succeeding Sir H. Pollard' in the Comptrollership of the King's
house; but perhaps our ill, but confirmed, tidings from the
Barbadoes may not [have reached you] yet, it coming but yesterday;
viz., that about eleven ships, whereof two of the King's, the Hope
and Coventry, going thence with men to attack St. Christopher's,
were seized by a violent hurricane, and all sunk--two only of
thirteen escaping, and those with loss of masts, &c. My Lord
Willoughby himself is involved in the disaster, and I think two
ships thrown upon an island of the French, and so all the men, to
500, become their prisoners. 'Tis said, too, that eighteen Dutch
men-of-war are passed the Channell, in order to meet with our Smyrna
ships; and some, I hear, do fright us with the King of Sweden's
seizing our mast-ships at Gottenburgh. But we have too much ill
newes true, to afflict ourselves with what is uncertain. That which
I hear from Scotland is, the Duke of York's saying, yesterday, that
he is confident the Lieutenant-Generall there hath driven them into
a pound, somewhere towards the mountains."

Having writ my letter, I home to supper and to bed, the world being
mightily troubled at the ill news from Barbadoes, and the consequence of
the Scotch business, as little as we do make of it. And to shew how mad
we are at home, here, and unfit for any troubles: my Lord St. John did, a
day or two since, openly pull a gentleman in Westminster Hall by the nose,
one Sir Andrew Henly, while the judges were upon their benches, and the
other gentleman did give him a rap over the pate with his cane, of which
fray the judges, they say, will make a great matter: men are only sorry
the gentle man did proceed to return a blow; for, otherwise, my Lord would
have been soundly fined for the affront, and may be yet for his affront to
the judges.