“It is with no I small astonishment that I find myself called to an
account, in the letter which your Grace did me the honour of writing to
me, for a point which I sincerely wish never had been mentioned. The
remarks you have made on it redound as much to the honour of your
Grace’s penetration and sagacity, as they tend to mortify me by
betraying me into a confession, which I would have refused to make to
any mortal living, except to so noble a challenger.
“My second letter to your Privy Secretary, explaining sufficiently the
motives which have prompted me to gain Miguel over to our party by the
arts of natural magic, I think I need not add new arguments to those
contained in that letter, if your Grace will take the trouble to
re-peruse and to ponder them attentively. Besides the reprehension of
your Grace is directed less against the means which I have made use of,
than against the manner of their application. You ask in your letter,
why I have had recourse to such superfluous machinations, to such
expensive, intricate, artificial, and fragile machines? Indeed you think
too contemptibly of Miguel. His penetration, as well as his great
knowledge, raise him far above the common men of his age; his
understanding, which has been improved under the tuition of an Antonio
de Galvez, is not to be imposed upon so easily as you think. Besides,
you will have the goodness to consider that he was not the only person I
had to deal with, and that his tutor, who never stirred from his side,
was always ready to cut asunder the magical bonds in which I had
entangled him, but why do I hesitate any longer to tell you the plain
truth? My design was not directed against Miguel alone, but on his tutor
too. It was the most ardent wish of my heart to gain this man to our
party by my magical arts, and that it was which forced me to have
recourse to so many machinations, and such expensive and complicated
machines. If my design upon him had been crowned with success, Miguel
too would have been an easy and certain conquest.
“If your Grace should ask what has prompted me to form so daring a plan,
and what reasons I had to hope for success? I beg you will condescend to
ponder the following points: Count Galvez was an insurmountable obstacle
in my way to Miguel, which rendered it necessary either to draw him in
our interest, or to remove him from his pupil. It will be obvious to you
for what reason I resolved to attempt the former, if you will consider
how much advantage our affairs would have derived from so valuable a
conquest. If we could have made sure of Antonio, we then should also
have drawn the court of Rome in our interest by his intercession. Before
the present Pope was raised to the papal throne, he and a number of
persons of the highest rank were intimately connected with him. We
could, therefore, have expected to interest for our cause by his
influence a court, which will become our most dangerous enemy, if it
should not take our part; and I apprehend this will be the case.”*
[* On the margin of the manuscript, the following note was written
by an unknown hand: “The Irishman has not been mistaken, for nine
years are now past since the revolution has taken place, and the
new king of Port***l has not yet been acknowledged by the court
of Rome.”]
(To be continued.)
* * * * *