with our common aid and succour, to relieve our extirminated and indigent brethren; and not only to take care for removing their miseries and afflictions, but also to provide, that the mischief spread no farther, nor incroach upon ourselves in general, encouraged by example and success. We have written letters to the Duke of Savoy, wherein we have most earnestly besought him out of his wonted clemency, to deal more gently and mildly with his most faithful subjects, and to restore them, almost ruined as they are, to their goods and habitations. And we are in hopes, that by these our intreaties, or rather by the united intercessions of us all, the most Serene Prince at length will be atoned, and grant what we have requested with so much importunity. But if his mind be obstinately bent to other determinations, we are ready to communicate our consultations with yours, by what most prevalent means to relieve and re-establish most innocent men, and our most dearly beloved brethren in Christ, tormented and overlaid with so many wrongs and oppres sions and preserve 'em from inevitable and undeserved ruin. Of whose welfare and safety, as I am assured, that you according to your wonted piety, are most cordially tender, so, for our own parts, we cannot but in our opin ion prefer their preservation before our most important Interests, even the safeguard of our own life. Farewel.

O. P.

"Superscribed, To the most illustrious and potent Lords, the Consuls and Senators of the Protestant Cantons and Confederate Cities of SWITZERLAND, greeting:

"Westminster, May 19, 1655,"

"To the most Serene and Potent Prince, LEWIS, King of FRANCE.

"MOST SERENE AND POTENT KING,

"By your Majesty's letters which you wrote in answer to ours of the 25th of May, we readily understand, that we failed not in our judgment, that the inhuman Slaughter and barbarous massacres of those men, who profess the Reformed Religion in Savoy, perpetrated by some of your regiments, were the effects neither of your orders nor commands. And it afforded us a singular occasion of joy, to hear that your Majesty had so timely signified to your collonels and officers, whose violent precipitancy engaged 'em in those inhuman butcheries without the encouragement of lawful allowance, how displeasing they were to your Majesty; that you had admonished the Duke himself to forbear such acts of cruelty; and that you had interposed with so much fidelity and humanity, all the high veneration paid you in that court, your near alliance and authority, for restoring to their ancient abodes those unfortunate exiles. And it was our hopes, that that Prince would in some measure have condescended to the good pleasure and intercession of your Majesty. But finding not any thing obtained either by your own, nor the intreaties and importunities of other Princes in the cause of the distressed, we deemed it not foreign from our duty, to send this noble person, under the character of our extraordinary envoy, to the Duke of Savoy, more amply and fully to lay before him, how deeply sensible we are of such exasperated cruelties inflicted upon the professors of the same Religion with ourselves, and all this too out of a hatred of the same worship. And we have reason to hope a success of this negotiation so

much the more prosperous, if your Majesty would vouchsafe to employ your authority and assistance once again with so much the more urgent importunity; and as you have undertaken for those indigent people that they will be faithful and obedient to their Prince, so you would be gratiously pleased to take care of their welfare and safety, that no farther oppressions of this nature, no more such dismal calamities may be the portion of the innocent and peaceful. This being truly loyal and just in itself, and highly agreeable to your benignity and clemency, which every where protects in soft security so many of your subjects professing the same Religion, we cannot but expect, as it behoves us, from your Majesty. Which act of yours, as it will more closely bind to your subjection all the Protestants throughout your spacious dominions, whose affection and fidelity to your predecessors and yourself in most important distresses have bin often conspicuously made known; so will it fully convince all foreign Princes, that the advice or intention of your Majesty were no way contributory to this prodigious violence, whatever inflamed your ministers and officers to promote it. More especially, if your Majesty shall inflict deserved punishment upon those captains and ministers, who of their own authority, and to gratifie their own wills, adventured the perpetrating such dreadful acts of inhumanity. In the mean while, since your Majesty has assured us of your justly merited aversion to these most inhuman and cruel proceedings, we doubt not but you will afford a secure sanctuary and shelter within your kingdom to all those miserable exiles that shall flye to your Majesty for protection ; and that you will not give permission to any of your sub. jects to assist the Duke of Savoy to their prejudice. It remains that we make known to your Majesty, how highly we esteem and value your friendship: in testimony of

which,we farther affirm there shall never be wanting upon all occasions the real assurances and effects of our pro. testation.

"Your Majesty's most affectionate, OLIVER, Protector of the Commonwealth of ENGLAND, &C.

"Whitehall, July 29, 1655.”

"To the most eminent Lord, Cardinal MAZARINE,

"MOST EMINENT LORD CARDINAL,

Having deemed it necessary to send this noble person to the king with letters, a copy of which is here enclosed, we gave him also farther in charge to salute your excellency in our name, as having entrusted to his fidelity certain other matters to be communicated to your eminency. In reference to which affairs, I entreat your eminency, to give him entire credit, as being a person in whom I have reposed a more than ordinary confidence.

"Your eminencies most affectionate OLIVER, Protector of the Commonwealth of ENGLAND.

'Whitehall, July 29, 1655."

OLIVER, Protector of the Commonwealth of ENGLAND, to the most Serene Prince, FREDERICK III. King of of DANEMARK, NORWAY, &c.

"With what a severe and unmerciful Edict, Imma NUEL, Duke of SAVOY, has expelled from their native

seats his subjects inhabiting the valleys of Piemont, men otherwise harmless, onely for many years remarkably famous for embracing the purity of religion; and after a dreadful slaughter of some numbers, how he has exposed the rest to the hardships of those desert mountains, stript to their skins, and barred from all relief, we believe your Majesty has long since heard, and doubt not but that your Majesty is touched with a real commiseration of their sufferings, as becomes so puissant a defender and prince of the Reformed Faith. For indeed, the institutions of the Christian religion require, that whatever mischiefs and miseries any part of us undergo, it should behove us all to be deeply sensible of the same: nor does any man better than your Majesty foresee, if we may be thought able to give a right conjecture of your piety and prudence, what dangers the success and example of this fact portend to ourselves in particular, and to the whole Protestant name in general. We have written the more willingly to yourself, to the end we might assure your Majesty, that the same sorrow which we hope you have conceived for the calamity of our most innocent brethren, the same opinion, the same judgment you have of the whole matter, is plainly and sincerely our own. We have therefore sent our letters to the Duke of SAVOY, wherein we have most importunately besought him to spare those miserable people that implore his mercy, and that he would no longer suffer that dreadful Edict to be in force. Which if your Majesty and the rest of the Reformed Princes would vouchsafe to do, as we are apt to believe they have alrea. dy done, there is some hope that the anger of the most Serene Duke may be asswaged, and that his indignation will relent upon the intercession and importunities of his neighbour princes. Or if he persist in his determinations, we protest ourselves ready, together with your Majesty,