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I urged him, that ſeeing his light ſerved him to go aboard, he would not draw back from it for me. As for me, I had Edward Gilleſpie, who brought us the parliament’s letters, and John Don, and my brother Andrew ſtevenſon to go along with. He perſiſted that he would go with me, yet thereby my mind would not incline to go aboard. By this time a boat comes from the king’s ſhip, and letters from the two lords, deſiring us, as we would not marr the buſineſs of the king and kingdom, to come aboard: yet for all this my mind was bent for Roterdam. At laſt Brody, and Mr. Hutchiſon propounded, that I ſhould only go to the ſhip ſide, and there the reſt ſhould come down to the boat, that we might ſpeak a little of our buſineſs, and I ſhould take my leave of them, and come aſhore again in the ſame boat: to this, altho’ unwillingly, I did agree. When the boat was come to the ſhip ſide, and the reſt gone up, ſtaid in the boat looking they ſhould come down; but Caſſil and Mr. Hutchiſon came and called me up, ſaying, it would be unſeemly for commiſſioners of the kingdom of Scotland, in ſight of ſo many onlookers, to come to an open boat to ſpeak to any buſineſs, and deſired that I would only come a little to the gunner-room and ſpeak with them, and the boat ſhould be ſtaid till I ſhould go back. I went up and deſired a young man that was with me to wait that the boat ſhould not go away. But within a little while he comes and tells, that the boat was gone and under ſail. Whether this was done of purpoſe, men making a mock of peeviſhneſs and folly as they thought, or otherwiſe, I will not determine; I but I looked upon my ſelf as in little other condition than a priſoner. That night when they were conſulting what to do in reference to their laſt inſtructions, Lothian and Libberton were of the mind, that no application ſhould be made to the king about theſe late inſtructions, till they arrived in Scotland, ſaying, that if they did, it would provoke the king to take ſome other courſe, and not go to Scotland at all. The next day, I not being well, and having but very ill accommodation in that ſhip wherein the king was, Mr. Jeffrey and I went
aboard another ſhip, called the Sun of Amsterdam, where
