to be, or is fit for the command of the place And here, speaking of the Duke of York and Sir Charles Barkeley, my Lord tells me that he do very much admire the good management and discretion and nobleness of the Duke, that however he may be led by him or Mr Coventry singly in private, yet he did not observe that in public matters but he did give as ready hearing, and as good acceptance to any reasons offered by any other man against the opinions of them, as he did to them, and would concur in the prosecution of it Then we come to discourse upon his own sea-accompts, and come to a resolution how to proceed in them wherein, though I offered him a way of evading the greatest part of his debt honestly, by making himself debtor to the Parliament before the King’s time, which he might justly do, yet he resolved to go openly and nakedly in it, and put himself to the kindness of the King and Duke, which humour, I must confess, and so did tell him (with which he was not a little pleased) had thriven very will with him, being known to be a man of candid and open dealing, without any private tricks or hidden designs as other men commonly have in what they do From that we had discourse of Sir G Carteret, and of many others, and upon the whole I do find that it is a troublesome thing for a man of any condition at Court to carry himself even, and without contracting envy or envyers, and that much discretion and dissimulation is necessary to do it.

May 4th To St James’s, where Mr Coventry, Sir W Pen and I staid for the Duke’s coming in, but not coming, we walked to White Hall, and meeting the King, we followed him into the Parke, where Mr Coventry and he talking of building a new yacht out of his private purse, he having some contrivance of his own The talk being done, we fell off to White Hall, leaving the King in the Park, and going back, met the Duke going towards St James’s to meet us So he turned back again, and to his closet at White Hall, and there, my Lord Sandwich present, we did our weekly errand, and so broke up, and I to the garden with my Lord Sandwich, (after we had sat an hour at the Tangier Committee,) and after talking largely of his own businesses, we began to talk how matters are at Court and though he did not flatly tell me any such thing, yet I do suspect that all is not kind between the King and the Duke, and that the King’s fondness to the little Duke do occasion it and it may be that there is some fear of his being made heire to the Crown But this my Lord did not tell me, but is my guess only, and that my Lord Chancellor is without doubt falling past hopes.

5th With Sir J Minnes, he telling many old stories of the Navy, and of the state of the Navy at the beginning of the late troubles, and I am troubled at my heart to think, and shall hereafter cease to wonder, at the bad success of the King’s cause, when such a knave as he (if it be true what he says) had the whole management of the fleet, and the design of putting out of my Lord Warwicke,³⁰ and carrying the fleet to the King, wherein he failed most fatally to the King’s ruine.

6th To the Exchange with Creed, where we met Sir J Minnes, who tells us, in great heat, that the Parliament will make mad work, that they will render all men incapable of any military or civil employment that have borne arms in the late troubles against the King, excepting some persons, which, if it be so, as I hope it is not, will give great cause of discontent, and I doubt will have but bad effects.

Sir Thomas Crewe this day tells me that the Queene, hearing that there was £40,000 per annum brought into her account among the other expences of the Crown before the Committee of Parliament, she took order to let them know that she hath yet for the payment of her whole family received but £4000, which is a notable act of spirit, and I believe is true.

7th To my Lord Crewe’s, and there dined with him He tells me of the order the House of Commons have made for the drawing an Act for the rendering none capable of preferment or employment in the State, but who have been loyall and constant to the King and Church, which will be fatal to a great many, and makes me doubt lest I myself, with all my innocence during the late times, should be brought in, being employed in the Exchequer but I hope, God will provide for me.

10th Put on a black cloth suit, with white lynings under all, as the fashion is to wear, to appear under the breeches I walked to St James’s, and was there at masse, and was forced in the croud to kneel down and masse being done, to the King’s Head ordinary, where many Parliament-men, and most of