About six o’clock at night Mr. Smith, son to Alderman Smith, of London, and two other young merchants of the English company at Hamburg, came on board to Whitelocke, and brought letters to him from the Resident Bradshaw, with those the Resident received by this week’s post from London; wherein was little news, and no letters came to Whitelocke, because (as he supposed) his friends believed him to be upon the sea.  Whitelocke wrote letters of thanks to the Resident, and enclosed in them letters of compliment to the Ricks-Chancellor, and to his son Grave Eric of Sweden, and to Sir George Fleetwood and others, his friends, and entreated the Resident to send them into Sweden.

June 26, 1654.

[SN:  Whitelocke weighs anchor.]

The wind not being so high the last night nor this morning as formerly, but the weather promising fair, and Whitelocke longing to advance in his voyage, he weighed anchor about break of day, the ‘Elizabeth’ did the like, and they were under sail about four o’clock this morning.  As they came out from Rose Beacon, they told above thirty fisher-boats at sea, testifying the industriousness of this people.

About two leagues from Rose Beacon they passed in sight of another beacon, and of a village which they call Newworke, in which is a small castle like unto that at Rose Beacon.  Here the sea began to expatiate, and about three leagues from hence was the lowest buoy of the river.  And now Whitelocke was got forth into the open German Ocean, a sea wide and large, oft-times highly rough and boisterous and full of danger, especially in these parts of it, and as Whitelocke shortly found it to be.  Suddenly the wind grew high and the sea swelled, and they were fain to take in their topsails; the ship rolled and tossed sufficiently to make the younger seamen sick, and all fearful.

From this place they might see an island on the starboard side of them, called Heligoland, standing a great way into the sea, twelve leagues from Rose Beacon; the island is about six miles in compass.  The inhabitants have a language, habit, and laws, different from their neighbours, and are said to have many witches among them; their shores are found very dangerous, and many ships wrecked upon them.

About noon the wind came more to the west, and sometimes it was calm; nevertheless the sea wrought high, the waves raised by the former storms not abating a long while after the storm ceased.  When they were gone about two leagues beyond Heligoland, the wind and tide turning against them, they were driven back again near two leagues short of the island; but about four o’clock in the afternoon, the wind being come to south-south-east and a fresh gale, they went on well in their course, running about eight leagues in a watch.  Before it was night they had left Heligoland out of sight, and got about eight leagues beyond it; and the ‘Elizabeth’ kept up with Whitelocke.

From hence he came in sight of divers small islands upon the Dutch coast, which lie in rank from the mouth of the Elbe unto the Texel.  In the evening they spied a sail to the leeward of them, but so far off that Whitelocke held it not fit, being almost dark, to go so far as he must do out of his way to inquire after her, and she seemed, at that distance, to stand for the course of England.