being put off to consider, till Friday next, which was this day.  Secretary Morrice did this day in the House, when they talked of intelligence, say that he was allowed but L70 a-year for intelligence,—­[Secret service money]—­whereas, in Cromwell’s time, he [Cromwell] did allow L70,000 a-year for it; and was confirmed therein by Colonel Birch, who said that thereby Cromwell carried the secrets of all the princes of Europe at his girdle.  The House is in a most broken condition; nobody adhering to any thing, but reviling and finding fault:  and now quite mad at the Undertakers, as they are commonly called, Littleton, Lord Vaughan, Sir R. Howard, and others that are brought over to the Court, and did undertake to get the King money; but they despise, and would not hear them in the House; and the Court do do as much, seeing that they cannot be useful to them, as was expected.  In short, it is plain that the King will never be able to do any thing with this Parliament; and that the only likely way to do better, for it cannot do worse, is to break this and call another Parliament; and some do think that it is intended.  I was told to-night that my Lady Castlemayne is so great a gamester as to have won L5000 in one night, and lost L25,000 in another night, at play, and hath played L1000 and L1500 at a cast.  Thence to the Temple, where at Porter’s chamber I met Captain Cocke, but lost our labour, our Counsellor not being within, Pemberton, and therefore home and late at my office, and so home to supper and to bed.

15th.  Up betimes, and with Captain Cocke my coach to the Temple to his Counsel again about the prize goods in order to the drawing up of his answer to them, where little done but a confirmation that our best interest is for him to tell the whole truth, and so parted, and I home to the office, where all the morning, and at noon home to dinner, and after dinner all the afternoon and evening till midnight almost, and till I had tired my own backe, and my wife’s, and Deb.’s, in titleing of my books for the present year, and in setting them in order, which is now done to my very good satisfaction, though not altogether so completely as I think they were the last year, when my mind was more at leisure to mind it.  So about midnight to bed, where my wife taking some physic overnight it wrought with her, and those coming upon her with great gripes, she was in mighty pain all night long, yet, God forgive me!  I did find that I was most desirous to take my rest than to ease her, but there was nothing I could do to do her any good with.

16th (Lord’s day).  Up, and to my chamber, where all the morning making a catalogue of my books, which did find me work, but with great pleasure, my chamber and books being now set in very good order, and my chamber washed and cleaned, which it had not been in some months before, my business and trouble having been so much.  At noon Mr. Holliard put in, and dined with my wife and me, who was a little