May 15, 1654.

[SN:  A private audience of the Queen.]

Whitelocke visited Marshal Wrangel and General Wittenberg, and went from thence to the castle to visit Grave Tott, who told him that the Queen had altered her purpose of sending him into England, and would do him the honour to retain him with her, but that yet he hoped in a short time to see England.  Whitelocke said he should be glad to meet him, and to do him service there.  They discoursed of the Queen’s residence in Pomerland, or some other place near this country, and of the discommodities and inconveniences which would arise thereby.  Whitelocke told him that if the Queen had leisure, that he should be glad to wait on her; and Tott went presently to know her pleasure, and promised to bring word to Whitelocke if he might see the Queen, and did it at the Lady Jane Ruthven’s lodging, whither Whitelocke was gone to take his leave of that lady; whence he brought Whitelocke to the traverse of the wardrobe, where her Majesty came to him and conducted him into her bedchamber, where they thus discoursed:—­

Whitelocke. I humbly thank your Majesty for admitting me to be present at the meeting of the Ricksdag.

Queen. How did you like the manner and proceedings of it when you were there?

Wh. It was with the greatest gravity and solemnity that I ever saw in any public assembly, and well becoming persons of their quality and interest.

Qu. There be among them very considerable persons, and wise men.

Wh. Such an assembly requires such men, and their carriage showed them to be such; but, Madam, I expected that your Chancellor, after he spake with your Majesty, should, according to the course in our Parliaments, have declared, by your direction, the causes of the Council’s being summoned.

Qu. It belongs to the office of the Chancellor with us to do it; and when I called him to me, it was to desire him to do it.

Wh. How then came it to pass that he did it not, when his place and your Majesty required it?

Qu. He desired to be excused, and gave me this reason, that he had taken an oath to my father to use his utmost endeavour to keep the crown on my head, and that the cause of my calling this Diet was to have their consents for me to quit the Crown; that if he should make this proposition to them, it would be contrary to the oath which he had taken to my father, and therefore he could not do it.

Wh. Did not your Majesty expect this answer?

Qu. Not at all, but was wholly surprised by it; and when the Ricksdag were met, my Chancellor thus excusing himself, there was nobody appointed by me to declare to them the cause of their meeting; but rather than the Assembly should be put off, and nothing done, I plucked up my spirits the best I could, and spake to them on the sudden as you heard, although much to my disadvantage.