place, I hear the Duke of Cambridge is dead; a which is a great loss to the nation, having, I think, never an heyre male now of the King’s or Duke’s to succeed to the Crown.  He tells me that they do begin already to damn the Dutch, and call them cowards at White Hall, and think of them and their business no better than they used to do; which is very sad.  The King did tell him himself, which is so, I was told, here in the City, that the City, hath lent him L10,000, to be laid out towards securing of the River of Thames; which, methinks, is a very poor thing, that we should be induced to borrow by such mean sums.  He tells me that it is most manifest that one great thing making it impossible for us to have set out a fleete this year, if we could have done it for money or stores, was the liberty given the beginning of the year for the setting out of merchant-men, which did take up, as is said, above ten, if not fifteen thousand seamen:  and this the other day Captain Cocke tells me appears in the council-books, that is the number of seamen required to man the merchant ships that had passes to go abroad.  By and by, my wife being here, they sat down and eat a bit of their nasty victuals, and so parted and we to bed.

23rd (Lord’s day).  Up to my chamber, and there all the morning reading in my Lord Coke’s Pleas of the Crowne, very fine noble reading.  After church time comes my wife and Sir W. Pen his lady and daughter; and Mrs. Markham and Captain Harrison (who come to dine with them), by invitation end dined with me, they as good as inviting themselves.  I confess I hate their company and tricks, and so had no great pleasure in [it], but a good dinner lost.  After dinner they all to church, and I by water alone to Woolwich, and there called on Mr. Bodham:  and he and I to see the batterys newly raised; which, indeed, are good works to command the River below the ships that are sunk, but not above them.  Here I met with Captain Cocke and Matt.  Wren, Fenn, and Charles Porter, and Temple and his wife.  Here I fell in with these, and to Bodham’s with them, and there we sat and laughed and drank in his arbour, Wren making much and kissing all the day of Temple’s wife.  It is a sad sight to see so many good ships there sunk in the River, while we would be thought to be masters of the sea.  Cocke says the bankers cannot, till peace returns, ever hope to have credit again; so that they can pay no more money, but people must be contented to take publick security such as they can give them; and if so, and they do live to receive the money thereupon, the bankers will be happy men.  Fenn read me an order of council passed the 17th instant, directing all the Treasurers of any part of the King’s revenue to make no payments but such as shall be approved by the present Lords Commissioners; which will, I think, spoil the credit of all his Majesty’s service, when people cannot depend upon payment any where.  But the King’s declaration in behalf of the bankers, to make good their assignments for money, is very good, and will, I hope, secure me.  Cocke says, that he hears it is come to it now, that the King will try what he can soon do for a peace; and if he cannot, that then he will cast all upon the Parliament to do as they see fit:  and in doing so, perhaps, he may save us all.  The King of France, it is believed, is engaged for this year;