f
Albemarle, and he sold it to my Lord Chancellor, whose title of Earldome
is fetched from thence; the King hath this day sent his order to the
Privy Seale for the payment of this L20,000 to my Lord Chancellor, to
clear the mortgage! Ireland in a very distracted condition about the
hard usage which the Protestants meet with, and the too good which the
Catholiques. And from altogether, God knows my heart, I expect nothing
but ruine can follow, unless things are better ordered in a little time.
He being gone my wife came and told me how kind my uncle Wight had been
to her to-day, and that though she says that all his kindness comes from
respect to her she discovers nothing but great civility from him, yet
but what she says he otherwise will tell me, but to-day he told her
plainly that had she a child it should be his heir, and that should I
or she want he would be a good friend to us, and did give my wife
instructions to consent to all his wife says at any time, she being a
pettish woman, which argues a design I think he has of keeping us in
with his wife in order to our good sure, and he declaring her jealous
of him that so he dares not come to see my wife as otherwise he would do
and will endeavour to do. It looks strange putting all together, but yet
I am in hopes he means well. My aunt also is mighty open to my wife and
tells her mighty plain how her husband did intend to double her portion
to her at his death as a jointure. That he will give presently L100 to
her niece Mary and a good legacy at his death, and it seems did as much
to the other sister, which vexed [me] to think that he should bestow so
much upon his wife's friends daily as he do, but it cannot be helped for
the time past, and I will endeavour to remedy it for the time to come.
After all this discourse with my wife at my office alone, she home to
see how the wash goes on and I to make an end of my work, and so home to
supper and to bed.

23rd. Up, it being Shrove Tuesday, and at the office sat all the
morning, at noon to the 'Change and there met with Sir W. Rider, and of
a sudden knowing what I had at home, brought him and Mr. Cutler and Mr.
Cooke, clerk to Mr. Secretary Morrice, a sober and pleasant man, and one
that I knew heretofore, when he was my Lord 's secretary at Dunkirke. I
made much of them and had a pretty dinner for a sudden. We talked very
pleasantly, and they many good discourses of their travels abroad. After
dinner they gone, I to my o