the Duke of Buckingham did soundly beat and take away his sword, and make a fool of, till the fellow prayed him to spare his life; and I am glad of it; for it seems in this business the Duke of Buckingham did carry himself very innocently and well, and I wish he had paid this fellow’s coat well.  I heard something of this at the ’Change to-day:  and it is pretty to hear how people do speak kindly of the Duke of Buckingham, as one that will enquire into faults; and therefore they do mightily favour him.  And it puts me in mind that, this afternoon, Billing, the Quaker, meeting me in the Hall, come to me, and after a little discourse did say, “Well,” says he, “now you will be all called to an account;” meaning the Parliament is drawing near.  This done I took coach and took up my wife, and so home, and after a little at the office I home to my chamber a while, and then to supper and to bed.

23rd:  Up betimes and to the office, doing something towards our great account to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and anon the office sat, and all the morning doing business.  At noon home to dinner, and then close to my business all the afternoon.  In the evening Sir R. Ford is come back from the Prince and tells Sir W. Batten and me how basely Sir W. Pen received our letter we sent him about the prizes at Hull, and slily answered him about the Prince’s leaving all his concerns to him, but the Prince did it afterward by letter brought by Sir R. Ford to us, which Sir W. Pen knows not of, but a very rogue he is.  By and by comes sudden news to me by letter from the Clerke of the Cheque at Gravesend, that there were thirty sail of Dutch men-of-war coming up into the Hope this last tide:  which I told Sir W. Pen of; but he would not believe it, but laughed, and said it was a fleete of Billanders,

["Bilander.  A small merchant vessel with two masts, particularly distinguished from other vessels with two masts by the form of her mainsail, which is bent to the whole length of her yard, hanging fore and aft, and inclined to the horizon at an angle of about 45 deg.  Few vessels are now rigged in this manner, and the name is rather indiscriminately used.”—­Smyth’s Sailor’s Word-Book.]

and that the guns that were heard was the salutation of the Swede’s Ambassador that comes over with them.  But within half an hour comes another letter from Captain Proud, that eight of them were come into the Hope, and thirty more following them, at ten this morning.  By and by comes an order from White Hall to send down one of our number to Chatham, fearing that, as they did before, they may make a show first up hither, but then go to Chatham:  so my Lord Bruncker do go, and we here are ordered to give notice to the merchant men-of-war, gone below the barricado at Woolwich, to come up again.  So with much trouble to supper, home and to bed.