The Diary Of John Evelyn Vol-2

58 DIARY OF LONDON

with the impostorious nuns of Loudun, in France, which
made such noise among the Papists; I therefore thought
this worth the notice. I remember Monsieur Monconys *
(that curious traveler and a Roman Catholic) was by no
means satisfied with the stigmata of those nuns, because
they were so shy of letting him scrape the letters, which
were Jesus, Maria, Joseph (as I think), observing they
began to scale off with it, whereas this poor wench was
willing to submit to any trial; so that I profess I know not
what to think of it, nor dare I pronounce it anything
supernatural.

2oth August, 1670. At Windsor I supped with the
Duke of Monmouth; and, the next day, invited by Lord
Arlington, dined with the same Duke and divers Lords.
After dinner my Lord and I had a conference of more
than an hour alone in his bedchamber, to engage me
in the History. I showed him something that I had
drawn up, to his great satisfaction, and he desired me to
show it to the Treasurer.

28th August, 1670. One of the Canons preached; then
followed the offering of the Knights of the Order, accord-
ing *^ custom; first the poor Knights, in procession,
then, J.ze Canons in their formalities, the Dean and
Chancc.'lor, then his Majesty (the Sovereign), the Duke
of York, Prince Rupert; and, lastly, the Earl of Oxford,
being all the Knights that were then at Court.

I dined with the Treasurer, and consulted with him
what pieces I was to add; in the afternoon the King
took me aside into the balcony over the terrace, ex-
tremely pleased with what had been told him I had begun,
in order to his commands, and enjoining me to proceed
vigorously in it. He told me he had ordered the Secre-
taries of State to give me all necessary assistance of
papers and particulars relating to it and enjoining me to
make it a LITTLE KEEN, for that the Hollanders had very
unhandsomely abused him in their pictures, books, and
libels.

Windsor was now going to be repaired, being ex-
ceedingly ragged and ruinous. Prince Rupert, the Con-

*Balthasar de Monconys, a Frenchman, celebrated for his travels
in the East, which he published in three volumes. His object was to
discover vestiges of the philosophy of Trismegistus and Zoroaster;
in which, it is hardly necessary to add, he was not very successfulDecember 29, 1680, on Tower Hill.se, only two voted for the bill, of which