the extremeft Importunity, to do as much for her; and God, at their joint Requeft, calling her to him shortly after, it was a Death embraced on both Sides, with fingular Content. CHA P. XXXIII. Fortune is often met with in the Train of Reafon. UCH is the Inconftancy of the various Biaffes of Fortune, that she cannot avoid appearing to us with all Sorts of Faces. Can there be a more express Act of Juftice than this? The Duke of Valentenois *, having refolved, in 1503, to Poifon Adrian Cardinal of Cornetto, with whom Pope Alexander the Sixth, his Father, and himfelf, were to Sup at his House in the Vatican, he sent before a Bottle of poifoned Wine, and withal, ftrict Order to the Butler to keep it very fafe. The Pope being come before his Son, and calling for a Whet, the Butler fuppofing this Wine was fo ftrictly recommended to his Care, only upon the Account of its Excellency, ferved a Glafs of it to the Pope, and the Duke himself coming in presently after, and believing his Bottle had not been touched, took alfo his Glafs; fo that the Father died immediately upon the Place, and the Son, after having been long tormented with Sickness, was referved to another, and a worse Fortune. Fortune seems fometimes to Sport with us. Sometimes fhe feems to play upon us, juft in the Nick of Time. Monfieur d'Eftree at that time Guidon to Monfieur de Vendofme; and Monfieur de Liques Lieutenant to the Company of the Duke of Arfcot, being both Suitors to the Sieur de Foungefelles's Sifter, tho' of different Parties, (as it oft falls out amongst frontier Neighbours,) the Sieur de Liques carried her; but on the very Day he was Married, and which was worse, before he went to Bed to his Wife, the Bridegroom having a Mind to break a Lance in Honour of Hiftory of Francis Guicciardin, lib. vi. p. 267, printed at Venice by Gabriel Giolito in 1568.. Book I. of his new Bride, went out to Skirmish, near to St. Omers, where the Sieur d'Eftree proving the ftronger, took him Prisoner, and the more to illuftrate his Victory, the Lady herself was fain (Conjugis ante coalta novi dimittere collum,) Off her fair Arms, the am'rous Ring to break, to request the Favour of him, to deliver up his Prisoner to her, as he accordingly did, the Gentlemen of France never denying any Thing to the Ladies. Does not Fortune feem to be an Artist here? Conftantine the Son of Hellen, founded the Empire of Conftantinople, and fome Ages after, Conftantine the Son of Hellen, put an End to it. Sometimes fhe is pleafed to emulate our Miracles. We are told, that the King Clovis befieging Angoulesme, the Walls, by the divine Favour, fell down of themselves. And Bouchet has it from fome Author, that King Robert having fat down before a City, and being ftole away from the Siege, to go keep the Feast of St. Aignan at Orleans; as he was in Devotion, at a certain Place of the Mafs, the Walls of the beleagured City, without any Effort against them, tumbled on a fudden. But fhe did quite contrary in our Milan War; for Captain Renfe laying Siege to the City Verona, and having carried a Mine under a great Part of the Wall, it was lifted from its Bafe, by the Springing of the Mine, but drop down again, nevertheless, whole and entire, and fo exactly upon its Foundation, that the Befieged fuffered no Inconvenience by it. Fortune Some times turns Doctor. Sometimes the plays the Phyfician. Fafon Phereus being given over by the Physicians, by Reafon of an Impofthume in his Breaft, having a mind to rid himself of it by Death at least, rushed defpe *Catullus ad Manl. v. 81. &c; rately rately into the thickeft Ranks of the Enemy, where he was fortunately wounded quite through the Body, that the Impoftume broke, and he was cured. Did the not alfo excel the Painter Pro- Sometimes he togenes in the Knowledge of his Art? This is fuperior to Man finished the Picture of a Dog quite tired, Art. and out of Breath, in all the other Parts excellently well to his own Liking, but not being able to exprefs, as he would, the Slaver and Foam of his Mouth, he was fo vext with his Work, that he took his Spunge, which, by cleaning his Pencils, had imbibed Variety of Colours, and threw it in a Rage against the Picture, with an Intent utterly to deface it; when Fortune guiding the Spunge to hit juft upon the Mouth of the Dog, it there performed what Art could not attain to +. Does he not fometimes direct our Coun- And Sometimes fels, and correct them? Ifabel, Queen of Eng- She corrects our land, being to return from Zealand to her own Counfels. Kingdom, in 1326, with an Army in favour of her Son, against her Hufband, had been loft, had fhe come into the Port fhe intended, being there laid wait for by the Enemy; but Fortune, against her Will, threw her into another Haven, where fhe landed in Safety. And he of old, who throwing a Stone at a Dog, hit and killed hist Mother-in-law, had he not Reafon to pronounce this Verfe, Ταυτόματον ἡμῶν καλλίω βολεύεται † ; i. e. -By this you fee, Icetes had tampered with two Soldiers to She furpaffes the kill Timoleon, at Adrano in Sicily. They took Rules of human their Time to do it, when he was performing Prudence. a Sa * Plin. Nat. Hift. lib. vii. c. 50, Valerius Maximus who mentions this Accident, lib. i. c. 9. in Externis, represents the Fact in a Manner ftill more miraculous, for he fays, that Jafon received this important Service from an Affaffin. Seneca afcribes this Accident to the fame Caufe. De Benef. lib. ii. c. 19. † Plin. Nat. Hift. lib. xxxv. c. 10. Menander. Hewas a Scicilian born at Syracufe that aimed to opprefs the Liberty of his Country, of which Timoleon was the Protector. Plutarch in the Life of Timoleon, ch. 7. Book I. a Sacrifice; when thrufting into the Crowd, as they were making Signs to one another, that now was a fit Time for their Business, in fteps a third, who, with a Sword takes one of them full drive over the Pate, lays him dead upon the Place, and away he runs. His Companion concluding himfelf difcovered, and undone, ran to the Altar, and begged for Protection, promifing to difcover the whole Truth. And while he was laying open the whole Confpiracy, behold the third Man, who being apprehended, was, as a Murtherer, pulled and haled by the People through the Crowd; towards Timoleon, and other the most eminent Perfons of the Affembly, to whom he cried for Pardon, pleading that he had justly slain his Father's Murtherer; and proving upon the Spot, by fufficient Witneffes, which his good Fortune very opportunely fupplied him withal, that his Father was really kil led in the City of the Leontines, by that very Man on whom he had taken his Revenge, he was awarded ten Attick * Mines, for having had the good Fortune, while he was taking Satisfaction for the Death of his Father, to preserve the Life of the common Father of the Sicilians. This Fortune, in her Conduct, furpaffes all the Rules of human Prudence. The Father and Son profcribed to die together by a special Favour of For tune.. To conclude, is there not a direct Application of her Favour, Bounty, and Piety, manifeftly discovered in this Action? Ignatius † the Father, and Ignatius the Son, being profcribed by the Triumviri of Rome, refolved upon this generous Act of mutual Kindness, to fall by the Hands of one another, and by that Means to fruftrate the Cruelty of the Tyrants; and accordingly, with their Swords drawn, ran full drive one upon another, where Fortune fo guided the Points, that they gave two Wounds equally mortal, affording withal fo much Honour to fo brave a Friendship, as to leave them juft Strength enough to draw out of their Wounds their bloody Weapons, that they might have Liberty to clafp one another in this Condition with fo close an Embrace, that the Executio * The old Attick Mine was feventy-five Drach. ners Ch. XXXIV. Of one Defect in our Government. 257 ners cut off both their Heads at once, leaving the Bodies faft linked together in this noble Knot, and their Wounds close to each other, affectionately fucking in the Blood, and the Remainder of one another's Lives. M CHA P. XXXIV. Of one Defect in our Government. The Utility of a Project of an. Office of Enquiry. Y deceased Father, who, for a Man that had no other Advantages, than Experience only, and his own natural Parts, was nevertheless of a very clear Judgment, has formerly told me that he once had Thoughts of endeavouring to introduce this Practice; that there might be in every City a certain Place affigned, to which, fuch as itood in need of any Thing might repair, and have their Bufinefs entered by an Officer appointed for that Purpose; as for Example, I want to fell, or to buy Pearls: Such a one wants Company to go to Paris: Such a one enquires for a Servant of fuch a Quality: Such a one for a Master : Such a one enquires for an Artificer, fome for one Thing, fome for another, every one according to what he wants. And, I fancy, these mutual Advertisements would be of no contemptible Advantage to the publick Correfpondence and Intelligence: For there are always People that hunt after one another, and, for want of knowing one another's Occafions, Men are left in very great Neceffity. I hear, to the great Shame of the Age we live in, that in our very Sight, two most excellent Men, for Learning, died fo poor, that they had scarce Bread to put in their Mouths, Lilius Gregorius Giraldus in Italy, and Sebaftianus Caftalio in Germany: And I do believe, there are a thousand Men would have invited them into their Families, with very advantageous Conditions, or have relieved them where they were, had they known their Wants. The World is not fo generally corrupted, but that I know a Man that would heartily with the Eftate his Ancestors have left him, might VOL. I. S The miferable Deaths of Giraldus and Caftalio. be |