Letter of Mazarin cardinal to M. de Thou, ambassador to Holland

La Fère, July 5, 1657

"I hope that in the end, though a little late, you will receive my dispatches. I read with great pleasure yours, in which you give an account of what happened with the commissioners of MM. Estats, of the resolution they took to repair the insult Ruyter had done to the Roy, by sending back the prisoners and returning the ships he had taken. I was very pleased that the affair went this way. His Majesty, to whom I emphasized the zeal, prudence and skill with which you conducted yourself in this encounter, is very pleased with your care, and everyone is convinced that His Majesty is emerging from this embarrassment with reputation. I rejoice with you from the bottom of my heart, and beg you to rest assured that I will lose no opportunity to make your services known. For the details of everything, I defer to M de Brienne's dispatch. I will only tell you that in addition to the orders I begged the King to give for the return of the two ships belonging to some Amsterdam merchants, of which you sent me a memorandum, I wrote strongly to M. de Mercoeur and M. le chevalier Paul to have everything returned without delay and to treat the sailors well."