set at liberty, without any further charge against him or other clearing of him, but let to go out; which is one of the strangest instances of the fool’s play with which all publick things are done in this age, that is to be apprehended.  And it is said that when he was charged with making himself popular—­as indeed he is, for many of the discontented Parliament, Sir Robert Howard and Sir Thomas Meres, and others, did attend at the Council-chamber when he was examined—­he should answer, that whoever was committed to prison by my Lord Chancellor or my Lord Arlington, could not want being popular.  But it is worth considering the ill state a Minister of State is in, under such a Prince as ours is; for, undoubtedly, neither of those two great men would have been so fierce against the Duke of Buckingham at the Council-table the other day, had they [not] been assured of the King’s good liking, and supporting them therein:  whereas, perhaps at the desire of my Lady Castlemayne, who, I suppose, hath at last overcome the King, the Duke of Buckingham is well received again, and now these men delivered up to the interest he can make for his revenge.  He told me over the story of Mrs. Stewart, much after the manner which I was told it long since, and have entered it in this book, told me by Mr. Evelyn; only he says it is verily believed that the King did never intend to marry her to any but himself, and that the Duke of York and Lord Chancellor were jealous of it; and that Mrs. Stewart might be got with child by the King, or somebody else, and the King own a marriage before his contract, for it is but a contract, as he tells me, to this day, with the Queene, and so wipe their noses of the Crown; and that, therefore, the Duke of York and Chancellor did do all they could to forward the match with my Lord Duke of Richmond, that she might be married out of the way; but, above all, it is a worthy part that this good lady hath acted.  Thus we talked till night and then parted, and so I to my office and did business, and so home to supper, and there find my sister Michell

     [The wife of Balthazar St. Michel, Mrs. Pepys’s brother.—­B.  Leigh,
     opposite to Sheerness.—­R.]

come from Lee to see us; but do tattle so much of the late business of the Dutch coming thither that I was weary of it.  Yet it is worth remembering what she says:  that she hath heard both seamen and soldiers swear they would rather serve the Dutch than the King, for they should be better used.

[Reference has already been made to Andrew Marvell’s “Instructions to a Painter”, in which the unpaid English sailors are described as swimming to the Dutch ships, where they received the money which was withheld from them on their own ships.]

She saw “The Royal Charles” brought into the river by them; and how they shot off their great guns for joy, when they got her out of Chatham River.  I would not forget that this very day when we had nothing to do almost but five merchantmen to man in the River, which have now been about it some weeks, I was asked at Westminster, what the matter was that there was such ado kept in pressing of men, as it seems there is thereabouts at this day.  So after supper we all to bed, my foot very well again, I thank God.