Excerpt from Charles Longland's letter to secretary John Thurloe, dated November 23/December 3 (New Style), 1655

Source:

A Collection of the State Papers of John Thurloe, Esq;, volume 4, page 233, published by Thomas Birch, 1742

https://books.google.com/books?id=70EqAQAAMAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=state+papers+of+john+thurloe+1656&source=gbs_navlinks_s

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/thurloe-papers/vol4/pp218-234#h3-0028

The letter:

RIGHT HONORABLE,

... The queen of Sweden is not yet at Rom. The pope this last week sent to al the merchants in Rom, to know what the queen had amongst um, but synding non, he was very melancolly. He is afraid she wil prov too chargable a guest: he has desyned to spend fyv hundred thousand crownes on her intertainment, but not out of his own purse, for he has alredy raised taxes on the piple to pay it. ...

Right honorable,

Your most faithful servant,

CHARLES LONGLAND.

Leg. Dec. 3, 1655. [N. S.] ...

With modernised spelling:

Right Honourable,

... The Queen of Sweden is not yet at Rome. The Pope this last week sent to all the merchants in Rome to know what the Queen had amongst 'em, but sending none, he was very melancholy. He is afraid she will prove too chargeable a guest. He has designed to spend five hundred thousand crowns on her entertainment, but not out of his own purse, for he has already raised taxes on the people to pay it. ...

Right Honourable,

your most faithful servant,

Charles Longland.

Leghorn, December 3, 1655. [N. S.] ...

French translation (my own):

Très honorable seigneur,

... La reine de Suède n'est pas encore à Rome. La semaine dernière, le pape a envoyé un message à tous les marchands de Rome pour savoir ce que la reine avait chez eux, mais il n'en a envoyé aucun, car il était très mélancolique. Il craint qu'elle ne se révèle une invitée trop coûteuse. Il a prévu de dépenser cinq cent mille écus pour son entretien, mais pas de sa propre poche, car il a déjà levé des impôts sur le peuple pour payer ces frais. ...

Très honorable seigneur,

votre plus fidèle serviteur

Charles Longland.

Livourne, le 3 décembre 1655. [Nouveau style.]

Swedish translation (my own):

Ers Ärevördighet,

... Drottningen av Sverige är ännu inte i Rom. Påven skickade förra veckan till alla köpmän i Rom för att få veta vad drottningen hade bland dem, men när ingen skickades, blev han väldigt melankolisk. Han är rädd att hon kommer att visa sig vara en alltför avgiftsbelagd gäst. Han har tänkt spendera femhundratusen scudi på hennes underhållning, men inte ur sin egen börs, för han har redan höjt skatten på folket för att betala den.

Ers Ärevördighets

trognaste tjänare

Charles Longland.

Livorno, den 3 december 1655. [Nya stilen.]

Above: Kristina.

Note: Leghorn is the traditional English name for the Italian port city of Livorno.