G R O 
anfbaffadors, fpread all forts of calumnies againft him, 
which he generoufly repaid by fpealcing of his country 
with the attachment of a zealous citizen. He was more 
hurt by a report which they raifed of his intention to 
foiicit his pardon of the States. This he publicly con¬ 
tradicted ; obferving that it was not likely he fliould 
acknowledge an offence now he was at liberty, which 
he refuted, to do while in prifon. He experienced the 
bigotry of the French Calvinifts, who refufed to admit 
him to communion unlefs he fhould renounce the tenets 
of Arminianifm; on which account he had divine fer- 
vice performed at his own houfe. Thefe caufes of 
chagrin were compenfated by the marks of refpeCt which 
he continually received from men of rank and learning; 
and epigrams were written upon the thought that Hol¬ 
land had now made amends to France for the injury of 
robbing her of the great Scaliger. It was fome time 
before Grotius could obtain from the court that pecu¬ 
niary afiiftance which was neceffary to enable him to 
maintain his family in Paris. At length, in March 1622, 
he was prefented to the king, who received him very 
gracioufiy, and fettled upon him a penfion of three 
thoufand livres. 
After a year’s refidence in Paris he was defirous of a 
country retreat, and accepted an offer from the prefident 
de Mefmes to occupy his feat of Balagni, near Senlis. 
There, in 1623, he began his celebrated work De Jure 
Belli & Pads, which was finifhed in 1625. As the prefi¬ 
dent was a zealous catholic, Grotius, while ufing his 
houfe, would not permit flefh-meat to be brought to 
his table on Fridays and Saturdays, or fuffer either the 
public or private exercife of the proteftant religion, or 
admit vifits from the Dutch refugee minifters. This 
extreme caution doubtlefs favoured the report which 
prevailed during his whole refidence in France, of his 
being on the eve of conforming to popery. The death 
of Maurice prince of Orange, in 1625, raifed hopes in 
Grotius and his friends of his reftoration to his native 
country. That prince was fucceeded by his brother 
Frederic-Henry, who had never concurred with him in 
his perfecution of the Arminians, and had even corre- 
fponded with Grotius at the time of his greateft unpo¬ 
pularity. AM he inftance of his father, Grotius wrote 
him a letter on his acceflion ; but the prudential condudft 
to which he was now reftricled, prevented any meafures 
in favour of the illuftrious exile. 
When' cardinal Richelieu arrived at the poll of prime- 
minifter, it feems to have been his wifli to engage Gro¬ 
tius entirely in his fervice and in that of France; and 
the hopes he gave him were fuch, that he wrote to his 
father, “ If I would forget my country, and devote my- 
felf wholly to France, there is nothing w'hich I might 
not expedt.” But, as he could not confent to thefe 
conditions, he was foon made to feel all the ilights and 
mortifications of a dependant out of favour. His pen- 
frb'n was unpaid, and the expences of living at Paris 
with a family preffed fo hard upon him, that he was 
obliged to look out for fome change of iituation. His 
greateft: defire was to return to his own country ; and in 
1627 his wife took a journey into Holland in order to 
confult with his friends concerning the expediency of 
fuch a meafure. As he refolved to make no promifes 
to the government refpedting his future conduct, he was 
unable to obtain any public permiffion for his return ; 
but confiding in a more general difpofition in his favour, 
and in the fuppofed good-will of the new ftadtholder, 
lie at length, by his Wife’s advice, in October, 1631, 
ventured to take his departure for Holland. Though 
he had no fafe conduit, he fcorned concealment, and 
appeared publicly firft at Rotterdam. He found the 
magiftrates diftant and referved; and receiving no pub¬ 
lic encouragement, he went to Amfterdam, where he 
had many friends. But though many private perfons 
both there and elfewhere interefted themfelves for him, 
Itill he obtained no public protection} and the States. 
T I U S. 39 
general, who, in December 1631, had iffued an ordon- 
nance for his apprehenfion, which was difregarded, re¬ 
peating it in.the March following with the promife of a 
reward, he found himfelf in a dangerous fituation. He 
therefore left Holland, and proceeded to Hamburgh, 
where he paffed about two years. Though his circuin- 
ftances were much reduced, he renounced his penfion 
from France, as doing nothing to merit it. He employed 
this interval in looking about for a new fettlement, and 
weighing the feveral propofals which were made to him 
from different courts. At length', through the media¬ 
tion of Salvius, vice-chancellor of Sweden, with whom 
he became acquainted at Hamburgh, he received an in¬ 
vitation from Oxenftiern, the high-chancellor of that 
country, to come and confer with him at Frankfort on 
matters of importance. He arrived there in May 1634; 
and after that able minifter had taken time to ftudy 
his character and talents, he declared him counfellor to 
the young queen of Sweden, Chriftina, and her ambaf- 
fador at the court of France. Thus affured of an ho¬ 
nourable fituation, he wrote to the prince of Orange 
and the States-general, intimating that he was no longer 
to be regarded as a Dutchman; and indeed the wrongs 
he had received from his country feem to have made a 
deep impreflion upon his mind, and to have rendered 
him nearly indifferent to its concerns. 
He fet out on his embaffy in the beginning of 1635, 
made his public entry on March 2, and immediately en¬ 
tered upon the bufinefs of his million. From the death 
of the great Guftavus, and the defeat of the Swedes at 
Nordlingen, the affairs of that nation were brought into 
a critical date, and it was in danger of being deprived 
of the chief direction of the war carried on in Germany 
againft the houfe of Auftria. A treaty had been figned 
between the proteftant princes and ftates of Germany 
and the" French court, ftipulating for fuccours in men 
and money to the former, in which the confirmation of 
the fubfidy-treaty between Guftavus and the king of 
France was negleCted. It was therefore the ambaffa- 
dor’s firft object to reftore the fuperiority of Sweden, 
and procure a renewal of the former fubfidy. Alter fome 
negociations, attended with circumftances which tried 
the firmnefs and difcretion of Grotius, Oxenftiern him- 
felf came to Paris to expedite affairs. He lodged, du¬ 
ring his ftay, with the ambaffador..; and at his departure 
left him at his poll, in full confidence of his ability to 
fill it. The hiftory of Grotius’s refidence at the court 
of France, which occupies a large fpace in his epiftolary 
correfpondence, and in his Life by Burigny, though full 
of political intereft, may neverthelefs be fpared in this 
fketch, fince it rather relates to national tranfaitions 
than private charadter. It is allowed, however, that 
he managed the affairs of his country with perfect in¬ 
tegrity, and with the vigilance and fagacity of one who 
had been acCuftomed to bufinefs as well as to letters. 
The latter part of his miniftry was rendered particularly 
difagreeable by the interference of Duncan Cerilantes, 
a forward young man, who had got into favour with 
Chriftina, and was fent as agent of the crown to the 
French court. Grotius regarded him as a kind of fpy, 
and was befides difgufted with his rafh and vain-glorious 
difpofition. Finding that the confidence of his fovereign 
was transferred to another, he requefted letters of recal, 
which were readily granted. He left trance in the 
fpring of 1645, and proceeded to Holland. He was now 
received with great honour in his own country. The 
city of Amfterdam entertained him at the public ex¬ 
pence, and fitted out a veffel to convey him to Ham¬ 
burgh. Thence, by the way of Lubeck, where he was 
treated with particular refpett, he entered Sweden, and 
repaired to Stockholm. Chriftina was eager to fee him, 
not only as her fervant, but as a man fo high in the re¬ 
public of letters; and fhe gave him a long audience, 
with which he was well fatisfied. For a time lie enter¬ 
tained the expectation of rewards and fome hew employ¬ 
ment / 
