Series 1 > Diplomatic correspondence of Jean de Montereul and the brothers de Bellièvre, French ambassadors in England and Scotland, 1645-48 > Volume 1

4
MONTEREUL TO MAZARIN
[AUG.
of them, that the Independents wished entirely to efface ; and again, that
the king should return to London and resume his place in Parliament.
There was nothing opposed to his conscience in his doing the first, nor
was there anything derogatory to his honour in the second, since he knew
that by the abolition of the bishops he in no way impaired his hopes of
salvation, and that the confidence he showed in his subjects was always
honourable to him. The earl believed that the king’s safety depended
on these two considerations; that securities might, however, be entered
into in order to secure his return, and hostages given ; but the interven¬
tion of France was preferable. The king’s presence in Parliament would
give courage to his friends, and intimidate those opposed to him. That
these were, no doubt, unpleasant remedies, but they had been found
useful to some of the kings his predecessors. Such are the principal
matters mentioned to us by this Earl of Holland ; after which 1 assured
him that your Eminence looked upon him as the person who could most
contribute to the welfare and peace of England ; that I had your orders
to tell him that great deference would be paid to his good counsels; that
it would be a glorious thing for him to have had a part in such an im¬
portant undertaking, whereby, pre-eminent in virtue as he was, he would,
after the re-establishment of peace, become the first person within the two
kingdoms, in point of dignity and reputation. He expressed a strong
wish to see me again, and I shall return to call upon him some day soon.
M. de St. Galle, whom I mentioned to you in my last, has told me that
owing to the free communication by sea, the large traffic from the Levant,
and the German wars, more manuscripts in all the Eastern languages
have been brought into England than into any other kingdom ; that there
were especially some very ancient and rare ones in Greek ; and that he
was certain of being able to procure separate pieces at a cheap rate, but he
could, provided you wished it, obtain for you one of those fine libraries of
the North, without its being necessary for you to disburse anything for
it. All required in return would be for your Eminence to promise your
patronage to the owner, the Archbishop of Larmocar, and provide him
with some small means of subsistence in France. The Bishop of
Angouleme knows the details of this affair, which, however, does not
seem to he capable of a prompt solution, seeing the library is at Chester
and the owner at Oxford.
I have only yet been able to find two good pieces of tapestry, both
without gold,—one representing Brutus, from a design by Rubens, and
very expensive; and the other, of which I believe your Eminence has
already heard, representing Alexander, manufactured at Mortlake, near
London, which is pledged for a pretty good sum, and which has been
offered, and almost promised, to me, for the manufacture is very good,
but the design not equally so. It is thirteen feet in height, is composed
of nine pieces, and would suit a very large hall.]