December N. S. 1716, wrote the following to baron Gortz : I received, two days ago, the letter your excellency did me the favour to write me of the 11th, and I have not deferred the execution of your orders one moment. I hope to be able to give you an account of them by the next mail. In the mean time, I fhall have the honour to anfwer to your excellency's poftfcript, that I fhall not fail to govern myself as you there direct. If I have hitherto done otherwise, it has been, that I might not be accused of not reprefenting matters as they were on one fide and the other, leaving it afterwards to our minifters to make choice of that, which they thought moft proper. Your excellency, according to your wonted goodness, will forgive me, however, for faying, that, in my opinion, whatsoever resolution we take, it would, notwithstanding, be well to keep the people here in good humour; that is, that we should seem not intirely to reject their proposals, or otherwise they will be prying into the motives, which render us fo intractable, and will perhaps difcover the true one, in which cafe they will cause it to mifcarry. Befides, a little hopes would make them put off longer the pufhing the affair in parliament; and I think that is what your excellency feems to defire. Methinks, to this end, it would be neceffary, that your excellency fhould write Petkum an answer, who

complains of having received none to his letters, to fhew your acknowledgment of the pains he has taken, and to defire him to go on, in order to keep the minifters in the fame good way, till your excellency has received an answer to the account, which you have given his majesty of the whole affair; and then we may act with more vigour. As Petkum generally fhews all his letters to Townshend and Bothmar, I fancy they will thereby be eafily perfuaded to believe what they wish. If this letter comes before the arrival of king George, it will perhaps prevent the impreffion, which the Germans and Sunderland will be apt to make with their usual violence at their firft coming over.

The two next letters relate principally to bills of exchange, fhipping, corn, falt, &c. for Sweden; but in one from count Gyllenburg to baron Gortz, dated at London, December 29, 1716, he writes as follows:

'I am once more obliged to defer the departure of my exprefs till Friday, one of the principal of our friends being not yet returned to London; but he will be here to-morrow. I have the letters ready for the phyfician, but dare not venture them by the poft. While I am waiting for the principal of my friends, I fhall dispatch to-morrow a gentleman to the czar, to endeavour to poffefs him with pacific thoughts. I have given

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him letters for my brother, that he may introduce him to your excellency, who will give him fuch inftructions, as you fhall judge neceffary. He is a Mufcovite by birth, and having been a long time known to my friend, and perhaps even employed on the like meffages, he affures me, that we may put intire confidence in him. I have intimated to him, that he may alledge, for the pretext of his voyage, his natural inclination to ferve the czar, by which he was induced to difcover to him, that king George is making all the offers imaginable to acquire Bremen of the king of Sweden, at the expence of the czar, who is to be the facrifice of that acquifition. Your excellency will add what other hints you judge convenient. I fhould think, however, it might be proper, that this man fhould be kept ignorant of the canal of the phyfician. I have another letter for him, which may introduce my brother to his acquaintance; and then he may convey meffages between your excellency and the phyfician, till your excellency fhall think fit to have an interview with him. We are affured here, that king George will have none with the czar; and they seem to be very little fatif fied with that prince.

Your excellency will have the goodness to remember what I had the honour to write to you in my laft, about my lord Sunderland. I have learnt fince, that that lord does all he can to

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make thofe of his party fond of king George's project, to open a port at Harbourg; afferting, that England will gain more by it, than even by its Weft-India trade. One fees very well whither all this tends. I am working against it, A member of parliament has defired me to inform him of the fituation and nature of that port.'

On the first of January, count Gyllenburg writes thus to baron Gortz, after a long account of private bufinefs, hiring of fhips, &c.

Since writing what goes before, my friend has been with me, and has told me, that the money, as far as twenty thoufand pounds, was ready, if I would but give my acquittance, that I had received it for the ufe of the king my mafter; and this only, that he might have fomething to fhew to thofe, who made this collection, fuppofing, that hereafter they should ask for it. I answered him, That I could not give any fuch acquittance, without your excellency's order, which I would write for this poft. He told me likewife, That they had already, by order of the court of Avignon, remitted eight thousand pounds to baron Sparre.

Since writing thefe lines, the Dutch mail of the 25th is just come in, by which my brother advifes me, that your excellency was fetting out upon your journey. It will therefore be unneceffary to fend the exprefs, efpecially fince the two letters intended are now become ufelefs.

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I will, however, fend a duplicare of this next Monday by the French poft, together with the pieces abovementioned.

Your excellency will receive, this day, the copy of a letter, which M. Petkum writ yefterday to baron Sparre, the contents of which confirm the ill intentions of those warm men, into whofe hands the management of affairs is going to be put; particularly if it be true, 2s M. Petkum has affured me, that my lord Townshend, to whom he read the faid letter, owned, that what he had writ, in relation to our affairs, was

All that we have to flat ter ourselves with, is, that the mifunderstanding, which there is among thefe gentlemen, may perhaps be of fervice to us. Thus much, at leaft, is certain, that, if we fet ourfelves in earnest about the great work, the fuccefs cannot poffibly fail.'

The next is a letter from count Gyllenburg, to baron Gortz then at Paris, dated at London, January 7, 1716-17, as follows: Yesterday I received the letters your excellency did me the favour to write me of the 29th paft. That concerning the conduct of this court came very feasonably. I gave it to read to one of the principal Whigs, with whom I have found means of contracting a friendship. As I am to dine with him to-morrow, I fhall know what effect it has had. He is already in a good way,

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and I question not but may be carried yet further by such just reafoning.

M. Petkum is charmed with your excellency's letter to him. He exclaims publickly against the Hanoverians for the grofs falfehood they have told of him. I believe him innocent as to this fact. He has told me, he will write himself to your excellency by this poft. Mr. Walpole's reply is remarkable. My friend, who is one of the companions of the Whigs, has told me the fame thing. If it be not the effect of the prefent discontent, and the court does not find expedients to regain thofe people, I do not know whether the court will ever venture to bring that matter upon the ftage; but I fhall not be fatisfied with that.

I am trying to get it brought into parliament my own way. My friend is labouring that point with me, and, to that end, is endeavouring to inform himself thoroughly of the whole. It was for him that I demanded the other day of your excellency the particulars of Harbourg; and it is likewife upon his requeft, that I beg your excellency will fend me, as foon as may be, all that you shall be able to pick up in relation to the treaty concluded between Hanover and our enemies; particularly if you can procure the agreement, by which the affiftance of an Englifh force is ftipulated to them. Your excellency fees hereby what I am now doing on one

fide and the other; that is to fay, with regard to our friends, I can do nothing before I have received your excellency's orders upon my laft.'

The following letter from baron Gortz, to count Gyllenburg, is dated from Paris, January 8, 1717.

I could not acquaint you before this day, that I am now authorized to enter into the affáir which you know of; and that I am allowed the liberty to do in it whatever I fhall think convenient. You will be able to judge of this yourself by the inclofed copy of the full power that has been fent to me. Which way foever I turn this affair, I do not fee, that we can engage in it upon any other foot, than that, which I propofed to you at firft. As intereft is the most certain fecurity of treaties, and what we are follicited to undertake, is of fo great importance to us, and the most expeditious means to re-establish our affairs, that can be devised; no man can doubt, that we fhall apply ourselves to it heartily and earneftly; and that we could with for nothing better, than to do it without the concurrent affiftance of others, if the juncture of time would fuffer us to difpense with that affiftance.

The only thing I fee wanting for our purpose, are men of war and tranfports. Of the firft I can have two in Holland, and fix in France, all rigged and armed; and those who have

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the difpofal of them, oblige themselves to deliver them in that condition at Gottenburg in the month of March. The last we shall not want, but we must immediately put our hands to the work, which requires money. M. Sparre has affured me, that I fhould find an hundred thoufand crowns ready here; but I learnt at my arrival, that our friends, far from doing what they had promised, are now grown cool; fo that I thought beft, Sir, to defire you to prefs your friends to a fpeedy refolution, whether on the foot propofed they will forthwith fupply us with money, which we must have to purchase those men of war, or not. In cafe they will, it is neceflary they should order it to be paid to me here as foon as poffible, that I may put those, who are to furnish me with the fhips, upon getting them ready. If they will not, this business ought to be broken off intirely, without thinking any further of it. To lofe four weeks more would be lofing all, for this year at least; and afterwards the circumftances of affairs will fo change, that there can be no thinking of it any longer.

For the reft, our intention was to tranfport twelve thoufand men; eight thousand of them infantry, and four thoufand cavalry, of which five hundred mounted. We were to carry with us a fufficient train of artillery, arms for ten or twelve thoufand men more, with re

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quifite ftores of ammunition. We were to land at the places, whither we should be directed; fo that we fhould have carried with us all that is neceffary, excepting horfes, which we expected to find in the country; and all might have been executed without the leaft umbrage being taken; provided that on the other fide the fecret was kept. M. Sparre tells me, that the reafon of the coolness of thefe gentlemen, in this country, is the treaty between this court and England, and the enfuing departure of the pretender out of this country. For my part, I take this reafon to be a very weak one; for as this treaty, and the departure of the pretender out of this country, must make the court of England think themselves in perfect fafety, and deprive them of the pretext of keeping up their troops, our enterprize is become more eafy, and more fure. And to imagine, that this court, at the bottom of their heart, would not be better pleased to have the pretender on the throne of England, than the elector of Hanover, efpecially if the first continued to carry himself well towards this court, is to have a wrong notion of its intereft, and of the private fentiments of the duke regent.

M. Sparre tells me further, that our friends here think we fhall not have occafion for any more men of war than thofe eight, which we have at Gottenburg; but they are to

know, that those ships are but of forty guns each; so that it would be hazarding too much, and expofing a body of chosen troops (for fuch we should take on this expedition) for three or four large fhips would be fufficient to give them chace, and to take them all. But, when we fhall have the eight ships, which carry from fixty to feventy guns, nothing less than a fquadron could oppofe them; and, before they could be fitted out, the blow would be ftruck.

To conclude, Sir, I wait here for a fpeedy yea or no; and 1 continue to advise you not to fend any account of this matter to the court; for our ministers themselves are ignorant of it, and know not for what intent they have been obliged to give the turn they have to the full power which they difpatched,

Aut nunc aut nunquam: Now ' or never;' as well for our friends as our enemies.

When you have fixed this affair, at least for what relates to the men of war here, I am very defirous you should come over to meet me in Holland, under pretext of being ordered thither; and that you should put the court in hopes of returning with fome acceptable offer, to the end we might concert together all that remains for our enterprize; after which I would fet out myself for Sweden, to order every thing for making fure of the execution. I communicate to you the fubjoined copy of the Full Power, which

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