seats and habitations, upon pain of capital punishment, and forfeiture of all their fortunes and estates, unless they will give security to relinquish their religion within twenty days, and embrace the Roman Catholic faith. And that when they applied themselves to your Royal Highness in a most suppliant manner, imploring a revocation of the said Edict, and that being received into pristin favour, they might be restored to the liberty granted them by your predecessors, a part of your army fell upon them, most cruelly slew several, put others in chains, and compelled the rest to flye into desert places and to the mountains covered with snow, where some hundreds of families are reduced to such distress, that 'tis greatly to be feared, they will in a short time all miserably perish through cold and hunger. These things, when they were related to us, we could not chuse but be touched with extream grief and compassion for the suffering and calamities of this afflicted people. Now in regard we must acknowledge ourselves linked together not onely by the same tye of humanity, but by joynt communion of the same religion, we thought it impossible for us to satisfie our duty to God, to brotherly charity, or our profession of the same religion, if we should onely be affected with a bare sorrow for the misery and calamity of our brethren, and not contribute all our endeavours

to relieve and succour them in their unexpected adversity, as much as in us lies. Therefore in a greater measure we most earnestly beseech and conjure your Royal Highness, that you would call back to your thoughts the moderation of your most serene predecessors, and the liberty by them granted and confirmed from time to time to their subjects the Vaudois. In granting and confirming which, as they did that, which without all question was most grateful to God, who has bin pleased to reserve the jurisdiction and power over the conscience to himself alone, so there is no doubt but that they had a due consideration of their subjects also, whom they found stout and most faithful in war, and always obedient in peace. And as your Royal Serenity in other things most laudably follows the footsteps of your immortal ancestors, so we again and again beseech your Royal Highness not to swerve from the path wherein they trod in this particular; but that you would vouchsafe to abrogate both this Edict, and whatsoever else may be decreed to the disturbance of your subjects upon the account of the Reformed Religion; that you would ratafie to them their conceded privileges and pristin liberty, and command their losses to be repaired, and that an end be put to their oppressions. Which if your Royal Highness shall be pleased to see performed, you will do a thing

most acceptable to God, revive and comfort the miserable in dire calamity, and most highly oblige all your neighbours that profess the Reformed Religion, but more especially ourselves, who shall be bound to look upon your clemency and benignity toward your subjects as the fruit of our earnest solicitation. Which will both engage us to a reciprocal return of all good offices, and lay the solid foundations not only of establishing, but increasing alliance and friendship between this republick and your dominions. Nor do we less promise this to ourselves from your justice and moderation; to which we beseech Almighty God to encline your mind and thoughts. And so we cordially implore just Heaven to bestow upon your Highness and your people the blessings of peace and truth, and prosperous success in all your affairs.

"OLIVER, Protector of the Republick of ENGLAND, to the most Serene Prince of TRANSILVANIA, greeting.

"MOST SERENE PRINCE,

"By your Letters of the 16th. of Nov. 1654, you have made us sensible of your singular

good-will and affection toward us; and your Envoy, who delivered those letters to us, more amply declared your desire of contracting alliance and friendship with us. Certainly for our parts, we do not a little rejoyce at this opportunity offered us to declare and make manifest our affection to your Highness, and how great a value we justly set upon your person. But after fame had reported to us your egregious merits and labours undertaken in behalf of the Christian Republick, when you were pleased that all these things, and what you have farther in your thoughts to do in the defence and for promoting Christian interest, should be in friendly manner imparted to us by letters from yourself, this afforded us a more plentiful occasion of joy and satisfaction, to hear, that God, in these remoter regions, had raised up to himself so potent and renowned a minister of his glory and providence: and that this great minister of heaven so famed for his courage and success, should be desirous to associate with us in the common defence of the Protestant Religion, at this time wickedly assailed by words and deeds. Nor is it to be questioned but that God, who has infused into us both, though separated by such a spacious interval of many climates, the same desires and thoughts of defending the orthodox religion, will be our instructor and author of the ways and means

whereby we may be assistant and useful to ourselves and the rest of the Reformed cities, provided we watch all opportunities that God shall put into our hands, and be not wanting to lay hold of them. In the mean time we cannot, without an extream and penetrating sorrow, forbear putting your Highness in mind how unmercifully the Duke of Savoy has persecuted his own subjects, professing the orthodox faith, in certain valleys at the feet of the Alps. Whom he has not only constrained by a most severe Edict, as many as refuse to embrace the Catholick Religion, to forsake their native habitations, goods and estates, but has fallen upon them with his army, put several most cruelly to the sword, others more barbarously tormented to death, and driven the greatest number to the mountains, there to be consumed with cold and hunger, exposing their houses to the fury, and their goods to the plunder of his executioners. These things, as they have already bin related to your Highness, so we readily assure ourselves, that so much cruelty cannot but be grievously displeasing to your ears, and that you will not be wanting to afford your aid and succour to those miserable wretches, if there be any that survive so many slaughters and calamities. For our parts we have written to the Duke of Savoy, beseeching him to remove his infenced anger from his subjects; as also to