where, and to punish it: and prays me to prepare to save myself, and gives me hints what to prepare against; which I am obliged to him for, and do begin to mistrust lest some unhappy slip or other after all my diligence and pains may not be found that may prove as fatal to a man as the constant course of negligence and unfaithfulness of other men. Home, where I find my wife and the two Mercers and Willett and W. Batelier have been dancing. I had a little pleasure in talking with these, but my head and heart full of thoughts between hope and fear and doubts what would become of us and me particularly against a furious Parliament. This day I did get a list of the fourteen particular miscarriages which are already before the Committee to be examined ; wherein, besides two or three that will concern this Office much, there are those of the prizes, and that of Bergen, and not following the Dutch ships, against my Lord Sandwich; that, I fear, will ruin him, unless he hath very good luck, or they may be in better temper before he can come to be charged: but my heart is full of fear for him and his family. I hear that they do prosecute the business against my Lord Chief Justice Keeling with great severity.

22nd. Slept but ill all the last part of the night, for fear of this day's success in Parliament: therefore up, and all of us all the morning close, till almost two o'clock, collecting all we had to say and had done from the beginning, touching the safety of the River Medway and Chatham. And, having done this, and put it into order, we away, I not having time to eat my dinner; and so all in my Lord Brouncker's coach, that is to say, Brouncker, W. Pen, T. Harvy, and myself, talking of the other great matter with which they charge us, that is, of discharging men by ticket, in order to our defence in case that should be asked. We came to the Par

liament-door, and there, after a little waiting till the Committee was sat, we were, the House being very full, called in: Sir W. Pen went in and sat as a Member; and my Lord Brouncker would not at first go in, expecting to have a chair set for him, and his brother had bid him not go in, till he was called for; but, after a few words, I had occasion to mention him, and so he was called in, but without any more. chair or respect paid him than myself: and so Brouncker, and T. Harvy, and I, were there to answer and I had a chair brought me to lean my books upon and so did give them such an account, in a series of the whole business that had passed the Office touching the matter, and so answered all questions given me about it, that I did not perceive but they were fully satisfied with me and the business as to our Office and then Commissioner Pett (who was by at all my discourse, and this held till within an hour after candle-light, for I had candles brought in to read my papers by) was to answer for himself, we having lodged all matters with him for execution. But, Lord! what a tumultuous thing this Committee is, for all the reputation they have of a great council, is a strange consideration; there being as impertinent questions, and as disorderly proposed, as any man could make. But Commissioner Pett, of all men living, did make the weakest defence for himself: nothing to the purpose, nor to satisfaction, nor certain; but sometimes one thing and sometimes another, sometimes for himself and sometimes against him; and his greatest failure was, that I observed, from his [not] considering whether the question propounded was his part to answer or no, and the thing to be done was his work to do: the want of which distinction will overthrow him; for he concerns himself in giving an account of the disposal of the boats,' 1 See ante, 13th June, 1667.

which he had no reason at all to do, or take any blame upon him for them. He charged the not carrying up of "The Charles" upon the Tuesday, to the Duke of Albemarle; but I see the House is mighty favourable to the Duke of Albemarle, and would give little weight to it. And something of want of armes he spoke, which Sir J. Duncomb answered with great imperiousness and earnestness; but, for all that, I do see the House is resolved to be better satisfied in the business of the unreadiness of Shereness, and want of armes and ammunition there and every where and all their officers' were here to-day attending, but only one called in, about armes for boats, to answer Commissioner Pett. None of my brethren said anything but myself: only two or three silly words my Lord Brouncker gave, in answer to one question about the number of men there were in the King's Yard at the time. At last, the House dismissed us, and shortly after did adjourn the debate till Friday next: and my cozen Pepys did come out and joy me in my acquitting myself so well, and so did several others, and my fellow-officers all very brisk to see themselves so well acquitted; which makes me a little proud, but not yet secure but we may yet meet with a back-blow which we see

not.

23rd. To White Hall, there to attend the Duke of York; but came a little too late, and so missed it: only spoke with him, and heard him correct my Lord Barkeley, who fell foul on Sir Edward Spragg, who, it seems, said yesterday to the House, that if the Officers of the Ordnance had done as much work at Shereness in ten weeks as The Prince [Rupert] did in ten days, he could have defended the place against the Dutch: but the Duke of York told him

1 Of the Ordnance.

that every body must have liberty, at this time, to make their own defence, though it be to the charging of the fault upon any other, so it be true; so I perceive the whole world is at work in blaming one another. Thence Sir W. Pen and I back into London; and there saw the King, with his kettle-drums and trumpets, going to the Exchange, to lay the first stone of the first pillar of the new building of the Exchange;1 which, the gates being shut, I could not get in to see: so, with Sir W. Pen, to Captain Cocke's, and then again towards Westminster; but in my way stopped at the Exchange, and got in, the King being newly gone; and there find the bottom of the first pillar laid. And here was a shed set up, and hung with tapestry, and a canopy of state, and some good victuals and wine, for the King, who, it seems, did it; and so a great many people, as Tom Killigrew, and others of the Court, there. I do find Mr. Gauden in his gowne as Sheriffe, and understand that the King hath this morning knighted him upon the place, which I am mightily pleased with; and I think the other Sheriffe, who is Davis, the little fellow, my schoolfellow, the bookseller, who was one of Audley's' Executors, and

1 "Oct. 23, 1667. This day having been appointed for the laying of the foundation of the Royal Exchange in the place where it formerly stood, His Majesty was pleased to be present, and assisting at the solemnity; and accordingly went on horseback, attended by several persons of quality of the Court, to the place, where the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, the Sheriffs, and a Committee of the Mercers' Company, waited to receive him. His Majesty, with the usual ceremonies, placed the first stone, and was afterwards entertained on the place with an excellent treat, where he was pleased to confer the honour of knighthood on the two sheriffs, Mr. Dennis Gauden and Mr. Thomas Davis."-RUGGE'S Diurnal. 2 i.e., laid the stone.

3 Thomas Davies, draper, was son of John Davies, of London, and Lord Mayor in 1677: ob. 1689. There is a monument to his memory in St. Sepulchre's Church, Snow Hill.

4 Audley, the usurer: see November 23rd, 1662, ante.

now become Sheriffe; which is a strange turn, methinks. To Westminster Hall, where I came just as the House rose; and there, in the Hall, met with Sir W. Coventry, who is in pain to defend himself in the business of tickets, it being said that the paying of the ships at Chatham by ticket was by his direction, and he hath wrote to me to find his letters, and shew them him, but I find none; but did there argue the case with him, and I think no great blame can be laid on us for that matter, only I see he is fearfull. And he tells me his mistake in the House the other day, which occasions him much trouble, in shewing of the House the Duke of Albemarle's letter about the good condition of Chatham, which he is sorry for, and owns as a mistake, the thing not being necessary to have been done; and confesses that nobody can escape from such error, some times or other. He says the

House was well satisfied with my Report yesterday; and so several others told me in the Hall that my Report was very good and satisfactory, and that I have got advantage by it in the House: I pray God it may prove so! I did walk a few turns with Commissioner Pett and did give the poor weak man some advice for his advantage how to better his pleading for himself, for I would not have the man suffer what he do not deserve, there being enough of what he do deserve to lie upon him. To the King's playhouse, and saw "The Black Prince :" which is now mightily bettered by that long letter being printed, and so delivered to every body at their going in, and some short reference made to it in the play; but, when all is done, I think it the worst play of my Lord Orrery's. But here, to my great satisfaction, I did see my Lord Hinchingbroke and his mistress,' with her father and mother; and I am mightily pleased with the young

See April 29th, 1667, ante.