rgive me,
thinking to meet Mrs. Lane, but she was not there, but here I met with
Ned Pickering, with whom I walked 3 or 4 hours till evening, he telling
me the whole business of my Lord's folly with this Mrs. Becke, at
Chelsey, of all which I am ashamed to see my Lord so grossly play the
beast and fool, to the flinging off of all honour, friends, servants,
and every thing and person that is good, and only will have his private
lust undisturbed with this common.... his sitting up night after night
alone, suffering nobody to come to them, and all the day too, casting
off Pickering, basely reproaching him with his small estate, which yet
is a good one, and other poor courses to obtain privacy beneath his
honour, and with his carrying her abroad and playing on his lute under
her window, and forty other poor sordid things, which I am grieved to
hear; but believe it to no purpose for me to meddle with it, but let him
go on till God Almighty and his own conscience and thoughts of his lady
and family do it. So after long discourse, to my full satisfaction but
great trouble, I home by water and at my office late, and so to supper
to my poor wife, and so to bed, being troubled to think that I shall be
forced to go to Brampton the next Court, next week.

10th. Up betimes and to my office, and there sat all the morning making
a great contract with Sir W. Warren for L3,000 worth of masts; but, good
God! to see what a man might do, were I a knave, the whole business from
beginning to end being done by me out of the office, and signed to by
them upon the once reading of it to them, without the least care or
consultation either of quality, price, number, or need of them, only in
general that it was good to have a store. But I hope my pains was such,
as the King has the best bargain of masts has been bought these 27 years
in this office. Dined at home and then to my office again, many people
about business with me, and then stepped a little abroad about business
to the Wardrobe, but missed Mr. Moore, and elswhere, and in my way met
Mr. Moore, who tells me of the good peace that is made at Tangier with
the Moores, but to continue but from six months to six months, and
that the Mole is laid out, and likely to be done with great ease and
successe, we to have a quantity of ground for our cattle about the town
to our use. To my office late, and then home to supper, after writing
letters, and to bed. This day our cook maid (we having no luck i