before the Duke of York; which signified little, our business being only complaints of lack of money. Here I saw a bastard of the late King of Sweden's come to kiss his hands; a mighty modish, French-like gentleman. Thence to White Hall, with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen, to Wilkes's: and there did hear many stories of Sir Henry Wood,' about Lord Norwich drawing a tooth at a health. Another time, he, and Pinchbacke, and Dr. Goffe,2 now a religious man, Pinchbacke did begin a frolick to drink out of a glass with a toad in it : he did it without harm. Goffe, who knew sacke would kill the toad, called for sack; and, when he saw it dead, says he, "I will have a quick toad, and will not drink from a dead toad." By that means, no other being to be found, he escaped the health. To Deptford, and got all my pictures put into wherries, and my fine things, and landed them all very well, and brought them home, and got Symson to set them all up to-night. I and the boy to finish and set up my books and everything else in my house till two in the morning, and then to bed; but mightily troubled, even in my sleep, by missing four or five of my biggest books, Speed's Chronicle and Maps, and the two parts of Waggoner,3 and a book of cards. Two little pictures of sea and ships, and a little gilt frame belonging to my plate of the River, I want; but my books do heartily trouble me. Most of my gilt frames are hurt. This day I put on two shirts, other 1 Clerk of the Spicery to Charles I.; and, after the Restoration, Clerk to the Board of Green Cloth. 2 Dr. Stephen Goffe, Clerk of the Queen's Closet, and her Assistant Confessor. 3 Apparently Waghenaer's Speculum Nauticum. the first time this year, and do grow well that my disease is nothing but wind. upon it; so 20th. The fleet is come into the Downes. Nothing done, nor French fleet seen: we drove all from our anchors. But Sir G. Carteret says news is come that De Ruyter is dead, or very near it, of a hurt in his mouth, upon the discharge of one of his own guns; which put him into a fever, and he likely to die, if not already dead. In the afternoon, out by coach, my wife with me through all the ruins, to show her them, which frets her much, and it is a sad sight, indeed. To the office, to even my journal, and then home. 21st. W. Hewer tells me that Sir W. Pen hath a hamper more than his own, which he took for a hamper of bottles of wine, but they were carried into a winecellar. I sent for Harry, and he brought me, by and by, my hamper, to my great joy, with the same books I missed, and three more great ones, and I did give him 58. for his pains. The Parliament meet to-day, and the King to be with them. At the office, about our accounts, which now draw near the time they should be ready, the House having ordered Sir G. Carteret, upon his ordering them, to bring them in on Saturday next. Home, and there, with great pleasure, very late new setting all my books; and now I am in as good condition as I desire to be in all worldly respects. The Lord of Heaven make me thankful, and continue me therein! 22nd. My house is so clean as I never saw it, or any other house, in my life, and every thing in as good condition as ever before the fire; but with about £20 cost, one way or other, besides about £20 charge, in removing my goods, and do not find that I have lost anything but two little pictures of ships and sea, and a little gold frame for one of my sea-cards. My glazier, indeed, is so full of work, that I cannot get him to come to perfect my house. In the afternoon I paid for the two lighters that carried my goods to Deptford, and they cost me £8. 23d. Mr. Wayth and I by water to White Hall, and there at Sir G. Carteret's lodgings Sir W. Coventry met, and we did debate the whole business of our accounts to the Parliament; where it appears to us that the charge of the war from September 1st, 1664, to this Michaelmas, will have been but £3,200,000; and we have paid, in that time, somewhat about £2,200,000; so that we owe above £900,000: but our method of accounting, though it cannot, I believe, be far wide from the mark, yet will not abide a strict examination if the Parliament should be troublesome. Here happened a pretty question of Sir W. Coventry, whether this account of ours will not put my Lord Treasurer to a difficulty to tell what is become of all the money the Parliament have given in this time for the war, which hath amounted to about £4,000,000, which nobody there could answer; but I perceive they did doubt what his answer could be. My wife and I for pleasure to Fox-hall, and there eat and drank, and so back home. 24th. Up, and down to look for Sir W. Coventry; and at last found him and Sir G. Carteret with the Lord Treasurer at White Hall, consulting how to make up my Lord Treasurer's general account, as well as that of the Navy particularly. Found that Sir G. Carteret had altered his account since he did give me the abstract of it: so all my letter must be writ over again. So to Sir G. Carteret, to speak a little about the alteration; and there, looking over the book Sir G. Carteret intends to deliver to the Parliament of his payments since September 1st, 1664, I find my name the very second for flags, which I had bought for the Navy, of calico, once, about 500 and odd pounds, which vexed me mightily. At last, I concluded of scraping out my name, and putting in Mr. Tooker's, which eased me; though the price was such as I should have had glory by. Here I saw my Lady Carteret lately come to town, who, good lady! is mighty kind, and I must make much of her. 25th. With all my people to get the letter writ over about the Navy's accounts; and by coach to my Lord Brouncker's, and got his hand to it; and then to the Parliament House, and got it signed by the rest, and then delivered it at the House-door to Sir Philip Warwick; Sir G. Carteret being gone into the House with his book of accounts under his arme, to present to the House. With Ned Pickering, who continues still a lying, bragging coxcomb, telling me that my Lord Sandwich may thank himself for all his misfortune; for not suffering him and two or three good honest fellows more to take them by the throats that spoke ill of him, and told me how basely Lionell Walden hath carried himself towards my Lord, by speaking slightly of him, which I shall remember. All night still mightily troubled in my sleep, with fire and houses pulling down. 26th. By coach home, calling at Bennet's, our late mercer, who is come into Covent Garden to a fine house, looking down upon the Exchange; and I ceive many Londoners every day come; and Mr. per Pierce hath let his wife's closet, and the little blind bedchamber, and a garret, to a silk-man for £50 fine, and £30 per annum, and £40 per annum more for dieting the master and two prentices. By Mr. Dugdale1 I hear the great loss of books in St. Paul's Churchyard, and at their Hall also, which they value at about £150,000; some booksellers being wholly undone, and among others, they say, my poor Kirton. And Mr. Crumlum, all his books and household stuff burned: they trusting to St. Fayth's, and, the roof of the church falling, broke the arch down into the lower church, and so all the goods burned. A very great loss. His father hath lost above £1000 in books; one book newly printed, a Discourse, it seems, of Courts. I had the hap to see my Lady Denham: and at night went into the dining-room, and saw several fine ladies; among others, Castlemaine, but chiefly Denham again: and the Duke of York, taking her aside and talking to her in the sight of all the world, all alone; which was strange, and what I also did not like. Here I met with good Mr. Evelyn, who cries out against it, and calls it bickering: for the Duke of York talks a little to her, and then she goes away, and then he follows her again like a dog. He observes that none of the nobility come out of the country at all, to help the King, or comfort him, or prevent commotions at this fire, but do as if the King were nobody: nor ne'er a priest comes Here 1 John Dugdale, chief gentleman of the chamber to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and afterwards Windsor Herald. He died in 1700. 2 William Dugdale, then Norroy Herald, knighted in 1676-7, and made Garter King-at-Arms. The work alluded to was the Origines Juridiciales. |