The Diary Of John Evelyn Vol-2

174

DIARY OF LONDON

widows of emerited seamen. He was born the famous
year of the Gunpowder Treason, in 1605, and being the
last [male] of his family, left my wife, his only daughter,
heir. His grandfather, Sir Richard Browne, was the great
instrument under the great Earl of Leicester (favorite to
Queen Elizabeth) in his government of the Netherland.
He was Master of the Household to King James, and
Cofferer; I think was the first who regulated the com-
positions through England for the King's household,
provisions, progresses,* etc., which was so high a service,
and so grateful to the whole nation, that he had acknowl-
edgments and public thanks sent him from all the coun-
ties; he died by the rupture of a vein in a vehement
speech he made about the compositions in a Parliament
of King James. By his mother's side he was a Gunson,
Treasurer of the Navy in the reigns of Henry VIII.,
Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, and, as by his large
pedigree appears, related to divers of the English nobil-
ity. Thus ended this honorable person, after so many
changes and tossings to and fro, in the same house where
he was born. <( Lord teach us so to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom !*

By a special clause in his will, he ordered that his
body should be buried in the churchyard under the south-
east window of the chancel, adjoining to the burying
places of his ancestors, sinQe they came out of Essex
into Sayes Court, he being much offended at the novel
custom of burying everyone within the body of the
church and chancel; that being a favor heretofore granted
to martyrs and great persons; this excess of making
churches charnel houses being of ill and irreverend ex-
ample, and prejudicial to the health of the living, besides
the continual disturbance of the pavement and seats, and
several other indecencies. Dr. Hall, the pious Bishop of
Norwich, would also be so interred, as may be read in
his testament

i6th March, 1683. I went to see Sir Josiah Child's
prodigious cost in planting walnut trees about his seat,
and making fish ponds, many miles in circuit, in Epping

* Notice was taken of this in a previous passage of the « Diary.»
The different cotinties were bound to supply provisions of various
Mnds, and these were collected by officers called purveyors* whose
extortions often excited the attention of Parliament in milk up to the knees, mademmodiouslyh expectation