Whitelocke asked him, whether the advice of the Diet, being the supreme public council, were binding to the Emperor.  He said, that the Emperor seldom did anything contrary to that advice, but held himself bound in prudence, if not in duty, to conform thereunto.  Whitelocke asked him what opinion they had in the Emperor’s court of the present King of Sweden.  He answered, as was expected, and most true, that they have a great opinion of the King, especially for military affairs.  Upon Whitelocke’s invitation, he did him the honour to dine with him, and they had much and good discourse together.

[SN:  Visit of M. Woolfeldt’s brother-in-law.]

In the afternoon Whitelocke received a visit from Monsieur Hannibal Schestedt, whose wife was sister to Woolfeldt’s lady, one of the daughters of the late King of Denmark by his second wife,—­as they term it, his left-handed wife; this relation, and his own good parts, brought him in high esteem with the King, his brother-in-law, till by jealousies (particularly, as was said, in some matters of mistresses), distaste and disfavour was against him, and he was put out of his office of Viceroy of Norway, and other advantages; upon which he retired himself into these parts, and lived upon a pension of six thousand dollars yearly, allowed by the King unto his lady.  Whitelocke found him a gentleman of excellent behaviour and abilities, which he had improved by his travels in most countries of Europe, and had gained perfectly the French, Italian, Dutch, English, and Latin tongues.  His discourse was full of ingenuity and cheerfulness, and very free touching his own country and King, on whom he would somewhat reflect; and he spoke much of the Queen of Sweden’s resignation, which he much condemned, and as much extolled the assuming of the Government by the Protector of England, and said he had a design shortly to see England, and desired Whitelocke, that when he came into England he would move to the Protector to give him leave to come into England to serve the Protector, which he would willingly do, being forbid his own country; but he prayed Whitelocke, that none might know of this his purpose but the Protector only.  He told Whitelocke, that Williamson, the King of Denmark’s Ambassador now in England, had been his servant, etc.

When Monsieur Schestedt was gone, Whitelocke wrote to Secretary Thurloe, and to his other friends in England, to give them an account of his being come thus far in his voyage homewards, and of the two frigates being arrived in the Elbe, that as soon as the wind would serve he would hasten for England.

[SN:  A banquet to Whitelocke.]