290 SERENISSIMA
ambassador's remark about ciphers being unnecessary 'because we have noth-
ing to hide'. A century later, in 1683, the interception of the French
Ambassador's correspondence and the successful cracking of his code revealed
a conspiracy with the King's political enemies. It occasioned both the recall of
the ambassador, the Marquis de Vitry, and the momentous transfer of
Sobieski's support from France to Austria. In 1758, another Frenchman, the
Comte de Broglie, was still more unlucky. During his absence in Paris for con-
sultation over the 'Diplomatic Revolution', his embassy in Warsaw was burgled
by the Prussian ambassador in person and his correspondence read directly.
The modern system of permanent embassies did not emerge until the late six-
teenth century, and even after that date, the former practice of sending envoys
abroad on specific missions of short duration was by no means abandoned. At
the time of the Union of 1569, there were permanent Polish missions in Madrid,
Vienna, Naples, and Rome. In the seventeenth century, Polish agents resided in
most European capitals, maintaining some continuity of relations between the
intermittent visits of senior representatives. In the 1630s, in Copenhagen,
Vienna, and Naples, there appeared the first stirrings of a Polish consular ser-
vice.
The status of embassies was equally uncertain, since it depended as much on
the rank of the individual ambassador as on his destination or on the nature of
his mission. The highest rank of Orator was equivalent to that of 'Wielki posel'
(Grand Envoy), reserved for missions to Moscow. It was followed by nuntius
(envoy), internuntius (sub-envoy), agens (agent), and at the bottom of the scale,
the missilis (messenger). All, however, were inferior in authority to the parlia-
mentary commissioners, who headed Polish delegations to the most important
diplomatic conferences. About half of the embassies were entrusted to senators,
both clerical and secular. In the sixteenth century, the royal secretaries also fea-
tured prominently, but not without a touch of friction. In 1554, at Vienna, the
chief Polish delegate, Mikolaj Myszkowski, Castellan of Radom, so objected to
the inclusion in his embassy of Marcin Kromer, a mere historian, that he tried
to occupy both of the chairs provided for them at their audience. Yet the
humblest commoners could be employed on embassy when required. Armenian
merchants played a prominent role in relations with the Crimea, just as in the
1520s Queen Bona's Neapolitan cook, Cola Maria de Charis, was chosen to rep-
resent the King in Italy. In embassies to Moscow and the Porte, the question of
status gained added meaning, since the hosts were apt to gauge the Republic's
sincerity by the eminence of the envoy's rank and the splendour of his retinue.
The dispatch of an ambassador of inferior standing or of modest means was
recieved as a calculated insult, which could abort the mission from the start.
Within the Republic, foreign missions were expected to observe strict proced-
ures. On reaching the frontier, they reported to the Starosta of the nearest town,
who was charged with escorting them to the capital and with discouraging them
from conversing with local people. In the Grand Duchy, the same function was
filled by a special official, the przystawa, as in Muscovy. On arrival in Warsaw,