In the afternoon two merchants of the cloth-ships came to visit Whitelocke, and showed great respect to him; and they and the captains returned together to their ships, the wind being allayed, and come about to the south, which gave Whitelocke hopes to proceed in his voyage.
June 24, 1654.
The convoy sails to Rose Beacon. The wind being come to west-south-west, a little fallen, about three o’clock in the morning they began to weigh anchor. By Whitelocke’s command, all the ships were to observe this order in their sailing. Every morning each ship was to come up and fall by Whitelocke, and salute him, that he might inquire how they all did; then they were to fall astern again, Whitelocke to be in the van, and the ‘Elizabeth’ in the rear, and the other ships in the middle between them; all to carry their colours; Whitelocke to carry his in the maintop, and all to take their orders from his ship.
Thus they did this morning; the cloth-ships came all by Whitelocke, and saluted him the first with nine guns. Whitelocke answered her with as many. Then she gave three guns more, to thank him for his salutation. Each of the other ships gave seven guns at their passing by; then the fort of Glückstadt discharged all their ordnance to give Whitelocke the farewell, who then fired twenty-one guns, and the ‘Elizabeth’ nineteen; then the cloth-ships fired three guns apiece, as thanks for their salutation; and so, with their sails spread, they committed themselves to the protection of the Almighty. Though these things may be looked upon by some as trivial and expensive, yet those who go to sea will find them useful and of consequence, both to keep up and cheer the spirits of the seamen, who will not be pleased without them, and to give an honour to one’s country among strangers who are taken with them; and it is become a kind of sea language and ceremony, and teacheth them also the better to speak it in battle.
Some emulation happened between the captain of the ‘President’ and Minnes, because Whitelocke went not with him, but in the other’s ship, which Whitelocke would have avoided, but that he apprehended the ’President’ sent purposely for him.
Between seven and eight o’clock in the morning Whitelocke passed by a village called Brown Bottle, belonging to the King of Denmark, upon the river in Holstein, four leagues from Glückstadt; and four leagues from thence he passed by a village on the other side of the Elbe, which they told him was called Oldenburg, and belonged to the Duke of Saxony. Two leagues below that, he came to anchor over against a village called Rose Beacon, a fair beacon standing by the water-side. It belongs to Hamburg; and by a late accident of a soldier’s discharging his musket, it set a house on fire, and burnt half the town. Some of Whitelocke’s people went on shore, and reported it to be a poor place, and no provisions to be had there.
The road here is well defended by a compass of land on the south and west, but to the north and east it lies open. The sea there is wide, but full of high sands. The river is so shallow in some places that there was scarce three fathom water where he passed between Brown Bottle and Oldenburg, where his ship struck upon the sand, and made foul water, to the imminent danger of him and all his people, had not the Lord in mercy kept them. They were forced presently to tack back, and seek for deeper water. The pilot confessed this to happen because they lay too far to gain the wind, which brought them upon the shallow. Whitelocke came to Rose Beacon before noon, which is not very safe if the wind be high, as now it was; yet much safer than to be out in the open sea, whither the pilot durst not venture, the wind rising and being contrary to them.
June 25, 1654.
The Lord’s Day.—Mr. Ingelo, Whitelocke’s chaplain, preached in his ship in the morning. Mr. De la Marche, his other chaplain, was sick of a dysentery, which he fell into by drinking too much milk on shore. Mr. Knowles, a confident young man, the ship’s minister, preached in the afternoon.
The cloth ships return to Glückstadt. The wind blew very strong and contrary all the last night and this morning, which made it troublesome riding in this place; insomuch that the four cloth-ships, doubting the continuance of this tempestuous weather, and fearing the danger that their cables would not hold, which failing would endanger all, and not being well furnished with provisions, they weighed anchor this morning flood, and sailed back again to Glückstadt road; whereof they sent notice to Whitelocke, desiring his excuse for what their safety forced them to do. But Whitelocke thought it not requisite to follow their example, men of war having better cables than merchantmen; and being better able to endure the stress of weather, and he being better furnished with provisions, he resolved to try it out in this place.