illage on the other side of the Elbe, which they
told him was called Oldenburg, and belonged to the Duke of Saxony. Two
leagues below that, he came to anchor over against a village called Rose
Beacon, a fair beacon standing by the water-side. It belongs to Hamburg;
and by a late accident of a soldier's discharging his musket, it set a
house on fire, and burnt half the town. Some of Whitelocke's people went
on shore, and reported it to be a poor place, and no provisions to be
had there.

The road here is well defended by a compass of land on the south and
west, but to the north and east it lies open. The sea there is wide, but
full of high sands. The river is so shallow in some places that there was
scarce three fathom water where he passed between Brown Bottle and
Oldenburg, where his ship struck upon the sand, and made foul water, to
the imminent danger of him and all his people, had not the Lord in mercy
kept them. They were forced presently to tack back, and seek for deeper
water. The pilot confessed this to happen because they lay too far to
gain the wind, which brought them upon the shallow. Whitelocke came to
Rose Beacon before noon, which is not very safe if the wind be high, as
now it was; yet much safer than to be out in the open sea, whither the
pilot durst not venture, the wind rising and being contrary to them.

_June 25, 1654._

_The Lord's Day._--Mr. Ingelo, Whitelocke's chaplain, preached in his
ship in the morning. Mr. De la Marche, his other chaplain, was sick of a
dysentery, which he fell into by drinking too much milk on shore. Mr.
Knowles, a confident young man, the ship's minister, preached in the
afternoon.

[SN: The cloth ships return to Glueckstadt.]

The wind blew very strong and contrary all the last night and this
morning, which made it troublesome riding in this place; insomuch that
the four cloth-ships, doubting the continuance of this tempestuous
weather, and fearing the danger that their cables would not hold, which
failing would endanger all, and not being well furnished with provisions,
they weighed anchor this morning flood, and sailed back again to
Glueckstadt road; whereof they sent notice to Whitelocke, desiring his
excuse for what their safety forced them to do. But Whitelocke thought it
not requisite to follow their example, men of war having better cables
than merchantmen; and being better able to endure the stress of weather,
and he being better furnished with provisions,