The Senator Vanderlin, Grave Tott, and the Baron Steinberg were the challengers to all the rest; and of the other part were Marshal Wrangel, Grave Jacob de la Gardie, and nine or ten others.  All were well mounted; Wrangel upon an English horse, given him by Whitelocke.  Their clothes, scarfs, feathers, and all accoutrements, both of men and horse, were very gallant.  They ran for a prize which the Queen had ordained, and they comported themselves with much activeness and bravery; and it was the same exercise which Whitelocke had formerly seen in his own country.

May 19, 1654.

[SN:  The Sound Dues.]

Woolfeldt visited Whitelocke in the morning, and brought with him a paper concerning the Sound, written in French with his own hand, wherein he showed much affection to the Protector and to England, and as much distaste to his own country.  The paper Whitelocke laid up, and transcribed in a larger treatise.

[SN:  Effect of the Prince’s visit.]

Woolfeldt acquainted Whitelocke that the public ministers in this Court discoursed much of the extraordinary respect showed by the Prince to the English Ambassador, both in his reception and the Prince’s visit to him.  And particularly the Danish Ambassador was greatly discontented, and said that never any ambassador had that honour done him before, and it was so far beyond what he had received that he knew not how to bear it; that the entertainment of public ministers of the same character ought to be with the same ceremony, and not one to be preferred so much as the English Ambassador had been before others of equal quality with him, and much matter of complaint of that nature; which being reported to the Prince, he said that neither the Danish Ambassador nor any other public minister had cause to complain that he had not given them the respect due to their several qualities; and if he, out of a particular affection to the English Protector and Ambassador, had a mind to express more than ordinary particular respects to them, it was no wrong or cause of complaint to any other public minister, who had what was due to him, because another had perhaps more than was due to him; and he said he understood not why his condition should render him less capable than other gentlemen to show particular respects where they did bear a particular affection.

General Douglas, a Scottish gentleman in great favour and honour in this country, came late this year to the Court, being hindered by a violent ague upon his coming hither.  He made frequent visits to Whitelocke, and expressed much of respect and civility to him as his countryman.

[SN:  Whitelocke dines with General Douglas.]