y for so signal a favour. It was
observed that on this occasion he did not command but invite; and the
distinction was hailed by his admirers as a proof of the humility and
single-mindedness of the lord-general.[1]

To the States, the defeat of their fleet proved a subject of the deepest
regret. It was not the loss of men and ships that they deplored; such loss
might soon be repaired; but it degraded them in the eyes of Europe, by
placing them in the posture of suppliants deprecating the anger of a
victorious enemy. In consequence of the importunate entreaties of the
merchants, they had previously appointed ambassadors to make proposals of
peace to the new government; but these ministers did not quit the coast
of Holland till after the battle;[a] and their arrival in England at this
particular moment was universally attributed to a conviction of inferiority
arising from the late defeat. They were introduced[b] with due honour to
his excellency and the council; but found them unwilling to recede from
the high demands formerly made by the parliament. As to the claim of
indemnification for the past, the ambassadors maintained that, if a balance
were struck of their respective losses, the Dutch would be found the
principal sufferers; and, to the demand of security for the future, they
replied, that it might be obtained by the completion of that treaty, which
had been interrupted by the sudden departure of St. John and Strickland
from the Hague. The obstinacy of the council induced the ambassadors to
demand[c] passports

[Footnote 1: Whitelock, 558.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1653. May 26.]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1653. June 22.]
[Sidenote c: A.D. 1653. July 19.]

for their return; but means were found to awaken in them new hopes, and to
amuse them with new proposals. In the conferences, Cromwell generally
bore the principal part. Sometimes he chided the ambassadors in no very
courteous terms; sometimes he described with tears the misery occasioned
by the war; but he was always careful to wrap up his meaning in such
obscurity, that a full month elapsed before the Dutch could distinctly
ascertain his real demands. They were then informed[a] that England would
waive the claim of pecuniary compensation, provided Van Tromp were removed
for a while from the command of their fleet, as an acknowledgment that he
was the aggressor; but that, on the other hand, it was expected that the
States should consent to the incorporation of the two coun