A Journal of the Swedish Embassy in the Years 1653 and 1654, Vol II. — John Locke — John Shaqi
A Journal of the Swedish Embassy in the Years 1653 and 1654, Vol II.
John Locke · en
This ship, the 'Amarantha,' had never yet been at sea, and therefore the
more dangerous to adventure in her first voyage; but she was well built,
a fair ship, of a good burden, and had mounted in her forty pieces of
brass cannon, two of them demy cannon, and she was well manned and of
good force and strength for war; she was a good sailer, and would turn
and tack about well; she held a hundred persons of Whitelocke's followers
and most of his baggage, besides her own mariners, about two hundred. The
cabins wherein Whitelocke was were of a handsome make; the breadth of the
ship was the length of his bed-cabin, and it was six or seven paces
broad, and high enough for the tallest man; it was hung with red cloth,
the furniture of the bed was rich cloth of gold and silver; on the table
was a rich carpet, and all over it a canopy with broad fringes of silk
and gold and silver. Within the bed-cabin was another room for him to
retire into, with a table and benches covered with red cloth. All the
gentlemen had accommodations as the ship could afford.
Being all settled in the ship, they were fain to stay for the ship-boat
which the captain had sent for water; and as soon as it was returned,
about ten o'clock in the morning, they weighed anchor and put the ship
under sail, recommending themselves to the mercy and protection of Him
who rules upon the waters as well as on dry land, and of whose goodness
they had so great experience. They sailed by the place called the Scares,
that is, the isles of rocks, which are there in the water and on both
sides of the shore, of a strange cragginess, largeness, and number; those
in the sea are full of danger, and often afford but a very strait passage
for the ships to go between them, and no other course is to avoid them.
From hence the sea begins to widen herself towards the furthest point of
land, which they call the Lands-Ort, answerable to our English point of
land called the Land's End in Cornwall. The Lands-Ort is eight Swedish
leagues from the Dollars, and hither they reached by the evening, the
wind being east and south-east all this day.
_June 2, 1654._
[SN: The voyage.]