m the northeast.]

_16th, Monday._ The wind being mostly north, the weather was cold and
piercing. The whole fleet was under sail, with the flood tide, and we
along with them. They had talked loudly in Boston of the sailing
qualities of our ship, but almost the whole coal fleet sailed ahead of
us.

_18th, Wednesday._ The wind remained still, with mist. We saw it would
be some days yet before the ship would reach the city, and therefore
determined to go up in a wherry, that is a row-boat, from Gravesend.
As soon as one came alongside we went aboard, and passed by Gravesend
and other villages. It was nine o'clock in the evening when we landed
at St. Catharines,[457] and went to a tavern called the Dutch Smack,
but they would not receive us. We then went to the Inlander, the
landlord of which was a Fleming, and a Papist, but not the worst one.
We paid for the boat three English shillings in all. We three, namely,
Vorsman, Jan Owins, the surgeon of our ship, a Rotterdammer, and
myself, supped together; this was the first time we had slept in a bed
in a long time.

[Footnote 457: Just east of the Tower of London, where now are the St.
Katharine Docks.]

_19th, Thursday._ We went through the city, the newly built
portion[458] as well as the other, but we found it very different from
what we had imagined. We went to the Exchange and conversed with our
captain and the other passengers. We endeavored to find the first
vessel going to Holland. They told us there were two smacks or galiots
lying ready, and would leave on Monday, for which we prepared
ourselves.

[Footnote 458: Meaning the part newly built since the Great Fire of
1666.]

_20th, Friday._ We went to Withal [Whitehall], where the king resides,
and where we supposed we should see something special in the
buildings, but in this we were mistaken. There are better places in
London; the best house there was the banqueting house, which does not
surpass some merchants' houses in Amsterdam. We strolled into St.
James's Park, which is nothing but a large inclosed meadow, with some
canals and ditches dug through it, in one portion of which are ducks
swimming, and willow trees planted. The guard on horseback coming
ahead, we heard the king[459] was in the park. We went in, but did not
see him; but walking through we saw his curiosities of birds which he
kept there in cages slightly enough closed, such as eagles, cranes, a
very large owl, a toucan, birds which we call _h