Wilkins, but met with nobody at home! So to Dr. Wilkins's, where I never
was before, and very kindly received and met with Dr. Merritt, and fine
discourse among them to my great joy, so sober and so ingenious. He is
now upon finishing his discourse of a universal character. So away and I
home to my office about my letters, and so home to supper and to bed.

12th. By coach to the Duke of Albemarle, where Sir W. Batten and I only
met. Troubled at my heart to see how things are ordered there without
consideration or understanding. Thence back by coach and called at
Wotton's, my shoemaker, lately come to towne, and bespoke shoes, as also
got him to find me a taylor to make me some clothes, my owne being not yet
in towne, nor Pym, my Lord Sandwich's taylor. So he helped me to a pretty
man, one Mr. Penny, against St. Dunstan's Church. Thence to the 'Change
and there met Mr. Moore, newly come to towne, and took him home to dinner
with me and after dinner to talke, and he and I do conclude my Lord's case
to be very bad and may be worse, if he do not get a pardon for his doings
about the prizes and his business at Bergen, and other things done by him
at sea, before he goes for Spayne. I do use all the art I can to get him
to get my Lord to pay my cozen Pepys, for it is a great burden to my mind
my being bound for my Lord in L1000 to him. Having done discourse with him
and directed him to go with my advice to my Lord expresse to-morrow to get
his pardon perfected before his going, because of what I read the other
night in Sir W. Coventry's letter, I to the office, and there had an
extraordinary meeting of Sir J. Minnes, Sir W. Batten, and Sir W. Pen, and
my Lord Bruncker and I to hear my paper read about pursers, which they did
all of them with great good will and great approbation of my method and
pains in all, only Sir W. Pen, who must except against every thing and
remedy nothing, did except against my proposal for some reasons, which I
could not understand, I confess, nor my Lord Bruncker neither, but he did
detect indeed a failure or two of mine in my report about the ill