this note, to the authorities of that
city. His letters of credence to the King of Denmark had,
doubtless, already been made out,--possibly by himself. They are
not among Milton's State-letters.

[Footnote 1: Whitlocke, under Aug. 1657.]

(CVIII.) To M. DE BORDEAUX, AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY FOR THE
FRENCH KING, _August_ 1657:--There has been presented to the
Lord Protector a petition from Samuel Dawson, John Campsie, and
John Niven, merchants of Londonderry, stating that, shortly after
the Treaty with France in 1655, a ship of theirs called _The
Speedwell_ ("name of better omen than the event proved"), the
master of which was John Ker, had been seized, on her return voyage
from Bordeaux to Derry, by two armed vessels of Brest, taken into
Brest harbour, and sold there with her cargo. The damages
altogether are valued at L2,500. The petitioners have not been able
to obtain redress in France. The matter has been referred by the
Protector to his Council. They find that the petitioners have a
just right either to the restitution of their ship and cargo or to
compensation in money. "I therefore request of your Excellency, and
even request it in the name of the most Serene Lord Protector, that
you will endeavour your utmost, and join also the authority of your
office to your endeavours, that as soon as possible one or other be
done." The wording shows that the letter was not signed by the
Protector himself, but only by Lawrence as President of the
Council. It was probably not in rule for the Protector personally
to write to an Ambassador in such a case.

(CIX.) TO THE GRAND-DUKE OF TUSCANY, _Sept._ 1657:--A letter
of rather peculiar tenor. A William Ellis, master of a ship called
_The Little Lewis_, had been hired at Alexandria by the Pasha
of Memphis, to carry rice, sugar, and coffee, either to
Constantinople or Smyrna, for the use of the Sultan himself;
instead of which the rascal, giving the Turkish fleet the slip, had
gone into Leghorn, where he was living on his booty. "The act is
one of very dangerous example, inasmuch as it throws discredit on
the Christian name and exposes to the risk of robbery the fortunes
of merchants living under the Turk." The Grand-Duke is therefore
requested to be so good as to arrest Ellis, keep him in custody,
and see to the safety of the ship and cargo till they are restored
to the Sultan.

(CX.) TO THE DUKE OF