in Vlie and Schelling as bonfires for his good success at sea"
("Calendar of State Papers," 1666-67, pp. 21,27).]

I up, and with all possible haste, and in pain for fear of coming late, it
being our day of attending the Duke of Yorke, to St. James's, where they
are full of the particulars; how they are generally good merchant ships,
some of them laden and supposed rich ships. We spent five fire-ships upon
them. We landed on the Schelling (Sir Philip Howard with some men, and
Holmes, I think; with others, about 1000 in all), and burned a town; and
so come away. By and by the Duke of Yorke with his books showed us the
very place and manner, and that it was not our design or expectation to
have done this, but only to have landed on the Fly, and burned some of
their store; but being come in, we spied those ships, and with our long
boats, one by one, fired them, our ships running all aground, it being so
shoal water. We were led to this by, it seems, a renegado captain of the
Hollanders, who found himself ill used by De Ruyter for his good service,
and so come over to us, and hath done us good service; so that now we
trust him, and he himself did go on this expedition. The service is very
great, and our joys as great for it. All this will make the Duke of
Albemarle in repute again, I doubt, though there is nothing of his in
this. But, Lord! to see what successe do, whether with or without reason,
and making a man seem wise, notwithstanding never so late demonstration of
the profoundest folly in the world. Thence walked over the Parke with Sir
W. Coventry, in our way talking of the unhappy state of our office; and I
took an opportunity to let him know, that though the backwardnesses of all
our matters of the office may be well imputed to the known want of money,
yet, perhaps, there might be personal and particular failings; and that I
did, therefore, depend still upon his promise of telling me whenever he
finds any ground to believe any defect or neglect on my part, which he
promised me still to do; and that there was none he saw, nor, indeed, says