a friend of his.  W. Joyce will go with me to Brampton.  After dinner I out to Mr. Bridges, the linnen draper, and evened with (him) for 100 pieces of callico, and did give him L208 18s., which I now trust the King for, but hope both to save the King money and to get a little by it to boot.  Thence by water up and down all the timber yards to look out some Dram timber, but can find none for our turne at the price I would have; and so I home, and there at my office late doing business against my journey to clear my hands of every thing for two days.  So home and to supper and bed.

13th.  After being at the office all the morning, I home and dined, and taking leave of my wife with my mind not a little troubled how she would look after herself or house in my absence, especially, too, leaving a considerable sum of money in the office, I by coach to the Red Lyon in Aldersgate Street, and there, by agreement, met W. Joyce and Tom Trice, and mounted, I upon a very fine mare that Sir W. Warren helps me to, and so very merrily rode till it was very darke, I leading the way through the darke to Welling, and there, not being very weary, to supper and to bed.  But very bad accommodation at the Swan.  In this day’s journey I met with Mr. White, Cromwell’s chaplin that was, and had a great deale of discourse with him.  Among others, he tells me that Richard is, and hath long been, in France, and is now going into Italy.  He owns publiquely that he do correspond, and return him all his money.  That Richard hath been in some straits at the beginning; but relieved by his friends.  That he goes by another name, but do not disguise himself, nor deny himself to any man that challenges him.  He tells me, for certain, that offers had been made to the old man, of marriage between the King and his daughter, to have obliged him, but he would not.

[The Protector wished the Duke of Buckingham to marry his daughter Frances.  She married, 1.  Robert Rich, grandson and heir to Robert, Earl of Warwick, on November 11th, 1657, who died in the following February; 2.  Sir John Russell, Bart.  She died January 27th, 1721-22, aged eighty-four.  In T. Morrice’s life of Roger, Earl of Orrery, prefixed to Orrery’s “State Letters” (Dublin, 1743, vol. i., p. 40), there is a circumstantial account of an interview between Orrery (then Lord Broghill) and Cromwell, in which the former suggested to the latter that Charles ii. should marry Frances Cromwell.  Cromwell gave great attention to the reasons urged, “but walking two or three turns, and pondering with himself, he told Lord Broghill the king would never forgive him the death of his father.  His lordship desired him to employ somebody to sound the king in this matter, to see how he would take it, and offered himself to mediate in it for him.  But Cromwell would not consent, but again repeated, ’The king cannot and will not forgive the death of his father;’ and so he left his lordship, who durst not tell him