Table of contents

1712.0905.Fa

1¹


Addressed:
Ld Treasurer


Paris: 5 Sep:^r NS: 1712²

My Lord

Lord Bolingbroke, I beleiue was w^th
you on Saturday, this being Munday
I hope before the latter End of the
Week to receiue your Instructions
and proper Means of communicating
with you; vpon this acc:^t I stay at
Paris till I may haue something to
do at Court: and send this by the
way of Utrecht, rather to desire
your Commands, than to giue you
any particular mark of my obe­
­dience:

The D: d'Aumond, (your Lordsp will
haue known) fro^~ L^d Boling:^b~)³ is
named for England: He is a Man
of very great Quality and Estate,
of the King's bedchamber, Gouver­
­nour of the Bolonnois, and in favour,

2

a man hearty and honest, a bon
vivant but not debauched, knowing
a good Many things without being
throughly⁴ a Scholar: He has
been in Eng:^~ loves us very well,
has never been of those who
had their habitudes at S^t Ger­
­mains, and expresses a perfect
respect to the Queen: so that
I think We are so far obliged to
his most C: M: that We having had
the Choice could not haue fixed it
better; He is at Paris preparing
for his Ambassy w^ch he intends
to be fort en Cavalier mais
fort magnifique⁵. your Lordsp may
be sure I giue him all the assis­
­tance, advice and respect that
I ought, and haue contracted a
friendship with him and giuen
him such⁶ Ideas of our people

3

as may sett him right in his Notions
and acquaintance in Eng:^~

I haue seen the Ministers as they
haue happened to come to Paris,
and in general discourse find them
in great Impatience for the con­
­clusion of the Peace

As to the forrein Ministers L:^d
Bol:^ke will haue told your Lordsp
that the D: d'Ossune is a person
whom no mortal Man can vnder­
­stand or describe: He has a Iargon
that never will be French, nor ever
was Spanish: He is to go to Utrecht
to make the peace there as soon
as He is sure it is made here:
His Confrere the Marq: de Monteleon
is by birth a Milanois, he has
seen a good deal, and is pretty
well versed in the present state
of affairs; they haue both visited
Me and beg most heartily that

4

Sicily may remain still to their
Monarchy: I dare not write expli­
­citely of this and other things
w:^ch Monteleon mentioned, and [...]⁷
things d'Ossune meant: not
having a Cypher, and fearing
least this letter may be opened:
but will do it; when I write directly to
England.

I had writ thus far and dated my
letter (as your Lordsp sees) the 5:^th
intending my Dispatch for to
Morrow, Munday; but am writing
it Sunday the 4 Sep:^r/24 Aug. 10 before Noon
Dagley is this Moment arrived
with the ratification of the Sus­
­pension: L^d Dartmouth's orders
vpon it, and yo:^r Lordsp's letter
vpon w^ch I shall go presently to

5

ffountainebleau: immediately vpon
my L^d Bol:^'s return, I expect
an other Courrier, and your Lordsp's
more particular commands: him I
will send back to Eng:^~ and⁸ send
Dagley forward to Savoy, as your
Lordsp orders: I reckon the other Cour­
­rier will be here on Wensday,
and as your Lordsp having spoke
with L^d Bol:^ke will haue given
Me full Instructions, I shall be
enabled to return by the same
Courrier the answers of this Court.
In the mean time I shall advise
mons:^r de Torcy of the particulars of
your Lordsp's letter, and make yo:^r
Complements to him w^ch I
really beleiue he will receive very
sincerely and joyfully I haue
only to add my great acknowledgments
of all your favours to Me, and

6

to repeat my being ever

With all possible truth
and respect
My Lord
Yo:^~ Lordsp's most obt
and most humble Ser^t

MPrior.

The Gazette à la main here tells that
Manwaring is dead: if so may not
Semper Ego Auditor— as It
begins a good book, may not It
I⁹ ask, finish a peacefull Nego­
­ciation? I will stand by my
L^d Keeper's opinion in this matter
provided the Case be fairly
stated to Him

2.

Endorsed:
Par[i]s¹⁰
M^r Prior. Sept: 5. 1712
℞ Sept: 13. 19 days.

Notes
1.
Prior has numbered the pages of his letter 1 through 6, in the upper right-hand corner on the rectos and in the upper left-hand corner on the versos except for the recto numbered 5 which is numbered in the upper left-hand corner. The blank seventh page and the endorsement page are unnumbered.
2.
On the fourth page, Prior explains how it happens that he is writing this on 4 Sept. NS although he dated the letter 5 Sept.
3.
The repositioning of the closing parenthesis, without erasure of the first closer, is Prior's.
4.
An apparent circumflex is rather carelessly positioned high and between the o and the u of "throughly". It has been omitted from the transcription as superfluous.
5.
The underscoring is Prior's.
6.
There is a random drop of ink after "such". We do not interpret it as a period.
7.
Prior wrote "I" or "J" at this point. It is superfluous and ungrammatical and has been omitted.
8.
With "and" the ink becomes much lighter, suggesting that Prior might have paused in composition and later resumed his writing.
9.
The "I" is positioned a bit left of the rest of the left-hand margin and may have been an addition.
10.
Oxford's scrawl leaves virtually no evidence of the i.

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