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 in maids now-adays), which
was likely to prove a good servant, though none of the best cooks, fell
sick and is gone to her friends, having been with us but 4 days.