at night home, and there met W. Batelier, who tells me the first great
news that my Lord Chancellor is fled this day. By and by to Sir W. Pen's,
where Sir R. Ford and he and I met, with Mr. Young and Lewes, about our
accounts with my Lady Batten, which prove troublesome, and I doubt will
prove to our loss. But here I hear the whole that my Lord Chancellor is
gone, and left a paper behind him for the House of Lords, telling them the
reason of him retiring, complaining of a design for his ruin. But the
paper I must get: only the thing at present is great, and will put the
King and Commons to some new counsels certainly. So home to supper and to
bed. Sir W. Pen I find in much trouble this evening, having been called to
the Committee this afternoon, about the business of prizes. Sir Richard
Ford told us this evening an odd story of the basenesse of the late Lord
Mayor, Sir W. Bolton, in cheating the poor of the City, out of the
collections made for the people that were burned, of L1800; of which he
can give no account, and in which he hath forsworn himself plainly, so as
the Court of Aldermen have sequestered him from their Court till he do
bring in an account, which is the greatest piece of roguery that they say
was ever found in a Lord Mayor. He says also that this day hath been made
appear to them that the Keeper of Newgate, at this day, hath made his
house the only nursery of rogues, and whores, and pickpockets, and thieves
in the world; where they were bred and entertained, and the whole society
met: and that, for the sake of the Sheriffes, they durst not this day
committ him, for fear of making him let out the prisoners, but are fain to
go by artifice to deal with him. He tells me, also, speaking of the new
street that is to be made from Guild Hall down to Cheapside, that the
ground is already, most of it, bought. And tells me of one particular, of
a man that hath a piece of ground lieing in the very middle of the street
that must be; which, when the street is cut out of it, there will remain
ground enough, of each side, to build a house to front the street. He
demanded L700 for the ground, and to be excused paying any thing for the