as it may, your eminence may be persuaded that it is our fixed and established intention to do and perform everything, both ourselves and by our officers, amply to shew how much we esteem the sacred person of your eminence and the Order of Malta. In order, therefore, that it should already appear that we do not wish greater honour to be paid to any prince than to your eminence, and to your celebrated Order, we have directed our above-mentioned admiral to accord all the same signs of friendship and goodwill towards your eminence’s posts and citadels as towards those of the most Christian and Catholic kings, and we no way doubt your Order will equally shew that benevolence towards us which it is customary to shew to the above-mentioned kings or to either of them.
“Given in our palace of Whitehall, on the 21st day of June, 1675. Your eminence’s good cousin and friend,
“Charles Rex.”
This letter does not appear to have produced the desired result, as may be gathered from the following, the original of which is in the Record Office at Malta:—
“To the most eminent prince the Lord Nicholas Cottoner, Grand-Master of the Order of Malta.
“Most eminent Sir,—
“After the tender of my humble service with my hearty thanks for the manifold favours vouchsafed unto my master the king of Great Britain, etc., and for your highness’s extraordinary kindness manifested to myself, and, most eminent sir, since your favour of product (query, pratique), I have sent on shore one of my captains to wait upon your highness with the presentment of this my grateful letter, and withal to certify to your eminence that I did and do expect a salute to be given by your highness to my master’s flag which I carry, correspondent to the salutes which you give to the flags of the king of Spain and of the king of France, which are carried in the same place, it being the expectation of the king my master.
“Formerly your eminence was pleased to make some scruple of my command as admiral, which I humbly conceive your highness is fully satisfied in, since you received the last letter from the king of Great Britain.
