Letter from Monsieur de Cros (who was an embassador at the Treaty of Nimeguen and a resident at England in K. Charles the Second's reign) to the Lord ----; being an answer to Sir Wm. Temple's memoirs concerning what passed from the year 1672 until the year 1679

In this spirited 17th‑century missive, French ambassador Monsieur de Cros writes to an English lord, answering Sir William Temple’s memoirs. He charges Temple with vanity, accusing him of exaggerating his own role in the negotiations that protected Flanders and balanced the ambitions of France, Holland, Spain, and England from 1672 to 1679. The letter offers vivid details of talks at the Hague, Brussels and Aix‑la‑Chapelle, while the ambassador defends his reputation from the Treaty of Nijmegen onward.

Beyond the personal dispute, the document opens a window onto the tangled diplomacy of Charles II’s reign, where secret channels and shifting loyalties were the norm. Listeners will hear de Cros’s sharp wit as he contrasts his modesty with Temple’s self‑praise, promising a longer rebuttal if he lives to finish it. The tone retains the formal cadence of Restoration correspondence yet feels immediate, drawing you into a court where honor and ambition constantly collide.