returned to France to take charge of her affairs. He had to collect the
revenues of her dower, which were charged on sundry lands in Berry,
Marche, and Forez, and generally to protect her interests at the court.
To this employment more important duties were afterwards united. On
the death of Maximilian, his son Rodolph succeeded to the throne. The
new Emperor was well acquainted with Busbecq, who, as has already been
mentioned, had acted as his _écuyer trenchant_ when he left his home
for Spain; and though Rodolph’s mind was to a certain extent warped
by the education he had received from the Jesuits, he nevertheless
inherited his father’s and grandfather’s appreciation of Busbecq.
Accordingly, we find him employing Busbecq as his representative at
the Court of France, and receiving letters from him containing not
only the news, but the gossip of the capital. It is generally stated
that Busbecq’s position was that of ambassador; this is doubtful,
though there is no question as to his having discharged the duties
and exercised the influence of an ambassador. There is an obvious
reason for his not having been accredited as a regular diplomatic
representative. He was a Fleming, and therefore a subject of Philip of
Spain. Even at the court of Constantinople this circumstance had proved
an obstacle in the course of his negotiations, and it was still more
likely to be a stumbling-block at the court of France. His services,
however, being too valuable to be dispensed with by the Emperor, it
would appear that the difficulty was surmounted by giving him the work
without the title—in short, he was ambassador without the credentials
of an ambassador.
The letters of Busbecq to Rodolph, as printed in the Elzevir edition,
are fifty-three in number. The first is dated March 25, 1582; the last
was written December 8, 1585. We have in them a description of France
on the eve of a most important epoch, the wars of the League; and we
have also a most valuable account of the progress of events in the
Low Countries, in which Busbecq as a Fleming felt a strong personal
interest.
It is not necessary to enter into the history of a period which has
been made familiar to English readers by Motley’s _Rise of the Dutch
Republic_, and _United Netherlands_; but, on the other hand, it must
not be supposed that there is no additional information to be gleaned
from Busbecq’s letters by those who are already acquainted with the
works of the American historian. On the contrary, there are points
omitted by Motley which are of considerable importance; as, for
instance, Alençon’s plan for making Dunkirk the seat of his government.
Again, there are questions like that of Salceda’s conspiracy, in
which Busbecq’s evidence does not appear to have been sufficiently
considered. To those who are content to take their history at second
hand, it is useless to suggest the advisability of comparing Busbecq’s
letters with the received modern histories; to real students the
advantages are obvious. Here is a witness almost, one might say, under
cross-examination. Busbecq had to send off his despatches to his master
periodically. He could not alter or retouch them; he was obliged to
content himself with giving the news of the day, and his estimate of
its value at the time. A distinguished general has said that in his
profession it was necessary to be near the troops who were actually
engaged, in order to feel the pulse of the battle; and it is only by
reading the works of contemporary writers that we can feel the pulse of
history.
It is not impossible that Busbecq had his own hopes and ambitions with
regard to the Netherlands. On September 15, 1578, the eldest of his
Imperial pupils, the Archduke Matthias, was appointed Governor-General
of the insurgent Provinces. It is vain now to inquire into what might
have been, but in 1578 it could not have seemed altogether impossible
that peace and happiness might be in store for the Netherlands under
the government of the son of Maximilian and grandson of Ferdinand. It
is a significant fact that Busbecq’s despatches to Rodolph prior to
March 1582 have not been allowed to see the light. Matthias left the
Netherlands in October 1581, so that Busbecq’s published correspondence
commences just six months after the departure of the Archduke. If ever
the earlier letters should be forthcoming, they will, no doubt, be
found to contain much interesting information as to this episode in the
history of the Netherlands, and this, in all probability, is the reason
they have been suppressed.
In writing to Maximilian of William the Silent, Busbecq speaks of the
great patriot of the Netherlands in terms of the highest respect. When
writing to Rodolph some eight years later, his tone is completely
altered. It is evident that he dislikes him. This change is not
surprising if we remember the treatment which Busbecq’s pupil had in
the interval experienced at his hands. It seems evident that in this
instance Orange placed his faith in the strong battalions; he preferred
a treacherous scoundrel to an honest and capable[82] man, because the
one could bring French troops into the field, and the other had but
his own sword to offer. It would be a curious problem to consider
whether in this matter Orange was wise in his generation. What did the
Netherlands gain by substituting Alençon for Matthias?
With regard to the religious aspect of the struggle, Busbecq’s evidence
is peculiarly valuable. He was a Netherlander, who had left his
native country before the struggle broke out. Circumstances had never
compelled him to cast in his lot with the one party or the other.
A reference to his conversation at Prinkipo with Metrophanes[83] the
Metropolitan, shows us what Busbecq’s wishes must have been. If he
desired to see the Greek Church reunited to the Western, he must have
been anxious to preserve the latter from schism. His views were those
of Erasmus; he wished for union and he wished for reform. That Busbecq
was a deeply religious man may be gathered from his description of the
death of Quacquelben and other passages; that he was not in any way
imbued with the superstitions of his time may be seen by the fact that
he went to Constantinople accompanied not by his priest, but by his
Bible. From the circumstances of the case it is almost necessary that
the evidence with regard to a religious war should be the evidence of
partisans; hence the great authority due to the testimony of a neutral.
The reader will be left to gather from Busbecq’s own letters an idea of
his life at Paris, and it will only be necessary to resume the story at
the point where his letters cease.
At the end of his fifty-first despatch we find that his couriers have
difficulty in passing through the country, on account of the outbreak
of hostilities between the Guises, the King, and Henry of Navarre.
At this point in the Elzevir edition, Busbecq’s letters come to an
end, and we should have to part company with him at the close of 1585,
if it were not for the edition by Howaert already referred to, which
fortunately preserves five more letters to Rodolph, dated from November
13, 1589 to August 27, 1590. These despatches contain interesting and
valuable information as to the state of France during the wars of the
League; among the more striking passages is an account of the siege of
Paris, and a comparison of the relative chances of Parma and Henry IV.
in the struggle that was then imminent.
During these troublous times, Busbecq must have led an uncomfortable
life in France, with no certain resting-place, but driven hither and
thither, as the tide of battle ebbed and flowed. It is no wonder that
he sighed for the day when he should bid farewell to his dangerous
task, and enter the quiet haven he had prepared for his old age.
In spite of his long sojourn in foreign courts, his heart still yearned
for the home of his forefathers. The château had suffered at the hands
of the insurgents, and the vassals of the seigneury were well nigh
ruined by the requisitions of the Spaniards; but its associations had a
charm for Busbecq such as no other place on earth could have. His first
step was to purchase[84] a life interest in the seigneury from his
nephew, Charles de Yedeghem. He next proceeded to restore and repair
the château, so as to make it fit for his residence. A tradition still
lingers at Bousbecque of the beautiful garden[85] which he formed, and
the lilacs, tulips, and other new plants with which he filled it. Nor
was he forgetful of the interests of his vassals. In the Mairie of
Bousbecque may still be seen the _Sauvegarde_ which Parma granted to
the inhabitants, in token of his respect for their Seigneur. A copy
of it will be found in the Appendix. Its date will recall a famous
event—the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
_Busbecq’s Death._
In the autumn of 1592, when he was seventy years old, Busbecq obtained
six months’ leave of absence from his post,[86] and set forth to
revisit the home of his youth. It does not appear that he had seen it
since the day he parted with his father, nearly forty years before;
meanwhile, the generation he knew must have well nigh passed away, and
it was, no doubt, with a melancholy pleasure that the old man set out
to take possession of his château and his seigneury.
The country was in an unquiet state on account of the civil war which
was then raging, and Busbecq took the precaution of furnishing himself
with the passports both of the Leaguers and the Royalists. While
passing through Normandy he stopped for the night at Cailly, a small
village about nine miles from Rouen. This part of the country had in
the preceding year been the scene of a long and desperate struggle
between Parma and Navarre, and parties of armed men were prowling
about, who combined the calling of the soldier with the exploits of the
brigand. During the night one of these troops, who professed to be
fighting for the League, swept down on the little hamlet where Busbecq
was lodging, took possession of his portmanteaux, and carried him off,
telling him that they were acting under the orders of the governor of
Rouen. The old man, nothing daunted by their violence, gave them a
lecture on the ambassadorial privileges to which he was entitled, and
told them that he did not believe that any such order had been issued
by the governor of Rouen. Perhaps he frightened them, more probably
he persuaded them—at any rate, next morning they brought him back to
Cailly, and restored his baggage.
The governor of Rouen, on hearing of the affair, apologised for the
outrage, and offered to inflict severe punishment on the offenders.
The good old man replied that he was too much occupied in making his
peace with God to think of revenging injuries. He felt he was dying.
The shock he had received in his encounter with the marauders proved
fatal. He was never to see the home for which he had so often yearned
in distant lands. He was removed from Cailly to the château of the Lady
of Maillot, near St. Germain, not far from Rouen, and there he died,
October 28, 1592.
Even when the hand of death was upon him, his thoughts were of the
home he loved. He desired that his heart at least should be laid in
Bousbecque Church by the side of his forefathers.
But his wish was not immediately fulfilled. All his attendants
could then do was to consign his body with due honours to a tomb in
the church of St. Germain. Six years later, when Busbecq’s former
pupil, Archduke Albert, was Governor-General of the Netherlands,
his dying wish was remembered. His heart was placed in a leaden
casket and conveyed to Bousbecque, where it was consigned to its last
resting-place amid all the pomp[87] and ceremony of a great military
funeral.
In Bousbecque Church may still be seen the monument which the
Ambassador erected to his grandfather, Gilles Ghiselin, _écuyer
trenchant_ to three generations of the house of Burgundy, and Agnes
Gommer, his wife. Underneath that monument their remains are still
resting to-day, and in the same grave still lies their grandson’s
heart.
TURKISH LETTERS.
LETTER I.
Introduction—Return from England—Visit to
Bousbecque—Posting to Vienna—Interview with
Ferdinand—Malvezzi’s misfortunes—Preparations for
the expedition—Impatience of Ferdinand—Komorn—Paul
Palyna—His ideas of punctuality—Meeting the Turkish
escort—Gran—A Sanjak-bey—Feats of Turkish horsemen—A
Tartar whose hair served as hat and helmet—Buda—The Pasha
of Buda—His sickness and its cause—William Quacquelben
called in—Busbecq’s fears—Janissaries—Their duties as
policemen—Their dress—Their visits to Busbecq—Turkish
guests and hard drinkers—Determined on making a night
of it—Why Turks never drink in moderation—The old
gentleman at Constantinople who gave notice to his
soul—Description of Buda-Pesth—Turkish ideas with regard
to houses—The fish in the boiling spring—Interview with
the Pasha of Buda—A dilemma—Turkish customs—Busbecq
embarks on the Danube for Belgrade—Heydons—Turkish
sailors—Belgrade—Roman coins—Defence and capture of
Belgrade—Louis of Hungary—Importance of fortresses
against Turkish inroads—Trajan’s bridge—A Servian
funeral—Servian marriage customs—Description of a
Turkish Khan—A Turkish hostel—Sleeping in a stable—How
Busbecq made himself comfortable—How the party obtained
supplies of wine—Turkish methods for measuring
time—Busbecq’s escort acknowledge the advantages
of a watch—Sophia—The Bulgarians—Dress and bonnets
of the women—Baldwin, Count of Flanders—Trajan’s
pass—Philippopolis—Adrianople—Turks fond of flowers—An
open purse necessary in Turkey—Tchourlou—Selim’s
defeat—Selimbria—Reverence of the Turks for paper—Reasons
assigned by themselves for this superstition—The
red-hot gridiron and the cock—Busbecq arrives at
Constantinople—Visits Roostem—The story of Roostem’s
fall from power—Solyman—Roxolana—Mustapha—Roostem
once a pig-driver—His services as a financier—Makes
a profit out of the vegetables and flowers from the
Sultan’s gardens—Why a Sultan is obliged to murder his
brothers—Mustapha summoned to his father’s camp—The
death sentence—The case submitted to the Mufti—The
mutes—A look from Solyman—Mustapha strangled—Mutiny in
the camp—Roostem dismissed—Mustapha’s wife and son—Visit
from Ibrahim Pasha—Trick played on the mother—Murder
of the boy—Constantinople—St. Sophia—Superstitions as
to unclean fish—The Greek and the snails—The cost of
absolution in the Greek Church—Ancient columns—Ingenuity
of a Greek architect—Wild beasts—A dancing elephant—A
camelopard—Sailing up the Bosphorus—Thoughts
suggested by the beauty of the scene—Lazarus the
Albanian—Busbecq summoned by Solyman to Amasia—Crosses
into Asia—Nicomedia—Jackals—Nicæa—Angora goats—Fat-tailed
sheep—The duck and the post-horn—Angora—Turkish tombs—The
hyena—Its knowledge of language—How to catch it—Coins and
plants—Town of Angora—Monumentum Ancyranum—Manufacture
of mohair—Fishing in the Halys—Ignorance of the
people—Sour milk—Turkish diet—Sherbet—Grapes preserved
in mustard—Dervishes—Legend of Chederle the same as that
of St. George—Amasia—Turkish incendiaries—Houses of
Amasia—Visit to Achmet Pasha—Interview with Solyman—The
Sultan’s court—Promotion among the Turks—A body of
Janissaries—Their steadiness in the ranks—The Persian
Ambassador and his presents—Ali Pasha—Dinner given to the
Persian Ambassador and his suite—Audience with Solyman
on leaving—Why the Sultan uses rouge—Departure from
Amasia—Busbecq ill—Returns to Constantinople—Schiites
and Sunnites—Busbecq leaves Constantinople—Meets a train
of Hungarian captives—One of the party dies from the
plague—Others are attacked—Providential discovery of a
remedy—Belgrade—Fertility of Hungary—Essek—Busbecq down
with the fever—Mohacz—Plots of the brigands—Busbecq
nearly caught—Interview with the Pasha of Buda—Departure
for Komorn—How one of Busbecq’s escort lost his nose and
his horse—The Sanjak-bey improves the occasion—The value
of a nose—The amount of compensation affected by the
doctrine of predestination—Return to Vienna—Busbecq looks
so ill that his friends think he is poisoned—Is regarded
with envy—Apologises for his want of style.
I undertook, when we parted, to give you a full account of my journey
to Constantinople, and this promise I now hope to discharge with
interest; for I will give you also an account of an expedition[88] to
Amasia, which is by far the rarer treat of the two.
To an old friend like yourself[89] I shall write very freely, and I am
sure you will enjoy some pleasant passages which befell me on my way;
and as to the disagreeables which are inseparable from a journey so
long and so difficult, do not give them a thought, for I assure you
that, though they annoyed me at the time, that very annoyance, now they
are past and gone, only adds to my pleasure in recalling them.
You will remember that, after my return home from England, where I
attended the marriage of King Philip and Queen Mary,[90] in the train
of Don Pedro Lasso, whom my most gracious master, Ferdinand, King of
the Romans, had deputed to represent him at the wedding, I received
from the last-mentioned Sovereign a summons to undertake this journey.
The message reached me at Lille[91] on November 3, and without any
delay, except such as was entailed by a detour to Bousbecque for the
purpose of bidding adieu to my father and my friends, I hurried through
Tournai, and thence to Brussels.
Here I met Don Pedro himself; and he, to use an old proverb, gave the
spur to a right willing horse, by showing me a letter he had received
from the King, in which he charged him to make me set out as soon as
possible. Accordingly, I took post-horses, and came with all speed to
Vienna. Even at this early stage my journey brought troubles of its
own, for I was quite unaccustomed to riding, and the time of year was
by no means favourable to such an expedition, involving as it did bad
weather, muddy roads, and short days. I had, therefore, to pursue my
journey long after nightfall, and to gallop over a track, which hardly
deserved the name of a road, in complete darkness, to the great danger
of my neck.
On my arrival at Vienna I was presented to King Ferdinand by John Van
der Aa, a member of his privy council. He received me with the kindness
which invariably marks his intercourse with those of whose loyalty and
honesty he has formed a favourable opinion. He told me at great length
his hopes with regard to me, and how important it was to his interests
that I should accept the office of ambassador, and start forthwith.
He informed me he had promised the Pasha of Buda that his ambassador
should be there without fail by the beginning of December, and he was
anxious there should be no want of punctuality on the part of his
representative, lest it should furnish the Turks with a pretext for not
fulfilling the engagements which they had undertaken in consideration
of this promise.
We were within twelve days of the date. There was barely time to make
preparations for a short journey, and I had a long one before me.
Even from this short space I had to deduct some days for a hurried
visit to John Maria Malvezzi at Komorn, whither I went by the commands
of the King, who considered it of great importance that I should
have an interview with Malvezzi, and receive from his own lips such
information and advice as he might be able to give me with regard to
the character and disposition of the Turks, inasmuch as I myself had no
knowledge or experience of them.
He had been for some years Ferdinand’s ambassador at the court of
Solyman, to which post he was first appointed when the Emperor Charles,
for divers weighty reasons, negotiated a truce with the Turks through
Gerard Veltwick;[92] for on that occasion he had also made a truce with
them for eight years on behalf of King Ferdinand.
Now Malvezzi had been one of Veltwick’s companions, and on his
return he was sent back to Constantinople by Ferdinand to act as his
ambassador, in the hope that his presence at the Sultan’s court would
be of service in checking the raids of the Turks in the kingdom of
Hungary, as there would be some one on the spot to remonstrate with
Solyman with regard to the outrages committed by his officers, and
demand satisfaction.
But it happened not long after, that an opportunity, which Ferdinand
felt he could not afford to lose, occurred for re-uniting Transylvania
to Hungary.[93] In this he was warmly supported by the Hungarians, who
looked on Transylvania as an appanage of the kingdom. Accordingly, he
came to an understanding with the widow and son of John the Voivode,
who had formerly usurped the title of King of Hungary, and recovered
Transylvania in exchange for other provinces.
When the Turks got wind of these transactions—and, indeed, they could
not have been kept secret—Roostem, the son-in-law of Solyman and chief
of the councillors who are called Vizierial Pashas, summoned Malvezzi
to his presence, and asked him whether the news was true. He, without
the slightest hesitation, contradicted the report, and offered,
moreover, to stake his life on the result, and to submit to their worst
tortures if his statement proved incorrect. But when, on Ferdinand’s
taking possession of the whole of Transylvania, the truth became clear,
and further concealment was impossible, the Sultan was furious with
Roostem for having placed so much confidence in Malvezzi’s assurances,
and Roostem was still more enraged with Malvezzi, and often declared
that he had cheated him. Not to make too long a story, Malvezzi was
thrown into prison, his goods confiscated, and his servants sold as
slaves. In this prison he was kept in close custody for nearly two
years. Sickness attacked him, and as he was not allowed to receive any
medicines, he contracted a disease which, some time after, terminated
his life. The Turks, in such matters, have no idea of moderation; they
are excessively complaisant when they wish to show their friendship,
and excessively bitter when their anger is roused. But when their
troubles at home made them desirous of peace, and their attempt to
recover Transylvania by force of arms was unsuccessful, they were
easily induced to leave off fighting and to arrange the dispute by
negotiation. The Turkish demand was that the whole of Transylvania
should be restored; but inasmuch as his treaty with the Voivode was
the result neither of force nor fraud, Ferdinand[94] maintained that
it ought not to be set aside, and declined to evacuate Transylvania.
With a view to satisfying the Turks on these matters, he despatched to
the Sultan’s Court two ambassadors, in whose loyalty and zeal he had
the greatest confidence—Antony Wranczy (or Verantius), Bishop of Erlau,
and Francis Zay, the commander of the ships which the Hungarians call
Nassades. On their arrival Malvezzi was released from his dungeon,
and sent back to Ferdinand with despatches from Solyman. Shortly
after this, the King desired him to return to Constantinople to act
as his ambassador in ordinary when peace should have been concluded.
Accordingly he set out, but a fresh attack of the disease he had
contracted during his confinement compelled him to stop at Komorn, a
fortress which lies at the point where the river Waag joins the Danube,
and is our furthest outpost against the Turk.