"But it looked for all the world as if you were flirting."
"As indeed we were-but the intercourse to which this flirting will lead is not s.e.xual."
"I am perfectly confused now-you are playing with me."
"Come now, Bon-bon! Let us review matters. Out of all the men in Germany, which did I choose for a friend?"
"Leibniz."
"And what is he?"
"A mathematician."
"Holland?"
"Huygens...a mathematician."
"England?"
"Daniel Waterhouse. A Natural Philosopher."
"France?"
"Come now! When I came to Versailles for the first time, and got invited to Court soirees, and was pursued by any number of randy Dukes, to whom did I give my affections?"
"You gave them to...a mathematician."
"What was that mathematician"s name?" asked Eliza, cupping a hand to her ear.
"It was Bonaventure Rossignol," said Bonaventure Rossignol, and flicked his black eyes to and fro to see if anyone was listening.
"Now, when I got myself into a big mess of trouble outside of St. Diziers, who was the first to learn of it?"
"That fellow who was reading everyone"s mail. Bonaventure Rossignol."
"And who came galloping to my rescue across half of France, and journeyed north with me to Nijmegen, and put me on a boat?"
"Bon-"
"Stop. The name is beautiful and distinguished. But I prefer to call him Bon-bon."
"Very well, then, it was Bon-bon."
"Who made love to me along the banks of the Meuse?"
"etienne de Lavardac."
"Who else?"
"Bon-bon."
"And who helped me concoct a plan to get out of my terrible mess of trouble?"
"Bon-bon."
"Who helped me cover my traces, and forged doc.u.ments, and lied to the King and to d"Avaux?"
"Bon-bon."
"And who is the father of my first-born?"
"I"ve no idea."
"Only because you avoided looking at him, when you had the opportunity. But I tell you Jean-Jacques looks very much like Bon-bon-there is no trace in him of the tainted blood of the Lavardacs. You are the father, Bon-bon."
"What is your point?"
"Only that it is absurd for you to be jealous of this Samuel Bernard. Whatever may pa.s.s between him and me in the way of business is nothing compared to the adventure that you and I had, and the son that we share."
The attention of "Bon-bon" had strayed to a painting of a fabulous, many-domed mosque that adorned a wall behind Eliza. "You remind me of things I would forget. I could have done a better job."
"Nonsense!"
"I could have exonerated you entirely from charges of spying."
"In retrospect, perhaps. But I do believe it worked out for the best."
"What...you married to a man you do not love, and Jean-Jacques held captive by a demented Saxon banker?"
"But that is not the end of the story, Bon-bon. We have met here today to further the story along."
"Yes. And it is an interesting choice of venue," Rossignol said, leaning far over the table and lowering his voice so much that Eliza nearly had to touch her forehead against his in order to hear him. "I have read every sc.r.a.p of these people"s mail for two years, you know, but never seen their faces, and certainly never sipped their coffee."
"Do you fancy it?"
"It is a cut above the usual swill, to be sure," said Rossignol, "but on its merits as a beverage, it would never be so chic if you and Madame la d.u.c.h.esse d"Oyonnax were not forever singing its praises."
"You see? There is nothing I would not do in the service of cryptology," said Eliza with a smile, and spread out her hands, inviting Rossignol to take in the magnificence of the Cafe Esphahan. "Have you learned anything recently?"
"This is not the place or the time to speak of it! But no," said Rossignol. "I have been much more preoccupied with reading your your mail." mail."
"Does it make for interesting reading?"
"A bit too too interesting. To Lothar you say, "The invasion of England will surely be called off," while to some interesting. To Lothar you say, "The invasion of England will surely be called off," while to some financier financier in Lyon you are saying, "The invasion will happen soon and we must pay the troops!" " in Lyon you are saying, "The invasion will happen soon and we must pay the troops!" "
"You don"t know the half of it."
"It makes me worry that you are about to get in trouble again and I shall have to go back to galloping hither and yon, forging doc.u.ments, and lying to important people...all of which I would gladly do!" he added hastily, as the beginnings of a pout had appeared on Eliza"s face. "But I think it a miracle that you were forgiven, by the powers that be, for the previous go-round of spying and lying. If you do it again-"
"Your misinterpretation is total," Eliza said. "There was no forgiving, but an oeconomic transaction. And I did not get off scot-free, as you seem to phant"sy, but paid a price so terrible I do not think you"ll ever fathom it. To you, perhaps, it seems that I am plunging once more into a sea of intrigue from which I was absent for a couple of years-restful years for you, Bon-bon!-but to me it seems I have been submerged in it the whole time, and am only now getting my head above water where I can see and breathe again. I mean to keep clawing away until I have dragged myself out."
"You"ll never be out," said Rossignol, "but if it is in your nature to claw, then claw away. Speaking of which, my back has healed since the last time-"
"I have three more engagements to-day, but perhaps I could append a fourth," said Eliza. She reached across the table and set a packet of letters in front of Rossignol. "My out-going mail," she explained. "I was going to post it, but then I thought, why not give it directly to Bon-bon?"
"I shall decrypt them while I await your fourth social engagement," said Rossignol. "Here is your incoming." And he handed Eliza a packet.
"Thank you, Bon-bon. Anything interesting?"
"Compared to most of what I have to read? Madame, you have no idea."
Daniel Waterhouse to Eliza 19 APRIL 1692.
I am in receipt of your recent note urgently requesting information concerning the Mint and the men who run it. I cannot fathom why you desire to know such things, so hastily. I can a.s.sure you that I am the wrong chap. The right chap is the Marquis of Ravenscar. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your questions to him. You may be a.s.sured of his discretion. I hope that everything is well with you; for I am, as always, &c., Daniel Waterhouse.
Roger Comstock, Marquis of Ravenscar, to Eliza 20 APRIL 1692.
A LETTERTo Her Grace, ELIZA, d.u.c.h.ess of Arcachon and (though "tis not recognized in France) QwghlmMadame, Most humbly do I set before you this Offering, and do pray that Your Grace may deem it a satisfactory Answer to those Inquiries lately despatch"d to my wise Friend and Colleague, Dr. Daniel Waterhouse, F.R.S. Most humbly do I set before you this Offering, and do pray that Your Grace may deem it a satisfactory Answer to those Inquiries lately despatch"d to my wise Friend and Colleague, Dr. Daniel Waterhouse, F.R.S. APOLOGY APOLOGY Olympus" Olympus" Court no fairer Visage housed Court no fairer Visage housedThan that of Helen. G.o.ddesses were rousedTo ENVY: which though petty Vice petty Vice on Earth on EarthWhen spent on High where all"s of greater WorthLoosed Havock down below. Fleets sailed, G.o.ds vied,For Helen cities fell and heroes died.ELIZA"s Fame on Rumour"s wing hath comeTo Albion" Albion"s sh.o.r.es. French flatterers, struck dumb,Have kept her beauty hid "til now, it seems;But as a light beneath a Bushel gleamsThro" any c.h.i.n.k, ELIZA"s Charms are out,And putting G.o.ddesses G.o.ddesses to rout. to rout.A-tremble, Men gaze up, and shall be gladNot to be Players in her Iliad.MY LADY, You who are accustom"d to that incomparable Palace of Versailles would find little in London worthy of casting your eye over, and least of all my habitation near Red Lyon Square, which is yet but a pile of loose stones and timbers. Its sole Glory, at this time, is its Architect, Dr. Daniel Waterhouse, Secretary of the Royal Society, who being a diligent man is oft to be seen in its Precincts surveying, measuring, drawing, &c. Today I chanc"d to meet Dr. Waterhouse about the Property and, upon supplying him with certain Libations, learnt from him that his letter-box had been graced by a missive from the incomparable d.u.c.h.ess of Arcachon and of Qwghlm, who is the subject of some debate among Persons of Quality in this Country; for while some would have it that her Wit is exceeded only by her Beauty, others would have it the other way round. I confess myself incompetent to have an opinion on the matter, for while your letter to Dr. Waterhouse leaves me confounded and dazzled by your Wit, I cannot but suppose that were I to have the honour of encountering you in Person I should be as a-maz"d by your Beauty. Setting aside, then, this Question, which I cannot answer for lack of sufficient Data (though not, I a.s.sure you, for want of Curiosity), I shall apply myself to the Question that you put to Dr. Waterhouse in your recent Missive, viz.: who is in charge of the Mint at the Tower of London, and is it reasonable to a.s.sume that he is a good Tory? You who are accustom"d to that incomparable Palace of Versailles would find little in London worthy of casting your eye over, and least of all my habitation near Red Lyon Square, which is yet but a pile of loose stones and timbers. Its sole Glory, at this time, is its Architect, Dr. Daniel Waterhouse, Secretary of the Royal Society, who being a diligent man is oft to be seen in its Precincts surveying, measuring, drawing, &c. Today I chanc"d to meet Dr. Waterhouse about the Property and, upon supplying him with certain Libations, learnt from him that his letter-box had been graced by a missive from the incomparable d.u.c.h.ess of Arcachon and of Qwghlm, who is the subject of some debate among Persons of Quality in this Country; for while some would have it that her Wit is exceeded only by her Beauty, others would have it the other way round. I confess myself incompetent to have an opinion on the matter, for while your letter to Dr. Waterhouse leaves me confounded and dazzled by your Wit, I cannot but suppose that were I to have the honour of encountering you in Person I should be as a-maz"d by your Beauty. Setting aside, then, this Question, which I cannot answer for lack of sufficient Data (though not, I a.s.sure you, for want of Curiosity), I shall apply myself to the Question that you put to Dr. Waterhouse in your recent Missive, viz.: who is in charge of the Mint at the Tower of London, and is it reasonable to a.s.sume that he is a good Tory?The answers, respectively, are Sir Thomas Neale, and yes, it were reasonable to make such an a.s.sumption-but WRONG. Reasonable, because, as you have obviously heard, our Government has fallen under the Sway of the Tories since the election of "90. Wrong because this is England, and Offices and Privileges of the Realm are not managed according to REASON but BECAUSE WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT THUS. Accordingly, Sir Thomas Neale, Master of the Mint, has his post, not because he is a Tory (for to the extent he holds fixed views on anything, they are Whiggish views, and to the extent he has friends, they are Whigs), but rather because James II gave him the position immediately upon his succession to the throne in February of 1685. Prior to that date, Sir Thomas had served as Groom-Porter of the Court of Charles II. The duties of the Groom-Porter are ill-defined and not susceptible of accurate translation into the language and the customs of La France La France. Nominally the Groom-Porter is in charge of the Sovereign"s furniture. Since this, however, rarely changes, it does not occupy very much of his time; consequently he devotes a larger moiety of his energies to furnishings smaller, more mutable and perishable: viz. dice and cards. Whatever other personal shortcomings Sir Thomas might possess, even his most obstreperous detractors would readily agree that never were man and job so perfectly match"d as Sir Thomas Neale, and Dice-Keeper Royal.Master of the Mint would seem to be a different sort of job entirely and so those of a Skeptickal Skeptickal turn of mind might argue, that it would seem to call for a different sort of chap. But no one seems to have offered up any such argument before James II; or if they did, perhaps his majesty did not understand it. Indeed, his appointment of Sir Thomas to run the Mint was construed by some as more evidence (as if more were wanted) tending to shew, that a certain Malady had got the better of the King"s Brain. Those of us of a more charitable habit of mind, might perceive a certain kind of Sense in the appointment. For Sir Thomas had become link"d, in the riddled mind of James, with dice and cards, which were a.s.sociated with Money; hence Sir Thomas was the best chap in the land to coin Money, Q.E.D. turn of mind might argue, that it would seem to call for a different sort of chap. But no one seems to have offered up any such argument before James II; or if they did, perhaps his majesty did not understand it. Indeed, his appointment of Sir Thomas to run the Mint was construed by some as more evidence (as if more were wanted) tending to shew, that a certain Malady had got the better of the King"s Brain. Those of us of a more charitable habit of mind, might perceive a certain kind of Sense in the appointment. For Sir Thomas had become link"d, in the riddled mind of James, with dice and cards, which were a.s.sociated with Money; hence Sir Thomas was the best chap in the land to coin Money, Q.E.D.I know Sir Thomas well, for he has been extraordinarily keen to maintain friendly relations with me, ever since he got it in his head that I am a possible Supplier of Capital. You too, my lady, may so arrange it that you shall hear from him frequently, and even discover him loitering in front of your House several times a Week, merely by giving him some cause to phant"sy that you are in control of some bored Capital that wants an Adventure. For where some hommes d"affaires hommes d"affaires come into the world of Commerce from Shipping, and others from the "Varsity, Sir Thomas came at it by way of Gambling, and not just of the penny-ante sort, but on the Royal plane. And so where another come into the world of Commerce from Shipping, and others from the "Varsity, Sir Thomas came at it by way of Gambling, and not just of the penny-ante sort, but on the Royal plane. And so where another commercant commercant might employ a Ship-Voyage as his over-arching might employ a Ship-Voyage as his over-arching Metaphor Metaphor for what a business-venture is, Sir Thomas sees all such Projects as Rolls of Dice. And where a Venturer of Ship frame of mind would have a care to raise profits, and reduce risk, by caulking his Ship well, hiring good seamen, keeping an eye on the weather-gla.s.s, &c., Sir Thomas"s notion of a well-structured Enterprise is one in which the dice are loaded, the cards marked, and the deck stacked, to the utmost extent possible. Indeed, this is why I have not ejected him from my Circle of Friends; for while I"d never risk any of my Capital on one of his Ventures, I very much enjoy having them explained to me, much as I might derive pleasurable diversion from reading a vivid for what a business-venture is, Sir Thomas sees all such Projects as Rolls of Dice. And where a Venturer of Ship frame of mind would have a care to raise profits, and reduce risk, by caulking his Ship well, hiring good seamen, keeping an eye on the weather-gla.s.s, &c., Sir Thomas"s notion of a well-structured Enterprise is one in which the dice are loaded, the cards marked, and the deck stacked, to the utmost extent possible. Indeed, this is why I have not ejected him from my Circle of Friends; for while I"d never risk any of my Capital on one of his Ventures, I very much enjoy having them explained to me, much as I might derive pleasurable diversion from reading a vivid roman roman about some Picaroons. about some Picaroons.I might add in pa.s.sing that James II"s equation of Gambling with the Making of Money is not the syphilitic madness that it first seemed. For during the period of forced Idleness that has succeeded the disastrous Election of "90, I have had leisure to consider diverse Schemes to raise money for the Government, which feels a want of Specie chargeable to the War. We contemplate a great national Lottery. To explain the scheme at any more length than that would be tedious, to point out Sir Thomas"s aptness for such a Project were to insult your intelligence. We meet from time to time with Mathematickal Savants Savants of the Royal Society to explore its statistical penetralia. of the Royal Society to explore its statistical penetralia.In conclusion, I say to you that if you desire to have silver minted here as part of some Adventure (whose details I do not need or wish to know); and if the Adventure enures to the advantage of the Tories (which I hope it does not; but this is none of my business); and if you have phant"sied that our Tory government has some power over the Mint, so that the Mint"s interests, and yours, are naturally aligned; then you are mistaken. For the Mint is, I am happy to report, firmly in the grip of a Whig. This need not, however, militate against your Project. For if I read correctly between the lines of your letter, all you really need is a cooperative, not to say compliant, friend in the Mint; and you may make Thomas Neale just that, by meditating upon the Character I have given him in this Missive, and devising your approach to the man accordingly.I pray that the question you sent to Dr. Waterhouse has been addressed, to your satisfaction, by the foregoing. If I have failed to satisfy, or (may G.o.d forbid it) given offense, I beg you to write back telling me as much, so that I may bend every effort to make it good. For it is my very great honour and pleasure to be your humble and obedient servant,RAVENSCAR P.S. If your intention is to mint French silver into English coin to pay the French and Irish troops that have been preparing to invade England from around Cherbourg in the third week of May, then I congratulate you on your ingenuity. Delivery of the coins from Mint to Front shall pose a not inconsiderable logistical challenge, and so I make you the following offer: If Admiral Tourville"s invasion-fleet makes it across the Channel without being sunk by the Royal Navy, and if the Papist legion establishes a beachhead on English soil without being destroyed by the Army or torn to bits by an enraged Mobb of English rurals, then I shall personally carry every single one of your coins from the Tower of London to the front in my a.r.s.e-hole, and Deposit them in some Place where they may be easily Picked Up. P.S. If your intention is to mint French silver into English coin to pay the French and Irish troops that have been preparing to invade England from around Cherbourg in the third week of May, then I congratulate you on your ingenuity. Delivery of the coins from Mint to Front shall pose a not inconsiderable logistical challenge, and so I make you the following offer: If Admiral Tourville"s invasion-fleet makes it across the Channel without being sunk by the Royal Navy, and if the Papist legion establishes a beachhead on English soil without being destroyed by the Army or torn to bits by an enraged Mobb of English rurals, then I shall personally carry every single one of your coins from the Tower of London to the front in my a.r.s.e-hole, and Deposit them in some Place where they may be easily Picked Up.
Leibniz to Eliza 21 APRIL 1692.
Eliza, You asked-some might say, You asked-some might say, commanded commanded-me to be on the alert for any news out of Leipzig touching on Lothar von Hacklheber in general, and Jean-Jacques-or, as they call him, Johann-in particular. This is not made any easier by the fact that Lothar knows, in a vague way, that I am linked to you. Moreover, I must confess that I am torn between a desire to give you what you have asked me for, and a reluctance to pa.s.s on information that is sure to tear open this wound that Lothar inflicted on you a year and a half ago.So I have avoided going to Leipzig. But yesterday Leipzig came to me, here in Hanover. As you must have heard, my patrons, Ernst August and Sophie, who until recently have been t.i.tled the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Hanover, have for some time been campaigning in Vienna to have their dignity raised to that of Elector and Electress. France has been opposed to it, and held them in check by diverse political counter-maneuvers whose particulars would fill book after tedious book. To make a long story short, the war, and in particular the recent developments along the Savoy front, has put the Emperor into a state of mind where he will do anything to spite Louis XIV; accordingly, Ernst August and Sophie are, as of a couple of weeks ago, the Elector and the Electress of Hanover, an eyelash below a King and Queen as these things are measured. This has set into motion a whole train of ramifications and realignments, &c., &c., that will give the courtiers along the Leine Stra.s.se things to natter about for years to come. Some of the ramifications are, of course, financial, and so bankers from all over the Empire have come to call on Sophie and Ernst August, to offer their felicitations and to see if they might be of service in the new Electorate. It is all about as interesting to me, as physics physics is to is to them them; except that one of these visitors has been Lothar. Sophie and Ernst August invited him to dine with them at the Palace of Herrenhausen outside of Hanover. In filling out the guest list, the chamberlain added my name, which must have seemed logical, as I am a Leipziger and my family has certain ties to that of von Hacklheber. They had no way of knowing about my link to you or the awkwardness that would arise from the matter of Jean-Jacques. Indeed, Sophie is so civilized, and exerts such a civilizing influence on Ernst August, that it would never enter their minds that one of their dinner-guests could be guilty of such an atrocity as baby-s.n.a.t.c.hing. So, quite innocently, they invited me and Lothar to the same dinner, and seated us across the table from each other!I cannot describe what it is like to sit across from such a man through a long dinner, without spoiling your appet.i.te for a whole fortnight. I"ll limit my report to the conversation. Much of this concerned the war, and was more or less interesting; but you must hear of nothing else there, and so I shall move on to what concerns you personally.Lothar, you must remember, was there for one purpose, which was to impress Sophie and Ernst August with his intelligence, his foresight, and his many connexions in the world; and so, at a certain point in the evening, after a certain amount of drink had been taken, he hazarded a prediction about the spring campaign. For how better for a banker to impress a potential client than to predict the future, and get it right?France, he predicted, would soon suffer a humiliation in the northwest-he used the word Fehlschlag, Fehlschlag, which is difficult to translate but means a failed attempt, a miscarriage. He implied clearly that it would take place on or near English soil. which is difficult to translate but means a failed attempt, a miscarriage. He implied clearly that it would take place on or near English soil.Of course Sophie is not easily impressed by such theatrics. She said, "If you are so sure of this prediction, Baron von Hacklheber, why are you not putting your money where your mouth is? For your mouth may be large, but we all know that your purse is larger yet." This fetched a laugh, even from Lothar. When the commotion had died down, he announced that he would place just such a bet very soon-i.e., that he intended to so dispose his bank"s resources that he would gain money if the Fehlschlag Fehlschlag took place as he had foretold. And to bolster his claim further, he vowed that he would donate a certain sum to any charity Sophie named, and that the money would come out of his profits on the bet, if it paid off, but out of his own purse if he were proved wrong. took place as he had foretold. And to bolster his claim further, he vowed that he would donate a certain sum to any charity Sophie named, and that the money would come out of his profits on the bet, if it paid off, but out of his own purse if he were proved wrong.Asked by Sophie how he could be so certain about this, he turned an eye in my direction and said that he knew persons in France, of considerable wealth and power, who had in the past been insolent to him, but more recently had been brought to heel-he actually employed the term bei Fu bei Fu! which is a dog-training command. You see now, Eliza, why I am so reluctant to act as a conduit for this sort of information. Even those at the table who did not know who Lothar was talking about found it a little disgusting.That is my news, just as you requested it. Frankly, I pine for the days when my letters to you were filled with Natural Philosophy. Perhaps we can resume such discussions in happier times to come. Until then, I have the honor to be, &c.,Leibniz P.S. You also requested news of your friend Princess Eleanor and her daughter Princess Caroline. I have met them in Berlin; little Caroline is just as charming as you claimed, and just as intelligent. Eleanor has been betrothed to the Elector of Saxony, who is an ogre straight out of a faery-tale, and who has a mistress reputed to be even worse. The best place to send letters to them will probably be the Electoral court at Dresden. P.S. You also requested news of your friend Princess Eleanor and her daughter Princess Caroline. I have met them in Berlin; little Caroline is just as charming as you claimed, and just as intelligent. Eleanor has been betrothed to the Elector of Saxony, who is an ogre straight out of a faery-tale, and who has a mistress reputed to be even worse. The best place to send letters to them will probably be the Electoral court at Dresden.
Eliza to Samuel de la Vega 5 MAY 1692.
Here is how peculiar France is: They are calling people Jews who have no trace of Jewishness. It is a long story, of which I"ll tell you more if we ever see each other again. It put me in mind of Amsterdam, where there are to be found Jews who really are Jews-a much more logical arrangement!That is not my only reason for writing to you. For some years I have made little effort to follow the commodities markets in Amsterdam, as, from the remove of Versailles, it it impossible to do this competently. Lately, however, I have taken a position in silver. The details are unimportant. Suffice it to say that I must needs be alert to any moves in the silver market that may occur in the first half of June. My sources of information are not what they once were, and so I am reduced to the estate of a little girl with her nose pressed against the gla.s.s; I must judge the trends in the market by observing the behavior of larger and better-informed players.Though the House of Hacklheber is not the largest, it is probably the best-informed concern in metals. Accordingly, I have resolved to take my cues from them. It would be of great significance to me if the Hacklhebers were suddenly to remove a large quant.i.ty (a few tons) of silver from their Amsterdam warehouse. You know where it is. If my guess is correct, the bullion would be transferred directly to a ship on the Ijsselmeer.Can you spare someone to keep an eye on the Hacklhebers" warehouse? As time draws nearer, I shall supply more precise information as to the exact time at which the transfer might occur. The information that I shall require is as follows: the name of the ship carrying the bullion and a complete description of her sail plan, &c., so that she may be identified from a distance, as well as the date and time of her departure from Amsterdam.In coming weeks, I"ll be moving around quite a bit, and so there is little point in your trying to guess my whereabouts. Rather, you should send the particulars to me in care of my good friend and confidant, Captain Jean Bart, of Dunkerque. Captain Bart is a trustworthy fellow; there is no need (and there shall be no time!) to encrypt the message. You know more than I about getting messages out fast, so I"ll hold my tongue where that is concerned; but I am guessing you"ll want to send riders out from Amsterdam to Scheveningen and there transfer the message to a fast boat, Dunkerque-bound. There should be plenty of time to arrange this; but if you want help setting up the boat, just inform Captain Bart.I think I have given you enough information now that you shall be able to place bets of your own in the silver market, which are likely to profit you; but if, when all is said and done, you have spent more than you have gained, forward your complaints to me in St.-Malo and they"ll not fall on deaf ears.Eliza
Eliza to the Marquis of Ravenscar 15 MAY 1692.
Your Grace"s recent letter to me was so courteous as to put the lucubrations of these French flatterers to shame. I must warn you, however, that en route it must have fallen into the hands of some mischievous boy, who added a very rude postscript.It was most considerate of you to answer all of my silly questions about the Mint. As you must have surmised, I do have in mind taking part in a transaction that will only profit me if the price of silver should happen to rise late in the month of May. I only hope and pray that all of the silver in London is not bought up in the meantime! I tell you this in confidence, my lord, not wishing that you, who have been so forward in a.s.sisting me, should suffer any reverses in consequence of what I am about to do. Know, then, that to be in possession of a large quant.i.ty of silver, in London, late in the month of May, would be no bad thing. But do you make your purchases discreetly, lest you touch off a buying panic that would drive up the price to absurd heights. For if people see that the Marquis of Ravenscar is selling gold to buy silver, they will a.s.sume he is privy to something, and flock to Threadneedle Street to follow his example. While you might admittedly profit from such a speculative bubble by selling into it at the peak (by no means later than the middle of June), it would cause any amount of disturbance and trouble to the current Government; which I am certain you, a good English patriot, should prefer to avoid, even if you are a Whig and that government be run by the Tories.Eliza
Eliza to Samuel Bernard 18 MAY 1692.
Monsieur Bernard, I am en route from St.-Malo to Cherbourg aboard the I am en route from St.-Malo to Cherbourg aboard the jacht jacht of my husband. In Cherbourg I"ll post this on to Le Havre; I pray it reaches you soon in Paris. I shall tarry in Cherbourg until the invasion is launched. of my husband. In Cherbourg I"ll post this on to Le Havre; I pray it reaches you soon in Paris. I shall tarry in Cherbourg until the invasion is launched.In St.-Malo this morning I received your despatch of the 12th instant stating that you have the Bills of Exchange in your pocket and want only instructions as to whom they should be endorsed.This amounts to asking me for the names of the agents who shall be sent across the Channel to present the Bills for payment in London. I regret to inform you that the names of these agents are not known to me yet (though I have some ideas as to who they shall be). Even if they were, I should be chary of sending them to you in a letter during wartime; for the enemy has spies everywhere, and consider what disaster would ensue if our agents" names became known. For most of them are Englishmen secretly loyal to James Stuart-and if they were caught in England with these Bills in their pockets, they should suffer the penalty for High Treason, which is to be half-hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn Cross.A safer expedient would be for you to endorse the bills to a trusted intermediary who is resident here at Cherbourg, and who shall not be setting foot outside of France until after the invasion. That intermediary can then hold the Bills until the last moment and then endorse them to the several agents just before they cross the Channel. In this way the ident.i.ty of the agents shall never be exposed to any risk of discovery.To serve in this role of intermediary, several candidates come to mind, for Cherbourg is crowded just now with notable personages. But all of them are busy and distracted. I, meanwhile, have nothing to do save gaze out the window of my cabin in the sterncastle of this jacht jacht, and watch the preparations. As odd as it might sound, I may be the safest person to choose for this role, since there is obviously no likelihood whatever of my crossing the Channel and falling into the hands of enemy interrogators; this alone should be a great comfort to the agents whose names I shall write across the backs of those bills before they set forth on their perilous missions. So, unless you object very strongly, simply endorse the Bills to me and send them to me at Cherbourg.I don"t know how Lothar is sending the avisas avisas to London, but presumably his channels are swifter than ours, and his payers in England will be ready and waiting for our payees whensoever they arrive. to London, but presumably his channels are swifter than ours, and his payers in England will be ready and waiting for our payees whensoever they arrive.Eliza P.S. I look forward to continuing our conversation about St.-Malo. The merchants of the P.S. I look forward to continuing our conversation about St.-Malo. The merchants of the Compagnie des Indes Compagnie des Indes, who on a normal day swagger about that town as if they owned it, have been displaced, and quite out-cla.s.sed, by the captains and admirals of our invasion fleet. As a result they are almost pathetically eager to talk to anyone about anything-including the state of our commerce with India. My head is full of more information than it can hold, and all of it useless to me. After the invasion, we must meet again at the Cafe Esphahan, and I"ll tell you all that I know.
Samuel Bernard to Eliza 23 MAY 1692.
Madame la comtesse, Five Bills should be enclosed, each in the amount of one hundred thousand Five Bills should be enclosed, each in the amount of one hundred thousand livres tournoises livres tournoises and each endorsed, for the time being, to you. These are drawn ultimately on the credit of the French treasury as personified by M. le comte de Pontchartrain. If you see him, perhaps you could think of a polite way of reminding him that the chain of credit pa.s.ses through yours truly; my friend Monsieur Castan; and diverse members of the and each endorsed, for the time being, to you. These are drawn ultimately on the credit of the French treasury as personified by M. le comte de Pontchartrain. If you see him, perhaps you could think of a polite way of reminding him that the chain of credit pa.s.ses through yours truly; my friend Monsieur Castan; and diverse members of the Depot Depot of Lyon. of Lyon.It is a good thing that I went to Lyon, for in the end it was necessary for me to involve myself in the negotiations with Lothar (he was obviously present in Lyon, but we were never in the same room together; his factor Gerhard Mann mediated all of our discussions).Monsieur Castan is cunning and a.s.siduous, but when presented with something outside his scope he does not respond well, and is apt to become fl.u.s.tered and then irritable. This happened very early in our talks with the House of Hacklheber. It took some time for me to understand why: Lothar believes that the invasion will never actually happen; or that if it does, it will be snuffed out within a few hours. In consequence, our negotiations over the terms of these Bills were strangely duplicitous. The nominal purpose was to pay troops in England, and so we had to settle terms in such a way that we-meaning France-could get silver coin in England, while allowing Lothar to realize some profit. In that sense I got what we wanted, viz. wholly legitimate, negotiable Bills which you now have in your hand. But Lothar"s true purpose, as I eventually came to understand, was to reap a large windfall at very little risk by expressing a willingness to forward silver for an invasion that would never materialize. In effect he was selling us insurance against the contingency that our invasion fails to fail. It was this subtext that M. Castan had not understood, with the result that he was bewildered by what he saw as erratic demands made by the House of Hacklheber.At the beginning we proposed that the five Bills" dates of expiry should be at one-week intervals. We envisioned, in other words, that, beginning shortly after the invasion, our agents would present Bills in London approximately once a week for a period of five weeks, as our army fought its way across southern England toward London. We presumed that Lothar would prefer it thus, as it would spread out the transaction over a long period of time and simplify the logistics of buying or shipping the silver and having it minted. This was when we were still naive enough to believe that Lothar construed payment of the bills as an opportunity opportunity. Later, as I have mentioned, I perceived that Lothar actually sees the possible consummation of this transaction as a risk risk to be hemmed in and mitigated as strictly as possible. Accordingly, he hated the idea of staggering the Bills" dates, because it would mean committing himself to be at risk (risk of having to pay silver to some unknown person in London) over a period of almost two months. For the first Bill would become payable, in theory, about two weeks following the date that Lothar wrote it in Lyon, i.e., in mid-May. The last one would remain payable in theory as late as the middle of July. It was in his interest to limit our freedom in the matter by having the Bills all payable only during a narrow interval of time shortly after the scheduled date of the invasion. That way, if the invasion came off as scheduled and a stable beach-head were established on English soil, we should have only a few days in which to present the Bill in London and demand that to be hemmed in and mitigated as strictly as possible. Accordingly, he hated the idea of staggering the Bills" dates, because it would mean committing himself to be at risk (risk of having to pay silver to some unknown person in London) over a period of almost two months. For the first Bill would become payable, in theory, about two weeks following the date that Lothar wrote it in Lyon, i.e., in mid-May. The last one would remain payable in theory as late as the middle of July. It was in his interest to limit our freedom in the matter by having the Bills all payable only during a narrow interval of time shortly after the scheduled date of the invasion. That way, if the invasion came off as scheduled and a stable beach-head were established on English soil, we should have only a few days in which to present the Bill in London and demand that all all of the silver be supplied of the silver be supplied at once at once. The deal became, in other words, an all-or-nothing proposition to be resolved, one way or the other, quite early. Indeed, Lothar wanted to issue one single Bill for half a million livres livres rather than breaking it up into several smaller ones-this struck me as too risky and I persuaded him to relent. So there are five separate Bills. Four of them bear the same dates-they are 45-day Bills-and the other is a 30-day Bill. All of them were written by Lothar himself; for only he has authority to write Bills of this size. He wrote them in Lyon on the 6th day of May, the Year of our Lord 1692. Postal time from Lyon to London is generally reckoned at about two weeks, so they could be presented there as early as 20 May (by the French calendar). The 30-day Bill is payable on 5 June, the other four on 20 June. rather than breaking it up into several smaller ones-this struck me as too risky and I persuaded him to relent. So there are five separate Bills. Four of them bear the same dates-they are 45-day Bills-and the other is a 30-day Bill. All of them were written by Lothar himself; for only he has authority to write Bills of this size. He wrote them in Lyon on the 6th day of May, the Year of our Lord 1692. Postal time from Lyon to London is generally reckoned at about two weeks, so they could be presented there as early as 20 May (by the French calendar). The 30-day Bill is payable on 5 June, the other four on 20 June.It is generally to the advantage of the payer (Lothar"s factor in London) if the payee (whomever you endorse these Bills to) presents the Bills well in advance of the expiration of their usance, as this will give the payer more time to make arrangements to deliver the specie. That is particularly true in this case, when the acceptance of these Bills in London may trigger purchase or shipment of silver by Lothar.We have have no reason to present these Bills for payment in London until a successful invasion has occurred, which ought to be no later than the last day of May. The 30-day Bill would then come due almost immediately, which suggests that Lothar will have to have 100,000 livres" livres" worth of silver on hand in London. Thus we may be a.s.sured of paying our troops the first installment of their salary shortly after their arrival on English soil. The other four bills, as I have mentioned, are not payable until 20 June; and obviously it will be in our best interests to present these at the same time as the 30-day Bill so that Lothar will have two or three weeks" time in which to get an additional 400,000 worth of silver on hand in London. Thus we may be a.s.sured of paying our troops the first installment of their salary shortly after their arrival on English soil. The other four bills, as I have mentioned, are not payable until 20 June; and obviously it will be in our best interests to present these at the same time as the 30-day Bill so that Lothar will have two or three weeks" time in which to get an additional 400,000 livres" livres" worth of silver to the Tower of London to be minted. worth of silver to the Tower of London to be minted.That amount, in British coin, is some 20,000 pounds sterling, which represents two days" produce for the Mint at the Tower; so Lothar"s factor will have to deliver some three tons of bullion to the Tower mint no later than the 17th of June. This will present something of a challenge even to a man of Lothar"s resources, and so he has been careful to insert a proviso on the four 45-day bills stating that they must be presented to the House of the Golden Mercury, Change Alley, London, no later than fifteen days before the date of expiry, i.e., the stroke of midnight, 5 June.I remind you that the English use a calendar that long ago was abandoned by the rest of the civilized world. It is ten days behind ours, and falling further behind with each tick of the clock. All of the dates I have mentioned in this letter are in the modern (French) system of reckoning; you must subtract ten days to get their English equivalents.In all other respects this transaction is wholly normal and self-explanatory and should present no particular difficulties for you or your agents.It has been my honor and privilege to be of service to France in this matter. I look forward to renewing our acquaintance at the Cafe Esphahan after the tumult of invasion has subsided.Your humble &c.Samuel Bernard
Cabin of Meteore, off Cherbourg, France 2 JUNE 1692.
FOR THREE DAYS Meteore Meteore had been swinging about her anchor in a languid circle like the shadow on a sundial, driven by the comings and goings of the tides. Eliza lived in a great cabin at the stern. Had this been a warship or a merchantman, this would have been the private domain of the captain. One of its walls consisted of an arc of windows, as broad as the whole ship, staring abaft. When Eliza"s view through those windows consisted of the town of Cherbourg, it meant that the tide was flooding in from the Channel, pushing had been swinging about her anchor in a languid circle like the shadow on a sundial, driven by the comings and goings of the tides. Eliza lived in a great cabin at the stern. Had this been a warship or a merchantman, this would have been the private domain of the captain. One of its walls consisted of an arc of windows, as broad as the whole ship, staring abaft. When Eliza"s view through those windows consisted of the town of Cherbourg, it meant that the tide was flooding in from the Channel, pushing Meteore Meteore east-southeast at the end of her cable. When the tide ebbed, then, and east-southeast at the end of her cable. When the tide ebbed, then, and Meteore Meteore swung round the other way, she ought to have enjoyed a view out to sea. Instead, for three days she had seen nothing but fog: a murk into which all her carefully laid plans had been slowly dissolving. Very occasionally, loud booming noises would come out of it as gunners on the lost ships would take aim and fire at dark patches that were making suspicious noises. But for the most part it was a source of cacophonous music: sailors blowing trumpets and whistles, beating drums, and calling out in English, Dutch, or French and rattling chains as they raised or lowered anchors, depending on whether they judged it less hazardous to drift with the tide or stay in one place. swung round the other way, she ought to have enjoyed a view out to sea. Instead, for three days she had seen nothing but fog: a murk into which all her carefully laid plans had been slowly dissolving. Very occasionally, loud booming noises would come out of it as gunners on the lost ships would take aim and fire at dark patches that were making suspicious noises. But for the most part it was a source of cacophonous music: sailors blowing trumpets and whistles, beating drums, and calling out in English, Dutch, or French and rattling chains as they raised or lowered anchors, depending on whether they judged it less hazardous to drift with the tide or stay in one place.
The two fleets-to the west, forty-five French ships under Admiral de Tourville, and to the east, ninety-nine Dutch and English ships under Admiral Russell-had collided in plain view of Cherbourg on the 29th, and joined battle. Tourville had driven hard into the center of Russell"s line, so careless of the risk of being flanked that he had flanked himself. Standing on Meteore" Meteore"s maintop watching the battle through a perspective-gla.s.s, Eliza had almost phant"sied she could read Tourville"s mind: He believed that the great ships in Russell"s center were under command of Jacobites who would strike their colors and run up Stuart flags when he bore in close. Instead of which they had opened fire, and it had developed into a full engagement.
On behalf of Jean Bart, Eliza had of late campaigned in the salons salons of Versailles to persuade young courtiers that the navy was as gallant as the army. Few had taken the bait. For one glorious hour in the Channel off Cherbourg, a battle had played out that, if only Versailles could have seen it, would have left the army denuded of talent for years to come. Never again would Eliza have had to use words to convey the glamour of naval combat, for it was all there plainly to be seen. The flagship of Admiral Tourville was of Versailles to persuade young courtiers that the navy was as gallant as the army. Few had taken the bait. For one glorious hour in the Channel off Cherbourg, a battle had played out that, if only Versailles could have seen it, would have left the army denuded of talent for years to come. Never again would Eliza have had to use words to convey the glamour of naval combat, for it was all there plainly to be seen. The flagship of Admiral Tourville was Soleil Royal, Soleil Royal, new, with a hundred guns; as fine a ship as any afloat, for French shipwrights had caught up with and even surpa.s.sed the Dutch in recent years. Admiral Russell"s flagship was new, with a hundred guns; as fine a ship as any afloat, for French shipwrights had caught up with and even surpa.s.sed the Dutch in recent years. Admiral Russell"s flagship was Britannia, Britannia, also with a hundred guns. These two vessels went after each other like fighting c.o.c.ks. There was no standing off to watch the battle from a remove, no tedious maneuver and counter-maneuver of the line of battle. The worst of the fighting was not delegated to lesser ships and lower ranks. Like two medieval kings jousting in the lists, also with a hundred guns. These two vessels went after each other like fighting c.o.c.ks. There was no standing off to watch the battle from a remove, no tedious maneuver and counter-maneuver of the line of battle. The worst of the fighting was not delegated to lesser ships and lower ranks. Like two medieval kings jousting in the lists, Soleil Royal Soleil Royal and and Britannia Britannia went at each other full-bore, each giving as good as it got. Before long they had crippled each other. Only then did Admiral Tourville seem to comprehend that none of the English ships would be coming over to his side-which meant he was outnumbered by more than two to one. New signals went up on the half-ruined went at each other full-bore, each giving as good as it got. Before long they had crippled each other. Only then did Admiral Tourville seem to comprehend that none of the English ships would be coming over to his side-which meant he was outnumbered by more than two to one. New signals went up on the half-ruined Soleil Royal Soleil Royal. The French fleet suspended the attack and drew off in good order. They had engaged a force double their size, rendered the opposing flagship useless, and stood down, all without losing a single vessel. More importantly to Eliza, the twenty thousand French and Irish soldiers camped outside of Cherbourg-mostly around La Hougue, ten or fifteen miles away-were still safe on terra firma. James Stuart, who had been King of England, and phant"sied he still was, had come out from his pretend Court at St.-Germain to head up the invasion; presumably he had watched this battle from some high place nearby. He had just suffered one more rude shock in a life that had been full of them: Not a single one of the British ships-his ships-had shown the slightest inclination to take his part in the dispute. It had to be obvious, even to him, that there would be no invasion. ships-had shown the slightest inclination to take his part in the dispute. It had to be obvious, even to him, that there would be no invasion.
Eliza would never have been so fatuous as to have said that the day had gone perfectly. For aboard those ships scuttling about on the water were men, and every bloom of powder-smoke meant b.a.l.l.s of metal flying through the air and sometimes carrying away legs, or lives. But not a single ship had gone down; it was no longer possible to take seriously the possibility of an invasion; and Eliza"s plan was ticking along like a watch.
Then the wind had died, and the bra.s.sy haze that had lain on the water for most of that day had congealed into fog. It had come down like a grey velvet curtain terminating the first act of an opera, which was well enough; except that then it had got stuck, and there had been no second, third, fourth, or fifth Acts; only endless, sporadic noises off as the fleets had drifted to and fro, firing at phantoms. The rest of the 29th, fog; the 30th, fog; the 31st, fog; the 1st of June, fog! From time to time some intrepid sailors would reach sh.o.r.e in a longboat and grope their way along the coast until they found Cherbourg, and they would bring news. In this way they learned, for example, that some French ships (anch.o.r.ed) and some English ones (drifting) had become tangled together in the murk on the second day, and had at each other with cutla.s.ses until the tide had drawn them apart. But really very little happened. On the first day Eliza had wished that all of Versailles could have witnessed the duel of the flagships; every hour since then, she had thanked Providence that no courtiers were anywhere nearby to see this travesty; or (what would was worse) to not not see it. She did not envy Pontchartrain and etienne, who would have to approach the King soon and request more money for the navy. She could not guess what the King might see it. She did not envy Pontchartrain and etienne, who would have to approach the King soon and request more money for the navy. She could not guess what the King might say say, for he was unfailingly civil; but she knew what he would be thinking thinking: Why should I sc.r.a.pe my Treasury floor to build wooden tubs so that men may b.u.mp into one another in fog? Why should I sc.r.a.pe my Treasury floor to build wooden tubs so that men may b.u.mp into one another in fog?
She had all but given up hope for her plan when the sun had gone down behind the fog last night. "If I see the sun rise tomorrow morning," she had said, "then perhaps there is a way; if not, the work of the last two months is wasted, and I shall begin all over again."
At first light today she had gazed into the eastern sky half hoping to see nothing but a cliff of fog, for then her plan would have been unequivocally dead, which would have been altogether simpler and easier. Instead she had seen the disk of the sun, as crisp, and about as bright, as a copper coin resting on a bed of ashes.
She closed her eyes; invoked the Devil and the Heavenly Father in the same sentence, in case either of them was listening; and closed the shutters on three of the cabin windows, while leaving the others open. As Meteore Meteore swung round on the morning tide, and exposed her gilded backside to the town, this signal would become visible to those who had been watching for it. swung round on the morning tide, and exposed her gilded backside to the town, this signal would become visible to those who had been watching for it.
She began to pack some goods into a bag: first, five Bills of Exchange, which she wrapped up in a wallet of skins, oiled to baffle moisture. Then a rolled blanket. Scarves. A comb and some pins, clips, and ribbons for suppressing her hair. Some silver coins, mostly Pieces of Eight chopped into wedge-shaped bits, certain to astonish the English.
The rooves of Cherbourg were glowing, seemingly not with the reflected light of the sun, but rather from within, like hot irons pulled from the forge. A boom sounded from far off, then another, then a ripple of them.
Then someone knocked on her door and her skeleton practically jumped free of her skin; for she phant"sied somehow it was a handful of wayward grapeshot striking Meteore Meteore. She dropped her bag on the floor and kicked it under her bed, then went to the door and unlatched it. It was Brigitte, her lady-in-waiting.
"It is Monsieur d"Ascot to call on you, my lady."
"Bit early."
"Nevertheless, he is here."
"A few minutes while I make myself presentable."
"Shall I help you?"
"No, for I am not really going to make myself presentable. I make him wait because I can, and because it is expected, and because he deserves to be punished for coming so early."
"PARDON ME, MADAME, for having disturbed your morning," said William, Viscount Ascot, in French that sounded as if he"d practiced it while he"d been waiting. Eliza thought of asking him to speak English; but he"d probably take it as an insult. "I was asked to keep you apprised of any news concerning the invasion." for having disturbed your morning," said William, Viscount Ascot, in French that sounded as if he"d practiced it while he"d been waiting. Eliza thought of asking him to speak English; but he"d probably take it as an insult. "I was asked to keep you apprised of any news concerning the invasion."