“Your old servant Abel is much courted by his Highness to be his Falconer-in-Chief; but he will not accept it except your Excellence had been here to give him your explicit leave to serve his Highness, and told me, without stuttering, he would not serve the greatest prince in the world except your Excellence were present, to make the bargain that he might wait upon you with a cast of hawks at the beginning of September every year into Bedfordshire.  It is pity that gallantry should hurt any.  Certainly it is a noble profession that inspires him with such a spirit.

“My Lord Protector this week hath expressed great respect to your Excellence upon the death of the Clerk of the Peace of Bucks.  Some of the justices came up and moved his Highness to put one into his place, who thereupon asked who was Custos Rotulorum.  They answered, the Lord Ambassador Whitelocke.  He thereupon replied that the place should not be disposed of till his return.  They urged it again with many reasons; but he gave them the same answer, only with this addition, that he was to return sooner than perhaps they were aware of.”

By this packet Whitelocke received letters from Mr. Selden, which were thus:—­

    “For his Excellence the Lord Whitelocke, Lord Ambassador from the
    State of England to her Majesty of Sweden.

    “My Lord,

“Your Excellence’s last of the 3rd of February brought me so unexpressible a plenty of the utmost of such happiness as consists in true reputation and honour, as that nothing with me will equal or come near it.  First, that her most excellent Majesty, a Prince so unparalleled and incomparable and so justly acknowledged with the height of true admiration by all that either have or love arts or other goodness, should vouchsafe to descend to the mention of my mean name and the inquiry of my being and condition with such most gracious expressions.  Next, that your Excellence, whose favours have been so continually multiplied on me, should be the person of whom such inquiry was made.  All the danger is, that your noble affection rendered me far above myself.  However, it necessitates me to become a fervent suitor to your Excellence, that if it shall fall out that her Majesty and you have again leisure and will to speak of any such trifle as I am, you will be pleased to represent to her Majesty my most humble thanks, and my heart full of devotion to her, of which I too shall study to give, if I can, some other humble testimony.  God send her most excellent Majesty always her heart’s desires, and the most royal amplitude of all happiness, and your Lordship a good despatch and safe and timely return.

“My Lord, your Excellence’s most
“obliged and humble servant,
“JO.  SELDEN.
“Whitefriars, March 2nd, 1653.”

Whitelocke had also in this packet letters from his old friends Mr. Hall, Mr. Eltonhead, the Lord Commissioner Lisle, his brothers Wilson and Carleton, Mr. Peters, Sir Joseph Holland, and divers others; also letters from Hamburg, from Mr. Bradshaw, the Protector’s Resident there, with some intercepted letters from the King’s party, as Sir Edward Hyde and several others.