the Princess Elizabeth eldest Sister of the late Elector Palatine and Prince Rupert Notwithstanding the late 〈◊〉 with Sweden and that by the prevalency 〈◊〉 France in that hasty Treaty of Peace coâ—â—â—â—ded at Nimâ—guen his late Electoral 〈…〉 was obliged to give back what he had 〈…〉 taken from that Crown yet his 〈…〉 flourished in Wealth and Trade his 〈…〉 having encouraged Manufactures of 〈…〉 by inviting Artizans into his Dominâ—â—◠〈◊〉 established a Company of Trading 〈…〉 to the West-Indies which will 〈◊〉 advance Navigation amongst his Subâ—â—â—â—â— And in all humane probability they are 〈◊〉 to continue in a happy condition seeing by the Alliances his Highness hath made with the Protestant Princes of the Empire and especially the House of Lunenbourg they are in no danger of being disturbed by their Neighbours I told you before that the Elector of Brandenbourg was Married to the Daughter of the Duke of Hanouer so that as long as that Alliance holds the Families of Brandenbourg and Lunenbourg will be in a condition to cast the Balance of the Empire they both together being able to bring into the Field 80000 as good Men as any are in Europe WHen I parted from Berlin I made a turn back to Lunenbourg in my way to Swedeland where I found several of my Countrymen Officers in the Garison who shewed me what was most remarkable in the City as the Saltworks which bring in considerable Sums of Money to the Duke of Lunenbourg the Stadthouse and Churches in one of which I saw a Communion-Table of pure Ducat-Gold From thence I went into the Province of Holstein and at a small Sea-port called Termond of which I spake before I embarked for Sweden HE that hath read in the Histories of this last Age the great Exploits of Gustavus Adolphus and his Swedes perhaps may have a fancy that it must be an excellent Country which hath bred such Warriors but if he approach it he will soon find himself undeceived Entering into Swedeland at a place called Landsort we sail'd forward amongst high Rocks having no other prospect from Land but Mountains till we came to Dollers which is about four Swedish that is twenty four English Miles from Stockholm the Capital City of the Kingdom Upon my coming ashore I confess I was a little surprized to see the Poverty of the People and the little Wooden Houses they lived in not unlike Soldiers Huts in a Leaguer but much more when I discovered little else in the Country but Mountainous Rocks and standing Lakes of Water The Reader will excuse me I hope if I remark not all that I may have taken notice of in this Country seeing by what I have already written he may perceive that my Design is rather to observe the Manner of the Inhabitants living than to give a full Description of every thing that may be seen in the Country they live in However I shall say somewhat of that too having premised once for all that the ordinary People are wretchedly poor yet not so much occasioned by the Publick Taxes as the Barronness of their Country and the Oppression of the Nobles their Landlordâ— and immediate Superiours who till the preâ—â—â—t King put a stop to their Violences tyâ—â—â—nically domineered over the Lives and 〈◊〉 of the poor Peasants 〈◊〉 Dâ—llers I took Waggon to Stockholm 〈…〉 Horses three times by the way 〈…〉 of the badness of the Rode on all 〈…〉 with Rocks that hardly 〈…〉 as here and there to leave a 〈…〉 Ground At two Miles distance upon that Road the City of Stockholm looks great because of the King's Palace the Houses of Noblemen and some Churches which are seated upon Rocks And indeed the whole City and Suburbs stand upon Rocks unless it be some few Houses built upon Ground gained from the Rivers that run through the Town Stockholm has its Name from a Stock or Log of Wood which three Brothers threw into the Water five Miles above the City making a Vow that where-ever that Stock should stop they would build a Castle to dwell in The Stock stopt at the Holm or Rock where the Palace of the King now stands And the Brothers to be as good as their word there built their Castle which invited others to do the like so that in process of time the other Rocks or Holms were covered with Buildings which at length became the Capital City of the Kingdom It is now embelished with a great many stately Houses and much improved from what it was 400 Years ago as indeed most Cities are for the Stadthouse then built is so contemptible and low that in Holland or England it would not be suffered to stand to disgrace the Nation The Council-Chamber where the Burghmasters and Raedt sit is two Rooms cast into one not above nine Foot high and the two Rooms where the Sheriffs and the Erve College which is a Judicature like to the Doctors Commons in England sit are not above eight Foot and a half high The King's Palace is a large Square of Stone-building in some places very high but an old and irregular Fabrick without a sufficient quantity of Ground about it for Gardens and Walks It was anciently surrounded with Water but some Years since part of it was filled up to make a Way from the Castle-Gate down into the old Town In this Palace there are large Rooms but the Lodgings of the King Queen and Royal Family are three Pair of Stairs high the Rooms in the first and second Stories being destin'd for the Senate-Chamber and other Courts of Judicature The King's Library is four Pair of Stairs high being a Room about forty six Foot square with a Closet adjoyning to it not half the Dimensions When I considered the Apartments and Furniture of this Court I began to think that the French Author wrote Truth who in his Remarks upon Swedeland says That when Queen Christina resigned the Crown to Carolus Gustavus the Father of this present King she disposed of the best of the Furniture of the Court and gave away a large share of the Crown-Lands to her Favorites in so much that the King considering the poor Condition she had left the Kingdom in and seeing the Court so meanly furnished said That had he known before he accepted the Crown what then he did he would have taken other Measures There are many other stately Palaces in Stockholm belonging to the Nobility but many of them for want of Repairs and not being inhabited run to ruine several of the Nobles who lived in them formerly having lost the Estates that maintained their ancient Splendor as we shall see hereafter being retired unto a Country Life There are also some other Magnificent Structures begun but not finished as that stately Building intended for a Parliament-House for the Nobles and two or three Churches But what I most wonder at is the Vault wherein the late King lies buried is not as yet covered but with Boards for it is to be observed that the
Kings of Sweden have no Tombs and Monuments as in England and other Countries but are put into Copper Coffins with Inscriptions on them and placed one by another in Vaults adjoyning to the Gray-Friers Church These Vaults are about eight in Number having Turrets over them with Veins of Copper gilt carved into the Cyphers of the several Kings who give them their Names by being the first that are interred in them The Vault of the late King is not yet finished no more than the Fabricks above-mentioned which perhaps may be imputed to the late Troubles of Swedeland The Number of the Inhabitants of Stockholm are also much decreased within these few Years partly by reason of the removal of the Court of Admiralty and the Kings Ships from that City to Charles-Crown a new Haven lately made about 200 English Miles from thence which hath drawn many Families belonging to the Fleet and Admiralty from Stockholm to live there And partly because many of the Nobility Gentry and those that depended on them are as I said before withdrawn from Stockholm to a retired Life in the Country Nevertheless the ordinary sort of Burghers who still remain are extreamly poor seeing the Women are fain to work like Horses drawing Carts and as Labourers in England serving Masons and Bricklayers with Stone Bricks and Mortar and unloading Vessels that bring those Materials some of the poor Creatures in the Summer-time toiling in their Smocks without either Shooes or Stockings They perform also the part of Watermen and for a small matter will Row Passengers 40 Miles or more if they please The Court here is very thin and silent the King living frugally and seldom Dining in publick He Eats commonly with the two Queens his Mother and Consort who is a Virtuous Princess Sister to the King of Denmark She is the Mother of five Children three Sons and two Daughters with whom she spends most of her time in Retirement The King is a goodly Prince whom God hath Blessed and Endowed with Accomplishments far beyond what might have been expected from his Education wherein he was extreamly abused being Taught little more than his Mother Tongue He is Gracious Just and Valiant constant at his Devotion and utterly averse from all kind of Debauchery and the unfashionable Vanities of other Courts in Plays and Dancing His sports are Hunting and Exercising of his Guards and he rarely appears publickly or gives Audience to Strangers which is imputed to his Sense of the neglect of his Education He is a Prince that hath had a very hard beginning in the World which hath many times proved fortunate to great Men and indeed if we consider all the circumstances of his early Misfortunes how he was slighted and neglected by his Nobles who would hardly vouchsafe to pay him a visit when he was among them in the Country or to do him Homage for the Lands they held of the Crown and how by the pernicious Counsels of the French and the weakness or treachery of his Governors he was misled into a War that almost cost him his Crown having lost the best of his Territories in Germany and Schonen and most of his Forces both by Sea and Land If I say these things be considered it will probably appear that hardly any Prince before him hath in a shorter time or more fully setled the Authority and Prerogative of the Crown than he hath done in Sweden for which he stands no ways obliged to France as he was for the Restauration of what he lost during the War He is now as absolute as the French King and makes Edicts which have the Force of Laws without the concurrence of the Estates of the Kingdom He hath erected two Judicatures the one called the College of Reduction and the other of Inspections the first of which hath put his Majesty in Possession again of all Lands alienated from the Crown and the other called to account all Persons even the Heirs and Executors of those who had cheated the Crown and made them refund what they or their Predecessors had appropriated to their own use of the publick Revenue These two necessary Constitutions as they have reduced many great Families to a pinch who formerly lived splendidly upon the Crown Lands and Revenues and obliged them to live at home upon their ancient and private Patrimony in the Country which is one great cause that the Court of Sweden is at present so unfrequented so have they enabled his Majesty without burdening of his Subjects to support the Charges of the Government and to maintain 64000 Men in pay The Truth is his other Revenues are but small what arises from the Copper and Iron Mines one Silver Mine the Pitch and Tar the Customs and Excise amounts to no extraordinary Sum of Money and the Land Tax in so barren a Country scarcely deserving to be named The Customes and Excise I confess are very high and the rigorous manner of exacting them pernicious to Trade As for instance If a Ship come to Stockholme from London with a hundred several sorts of Goods and those Goods assigned to fifty several Men more or less if any of those fifty do not pay the Custom of what belongs to him though it be for a Barrel of Beer the Ship shall not be unladen nor no Man have his Goods out though he hath fully pay'd the Customs for them till this last Man hath pay'd his There are several other silly Customs in Swedeland that discourages Men from Trading there as if any Stranger Die there a third of his Estate must go to the City or Town where he Traded No Foreign Merchant in Stockholme can Travel into any Country where there is a Fair without a Passport And at present seeing there is no Treaty of Trade betwixt England and Sweden though the English bring as considerable a Trade to that Kingdom as any other Country whatsoever yet they are very unkindly used by the Officers of the Custom-House whereas the Dutch in Lubeck and other Cities have new and greater Privileges allowed them Nor would I Counsel an English-man to go to Law with a Swedish Burgher in Sweden especially if he be a Whiggish Scot who hath got his Freedom in Stockholme for those are a kind of Scrapers whom I have observed to be more inveterate against the English than the Native Swedes Of all the Swedish Army of 64000 Men the King keeps but 12 Companies of 200 Men a-peice with some few Horse Guards in Stockholme who are not upon Duty as Sentinels at the Court Gates as at the Courts of other Princes The rest are dispersed into Quarters and Garisons upon the Frontiers which are so far distant in that large compass of Land which his Territories take up that it would require a hard and tedious work to bring them together to a general Muster They are however kept under very strict Discipline and those that lie near often viewed by the King They have odd sort of Punishments
part of the City as there is occasion for Sale In the upper part of this large Palace sit the Sail-makers at work but on the lower part of this House is an Apartment where the Committee assemble upon occasion of Business This Arsenal is not to be seen by Strangers without a Ticket from the Bewinthebbers Now all what I have spoken of these two Houses or Magazines doth only belong unto the Chamber of Amsterdam There are yet other Chambers of the Company who according to their Quota or stock in the Company have the like Houses and Magazines as the Chambers of Zealand Delft Rotterdam Horne and Enkusen And now I have named the Six Chambers of which the Company is composed I shall say something of their Constitution which is from an Octroy or Act of the States-General by which they have Sovereign Power over their Servants in the Indies yea their Authority reacheth their Servants in all Territories of the States-Generals Dominions It is Death for any of the States Subjects to be Interlopers against this Company nor may any of what Nation soever that lives in any of the Companies Territories as Burghers or Servants return into Europe without leave from the Company only those called Freemen may depart without asking leave to remove The Grand Councel of this Company is the Assembly of the Seventeen which are elected out of the several Chambers before named that is Eight from Amsterdam and four from Zealand Delft Rotterdam Horne and Enkusen send one a piece which makes Sixteen and the five lesser Chambers by turns chose the Seventeenth In the Chamber of Amsterdam there are 20 Bewinthebbers or Committee for Management of the Stock in ordinary who are for Life and have 1000 Ducatoons a Year and Spices at Christmas and their Travelling Charges when they go upon the Companies Service The next Chamber is Zealand which hath twelve Bewinthebbers who have about 250 l. a Year and travelling Charges and Spices at Christmas The next is Delft which hath Seven Bewinthebbers who have only 120 l. a Year and Travelling Charges and Spices at Christmas The other Chambers of Rotterdam Horne and Enkusen have seven Bewinthebbers a piece and the like Salary with Travelling Charges and Spices at Christmas as the Chamber of Delft hath These Bewinthebbers are elected or chosen out of those Adventurers called the High Participanten of the Company They generally chuse such as are Rich and Men of Parts and Wisdom most of them being of the Magistracy of the Country No Man is capable of being Elected a Bewinthebber who hath not 1000 l. Stock in the Company In a word this Grand Council of the Seventeen make Laws for the Governing the Company both in India and Europe It is they that appoint the Days of Sale and what Number of Ships each Chamber must send to the Indies and likewise order the Building of Ships and all other grand Concerns This Company is worthily esteemed a Wise Politique Deserving Company sparing no cost to get good Intelligence of Affairs sending Messengers and Expresses over-Land to the East-Indies They have their Spies and Correspondents in all the considerable Trading Parts of the World They have been so industrious as to gain the Spice Trade not only from the Venetians Spaniards Portuguises French Danes and other European Nations but have also Ingrossed all the Spices so that as I told you before they selâ— Spices to the Indians themselves But this I must say for them that they are a Generous Company and gratefully paying Respects where it is due as lately they have Complemented his Royal Highness the Prince of Orange His present Majesty of Great Britain with an Annual Sum out of the Profits of their Company to make him their Friend and Protector Neither are they backward in bestowing Presents upon Strangers that have obliged them as I could instance in some of our own Nation They are also very charitable to the Poor giving them the Thousandth Gilder of all the Goods they sell And to all the Reformed Ministers in Amsterdam they send Spices at Christmas to pray every Sunday for the Welfare and Prosperity of the Company To conclude this Company is a Buckler and Defence for the Common-wealth upon all urgent Occasions And truly our English East-India-Company might be the same to our King if the Differences between the Two Companies were composed especially now they have such a great King to protect them and that the Interlopers are destroyed And now it is high time I should tell you the Methods a Stranger must take if he hath occasion to keep House in Amsterdam If a Man will hire an House he must take a Lease upon Seal'd Paper for which you must pay a Tax to the States and pay the Broaker that makes the Bargain But before you can buy a House you must be in a capacity to be made a Burgher To this purpose it is usual to take with you to the Stadthouse your Broaker or any two Securities and there before the Burghermasters take the Oath of Burgherschap which is to be faithful to the City to the Magistrates and Government c. But if you buy either Land or Houses and lodge privately you will find your case much worse then you must pay a Legion of Taxes to the Mills that drain your Lands and for maintaining the Banks and Sluces and if the States have occasion to build a Fortification on your Lands or to drown them in time of War you must be contented with the States Terms And if your House or Houses stand empty without Tenants yet you must pay the States Taxes on that House or Houses Thus much for the Method how you are to be advanced to be a Burgher of Amsterdam and to give you a taste what you are to pay for Houses or Land if you settle there and if you have either purchased or hired an House then comes an Officer from the Stadthouse with a Printed Sealed Paper who tells you you must pay as followeth First A Pole-Tax for every Male and Female Servant in the House above eight Years old six Gilders a Year For a Coach if you keep one 75 Gilders a Year For a Coach without Wheels 50 Gilders a Year For Soap as the Number of the Family is The like for Salt For Wine as your Quality is To the Watch as your House is in Greatness To the Lanthorns as the largeness of the House is For Butter every 20 Pound seven Stivers For Beans half as much as you pay for the Beans For Turff every Tun five Stivers For every 20 Gilders in Wood six Gilders For Flesh the Tax often changeth There is also a Tax on the Bread Then there is a Tax called the 200th Penny and a Tax called the 8th Then there are many Taxes in Trade as that no Man can weigh or measure out his own Goods if sold in gross but the States Officers must do it Then the States have a Tax called the Verpounding on all
by sending such a sudden Thaw as was never seen before for in less than ten hours the Ice so sunk and such Floods of Snow came down from the Highlands that the French were fain to make a very disorderly retreat marching up to the middle for haste because on the Banks there could not march above four Men a-breast so they were constrained to leave behind them the greatest part of the Plunder they had robb'd from the Innocent Country People and the nimble Dutch-men on their Scates so long as the Ice would bear them did shoot down the French like Ducks diving under Water so that it cost Luxemburg's Army dear though they had the pleasure to burn the poor People of which the French afterward wickedly made their boast The third was as wonderful as the two others and although I do not believe Miracles as do the Papists yet I say nothing I ever observed looked more like a Miracle than this to wit when the English and French Fleet lay before Scheveling with a design to land and the French ready on their March to joyn with the English and other French as soon as they should land at the same time the Bishop of Munster lying before Groeningen and the French before Gorcom so that now all things looked with a dreadful face for the States yet at this very time God sent a third relief by sending such Mists and wonderful sorts of Tydes as so separated the two Fleets that the English were forced to quit Scheveling Shore and were driven on the side of the Texel Road from whence they were constrained by the season of the Year to retire home And such were the sudden and great Showers of Rain that the Bishop of Munster was forced in disorder to raise his Siege at Groeningen and the French to quit Gorcom I could add many more Observations of the Providences of God to these People as the preserving the Prince of Orange His present Majesty of Great Britain from the many treacherous Designs contrived against him from his Cradle but Moses must be preserved to go in and out before his People Certainly never young Prince endured so many Fatigues as did his Highness in his tender Years of which I was an Eye-witness and had his Highness had the Years and Experience and such a good Disciplined Army as now he hath in the Year 1671. when the French entred the Country his Highness had given them as good a Welcom as he did at Bergen I will say no more of this Subject only this That the Peace at Nimeguen was also a very wonderful thing for that not above eight Days before the Peace was signed most of the Plenipotentiaries did believe the War would have continued another Year first because the King of Denmark and Duke of Brandenburg prospered exceedingly against Sweedland and totally refused the Propositions of France and secondly because the French King writ such bitter Letters against the States-General Yet eight Days after drest a Letter unto the States in which he calls them his Good Friends and Old Alleys offering them not only Maestricht but every Foot of Ground they could lay claim to in the World also giving them new Terms and Conditions as to their Privileges in France by way of Trade Neither can I forget how speedily and as strangely the French King did quit his Conquered Towns after the Valiant Prince of Orange took Naerden which was the first step to the French's Ruine in the States Dominions I come now according to promise in the beginning of this Book to give the Reader some Remarks I made in other Countries where I have been during my Sixteen Years Travels To give a full account of all that might be observed in so many Countries is not a Task for one Man nor a Subject for so small a Book I shall only therefore briefly take notice of some remarkable Matters which may in some measure satisfie the Curiosity of my Country-men who have not been in the said places and convince if possible all of them that no Country that ever I was in affords so great Conveniencies for the generality of People to live in as the Kingdom of England doth Though I have twice made the grand tour of Germany Hungary Italy and France and after my return back to England travelling a third time through Holland as far as Strasbourg and so back by Francfort to Denmark and Sueden yet the Reader is not to expect I should follow a Geographical Method and Order in speaking of the Places I have been in that is to be lookt for in the Map and not in Travels but only that I mention Places as I found them on my Road according as Business or Curiosity led me to Travel THE first considerable Place I then met with after I was out of the Dominions of the States-General was Cleave the Capital City of the Province so called a fair and lovely City standing upon the Rhine and the Rivers Wall and Leck This Province much resembles England in rich Soil and pleasantness of its Rivers The Inhabitants of the Country would have me believe that they were Originally descended of those Saxons who made a descent into England and conquered it and to convince the truth of this they shew'd me a Cloyster standing on a Hill called Eltham from which they say our Eltham in Kent had its Name I was made to observe also two places standing upon the Rhine near Emmerick called Doadford and Gronewich which according to them gave the Names to Dedford and Greenwich in England But many such Analogies and Similitudes of Names are to be found in other places of Germany but especially in upper Saxony and Denmark The greatest part of this Province of Cleave and part of the Dutchies of Juliers and Berg and of the Provinces of Marke and Ravensbourg belongs to the Elector of Brandenbourg the rest belonging to the Duke of Newbourg now Elector Palatine and the Elector of Cologne The Inhabitants are partly Roman Catholicks partly Lutherans and partly Calvinists who all live promiscuously and peaceably together both in City and Country The City of Cleave is the utmost Limit of the Territories of the Elector of Brandenbourg on this side of Germany from whence his Electoral Highness can Travel Two Hundred Dutch Miles out-right in his own Dominions and never sleep out of his own Country but one Night in the Territories of the Bishop of Osnabrug FRom Cleave I went to a small Town called Rhinberg but a very strong Fortification belonging to the Elector of Cologne which lies at two Miles distance from the City of Wesel that belongs to the Elector of Brandenbourg Through Dusseldorpe situated on the Rhine and the Residence of the Duke of Newbourg I went next to Cologne a very large City called by the Romans Colonia Agrippina and the French Rome d'Allemagne Cologne is an Imperial City and a Republick though for some things it does Homage to the Elector of that Name
And I thought it might very well deserve the Name of Petty-London because of its Privileges and the Humour of the Citizens It is a Hansiatick and Imperial Town and Commonwealth the Magistrates being Lutherans which is the publick established Religion though the Cathedral Church belongs to the Roman Catholicks who also have several Monasteries there The City is populous and frequented by all sorts of Merchants from most parts of Europe and part of Asia also because of the two great Fairs that are yearly kept there Many Jews live in this City and the richest Merchants are Calvinists who are not suffered to have a Church in the Town but half an hours Journey out of it at a place called Bucknam where I have told Seventy four Coaches at a time all belonging to Merchants of the City It was in ancient times much enrich'd by Charlemain and hath been since by the Constitution of the Golden-Bull Amongst other Honours and Privileges it 's appointed to be the place of the Emperor's Election where many of the Ornaments belonging to that August Ceremony are to be seen It is strongly fortified having a stately Stone-bridge over the Mayne that joyns it to Saxe-housen the Quarter of the Great Master of the Teutonick-Order The Government is easie to the People they not being taxed as other Cities are and had it not been for the Alarms the French gave them during the last War they had not been much troubled but being forced to keep 3 or 4000 Men in constant Pay to defend their Fortifications the Magistrates were constrained to raise Money by a Tax Besides that of the Emperor they are under the Protection of some Neighbouring Princes as of the Landtgrave of Hesse-Cassel Landtgrave of Armstadt the Count of Solmes and the Count of Hanau who are either Lutherans or Calvinists amongst whom the late Elector Palatine was also one but whether the present who is a Roman Catholick be so or not I cannot tell This City takes great care of their Poor and in their Charity to poor Travellers exceed Holland I have seen a List of Seven thousand whom they relieved in one year Their great Hospital is a large Court or Palace where the English Merchants formerly lived in the time of Queen Mary's Persecution of the Protestants who when they were recalled by Queen Elizabeth were so generous as to give the whole Court with all their Pack-houses and Lands to the Poor of the City It was my fortune to be there in that cold Winter in the year 1683 and saw a Ceremony performed by the Wine-Coopers of the City who are obliged by Law that when ever the Maine lies fast frozen over for 8 days together to make a great Fouder Fat Hoops and Staves and set it up compleat upon the Ice It was very good diversion to see so many Hands at Work and to observe the jollity and mirth of the many Thousands of Spectators who wanted not plenty of Rhenish Wine to Carouse in I had the curiosity afterward to go to the Court of the Landtgrave of Armestadt a Lutheran Prince who lives in part of the richest Soil in Germany His Highness is a very courteous and obliging Prince to Strangers and his Subjects are in a pretty good Condition again though they have been great Sufferers by the last War between the Landtgrave of Hesse and this Family FRom thence I went to Heidleberg a City I had been formerly in in the Life time of that Wise though unfortunate Prince Elector Elder Brother to Prince Rupert Here I had the Honour to pay my Dutiful Respects to the Elector the Son of that great Prince whose Commissary I had the Honour to be for two years together in Amsterdam This Prince since my being there is Dead and left behind him the Reputation of having been a zealous thorough paced Calvinist and so constant a frequenter of the Church that some Sundays he went thrice a day to Sermon but never failed if in Health to be once a day at least at the Garison Church where he took particular notice of such Officers as were absent He was Married to a most Virtuous Lady the Royal Sister of the King of Denmark and his Brother Prince George During his Life time the University of Heidleberg flourished exceedingly so that the number of Students was so great that Chambers and Lodgings in the City were scarce and Spanhemius was about quitting Leyden to return to his Professors place in Heidleberg but how matters stand since his Death I am as yet ignorant This Country is called the Paradise of Germany for its fruitfulness in Wine Corn and all sorts of Fruit. I my self have seen growing in one Plain at the same time Vines Corn Chestnuts Almonds Dates Figs Cherries besides several other sorts of Fruit. And as the Country is fertile in yielding the Fruits of the Earth so the People are careful in providing Store Room for them This I take notice of because of the prodigious Rhenish Wine Fat 's which are to be seen there amongst which there are Seven the least whereof holds the quantity of 250 Barils of Beer as I calculated but the large and most celebrated Fat is that which goes by the name of the great Tun of Heidleberg and holds 204 Fouders of Wine and cost 705 l. Sterling in Building for which one may have a very good House built This Fat I have seen twice and the first time was when the Elector Treated the French Ambassadors that came to conclude the Match betwixt his Daughter and Monsieur the French Kings Brother who Married her after the Death of Henrietta his first Wife at which Treat there happened an adventure that I shall here please the Reader with In a Gallery that is over this Fat the Elector caused a Table to be placed in the middle exactly above the Bunghole of this Monstrous Vessel and to be covered with a costly Banquet of all sorts of Sweat-Meats The day before all the Wine being emptied out of this Tun into other Fat 's a little before the Ambassadors with other Foreign Ministers and Persons of Quality mounted the Stairs to come to the place of Entertainment the Elector caused twelve Drummers with as many Trumpeters some Kettle-Drums and other Musick to be lodged in the Belly of the Tun with orders to strike up upon a signal given when the Elector drank the French Kings Health All being sat down at Table and merrily Feeding the Elector drank the Health and the Signal was given whereupon the Musick began to play its part with such a roaring and uncouth Noise out of that vast Cavity below that the French and other Persons of Quality who were unacquainted with the design looking upon it to be an infernal and ominous Sound in great astonishment began to cry out Jesu Maria The Worlds at an end and to shift every one for himself in so great Disorder and Confusion that for haste to be gone they tumbled down Stairs one over
for the Soldiers and Officers of all Degrees For Example if a Serjeant or Corporal be Drunk or negligent on Duty they are put into Armour and with three Muskets tied under each Arm made to walk two Hours before the Court of Guard yet for all the severity of Discipline used against the Soldiers they commit many Abuses in the Night time Robbing and sometimes killing Men upon the Streets in Stockholme where they have no Lights nor Guards as in Copenhagen In former times there have been at one time 35 Colonels besides General Officers in the Swedish Army all the Subjects of the King of Great Britain but at present there are few or none unless it be the Sons of some Scotish Officers Deceased nor did I ever see an English-Man in the Kings Guards Horse or Foot but one and the Son of Sir Edward Wood who hath since quitted the Service The King hath exceedingly won the Hearts of the common People not only by exempting them from the Tyrannical jurisdiction of the Nobility and Gentry who formerly would by their own private Authority punish and put to Death the Peasants at their pleasure which makes the Countries very willing to Quarter the Kings Soldiers but by his exactness in punishing Duels Murder and Robberies Perjury is Death here also as in Holland which makes the Magistrates in some parts of this Kings Territories enjoyn strange kinds of Oaths to deter Men from being forsworn As for instance in some places the Witness is set with a Staff in his Hand upon some Peeble Stones and Charcoal where he is to imprecate and pray that if what he Sweareth be not true his Land may become as barren as those Stones and his Substance be Consumed to Ashes like the Coals he stands on which as soon as he steps down are set on Fire This manner of Swearing so terrifies the People that they commonly tremble when they come to take their Oath The Religion of the Dominions of the King of Sweden as of those of the King of Denmark and of other Princes and States whom we have named is Lutheran who are more rigid to Roman Catholicks and Calvinists than the Protestants of Germany There is no Toleration allowed here to Calvinist Ministers and they take an effectual course to keep the Country clear of Priests and Jesuits by Guelding them whether they be young or old In Commemoration of the great Losses and Desolation sustained in the late War the Suedes strictly keep four Fasting Days in the Months of April May June and July on which days all Men are prohibited by Authority to kindle Fire in their Houses or to Eat till after Evening Service is done which in the Winter time could not be endured They delight much in Singing in their Churches which they constantly perform twice every day Morning and Evening In their Marryings Christenings and Buryings they are so prodigally extravagant that if all three happen in one year to a Man of a competent Estate it is enough to break him The Clergy of Sweden are neither so Rich nor Learned as those of Germany wanting both the opportunities of Study and of conversing with Learned Men that those of other Countrys enjoy though there be some Learned Men amongst them A Bishoprick in Sweden is no great Benefice if compared with some Parsonages in England for the Arch-bishop and Metropolitan hath not above 400 l. per Annum and some of the rest are not worth above 150 or 200 l. a year The inferiour Clergy are not so regular in their Lives and Conversation in the Countries distant from Stockholme as they are near the Court and the Reason is partly because they entertain Travellers that pass the Country there being no Inns in most places for the Accommodation of Persons of any Quality and so are obliged to drink with their Guests and partly because at Buryings and Christenings where there is commonly high Drinking the Pape or Parson is Master of the Ceremonies And here give me leave to tell a short Story of one of them A Pape coming to Christen a Child in a Church and finding a Scotch Man to be Godfather was so transported either with Zeal or his Cups that when he came to exorcise the Child which is a Rite used in their Office of Administring this Sacrament he neglected the Form prescribed by the Liturgy and in an extemporary Prayer begg'd that the Devil might depart out of the Child and enter into that Scottish Heretick for so they call the Presbyterians of that Nation The Prayer of the Pape so incensed the Scot that he vowed Revenge and watched the Pape with a good Cudgel next day as he crossed the Church-yard where he beat him and left him all in Blood lying on the Ground and crying out Murder For this Fact the Scot was had before the Justice who asking him How he durst be so bold as to lay his profane Hands upon the Man of God He who knew very well what use to make of the Devil he had got Foaming at the Mouth and cunningly acting the Demoniack made answer That the Pape might thank himself for what he had met with for since he had Conjured the Devil into him he spared no Body neither Wife nor Children nor would he spare the Justice himself and with that fell a mangling and tearing the Magistrate that he was fain to 〈◊〉 take himself to his Heels crying out O! the Devil save me and so the Scot marched home no Man daring to lay hold on him for fear of being torn to pieces by the Devil But the Justice recollecting himself sent for the Pape told him That the Scot was a cunning Rogue and bid him go home get a Plaister for his Head and be silent lest if the matter came to the Bishops Ears he might be Censured for going against the Rubrick of the Liturgy The Famous University where their Clergy are bred is Upsal 8 Swedish Miles from Stockholme There are commonly 150 or 200 Students there but no Endowed Colleges as in other Countries The Library is so mean and contemptible that the Libraries of many Grammar Schools and of private Men in England or Holland are far better stored with Books than it is Upon viewing of it and that of the Kings Palace I called to mind the saying of a French Man upon the like occasion That Swedeland came behind France and England in the knowledge of Men and Things at least 800 years yet some Swedes have been so conceited of the Antiquity of their Country as to brag that Paradice was seated in Sweden that the Country was turned into such heaps of Rocks for the Rebellion of our first Parents and that Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel in a Country three Swedish Miles distant from Upsall A French Man standing by and hearing this Romantick Story as I was told fitted him with the like telling him that when the World was made in six days at the end of the Creation all the
Rubbish that remained was thrown together into a Corner which made up Sweden and Norway And indeed the French seem to have no great liking to the Country whatever kindness they may have for the People for a French Ambassador as an Author of that Country relates being by order of Queen Christina Treated in a Country House four Swedish Miles from Stockholme and upon the rode going and coming with all the Varieties and Pleasures that the Country could afford on purpose to make him have a good Opinion of the same made answer to the Queen who asked him upon his return What he thought of Sweden That were he Master of the whole Country he would presently Sell it and Buy a Farm in France or England which under Favour I think was a little Tart and Sawcy Having stayed a considerable time in Swedeland and most part at Stockholme I set out from thence to go to Elsenbourg by Land and went a little out of my way to see a small City called Eubrone Famous for a Coat of Arms which it got in this manner A certain Masculine Queen of Denmark who had Conquered a great part of Sweden coming to this City asked the Magistrates What was the Arms of their City Who having her that they had none she plucked up her Coats and squatting upon the Snow bid them take the mark she left there for their Arms its pity she did not give them a suitable Motto to it also What that Figure is called in Blazonery I know not but to this Day the City uses it in their Arms and for marking their Commodities This Queen came purposely into Sweden to pay a visit to a brave Woman that opposed a King of Swedeland who in a time of Famine would have put to Death all the Men and Women in his Country above 60 years of Age. The Country all the way I travelled in Swedeland is much of the same quality of the Land about Stockholme until I came near the Province of Schonen which is called the Store-house and Kitchin of Sweden where the Country is far better It was formerly very dangerous to Travel in this Province of Schonen because of the Snaphances who were a kind of Bloody Robbers now utterly destroyed by the King so that it is safe enough Travelling there Entering into Schonen I saw 29 of these Rogues upon Wheels and elsewhere in the Country ten and twenty at several places The King used great severity in destroying of them some he caused to be broken upon the Wheel others Spitted in at the Fundament and out at the Shoulders many had the Flesh pinched off of their Breasts and so were fastened to Stakes till they Died and others again had their Noses and both Hands cut off and being seared with a hot Iron were let go to acquaint their Comrades how they had been served The King is very severe against Highway-Men and Duellers In above a 100 Miles Travelling we found not a House where there was either French Wine or Brandy which made me tell a Swede of our Company who was Travelling to Denmark that I would undertake to shew any Man 500 Houses wherein a Traveller might have Wine and other good Accommodation in the space of an Hundred Miles upon any rode from London There are several small Towns and fertile Land in this Country of Schonen lying upon the Sâ—undt at the narrowest part whereof lies Elsenbourg burnt down by the Danes in the last War Here I crost over to Elsenore the passage being but a League broad The King of Denmark has a Castle at Elsenore which commands the narrow passage of the Soundt where all Ships that enter into or come out of the Baltick Sea must pay Toll Having visited this Castle and staid about a Fortnight with the English Consul and Sir John Paul late Resident at the Court of Swedeland I went to the Danish Court at Copenhagen COpenhagen is the Capital City of Zecland Jutland or Denmark and place of Residence of the King It stands on a Flat encompassed with a pleasant and delightful Country much resembling England The Streets of the City are kept very neat and clean with Lights in the Night time for the convenience and safety of those who are then abroad a Custom not as yet introduced into Stockholme where it is dangerous to be abroad when it is dark The Kings Men of War lie hear very conveniently being orderly ranged betwixt Booms after the manner of Amsterdam and near the Admiralty House which is a large pile of Building well furnished with Stores and Magazins secured by a Cittadel that not only commands the City but also the Haven and entry into it The Court of Denmark is splendid and makes a far greater figure in the World than that of Sweden though not many years ago in the time of Carolus Gustavus the Father of the present King of Swedeland it was almost reduced to its last when the Walls of Copenhagen saved that Crown and Kingdom That Siege was Famous carried on with great vigour by the Swede and as bravely maintained by the Danes The Monuments whereof are to be seen in the Cannon Bullets gilt that still remain in the Walls of some Houses and in the Steeple of the great Church of the Town The Royal Palace in Copenhagen is but small and a very ancient Building but his Majesties House Fredenburg is a stately Fabrick of Modern Architecture and very richly Furnished Denmark is at present a flourishing Kingdom and the King who hath now made it Hereditary surpasses most of his Predecessors in Power and Wealth He hath much enlarged his Dominions as well as Authority and by his Personal and Royal Virtues no less than the eminent qualities of a great many able Ministers of State he hath gained the Universal Love of his Subjects and the esteem of all Foreign Princes and States The Court is much frequented every day but especially on Sundays where about Eleven of the Clock in the Morning the Nobility Foreign Ministers and Officers of the Army assemble and make a glorious Appearance There one may see many Knights of the Order of the Elephant of Malto but I never saw any Order of the like Nature as that of Sweden that King rarely appearing in his George and Garter but on days of publick Audience I have observed at one time above 150 Coaches attending at the Court of Denmark which are ten times more than ever I saw together at that of Sweden The King is affable and of easie access to Strangers seen often abroad by his Subjects in his Gardens and Stables which are very large and well furnished with all sorts of Horses He is a great lover of English Horses and Dogs and delights much in Hunting as his Eldest Son the Prince with his Brothers do in Cock-â—ighting insomuch much that the English Merchants cannot make a more acceptable present to those Princes than of English Game-Cocks The standing Forces of Denmark are