Master
of the Ceremonies to proceed to this house and express to me
his Majesty's grief that matters had gone so far, and to assure me
that he will cause the prisoner to be restored with all honour,
and will further give such satisfaction as shall be judged proper
by the Council. The Master of the Ceremonies, as from himself,
tried to find out from my own lips what I should claim. I
thanked him very cordially for these offices of his Majesty.
I said that I knew the wisdom of the king and his ministers, and
so I hoped that they would give me conspicuous satisfaction that
would make plain to the world and to all the foreign ministers
resident at this Court the esteem in which they hold the Senate
and its ministers. I indicated in the first place that they should
cause the conviction to be annulled, and then that his Majesty
should be pleased to send an earl to me with the royal coaches
to take me to the palace to a state audience such as is given at a
first entry, and at this offer apologies for what had happened,
making a public expression of the sentiments which the king had
been good enough to express to me privately. I did not bar the
way to other steps being taken, in order not to commit myself to
this alone, which the Master of the Ceremonies did not think
would be easily conceded. With this reply he returned to the
palace. Today he informs me in the king's name that the matter
has been before the Council and they have decided that under
the Great Seal of England the conviction shall be annulled, that
the prisoner shall be released with all honour, that audience
shall be given me tomorrow publicly in the manner suggested,
and that the Earl of Warwick, a great lord and councillor of
state is selected to come with the royal coaches and other lords
of Court to fetch me from my house. In this way the affair will
be settled in a dignified manner. It has caused me great anxiety,
on the score of the reputation of this charge. Decidedly his
Majesty could not do more in honour of the minister of your
Excellencies. In order to render this audience more conspicuous
and stately I have ordained that the coaches of the ambassadors
and ministers of the Court and other friends shall be invited. It
will be necessary to pay the usual gratuities which are given at a
first audience and to incur other expenses for the Great Seal and
the king's guards. But the money will be well employed for the
upholding of the dignity of my country. I will send your Excellencies
a faithful account of what takes place.
Meanwhile, in order to avoid any more tiresome incidents, I
will cause the priest to cross the sea, after he has stayed a day or
two at this house. In the future I shall employ foreign subjects
to discharge his duties, as I feel sure that such would be the wish
of your Excellencies. I trust that you will approve of the manner
in which I have conducted myself in this necessary occasion,
which to tell the truth has won the applause of the Catholics
and of the Protestants equally, while it renders the greatness of
your Excellencies more conspicuous than ever at this Court as
well as the zeal of your minister.
One of the queen's priests (fn. 6) has also been arrested, and although
she is pressing for his release she has not yet been able to obtain
it. This only renders the release of mine the more conspicuous.
London, the 9th August, 1641.
[Italian.]
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237. Giovanni Giustinian, Venetian Ambassador in England,
to the Doge and Senate.
When all expectation had ceased that the Scots any longer
desired the presence of his Majesty in that kingdom, an individual
has arrived on purpose to urge him to go there. The king has
sent the letters themselves to the parliament and has intimated
to them that since the urgency of affairs there admits of no
further delay he is determined to set out in the middle of this
month, in conformity with what was established.
The announcement of this hasty move caused no slight apprehension,
in the Lower Chamber in particular, and in very lengthy
discussions they have gone into the means by which they may
put a stop to or at least postpone this journey until they have
an opportunity to find out with more certainty the suspected
intentions of the Scots. But so far his Majesty holds fast to his
original determination, which increases suspicion of a secret
intelligence with that people. Every one is awaiting with
curiosity the outcome of this move, which might possibly change
the troubled course of events here and raise again the fortunes
of the king.
During his Majesty's absence the parliament will remain in
being, but it will not proceed with fresh deliberations until his
return ; and the Council of State will take part in the government
of the monarchy, under the superintendence of parliament.
In the interval the queen with the rest of the Court will proceed
to Bristol, 100 miles from here, in order to be nearer her husband,
and to avoid remaining under the tactless control of the parliament.
All the foreign ministers propose to follow her, as well
for the purpose of observing the course of events, as to avoid
exposure, in the absence of their Majesties, to the insolences of
this licentious people, and to those dangers which would be
inevitable should his Majesty decide to return to this kingdom
accompanied by the forces of Scotland, and by the remains of
the English army stationed at York. In view of the emergency
and there being no time to wait for instructions from the Signory,
I shall follow the example of the others, feeling persuaded that
your Excellencies will approve of the step as a necessary one for
the proper fulfilment of my duties, and in particular to shelter
myself from fresh molestation. I also hope that you will not
lose sight of the considerable expenses which I shall have to incur
on the journey, and for the maintenance of two houses at the
same time, and that you will permit me to share the public
liberality which in such cases is customarily dispensed generously
to all indifferently.
M. di More returned from Holland last week. He brought
assurances to the Queen Mother that she shall receive the best
of treatment in her passage through those States. The Dutch
ambassador has confirmed all this but has nevertheless repeated
that their High Mightinesses cannot grant a safe conduct to her
three ministers. On the other hand the Prince of Orange, by
private promises, has expressed his intention to the Queen to
arrange for them to pass through secretly and in safety. Accordingly
even if the Cardinal Infant should not be disposed to grant
the passports which have been asked, her Majesty will doubtless
accept the invitation. She announces that she will set out on
Monday and will stop at the city of Canterbury to await the
answer from Flanders, as well as the actual passport from Holland,
for which she has sent again. She will be carried across
by the king's ships and the Earl of Arundel has been selected by
his Majesty to accompany her to the place of embarcation,
whether to Flanders or to Holland.
To the written request of the French ambassador for permission
to raise levies parliament has returned an unsatisfactory
answer. Accordingly he is no better pleased with the government
here than the Spaniard, finding it indisposed to do anything
for the Most Christian king, his master.
A dispute of some importance has occurred these last days in
parliament between the Earl of Pembroke, the Lord Chamberlain,
and the eldest son of the Earl of Arundel, both persons of high
rank. To punish their temerity and their lack of respect to that
Senate they have both been sent prisoners to the Tower. The
queen, who cherishes oldstanding grudges against the Chamberlain,
has taken advantage of this opportunity to induce her
husband to take away the office from him. Apart from the
dignity this is worth 50,000 crowns a year. His Majesty has
conferred the appointment on the Earl of Essex, a leading man
among the Puritans. (fn. 7) Although in the past he has shown
himself utterly opposed to the king's interests, his Majesty hopes
that the stimulus of ambition as well as of profit will suffice to
secure his devotion, and if he succeeds in winning over the earl
he will have achieved a great gain, since that nobleman possesses
the strongest party in parliament.
After justice had attempted by the most absolute promises of
safety and other rewards to induce the priest who was condemned
to death in company with my chaplain, to change his faith, and
after he had refused every proposal with great constancy, he
suffered the glorious pains of martyrdom in public on Monday,
amid admiration for his great zeal. (fn. 8) The queen, the king himself
and the Catholics regret the event, but it has produced corresponding
gain for the Catholic faith this perfect example of constancy
having persuaded many Protestants to throw themselves
into the arms of the true Church. Thus through the means of
one innocent victim, the Roman religion, instead of being depressed
is more and more established in the hearts of good men.
London, the 9th August, 1641.
Postscript : since writing the above I learn that many leading
gentlemen, under the pretext of accompanying the Queen Mother
to Holland, are crossing the sea, being afraid more particularly
of fresh disturbances in this city in the absence of their Majesties.
This constrains me the more to follow the Court as well as the
other ambassadors, to avoid the danger of irreparable incidents.
[Italian.]
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Aug. 9.
Collegio,
Secreta.
Esposizioni,
Principi.
Venetian
Archives.
|
238. The Secretary of England came into the Collegio and
spoke substantially as follows :
All Catholic priests subjects of his Majesty are required to
leave the realm, by a decree of parliament of the 24th July last,
upon pain of death, and they must not stay in the island. (fn. 9) In
spite of this law an English priest who lived in the house of the
Venetian ambassador and under his protection, walked about
the city without any concern, and was accordingly imprisoned.
Our ambassador asks me to inform your Serenity, assuring you
that the priest will be treated with moderation, owing to the
respect for you and for the ambassador, who is popular and
respected by every one, esteemed by his Majesty and all the Court.
The doge replied : We have no information about this affair
except what you have just told us. We are sure that the matter
will be dealt with with every regard as we know that the ambassador
would have no one in his house who might cause offence.
We therefore hope that this priest will be treated with discretion.
The Secretary replied : The priest is an Englishman, a subject
of his Majesty ; if he had been of another nation he would not
have been interfered with. The doge said : Yours is the only
information we have.
The secretary then added : I previously recommended an
English merchant to your Serenity's protection. He has again
approached me with a memorial, which I present, and he handed
it to the secretary. After it was read the doge said these Signors
will consider your office together with the memorial. He then
took leave.
[Italian.]
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|
Filza.
|
The Memorial.
239. The ambassador of the King of Great Britain made request
at divers times that your Serenity would delegate the cause
of me, Laurence Hyder, an Englishman, to a number of Senators
selected from the body of the Senate, and the doge replied that
this was not usual but that I should go to the ordinary Courts,
and despatch would be recommended, and I have this in some of
my causes. As I am unable to obtain dispatch up to the present,
through being unable to have pender in the Quarantia Civil
Vecchia and of the Venti Savii, after spending twelve years in
many misfortunes and vexations caused me by the Avogador
Pisani, by which goods to the value of more than 40,000 ducats
were taken from me, as I have shown the Inquisitors, with the
addition of two years' imprisonment, as appears from the ban
against the Avogador, I pray you to beseech his Serenity to
give strict orders that my causes may be dispatched as soon as
possible, as I am detained here by this matter and can no longer
support the cost of such delays.
[Italian.]
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Aug. 9.
Collegio,
Secreta.
Esposizioni,
Roma.
Venetian
Archives.
|
240. The papal nuncio came into the Collegio and said,
among other things :
His Holiness has heard from several quarters of what has
happened in England to Count Rossetti, his familiar, and with
what real piety the ambassador of your Serenity, amid all that
confusion, has put right many of the things that occurred, now
the affairs of the Puritans there have come to such a pass. The
pope has directed me to thank the republic warmly for the piety
of the Senate and the prudence shown by the ambassador, of
whom it is impossible to speak without the highest praise. This
is the truth. Your Serenity might give him the orders, but the
ambassador deserves the praise, because he could not have
carried them out with greater prudence or opportuneness.
Affairs there could not be in greater confusion. The Puritans
put up with the old Catholics there but cannot suffer the new
ones. Your Serenity exercises your protection at Constantinople
also. His Holiness commends to your Serenity the charge of the
Faith in England, during these events, because all the advantage
may rest with you alone, not with others, and it will increase
your merit with all Christendom, because this is a universal
interest, which will serve to show your customary piety ever
more clearly.
The doge replied that they deeply regretted the disturbances
in England, especially where they injured religion. For this
the republic was always ready to shed its blood. The incident
was a grave one. Thank God it had been repaired by their
ambassador because some spectacle, some notable injury might
follow. The ambassador behaved prudently and deserves praise
for his prompt action in fulfilling his instructions, and he will
continue to act vigorously, giving effect to the piety of the Senate.
The nuncio added, I assure your Serenity that the more the
republic does for religion the more God will assist her. The
action was truly great and affects everyone. All see the piety
of the republic and acclaim her merits throughout Christendom ;
and I congratulate your Serenity warmly.
[Italian.]
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Aug. 11.
Senato,
Secreta.
Dispacci,
Costantinopoli.
Venetian
Archives.
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241. Girolamo Trivisano, Venetian Bailo at Constantinople,
to the Doge and Senate.
A few days ago there was a quarrel between some English merchants
and certain Jews. They broke each others' heads. At the instance
of Ancocaua the Vizier sent to arrest the English in their own house.
They protest that the Jews were in the wrong. The ambassador
asked for audience to request their release. It was refused. He
went without asking and was not admitted, being sent back with a
serious rebuff. The merchants were obliged to ransom themselves
by a payment of 3000 reals.
The Vigne of Pera, the 11th August, 1641.
[Italian ; deciphered.]
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