15th. Up and all the morning at the office, busy, and at noon to the
King's Head taverne, where all the Trinity House dined to-day, to choose a
new Master in the room of Hurlestone, that is dead, and Captain Crispe is
chosen. But, Lord! to see how Sir W. Batten governs all and tramples upon
Hurlestone, but I am confident the Company will grow the worse for that
man's death, for now Batten, and in him a lazy, corrupt, doating rogue,
will have all the sway there. After dinner who comes in but my Lady
Batten, and a troop of a dozen women almost, and expected, as I found
afterward, to be made mighty much of, but nobody minded them; but the best
jest was, that when they saw themselves not regarded, they would go away,
and it was horrible foule weather; and my Lady Batten walking through the
dirty lane with new spicke and span white shoes, she dropped one of her
galoshes in the dirt, where it stuck, and she forced to go home without
one, at which she was horribly vexed, and I led her; and after vexing her
a little more in mirth, I parted, and to Glanville's, where I knew Sir
John Robinson, Sir G. Smith, and Captain Cocke were gone, and there, with
the company of Mrs. Penington, whose father, I hear, was one of the Court
of justice, and died prisoner, of the stone, in the Tower, I made them,
against their resolutions, to stay from houre to houre till it was almost
midnight, and a furious, darke and rainy, and windy, stormy night, and,
which was best, I, with drinking small beer, made them all drunk drinking
wine, at which Sir John Robinson made great sport. But, they being gone,
the lady and I very civilly sat an houre by the fireside observing the
folly of this Robinson, that makes it his worke to praise himself, and all
he say and do, like a heavy-headed coxcombe. The plague, blessed be God!
is decreased 400; making the whole this week but 1300 and odd; for which
the Lord be praised!

16th. Up, and fitted myself for my journey down to the fleete, and
sending my money and boy down by water to Eriffe,--[Erith]--I borrowed a