The severity of the winter forced
Ayscue to return; but as soon as the navigation of the Sound was open, two
powerful fleets were despatched to the Baltic, one by the protector, the
other by the States; and to Montague, the English admiral, was intrusted
the delicate and difficult commission, not only of watching the proceedings
of the Dutch, but also of compelling them to observe peace towards the
Swedes, without giving them occasion to commence hostilities against
himself. In this he was successful; but no offer of mediation could
reconcile the contending
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1658. August.]
monarchs; and we shall find Montague still cruising in the Baltic at the
time when Richard, from whom he derived his commission, will be forced to
abdicate the protectorial dignity.[1]
In a few days after the funeral of his father, to the surprise of the
public, the protector summoned[a] a parliament. How, it was asked, could
Richard hope to control such an assembly, when the genius and authority of
Oliver had proved unequal to the attempt? The difficulty was acknowledged;
but the arrears of the army, the exhaustion of the treasury, and the
necessity of seeking support against the designs of the officers, compelled
him to hazard the experiment, and he flattered himself with the hope of
success, by avoiding the rock on which, in the opinion of his advisers,
the policy of his father had split.
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