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to be submitted to the judgment of this present court of arbiters.

The deputies of Zurich professed themselves content with this sentence, but the deputies of the other side expressed much dislike. They applied themselves to the arbiters and to the protestant deputies to no great purpose. They therefore prayed the ambassador of Savoy to mediate and obtain that neither the oath or demolition might be deferred so long, saying, that the mutual diffidence ought to be removed as soon as might be. Those of Zurich answered him, that the popish cantons were the only cause why the demolition was deferred; that if they had done their part, all had been done two months ago; and now they make a great matter of two weeks. Yet for the ambassadors' sake, it should be done some days sooner, if they would deliver their written reply to the protestants' grievances, and would promise to leave those frivolous cavils and delays in the principal controversies. Yesternight, the Savoy ambassador told me, he had signified this answer to the popish cantons, but looked not for their answer till to-day. It may be I shall not hear it before it be time to seal up these letters.

I am, Sir, your faithful servant.

MR. PELL TO MR. MORLAND.

Baden, May 8-18. SIR, I have received yours of April 29th, with Mr. Chamberlaine's papers. I long to see your reply that you mention in your letter. M. H. Van Ommeren went hence on Tuesday, May 6th, in the afternoon, with an intent to lodge at Arraw that night. He will hardly enter Geneva before May 11; there he intends to tarry three or four days, so that I hope he will not be gone before this comes to you. This enclosed for Arnhem should have been delivered to him here, by one of those four gentlemen that I sent to accompany him as far as Mellingen. I pray you deliver it to him, telling him, that I hope by his favour to receive an answer, and that I wish him a good journey, &c.

He hath order to treat with some inhabitant of Geneva to write ordinarily to the Hague, that the states-general may have (I think weekly) account of the Waldensian and Helvetian affairs. I suppose he will tell you who it is before he go thence; if he do not, you may learn it by some other way.

In Mr. Secretary's letter of April 17, I am commanded to correspond weekly with Colonel Lockhart. I wish therefore that you could get from his secretary the copy of some letter written to him, that we may thereby see what superscription, titles, and manner of writing must be used in our letters,

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that they may be received and read by him without distaste.

The French letters say, that Queen Mary hath given notice to the King of France that her eldest son* is turned catholic.

SECRETARY THURLOE TO MR. PELL.

8th May, 1656.

SIR, I believe they at Zurich will be easily satisfied with the suspension of the loan of £20,000, we here being not so rich as to send money, unless it be when the whole is in danger. This state will strain, when the being of the protestant interest is at stake, but the well-being thereof is under another consideration; and I should think the hardest part in reference to a perfect peace is over with them. I perceive by yours of the 17-27 April, what some of their grievances are on both sides, and to me they are things of no great difficulty, nor can have in them any great consequences.

Upon Thursday last, I mean this day sennight, we had letters from the generals of the fleet then before Cadiz; the letters were dated the 15th of April, old style. They were all then in good condition, and do certify us, that some weeks before they came

*Charles II.

there, two of the Spanish galleons were come in from the West Indies, which had in them about three millions sterling, and that there were two yet behind richer than the others, but it was thought these were foundered in the sea; there were also about twenty-five merchantmen gone from Cadiz to the West Indies with a convoy of five galleons. The rest of the King of Spain's fleet lay in Cadiz, being about thirty galleons, but were not ready to come forth to sea.

Two days after, we had letters from Mr. Meadows at Lisbon, concerning the negotiation there, which was, that the king had yet delayed to ratify the treaty made here by his ambassador.*

Upon the last Lord's day in the morning, we had letters from Jamaica, signifying that our men there had again recovered their health, and that the army was in a reasonable good state for action, which is some encouragement to us; and we are now sending a new recruit of men thither. I remain, your affectionate friend to serve you,

J. THURLOE.

* The King of Portugal did not ratify the treaty until the English fleet appeared at the mouth of the river, and then every pretence was seized to delay the delivery of the £50,000, which he had agreed to pay to Cromwell. The English envoy, Mr. Meadows, says, in one of his letters, that he was so unflinching in his demands and instances, that the king complained that he treated him and his court like negroes. The correspondence between Meadows and the generals of the fleet is printed in Birch's Thurloe Papers.

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MR. PELL TO SECRETARY THURLOE.

Baden, May 15-25.

SIR,-I had no letter from Whitehall by this last post. This week I hope to receive from thence answers to mine of April 3rd and 10th.

My last to you was dated May 8th. The next day, the arbiters sat here in a judicial form, and heard the chief secretary of Zurich plead for greater liberty for the protestants in the common prefectures. He told them, that this demand was not new, but the same that had been granted and promised by their ancestors in the national peace, and in the decrees of the assemblies, that followed next after that peace.

After this plea was heard, the popish deputies consulted whether they should reply presently, or hear out all the grievances the next day. The latter was easier for them to do: so on Saturday they met in the same place, and heard the same man go over all the rest of the protestant grievances. In the conclusion, he said, he hoped that the arbiters did plainly see that the Suitenses had given a just cause of war, and therefore they would condemn those of Switz and their adherents to refund all the charges of the war, and to give satisfaction for all the damages that those of Zurich and Berne, &c., had suffered by that war.

The popish deputies answered, that they would