in high Dutch, in which he is marvellously ready and eloquent. He spoke long, with great signs of affection towards us. He said, he had met M. D. at church, and spoken with him there; that our letters, speeches, &c., had been communicated to him; and that he should willingly contribute his endeavours, advice, and authority; that their deputies (the other burgomaster and a proconsul) would, within a few days, return from Baden; and that then he should see what resolutions the deputies of the other cantons had communicated to those of

this city.

Afterwards, we three fell into a motley dialogue, he always in high Dutch, but the secretary and I speaking only in Latin. They inquired concerning the late conspiracy in London, concerning the state of our church, of independents, &c.; and, upon that occasion, shewed me a book in high Dutch against them, and another book, containing, both in French and high Dutch, the confession of faith penned by the assembly of divines at Westminster. After I had answered their queries, I put them upon other discourse, concerning themselves and neighbours, and concerning Austria, and the sad news come from thence to this town but that morning. The old man seemed not to believe the truth of it, having not seen sufficient confirmation of it in any letters immediately from Vienna. At our parting, he brought me to his outer street-door, and then

1654.]

AUSTRIAN NEWS.

29

left me to be conducted to my lodging by the same secretary and officer that had brought me thither.

When I was come home, I was assured of the truth of that Austrian news, by a long letter in Italian, written from Vienna, July 9th (new style), which was the very day the King of the Romans died. This letter is so full of the particulars, that I had almost resolved to translate it, and send it to you, but I thought that most of those things would be well known to you before my letter could come to your hands; for, by that time, the news will be, at the least, five weeks old; yet it may be, no letters from thence will tell you, the emperor's second son, called the Arch-duke Leopold, is now about fourteen years old, a brave and resolute prince; but the Romish clergy there do not like him, because he shews an averseness from them and their counsels; and looks upon their worldly pomp as superfluities that do not become them, insomuch that the protestants thereabouts flatter themselves with an expectation of times of refreshment under his sceptre, if it please the King of kings to continue his life. It is thought very probable that the emperor will endeavour to get him elected King of Hungary speedily; as for Bohemia, that crown is counted hereditary; but the third, that of the Romans, cannot so soon be procured; nay, it is feared that the emperor will not live to see it procured for him, and then he will be in

danger to miss the imperial crown.

Neither is he

sure of Hungary, as being an elective kingdom; besides, they fear that the Prince of Transylvania may stand in his way; for, before the death of this young king, other letters from Vienna told us, that the Transylvanian army draw near the frontiers of that empire, and they doubted he meant them no good: how much more will they suspect him now?

I have endeavoured to be pretty well informed from all quarters, though I do not stuff my letter to you with intelligence of all sorts; because I find that most of those things may, by other ways, come to your hands two, three, or four or five weeks sooner than they can come first to me, and then from me to you.

Yesterday, I received yours of June 23; by which I perceived that you had received ours of May 27, and June 3. As to your advice to be careful lest our enemies become acquainted with our counsels, I hope I have hitherto used such caution, that it is impossible for them to be sure of anything; but no endeavours are sufficient to keep men from suspecting and guessing.

But of my way of treating, I shall shortly have occasion to give a fuller account to yourself, or H. H. In the meantime, I pray to believe that I shall endeavour to deserve the title of a careful and faithful servant.

The preparations for the fleet at Toulon continue.

1654.]

PERSECUTIONS IN AUSTRIA.

31

MR. PELL TO SECRETARY THURLOE.

July 22nd, 1654.

SIR, The last week two letters were written here, and sent to you under one cover; the one from M. D., concerning Mr. Stockar; and the other from M. F., concerning the old burgomaster, &c., and the sadness of Vienna; to which I may now add, that in Vienna the persecution of protestants increaseth so much, that the merchants are not safe, so that they are all thinking to forsake that city and the whole country of Austria. The emperor was crazy and unfit to travel, yet he is gone thence to Presburg, to get his young son chosen King of Hungary, which cannot be done so speedily as he desires; for a Palatine must first be chosen, which (before his eldest son's death) he had deferred till the next spring, but now will hasten it as much as he can.

Yesterday, we received three letters of yours, dated June 2, June 30, and July 7. The first of them was in answer to ours from Basle; it lost its way, so that it was seven weeks old ere it came hither; the second was three weeks old; and your third came to us in fourteen days. It seems the merchants have lately taken some good order for their postage through Germany; for letters were wont to be longer upon the way; and, I doubt, in winter will return to a greater slowness.

We wonder much that you have heard nothing of Mr. Stoupe. None of his friends in these countries have heard of him since he was at Frankfort, June 13.

The merchants of St. Gall undertook to send the letters which we wrote in their behalf; but it seems they would have sooner come to your hands if they had been left to our care.

In one of yours, you express a desire to know whether all yours be come to us. We have now received seven of yours, with these dates-May 12, 26, June 2, 9, 23, 30, July 7.

In your answer to ours of June 7, you make no mention of the inclosed to H. H. The papers which you say we should have sent then, we thought, for some reasons, might be more safely and conveniently sent in following letters.

It is not unlikely that, by this day seven-night, I shall have an answer to what was said at Araw; the deputies were stayed, by extraordinary occasions, at Baden a week longer than they expected, but they are returned to-day; and next Monday are to make relation of what was done there.

Till I hear their first answer I know not how to proceed with them. I am in hope to see them fall, as it were of themselves, into a resolution of sending to you. I conceive it is likely that they will speak their mind more plainly to a messenger of their own, than to me. Hitherto, I see no sign of their resolving upon anything opposite or destruc