first was, several letters in the House about the Fanatickes, in several
places, coming in great bodies, and turning people out of the churches,
and there preaching themselves, and pulling the surplice over the
Parsons' heads: this was confirmed from several places; which makes them
stark mad, especially the hectors and bravadoes of the House, who shew
all the zeal on this occasion. Having done with him, I home vexed in
my mind, and so fit for no business, but sat talking with my wife and
supped with her; and Nan Mercer come and sat all the evening with us,
and much pretty discourse, which did a little ease me, and so to bed.
29th. Up, and walked to Captain Cocke's, where Sir G. Carteret promised
to meet me and did come to discourse about the prize-business of my Lord
Sandwich's, which I perceive is likely to be of great ill consequence to
my Lord, the House being mighty vehement in it. We could say little but
advise that his friends should labour to get it put off, till he comes.
We did here talk many things over, in lamentation of the present posture
of affairs, and the ill condition of all people that have had anything
to do under the King, wishing ourselves a great way off: Here they tell
me how Sir Thomas Allen hath taken the Englishmen out of "La Roche,"
and taken from him an Ostend prize which La Roche had fetched out of our
harbours; and at this day La Roche keeps upon our coasts; and had the
boldness to land some men and go a mile up into the country, and there
took some goods belonging to this prize out of a house there; which our
King resents, and, they say, hath wrote to the King of France about; and
everybody do think a war will follow; and then in what a case we shall
be for want of money, nobody knows. Thence to the office, where we sat
all the morning, and at noon home to dinner, and to the office again in
the afternoon, where we met to consider of an answer to the Parliament
about the not paying of tickets according to our own orders, to which I
hope we shall be able to give a satisfactory answer, but that the design
of the House being apparently to remove us, I do question whether the
best answer will prevail with them. This done I by coach with my wife
to Martin, my bookseller's, expecting to have had my Kercher's Musurgia,
but to my trouble and loss of trouble it was not done. So home again,
my head full of thoughts about our troubles in the office, and so to the
office. Wrote to my father this post,
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