23rd In the morning come infinity of people on board from the King to go along with him My Lord, Mr Crewe, and others, go on shore to meet the King as he comes off from shore, where Sir R Stayner, bringing His Majesty into the boat, I hear that His Majesty did with a great deal of affection kiss my Lord upon his first meeting The King, with the two Dukes and Queen of Bohemia, Princesse Royalle, and Prince of Orange, come on board, where I in their coming in kissed the King’s Queen’s and Princesse’s hands, having done the other before Infinite shooting off of the guns, and that in a disorder on purpose, which was better than if it had been otherwise All day nothing but Lords and persons of honour on board, that we were exceeding full Dined in a great deal of state, the Royalle company by themselves in the coach, which was a blessed sight to see After dinner the King and Duke altered the name of some of the ships, viz the Nazeby into Charles,⁹⁸ the Richard, James, the Speaker, Mary, the Dunbar (which was not in company with us), the Henry, Winsly Happy Return Wakefield. Richmond Lambert, the Hennetta, Chenton, the Speedwell, Bradford, the Successe That done, the Queen, Princesse Royalle, and Prince of Orange, took leave of the King, and the Duke of York went on board the London, and the Duke of Gloucester, the Surftsure Which done, we weighed anchor, and with a fresh gale and most happy weather we set sail for England All the afternoon the King walked here and there, up and down (quite contrary to what I thought him to have been) very active and stirring Upon the quarter-deck he fell into discourse of his escape from Worcester, where it made me ready to weep to hear the stories that he told of his difficulties that he had passed through, as his travelling four days and three nights on foot, every step up to his knees in dirt, with nothing but a green coat and a pair of country breeches on, and a pair of country shoes that made him so sore all over his feet, that he could scarce stir Yet he was forced to run away from a miller and other company, that took them for rogues His sitting at table at one place, where the master of the house, that had not seen him in eight years, did know him, but kept it private, when at the same table there was one that had been of his own regiment at Worcester, could not know him, but made him drink the King’s health, and said that the King was at least four fingers higher than he At another place he was by some servants of the house made to drink, that they might know that he was not a Roundhead, which they swore he was In another place at his inn, the master of the house as the King was standing with his hands upon the back of a chair by the fire-side, kneeled down and kissed his hand, privately, saying, that he would not ask him who he was, but bid God bless him whither he was going Then the difficulties in getting a boat to get into France, where he was fain to plot with the master thereof to keep his design from the foreman and a boy (which was all the ship’s company), and so get to Fecamp in France At Rouen he looked so poorly, that the people went into the rooms before he went away to see whether he had not stole something or other In the evening I went up to my Lord to write letters for England, which we sent away with word of our coming, by Mr Edw Pickering. The King supped alone in the coach, after that I got a dish and we four supped in my cabbin, as at noon About bed-time my Lord Bartlett⁹⁹ (who I had offered my service to before) sent for me to get him a bed, who with much ado I did get to bed to my Lord Middlesex¹⁰⁰ in the great cabbin below, but I was cruelly troubled before I could dispose of him, and quit myself of him. So to my cabbin again, where the company still was, and were talking more of the King’s difficulties, as how he was fain to eat a piece of bread and cheese out of a poor body’s pocket, how, at a Catholique house, he was fain to he in the priest’s hole a good while in the house for his privacy After that our company broke up We have all the Lords Commissioners on board us, and many others Under sail all night, and most glorious weather.

24th Up, and made myself as fine as I could, with the linning stockings on and wide canons that I bought the other day at Hague Extraordinary press of noble company, and great mirth all the day There dined with me in my cabbin (that is, the carpenter’s) Dr Earle¹⁰¹ and Mr Hollis, the King’s Chaplins, Dr Scarborough,¹⁰² Dr Quarterman,¹⁰³ and Dr Clerke, Physicians, Mr Daray, and Mr Fox,¹⁰⁴ (both very fine gentlemen) the King’s servants, where we had brave discourse Walking upon the decks, were persons of honour all the afternoon, among others, Thomas Killigrew,¹⁰⁵ (a merry droll, but a gentleman of great esteem with the King,) who told us many merry stones At supper the three Drs of Physique again at my cabbin, where I put Dr Scarborough in mind of what I heard him say, that children do, in every day s experience, look several ways with both their eyes, till custom teaches them otherwise And that we do now see but with one eye, our eyes looking in parallel lynes After this discourse I was called to write a pass for my Lord