not as if this arose from any claim of precedency; for it merely
relates, that the most Christian king sent his ambassador to England, and
the most serene lord, the protector, appointed commissioners to meet him.
When the treaty was submitted to Bordeaux, previously to his signature, he
discovered an alteration in the usual title of his sovereign, Rex Gallorum
(the very title afterwards adopted by the National Assembly), instead
of Rex Galliarum, and on that account refused to sign it. After a
long contestation, he yielded to the arguments of the Dutch
ambassador.--Thurloe, iv. 115.]
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1656. Sept. 1.]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1656. Oct. 24.]
himself that, if the house of Stuart was to be restored, it must be through
the aid of France; and he hoped, by the addition of this secret article,
to create a bitter and lasting enmity between the two families. Nor was
he content with this. As soon as the ratifications had been exchanged, he
proposed a more intimate alliance between England and France. Bordeaux
was instructed to confine himself in his reply to general expressions of
friendship. He might receive any communications which were offered; he was
to make no advances on the part of his sovereign.
CHAPTER VII.
Poverty And Character Of Charles Stuart--War With
Spain--Parliament--Exclusion Of Members--Punishment Of Naylor--Proposal
To Make Cromwell King--His Hesitation And Refusal--New
Constitution--Sindercomb--Sexby--Alliance With France--Parliament Of
Two Houses--Opposition In The Commons--Dissolution--Reduction Of
Dunkirk--Sickness Of The Protector--His Death And Character.
The reader is aware that the young king of Scots, after his escape from
Worcester, had returned to Paris, defeated but not disgraced. The spirit
and courage which he had displayed were taken as an earnest of future
and more successful efforts; and the perilous adventures which he had
encountered threw a romantic interest round the character of the royal
exile. But in Paris he found himself without money or credit, followed by a
crowd of faithful dependants, whose indigence condemned them to suffer the
most painful privations. His mother, Henrietta, herself in no very opulent
circumstances, received him into her house and to her table; after the
lapse of six months, the French king settled on him a monthly allowance
of six thousand francs;[1] and to this were added the casual supplies
furnished by the loyalty of his adherent
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