The Embassy of Everaard van Weede 65 



that as his conduct here has been very grateful, so all good men 

 are troubled he stays no longer with us." For this tribute Claren- 

 don was in the good graces of the Prince, and Dykvelt showed a 

 fondness for Clarendon months later after the great enterprise 

 had been enacted. 309 



There were many other letters which Dykvelt carried with 

 him on his return to Holland. Most of them, however, are formal 

 expressions of good-will. They are mostly from men of the 

 Anglican party. In nearly every letter, one is conscious of a 

 restraint. "Dykvelt is able to tell of all that has taken place," 

 is the invariable statement. In the absence of the invaluable 

 personal correspondence of Dykvelt to the Prince, 310 the field 

 thus far is largely one of inference and conjecture. 



Dykvelt's Negotiations with Ambassadors of the Allies 



An aspect of the mission of Dykvelt, which casts light upon 

 its essential character, is the relationship of the Dutch envoy 

 with the ambassadors of the allied countries in Europe. Here the 

 envoy had a most difficult course to pursue, because the very crux 

 of the situation involved a religious element which struck a blow 

 at the firm union of the continental allies. James used his ingenu- 

 ity to appeal to the religious interests of Spain and the Empire, 

 but the change in European struggles consequent to the Thirty 



309 Clarendon and Rochester Correspondence and The Diary of Henry Earl of 

 Clarendon, vol. ii, p. 244 f., esp. 245, 246, 247, 248, and 254. 



310 1 have made repeated efforts to find this correspondence. Professor N. 

 Japikse of the Dutch Historical Association very kindly sent me two of Dykvelt's 

 letters to the States General, but he was unable to find any of the private letters of 

 Dykvelt to the Prince of Orange. Macaulay was unable to secure any of these 

 letters. 



A recent letter from Professor Kramer, director of the Royal Archives at the 

 Hague, is perhaps salient here: 



"Some thirty years ago I myself inquired everywhere after Dijkvelt's manu- 

 scripts, and being acquainted with Mr. Van Weede van Dijkveld at Utrecht, I 

 hoped to have a good chance to ascertain what had become of the documents Ever- 

 aard might have left. I was however disappointed. Mr. Van Weede told me 

 inquiries had been repeatedly made wherever the family papers might possibly be 

 found, but no trace was ever discovered. We agreed about the improbability of 

 Everaard having destroyed his undoubtedly important correspondence and politi- 

 cal documents, but the fact remained they had somehow gone astray." 



149 



