ed who they rowled in, nor who they rowled out, by
which the word is become a word of use in the House, the rowling out of
officers. I will remember what, in mirth, he said to me this morning,
when upon this discourse he said, if ever there was another Dutch war,
they should not find a Secretary; "Nor," said I, "a Clerk of the Acts, for
I see the reward of it; and, thanked God! I have enough of my own to buy
me a good book and a good fiddle, and I have a good wife;"--"Why," says
he, "I have enough to buy me a good book, and shall not need a fiddle,
because I have never a one of your good wives." I understand by him that
we are likely to have our business of tickets voted a miscarriage, but
[he] cannot tell me what that will signify more than that he thinks they
will report them to the King and there leave them, but I doubt they will
do more. Thence walked over St. James's Park to White Hall, and thence to
Westminster Hall, and there walked all the morning, and did speak with
several Parliament-men-among others, Birch, who is very kind to me, and
calls me, with great respect and kindness, a man of business, and he
thinks honest, and so long will stand by me, and every such man, to the
death. My business was to instruct them to keep the House from falling
into any mistaken vote about the business of tickets, before they were
better informed. I walked in the Hall all the morning with my Lord
Brouncker, who was in great pain there, and, the truth is, his business
is, without reason, so ill resented by the generality of the House, that I
was almost troubled to be seen to walk with him, and yet am able to
justify him in all, that he is under so much scandal for. Here I did get
a copy of the report itself, about our paying off men by tickets; and am
mightily glad to see it, now knowing the state of our case, and what we
have to answer to, and the more for that the House is like to be kept by
other business to-day and to-morrow, so that, against Thursday, I shall be
able to draw up some defence to put into some Member's hands, to inform
them, and I think we may [make] a very good one, and therefore my mind is
mightily at ease about it. This morning they are upon a Bill, brought in
to-day by Sir Richard Temple, for obliging the King to call Parliaments
every three years; or, if he fail, for others to be obliged to do it, and
to keep him from a power of dissolving any Parliament in less than forty
days after their first day o