The Diary Of John Evelyn Vol-2

DIARY OF LONDON

making- Ms beloved daughter, Lady Wych, sole executrix,
leaving me only his library and some pictures of my
father, mother, etc. She buried him with extraordinary
solemnity, rather as a nobleman than as a private
gentleman. There were, as I computed, above 2,000
persons at the funeral, all the gentlemen of the county
doing him the last honors. I returned to London, till
my lady should dispose of herself and family.

2ist October, 1699. After an unusual warm and pleas-
ant season, we were surprised with a very sharp frost
I presented my <c Acetaria^ dedicated to my Lord Chancel-
lor, who returned me thanks in an extraordinarily civil letter.

15th November, 1699. There happened this week so
thick a mist and fog, that people lost their way in the
streets, it being so intense that no light of candles, or
torches, yielded any (or but very little) direction. I was
in it, and in danger. Robberies were committed between
the very lights which were fixed between London and
Kensington on both sides, and while coaches and trav-
elers were passing. It began about four in the after-
noon, and was quite gone by eight, without any wind to
disperse it. At the Thames, they beat drums to direct
the watermen to make the shore.

19th November, 1699 At our chapel in the evening
there was a sermon preached by young Mr. Horneck,
chaplain to Lord Guilford, whose lady's funeral had been
celebrated magnificently the Thursday before. A pane-
gyric was now pronounced, describing the extraordinary
piety and excellently employed life of this amiable young
lady. She died in childbed a few days before, to the
excessive sorrow of her husband, who ordered the
preacher to declare that it was on her exemplary life,
exhortations and persuasion, that he totally changed the
course of his life, which was before in great danger of
being perverted; following the mode of this dissolute
ag-e. Her devotion, early piety, charity, fastings, econ-
omy, disposition of her time in reading, praying, recol-
lections in her own handwriting of what she heard and
read, and her conversation were most exemplary.

24th November, 1699. I signed Dr. Blackwell's election
to be the next year's Boyles Lecturer.

Such horrible robberies and murders were committed,
as had not been known in this nation; atheism, profane-ts, that squadron, with others