Diary, March 1667/68 | Page 5

if they had a mind to it.
At noon home to dinner, where was Mercer, and very merry as I could
be with my mind so full of business, and so with my wife, her and the
girl, to the King's house to see the "Virgin Martyr" again, which do
mightily please me, but above all the musique at the coming down of
the angel, which at this hearing the second time, do still commend me
as nothing ever did, and the other musique is nothing to it. Thence with
my wife to the 'Change, and so, calling at the Cocke ale house, we
home, and there I settle to business, and with my people preparing my
great answer to the Parliament for the office about tickets till past 1 a
o'clock at night, and then home to supper and to bed, keeping Mr.
Gibson all night with me. This day I have the news that my sister was
married on Thursday last to Mr. Jackson; so that work is, I hope, well
over.

3rd. Up betimes to work again, and then met at the Office, where to our
great business of this answer to the Parliament; where to my great
vexation I find my Lord Brouncker prepared only to excuse himself,
while I, that have least reason to trouble myself, am preparing with

great pains to defend them all: and more, I perceive, he would lodge the
beginning of discharging ships by ticket upon me; but I care not, for I
believe I shall get more honour by it when the Parliament, against my
will, shall see how the whole business of the Office was done by me.
At noon rose and to dinner. My wife abroad with Mercer and Deb.
buying of things, but I with my clerks home to dinner, and thence
presently down with Lord Brouncker, W. Pen, T. Harvy, T. Middleton,
and Mr. Tippets, who first took his place this day at the table, as a
Commissioner, in the room of Commissioner Pett. Down by water to
Deptford, where the King, Queene, and Court are to see launched the
new ship built by Mr. Shish, called "The Charles." 2 God send her
better luck than the former! Here some of our brethren, who went in a
boat a little before my boat, did by appointment take opportunity of
asking the King's leave that we might make full use of the want of
money, in our excuse to the Parliament for the business of tickets, and
other things they will lay to our charge, all which arose from nothing
else: and this the King did readily agree to, and did give us leave to
make our full use of it. The ship being well launched, I back again by
boat, setting [Sir] T. Middleton and Mr. Tippets on shore at Ratcliffe, I
home and there to my chamber with Mr. Gibson, and late up till
midnight preparing more things against our defence on Thursday next
to my content, though vexed that all this trouble should be on me. So to
supper and to bed.

4th. Up betimes and with Sir W. Pen in his coach to White Hall, there
to wait upon the Duke of York and the Commissioners of the Treasury,
[Sir] W. Coventry and Sir John Duncombe, who do declare that they
cannot find the money we demand, and we that less than what we
demand will not set out the fleet intended, and so broke up, with no
other conclusion than that they would let us have what they could get
and we would improve that as well as we could. So God bless us, and
prepare us against the consequences of these matters. Thence, it being a
cold wet day, I home with Sir J. Minnes in his coach, and called by the
way at my bookseller's and took home with me Kercher's
Musurgia--very well bound, but I had no comfort to look upon them,
but as soon as I come home fell to my work at the office, shutting the
doors, that we, I and my clerks, might not be interrupted, and so, only

with room for a little dinner, we very busy all the day till night that the
officers met for me to give them the heads of what I intended to say,
which I did with great discontent to see them all rely on me that have
no reason at all to trouble myself about it, nor have any thanks from
them for my labour, but contrarily Brouncker looked mighty dogged, as
thinking that I did not intend to do it so as to save him. This troubled
me so much as, together with the shortness of the time and muchness of
the business, did let me be