Court-martiall. One Colonel Howard, at the table, magnified the Duke of
Albemarle's fight in June last, as being a greater action than ever was
done by Caesar. The Duke of Albemarle, did say it had been no great
action, had all his number fought, as they should have done, to have beat
the Dutch; but of his 55 ships, not above 25 fought. He did give an
account that it was a fight he was forced to: the Dutch being come in his
way, and he being ordered to the buoy of the Nore, he could not pass by
them without fighting, nor avoid them without great disadvantage and
dishonour; and this Sir G. Carteret, I afterwards giving him an account of
what he said, says that it is true, that he was ordered up to the Nore.
But I remember he said, had all his captains fought, he would no more have
doubted to have beat the Dutch, with all their number, than to eat the
apple that lay on his trencher. My Lady Duchesse, among other things,
discoursed of the wisdom of dividing the fleete; which the General said
nothing to, though he knows well that it come from themselves in the
fleete, and was brought up hither by Sir Edward Spragge. Colonel Howard,
asking how the prince did, the Duke of Albemarle answering, "Pretty well;"
the other replied, "But not so well as to go to sea again."--"How!" says
the Duchess, "what should he go for, if he were well, for there are no
ships for him to command? And so you have brought your hogs to a fair
market," said she. [It was pretty to hear the Duke of Albemarle himself
to wish that they would come on our ground, meaning the French, for that
he would pay them, so as to make them glad to go back to France again;
which was like a general, but not like an admiral.] One at the table told
an odd passage in this late plague: that at Petersfield, I think, he said,
one side of the street had every house almost infected through the town,
and the other, not one shut up. Dinner being done, I brought Balty to the
Duke of Albemarle to kiss his hand and thank him far his kindness the last
year to him, and take leave of him, and then Balty and I to walk in the
Park, and, out of pity to his father, told him what I had in my thoughts