mmission, and took
time to wait on her with my proposals.

"The Spanish Resident, Don Piementelle, now in this Court, expressed
high respects for your Highness and this Commonwealth, and
particular affection to me; and I, knowing his great favour with the
Queen and his own worth, contracted an intimacy of friendship with
him, as I had also with M. Woolfeldt, the King of Denmark's
brother-in-law, with Field-Marshal Wrangel, Grave Tott, the Queen's
favourite, and with divers senators and great men, but especially
with the old Chancellor.

"I found very useful for your Highness's service there Mr.
Lagerfeldt, Secretary Canterstein, Mr. Ravius, and others; and I had
good assistance from my countrymen, General-Major Fleetwood, a true
friend to England, my Lord Douglas, Colonel Hamilton, and others.

"And having now given your Highness some account of persons, I come
to the matter of my negotiation, which I laid the best I could.

"By advice I made my applications to the Queen herself, and, as much
as I could, put the business upon her personal determination, which
she liked, and it proved advantageous. I presented to her at once
all my articles, except three reserved. The articles proposed a
league offensive and defensive; whereupon she objected the
unsettledness of our Commonwealth, the present peace of her
kingdoms, and our being involved in a war. To which I answered, that
her kingdoms could not long continue in peace, and would have as
much need of our assistance as we of theirs; and our war and
successes against Holland were arguments that our friendship merited
acceptance; that I hoped our Commonwealth was settled, and that
leagues were between nations, not governments.

"This debate was very large with her Majesty, who seemed satisfied
with my answers, and appointed her Chancellor to treat with me; who
much more insisted upon the unsettledness of our Commonwealth and
upon the same objections which the Queen had made, and received from
me the same answers; which proved the more satisfactory after the
news of your Highness's accession to the Government, which made this
treaty proceed more freely.

"I had often and long disputes with the Chancellor upon the article
touching English rebels being harboured in Sweden; most of all,
touching contraband goods, and about repar