things carried so by my Lord Chancellor and some others, that get money themselves, that they will not endure it.

17th. To church; and heard a simple fellow upon the praise of Church musique, and exclaiming against men’s wearing their hats on in the church.

20th. To Westminster Hall by water in the morning, where I saw the King going in his barge to the Parliament House; this being the first day of their meeting again. And the Bishops, I hear, do take their places in the Lords’ House this day. I walked longe in the Hall, but hear nothing of newes, but what Ned Pickering tells me, which I am troubled at, that Sir J. Minnes should send word to the King, that if he did not remove all my Lord Sandwich’s captains out of this fleet, he believed the King would not be master of the fleet at its coming again: and so do endeavour to bring disgrace upon my Lord. But I hope all that will not do, for the King loves him.

21st. At the office all the afternoon; it being the first afternoon that we have sat, which we are now to do always, so long as the Parliament sits, who this day have voted the King £ 120,000⁶² to be raised to pay his debts.

28th. Letters from my Lord Sandwich, from Tangier; where he continues still, and hath done some execution upon the Turks, and retaken an Englishman from them, one Mr Parker, a merchant in Marke-lane.

29th. I lay long in bed, till Sir Williams both sent me word that we were to wait upon the Duke of York today; and that they would have me to meet them at Westminster Hall, at noon: so I rose and went thither, and there I understand that they are gone to Mr Coventry’s lodgings, in the Old Palace Yard, to dinner (the first time that I knew he had any); and there I met them, and Sir G. Carteret, and had a very fine dinner, and good welcome, and discourse: and so, by water, after dinner to White Hall to the Duke, who met us in his closet; and there did discourse upon the business of Holmes, and did desire of us to know what hath been the common practice about making of forrayne ships to strike sail to us, which they did all do as much as they could; but I could say nothing to it, which I was sorry for. After we were gone from the Duke, I told Mr Coventry that I had heard Mr Selden often say, that he could prove that in Henry the 7th’s time, he did give commission to his captains to make the King of Denmark’s ships to strike to him in the Baltique.

30th. This is the last day for the old State’s coyne to pass in common payments, but they say it is to pass in publique payments to the King three months still.

December 1st. There hath lately been great clapping up of some old statesmen, such as Ireton, Moyer,⁶³ and others, and they say, upon a great plot, but I believe no such thing; but it is but justice that they should be served as they served the poor Cavaliers; and I believe it will oftentimes be so as long as they live, whether there be cause or no.

6th. To White Hall, where, at Sir G. Carteret’s, Sir Williams both and I dined very pleasantly; and after dinner, by appointment, came the Governors of the East India Company, to sign and seal the contract between us (in the King’s name) and them. And, that done, we all went to the King’s closet, and there spoke with the King and the Duke of York, who promise to be very careful of the India trade to the utmost.

7th. To the Privy Seale, and sealed there; and, among other things that passed, there was a patent for Roger Palmer (Madam Palmer’s husband) to be Earle of Castlemaine⁶⁴ and Baron of Limbricke in Ireland; but the honor is tied up to the males got of the body of this wife, the Lady Barbary: the reason whereof every body knows. That done, by water to the office, where I found Sir W. Pen, and with him Captn. Holmes, who had wrote his case, and gives me a copy, as he hath many among his friends, and presented the same to the King and Council. Which I have made use of in my attempt of writing something concerning the business of striking sail, which I am now about. But he do cry out against Sir John Minnes, as the veriest knave and rogue and coward in the world.