1920 SIXTEENTH CENTURY 501 the king of England would return the galley in exchange for the Sacre, which the French king had just restored to the English, but that he would keep the prisoners.^ This is confirmed by the privy council's instructions to Wotton on 24 September, which state that if the French ministers speak of their galley, he is to say that the king heard only yesternight from the French ambas- sador that she was not yet sent home, and at once sent to the admiralty — for the lord admiral is gone for a month to the country — to know the cause and to command her dispatch.^ But the French hopes were not destined to receive immediate fulfilment. Saint-Blancard himself was released before the end of the year,^ but the handing over of the galley and the slaves was still postponed. At the end of December the baton de la Garde came over to England very largely in order to secure the performance of this act of restitution.^ But Henry did not show very great anxiety to overcome the procrastination of his officials, and, though fairly profuse with his promises to return the galley with her rigging, artillery, crew, and soldiers,^ he repeatedly- refused to hand back her crew of slaves, on the ground that he had promised them their liberty and could not now go back on his royal word.® However, so far as the galley was concerned, the perseverance of the French envoys overcame all difficulties, and, on 16 March, Selve wrote to the admiral of France that a certain Spaniard had been to see him and Apres m'a diet qu'il avoyt delibere de dire au cappitaine Pierre lieutenant du baron de Sainct-Blancquard aulcunes choses d'importance pour vous dyre, mais qu'il s'en est alle avec sa gallayre sans prendre les lettres qu'il vous eacripvoyt.' That this really means that the galley had been released is made more certain by a letter, in which Selve four months later says that Somerset has been complaining that the English prisoners whose release de la Garde had promised in exchange for the baron de Saint -Blancard's galley and her crew, had not ' Selve to the admiral {Correspondance d'Odet de Selve, p. 35).
- Letters and Papers, xxi. ii. 149.
^ There is a bill for a passport for Saint-Blancard and his company in November 1546 {ibid. xxi. ii. 475 (9)), and in January 1547 he is made bearer of dispatches to France (Corresp. de Selve, p. 90, 18 January 1547). ■• He had already been over at the end of September 1546 with the same end in view (Van der Delft to Charles V, 7 October 1546, Letters and Papers, xxi. ii. 238). La Garde was better known to the English as Captain Paulin. ^ E. g. on 25 January 1547 Paget informed de la Garde that Henry had definitely given orders to the admiral of England to deliver over the galley and all her equipment with the exception of the slaves. Selve and La Garde to the king of France {Correap. de Selve, pp. 93-4). • Selve and La Garde to the king of France, 4 January 1547 {ibid. p. 80). In this matter Henry was probably following the advice Lisle had given him in the letter quoted above. * Ibid. p. 117.
