The Press.
London, England, 1855-02-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

Cooke : I have no ends in what I speak but my love to
you and yours ; and I am sure I shall gain nothing by
your going nor lose nothing by your stay.
Whitelocke : But my wite much fears the danger.
Cooke: Our lady and mistress will be satisfied in what
you think best, and knows that God is the same God every-
where. I pray God keep you out of dangers if you go or
if you stay ' • there will be dangers everywhere.
Whitelocke : But more apparent in this journey.
Cooke: I cannot tell that; for I have heard that our
great man, I mean my Lord General, would have you to
go ; and if it be so, and yet you will stay at home, 1 doubt
there may be as much danger for you to stay as to go.
Whitelocke : It is true the General would have me go,
but I am not bound to obey him in all things.
Cooke : I am deceived if he will not be obeyed in what
he bath a mind to. _ _

Whitelocke : I am not under his command ; what can
he do to me?

Cooke : What can he do ? What can he not do ? Do
not we all see he does what he list ? We poor countrymen
are forced to obey him to our cost ; and if he have a mind
to punish us or you, it's an old proverb that it is an easy
thing to find a staff to beat a dog. And I would not have
you to anger him, lest you bring danger and trouble too
upon you and your family and state ; that's the truth on't.
Whitelocke : 1 fully agree with you in this ; and I hope
you will agree to me to be careful of my business in case I
shall go, and to obey my wife's commands in my absence.
Cooke : I shall, by the help of God, be faithful to you,
and carefully observe the commands of my lady and mistress.
We read later that this faithful servitor died
on the road after coming to London to bid his
master farewell :

His men helped him up into his cart, and there, pre-
sently and crietly, he departed out of this world, and be-
came a saint in heaven. He was on earth a faithful,
discreet, and loving servant and friend to Whitelocke and
his family.

The letter to Whitelocke proposing the em-
ployment was iu Cromwell's own hand. The
commissioner, in his audience with the
General, endeavoured to excuse himself by
stating that his wife was just confined with a
boy. In this extract a good notion is given of
the directness of Cromwell's proceedings :

Whitelocke : My lord, I am very free to serve the Coin-
mouwealth in anything within my capacity, and hope they
will not expect from me what will be so great prejudice to
me and my family as this employment now would be.
Cromwell : I am very sorry that the letter came no
sooner to you.
Pickering : I confess it was my fault.
Cromwell: Sir Gilbert Pickering would needs write a
very fine letter, and when he had done did not like it him-
self. I then took pen and ink, and straightway wrote that
letter to you. And the business is of exceeding great im-
portance to the Commonwealth as any can be—that it is;
and there is no prince or state in Christendom with whom
there is any probability for us to have a friendship, but
only the Queen of Sweden. She hath sent several times
to us, but we have returned no embassy to her, only a letter
by a young gentleman ; she expects an ambassador from
us, and if we should not send a man of eminency to her
she would think herself slighted by us, and she is a lady of
great honour and stands much upon ceremonies.

At a subsequent interview Whitelocko's ob-
jections were in like manner overruled :
Cromwell : I hope you have considered the proposal I
made to you, and are willing to serve the Commonwealth.
Whitelocke : I have fully considered it, and with humble
thanks acknwledge the honour intended me, and tun most
willing to serve your Excellency and the Commonwealth;
but in this particular I humbly beg your excuse. I have
endeavoured to satisfy my own judgment and my nearest
relations, but can do neither, nor gain a consent; and I
should be very unworthy and ungrateful to go against it
Cromwell: You know that no relations use to sway the
balance in such matters as this. I know your lady very
well, and that she is a good woman, and a religious woman
—indeed I think she is; and I durst undertake, in a matter
of this nature, wherein the interest of God and of his people
is concerned, as they are in your undertaking of this busi-
ness, I daresay my lady will not oppose it.

Cromwell would take no denial in what he
held to be so essential to the good of the
nation and the Protestant cause. At this time
he was meditating his plan for assuming
supreme authority under the title of Lord
Protector of the Commonwealth, and it is
likely enough that his " extraordinary ear-
nestness," which Whitelocke could not but
notice, for his departure, might have been
dictated quite as much by prudent care for the
success of his own scheme, and to rid himself
of a troublesome opponent, as to forward " the
" interest of God and of his people."
The Ambassador relates his voyage to
Sweden at some length, and some of the
details are amusing, but we must come at
once to his reception by the Queen
Chtistina:—

He perceived the Queen sitting at the upper end of the
room upon her chair of state of crimson velvet, with a ca-
nopy of the same over it. Some ladies stood behind the
Queen, and a very great number of lords, officers, and gen-
tlemen of the court filled the room

As soon as he came within this room he put off his hat,
and then the Queen put off her up, after the fashion of