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, as 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 flatter ourselves with, is, that the mifunderstanding, which there is among these gentlemen, may perhaps be of fervice to us. Thus much, at least, is certain, that, if we fet ourselves in earneft 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: Yefterday 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 feafonably. 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,

The

and I queftion not but may be carried yet further by such just reasoning.

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 those 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 fhall 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 last.'

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 affair 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 proposed 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 moft expeditious means to re-establish our affairs, that can be devifed; 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 affistance.

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 thofe who have

look

the difpofal of them, oblige themselves to deliver them in that condition at Gottenburg in the month of March. The laft 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 supply us with money, which we muft have to purchase those men of war, or not. In cafe they will, it is neceffary they should order it to be paid to me here as foon as poffible, that I may put thofe, 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 leaft; 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 thousand men more, with re

quifite

quifite ftores of ammunition. We were to land at the places, whither we should be directed; fo that e 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 coolnefs 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, muft make the court of England think themfelves 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 to

blood

know, that thofe fhips are but of forty guns each; so that it would be hazarding too much, and expofing a body of chofen 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 seventy guns, nothing less than a fquadron could oppose them; and, before they could be fitted out, the blow would be ftruck.

To conclude, Sir, I wait here for a speedy yea or no; and 1 continue to advife 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 dispatched,

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 fhould 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

6

me to tell you in his name, that it is abfolutely neceffary our friends fhould determine fpeedily, and cause the money to be remitted, and paid to us, without any delay; for otherwife we cannot have the men of war from this country time enough.' Upon the receipt of baron Gortz's letter of the 8th of January, with the king of Sweden's full power, count Gyllenburg wrote an answer to the baron at Paris, dated at London, January 15, 1717, wherein he begs leave to know, Whether his excellency would have him, for the future, add the title of Plenipotentiary to the direction of his letters. As to our affair (continues he) I went immediately to the house of one of the principal of my friends, and, without taking notice of any coldness of the gentlemen in France, I told him, in order to engage him to speak, that I had just received your excellency's orders to give fuch an acquit tance, as had been demanded of me. He seemed very well pleased, and told me in anfwer, that he, who had the direction of the whole affair, being gone again into the country, and being not to return before Saturday next, nothing could be done till Monday; but that then he queftioned not but I fhould be fatisfied. We fhall fee what that gentleman will fay at his return; and unless the gentlemen in France have made my friends here alter their opinions (which I do not yet find they

to

have) I hope all will go as we would have it; and, in case that should not happen fo, I am very much of your excellency's opinion, that we shall leave all thofe gentlemen to their ill deftiny, and go another way to work.

My Whig friend was charmed with your excellency's letter, which he read over and over. Many others of the fame party begin to change their language in our favour. I fend my brother a little piece, which is just published at my charge, and writ in a pretty moderate stile. There is fomething in it of my own. What is faid in the poftfcript, in praise of the prince, is in order to gain the prince's party, which is already well inclined towards us.

If your excellency thinks it proper to order me to Holland, I should be of opinion, that you fhould fend the like orders to monfieur Petkum, on pretence, that you would receive information from us both together, concerning the pofture of affairs here with regard to our common interests. That would not give any umbrage, and one might eafily find out ways of amufing M. Petkum.'

Before this letter reached baron Gortz, he writ another to count Gyllenburg, dated at Paris, January 16, 1717, N. S. as follows:

I have just now received here, your letters of the 1ft, 2d, 4th, and 7th. You may depend upon it, Sir, and affure

your