when he tells a Perfon the King has a Refpect for him, he need not defpair of carrying any Point. Nevertheless, I queftion whether fuch a Compliment could be fafely depended on; for, I obferv'd, he paid it to a great many People: And, as for my own Part, M. Grimaldo faid to me, that the King was fo gracious as to efteem me, before I had even the Honour of paying my Duty to his Majefty.

M. de Campo Florido had the Management of the Finances. He was a very polite difinterested Minifter; and 'tis certain that he made none of thofe Purchases which are always the Confequence of a fplendid Fortune. But notwithstanding his being fo difinterefted, this Minifter had the fame Fate as all that have the Management of the Finances, not to be belov'd: And tho' when he first came to the Direction of the Finances, he found them in a very bad State, no Allowance was made him upon that Score, but an Account was demanded from him of the Wealth which others had fquander'd.

M. de Caftelar was Secretary at War, and had been juft preferr❜d to that Employment as I arriv'd at Madrid. He is the civilleft Minister I ever knew And tho' he had fuch a Weight of Affairs upon him, he had an eafy Air, which was a Pleasure to all that had any Business with him. He had another Quality, not very common to Gentlemen in the Miniftry, which was to keep no body in Sufpence; for People very foon knew what they had to truft to: And whether 'twas a Grant or a Refufal, they were equally fatisfy'd with the Minifter, who gave with Pleafure, and never refus'd a Request but when 'twas not in his Power to grant it.

Thefe,

Thefe, Madame, were the Ministers then employ'd in the feveral Offices. At that time there was no Prime Minister in Spain; for, after Cardinal Alberoni's Difgrace, the King manag'd Affairs himself, or rather the Queen govern'd as the real Sovereign. But as great as her Sway was, fhe had much ado to get the better of the King's Confeffor, who had a great Share in all Affairs. This was the famous Father Daubanton, a Jefuit, who had an Afcendant over the King to fuch a Degree, that nothing of Moment was tranfacted without his Opinion. He was therefore, in Reality, the Prime Minister of Spain; at leaft he only wanted the Title, for he perform'd the Functions of such a one, but without the Wit, the Fineffe, and the Policy of the difgrac'd Minitter; for he was fevere, mercilefs, and fo hardhearted, that when he faw Officers reduc'd to the last Extremity for want of their Pay, it gave him no Disturbance. To him I apply'd, as every body elfe did, to beg the Honour of his Protection; and when I came near him, I found him a haughty proud Man, and one that was extremely rigid. 'Tis true, that when he had to do with Perfons from whom he expected any Services, all this Stateliness was laid afide; he was then quite another Man: And was so perfect a Master of the Art of diffembling, that Civility, Good-nature, and Humility feem'd painted fo ftrongly in his Features, as would induce one to think nothing could be more fincere, and that this external Appearance was the pure Expreffion of his fecret Thoughts. The Roman Purple was, they fay, the Centre of all his Views; and, being wholly ambitious of this Dignity, he thought every Measure equally right that had a Tendency to a red Hat, Cardinal

Alberoni wheedled him with the Hopes of it one while, juft to get fome Services of him that he then stood in need of. The Regent of France alfo gave him a Profpect of it, as a Reward that he might infallibly depend on, if he could prevail on his Catholic Majefty to fign the Treaty of the Quadruple Alliance. This Jefuit fet heartily about it, and fucceeded; but the Hat, fo much afpir'd after, was given to another; and all the Thanks that the Reverend Father had for his Pains, was an Abbey for one of his Nephews. Something offer'd before I left Spain, which will give me occafion to speak to you of this Cardinal again.

Cardinal Borgia was alfo in very high Favour, but a wrong Perfon to apply to for Services which indeed was owing to his Indolence more than any other Reafon; for, as to a friendly Temper, I do not think there ever was a Man who poffefs'd that Virtue in a more eminent Degree, He was withal very devout, but was reckon'd fo unlearned, that I have been affur'd he did not know a word of Latin; and upon this Head I heard the following Story, which I do not retail to you for Gospel. I was told, that when the Duke of St. Aignan, the Ambassador of France, was preparing to make this Cardinal a Vifit, he was appris'd that his Eminency did not understand French. The Ambaffador thought it would do every whit as well if he convers'd with him in Latin, and therefore he greeted him in that Language; but he found, to his great Surprize, that the Prelate made Answer to him in Spanish, that he did not understand the French Tongue; and fomebody, who was prefent at the Audience, telling the Cardinal, that the Ambaffador fpoke to him not in French but in

Latin, the Cardinal faid, Aye, but I do not underftand Latin-French: So that there was a Neceffity of carrying on the Converfation by an Interpreter.

Tho' the Characters of the Minifters and Favourites were fo different, there was a Neceflity of my conforming to them all, in Hopes that the Steps I had taken would not be in vain. I took great Care therefore to fee them all, to defire them to fpeak in my Favour. Whether they did fo, I know not, nor whether the little Ray of Fortune which began to fhine upon me, but foon vanifh'd, was the Effect of their Recommendations, or to an Impression I had made upon the King's Heart, by the Narrative I had given him of the State of my Affairs, the Diforder of which had been owing in the first Place to my changing my Religion, which had forc'd me to quit the Service of my Sovereign. Be this as it will, I receiv'd a very favourable Anfwer to the Memorial which I had the Honour of prefenting to the King: He granted me a Lieutenant-Colonel's Commiffion in the future Regiment of Sicily, together with the Soldo vivo, which amounted to about Sixteen Piftoles a Month. What they call the Soldo vivo in Spain is, when the fame Pay is advanc'd as if the Corps was actually on an Establishment or Footing. I thought this very handsome Pay, and that my Affairs were already in a promising way. I found that with fuch a Sum an Officer might maintain himself very well in his Quarters. I actually form'd Schemes for a Settlement; and, having paid dear for my Folly, I began to talk of Houfe-keeping. I computed, that with what would now be my Income from Spain, and what was to revert to me from my own Family, I P 4 fhould

fhould be able to repair my tatter'd Equipage, and to appear in a decent Manner, till fuch time as Fortune, which now began to be fomething kinder than ufual, had put me in a Condition to make the Figure I afpir'd to.

As foon as the King had admitted me into his Service, I did not fail to wait on him with my most humble Acknowledgments: I had alfo the Honour of thanking the Queen, to whom I made my Compliment in High-Dutch, and that Princefs return'd me her Anfwer in the fame Language. Soon after this I fet out for Arragon, where the Regiment in which I was to ferve was then in Quarters. But as I came into Spain with very little Money, I was foon oblig'd to return to Madrid, to defire fome small Gratuity, till I receiv'd my Pay. Some of my Friends advis'd me to ask boldly for a handsome round Sum, or for a Penfion upon Benefices; because if I depended on my Pay for Subfiftance, I fhould be very much out in my Reckoning; that in Spain, more than elsewhere, they were backward in their Pay, and always one Year in Arrear, and sometimes two or three, according as they dun the Minifter, or dawb the Treafurer's Fift. This News put me a little out of Temper, and from that time I began to perceive that Fortune would jilt me as much in Spain as fhe had done elsewhere: Nevertheless, my Courage did not quite fail me, I apply'd to the Secretary at War, who referred me to Father Daubanton, and the latter told me, with all the Solemnity that could be, that 'twas none of his Bufinefs. You fee, Madame, that this was a fine Setting out: However, I was not difhearten'd: And being fo much us'd as I was to Rebuffs, I had as lieve be deny'd twice as once,