him:
yet that all the discourse of the towne, and the printed relation,
should not give him one word of honour my Lord thinks mighty strange;
he assuring me, that though by accident the Prince was in the van the
beginning of the fight for the first pass, yet all the rest of the day
my Lord was in the van, and continued so. That notwithstanding all this
noise of the Prince, he had hardly a shot in his side nor a man killed,
whereas he hath above 30 in her hull, and not one mast whole nor yard;
but the most battered ship of the fleet, and lost most men, saving
Captain Smith of "The Mary." That the most the Duke did was almost out
of gun-shot; but that, indeed, the Duke did come up to my Lord's rescue
after he had a great while fought with four of them. How poorly Sir John
Lawson performed, notwithstanding all that was said of him; and how his
ship turned out of the way, while Sir J. Lawson himself was upon the
deck, to the endangering of the whole fleete. It therefore troubles my
Lord that Mr. Coventry should not mention a word of him in his relation.
I did, in answer, offer that I was sure the relation was not compiled
by Mr. Coventry, but by L'Estrange, out of several letters, as I could
witness; and that Mr. Coventry's letter that he did give the Duke of
Albemarle did give him as much right as the Prince, for I myself read
it first and then copied it out, which I promised to show my Lord, with
which he was somewhat satisfied. From that discourse my Lord did begin
to tell me how much he was concerned to dispose of his children, and
would have my advice and help; and propounded to match my Lady Jemimah
to Sir G. Carteret's eldest son, which I approved of, and did undertake
the speaking with him about it as from myself, which my Lord liked. So
parted, with my head full of care about this business. Thence home to
the 'Change, and so to dinner, and thence by coach to Mr. Povy's.
Thence by appointment with him and Creed to one Mr. Finch; one of the
Commissioners for the Excise, to be informed about some things of the
Excise, in order to our settling matters therein better for us for our
Tangier business. I find him a very discreet, grave person. Thence well
satisfied I and Creed to Mr. Fox at White Hall to speak with him about
the same matter, and having some pretty satisfaction from him also,
he and I took boat and to Fox Hall, where we spent two or three hours
talking of several matters very soberly and contentfully to me,