r way; and if such a letter be
sent by me, I hope I shall be able to procure such an answer, or, upon
any occasion, such a return as will be to the contentment of her Majesty.
But in case the Queen should sign such an article, and then the Protector
should not approve it, it would distaste the Queen and her friends, and
she would be censured to have done too low an act in it.

_Woolf._ I had yesterday a long discourse with the Chancellor about your
affairs of England, and particularly of your fleet now at sea--what
should be the design of having so strong a fleet at sea, the sea-war
between you and your enemies being reported at an end, and peace
concluded; and whether your design might be for France or Spain or
Portugal.

_Wh._ Or for the defence of England.

_Woolf._ He was much amused about it.

_Wh._ I hope that was not lessened by you.

_Woolf._ No indeed; I endeavoured to amuse him more, and told him, that
for France, England did not care to have it; it would be but a charge and
no benefit to them, and embroil them in a long chargeable war.

_Wh._ England hath had experience thereof formerly when they were masters
of France, and many of us think our own country as good as France.

_Woolf._ I am of that opinion; and I told him there was as little
probability for any design against Spain because of its distance, and
little advantage to England by a war with them.

_Wh._ I hope you commended a kingdom called Denmark?

_Woolf._ I first told him that for Portugal or the Indies the like
objections were against any design for them; but as for Denmark, I told
him that England had just cause to make war upon that king, and that it
would be no hard business to gain upon him; and the advantage of traffic
made me think that to be the most probable design of any other to be
intended by this great fleet of England, wherein it is most likely for
you to gain advantage to your Commonwealth and to give offence to none,
having a just cause of quarrel against him.

_Wh._ Your brother the King of Denmark hath given cause indeed to be
visited.

_Woolf._ I shall inform you of one thing, of which you may now make
advantage. Your King James made a treaty with the last King of Denmark
concerning the Isles of the Orcades, which were claimed by the Dane as
part of their territories; and after the death of King James and our last
King, that then, upon payment of L13,000 by the Dane, he should have the
Orcades again. Now both thes