DIPLOMACY IN POLAND-LITHUANIA 303
energies regulating the effects of Charles X's invasion. In 1675, however, all
looked set for a major breakthrough. Sobieski had weathered the first storm of
the Turkish campaigns, and at Jaworow on 11 June signed a treaty with the
French ambassador, the Marquis de Bethune, his own brother-in-law. But in
1683, De Vitry's exposure caused a total rupture, and Sobieski marched to the
aid of Vienna. In the 1690s, the genial abbe, Melchior de Polignac, one of
Sobieski's favourite house guests during his later years, did much to restore
French fortunes. In the 1697 election, the French candidate, Conti, succeeded in
being elected, only to find himself chased from the country by Russian and
Saxon forces. In the eighteenth century, similar misfortunes were repeated in
connection with Stanislaw Leszczynski. French gold was persuasive, and
Leszczynski's supporters numerous; but they could not compete on an equal
footing with Russian armies.^18
In terms of concrete achievement, the embassy of Antoine de Lumbres,
Seigneur d'Herbinghem, was one of the very few occasions when French
influence might be said to have been really decisive. In July 1656 he had been
instructed by Louis XIV to proceed from Konigsberg to Warsaw, and to medi-
ate between the Swedes and the Republic in the war which was ruining French
designs in Northern Europe. At first, the Polish Senators were suspicious of a
Frenchman coming from Prussia, and of his meeting with Queen Marie-Louise.
His credentials were only accepted when he had signally refused to accompany
Charles X on his occupation of the Polish capital. He was finally received by Jan
Kazimierz in Danzig, but could not yet persuade him to submit to mediation. As
the King explained, 'Ils ne doutaient point de la grandeur de la France, mais,
comme elle etait fort eloignee.. .'. After 1656, his chances improved in propor-
tion to the Swedes' discomfiture. The remarkable military resurgence of the
Republic, the Polish treaty with Denmark, and the unreliability of the Prussians,
all combined to cool Swedish enthusiasm. In 1659, de Lumbres met with Eric
Oxenstierna, in the presence of Colbert Jr., and a peace conference was agreed.
On 4 January 1660, the delegates assembled at the Abbey of Oliwa in
Pomerania, and began five months of nervous bargaining. The Poles resided in
Danzig, six miles to the east, the Swedes at Sopot, three miles to the west; and
de Lumbres scuttled between the two in the style of an erstwhile Henry
Kissinger. At the very last moment on 30 April, when Jan Kazimierz shied away
from the loss of his lawful claim to the Swedish throne and suddenly departed,
de Lumbres had to ride after him at high speed, and haul him back for signature.
At midnight on 2 May the great organ of the Abbey proclaimed the Peace, and
Abbot Kesowski intoned the Te Deum. After Oliwa, de Lumbres stayed on in
Poland for five more years, scheming with the childless royal couple to arrange
a French-sponsored succession. In July 1663 he signed with Jan Kazimierz the
abortive and, in the eyes of the Republic, the unconstitutional project whereby
the Duke d'Enghien, son of Conde, was to be raised to the throne. In 1665,
embarrassed by the Lubomirski Rebellion and criticized in the Sejm, but laden
with honours, he left for home and well-deserved retirement. Throughout the