9th Great talk of the Dutch proclaiming themselves in India, Lords of the Southern Seas, and denying traffick to all ships but their own, upon pain of confiscation which makes our merchants mad Great doubt of two ships of ours, the Greyhound and another, very rich, coming from the Streights, for fear of the Turkes Matters are made up between the Pope and the King of France, so that now all the doubt is, what the French will do with their armies.

10th I did give my wife’s brother 10s and a coat that I had by me, a close-bodied, light-coloured cloth coat, with a gold edgeing in each seam, that was the lace of my wife’s best pettycoat that she had when I married her He is going into Holland to seek his fortune.

15th To White Hall, to the Duke where he first put on a periwigg to-day but methought his hair cut short in order thereto did look very prettily of itself, before he put on his periwigg Great news of the arrivall of two rich ships, the Greyhound and another, which they were mightily afraid of, and great insurance given This afternoon Sir Thomas Chamberlin¹² come to the office to me, and showed me several letters from the East Indys, showing the height that the Dutch are come to there, showing scorn to all the English, even in our only Factory there at Surat, beating several men, and hanging the English standard St George under the Dutch flag in scorn saying, that whatever their masters do or say at home, they will do what they list, and be masters of all the world there, and have so proclaimed themselves Soveraigne of all the South Seas, which certainly our King cannot endure, if the Parliament will give him money But I doubt and yet do hope they will not yet, till we are more ready for it.

17th Mr Pierce tells me of the King’s giving of my Lord FitzHarding two leases which belong indeed to the Queene, worth £20,000 to him, and how people do talk of it.

19th Mr Cutler come, and walked and talked with me a great while, and then to the ’Change together, and it being early, did tell me several excellent examples of men raised upon the ’Change by their great diligence and saving as also his own fortune, and how credit grew upon him, that when he was not really worth £1100 he had credit for £100,000, of Sir W Rider how he rose, and other By and by joyned with us Sir John Bankes,¹³ who told us several passages of the East India Company, and how in every case, when there was due to him and Alderman Mico £64,000 from the Dutch for injury done to them in the East Indys, Oliver presently after the peace, they delaying to pay them the money, sent them word, that if they did not pay them by such a day, he would grant letter of mark to those merchants against them, by which they were so fearful of him, they did presently pay the money every farthing Took my wife, and taking a coach, went to visit my Ladys Jemimah and Paulma Montagu, and Mrs Elizabeth Pickering,¹⁴ whom we found at their father’s new house in Lincolne’s Fields, but the house all in dirt They received us well enough, but I did not endeavour to carry myself over familiarly with them and so after a little stay, there coming in presently after us my Lady Aberguenny¹⁵ and other ladies, we back again by coach.

22nd This evening come Mr Alsopp the King’s brewer, with whom I spent an hour talking and bewailing the posture of things at present, the King led away by half-a-dozen men, that none of his serious servants and friends can come at him These are Lauderdale, Buckingham, Hamilton, FitzHarding, (to whom he hath, it seems, given £12,000 per annum in the best part of the King’s estate), and that the old Duke of Buckingham could never get of the King Projers¹⁶ is another, and Sir H Bennett He loves not the Queene at all, but is rather sullen to her, and she, by all reports, incapable of children He is so fond of the Duke of Monmouth, that every body admires it, and he says that the Duke hath said, that he would be the death of any man that says the King was not married to his mother though Alsopp says, it is well known that she was a common strumpet before the King was acquainted with her But it seems, he says, that the King is mighty kind to these his bastard children, and at this day will go at midnight to my Lady Castlemaine’s nurses, and take the child and dance it in his arms that he is not likely to have his tables up again in his house, for the crew that are about him will not have him come to common view again, but keep him obscurely among themselves He hath this night, it seems, ordered that the Hall (which there is a ball to be in to-night before the King) be guarded, as the Queene-Mother’s is, by his Horse Guards, whereas heretofore they were by the Lord Chamberlain or Steward, and their people But it is feared they will reduce all to the soldiery, and all other places be taken away, and what is worst of all,