OnMay18Princed’AremberghadwrittenonthesubjecttotheSpanishambassadorinParis。Marsilly,hesays,wasarrestedinSwitzerland,onhiswaytoBerne,withamonkwhowasalsoseized,and,acuriousfact,Marsilly’svaletwaskilledinthestruggle。
Thisvalet,ofcourse,wasnotDauger,whomMarsillyhadleftinEngland。Marsilly“doitavoirdemandelaprotectionduRoydelaGrandeBretagneenfaveurdesReligionairesHuguenotsdeFrance,etpasserenSuisseavecquelquecommissiondesapart。“
D’ArembergbegstheSpanishambassadortocommunicateallthistoMontague,theEnglishambassadoratParis,butMontagueprobably,likePerwich,knewnothingofthebusinessanymorethanheknewofCharles’ssecretdealingswithLouisthroughMadame。[1]
[1]StatePapers,France。vol。126。
Tod’Aremberg’sletterispinnedanunsignedEnglishnote,obviouslyintendedforArlington’sreading。
“RouxdeMarsillyisstillintheBastillethoughtheyhaveamindtohanghim,yettheyaremuchpuzzledwhattodowithhim。DeLionnehasbeenetoexaminehimtwiceorthrice,butthereisnoewitnestoproveanythingagainsthim。IwastoldbyonethattheFrenchkingtolditto,thatinhispaperstheyfindgreatmentionoftheDukeofBucks:andyourname,andspeakasifheweremuchtrustedbyyou。IhaveenquiredwhatthisMarsillyis,andIfindbyoneMr。MarsillythatIamacquaintedwithall,andamanofquality,thatthisman’snameisonelyRoux,andborneatNismesandhavingbeenformerlyasoldierinhistroope,eversincehastakenhisnametogainmorecreditinSwitserlandwherehee,Marsilly,formerlyusedtobeeemployedbyhisColl:theMareschalldeSchombergwhoinvadedSwitserland。“
Wenextfindaverycuriousletter,fromwhichitappearsthattheFrenchGovernmentinclinedtoregardMarsillyas,infact,anagentofCharles,butthoughtitwisertotrumpupagainsthimachargeofconspiringagainstthelifeofLouisXIV。Onthischarge,oranother,hewasexecuted,whilethesuspicionthathewasanagentofEnglishtreacherymayhavebeentherealcauseofthedeterminationtodestroyhim。TheBalthazarwithwhomMarsillylefthispapersismentionedwithpraisebyhiminhispaperforArlington,ofDecember27,1668。HeistheGeneralwhoshouldhaveaccompaniedMarsillytotheDiet。
ThesubstanceofthelettergiveninfullinNoteI。istothefollowingeffect。P。duMoulinParis,May19/291669writestoArlington。Eversince,Ruvigny,thelateFrenchambassador,aProtestant,wasinEngland,theFrenchGovernmenthadbeenanxioustokidnapRouxdeMarsilly。TheyhuntedhiminEngland,Holland,Flanders,andFranche-Comte。AsweknowfromthecaseofMattioli,theGovernmentofLouisXIV。wasunscrupulouslydaringinbreakingthelawsofnations,andseizinghostilepersonagesinforeignterritory,asNapoleondidintheaffairoftheDucd’Enghien。
WhenallfailedLouisbadeTurennecaptureRouxdeMarsillywhereverhecouldfindhim。Turennesentofficersandgentlemenabroad,and,afterfourmonths’searchtheyfoundMarsillyinSwitzerland。Theytookhimashecameoutofthehouseofhisfriend,GeneralBalthazar,andcarriedhimtoGex。Nopaperswerefoundonhim,butheaskedhiscaptorstosendtoBalthazarandget“thecommissionhehadfromEngland,“whichheprobablythoughtwouldgivehimthesecurityofanofficialdiplomaticposition。
Havinggotthisdocument,Marsilly’scaptorstookittotheFrenchMinisters。Nothingcouldbemoreembarrassing,ifthisweretrue,toCharles’srepresentativeinFrance,Montague,andtoCharles’ssecretnegotiations,alsotoArlington,whohaddealtwithMarsilly。Onhispart,thecaptiveMarsillyconstantlyaffirmedthathewastheenvoyoftheKingofEngland。ThecommontalkofPariswasthatanagentofCharleswasintheBastille,“thoughatCourttheypretendedtoknownothingofit。“LouiswasoverjoyedatMarsilly’scapture,givingoutthathewasconspiringagainsthislife。MonsieurtoldMontaguethatheneednotbegforthelifeofawould-bemurdererlikeMarsilly。Butastothisidea,“theybeginnowtominceitatCourt,“andRuvignyassuredduMoulin“thattheyhadnosuchthoughts。“DeLyonnehadseenMarsillyandobservedthatitwasablundertoseizehim。TheFrenchGovernmentwasnervous,andTurenne’ssecretaryhadbeen“pumping“severalambassadorsastowhattheythoughtofMarsilly’scaptureonforeignterritory。OneambassadorrepliedwithspiritthatacrusadeofallEuropeagainstFrance,asofoldagainsttheMoslems,wouldbenecessary。WouldCharles,duMoulinasked,ownordisownMarsilly?
Montague’spositionwasnowawkward。OnMay23,hisaccountofthecasewasread,atWhitehall,totheForeignCommitteeinLondon。
SeeNoteII。forthedocument。HedidnotdaretointerfereinMarsilly’sbehalf,becausehedidnotknowwhetherthemanwasanagentofCharlesornot。SucharetheinconveniencesofasecretroyaldiplomacycarriedonbehindthebacksofMinisters。LouisXV。laterpursuedthismethodwithawkwardconsequences。[1]TheFrenchCourt,Montaguesaid,wasoverjoyedatthecaptureofMarsilly,andarewardof100,000crowns,“Iamtoldveryprivately,issetuponhishead。“TheFrenchambassadorinEngland,Colbert,hadreportedthatCharleshadsentMarsilly“todrawtheSwissesintotheTripleLeague“againstFrance。MontaguehadtriedtoreassureMonsieurCharles’sbrother-in-law,butwashimselfentirelyperplexed。AsMonsieur’swife,Charles’ssister,wasworkingwithCharlesforthesecrettreatywithLouis,theStateandfamilypoliticswereclearlyinaknot。Meanwhile,theSpanishambassadorkeptpressingMontaguetointerfereinfavorofMarsilly。AfterMontague’spuzzlednotehadbeenreadtotheEnglishForeignCommitteeonMay23,Arlingtonofferedexplanations。MarsillycametoEngland,hesaid,whenCharleswasenteringintonegotiationsforpeacewithHolland,andwhenFranceseemedlikelytoopposethepeace。Nopropositionwasmadetohimorbyhim。Peacebeingmade,Marsillywasgivenmoneytotakehimoutofthecountry。HewantedtheKingtorenewhisalliancewiththeSwisscantons,butwastoldthatthecantonsmustfirstexpeltheregicidesofCharlesI。Heundertooktoarrangethis,andsomeeightmonthslatercamebacktoEngland。“Hewascoldlyused,andIwascomplainedoffornotusingsoimportantamanwellenough。“
[1]Cf。LeSecretduRoi,bytheDucdeBroglie。
Aswesaw,MarsillyexpressedthemosteffusivegratitudetoArlington,whichdoesnotsuggestcoldusage。ArlingtontoldthecomplainersthatMarsillywas“anotherman’sspy,“whatman’s,Dutch,Spanish,orevenFrench,hedoesnotexplain。SoCharlesgaveMarsillymoneytogoaway。HewasnevertrustedwithanythingbuttheexpulsionoftheregicidesfromSwitzerland。ArlingtonwasorderedbyCharlestowritealetterthankingBalthazarforhisgoodoffices。
TheseexplanationsbyArlingtondonottallywithMarsilly’scommunicationstohim,ascitedatthebeginningofthisinquiry。
NothingissaidintheseaboutgettingtheregicidesofCharlesI。
outofSwitzerland:thepaperisentirelyconcernedwithbringingtheProtestantCantonsintoanti-FrenchLeaguewithEngland,Holland,Spain,andevenSweden。Ontheotherhand,Arlington’sacknowledgedlettertoBalthazar,carriedbyMarsilly,maybethe“commission“ofwhichMarsillyboasted。Inanycase,onJune2,CharlesgaveColbert,theFrenchambassador,anaudience,turningeventheDukeofYorkoutoftheroom。HethenrepeatedtoColberttheexplanationsofArlington,alreadycited,andArlington,inaseparateinterview,corroboratedCharles。SoColbertwrotetoLouisJune3,1669;buttodeLyonne,onthesameday,“ItrustthatyouwillextractfromMarsillymuchmatterfortheKing’sservice。Itseemedtomethatmilordd’Arlingtonwasuneasyaboutit[enavaitdel’inquitetude]……ThereishereinEnglandoneMartin“EustaceDauger,“whohasbeenthatwretch’svalet,andwholefthimdiscontent。“ColbertthenproposestoexamineMartin,whomayknowagooddeal,andtosendhimintoFrance。OnJune10,ColbertwritestoLouisthatheexpectstoseeMartin。[1]
[1]Bibl。Nat。,Fonds。Francais,No。10665。
OnJune24,ColbertwrotetoLouisaboutaconversationwithCharles。Itisplainthatproofsofamurder-plotbyMarsillywerescantyornon-existent,thoughColbertaverredthatMarsillyhaddiscussedthematterwiththeSpanishMinisters。“CharlesknewthathehadhadmuchconferencewithIsola,theSpanishambassador。“Meanwhile,uptoJuly1,ColbertwastryingtopersuadeMarsilly’svalettogotoFrance,whichhedeclinedtodo,aswehaveseen。However,thelucklesslad,bynodsandbyveiledwords,indicatedthatheknewagreatdeal。ButnotbypromiseofsecurityandrewardcouldthevaletbeinducedtoreturntoFrance。
“ImightasktheKingtogiveupMartin,thevaletofMarsilly,tome,“Colbertconcludes,and,byhookorbycrook,hesecuredthepersonofthewretchedman,aswehaveseen。Inapostcript,ColbertsaysthathehasheardoftheexecutionofMarsilly。
ByJuly19,aswesawinthepreviousessay,LouvoiswasbiddingSaint-Marsexpect,atPignerolfromDunkirk,aprisonerofthehighestpoliticalimportance,tobeguardedwiththeutmostsecrecy,yetavalet。ThatvaletmustbeMartin,nowcalledEustacheDauger,andhissecretcanonlybeconnectedwithMarsilly。ItmayhavebeensomethingaboutArlington’snegotiationsthroughMarsilly,ascompromisingCharlesII。
Arlington’sexplanationstotheForeignCommitteewerecertainlyincompleteanddisingenuous。He,ifnotCharles,wasmoredeeplyengagedwithMarsillythanheventuredtoreport。ButMarsillyhimselfavowedthathedidnotknowwhyhewastobeexecuted。
Executedhewas,incircumstancestrulyhideous。Perwich,June5,wrotetoanunnamedcorrespondentinEngland:“Theyhaveallhispapers,whichspeakmuchoftheTripleAlliance,butIknownotwhethertheycanlawfullyhanghimforthis,havingbeennaturalizedinHolland,andtakeninaprivilegedcountry“
Switzerland。MontagueParis,June22,1669writestoArlingtonthatMarsillyistodie,soithasbeendecided,for“arapewhichheformerlycommittedatNismes,“andaftertheexecution,onJune26,declaresthat,whenbrokenonthewheel,Marsilly“stillpersistedthathewasguiltyofnothing,nordidknowwhyhewasputtodeath。“
LikeEustacheDauger,Marsillyprofessedthathedidnotknowhisownsecret。Thechargeofarape,longago,atNismes,wasobviouslytrumpeduptocovertherealreasonfortheextraordinaryvindictivenesswithwhichhewaspursued,illegallytaken,andbarbarouslyslain。MereProtestantrestlessnessonhispartishardlyanexplanation。TherewasclearlynoevidenceforthechargeofaplottomurderLouisXIV。,inwhichColbert,inEngland,seemstohavebelieved。EveniftheFrenchGovernmentbelievedthathewasatonceanagentofCharlesII。,andatthesametimeawould-beassassinofLouisXIV。,thathardlyaccountsfortheintensesecrecywithwhichhisvalet,EustacheDauger,wasalwayssurrounded。DidMarsillyknowoftheSecretTreaty,andwasitfromhimthatArlingtongothisfirstinklingoftheroyalplot?
Ifso,MarsillywouldprobablyhaveexposedthemysteryinProtestantinterests。Weareentirelybaffled。
Inanycase,FrancisVernon,writingfromParistoWilliamson?
June19/25,1669,gaveaterribleaccountofMarsilly’sdeath。
Fortheletter,seeNoteV。Withabrokenpieceofglassaswelearnfromanothersource,Marsilly,inprison,woundedhimselfinaghastlymanner,probablyhopingtodiebylossofblood。Theysearedhimwithared-hotiron,andhurriedonhisexecution。Hewasbrokenonthewheel,andwastwohoursindyingJune22。
Contrarytousage,aProtestantpreacherwasbroughttoattendhimonthescaffold。Hecamemostreluctantly,expectinginsult,butnotatauntwasutteredbythefanaticpopulace。“Hecameupthescaffold,greatsilenceallabout,“Marsillylaynaked,stretchedonaSt。Andrew’scross。Hehadseemedhalfdead,hisheadhanginglimp,“likeadroopingcalf。“Togreettheministerofhisownfaith,heraisedhimself,tothesurpriseofall,andspokeoutloudandclear。HeutterlydeniedallshareinaschemetomurderLouis。Therestmaybereadintheoriginalletterp。51。
SoperishedRouxdeMarsilly;thehistoryofthemasterthrowsnolightonthesecretoftheservant。Thatsecret,formanyyears,causedthekeenestanxietytoLouisXIV。andLouvois。Saint-Marshimselfmustnotpryintoit。YetwhatcouldDaugerknow?ThattherehadbeenaconspiracyagainsttheKing’slife?ButthatwasthepublictalkofParis。IfDaugerhadguiltyknowledge,hislifemighthavepaidforit;whykeephimasecretprisoner?DidheknowthatCharlesII。hadbeenguiltyofdoubledealingin1668-
1669?ProbablyCharleshadmadesomeoverturestotheSwiss,asablindtohisprivatedealingswithLouisXIV。,but,evenso,howcouldthefacthauntLouislikeaghost?Weleavethemysterymuchdarkerthanwefoundit,butweseegoodreasonwhydiplomatistsshouldhavemurmuredofacrusadeagainstthecruelandbrigandGovernmentwhichsentsoldierstokidnap,inneighboringstates,menwhodidnotknowtheirowncrime。