Council of War, for fear of being called cowards, though it was wholly
against their judgement to fight that day with the disproportion of force,
and then we not being able to use one gun of our lower tier, which was a
greater disproportion than the other. Besides, we might very well have
staid in the Downs without fighting, or any where else, till the Prince
could have come up to them; or at least till the weather was fair, that we
might have the benefit of our whole force in the ships that we had. He
says three things must [be] remedied, or else we shall be undone by this
fleete. 1. That we must fight in a line, whereas we fight promiscuously,
to our utter and demonstrable ruine; the Dutch fighting otherwise; and we,
whenever we beat them. 2. We must not desert ships of our own in
distress, as we did, for that makes a captain desperate, and he will fling
away his ship, when there is no hopes left him of succour. 3. That ships,
when they are a little shattered, must not take the liberty to come in of
themselves, but refit themselves the best they can, and stay out--many of
our ships coming in with very small disablenesses. He told me that our
very commanders, nay, our very flag-officers, do stand in need of
exercising among themselves, and discoursing the business of commanding a
fleete; he telling me that even one of our flag-men in the fleete did not
know which tacke lost the wind, or which kept it, in the last engagement.
He says it was pure dismaying and fear that made them all run upon the
Galloper, not having their wits about them; and that it was a miracle they
were not all lost. He much inveighs upon my discoursing of Sir John
Lawson's saying heretofore, that sixty sail would do as much as one
hundred; and says that he was a man of no counsel at all, but had got the
confidence to say as the gallants did, and did propose to himself to make
himself great by them, and saying as they did; but was no man of judgement
in his business, but hath been out in the greatest points that have come
before them. And then in the business of fore-castles, which he did
oppose, all the world sees now the use of them for shelter of men. He did
talk very rationally to me, insomuch that I took more pleasure this night
in hearing him discourse, than I ever did in my life in any thing that he
said. He gone I to the office again, and so after some business home to
supper and to bed.

5th. Up and to the office, where we sat al