CHARLES I. I THE NAVY 331 



standard of Spain should be lowered was made a subject of 

 complaint at Madrid. 1 Anxiety on the second point was pro- 

 tracted, and it was not diminished by the reports that were 

 received that the French fleet was coming to reinforce their 



o 



allies the Dutch. Pennington, in the most emphatic manner, 

 had forbidden hostilities within the King's Chambers, and he 

 assigned the northern part of the anchorage to the Spaniards 

 and the southern part to the Dutch. For several weeks the 

 belligerent squadrons remained in the Downs facing one 

 another. The Spanish Admiral, a few days after his arrival, 

 succeeded under cover of night in despatching to Dunkirk some 

 of his smaller vessels laden with soldiers. Tromp and Oquendo 

 appealed to Charles through their respective ambassadors, " and 

 then ensued an auction, the strangest in the annals of diplomacy, 

 in which Charles's protection was offered as a prize to the 

 highest bidder." 2 On the one hand, he demanded 150,000 

 from Spain, and better treatment in the business of the Palat- 

 inate, as the price of securing the safety of the Spanish fleet. 3 

 On the other hand, he declared himself ready to abandon 

 the Spaniards to Tromp, if France would come under a 

 binding promise to place Charles Louis at the head of the 

 army which had been commanded by Bernard of Weimar as 

 a means, of course, to recover the Palatinate. 4 



While waiting the highest bid from one or the other, the 

 king's commands regarding the fleet were puzzling and contra- 

 dictory. Smith, Northumberland's secretary, who carried on 

 a confidential correspondence with Pennington, wrote to him 

 that the king, when the difficult situation of the English fleet 

 was explained to him and he was asked for explicit instructions 

 as to how the Admiral should act, " would not give any ex- 

 press declaration." " I earnestly pressed his Lordship [the Earl 

 of Northumberland] to prevail with his Majesty," he said, 

 "that you might have some justifiable instructions how you 



1 Northumberland to Pennington, 12th September, Statr Papers, Dom., ccccxxviii. 

 92 ; Windebank to Hopton, 29th September, Clarendon State Papers, ii. 71 ; Hopton 



to Windebank, October l ~, Col. Clar. State Papers, i. 1311. 

 s Gardiner, op. cit., 61. 



3 Windebank to Colonel Gage and Count Leslie, *l%"> Cal. Clar. State Papers, 

 i. 1296. 



4 Gardiner, op. cit., 63. 



