, say that he was allowed but L70 a-year for
intelligence,--[Secret service money]--whereas, in Cromwell's time, he
[Cromwell] did allow L70,000 a-year for it; and was confirmed therein by
Colonel Birch, who said that thereby Cromwell carried the secrets of
all the princes of Europe at his girdle. The House is in a most broken
condition; nobody adhering to any thing, but reviling and finding fault:
and now quite mad at the Undertakers, as they are commonly called,
Littleton, Lord Vaughan, Sir R. Howard, and others that are brought over
to the Court, and did undertake to get the King money; but they despise,
and would not hear them in the House; and the Court do do as much,
seeing that they cannot be useful to them, as was expected. In short,
it is plain that the King will never be able to do any thing with this
Parliament; and that the only likely way to do better, for it cannot do
worse, is to break this and call another Parliament; and some do think
that it is intended. I was told to-night that my Lady Castlemayne is so
great a gamester as to have won L5000 in one night, and lost L25,000
in another night, at play, and hath played L1000 and L1500 at a cast.
Thence to the Temple, where at Porter's chamber I met Captain Cocke,
but lost our labour, our Counsellor not being within, Pemberton, and
therefore home and late at my office, and so home to supper and to bed.

15th. Up betimes, and with Captain Cocke my coach to the Temple to his
Counsel again about the prize goods in order to the drawing up of his
answer to them, where little done but a confirmation that our best
interest is for him to tell the whole truth, and so parted, and I home
to the office, where all the morning, and at noon home to dinner, and
after dinner all the afternoon and evening till midnight almost, and
till I had tired my own backe, and my wife's, and Deb.'s, in titleing
of my books for the present year, and in setting them in order, which
is now done to my very good satisfaction, though not altogether so
completely as I think they were the last year, when my mind was more at
leisure to mind it. So about midnight to bed, where my wife taking some
physic overnight it wrought with her, and those coming upon her with
great gripes, she was in mighty pain all night long, yet, God forgive
me! I did find that I was most desirous to take my rest than to ease
her, but there was nothing I could do to do her any good with.

16th (Lord's day). Up, and to my c