24th. With Sir G. Carteret and Sir J. Minnes; and they did talk
of my Lord Brouncker; whose father it seems did give Mr.
Ashburnham and the present Lord Digby [The Earl of Bristol,
frequently called in the Diary Lord Digby, long after he had
succeeded to the Earldom.] 1200l. to be made an Irish lord, and
swore the same day that he had not 12d. left to pay for his
dinner: they made great mirth at this, my Lord Brouncker having
lately given great matter of offence both to them and us all,
that we are at present mightily displeased with him. By and by
to the Duke of York, where we all met, and there was the King
also; and all our discourse was about fortifying of the Medway
and Harwich, which is to be entrenched quite round, and
Portsmouth: and here they advised with Sir Godfrey Lloyd and Sir
Bernard de Gunn, [Engineer-general, who had been employed in 1661
to construct the works at Dunkirk.] the two great engineers, and
had the plates drawn before them; and indeed all their care they
now take is to fortify themselves, and are not ashamed of it; for
when by and by my Lord Arlington come in with letters, and seeing
the King and Duke of York give us and the officers of the
Ordnance directions in this matter, he did move that we might do
it as privately as we could, that it might not come into the
Dutch Gazette presently, as the King's and Duke of York's going
down the other day to Sheerenesse was the week after in the
Harlem Gazette.
Pages:
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098