At his leisure hours, Whitelocke turned these verses into English, which ran thus:—
“To the most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord, the Lord Whitelocke, Ambassador Extraordinary to the Most Serene Queen of Sweden. An Ode.
Whitelocke, delight of Mars, the ornament
Of gownmen, from thy country being sent,
Tribunals languish; Themis sad is led,
Sighing under her mourning widow’s bed.
Without thee suitors in thick crowds do run,
Sowing perpetual strife, which once begun,
Till happy fate thee home again shall send,
Those sharp contentions will have no end.
But through the snowy seas and northern ways,
When the remoter sun made shortest days,
O’er tops of craggy mountains, paths untrod,
Where untamed creatures only make abode,
Thy love to thy dear country hath thee brought,
Ambassador from England. Thou hast sought
The Swedish confines buried in frost,
Straight wilt thou see the French and Spanish coast;
And them fast bind to thy loved Britany
In a perpetual league of amity.
So wilt thou arbitrator be of Peace,
Her pious author; thou wilt cause to cease
The sound of war, our ears it shall not pierce;
Thou wilt be Chancellor of the universe.
Christina, that sweet nymph, no longer shall
Detain thee; be thou careful not to fall,
Prudent Ulysses, under those delights
To which the learned Circe thee invites.
Thy chaste Penelope doth call thee slow;
Thy friends call for thee home; and they do know
New embassies, affairs abroad, at home,
Require thy service,—stay till thou dost come.
Thou, Keeper of the Seal, dost take away
Foreign contentions; thou dost cause to stay
The wars of princes. Shut thou Janus’ gate,
Ambassador of peace to every state.”
The Queen was much delighted with these and other verses which Whitelocke showed her; read them over several times, and desired copies of them, which Whitelocke sent her; and in this good humour she wished Whitelocke to leave with her a copy of his articles as he had now revised them, and to come to her again the next day, when she would give him a further answer, and, she hoped, to his contentment.
Spain suspected of intriguing against the treaty. Woolfeldt visited Whitelocke, and excused his long absence by reason of the holidays. He informed Whitelocke with much freedom, that it was against the interest of Spain that England and Sweden should be in alliance together, and that Whitelocke’s negotiation had been hindered by the Spanish Resident here, more than by any other. Whereunto Whitelocke said little positively, but compared his words with the late carriage of Piementelle,—especially since Whitelocke did not so heartily entertain the Queen’s motion (which probably Piementelle put her upon) to have the Spaniard included in the league with England and Sweden, which Whitelocke was not empowered to treat upon, and Whitelocke also remembered the deferring of his audiences lately desired.[73] But these things he was to keep to himself, and to court Woolfeldt, which he did, and Piementelle likewise, who came to visit Whitelocke whilst Woolfeldt was with him, and made the same excuse as he had done for his long absence. They had much general discourse, but nothing (as usually before) touching Whitelocke’s business. Piementelle said he purposed to depart from Upsal within seven or eight days; that yesterday he had taken his leave of the Queen, and came in the next place to take his leave of Whitelocke, who gave him thanks for this honour, and said he was sorry for the departure of Piementelle, whereby he should have a very great loss in being deprived of the acceptable conversation of so honourable a friend.
Despatches from England complaining of delay. Whitelocke received many letters from England; in those from Thurloe he saith:—
“I am sorry your last letters give us no greater hopes of that which we so much long for, to wit, your Excellence’s speedy return home; it seeming by them that the treaty was not much advanced since your last before, notwithstanding the great care and diligence used by your Excellency for the promoting thereof, as also the great acceptance you have with the Queen and Court, as is acknowledged by other public ministers residing there. It is now more than probable they will expect the issue of the Dutch business before they will come to any conclusion; as also to see what terms we are like to be upon with France, that so the Queen may manage her treaty with England accordingly, which I suppose she may not be long ignorant of. In the meantime his Highness thinks he is somewhat delayed on her part.”
Then Thurloe relates all the passages of the Dutch Ambassadors, and that, in effect, they had agreed to the articles; of the endeavours of the French to have a league with the Protector, and no less of the Spaniard. And he writes at large the news of the Archduke, as also that of Scotland and Ireland, and confutes the rumour of a discontent in the army of the Protector.
In another letter from Thurloe of a later date, received by the same post, he saith thus:—
“His Highness understands by your Excellence’s last letters, that the treaty with the Queen of Sweden will much depend upon the treaty with the Dutch here, and until the issue of that be known no great matter is to be expected from your negotiation: concerning which, it being very probable that before the next ordinary it will be seen what issue the Dutch treaty will be brought unto, his Highness will refer his further directions to you till then; leaving it to your Excellence to proceed upon the former instructions as you shall find it convenient, and for his service according as affairs now stand.”