cond session, as a Parliament of two
Houses:--

(CXII.) TO M. DE BORDEAUX, THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR, _Oct._
1657:--This is not in the Protector's name, but in that of the
President of the Council. It is about the case of a Luke Lucy
(_Lucas Lucius_) a London merchant. A ship of his, called
_The Mary_, bound from Ireland to Bayonne, had been driven by
tempest into the port of St. Jean de Luz, seized there at the suit
of one Martin de Lazon, and only discharged on security given to
abide a trial at law of this person's claim. Now, his claim was
preposterous. It was founded on an alleged loss of money as far
back as 1642 by the seizure by the English Parliament of goods on
board a ship called _The Santa Clara_. He was not the owner of
the goods, but only agent, with a partner of his, called Antonio
Fernandez, for the real owners; there had been a quarrel between
the partners; and the Parliament had stopped the goods till it
should be decided by law who ought to have them. Fernandez was
willing to try the action in the English Courts; but De Lauzon had
made no appearance there. And now De Lauzon had hit on the
extraordinary expedient of seizing Lucy's ship and dragging the
totally innocent Lucy into an action in the French Courts. All
which having been represented to the Protector by Lucy's petition,
it is begged that De Lauzon may be told he must go another way to
work.

(CXIII.) TO THE DOGE AND SENATE OF VENICE, _Oct._ 1657:--A
rather long letter, and not uninteresting. First the Protector
congratulates the Venetians on their many victories over the Turks,
not only because of the advantage thence to the Venetian State, but
also because of the tendency of such successes to "the liberation
of all Christians under Turkish servitude." But, under cover of
this congratulation, he calls to their attention again the case of
a certain brave ship-captain, Thomas Galilei (_Thomam
Galileum_). He had, some five years ago, done gallant service
for the Venetians in his ship called _The Relief_, fighting
alone with a whole fleet of Turkish galleys and making great havoc
among them, till, his own ship having caught fire, he had been
taken and carried away as a slave. For five years he had been in
most miserable captivity, unable to ransom himself because he had
no property in the world besides what might be owing to him for his
ship and services by the Venetian G