Diary, October 1666 | Page 8

that by bringing over one discontented man, you raise up
three in his room; which is a State lesson I never knew before. But
when others discover your fear, and that discontent procures favour,
they will be discontented too, and impose on you. Thence to White Hall
and got a coach and home, and there did business late, and so home and
set up my little books of one of my presses come home gilt, which
pleases me mightily, and then to bed. This morning my wife told me of

a fine gentlewoman my Lady Pen tells her of, for L20 per annum, that
sings, dances, plays on four or five instruments and many other fine
things, which pleases me mightily: and she sent to have her see her,
which she did this afternoon; but sings basely, and is a tawdry wench
that would take L8, but [neither] my wife nor I think her fit to come.

7th (Lord's day). Up, and after visiting my father in his chamber, to
church, and then home to dinner. Little Michell and his wife come to
dine with us, which they did, and then presently after dinner I with Sir J.
Minnes to White Hall, where met by Sir W. Batten and Lord Bruncker,
to attend the King and Duke of York at the Cabinet; but nobody had
determined what to speak of, but only in general to ask for money. So I
was forced immediately to prepare in my mind a method of discoursing.
And anon we were called in to the Green Room, where the King, Duke
of York, Prince Rupert, Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer, Duke of
Albemarle, [Sirs] G. Carteret, W. Coventry, Morrice. Nobody
beginning, I did, and made a current, and I thought a good speech,
laying open the ill state of the Navy: by the greatness of the debt;
greatness of work to do against next yeare; the time and materials it
would take; and our incapacity, through a total want of money. I had no
sooner done, but Prince Rupert rose up and told the King in a heat, that
whatever the gentleman had said, he had brought home his fleete in as
good a condition as ever any fleete was brought home; that twenty
boats would be as many as the fleete would want: and all the anchors
and cables left in the storm might be taken up again. This arose from
my saying, among other things we had to do, that the fleete was come
in--the greatest fleete that ever his Majesty had yet together, and that in
as bad condition as the enemy or weather could put it; and to use Sir W.
Pen's words, who is upon the place taking a survey, he dreads the
reports he is to receive from the Surveyors of its defects. I therefore did
only answer, that I was sorry for his Highness's offence, but that what I
said was but the report we received from those entrusted in the fleete to
inform us. He muttered and repeated what he had said; and so, after a
long silence on all hands, nobody, not so much as the Duke of
Albemarle, seconding the Prince, nor taking notice of what he said, we
withdrew. I was not a little troubled at this passage, and the more when
speaking with Jacke Fenn about it, he told me that the Prince will be

asking now who this Pepys is, and find him to be a creature of my Lord
Sandwich's, and therefore this was done only to disparage him. Anon
they broke, up, and Sir W. Coventry come out; so I asked his advice.
He told me he had said something to salve it, which was, that his
Highnesse had, he believed, rightly informed the King that the fleete is
come in good condition to have staid out yet longer, and have fought
the enemy, but yet that Mr. Pepys his meaning might be, that, though in
so good condition, if they should come in and lie all the winter, we
shall be very loth to send them to sea for another year's service with[out]
great repairs. He said it would be no hurt if I went to him, and showed
him the report himself brought up from the fleete, where every ship, by
the Commander's report, do need more or less, and not to mention more
of Sir W. Pen for doing him a mischief. So I said I would, but do not
think that all this will redound to my hurt, because the truth of what I
said will soon appear. Thence, having been informed that, after all this
pains, the King hath found out how to supply us with 5 or L6000, when
L100,000 were at this time but absolutely