him.. -The peace he

gave to the Dutch,
(though

death of the late King, Don Alono de Cardenas, embaffador from Spain, legitimated this baftard repub•lick; and Oliver had no fooner made himself fovereign, under the quality of protector, than all the Kings of the earth proftrated themfelves before this idol. To gratify him, the lawful King, [Cha les II.] with his brothers, were driven out of those kingdoms and provinces, that ought to have ferved him as pla6 ces of refuge or afylums. Lockart, who was embaffador from the ufurper, was not only received in Fance with all the honors that could have been done to the • minifter of the first monarch of Chriflendom, but car• dinal Mazarine even refused to fee the King of Great Britain, who had travelled quite through the king• dom to come to him at the foot of the Pyrenean hills, and would not fo much as fpeak to the person that came from him, and waited at the door of the chief minifter: who at the fame time had daily conferences with the ufurpers. All that the difpoffeffed King could obtain was, that the cardinal gave him leave that the Duke of Ormond fhould fpeak to him as he paffed along, and as it were accidentally, as he came from his own quarters to the ifle of the Conference.

6

The King of Spain, who was brother-in law to the deceafed King, behaved himself a little better. He fuffered the fon to be in fafety at Bruffels, where he alfo met with fome civilities: and his chief minister Don Lewis de Haro, at the Pyrenean hills, fhewed him that refpect which the cardinal had refufed him. The King of France being advanced as far as the frontiers of Flanders, the protector fent Falconbridge his fon-inlaw, to pay him thofe civilities, which fovereigns are ' used to fhew one another on like occafions: and the Duke de Crequy, one of the firft Lords of France, next to the Princes, was fent to London, to thank the ufurper for his civilities: and that nothing might be wanting to the ceremony, the cardinal would have his

A 2

nephew

(though it has not wanted cenfurers) was

ho

nephew Mancini accompany the duke. The difference that is to be feen in the behaviour of these two Kings of France and Spain, who were both nearly related to the King of England, proceeded only from the difference of their intereft. The Spanish embaffador had ufed his utmoft endeavours with the ufurper, to engage him in the intereft of the King his matter; even to the offering him a hundred thousand crowns per month, two hundred thousand by way of advance, and an army of twenty thousand men to reconquer Calice. Cromwell had rejected thefe offers; and as he feared more the neighbourhood of France, than he hoped for advantage from the languishing and remote ftrength of Spain, he fided with the firft, whofe friend he became; by that means obliging the other (A) Embaf to be fo to the King of Great Britain, whofe three

(

"

kingdoms he had ufurped (b).'

fador, and his Functions, p. 17.

Wiquefort has not exaggerated matters in this account for by the beft authority we are told, That upon Oliver's affuming the government, both those crowns [France and Spain] applied to him. Don Alonjo de Cardenas, the Spanish ambaffador then refiding here, in a private audience, congratulated his accefs to the government, expreffing the great fatiffaction his mafter had received therein; in whofe name he did affure him of the true and constant friend. fhip of Spayne, in the condition that he then flood; 5 or if he would go a step farther and take upon him the crown, that his mafter would venture the crown of (Thuiloe, Spayne to defend him in it; with many other expref fions of kindnefs and good-will (i). The diftinction with which the English ambaffador in France was treated, will be beft explained by a letter of Lockhart's to Thurle, dated Paris, May 7, 1656.

C

vol. i. p. 7.59.

'My laft

from St. Dennis told your honour, that I was to lodge at Paris that night. As I was going to my coach, • Mr. Swift returned from the cardinal (from whom he

• re

、

honourable to himself, and the nation. He

pre

6,

received extraordinary civilities) and told me his emi< nence earnestly defired, that I would do him (as he faid) honor, to receive a vifit from him next day at • St. Dennis. Upon this I refolved to ftay there till Monday morning. Upon the Lord's day, I received a C very kind welcome from him by the mafter of the houfe, and a letter very full of kind expreffions. After my arrival at Paris, I renewed my defire both to C his eminence and count Bryen for audience, which is • promised me to morrow at night; and after I am affured by a person of quality fent to me this morning by the cardinal, that I fhall have the freedom allowed < me to wait upon him as often as I will. Count Bulion fent alfo to me this morning, to tell me that he was commanded by the King to wait upon me this day to congratulate my fafe arrival into France; and was very earnest with me to appoint him an hour, which I (4) Thurlo, left to his own difcretion and conveniency (k). Lord Fauconberg's reception in France is thus related by himfelf, in a letter to H. Cromwell, dated Whitehall, June 8, 1658.—— I am now returned from the French

vol. iv. p.

771.

court, where I have had the honourableft reception
imaginable. The King did not only keepe bare at

"

C

my publique audiences, but, when I made him a pri6 vate vifit, he talked with me in the garden an hour or two uncovered. From the cardinal the honours I had were particular and unusual: he waved the ftate of a publique audience, came out of his own room to meet me, led me presently into his cabinet; after an ⚫ hour's discourse in private, he conducted me downe to the very door, where my coach flood, a ceremony he difpenfes with not only to all others, but even to the King himself. The charge of two very handsome tables were defrayed (for myfelf and followers) by the King, all the while I ftayed. In fumme, through all their actions not the leaft circumftance was omitted, that might witnefs the truth of these refpects they A a 2 • beare

prescribed the conditions, and they were

forced

() Vol. vii. beare his highneffe and the English nation (). With P. 158. what deteftation foever princes may fpeak of ufurpers, we fee they submit to pay them the tribute of adulation, when they suppose it for their intereft: and though with abhorrence they speak of thefe men as meer tyrants and rebels, none are more follicitous to obtain their favour and affiftance. A very edifying example, truly! Mazarine was bitterly reproached by fome of the French for his extream fubmiffion to Cromwell, as we find in the following paffage: thefe are the people [his friends ⚫ and counsellors] who make you treat with Cromwell in C a manner fo mean and injurious to the French nation; who advise you to lower our flags before his ships, and who are willing to allow him the title of protector at the end of of the proteftants of that kingdom (m). In short, moirs, vol. the courtship of the two crowns to Oliver, was fo great iv. p. 247. and visible that it expofed them to laughter. The • Dutch ftruck a medal with the bust of Cromwell and

6

(m) Advice to Card. Mazarine,

Retz's Me

12mo.

his titles on one fide, with Britannia on the other, ⚫ and Cromwell thrufting his head in her bofom, with his breeches down and his backfide bare, the Spanish 'embaffador ftooping to kiss it, while the French em

baffador holds him by the arm, with these words infcribed, Retire toi, l'honneur apartient au Roi mon maitre, i. e. Come back, that honor belongs to the King my mafter (n). This medal is yet preferved in several Dutch cabinets. It was faid also that a picture had been fet to fale at Pont-neuf [in Paris] wherein the lord protector was fitting on a clofe-ftole at his bufinefs, and the King of Spain on the one fide, and the

(

(6) Thurloe, King of France on the other, offering him paper to vol. iii. p. wipe his breech (o):'-Indeed the friendship of Oli658. ver was earnestly fought after by most of the Kings and (p) Memoirs of the Houfe Princes of his age. Frederick William, elector of Branof Branden- denburg, whofe fame is rendered immortal by the pen of burg, p. 92. his royal defcendant, courted the friendship of Crom7758. well (p). Whitlock in a letter to his highness dated Up

12mo Lond.

fals

(n) Biographia Britan

nica, p. 1564.

forced to accept of them, though at the ex-
pence

·

vol. ii. p.

fal, January 13, 1653, gives him a particular account
of the joy the Queen of Sweden expressed on his affum-
ing the protectorate, and in conclufion adds, She told
me the would write herself to my lord protector, and
defired me in my letters to acquaint your highness,
that no perfon had a greater efteem and respect of
your highness than fhe had, which fhe would be ready
to manifeft, and was very joyful for this good news (2) Thurloe,
from England (q).' The King of Denmark fent over a
perfon to congratulate his highnefs, the lord protector, 23.
and was overjoyed that he was included in the Dutch
treaty. The terms given to the King of Portugal, and
the manner of demanding satisfaction for his not exe-
cuting the treaty figned by his embaffador, will much
illuftrate the high character Cromwell bore among his
fellow fovereigns, and partly account for it. It is well
known that the brother of the Portugal ambassador, with
his master of horse, were concerned in a murder in Lon-
don; that they took refuge in his house as in a fanctuary;
that being delivered up they were tried, and notwith-
standing the plea of public character made by the bro-
ther, were condemned, and accordingly executed. The
Portuguese ambaffador at eight of the clock in the
morning figned a treaty with the protector, and de-
parted from Gravesend at ten. His brother was be-
headed in the afternoon, and his man hanged at Ty-
burn (r). This was on the 10th of July, 1654.
It may well enough be thought the treaty was not dif-
honourable to England *. In one of the articles
agreed with the ambaffador it was expreffed, that the

"

439:

"

·

The lord chancellor Hyde, in his fpeech to both houfes, May 8, 1661, calls this treaty, in very many respects, the most advantageous to this nation that ever was entered into with any prince or people." And again, in the fame fpeech, he fays, every article in it but one [a liberty given to Portugal to make levies of ten thousand men for their fervice] was entirely for the benefit of this nation, for the extraordinary advancement of trade, for the good of religion, and for the honour of the crown.'--Lives of the Lord Chancellors, vol. ii. p. 172.

A a 3

6 mer