“I have received much contentment in my being here, not only by the sight of so fair and flourishing a city as this is, so well fortified, and manned, and traded, and governed, but in your civilities, and the honour I have had to be acquainted with your worthy magistrates. And I have had a singular satisfaction to understand from my countrymen living amongst you that their privileges are by you entirely continued to them, which I recommend to you as a thing most acceptable to my Lord Protector, who takes care of the whole Commonwealth, and will expect that I give him an account of what concerns the English merchants and their commerce in this place. The wind being now good, I am obliged, according to the commands of the Protector, my master, forthwith to return for England, and do resolve this day to proceed in my voyage towards my ships. I hope my God will conduct me in safety to the place where I would be, and where I shall have the opportunity to testify my gratitude to the Lords and people of this city, and to take care of those affairs wherein they may be concerned, which I esteem as an honour to me.”
Presents of the Senate. After Whitelocke had done speaking, the Senators, with the accustomed ceremonies, took their leaves of him. The piece of plate which they now presented to him was a vessel of silver, like a little cabinet, wrought with bosses of beautiful figures, curious and rich, of the value, as some prized it, of about £150 sterling. Whitelocke was somewhat surprised with this present of plate, and doubtful whether he should accept it or not; but considering that it was only a testimony of their respects to the Protector; and as to Whitelocke, he was not capable of doing them service or prejudice, but as their affairs should deserve; and if he should refuse this present, it would be ill taken by the Lords. Upon these considerations, and the advice of the Resident and other friends, Whitelocke took it, and returned his hearty thanks for it.
Another Senator, one Monsieur Samuel, hearing that Whitelocke had a little son at home, sent him a little horse for a present, the least that one hath seen, yet very handsome, and managed to the great saddle, which Whitelocke brought home with him; so full of civility and courtesy were the magistrates of this place.
After much difficulty to get away, and the earnest request of the Resident and English merchants to the contrary, entreating him to stay longer, yet Whitelocke kept his resolution to leave the town; and boats being in readiness, he went down to the water-side, accompanied with a great number of his countrymen and his own people, and took his boats to go down the Elbe to his ships. The Resident and some others went in his boat with him. Vice-Admiral Clerke would not yet leave him, saying that Wrangel had commanded him to see Whitelocke on board the English frigates, either for a compliment or desiring to see the frigates, which were so much discoursed on in these parts, and thereby to be enabled to give an account to Wrangel of the dimensions and make of them, which he longed to know.
Whitelocke embarks in boats on the Elbe, The boat in which Whitelocke went was large, but not convenient, open, and went only with sails. The streets, as he passed to the water-side, and the windows, and on the bridges, were full of people to see him as he went, and gave him courteous salutations at his farewell. In his own boat he had six trumpets, which sounded all along as he passed through the city and the haven, which was then very full of ships, and they also very civil to make way for Whitelocke’s boats. Upon the bridges and bulwarks which he went by were guards of soldiers in arms; and the bulwarks on that side saluted him with all their cannon, about twenty-one pieces, though they used not to give strangers above two or three guns. Thus Whitelocke parted from this city of Hamburg, recommending himself and his company to the blessing and protection of the Almighty.
A little below the city they came by a small village called by them All to nah (Altona), that is, “All too nigh,” being the King of Denmark’s territory, within half a league, which they thought too near their city. When they came a little lower, with a sudden strong blast of wind the boat in which Whitelocke was, was in great danger of being overset; after which it grew to be a calm; whereupon Whitelocke sent to the English cloth-ships, which lay a little below, to lend him some of their ship-boats and mariners with oars, to make better way than his boat with sails could do. This they did readily; and as Whitelocke passed by them, they all saluted him with their cannon.
but lands at Stadt. Having changed their boats and discharged the great ones, they went more cheerfully down the river till they came within half a league of the town of Stadt; when being almost dark, and the mariners not accustomed to the river out of the channel, the boat in which Whitelocke was, struck upon the sand, and was fast there. Presently the English mariners, seven or eight of them, leaped out of the boat into the river, “up to their chins, and by strength removed the boat from off the sands again; and they came to their oars again, within an English mile of Stadt, when it was very late, and the boats were two German miles from the frigates, and the tide turning. Whitelocke thought it impossible to reach his ships this night, and not prudent to proceed with unexperienced men upon this dangerous river by night; and understanding by General Potley, and one of the trumpets who had been formerly here, of a house upon the river that goes to Stadt, within a quarter of a mile of the place where they now were, Whitelocke ordered the mariners to make to that house, who, with much difficulty, found out the mouth of the river; but for want of water, being low tide, they had much trouble to get the boat up to the cruise, or in there. The master of the house had been a soldier and a cook; he prepared a supper for them of salt eels, salt salmon, and a little poultry, which was made better by the meat and wine that the Resident brought with him; yet all little enough when the rest of Whitelocke’s company, in three other boats, came to the same house, though they could not know of Whitelocke being there; but he was very ill himself, and this was a bad quarter for him, who had been so lately very sick at Hamburg; yet he contented himself without going to bed. His sons and company had some fresh straw, and God in his wonted mercy still preserved him and his company. The host sent word to his General, Koningsmark, that the English Ambassador was at his house this night.
June 18, 1654.
Embarks in the President. Whitelocke resolved to remove from the cruise early this morning, and the rather because he was informed that Koningsmark intended to come hither this morning to visit him, which Whitelocke did not desire, in regard of the late accident at Bremen, where Koningsmark was governor, and that his conferring with him, upon his immediate return from Sweden, might give some jealousy to those of Bremen, or to the Hanse Towns, or some of the German Princes thereabouts. Whitelocke therefore held it best to take no notice of Koningsmark’s intention to come and visit him, but to avoid that meeting by going early from hence this morning; which he had the more reason to do because of his bad entertainment here, and for that the tide served betimes this morning to get out of this river. He therefore caused his people to make ready about two o’clock this morning, and took boat within an hour after, the weather being very fair and the country pleasant. On the right-hand was Holstein, on the left-hand was the Duchy of Lüneburg, and below that the Bishopric of Bremen; in which this river comes from Stadt near unto Bremen, more considerable heretofore when it was the staple for the English cloth, but left by our merchants many years since, partly because they held themselves not well treated by the inhabitants of Stadt, and partly by the inconvenientness of this river to bring up their cloth to that town.
Two miles from this cruise Whitelocke came to the frigates, where they lay at anchor. He himself went on board the ‘President,’ who, at his entry, saluted him with above forty guns, the ‘Elizabeth’ but with twenty-one, and her Captain, Minnes, came on board to Whitelocke to excuse it, because, not knowing Whitelocke’s time of coming hither, he had no more guns ready to bid him welcome.