s, and told me that
they did approve of what he had done, and that he would owne what he had
done, and would have me to tell all the world so, and did, under his hand,
give Cocke and me his certificate of our bargains, and giving us full
power of disposal of what we have so bought. This do ease my mind of all
my fear, and makes my heart lighter by L100 than it was before. He did
discourse to us of the Dutch fleete being abroad, eighty-five of them
still, and are now at the Texell, he believes, in expectation of our
Eastland ships coming home with masts and hempe, and our loaden Hambrough
ships going to Hambrough. He discoursed against them that would have us
yield to no conditions but conquest over the Dutch, and seems to believe
that the Dutch will call for the protection of the King of France and come
under his power, which were to be wished they might be brought to do under
ours by fair means, and to that end would have all Dutch men and familys,
that would come hither and settled, to be declared denizens; and my Lord
did whisper to me alone that things here must break in pieces, nobody
minding any thing, but every man his owne business of profit or pleasure,
and the King some little designs of his owne, and that certainly the
kingdom could not stand in this condition long, which I fear and believe
is very true. So to supper and there my Lord the kindest man to me,
before all the table talking of me to my advantage and with tenderness too
that it overjoyed me. So after supper Captain Cocke and I and Temple on
board the Bezan, and there to cards for a while and then to read again in
"Rhodes" and so to sleep. But, Lord! the mirth which it caused me to be
waked in the night by their snoaring round about me; I did laugh till I
was ready to burst, and waked one of the two companions of Temple, who
could not a good while tell where he was that he heard one laugh so, till
he recollected himself, and I told him what it was at, and so to sleep
again, they still snoaring.

2nd. We having sailed all night (and I do wonder how they in the dark
could find the way) we got by morning to Gillingham, and thence all walked
to Chatham; and there with Commissioner Pett viewed the Yard; and among
other things, a teame of four horses come close by us, he being with me,
drawing a piece of timber that I am confident one man could easily have
carried upon his back. I made the horses be taken away, and a man or two
to take the timber aw