ell as affections of the
seamen are turned away; and in the open streets in Wapping, and up and
down, the wives have cried publickly, "This comes of your not paying our
husbands; and now your work is undone, or done by hands that understand it
not." And Sir W. Batten told me that he was himself affronted with a
woman, in language of this kind, on Tower Hill publickly yesterday; and we
are fain to bear it, and to keep one at the office door to let no idle
people in, for fear of firing of the office and doing us mischief. The
City is troubled at their being put upon duty: summoned one hour, and
discharged two hours after; and then again summoned two hours after that;
to their great charge as well as trouble. And Pelling, the Potticary,
tells me the world says all over, that less charge than what the kingdom
is put to, of one kind or other, by this business, would have set out all
our great ships. It is said they did in open streets yesterday, at
Westminster, cry, "A Parliament! a Parliament!" and I do believe it will
cost blood to answer for these miscarriages. We do not hear that the
Dutch are come to Gravesend; which is a wonder. But a wonderful thing it
is that to this day we have not one word yet from Bruncker, or Peter Pett,
or J. Minnes, of any thing at Chatham. The people that come hither to
hear how things go, make me ashamed to be found unable to answer them: for
I am left alone here at the office; and the truth is, I am glad my station
is to be here, near my own home and out of danger, yet in a place of doing
the King good service. I have this morning good news from Gibson; three
letters from three several stages, that he was safe last night as far as
Royston, at between nine and ten at night. The dismay that is upon us
all, in the business of the kingdom and Navy at this day, is not to be
expressed otherwise than by the condition the citizens were in when the
City was on fire, nobody knowing which way to turn themselves, while every
thing concurred to greaten the fire; as here the easterly gale and
spring-tides for coming up both rivers, and enabling them to break the
chaine. D. Gawden did tell me yesterday, that the day before at the
Council they were ready to fall together by the ears at the Council-table,
arraigning one another of being guilty of the counsel that brought us into
this misery, by laying up all the great ships. Mr. Hater tells me at noon
that some rude people have been, as he hears, at m