28th. Up, to set right some little matters of my Tangier accounts, and so
to the office, where busy all the morning, and then home with my people to
dinner, and after dinner comes about a petition for a poor woman
whose-ticket she would get paid, and so talked a little and did baiser
her, and so to the office, being pleased that this morning my bookseller
brings me home Marcennus's book of musick,' which costs me L3 2s.; but is
a very fine book. So to the office and did some business, and then by
coach to the New Exchange, and there by agreement at my bookseller's shop
met Mercer and Gayet, and took them by water, first to one of the
Neat-houses, where walked in the garden, but nothing but a bottle of wine
to be had, though pleased with seeing the garden; and so to Fox Hall,
where with great pleasure we walked, and then to the upper end of the
further retired walk, and there sat and sang, and brought great many
gallants and fine people about us, and, upon the bench, we did by and by
eat and drink what we had, and very merry: and so with much pleasure to
the Old Swan, and walked with them home, and there left them, and so I
home to my business at the office a little, and so to bed.

29th. Betimes up, and up to my Tangier accounts, and then by water to the
Council Chamber, and there received some directions from the Duke of York
and the Committee of the Navy there about casting up the charge of the
present summer's fleete, that so they may come within the bounds of the
sum given by the Parliament. But it is pretty to see how Prince Rupert
and other mad, silly people, are for setting out but a little fleete,
there being no occasion for it; and say it will be best to save the money
for better uses. But Sir W. Coventry did declare that, in wisdom, it was
better to do so; but that, in obedience to the Parliament, he was [for]
setting out the fifty sail talked on, though it spent all the money, and
to little purpose; and that this was better than to leave it to the