them, how they come recommended, and more will be found to have been
placed by the Prince and Duke of Albemarle than by the Duke of York during
the war, and as no bad instance of the badness of officers he and I did
look over the list of commanders, and found that we could presently
recollect thirty-seven commanders that have been killed in actuall service
this war. He tells me that Sir Fr. Hollis is the main man that hath
persecuted him hitherto, in the business of dividing the fleete, saying
vainly that the want of that letter to the Prince hath given him that,
that he shall remember it by to his grave, meaning the loss of his arme;
when, God knows! he is as idle and insignificant a fellow as ever come
into the fleete. He tells me that in discourse on Saturday he did repeat
Sir Rob. Howard's words about rowling out of counsellors, that for his
part he neither cared 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