ord, and swore the same day that he had
not 12d. left to pay for his dinner: they make great mirth at this, my
Lord Bruncker having lately given great matter of offence both to them
and us all, that we are at present mightily displeased with him. By and
by to the Duke of York, where we all met, and there was the King also;
and all our discourse was about fortifying of the Medway and Harwich,
which is to be entrenched quite round, and Portsmouth: and here they
advised with Sir Godfry Lloyd and Sir Bernard de Gum, the two great
engineers, and had the plates drawn before them; and indeed all their
care they now take is to fortify themselves, and are not ashamed of it:
for when by and by my Lord Arlington come in with letters, and seeing
the King and Duke of York give us and the officers of the Ordnance
directions in this matter, he did move that we might do it as privately
as we could, that it might not come into the Dutch Gazette presently,
as the King's and Duke of York's going down the other day to Sheerenesse
was, the week after, in the Harlem Gazette. The King and Duke of York
both laughed at it, and made no matter, but said, "Let us be safe, and
let them talk, for there is nothing will trouble them more, nor
will prevent their coming more, than to hear that we are fortifying
ourselves." And the Duke of York said further, "What said Marshal
Turenne, when some in vanity said that the enemies were afraid, for they
entrenched themselves? 'Well,' says he, 'I would they were not afraid,
for then they would not entrench themselves, and so we could deal with
them the better.'" Away thence, and met with Sir H. Cholmly, who tells
me that he do believe the government of Tangier is bought by my Lord
Allington for a sum of money to my Lord Arlington, and something to
Lord Bellasses, who (he did tell me particularly how) is as very a false
villain as ever was born, having received money of him here upon promise
and confidence of his return, forcing him to pay it by advance here, and
promising to ask no more there, when at the same time he was treating
with my Lord Allington to sell his command to him, and yet told Sir
H. Cholmly nothing of it, but when Sir H. Cholmly told him what he had
heard, he confessed that my Lord Allington had spoken to him of it, but
that he was a vain man to look after it, for he was nothing fit for it,
and then goes presently to my Lord Allington and drives on the bargain,
yet tells Lord Allington what he