15th. Up, and to Alderman Backewell's

[Edward Backwell, goldsmith and alderman of the City of London. He
was a man of considerable wealth during the Commonwealth. After the
Restoration he negotiated Charles II.'s principal money
transactions. He was M.P. for Wendover in the parliament of 1679,
and in the Oxford parliament of 1680. According to the writer of
the life in the "Diet. of Nat. Biog. "his heirs did not ultimately
suffer any pecuniary loss by the closure of the Exchequer. Mr.
Hilton Price stated that Backwell removed to Holland in 1676, and
died therein 1679; but this is disproved by the pedigree in
Lipscomb's "Hist. of Bucks," where the date of his death is given
as 1683, as well as by the fact that he sat for Wendover in 1679 and
1680, as stated above.]

and there discoursed with him about the remitting of this L6000 to
Tangier, which he hath promised to do by the first post, and that will be
by Monday next, the 18th, and he and I agreed that I would take notice of
it that so he may be found to have done his best upon the desire of the
Lords Commissioners. From this we went to discourse of his condition, and
he with some vain glory told me that the business of Sheernesse did make
him quite mad, and indeed might well have undone him; but yet that he did
the very next day pay here and got bills to answer his promise to the King
for the Swedes Embassadors (who were then doing our business at the treaty
at Breda) L7000, and did promise the Bankers there, that if they would
draw upon him all that he had of theirs and L10,000 more, he would answer
it. He told me that Serjeant Maynard come to him for a sum of money that
he had in his hands of his, and so did many others, and his answer was,
What countrymen are you? And when they told him, why then, says he, here
is a tally upon the Receiver of your country for so [much], and to yours