Table of contents

1712.1014.Fa

Paris Oct: 14/3 1712

My Lord¹

I had returned your Lordsp my humble
thanks for your letter from Eng: and my
Epistle was at the Post house, when I found
it happily spoyl't by One received from
S^t Sebastians dated the 4:^th Ins:^~ I congratu­
­late your safe arrival with all my heart
and wish you a good Delivery from all
that can happen in a Spanish Ceremonial
It was very happy that I did not send
you the letter I mentioned, for yesterday
Morning I receiue from Eng a new
Cypher to correspond w^th you, and
at the same time that I forward the
good Bishop's I haue One from
L^d Dartmouth w^ch I likewise enclose
to yo:^r Lordsp

The Marq: de Monteleon told Me some
days since with a great deal of Ioy
that he was named for Eng, having
orders to take the Character of Am̃b:^dr
when ever Her Maj^ty should judge
proper: He is a Man well versed in
busineſs, and has the reputation of a
very honest Minister, He speaks damn'd
french and a great deal of it: for
the rest considering the Interests and
affairs w^ch We haue w^th Spain at
present He will please and profit Us
more than any Natural Castilian
of w^ch people He has not much
the Punto and Gravidad

Whilst they are concern'd at Utrecht
to know and adjust how far a˂n˃²
Amb:^~ may play the fool I haue
reason to think 1028^Dutch3 are searching
440^all 425,^ways 115^— / towards 670.^peace

I haue told the 610^Earl in 1964^Savoy that it
must be his part to facilitate Matters.
1813^{Q. of England} having done more for 1969^{D. of Savoy} than
for any of the 1863,^Alliance and as much
as 1322^England can make good

Your Lordsp is fully apprized of the
additions w.^ch D^r Henchman has
offered, and the Cabinet has approved
in order to their being inc˂s˃erted⁴ in the Act
of Renonciation, mons:^r Torcy made an
Objection to One, whilst He consented
to the rest, as what was already ex­
­pres't but that the additions did no
good or harm: be it so, I transmitted
his opinion and Objection to that
One into Eng:^~ it was
After the Words — Passé et transmis
On doit inserer the Noms des Per­
­sonnes sur le˂ſ˃quels⁵ le droit de Succession
seroit declaré d'appartenir en vertu
de la renonciation

Lord Dartmouth and L^d Bolingbroke
to whom I transferred mons^~ Torcy's objection
w^ch consisted cheifly in this head
that Philip was a forrein Prince
now, and naming those who should
succeed to the Crown of France
seemed in ˂˄ some˃⁶ sort to giue him a power
w:^ch He ought not to be thought
to haue of regulating the Succession
of France, &c

Our Lords I say haue sent Me power
to answer these Objections, and to
insist of ˂˄vpon˃ the Nomination of the
Princes to whom this right is trans­
­ferred by virtue of the renoncia­
­tion, and (I may tell yo:^r Lordsp)
I am a little chid for transmitting
Torcy's objection, thô at the same
time that He made it to Me, He
wrote it too to L^d Bolingbroke
and thô I had neither letter of
Credence, nor power of answering
otherwise than as a private
Mouse

But this defect is supplyed by my
receiving 2 days since a Plein­
­pouvoir, and in virtu[e]⁷ of that
Power I too Morrow Morning
will giue m^~ Torcy the Queen's re­
­solution vpon this head, and I
expect his answer will be con­
­formable to the Instructions w^ch
yo:^r Lordsp has received vpon
that head, and of this I will
send you a further acc^t by
my next.

I expect the D: of Argile here
to Night or to Morrow
I haue writ 848,^without 663^Cypher 1163^— this
matter of 1960,^Renunciation for if my 1214^Letter
be 378,^opened 325,^— 182^— so much the
better:

I expect yo:^r Excell,^ce [a]⁸ title w^ch
I know you are very fond of,
should congratulate my hon^r
vpon being Plenipo:^~ you know
my heart that in all qualities
and degrees of life I am with
great respect

My Lord
yo:^r Lordsp's most ob^t
and most humble Ser^t

MPrior

The Gazette à la main is not so
good as my old Freind Renaud̃ot
whom I will continue to send
you. especially when Drift the
Faithfull our accustomed Clerk
at the Plantation board comes
to help Me I expect him every
day, and ˂˄ haue˃⁹ no body here to
write or transcribe, sign or
Seal: adieu my Good Lord
I hear you are mightily treated

2.

Endorsed: ¹⁰
M^r Prior 17/3 Oct: 1712
rd^~ 27

Notes
1.
Though the letter does not name Lexington, it congratulates the recipient on his arrival in Spain as ambassador. That ambassador was Lexington.
2.
Prior modified the upward curl of the tail of the a to revise the word to "an".
3.
Here and below there is interlinear deciphering of the code. The hand appears to be that of a clerk or secretary. It is not Lexington's.
4.
Prior added what looks like a cedilla under the c to change the letter to an s.
5.
Prior added the long s through the connecting stroke between the e and the q.
6.
Prior indicated this supralinear insertion with a caret.
7.
The e is only half formed.
8.
Prior wrote "I'title".
9.
Prior indicated this supralinear insertion with a caret.
10.
The endorsement is presented here as it was first written, the "17" being a misreading of the "14" in the dateline of the letter. Later, someone recognized that "17/3" was impossible and mistakenly tried to alter or cancel the "3".

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