52 James Muilenburg 



here. The Prince of Orange was conscious of the connection. 

 Dykvelt spoke with Churchill and won him over, as the letter of 

 May 17 testifies. The latter uses the Princess as his shield, for 

 he begins quite adroitly: 



The Princess of Denmark having ordered me to discourse with Monsieur 

 Dykvelt, and to let him know her resolutions, so that he might let your Highness, 

 and the Princess, her sister, know, that she was resolved, by the assistance of God, 

 to surfer all extremities, even to death itself, rather than be brought to change her 

 religion: . . . 



The rest of the letter concerns only Churchill's attitude and states 

 nothing further regarding the Princess. 



In the negotiations with Prince George and Princess Anne, 

 the forces of the opposition — of Louis XIV and his ministers — 

 draw into close conflict with the Prince and his aides. Bonrepaux, 

 a special envoy from France, sounded the Prince of Denmark 

 and held out to him a tempting prize if the latter with the Princess 

 Anne would change over to the Catholic faith. 233 There is no 

 evidence that I can find which shows that George rejected this 

 offer. On the contrary, he appears to have encouraged the 

 French envoy. 234 But he was altogether wanting in capacity 

 and "was governed wholly by others." 235 Anne, however, was 

 enthusiastic in her support of Protestantism and the cause of the 

 Prince of Orange and the Princess Mary, her sister. Many of her 

 letters to Mary are given in Dalrymple's Appendix, and they 

 always breathe a spirit of intimacy and staunch support. 236 



Dykvelt's Negotiations with Leaders in Council, Church, 

 and Parliament 



A most important phase of Dykvelt's embassy was his negotia- 

 tion with a group of the political leaders in England. The account 

 is given by Bishop Burnet as he heard it from Dykvelt himself. 237 



233 Mackintosh, Continuation, p. 452, based partly upon a letter of Bonrepaux 

 to Seignelay, March, 1686. 



234 Ibid, idem. 



235 Ibid, idem. 



236 This correspondence may be found in Dalrymple, Appendix to Part I, 

 p. 297 ff. 



237 Burnet, p. 451 f. 



136 



