LIteras Serenitatis vestrae 6. Febr. nuperi ex arce St. Ger­mani ad nos datas, ab [Page 2] ejusdem in aula nostra Ablegato Carlinfortio exhibitas, recte accepi­mus, & ex iis in quem statum redacta sit Sere­nitas vestra, qualiterque ab exercitibus suis, im­mo & ab intimis & do­mesticis fere omnibus, post adventum Princi­pis Arausionensis dere­licta praecipiti fuga sa­luti suae consulere, & ibidem in Gallia praesi­dium, subsidiumque quaerere coacta sit: De­nique etiam à nobis ad recuperanda Regna sua Auxilium expetat pluri­bus intelleximus. Se­renitati vestrae id certo recipere & confirmare possumus, quod simul atque peracerba haec [Page 3] rerum vicissitudo ad aures nostras pervenit, animum etiam nostrum non communi illo hu­manitatis, sed pro sin­cero nostro in eandem affectu, propiore & strictiore sensu tetige­rit, & intime indo­luerimus, illud tandem evenisse, quod nobis quantumvis meliora sperantibus animus jam­dudum anxie praesagiit. Quod si enim Serenitas vestra amicissimis no­stris per Ablegatum nostrum nuperum Co­mitem in Caunitz fa­ctis remonstrationibus potius, quam fraudu­lentis Gallorum sug­gestionibus, quibus id unum agebant, ut per­petuas [Page 4] inter Serenita­tem vestram, & ejus­dem Populos fovendo simultates reliquae Chri­stianae Europae tanto securius insultarent, fi­dem praebuisset, & con­tinuis eorundem pa­cifragiis & contraven­tionibus, quarum vin­diciae pace Neomagen­si ad eandem specta­bant, authoritate & potentia sua modum serio ponere, eumque in finem communia nobiscum, aut cum aliis recte consulentibus, consilia inire placuis­set. Nobis quidem nul­lum dubium est quin Serenitas vestra animos Populi sui odio Reli­gionis nostrae jam tam [Page 5] exulceratos multum de­mulsisset, & etiamnum tam in Regno suo, quam in Romano Im­perio tranquillitas illi­bata staret. Nunc au­tem quo loco res no­strae sint, ut Serenitati vestrae auxilium prae­stari possit à nobis, qui non Turcico tantum bello impliciti, sed in­super nos etiam crude­lissimo & iniquissimo à Gallis rerum suarum, ut putabant, in Anglia securis, contra datam fidem impediti sumus, ipsimer Serenitati vestrae judicandum relinqui­mus. Illud sane ean­dem non celandum du­cimus, quod Religio­ni etiam nostrae non [Page 6] ab aliis majore injuria quam ab ipsismet Gal­lis illata sit; quippe qui non tantum in nostrum, & totius Christianae or­bis perniciem foedifra­ga arma cum juratis Sanctae Crucis hostibus sociare, & susceptos à nobis pro Dei Gloria conatus interrumpere, successusque ab Omni­potenti manu nobis concessos impedire fas sibi ducunt; sed etiam in Imperio perfidiam perfidia cumulando ur­bes deditione occupa­tas contra datam ex ipsiusmet Delphini ma­nu signatam fidem immensis tributis ex­haurire, exhaustas di­ripere, direptas fundi­tus [Page 7] exscindere, aut flammis delere. Pa­latia Principum ab omni antiquitate in­ter saevissima bello­rum incendia intacta servata exurere, tem­pla spoliare, dediti­tios in servitutem more inter barbaros usita­to abducere. Denique passim, imprimis vero etiam in Catholico­rum Ditionibus, alia horrenda, & ipsam Turcarum tyranni­dem superantia, im­manitatis & saevitiae exempla edere, pro Ludo habent. Quae cùm necessitatem nobis summam imponant, non contra ipsos mi­nùs, quam contra [Page 8] Tureas, omni nos &c. Sacrum Romanum Imperium melion ra­tione tuendi, ab ipsi­usmet Serenitatis Ves­trae aequanimirate cer­tum nobis assensum promittimus, nobis à nemine imputari posse, siquam hactenus per multiplices Tractatus assequi non potuimus securitatem, justissimis Armis asserere sataga­mus; eundemque in fi­nem cum iis, quo­rum interest, commu­nes pro defensione & securitate nostra ratio­nes inire cogamur. De caetero Deum rogamus, ut omnia ad suam Gloriam dirigat, ve­strae (que) Serenitati in hoc [Page 9] gravissimo infortunio suo vera solatia prae­stet, qui tandem tener­rimo fraterni animi af­fectu complectimur.

Viennae 9. Aprilis 1689.

WE have received your Majesties Letters, dated from St. Germans the sixth of Fe­bruary [Page 2] last, by the Earl of Carlingford, your Envoy in our Court: By them we have understood the Condition your Majesty is reduced to; and that you being deserted after the landing of the Prince of Orange, by your Army, and even by your Dome­stick Servants, and by those you most Confided in, and almost by all your Sub­jects, you have been for­ced by a sudden flight to provide for your own safe­ty, and to seek Shelter and Protection in France: Lastly that you desire Assist­ance from us for the re­covering your Kingdoms. We do assure your Maje­sty, that as soon as we heard of this severe turn [Page 3] of Affairs, we were mo­ved at it, not only with the common sense of Huma­nity, but with much deeper Impressions suitable to the sincere Affection which we have always born to you. And we were heartily sorry that at last that was come to pass, which (though we hoped for better things) yet our own sad thoughts had suggested to us would ensue. If your Majesty had rather given Credit to the Friendly Remon­strances that were made you, by our late Envoy, the Count de Kaunitz, in our Name, than the de­ceitful Insinuations of the French, whose chief aim was, by fomenting con­tinual Divisions between [Page 4] you and your People, to gain thereby an Opportu­nity to insult the more se­curely over the rest of Christendom. And if your Majesty had put a stop, by your Force and Au­thority, to their many Infractions of the Peace, of which by the Treaty at Nimegen you are made the Guarantee, and to that end entered into Consultations with us, and such others as have the like just Sentiments in this matter; We are ve­rily perswaded that by this means you should have in a great mea­sure quieted the Minds of your People, which were so much exaspera­ted through their aversi­on [Page 5] to our Religion, and the publick Peace had been preserved as well in your Kingdoms as here in the Roman Empire. But now we refer it even to your Majesty, to judge what condition we can be in to afford you any As­sistance, we being not only engaged in a War with the Turks, but finding our selves at the same time unjustly and barbarously Attacked by the French, contrary to, and against the Faith of Treaties, they then reckon­ing themselves secure of England. And this ought not to be conceal­ed; that the greatest In­juries which have been done to our Religion have [Page 6] flowed from no other than the French themselves; who not only esteem it lawful for them, to make Perfidious, Leagues with the sworn Enemies of the Holy Cross, tend­ing to the destruction both of us and of the whole Christian World, in order to the checking our Endeavours, which were undertaken for the Glory of God, and to stop those Successes which it hath pleased Almighty God to give us hitherto; but further have heaped one Treachery on another, e­ven within the Empire it self. The Cities of the Empire which were sur­rendered upon Articles, signed by the Dolphin [Page 7] himself, have been ex­hausted by excessive Im­positions; and after their being exhausted have been Plundered, and after Plundering have been burned and razed. The Palaces of Princes, which in all times, and even in the most destru­ctive Wars, have been preserved, are now burnt down to the Ground. The Churches are robbed, and such as submitted them­selves to them, are, in a most barbarous manner, carried away as Slaves. In short, it is become a Diversion to them to com­mit all manner of inso­lences and cruelties in ma­ny places, but chiefly in Catholick Countries, ex­ceeding [Page 8] the Cruelties of the Turks themselves▪ which having imposed an absolute necessity upon us to secure our selves and the Holy Roman Em­pire, by the best means we can think on, and that no less against them than against the Turks; We promise our selves from your justice ready as­sent to this, That it ought not to be imputed to us, if we endeavour to pro­cure, by a just War, that security to our selves which we could not hitherto ob­tain by so many Treaties; and that in order to the obtaining thereof, We take measures for our mutual Defence and Preservation, with all those who are [Page 9] equally concerned in the same Design with us. It remains that we beg of God, that he would direct all things to his Glory, and that he would grant your Majesty true and solid Comforts under this your great Calamity; we embrace you with the ten­der Affections of a Brother.

At Vienna the 9th of April 1689.