died, a woman I
never saw since she come hither, having never been within their house
since. Home at noon to dinner, and thence to work all the afternoon with
great pleasure, and did bring my business to a very little compass in my
day book, which is a mighty pleasure, and so home to supper and get my
wife to read to me, and then to bed.

12th. Up, and my wife with me to White Hall, and Tom, and there she sets
us down, and there to wait on the Duke of York, with the rest of us, at
the Robes, where the Duke of York did tell us that the King would have
us prepare a draught of the present administration of the Navy, and
what it was in the late times, in order to his being able to distinguish
between the good and the bad, which I shall do, but to do it well will
give me a great deal of trouble. Here we shewed him Sir J. Minnes's
propositions about balancing Storekeeper's accounts; and I did shew him
Hosier's, which did please him mightily, and he will have it shewed the
Council and King anon, to be put in practice. Thence to the Treasurer's;
and I and Sir J. Minnes and Mr. Tippets down to the Lords Commissioners
of the Treasury, and there had a hot debate from Sir Thomas Clifford and
my Lord Ashly (the latter of which, I hear, is turning about as fast as
he can to the Duke of Buckingham's side, being in danger, it seems, of
being otherwise out of play, which would not be convenient for him),
against Sir W. Coventry and Sir J. Duncomb, who did uphold our Office
against an accusation of our Treasurers, who told the Lords that they
found that we had run the King in debt L50,000 or more, more than the
money appointed for the year would defray, which they declared like
fools, and with design to hurt us, though the thing is in itself
ridiculous. But my Lord Ashly and Clifford did most horribly cry out
against the want of method in the Office. At last it come that it should
be put in writing what they had to object; but I was devilish mad at it,
to see us thus wounded by our own members, and so away vexed, and called
my wife, and to Hercules Pillars, Tom and I, there dined; and here there
coming a Frenchman by with his Shew, we did make him shew it us, which
he did just as Lacy acts it, which made it mighty pleasant to me. So
after dinner we away and to Dancre's, and there saw our picture of
Greenwich in doing, which is mighty pretty, and so to White Hall, my
wife to Unthank's, and I attended with Lord Brouncker the King and
Counc