Temple Bar, we found a pullet ready roasted, and there
we dined. After that he went to his office in
Chancery Lane, calling at the Rolls, where I saw the
lawyers pleading. Then to his office, where
I sat in his study singing, while he was with his man
(Mr. Powell’s son) looking after his business.
Thence we took coach for the City to Guildhall, where
the Hall was full of people expecting Monk and Lord
Mayor to come thither, and all very joyfull.
Here we stayed a great while, and at last meeting
with a friend of his we went to the 3 Tun tavern and
drank half a pint of wine, and not liking the wine
we went to an alehouse, where we met with company
of this third man’s acquaintance, and there
we drank a little. Hence I went alone to Guildhall
to see whether Monk was come again or no, and met
with him coming out of the chamber where he had been
with the Mayor and Aldermen, but such a shout I never
heard in all my life, crying out, “God bless
your Excellence.” Here I met with Mr. Lock,
and took him to an alehouse, and left him there to
fetch Chetwind; when we were come together, Lock told
us the substance of the letter that went from Monk
to the Parliament; wherein, after complaints that
he and his officers were put upon such offices against
the City as they could not do with any content or
honour, that there are many members now in the House
that were of the late tyrannical Committee of Safety.
That Lambert and Vane are now in town, contrary to
the vote of Parliament. That there were many
in the House that do press for new oaths to be put
upon men; whereas we have more cause to be sorry for
the many oaths that we have already taken and broken.
That the late petition of the fanatique people presented
by Barebone, for the imposing of an oath upon all
sorts of people, was received by the House with thanks.
That therefore he [Monk] do desire that all writs
for filling up of the House be issued by Friday next,
and that in the mean time, he would retire into the
City and only leave them guards for the security of
the House and Council. The occasion of this
was the order that he had last night to go into the
City and disarm them, and take away their charter;
whereby he and his officers say that the House had
a mind to put them upon things that should make them
odious; and so it would be in their power to do what
they would with them. He told us that they [the
Parliament] had sent Scott and Robinson to him [Monk]
this afternoon, but he would not hear them. And
that the Mayor and Aldermen had offered him their own
houses for himself and his officers; and that his
soldiers would lack for nothing. And indeed
I saw many people give the soldiers drink and money,
and all along in the streets cried, “God bless
them!” and extraordinary good words. Hence
we went to a merchant’s house hard by, where
Lock wrote a note and left, where I saw Sir Nich.
Crisp, and so we went to the Star Tavern (Monk being
then at Benson’s), where we dined and I wrote