In such a hurry was Charles for the money that the aldermen had to advance him £20,000 out of the £60,000 on their own personal security. This was in February. Discharged seamen were again clamouring for pay, and the Exchequer was empty. The aldermen came to his assistance, but, inasmuch as the lands and tenements had not yet been conveyed to the City according to the terms of the late agreement, the Court of Aldermen passed a formal resolution that no further advances should be made until "one or more books of the lands to be assured by the contract be passed under the great seale of England."(339) (M131) Notwithstanding the growing unpopularity of Buckingham, the king absolutely refused to abandon his favourite, against whom all kinds of rumours were astir. Nothing was too bad to be believed of him, and popular fury spared neither him nor his friends. Dr. Lamb, an astrologer and quack doctor, was set upon in the city as being one of the latter, and was nearly done to death one night whilst returning home from supper. None would receive into his house the almost lifeless body of the necromancer—the duke’s devil, as he was called—who supplied him with love potions wherewith to corrupt women. He was at last removed to one of the compters, where he died the following day.(340) Charles was highly incensed on hearing of the occurrence, more especially as some of the murderers had been heard to say that if Lamb’s "master"—the duke himself—had been there they would have handled him worse and so minced his flesh that every one should have had a bit of him. He forthwith summoned the mayor and sheriffs to court and threatened to take away their charter if the murderers were not quickly discovered.(341) The lords of the council also wrote to the mayor (15 June) reprimanding him for not taking steps to repress the riot and ordering him to seize the principal actors and abettors and commit them to prison.(342) These were not so easily to be discovered, but the Court of Aldermen (17 June) committed to Newgate two of the City Marshal’s men for neglecting to give notice of the disturbance to the mayor or sheriffs, or even to the alderman or deputy of the ward, as in duty bound.(343) Others were taken on suspicion but were shortly afterwards set at liberty by order of the lords of the council (23 June).(344) The matter eventually ended by the City being fined £1,000.(345) In the meantime libellous placards(346) appeared stuck up in Coleman Street, and the Court of Aldermen committed a man to prison for no other reason than because he took one down to read and after reading it put it up again. That at least was the man’s own story.(347) (M132) (M133)