wishes
for the good success; though I dare say but few do really concern
ourselves for him in our hearts. Up to the Duke of York, and with him did
our business we come about, and among other things resolve upon a meeting
at the office to-morrow morning, Sir W. Coventry to be there to determine
of all things necessary for the setting of Sir W. Pen to work in his
Victualling business. This did awake in me some thoughts of what might in
discourse fall out touching my imployment, and did give me some
apprehension of trouble. Having done here, and after our laying our
necessities for money open to the Duke of York, but nothing obtained
concerning it, we parted, and I with others into the House, and there hear
that the work is done to the Prince in a few minutes without any pain at
all to him, he not knowing when it was done. It was performed by Moulins.
Having cut the outward table, as they call it, they find the inner all
corrupted, so as it come out without any force; and their fear is, that
the whole inside of his head is corrupted like that, which do yet make
them afeard of him; but no ill accident appeared in the doing of the
thing, but all with all imaginable success, as Sir Alexander Frazier did
tell me himself, I asking him, who is very kind to me. I to the Chapel a
little, but hearing nothing did take a turn into the Park, and then back
to Chapel and heard a very good Anthem to my heart's delight, and then to
Sir G. Carteret's to dinner, and before dinner did walk with him alone a
good while, and from him hear our case likely for all these acts to be bad
for money, which troubles me, the year speeding so fast, and he tells me
that he believes the Duke of York will go to sea with the fleete, which I
am sorry for in respect to his person, but yet there is no person in
condition to command the fleete, now the Captains are grown so great, but
him, it being impossible for anybody else but him to command any order or
discipline among them. He tells me there is nothing at all in the late
discourse about my Lord Sandwich and the French Embassador meeting and
contending for the way, which I wonder at, to see the confidence of report
without any ground. By and by to dinner, where very good company. Among
other discourse, we talked much of Nostradamus

[Michael Nostradamus, a physician and astrologer, born in the
diocese of Avignon, 1503. Amongst other predictions, one was
interpreted as foreshowing the