served our dead commander, Sir Christopher Mings, and have now done the
last office of laying him in the ground. We would be glad we had any
other to offer after him, and in revenge of him. All we have is our
lives; if you will please to get His Royal Highness to give us a fireship
among us all, here is a dozen of us, out of all which choose you one to be
commander, and the rest of us, whoever he is, will serve him; and, if
possible, do that that shall show our memory of our dead commander, and
our revenge." Sir W. Coventry was herewith much moved (as well as I, who
could hardly abstain from weeping), and took their names, and so parted;
telling me that he would move His Royal Highness as in a thing very
extraordinary, which was done. Thereon see the next day in this book. So
we parted. The truth is, Sir Christopher Mings was a very stout man, and a
man of great parts, and most excellent tongue among ordinary men; and as
Sir W. Coventry says, could have been the most useful man at such a pinch
of time as this. He was come into great renowne here at home, and more
abroad in the West Indys. He had brought his family into a way of being
great; but dying at this time, his memory and name (his father being
always and at this day a shoemaker, and his mother a Hoyman's daughter; of
which he was used frequently to boast) will be quite forgot in a few
months as if he had never been, nor any of his name be the better by it;
he having not had time to will any estate, but is dead poor rather than
rich. So we left the church and crowd, and I home (being set down on
Tower Hill), and there did a little business and then in the evening went
down by water to Deptford, it being very late, and there I staid out as
much time as I could, and then took boat again homeward, but the officers
being gone in, returned and walked to Mrs. Bagwell's house, and there (it
being by this time pretty dark and past ten o'clock) went into her house
and did what I would. But I was not a little fearfull of what she told me
but now, which is, that her servant was dead of the plague, that her
coming to me yesterday was the first day of her coming forth, and that she