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 gave very sharp language though he named them not, but by his gestures it was well known that he meant them’ (, Sydney Papers, p. 140).

For a few months Whitelocke remained in complete retirement, but in August 1653 he heard that the council of state intended to nominate him as ambassador to Sweden in place of Lord Lisle, who had been originally appointed. In the most flattering terms Cromwell pressed Whitelocke to accept the post, and, more from fear of the consequences of refusing than from any desire for the distinction, he finally accepted. On 14 Sept. his nomination was approved by parliament (, Journal of Whitelocke's Swedish Embassy, i. 15, 32, 37). His instructions authorised him not only to make a general treaty of amity, but to come to an agreement with Sweden for securing the freedom of the Sound against Denmark and the united provinces (ib. i. 85–90). Whitelocke sailed on 6 Nov. with a large retinue and a squadron of six ships, reaching Gothenburg on 15 Nov. He returned through Germany, landing again in England on 1 July 1654. The treaty he negotiated, which was long delayed by the desire of the Swedes to await the upshot of the peace negotiations between England and Holland, and by the difficulties which the impending resignation of Queen Christina threw in its way, was signed on 28 April 1654, though dated 11 April (ib. ii. 168). In substance it was little more than a general expression of friendship between the two states. Questions such as the trade relations of England and Sweden, and the suggested alliance for the freedom of the Sound, were discussed but postponed, and it was understood that a Swedish ambassador was to be sent to England to settle them. During his mission Whitelocke showed considerable diplomatic skill, and succeeded in gaining the queen's favour. She freely discussed with him the affairs of Europe, the revolutions of England, and her own intending abdication, and he plumed himself on proving to the Swedish court that a puritan could possess all the graces of a cavalier. His self-satisfaction is amusingly evident throughout his narrative, but its portraits of Christina, Oxenstierna, and other notable persons, and its description of Sweden and the Swedes render it an authority of permanent value, and it has been translated into Swedish.

Whitelocke landed in England again on 1 July 1654, and gave an account of his embassy to the council of state on 6 July (Memorials, iv. 115). During his absence from England a new commission for the custody of the great seal had been issued (April 1654), and Whitelocke, who was first named of the three commissioners, was sworn into his office on 14 July 1654 (, Swedish Embassy, ii. 463). At the opening of the parliament of 1654, to which he was returned by three several constituencies—Buckinghamshire, Bedford, and the city of Oxford—Whitelocke carried the purse before the Protector, and in his opening speech dwelt on the importance of the treaty with Sweden, ‘an honourable peace, through the endeavours of an honourable person here present as the instrument’ (, Cromwell, Speech ii.). On 6 Sept. Whitelocke gave a narrative of his negotiations to the house, and was voted 2,000l. for his services (Memorials, iv. 137). In 1655 the Protector and his council passed an ordinance for the reform of the procedure of the court of chancery which seemed objectionable both to Whitelocke and to his colleague Widdrington. ‘It would be of great prejudice to the public,’ argued Whitelocke on behalf of both, and he had also private objections as to the authority making the law. As their scruples could not be overcome by argument, both were deprived of their office on 6 June 1655 (Memorials, iv. 191–206; Carte MSS. lxxiv. 50; cf., The Interregnum, pp. 224–9). Whitelocke had, however, been appointed one of the commissioners of the treasury (2 Aug. 1654), and was permanently continued in that post with a salary of 1,000l. per annum (Memorials, iv. 207; Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1654, p. 284).

On 2 Nov. 1655 Whitelocke was named one of the committee for trade and navigation, and he was frequently consulted by the Protector on foreign affairs. The negotiation of the commercial treaty with Sweden, concluded on 17 July 1656, was mainly trusted to his hands, and in January 1656 he was much pressed by Cromwell to undertake a second mission to Sweden (Memorials, iv. 215, 219, 223–70;, The Diplomatic Relations between Cromwell and Charles Gustavus of Sweden, 1897, pp. 28–47). In the parliament called in 1656 he again represented Buckinghamshire, and during the illness of Thomas Widdrington he filled the place of speaker for three weeks, to the great satisfaction of the house (, Parl. Diary, ii. 369, 375; Memorials, iv. 285). When the humble petition and advice was brought in, and parliament invited the Protector to take the title of king, Whitelocke was chairman of the committee appointed to confer with Cromwell, in which capacity he made frequent reports to the house and