, if he had not come up, he should have had his house burned.
The kingdom never in so troubled a condition in this world as now;
nobody pleased with the peace, and yet nobody daring to wish for the
continuance of the war, it being plain that nothing do nor can thrive
under us. Here I saw old good Mr. Vaughan, and several of the great men
of the Commons, and some of them old men, that are come 200 miles,
and more, to attend this session-of Parliament; and have been at great
charge and disappointments in their other private business; and now all
to no purpose, neither to serve their country, content themselves, nor
receive any thanks from the King. It is verily expected by many of them
that the King will continue the prorogation in October, so as, if it be
possible, never to have [this] Parliament more. My Lord Bristoll took
his place in the House of Lords this day, but not in his robes; and when
the King come in, he withdrew but my Lord of Buckingham was there as
brisk as ever, and sat in his robes; which is a monstrous thing, that
a man proclaimed against, and put in the Tower, and all, and released
without any trial, and yet not restored to his places: But, above all, I
saw my Lord Mordaunt as merry as the best, that it seems hath done such
further indignities to Mr. Taylor' since the last sitting of Parliament
as would hang [him], if there were nothing else, would the King do what
were fit for him; but nothing of that is now likely to be. After having
spent an hour or two in the hall, my cozen Roger and I and Creed to
the Old Exchange, where I find all the merchants sad at this peace and
breaking up of the Parliament, as men despairing of any good to the
nation, which is a grievous consideration; and so home, and there cozen
Roger and Creed to dinner with me, and very merry:--but among other
things they told me of the strange, bold sermon of Dr. Creeton
yesterday, before the King; how he preached against the sins of the
Court, and particularly against adultery, over and over instancing how
for that single sin in David, the whole nation was undone; and of our
negligence in having our castles without ammunition and powder when the
Dutch come upon us; and how we have no courage now a-days, but let our
ships be taken out of our harbour. Here Creed did tell us the story of
the dwell last night, in Coventgarden, between Sir H. Bellasses and Tom
Porter. It is worth remembering the silliness of the quarrell, and is
a kind of em