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OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

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THE  DUKE   OF  BUCKINGHAM 

From  an  olcf  paiTtfitie. 


3)A447 


COPVRIOHT,    1901, 
BY 

M.  WALTER    DUNNE, 

PUBLISHER 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOLUME  I. 

Charles  I.  in  Prison Frontispiece 

Photogravure  after  De  La  Roche. 

Lord  William  Russell  Taking  Leave  of  His  Children,  1683.       180 
Photogravure  after  a  painting  by  Bridges. 

Oliver  Cromwell  Dictating  to  John  Milton         ....      284 
The  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy  to  stop  the  persecution 
of  the  Protestants  of  Piedmont,  1655. 

Photogravure  from  an  engra\nng  by  Sartain  after  New- 
enham. 


VOLUME  II. 


The  Duke  of  Buckingham Frontispiece 

From  an  old  painting. 


Nell  Gwvnne 

Photogravure  after  Sir  Peter  Lely. 


VOLUME   1. 
1620-1664 


VOLUME  n. 

I665-I706 


THE  DIARY  OF  JOHN  EVELYN. 


2d  January,  1665. 

THIS  day  was  published  by  me  that  part  of  **  The  Mys- 
tery of   Jesuitism  "  translated   and   collected  by  me, 
though  without  my  name,  containing  the  Imaginary 
Heresy,  with  four  letters  and  other  pieces. 

4th  January,  1665.  I  went  in  a  coach,  it  being  excessive 
sharp  frost  and  snow,  toward  Dover  and  other  parts  of 
Kent,  to  settle  physicians,  chirurgeons,  agents,  marshals, 
and  other  officers  in  all  the  sea  ports,  to  take  care  of  such 
as  should  be  set  on  shore,  wounded,  sick,  or  prisoners,  in 
pursuance  of  our  commission  reaching  from  the  North 
Foreland,  in  Kent,  to  Portsmouth,  in  Hampshire.  The  rest 
of  the  ports  in  England  were  allotted  to  the  other  Com- 
missioners. That  evening  I  came  to  Rochester,  where  I 
delivered  the  Privy  Council's  letter  to  the  Mayor  to  receive 
orders  from  me. 

5th  January,  1665.  I  arrived  at  Canterbury,  and  went 
to  the  cathedral,  exceedingly  well  repaired  since  his  Maj- 
esty's return. 

6th  January,  1665.  To  Dover,  where  Colonel  Stroode, 
Lieutenant  of  the  Castle,  having  received  the  letter  I 
brought  him  from  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  made  me  lodge 
in  it,  and  I  was  splendidly  treated,  assisting  me  from  place 
to  place.  Here  I  settled  my  first  Deputy.  The  Mayor 
and  officers  of  the  Customs  were  very  civil  to  me. 

9th  January,  1665.  To  Deal — loth.  To  Sandwich,  a 
pretty  town,  about  two  miles  from  the  sea.  The  Mayor 
and  officers  of  the  Customs  were  very  dilligent  to  serve 
me.  I  visited  the  forts  in  the  way,  and  returned  that  night 
to  Canterbury. 

nth  January,  1665.  To  Rochester,  when  I  took  order 
to  settle  officers  at  Chatham. 

12th  January,  1665.  To  Gravesend,  and  returned  home. 
A  cold,  busy,  but  not  unpleasant  journey. 

25th  January,  1665.  This  night  being  at  Whitehall,  his 
Majesty  came  to  me    standing   in    the    withdra wing-room, 


2  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

and  gave  me  thanks  for  publishing  *<  The  Mysteries  of 
Jesuitism,*  which  he  said  he  had  carried  two  days  in  his 
pocket,  read  it,  and  encouraged  me;  at  which  I  did  not  a 
little  wonder:  I  suppose  Sir  Robert  Murray  had  given  it 
to  him. 

27th  January,  1665.  Dined  at  the  Lord  Chancellor's, 
who  caused  me  after  dinner  to  sit  two  or  three  hours  alone 
with  him  in  his  bedchamber. 

2d  February,  1665,  I  saw  a  Masque  performed  at 
Court,  by  six  gentlemen  and  six  ladies,  suprising  his 
Majesty,  it  being  Candlemas  day. 

8th  February,  Ash  Wednesday,  1665.  I  visited  our 
prisoners  at  Chelsea  College,  and  to  examine  how  the 
marshal  and  sutlers  behaved.  These  were  prisoners  taken 
in  the  war;  they  only  complained  that  their  bread  was 
too  fine.  I  dined  at  Sir  Henry  Herbert's,  Master  of  the 
Revels. 

9th  February,  1665.  Dined  at  my  Lord  Treasurer's, 
the  Earl  of  Southampton,  in  Bloomsbury,  where  he  was 
building  a  noble  square  or  piazza,*  a  little  town;  his  own 
house  stands  too  low,  some  noble  rooms,  a  pretty  cedar 
chapel,  a  naked  garden  to  the  north,  but  good  air.  I  had 
much  discourse  with  his  Lordship,  whom  I  found  to  be  a 
person  of  extraordinary  parts,  but  a  valetudinarian. —  I 
went  to  St.  James's  Park,  where  I  saw  various  animals, 
and  examined  the  throat  of  the  Onocrotylus,  or  pelican,  a 
fowl  between  a  stork  and  a  swan;  a  melancholy  water- 
fowl, brought  from  Astrakhan  by  the  Russian  Ambassador; 
it  was  diverting  to  see  how  he  would  toss  up  and  turn 
a  flat  fish,  plaice,  or  flounder,  to  get  it  right  into  his 
gullet  at  its  lower  beak,  which,  being  filmy,  stretches  to  a 
prodigious  wideness  when  it  devours  a  great  fish.  Here 
was  also  a  small  water-fowl,  not  bigger  than  a  moorhen, 
that  went  almost  quite  erect,  like  the  penguin  of  America; 
it  would  eat  as  much  fish  as  its  whole  body  weighed;  I 
never  saw  so  imsatiable  a  devourer,  yet  the  body  did  not 
appear  to  swell  the  bigger.  The  solan  geese  here  are 
also  great  devourers,  and  are  said  soon  to  exhaust  all  the 
fish  in  a  pond.  Here  was  a  curious  sort  of  poultry  not 
much  exceeding  the  size  of  a  tame  pigeon,  with  legs  so 
short  as  their  crops  seemed  to  touch   the   earth;  a   milk- 

*  The  Italians  mean  simply  a  square  by  their  piazzas. 


1 665  JOHN  EVELYN  3 

white  raven;  a  stork,  which  was  a  rarity  at  this  season, 
seeing  he  was  loose,  and  could  fly  loftily;  two  Balearian 
cranes,  one  of  which  having  had  one  of  his  legs  broken 
and  cut  ofiE  above  the  knee,  had  a  wooden  or  boxen  leg 
and  thigh,  with  a  joint  so  accurately  made  that  the 
creature  could  walk  and  use  it  as  well  as  if  it  had  been 
natural;  it  was  made  by  a  soldier.  The  park  was  at  this 
time  stored  with  numerous  flocks  of  several  sorts  of  ordi- 
nary and  extraordinary  wild  fowl,  breeding  about  the 
Decoy,  which  for  being  near  so  great  a  city,  and  among 
such  a  concourse  of  soldiers  and  people,  is  a  singular  and 
diverting  thing.  There  were  also  deer  of  several  coun- 
tries, white;  spotted  like  leopards;  antelopes,  an  elk,  red 
deer,  roebucks,  stags,  Guinea  goats,  Arabian  sheep,  etc. 
There  were  withy-pots,  or  nests,  for  the  wild  fowl  to  lay 
their  eggs  in,  a  little  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 

23d  February,  1665.  I  was  invited  to  a  great  feast  at 
Mr.  Rich's  (a  relation  of  my  wife's,  now  reader  at  Lin- 
coln's Inn) ;  where  was  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Bishops  of  London  and  Win- 
chester, the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  divers  of 
the  Judges,  and  several  other  great  men. 

24th  February,  1665.  Dr.  Fell,  Canon  of  Christ  Church, 
preached  before  the  King,  on  15  ch.  Romans,  v.  2,  a  very 
formal  discourse,  and  in  blank  verse,  according  to  his  man- 
ner; however,  he  is  a  good  man. — Mr.  Philips,  preceptor 
to  my  son,  went  to  be  with  the  Earl  of  Pembroke's  son, 
my  Lord  Herbert. 

2d  March,  1665.  I  went  with  his  Majesty  into  the 
lobby  behind  the  House  of  Lords,  where  I  saw  the  King 
and  the  rest  of  the  Lords  robe  themselves,  and  got  into 
the  House  of  Lords  in  a  corner  near  the  woolsack,  on  which 
the  Lord  Chancellor  sits  next  below  the  throne:  the  King 
sat  in  all  the  regalia,  the  crown -imperial  on  his  head,  the 
sceptre  and  globe,  etc.  The  Duke  of  Albemarle  bore  the 
sword,  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  the  cap  of  dignity.  The  rest 
of  the  Lords  robed  in  their  places: — a  most  splendid  and 
august  convention.  Then  came  the  Speaker  and  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  at  the  bar  made  a  speech,  and 
afterward  presented  several  bills,  a  nod  only  passing 
them,  the  clerk  saying,  Le  Roy  le  veult,  as  to  public  bills, 
as  to  private,  Soit  faite  commeilest  desir^.  Then,  his  Majesty 
made  a  handsome  but  short  speech,  commanding  my  Lord 


4  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

Privy  Seal  to  prorogue  the  Parliament,  which  he  did,  the 
Chancellor  being  ill  and  absent.  I  had  not  before  seen 
this  ceremony. 

9th  March,  1665.  I  went  to  receive  the  poor  creatures 
that  were  saved  out  of  the  London  frigate,  blown  up  by 
accident,  with  above  200  men. 

29th  March,  1665.  Went  to  Goring  House,  now  Mr. 
Secretary  Bennet's,  ill-built,  but  the  place  capable  of  being 
made  a  pretty  villa.  His  Majesty  was  now  finishing  the 
Decoy  in  the  Park. 

2d  April,  1665.  Took  order  about  some  prisoners  sent 
from  Captain  Allen's  ship,  taken  in  the  Solomon,  viz,  the 
brave  men  who  defended  her  so  gallantly. 

5th  April,  1665.  Was  a  day  of  public  humiliation  and 
for  success  of  this  terrible  war,  begun  doubtless  at  secret 
instigation  of  the  French  to  weaken  the  States  and  Prot- 
estant interest.     Prodigious    preparations    on  both   sides. 

6th  April,  1665.  In  the  afternoon,  I  saw  acted  *^Mus- 
tapha,^^  a  tragedy  written  by  the  Earl  of  Orrery. 

nth  April,  1665.  To  London,  being  now  left  the  only 
Commissioner  to  take  all  necessary  orders  how  to  exchange, 
remove,  and  keep  prisoners,  dispose  of  hospitals,  etc. ;  the 
rest  of  the  Commissioners  being  gone  to  their  several  dis- 
tricts, in  expectation  of  a  sudden  engagement. 

19th  April,  1665.  Invited  to  a  great  dinner  at  the 
Trinity  House,  where  I  had  business  with  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Navy,  and  to  receive  the  second  ;;^5,ooo, 
impressed  for  the  service  of  the  sick  and  wounded  pris- 
oners. 

20th  April,  1665.  To  Whitehall,  to  the  King,  who  called 
me  into  his  bedchamber  as  he  was  dressing,  to  whom  ,1 
showed  the  letter  written  to  me  from  the  Duke  of  York 
from  the  fleet,  giving  me  notice  of  young  Evertzen,  and 
some  considerable  commanders  newly  taken  in  fight  with 
the  Dartmouth  and  Diamond  frigates,  whom  he  had  sent 
me  as  prisoners  at  war;  I  went  to  know  of  his  Majesty 
how  he  would  have  me  treat  them,  when  he  commanded 
me  to  bring  the  young  captain  to  him,  and  to  take  the 
word  of  the  Dutch  Ambassador  (who  yet  remained  here) 
for  the  other,  that  he  should  render  himself  to  me  when- 
ever I  called  on  him,  and  not  stir  without  leave.  Upon 
which  I  desired  more  guards,  the  prison  being  Chelsea 
House.     I   went  also  to   Lord   Arlington  (the   Secretary 


i665  JOHN   EVELYN  5 

Bennet  lately  made  a  Lord )  about  other  business.  Dined 
at  my  Lord  Chancellor's;  none  with  him  but  Sir  Sackville 
Crowe,  formerly  Ambassador  at  Constantinople;  we  were 
very  cheerful  and  merry. 

24th  April,  1665  I  presented  young  Captain  Evertzen 
(eldest  son  of  Cornelius,  Vice-Admiral  of  Zealand  and 
nephew  of  John,  now  Admiral,  a  most  valiant  person)  to 
his  Majesty  in  his  bed-chamber.  The  King  gave  him  his 
hand  to  kiss,  and  restored  him  his  liberty;  asked  many 
questions  concerning  the  fight  (it  being  the  first  blood 
drawn),  his  Majesty  remembering  the  many  civilities  he 
had  formerly  received  from  his  relations  abroad,  who  had 
now  so  much  interest  in  that  considerable  Province.  Then, 
I  was  commanded  to  go  with  him  to  the  Holland  Ambas- 
sador, where  he  was  to  stay  for  his  passport,  and  I  was 
to  give  him  fifty  pieces  in  broad  gold.  Next  day  I  had 
the  Ambassador's  parole  for  the  other  Captain,  taken  in 
Captain  Allen's  fight  before  Calais.  I  gave  the  King  an 
account  of  what  I  had  done,  and  afterward  asked  the  same 
favor  for   another  Captain,  which  his  Majesty  gave  me. 

28th  April,  1665,  I  went  to  Tunbridge,  to  see  a  solemn 
exercise  at  the  free-school  there. 

Having  taken  orders  with  my  marshal  about  my  prison- 
ers, and  with  the  doctor  and  chirurgeon  to  attend  the 
wounded  enemies,  and  of  our  own  men,  I  went  to  Lon- 
don again,  and  visited  my  charge,  several  with  legs  and 
arms  off;  miserable  objects,  God  knows. 

1 6th  May,  1665.  To  London,  to  consider  of  the  poor 
orphans  and  widows  made  by  this  bloody  beginning,  and 
whose  husbands  and  relations  perished  in  the  London 
frigate,  of  which  there  were  fifty  widows,  and  forty-five 
of  them  with  child. 

26th  May,  1665.  To  treat  with  the  Holland  Ambassador 
at  Chelsea,  for  release  of  divers  prisoners  of  war  in  Hol- 
land on  exchange  here.  After  dinner,  being  called  into 
the  Council-Chamber  at  Whitehall,  I  gave  his  Majesty  an 
account  of  what  I  had  done,  informing  him  of  the  vast 
charge  upon  us,  now  amounting  to  no  less  than  ;^  1,000 
weekly. 

29th  May,  1665.  I  went  with  my  little  boy  to  my  dis- 
trict in  Kent,  to  make  up  accounts  with  my  officers. 
Visited  the  Governor  at  Dover  Castle,  where  were  some 
of  my  prisoners. 


6  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

3d  June,  1665,  In  my  return  went  to  Gravesend;  the 
fleets  being  just  now  engaged,  gave  special  orders  for  my 
officers  to  be  ready  to  receive  the  wounded  and  prisoners. 

5th  June,  1665.  To  London,  to  speak  with  his  Majesty 
and  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  for  horse  and  foot  guards 
for  the  prisoners  at  war,  committed  more  particularly  to 
my  charge  by  a  commission  apart. 

8th  June,  1665.  I  went  again  to  his  Grace,  thence  to 
the  Council,  and  moved  for  another  privy  seal  for  ^[,20,- 
000,  and  that  I  might  have  the  disposal  of  the  Savoy 
Hospital  for  the  sick  and  wounded ;  all  which  was  granted. 
Hence  to  the  Royal  Society,  to  refresh  among  the  phi- 
losophers. 

Came  news  of  his  highness's  victory,  which  indeed 
might  have  been  a  complete  one,  and  at  once  ended  the 
war,  had  it  been  pursued,  but  the  cowardice  of  some,  or 
treachery,  or  both,  frustrated  that.  We  had,  however, 
bonfires,  bells,  and  rejoicing  in  the  city.  Next  day,  the 
9th,  I  had  instant  orders  to  repair  to  the  Downs,  so  as  I 
got  to  Rochester  this  evening.  Next  day  I  lay  at  Deal, 
where  I  found  all  in  readiness:  but,  the  fleet  being  hin- 
dered by  contrary  winds,  I  came  away  on  the  12th,  and 
went  to  Dover,  and  returned  to  Deal;  and  on  the  13th, 
hearing  the  fleet  was  at  Solbay,  I  went  homeward,  and 
lay  at  Chatham,  and  on  the  14th,  I  got  home.  On  the 
15th,  came  the  eldest  son  of  the  present  Secretary  of 
State  to  the  French  King,  with  much  other  company,  to 
dine  with  me.  After  dinner,  I  went  with  him  to  London, 
to  speak  to  my  Lord  General  for  more  guards,  and  gave 
his  Majesty  an  account  of  my  journey  to  the  coasts  under 
my  inspection,  I  also  waited  on  his  Royal  Highness, 
now  come  triumphant  from  the  fleet,  gotten  into  repair. 
See  the  whole  history  of  this  conflict  in  my  **  History  of 
the  Dutch  War.» 

20th  June,  1665.  To  London,  and  represented  the  state 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  to  His  Majesty  in  Council,  for 
want  of  money,  he  ordered  I  should  apply  to  My  Lord 
Treasurer  and  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  upon  what 
funds  to  raise  the  money  promised.  We  also  presented  to 
his  Majesty  divers  expedients  for  retrenchment  of  the 
charge. 

This  evening  making  my  court  to  the  Duke,  I  spake  to 
Monsieur  Comminges,    the   French   Ambassador,  and   his 


1065  JOHN  EVELYN  7 

Highness  granted  me  six  prisoners,  Embdeners,  who  were 
desirous  to  go  to  the  Barbadoes  with  a  merchant. 

2 2d  June,  1665.  We  waited  on  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  and  got  an  Order  of  Council  for  our  money 
to  be  paid  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Navy  for  our  Receivers. 

23d  June,  1665.  I  dined  with  Sir  Robert  Paston,  since 
Earl  of  Yarmouth,  and  saw  the  Duke  of  Vemeuille,  base 
brother  to  the  Queen -Mother,  a  handsome  old  man,  a 
great  hunter. 

The  Duke  of  York  told  us  that,  when  we  were  in  fight, 
his  dog  sought  out  absolutely  the  very  securest  place  in 
all  the  vessel. —  In  the  afternoon,  I  saw  the  pompous 
reception  and  audience  of  El  Conde  de  Molino,  the  Span- 
ish Ambassador,  in  the  Banqueting  -  house,  both  their 
Majesties  sitting  together  under  the  canopy  of  state. 

30th  June,  1665.  To  Chatham;  and,  ist  July,  to  the 
fleet  with  Lord  Sandwich,  now  Admiral,  with  whom  I 
went  in  a  pinnace  to  the  Buoy  of  the  Nore,  where  the 
whole  fleet  rode  at  anchor;  went  on  board  the  Prince,  of 
ninety  brass  ordnance,  haply  the  best  ship  in  the  world, 
both  for  building  and  sailing;  she  had  700  men.  They 
made  a  great  huzza,  or  shout,  at  our  approach,  three 
times.  Here  we  dined  with  many  noblemen,  gentlemen, 
and  volunteers,  served  in  plate  and  excellent  meat  of  all 
sorts.  After  dinner,  came  his  Majesty,  the  Duke,  and 
Prince  Rupert.  Here  I  saw  the  King  knight  Captain 
Custance  for  behaving  so  bravely  in  the  late  fight.  It 
was  surprising  to  behold  the  good  order,  decency,  and 
plenty  of  all  things  in  a  vessel  so  full  of  men.  The  ship 
received  a  hundred  cannon  shot  in  her  body.  Then  I 
went  on  board  the  Charles,  to  which  after  a  gun  was  shot 
off,  came  all  the  flag  officers  to  his  Majesty,  who  there 
held  a  General  Council,  which  determined  that  his  Royal 
Highness  should  adventure  himself  no  more  this  summer, 
I  came  away  late,  having  seen  the  most  glorious  fleet  that 
ever  spread  sails.  We  returned  in  his  Majesty's  yacht 
with  my  Lord  Sandwich  and  Mr,  Vice-Chamberlain,  landing 
at  Chatham  on  Sunday  morning. 

5th  July,  1665,  I  took  order  for  150  men,  who  had  been 
recovered  of  their  wounds,  to  be  carried  on  board  the 
Clove  Tree,  Carolus  Quintus,  and  Zealand,  ships  that  had 
been  taken  by  us  in  the  fight ;   and  so  returned  home. 

7th  July,   1665.     To  London,   to  Sir   William  Coventry; 


8  DIARY    OF  CHATHAM 

and  so  to  Sion,  where  his  Majesty  sat  at  Council  during 
the  contagion :  when  business  was  over,  I  viewed  that  seat 
belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  built  out  of  an 
old  nunnery,  of  stone,  and  fair  enough,  but  more  celebrated 
for  the  garden  than  it  deserves;  yet  there  is  excellent 
wall-fruit,  and  a  pretty  fountain;  nothing  else  extraor- 
dinary, 

9th  July,  1665,  I  went  to  Hampton-Court,  where  now 
the  whole  Court  was,  to  solicit  for  money ;  to  carry  inter- 
cepted letters ;  confer  again  with  -  Sir  William  Coventry, 
the  Duke's  secretary;  and  so  home,  having  dined  with 
Mr.  Secretary  Morice. 

1 6th  July,  1665.  There  died  of  the  plague  in  London 
this  week  1,100;  and  in  the  week  following,  above  2,000. 
Two  houses  were  shut  up  in  our  parish. 

2d  August,  1665.  A  solemn  fast  through  England  to 
deprecate  God's  displeasure  against  the  land  by  pestilence 
and  war;  our  Doctor  preaching  on  26  Levit.  v.  41,  42,  that 
the  means  to  obtain  remission  of  punishment  was  not  to 
repine  at  it;   but  humbly  to  submit  to  it. 

3d  August,  1665.  Came  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Albe- 
marle, Lord  General  of  all  his  Majesty's  forces,  to  visit 
me,  and  carried  me  to  dine  with  him. 

4th  August,  1665.  I  went  to  Wotton  with  my  Son  and 
his  tutor,  Mr.  Bohun,  Fellow  of  New  College  (recom- 
mended to  me  by  Dr.  Wilkins,  and  the  President  of  New 
College,  Oxford),  for  fear  of  the  pestilence,  still  increasing 
in  London  and  its  environs.  On  my  return,  I  called  at 
Durdans,  where  I  found  Dr.  Wilkins,  Sir  William  Petty, 
and  Mr.  Hooke,  contriving  chariots,  new  rigging  for  ships, 
a  wheel  for  one  to  run  races  in,  and  other  mechanical  in- 
ventions ;  perhaps  three  such  persons  together  were  not  to 
be  found  elsewhere  in  Europe,  for  parts  and  ingenuity. 

8th  August,  1665.  I  waited  on  the  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
who  was  resolved  to  stay  at  the  Cock-pit,  in  St.  James's 
Park.     Died  this  week  in  London,  4,000. 

15th  August,   1665.     There  perished  this  week  5,000. 

28th  August,  1665.  The  contagion  still  increasing,  and 
growing  now  all  about  us,  I  sent  my  wife  and  whole 
family  (two  or  three  necessary  servants  excepted)  to  my 
brother's  at  Wotton,  being  resolved  to  stay  at  my  house 
myself,  and  to  look  after  my  charge,  trusting  in  the  provi- 
dence and  goodness  of  God. 


1 665  JOHN   EVELYN  9 

5th  September,  1665.  To  Chatham,  to  inspect  my 
charge,  with  ^^900  in  my  coach. 

7th  September,  1665.  Came  home,  there  perishing  near 
10,000  poor  creatures  weekly;  however,  I  went  all  along 
the  city  and  suburbs  from  Kent  Street  to  St.  James's,  a 
dismal  passage,  and  dangerous  to  see  so  many  coflSns 
exposed  in  the  streets,  now  thin  of  people ;  the  shops  shut 
up,  and  all  in  mournful  silence,  not  knowing  whose  turn 
might  be  next.  I  went  to  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  for  a 
pest-ship,  to  wait  on  our  infected  men,  who  were  not 
a  few. 

14th  September,  1665.  I  went  to  Wotton;  and  on  i6th 
September,  to  visit  old  Secretary  Nicholas,  being  now  at 
his  new  purchase  of  West  Horsley,  once  mortgaged  to  me 
by  Lord  Viscount  Montague:  a  pretty  dry  seat  on  the 
Down.     Returned  to  Wotton. 

17th  September,  1665.  Receiving  a  letter  from  Lord 
Sandwich  of  a  defeat  given  to  the  Dutch,  I  was  forced 
to  travel  all  Sunday.  I  was  exceedingly  perplexed  to 
find  that  near  3,000  prisoners  were  sent  to  me  to  dispose 
of,  being  more  than  I  had  places  fit  to  receive  and 
g^ard. 

25th  September,  1665.  My  Lord  Admiral  being  come 
from  the  fleet  to  Greenwich,  I  went  thence  with  him  to 
the  Cock-pit,  to  consult  with  the  Duke  of  Albemarle.  I 
was  peremptory  that,  unless  we  had  ^10,000  immediately, 
the  prisoners  would  starve,  and  it  was  proposed  it  should 
be  raised  out  of  the  East  India  prizes  now  taken  by  Lord 
Sandwich.  They  being  but  two  of  the  commission,  and 
so  not  empowered  to  determine,  sent  an  express  to  his 
Majesty  and  Council,  to  know  what  they  should  do.  In 
the  meantime,  I  had  five  vessels,  with  competent  guards, 
to  keep  the  prisoners  in  for  the  present,  to  be  placed  as 
I  should  think  best.  After  dinner  (which  was  at  the 
General's)  I  went  over  to  visit  his  Grace,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  at  Lambeth. 

28th  September,  1665.  To  the  General  again,  to  acquaint 
him  of  the  deplorable  state  of  our  men  for  want  of  pro- 
visions; returned  with  orders. 

29th  September,  1665.  To  Erith,  to  quicken  the  sale  of 
the  prizes 'lying  there,  with  order  to  the  commissioner  who 
lay  on  board  till  they  should  be  disposed  of,  ;^5,ooo  being 
proportioned  for  my  quarter.     Then  I  delivered  the  Dutch 


lo  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

Vice-Admiral,  who  was  my  prisoner,  to  Mr.  Lo.  .  .  . 
*of  the  Marshalsea,  he  giving  me  bond  in  ^^500  to  produce 
him  at  my  call.  I  exceedingly  pitied  this  brave  unhappy 
person,  who  had  lost  with  these  prizes  ^^40,000  after 
twenty  years'  negotiation  [trading]  in  the  East  Indies. 
I  dined  in  one  of  these  vessels,  of  1,200  tons,  full  of  riches. 

ist  October,  1665.  This  afternoon,  while  at  evening 
prayers,  tidings  were  brought  me  of  the  birth  of  a  daughter 
at  Wotton,  after  six  sons,  in  the  same  chamber  I  had  first 
taken  breath  in,  and  at  the  first  day  of  that  month,  as  I 
was  on  the  last,  forty-five  years  before. 

4th  October,   1665.     The  monthly  fast. 

nth  October,  1665.  To  London,  and  went  through  the 
whole  city,  having  occasion  to  alight  out  of  the  coach  in 
several  places  about  business  of  money,  when  I  was  en- 
vironed with  multitudes  of  poor,  pestiferous  creatures 
begging  alms;  the  shops  universally  shut  up,  a  dreadful 
prospect !  I  dined  with  my  Lord  General ;  was  to  receive 
;^ 1 0,000,  and  had  guards  to  convey  both  myself  and  it, 
and  so  returned  home,  through  God's  infinite  mercy. 

17th  October,  1665.  I  went  to  Gravesend;  next  day  to 
Chatham;  thence  to  Maidstone,  in  order  to  the  march  of 
500  prisoners  to  Leeds  Castle,  which  I  had  hired  of  Lord 
Culpeper.  I  was  earnestly  desired  by  the  learned  Sir 
Roger  Twisden,  and  Deputy-Lieutenants,  to  spare  Maid- 
stone from  quartering  any  of  my  sick  flock.  Here,  Sir 
Edward  Brett  sent  me  some  horse  to  bring  up  the  rear. 
This  country,  from  Rochester  to  Maidstone  and  the  Downs, 
is  very  agreeable  for  the  prospect. 

2ist  October,  1665.  I  came  from  Gravesend,  where  Sir 
J.  Grifl&th,  the  Governor  of  the  Fort,  entertained  me  very 
handsomely. 

31st  October,  1665.  I  was  this  day  forty-five  years 
of  age  wonderfully  preserved;  for  which  I  blessed  God 
for  his  infinite  goodness  toward  me. 

23d  November,  1665.  Went  home,  the  contagion  hav- 
ing now  decreased  considerably. 

27th  November,  1665.  The  Duke  of  Albemarle  was 
going  to  Oxford,  where  both  Court  and  Parliament  had 
been  most  part  of  the  summer.  There  was  no  small  sus- 
picion of  my  Lord  Sandwich  having  permitted  divers 
commanders,  who  were  at  the    taking   of   the    East   India 

•Mr.  Lowtnan. 


1665-66  JOHN   EVELYN  .  ii 

prizes,  to  break  bulk,  and  to  take  to  themselves  jewels, 
silks,  etc. :  though  I  believe  some  whom  I  could  name  filled 
their  pockets,  my  Lord  Sandwich  himself  had  the  least 
share.  However,  he  underwent  the  blame,  and  it  created 
him  enemies,  and  prepossessed  the  Lord  General,  for 
he  spoke  to  me  of  it  with  much  zeal  and  concern,  and  I 
believe  laid  load  enough  on  Lord  Sandwich  at  Ox- 
ford. 

8th  December,  1665.  To  my  Lord  of  Albemarle  (now 
returned  from  Oxford),  who  was  declared  General  at  Sea, 
to  the  no  small  mortification  of  that  excellent  person,  the 
Earl  of  Sandwich,  whom  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  not 
only  suspected  faulty  about  the  prizes,  but  less  valiant; 
himself  imagining  how  easy  a  thing  it  were  to  confound 
the  Hollanders,  as  well  now  as  heretofore  he  fought 
against  them  upon  a  more  disloyal  interest. 

25th  December,  1665.  Kept  Christmas  with  my  hospit- 
able brother,  at  Wotton. 

30th  December,  1665.  To  Woodcot,  where  I  supped  at 
my  Lady  Mordaunt's  at  Ashsted,  where  was  a  room  hung 
with  pintado^  full  of  figures  great  and  small,  prettily 
representing  sundry  trades  and  occupations  of  the  Indians, 
with  their  habits;  here  supped  also  Dr.  Duke,  a  learned 
and  facetious  gentleman. 

31st  December,  1665.  Now  blessed  be  God  for  his 
extraordinary  mercies  and  preservation  of  me  this  year, 
when  thousands,  and  ten  thousands,  perished,  and  were 
swept  away  on  each  side  of  me,  there  dying  in  our  parish 
this  year  406  of  the  pestilence  ! 

3d  January,  1665-66.  I  supped  in  Nonesuch  House,  * 
whither  the  office  of  the  Exchequer  was  transferred 
during  the  plague,  at  my  good  friend  Mr.  Packer's,  and 
took  an  exact  view  of  the  plaster  statues  and  bass-relievos 
inserted  between  the  timbers  and  puncheons  of  the  out- 
side walls  of  the  Court;  which  must  needs  have  been  the 
work  of  some  celebrated  Italian.  I  much  admired  how 
they  had  lasted  so  well  and  entire  since  the  time  of  Henry 
VIII.,  exposed  as  they  are  to  the  air;  and  pity  it  is  they 
are  not  taken  out  and  preserved  in  some  dry  place;  a 
gallery  would  become  them.  There  are  some  mezzo- 
relievos    as   big   as    the   life;  the   story  is  of  the  Heathen 

*  Of  this  famous  summer  residence  of  Queen  Elizabeth  not  a  ves- 
tige remains. 


12  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

Gods,  emblems,  compartments,  etc.  The  palace  consists 
of  two  courts,  of  which  the  first  is  of  stone,  castle  like, 
by  the  Lord  Lumleys  (of  whom  it  was  purchased),  the 
other  of  timber,  a  Gothic  fabric,  but  these  walls  incom- 
parably beautiful.  I  observed  that  the  appearing  timber- 
puncheons,  entrelices,  etc.,  were  all  so  covered  with  scales 
of  slate,  that  it  seemed  carved  in  the  wood  and  painted, 
the  slate  fastened  on  the  timber  in  pretty  figures,  that 
has,  like  a  coat  of  armor,  preserved  it  from  rotting. 
There  stand  in  the  garden  two  handsome  stone  pyramids, 
and  the  avenue  planted  with  rows  of  fair  elms,  but  the 
rest  of  these  goodly  trees,  both  of  this  and  of  Worcester 
Park  adjoining,  were  felled  by  those  destructive  and  ava- 
ricious rebels  in  the  late  war,  which  defaced  one  of  the 
stateliest  seats  his  Majesty  had. 

1 2th  January,  1666.  After  much,  and  indeed  extraor- 
dinary mirth  and  cheer,  all  my  brothers,  our  wives,  and 
children,  being  together,  and  after  much  sorrow  and 
trouble  during  this  contagion,  which  separated  our  fam- 
ilies as  well  as  others,  I  returned  to  my  house,  but  my 
wife  went  back  to  Wotton.  I,  not  as  yet  willing  to 
adventure  her,  the  contagion,  though  exceedingly  abated, 
not  as  yet  wholly  extinguished  among  us. 

29th  January,  1666.  I  went  to  wait  on  his  Majesty, 
now  returned  from  Oxford  to  Hampton-Court,  where  the 
Duke  of  Albemarle  presented  me  to  him;  he  ran  toward 
me,  and  in  a  most  gracious  manner  gave  me  his  hand  to 
kiss,  with  many  thanks  for  my  care  and  faithfulness  in 
his  service  in  a  time  of  such  great  danger,  when  every- 
body fled  their  employments;  he  told  me  he  was  much 
obliged  to  me,  and  said  he  was  several  times  concerned 
for  me,  and  the  peril  I  underwent,  and  did  receive  my 
service  most  acceptably  (though  in  truth  I  did  but  do  my 
duty,  and  O  that  I  had  performed  it  as  I  ought  ! )  After 
this,  his  Majesty  was  pleased  to  talk  with  me  alone,  near 
an  hour,  of  several  particulars  of  my  employment,  and 
ordered  me  to  attend  him  again  on  the  Thursday  follow- 
ing at  Whitehall.  Then  the  Duke  came  toward  me,  and 
embraced  me  with  much  kindness,  telling  me  if  he  had 
thought  my  danger  would  have  been  so  great,  he  would 
not  have  suffered  his  Majesty  to  employ  me  in  that 
station.  Then  came  to  salute  me  my  Lord  of  St.  Albans, 
Lord  Arlington,  Sir  William  Coventry,  and   several  great 


1 666  JOHN  EVELYN  13 

persons;  after  which,  I  got  home,  not  being  very  well  in 
health. 

The  Court  was  now  in  deep  mourning  for  the  French 
Queen- Mother. 

2d  February,  1666.  To  London;  his  Majesty  now  come 
to  Whitehall,  where  I  heard  and  saw  my  Lord  Mayor 
(and  brethren)  make  his  speech  of  welcome,  and  the  two 
Sheriffs  were  knighted. 

6th  February,  1666.  My  wife  and  family  returned  to 
me  from  the  country,  where  they  had  been  since  August, 
by  reason  of  the  contagion,  now  almost  universally  ceas- 
ing. Blessed  be  God  for  his  infinite  mercy  in  preserving 
us!  I,  having  gone  through  so  much  danger,  and  lost  so 
many  of  my  poor  officers,  escaping  still  myself  that  I  might 
live  to  recount  and  magnify  his  goodness  to  me. 

8th  February,  1666.  I  had  another  gracious  reception 
by  his  Majesty,  who  called  me  into  his  bed-chamber,  to 
lay  before  and  describe  to  him  my  project  of  an  Infirmary, 
which  I  read  to  him,  who  with  great  approbation,  recom- 
mended it  to  his  Royal  Highness. 

20th  February,  1666.  To  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy 
who,  having  seen  the  project  of  the  Infirmary,  encouraged 
the  work,  and  were  very  earnest  it  should  be  set  about 
immediately ;  but  I  saw  no  money,  though  a  very  moderate 
expense  would  have  saved  thousands  to  his  Majesty,  and 
been  much  more  commodious  for  the  cure  and  quartering 
of  our  sick  and  wounded,  than  the  dispersing  them  into 
private  houses,  where  many  more  chirurgeons  and  attend- 
ants were  necessary,  and  the  people  tempted  to  debauch- 
ery. 

2ist  February,  1666.  Went  to  my  Lord  Treasurer  for 
an  assignment  of  ^,^40,000  upon  the  last  two  quarters  for 
support  of  the  next  year's  charge.  Next  day,  to  Duke  of 
Albemarle  and  Secretary  of  State,  to  desire  them  to  pro- 
pose it  to  the  Council. 

ist  March,  1666;  To  London,  and  presented  his  Majesty 
my  book  intitled,  *  The  Pernicious  Consequences  of  the 
new  Heresy  of  the  Jesuits  against  Kings  and  States.  * 

7th  March,  1666.  Dr.  Sancroft,  since  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  preached  before  the  King  about  the  identity 
and  immutability  of  God,  on  Psalm  cii.  27. 

13th  March,  1666.  To  Chatham,  to  view  a  place  designed 
for  an  Infirmary. 


14  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

15th  March,  1666.  My  charge  now  amounted  to  near 
^7,000  [weekly]. 

2  2d  March,  1666.  The  Royal  Society  reassembled,  after 
the  dispersion  from  the  contagion. 

24th  March,   1666.     Sent  ^^2,000  to  Chatham. 

I  St  April,  1666.  To  London,  to  consult  about  ordering 
the  natural  rarities  belonging  to  the  repository  of  the  Royal 
Society;   referred  to  a  Committee. 

loth  April,  1666.  Visited  Sir  William  D'Oyly,  surprised 
with  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  and  in   extreme  danger. 

nth  April,  1666.  Dr.  Bathurst  preached  before  the 
King,  from  "  I  say  unto  you  all,  watch  *^ — a  seasonable  and 
most  excellent  discourse.  When  his  Majesty  came  from 
chapel,  he  called  to  me  in  the  lobby,  and  told  me  he  must 
now  have  me  sworn  for  a  Justice  of  Peace  (having  long 
since  made  me  of  the  Commission);  which  I  declined  as 
inconsistent  with  the  other  service  I  was  engaged  in,  and 
humbly  desired  to  be  excused.  After  dinner,  waiting  on 
him,  I  gave  him  the  first  notice  of  the  Spaniards  referring 
the  umpirage  of  the  peace  between  them  and  Portugal  to 
the  French  King,  which  came  to  me  in  a  letter  from  France 
before  the  Secretaries  of  State  had  any  news  of  it.  After 
this,  his  Majesty  again  asked  me  if  I  had  found  out  any 
able  person  about  our  parts  that  might  supply  my  place 
of  Justice  of  Peace  (the  ofiice  in  the  world  I  had  most 
industriously  avoided,  in  regard  of  the  perpetual  trouble 
thereof  in  these  numerous  parishes) ;  on  which  I  nominated 
one,  whom  the  King  commanded  me  to  give  immediate 
notice  of  to  my  Lord  Chancellor,  and  I  should  be  excused ; 
for  which  I  rendered  his  Majesty  many  thanks.  From 
thence,  I  went  to  the  Royal  Society,  where  I  was  chosen 
by  twenty-seven  voices  to  be  one  of  their  Council  for  the 
ensuing  year ;  but,  upon  my  earnest  suit  in  respect  of  my 
other  affairs,  I  got  to  be  excused  —  and  so  home. 

15th  April,  1666.  Our  parish  was  now  more  infected 
with  the  plague  than  ever,  and  so  was  all  the  country 
about,  though  almost  quite  ceased  at  London. 

24th  April,  1666.  To  London  about  our  Mint-Commis- 
sion, and  sat  in  the  inner  Court  of  Wards. 

8th  May,  1666.  To  Queensborough,  where  finding  the 
Richmond  frigate,  I  sailed  to  the  buoy  of  the  Nore  to  my 
Lord-General  and  Prince  Rupert,  where  was  the  Rendez- 
vous of  the  most  glorious  fleet  in  the  world,  now  prepar- 


i666  JOHN   EVELYN  15 

ing  to  meet  the  Hollander.  Went  to  visit  nay  cousin, 
Hales,  at  a  sweetly-watered  place  at  Chilston,  near  Bock- 
ton.  The  next  morning,  to  Leeds  Castle,  once  a  famous 
hold,  now  hired  by  me  of  my  Lord  Culpeper  for  a  prison. 
Here  I  flowed  the  dry  moat,  made  a  new  drawbridge, 
brought  spring  water  into  the  court  of  the  Castle  to  an 
old  fountain,  and  took  order  for  the  repairs. 

2 2d  May,  1666.  Waited  on  my  Lord  Chancellor  at  his 
new  palace;  and  Lord  Berkeley's  built  next  to  it. 

24th  May,  1666.  Dined  with  Lord  Combury,  now  made 
Lord  Chamberlain  to  the  Queen;  who  kept  a  very  honor- 
able table. 

ist  June,  1666.  Being  in  my  garden  at  6  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  and  hearing  the  great  guns  go  thick  ojff,  I  took 
horse  and  rode  that  night  to  Rochester;  thence  next  day 
toward  the  Downs  and  seacoast,  but  meeting  the  Lieu- 
tenant of  the  Hampshire  frigate,  who  told  me  what 
passed,  or  rather  what  had  not  passed,  I  returned  to  Lon- 
don, there  being  no  noise,  or  appearance  at  Deal,  or  on 
that  coast  of  any  engagement.  Recounting  this  to  his 
Majesty,  whom  I  found  at  St.  James's  Park,  impatiently 
expecting,  and  knowing  that  Prince  Rupert  was  loose 
about  three  at  St.  Helen's  Point  at  N.  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  it  greatly  rejoiced  him;  but  he  was  astonished 
when  I  assured  him  they  heard  nothing  of  the  guns  in 
the  Downs,  nor  did  the  Lieutenant  who  landed  there  by 
five  that  morning. 

3d  June,  1666,  Whitsunday.  After  sermon  came  news 
that  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  was  still  in  fight,  and  had 
been  all  Saturday,  and  that  Captain  Harman's  ship  (the 
Henry)  was  like  to  be  burnt.  Then  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Bertie  that  Prince  Rupert  was  come  up  with  his  squadron 
(according  to  my  former  advice  of  his  being  loose  and  in 
the  way),  and  put  new  courage  into  our  fleet,  now  in  a 
manner  yielding  ground;  so  that  now  we  were  chasing 
the  chasers;  that  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  was  slightly 
wounded,  and  the  rest  still  in  great  danger.  So,  having 
been  much  wearied  with  my  journey,  I  slipped  home,  the 
guns  still  roaring  very  fiercely. 

5th  June,  1666.  I  went  this  morning  to  London,  where 
came  several  particulars  of  the  fight. 

6th  June,  1666,  Came  Sir  Daniel  Harvey  from  the 
General    and  related  the  dreadful  encounter,  on  which  his 


l6  DIARY    OP  LONDON 

Majesty  commanded  me  to  dispatch  an  extraordinary- 
physician  and  more  chirurgeons.  It  was  on  the  solemn 
Fast-day  when  the  news  came;  his  Majesty  being  in  the 
chapel  made  a  sudden  stop  to  hear  the  relation,  which 
being  with  much  advantage  on  our  side,  his  Majesty  com- 
manded that  public  thanks  should  immediately  be  given 
as  for  a  victory.  The  Dean  of  the  chapel  going  down  to 
give  notice  of  it  to  the  other  Dean  officiating;  and  notice 
was  likewise  sent  to  St.  Paul's  and  Westminster  Abbey. 
But  this  was  no  sooner  over,  than  news  came  that  our 
loss  was  very  great  both  in  ships  and  men;  that  the 
Prince  frigate  was  burnt,  and  as  noble  a  vessel  of  ninety 
brass  guns  lost;  and  the  taking  of  Sir  George  Ayscue, 
and  exceeding  shattering  of  both  fleets;  so  as  both  being 
obstinate,  both  parted  rather  for  want  of  ammunition  and 
tackle  than  courage;  our  General  retreating  like  a  lion; 
which  exceedingly  abated  of  our  former  joy.  There  were, 
however,  orders  given  for  bonfires  and  bells;  but,  God 
knows,  it  was  rather  a  deliverance  than  a  triumph.  So 
much  it  pleased  God  to  humble  our  late  overconfidence 
that  nothing  could  withstand  the  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
who,  in  good  truth,  made  too  forward  a  reckoning  of  his 
success  now,  because  he  had  once  beaten  the  Dutch  in 
another  quarrel ;  and  being  ambitious  to  outdo  the  Earl  of 
Sandwich,  whom  he  had  prejudicated  as  deficient  in  courage. 

7th  June,  1666.  I  sent  more  chirurgeons,  linen,  medica- 
ments, etc.,  to  the  several  ports  in  my  district. 

8th  June,  1666.  Dined  with  me  Sir  Alexander  Fraser, 
prime  physician  to  his  Majesty;  afterward,  went  on  board 
his  Majesty's  pleasure-boat,  when  I  saw  the  London  frigate 
launched,  a  most  stately  ship,  built  by  the  City  to  supply 
that  which  was  burnt  by  accident  some  time  since;  the 
King,  Lord  Mayor  and  Sheriffs,  being  there  with  g^eat 
banquet. 

nth  June,  1666.  Trinity  Monday,  after  a  sermon, 
applied  to  the  remeeting  of  the  Corporation  of  the  Trinity- 
House,  after  the  late  raging  and  wasting  pestilence:  I 
dined  with  them  in  their  new  room  in  Deptford,  the  first 
time  since  it  was  rebuilt. 

15th  June,  1666.  I  went  to  Chatham.—  i6th.  In  the 
Jemmy  yacht  (an  incomparable  sailer)  to  sea,  arrived  by 
noon  at  the  fleet  at  the  Buoy  at  the  Nore,  dined  with 
Prince  Rupert  and  the  General. 


i666  JOHN  EVELYN  17 

17th  June,  1666,  Came  his  Majesty,  the  Duke,  and  many 
Noblemen.  After  Council,  we  went  to  prayers.  My  busi- 
ness being  dispatched,  I  returned  to  Chatham,  having  lain 
but  one  night  in  the  Royal  Charles;  we  had  a  tempestu- 
ous sea.  I  went  on  shore  at  Sheerness,  where  they  were 
building  an  arsenal  for  the  fleet,  and  designing  a  royal 
fort  with  a  receptacle  for  great  ships  to  ride  at  anchor; 
but  here  I  beheld  the  sad  spectacle,  more  than  half  that 
gallant  bulwark  of  the  kingdom  miserably  shattered,  hardly 
a  vessel  entire,  but  appearing  rather  so  many  wrecks  and 
hulls,  so  cruelly  had  the  Dutch  mangled  us.  The  loss  of 
the  Prince,  that  gallant  vessel,  had  been  a  loss  to  be  uni- 
versally deplored,  none  knowing  for  what  reason  we  first 
engaged  in  this  ungrateful  war;  we  lost  besides  nine  or 
ten  more,  and  near  600  men  slain  and  1,100  wounded, 
2,000  prisoners;  to  balance  which,  perhaps  we  might  de- 
stroy eighteen  or  twenty  of  the  enemy's  ships,  and  700  or 
800  poor  men. 

1 8th  June,  1666.  Weary  of  this  sad  sight,  I  returned 
home. 

2d  July,  1666.  Came  Sir  John  Duncomb  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Chicheley,  both  Privy  Councillors  and  Commissioners  of 
His  Majesty's  Ordnance,  to  visit  me,  and  let  me  know 
that  his  Majesty  had  in  Council,  nominated  me  to  be  one 
of  the  Commissioners  for  regulating  the  farming  and  making 
of  saltpetre  through  the  whole  kingdom,  and  that  we  were 
to  sit  in  the  Tower  the  next  day.  When  they  were  gone, 
came  to  see  me  Sir  John  Cotton,  heir  to  the  famous 
antiquary.  Sir  Robert  Cotton:  a  pretended  great  Grecian, 
but  had  by  no  means  the  parts,  or  genius  of  his  grand- 
father. 

3d  July,  1666.  I  went  to  sit  with  the  Commissioners  at 
the  Tower,  where  our  commission  being  read,  we  made 
some  progress  in  business,  our  Secretary  being  Sir  George 
Wharton,  that  famous  mathematician  who  wrote  the  yearly 
Almanac  during  his  Majesty's  troubles.  Thence,  to 
Painters'  Hall,  to  our  other  commission,  and  dined  at  my 
Lord  Mayor's. 

4th  July,  1666.  The  solemn  Fast-day.  Dr.  Meggot 
preached  an  excellent  discourse  before  the  King  on  the 
terrors  of  God's  judgments.  After  sermon,  I  waited  on 
my  Lord  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, where    the    Dean    of    Westminster    spoke    to    me 


id  DIARY    OP  LONDON 

about  putting  into  my  hands  the  disposal  of  fifty  pounds, 
which  the  charitable  people  of  Oxford  had  sent  to  be 
distributed  among  the  sick  and  wounded  seamen  since  the 
battle.  Hence,  I  went  to  the  Lord  Chancellor's  to  joy 
him  of  his  Royal  Highness's  second  son,  now  born  at  St. 
James's;  and  to  desire  the  use  of  the  Star-chamber  for 
our  Commissioners  to  meet  in,  Painters'  Hall  not  being 
so  convenient. 

1 2th  July,  1666.  We  sat  the  first  time  in  the  Star- 
chamber.  There  was  now  added  to  our  commission  Sir 
George  Downing  (one  that  had  been  a  great 
against  his  Majesty,  but  now  insinuated  into  his  favor; 
and,  from  a  pedagogue  and  fanatic  preacher,  not  worth  a 
groat,  had  become  excessively  rich),  to  inspect  the  hospi- 
tals and  treat  about  prisons. 

14th  July,  1666.  Sat  at  the  Tower  with  Sir  J.  Duncomb 
and  Lord  Berkeley,  to  sign  deputations  for  undertakers  to 
furnish  their  proportions  of  saltpetre. 

17th  July,  1666.  To  London,  to  prepare  for  the  next 
engagement  of  the  fleets,  now  gotten  to  sea  again. 

22d  July,  1666.  Our  parish  still  infected  with  the 
contagion. 

25th  July,  1666.  The  fleets  engaged.  I  dined  at  Lord 
Berkeley's,  at  St.  James's,  where  dined  my  Lady  Harri- 
etta  Hyde,  Lord  Arlington,  and  Sir  John  Duncomb. 

29th  July,  1666.  The  pestilence  now  fresh  increasing  in 
our  parish,  I  forbore  going  to  church.  In  the  afternoon 
came  tidings  of  our  victory  over  the  Dutch,  sinking  some, 
and  driving  others  aground,  and  into  their  ports. 

ist  Augfust,  1666.  I  went  to  Dr.  Keffler,  who  married 
the  daughter  of  the  famous  chemist,  Drebbell,*  inventor 
of  the  bodied  scarlet.  I  went  to  see  his  iron  ovens,  made 
portable  (formerly)  for  the  Prince  of  Orange's  army:  sup- 
ped at  the  Rhenish  Wine-House  with  divers  Scots  gen- 
tlemen. 

6th  August,  1666.     Dined  with  Mr.  Povey,  and  then  went 

•Cornelius  Van  Drebbell,  bom  at  Alkmaar,  in  Holland,  in  1572; 
but  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  settled  in  London,  where  he  died  in  1634. 
He  was  famous  for  other  discoveries  in  science  besides  that  mentioned 
by  Evelyn  —  the  most  important  of  which  was  the  thermometer.  He 
also  made  improvements  in  microscopes  and  telescopes;  and  though, 
like  many  of  his  scientific  contemporaries,  something  of  an  empiric, 
possessed  a  considerable  knowledge  of  chemistry  and  of  different 
branches  of  natural  philosophy. 


1 666  JOHN  EVELYN  19 

with  him  to  see  a  country  house  he  had  bought  near  Brent- 
ford; returning  by  Kensington;  which  house  stands  to  a 
very  graceful  avenue  of  trees,  but  it  is  an  ordinary  build- 
ing, especially  one  part. 

8th  August,  1 666.  Dined  at  Sir  Stephen  Fox's  with  sev- 
eral friends  and,  on  the  loth,  with  Mr.  Odart,  Secretary  of 
the  Latin  tongue. 

17th  August,  1666.  Dined  with  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
whom  I  entreated  to  visit  the  Hospital  of  the  Savoy,  and 
reduce  it  ( after  the  great  abuse  that  had  been  continued ) 
to  its  original  institution  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  which 
he  promised  to  do. 

25th  August,  1666.  Waited  on  Sir  William  D'Oyly,  now 
recovered,  as  it  were,  miraculously.  In  the  afternoon,  vis- 
ited the  Savoy  Hospital,  where  I  stayed  to  see  the  miserably 
dismembered  and  wounded  men  dressed,  and  gave  some 
necessary  orders.  Then  to  my  Lord  Chancellor,  who  had, 
with  the  Bishop  of  London  and  others  in  the  commission, 
chosen  me  one  of  the  three  surveyors  of  the  repairs  of 
Paul's,  and  to  consider  of  a  model  for  the  new  building, 
or,  if  it  might  be,  repairing  of  the  steeple,  which  was  most 
decayed. 

26th  August,  1666.  The  contagion  still  continuing,  we 
had  the  Church  service  at  home. 

27th  August,  1666.  I  went  to  St.  Paul's  church,  where, 
with  Dr.  Wren,  Mr.  Pratt,  Mr.  May,  Mr.  Thomas  Chicheley, 
Mr.  Slingsby,  the  Bishop  of  London,  the  Dean  of  St.  Paul's, 
and  several  expert  workmen,  we  went  about  to  survey  the 
general  decays  of  that  ancient  and  venerable  church,  and 
to  set  down  in  writing  the  particulars  of  what  was  fit  to 
be  done,  with  the  charge  thereof,  giving  our  opinion  from 
article  to  article.  Finding  the  main  building  to  recede 
outward  it  was  the  opinion  of  Chicheley  and  Mr.  Pratt 
that  it  had  been  so  built  ab  origine  for  an  effect  in  per- 
spective, in  regard  of  the  height;  but  I  was,  with  Dr. 
Wren,  quite  of  another  judgment,  and  so  we  entered  it; 
we  plumbed  the  uprights  in  several  places.  When  we 
came  to  the  steeple,  it  was  deliberated  whether  it  were 
not  well  enough  to  repair  it  only  on  its  old  foundation, 
with  reservation  to  the  four  pillars ;  this  Mr.  Chicheley  and 
Mr.  Pratt  were  also  for,  but  we  totally  rejected  it,  and  per- 
sisted that  it  required  a  new  foundation ,  not  only  in  regard 
of  the  necessity,  but  for  that  the  shape  of  what  stood  was 


20  DIARY     OF  LONDON 

very  mean,  and  we  had  a  mind  to  build  it  with  a  noble 
cupola,  a  form  of  church-building  not  as  yet  known  in 
England,  but  of  wonderful  grace.  For  this  purpose,  we 
offered  to  bring  in  a  plan  and  estimate,  which  after  much 
contest,  was  at  last  assented  to,  and  that  we  should  nom- 
inate a  committee  of  able  workmen  to  examine  the  present 
foundation.  This  concluded,  we  drew  all  up  in  writing, 
and  so  went  with  my  Lord  Bishop  to  the  Dean's. 

28th  August,  1666.  Sat  at  the  Star-chamber.  Next  day, 
to  the  Royal  Society,  where  one  Mercator,  an  excellent 
mathematician,  produced  his  rare  clock  and  new  motion 
to  perform  the  equations,  and  Mr.  Rooke,  his  new  pen- 
dulum, 

2d  September,  1666.  This  fatal  night,  about  ten, 
began  the  deplorable  fire,  near  Fish  street,  in  London. 

3d  September,  1666.  I  had  public  prayers  at  home. 
The  fire  continuing,  after  dinner,  I  took  coach  with  my 
wife  and  son,  and  went  to  the  Bankside  in  Southwark, 
where  we  beheld  that  dismal  spectacle,  the  whole  city  in 
dreadful  flames  near  the  waterside;  all  the  houses  from 
the  Bridge,  all  Thames  street,  and  upward  toward 
Cheapside,  down  to  the  Three  Cranes,  were  now  consumed ; 
and  so  returned,  exceedingly  astonished  what  would  become 
of  the  rest 

The  fire  having  continued  all  this  night  (if  I  may  call 
that  night  which  was  light  as  day  for  ten  miles  round 
about,  after  a  dreadful  manner),  when  conspiring  with  a 
fierce  eastern  wind  in  a  very  dry  season,  I  went  on  foot 
to  the  same  place;  and  saw  the  whole  south  part  of  the 
city  burning  from  Cheapside  to  the  Thames,  and  all  along 
Comhill  (for  it  likewise  kindled  back  against  the  wind  as 
well  as  forward),  Tower  street,  Fenchurch  street.  Gracious 
street,  and  so  along  to  Baynard's  Castle,  and  was  now 
taking  hold  of  St.  Paul's  church,  to  which  the  scaffolds 
contributed  exceedingly.  The  conflagration  was  so  uni- 
versal, and  the  people  so  astonished,  that,  from  the  begin- 
ning, I  know  not  by  what  despondency,  or  fate,  they 
hardly  stirred  to  quench  it;  so  that  there  was  nothing 
heard,  or  seen,  but  crying  out  and  lamentation,  running 
about  like  distracted  creatures,  without  at  all  attempting 
to  save  even  their  goods;  such  a  strange  consternation 
there  was  upon  them,  so  as  it  burned  both  in  breadth  and 
length,  the    churches,    public   halls,    Exchange,    hospitals, 


i666  JOHN  EVELYN  21 

monuments,  and  ornaments;  leaping  after  a  prodigious 
manner,  from  house  to  house,  and  street  to  street,  at  great 
distances  one  from  the  other.  For  the  heat,  with  a  long 
set  of  fair  and  warm  weather,  had  even  ignited  the  air, 
and  prepared  the  materials  to  conceive  the  fire,  which 
devoured,  after  an  incredible  manner,  houses,  furniture, 
and  every  thing.  Here,  we  saw  the  Thames  covered  with 
goods  floating,  all  the  barges  and  boats  laden  with  what 
some  had  time  and  courage  to  save,  as,  on  the  other  side, 
the  carts,  etc.,  carrying  out  to  the  fields,  which  for  many 
miles  were  strewn  with  movables  of  all  sorts,  and  tents 
erecting  to  shelter  both  people  and  what  goods  they  could 
get  away.  Oh,  the  miserable  and  calamitous  spectacle! 
such  as  haply  the  world  had  not  seen  since  the  foundation 
of  it,  nor  can  be  outdone  till  the  universal  conflagration 
thereof.  All  the  sky  was  of  a  fiery  aspect,  like  the  top  of 
a  burning  oven,  and  the  light  seen  above  forty  miles 
round  about  for  many  nights.  God  gfrant  mine  eyes  may 
never  behold  the  like,  who  now  saw  above  10,000  houses 
all  in  one  flame !  The  noise  and  cracking  and  thunder  of 
the  impetuous  flames,  the  shrieking  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, the  hurry  of  people,  the  fall  of  towers,  houses,  and 
churches,  was  like  a  hideous  storm;  and  the  air  all 
about  so  hot  and  inflamed,  that  at  the  last  one  was  not 
able  to  approach  it,  so  that  they  were  forced  to  stand 
still,  and  let  the  flames  burn  on,  which  they  did,  for  near 
two  miles  in  length  and  one  in  breadth.  The  clouds  also 
of  smoke  were  dismal,  and  reached,  upon  computation, 
near  fifty  miles  in  length.  Thus,  I  left  it  this  afternoon 
burning,  a  resemblance  of  Sodom,  or  the  last  day.  It 
forcibly  called  to  my  mind  that  passage  — *^  non  enim.  hie 
habemus  stahilein  civitatem  */  the  ruins  resembling  the 
picture  of  Troy.  London  was,  but  is  no  more  !  Thus,  I 
returned. 

4th  September,  1666.  The  burning  still  rages,  and  it  is 
now  gotten  as  far  as  the  Inner  Temple.  All  Fleet  street, 
the  Old  Bailey,  Ludgate  hill,  Warwick  lane,  Newgate, 
Paul's  chain,  Watling  street,  now  flaming,  and  most  of  it 
reduced  to  ashes;  the  stones  of  Paul's  flew  like  grenados, 
the  melting  lead  running  down  the  streets  in  a  stream, 
and  the  very  pavements  glowing  with  fiery  redness,  so 
as  no  horse,  nor  man,  was  able  to  tread  on  them,  and  the 
demolition  had  stopped  all  the  passages,  so   that  no   help 


22  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

could  be  applied.  The  eastern  wind  still  more  impetu- 
ously driving  the  flames  forward.  Nothing  but  the 
Almighty  power  of  God  was  able  to  stop  them;  for  vain 
was  the  help  of  man. 

5th  September,  1666.  It  crossed  toward  Whitehall; 
but  oh!  the  confusion  there  was  then  at  that  Court!  It 
pleased  his  Majesty  to  command  me,  among  the  rest,  to 
look  after  the  quenching  of  Fetter-lane  end,  to  preserve  (if 
possible)  that  part  of  Holborn,  while  the  rest  of  the 
gentlemen  took  their  several  posts,  some  at  one  part,  and 
some  at  another  (for  now  they  began  to  bestir  themselves, 
and  not  till  now,  who  hitherto  had  stood  as  men  intoxi- 
cated, with  their  hands  across),  and  began  to  consider 
that  nothing  was  likely  to  put  a  stop  but  the  blowing  up 
of  so  many  houses  as  might  make  a  wider  gap  than  any 
had  yet  been  made  by  the  ordinary  method  of  pulling 
them  down  with  engines.  This  some  stout  seamen  pro- 
posed early  enough  to  have  saved  near  the  whole  city, 
but  this  some  tenacious  and  avaricious  men,  aldermen, 
etc.,  would  not  permit,  because  their  houses  must  have 
been  of  the  first.  It  was,  therefore,  now  commended  to 
be  practiced;  and  my  concern  being  particularly  for  the 
Hospital  of  St.  Bartholomew,  near  Smithfield,  where  I  had 
many  wounded  and  sick  men,  made  me  the  more  diligent 
to  promote  it;  nor  was  my  care  for  the  Savoy  less.  It 
now  pleased  God,  by  abating  the  wind,  and  by  the 
industry  of  the  people,  when  almost  all  was  lost  infusing 
a  new  spirit  into  them,  that  the  fury  of  it  began  sensibly 
to  abate  about  noon,  so  as  it  came  no  farther  than  the 
Temple  westward,  nor  than  the  entrance  of  Smithfield, 
north:  but  continued  all  this  day  and  night  so  impetuous 
toward  Cripplegate  and  the  Tower,  as  made  us  all  de- 
spair. It  also  broke  out  again  in  the  temple;  but  the 
courage  of  the  multitude  persisting,  and  many  houses 
being  blown  up,  such  gaps  and  desolations  were  soon  made, 
as,  with  the  former  three  days'  consumption,  the  back  fire 
did  not  so  vehemently  urge  upon  the  rest  as  formerly. 
There  was  yet  no  standing  near  the  burning  and  glowing 
ruins  by  near  a  furlong's  space. 

The  coal  and  wood  wharfs,  and  magazines  of  oil,  rosin, 
etc. ,  did  infinite  mischief,  so  as  the  invective  which  a  little 
before  I    had    dedicated    to    his    Majesty    and   published,* 

*The  Fumifugium. 


i666  JOHN  EVELYN  23 

giving  warning  what  probably  might  be  the  issue  of  suf- 
fering those  shops  to  be  in  the  city  was  looked  upon  as 
a  prophecy. 

The  poor  inhabitants  were  dispersed  about  St.  George's 
Fields,  and  Moorfields,  as  far  as  Highgate,  and  several 
miles  in  circle,  some  under  tents,  some  under  miserable 
huts  and  hovels,  many  without  a  rag,  or  any  necessary 
utensils,  bed  or  board,  who  from  delicateness,  riches,  and 
easy  accommodations  in  stately  and  well-furnished  houses, 
were  now  reduced  to  extreme  misery  and  poverty. 

In  this  calamitous  condition,  I  returned  with  a  sad  heart 
to  my  house,  blessing  and  adoring  the  distinguishing  mercy 
of  God  to  me  and  mine,  who,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  ruin, 
was  like  Lot,  in  my  little  Zoar,  safe  and  sound, 

6th  September,  1666.  Thursday.  I  represented  to  his 
Majesty  the  case  of  the  French  prisoners  at  war  in  my 
custody,  and  besought  him  that  there  might  be  still  the 
same  care  of  watching  at  all  places  contiguous  to  unseized 
houses.  It  is  not  indeed  imaginable  how  extraordinary 
the  vigilance  and  activity  of  the  King  and  the  Duke  was, 
even  laboring  in  person,  and  being  present  to  command, 
order,  reward,  or  encourage  workmen;  by  which  he  showed 
his  affection  to  his  people,  and  gained  theirs.  Having, 
then,  disposed  of  some  under  cure  at  the  Savoy,  I  returned 
to  Whitehall,  where  I  dined  at  Mr.  Offley's,  the  groom- 
porter,  who  was  my  relation. 

7th  September,  1666.  I  went  this  morning  on  foot  from 
Whitehall  as  far  as  London  Bridge,  through  the  late  Fleet 
street,  Ludgate  hill  by  St.  Paul's,  Cheapside,  Exchange, 
Bishops-gate,  Aldersgate,  and  out  to  Moorfields,  thence 
through  Cornhill,  etc.,  with  extraordinary  difficulty,  clam- 
bering over  heaps  of  yet  smoking  rubbish,  and  frequently 
mistaking  where  I  was ;  the  ground  under  my  feet  so  hot, 
that  it  even  burnt  the  soles  of  my  shoes.  In  the  mean- 
time, his  Majesty  got  to  the  Tower  by  water,  to  demolish 
the  houses  about  the  graff,  which,  being  built  entirely 
about  it,  had  they  taken  fire  and  attacked  the  White 
Tower,  where  the  magazine  of  powder  lay,  would  undoubt- 
edly not  only  have  beaten  down  and  destroyed  all  the 
bridge,  but  sunk  and  torn  the  vessels  in  the  river,  and 
rendered  the  demolition  beyond  all  expression  for  several 
miles  about  the  country. 

At  my  return,  I  was  infinitely  concerned  to  find  that 


24  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

goodly  Church,  St.  Paul's  —  now  a  sad  ruin,  and  that 
beautiful  portico  (for  structure  comparable  to  any  in 
Europe,  as  not  long  before  repaired  by  the  late  King)  now 
rent  in  pieces,  flakes  of  large  stones  split  asunder,  and 
nothing  remaining  entire  but  the  inscription  in  the  archi- 
trave showing  by  whom  it  was  built,  which  had  not  one 
letter  of  it  defaced!  It  was  astonishing  to  see  what  im- 
mense stones  the  heat  had  in  a  manner  calcined,  so  that  all 
the  ornaments,  columns,  friezes,  capitals,  and  projectures  of 
massy  Portland  stone,  flew  off,  even  to  the  very  roof,  where 
a  sheet  of  lead  covering  a  great  space  (no  less  than  six 
acres  by  measure)  was  totally  melted.  The  ruins  of  the 
vaulted  roof  falling,  broke  into  St.  Faith's,  which  being 
filled  with  the  magazines  of  books  belonging  to  the  Sta- 
tioners, and  carried  thither  for  safety,  they  were  all  con- 
sumed, burning  for  a  week  following.  It  is  also  observable 
that  the  lead  over  the  altar  at  the  east  end  was  untouched, 
and  among  the  divers  monuments  the  body  of  one  bishop 
remained  entire.  Thus  lay  in  ashes  that  most  venerable 
church,  one  of  the  most  ancient  pieces  of  early  piety  in 
the  Christian  world,  besides  near  one  hundred  more.  The 
lead,  ironwork,  bells,  plate,  etc.,  melted,  the  exquisitely 
wrought  Mercers'  Chapel,  the  sumptuous  Exchange,  the 
august  fabric  of  Christ  Church,  all  the  rest  of  the  Com- 
panies' Halls,  splendid  buildings,  arches,  entries,  all  in  dust ; 
the  fountains  dried  up  and  ruined,  while  the  very  waters 
remained  boiling;  the  voragos  of  subterranean  cellars, 
wells,  and  dungeons,  formerly  warehouses,  still  burning  in 
stench  and  dark  clouds  of  smoke;  so  that  in  five  or  six 
miles  traversing  about  I  did  not  see  one  load  of  timber 
unconsumed,  nor  many  stones  but  what  were  calcined 
white  as  snow. 

The  people,  who  now  walked  about  the  ruins,  appeared 
like  men  in  some  dismal  desert,  or  rather,  in  some  great 
city  laid  waste  by  a  cruel  enemy;  to  which  was  added 
the  stench  that  came  from  some  poor  creatures'  bodies, 
beds,  and  other  combustible  goods.  Sir  Thomas  Gresham's 
statue,  though  fallen  from  its  niche  in  the  Royal  Ex- 
change, remained  entire,  when  all  those  of  the  Kings  since 
the  Conquest  were  broken  to  pieces.  Also  the  standard 
in  Comhill,  and  Queen  Elizabeth's  effigies,  with  some  arms 
on  Ludgate,  continued  with  but  little  detriment,  while  the 
vast  iron  chains  of  the  city  streets,  hinges,  bars,  and  gates 


i666  JOHN   EVELYN  25 

of  prisons,  were  many  of  them  melted  and  reduced  to 
cinders  by  the  vehement  heat.  Nor  was  I  yet  able  to  pass 
through  any  of  the  narrow  streets,  but  kept  the  widest; 
the  ground  and  air,  smoke  and  fiery  vapor,  continued  so 
intense,  that  my  hair  was  almost  singed,  and  my  feet  in- 
sufferably surbated.  The  by-lanes  and  narrow  streets 
were  quite  filled  up  with  rubbish;  nor  could  one  have 
possibly  known  where  he  was,  but  by  the  ruins  of  some 
Church,  or  Hall,  that  had  some  remarkable  tower,  or  pin- 
nacle remaining. 

I  then  went  towards  Islington  and  Highgate,  where  one 
might  have  seen  200,000  people  of  all  ranks  and  degrees 
dispersed,  and  lying  along  by  their  heaps  of  what  they 
could  save  from  the  fire,  deploring  their  loss;  and,  though 
ready  to  perish  for  hunger  and  destitution,  yet  not  asking 
one  penny  for  relief,  which  to  me  appeared  a  stranger 
sight  than  any  I  had  yet  beheld.  His  Majesty  and  Coun- 
cil indeed  took  all  imaginable  care  for  their  relief,  by  pro- 
clamation for  the  country  to  come  in,  and  refresh  them 
with  provisions. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  calamity  and  confusion,  there 
was,  I  know  not  how,  an  alarm  begun  that  the  French 
and  Dutch,  with  whom  we  were  now  in  hostility,  were  not 
only  landed,  but  even  entering  the  city.  There  was,  in 
truth,  some  days  before,  great  suspicion  of  those  two 
nations  joining;  and  now  that  they  had  been  the  occasion 
of  firing  the  town.  This  report  did  so  terrify,  that  on  a 
sudden  there  was  such  an  uproar  and  tumult  that  they 
ran  from  their  goods,  and,  taking  what  weapons  they  could 
come  at,  they  could  not  be  stopped  from  falling  on  some 
of  those  nations  whom  they  casually  met,  without  sense 
or  reason.  The  clamor  and  peril  grew  so  excessive,  that 
it  made  the  whole  Court  amazed,  and  they  did  with 
infinite  pains  and  great  difficulty,  reduce  and  appease  the 
people,  sending  troops  of  soldiers  and  guards,  to  cause 
them  to  retire  into  the  fields  again,  where  they  were 
watched  all  this  night.  I  left  them  pretty  quiet,  and 
came  home  sufficiently  weary  and  broken.  Their  spirits 
thus  a  little  calmed,  and  the  affright  abated,  they  now 
began  to  repair  into  the  suburbs  about  the  city,  where 
such  as  had  friends,  or  opportunity,  got  shelter  for  the 
present  to  which  his  Majesty's  proclamation  also  invited 
them. 


26  DIARY    OF  ^     LONDON 

Still,  the  plague  continuing  in  our  parish,  I  could  not, 
without  danger,  adventure  to  our  church. 

loth  September,  1666.  I  went  again  to  the  ruins;  for  it 
was  now  no  longer  a  city. 

13th  September,  1666.  I  presented  his  Majesty  with  a 
survey  of  the  ruins,  and  a  plot  for  a  new  city,  with  a 
discourse  on  it ;  whereupon,  after  dinner,  his  Majesty  sent 
for  me  into  the  Queen's  bed-chamber,  her  Majesty  and 
the  Duke  only  being  present.  They  examined  each  par- 
ticular, and  discoursed  on  them  for  near  an  hour,  seeming 
to  be  extremely  pleased  with  what  I  had  so  early  thought 
on.  The  Queen  was  now  in  her  cavalier  riding-habit, 
hat  and  feather,  and  horseman's  coat,  going  to  take 
the  air. 

1 6th  September,  1666.  I  went  to  Greenwich  Church, 
where  Mr,  Plume  preached  very  well  from  this  text: 
*  Seeing,  then,  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  *  etc : 
taking  occasion  from  the  late  unparalleled  conflagration  to 
remind  us  how  we  ought  to  walk  more  holy  in  all  manner 
of  conversation. 

27th  September,  1666.  Dined  at  Sir  William  D'Oyly's, 
with  that  worthy  gentleman.  Sir  John  Holland,  of  Suffolk. 

loth  October,  1666.  This  day  was  ordered  a  general 
Fast  through  the  Nation,  to  humble  us  on  the  late  dread- 
ful conflagration,  added  to  the  plague  and  war,  the  most 
dismal  judgments  that  could  be  inflicted ;  but  which  indeed 
we  highly  deserved  for  our  prodigious  ingratitude,  burning 
lusts,  dissolute  court,  profane  and  abominable  lives,  under 
such  dispensations  of  God's  continued  favor  in  restoring 
Church,  Prince,  and  People  from  our  late  intestine  calam- 
ities, of  which  we  were  altogether  unmindful,  even  to 
astonishment.  This  made  me  resolve  to  go  to  our  parish 
assembly,  where  our  Doctor  preached  on  Luke,  xix,  41 : 
piously  applying  it  to  the  occasion.  After  which,  was  a 
collection  for  the  distressed  losers  in  the  late  fire. 

1 8th  October,  1666.  To  Court.  It  being  the  first  time 
his  Majesty  put  himself  solemnly  into  the  Eastern 
fashion  of  vest,  changing  doublet,  stiff  collar,  bands  and 
cloak,  into  a  comely  dress,  after  the  Persian  mode,  with 
girdles  or  straps,  and  shoestrings  and  garters  into  buckles, 
of  which  some  were    set   with   precious  stones*  resolving 

*This  costume  was  shortly  after  abandoned,  and  laid  aside;  nor 
does  any  existing  portrait  exhibit  the  King  so  accoutered. 


1 666  JOHN   EVELYN  27 

never  to  alter  it,  and  to  leave  the  French  mode,  which  had 
hitherto  obtained  to  our  great  expense  and  reproach. 
Upon  which,  divers  courtiers  and  gentlemen  gave  his 
Majesty  gold  by  way  of  wager  that  he  would  not  persist 
in  this  resolution,  I  had  sometime  before  presented  an 
invective  against  that  unconstancy,  and  our  so  much 
affecting  the  French  fashion,  to  his  Majesty;  in  which  I 
took  occasion  to  describe  the  comeliness  and  usefulness  of 
the  Persian  clothing,  in  the  very  same  manner  his  Majesty 
now  clad  himself.  This  pamphlet  I  entitled  "  Tyrannus,  or 
the  Mode, "  and  gave  it  to  the  King  to  read.  I  do  not  im- 
pute to  this  discourse  the  change  which  soon  happened, 
but  it  was  an  identity  that  I  could  not  but  take 
notice  of. 

This  night  was  acted  my  Lord  Broghill's  tragedy,  called 
"  Mustapha,  **  before  their  Majesties  at  Court,  at  which  I  was 
present ;  very  seldom  going  to  the  public  theatres  for  many 
reasons  now,  as  they  were  abused  to  an  atheistical  liberty ; 
foul  and  indecent  women  now  (and  never  till  now)  per- 
mitted to  appear  and  act,  who  inflaming  several  young 
noblemen  and  gallants,  became  their  misses,  and  to  some, 
their  wives.  Witness  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  Sir  R.  Howard, 
Prince  Rupert,  the  Earl  of  Dorset,  and  another  greater 
person  than  any  of  them,  who  fell  into  their  snares,  to 
the  reproach  of  their  noble  families,  and  ruin  of  both  body 
and  soul.*  I  was  invited  by  my  Lord  Chamberlain  to  see 
this  tragedy,  exceedingly  well  written,  though  in  my  mind 
I  did  not  approve  of  any  such  pastime  in  a  time  of  such 
judgments  and  calamities. 

2ist  October,  1666.  This  season,  after  so  long  and 
extraordinary  a  drought  in  August  and  September,  as  if 
preparatory  for  the  dreadful  fire,  was  so  very  wet  and 
rainy  as  many  feared  an  ensuing  famine. 

28th  October,  1666.  The  pestilence,  through  God's 
mercy,  began  now  to  abate  considerably  in  our  town. 

30th  October,  1666.  To  London  to  our  office,  and  now 
had  I  on  the  vest  and  surcoat,   or  tunic,   as  it  was  called, 

*  Among  the  principal  offenders  here  aimed  at  were  Mrs.  Margaret 
Hughes,  Mrs.  Eleanor  Gwytine,  Mrs.  Davenport,  Mrs.  Uphill,  Mrs. 
Davis,  and  Mrs.  Knight.  Mrs.  Davenport  (Roxolana)  was  « my  Lord 
Oxford's  Miss ;  *  Mrs.  Uphill  was  the  actress  alluded  to  in  connection 
with  Sir  R.  Howard;  Mrs.  Hughes  ensnared  Prince  Rupert;  and  the 
last  of  the  *<  misses  »  referred  to  by  Evelyn  was  Nell  Gwynne. 


28  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

after  his  Majesty  had  brought  the  whole  court  to  it.  It 
was  a  comely  and  manly  habit,  too  good  to  hold,  it  being 
impossible  for  us  in  good  earnest  to  leave  the  Monsieurs' 
vanities  long. 

31st  October,  1666.  I  heard  the  signal  cause  of  my 
Lord  Cleveland  pleaded  before  the  House  of  Lords;  and 
was  this  day  forty-six  years  of  age,  wonderfully  protected 
by  the  mercies  of  God,  for  which  I  render  him  immortal 
thanks. 

14th  November,  1666.  I  went  my  winter  circle  through 
my  district,  Rochester  and  other  places,  where  I  had  men 
quartered,  and  in  custody. 

15th  November,   1666.     To  Leeds  Castle. 

1 6th  November,  1666.  I  mustered  the  prisoners,  being 
about  600  Dutch  and  French,  ordered  their  proportion  of 
bread  to  be  augmented  and  provided  clothes  and  fuel. 
Monsieur  Colbert,  Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  England, 
this  day  sent  money  from  his  master,  the  French  King, 
to  every  prisoner  of  that  nation  under  my  guard. 

17th  November,  1666.  I  returned  to  Chatham,  my 
chariot  overturning  on  the  steep  of  Bexley  Hill,  wounded 
me  in  two  places  on  the  head ;  my  son.  Jack,  being  with 
me,  was  like  to  have  been  worse  cut  by  the  glass;  but  I 
thank  God  we  both  escaped  without  much  hurt,  though 
not  without  exceeding   danger. 

i8th  November,  1666.     At  Rochester. 

19th  November,  1666.     Returned  home. 

23d  November,  1666.  At  London,  I  heard  an  extraor- 
dinary case  before  a  Committee  of  the  whole  House  of 
Commons,  in  the  Commons*  House  of  Parliament,  between 
one  Captain  Taylor  and  my  Lord  Viscount  Mordaunt, 
where,  after  the  lawyers  had  pleaded  and  the  witnesses 
been  examined,  such  foul  and  dishonorable  things  were 
produced  against  his  Lordship,  of  tyranny  during  his 
government  of  Windsor  Castle,  of  which  he  was  Constable, 
incontinence,  and  suborning  witnesses  (of  which  last,  one 
Sir  Richard  Breames  was  most  concerned),  that  I  was  ex- 
ceedingly interested  for  his  Lordship,  who  was  my  special 
friend,  and  husband  of  the  most  virtuous  lady  in  the  world. 
We  sat  till  near  ten  at  night,  and  yet  but  half  the  counsel 
had  done  on  behalf  of  the  plaintiff.  The  question  then 
was  put  for  bringing  in  of  lights  to  sit  longer.  This  lasted 
so  long  before  it  was  determined,  and   raised  such  a  con- 


1666-67  JOHN  EVELYN  29 

fused  noise  among  the  members,  that  a  stranger  would 
have  been  astonished  at  it.  I  admire  that  there  is  not  a 
rationale  to  regulate  such  trifling  accidents,  which  consume 
much  time,  and  is  a  reproach  to  the  gravity  of  so  great  an 
assembly  of  sober  men. 

27th  November,  1666.  Sir  Hugh  Pollard,  Comptroller 
of  the  Household,  died  at  Whitehall,  and  his  Majesty  con- 
ferred the  white  staff  on  my  brother  Commissioner  for 
sick  and  wounded,  Sir  Thomas  Clifford,  a  bold  young  gen- 
tleman, of  a  small  fortune  in  Devon,  but  advanced  by 
Lord  Arlington,  Secretary  of  State,  to  the  great  astonish- 
ment of  all  the  Court.  This  gentleman  was  somewhat 
related  to  me  by  the  marriage  of  his  mother  to  my  nearest 
kinsman,  Gregory  Coale,  and  was  ever  my  noble  friend,  a 
valiant  and  daring  person,  but  by  no  means  fit  for  a  sup- 
ple and  flattering  courtier. 

28th  November,  1666.  Went  to  see  Clarendon  House, 
now  almost  finished,  a  goodly  pile  to  see,  but  had  many 
defects  as  to  the  architecture,  yet  placed  most  gracefully. 
After  this,  I  waited  on  the  Lord  Chancellor,  who  was  now 
at  Berkshire  House,  since  the  burning  of  London. 

2d  December,  1666.  Dined  with  me  Monsieur  Kiviet,  a 
Dutch  gentleman-pensioner  of  Rotterdam,  who  came  over 
for  protection,  being  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  party,  now 
not  welcome  in  Holland.  The  King  knighted  him  for  some 
merit  in  the  Prince's  behalf.  He  should,  if  caught,  have 
been  beheaded  with  Monsieur  Buat,  and  was  brother-in-law 
to  Van  Tromp,  the  sea-general.  With  him  came  Mr. 
Gabriel  Sylvius,  and  Mr.  Williamson,  secretary  to  Lord 
Arlington;  M.  Kiviet  came  to  examine  whether  the  soil 
about  the  river  of  Thames  would  be  proper  to  make  clinker 
bricks,  and  to  treat  with  me  about  some  accommodation 
in  order  to  it. 

9th  January,  1666-67.  To  the  Royal  Society,  which  since 
the' sad  conflagration  were  invited  by  Mr.  Howard  to  sit 
at  Arundel- House  in  the  Strand,  who  at  my  instigation 
likewise  bestowed  on  the  Society  that  noble  library  which 
his  grandfather  especially,  and  his  ancestors  had  collected. 
This  gentleman  had  so  little  inclination  to  books,  that  it 
was  the  preser\'-ation  of  them  from  embezzlement. 

24th  January,  1667.  Visited  my  Lord  Clarendon,  and 
presented  my  son,  John,  to  him,  now  preparing  to  go  to 
Oxford,  of  which  his  Lordship  was  Chancellor.     This  even- 


3©  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

ing  I  heard  rare  Italian  voices,  two  eunuchs  and  one 
woman,  in  his  Majesty's  green  chamber,  next  his 
cabinet. 

29th  January,  1667.  To  London,  in  order  to  my  son's 
Oxford  journey,  who,  being  very  early  entered  both  in 
Latin  and  Greek,  and  prompt  to  learn  beyond  most  of  his 
age,  I  was  persuaded  to  trust  him  under  the  tutorage  of 
Mr.  Bohun,  Fellow  of  New  College,  who  had  been  his 
preceptor  in  my  house  some  years  before ;  but,  at  Oxford, 
under  the  inspection  of  Dr.  Bathurst,  President  of  Trinity 
College,  where  I  placed  him,  not  as  yet  thirteen  years 
old.     He  was  newly  out  of  long  coats.* 

15th  February,  1667.  My  little  book,  in  answer  to  Sir 
George  Mackenzie  on  Solitude,  was  now  published,  entitled 
«  Public  Employment,  and  an  active  Life  with  its  Appan- 
ages, preferred  to  Solitude. '^f 

1 8th  February,  1667.  I  was  present  at  a  magnificent 
ball,  or  masque,  in  the  theatre  at  the  Court,  where  their 
Majesties  and  all  the  great  lords  and  ladies  danced,  in- 
finitely gallant,  the  men  in  their  richly  embroidered,  most 
becoming  vests. 

19th  February,  1667.  I  saw  a  comedy  acted  at  Court. 
In  the  afternoon,  I  witnessed  a  wrestling  match  for  ;^i,ooo 
in  St.  James's  Park,  before  his  Majesty,  a  vast  assemblage 
of  lords  and  other  spectators,  between  the  western  and 
northern  men,  Mr.  Secretary  Morice  and  Lord  Gerard 
being  the  judges.  The  western  men  won.  Many  great 
sums  were  betted. 

6th  March,  1667.  I  proposed  to  my  Lord  Chancellor, 
Monsieur  Kiviet's  undertaking  to  wharf  the  whole  river  of 
Thames,  or  quay,  from  the  Temple  to  the  Tower,  as  far  as 
the  fire  destroyed,  with  brick,  without  piles,  both  lasting 
and  ornamental. —  Great  frosts,  snow  and  winds,  prodigious 

*  In  illustration  of  the  garb  which  succeeded  the  "long  coats  »  out  of 
which  lads  of  twelve  or  thirteen  were  thus  suffered  to  emerge,  it  may 
be  mentioned  that  there  hung,  some  years  ago,  and  perhaps  may  hang 
still,  upon  the  walls  of  the  Swan  Inn  at  Leatherhead  in  Surrey,  a 
picture  of  four  children,  dates  of  birth  between  1640  and  1650,  of  whom 
a  lad  of  about  the  age  of  young  Evelyn  is  represented  in  a  coat  reach- 
ing to  his  ankles. 

t  Reprinted  in  «  Miscellaneous  Writings,  pp.  501-509.  In  a  letter  to 
Cowley,  i2th  March,  1666,  Evelyn  apologises  for  having  written  against 
that  life  which  he  had  joined  with  Mr.  Cowley  in  so  much  admiring, 
assuring  him  he  neither  was  nor  could  be  serious  in  avowing  such  a 
preference. 


166;  JOHN  EVELYN  31 

at  the  vernal  equinox ;  indeed  it  had  been  a  year  of  prodi- 
gies in  this  nation,  plague,  war,  fire,  rain,  tempest  and  comet. 

14th  March,  1667.  Saw  ^<  The  Virgin  Queen,**  a  play- 
written  by  Mr.  Dryden. 

2  2d  March,  1667.  Dined  at  Mr.  Secretary  Morice's,  who 
showed  me  his  library,  which  was  a  well  chosen  collec- 
tion. This  afternoon,  I  had  audience  of  his  Majesty,  con- 
cerning the  proposal  I  had  made  of  building  the  quay. 

26th  March,  1667.  Sir  John  Kiviet  dined  with  me. 
We  went  to  search  for  brick-earth,  in  order  to  a  great 
undertaking. 

4th  April,  1667.  The  cold  so  intense,  that  there  was 
hardly  a  leaf  on  a  tree. 

1 8th  April,  1667.  I  went  to  make  court  to  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Newcastle,  at  their  house  in  Clerkenwell, 
being  newly  come  out  of  the  north.  They  received  me 
with  great  kindness,  and  I  was  much  pleased  with  the 
extraordinary  fanciful  habit,  garb,  and  discourse  of  the 
Duchess. 

22d  April,  1667.  Saw  the  sumptuous  supper  in  the 
banqueting-house  at  Whitehall,  on  the  eve  of  St.  George's 
day,  where  were  all  the  companions  of  the  Order  of  the 
Garter. 

23d  April,  1667.  In  the  morning,  his  Majesty  went  to 
chapel  with  the  Knights  of  the  Garter,  all  in  their  habits 
and  robes,  ushered  by  the  heralds;  after  the  first  service, 
they  went  in  procession,  the  youngest  first,  the  Sovereign 
last,  with  the  Prelate  of  the  Order  and  Dean,  who  had 
about  his  neck  the  book  of  the  Statutes  of  the  Order;  and 
then  the  Chancellor  of  the  Order  (old  Sir  Henry  de  Vic), 
who  wore  the  purse  about  his  neck;  then  the  Heralds 
and  Garter  King-at-Arms,  Clarencieux,  Black  Rod.  But 
before  the  Prelate  and  Dean  of  Windsor  went  the  gentle- 
men of  the  chapel  and  choristers,  singing  as  they  marched ; 
behind  them  two  doctors  of  music  in  damask  robes;  this 
procession  was  about  the  courts  at  Whitehall.  Then, 
returning  to  their  stalls  and  seats  in  the  chapel,  placed 
under    each   knight's    coat-armor    and    titles,    the    second 

*  The  Virgin  Queen  which  Eveljm  saw  was  Dryden's  Maiden  Queen. 
Pepys  saw  it  on  the  night  of  its  first  production  (twelve  day's  before 
Evelyn's  visit) ;  and  was  charmed  by  Nell  Gwynue's  Florimell.  <<  So 
great  a  performance  of  a  comical  part  was  never,  I  believe,  in  the  world 
before. » 


32  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

service  began.  Then,  the  King  offered  at  the  altar,  an 
anthem  was  sung;  then,  the  rest  of  the  Knights  offered, 
and  lastly  proceeded  to  the  banqueting-house  to  a  great 
feast.  The  King  sat  on  an  elevated  throne  at  the  upper 
end  at  a  table  alone;  the  Knights  at  a  table  on  the  right 
hand,  reaching  all  the  length  of  the  room;  over  against 
them  a  cupboard  of  rich  gilded  plate;  at  the  lower  end, 
the  music;  on  the  balusters  above,  wind  music,  trumpets, 
and  kettle-drums.  The  King  was  served  by  the  lords  and 
pensioners  who  brought  up  the  dishes.  About  the  middle 
of  the  dinner,  the  Knights  drank  the  King's  health,  then 
the  King,  theirs,  when  the  trumpets  and  music  played  and 
sounded,  the  guns  going  off  at  the  Tower.  At  the  Ban- 
quet, came  in  the  Queen,  and  stood  by  the  King's  left 
hand,  but  did  not  sit.  Then  was  the  banqueting-stuff 
flung  about  the  room  profusely.  In  truth,  the  crowd  was 
so  great,  that  though  I  stayed  all  the  supper  the  day 
before,  I  now  stayed  no  longer  than  this  sport  began,  for 
fear  of  disorder.  The  cheer  was  extraordinary,  each 
Knight  having  forty  dishes  to  his  mess,  piled  up  five  or 
six  high;  the  room  hung  with  the  richest  tapestry. 

25th  April,  1667.  Visited  again  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
with  whom  I  had  been  acquainted  long  before  in  France, 
where  the  Duchess  had  obligation  to  my  wife's  mother  for 
her  marriage  there;  she  was  sister  to  Lord  Lucas,  and 
maid  of  honor  then  to  the  Queen-Mother;  married  in  our 
chapel  at  Paris.  My  wife  being  with  me,  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  both  would  needs  bring  her  to   the   very   Court. 

26th  April,  1667.  My  Lord  Chancellor  showed  me  all 
his  newly  finished  and  furnished  palace  and  library;  then, 
we  went  to  take  the  air  in  Hyde-Park. 

27th  April,  1667.  I  had  a  great  deal  of  discourse  with 
his  Majesty  at  dinner.  In  the  afternoon,  I  went  again 
with  my  wife  to  the  Duchess  of  Newcastle,  who  received 
her  in  a  kind  of  transport,  suitable  to  her  extravagant 
humor  and  dress,  which  was  very  singular. 

8th  May,  1667.  Made  up  accounts  with  our  Receiver, 
which  amounted  to  j£ 33,936  is.  4d.  Dined  at  Lord  Com- 
bury's,  with  Don  Francisco  de  Melos,  Portugal  Ambassador, 
and  kindred  to  the  Queen :  Of  the  party  were  Mr.  Henry 
Jermyn  and  Sir  Henry  Capel.  Afterward  I  went  to 
Arundel  House,  to  salute  Mr.  Howard's  sons,  newly  re- 
turned out  of  France, 


1667  JOHN   EVELYN  33 

nth  May,  1667.  To  London;  dined  with  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  and  sat  discoursing  with  her  Grace  in  her  bed- 
chamber after  dinner,  till  my  Lord  Marquis  of  Dorchester, 
with  other  company  came  in,  when  I  went  away. 

30th  May,  1667.  To  London,  to  wait  on  the  Duchess  of 
Newcastle  (who  was  a  mighty  pretender  to  learning, 
poetry,  and  philosophy,  and  had  in  both  published  divers 
books)  to  the  Royal  Society,  whither  she  came  in  great 
pomp,  and  being  received  by  our  Lord  President  at  the 
door  of  our  meeting-room,  the  mace,  etc.,  carried  before 
him,  had  several  experiments  shown  to  her.  I  conducted 
her  Grace  to  her  coach,  and  returned  home. 

ist  June,  1667.  I  went  to  Greenwich,  where  his  Majesty 
was  trying  divers  grenadoes  shot  out  of  cannon  at  the 
Castlehill,  from  the  house  in  the  park;  they  broke  not  till 
they  hit  the  mark,  the  forged  ones  broke  not  at  all,  but 
the  cast  ones  very  well.  The  inventor  was  a  German  there 
present.  At  the  same  time,  a  ring  was  shown  to  the 
King,  pretended  to  be  a  projection  of  mercury,  and  mal- 
leable, and  said  by  the  gentlemen  to  be  fixed  by  the  juice 
of  a  plant. 

8th  June,  1667.  To  London,  alarmed  by  the  Dutch, 
who  were  fallen  on  our  fleet  at  Chatham,  by  a  most 
audacious  enterprise,  entering  the  very  river  with  part  of 
their  fleet,  doing  us  not  only  disgrace,  but  incredible  mis- 
chief in  burning  several  of  our  best  men-of-war  lying  at 
anchor  and  moored  there,  and  all  this  through  our  unac- 
countable negligence  in  not  setting  out  our  fleet  in  due 
time.  This  alarm  caused  me,  fearing  the  enemy  might 
venture  up  the  Thames  even  to  London  (which  they 
might  have  done  with  ease,  and  fired  all  the  vessels  in 
the  river,  too),  to  send  away  my  best  goods,  plate,  etc., 
from  my  house  to  another  place.  The  alarm  was  so  great 
that  it  put  both  country  and  city  into  fear,  panic,  and 
consternation,  such  as  I  hope  I  shall  never  see  more; 
everybody  was  flying,  none  knew  why  or  whither.  Now, 
there  were  land  forces  dispatched  with  the  Duke  of  Albe- 
marle, Lord  Middleton,  Prince  Rupert,  and  the  Duke,  to 
hinder  the  Dutch  coming  to  Chatham,  fortifying  Upnor 
Castle,  and  laying  chains  and  bombs;  but  the  resolute 
enemy  broke  through  all,  and  set  fire  on  our  ships,  and 
retreated  in  spite,  stopping  up  the  Thames,  the  rest  of  the 
fleet  lying  before  the  mouth  of  it. 
3 


34  DIARY    OF  Chatham 

14th  June,  1667.  I  went  to  see  the  work  at  Woolwich, 
a  battery  to  prevent  them  coming  up  to  London,  which 
Prince  Rupert  commanded,  and  sunk  some  ships  in  the 
river. 

17th  June,  1667.  This  night,  about  two  o'clock,  some 
chips  and  combustible  matter  prepared  for  some  fire- 
ships,  taking  flame  in  Deptford-yard,  made  such  a  blaze, 
and  caused  such  an  uproar  in  the  Tower  (it  being  given 
out  that  the  Dutch  fleet  was  come  up,  and  had  landed 
their  men  and  fired  the  Tower),  as  had  liked  to  have 
done  more  mischief  before  people  would  be  persuaded 
to  the  contrary  and  believe  the  accident.  Everybody 
went  to  their  arms.     These  were  sad  and  troublesome  times. 

24th  June,  1667.  The  Dutch  fleet  still  continuing  to 
stop  up  the  river,  so  as  nothing  could  stir  out  or  come  in, 
I  was  before  the  Council,  and  commanded  by  his  Majesty 
to  go  with  some  others  and  search  about  the  environs  of 
the  city,  now  exceedingly  distressed  for  want  of  fuel, 
whether  there  could  be  any  peat,  or  turf,  found  fit  for  use. 
The  next  day,  I  went  and  discovered  enough,  and  made 
my  report  that  there  might  be  found  a  great  deal;  but 
nothing  further  was  done  in  it. 

28th  June,  1667.  I  went  to  Chatham,  and  thence  to  view 
not  only  what  mischief  the  Dutch  had  done ;  but  how  tri- 
umphantly their  whole  fleet  lay  within  the  very  mouth  of 
the  Thames,  all  from  the  North  Fore-land,  Margate,  even 
to  the  buoy  of  the  Nore  —  a  dreadful  spectacle  as  ever 
Englishmen  saw,  and  a  dishonor  never  to  be  wiped  off! 
Those  who  advised  his  Majesty  to  prepare  no  fleet  this 
spring  deserved  —  I  know  what  —  but* — 

Here  in  the  river  off  Chatham,  just  before  the  town,  lay 
the  carcase  of  the  «  London*  (now  the  third  time  burnt), 
the  *  Royal  Oak,  *  the  ^^  James, "  etc. ,  yet  smoking ;  and  now, 
when  the  mischief  was  done,  we  were  making  trifling 
forts  on  the  brink  of  the  river.  Here  were  yet  forces, 
both  of  horse  and  foot,  with  General  Middleton  continually 
expecting  the  motions  of  the  enemy's  fleet.     I  had  much 

*«The  Parliament  giving  but  weak  supplies  for  the  war,  the  King, 
to  save  charges,  is  persuaded  by  the  Chancellor,  the  Lord  Treasurer, 
Southampton,  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  and  the  other  ministers,  to  lay 
up  the  first  and  second-rate  ships,  and  make  only  a  defensive  war  in 
the  next  campaign.  The  Duke  of  York  opposed  this,  but  was  over- 
ruled.»    Life  of  King  James  II.,  vol.  i.,  p.  425. 


i667  JOHN  EVELYN  35 

discourse  with  him,  who  was  an  experienced  commander. 
I  told  him  I  wondered  the  King  did  not  fortify  Sheemess* 
and  the  Ferry;   both   abandoned. 

2d  July,  1667.  Called  upon  my  Lord  Arlington,  as  from 
his  Majesty,  about  the  new  fuel.  The  occasion  why  I  was 
mentioned,  was  from  what  I  said  in  my  Sylva  three  years 
before,  about  a  sort  of  fuel  for  a  need,  which  obstructed  a 
patent  of  Lord  Carlingford,  who  had  been  seeking  for  it 
himself;  he  was  endeavoring  to  bring  me  into  the  pro- 
ject, and  proffered  me  a  share.  I  met  my  Lord;  and,  on 
the  9th,  by  an  order  of  Council,  went  to  my  Lord  Mayor, 
to  be  assisting.  In  the  meantime  they  had  made  an  ex- 
periment of  my  receipt  of  houllies,  which  I  mention  in  my 
book  to  be  made  at  Maestricht,  with  a  mixture  of  charcoal 
dust  and  loam,  and  which  was  tried  with  success  at  Gresham 
College  (then  being  the  exchange  for  the  meeting  of  the 
merchants  since  the  fire)  for  everybody  to  see.  This 
done,  I  went  to  the  Treasury  for  jQi2,ooo  for  the  sick  and 
wounded  yet  on  my  hands. 

Next  day,  we  met  again  about  the  fuel  at  Sir  J.  Ar- 
mourer's in  the  Mews. 

8th  July,  1667.  My  Lord  Brereton  and  others  dined  at 
my  house,  where  I  showed  them  proof  of  my  new  fuel, 
which  was  very  glowing,  and  without  smoke  or  ill 
smell. 

loth  July,  1667.  I  went  to  see  Sir  Samuel  Morland's 
inventions  and  machines,  arithmetical  wheels,  quench-fires, 
and  new  harp. 

17th  July,  1667.  The  master  of  the  mint  and  his  lady, 
Mr.  Williamson,  Sir  Nicholas  Armourer,  Sir  Edward  Bow- 
yer,  Sir  Anthony  Auger,  and  other  friends  dined  with 
me. 

29th  July,  1667.  I  went  to  Gravesend;  the  Dutch  fleet 
still  at  anchor  before  the  river,  where  I  saw  five  of  his 
Majesty's  men-at-war  encounter  above  twenty  of  the 
Dutch,  in  the  bottom  of  the  Hope,  chasing  them  with 
many  broadsides  given  and  returned  toward  the  buoy  of 
the  Nore,  where  the  body  of  their  fleet  lay,  which  lasted 
till  about  midnight.  One  of  their  ships  was  fired,  sup- 
posed by  themselves,  she  being  run  on  ground.  Having 
seen  this  bold  action,  and  their  braving  us  so  far  up  the 
river,  I  went  home  the  next  day,  not  without  indignation 

•Since  done.     Evelyn's  note. 


36  DIARY  OF  London 

at  pur  negligence,  and  the  nation's  reproach.  It  is  well 
known  who  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury  gave 
advice  that  the  charge  of  setting  forth  a  fleet  this  year 
might  be  spared,  Sir  W.  C.  (William  Coventry)  by 
name. 

ist  August,  1667.  I  received  the  sad  news  of  Abraham 
Cowley's  death,  that  incomparable  poet  and  virtuous  man, 
my  very  dear  friend,  and  was  greatly  deplored. 

3d  August,  1667.  Went  to  Mr.  Cowley's  funeral,  whose 
corpse  lay  at  Wallingford  House,  and  was  thence  conveyed 
to  Westminster  Abbey  in  a  hearse  with  six  horses  and  all 
funeral  decency,  near  a  hundred  coaches  of  noblemen  and 
persons  of  quality  following;  among  these,  all  the  wits  of 
the  town,  divers  bishops  and  clergymen.  He  was  interred 
next  Geoffry  Chaucer,  and  near  Spenser.  A  goodly  mon- 
ument is  since  erected  to  his  memory. 

Now  did  his  Majesty  again  dine  in  the  presence,  in 
ancient  state,  with  music  and  all  the  court  ceremonies, 
which  had  been  interrupted  since  the  late  war. 

8th  August,  1667.  Visited  Mr.  Oldenburg,  a  close 
prisoner  in  the  Tower,  being  suspected  of  writing  intel- 
ligence. I  had  an  order  from  Lord  Arlington,  Secretary 
of  State,  which  caused  me  to  be  admitted.  This  gentle- 
man was  secretary  to  our  Society,  and  I  am  confident 
will  prove  an  innocent  person. 

15th  August,  1667.  Finished  my  account,  amounting  to 
;^25,ooo. 

17  th  August  1667.  To  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Farringdon, 
a  relation  of  my  wife's. 

There  was  now  a  very  gallant  horse  to  be  baited  to 
death  with  dogs;  but  he  fought  them  all,  so  as  the  fiercest 
of  them  could  not  fasten  on  him,  till  the  men  run  him 
through  with  their  swords.  This  wicked  and  barbarous 
sport  deserved  to  have  been  punished  in  the  cruel  con- 
trivers to  get  money,  under  pretense  that  the  horse  had 
killed  a  man,  which  was  false.  I  would  not  be  persuaded 
to  be  a  spectator. 

2ist  August,  1667.  Saw  the  famous  Italian  puppet-play, 
for  it  was  no  other. 

24th  August,  1667.  I  was  appointed,  with  the  rest  of 
my  brother  commissioners,  to  put  in  execution  an  order 
of  Council  for  freeing  the  prisoners  at  war  in  my  custody 
at  Leeds  Castle,  and  taking  oflE  his  Majesty's  extraordinary 


1 667  JOHN  EVELYN  37 

charge,  having  called  before  us  the  French  and  Dutch 
agents.  The  peace  was  now  proclaimed,  in  the  usual  form, 
by  the  heralds-at-arms. 

25th  August,  1667.  After  evening  service,  I  went  to 
visit  Mr.  Vaughan,  who  lay  at  Greenwich,  a  very  wise  and 
learned  person,  one  of  Mr.  Selden's  executors  and  intimate 
friends. 

27th  August,  1667.  Visited  the  Lord  Chancellor,  to  whom 
his  Majesty  had  sent  for  the  seals  a  few  days  before;  I 
found  him  in  his  bedchamber,  very  sad.  The  Parliament 
had  accused  him,  and  he  had  enemies  at  Court,  especially 
the  buffoons  and  ladies  of  pleasure,  because  he  thwarted 
some  of  them,  and  stood  in  their  way;  I  could  name  some 
of  the  chief.  The  truth  is,  he  made  few  friends  during 
his  grandeur  among  the  royal  sufferers,  but  advanced  the 
old  rebels.  He  was,  however,  though  no  considerable  law- 
yer, one  who  kept  up  the  form  and  substance  of  things 
in  the  Nation  with  more  solemnity  than  some  would  have 
had.  He  was  my  particular  kind  friend,  on  all  occasions. 
The  cabal,  however,  prevailed,  and  that  party  in  Parlia- 
ment. Great  division  at  Court  concerning  him,  and  divers 
great  persons  interceding  for  him, 

28th  August,  1667.  I  dined  with  my  late  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, where  also  dined  Mr.  Ashbumham,  and  Mr.  W. 
Legge,  of  the  bedchamber;  his  Lordship  pretty  well  in 
heart,  though  now  many  of  his  friends  and  sycophants 
abandoned  him. 

In  the  afternoon,  to  the  Lords  Commissioners  for  money, 
and  thence  to  the  audience  of  a  Russian  Envoy  in  the 
Queen's  presence-chamber,  introduced  with  much  state, 
the  soldiers,  pensioners,  and  guards  in  their  order.  His 
letters  of  credence  brought  by  his  secretary  in  a  scarf 
of  sarsenet,  their  vests  sumptuous,  much  embroidered  with 
pearls.  He  delivered  his  speech  in  the  Russ  language, 
but  without  the  least  action,  or  motion,  of  his  body,  which 
was  immediately  interpreted  aloud  by  a  German  that  spoke 
good  English:  half  of  it  consisted  in  repetition  of  the 
Czar's  titles,  which  were  very  haughty  and  oriental:  the 
substance  of  the  rest  was,  that  he  was  only  sent  to  see  the 
King  and  Queen,  and  know  how  they  did,  with  much  com- 
pliment and  frothy  language.  Then,  they  kissed  their 
Majesties'  hands,  and  went  as  they  came;  but  their  real 
errand  was  to  get  money. 


3$  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

29th  August,  1667.  We  met  at  the  Star-chamber  about 
exchange  and  release  of  prisoners. 

7th  September,  1667.  Came  Sir  John  Kiviet,  to  article 
with  me  about  his  brickwork. 

13th  September,  1667.  Between  the  hours  of  twelve  and 
one,  was  born  my  second  daughter,  who  was  afterward 
christened  Elizabeth. 

19th  September,  1667.  To  London,  with  Mr.  Henry 
Howard,  of  Norfolk,  of  whom  I  obtained  the  gift  of  his 
Arundelian  marbles,  those  celebrated  and  famous  inscrip- 
tions, Greek  and  Latin,  gathered  with  so  much  cost  and 
industry  from  Greece,  by  his  illustrious  grandfather,  the 
magnificent  Earl  of  Arundel,  my  noble  friend  while  he 
lived.  When  I  saw  these  precious  monuments  miseratly 
neglected,  and  scattered  up  and  down  about  the  garden, 
and  other  parts  of  Arundel  House,  and  how  exceedingly 
the  corrosive  air  of  London  impaired  them,  I  procured 
him  to  bestow  them  on  the  University  of  Oxford.  This 
he  was  pleased  to  grant  me;  and  now  gave  me  the  key 
of  the  gallery,  with  leave  to  mark  all  those  stones,  urns, 
altars,  etc.,  and  whatever  I  found  had  inscriptions  on 
them,  that  were  not  statues.  This  I  did ;  and  getting  them 
removed  and  piled  together,  with  those  which  were  in- 
crusted  in  the  garden  walls,  I  sent  immediately  letters  to 
the  Vice-Chancellor  of  what  I  had  procured,  and  that  if 
they  esteemed  it  a  service  to  the  University  (of  which  I 
had  been  a  member),  they  should  take  order  for  their 
transportation. 

This  done  21st,  I  accompanied  Mr.  Howard  to  his  villa 
at  Albury,  where  I  designed  for  him  the  plot  of  his  canal 
and  garden,  with  a  crypt  through  the  hill. 

24th  September,  1667.  Returned  to  London,  where  I 
had  orders  to  deliver  the  possession  of  Chelsea  College 
(used  as  my  prison  during  the  war  with  Holland  for  such 
as  were  sent  from  the  fleet  to  London)  to  our  Society,  as 
a  gift  of  his  Majesty,  our  founder. 

8th  October,  1667.  Came  to  dine  with  me  Dr.  Bathurst, 
Dean  of  Wells,  President  of  Trinity  College,  sent  by  the 
Vice-Chancellor  of  Oxford,  in  the  name  both  of  him  and 
the  whole  University,  to  thank  me  for  procuring  the  in- 
scriptions, and  to  receive  my  directions  what  was  to  be 
done  to  show  their  gratitude  to  Mr,   Howard. 

nth  October,  1667.     I  went  to  see  Lord  Clarendon,  late 


1 66;  JOHN   EVELYN  39 

Lord  Chancellor  and  greatest  officer  in  England,  in  con- 
tinual apprehension  what  the  Parliament  would  determine 
concerning  him. 

17th  October,  1667.  Came  Dr.  Barlow,  Provost  of 
Queen's  College  and  Protobibliothecus  of  the  Bodleian 
library,  to  take  order  about  the  transportation  of  the 
marbles. 

25  th  October,  1667.  There  were  delivered  to  me  two 
letters  from  the  Vice- Chancellor  of  Oxford,  with  the 
Decree  of  the  Convocation,  attested  by  the  Public  Notary, 
ordering  four  Doctors  of  Divinity  and  Law  to  acknowledge 
the  obligation  the  University  had  to  me  for  procuring  the 
Marmora  Arundeliana,  which  was  solemnly  done  by  Dr. 
Barlow,  Dr.  Jenkins,  Judge  of  the  Admiralty,  Dr.  Lloyd, 
and  Obadiah  Walker,  of  University  College,  who  having 
made  a  large  compliment  from  the  University,  delivered 
me  the  decree  fairly  written: 

Gesta  venerahili  domo  Convocationis  Universitatis  Oxon.;  .  .  17. 
1667.  ^uo  die  retulit  ad  Senatutn  Academicum  Dominus  Vicecancel- 
larius,  quantum  Universitas  deberet  singulari  benevolenticB  Johannis 
Evelini  Armigeri,  qui  pro  ed  pietate  qud  Almam  Matrem  prosequitur 
non  solum  Suasu  et  Consilio  apud  inclytum  Heroem  Henricum  Howard, 
Ducis  Norfolcice  hceredem,  inter cessit,  et  Universitati  pretiosissimum 
erudites  antiquitatis  thesaurum  Marmora  Arundeliana  largiretur;  sed 
egregiufn  insuper  in  i/s  colligendis  asservandisq;  navavit  operam, :  ^ua- 
propter  unanimi  suffragio  Venerabilis  Domils  decretum  est,  ut  eidem 
publicce  graticE  per  delegatos  ad  Honoratissimum  Dominum  Henricum 
Hotvard propediem  mittendos  solemnit^r  reddantur. 

Concordant  superscripta  cum  originali  collatione  fdcta  per  me  Ben, 
Cooper, 

Notarium  Publicum  et  Registarium  Universitat  Oxon. 

«Sir: 

«  We  intend  also  a  noble  inscription,  in  which  also  honorable  mention 
shall  be  made  of  yourself  ;  but  Mr.  Vice-Chancellor  commands  me  to 
tell  you  that  that  was  not  sufficient  for  your  merits ;  but,  that  if  your 
occasions  would  permit  you  to  come  down  at  the  Act  (when  we  intend 
a  dedication  of  our  new  Theater),  some  other  testimony  should  be  given 
both  of  your  own  worth  and  affection  to  this  your  old  mother ;  for  we 
are  all  very  sensible  that  this  great  addition  of  learning  and  reputation 
to  the  University  is  due  as  well  to  your  industrious  care  for  the  Univer- 
sity, and  interest  with  my  Lord  Howard,  as  to  his  great  nobleness  and 
generosity  of  spirit. 

« I  am,  Sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

«  Obadiah  Walker,  Univ.  Coll.» 

The  Vice-Chancellor's  letter  to  the  same  effect  was  too 
vainglorious  to  insert,  with   divers   copies   of   verses  that 


40  DIARY  OF  London 

were  also  sent  me.  Their  mentioning  me  in  the  inscrip- 
tion I  totally  declined,  when  I  directed  the  titles  of  Mr. 
Howard,  now  made  Lord,  upon  his  Ambassage  to 
Morocco, 

These  four  doctors,  having  made  me  this  compliment, 
desired  me  to  carry  and  introduce  them  to  Mr.  Howard, 
at  Arundel  House;  which  I  did,  Dr.  Barlow  (Provost  of 
Queen's)  after  a  short  speech,  delivering  a  larger  letter  of 
the  University's  thanks,  which  was  written  in  Latin,  ex- 
pressing the  great  sense  they  had  of  the  honor  done  them. 
After  this  compliment  handsomely  performed  and  as  nobly 
received.  Mr.  Howard  accompanied  the  doctors  to  their 
coach.     That  evening  I  supped  with  them. 

26th  October,  1667.  My  late  Lord  Chancellor  was  ac- 
cused by  Mr.  Seymour  in  the  House  of  Commons;  and, 
in  the  evening,  I  returned  home. 

31st  October,  1667.  My  birthday — blessed  be  God  for 
all  his  mercies!  I  made  the  Royal  Society  a  present  of 
the  Table  of  Veins,  Arteries,  and  Nerves,  which  great 
curiosity  I  had  caused  to  be  made  in  Italy,  out  of  the 
natural  human  bodies,  by  a  learned  physician,  and  the  help 
of  Veslingius  (professor  at  Padua),  from  whence  I  brought 
them  in  1646.  For  this  I  received  the  public  thanks  of 
the  Society;  and  they  are  hanging  up  in  their  repository 
with  an  inscription. 

9th  December,  1667.  To  visit  the  late  Lord  Chancellor.* 
I  found  him  in  his  garden  at  his  new-built  palace,  sitting 
in  his  gout  wheel-chair,  and  seeing  the  gates  setting  up 
toward  the  north  and  the  fields.  He  looked  and  spake 
very  disconsolately.  After  some  while  deploring  his  con- 
dition to  me,  I  took  my  leave.  Next  morning,  I  heard  he 
was  gone;  though  I  am  persuaded  that,  had  he  gone 
sooner,  though  but  to  Cornbury,  and  there  lain  quiet,  it 
would  have  satisfied  the  Parliament.  That  which  exas- 
perated them  was  his  presuming  to  stay  and  contest  the 

*This  entry  of  the  9th  December,  1667,  is  a  mistake.  Evelyn  could 
not  have  visited  the  « late  Lord  Chancellor  »  on  that  day.  Lord  Clar- 
endon fled  on  Saturday,  the  29th  of  November,  1667,  and  his  letter 
resigning  the  Chancellorship  of  the  University  of  Oxford  is  dated  from 
Calais  on  the  7th  of  December.  That  Evelyn's  book  is  not,  in  every 
respect,  strictly  a  diary,  is  shown  by  this  and  several  similar  passages 
already  adverted  to  in  the  remarks  prefixed  to  the  present  edition.  If 
the  entry  of  the  iSthof  August.  1683,  is  correct,  the  date  of  Evelyn's 
last  visit  to  Lord  Clarendon  was  the  28th  of  November,  1667. 


1667-68  JOHN   EVELYN  41 

accusation  as  long  as  it  was  possible:  and  they  were  on 
the  point  of  sending  him  to  the  Tower. 

loth  December,  1667,  I  went  to  the  funeral  of  Mrs. 
Heath,  wife  of  my  worthy  friend  and  schoolfellow. 

2ist  December,  1667.  I  saw  one  Carr  pilloried  at  Char- 
ing-cross  for  a  libel,  which  was  burnt  before  him  by  the 
hangman. 

8th  January,  1667-68.  I  saw  deep  and  prodigious  gam- 
ing at  the  Groom- Porter's,  vast  heaps  of  gold  squandered 
away  in  a  vain  and  profuse  manner.  This  I  looked  on  as 
a  horrid  vice,  and  unsuitable  in  a  Christian  Court. 

9th  January,  1668.  Went  to  see  the  revels  at  the  Middle 
Temple,  which  is  also  an  old  riotous  custom,  and  has  rela- 
tion neither  to  virtue  nor  policy. 

loth  January,  1668,  To  visit  Mr.  Povey,  where  were 
divers  great  Lords  to  see  his  well-contrived  cellar,  and  other 
elegancies. 

24th  January,  1668.  We  went  to  stake  out  ground  for 
building  a  college  for  the  Royal  Society  at  Arundel- House, 
but  did  not  finish  it,  which  we  shall  repent  of. 

4th  February,  1668.  I  saw  the  tragedy  of  "Horace® 
(written  by  the  virtuous  Mrs.  Philips)  acted  before  their 
Majesties.  Between  each  act  a  masque  and  antique  dance. 
The  excessive  gallantry  of  the  ladies  was  infinite,  those 
especially  on  that  .  .  .  Castlemaine,  esteemed  at  jC4o,- 
000  and  more,  far  outshining  the  Queen. 

15th  February,  1668.  I  saw  the  audience  of  the  Swedish 
Ambassador  Count  Donna,  in  great  state  in  the  banquet- 
ing house. 

3d  March,  1668.  Was  launched  at  Deptford,  that  goodly 
vessel,  "  The  Charles.  '*  I  was  near  his  Majesty.  She  is 
longer  than  the  *  Sovereign, ** and  carries  no  brass  cannon; 
she  was  built  by  old  Shish,  a  plain,  honest  carpenter, 
master-builder  of  this  dock,  but  one  who  can  give  very 
little  account  of  his  art  by  discourse,  and  is  hardly  capable 
of  reading,  yet  of  great  ability  in  his  calling.  The  family 
have  been  ship  carpenters  in  this  yard  above  300 
years. 

12th  March,  1668,  Went  to  visit  Sir  John  Cotton,  who 
had  me  into  his  library,  full  of  good  MSS. ,  Greek  and  Latin, 
but  most  famous  for  those  of  the  Saxon  and  English 
antiquities,  collected  by  his  grandfather. 

2d    April    1668.     To   the    Royal    Society,   where   I  sub- 


42  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

scribed  50,000  bricks,  toward  building  a  college.  Among 
other    libertine    libels,    there    was    one   now   printed   and 

thrown  about,  a  bold  petition  of  the  poor  w s  to  Lady 

Castlemaine.* 

9th  April,  1668.  To  London,  about  finishing  my  grand 
account  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  prisoners  at  war, 
amounting  to  above  ;;^34,ooo. 

I  heard  Sir  R.  Howard  impeach  Sir  William  Penn,  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  for  breaking  bulk,  and  taking  away 
rich  goods  out  of  the  East  India  prizes,  formerly  taken 
by  Lord  Sandwich. 

28th  April,  1668.  To  London,  about  the  purchase  of 
Ravensboume  Mills,  and  land  around  it,  in  Upper  Dept- 
ford,  of  one  Mr,  Becher. 

30th  April,  1668.  We  sealed  the  deeds  in  Sir  Edward 
Thurland's  chambers  in  the  Inner  Temple.  I  pray  God 
bless  it  to  me,  it  being  a  dear  pennyworth;  but  the  pas- 
sion Sir  R.  Browne  had  for  it,  and  that  it  was  contiguous 
to  our  other  grounds,  engaged  me! 

13th  May,  1668.  Invited  by  that  expert  commander. 
Captain  Cox,  master  of  the  lately  built  *  Charles  II.,* 
now  the  best  vessel  of  the  fleet,  designed  for  the  Duke  of 
York,    I  went  to  Erith,  where  we  had  a  great  dinner. 

1 6th  May,  1668.  Sir  Richard  Edgecombe,  of  Mount 
Edgecombe,  by  Plymouth,  my  relation,  came  to  visit  me; 
a  very  virtuous  and  worthy  gentleman. 

19th  June,  1668.  To  a  new  play  with  several  of  my 
relations,  "  The  Evening  Lover,  *  a  foolish  plot,  and  very 
profane;  it  afflicted  me  to  see  how  the  stage  was  degen- 
erated and  polluted  by  the  licentious  times. 

2d  July,  1668,  Sir  Samuel  Tuke,  Bart,  and  the  lady  he 
had  married  this  day,  came  and  bedded  at  night  at  my 
house,  many  friends  accompanying  the  bride. 

23d  July,  1668.  At  the  Royal  Society,  were  presented 
divers  glossa  petras,  and  other  natural  curiosities,  found  in 
digging  to  build  the  fort  at  Sheerness.  They  were  just 
the  same  as  they  bring  from  Malta,  pretending  them  to 
be  viper's  teeth,  whereas,  in  truth,  they  are  of  a  shark,  as 
we  found  by  comparing  them  with  one  in  our  reposi- 
tory. 

3d  August,  1668.  Mr.  Bramstone  (son  to  Judge  B.), 
my  old  fellow-traveler,  now  reader  at   the  Middle  Temple, 

*  Evelyn  has  been  supposed  himself ^to  have  written  this  piece. 


1 668  JOHN  EVELYN  43 

invited  me  to  his  feast,  which  was  so  very  extravagant 
and  great  as  the  like  had  not  been  seen  at  any  time. 
There  were  ^the  Duke  of  Ormond,  Privy  Seal,  Bedford, 
Belasis,    Halifax,  and    a  world  more  of  Earls  and    Lords. 

14th  August,  1668.  His  Majesty  was  pleased  to  grant 
me  a  lease  of  a  slip  of  ground  out  of  Brick  Close,  to 
enlarge  my  fore-court,  for  which  I  now  gave  him  thanks; 
then,  entering  into  other  discourse,  he  talked  to  me  of  a 
new  varnish  for  ships,  instead  of  pitch,  and  of  the  gilding 
with  which  his  new  yacht  was  beautified.  I  showed  his 
Majesty  the  perpetual  motion  sent  to  me  by  Dr.  Stokes, 
from  Cologne;  and  then  came  in  Monsieur  Colbert,  the 
French  Ambassador. 

19th  August,  1668.  I  saw  the  magnificent  entry  of  the 
French  Ambassador  Colbert,  received  in  the  banqueting 
house.  I  had  never  seen  a  richer  coach  than  that  which 
he  came  in  to  Whitehall.  Standing  by  his  Majesty  at 
dinner  in  the  presence,  there  was  of  that  rare  fruit  called 
the  king-pine,  growing  in  Barbadoes  and  the  West  Indies; 
the  first  of  them  I  had  ever  seen.  His  Majesty  having 
cut  it  up,  was  pleased  to  give  me  a  piece  off  his  own 
plate  to  taste  of;  but,  in  my  opinion,  it  falls  short  of  those 
ravishing  varieties  of  deliciousness  described  in  Captain 
Ligon's  history,  and  others;  but  possibly  it  might,  or  cer- 
tainly was,  much  impaired  in  coming  so  far;  it  has  yet  a 
grateful  acidity,  but  tastes  more  like  the  quince  and  melon 
than  of  any  other  fruit  he  mentions, 

28th  August,  1668.  Published  my  book  on  «The  Per- 
fection of  Painting,'^  dedicated  to  Mr.  Howard. 

17th  September,  1668.  I  entertained  Signor  Muccinigo, 
the  Venetian  Ambassador,  of  one  of  the  noblest  families 
of  the  State,  this  being  the  day  of  making  his  public 
entry,  setting  forth  from  my  house  with  several  gentle- 
men of  Venice  and  others  in  a  very  glorious  train.  He 
staid  with  me  till  the  Earl  of  Anglesea  and  Sir  Charles 
Cotterell  (master  of  the  ceremonies)  came  with  the  King's 
barge  to  carry  him  to  the  Tower,  where  the  guns  were 
fired  at  his  landing;  he  then  entered  his  Majesty's  coach, 
followed  by  many  others  of  the  nobility.  I  accompanied 
him  to  his  house,  where  there  was  a  most  noble  supper 
to  all  the  company,  of  course.  After  the  extraordinary 
compliments  to  me  and  my  wife,  for  the  civilities  he 
received  at  my  house,   I    took  leave  and  returned.     He  is 


44  DIARY  OF  London 

a  very  accomplished  person.  He  is  since  Ambassador  at 
Rome. 

29th  September,  1668.  I  had  much  discourse  with  Sig- 
nor  Pietro  Cisij,  a  Persian  gentleman,  about  the  affairs  of 
Turkey,  to  my  great  satisfaction.  I  went  to  see  Sir  Elias 
Leighton's  project  of  a  cart  with  iron  axletrees. 

8th  November,  1668.  Being  at  dinner,  my  sister  Evelyn 
sent  for  me  to  come  up  to  London  to  my  continuing 
sick  brother, 

14th  November,  1668.  To  London,  invited  to  the  con- 
secration of  that  excellent  person,  the  Dean  of  Ripon, 
Dr.  Wilkins,  now  made  Bishop  of  Chester;  it  was  at 
Ely  House,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Dr.  Cosin, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  the  Bishops  of  Ely,  Salisbury,  Roch- 
ester, and  others  officiating.  Dr.  Tillotson  preached. 
Then,  we  went  to  a  sumptuous  dinner  in  the  hall,  where 
were  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  Judges,  Secretaries  of 
State,  Lord-Keeper,  Council,  Noblemen,  and  innumera- 
ble other  company,  who  were  honorers  of  this  incom- 
parable man,  universally  beloved  by  all  who  knew   him. 

This  being  the  Queen's  birthday,  great  was  the  gal- 
lantry at  Whitehall,  and  the  night  celebrated  with  very 
fine  fireworks. 

My  poor  brother  continuing  ill,  I  went  not  from  him 
till  the  17th,  when,  dining  at  the  Groom  Porters,  I  heard 
Sir  Edward  Sutton  play  excellently  on  the  Irish  harp; 
he  performs  genteelly,  but  not  approaching  my  worthy 
friend,  Mr.  Clark,  a  gentleman  of  Northumberland,  who 
makes  it  execute  lute,  viol,  and  all  the  harmony  an  in- 
strument is  capable  of;  pity  it  is  that  it  is  not  more  in 
use;  but,  indeed,  to  play  well,  takes  up  the  whole  man, 
as  Mr.  Clark  has  assured  me,  who,  though  a  gentleman 
of  quality  and  parts,  was  yet  brought  up  to  that  instru- 
ment from  five  years  old,  as  I  remember  he  told  me. 

25th  November,  1668.  I  waited  on  Lord  Sandwich, 
who  presented  me  with  a  Sembrador  he  brought  out  of 
Spain,  showing  me  his  two  books  of  observations  made 
during  his  embassy  and  stay  at  Madrid,  in  which  were 
several  rare  things  he  promised  to  impart  to  me. 

27th  November,  1668.  I  dined  at  my  Lord  Ashley's 
(since  Earl  of  Shaftesbury),  when  the  match  of  my  niece 
was  proposed  for  his  only  son,  in  which  my  assistance 
was  desired  for  my  Lord. 


1668-69  JOHN  EVELYN  45 

28th  November,  1668.  Dr.  Patrick  preached  at  Convent 
Garden,  on  Acts  xvii.  31,  the  certainty  of  Christ's  com- 
ing to  judgTnent,  it  being  Advent;  a  most  suitable  dis- 
course. 

19th  December,  1668.  I  went  to  see  the  old  play  of 
"  Cataline  *  acted,  having  been  now  forgotten  almost 
forty  years. 

20th  December,  1668.  I  dined  with  my  Lord  Corn- 
bury,  at  Clarendon  House,  now  bravely  furnished,  espe- 
cially with  the  pictures  of  most  of  our  ancient  and 
modem  wits,  poets,  philosophers,  famous  and  learned 
Englishmen;  which  collection  of  the  Chancellor's  I  much 
commended,  and  gave  his  Lordship  a  catalogue  of  more 
to  be  added. 

31st  December,  1668.  I  entertained  my  kind  neigh- 
bors, according  to  custom,  giving  Almighty  God  thanks 
for  his  gracious  mercies  to  me  the  past  year. 

ist  January,  1669,  Imploring  his  blessing  for  the  year 
entering,  I  went  to  church,  where  our  Doctor  preached 
on  Psalm  Ixv.  12,  apposite  to  the  season,  and  beginning 
a  new  year. 

3d  January,  1669.  About  this  time  one  of  Sir  William 
Penn's  sons  had  published  a  blasphemous  book  against 
the  Deity  of  our  Blessed  Lord. 

29th  January,  1669.  I  went  to  see  a  tall  gigantic  woman 
who  measured  6  feet  10  inches  high,  at  21  years  old,  bom 
in  the  Low  Countries. 

13th  February,  1669.  I  presented  his  Majesty  with  my 
*  History  of  the  Four  Impostors ;  *  *  he  told  me  of  other 
like  cheats.  I  gave  my  book  to  Lord  Arlington,  to  whom 
I  dedicated  it.  It  was  now  that  he  began  to  tempt  me 
about  writing  "The  Dutch  War.'^ 

15th  February,  1669.  Saw  Mrs.  Phillips'  "Horace" 
acted  again. 

1 8th  February,  1669.  To  the  Royal  Society,  when 
Sig^or  Malpighi,  an  Italian  physician  and  anatomist,  sent 
this  learned  body  the  incomparable  "  History  of  the  Silk- 
worm. ^ 

ist  March,  1669.  Dined  at  Lord  Arlington's  at  Goring 
House,  with  the  Bishop  of  Hereford. 

4th  March,  1669.  To  the  Council  of  the  Ro5''al  Society, 
about  disposing  my  Lord  Howard's  library,  now  given  to  us. 

♦Reprinted  in  Evelyn's  « Miscellaneous  Writings. » 


46  DIARY  OF  London 

1 6th  March,  1669.  To  London,  to  place  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Wase  about  my  Lord  Arlington. 

1 8th  March,  1669.  I  went  with  Lord  Howard  of  Nor- 
folk, to  visit  Sir  William  Ducie  at  Charlton,  where  we 
dined;  the  servants  made  our  coachmen  so  drunk,  that 
they  both  fell  off  their  boxes  on  the  heath,  where  we 
were  fain  to  leave  them,  and  were  driven  to  London 
by  two  servants  of  my  Lord's.  This  barbarous  custom 
of  making  the  masters  welcome  by  intoxicating  the 
servants,  had  now  the  second  time  happened  to  my 
coachmen. 

My  son  finally  came  from  Oxford. 

2d  April,  1669.  Dined  at  Mr.  Treasurer's,  where  was 
(with  many  noblemen)  Colonel  Titus  of  the  bedchamber, 
author  of  the  famous  piece  against  Cromwell,  "  Killing 
no  Murder.* 

I  now  placed  Mr.  Wase  with  Mr.  Williamson,  Secretary 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  Clerk  of  the  Papers. 

14th  April,  1669.  I  dined  with  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, at  Lambeth,  and  saw  the  library,  which  was  not 
very  considerable. 

19th  May,  1669.  At  a  Council  of  the  Royal  Society 
our  grant  was  finished,  in  which  his  Majesty  gives  us 
Chelsea  College,  and  some  land  about  it.  It  was  ordered 
that  five  should  be  a  quorum  for  a  Council.  The  Vice- 
President  was  then  sworn  for  the  first  time,  and  it  was 
proposed  how  we  should  receive  the  Prince  of  Tuscany, 
who  desired  to  visit  the  Society. 

20th  May,  1669.  This  evening,  at  10  o'clock,  was  born 
my  third  daughter,  who  was  baptized  on  the  25th  by  the 
name  of  Susannah. 

3d  June,  1669.  Went  to  take  leave  of  Lord  Howard, 
going  Ambassador  to  Morocco.  Dined  at  Lord  Arling- 
ton's, where  were  the  Earl  of  Berkshire,  Lord  Saint  John, 
Sir  Robert  Howard,  and  Sir  R.  Holmes. 

loth  June,  1669.  Came  my  Lord  Combury,  Sir  William 
Pulteney,  and  others  to  visit  me.  I  went  this  evening  to 
London,  to  carry  Mr.  Pepys  to  my  brother  Richard,  now 
exceedingly  afflicted  with  the  stone,  who  had  been  suc- 
cessfully cut,  and  carried  the  stone  as  big  as  a  tennis 
ball  to  show  him,  and  encourage  his  resolution  to  go 
through  the  operation, 

30th  June,   1669.     My  wife  went  a  journey  of  pleasure 


i669  JOHN  EVELYN  47 

down  the  river  as  far  as  the  sea,  with  Mrs.  Howard  and 
her  daughter,  the  Maid  of  Honor,  and  others,  among 
whom  that  excellent  creature,  Mrs,  Blagg.* 

7th  July,  1669.  I  went  toward  Oxford;  lay  at  Little 
Wycomb. 

8th  July,  1669.     Oxford. 

9th  July,  1669.  In  the  morning  was  celebrated  the 
Encaenia  of  the  New  Theater,  so  magnificently  built  by 
the  munificence  of  Dr.  Gilbert  Sheldon,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  in  which  was  spent  ^^25,000,  as  Sir  Christo- 
pher Wren,  the  architect  (as  I  remember),  told  me;  and 
yet  it  was  never  seen  by  the  benefactor,  my  Lord  Arch- 
bishop having  told  me  that  he  never  did  or  ever  would 
see  it.  It  is,  in  truth,  a  fabric  comparable  to  any  of  this 
kind  of  former  ages,  and  doubtless  exceeding  any  of  the 
present,  as  this  University  does  for  colleges,  libraries, 
schools,  students,  and  order,  all  the  universities  in  the 
world.  To  the  theater  is  added  the  famous  Sheldonian 
printing  house.  This  being  at  the  Act  and  the  first  time 
of  opening  the  Theater  (Acts  being  formerly  kept  in  St. 
Mary's  Church,  which  might  be  thought  indecent,  that 
being  a  place  set  apart  for  the  immediate  worship  of 
God,  and  was  the  inducement  for  building  this  noble 
pile),  it  was  now  resolved  to  keep  the  present  Act  in  it, 
and  celebrate  its  dedication  with  the  greatest  splendor  and 
formality  that  might  be;  and,  therefore,  drew  a  world  of 
strangers,  and  other  company,  to  the  University,  from  all 
parts  of  the  nation. 

The  Vice-Chancellor,  Heads  of  Houses,  and  Doctors, 
being  seated  in  magisterial  seats,  the  Vice-Chancellor's 
chair  and  desk,  Proctors,  etc.,  covered  with  brocatelle  (a 
kind  of  brocade)  and  cloth  of  gold;  the  University  Reg- 
istrar read  the  founder's  grant  and  gift  of  it  to  the  Uni- 
versity for  their  scholastic  exercises  upon  these  solemn 
occasions.  Then  followed  Dr.  South,  the  University's 
orator,  in  an  eloquent  speech,  which  was  very  long,  and 
not  without  some  malicious  and  indecent  reflections  on 
the  Royal  Society,  as  underminers  of  the  University; 
which  was  very  foolish  and  untrue,  as  well  as  unseason- 

*  Afterward  Mrs.  Godolphin,  whose  life,  written  by  Evelyn,  has 
been  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  Bishop  of  Oxford.  The 
affecting  circumstances  of  her  death  will  be  found  recorded  on  pp. 
126-27  of  the  present  volume. 


48  DIARY     OF  oxford 

able.  But,  to  let  that  pass  from  an  ill-natured  man,  the 
rest  was  in  praise  of  the  Archbishop  and  the  ingenious 
architect.  This  ended,  after  loud  music  from  the  corri- 
dor above,  where  an  organ  was  placed,  there  followed 
divers  panegyric  speeches,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  inter- 
changeably pronounced  by  the  young  students  placed  in 
the  rostrums,  in  Pindarics,  Eclogues,  Heroics,  etc., 
mingled  with  excellent  music,  vocal  and  instrumental,  to 
entertain  the  ladies  and  the  rest  of  the  company.  A 
speech  was  then  made  in  praise  of  academical  learning. 
This  lasted  from  eleven  in  the  morning  till  seven  at 
night,  which  was  concluded  with  ringing  of  bells,  and 
universal  joy  and  feasting. 

loth  July,  1669.  The  next  day  began  the  more  solemn 
lectures  in  all  the  faculties,  which  were  performed  in  the 
several  schools,  where  all  the  Inceptor-Doctors  did  their 
exercises,  the  Professors  having  first  ended  their  read- 
ing. The  assembly  now  returned  to  the  Theater,  where 
the  TerrcB  filius  ( the  University  Buffoon )  entertained  the 
auditory  with  a  tedious,  abusive,  sarcastical  rhapsody, 
most  unbecoming  the  gravity  of  the  University,  and  that 
so  grossly,  that  unless  it  be  suppressed,  it  will  be  of  ill 
consequence,  as  I  afterward  plainly  expressed  my  sense 
of  it  both  to  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  several  Heads  of 
Houses,  who  were  perfectly  ashamed  of  it,  and  resolved 
to  take  care  of  it  in  future.  The  old  facetious  way  of 
rallying  upon  the  questions  was  left  off,  falling  wholly 
upon  persons,  so  that  it  was  rather  licentious  lying  and 
railing  than  genuine  and  noble  wit.  In  my  life,  I  was 
never  witness  of  so  shameful  an  entertainment. 

After  this  ribaldry,  the  Proctors  made  their  speeches. 
Then  began  the  music  art,  vocal  and  instrumental,  above 
in  the  balustrade  corridor  opposite  to  the  Vice-Chancellor's 
seat.  Then  Dr.  Wallis,  the  mathematical  Professor, 
made  his  oration,  and  created  one  Doctor  of  music  ac- 
cording to  the  usual  ceremonies  of  gown  (which  was  of 
white  damask),  cap,  ring,  kiss,  etc.  Next  followed  the 
disputations  of  the  Inceptor-Doctors  in  Medicine,  the 
speech  of  their  Professor,  Dr.  Hyde,  and  so  in  course 
their  respective  creations.  Then  disputed  the  Inceptors  of 
Law,  the  speech  of  their  Professor,  and  creation.  Lastly, 
Inceptors  of  Theology :  Dr.  Compton  ( brother  of  the  Earl 
of  Northampton)  being  junior,  began  with  great  modesty 


1 669  JOHN   EVELYN  49 

and  applause;  so  the  rest.  After  which,  Dr.  Tillotson, 
Dr.  Sprat,  etc.,  and  then  Dr.  Allestree's  speech,  the 
King's  Professor,  and  their  respective  creations.  Last  of 
all,  the  Vice-Chancellor,  shutting  up  the  whole  in  a  pane- 
gyrical oration,  celebrating  their  benefactor  and  the  rest, 
apposite  to  the  occasion. 

Thus  was  the  Theater  dedicated  by  the  scholastic  exer- 
cises in  all  the  Faculties  with  great  solemnity;  and  the 
night,  as  the  former,  entertaining  the  new  Doctor's 
friends  in  feasting  and  music.  I  was  invited  by  Dr. 
Barlow,  the  worthy  and  learned  Professor  of  Queen's 
College. 

nth  July,  1669.  The  Act  sermon  was  this  forenoon 
preached  by  Dr.  Hall,  in  St.  Mary's,  in  an  honest,  prac- 
tical discourse  against  atheism.  In  the  afternoon,  the 
church  was  so  crowded,  that,  not  coming  early,  I  could 
not  approach  to  hear. 

12th  July,  1669.  Monday.  Was  held  the  Divinity  Act 
in  the  Theater  again,  v^rhen  proceeded  seventeen  Doc- 
tors, in  all  Faculties  some. 

13th  July,  1669.  I  dined  at  the  Vice-Chancellor's,  and 
spent  the  afternoon  in  seeing  the  rarities  of  the  public  li- 
braries, and  visiting  the  noble  marbles  and  inscriptions,  now 
inserted  in  the  walls  that  compass  the  area  of  the 
Theater,  which  were  150  of  the  most  ancient  and  worthy 
treasures  of  that  kind  in  the  learned  world.  Now,  ob- 
serving that  people  approach  them  too  near,  some  idle 
persons  began  to  scratch  and  injure  them,  I  advised  that 
a  hedge  of  holly  should  be  planted  at  the  foot  of  the 
wall,  to  be  kept  breast-high  only  to  protect  them; 
which  the  Vice-Chancellor  promised  to  do  the  next  sea- 
son. 

14th  July,  1669.  Dr.  Fell,  Dean  of  Christ  Church  and 
Vice-Chancellor,  with  Dr.  Allestree,  Professor,  with  bea- 
dles and  maces  before  them,  came  to  visit  me  at  my  lodg- 
ing. I  went  to  visit  Lord  Howard's  sons  at  Magdalen 
College. 

15th  July,  1669.  Having  two  days  before  had  notice 
that  the  University  intended  me  the  honor  of  Doctor- 
ship,  I  was  this  morning  attended  by  the  beadles  be- 
longing to  the  Law,  who  conducted  me  to  the  Theater, 
where  I  found  the  Duke  of  Ormond  (now  Chancellor  of 
the  University)  with  the  Earl  of  Chesterfield  and  Mr. 
4 


50  DIARY  OF  oxford 

Spencer  (brother  to  the  late  Earl  of  Sunderland) .  Thence, 
we  marched  to  the  Convocation  House,  a  convocation 
having  been  called  on  purpose;  here,  being  all  of  us 
robed  in  the  porch,  in  scarlet  with  caps  and  hoods,  we 
were  led  in  by  the  Professor  of  Laws,  and  presented  re- 
spectively by  name,  with  a  short  eulogy,  to  the  Vice- 
Chancellor,  who  sat  in  the  chair,  with  all  the  Doctors 
and  Heads  of  Houses  and  masters  about  the  room,  which 
was  exceedingly  full.  Then,  began  the  Public  Orator  his 
speech,  directed  chiefly  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  the 
Chancellor ;  but  in  which  I  had  ray  compliment,  in  course. 
This  ended,  we  were  called  up,  and  created  Doctors  ac- 
cording to  the  form,  and  seated  by  the  Vice-Chancellor 
among  the  Doctors,  on  his  right  hand;  then,  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  made  a  short  speech,  and  so,  saluting  our 
brother  Doctors,  the  pageantry  concluded,  and  the  con- 
vocation was  dissolved.  So  formal  a  creation  of  honor- 
ary Doctors  had  seldom  been  seen,  that  a  convocation 
should  be  called  on  purpose,  and  speeches  made  by  the 
Orator;  but  they  could  do  no  less,  their  Chancellor  be- 
ing to  receive,  or  rather  do  them,  this  honor.  I  should 
have  been  made  Doctor  with  the  rest  at  the  public  Act, 
but  their  expectation  of  their  Chancellor  made  them  de- 
fer it.  I  was  then  led  with  my  brother  Doctors  to  an 
extraordinary  entertainment  at  Doctor  Mewes's,  head 
of  St.  John's  College,  and,  after  abundance  of  feasting 
and  compliments,  having  visited  the  Vice-Chancellor  and 
other  Doctors,  and  given  them  thanks  for  the  honor 
done  me,  I  went  toward  home  the  i6th,  and  got  as  far 
as  Windsor,  and  so  to  my  house  the  next  day. 

4th  August,  1669.  I  was  invited  by  Sir  Henry  Peck- 
ham  to  his  reading  feast  in  the  Middle  Temple,  a  pom- 
pous entertainment,  where  were  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  all  the  great  Earls  and  Lords,  etc.  I  had 
much  discourse  with  my  Lord  Winchelsea,  a  prodigious 
talker;  and  the  Venetian  Ambassador. 

17th  Augfust,  1669.  To  London,  spending  almost  the 
entire  day  in  surveying  what  progress  was  made  in  re- 
building the  ruinous  city,  which  now  began  a  little  to 
revive  after  its  sad  calamity. 

20th  August,  1669.  I  saw  the  splendid  audience  of 
the  Danish  Ambassador  in  the  Banqueting  House  at 
Whitehall. 


1669-70  JOHN  EVELYN  51 

23d  August,  1669.  I  went  to  visit  my  most  excellent 
and  worthy  neighbor,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Rochester,  at 
Bromley,  which  he  was  now  repairing,  after  the  delapi- 
dations  of  the  late  Rebellion. 

2d  September,  1669.  I  was  this  day  very  ill  of  a  pain 
in  my  limbs,  which  continued  most  of  this  week,  and 
was  increased  by  a  visit  I  made  to  my  old  acquaintance, 
the  Earl  of  Norwich,  at  his  house  in  Epping  Forest, 
where  are  many  good  pictures  put  into  the  wainscot  of 
the  rooms,  which  Mr.  Baker,  his  Lordship's  predecessor 
there,  brought  out  of  Spain;  especially  the  History  of 
Joseph,  a  picture  of  the  pious  and  learned  Picus  Mirandula, 
and  an  incomparable  one  of  old  Breugel.  The  gardens 
were  well  understood,  I  mean  the  potager.  I  returned 
late  in  the  evening,  ferrying  over  the  water  at  Green- 
wich. 

26th  September.  1669.  To  church,  to  give  God  thanks 
for  my  recovery. 

3d  October,  1669.  I  received  the  Blessed  Eucharist, 
to  my  unspeakable  joy. 

2ist  October,  1669.  To  the  Royal  Society,  meeting  for 
the  first  time  after  a  long  recess,  during  vacation,  accord- 
ing to  custom;  where  was  read  a  description  of  the  pro- 
digious eruption  of  Mount  Etna ;  and  our  English  itinerant 
presented  an  account  of  his  autumnal  peregrination  about 
England,  for  which  we  hired  him,  bringing  dried  fowls, 
fish,  plants,  animals,  etc. 

26th  October,  1669.  My  dear  brother  continued  ex- 
tremely full  of  pain,  the  Lord  be  gracious  to  him! 

3d  November,  1669.  This  being  the  day  of  meeting 
for  the  poor,  we  dined  neighborly  together. 

26th  November,  1669.  I  heard  an  excellent  discourse 
by  Dr.  Patrick,  on  the  Resurrection;  and  afterward, 
visited  the  Countess  of  Kent,  my  kinswoman. 

8th  December,  1669.  To  London,  upon  the  second 
edition  of  my  "  Sylva,  **  which  I  presented  to  the  Royal 
Society. 

6th  February,  1669-70,  Dr.  John  Breton,  Master  of 
Emmanuel  College,  in  Cambridge  (uncle  to  our  vicar), 
preached  on  John  i.  27;  "whose  shoe-latchet  I  am  not 
worthy  to  unloose,^*  etc.,  describing  the  various  fashions 
of  shoes,  or  sandals,  worn  by  the  Jews,  and  other  nations : 
of   the   ornaments   of   the   feet:   how    great  persons  had 


52  DIARY    OP  LONDON 

servants  that  took  them  off  when  they  came  to  their 
houses,  and  bore  them  after  them :  by  which  pointing  the 
dignity  of  our  Savior,  when  such  a  person  as  St.  John 
Baptist  acknowledged  his  unworthiness  even  of  that  mean 
office.  The  lawfulness,  decentness,  and  necessity,  of 
subordinate  degrees  and  ranks  of  men  and  servants,  as 
well  in  the  Church  as  State:  against  the  late  levelers, 
and  others  of  that  dangerous  rabble,  who  would  have  all 
alike. 

3d  March,  1670.  Finding  my  brother  [Richard]  in 
such  exceeding  torture,  and  that  he  now  began  to  fall 
into  convulsion-fits,  I  solemnly  set  the  next  day  apart  to 
beg  of  Grod  to  mitigate  his  sufferings,  and  prosper  the 
only  means  which  yet  remained  for  his  recovery,  he  being 
not  only  much  wasted,  but  exceedingly  and  all  along 
averse  from  being  cut  (for  the  stone);  but,  when  he  at 
last  consented,  and  it  came  to  the  operation,  and  all 
things  prepared,  his  spirit  and  resolution  failed. 

6th  March,  1670,  Dr.  Patrick  preached  in  Covent  Gar- 
den Church.  I  participated  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
recommending  to  God  the  deplorable  condition  of  my 
dear  brother,  who  was  almost  in  the  last  agonies  of  death. 
I  watched  late  with  him  this  night.  It  pleased  God  to 
deliver  him  out  of  this  miserable  life,  toward  five  o'clock 
this  Monday  morning,  to  my  unspeakable  grief.  He  was 
a  brother  whom  I  most  dearly  loved,  for  his  many  vir- 
tues; but  two  years  younger  than  myself,  a  sober,  pru- 
dent, worthy  gentleman.  He  had  married  a  great  fortune, 
and  left  one  only  daughter,  and  a  noble  seat  at  Woodcot, 
near  Epsom.  His  body  was  opened,  and  a  stone  taken 
out  of  his  bladder,  not  much  bigger  than  a  nutmeg.  I 
returned  home  on  the  8th,  full  of  sadness,  and  to  bemoan 
my  loss. 

20th  March,  1670.  A  stranger  preached  at  the  Savoy 
French  church;  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England 
being  now  used  altogether,  as  translated  into  French  by 
Dr.  Durell. 

2ist  March,  1670.  We  all  accompanied  the  corpse  of 
my  dear  brother  to  Epsom  Church,  where  he  was  de- 
cently interred  in  the  chapel  belonging  to  Woodcot  House. 
A  great  number  of  friends  and  gentlemen  of  the  country 
attended,  about  twenty  coaches  and  six  horses,  and  in- 
numerable people. 


i67o  JOHN   EVELYN  53 

2 2d  March,  1670,  I  went  to  Westminster,  where  in  the 
House  of  Lords  I  saw  his  Majesty  sit  on  his  throne,  but 
without  his  robes,  all  the  peers  sitting  with  their  hats 
on;  the  business  of  the  day  being  the  divorce  of  my 
Lord  Ross.  Such  an  occasion  and  sight  had  not  been 
seen  in  England  since  the  time  of  Henry  VHL* 

5th  May,  1670.  To  London,  concerning  the  office  of 
Latin  Secretary  to  his  Majesty,  a  place  of  more  honor 
and  dignity  than  profit,  the  reversion  of  which  he  had 
promised   me. 

2ist  May,  1670.  Came  to  visit  me  Mr.  Henry  Saville, 
and  Sir  Charles  Scarborough. 

26th  May,  1670.  Receiving  a  letter  from  Mr.  Philip 
Howard,  Lord  Almoner  to  the  Queen,  that  Monsieur 
Evelin,  first  physician  to  Madame  (who  was  now  come  to 
Dover  to  visit  the  King  her  brother),  was  come  to  town, 
greatly  desirous  to  see  me ;  but  his  stay  so  short,  that  he 
could  not  come  to  me,  I  went  with  my  brother  to  meet 
him  at  the  Tower,  where  he  was  seeing  the  magazines 
and  other  curiosities,  having  never  before  been  in  Eng- 
land :  we  renewed  our  alliance  and  friendship,  with  much 
regret  on  both  sides  that,  he  being  to  return  toward 
Dover  that  evening,  we  could  not  enjoy  one  another 
any  longer.  How  this  French  family,  Ivelin,  of  Evelin, 
Normandy,  a  very  ancient  and  noble  house  is  grafted 
into  our  pedigree,  see  in  the  collection  brought  from 
Paris,    1650. 

1 6th  June,  1670.  I  went  with  some  friends  to  the  Bear 
Garden,  where  was  cock-fighting,  dog-fighting,  bear  and 
bull-baiting,  it  being  a  famous  day  for  all  these  butch- 
erly sports,  or  rather  barbarous  cruelties.     The  bulls  did 

*  Evelyn  subjoins  in  a  note:  «When  there  was  a  project,  1669,  for 
getting  a  divorce  for  the  King,  to  facilitate  it  there  was  brought  into 
the  House  of  Lords  a  bill  for  dissolving  the  marriage  of  Lord  Ross,  on 
account  of  adultery,  and  to  give  him  leave  to  marry  again.  This  Bill, 
after  great  debates,  passed  by  the  plurality  of  only  two  votes,  and  that 
by  the  g^eat  industry  of  the  Lord's  friends,  as  well  as  the  Duke's 
enemies,  who  carried  it  on  chiefly  in  hopes  it  might  be  a  precedent  and 
inducement  for  the  King  to  enter  the  more  easily  into  their  late  propo- 
sals ;  nor  were  they  a  little  encouraged  therein,  when  they  saw  the  King 
countenance  and  drive  on  the  Bill  in  Lord  Ross's  favor.  Of  eighteen 
bishops  that  were  in  the  House,  only  two  voted  for  the  bill,  of  which 
one  voted  through  age,  and  one  .[was  reputed  Socinian.»  The  two 
bishops  favorable  to  the  bill  were  Dr.  Cosin,  Bishop  of  Durham,  and 
Dr.  Wilkins,  Bishop  of  Chester. 


54  DIARY  OF  London 

exceedingly  well,  but  the  Irish  wolf  dog  exceeded,  which 
was  a  tall  greyhound,  a  stately  creature  indeed,  who 
beat  a  cruel  mastiff.  One  of  the  bulls  tossed  a  dog  full 
into  a  lady's  lap  as  she  sat  in  one  of  the  boxes  at  a  con- 
siderable height  from  the  arena.  Two  poor  dogs  were 
killed,  and  so  all  ended  with  the  ape  on  horseback,  and 
I  most  heartily  weary  of  the  rude  and  dirty  pastime, 
which  I  had  not  seen,   I  think,  in  twenty  years  before. 

i8th  June,  1670.  Dined  at  Goring  House,  whither  my 
Lord  Arlington  carried  me  from  Whitehall  with  the  Mar- 
quis of  Worcester;  there,  we  found  Lord  Sandwich,  Vis- 
count Stafford,*  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  and  others. 
After  dinner,  my  Lord  communicated  to  me  his  Maj- 
esty's desire  that  I  would  engage  to  write  the  history  of 
our  late  war  with  the  Hollanders,  which  I  had  hitherto 
declined;  this  I  found  was  ill  taken,  and  that  I  should 
disoblige  his  Majesty,  who  had  made  choice  of  me  to  do 
him  this  service,  and,  if  I  would  undertake  it,  I  should 
have  all  the  assistance  the  Secretary's  office  and  others 
could  give  me,  with  other  encouragements,  which  I  could 
not  decently  refuse. 

Lord  Stafford  rose  from  the  table,  in  some  disorder, 
because  there  were  roses  stuck  about  the  fruit  when  the 
dessert  was  set  on  the  table ;  such  an  antipathy,  it  seems, 
he  had  to  them  as  once  Lady  Selenger  also  had,  and  to 
that  degree  that,  as  Sir  Kenelm  Digby  tells  us,  laying 
but  a  rose  upon  her  cheek  when  she  was  asleep,  it 
raised  a  blister:  but  Sir  Kenelm  was  a  teller  of  strange 
things. 

24th  June,  1670.  Came  the  Earl  of  Huntington  and 
Countess,  with  the  Lord  Sherard,  to  visit  us. 

29th  June,  1670.  To  London,  in  order  to  my  niece's 
marriage,  Mary,  daughter  to  my  late  brother  Richard, 
of  Woodcot,  with  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  Attorney  Mon- 
tague, which  was  celebrated  at  Southampton- House  chapel, 
after  which  a  magnificent  entertainment,  feast,  and  danc- 
ing, dinner  and  supper,  in  the  great  room  there;  but  the 
bride  was  bedded  at  my  sister's  lodging,  in  Drury-Lane. 

6th  July,   1670.     Came  to  visit   me  Mr.   Stanhope,  gen- 

*Sir  William  Howard,  created  in  November,  1640,  Viscount  Stafford. 
In  1678,  he  was  accused  of  complicity  with  the  Popish  Plot,  and  upon 
trial  by  his  Peers  in  "Westminster  Hall,  was  found  guilty,  by  a  majority 
of  twenty-four.     He  was  beheaded,  December  29,  i68o,  on  Tower  Hill. 


1670  JOHN   EVELYN  55 

tleman-usher   to  her  Majesty,  and    uncle   to  the  Earl   of 
Chesterfield,  a  very  fine  man,  with  my  Lady  Hutcheson. 

19th  July,  1670.  I  accompanied  my  worthy  friend,  that 
excellent  man.  Sir  Robert  Murray,  with  Mr.  Slingsby, 
master  of  the  mint,  to  ^see  the  latter's  seat  and  estate 
at  Burrow-Green  in  Cambridgeshire,  he  desiring  our 
advice  for  placing  a  new  house,  which  he  was  resolved 
to  build.  We  set  out  in  a  coach  and  six  horses  with 
him  and  his  lady,  dined  about  midway  at  one  Mr. 
Turner's,  where  we  found  a  very  noble  dinner,  venison, 
music,  and  a  circle  of  country  ladies  and  their  gallants. 
After  dinner,  we  proceeded,  and  came  to  Burrow-Green 
that  night.  This  had  been  the  ancient  seat  of  the 
Cheekes  (whose  daughter  Mr.  Slingsby  married),  formerly 
tutor  to  King  Henry  VI.  The  old  house  large  and  ample, 
and  built  for  ancient  hospitality,  ready  to  fall  down  with  ■ 
age,  placed  in  a  dirty  hole,  a  stiff  clay,  no  water,  next 
an  adjoining  church-yard,  and  with  other  inconveniences. 
We  pitched  on  a  spot  of  rising  ground,  adorned  with 
venerable  woods,  a  dry  and  sweet  prospect  east  and 
west,  and  fit  for  a  park,  but  no  running  water;  at  a  mile 
distance  from  the  old  house. 

20th  July,  1670.  We  went  to  dine  at  Lord  AUington's, 
who  had  newly  built  a  house  of  great  cost,  I  believe  a 
little  less  than  ;^2o,ooo.  His  architect  was  Mr.  Pratt.  It 
is  seated  in  a  park,  with  a  sweet  prospect  and  stately 
avenue;  but  water  still  defective;  the  house  has  also  its 
infirmities.     Went  back  to  Mr.  Slingsby's. 

2  2d  July,  1670.  We  rode  out  to  see  the  great  mere, 
or  level,  of  recovered  fen  land,  not  far  off.  In  the  way, 
we  met  Lord  Arlington  going  to  his  house  in  Suffolk, 
accompanied  with  Count  Ogniati,  the  Spanish  minister, 
and  Sir  Bernard  Gascoigne;  he  was  very  importunate 
with  me  to  go  with  him  to  Euston,  being  but  fifteen 
miles  distant;  but,  in  regard  of  my  company,  I  could 
not.  So,  passing  through  Newmarket,  we  alighted  to  see 
his  Majesty's  house  there,  now  new-building;  the  arches 
of  the  cellars  beneath  are  well  turned  by  Mr.  Samuel, 
the  architect,  the  rest  mean  enough,  and  hardly  fit  for  a 
hunting  house.  Many  of  the  rooms  above  had  the  chim- 
neys in  the  angles  and  corners,  a  mode  now  introduced 
by  his  Majesty,  which  I  do  at  no  hand  approve  of.  I 
predict   it   will   spoil  many  noble  houses  and  rooms,  if 


56  DIARY  OF  newmarket 

followed.  It  does  only  well  in  very  small  and  trifling 
rooms,  but  takes  from  the  state  of  greater.  Besides,  this 
house  is  placed  in  a  dirty  street,  without  any  court  or 
avenue,  like  a  common  one,  whereas  it  might  and  ought 
to  have  been  built  at  either  end  of  the  town,  upon  the 
very  carpet  where  the  sports  are  celebrated ;  but,  it  being 
the  purchase  of  an  old  wretched  house  of  my  Lord 
Thomond's,  his  Majesty  was  persuaded  to  set  it  on  that 
foundation,  the  most  improper  imaginable  for  a  house  of 
sport  and  pleasure. 

We  went  to  see  the  stables  and  fine  horses,  of  which 
many  were  here  kept  at  a  vast  expense,  with  all  the  art 
and  tenderness  imaginable. 

Being  arrived  at  some  meres,  we  found  Lord  Wotton 
and  Sir  John  Kiviet  about  their  draining  engines,  having, 
it  seems,  undertaken  to  do  wonders  on  a  vast  piece  of 
marsh-ground  they  had  hired  of  Sir  Thomas  Chicheley 
(master  of  the  ordnance).  They  much  pleased  them- 
selves with  the  hopes  of  a  rich  harvest  of  hemp  and  cole- 
seed, which  was  the  crop  expected. 

Here  we  visited  the  engines  and  mills  both  for  wind 
and  water,  draining  it  through  two  rivers  or  graffs,  cut 
by  hand,  and  capable  of  carrying  considerable  barges, 
which  went  thwart  one  the  other,  discharging  the  water 
into  the  sea.  Such  this  spot  had  been  the  former  winter ; 
it  was  astonishing  to  see  it  now  dry,  and  so  rich  that 
weeds  grew  on  the  banks,  almost  as  high  as  a  man  and 
horse.  Here,  my  Lord  and  his  partner  had  built  two  or 
three  rooms,  with  Flanders  white  bricks,  very  hard.  One 
of  the  great  engines  was  in  the  kitchen,  where  I  saw  the 
fish  swim  up,  even  to  the  very  chimney  hearth,  by  a 
small  cut  through  the  room,  and  running  within  a  foot 
of  the  very  fire. 

Having,  after  dinner,  ridden  about  that  vast  level, 
pestered  with  heat  and  swarms  of  gnats,  we  returned 
over  Newmarket  Heath,  the  way  being  mostly  a  sweet 
turf  and  down,  like  Salisbury  Plain,  the  jockeys  breath- 
ing their  fine  barbs  and  racers  and  giving  them  their  heats. 

23d  July,  1670.  We  returned  from  Burrow  Green  to 
London,  staying  some  time  at  Audley  End  to  see  that 
fine  palace.  It  is  indeed  a  cheerful  piece  of  Gothic 
building,  or  rather  antico  moderno,  but  placed  in  an  ob- 
scure bottom.     The  cellars  and  galleries  are  very  stately. 


i67o  JOHN    EVELYN  57 

It  has  a  river  by  it,  a  pretty  avenue  of  limes,  and  in  a 
park. 

This  is  in  Saffron  Walden  parish,  famous  for  that  use- 
ful plant,  with  which  all  the  country  is  covered. 

Dining  at  Bishop  Stortford,  we  came  late  to  London. 

5th  August,  1670.  There  was  sent  me  by  a  neighbor  a 
servant  maid,  who,  in  the  last  m.onth,  as  she  was  sitting 
before  her  mistress  at  work,  felt  a  stroke  on  her  arm  a 
little  above  the  wrist  for  some  height,  the  smart  of 
which,  as  if  struck  by  another  hand,  caused  her  to  hold 
her  arm  awhile  till  somewhat  mitigated;  but  it  put  her 
into  a  kind  of  convulsion,  or  rather  hysteric  fit.  A 
gentleman  coming  casually  in,  looking  on  her  arm,  found 
that  part  powdered  with  red  crosses,  set  in  most  exact 
and  wonderful  order,  neither  swelled  nor  depressed, 
about  this  shape 

X 

X  X 

XXX 

X  X 

X 

not  seeming  to  be  any  way  made  by  artifice,  of  a  reddish 
color,  not  so  red  as  blood,  the  skin  over  them  smooth, 
the  rest  of  the  arm  livid  and  of  a  mortified  hue,  with 
certain  prints,  as  it  were,  of  the  stroke  of  fingers.  This 
had  happened  three  several  times  in  July,  at  about  ten 
days'  interval,  the  crosses  beginning  to  wear  out,  but 
the  successive  ones  set  in  other  different,  yet  uniform 
order.  The  maid  seemed  very  modest,  and  came  from 
London  to  Deptford  with  her  mistress,  to  avoid  the  dis- 
course and  importunity  of  curious  people.  She  made  no 
gain  by  it,  pretended  no  religious  fancies;  but  seemed 
to  be  a  plain,  ordinary,  silent,  working  wench,  some- 
what fat,  short,  and  high-colored.  She  told  me  divers 
divines  and  physicians  had  seen  her,  but  were  unsatisfied; 
that  she  had  taken  some  remedies  against  her  fits,  but 
they  did  her  no  good;  she  had  never  before  had  any 
fits;  once  since,  she  seemed  in  her  sleep  to  hear  one  say 
to  her  that  she  should  tamper  no  more  with  them,  nor 
crouble  herself  with  anything  that  happened,  but  put  her 
trust  in  the  merits  of  Christ  only. 

This  is  the  substance  of  what  she  told  me,  and  what  I 
•saw  and  curiously  examined.     I  was  formerly  acquainted 


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 to  custom;  first  the  poor  Knights,  in  procession, 
then,  the  Canons  in  their  formalities,  the  Dean  and 
Chancellor,  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  begnn, 
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 


i67o  JOHN   EVELYN  59 

stable,  had  begian  to  trim  up  the  keep  or  high  round 
Tower,  and  handsomely  adorned  his  hall  with  furniture 
of  arms,  which  was  very  singnlar,  by  so  disposing  the 
pikes,  muskets,  pistols,  bandoleers,  holsters,  drums,  back, 
breast,  and  headpieces,  as  was  very  extraordinary.  Thus, 
those  huge  steep  stairs  ascending  to  it  had  the  walls  in- 
vested with  this  martial  furniture,  all  new  and  bright, 
so  disposing  the  bandoleers,  holsters,  and  drums,  as  to 
represent  festoons,  and  that  without  any  confusion^ 
trophy-like.  From  the  hall  we  went  into  his  bedcham- 
ber, and  ample  rooms  hung  with  tapestry,  curious  and 
effeminate  pictures,  so  extremely  different  from  the 
other,  which  presented  nothing  but  war  and  horror. 

The  King  passed  most  of  his  time  in  hunting  the 
stag,  and  walking  in  the  park,  which  he  was  now  plant- 
ing with  rows  of  trees, 

13th  September,  1670.  To  visit  Sir  Richard  Lashford, 
my  kinsman,  and  Mr.  Charles  Howard,  at  his  extraordi- 
nary garden,  at  Deepden. 

15th  September,  1670.  I  went  to  visit  Mr.  Arthur 
Onslow,  at  West  Clandon,  a  pretty  dry  seat  on  the  Downs, 
where  we  dined  in  his  great  room. 

17th  September,  1670.  To  visit  Mr.  Hussey,  who,  being 
near  Wotton,  lives  in  a  sweet  valley,  deliciously  watered. 

23d  September,  1670.  To  Albury,  to  see  how  that  gar- 
den proceeded,  which  I  found  exactly  done  to  the  design 
and  plot  I  had  made,  with  the  crypta  through  the  moun- 
tain in  the  park,  thirty  perches  in  length.  Such  a  Pausil- 
ippe  *  is  nowhere  in  England.  The  canal  was  now  digging, 
and  the  vineyard  planted. 

14th  October,  1670.  I  spent  the  whole  afternoon  in 
private  with  the  Treasurer  who  put  into  my  hands  those 
secret  pieces  and  transactions  concerning  the  Dutch  war, 
and  particularly  the  expedition  of  Bergen,  in  which  he 
had  himself  the  chief  part,  and  gave  me  instructions,  till 
the  King  arriving  from  Newmarket,  we  both  went  up 
into  his  bedchamber. 

2ist  October,  1670.  Dined  with  the  Treasurer;  and, 
after  dinner,  we  were  shut  up  together.  I  received  other 
[further]  advices,  and  ten  paper  books  of  dispatches  and 
treaties;  to  return  which  again  I  gave  a  note  under  my 

*A  word  adopted  by  Evelyn  for  a  subterra^jean  passage,  from  the 
famous  g^ot  of  Pausilippo,  at  Naples. 


6o  DIARY   OF  london 

hand  to  Mr.  Joseph  Williamson,  Master  of  the  Paper 
office. 

31st  October,  1670.  I  was  this  morning  fifty  years  of 
age;  the  Lord  teach  me  to  number  my  days  so  as  to 
apply  them  to  his  glory!     Amen. 

4th  November,  1670.  Saw  the  Prince  of  Orange,  newly 
come  to  see  the  King,  his  uncle;  he  has  a  manly^  cour- 
ageous, wise  countenance,  resembling  his  mother  and  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  both  deceased. 

I  now  also  saw  that  famous  beauty,  but  in  my  opinion 
of  a  childish,  simple,  and  baby  face,  Mademoiselle  Querou- 
aille,*  lately  Maid  of  Honor  to  Madame,  and  now  to  be 
so  to  the  Queen. 

23d  November,  1670.  Dined  with  the  Earl  of  Arlington, 
where  was  the  Venetian  Ambassador,  of  whom  I  now  took 
solemn  leave,  now  on  his  return.  There  were  also  Lords 
Howard,  Wharton,  Windsor,  and  divers  other  great  persons. 

24th  November,  1670.  I  dined  with  the  Treasurer, 
where  was  the  Earl  of  Rochester,  a  very  profane  wit. 

15th  December,  1670.  It  was  the  thickest  and  darkest 
fog  on  the  Thames  that  was  ever  known  in  the  memory 
of  man,  and  I  happened  to  be  in  the  very  midst  of  it.  I 
supped  with  Monsieur  Zulestein,  late  Governor  to  the  late 
Prince  of  Orange. 

loth  January,  1670-71.  Mr.  Bohun,  my  son's  tutor, 
had  been  five  years  in  my  house,  and  now  Bachelor  of 
Laws,  and  Fellow  of  New  College,  went  from  me  to 
Oxford  to  reside  there,  having  well  and  faithfully  per- 
formed his  charge. 

1 8th  January,  167 1.  This  day  I  first  acquainted  his 
Majesty  with  that  incomparable  young  man.  Gibbon,  f 
whom  I  had  lately  met  with  in  an  obscure  place  by 
mere  accident,  as  I  was  walking  near  a  poor  solitary 
thatched  house,  in  a  field  in  our  parish,  near  Sayes 
Court.     I  found  him  shut  in;  but  looking  in  at  the  win- 

*  Henrietta,  the  King's  sister,  married  to  Philip,  Duke  of  Orleans, 
was  then  on  a  visit  here.  Madame  Querouaille  came  over  in  her  train, 
on  purpose  to  entice  Charles  into  an  union  with  Louis  XIV. ;  a  design 
which  unhappily  succeeded  but  too  welL  She  became  the  King's  mis- 
tress, was  made  Duchess  of  Portsmouth,  and  was  his  favorite  till  his 
death. 

f  Better  known  by  the  name  of  Grinling  Gibbon ;  celebrated  for  his 
exquisite  carving.  Some  of  his  most  astonishing  work  is  at  Chatsworth 
and  at  Petworth. 


1670-71  JOHN  EVELYN  61 

dow,  I  perceived  him  carving  that  large  cartoon,  or 
crucifix,  of  Tintoretto,  a  copy  of  which  I  had  myself 
brought  from  Venice,  where  the  original  painting  re- 
mains. I  asked  if  I  might  enter;  he  opened  the  door 
civilly  to  me,  and  I  saw  him  about  such  a  work  as  for 
the  curiosity  of  handling,  drawing,  and  studious  exact- 
ness, I  never  had  before  seen  in  all  my  travels.  I 
questioned  him  why  he  worked  in  such  an  obscure  and 
lonesome  place;  he  told  me  it  was  that  he  might  apply 
himself  to  his  profession  without  interruption,  and 
wondered  not  a  little  how  I  found  him  out.  I  asked  if 
he  was  unwilling  to  be  made  known  to  some  great  man, 
for  that  I  believed  it  might  turn  to  his  profit;  he 
answered,  he  was  yet  but  a  beginner,  but  would  not  be 
sorry  to  sell  off  that  piece;  on  demanding  the  price,  he 
said  ^100.  In  good  earnest,  the  very  frame  was  worth 
the  money,  there  being  nothing  in  nature  so  tender  and 
delicate  as  the  flowers  and  festoons  about  it,  and  yet 
the  work  was  very  strong;  in  the  piece  was  more  than 
one  hundred  figures  of  men,  etc.  I  found  he  was 
likewise  musical,  and  very  civil,  sober,  and  discreet 
in  his  discourse.  There  was  only  an  old  woman  in  the 
house.  So,  desiring  leave  to  visit  him  sometimes,  I 
went  away. 

Of  this  young  artist,  together  with  my  manner  of 
finding  him  out,  I  acquainted  the  King,  and  begged 
that  he  would  give  me  leave  to  bring  him  and  his  work 
to  Whitehall,  for  that  I  would  adventure  my  reputation 
with  his  Majesty  that  he  had  never  seen  anything  ap- 
proach it,  and  that  he  would  be  exceedingly  pleased, 
and  employ  him.  The  King  said  he  would  himself  go 
see  him.  This  was  the  first  notice  his  Majesty  ever  had 
of  Mr.   Gibbon. 

20th  January,  167 1.  The  King  came  to  me  in  the 
Queen's  withdrawing-room  from  the  circle  of  ladies,  to 
talk  with  me  as  to  what  advance  I  had  made  in  the 
Dutch  History.  I  dined  with  the  Treasurer,  and  after- 
ward we  went  to  the  Secretary's  Office,  where  we  con- 
ferred about  divers  particulars. 

2ist  January,  1671.  I  was  directed  to  go  to  Sir  George 
Downing,  who  having  been  a  public  minister  in  Holland, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was  to  give  me  light  in  some 
material  passages. 


62  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

This  year  the  weather  was  so  wet,  stormy,  and  un- 
seasonable, as  had  not  been  known  in  many  years. 

9th  February,  167 1.  I  saw  the  great  ball  danced  by 
the  Queen  and  distinguished  ladies  at  Whitehall  Theater. 
Next  day ;  was  acted  there  the  famous  play,  called,  *^  The 
Siege  of  Granada,*  two  days  acted  successively;  there 
were  indeed  very  glorious  scenes  and  perspectives,  the 
work  of  Mr.   Streeter,  who  well  understands  it.* 

19th  February,  1671,  This  day  dined  with  me  Mr,  Sur- 
veyor, Dr.  Christopher  Wren,  and  Mr.  Pepys,  Clerk  of 
the  Acts,  two  extraordinary,  ingenious,  and  knowing 
persons,  and  other  friends.  I  carried  them  to  see  the 
piece  of  carving  which  I  had  recommended  to  the  King. 

25th  February,  167 1.  Came  to  visit  me  one  of  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  Scotland  for  the  Union. 

28th  February,  1671.  The  Treasurer  acquainted  me 
that  his  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to  nominate  me 
one  of  the  Council  of  Foreign  Plantations,  and  give 
me  a  salary  of  j£s°°  P^^  annum,  to  encourage  me. 

29th  February,  1671.  I  went  to  thank  the  Treasurer, 
who  was  my  g^eat  friend  and  loved  me;  I  dined  with 
him  and  much  company,  and  went  thence  to  my  Lord 
Arlington,  Secretary  of  State,  in  whose  favor  I  likewise 
was  upon  many  occasions,  though  I  cultivated  neither  of 
their  friendships  by  any  mean  submissions.  I  kissed  his 
Majesty's  hand,  on  his  making  me  one  of  the  new-estab- 
lished Council. 

1st  March,  1671.  I  caused  Mr.  Gibbon  to  bring  to 
Whitehall  his  excellent  piece  of  carving,  where  being 
come,  I  advertised  his  Majesty,  who  asked  me  where  it 
was;  I  told  him  in  Sir  Richard  Browne's  (my  father-in- 
law)  chamber,  and  that  if  it  pleased  his  Majesty  to  ap- 
point whither  it  should  be  brought,  being  large  and 
though  of  wood,  heavy,  I  would  take  care  for  it.  *No,* 
says  the  King,  *  show  me  the  way,  I'll  go  to  Sir  Rich- 
ard's chamber,  *  which  he  immediately  did,  walking  along 
the  entries  after  me ;  as  far  as  the  ewry,  till  he  came  up 
into  the  room,  where  I  also  lay.  No  sooner  was  he  en- 
tered and  cast  his  eyes  on  the  work,  but  he  was  aston- 
ished at  the  curiosity  of  it;  and  having  considered  it  a 
long  time,  and  discoursed  with  Mr.  Gibbon,  whom  I 
brought  to  kiss  his  hand,   he   commanded    it   should  be 

*  Evelyn  here  refers  to  Dryden's  «  Conquest  of  Granada  » 


1 67 1  JOHN  EVELYN  63 

immediately  carried  to  the  Queen's  side  to  show  her.  It 
was  carried  up  into  her  bedchamber,  where  she  and  the 
King  looked  on  and  admired  it  again;  the  King,  being 
called  away,  left  us  with  the  Queen,  believing  she  would 
have  bought  it,  it  being  a  crucifix ;  but,  when  his  Majesty 
was  gone,  a  French  peddling  woman,  one  Madame  de 
Boord,  who  used  to  bring  petticoats  and  fans,  and  baubles, 
out  of  France  to  the  ladies,  began  to  find  fault  with  sev- 
eral things  in  the  work,  which  she  understood  no  more 
than  an  ass,  or  a  monkey,  so  as  in  a  kind  of  indigfnation, 
I  caused  the  person  who  brought  it  to  carry  it  back  to 
the  chamber,  finding  the  Queen  so  much  governed  by 
an  ignorant  Frenchwoman,  and  this  incomparable  artist 
had  his  labor  only  for  his  pains,  which  not  a  little  dis- 
pleased me;  and  he  was  fain  to  send  it  down  to  his  cot- 
tage again;  he  not  long  after  sold  it  for  ^80,  though 
well  worth  ^100,  without  the  frame,  to  Sir  George 
Viner. 

His  Majesty's  Surveyor,  Mr,  Wren,  faithfully  promised 
me  to  employ  him.*  I  having  also  bespoke  his  Majesty 
for  his  work  at  Windsor,  which  my  friend,  Mr.  May,  the 
architect  there,  was  going  to  alter,  and  repair  univers- 
ally; for,  on  the  next  day,  I  had  a  fair  opportunity  of 
talking  to  his  Majesty  about  it,  in  the  lobby  next  the 
Queen's  side,  where  I  presented  him  with  some  sheets  of 
my  history.  I  thence  walked  with  him  through  St. 
James's  Park  to  the  garden,  where  I  both  saw  and  heard 
a  very  familiar  discourse  between  .  .  .  and  Mrs. 
Nelly,  f  as  they  called  an  impudent  comedian,  she  looking 
out  of  her  garden  on  a  terrace  at  the  top  of  the  wall, 
and  .  .  .  standing  on  the  green  walk  under  it.  I  was 
heartily  sony  at  this  scene.  Thence  the  King  walked  to 
the  Duchess  of  Cleveland,  another  lady  of  pleasure,  and 
curse  of  our  nation. 

5th  March,  1671.  I  dined  at  Greenwich,  to  take  leave 
of  Sir  Thomas  Linch,  going  Governor  of  Jamaica. 

loth  March,  167 1.  To  London,  about  passing  my  patent 
as  one  of  the  standing  Council  for  Plantations,  a  con- 
siderable honor,  the  others  in  the  Council  being  chiefly 
noblemen  and  officers  of  state. 

*  The  carving  in  the  choir,  etc. ,  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  was  executed 
by  Gibbon, 

f  Nell  Gwynne :  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  name  with  which  we 


64  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

2d  April,  167 1.  To  Sir  Thomas  Clifford,  the  Treasurer, 
to  condole  with  him  on  the  loss  of  his  eldest  son,  who 
died  at  Florence. 

2d  May,  167 1.  The  French  King,  being  now  with  a 
great  army  of  28,000  men  about  Dunkirk,  divers  of  the 
grandees  of  that  Court,  and  a  vast  number  of  gentlemen 
and  cadets,  in  fantastical  habits,  came  flocking  over  to 
see  our  Court  and  compliment  his  Majesty.  I  was 
present,  when  they  first  were  conducted  into  the  Queen's 
withdrawing-room,  where  saluted  their  Majesties  the 
Dukes  of  Guise,  Longueville,  and  many  others  of  the  first 
rank. 

loth  May,  167 1.  Dined  at  Mr.  Treasurer's,*  in  com- 
pany with  Monsieur  De  Grammont  and  several  French 
noblemen,  and  one  Blood,  that  impudent,  bold  fellow  who 
had  not  long  before  attempted  to  steal  the  imperial  crown 
itself  out  of  the  Tower,  pretending  only  curiosity  of  see- 
ing the  regalia  there,  when,  stabbing  the  keeper,  though 
not  mortally,  he  boldly  went  away  with  it  through  all 
the  guards,  taken  only  by  the  accident  of  his  horse  fall- 
ing down.  How  he  came  to  be  pardoned,  and  even 
received  into  favor,  not  only  after  this,  but  several  other 
exploits  almost  as  daring  both  in  Ireland  and  here,  I 
could  never  come  to  understand.  Some  believed  he 
became  a  spy  of  several  parties,  being  well  with  the 
sectaries  and  enthusiasts,  and  did  his  Majesty  services 
that  way,  which  none  alive  could  do  so  well  as  he;  but 
it  was  certainly  the  boldest  attempt,  so  the  only  treason 
of  this  sort  that  was  ever  pardoned.  This  man  had 
not  only  a  daring  but  a  villanous,  unmerciful  look,  a  false 
countenance,  but  very  well-spoken  and  dangerously  insin- 
uating. 

nth  May,  167 1.  I  went  to  Eltham,  to  sit  as  one  of 
the  commissioners  about  the  subsidy  now  given  by  Par- 
liament to  his  Majesty. 

17th     May,     167 1.      Dined    at     Mr.     Treasurer's     [Sir 

are  to  fill  up  these  blanks.     This  familiar  interview  of  Nelly  and  the 
King  has  afiEorded  a  subject  for  painters. 

*This  entry  of  loth  May,  1671,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  Blood,  and  the 
stealing  of  the  crown,  etc.,  is  a  mistake.  Blood  stole  the  crown  on  the 
9th  of  May,  1 67 1 — the  very  day  before;  and  the  «not  long  before* 
of  Evelyn,  and  the  circumstance  of  his  being  «pardoned,»  which 
Evelyn  also  mentions,  can  hardly  be  said  to  relate  to  only  the  day 
before. 


i^^ 


^:^^m^- 


NELL  G  WYNNE 
Photogravure  after  Sir  Peter  Lely 


\ 


1 67 1  JOHN  EVELYN  65 

Thomas  Clifford]  with  the  Earl  of  Arlington,  Carling- 
ford,  Lord  Arundel  of  Wardour,  Lord  Almoner  to  the 
Queen,  a  French  Count  and  two  abbots,  with  several 
more  of  French  nobility;  and  now  by  something  I  had 
lately  observed  of  Mr.  Treasurer's  conversation  on  occa- 
sion,  I  suspected  him  a  little  warping  to  Rome. 

25th  May,  167 1.  I  dined  at  a  feast  made  for  me  and 
my  wife  by  the  Trinity  Company,  for  our  passing  a  fine 
of  the  land  which  Sir  R.  Browne,  my  wife's  father, 
freely  gave  to  found  and  build  their  college,  or  alms- 
houses on,  at  Deptford,  it  being  my  wife's  after  her 
father's  decease.  It  was  a  good  and  charitable  work  and 
gift,  but  would  have  been  better  bestowed  on  the  poor 
of  that  parish,  than  on  the  seamen's  widows,  the  Trinity 
Company  being  very  rich,  and  the  rest  of  the  poor  of 
the  parish  exceedingly  indigent. 

26th  May,  167 1.  The  Earl  of  Bristol's  house  in  Queen's 
Street  [Lincoln's  Inn  Fields]  was  taken  for  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Trade  and  Plantations,  and  furnished  with 
rich  hangings  of  the  King's.  It  consisted  of  seven  rooms 
on  a  floor,  with  a  long  gallery,  gardens,  etc.  This  day 
we  met  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  Earl  of  Lauderdale, 
Lord  Culpeper,  Sir  George  Carteret,  Vice-Chamberlain, 
and  myself,  had  the  oaths  given  us  by  the  Earl  of  Sand- 
wich, our  President.  It  was  to  advise  and  counsel  his 
Majesty,  to  the  best  of  our  abilities,  for  the  well-govern- 
ing of  his  Foreign  Plantations,  etc.,  the  form  very  little 
differing  from  that  given  to  the  Privy  Council.  We  then 
took  our  places  at  the  Board  in  the  Council-Chamber,  a 
very  large  room  furnished  with  atlases,  maps,  charts, 
globes,  etc.  Then  came  the  Lord  Keeper,  Sir  Orlando 
Bridgeman,  Earl  of  Arlington,  Secretary  of  State,  Lord 
Ashley,  Mr.  Treasurer,  Sir  John  Trevor,  the  other  Sec- 
retary, Sir  John  Duncomb,  Lord  Allington,  Mr.  Grey, 
son  to  the  Lord  Grey,  Mr.  Henry  Broncher,  Sir  Hum- 
phrey Winch,  Sir  John  Finch,  Mr.  Waller,  and  Colonel 
Titus,  of  the  bedchamber,  with  Mr.  Slingsby,  Secretary 
to  the  Council,  and  two  Clerks  of  the  Council,  who  had 
all  been  sworn  some  days  before.  Being  all  set,  our 
Patent  was  read,  and  then  the  additional  Patent,  in 
which  was  recited  this  new  establishment;  then,  was  de- 
livered to  each  a  copy  of  the  Patent,  and  of  instructions: 
after  which,  we  proceeded  to  business, 
5 


66  DIARY  OP  LONDON 

The  first  thing  we  did  was,  to  settle  the  form  of  a 
circular  letter  to  the  Governors  of  all  his  Majesty's  Plan- 
tations and  Territories  in  the  West  Indies  and  Islands 
thereof,  to  give  them  notice  to  whom  they  should  apply 
themselves  on  all  occasions,  and  to  render  us  an  account 
of  their  present  state  and  government;  but,  what  we 
most  insisted  on  was,  to  know  the  condition  of  New 
England,  which  appearing  to  be  very  independent  as  to 
their  regard  to  Old  England,  or  his  Majesty,  rich  and 
strong  as  they  now  were,  there  were  great  debates  in 
what  style  to  write  to  them;  for  the  condition  of  that 
Colony  was  such,  that  they  were  able  to  contest  with  all 
other  Plantations  about  them,  and  there  was  fear  of 
their  breaking  from  all  dependence  on  this  nation;  his 
Majesty,  therefore,  commended  this  affair  more  expressly. 
We,  therefore,  thought  fit,  in  the  first  place,  to  acquaint 
ourselves  as  well  as  we  could  of  the  state  of  that  place, 
by  some  whom  we  heard  of  that  were  newly  come  from 
thence,  and  to  be  informed  of  their  present  posture  and 
condition;  some  of  our  Council  were  for  sending  them  a 
menacing  letter,  which  those  who  better  understood  the 
peevish  and  touchy  humor  of  that  Colony,  were  utterly 
against, 

A  letter  was  then  read  from  Sir  Thomas  Modiford, 
Governor  of  Jamaica;  and  then  the  Council  broke  up. 

Having  brought  an  action  against  one  Cocke,  for  money 
which  he  had  received  for  me,  it  had  been  referred  to  an 
arbitration  by  the  recommendation  of  that  excellent  good 
man,  the  Chief- Justice  Hale,  *  but,  this  not  succeeding,  I 
went  to  advise  with  that  famous  lawyer,  Mr.  Jones,  of 
Gray's  Inn,  and,  27th  of  May,  had  a  trial  before  Lord  Chief 
Justice  Hale;  and,  after  the  lawyers  had  wrangled  suffi- 
ciently, it  was  referred  to  a  new  arbitration.  This  was 
the  very  first  suit  at  law  that  ever  I  had  with  any  crea- 
ture, and  oh,  that  it  might  be  the  last! 

ist  June,   167 1.     An  installation  at  Windsor. 

6th  June,  167 1.  I  went  to  Council,  where  was  pro- 
duced a  most  exact  and  ample  information   of  the   state 

*  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  so  famous  as  one  of  the  justices  of  the  bench 
in  Cromwell's  time.  After  the  Restoration,  he  became  Chief  Baron 
of  the  Exchequer;  then  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  and 
died  in  1676.  The  author  of  numerous  works,  not  only  on  profes- 
sional subjects,   but  on   mathematics  and   philosophy. 


1 6;  I  JOHN  EVELYN  67 

of  Jamaica,  and  of  the  best  expedients  as  to  New  Eng- 
land, on  which  there  was  a  long  debate;  but  at  length 
it  was  concluded  that,  if  any,  it  should  be  only  a  con- 
ciliating paper  at  first,  or  civil  letter,  till  we  had  better 
information  of  the  present  face  of  things,  since  we  un- 
derstood they  were  a  people  almost  upon  the  very  brink 
of  renouncing  any  dependence  on  the  Crown. 

19th  June,  167 1.  To  a  splendid  dinner  at  the  great 
room  in  Deptford  Trinity  House,  Sir  Thomas  Allen 
chosen  Master,  and  succeeding  the  Earl  of  Craven. 

20th  June,  167 1.  To  carry  Colonel  Middleton  to  White- 
hall,  to  my  Lord  Sandwich,  our  President,  for  some  in- 
formation which  he  was  able  to  give  of  the  state  of  the 
Colony  in  New  England. 

2ist  June,  167 1.  To  Council  again,  when  one  Colonel 
Cartwright,  a  Nottinghamshire  man,  (formerly  in  com- 
mission with  Colonel  NichoUs)  gave  us  a  considerable 
relation  of  that  country ;  on  which  the  Council  concluded 
that  in  the  first  place  a  letter  of  amnesty  should  be 
dispatched. 

24th  June,  167 1.  Constantine  Huygens,  Signor  of  Zuy- 
lichem,  that  excellent  learned  man,  poet,  and  musi- 
cian, now  near  eighty  years  of  age,  a  vigorous,  brisk 
man,*  came  to  take  leave  of  me  before  his  return  into 
Holland  with  the  Prince,  whose  Secretary  he  was. 

26th  June,  167 1.  To  Council,  where  Lord  Arlington 
acquainted  us  that  it  was  his  Majesty's  proposal  we 
should,  every  one  of  us,  contribute  jQzo  toward  building 
a  Council  chamber  and  conveniences  somewhere  in  White- 
hall, that  his  Majesty  might  come  and  sit  among  us,  and 
hear  our  debates;  the  money  we  laid  out  to  be  reim- 
bursed out  of  the  contingent  moneys  already  set  apart 
for  us,  viz,  ;;^i,ooo  yearly.  To  this  we  unanimously 
consented.  There  came  an  uncertain  bruit  from  Barba- 
does  of   some   disorder    there.     On    my    return    home    I 

*  He  died  in  1687,  at  the  great  age  of  90  years  and  6  months.  Constan- 
tine and  his  son,  Christian  Huygens,  were  both  eminent  for  scientific 
knowledge  and  classical  attainments;  Christian,  particularly  so;  for 
he  was  the  inventor  of  the  pendulum,  made  an  improvement  in  the 
air-pump,  first  discovered  the  ring  and  one  of  the  satellites  of  Saturn, 
and  ascertained  the  laws  of  collision  of  elastic  bodies.  He  died  in 
1695.  Constantine,  the  father,  was  a  person  of  influence  and  distinc- 
tion in  Holland,  and  held  the  post  of  secretary  to  the  Prince  of 
Orange. 


68  DIARY  OF  i>ondon 

Stepped  in  at  the  theater  to  see  the  new  machines  for  the 
intended  scenes,  which  were  indeed  very  costly  and  mag- 
nificent. 

29th  June,  1 67 1.  To  Council,  where  were  letters  from 
Sir  Thomas  Modiford,  of  the  expedition  and  exploit  of 
Colonel  Morgan,  and  others  of  Jamaica,  on  the  Spanish 
Continent  at  Panama. 

4th  July,  167 1.  To  Council,  where  we  drew  up  and 
agreed  to  a  letter  to  be  sent  to  New  England,  and  made 
some  proposal  to  Mr.  Gorges,  for  his  interest  in  a  planta- 
tion there. 

24th  July,  1 67 1.  To  Council.  Mr.  Surveyor  brought 
us  a  plot  for  the  building  of  our  Council  chamber,  to  be 
erected  at  the  end  of  the  Privy  garden,  in  Whitehall. 

3d  August,  1 67 1.  A  full  appearance  at  the  Council. 
The  matter  in  debate  was,  whether  we  should  send  a 
deputy  to  New  England,  requiring  them  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts to  restore  such  to  their  limits  and  respective 
possessions,  as  had  petitioned  the  Council ;  this  to  be  the 
open  commission  only;  but,  in  truth,  with  secret  instruc- 
tions to  inform  us  of  the  condition  of  those  Colonies, 
and  whether  they  were  of  such  power,  as  to  be  able  to 
resist  his  Majesty  and  declare  for  themselves  as  inde- 
pendent of  the  Crown,  which  we  were  told,  and  which 
of  late  years  made  them  refractory.  Colonel  Middleton, 
being  called  in,  assured  us  they  might  be  curbed  by  a 
few  of  his  Majesty's  first-rate  frigates,  to  spoil  their  trade 
with  the  islands;  but,  though  my  Lord  President  was 
not  satisfied,  the  rest  were,  and  we  did  resolve  to  advise 
his  Majesty  to  send  Commissioners  with  a  formal  com- 
mission for  adjusting  boundaries,  etc.,  with  some  other 
instructions. 

19th  August,  1 67 1  To  Council.  The  letters  of  Sir 
Thomas  Modiford  were  read,  giving  relation  of  the  ex- 
ploit at  Panama,  which  was  very  brave ;  they  took,  burned, 
and  pillaged  the  town  of  vast  treasures,  but  the  best  of 
the  booty  had  been  shipped  off,  and  lay  at  anchor  in 
the  South  Sea,  so  that,  after  our  men  had  rapiged  the 
country  sixty  miles  about,  they  went  back  to  Nombre  de 
Dios,  and  embarked  for  Jamaica.  Such  an  action  had  not 
been  done  since  the  famous  Drake. 

I  dined  at  the  Hamburg  Resident's,  and,  after  din- 
ner, went  to  the   christening  of  Sir  Samuel  Tuke's  son^ 


1 67 1  JOHN  EVELYN  69 

Charles,  at  Somerset  House,  by  a  Popish  priest,  and  many 
odd  ceremonies.  The  godfathers  were  the  King,  and  Lord 
Arundel  of  Wardour,  and  godmother,  the  Countess  of 
Huntingdon. 

29th  August,  167 1.  To  London,  with  some  more  papers 
of  my  progress  in  the  Dutch  War,  delivered  to  the 
Treasurer. 

ist  September,  1671.  Dined  with  the  Treasurer,  in 
company  with  my  Lord  Arlington,  Halifax,  and  Sir 
Thomas  Strickland;  and  next  day,  went  home,  being  the 
anniversary  of  the  late  dreadful  fire  of   London. 

13th  September,  167 1.  This  night  fell  a  dreadful  tem- 
pest. 

15th  September,  167 1.  In  the  afternoon  at  Coimcil, 
where  letters  were  read  from  Sir  Charles  Wheeler,  con- 
cerning his  resigning  his  government  of  St.  Christopher's. 

2 1  St  September,  167 1.  I  dined  in  the  city,  at  the  fra- 
ternity feast  in  Ironmongers'  Hall,  where  the  four  stew- 
ards chose  their  successors  for  the  next  year,  with 
a  solemn  procession,  garlands  about  their  heads,  and 
music  playing  before  them;  so,  coming  up  to  the  upper 
tables  where  the  gentlemen  sat,  they  drank  to  the  new 
stewards;  and  so  we  parted. 

2 2d  September,  167 1.  I  dined  at  the  Treasurer's, 
where  I  had  discourse  with  Sir  Henry  Jones  (now  come 
over  to  raise  a  regiment  of  horse),  concerning  the  French 
conquests  in  Lorraine;  he  told  me  the  King  sold  all 
things  to  the  soldiers,  even  to  a  handful  of  hay. 

Lord  Sunderland  was  now  nominated  Ambassador  to 
Spain. 

After  dinner,  the  Treasurer  carried  me  to  Lincoln's 
Inn,  to  one  of  the  Parliament  Clerks,  to  obtain  of  him, 
that  I  might  carry  home  and  peruse,  some  of  the  Jour- 
nals, which  were,  accordingly,  delivered  to  me  to  examine 
about  the  late  Dutch  War.  Returning  home,  I  went  on 
shore  to  see  the  Custom  House,  now  newly  rebuilt  since 
the  dreadful  conflagration. 

9th  and  loth  October,  167 1.  I  went,  after  evening 
service,  to  London,  in  order  to  a  journey  of  refreshment 
with  Mr.  Treasurer,  to  Newmarket,  where  the  King  then 
was,  in  his  coach  with  six  brave  horses,  which  we  changed 
thrice,  first,  at  Bishop- Stortford,  and  last,  at  Chesterford; 
so,  by  night,  we  got    to   Newmarket,    where  Mr.    Henry 


70  DIARY  OF  London 

Jermain  (nephew  to  the  Earl  of  St.  Alban)  lodged 
me  very  civilly.  We  proceeded  immediately  to  Court, 
the  King  and  all  the  English  gallants  being  there  at  their 
autumnal  sports.  Supped  at  the  Lord  Chamberlain's; 
and,  the  next  day,  after  dinner,  I  was  on  the  heath, 
where  I  saw  the  great  match  run  between  Woodcock 
and  Flatfoot,  belonging  to  the  King,  and  to  Mr.  Eliot, 
of  the  bedchamber,  many  thousands  being  spectators; 
a  more  signal  race  had  not  been  run  for  many  years. 

This  over,  I  went  that  night  with  Mr.  Treasurer  to 
Euston,  a  palace  of  Lord  Arlington's,  where  we  found 
Monsieur  Colbert  (the  French  Ambassador),  and  the  fa- 
mous new  French  Maid  of  Honor,  Mademoiselle  Que- 
rouaille,  now  coming  to  be  in  great  favor  with  the  King. 
Here  was  also  the  Countess  of  Sunderland,  and  several 
lords  and  ladies,  who  lodged  in  the  house. 

During  my  stay  here  with  Lord  Arlington,  near  a  fort- 
night, his  Majesty  came  almost  every  second  day  with 
the  Duke,  who  commonly  returned  to  Newmarket,  but  the 
King  often  lay  here,  during  which  time  I  had  twice 
the  honor  to  sit  at  dinner  with  him,  with  all  free- 
dom.    It  was  universally  reported  that  the  fair  lady , 

was  bedded  one  of  these  nights,  and  the  stocking  flung, 
after  the  manner  of  a  married  bride ;  I  acknowledge  she 
was  for  the  most  part  in  her  undress  all  day,  and  that 
there  was  fondness  and  toying  with  that  young  wanton; 
nay,  it  was  said,  I  was  at  the  former  ceremony;  but  it 
is  utterly  false ;  I  neither  saw  nor  heard  of  any  such  thing 
while  I  was  there,  though  I  had  been  in  her  chamber, 
and  all  over  that  apartment  late  enough,  and  was  myself 
observing  all  passages  with  much  curiosity.  However,  it 
was  with  confidence  believed  she  was  first  made  a  Miss, 
as  they  called  these  unhappy  creatures,  with  solemnity  at 
this  time. 

On  Sunday,  a  young  Cambridge  divine  preached  an 
excellent  sermon  in  the  chapel,  the  King  and  the  Duke 
of  York  being  present. 

i6th  October,  167 1.  Came  all  the  great  men  from  New- 
market, and  other  parts  both  of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk,  to 
make  their  court,  the  whole  house  filled  from  one  end 
to  the  other  with  lords,  ladies,  and  gallants;  there  was 
such  a  furnished  table,  as  I  had  seldom  seen,  nor  any- 
thing  more   splendid   and   free,  so  that  for    fifteen   days 


i67i  JOHN  EVELYN  71 

there  were  entertained  at  least  200  people,  and  half  as 
many  horses,  besides  servants  and  gfuards,  at  infinite  ex- 
pense. 

In  the  morning-,  we  went  hunting  and  hawking;  in  the 
afternoon,  till  almost  morning,  to  cards  and  dice,  yet  I 
must  say  without  noise,  swearing,  quarrel,  or  confusion 
of  any  sort.  I,  who  was  no  gamester,  had  often  dis- 
course with  the  French  Ambassador,  Colbert,  and  went 
sometimes  abroad  on  horseback  with  the  ladies  to  take 
the  air,  and  now  and  then  to  hunting;  thus  idly  passing 
the  time,  but  not  without  more  often  recess  to  my  pretty 
apartment,  where  I  was  quite  out  of  all  this  hurry,  and 
had  leisure  when  I  would,  to  converse  with  books,  for 
there  is  no  man  more  hospitably  easy  to  be  withal  than 
my  Lord  Arlington,  of  whose  particular  friendship  and 
kindness  I  had  ever  a  more  than  ordinary  share.  His 
house  is  a  very  noble  pile,  consisting  of  four  pavilions 
after  the  French,  beside  a  body  of  a  large  house,  and, 
though  not  built  altogether,  but  formed  of  additions  to 
an  old  house  (purchased  by  his  Lordship  of  one  Sir  T. 
Rookwood)  yet  with  a  vast  expense  made  not  only  capa- 
ble and  roomsome.  but  very  magnificent  and  commo- 
dious, as  well  within  as  without,  nor  less  splendidly 
furnished.  The  staircase  is  very  elegant,  the  garden 
handsome,  the  canal  beautiful,  but  the  soil  dry,  barren, 
and  miserably  sandy,  which  flies  in  drifts  as  the  wind 
sits.  Here  my  Lord  was  pleased  to  advise  with  me  about 
ordering  his  plantations  of  firs,  elms,  limes,  etc.,  up  his 
park,  and  in  all  other  places  and  avenues.  I  persuaded 
him  to  bring  his  park  so  near  as  to  comprehend  his 
house  within  it;  which  he  resolved  upon,  it  being  now  . 
near  a  mile  to  it.  The  water  furnishing  the  fountains, 
is  raised  by  a  pretty  engine,  or  very  slight  plain  wheels, 
which  likewise  serve  to  gfrind  his  com,  from  a  small  cas- 
cade of  the  canal,  the  invention  of  Sir  Samuel  Morland. 
In  my  Lord's  house,  and  especially  above  the  staircase, 
in  the  g^reat  hall  and  some  of  the  chambers  and  rooms 
of  state,  are  paintings  in  fresco  by  Signor  Verrio,  being 
the  first  work  which  he  did  in  England. 

17th  October,  167 1.  My  Lord  Henry  Howard  coming 
this  night  to  visit  my  Lord  Chamberlain,  and  staying  a 
day,  would  needs  have  me  go  with  him  to  Norwich,  prom- 
ising to  convey  me  back,  after  a  day  or   two;  this,   as   I 


72  DIARY     OF  NORWICH 

could  not  refuse,  I  was  not  hard  to  be  pursuaded  to,  hav- 
ing a  desire  to  see  that  famous  scholar  and  physician, 
Dr.  T,  Browne,  author  of  the  '-^  Religio  MedicV^  and 
*  Vulgar  Errors,*  now  lately  knighted.  Thither,  then, 
went  my  Lord  and  I  alone,  in  his  flying  chariot  with  six 
horses;  and  by  the  way,  discoursing  with  me  of  several 
of  his  concerns,  he  acquainted  me  of  his  going  to  marry 
his  eldest  son  to  one  of  the  King's  natural  daughters,  by 
the  Duchess  of  Cleveland ;  by  which  he  reckoned  he  should 
come  into  mighty  favor.     He  also  told   me  that,    though 

he  kept  that   idle  creature,  Mrs,  B ,  and  would  leave 

j[,2oo  a  year  to  the  son  he  had  by  her,  he  would  never 
marry  her,  and  that  the  King  himself  had  cautioned  him 
against  it.  All  the  world  knows  how  he  kept  his  prom- 
ise, and  I  was  sorry  at  heart  to  hear  what  now  he  confessed 
to  me ;  and  that  a  person  and  a  family  which  I  so  much 
honored  for  the  sake  of  that  noble  and  illustrious  friend 
of  mine,  his  grandfather,  should  dishonor  and  pollute 
them  both  with  those  base  and  vicious  courses  he  of  late 
had  taken  since  the  death  of  Sir  Samuel  Tuke,  and  that 
of  his  own  virtuous  lady  (my  Lady  Anne  Somerset,  sister 
to  the  Marquis);  who,  while  they  lived,  preserved  this 
gentleman  by  their  example  and  advice  from  those  many 
extravagances  that  impaired  both  his  fortune  and  repu- 
tation. 

Being  come  to  the  Ducal  palace,  my  Lord  made  very 
much  of  me ;  but  I  had  little  rest,  so  exceedingly  desirous 
he  was  to  show  me  the  contrivance  he  had  made  for  the 
entertainment  of  their  Majesties,  and  the  whole  Court 
not  long  before,  and  which,  though  much  of  it  was  but 
temporary,  apparently  framed  of  boards  only,  was  yet 
standing.  As  to  the  palace,  it  is  an  old  wretched  build- 
ing, and  that  part  of  it  newly  built  of  brick,  is  very  ill 
understood ;  so  as  I  was  of  the  opinion  it  had  been  much 
better  to  have  demolished  all,  and  set  it  up  in  a  better 
place,  than  to  proceed  any  further;  for  it  stands  in  the 
very  market-place,  and,  though  near  a  river,  yet  a  very 
narrow  muddy  one,  without  any  extent. 

Next  morning,  I  went  to  see  Sir  Thomas  Browne  (with 
whom  I  had  some  time  corresponded  by  letter,  though  I 
had  never  seen  him  before ) ;  his  whole  house  and  garden 
being  a  paradise  and  cabinet  of  rarites;  and  that  of  the 
best    collection,    especially    medals,    books,    plants,    and 


i67i  JOHN   EVELYN  73 

natural  things.  Among  other  curiosities,  Sir  Thomas  had 
a  collection  of  the  eggs  of  all  the  fowl  and  birds  he  could 
procure,  that  country  ( especially  the  promontory  of  Nor- 
folk) being  frequented,  as  he  said,  by  several  kinds 
which  seldom  or  never  go  further  into  the  land,  as  cranes, 
storks,  eagles,  and  variety  of  water  fowl,  He  led  me 
to  see  all  the  remarkable  places  of  this  ancient  city,  being 
one  of  the  largest,  and  certainly,  after  London,  one  of  the 
noblest  of  England,  for  its  venerable  cathedral,  number 
of  stately  churches,  cleanness  of  the  streets,  and  build- 
ings of  flint  so  exquisitely  headed  and  squared,  as  I  was 
much  astonished  at ;  but  he  told  me  they  had  lost  the  art 
of  squaring  the  flints,  in  which  they  so  much  excelled, 
and  of  which  the  churches,  best  houses,  and  walls,  are 
built.  The  Castle  is  an  antique  extent  of  ground,  which 
now  they  call  Marsfield,  and  would  have  been  a  fitting 
area  to  have  placed  the  Ducal  palace  in.  The  suburbs 
are  large,  the  prospects  sweet,  with  other  amenities,  not 
omitting  the  flower  gardens,  in  which  all  the  inhabitants 
excel.  The  fabric  of  stuffs  brings  a  vast  trade  to  this 
populous  town. 

Being  returned  to  my  Lord's,  who  had  been  with  me 
all  this  morning,  he  advised  with  me  concerning  a  plot 
to  rebuild  his  house,  having  already,  as  he  said,  erected 
a  front  next  the  street,  and  a  left  wing,  and  now  resolv- 
ing to  set  up  another  wing  and  pavilion  next  the  garden, 
and  to  convert  the  bowling  green  into  stables.  My 
advice  was,  to  desist  from  all,  and  to  meditate  wholly  on 
rebuilding  a  handsome  palace  at  Arundel  House,  in  the 
Strand,  before  he  proceeded  further  here,  and  then  to 
place  this  in  the  Castle,  that  ground  belonging  to  his 
Lordship. 

I  observed  that  most  of  the  church  yards  ( though  some 
of  them  large  enough )  were  filled  up  with  earth,  or  rather 
the  congestion  of  dead  bodies  one  upon  another,  for 
want  of  earth,  even  to  the  very  top  of  the  walls,  and 
some  above  the  walls,  so  as  the  churches  seemed  to  be 
built  in  pits. 

1 8th  October,  167 1.  I  returned  to  Euston,  in  Lord 
Henry  Howard's  coach,  leaving  him  at  Norwich,  in  com- 
pany with  a  very  ingenious  gentleman,  Mr.  White,  whose 
father  and  mother  (daughter  to  the  late  Lord  Treasurer 
Weston,  Earl  of  Portland )  I  knew   at   Rome,  where  this 


74  DIARY    OF  London 

gentleman  was  born,  and  where  his  parents  lived  and 
died  with  much  reputation,  during  their  banishment  in 
our  civil  broils. 

2ist  October,  167 1.  Quitting  Euston,  I  lodged  this 
night  at  Newmarket,  where  I  found  the  jolly  blades  rac- 
ing, dancing,  feasting,  and  reveling;  more  resembling  a 
luxurious  and  abandoned  rout,  than  a  Christian  Court. 
The  Duke  of  Buckingham  was  now  in  mighty  favor,  and 
had  with  him  that  impudent  woman,  the  Countess  of 
Shrewsbury,  with  his  band  of  fiddlers,  etc. 

Next  morning,  in  company  with  Sir  Bernard  Gascoyne, 
and  Lord  Hawley,  I  came  in  the  Treasurer's  coach  to 
Bishop  Stortford,  where  he  gave  us  a  noble  supper.  The 
following  day,  to  London,  and  so  home. 

14th  November,  1671.  To  Council,  where  Sir  Charles 
Wheeler,  late  Governor  of  the  Leeward  Islands,  having 
been  complained  of  for  many  indiscreet  managements,  it 
was  resolved,  on  scanning  many  of  the  particulars,  to 
advise  his  Majesty  to  remove  him ;  and  consult  what  was 
to  be  done,  to  prevent  these  inconveniences  he  had  brought 
things  to.  This  business  staid  me  in  London  almost  a 
week,  being  in  Council,  or  Committee,  every  morning 
till  the  25  th. 

27th  November,  1671.  We  ordered  that  a  proclamation 
should  be  presented  to  his  Majesty  to  sign,  against  what 
Sir  Charles  Wheeler  had  done  in  St.  Christopher's  since 
the  war,  on  the  articles  of  peace  at  Breda.  He  was 
shortly  afterward  recalled. 

6th  December,  167 1.  Came  to  visit  me  Sir  William 
Haywood,  a  great  pretender  to  English  antiquities. 

14th  December,  167 1.  Went  to  see  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham's  ridiculous  farce  and  rhapsody,  called  the 
**The  Recital,**  buffooning  all  plays,  yet  profane  enough. 

23d  December,  167 1.  The  Councillors  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  dined  together  at  the  Cock,  in  Suffolk  street. 
:  ...12th  January,  1671-72.  His  Majesty  renewed  us  our 
lease  of  Sayes  Court  pastures  for  ninety-nine  years,  but 
ought,  according  to  his  solemn  promise  f  (as  I  hope  he 
will  still  perform),  have  passed   them  to  us  in  fee-farm. 

23d  January,  1672.  To  London,  in  order  to  Sir  Rich- 
ard Browne,  my  father-in-law,  resigning  his  place  as  Clerk 

*The  well-known  play  of  <<The  RehearsaP*  is  meant. 

fThe  King's  engagement,  under  his  hand,  is  now  at  Wotton. 


1671-72  JOHN   EVELYN  75 

of  the  Council  to  Joseph  Williamson,  Esq.,  who  was  ad- 
mitted, and  was  knighted.  This  place  his  Majesty  had 
promised  to  give  me  many  years  before;  but,  upon  con- 
sideration of  the  renewal  of  our  lease  and  other  reasons, 
I  chose  to  part  with  it  to  Sir  Joseph,  who  gave  us  and 
the  rest  of  his  brother  clerks  a  handsome  supper  at  his 
house;  and,  after  supper,  a  concert  of  music. 

3d  February,  1672.  An  extraordinary  snow ;  part  of  the 
week  was  taken  up  in  consulting  about  the  commission 
of  prisoners  of  war,  and  instructions  to  our  officers,  in 
order  to  a  second  war  with  the  Hollanders,  his  Majesty 
having  made  choice  of  the  former  commissioners,  and 
myself  among  them. 

nth  February,  1672.  In  the  afternoon,  that  famous 
proselyte.  Monsieur  Brevall,  preached  at  the  Abbey,  in 
English,  extremely  well  and  with  much  eloquence.  He 
had  been  a  Capuchin,  but  much  better  learned  than  most 
of  that  order. 

12th  February,  1672.  At  the  Council,  we  entered  on 
inquiries  about  improving  the  plantations  by  silks,  galls, 
flax,  senna,  etc.,  and  considered  how  nutmegs  and  cinna- 
mon might  be  obtained  and  brought  to  Jamaica,  that  soil 
and  climate  promising  success.  Dr.  Worsley  being  called 
in,  spoke  many  considerable  things  to  encourage  it.  We 
took  order  to  send  to  the  plantations,  that  none  of  their  ships 
should  adventure  homeward  single,  but  stay  for  company 
and  convoys.  We  also  deliberated  on  some  fit  person  to 
go  as  commissioner  to  inspect  their  actions  in  New  Eng- 
land, and,  from  time  to  time,  report  how  that  people  stood 
affected.      In  future,  to  meet  at  Whitehall. 

20th  February,  1672.  Dr.  Parr,  of  Camberwell,  preached 
a  most  pathetic  funeral  discourse  and  panegyric  at  the 
interment  of  our  late  pastor,  Dr.  Breton  (who  died  on  the 
1 8th),  on  *  Happy  is  the  servant  whom,  when  his  Lord 
Cometh,*  etc.  This  good  man,  among  other  expressions, 
professed  that  he  had  never  been  so  touched  and  con- 
cerned at  any  loss  as  at  this,  unless  at  that  of  King 
Charles  our  martyr,  and  Archbishop  Usher,  whose  chap- 
lain he  had  been.  Dr.  Breton  had  preached  on  the  28th 
and  30th  of  January:  on  the  Friday,  having  fasted  all 
day,  making  his  provisionary  sermon  for  the  Sunday  fol- 
lowing, he  went  well  to  bed;  but  was  taken  suddenly  ill 
and  expired  before  help  could  come  to  him. 


76  DIARY  OF  London 

Never  had  a  parisli  a  greater  loss,  not  only  as  he  was 
an  excellent  preacher,  and  fitted  for  our  great  and  vulgar 
auditory,  but  for  his  excellent  life  and  charity,  his  meek- 
ness and  obliging  nature,  industrious,  helpful,  and  full  of 
good  works.  He  left  near  ;^4oo  to  the  poor  in  his  will, 
and  that  what  children  of  his  should  die  in  their  minor- 
ity, their  portion  should  be  so  employed.  I  lost  in  par- 
ticular a  special  friend,  and  one  that  had  an  extraordinary 
love  for  me  and  mine. 

25th  February,  1672.  To  London,  to  speak  with  the 
Bishop,  and  Sir  John  Cutler,  our  patron,  to  present  Mr. 
Frampton  (afterward  Bishop  of  Gloucester). 

I  St  March,  1672.  A  full  Council  of  Plantations,  on  the 
danger  of  the  Leeward  Islands,  threatened  by  the  French, 
who  had  taken  some  of  our  ships,  and  began  to  interrupt 
our  trade.  Also  in  debate,  whether  the  new  Governor 
of  St.  Christopher  should  be  subordinate  to  the  Governor 
of  Barbadoes.     The  debate  was  serious  and  long. 

12th  March,  1672.  Now  was  the  first  blow  given  by 
us  to  the  Dutch  convoy  of  the  Smyrna  fleet,  by  Sir  Robert 
Holmes  and  Lord  Ossory,  in  which  we  received  little 
save  blows,  and  a  worthy  reproach  for  attacking  our 
neighbors  ere  any  war  was  proclaimed,  and  then  pre- 
tending the  occasion  to  be,  that  some  time  before,  the 
Merlin  yacht  chancing  to  sail  through  the  whole  Dutch 
fleet,  their  Admiral  did  not  strike  to  that  trifling  vessel. 
Surely,  this  was  a  quarrel  slenderly  grounded,  and  not 
becoming  Christian  neighbors.  We  are  likely  to  thrive, 
accordingly.  Lord  Ossory  several  times  deplored  to  me 
his  being  engaged  in  it;  he  had  more  justice  and  honor 
than  in  the  least  to  approve  of  it,  though  he  had  been 
over-persuaded  to  the  expedition.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
we  should  have  surprised  this  exceeding  rich  fleet,  had 
not  the  avarice  and  ambition  of  Holmes  and  Spragge 
separated  themselves,  and  willfully  divided  our  fleet,  on 
presumption  that  either  of  them  was  strong  enough  to 
deal  with  the  Dutch  convoy  without  joining  and  mutual 
help;  but  they  so  warmly  plied  our  divided  fleets,  that 
while  in  conflict  the  merchants  sailed  away,  and  got  safe 
into  Holland. 

A  few  days  before  this,  the  Treasurer  of  the  House- 
hold, Sir  Thomas  Clifford,  hinted  to  me,  as  a  confidant, 
that  his    Majesty    would   shut    up   the  exchequer  (and, 


i672  JOHN   EVELYN  77 

accordingly,  his  Majesty  made  use  of  infinite  treasure 
there,  to  prepare  for  an  intended  rupture ) ;  but,  says  he, 
it  will  soon  be  open  again,  and  everybody  satisfied;  for 
this  bold  man,  who  had  been  the  sole  adviser  of  the 
King  to  invade  that  sacred  stock  (though  some  pretend 
it  was  Lord  Ashley's  counsel,  then  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer),  was  so  over-confident  of  the  success  of  this 
unworthy  design  against  the  Smyrna  merchants,  as  to 
put  his  Majesty  on  an  action  which  not  only  lost  the 
hearts  of  his  subjects,  and  ruined  many  widows  and 
orphans,  whose  stocks  were  lent  him,  but  the  reputation 
of  his  Exchequer  forever,  it  being  before  in  such  credit, 
that  he  might  have  commanded  half  the  wealth  of  the  nation. 

The  credit  of  this  bank  being  thus  broken,  did  exceed- 
ingly discontent  the  people,  and  never  did  his  Majesty's 
affairs  prosper  to  any  purpose  after  it,  for  as  it  did  not 
supply  the  expense  of  the  meditated  war,  so  it  melted 
away,  I  know  not  how. 

To  this  succeeded  the  King's  declaration  for  an  uni- 
versal toleration;  Papists  and  swarms  of  Sectaries,  now 
boldly  showing  themselves  in  their  public  meetings.  This 
was  imputed  to  the  same  council,  CliflEord  warping  to 
Rome  as  was  believed,  nor  was  Lord  Arlington  clear  of 
suspicion,  to  gratify  that  party,  but  as  since  it  has  proved, 
and  was  then  evidently  foreseen,  to  the  extreme  weaken- 
ing of  the  Church  of  England  and  its  Episcopal  Govern- 
ment, as  it  was  projected.  I  speak  not  this  as  my  own 
sense,  but  what  was  the  discourse  and  thoughts  of  others, 
who  were  lookers-on;  for  I  think  there  might  be  some 
relaxations  without  the  least  prejudice  to  the  present 
establishment,  discreetly  limited,  but  to  let  go  the  reins 
in  this  manner,  and  then  to  imagine  they  could  take 
them  up  again  as  easily,  was  a  false  policy,  and  greatly 
destructive.  The  truth  is,  our  Bishops  slipped  the  occa- 
sion ;  for,  had  they  held  a  steady  hand  upon  his  Majesty's 
restoration,  as  they  might  easily  have  done,  the  Church 
of  England  had  emerged  and  flourished,  without  interrup- 
tion; but  they  were  then  remiss,  and  covetous  after 
advantages  of  another  kind  while  his  Majesty  suffered 
them  to  come  into  a  harvest,  with  which,  without  any 
injustice  he  might  have  remunerated  innumerable  gallant 
gentlemen  for  their  services  who  had  ruined  themselves 
in  the  late  rebellion. 


78  DIARY  OF  Rochester 

2ist  March,  1672.  I  visited  the  coasts  in  my  district 
of  Kent,  and  divers  wounded  and  languishing  poor  men, 
that  had  been  in  the  Smyrna  conflict.  I  went  over  to  see 
the  new-begun  Fort  of  Tilbury;  a  royal  work,  indeed, 
and  such  as  will  one  day  bridle  a  great  city  to  the  pur- 
pose, before  they  are  aware. 

23d  March,  t6j2.  Captain  Cox,  one  of  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Navy,  furnishing  me  with  a  yatch,  I  sailed 
to  Sheemess  to  see  that  fort  also,  now  newly  finished; 
several  places  on  both  sides  the  Swale  and  Medway  to 
Gillingham  and  Upnore,  being  also  provided  with  re- 
doubts and  batteries  to  secure  the  station  of  our  men-of- 
war  at  Chatham,  and  shut  the  door  when  the  steeds 
were  stolen. 

24th  March,  1672.  I  saw  the  chirurgeon  cut  off  the 
leg  of  a  wounded  sailor,  the  stout  and  gallant  man  en- 
during it  with  incredible  patience,  without  being  bound 
to  his  chair,  as  usual  on  such  painful  occasions.  I  had 
hardly  courage  enough  to  be  present.  Not  being  cut  off 
high  enough  the  gangrene  prevailed,  and  the  second 
operation  cost  the  poor  creature  his  life. 

Lord!  what  miseries  are  mortal  men  subject  to,  and 
what  confusion  and  mischief  do  the  avarice,  anger,  and 
ambition  of  Princes,  cause  in  the  world ! 

25th  March,  1672.  I  proceeded  to  Canterbury,  Dover, 
Deal,  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  by  Sandwich,  and  so  to  Margate. 
Here  we  had  abundance  of  miserably  wounded  men,  his 
Majesty  sending  his  chief  chirurgeon,  Sergeant  Knight,  to 
meet  me,  and  Dr.  Waldrond  had  attended  me  all  the 
journey.  Having  taken  order  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  wounded,  I  came  back  through  a  country  the  best 
cultivated  of  any  that  in  my  life  I  had  anywhere  seen, 
every  field  lying  as  even  as  a  bowling-green,  and  the 
fences,  plantations,  and  husbandry,  in  such  admirable 
order,  as  infinitely  delighted  me,  after  the  sad  and  afflict- 
ing spectacles  and  objects  I  was  come  from.  Observing 
almost  every  tall  tree  to  have  a  weathercock  on  the  top 
bough,  and  some  trees  half-a-dozen,  I  learned  that,  on  a 
certain  holyday,  the  farmers  feast  their  servants;  at 
which  solemnity,  they  set  up  these  cocks,  in  a  kind  of 
triumph. 

Being  come  back  toward  Rochester,  I  went  to  take  order 
respecting  the  building  a  strong   and   high  wall   about  a 


i672  JOHN   EVELYN  79 

house  I  had  hired  of  a  gentleman,  at  a  place  called  Hart- 
lip,  for  a  prison,  paying  j^^o  yearly  rent.  Here  I  settled 
a  Provost-Marshal  and  other  officers,  returning  by  Fever- 
sham.  On  the  30th  heard  a  sermon  in  Rochester  cathe- 
dral, and  so  got  to  Sayes  Court  on  the  first  of  April 

4th  April,  1672.  I  went  to  see  the  fopperies  of  the 
Papists  at  Somerset- House  and  York- House,  where  now 
the  French  Ambassador  had  caused  to  be  represented  our 
Blessed  Savior  at  the  Pascal  Supper  with  his  disciples, 
in  figures  and  puppets  made  as  big  as  the  life,  of  wax- 
work, curiously  clad  and  sitting  round  a  large  table,  the 
room  nobly  hung,  and  shining  with  innumerable  lamps 
and  candles:  this  was  exposed  to  all  the  world;  all  the 
city  came  to  see  it.  Such  liberty  had  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics at  this  time  obtained. 

1 6th  April,  1672.  Sat  in  Council,  preparing  Lord  Wil- 
loughby's  commission  and  instructions  as  Governor  of 
Barbadoes  and  the  Caribbee  Islands. 

17th  April,  1672.     Sat  on  business  in  the  Star  Chamber. 

19th  April,  1672.  At  Council,  preparing  instructions  for 
Colonel  Stapleton,  now  to  go  Governor  of  St.  Christopher's , 
and  heard  the  complaints  of  the  Jamaica  merchants 
against  the  Spaniards,  for  hindering  them  from  cutting 
logwood  on  the  mainland,  where  they  have  no  pretense. 

2ist  April,  1672.  To  my  Lord  of  Canterbury,  to  entreat 
him  to  engage  Sir  John  Cutler,  the  patron,  to  provide  us 
a  grave  and  learned  man,  in  opposition  to  a  novice. 

30th  April,  1672.  Congratulated  Mr.  Treasurer  Clifford's 
new  honor,  being  made  a  Baron. 

2d  May,  1672.  My  son,  John,  was  specially  admitted  of 
the  Middle  Temple  by  Sir  Francis  North,  his  Majesty's 
Solicitor-General,  and  since  Chancellor.  I  pray  God  bless 
this  beginning,  my  intention  being  that  he  should  seri- 
ously apply  himself  to  the  study  of  the  law. 

loth  May,  1672.  I  was  ordered,  by  letter  from  the 
Council,  to  repair  forthwith  to  his  Majesty,  whom  I  found 
in  the  Pali-Mall,  in  St.  James's  Park,  where  his  Majesty 
coming  to  me  from  the  company,  commanded  me  to  go 
immediately  to  the  seacoast,  and  to  observe  the  motion  of 
the  Dutch  fleet  and  ours,  the  Duke  and  so  many  of  the 
flower  of  our  nation  being  now  under  sail,  coming  from 
Portsmouth,  through  the  Downs,  where  it  was  believed 
there  might  be  an  encounter. 


8o  DIARY  OF  Margate 

xith  May,  1672.  Went  to  Chatham.  12th.  Heard  a 
sermon  in  Rochester  Cathedral. 

13th  May,  1672.  To  Canterbury;  visited  Dr.  Bargrave, 
my  old  fellow-traveler  in  Italy,  and  great  virtuoso. 

14th  May,  1672.  To  Dover;  but  the  fleet  did  not  appear 
till  the  1 6th,  when  the  Duke  of  York  with  his  and  the 
French  squadron,  in  all  170  ships  (of  which  above  100 
were  men-of-war),  sailed  by,  after  the  Dutch,  who  were 
newly  withdrawn.  Such  a  gallant  and  formidable  navy 
never,  I  think,  spread  sail  upon  the  seas.  It  was  a  goodly 
yet  terrible  sight,  to  behold  them  as  I  did,  passing  east- 
ward by  the  straits  between  Dover  and  Calais  in  a 
glorious  day.  The  wind  was  yet  so  high,  that  I  could 
not  well  go  aboard,  and  they  were  soon  got  out  of  sight. 
The  next  day,  having  visited  our  prisoners  and  the  Castle, 
and  saluted  the  Governor,  I  took  horse  for  Margate. 
Here,  from  the  North  Foreland  Lighthouse  top  (which  is 
a  pharos,  built  of  brick,  and  having  on  the  top  a  cradle 
of  iron,  in  which  a  man  attends  a  great  sea-coal  fire  all 
the  year  long,  when  the  nights  are  dark,  for  the  safeguard 
of  sailors),  we  could  see  our  fleet  as  they  lay  at  anchor. 
The  next  morning,  they  weighed,  and  sailed  out  of  sight 
to  the  N.E. 

19th  May,  1672.  Went  to  Margate;  and,  the  following 
day.  was  carried  to  see  a  gallant  widow,  brought  up  a 
farmeress,  and  I  think  of  gigantic  race,  rich,  comely, 
and  exceedingly  industrious.  She  put  me  in  mind  of 
Deborah  and  Abigail,  her  house  was  so  plentifully  stored 
with  all  manner  of  country  provisions,  all  of  her  own 
growth,  and  all  her  conveniences  so  substantial,  neat,  and 
well  understood;  she  herself  so  jolly  and  hospitable;  and 
her  land  so  trim  and  rarely  husbanded,  that  it  struck  me 
with  admiration  at  her  economy. 

This  town  much  consists  of  brewers  of  a  certain  heady 
ale,  and  they  deal  much  in  malt,  etc.  For  the  rest,  it  is 
raggedly  built,  and  has  an  ill  haven,  with  a  small  fort  of 
little  concernment,  nor  is  the  island  well  disciplined ;  but 
as  to  the  husbandry  and  rural  part,  far  exceeding  any 
part  of  England  for  the  accurate  culture  of  their  ground, 
in  which  they  exceed,  even  to  curiosity  and  emulation. 

We  passed  by  Rickborough,  and  in  sight  of  Reculvers, 
and  so  through  a  sweet  garden,  as  it  were,  to  Canter- 
bury. 


i672  JOHN  EVELYN  8i 

24th  May,  1672.  To  London  and  gave  his  Majesty  an 
account  of  my  journey,  and  that  I  had  put  all  things  in 
readiness  upon  all  events,  and  so  returned  home  suffi- 
ciently wearied. 

31st  May,  1672.  I  received  another  command  to  repair 
to  the  seaside;  so  I  went  to  Rochester,  where  I  found 
many  wounded,  sick,  and  prisoners,  newly  put  on  shore 
after  the  engagement  on  the  28th,  in  which  the  Earl  of 
Sandwich,  that  incomparable  person  and  my  particular 
friend,  and  divers  more  whom  I  loved,  were  lost.  My 
Lord  ( who  was  Admiral  of  the  Blue )  was  in  the  **  Prince,  * 
which  was  burnt,  one  of  the  best  men-of-war  that  ever 
spread  canvas  on  the  sea.  There  were  lost  with  this 
brave  man,  a  son  of  Sir  Charles  Cotterell  ( Master  of  the 
Ceremonies),  and  a  son  of  Sir  Charles  Harbord  (his 
Majesty's  Surveyor-General),  two  valiant  and  most  ac- 
complished youths,  full  of  virtue  and  courage,  who  might 
have  saved  themselves;  but  chose  to  perish  with  my 
Lord,  whom  they  honored  and  loved  above  their  own 
lives. 

Here,  I  cannot  but  make  some  reflections  on  things 
past.  It  was  not  above  a  day  or  two  that  going  to 
Whitehall  to  take  leave  of  his  Lordship,  who  had  his 
lodgings  in  the  Privy-Garden,  shaking  [me  by  the  hand 
he  bid  me  good-by,  and  said  he  thought  he  would  see 
me  no  more,  and  I  saw,  to  my  thinking,  something  bod- 
ing in  his  countenance :  *  No,  '*  says  he,  "  they  will  not 
have  me  live.  Had  I  lost  a  fleet  ( meaning  on  his  return 
from  Bergen  when  he  took  the  East  India  prize  )  I  should 
have  fared  better ;  but,  be  as  it  pleases  God  —  I  must  do 
something,  I  know  not  what,  to  save  my  reputation.* 
Something  to  this  effect,  he  had  hinted  to  me ;  thus  I  took 
my  leave.  I  well  remember  that  the  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
and  my  now  Lord  Clifford,  had,  I  know  not  why,  no 
great  opinion  of  his  courage,  because,  in  former  conflicts, 
being  an  able  and  experienced  seaman  (which  neither 
of  them  were ),  he  always  brought  off  his  Majesty's  ships 
without  loss,  though  not  without  as  many  marks  of  true 
courage  as  the  stoutest  of  them ;  and  I  am  a  witness  that, 
in  the  late  war,  his  own  ship  was  pierced  like  a  colander. 
But  the  business  was,  he  was  utterly  against  this  war 
from  the  beginning,  and  abhorred  the  attacking  of  the 
Smyrna  fleet;  he  did  not  favor  the  heady  expedition  of 
6 


82  DIARY    OF  ROCHESTER 

Clifford  at  Bergen,  nor  was  he  so  furious  and  confident 
as  was  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  who  believed  he  could  van- 
quish the  Hollanders  with  one  squadron.  My  Lord  Sand- 
wich was  prudent  as  well  as  valiant,  and  always  governed  his 
affairs  with  success  and  little  loss;  he  was  for  delibera- 
tion and  reason,  they  for  action  and  slaughter  without 
either;  and  for  this,  whispered  as  if  my  Lord  Sandwich 
was  not  so  gallant,  because  he  was  not  so  rash,  and  knew 
how  fatal  it  was  to  lose  a  fleet,  such  as  was  that  under 
his  conduct,  and  for  which  these  very  persons  would 
have  censured  him  on  the  other  side.  This  it  was,  I  am 
confident,  grieved  him,  and  made  him  enter  like  a  lion, 
and  fight  like  one  too,  in  the  midst  of  the  hottest  service, 
where  the  stoutest  of  the  rest  seeing  him  engaged,  and  so 
many  ships  upon  him,  dared  not,  or  would  not,  come  to 
his  succor,  as  some  of  them,  whom  I  know,  might  have 
done.  Thus,  this  gallant  person  perished,  to  gratify  the 
pride  and  envy  of  some  I  named. 

Deplorable  was  the  loss  of  one  of  the  best  accomplished 
persons,  not  only  of  this  nation,  but  of  any  other.  He 
was  learned  in  sea  affairs,  in  politics,  in  mathematics,  and 
in  music:  he  had  been  on  divers  embassies,  was  of  a 
sweet  and  obliging  temper,  sober,  chaste,  very  ingenious, 
a  true  nobleman,  an  ornament  to  the  Court  and  his  Prince ; 
nor  has  he  left  any  behind  him  who  approach  his  many 
virtues. 

He  had,  I  confess,  served  the  tyrant  Cromwell,  when  a 
young  man,  but  it  was  without  malice,  as  a  soldier  of  for- 
tune; and  he  readily  submitted,  and  that  with  joy,  bring- 
ing an  entire  fleet  with  him  from  the  Sound,  at  the  first 
tidings  of  his  Majesty's  restoration.  I  verily  believe  him 
as  faithful  a  subject  as  any  that  were  not  his  friends.  I 
am  yet  heartily  grieved  at  this  mighty  loss,  nor  do  I  call 
it  to  my  thoughts  without  emotion. 

ad  June,  1672,  Trinity  Sunday,  I  passed  at  Rochester; 
and,  on  the  5th,  there  was  buried  in  the  Cathedral  Mon- 
sieur Rabini^re,  Rear  Admiral  of  the  French  squadron,  a 
gallant  person,  who  died  of  the  wounds  he  received  in 
the  fight.  This  ceremony  lay  on  me,  which  I  performed 
with  all  the  decency  I  could,  inviting  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  to  come  in  their  formalities.  Sir  Jonas  Atkins 
was  there  with  his  guards;  and  the  Dean  and  Preben^ 
daries :  one  of  his  countrymen  pronouncing  a  funeral  ora^ 


i672  JOHN   EVELYN  83 

tion  at  the  brink  of  his  grave,  which  I  caused  to  be  dug 
in  the  choir.  This  is  more  at  large  described  in  the 
«  Gazette  '*  of  that  day ;  Colonel  Reymes,  my  colleague  in 
commission,  assisting,  who  was  so  kind  as  to  accompany 
me  from  London,  though  it  was  not  his  district;  for 
indeed  the  stress  of  both  these  wars  lay  more  on  me  by 
far  than  on  any  of  my  brethren,  who  had  little  to  do  in 
theirs.  I  went  to  see  Upnore  Castle,  which  I  found 
pretty  well  defended,  but  of  no  great  moment. 

Next  day  I  sailed  to  the  fleet,  now  riding  at  the  buoy 
of  the  *Nore,'^  where  I  met  his  Majesty,  the  Duke,  Lord 
Arlington,  and  all  the  great  men,  in  the  <^  Charles,  '^  lying 
miserably  shattered;  but  the  miss  of  Lord  Sandwich  re- 
doubled the  loss  to  me,  and  showed  the  folly  of  hazard- 
ing so  brave  a  fleet,  and  losing  so  many  good  men,  for 
no  provocation  but  that  the  Hollanders  exceeded  us  in 
industry,  and  in  all  things  but  envy. 

At  Sheerness,  I  gave  his  Majesty  and  his  Royal  High- 
ness an  account  of  my  charge,  and  returned  to  Queen- 
borough;  next  day  dined  at  Major  Dorel's,  Governor  of 
Sheerness;  thence,  to  Rochester;  and  the  following  day, 
home 

12th  June,  1672.  To  London  to  his  Majesty,  to  solicit 
for  money  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  which  he  promised 
me 

19th  June,  1672.     To  London  again,  to  solicit  the  same. 

2ist  June,  1672.  At  a  Council  of  Plantations.  Most  of 
this  week  busied  with  the  sick  and  wounded. 

3d  July,  1672.  To  Lord  Sandwich's  funeral,  which  was 
by  water  to  Westminster,  in  solemn  pomp. 

31st  July,  1672.  I  entertained  the  Maids  of  Honor 
(among  whom  there  was  one  I  infinitely  esteemed  for  her 
many  and  extraordinary  virtues*)  at  a  comedy  this  after- 
noon, and  so  went  home. 

1st  August,  1672.  I  was  at  the  betrothal  of  Lord  Ar- 
lington's only  daughter  (a  sweet  child  if  ever  there  was 
anyt)  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  the  King's  natural  son  by 

♦Mrs.  Blagg  whom  Evelyn  never  tires  of  instancing  and  charac- 
terizing as  a  rare  example  of  piety  and  virtue,  in  so  rare  a  wit, 
beauty,  and  perfection,  in  a  licentious  court,  and  depraved  age.  She 
was  afterward  married  to  Mr.  Godolphin,  and  her  life,  written  by 
Evelyn,  has  been  edited  and  published  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford. 

■j-She  was  then  only  fifteen  years  old. 


84  DIARY  OF  London 

the  Duchess  of  Cleveland ;  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
officiating,  the  King  and  the  grandees  being  present.  I 
had  a  favor  given  me  by  my  Lady;  but  took  no  great 
joy  at  the  thing  for  many  reasons. 

1 8th  August,  1672.  Sir  James  Hayes,  Secretary  to 
Prince  Rupert,  dined  with  me ;  after  dinner  I  was  sent  to 
Gravesend  to  dispose  of  no  fewer  than  800  sick  men. 
That  night  I  got  to  the  fleet  at  the  buoy  of  the  *  Nore,  * 
where  I  spoke  with  the  King  and  the  Duke;  and,  after 
dinner  next  day,  returned  to  Gravesend. 

ist  September,  1672.  I  spent  this  week  in  soliciting 
for  moneys,  and  in  reading  to  my  Lord  Clifford  my  papers 
relating  to  the  first  Holland  war.  Now,  our  Council  of 
Plantations  met  at  Lord  Shaftesbury's  (Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer)  to  read  and  reform  the  draft  of  our  new 
Patent,  joining  the  Council  of  Trade  to  our  political  ca- 
pacities. After  this,  I  returned  home,  in  order  to  an- 
other excursion  to  the  seaside,  to  get  as  many  as  possible 
of  the  men  who  were  recovered  on  board  the  fleet. 

8th  September,  1672.  I  lay  at  Gravesend,  thence  to 
Rochester,  returning  on  the  nth. 

15th  September,  1672.  Dr.  Duport,  Greek  Professor  of 
Cambridge,  preached  before  the  King,  on  i  Timothy  vi. 
6.  No  great  preacher,  but  a  very  worthy  and  learned 
man. 

25th  September,  1672.  I  dined  at  Lord  John  Berke- 
ley's, newly  arrived  out  of  Ireland,  where  he  had  been 
Deputy;  it  was  in  his  new  house,  or  rather  palace;  for  I 
am  assured  it  stood  him  in  near  ^^30,000.  It  was  very 
well  built,  and  has  many  noble  rooms,  but  they  are  not 
very  convenient,  consisting  but  of  one  Corps  de  Logis; 
they  are  all  rooms  of  state,  without  closets.  The  stair- 
case is  of  cedar,  the  furniture  is  princely:  the  kitchen 
and  stables  are  ill  placed,  and  the  corridor  worse,  having 
no  report  to  the  wings  they  join  to.  For  the  rest,  the 
fore-court  is  noble,  so  are  the  stables;  and,  above  all, 
the  gardens,  which  are  incomparable  by  reason  of  the 
inequality  of  the  ground,  and  a  pretty  piscina.  The  holly 
hedges  on  the  terrace  I  advised  the  planting  of.  The 
porticos  are  in  imitation  of  a  house  described  by  Pal- 
ladio;  but  it  happens  to  be  the  worst  in  his  book, 
though  my  good  friend,  Mr.  Hugh  May,  his  Lordship's 
architect,  effected  it. 


i672  JOHN  EVELYN  S5 

26th  September,  1672.  I  carried  with  me  to  dinner  my 
Lord  H.  Howard  (now  to  be  made  Earl  of  Norwich  and 
Earl  Marshal  of  England)  to  Sir  Robert  Clayton's,  now 
Sheriff  of  London,  at  his  new  house,  where  we  had  a 
great  feast;  it  is  built  indeed  for  a  great  magistrate,  at 
excessive  cost.  The  cedar  dining  room  is  painted 
with  the  history  of  the  Giants'  War,  incomparably 
done  by  Mr,  Streeter,  but  the  figures  are  too  near  the 
eye, 

6th  October,  1672,  Dr,  Thistlethwaite  preached  at 
Whitehall  on  Rev.  v,  2, —  a  young,  but  good  preacher. 
I  received  the  blessed  Communion,  Dr.  Blandford,  Bishop 
of  Worcester,  and  Dean  of  the  Chapel,  officiating.  Dined 
at  my  Lord  Clifford's,  with  Lord  Mulgrave,  Sir  Gilbert 
Talbot,  and  Sir  Robert  Holmes. 

8th  October,  1672.  I  took  leave  of  my  Lady  Sunder- 
land, who  was  going  to  Paris  to  my  Lord,  now  ambassa- 
dor there.  She  made  me  stay  to  dinner  at  Leicester 
House,  and  afterward  sent  for  Richardson,  the  famous 
fire-eater.  He  devoured  brimstone  on  glowing  coals  be- 
fore us,  chewing  and  swallowing  them ;  he  melted  a  beer- 
glass  and  ate  it  quite  up;  then,  taking  a  live  coal  on  his 
tongue,  he  put  on  it  a  raw  oyster,  the  coal  was  blown 
on  with  bellows  till  it  flamed  and  sparkled  in  his  mouth, 
and  so  remained  till  the  oyster  gaped  and  was  quite 
boiled.  Then,  he  melted  pitch  and  wax  with  sulphur, 
which  he  drank  down  as  it  flamed;  I  saw  it  flaming  in 
his  mouth  a  good  while;  he  also  took  up  a  thick  piece 
of  iron,  such  as  laundresses  use  to  put  in  their  smooth- 
ing boxes,  when  it  was  fiery  hot,  held  it  between  his 
teeth,  then  in  his  hand,  and  threw  it  about  like  a  stone; 
but  this,  I  observed,  he  cared  not  to  hold  very  long;  then 
he  stood  on  a  small  pot,  and,  bending  his  body,  took  a 
glowing  iron  with  his  mouth  from  between  his  feet,  with- 
out touching  the  pot,  or  ground,  with  his  hands;  with 
divers  other  prodigious  feats. 

13th  October,  1672.  After  sermon  (being  summoned 
before),  I  went  to  my  Lord  Keeper's,  Sir  Orlando  Bridge- 
man,  at  Essex  House,  where  our  new  patent  was  opened 
and  read,  constituting  us  that  were  of  the  Council  of 
Plantations,  to  be  now  of  the  Council  of  Trade  also,  both 
united.  After  the  patent  was  read,  we  all  took  our  oaths, 
and  departed. 


86  DIARY  OF  London 

24th  October,  1672.  Met  in  Council,  the  Earl  of  Shaftes- 
bury, now  our  president,  swearing  our  secretary  and  his 
clerks,  which  was  Mr.  Locke,  an  excellent  learned  gen- 
tleman, and  student  of  Christ  Church,  Mr,  Lloyd,  and 
Mr.  Frowde.  We  dispatched  a  letter  to  Sir  Thomas 
Linch,  Governor  of  Jamaica,  giving  him  notice  of  a  de- 
sign of  the  Dutch  on  that  island. 

27th  October,  1672.  I  went  to  hear  that  famous  preacher, 
Dr.  Frampton,  at  St.  Giles's,  on  Psalm  xxxix.  6.  This 
divine  had  been  twice  at  Jerusalem,  and  was  not  only  a 
very  pious  and  holy  man,  but  excellent  in  the  pulpit  for 
the  moving  affections. 

8th  November,  1672,  At  Council,  we  debated  the  busi- 
ness of  the  consulate  of  Leghorn.  I  was  of  the  com- 
mittee with  Sir  Humphry  Winch,  the  chairman,  to 
examine  the  laws  of  his  Majesty's  several  plantations  and 
colonies  in  the  West  Indies,  etc. 

15th  November,  1672.  Many  merchants  were  summoned 
about  the  consulate  of  Venice;  which  caused  great  dis- 
putes; the  most  considerable  thought  it  useless.  This 
being  the  Queen-Consort's  birthday,  there  was  an  extraor- 
dinary appearance  of  gallantry,  and  a  ball  danced  at  Court. 

30th  November,  1672.  I  was  chosen  secretary  to  the 
Royal  Society. 

2ist  December,   1672.     Settled  the  consulate  of  Venice. 

I st  January,  1672-73.  After  public  prayers  in  the  chapel 
at  Whitehall,  when  I  gave  God  solemn  thanks  for  all  his 
mercies  to  me  the  year  past,  and  my  humble  supplica- 
tions to  him  for  his  blessing  the  year  now  entering,  I 
returned  home,  having  my  poor  deceased  servant  (Adams) 
to  bury,  who  died  of  pleurisy. 

3d  January,  1673.  ^Y  son  now  published  his  version 
of  "  Rapinus  Hortorum. " 

28th  January,  1673.  Visited  Don  Francisco  de  Melos, 
the  Portugal  Ambassador,  who  showed  me  his  curious 
collection  of  books  and  pictures.  He  was  a  person  of 
good  parts,    and   a   virtuous  man. 

6th  February,  1673.  To  Council  about  reforming  an 
abuse  of  the  dyers  with  saundus,  and  other  false  drugs ;  ex- 
amined divers  of  that   trade. 

23d  February,  1673.  The  Bishop  of  Chichester  preached 
before  the  King  on  Coloss.  ii.  14,  15,  admirably  well, 
as  he   can   do  nothing  but  what  is  well. 


1672-73  JOHN   EVELYN  87 

5th  March,  1673.  Our  new  vicar,  Mr.  Holden,  preached 
in  Whitehall  chapel,  on  Psalm,  iv.  6,  7.  This  gentle- 
man is  a  very  excellent  and  universal  scholar,  a  good 
and  wise  man;  but  he  had  not  the  popular  way  of 
preaching,  nor  is  in  any  measure  fit  for  our  plain  and 
vulgar  auditory,  as  his  predecessor  was.  There  was, 
however,  no  comparison  between  their  parts  for  pro- 
found learning.  But  time  and  experience  may  form  him 
to  a  more  practical  way  than  that  he  is  in  of  University 
lectures  and  erudition;  which  is  now  universally  left 
off   for  what  is   much   more   profitable. 

15th  March,  1673.  I  heard  the  speech  made  to  the 
Lords  in  their  House  by  Sir  Samuel  Tuke,  in  behalf  of 
the  Papists,  to  take  off  the  penal  laws;  and  then  dined 
with  Colonel  Norwood. 

i6th  March,  1673.  Dr.  Pearson,  Bishop  of  Chester, 
preached  on  Hebrews  ix.  14;  a  most  incomparable  ser- 
mon from  one  of  the  most  learned  divines  of  our  nation. 
I  dined  at  my  Lord  Arlington's  with  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Monmouth;  she  is  one  of  the  wisest  and 
craftiest  of  her  sex,  and  has  much  wit.  Here  was  also 
the  learned  Isaac  Vossius. 

During  Lent  there  is  constantly  the  most  excellent 
preaching  by  the  most  eminent  bishops  and  divines  of 
the  nation. 

26th  March,  1673.  ^  was  sworn  a  younger  brother  of 
the  Trinity  House,  with  my  most  worthy  and  long-ac- 
quainted noble  friend.  Lord  Ossory  (eldest  son  to  the 
Duke  of  Ormond),  Sir  Richard  Browne,  my  father-in- 
law,  being  now  Master  of  that  Society ;  after  which  there 
was  a  great  collation. 

29th  March,  1673.  I  carried  my  son  to  the  Bishop  of 
Chichester,  that  learned  and  pious  man.  Dr.  Peter  Gun- 
ning, to  be  instructed  by  him  before  he  received  the 
Holy  Sacrament,  when  he  gave  him  most  excellent 
advice,  which  I  pray  God  may  influence  and  remain  with 
him  as  long  as  he  lives;  and  O  that  I  had  been  so 
blessed  and  instructed,  when  first  I  was  admitted  to  that 
sacred  ordinance! 

30th  March,  1673.  Easter  day.  Myself  and  son  re- 
ceived the  blessed  Communion,  it  being  his  first  time, 
and  with  that  whole  week's  more  extraordinary  prepa- 
ration.     I    beseech    God  to    make    him    a   sincere    and 


88  DIARY  OF  London 

good  Christian,  while  I  endeavor  to  instill  into  him  the 
fear  and  love  of  God,  and  discharge  the  duty  of  a 
father. 

At  the  sermon  coram  Rege,  preached  by  Dr.  Sparrow^ 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  to  a  most  crowded  auditory;  I  stayed 
to  see  whether,  according  to  custom,  the  Duke  of  York 
received  the  Communion  with  the  King;  but  he  did  not, 
to  the  amazement  of  everybody.  This  being  the  second 
year  he  had  forborne,  and  put  it  off,  and  within  a  day 
of  the  Parliament  sitting,  who  had  lately  made  so  severe 
an  Act  against  the  increase  of  Popery,  gave  exceeding 
grief  and  scandal  to  the  whole  nation,  that  the  heir  of 
it,  and  the  son  of  a  martyr  for  the  Protestant  religion, 
should  apostatize.  What  the  consequence  of  this  will  be, 
God  only  knows,  and  wise  men  dread. 

nth  April,  1673.  I  dined  with  the  plenipotentiaries 
designed  for  the  treaty  of  Nimeguen. 

17th  April,  1673.  I  carried  Lady  Tuke  to  thank  the 
Countess  of  Arlington  for  speaking  to  his  Majesty  in  her 
behalf,  for  being  one  of  the  Queen  Consort's  women. 
She  carried  us  up  into  her  new  dressing  room  at  Goring 
House,  where  was  a  bed,  two  glasses,  silver  jars,  and 
vases,  cabinets,  and  other  so  rich  furniture  as  I  had 
seldom  seen;  to  this  excess  of  superfluity  were  we  now 
arrived  and  that  not  only  at  Court,  but  almost  univer- 
sally, even  to  wantonness  and  profusion. 

Dr.  Compton,  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Northampton, 
preached  on  i  Corinth,  v.  11-16,  showing  the  Church's 
power  in  ordaining  things  indijff erent ;  this  worthy  per- 
son's talent  is  not  preaching,  but  he  is  likely  to  make  a 
grave  and  serious  good  man. 

I  saw  her  Majesty's  rich  toilet  in  her  dressing  room, 
being  all  of  massy  gold,  presented  to  her  by  the  King, 
valued  at  ;^4,ooo. 

26th  April,  1673.  Dr.  Lamplugh  preached  at  St.  Mar- 
tin's the  Holy  Sacrament  following,  which  I  partook  of, 
upon  obligation  of  the  late  Act  of  Parliament,  enjoining 
everybody  in  office,  civil  or  military,  under  penalty  of 
jCs°°i  to  receive  it  within  one  month  before  two  authentic 
witnesses;  being  engrossed  on  parchment,  to  be  afterward 
produced  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  or  some  other  Court 
of  Record ;  which  I  did  at  the  Chancery  bar,  as  being  one 
of  the  Council  of  Plantations  and  Trade ;  taking  then  also 


i673  JOHN   EVELYN  89 

the  oath  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  signing  the  clause 
in  the  said  Act  against  Transubstantiation. 

25th  May,  1673.  My  son  was  made  a  younger  brother 
of  the  Trinity  House.  The  new  master  was  Sir  J.  Smith, 
one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  a  stout  seaman, 
who  had  interposed  and  saved  the  Duke  from  perishing 
by  a  fire  ship  in  the  late  war. 

28th  May,  1673.  I  carried  one  Withers,  an  ingenious 
shipwright,  to  the  King  to  show  him  some  new  method 
of  building. 

29th  May,  1673.  I  saw  the  Italian  comedy  at  the  Court, 
this  afternoon. 

loth  June,  1673.  Came  to  visit  and  dine  with  me  my 
Lord  Viscount  Cornbury  and  his  Lady;  Lady  Frances 
Hyde,  sister  to  the  Duchess  of  York;  and  Mrs.  Dorothy 
Howard,  maid  of  Honor.  We  went,  after  dinner,  to  see 
the  formal  and  formidable  camp  on  Blackheath,  raised  to 
invade  Holland;  or,  as  others  suspected  for  another 
design  Thence,  to  the  Italian  glass-house  at  Greenwich, 
where  glass  was  blown  of  finer  metal  than  that  of  Murano, 
at  Venice. 

13th  June,  1673.  Came  to  visit  us,  with  other  ladies 
of  rank,  Mrs.  Sedley,*  daughter  to  Sir  Charles,  who  was 
none  of  the  most  virtuous,  but  a  wit. 

19th  June,  1673.  Congratulated  the  new  Lord  Treas- 
urer, Sir  Thomas  Osborne,  a  gentleman  with  whom  I  had 
been  intimately  acquainted  at  Paris,  and  who  was  every 
day  at  my  father-in-law's  house  and  table  there ;  on  which 
account  I  was  too  confident  of  succeeding  in  his  favor, 
as  I  had  done  in  his  predecessor's;  but  such  a  friend 
shall  I  never  find,  and  I  neglected  my  time,  far  from 
believing  that  my  Lord  Clifford  would  have  so  rashly 
laid  down  his  staff,  as  he  did,  to  the  amazement  of  all 
the  world,  when  it  came  to  the  test  of  his  receiving 
the  Communion,  which  I  am  confident  he  forbore 
more  from  some  promise  he  had  entered  into  to 
gratify  the  Duke,  than  from  any  prejudice  to  the  Prot- 
estant religion,  though  I  found  him  wavering  a  pretty 
while. 

23d  June,  1673.  To  London,  to  accompany  our  Coun- 
cil who  went  in  a   body    to   congratulate    the   new    Lord 

*  The  Duke  of  York's  mistrsss,  afterward  created  by  him  Countess 
of  Dorchester. 


90 


DIARY   OF  LONDON 


Treasurer,  no  friend  to  it  because  promoted  by  my  Lord 
Arlington,  whom  he  hated. 

26th  June,  1673.  Came  visitors  from  Court  to  dine  with 
me  and  see  the  army  still  remaining  encamped  on  Blackheath. 

6th  July,  1673.  This  evening  I  went  to  the  funeral  of 
my  dear  and  excellent  friend,  that  good  man  and  ac- 
complished gentleman.  Sir  Robert  Murray,  Secretary  of 
Scotland.  He  was  buried  by  order  of  his  Majesty  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

25th  July,  1673.  I  went  to  Tunbridge  Wells,  to  visit 
my  Lord  Clifford,  late  Lord  Treasurer,  who  was  there 
to  divert  his  mind  more  than  his  body;  it  was  believed 
that  he  had  so  engaged  himself  to  the  Duke,  that  rather 
than  take  the  Test,  without  which  he  was  not  capable  of 
holding  any  office,  he  would  resign  that  great  and  hon- 
orable station.  This,  I  am  confident,  grieved  him  to  the 
heart,  and  at  last  broke  it;  for,  though  he  carried  with 
him  music,  and  people  to  divert  him,  and,  when  I  came 
to  see  him,  lodged  me  in  his  own  apartment,  and  would 
not  let  me  go  from  him,  I  found  he  was  struggling  in 
his  mind;  and  being  of  a  rough  and  ambitious  nature, 
he  could  not  long  brook  the  necessity  he  had  brought 
on  himself,  of  submission  to  this  conjuncture.  Besides, 
he  saw  the  Dutch  war,  which  was  made  much  by  his  advice, 
as  well  as  the  shutting  up  of  the  Exchequer,  very  un- 
prosperous.  These  things  his  high  spirit  could  not  sup- 
port. Having  stayed  here  two  or  three  days,  I  obtained 
leave  of  my  Lord  to  return. 

In  my  way,  I  saw  my  Lord  of  Dorset's  house  at 
Knowle,    near    Sevenoaks,    a   great    old-fashioned  house. 

30th  July,  1673.  To  Council,  where  the  business  of 
transporting  wool  was  brought  before  us, 

31st  July,  1673,  I  went  to  see  the  pictures  of  all  the 
judges  and  eminent  men  of  the  Long  Robe,  newly 
painted  by  Mr.  Wright,  and  set  up  in  Guildhall,  costing 
the  city  ^1,000.  Most  of  them  are  very  like  the  persons 
they  represent,  though  I  never  took  Wright  to  be  any 
considerable  artist, 

13th  August,  1673.  I  rode  to  Durdans,  where  I  dined 
at  my  Lord  Berkeley's  of  Berkeley  Castle,  my  old  and 
noble  friend,  it  being  his  wedding  anniversary,  where  I 
found  the  Duchess  of  Albemarle,  and  other  company, 
and  returned  home   on  that  evening  late. 


1 673  JOHN   EVELYN  91 

15th  August,   1673.      Came  to  visit  me  my  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury. 

1 8th  August,  1673.  My  Lord  Clifford,  being  about  this 
time  returned  from  Tunbridge,  and  preparing  for  Dev- 
onshire, I  went  to  take  my  leave  of  him  at  Wallingford 
House ;  he  was  packing  up  pictures,  most  of  which  were 
of  hunting  wild  beasts  and  vast  pieces  of  bull-baiting, 
bear-baiting,  etc.  I  found  him  in  his  study,  and  restored 
to  him  several  papers  of  state,  and  others  of  importance, 
which  he  had  furnished  me  with,  on  engaging  me  to 
write  the  *  History  of  the  Holland  War,*^  with  other  pri- 
vate letters  of  his  acknowledgments  to  my  Lord  Arling- 
ton, who  from  a  private  gentleman  of  a  very  noble 
family,  but  inconsiderable  fortune,  had  advanced  him 
from  almost  nothing.  The  first  thing  was  his  being  in 
Parliament,  then  knighted,  then  made  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  sick  and  wounded,  on  which  occasion  we 
sat  long  together;  then,  on  the  death  of  Hugh  Pollard, 
he  was  made  Comptroller  of  the  Household  and  Privy 
Councillor,  yet  still  my  brother  Commissioner;  after  the 
death  of  Lord  Fitz- Harding,  Treasurer  of  the  Household, 
he,  by  letters  to  Lord  Arlington,  which  that  Lord  showed 
me,  begged  of  his  Lordship  to  obtain  it  for  him  as  the 
very  height  of  his  ambition.  These  were  written  with 
such  submissions  and  professions  of  his  patronage,  as  I 
had  never  seen  any  more  acknowledging.  The  Earl  of 
Southampton  then  dying,  he  was  made  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Treasury.  His  Majesty  inclining  to  put 
it  into  one  hand,  my  Lord  Clifford,  under  pretense  of 
making  all  his  interest  for  his  patron,  my  Lord  Arling- 
ton, cut  the  grass  under  his  feet,  and  procured  it  for 
himself,  assuring  the  King  that  Lord  Arlington  did  not 
desire  it.  Indeed,  my  Lord  Arlington  protested  to  me 
that  his  confidence  in  Lord  Clifford  made  him  so  remiss 
and  his  affection  to  him  was  so  particular,  that  he  was 
absolutely  minded  to  devolve  it  on  Lord  Clifford,  all  the 
world  knowing  how  he  himself  affected  ease  and  quiet, 
now  growing  into  years,  yet  little  thinking  of  this  go-by. 
This  was  the  great  ingratitude  Lord  Clifford  showed, 
keeping  my  Lord  Arlington  in  ignorance,  continually 
assuring  him  he  was  pursuing  his  interest,  which  was 
the  Duke's  into  whose  great  favor  Lord  Clifford  was 
now    gotten;    but     which    certainly     cost    him     the   loss 


92  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

of    all,  namely,  his  going    so    irrevocably    far  in   his   in- 
terest. 

For  the  rest,  my  Lord  Clifford  was  a  valiant,  incorrupt 
gentleman,  ambitious,  not  covetous ;  generous,  passionate, 
a  most  constant,  sincere  friend,  to  me  in  particular,  so  as 
when  he  laid  down  his  office,  I  was  at  the  end  of  all  my 
hopes  and  endeavors.  These  were  not  for  high  matters, 
but  to  obtain  what  his  Majesty  was  really  indebted  to  my 
father-in-law,  which  was  the  utmost  of  my  ambition,  and 
which  I  had  undoubtedly  obtained,  if  this  friend  had 
stood.  Sir  Thomas  Osborn,  who  succeeded  him,  though 
much  more  obliged  to  my  father-in-law  and  his  family, 
and  my  long  and  old  acquaintance,  being  of  a  more 
haughty  and  far  less  obliging  nature,  I  could  hope  for 
little;  a  man  of  excellent  natural  parts;  but  nothing  of 
generous  or  grateful. 

Taking  leave  of  my  Lord  Clifford,  he  wrung  me  by 
the  hand,  and,  looking  earnestly  on  me,  bid  me  God-b'ye, 
adding,  *  Mr.  Evelyn,  I  shall  never  see  thee  more.  *'  "No !  ** 
said  I,  *  my  Lord,  what's  the  meaning  of  this  ?  I  hope 
I  shall  see  you  often,  and  as  great  a  person  again.** 
"  No,  Mr.  Evelyn,  do  not  expect  it,  I  will  never  see  this 
place,  this  city,  or  Court  again,*  or  words  of  this  sound. 
In  this  manner,  not  without  almost  mutual  tears,  I  parted 
from  him ;  nor  was  it  long  after,  but  the  news  was  that  he 
was  dead,  and  I  have  heard  from  some  who  I  believe  knew, 
he  made  himself  away,  after  an  extraordinary  melancholy. 
This  is  not  confidently  affirmed,  but  a  servant  who  lived 
in  the  house,  and  afterward  with  Sir  Robert  Clayton, 
Lord  Mayor,  did,  as  well  as  others,  report  it,  and  when 
I  hinted  some  such  thing  to  Mr.  Prideaux,  one  of  his 
trustees,  he  was  not  willing  to  enter  into  that  discourse. 

It  was  reported  with  these  particulars,  that,  causing 
his  servant  to  leave  him  unusually  one  morning,  locking 
himself  in,  he  strangled  himself  with  his  cravat  upon  the 
bed-tester;  his  servant,  not  liking  the  manner  of  dis- 
missing him,  and  looking  through  the  keyhole  (as  I 
remember),  and  seeing  his  master  hanging,  broke  in 
before  he  was  quite  dead,  and  taking  him  down,  vomiting 
a  great  deal  of  blood,  he  was  heard  to  utter  these  words : 
"  Well ;  let  men  say  what  they  will,  there  is  a  God,  a 
just  God  above  " ;  after  which  he  spoke  no  more.  This, 
if  true,  is  dismal.     Really,  he  was   the  chief  occasion  of 


1 673  JOHN   EVELYN  93 

the  Dutch  war,  and  of  all  that  blood  which  was  lost  at 
Bergen  in  attacking  the  Smyrna  fleet,  and  that  whole 
quarrel. 

This  leads  me  to  call  to  mind  what  my  Lord  Chancellor 
Shaftesbury  afi&rmed,  not  to  me  only,  but  to  all  my 
brethren  the  Council  of  Foreign  Plantations,  when  not 
long  after,  this  accident  being  mentioned  as  we  were  one 
day  sitting  in  Council,  his  Lordship  told  us  this  remark- 
able passage:  that,  being  one  day  discoursing  with  him 
when  he  was  only  Sir  Thomas  CliflEord,  speaking  of  men's 
advancement  to  great  charges  in  the  nation,  *^  Well,  '*  says 
he,  "my  Lord,  I  shall  be  one  of  the  greatest  men  in 
England.  Don't  impute  what  I  say  either  to  fancy,  or 
vanity;  I  am  certain  that  I  shall  be  a  mighty  man;  but 
it  will  not  last  long ;  I  shall  not  hold  it,  but  die  a  bloody 
death. "  *^  What,  *^  says  my  Lord,  *  your  horoscope  tells 
you  so  ?  '^  "  No  matter  for  that,  it  will  be  as  I  tell  you.  * 
*  Well,  ®  says  my  Lord  Chancellor  Shaftesbury,  *  if  I  were 
of  that  opinion,  I  either  would  not  be  a  great  man,  but 
decline  preferment,  or  prevent  my  danger.'* 

This  my  Lord  affirmed  in  my  hearing  before  several 
gentlemen  and  noblemen  sitting  in  council  at  Whitehall. 
And  I  the  rather  am  confident  of  it,  remembering  what 
Sir  Edward  Walker  (Garter  King-at-Arms)  had  likewise 
affirmed  to  me  a  long  time  before,  even  when  he  was 
first  made  a  Lord;  that  carrying  his  pedigree  to  Lord 
Clifford  on  his  being  created  a  peer,  and,  finding  him 
busy,  he  bade  him  go  into  his  study  and  divert  himself 
there  till  he  was  at  leisure  to  discourse  with  him  about 
some  things  relating  to  his  family;  there  lay,  said  Sir 
Edward,  on  his  table,  his  horoscope  and  nativity  calcu- 
lated, with  some  writing  under  it,  where  he  read  that 
he  should  be  advanced  to  the  highest  degree  in  the  state 
that  could  be  conferred  upon  him,  but  that  he  should 
not  long  enjoy  it,  but  should  die,  or  expressions  to  that 
sense ;  and  I  think,  ( but  cannot  confidently  say)  a  bloody 
death.  This  Sir  Edward  affirmed  both  to  me  and  Sir 
Richard  Browne ;  nor.  could  I  forbear  to  note  this  extra- 
ordinary passage  in  these  memoirs. 

14th  September,  1673.  Dr.  Creighton,  son  to  the  late 
eloquent  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  preached  to  the 
Household  on  Isaiah,  Ivii.   8. 

15th  September,  1673.     I  procured  ;,£'4,ooo  of  the  Lords 


94  DIARY  OF  London 

of  the  Treasury,  and  rectified  divers  matters  about  the 
sick  and  wounded. 

1 6th  September,  1673.  To  Council,  about  choosing  a 
new  Secretary, 

17th  September,  1673.  I  went  with  some  friends  to  visit 
Mr.  Bernard  Grenville,  at  Abs  Court  in  Surrey ;  an  old 
house  in  a  pretty  park. 

23d  September,  1673.  I  went  to  see  Paradise,  a  room 
in  Hatton  Garden  furnished  with  a  representation  of  all 
sorts  of  animals  handsomely  painted  on  boards  or  cloth, 
and  so  cut  out  and  made  to  stand,  move,  fly,  crawl,  roar, 
and  make  their  several  cries.  The  man  who  showed  it, 
made  us  laugh  heartily  at  his  formal  poetry. 

15th  October,  1673.  To  Council,  and  swore  in  Mr.  Locke, 
secretary,  Dr.  Worsley  being  dead. 

27th  October,  1673,  To  Council,  about  sending  succors 
to  recover  New  York:  and  then  we  read  the  commission 
and  instructions  to  Sir  Jonathan  Atkins,  the  new  Gover- 
nor of  Barbadoes. 

5th  November,  1673.  This  night  the  youths  of  the 
city  burned  the  Pope  in  effigy,  after  they  had  made  pro- 
cession with  it  in  great  triumph,  they  being  displeased 
at  the  Duke  for  altering  his  religion  and  marrying  an 
Italian  lady. 

30th  November,  1673.  On  St.  Andrew's  day  I  first  saw 
the  new  Duchess  of  York,  and  the  Duchess  of  Modena, 
her  mother. 

I  St  December,  1673.  To  Gresham  College,  whither  the 
city  had]  invited  the  Royal  Society  by  many  of  their 
chief  aldermen  and  magistrates,  who  gave  us  a  collation, 
to  welcome  us  to  our  first  place  of  assembly,  from  whence 
we  had  been  driven  to  give  place  to  the  City,  on  their 
making  it  their  Exchange  on  the  dreadful  conflagration, 
till  their  new  Exchange  was  finished,  which  it  now  was. 
The  Society  having  till  now  been  entertained  and  having 
met  at  Arundel  House. 

2d  December,  1673.  I  dined  with  some  friends,  and 
visited  the  sick;  thence,  to  an  almshouse,  where  was 
prayers  and  relief,  some  very  ill  and  miserable.  It  was 
one  of  the  best  days  I  ever  spent  in  my  life. 

3d  December,  1673.  There  was  at  dinner  my  Lord 
Lockhart,  designed  Ambassador  for  France,  a  gallant  and 
sober  person. 


1673-74  JOHN   EVELYN  95 

9th  December,  1673.  I  saw  again  the  Italian  Duchess 
and  her  brother,  the  Prince  Reynaldo. 

20th  December,  1673.  I  had  some  discourse  with  certain 
strangers,  not  unlearned,  who  had  been  born  not  far  from 
Old  Nineveh ;  they  assured  me  of  the  ruins  being  -  still 
extant,  and  vast  and  wonderful  were  the  buildings, 
vaults,  pillars,  and  magnificent  fragments;*  but  they 
could  say  little  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  that  satisfied  me. 
But  the  description  of  the  amenity  and  fragrancy  of  the 
country  for  health  and  cheerfulness,  delighted  me;  so 
sensibly  they  spoke  of  the  excellent  air  and  climate  in 
respect  of  our  cloudy  and  splenetic  country. 

24th  December,  1673.  Visited  the  prisoners  at  Ludgate, 
taking  orders  about  the  releasing  of  some. 

30th  December,  1673.  I  gave  Almighty  God  thanks 
for  his  infinite  goodness  to  me  the  year  past,  and  begged 
his  mercy  and  protection  the  year  following;  afterward, 
invited  my  neighbors  to  spend  the  day  with  me. 

5th  January,  1673-74.  I  saw  an  Italian  opera  in  music, 
the  first  that  had  been  in  England  of  this  kind. 

9th  January,  1674.  Sent  for  by  his  Majesty  to  write 
something  against  the  Hollanders  about  the  duty  of  the 
Flag  and  Fishery.     Returned  with  some  papers. 

25th  March,  1674.  I  dined  at  Knightsbridge,  with  the 
Bishops  of  Salisbury,  Chester,  and  Lincoln,  my  old 
friends. 

29th  May,  1674.  His  Majesty's  birthday  and  Restora- 
tion. Mr.  Demalhoy,  Roger  L'Estrange,  and  several  of 
my  friends,  came  to  dine  with  me  on  the  happy  occasion. 

27th  June,  1674.  Mr.  Dryden,  the  famous  poet  and 
now  laureate,  came  to  give  me  a  visit.  It  was  the  an- 
niversary of  my  marriage,  and  the  first  day  I  went  into 
my  new  little  cell  and  cabinet,  which  I  built  below  to- 
ward the  south  court,  at  the  east  end  of  the  parlor.    ^ 

9th  July,  1674.  Paid  ^^360  for  purchase  of  Dr.  Ja- 
combe's  son's  share  in  the  mill  and  land  at  Deptford, 
which  I  bought  of  the  Beechers. 

2 2d  July,  1674.  I  went  to  Windsor  with  my  wife 
and  son  to  see  my  daughter  Mary,  who  was  there  with 
my  Lady  Tuke  and  to  do  my  duty  to  his  Majesty.  Next 
day,  to  a  great  entertainment  at  Sir  Robert  Holmes's  at 

*The  remarkable  discoveries  of  Mr.  Layard  give  now  a  curious  inter- 
est to  this  notice  by  Evelyn. 


96  DIARY    OF  groombridge 

Cranbourne  Lodge,  in  the  Forest;  there  were  his  Maj- 
esty, the  Queen,  Duke,  Duchess,  and  all  the  Court.  I 
returned  in  the  evening  with  Sir  Joseph  Williamson,  now 
declared  Secretary  of  State.  He  was  son  of  a  poor 
clergyman  somewhere  in  Cumberland,  brought  up  at 
Queen's  College,  Oxford,  of  which  he  came  to  be  a  fel- 
low ;  then  traveled  with  .  .  .  and  returning  when  the 
King  was  restored,  was  received  as  a  clerk  under  Mr. 
Secretary  Nicholas.  Sir  Henry  Bennett  (now  Lord  Arling- 
ton) succeeding,  Williamson  is  transferred  to  him,  who 
loving  his  ease  more  than  business  (though  sufficiently 
able  had  he  applied  himself  to  it)  remitted  all  to  his  man 
Williamson;  and,  in  a  short  time,  let  him  so  into  the 
secret  of  affairs,  that  (as  his  Lordship  himself  told  me) 
there  was  a  kind  of  necessity  to  advance  him ;  and  so,  by 
his  subtlety,  dexterity,  and  insinuation,  he  got  now  to  be 
principal  Secretary;  absolutely  Lord  Arlington's  creature, 
and  ungrateful  enough.  It  has  been  the  fate  of  this 
obliging  favorite  to  advance  those  who  soon  forgot  their 
original.  Sir  Joseph  was  a  musician,  could  play  at  Jeu 
de  Goblets^  exceedingly  formal,  a  severe  master  to  his  serv- 
ants, but  so  inward  with  my  Lord  O'Brien,  that  after  a 
few  months  of  that  gentleman's  death,  he  married  his 
widow,*  who,  being  sister  and  heir  of  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond, brought  him  a  noble  fortune.  It  was  thought  they 
lived  not  so  kindly  after  marriage  as  they  did  before. 
She  was  much  censured  for  marrying  so  meanly,  being 
herself  allied  to  the  Royal   family. 

6th  August,  1674.  I  went  to  Groombridge,  to  see  my 
old  friend,  Mr.  Packer;  the  house  built  within  a  moat, 
in  a  woody  valley.  The  old  house  had  been  the  place  of 
confinement  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  taken  by  one  Waller 
(whose  house  it  then  was)  at  the  battle  of  Agincourt, 
now  demolished,  and  a  new  one  built  in  its  place,  though 
a  far  better  situation  had  been  on  the  south  of  the  wood, 
on  a  graceful  ascent.     At  some  small  distance,  is  a  large 

*  Lady  Catherine  Stuart,  sister  and  heir  to  Charles  Stuart,  Duke  of 
Richmond  and  Lennox,  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Prances  Stuart,  one  of  the 
most  admired  beauties  of  the  Court,  with  whom  Charles  II.  was  so 
deeply  in  love  that  he  never  forgave  the  Duke  for  marrying  her,  hav- 
ing already,  it  is  thought,  formed  some  similar  intention  himself.  He 
took  the  first  opportunity  of  sending  the  Duke  into  an  honorable  exile, 
as  Ambassador  to  Denmark,  where  he  shortly  after  died,  leaving  no 
issue  by  the  Duchess. 


1 674  JOHN  EVELYN  97 

chapel,  not  long  since  built  by  Mr.  Packer's  father,  on  a 
vow  he  made  to  do  it  on  the  return  of  King  Charles  I. 
out  of  Spain,  1625,  and  dedicated  to  St.  Charles,  but 
what  saint  there  was  [then  of  that  name  I  am  to  seek, 
for,  being  a  Protestant,  I  conceive  it  was   not  Borromeo. 

I  went  to  see  my  farm  at  Ripe,  near  Lewes. 

19th  August,  1674,  His  Majesty  told  me  how  exceed- 
ingly the  Dutch  were  displeased  at  my  treatise  of  the 
"History  of  Commerce;*'  that  the  Holland  Ambassador 
had  complained  to  him  of  what  I  had  touched  of  the 
Flags  and  Fishery,  etc.,  and  desired  the  book  might  be 
called  in;  while  on  the  other  side,  he  assured  me  he  was 
exceedingly  pleased  with  what  I  had  done,  and  gave  me 
many  thanks.  However,  it  being  just  upon  conclusion  of 
the  treaty  of  Breda  (indeed  it  was  designed  to  have  been 
published  some  months  before  and  when  we  were  at  de- 
fiance), his  Majesty  told  me  he  must  recall  it  formally; 
but  gave  order  that  what  copies  should  be  publicly 
seized  to  pacify  the  Ambassador,  should  immediately  be 
restored  to  the  printer,  and  that  neither  he  nor  the  ven- 
der should  be  molested.  The  truth  is,  that  which  touched 
the  Hollander  was  much  less  than  what  the  King  him- 
self furnished  me  with,  and  obliged  me  to  publish,  hav- 
ing caused  it  to  be  read  to  him  before  it  went  to  press ; 
but  the  error  was,  it  should  have  been  published  before 
the  peace  was  proclaimed.  The  noise  of  this  book's  sup- 
pression made  it  presently  to  be  bought  up,  and  turned 
much  to  the  stationer's  advantage.  It  was  no  other  than 
the  preface  prepared  to  be  prefixed  to  my  *  History  of  the 
Whole  War;'*  which  I  now  pursued  no  further. 

2ist  August,  1674.  In  one  of  the  meadows  at  the  foot 
of  the  long  Terrace  below  the  Castle  [Windsor],  works 
were  thrown  up  to  show  the  King  a  representation  of  the 
city  of  Maestricht,  newly  taken  by  the  French.  Bas- 
tians,  bulwarks,  ramparts,  palisadoes,  graffs,  hom-works, 
counter-scarps,  etc.,  were  constructed.  It  was  attacked 
by  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  (newly  come  from  the  real 
siege)  and  the  Duke  of  York,  with  a  little  army,  to 
show  their  skill  in  tactics.  On  Saturday  night  they 
made  their  approaches,  opened  trenches,  raised  bat- 
teries, took  the  counter-scarp  and  ravelin,  after  a  stout 
defense;  great  guns  fired  on  both  sides,  grenadoes  shot, 
mines  sprung,  parties  sent  out,  attempts  of  rais- 
7 


98  DIARY  OF  London 

ing  the  siege,  prisoners  taken,  parleys;  and,  in  short,  all 
the  circumstances  of  a  formal  siege,  to  appearance,  and, 
what  is  most  strange  all  without  disorder,  or  ill  acci- 
dent, to  the  great  satisfaction  of  a  thousand  spectators. 
Being  night,  it  made  a  formidable  show.  The  siege  being 
over,  I  went  with  Mr.  Pepys  back  to  London,  where  we 
arrived  about  three  in  the  morning. 

15th  September,  1674.  To  Council,  about  fetching  away 
the  English  left  at  Surinam,  etc.,  since  our  reconciliation 
with  Holland. 

2ist  September,  1674.  I  went  to  see  the  great  loss  that 
Lord  Arlington  had  sustained  by  fire  at  Goring  House,  this 
night  consumed  to  the  ground,  with  exceeding  loss  of 
hangings,  plate,  rare  pictures,  and  cabinets;  hardly  any- 
thing was  saved  of  the  best  and  most  princely  furniture 
that  any  subject  had  in  England.  My  lord  and  lady  were 
both  absent  at  the  Bath. 

6th  October,  1674.  The  Lord  Chief  Baron  Turner,  and 
Sergeant  Wild,  Recorder  of  London,  came  to  visit  me. 

20th  October,  1674.  At  Lord  Berkeley's,  I  discoursed 
with  Sir  Thomas  Modiford,  late  Governor  of  Jamaica,  and 
with  Colonel  Morgan,  who  undertook  that  gallant  exploit 
from  Nombre  de  Dios  to  Panama,  on  the  Continent  of 
America;  he  told  me  10,000  men  would  easily  conquer  all 
the  Spanish  Indies,  they  were  so  secure.  They  took  great 
booty,  and  much  greater  had  been  taken,  had  they  not 
been  betrayed  and  so  discovered  before  their  approach,  by 
which  the  Spaniards  had  time  to  carry  their  vast  treasure 
on  board  ships  that  put  off  to  sea  in  sight  of  our  men, 
who  had  no  boats  to  follow.  They  set  fire  to  Panama,  and 
ravaged  the  country  sixty  miles  about.  The  Spaniards 
were  so  supine  and  unexercised,  that  they  were  afraid  to 
fire  a  great  gfun. 

31st  October,  1674.  My  birthday,  54th  year  of  my  life. 
Blessed  be  God !  It  was  also  preparation  day  for  the  Holy 
Sacrament,  in  which  I  participated  the  next  day,  imploring 
God's  protection  for  the  year  following,  and  confirming  my 
resolutions  of  a  more  holy  life,  even  upon  the  Holy  Book. 
The  Lord  assist  and  be  gracious  unto  me!     Amen. 

15th  November,  1674.  The  anniversary  of  my  baptism: 
I  first  heard  that  famous  and  excellent  preacher,  Dr. 
Burnet)  author  of  the  «  History  of  the  Reformation  »  on 
Colossians  iii.  jo,  with  such  flow  of  eloqence  and  fullness 


1674-75  JOHN   EVELYN  99 

pf  matter,  as  showed  him  to  be  a  person  of  extraordinary 
parts. 

Being  her  Majesty's  birthday,  the  Court  was  exceeding 
splendid  in  clothes  and  jewels,  to  the  height  of  excess. 

17th  November,  1674.  To  Council,  on  the  business  of 
Surinam,  where  the  Dutch  had  detained  some  English  in 
prison,  ever  since  the  first  war,  1665. 

19th  November,  1674.  I  heard  that  stupendous  violin, 
Signor  Nicholao  (with  other  rare  musicians),  whom  I  never 
heard  mortal  man  exceed  on  that  instrument.  He  had  a 
stroke  so  sweet,  and  made  it  speak  like  the  voice  of  a 
man,  and,  when  he  pleased,  like  a  concert  of  several 
instruments.  He  did  wonders  upon  a  note,  and  was  an 
excellent  composer.  Here  was  also  that  rare  lutanist,  Dr. 
Wallgrave ;  but  nothing  approached  the  violin  in  Nicholao's 
hand.    He  played  such  ravishing  things  as  astonished  us  all. 

2d  December,  1674.  At  Mr.  Slingsby's,  master  of  the 
mint,  my  worthy  friend,  a  great  lover  of  music.  Heard 
Signor  Francisco  on  the  harpsichord,  esteemed  one  of  the 
most  excellent  masters  in  Europe  on  that  instrument; 
then,  came  Nicholao  with  his  violin,  and  struck  all  mute, 
but  Mrs.  Knight,  who  sung  incomparably,  and  doubtless 
has  the  greatest  reach  of  any  English  woman;  she  had 
been  lately  roaming  in  Italy,  and  was  much  improved  in 
that  quality. 

15th  December,  1674.  Saw  a  comedy  at  night,  at 
Court,  acted  by  the  ladies  only,  among  them  Lady  Mary 
and  Ann,  his  Royal  Highness'  two  daughters,  and  my 
dear  friend  Mrs.  Blagg,  who,  having  the  principal  part, 
performed  it  to  admiration.  They  were  all  covered  with 
jewels. 

2 2d  December,  1674.  Was  at  the  repetition  of  the 
*  Pastoral,  *  on  which  occasion  Mrs,  Blagg  had  about  her 
near  ^^^20,000  worth  of  jewels,  of  which  she  lost  one 
worth  about  ;^8o,  borrowed  of  the  Countess  of  Suffolk. 
The  press  was  so  great,  that  it  is  a  wonder  she  lost  no 
more.     The  Duke  made  it  good. 

20th  January,  1674-75.  Went  to  see  Mr.  Streeter, 
that  excellent  painter  of  perspective  and  landscape, 
to  comfort  and  encourage  him  to  be  cut  for  the  stone, 
with  which  that  honest  man  was  exceedingly  afflicted. 

2 2d  March,  1675.  Supped  at  Sir  William  Petty 's,  with 
the  Bishop    of  Salisbury,    and   divers   honorable  persons. 


loo  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

We  had  a  noble  entertainment  in  a  house  gloriously- 
furnished;  the  master  and  mistress  of  it  were  extraor- 
dinary persons.  Sir  William  was  the  son  of  a  mean 
man  somewhere  in  Sussex,  and  sent  from  school  to  Ox- 
ford, where  he  studied  Philosophy,  but  was  most  eminent 
in  Mathematics  and  Mechanics;  proceeded  Doctor  of 
Physic,  and  was  grown  famous,  as  for  his  learning  so 
for  his  recovering  a  poor  wench  that  had  been  hanged 
for  felony;  and  her  body  having  been  begged  (as  the 
custom  is)  for  the  anatomy  lecture,  he  bled  her,  put 
her  to  bed  to  a  warm  woman,  and,  with  spirits  and 
other  means,  restored  her  to  life.  The  young  scholars 
joined  and  made  a  little  portion,  and  married  her  to  a 
man  who  had  several  children  by  her,  she  living  fifteen 
years  after,  as  I  have  been  assured.  Sir  William  came 
from  Oxford  to  be  tutor  to  a  neighbor  of  mine;  thence, 
when  the  rebels  were  dividing  their  conquests  in  Ireland, 
he  was  employed  by  them  to  measure  and  set  out  the 
land,  which  he  did  on  an  easy  contract,  so  much  per 
acre.  This  he  effected  so  exactly,  that  it  not  only 
furnished  him  with  a  great  sum  of  money;  but  enabled 
him  to  purchase  an  estate  worth  ^^4,000  a  year.  He 
afterward  married  the  daughter  of  Sir  Hardress  Waller; 
she  was  an  extraordinary  wit  as  well  as  beauty,  and  a 
prudent  woman. 

Sir  William,  among  other  inventions,  was  author  of 
the  double-bottomed  ship,  which  perished,  and  he  was 
censured  for  rashness,  being  lost  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
in  a  storm,  when,  I  think,  fifteen  other  vessels  miscar- 
ried. This  vessel  was  flat-bottomed,  of  exceeding  use  to 
put  into  shallow  ports,  and  ride  over  small  depths  of 
water.  It  consisted  of  two  distinct  keels  cramped  together 
with  huge  timbers,  etc.,  so  as  that  a  violent  stream  ran 
between;  it  bore  a  monstrous  broad  sail,  and  he  still 
persists  that  it  is  practicable,  and  of  exceeding  use;  and 
he  has  often  told  me  he  would  adventure  himself  in  such 
another,  could  he  procure  sailors,  and  his  Majesty's  per- 
mission to  make  a  second  Experiment;  which  name  the 
King  gave  the  vessel  at  the  launching. 

The  Map  of  Ireland  made  by  Sir  William  Petty  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  most  exact  that  ever  yet  was  made  of 
any  country.  He  did  promise  to  publish  it;  and  I  am 
told  it  has  cost  him  near  ;^  1,000  to  have  it  engraved  at 


i675  JOHN  EVELYN  loi 

Amsterdam.  There  is  not  a  better  Latin  poet  living,  when 
he  gives  himself  that  diversion ;  nor  is  his  excellence  less 
in  Council  and  prudent  matters  of  state;  but  he  is  so 
exceedingly  nice  in  sifting  and  examining  all  possible 
contingencies,  that  he  adventures  at  nothing  which  is 
not  demonstration.  There  was  not  in  the  whole  world 
his  equal  for  a  superintendent  of  manufacture  and  im- 
provement of  trade,  or  to  govern  a  plantation.  If  I  were 
a  Prince,  I  should  make  him  my  second  Counsellor,  at 
least.  There  is  nothing  difficult  to  him.  He  is,  besides, 
courageous;  on  which  account,  I  cannot  but  note  a  true 
story  of  him,  that  when  Sir  Aleyn  Brodrick  sent  him  a 
challenge  upon  a  difference  between  them  in  Ireland, 
Sir  William,  though  exceedingly  purblind,  accepted  the 
challenge,  and  it  being  his  part  to  propound  the  weapon, 
desired  his  antagonist  to  meet  him  with  a  hatchet,  or 
axe,  in  a  dark  cellar;  which  the  other,  of  course,  re- 
fused. 

Sir  William  was,  with  all  this,  facetious  and  of  easy 
conversation,  friendly  and  courteous,  and  had  such  a 
faculty  of  imitating  others,  that  he  would  take  a  text 
and  preach,  now  like  a  grave  orthodox  divine,  then  fall- 
ing into  the  Presbyterian  way,  then  to  the  fanatical,  the 
Quaker,  the  monk  and  friar,  the  Popish  priest,  with  such 
admirable  action,  and  alteration  of  voice  and  tone,  as  it 
was  not  possible  to  abstain  from  wonder,  and  one  would 
swear  to  hear  several  persons,  or  forbear  to  think  he 
was  not  in  good  earnest  an  enthusiast  and  almost  beside 
himself;  then,  he  would  fall  out  of  it  into  a  serious  dis- 
course; but  it  was  very  rarely  he  would  be  prevailed  on 
to  oblige  the  company  with  this  faculty,  and  that  only 
among  most  intimate  friends.  My  Lord  Duke  of  Ormond 
once  obtained  it  of  him,  and  was  almost  ravished  with 
admiration;  but  by  and  by,  he  fell  upon  a  serious  repri- 
mand of  the  faults  and  miscarriages  of  some  Princes  and 
Governors,  which,  though  he  named  none,  did  so  sensi- 
bly touch  the  Duke,  who  was  then  Lieutenant  of  Ireland, 
that  he  began  to  be  very  uneasy,  and  wished  the  spirit 
laid  'which  he  had  raised,  for  he  was  neither  able  to 
endure  such  truths,  nor  could  he  but  be  delighted.  At 
last,  he  melted  his  discourse  to  a  ridiculous  subject,  and 
came  down  from  the  joint  stool  on  which  he  had  stood ;  but 
my  lord  would  not  have  him  preach  any  more.     He  never 

LIBRARY 


I02  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

could  get  favor  at  Court,  because  he  outwitted  all  the 
projectors  that  came  near  him.  Having  never  known 
such  another  genius,  I  cannot  but  mention  these  partic- 
ulars, among  a  multitude  of  others  which  I  could  produce. 
When  I,  who  knew  him  in  mean  circumstances,  have 
been  in  his  splendid  palace,  he  would  himself  be  in 
admiration  how  he  arrived  at  it;  nor  was  it  his  value  or 
inclination  for  splendid  furniture  and  the  curiosities 
of  the  age,  but  his  elegant  lady  could  endure  nothing 
mean,  or  that  was  not  magnificent.  He  was  very  negli- 
gent himself,  and  rather  so  of  his  person,  and  of  a  phil- 
osophic temper.  **What  a  to-do  is  here!"  would  he  say, 
*  I  can  lie  in  straw  with  as  much  satisfaction. " 

He  is  author  of  the  ingenious  deductions  from  the 
bills  of  mortality,  which  go  under  the  name  of  Mr. 
Graunt;  also  of  that  useful  discourse  of  the  manufacture 
of  wool,  and  several  others  in  the  register  of  the  Royal 
Society.  He  was  also  author  of  that  paraphrase  on  the 
104th  Psalm  in  Latin  verse,  which  goes  about  in  MS., 
and  is  inimitable.  In  a  word,  there  is  nothing  impene- 
trable to  him. 

26th  March,  1675.  Dr.  Bridcoak  was  elected  Bishop  of 
Chichester,  on  the  translation  of  Dr.  Gunning  to  Ely. 

30th  March,  1675.  Dr.  Allestree  preached  on  Romans, 
vi.  3,  the  necessity  of  those  who  are  baptized  to  die  to 
sin ;  a  very  excellent  discourse  from  an  excellent  preacher. 

25th  April,  1675.  Dr.  Barrow,  that  excellent,  pious, 
and  most  learned  man,  divine,  mathematician,  poet, 
traveler,  and  most  humble  person,  preached  at  Whitehall 
to  the  household,  on  Luke,  xx.  27,  of  love  and  charity 
to  our  neighbors. 

29th  April,  1675.  I  read  my  first  discourse,  **0f  Earth 
and  Vegetation,*'  before  the  Royal  Society  as  a  lecture 
in  course,  after  Sir  Robert  Southwell  had  read  his,  the 
week  before  ,*0n  Water.'*  I  was  commanded  by  our 
President  and  the  suffrage  of  the  Society,  to  print  it. 

i6th  May,  1675.  This  day  was  my  dear  friend,  Mrs. 
Blagg,  married  at  the  Temple  Church  to  my  friend,  Mr. 
Sidney  Godolphin,  Groom  of  the  Bedchamber  to  his 
Majesty. 

1 8th  May,  1675.  I  went  to  visit  one  Mr.  Bathurst,  a 
Spanish  m^erchant,  my  neighbor. 

31st  May,  1675.     I  went  with    Lord    Ossory    to    Dept- 


i675  JOHN  EVELYN  103 

ford,  where  we  chose  him  Master  of  the  Trinity  Com- 
pany. 

2d  June,  1675.  I  was  at  a  conference  of  the  Lords 
and  Commons  in  the  Painted  Chamber,  on  a  difference 
about  imprisoning  some  of  their  members;  and  on  the 
3d,  at  another  conference,  when  the  Lords  accused  the 
Commons  for  their  transcendent  misbehavior,  breach  of 
privilege,  Magna  Charta,  subversion  of  government,  and 
other  high,  provoking,  and  diminishing  expressions,  show- 
ing what  duties  and  subjection  they  owed  to  the  Lords 
in  Parliament,  by  record  of  Henry  IV.  This  was  likely 
to  create  a  notable   disturbance. 

15th  June,  1675.  This  afternoon  came  Monsieur  Quer- 
ouaille  and  his  lady,  parents  to  the  famous  beauty  and 
.  .  .  favorite  at  Court,  to  see  Sir  R.  Browne,  with 
whom  they  were  intimately  acquainted  in  Bretagne,  at 
the  time  Sir  Richard  was  sent  to  Brest  to  supervise  his 
Majesty's  sea  affairs,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  King's 
banishment.  This  gentleman's  house  was  not  a  mile 
from  Brest;  Sir  Richard  made  an  acquaintance  there, 
and,  being  used  very  civilly,  was  obliged  to  return  it 
here,  which  we  did.  He  seemed  a  soldierly  person  and 
a  good  fellow,  as  the  Bretons  generally  are ;  his  lady  had 
been  very  handsome,  and  seemed  a  shrewd  understanding 
woman.  Conversing  with  him  in  our  garden,  I  found 
several  words  of  the  Breton  language  the  same  with  our 
Welsh.  His  daughter  was  now  made  Duchess  of  Ports- 
mouth, and  in  the  height  of  favor;  but  he  never  made 
any  use  of  it. 

27th  June,  1675.  At  Ely  House,  I  went  to  the  conse- 
cration of  my  worthy  friend,  the  learned  Dr.  Barlow, 
Warden  of  Queen's  College,  Oxford,  now  made  Bishop 
of  Lincoln.  After  it  succeeded  a  magnificent  feast, 
where  were  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  Earl  of  Lauderdale, 
the  Lord  Treasurer,  Lord  Keeper,  etc. 

8th  July,  1675.  I  went  with  Mrs.  Howard  and  her 
two  daughters  toward  Northampton  Assizes,  about  a  trial 
at  law,  in  which  I  was  concerned  for  them  as  a  trustee. 
We  lay  this  night  at  Henley-on-the  Thames,  at  our 
attorney,  Mr.  Stephens's,  who  entertained  us  very  hand- 
somely. Next  day,  dining  at  Shotover,  at  Sir  Timothy 
Tyrill's,  a  sweet  place,  we  lay  at  Oxford,  where  it  was 
the  time  of  the  Act.     Mr.  Robert  Spencer,  uncle  to  the 


104  DIARY  OF  London 

Earl  of  Sunderland,  and  my  old  acquaintance  in  France, 
entertained  us  at  his  apartment  in  Christ  Church  with 
exceeding  generosity. 

loth  July,  1675.  The  Vice  Chancellor  Dr  Bathurst 
(who  had  formerly  taken  particular  caie  of  my  son), 
President  of  Trinity  College,  invited  me  to  dinner,  and 
did  me  great  honor  all  the  time  of  my  stay.  The 
next  day,  he  invited  me  and  all  my  company,  though 
strangers  to  him.  to  a  very  noble  feast.  I  was  at  all  the 
academic  exercises. —  Sunday,  at  St.  Mary's,  preached  a 
Fellow  of  Brasen-nose,  not  a  little  magnifying  the  dignity 
of  Churchmen. 

nth  July,  1675.  We  heard  the  speeches,  and  saw  the 
ceremony  of  creating  doctors  in  Divinity,  Law,  and 
Physic.  I  had,  early  in  the  morning,  heard  Dr.  Morison, 
Botanic  Professor,  read  on  divers  plants  in  the  Physic 
Garden ;  and  saw  that  rare  collection  of  natural  curiosities 
of  Dr.  Plot's,  of  Magdalen  Hall,  author  of  «  The  Natural 
History  of  Oxfordshire,*  all  of  them  collected  in  that 
shire,  and  indeed  extraordinary,  that  in  one  county  there 
should  be  found  such  variety  of  plants,  shells,  stones, 
minerals,  marcasites,  fowls,  insects,  models  of  works, 
crystals,  agates,  and  marbles.  He  was  now  intending  to 
visit  Staffordshire,  and,  as  he  had  of  Oxfordshire,  to  give 
us  the  natural,  topical,  political,  and  mechanical  history. 
Pity  it  is  that  more  of  this  industrious  man's  genius 
were  not  employed  so  to  describe  every  county  of  Eng- 
land; it  would  be  one  of  the  most  useful  and  illustrious 
works  that  was  ever  produced  in  any  age  or  nation. 

I  visited  also  the  Bodleian  Library  and  my  old  friend, 
the  learned  Obadiah  Walker,  head  of  University  College, 
which  he  had  now  almost  rebuilt,  or  repaired.  We  then 
proceeded  to  Northampton,  where  we  arrived  the  next 
day. 

In  this  journey,  went  part  of  the  way  Mr.  James  Gra- 
ham (since  Privy  Purse  to  the  Duke),  a  young  gentleman 
exceedingly  in  love  with  Mrs.  Dorothy  Howard,  one  of  the 
maids  of  honor  in  our  company.  I  could  not  but  pity 
them  both,  the  mother  not  much  favoring  it.  This  lady 
was  not  only  a  great  beauty,  but  a  most  virtuous  and 
excellent  creature,  and  worthy  to  have  been  wife  to  the 
best  of  men.  My  advice  was  required,  and  I  spoke  to 
the  advantage  of  the  young  gentleman,  more  out  of  pity 


i675  JOHN   EVELYN  105 

than  that  she  deserved  no  better  match;  for,  though  he 
was  a  gentleman  of  good  fapiily,  yet  there  was  great  in- 
equality. 

14th  July,  1675  I  went  to  see  my  Lord  Sunderland's 
Seat  at  Althorpe,  four  miles  from  the  ragged  town  of 
Northampton  (since  burned,  and  well  rebuilt).  It  is 
placed  in  a  pretty  open  bottom,  very  finely  watered  and 
flanked  with  stately  woods  and  groves  in  a  park,  with  a 
canal,  but  the  water  is  not  running,  which  is  a  defect. 
The  house,  a  kind  of  modern  building,  of  freestone, 
within  most  nobly  furnished;  the  apartments  very  com- 
modious, a  gallery  and  noble  hall ;  but  the  kitchen  being 
in  the  body  of  the  house,  and  chapel  too  small,  were  de- 
fects. There  is  an  old  yet  honorable  gatehouse  standing 
awry,  and  out-housing  mean,  but  designed  to  be  taken 
away.  It  was  moated  round,  after  the  old  manner,  but 
it  is  now  dry,  and  turfed  with  a  beautiful  carpet.  Above 
all,  are  admirable  and  magnificent  the  several  ample  gar- 
dens furnished  with  the  choicest  fruit,  and  exquisitely 
kept.  Great  plenty  of  oranges,  and  other  curiosities. 
The  park  full  of  fowl,  especially  herons,  and  from  it  a 
prospect  to  Holmby  House,  which  being  demolished  in 
the  late  civil  wars,  shows  like  a  Roman  ruin  shaded  by 
the  trees  about  it,  a  stately,  solemn,  and  pleasing  view. 

15th  July,  1675.  O^r  cause  was  pleaded  in  behalf  of 
the  mother,  Mrs.  Howard  and  her  daughters,  before  Baron 
Thurland,  who  had  formerly  been  steward  of  Courts  for 
me;  we  carried  our  cause,  as  there  was  reason,  for  here 
was  an  impudent  as  well  as  disobedient  son  against  his 
mother,  by  instigation,  doubtless,  of  his  wife,  one  Mrs. 
Ogle  (an  ancient  maid),  whom  he  had  clandestinely 
married,  and  who  brought  him  no  fortune,  he  being  heir- 
apparent  to  the  Earl  of  Berkshire.  We  lay  at  Brickhill, 
in  Bedfordshire,  and  came  late  the  next  day  to  our  jour- 
ney's end. 

This  was  a  journey  of  adventures  and  knight-errantry. 
One  of  the  lady's  servants  being  as  desperately  in  love 
with  Mrs.  Howard's  woman,  as  Mr.  Graham  was  with 
her  daughter,  and  she  riding  on  horseback  behind  his 
rival,  the  amorous  and  jealous  youth  having  a  little  drink 
in  his  pate,  had  here  killed  himself  had  he  not  been  pre- 
vented; for,  alighting  from  his  horse,  and  drawing  his 
sword,  he  endeavored  twice  or  thrice   to   fall  on    it,  but 


io6  DIARY  OF  London 

was  interrupted  by  our  coachman,  and  a  stranger  passing 
by.  After  this,  running  to  his  rival,  and  snatching  his 
sword  from  his  side  (for  we  had  beaten  his  own  out  of 
his  hand),  and  on  the  sudden  pulling  down  his  mistress, 
would  have  run  both  of  them  through;  we  parted  them, 
not  without  some  blood.  This  miserable  creature  poi« 
soned  himself  for  her  not  many  days  after  they  came  to 
London 

19th  July,  1675.  The  Lord  Treasurer's  Chaplain 
preached  at  Wallingford  House. 

9th  Augfust,  1675.  Dr.  Sprat,  prebend  of  Westminster, 
and  Chaplain  to  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  preached  on 
the  3d  Epistle  of  Jude,  showing  what  the  primitive  faith 
was,  how  near  it  and  how  excellent  that  of  the  Church 
of  England,  also  the  danger  of  departing  from  it. 

27th  August,  1675.  I  visited  the  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
at  Bromley,  and  dined  at  Sir  Philip  Warwick's,  at  Frog- 
poole  [Frognall]. 

2d  September,  1675.  I  went  to  see  Dulwich  College, 
being  the  pious  foundation  of  one  Alleyn,  a  famous 
comedian,  in  King  James's  time.  The  chapel  is  pretty, 
the  rest  of  the  hospital  very  ill  contrived;  it  yet  main- 
tains divers  poor  of  both  sexes.  It  is  in  a  melancholy 
part  of  Camberwell  parish.  I  came  back  by  certain  me- 
dicinal Spa  waters,  at  a  place  called  Sydenham  Wells,  in 
Lewisham  parish,  much  frequented  in  summer. 

loth  September,  1675.  I  was  casually  shown  the 
Duchess  of  Portsmouth's  splendid  apartment  at  White- 
hall, luxuriously  furnished,  and  with  ten  times  the  rich- 
ness and  glory  beyond  the  Queen's ;  such  massy  pieces  of 
plate,  whole  tables,  and  stands  of  incredible  value. 

29th  September,  1675.  I  saw  the  Italian  Scaramuccio 
act  before  the  King  at  Whitehall,  people  giving  money 
to  come  in,  which  was  very  scandalous,  and  never  so  be- 
fore at  Court  diversions.  Having  seen  him  act  before  in 
Italy,  many  years  past,  I  was  not  averse  from  seeing  the 
mosc  excellent  of  that  kind  of  folly. 

14th  October,  1675.  Dined  at  Kensington  with  my  old 
acquaintance,  Mr.  Henshaw,  newly  returned  from  Den- 
mark, where  he  had  been  left  resident  after  the  death 
of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  who  died   there   Ambassador. 

15th  October,  1675.  I  got  an  extreme  cold,  such  as  was 
afterward  so  epidemical,  as  not  only  to  afflict  us  in   this 


i67S  JOHN  EVELYN  107 

island,  but  was  rife  over  all  Europe,  like  a  plague.  It 
was  after  an  exceedingly  dry  summer  and  autumn. 

I  settled  affairs,  my  son  being  to  go  into  France  with 
my  Lord  Berkeley,  designed  Ambassador-extraordinary 
for  France  and  Plenipotentiary  for  the  general  treaty  of 
peace  at  Nimeguen. 

24th  October,  1675.  Dined  at  Lord  Chamberlain's 
with  the  Holland  Ambassador  L.  Duras,  a  valiant  gentel- 
man  whom  his  Majesty  made  an  English  Baron,  of  a  cadet, 
and  gave  him  his  seat  of  Holmby,  in  Northamptonshire. 

27th  October,  1675,  Lord  Berkeley  coming  into  Coun- 
cil, fell  down  in  the  gallery  at  Whitehall,  in  a  fit  of 
apoplexy,  and  being  carried  into  my  Lord  Chamberlain's 
lodgings,  several  famous  doctors  were  employed  all  that 
night,  and  with  much  ado  he  was  at  last  recovered  to 
some  sense,  by  applying  hot  fire  pans  and  spirit  of  amber 
to  his  head;  but  nothing  was  found  so  effectual  as  cup- 
ping him  on  the  shoulders.  It  was  almost  a  miraculous 
restoration.  The  next  day  he  was  carried  to  Berkeley 
House.  This  stopped  his  journey  for  the  present,  and 
caused  my  stay  in  town.  He  had  put  all  his  affairs  and 
his  whole  estate  in  England  into  my  hands  during  his 
intended  absence,  which  though  I  was  very  unfit  to 
undertake,  in  regard  of  many  businesses  which  then  took 
me  up,  yet,  upon  the  great  importunity  of  my  lady  and 
Mr.  Godolphin  (to  whom  I  could  refuse  nothing)  I  did 
take  it  on  me.  It  seems  when  he  was  Deputy  in  Ireland, 
not  long  before,  he  had  been  much  wronged  by  one  he 
left  in  trust  with  his  affairs,  and  therefore  wished  for 
some  unmercenary  friend  who  would  take  that  trouble 
on  him;  this  was  to  receive  his  rents,  look  after  his 
houses  and  tenants,  solicit  supplies  from  the  Lord  Treas- 
urer, and  correspond  weekly  with  him,  more  than  enough 
to  employ  any  drudge  in  England;  but  what  will  not 
friendship  and  love  make  one  do  ? 

31st  October,  1675.  Dined  at  my  Lord  Chamberlain's, 
with  my  son.  There  were  the  learned  Isaac  Vossius, 
and  Spanhemius,  son  of  the  famous  man  of  Heidelberg; 
nor  was  this  gentleman  less  learned,  being  a  general 
scholar.  Among  other  pieces,  he  was  author  of  an  excel- 
lent treatise  on   Medals. 

loth  November,  1675.  Being  the  day  appointed  for 
my   Lord   Ambassador   to   set   out,   I  met  them  with  my 


io8  DIARY  OF  dover 

coach  at  New  Cross.  There  were  with  him  my  Lady 
his  wife,  and  my  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Godolphin,  who, 
out  of  an  extraordinary  friendship,  would  needs  accom- 
pany my  lady  to  Paris,  and  stay  with  her  some  time, 
which  was  the  chief  inducement  for  permitting  my  son 
to  travel,  but  I  knew  him  safe  under  her  inspection,  and 
in  regard  my  Lord  himself  had  promised  to  take  him 
into  his  special  favor,  he  having  intrusted  all  he  had  to 
my  care. 

Thus  we  set  out,  three  coaches  (besides  mine),  three 
wagons,  and  about  forty  horses.  It  being  late,  and  my 
Lord  as  yet  but  valetudinary,  we  got  but  to  Dartford, 
the  first  day,  the  next  to  Sittingbourne. 

At  Rochester,  the  major,  Mr.  Cony,  then  an  officer  of 
mine  for  the  sick  and  wounded  of  that  place,  gave  the 
ladies  a  handsome  refreshment  as  we  came  by  his  house. 

12th  November,  1675.  We  came  to  Canterbury:  and, 
next  morning,  to  Dover. 

There  was  in  my  Lady  Ambassadress's  company  my 
Lady  Hamilton,  a  sprightly  young  lady,  much  in  the 
good  graces  of  the  family,  wife  of  that  valiant  and  worthy 
gentleman,  George  Hamilton,  not  long  after  slain  in 
the  wars.  She  had  been  a  maid  of  honor  to  the  Duchess, 
and  now  turned  Papist. 

14th  November  1675.  Being  Sunday,  my  Lord  having 
before  delivered  to  me  his  letter  of  attorney,  keys,  seal, 
and  his  Will,  we  took  a  solemn  leave  of  one  another  up- 
on the  beach,  the  coaches  carrying  them  into  the  sea  to 
the  boats,  which  delivered  them  to  Captain  Gunman's 
yacht,  the  "  Mary.  *  Being  under  sail,  the  castle  gave  them 
seventeen  guns,  which  Captain  Gunman  answered  with 
eleven.  Hence,  I  went  to  church,  to  beg  a  blessing  on 
their  voyage. 

2d  December,  1675.  Being  returned  home,  I  visited 
Lady  Mordaunt  at  Parson's  Green,  my  Lord,  her  son, 
being  sick.  This  pious  woman  delivered  to  me  ;!{^ioo  to 
bestow  as  I  thought  fit  for  the  release  of  poor  prisoners, 
and  other  charitable  uses. 

2 1  St  December  1675.  Visited  her  Ladyship  again, 
where  I  found  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  whom  I  had  long 
known  in  France ;  he  invited  me  to  his  house  at  Chelsea. 

23d  December,  1675.  Lady  Sunderland  gave  me  ten 
guineas,  to  bestow  in  charities. 


I67S-76  JOHN   EVELYN  109 

20th  February,  1675-76.  Dr.  Gunning,  Bishop  of  Ely, 
preached  before  the  King  from  St.  John  xx  21,  22,  23, 
chiefly  against  an  anonymous  book^  called  "  Naked  Truth,* 
a  famous  and  popular  treatise  against  the  corruption  in 
the  Clergy,  but  not  sound  as  to  its  quotations,  supposed 
to  have  been  the  Bishop  of  Hereford's  and  was  answered 
by  Dr.  Turner,  it  endeavoring  to  prove  an  equality  of 
order  of  Bishop  and  Presbyter. 

27th  February,  1676.  Dr.  Pritchard,  Bishop  of  Glou- 
cester, preached  at  Whitehall,  on  Isaiah,  v.  5,  very  alle- 
gorically,  according  to  his  manner,  yet  very  gravely  and 
wittily. 

29th  February,  1676.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Povey,  one  of 
the  Masters  of  Requests,  a  nice  contriver  of  all  elegancies, 
and  exceedingly  formal.  Supped  with  Sir  J.  Williamson, 
where  were  of  our  Society  Mr.  Robert  Boyle,  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren,  Sir  William  Petty,  Dr.  Holden,  subdean 
of  his  Majesty's  Chapel,  Sir  James  Shaen,  Dr.  Whistler, 
and  our  Secretary,   Mr.  Oldenburg. 

4th  March,  1676.  Sir  Thomas  Linch  was  returned  from 
his  government  of  Jamaica. 

1 6th  March,  1676.  The  Countess  of  Sunderland  and  I 
went  by  water  to  Parson's  Green,  to  visit  my  Lady  Mor- 
daunt,  and  to  consult  with  her  about  my  Lord's  monu- 
ment.    We  returned  by  coach. 

19th  March,  1676.  Dr.  Lloyd,  late  Curate  of  Deptford, 
but  now  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  preached  before  the  King, 
on  I  Cor.  XV.  57,  that  though  sin  subjects  us  to  death, 
yet  through  Christ  we  become  his  conquerors. 

23d  March,  1676.  To  Twickenham  Park,  Lord  Berke- 
ley's country  seat,  to  examine  how  the  bailiffs  and  serv- 
ants ordered  matters. 

24th  March,  1676.  Dr.  Brideoake,  Bishop  of  Chiches- 
ter, preached  a  mean  discourse  for  a  Bishop.  I  also 
heard  Dr.  Fleetwood,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  on  Matt, 
xxvi.  38,  of  the  sorrows  of  Christ,  a  deadly  sorrow  caused 
by  our  sins;  he  was  no  great  preacher. 

30th  March,  1676.  Dining  with  my  Lady  Sunderland, 
I  saw  a  fellow  swallow  a  knife,  and  divers  great  pebble 
stones,  which  would  make  a  plain  rattling  one  against 
another.     The  knife  was  in  a  sheath  of  horn. 

Dr.  North,  son  of  my  Lord  North,  preached  before 
the   King,  on  Isaiah   liii.  57,    a  very   young   but   learned 


no  DIARY  OF  enfield 

and  excellent  person.  Note.  This  was  the  first  time  the 
Duke  appeared  no  more  in  chapel,  to  the  infinite  grief 
and  threatened  ruin  of  this  poor  nation. 

2d  April,  1676.  I  had  now  notice  that  my  dear  friend, 
Mrs.  Godolphin,  was  returning  from  Paris.  On  the  6th, 
she  arrived  to  my  great  joy,  whom  I  most  heartily  wel- 
comed. 

28th  April,  1676.  My  wife  entertained  her  Majesty  at 
Deptford,  for  which  the  Queen  gave  me  thanks  in  the 
withdrawing  room   at  Whitehall. 

The  University  of  Oxford  presented  me  with  the  *  Mar- 
mora Oxoniensia  Arundeliana  */  the  Bishop  of  Oxford 
writing  to  desire  that  I  would  introduce  Mr.  Prideaux, 
the  editor  ( a  young  man  most  learned  in  antiquities )  to 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  to  present  another  dedicated  to  his 
Grace,  which  I  did,  and  we  dined  with  the  Duke  at 
Arundel  House,  and  supped  at  the  Bishop  of  Rochester's 
with  Isaac  Vossius. 

7th  May,  1676.  I  spoke  to  the  Duke  of  York  about 
my  Lord  Berkeley's  going  to  Nimeguen.  Thence,  to  the 
Queen's  Council  at  Somerset  House,  about  Mrs.  Godol- 
phin's  lease  of  Spalding,  in  Lincolnshire. 

nth  May,  1676.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Charleton,  and  went 
to  see  Mr  Montague's  new  palace,  near  Bloomsbury, 
built  by  Mr.  Hooke,  of  our  Society,  after  the  French 
manner  * 

13th  May,  1676.  Returned  home,  and  found  my  son 
returned  from  France;  praised  be  God! 

22d  May,  1676.  Trinity  Monday.  A  chaplain  of  my 
Lord  Ossory's  preached,  after  which  we  took  barge  to 
Trinity  House  in  London.  Mr.  Pepys  (Secretary  of  the 
Admiralty)  succeeded  my  Lord  as  Master. 

2d  June,  1676.  I  went  with  my  Lord  Chamberlain  to 
see  a  garden,  at  Enfield  town;  thence,  to  Mr.  Secretary 
Coventry's  lodge  in  the  Chase.  It  is  a  very  pretty  place, 
the  house  commodious,  the  gardens  handsome,  and  our 
entertainment  very  free,  there  being  none  but  my 
Lord  and  myself.  That  which  I  most  wondered  at  was, 
that,  in  the  compass  of  twenty-five  miles,  yet  within 
fourteen  of  London,  there  is  not  a  house,  bam,  church, 
or  building,  besides  three  lodges.  To  this  Lodge  are 
three  great  ponds,  and  some   few   inclosures,  the   rest  a 

*  Now  the  British  Museum. 


1676  JOHN    EVELYN  111 

solitary  desert,  yet  stored  with  no  less  than  3,000  deer. 
These  are  pretty  retreats  for  gentlemen,  especially  for 
those  who  are  studious  and  lovers  of  privacy. 

We  returned  in  the  evening  by  Hampstead;  to  see 
Lord  Wotton's  house  and  garden  (Bellsize  House),  built 
with  vast  expense  by  Mr.  O'Neale,  an  Irish  gentleman 
who  married  Lord  Wotton's  mother,  Lady  Stanhope. 
The  furniture  is  very  particular  for  Indian  cabinets,  por- 
celain, and  other  solid  and  noble  movables.  The  gal- 
lery very  fine,  the  gardens  very  large,  but  ill  kept,  yet 
woody  and  chargeable  The  soil  a  cold  weeping  clay, 
not  answering  the  expense. 

12th  June,  1676.  I  went  to  see  Sir  Thomas  Bond's 
new  and  fine  house  by  Peckham;  it  is  on  a  flat,  but  has 
a  fine  garden  and  prospect  through  the  meadows  to 
London. 

2d  July,  1676.  Dr.  Castillion,  Prebend  of  Canterbury, 
preached  before  the  King,  on  John  xv.   22,  at  Whitehall. 

19th  July,  1676.  Went  to  the  funeral  of  Sir  William 
Sanderson,  husband  to  the  Mother  of  the  Maids,  and 
author  of  two  large  but  mean  histories  of  King  James 
and  King  Charles  I.     He  was  buried  at  Westminster. 

ist  August,  1676.  In  the  afternoon,  after  prayers  at 
St.  James's  Chapel,  was  christened  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Leake's,  the  Dukes  Chaplain:  godmothers  were  Lady 
Mary,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and  the  Duchess 
of  Monmouth:  godfather,  the  Earl  of  Bath. 

15th  August,  1676.  Came  to  dine  with  me  my  Lord 
Halifax,  Sir  Thomas  Meeres,  one  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Admiralty,  Sir  John  Clayton,  Mr.  Slingsby,  Mr. 
Henshaw,  and  Mr    Bridgeman. 

25th  August,  1676.  Dined  with  Sir  John  Banks  at  his 
house  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  on  recommending  Mr. 
Upman  to  be  tutor  to  his  son  going  into  France.  This 
Sir  John  Banks  was  a  merchant  of  small  begfinning,  but 
had  amassed  ;^  100, 000. 

26th  August,  1676.  I  dined  at  the  Admiralty  with 
Secretar}"-  Pepys,  and  supped  at  the  Lord  Chamberlain's. 
Here  was  Captain  Baker,  who  had  been  lately  on  the 
attempt  of  the  Northwest  passage.  He  reported  prodi- 
gfious  depth  of  ice,  blue  as  a  sapphire,  and  as  transparent. 
The  thick  mists  were  their  chief  impediment,  and  cause 
of  their  return. 


lit  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

2d  September,  1676.  I  paid  ;^  1,700  to  the  Marquis  de 
Sissac,  which  he  had  lent  to  my  Lord  Berkeley,  and  which 
I  heard  the  Marquis  lost  at  play  in  a  night  or  two. 

The  Dean  of  Chichester  preached  before  the  King,  on 
Acts  xxiv.  16;  and  Dr.  Crichton  preached  the  second 
sermon  before  him  on  Psalm  xc.  12,  of  wisely  numbering 
our  days,  and  well  employing  our  time. 

3d  September.  1676.  Dined  at  Captain  Graham's,  where 
I  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Compton  (brother  to  the 
Earl  of  Northampton),  now  Bishop  of  London,  and  Mr. 
North,  son  to  the  Lord  North,  brother  to  the  Lord  Chief- 
Justice  and  Clerk  of  the  Closet,  a  most  hopeful  young 
man.  The  Bishop  had  once  been  a  soldier,  had  also 
traveled  in  Italy,  and  became  a  most  sober,  grave,  and  ex- 
cellent prelate. 

6th  September,  1676.  Supped  at  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain's, where  also  supped  the  famous  beauty  and  errant 
lady,  the  Duchess  of  Mazarine  (all  the  world  knows  her 
story),  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  Countess  of  Sussex  (both 
natural  children  of  the  King  by  the  Duchess  of  Cleve- 
land*), and  the  Countess  of  Derby,  a  virtuous  lady, 
daughter  to  my  best  friend,  the  Earl  of  Ossory. 

loth  September,  1676.  Dined  with  me  Mr.  Flamsted, 
the  learned  astrologer  and  mathematician,  whom  his  Maj- 
esty had  established  in  the  new  Observatory  in  Greenwich 
Park,  furnished  with  the  choicest  instruments.  An  hon- 
est, sincere  man. 

12th  September,  1676.  To  London,  to  take  order  about 
the  building  of  a  house,  or  rather  an  apartment,  which 
had  all  the  conveniences  of  a  house,  for  my  dear  friend, 
Mr.  Godolphin  and  lady,  which  I  undertook  to  contrive 
and  survey,  and  employ  workmen  until  it  should  be  quite 
finished;  it  being  just  over  against  his  Majesty's  wood- 
yard  by  the  Thames  side,  leading  to  Scotland  Yard. 

19th  September,   1676.     To  Lambeth,  to  that  rare  mag- 

*  Evelyn  makes  a  slip  here.  The  Diike  of  Monmouth's  mother  was, 
it  is  well  known,  Lucy  Walters,  sometimes  called  Mrs.  Barlow,  and 
heretofore  mentioned  in  the  «  Diary. »  Nor  is  he  more  correct  as  to  the 
Countess  of  Sussex.  Lady  Anne  Fitzroy,  as  she  is  called  in  the  Peerage 
books,  was  married  to  Lennard  Dacre,  Earl  of  Sussex,  by  whom  she  left 
a  daughter  only,  who  succeeded  on  her  father's  death  to  the  Barony  of 
Dacre.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Duke  of  Southampton,  the  Duke  of 
Grafton,  and  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  were  all  of  them  children 
of  Charles  II.  by  the  Duchess  of  Cleveland. 


1676  JOHN  EVELYN  113 

azine  of  marble,  to  take  order  for  chimney-pieces,  etc., 
for  Mr.  Godolphin's  house.  The  owner  of  the  works  had 
built  for  himself  a  pretty  dwelling  house ;  this  Dutchman 
had  contracted  with  the  Genoese  for  all  their  marble. 
We  also  saw  the  Duke  of  Buckingham's  glasswork,  where 
they  made  huge  vases  of  metal  as  clear,  ponderous,  and 
thick  as  crystal;  also  looking-glasses  far  larger  and  bet- 
ter than  any  that  come  from  Venice. 

9th  October,  1676.  I  went  with  Mrs.  Godolphin  and 
my  wife  to  Blackwall,  to  see  some  Indian  curiosities ;  the 
streets  being  slippery,  I  fell  against  a  piece  of  timber 
with  such  violence  that  I  could  not  speak  nor  fetch  my 
breath  for  some  space;  being  carried  into  a  house  and 
let  blood,  I  was  removed  to  the  water-side  and  so  home, 
where,  after  a  day's  rest,  I  recovered.  This  being  one  of 
my  greatest  deliverances,  the  Lord  Jesus  make  me  ever 
mindful  and  thankful! 

31st  October,  1676.  Being  my  birthday,  and  fifty-six 
years  old,  I  spent  the  morning  in  devotion  and  imploring 
God's  protection,  with  solemn  thanksgiving  for  all  his 
signal  mercies  to  me,  especially  for  that  escape  which 
concerned  me  this  month  at  Blackwall.  Dined  with  Mrs. 
Godolphin,  and  returned  home  through  a  prodigious  and 
dangerous  mist. 

9th  November,  1676.  Finished  the  lease  of  Spalding, 
for  Mr.  Godolphin. 

1 6th  November,  1676.  My  son  and  I  dining  at  my 
Lord  Chamberlain's,  he  showed  us  among  others  that  in- 
comparable piece  of  Raphael's,  being  a  Minister  of  State 
dictating  to  Guicciardini,  the  earnestness  of  whose  face 
looking  up  in  expectation  of  what  he  was  next  to  write, 
is  so  to  the  life,  and  so  natural,  as  I  esteem  it  one  of 
the  choicest  pieces  of  that  admirable  artist.  There  was 
a  woman's  head  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci ;  a  Madonna  of  old 
Palma,  and  two  of  Vandyke's,  of  which  one  was  his  own 
picture  at  length,  when  young,  in  a  leaning  posture;  the 
other,  an  eunuch,  singing.     Rare  pieces  indeed! 

4th  December,  1676.  I  saw  the  great  ball  danced  by 
all  the  gallants  and  ladies  at  the  Duchess  of  York's. 

loth  December,  1676.  There  fell  so  deep  a  snow  as 
hindered  us  from  church. 

12th  December,  1676.  To  London,  in  so  great  a  snow, 
as  I  remember  not  to  have  seen  the  like. 


114  DIARY   OF  WOTTON 

17th  December,  1676.  More  snow  falling,  I  was  not 
able  to  get  to  church. 

8th  February,  1676-77.  I  went  to  Roehampton,  with 
my  Lady  Duchess  of  Ormond.  The  garden  and  perspec- 
tive is  pretty,  the  prospect  most  agreeable. 

15th  May,  1677,  Came  the  Earl  of  Peterborough,  to 
desire  me  to  be  a  trustee  for  Lord  Viscount  Mordaunt 
and  the  Countess,  for  the  sale  of  certain  lands  set  out 
by  Act  of  Parliament,  to  pay  debts. 

12th  June,  1677.  I  went  to  London,  to  give  the  Lord 
Ambassador  Berkeley  (now  returned  from  the  treaty  at 
Nimeguen )  an  account  of  the  great  trust  reposed  in  me 
during  his  absence,  I  having  received  and  remitted  to 
him  no  less  than  ;;^2o,ooo  to  my  no  small  trouble  and 
loss  of  time,  that  during  his  absence,  and  when  the 
Lord  Treasurer  was  no  great  friend  [of  his]  I  yet 
procured  him  great  sums,  very  often  soliciting  his 
Majesty  in  his  behalf;  looking  after  the  rest  of  his 
estates  and  concerns  entirely,  without  once  accepting 
any  kind  of  acknowledgment,  purely  upon  the  request  of 
my  dear  friend,  Mr.  Godolphin.  I  returned  with  abun- 
dance of  thanks  and  professions  from  my  Lord  Berkeley 
and  my  Lady. 

29th  June,  1677.  This  business  being  now  at  an  end, 
and  myself  delivered  from  that  intolerable  servitude  and 
correspondence,  I  had  leisure  to  be  somewhat  more  at 
home  and  to  myself. 

3d  July,  1677.  I  sealed  the  deeds  of  sale  of  the  manor 
of  Blechingley  to  Sir  Robert  Clayton,  for  payment  of 
Lord  Peterborough's  debts,  according  to  the  trust  of  the 
Act  of  Parliament. 

i6th  July,  1677,  I  went  to  Wotton. —  22d.  Mr.  Evans, 
curate  of  Abinger,  preached  an  excellent  sermon  on 
Matt.  v.  12.  In  the  afternoon,  Mr.  Higham  at  Wotton 
catechised. 

26th  July,  1677.  I  dined  at  Mr.  Duncomb's,  at  Sheere, 
whose  house  stands  environed  with  very  sweet  and  quick 
streams. 

29th  July,  1677.  Mr.  Bohun,  my  Son's  late  tutor, 
preached  at  Abinger,  on  Phil.,  iv.  8,  very  elegantly  and 
practically. 

5th  August,  1677.  I  went  to  visit  my  Lord  Brounker, 
now  taking  the  waters  at  Dulwich. 


1676-77  JOHN   EVELYN  115 

9th  August,  1677.  Dined  at  the  Earl  of  Peterborough's 
the  day  after  the  marriage  of  my  Lord  of  Arundel  to 
Lady  Mary  Mordaunt,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Peter- 
borough. 

28th  August,  1677.  To  visit  my  Lord  Chamberlain,  in 
Suffolk;  he  sent  his  coach  and  six  to  meet  and  bring 
me  from  St.   Edmund's  Bury  to  Euston. 

29th  Aug-ust,  1677.  We  hunted  in  the  Park  and  killed  a 
very  fat  buck. 

31st  August,   1677.     I  went  a  hawking. 

4th  September,  1677.  I  went  to  visit  my  Lord  Crofts, 
now  dying  at  St.  Edmunds  Bury,  and  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  see  this  ancient  town,  and  the  remains  of  that 
famous  monastery  and  abbey.  There  is  little  standing 
entire,  save  the  gatehouse;  it  has  been  a  vast  and  mag- 
nificent Gothic  structure,  and  of  great  extent.  The  gates 
are  wood,  but  quite  plated  over  with  iron.  There  are 
also  two  stately  churches,  one  especially. 

5th  September,  1677.  I  went  to  Thetford,  to  the 
borough-town,  where  stand  the  ruins  of  a  religious  house : 
there  is  a  round  mountain  artificially  raised,  either  for 
some  castle,  or  monument,  which  makes  a  pretty  land- 
scape. As  we  went  and  returned,  a  tumbler  showed  his 
extraordinary  address  in  the  Warren.  I  also  saw  the 
Decoy;  much  pleased  with  the  stratagem. 

7th  September,  1677.  There  dined  this  day  at  my 
Lord's  one  Sir  John  Gaudy,  a  very  handsome  person, 
but  quite  dumb,  yet  very  intelligent  by  signs,  and  a 
very  fine  painter;  he  was  so  civil  and  well  bred,  as  it 
was  not  possible  to  discern  any  imperfection  in  him. 
His  lady  and  children  were  also  there,  and  he  was  at 
church  in  the  morning  with  us. 

9th  September,  1677.  A  stranger  preached  at  Euston 
Church,  and  fell  into  a  handsome  panegyric  on  my  Lord's 
new  building  the  church,  which  indeed  for  its  elegance 
and  cheerfulness,  is  one  of  the  prettiest  country  churches 
in  England.  My  Lord  told  me  his  heart  smote  him  that, 
after  he  had  bestowed  so  much  on  his  magfnificent  palace 
there,  he  should  see  God's  House  in  the  ruin  it  lay  in. 
He  has  also  rebuilt  the  parsonage-house,  all  of  stone, 
very  neat  and  ample. 

loth  September,  1677.  To  divert  me,  my  Lord  would 
needs  carry  me  to  see  Ipswich,  when  we  dined  with  one 


ii6  DIARY  OF  EUSTON 

Mr.  Mann  by  the  way,  who  was  Recorder  of  the  town. 
There  were  in  our  company  my  Lord  Huntingtower,  son 
to  the  Duchess  of  Lauderdale,  Sir  Edward  Bacon,  a 
learned  gentleman  of  the  family  of  the  great  Chancellor 
Verulam,  and  Sir  John  Felton,  with  some  other  knights 
and  gentlemen.  After  dinner  came  the  bailiff  and 
magistrates  in  their  formalities  with  their  maces  to  com- 
pliment my  Lord,  and  invite  him  to  the  town-house, 
where  they  presented  us  a  collation  of  dried  sweetmeats 
and  wine,  the  bells  ringing,  etc.  Then,  we  went  to  see 
the  town,  and  first,  the  Lord  Viscount  Hereford's  house, 
which  stands  in  a  park  near  the  town,  like  that  at  Brus- 
sels, in  Flanders;  the  house  not  great,  yet  pretty,  espe- 
cially the  hall.  The  stews  for  fish  succeeded  one  another, 
and  feed  one  the  other,  all  paved  at  bottom.  There  is  a 
good  picture  of  the  blessed  virgin  in  one  of  the  parlors, 
seeming  to  be  of  Holbein,  or  some  good  master.  Then 
we  saw  the  Haven,  seven  miles  from  Harwich.  The  tide 
runs  out  every  day,  but  the  bedding  being  soft  mud,  it 
is  safe  for  shipping  and  a  station.  The  trade  of  Ipswich 
is  for  the  most  part  Newcastle  coals,  with  which  they 
supply  London;  but  it  was  formerly  a  clothing  town. 
There  is  not  any  beggar  asks  alms  in  the  whole  place, 
a  thing  very  extraordinary,  so  ordered  by  the  prudence 
of  the  magistrates.  It  has  in  it  fourteen  or  fifteen  beau' 
tiful  churches:  in  a  word,  it  is  for  building,  cleanness, 
and  good  order,  one  of  the  best  towns  in  England.  Car- 
dinal Wolsey  was  a  butcher's  son  of  Ipswich,  but  there 
is  little  of  that  magnificent  Prelate's  foundation  here, 
besides  a  school  and  I  think  a  library,  which  I  did  not 
see.  His  intentions  were  to  build  some  great  thing. 
We  returned  late  to  Euston,  having  traveled  about  fifty 
miles  this  day. 

Since  first  I  was  at  this  place,  I  found  things  exceed- 
ingly improved.  It  is  seated  in  a  bottom  between  two 
graceful  swellings,  the  main  building  being  now  in  the 
figure  of  a  Greek  II  with  four  pavilions,  two  at  each 
comer,  and  a  break  in  the  front,  railed  and  balustered  at 
the  top,  where  I  caused  huge  jars  to  be  placed  full  of  earth 
to  keep  them  steady  upon  their  pedestals  between  the  stat- 
ues, which  make  as  good  a  show  as  if  they  were  of 
stone,  and,  though  the  building  be  of  brick,  and  but 
two    stories    besides   cellars    and    garrets   covered    with 


i677  JOHN  EVELYN  117 

blue  slate,  yet  there  is  room  enough  for  a  full  court,  the 
offices  and  outhouses  being  so  ample  and  well  disposed. 
The  King's  apartment  is  painted  ct  fresco,  and  magnifi- 
cently furnished.  There  are  many  excellent  pictures  of 
the  great  masters.  The  gallery  is  a  pleasant,  noble 
room;  in  the  break,  or  middle,  is  a  billiard  table,  but 
the  wainscot,  being  of  fir,  and  painted,  does  not  please 
me  so  well  as  Spanish  oak  without  paint.  The  chapel  is 
pretty,  the  porch  descending  to  the  gardens.  The  orange 
garden  is  very  fine,  and  leads  into  the  greenhouse,  at 
the  end  of  which  is  a  hall  to  eat  in,  and  the  conserva- 
tory some  hundred  feet  long,  adorned  with  maps,  as  the 
other  side  is  with  the  heads  of  the  Caesars,  ill  cut  in 
alabaster;  above  are  several  apartments  for  my  Lord, 
Lady,  and  Duchess,  with  kitchens  and  other  offices  be- 
low, in  a  lesser  form;  lodgings  for  servants,  all  distinct 
for  them  to  retire  to  when  they  please  and  would  be  in 
private,  and  have  no  communication  with  the  palace, 
which  he  tells  me  he  will  wholly  resign  to  his  son-in- 
law  and  daughter,  that  charming  young  creature. 

The  canal  running  under  my  Lady's  dressing  room 
chamber  window,  is  full  of  carps  and  fowl,  which  come 
and  are  fed  there.  The  cascade  at  the  end  of  the  canal 
turns  a  cornmill  that  provides  the  family,  and  raises 
water  for  the  fountains  and  offices.  To  pass  this  canal 
into  the  opposite  meadows,  Sir  Samuel  Morland  has  in- 
vented a  screw  bridge,  which,  being  turned  with  a  key, 
lands  you  fifty  feet  distant  at  the  entrance  of  an  ascend- 
ing walk  of  trees,  a  mile  in  length, —  as  it  is  also  on  the 
front  into  the  park, — of  four  rows  of  ash  trees,  and  reaches 
to  the  park  pale,  which  is  nine  miles  in  compass,  and  the 
best  for  riding  and  meeting  the  game  that  I  ever  saw. 
There  were  now  of  red  and  fallow  deer  almost  a  thou- 
sand, with  good  covert,  but  the  soil  barren  and  flying 
sand,  in  which  nothing  will  grow  kindly.  The  tufts  of 
fir,  and  much  of  the  other  wood,  were  planted  by  my  di- 
rection some  years  before.  This  seat  is  admirably 
placed  for  field  sports,  hawking,  hunting,  or  racing. 
The  mutton  is  small,  but  sweet.  The  stables  hold  thirty 
horses  and  four  coaches.  The  out-offices  make  two  large 
quadrangles,  so  as  servants  never  lived  with  more  ease 
and  convenience;  never  master  more  civil.  Strangers 
are  attended    and    accommodated    as   at   their    home,  in 


ii8  DIARY   OF  EUSTON 

pretty  apartments  furnished  with  all  manner  of  conven- 
iences and  privacy. 

There  is  a  library  full  of  excellent  books ;  bathing  rooms, 
elaboratory,  dispensary,  a  decoy,  and  places  to  keep  and  fat 
fowl  in.  He  had  now  in  his  new  church  (near  the  gar- 
den) built  a  dormitojy,  or  vault,  with  several  repositories, 
in  which  to  bury  his  family. 

In  the  expense  of  this  pious  structure,  the  church  is 
most  laudable,  most  of  the  houses  of  God  in  this  country 
resembling  rather  stables  and  thatched  cottages  than 
temples  in  which  to  serve  the  Most  High.  He  has  built 
a  lodge  in  the  park  for  the  keeper,  which  is  a  neat  dwell- 
ing, and  might  become  any  gentleman.  The  same  has  he 
done  for  the  parson,  little  deserving  it  for  murmuring 
that  my  Lord  put  him  some  time  out  of  his  wretched 
hovel,  while  it  was  building.  He  has  also  erected  a  fair 
inn  at  some  distance  from  his  palace,  with  a  bridge  of 
stone  over  a  river  near  it,  and  repaired  all  the  tenants* 
houses,  so  as  there  is  nothing  but  neatness  and  accommo- 
dations about  his  estate,  which  I  yet  think  is  not  above 
;;^i,5oo  a  year.  I  believe  he  had  now  in  his  family  one 
hundred  domestic  servants. 

His  lady  (being  one  of  the  Brederode's  daughters, 
gfrandchild  to  a  natural  son  of  Henry  Frederick,  Prince 
of  Orange)  is  a  good-natured  and  obliging  woman.  They 
love  fine  things,  and  to  live  easily,  pompously,  and  hos- 
pitably; but,  with  so  vast  expense,  as  plunges  my  Lord 
into  debts  exceedingly.  My  Lord  himself  is  given  into 
no  expensive  vice  but  building,  and  to  have  all  things 
rich,  polite,  and  princely.  He  never  plays,  but  reads 
much,  having  the  Latin,  French,  and  Spanish  tongues  in 
perfection.  He  has  traveled  much,  and  is  the  best  bred 
and  courtly  person  his  Majesty  has  about  him,  so  as  the 
public  Ministers  more  frequent  him  than  any  of  the  rest 
of  the  nobility.  While  he  was  Secretary  of  State  and 
Prime  Minister,  he  had  gotten  vastly,  but  spent  it  as 
hastily,  even  before  he  had  established  a  fund  to  main- 
tain his  greatness ;  and  now  beginning  to  decline  in  favor 
(the  Duke  being  no  great  friend  of  his),  he  knows  not 
how  to  retrench.  He  was  son  of  a  Doctor  of  Laws,  whom 
I  have  seen,  and,  being  sent  from  Westminster  School  to 
Oxford,  with  intention  to  be  a  divine,  and  parson  of  Ar- 
lington,   a  village  near    Brentford,   when   Master  of  Arts 


i677  JOHN  EVELYN  119 

the  Rebellion  falling  out,  he  followed  the  King's  Army, 
and  receiving  an  honorable  wound  in  the  face,  gfrew 
into  favor,  and  was  advanced  from  a  mean  fortune,  at  his 
Majesty's  Restoration,  to  be  an  Earl  and  Knight  of  the 
Garter,  Lord  Chamberlain  of  the  Household,  and  first 
favorite  for  a  long  time,  during  which  the  King  married 
his  natural  son,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  to  his  only  daughter 
and  heiress,  as  before  mentioned,  worthy  for  her  beauty 
and  virtue  of  the  greatest  prince  in  Christendom.  My 
Lord  is,  besides  this,  a  prudent  and  understanding  person 
in  business,  and  speaks  well ;  unfortunate  yet  in  those  he 
has  advanced,  most  of  them  proving  ungrateful.  The 
many  obligations  and  civilities  I  have  received  from  this 
noble  gentleman,  extracts  from  me  this  character,  and  I 
am  sorry  he  is  in  no  better  circumstances. 

Having  now  passed  near  three  weeks  at  Euston,  to 
my  great  satisfaction,  with  much  difficulty  he  suffered 
me  to  look  homeward,  being  very  earnest  with  me  to 
stay  longer;  and,  to  engage  me,  would  himself  have 
carried  me  to  Lynn-Regis,  a  town  of  important  traffic, 
about  twenty  miles  beyond,  which  I  had  never  seen;  as 
also  the  Traveling  Sands,  about  ten  miles  wide  of  Eus- 
ton, that  have  so  damaged  the  country,  rolling  from 
place  to  place,  and,  like  the  Sands  in  the  Deserts  of 
Lybia,  quite  overwhelmed  some  gentlemen's  whole  estates, 
as  the  relation  extant  in  print,  and  brought  to  our  So- 
ciety, describes  at  large 

13th  September,  1677.  My  Lord's  coach  conveyed  me 
to  Bury,  and  thence  baiting  at  Newmarket,  stepping  in 
at  Audley-End  to  see  that  house  again,  I  slept  at  Bishop- 
Stortford,  and,  the  next  day,  home.  I  was  accompanied 
in  my  journey  by  Major  Fairfax,  of  a  younger  house 
of  the  Lord  Fairfax,  a  soldier,  a  traveler,  an  excel- 
lent   musician,    a     good-natured,     well-bred     gentleman. 

1 8th  September,  1677.  I  preferred  Mr.  Phillips  (nephew 
of  Milton)  to  the  service  of  my  Lord  Chamberlain,  who 
wanted  a  scholar  to  read  to  and  entertain  him  some- 
times. 

12th  October,  1677.  With  Sir  Robert  Clayton  to  Mar- 
den,  an  estate  he  had  bought  lately  of  my  kinsman.  Sir 
John  Evelyn,  of  Godstone,  in  Surrey,  which  from  a  des- 
picable farmhouse  Sir  Robert  had  erected  into  a  seat 
with,  extraordinary  expense.      It    is    in    such    a    solitude 


iio  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

among  hills,  as,  being  not  above  sixteen  miles  from  Lon- 
don, seems  almost  incredible,  the  ways  up  to  it  are  so 
winding  and  intricate.  The  gardens  are  large,  and  well- 
walled,  and  the  husbandry  part  made  very  convenient 
and  perfectly  understood.  The  bams,  the  stacks  of  com, 
the  stalls  for  cattle,  pigeon  house,  etc.,  of  most  laudable 
example.  Innumerable  are  the  plantations  of  trees, 
especially  walnuts.  The  orangery  and  gardens  are  very 
curious.  In  the  house  are  large  and  noble  rooms.  He 
and  his  lady  (who  is  very  curious  in  distillery)  enter- 
tained me  three  or  four  days  very  freely.  I  earnestly 
suggested  to  him  the  repairing  of  an  old  desolate  dilap- 
idated church,  standing  on  the  hill  above  the  house, 
which  I  left  him  in  good  disposition  to  do,  and  endow 
it  better;  there  not  being  above  four  or  five  houses  in 
the  parish,  besides  that  of  this  prodigious  rich  Scrivener. 
This  place  is  exceedingly  sharp  in  the  winter,  by  reason 
of  the  serpentining  of  the  hills:  and  it  wants  running 
water;  but  the  solitude  much  pleased  me.  All  the 
ground  is  so  full  of  wild  thyme,  marjoram,  and  other 
sweet  plants,  that  it  cannot  be  overstocked  with  bees; 
I  think  he  had  near  forty  hives  of  that  industrious  in- 
sect. 

14th  October,  1677.  I  went  to  church  at  Godstone, 
and  to  see  old  Sir  John  Evelyn's  dormitory,  joining  to 
the  church,  paved  with  marble,  where  he  and  his  Lady 
lie  on  a  very  stately  monument  at  length;  he  in  armor 
of  white  marble.  The  inscription  is  only  an  account 
of  his  particular  branch  of  the  family,  on  black  marble. 

15th  October,  1677.  Returned  to  London;  in  the  even- 
ing, I  saw  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  supped  with  Lord 
Ossory. 

23d  October,  1677.  Saw  again  the  Prince  of  Orange; 
his  marriage  with  the  Lady  Mary,  eldest  daughter  to 
the  Duke  of  York,  by  Mrs.  Hyde,  the  late  Duchess,  was 
now  declared. 

nth  November,  1677.  I  was  all  this  week  composing 
matters  between  old  Mrs.  Howard  and  Sir  Gabriel  Syl- 
vius, upon  his  long  and  earnest  addresses  to  Mrs.  Anne, 
her  second  daughter,  maid  of  honor  to  the  Queen  My 
friend,  Mrs.  Godolphin  ( who  exceedingly  loved  the  young 
lady)  was  most  industrious  in  it,  out  of  pity  to  the  lan- 
guishing knight ;  so  as  though  there  were  great  differences 


1677-78  JOHN  EVELYN  121 

in  their  years,  it  was  at  last  effected,  and  they  were 
married  the  13th,  in  Henry  VII. 's  Chapel,  by  the  Bishop 
of  Rochester,  there  being  besides  my  wife  and  Mrs,  Gra- 
ham, her  sister,  Mrs.  Godolphin,  and  very  few  more. 
We  dined  at  the  old  lady's,  and  supped  at  Mr.  Graham's 
at  St.  James's. 

15th  November,  1677.  The  Queen's  birthday,  a  great 
ball  at  Court,  where  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  his  new 
Princess  danced. 

19th  November,  1677.  They  went  away,  and  I  saw 
embarked  my  Lady  Sylvius,  who  went  into  Holland  with 
her  husband,  made  Hoffmaester  to  the  Prince,  a  consider- 
able employment.  We  parted  with  great  sorrow,  for  the 
great  respect  and  honor  I  bore  her,  a  most  pious  and 
virtuous  lady. 

27th  November,  1677.  Dined  at  the  Lord  Treasurer's 
with  Prince  Rupert,  Viscount  Falkenburg,  Earl  of  Bath, 
Lord  O'Brien,  Sir  John  Lowther,  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
Dr.  Grew,  and  other  learned  men. 

30th  November,  1677.  Sir  Joseph  Williamson,  Princi- 
pal Secretary  of  State,  was  chosen  President  of  the  Royal 
Society,  after  my  Lord  Viscount  Brounker  had  possessed 
the  chair  now  sixteen  years  successively,  and  therefore 
now  thought  fit  to  change,  that  prescription  might  not 
prejudice, 

4th  December,  1677.  Being  the  first  day  of  his  taking 
the  chair,  he  gave  us  a  magnificent  supper. 

20th  December,  1677.  Carried  to  my  Lord  Treasurer 
an  account  of  the  Earl  of  Bristol's  Library,  at  Wimble- 
don, which  my  Lord  thought  of  purchasing,  till  I 
acquainted  him  that  it  was  a  very  broken  collection,  con- 
sisting much  in  books  of  judicial  astrology,  romances,  and 
trifles. 

25th  December,  1677.  I  gave  my  son  an  office,  with 
instructions  how  to  govern  his  youth;  I  pray  God  give 
him  the  grace  to  make  a  right  use  of  it! 

23d  January,  1677-78.  Dined  with  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk, being  the  first  time  I  had  seen  him  since  the  death 
of  his  elder  brother,  who  died  at  Padua  in  Italy,  where 
he  had  resided  above  thirty  years.  The  Duke  had  now 
newly  declared  his  marriage  to  his  concubine,  whom  he 
promised  me  he  never  would  marry.  I  went  with  him 
to    see   the    Duke   of  Buckingham,    thence   to   my   Lord 


122  DIARY    OP  LONDON 

Sunderland,  now  Secretary  of  State,  to  show  him  that 
rare  piece  of  Vosterman's  (son  of  old  Vosterman),  which 
was  a  view,  or  landscape  of  my  Lord's  palace,  etc.,  at 
Althorpe  in  Northamptonshire. 

8th  February,  1678.  Supping-  at  my  Lord  Chamber- 
lain's I  had  a  long  discourse  with  the  Count  de  Castel 
Mellor,  lately  Prime  Minister  in  Portugal,  who,  taking 
part  with  his  master.  King  Alphonso,  was  banished  by 
his  brother,  Don  Pedro,  now  Regent;  but  had  behaved 
himself  so  uncorruptly  in  all  his  ministry  that,  though 
he  was  acquitted,  and  his  estate  restored,  yet  would 
they  not  suffer  him  to  return.  He  is  a  very  intelligent 
and  worthy  gentleman. 

1 8th  February,  1678.  My  Lord  Treasurer  sent  for  me 
to  accompany  him  to  Wimbledon,  which  he  had  lately 
purchased  of  the  Earl  of  Bristol;  so  breaking  fast  with 
him  privately  in  his  chamber,  I  accompanied  him  with 
two  of  his  daughters,  my  Lord  Conway,  and  Sir  Bernard 
Gascoyne;  and,  having  surveyed  his  gardens  and  altera- 
tions, returned  late  at  night. 

22d  February,  1678.  Dr.  Pierce  preached  at  Whitehall, 
on  2  Thessalonians  iii.  6,  against  our  late  schismatics,  in 
a  rational  discourse,  but  a  little  over-sharp,  and  not  at  all 
proper  for  the  auditory  there. 

2 2d  March,  1678.  Dr.  South  preached  coram  Rege,  an 
incomparable  discourse  on  this  text,  *A  wounded  spirit 
who  can  bear !  *  Note :  Now  was  our  Communion  table 
placed  altarwise;  the  church  steeple,  clock,  and  other 
reparations  finished. 

1 6th  April,  1678.  I  showed  Don  Emmanuel  de  Lyra 
(Portugal  Ambassador)  and  the  Count  de  Castel  Mellor, 
the  Repository  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  the  College  of 
Physicians. 

i8th  April,  1678.  I  went  to  see  new  Bedlam  Hospital, 
magnificently  built,  and  most  sweetly  placed  in  Moorfields, 
since  the  dreadful  fire  in  London. 

28th  June,  1678.  I  went  to  Windsor  with  my  Lord 
Chamberlain  (the  castle  now  repairing  with  exceeding 
cost)  to  see  the  rare  work  of  Verrio,  an  incomparable 
carving  of  Gibbons. 

29th  June,  1678.  Returned  with  my  Lord  by  Hounslow 
Heath,  where  we  saw  the  newly  raised  army  encamped, 
designed  against  France,  in  pretense,  at  least ;  but  which 


1678  JOHN  EVELYN  123 

gave  umbrag-e  to  the  Parliament.  His  Majesty  and  a 
world  of  company  were  in  the  field,  and  the  whole  army 
in  battalia;  a  very  glorious  sight.  Now  were  brought 
into  service  a  new  sort  of  soldiers,  called  Grenadiers, 
who  were  dexterous  in  flinging  hand  grenados,  everyone 
having  a  pouch  full;  they  had  furred  caps  with  coped 
crowns  like  Janizaries,  which  made  them  look  very  fierce, 
and  some  had  long  hoods  hanging  down  behind,  as  we 
picture  fools.  Their  clothing  being  likewise  piebald,  yel- 
low and  red. 

8th  July,  1678.  Came  to  dine  with  me  my  Lord 
Longford,  Treasurer  of  Ireland,  nephew  to  that  learned 
gentleman,  my  Lord  Aungier,  with  whom  I  was  long 
since  acquainted ;  also  the  Lady  Stidolph,  and  other  com- 
pany. 

19th  July,  1678.  The  Earl  of  Ossory  came  to  take  his 
leave  of  me,  going  into  Holland  to  command  the  English 
forces. 

20th  July,  1678,  I  went  to  the  Tower  to  try  a  metal 
at  the  Assay-master's,  which  only  proved  sulphur;  then 
saw  Monsieur  Rotiere,  that  excellent  graver  belonging  to 
the  Mint,  who  emulates  even  the  ancients,  in  both  metal 
and  stone;*  he  was  now  molding  a  horse  for  the  King's 
statue,  to  be  cast  in  silver,  of  a  yard  high.  I  dined  with 
Mr.   Slingsby,  Master  of  the  Mint. 

23d  July,  1678.  Went  to  see  Mr.  Elias  Ashmole's 
library  and  curiosities,  at  Lambeth.  He  had  divers 
MSS.,  but  most  of  them  astrological,  to  which  study  he 
is  addicted,  though  I  believe  not  learned,  but  very  in- 
dustrious, as  his  History  of  the  order  of  the  Garter 
proves.  He  showed  me  a  toad  included  in  amber.  The 
prospect  from  a  turret  is  very  fine,  it  being  so  near 
London,  and  yet  not  discovering  any  house  about  the 
country.  The  famous  John  Tradescant  bequeathed  his 
Repository  to  this  gentleman,  who  has  given  them  to 
the  University  of  Oxford,  and  erected  a  lecture  on  them, 
over  the  laboratory,  in  imitation  of  the  Royal  Society. 

Mr.   Godolphin  was  made  master  of  the  robes  to  the  King. 

25th  July,  1678.  There  was  sent  me  jQto;  from  whom 
I  knew  not,  to  be  by  me  distributed  among  poor  people ;  I 

♦Doubtless  Philip  Rotiere,  who  introduced  the  figfure  of  Britannia 
into  the  coinage,  taking  for  his  model  the  King's  favorite,  Frances 
Stewart,  Duchess  of  Richmond. 


124  DIARY    OP  WEYBRIDGE 

afterward  found  it  was  from  that  dear  friend  ( Mrs.  Godol- 
phin),  who  had  frequently  given  me  large  sums  to  be- 
stow on  charities. 

1 6th  August,  1678,  I  went  to  Lady  Mordaunt,  who 
put  jQioo  into  my  hand  to  dispose  of  for  pious  uses,  re- 
lief of  prisoners,  poor,  etc.  Many  a  sum  had  she  sent 
me  on  similar  occasions;  a  blessed  creature  she  was,  and 
one  that  loved  and  feared  God  exemplaily. 

23d  August,  1678.  Upon  Sir  Robert  Reading's  impor- 
tunity, I  went  to  visit  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  at  his  new 
palace  at  Weybridge,  where  he  has  laid  out  in  building 
near  ;^i 0,000,  on  a  copyhold,  and  in  a  miserable,  bar- 
ren, sandy  place  by  the  street  side ;  never  in  my  life  had 
I  seen  such  expense  to  so  small  purpose.  The  rooms  are 
wainscotted,  and  some  of  them  richly  pargeted  with  ce- 
dar, yew,  cypress,  etc.  There  are  some  good  pictures, 
especially  that  incomparable  painting  of  Holbein's,  where 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Charles  Brandon  and  Henry  VHL, 
are  dancing  with  the  three  ladies,  with  most  amorous 
countenances,  and  sprightly  motion  exquisitely  expressed. 
It  is  a  thousand  pities  (as  I  told  my  Lord  of  Arundel, 
his  son),  that  that  jewel  should  be  given  away. 

24th  August,  1678.  I  went  to  see  my  Lord  of  St.  Al- 
ban's  house,  at  Byfleet,  an  old,  large  building.  Thence, 
to  the  papermills,  where  I  found  them  making  a  coarse 
white  paper.  They  cull  the  rags  which  are  linen  for 
white  paper,  woolen  for  brown;  then  they  stamp  them 
in  troughs  to  a  pap,  with  pestles,  or  hammers,  like  the 
powder  mills,  then  put  it  into  a  vessel  of  water,  in  which 
they  dip  a  frame  closely  wired  with  wire  as  small  as  a 
hair  and  as  close  as  a  weaver's  reed;  on  this  they  take 
up  the  pap,  the  superfluous  water  draining  through  the 
wire ;  this  they  dexterously  turning,  shake  out  like  a  pan- 
cake on  a  smooth  board  between  two  pieces  of  flannel, 
then  press  it  between  a  great  press,  the  flannel  sucking 
out  the  moisture;  then,  taking  it  out,  they  ply  and  dry 
it  on  strings,  as  they  dry  linen  in  the  laundry;  then  dip 
it  in  alum  water,  lastly,  polish  and  make  it  up  in  quires. 
They  put  some  gum  in  the  water  in  which  they  macer- 
ate the  rags.  The  mark  we  find  on  the  sheets  is  formed 
in  the  wire. 

25th  August,  1678.  After  evening  prayer,  visited  Mr. 
Sheldon  (nephew  to  the  late  Archbishop  of  Canterbury), 


i678  JOHN   EVELYN  125 

and  his  pretty  melancholy  garden;  I  took  notice  of  the 
largest  arbor  thuyris  I  had  ever  seen.  The  place  is  finely 
watered,  and  there  are  many  curiosities  of  India,  shown 
in  the  house. 

There  was  at  Weybridge  the  Duchess  of  Norfolk,  Lord 
Thomas  Howard  ( a  worthy  and  virtuous  gentleman, 
with  whom  my  son  was  sometime  bred  in  Arundel  House), 
who  was  newly  come  from  Rome,  where  he  had  been 
some  time;  also  one  of  the  Duke's  daughters,  by  his  first 
lady.  My  Lord  leading  me  about  the  house  made  no 
scruple  of  showing  me  all  the  hiding  places  for  the  Pop- 
ish priests,  and  where  they  said  mass,  for  he  was  no 
bigoted  Papist.  He  told  me  he  never  trusted  them  with 
any  secret,  and  used  Protestants  only  in  all  businesses 
of  importance. 

I  went  this  evening  with  my  Lord  Duke  to  Windsor, 
where  was  a  magnificent  Court,  it  being  the  first  time 
of  his  Majesty's   removing  thither  since   it  was  repaired. 

27th  August,  1678.  I  took  leave  of  the  Duke,  and  dined 
at  Mr.  Henry  Bruncker's,  at  the  Abbey  of  Sheene,  form- 
erly a  monastery  of  Carthusians,  there  yet  remaining  one  of 
their  solitary  cells  with  a  cross.  Within  this  ample  in- 
closure  are  several  pretty  villas  and  fine  gardens  of  the 
most  excellent  fruits,  especially  Sir  William  Temple's 
(lately  Ambassador  into  Holland),  and  the  Lord  Lisle's, 
son  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  who  has  divers  rare  pictures, 
above  all,  that  of  Sir  Brian  Tuke's,  by  Holbein. 

After  dinner  I  walked  to  Ham,  to  see  the  ^house  and 
garden  of  the  Duke  of  Lauderdale,  which  is  indeed  in- 
ferior to  few  of  the  best  villas  in  Italy  itself;  the  house 
furnished  like  a  great  Prince's;  the  parterres,  flower- 
gardens,  orangeries,  groves,  avenues,  courts,  statues, 
perspectives,  fountains,  aviaries,  and  all  this  at  the  banks 
of  the  sweetest  river  in  the  world,  must  needs  be  ad- 
mirable. 

Hence,  I  went  to  my  worthy  friend.  Sir  Henry  Capel 
[at  Kew],  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Essex ;  it  is  an  old  timber- 
house  ;  but  his  garden  has  the  choicest  fruit  of  any  plan- 
tation in  England,  as  he  is  the  most  industrious  and 
understanding  in  it. 

29th  August,  1678.  I  was  called  to  London  to  wait 
upon  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who  having  at  my  sole  re- 
quest  bestowed   the   Arundelian    Library   on   the    Royal 


126  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

Society;  sent  to  me  to  take  charge  of  the  books,  and  re- 
move them,  only  stipulating  that  I  would  suffer  the 
Herald's  chief  officer,  Sir  William  Dugdale,  to  have  such 
of  them  as  concerned  heraldry  and  the  marshal's  office, 
books  of  armory  and  genealogies,  the  Duke  being  Earl 
Marshal  of  England.  I  procured  for  our  Society,  besides 
printed  books,  near  one  hundred  MSS.  some  in  Greek  of 
great  concernment.  The  printed  books  being  of  the  old- 
est impressions,  are  not  the  less  valuable ;  I  esteem  them 
almost  equal  to  MSS.  Among  them,  are  most  of  the 
Fathers,  printed  at  Basil,  before  the.  Jesuits  abused  them 
with  their  expurgatory  Indexes;  there  is  a  noble  MS.  of 
Vitruvius.  Many  of  these  books  had  been  presented  by 
Popes,  Cardinals,  and  great  persons,  to  the  Earls  of  Arun- 
del and  Dukes  of  Norfolk ;  and  the  late  magnificent  Earl 
of  Arundel  bought  a  noble  library  in  Germany,  which  is 
in  this  collection.  I  should  not,  for  the  honor  I  bear  the 
family,  have  persuaded  the  Duke  to  part  with  these,  had 
I  not  seen  how  negligent  he  was  of  them,  suffering  the 
priests  and  everybody  to  carry  away  and  dispose  of  what 
they  pleased;  so  that  abundance  of  rare  things  are  irre- 
coverably gone. 

Having  taken  order  here,  I  went  to  the  Royal  Society 
to  give  them  an  account  of  what  I  had  procured,  that 
they  might  call  a  Council  and  appoint  a  day  to  wait  on 
the  Duke  to  thank  him  for  this  munificent  gift. 

3d  September,  1678.  I  went  to  London,  to  dine  with 
Mrs.  Godolphin,  and  found  her  in  labor;  she  was  brought 
to  bed  of  a  son,  who  was  baptized  in  the  chamber,  by 
the  name  of  Francis,  the  susceptors  being  Sir  William 
Godolphin  (head  of  the  family),  Mr.  John  Hervey,  Treas- 
urer to  the  Queen,  and  Mrs.  Boscawen,  sister  to  Sir 
William  and  the   father. 

8th  September,  1678.  While  I  was  at  church  came  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Godolphin,  that  my  dear  friend  his  lady 
was  exceedingly  ill,  and  desiring  my  prayers  and  assist- 
ance. My  wife  and  I  took  boat  immediately,  and  went 
to  Whitehall,  where,  to  my  inexpressible  sorrow,  I  found 
she  had  been  attacked  with  a  new  fever,  then  reigning 
this  excessive  hot  autumn,  and  which  was  so  violent, 
that  it  was  not  thought  she  could  last  many  hours. 

9th  September,  1678.  She  died  in  the  26th  year  of  her 
age,  to  the  inexpressible  affliction  of  her   dear  husband, 


1678  JOHN  EVELYN  127 

and  all  her  relations,  but  of  none  in  the  world  more  than 
of  myself,  who  lost  the  most  excellent  and  inestimable 
friend  that  ever  lived.  Never  was  a  more  virtuous  and 
inviolable  friendship;  never  a  more  religious,  discreet, 
and  admirable  creature,  beloved  of  all,  admired  of  all, 
for  all  possible  perfections  of  her  sex.  She  is  gone  to 
receive  the  reward  of  her  signal  charity,  and  all  other 
her  Christian  graces,  too  blessed  a  creature  to  converse 
with  mortals,  fitted  as  she  was,  by  a  most  holy  life,  to 
be  received  into  the  mansions  above.  She  was  for  wit, 
beauty,  good  nature,  fidelity,  discretion,  and  all  accom- 
plishments, the  most  incomparable  person.  How  shall  I 
ever  repay  the  obligations  to  her  for  the  infinite  good 
offices  she  did  my  soul  by  so  often  engaging  me  to  make 
religion  the  terms  and  tie  of  the  friendship  there  was 
between  us!  She  was  the  best  wife,  the  best  mistress, 
the  best  friend,  that  ever  husband  had.  But  it  is  not 
here  that  I  pretend  to  give  her  character,  having  de- 
signed   TO    CONSECRATE    HER    WORTHY    LIFE    TO    POSTERITY. 

Her  husband,  struck  with  unspeakable  affliction,  fell 
down  as  dead.  The  King  himself,  and  all  the  Court, 
expressed  their  sorrow.  To  the  poor  and  miserable,  her 
loss  was  irreparable;  for  there  was  no  degree  but  had 
some  obligation  to  her  memory.  So  careful  and  provi- 
dent was  she  to  be  prepared  for  all  possible  accidents, 
that  (as  if  she  foresaw  her  end)  she  received  the  heav- 
enly viaticum  but  the  Sunday  before,  after  a  most  sol- 
emn recollection.  She  put  all  her  domestic  concerns  into 
the  exactest  order,  and  left  a  letter  directed  to  her  hus- 
band, to  be  opened  in  case  she  died  in  childbed,  in 
which  with  the  most  pathetic  and  endearing  expressions 
of  the  most  loyal  and  virtuous  wife,  she  begs  his  kind- 
ness to  her  memory  might  be  continued  by  his  care  and 
esteem  of  those  she  left  behind,  even  to  her  domestic 
servants,  to  the  meanest  of  which  she  left  considerable 
legacies,  as  well  as  to  the  poor.  It  was  now  seven  years 
since  she  was  maid  of  honor  to  the  Queen,  that  she  re- 
garded me  as  a  father,  a  brother,  and  what  is  more,  a 
friend.  We  often  prayed,  visited  the  sick  and  miserable, 
received,  read,  discoursed,  and  communicated  in  all  holy 
offices  together.  She  was  most  dear  to  my  wife,  and 
affectionate  to  my  children.  But  she  is  gone!  This  only 
is  my  comfort,  that  she  is  happy  in  Christ,  and    I   shall 


I2&  DIARY  O^  LONDON 

shortly  behold  her  again.  She  desired  to  be  buried  in 
the  dormitory  of  his  family,  near  three  hundred  miles 
from  all  her  other  friends.  So  afflicted  was  her  husband 
at  this  severe  loss,  that  the  entire  care  of  her  funeral 
was  committed  to  me.  Having  closed  the  eyes,  and 
dropped  a  tear  upon  the  cheek  of  my  dear  departed  friend, 
lovely  even  in  death,  I  caused  her  corpse  to  be  embalmed 
and  wrapped  in  lead,  a  plate  of  brass  soldered  thereon, 
with  an  inscription,  and  other  circumstances  due  to  her 
worth,  with  as  much  diligence  and  care  as  my  grieved 
heart  would  permit  me ;  I  then  retired  home  for  two  days, 
which  were  spent  in  solitude  and  sad  reflection. 

17th  September,  1678.  She  was,  accordingly,  carried 
to  Godolphin,  in  Cornwall,  in  a  hearse  with  six  horses, 
attended  by  two  coaches  of  as  many,  with  about  thirty 
of  her  relations  and  servants.  There  accompanied  the 
hearse  her  husband's  brother.  Sir  William,  two  more  of 
his  brothers,  and  three  sisters ;  her  husband  was  so  over- 
come with  grief,  that  he  was  wholly  unfit  to  travel  so 
long  a  journey,  till  he  was  more  composed.  I  went  as 
far  as  Hounslow  with  a  sad  heart;  but  was  obliged  to 
return  upon  some  indispensable  affairs.  The  corpse  was 
ordered  to  be  taken  out  of  the  hearse  every  night,  and 
decently  placed  in  the  house,  with  tapers  about  it,  and 
her  servants  attending,  to  Cornwall;  and  then  was  hon- 
orably interred  in  the  parish  church  of  Godolphin.  This 
funeral  cost  not  much  less  than  ;2ri,ooo. 

With  Mr.  Godolphin,  I  looked  over  and  sorted  his 
lady's  papers,  most  of  which  consisted  of  Prayers,  Medi- 
tations, Sermon-notes,  Discourses,  and  Collections  on 
several  religious  subjects,  and  many  of  her  own  happy 
composing,  and  so  pertinently  digested,  as  if  she  had  been 
all  her  life  a  student  in  divinity.  We  found  a  diary  of 
her  solemn  resolutions,  tending  to  practical  virtue,  with 
letters  from  select  friends,  all  put  into  exact  method. 
It  astonished  us  to  see  what  she  had  read  and  written, 
her  youth  considered. 

I  St  October,  1678,  The  Parliament  and  the  whole  Na- 
tion were  alarmed  about  a  conspiracy  of  some  eminent 
Papists  for  the  destruction  of  the  King  and  introduction 
of  Popery,  discovered   by  one    Gates   and    Dr.  Tongue,* 

*  Ezrael  Tonge  was  bred  in  University  College,  Oxford,  and  being 
puritanically  inclined,  quitted   the   University;  but   in    1648  retiimed, 


167B  JOHN  EVELYN  129 

WHICH    LAST    I    KNEW,   BEING    THE    TRANSLATOR   OF    THE    **  JCS- 

Tiits'  Morals**;  I  went  to  see  and  converse  with  him  at 
Whitehall,  with  Mr.  Gates,  one  that  was  lately  an  apos- 
tate to  the  church  of  Rome,  and  now  returned  again 
with  this  discovery.  He  seemed  to  be  a  bold  man,  and, 
in  my  thoughts,  furiously  indiscreet;  but  everybody  be- 
lieved what  he  said;  and  it  quite  changed  the  genius  and 
motions  of  the  Parliament  growing  now  corrupt  and  in- 
terested with  long  sitting  and  court  practices;  but,  with  all 
this.  Popery  would  not  go  down.  This  discovery  turned 
them  all  as  one  man  against  it,  and  nothing  was  done 
but  to  find  out  the  depth  of  this.  Gates  was  encouraged, 
and  everything  he  affirmed  taken  for  gospel;  the  truth 
is,  the  Roman  Catholics  were  exceedingly  bold  and  busy 
everywhere,  since  the  Duke  forbore  to  go  any  longer  to 
the  chapel. 

1 6th  Gctober,  1678.  Mr.  Godolphin  requested  me  to 
continue  the  trust  his  wife  had  reposed  in  me,  in  behalf 
of  his  little  son,  conjuring  me  to  transfer  the  friendship 
I  had  for  his  dear  wife,  on  him  and  his. 

2 1  St  Gctober,   1678.     The  murder   of    Sir   Edmondbury 

and  was  made  a  Fellow.  He  had  the  living  of  Pluckley,  in  Kent,  which 
he  resigned  in  consequence  of  quarrels  with  his  parishioners  and 
Quakers.  In  1657,  he  was  made  fellow  of  the  newly-erected  College  at 
Durham,  and  that  being  dissolved  in  1660,  he  taught  school  at  Islington. 
He  then  went  with  Colonel  Edward  Harley  to  Dunkirk,  and  subse- 
quently took  a  small  living  in  Herefordshire  (Lentwardine);  but  quitted 
it  for  St.  Mary  Stayning,  in  London,  which,  after  the  fire  in  1666,  was 
united  to  St.  Michael,  Wood  Street.  These  he  held  till  his  death,  in 
1680.  He  was  a  great  opponent  of  the  Roman  Cathohcs,  Wood  men- 
tions several  publications  of  his,  among  which  are,  « The  Jesuits  Un- 
masked,»  1678;  «  Jesuitical  Aphorisms, » 1678;  and  «The  Jesuits' Morals," 
1680  ( 1670) ;  the  two  latter  translated  from  the  French.  (Wood's  ^'■Athena, 
Oxon?'*  vol.  ii.  p.  502.)  Evelyn  speaks  of  the  last  of  these  translations  as 
having  been  executed  by  his  desire :  and  it  figures  in  a  notable  passage 
of  Oates's  testihiony.  Oates  said,  for  example,  «that  Thomas  Whit- 
bread,  a  priest,  on  13th  of  June,  16  .  .  did  tell  the  rector  of  St.  Omer's 
that  a  Minister  of  the  Church  of  England  had  scandalously  put  out  the 
< Jesuits'  Morals*  in  English,  and  had  endeavored  to  render  them 
odious,  and  had  asked  the  Rector  whether  he  thought  Oates  might  know 
him?  and  the  Rector  called  the  deponent,  who  heard  these  words  as  he 
stood  at  the  chamber  door,  and  when  he  went  into  the  chamber  of  the 
Provincial,  he  asked  him  <  If  he  knew  the  author  of  the  «  Jesuits'  Mor- 
als ?  » *  deponent  answered,  <  His  person,  but  not  his  name.*  Whitbread 
then  demanded,  whether  he  would  undertake  to  poison,  or  assassinate 
the  author;  which  deponent  undertook,  having  ;^5o  reward  promised 
him,  and  appointed  to  return  to  England.** 
9 


I30 


DIARY    OP  LONDON 


Godfrey,  found  strangled  about  this  time,  as  was  mani- 
fest, by  the  Papists,  he  being  the  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
and  one  who  knew  much  of  their  practices,  as  convers- 
ant with  Coleman  (a  servant  of  the  .  .  .  now  ac^ 
cused),  put  the  whole  nation  into  a  new  ferment  against 
them. 

31st  October,  1678.  Being  the  58th  of  my  age,  re- 
quired  my  humble  addresses  to  Almighty  God,  and  that 
he  would  take  off  his  heavy  hand,  still  on  my  family; 
and  restore  comforts  to  us  after  the  death  of  my  excellent 
friend.  \ 

5th  November,  1678.  Dr.  Tillotson  preached  before  the 
Commons  at  St.  Margaret's.  He  said  the  Papists  were 
now  arrived  at  that  impudence,  as  to  deny  that  there 
ever  was  any  such  as  the  gunpowder-conspiracy;  but  he 
affirmed  that  he  himself  had  several  letters  written  by 
Sir  Everard  Digby  (one  of  the  traitors),  in  which  he 
gloried  that  he  was  to  suffer  for  it ;  and  that  it  was  so 
contrived,  that  of  the  Papists  not  above  two  or  three 
should  have  been  blown  up,  and  they,  such  as  were  not 
worth  saving. 

15th  November,  1678.  The  Queen's  birthday.  I  never 
saw  the  Court  more  brave,  nor  the  nation  in  more  appre- 
hension and  consternation.  Coleman  and  one  Staly  had 
now  been  tried,  condemned,  and  executed.  On  this, 
Oates  grew  so  presumptuous  as  to  accuse  the  Queen  of 
intending  to  poison  the  King;  which  certainly  that  pious 
and  virtuous  lady  abhorred  the  thoughts  of,  and  Oates's 
circumstances  made  it  utterly  unlikely  in  my  opinion. 
He  probably  thought  to  gratify  some  who  would  have 
been  glad  his  Majesty  should  have  married  a  fruitful 
lady  J  but  the  King  was  too  kind  a  husband  to  let  any  of 
these  make  impression  on  him.  However,  divers  of  the 
Popish  peeis  were  sent  to  the  Tower,  accused  by  Oates; 
and  all  the  Roman  Catholic  lords  were  by  a  new  Act 
forever  excluded  the  Parliament;  which  was  a  mighty 
blow.  The  King's,  Queen's,  and  Duke's  servants,  were 
banished,  and  a  test  to  be  taken  by  everybody  who  pre- 
tended to  enjoy  any  office  of  public  trust,  and  who  would 
not  be  suspected  of  Popery.  I  went  with  Sir  William 
Godolphin,  a  member  of  the  Commons'  House,  to  the 
Bishop  of  Ely  (Dr.  Peter  Gunning),  to  be  resolved 
whether  masses  v/ere   idolatry,  as  the   text  expressed  it, 


16/8-79  JOHN   EVELYN  131 

which  was  so  worded,  that  several  good  Protestants 
scrupled,  and  Sir  William,  though  a  learned  man  and 
excellent  divine  himself,  had  some  doubts  about  it.  The 
Bishop's  opinion  was  that  he  might  take  it,  though  he 
wished  it  had  been  otherwise  worded  in  the  text. 

15th  January,  1678-79.  I  went  with  my  Lady  Sunder- 
land to  Chelsa,  and  dined  with  the  Countess  of  Bristol 
[her  mother]  in  the  great  house,  formerly  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham's,  a  spacious  and  excellent  place  for  the  ex- 
tent of  ground  and  situation  in  a  good  air.  The  house 
is  large  but  ill-contrived,  though  my  Lord  of  Bristol, 
who  purchased  it  after  he  sold  Wimbledon  to  my  Lord 
Treasurer,  expended  much  money  on  it.  There  were 
divers  pictures  of  Titian  and  Vandyke,  and  some  of 
Bassano,  very  excellent,  especially  an  Adonis  and 
Venus,  a  Duke  of  Venice,  a  butcher  in  his  shambles 
selling  meat  to  a  Swiss;  and  of  Vandyke,  my  Lord  of 
Bristol's  picture,  with  the  Earl  of  Bedford's  at  length,  in 
the  same  table.  There  was  in  the  garden  a  rare  collec- 
tion of  orange  trees,  of  which  she  was  pleased  to  bestow 
some  upon  me. 

1 6th  January,  1679.  I  supped  this  night  with  Mr.  Sec- 
retary at  one  Mr.  Houblon's,  a  French  merchant,  who 
had  his  house  furnished  en  Prince^  and  gave  us  a  splendid 
entertainment. 

25th  January,  1679.  I'^^  Long  Parliament,  which  had 
sat  ever  since  the  Restoration,  was  dissolved  by  persua- 
sion of  the  Lord  Treasurer,  though  divers  of  them  were 
believed  to  be  his  pensioner.  At  this,  all  the  politicians 
were  at  a  stand,  they  being  very  eager  in  pursuit  of  the 
late  plot  of  the  Papists. 

30th  January,  1679.  Dr.  Cud  worth  preached  before  the 
King  at  Whitehall,  on  2  Timothy  iii.  5,  reckoning  up  the 
perils  of  the  last  times,  in  which,  among  other  wicked- 
ness, treasons  should  be  one  of  the  greatest,  applying  it 
to  the  occasion,  as  committed  under  a  form  of  reforma- 
tion and  godliness;  concluding  that  the  prophecy  did  in- 
tend more  particularly  the  present  age,  as  one  of  the  last 
times ;  the  sins  there  enumerated,  more  abundantly  reign- 
ing than  ever. 

2d  February,  1679.  Dr.  Durell,  Dean  of  Windsor, 
preached  to  the  household  at  Whitehall,  on  i  Cor.  xvi. 
22;  he   read  the  whole  sermon  out  of  his  notes,  which  I 


132  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

had  never  before  seen  a  Frenchman  do,  he  being  of  Jer- 
sey, and  bred  at  Paris. 

4th  February,  1679.  ^^-  Pierce,  Dean  of  Salisbury, 
preached  on  i  John,  iv.  i,  ^^Try  the  Spirits,  there  being 
so  many  delusory  ones  gone  forth  of  late  into  the  world" ; 
he  inveighed  against  the  pernicious  doctrines  of  Mr. 
Hobbes. 

My  brother  Evelyn,  was  now  chosen  Knight  for  the 
County  of  Surrey,  carrying  it  against  my  Lord  Longford 
and  Sir  Adam  Brown,  of  Bechworth  Castle.  The  country 
coming  in  to  give  him  their  suffrages  were  so  many,  that 
I  believe  they  ate  and  drank  him  out  near  ^2,000,  by  a 
most  abominable  custom. 

ist  April,  1679.  My  friend,  Mr.  Godolphin,  was  now 
made  one  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury, 
and  of  the  Privy  Council. 

4th  April,  1679.  The  Bishop  of  Gloucester  preached  in 
a  manner  very  like  Bishop  Andrews,  full  of  divisions,  and 
scholastical,  and  that  with  much  quickness.  The  Holy 
Communion  followed. 

20th  April,  1679.  Easter  day.  Our  vicar  preached  ex- 
ceedingly well  on  I  Cor.  v.  7.  The  Holy  Communion  fol- 
lowed, at  which  I  and  my  daughter,  Mary  (now  about 
fourteen  years  old),  received  for  the  first  time.  The  Lord 
Jesus  continue  his  grace  unto  her,  and  improve  this 
blessed  beginning! 

24th  April,  1679.  The  Duke  of  York,  voted  against  by 
the  Commons  for  his  recusancy,  went  over  to  Flanders ; 
which  made  much  discourse. 

4th  June,  1679.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Pepys  in  the  Tower, 
he  having  been  committed  by  the  House  of  Commons  for 
misdemeanors  in  the  Admiralty  when  he  was  secretary ;  I 
believe  he  was  unjustly  charged.  Here  I  saluted  my 
Lords  Stafford  and  Petre,  who  were  committed  for  the 
Popish  plot. 

7th  June,  1679.  I  saw  the  magnificent  cavalcade  and 
entry  of  the  Portugal  Ambassador. 

17th  June,  1679.  I  was  godfather  to  a  son  of  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren,  surveyor  of  his  Majesty's  buildings,  that 
most  excellent  and  learned  person,  with  Sir  William 
Fermor,  and  my  Lady  Viscountess  Newport,  wife  of  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Household. 

Thence  to  Chelsea,  to  Sir  Stephen  Fox,   and  my  lady, 


1679  JOHN    EVELYN  133 

in  order  to  the  purchase  of  the  Countess  of  Bristol's 
house  there,  which  she  desired  me  to  procure  a  chapman 
for. 

19th  June,  1679.  I  dined  at  Sir  Robert  Clayton's  with 
Sir  Robert  Viner,  the  great  banker. 

22d  June,  1679.  There  were  now  divers  Jesuits  executed 
about  the  plot,  and  a  rebellion  in  Scotland  of  the  fanatics, 
so  that  there  was  a  sad  prospect  of  public  affairs. 

25th  June,  1679.  The  new  Commissioners  of  the  Admi- 
ralty came  to  visit  me,  viz.  Sir  Henry  Capell,  brother  to 
the  Earl  of  Essex,  Mr.  Finch,  eldest  son  to  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  Sir  Humphry  Winch,  Sir  Thomas  Meeres,  Mr. 
Hales,  with  some  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy.  I 
went  with  them  to  London. 

ist  July,  1679.  I  dined  at  Sir  William  Godolphin's,  and 
with  that  learned  gentleman  went  to  take  the  air  in  Hyde 
Park,  where  was  a  glorious  cortege. 

3d  July,  1679.  Sending  a  piece  of  venison  to  Mr. 
Pepys,  still  a  prisoner,  I  went  and  dined  with  him. 

6th  July,  1679.  Now  were  there  papers,  speeches,  and 
libels,  publicly  cried  in  the  streets  against  the  Dukes  of 
York  and  Lauderdale,  etc.,  obnoxious  to  the  Parliament, 
with  too  much  and  indeed  too  shameful  a  liberty;  but 
the  people  and  Parliament  had  gotten  head  by  reason  of 
the  vices  of  the  great  ones. 

There  was  now  brought  up  to  London  a  child,  son  of 
one  Mr.  Wotton,  formerly  amanuensis  to  Dr.  Andrews, 
Bishop  of  Winton,  who  both  read  and  perfectly  under- 
stood Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  Arabic,  Syriac,  and  most  of 
the  modern  languages ;  disputed  in  divinity,  law,  and  all 
the  sciences ;  was  skillful  in  history,  both  ecclesiastical  and 
profane ;  in  politics ;  in  a  word,  so  universally  and  solidly 
learned  at  eleven  years  of  age,  that  he  was  looked  on  as 
a  miracle.  Dr.  Lloyd,  one  of  the  most  deeply  learned 
divines  of  this  nation  in  all  sorts  of  literature,  with  Dr. 
Burnet,  who  had  severely  examined  him,  came  away 
astonished,  and  they  told  me  they  did  not  believe  there 
had  the  like  appeared  in  the  world.  He  had  only  been 
instructed  by  his  father,  who  being  himself  a  learned 
person,  confessed  that  his  son  knew  all  that  he  himself 
knew.  But,  what  was  more  admirable  than  his  vast 
memory,  was  his  judgment  and  invention,  he  being  tried 
with   divers   hard  questions,  which   required  maturity  of 


134  DIARY  OF  London 

thought  and  experience.  He  was  also  dexterous  in  chro- 
nology, antiquities,  mathematics.  In  sum,  an  intellectus 
universalis,  beyond  all  that  we  read  of  Picus  Mirandula, 
and  other  precocious  wits,  and  yet  withal  a  very  humble 
child. 

14th  July,  1679.  I  went  to  see  how  things  stood  at 
Parson's  Green,  my  Lady  Viscountess  Mordaunt  (now 
sick  in  Paris,  whither  she  went  for  health )  having  made 
me  a  trustee  for  her  children,  an  office  I  could  not  refuse 
to  this  most  excellent,  pious,  and  virtuous  lady,  my  long 
acquaintance. 

15th  July,  1679.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Sidney  Godolphin, 
now  one  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury. 

i8th  July,  1679.  I  went  early  to  the  Old  Bailey  Ses- 
sions House,  to  the  famous  trial  of  Sir  George  Wakeman, 
one  of  the  Queen's  physicians,  and  three  Benedictine 
monks;  the  first  (whom  I  was  well  acquainted  with,  and 
take  to  be  a  worthy  gentleman  abhorring  such  a  fact), 
for  intending  to  poison  the  King;  the  others  as  accom- 
plices to  carry  on  the  plot,  to  subvert  the  government, 
and  introduce  Popery.  The  bench  was  crowded  with 
the  judges.  Lord  Mayor  justices,  and  innumerable  spec- 
tators. The  chief  accusers.  Dr.  Gates  (as  he  called  him- 
self), and  one  Bedlow,  a  man  of  inferior  note.  Their  tes- 
timonies were  not  so  pregnant,  and  I  fear  much  of  it  from 
hearsay,  but  swearing  positively  to  some  particulars, 
which  drew  suspicion  upon  their  truth;  nor  did  circum- 
stances so  agree,  as  to  give  either  the  bench  or  jury  so 
entire  satisfaction  as  was  expected.  After,  therefore,  a 
long  and  tedious  trial  of  nine  hours,  the  jury  brought 
them  in  not  gfuilty,  to  the  extraordinary  triumph  of  the 
Papists,  and  without  sufficient  disadvantage  and  reflec- 
tions on  witnesses,  especially  Gates  and  Bedlow. 

This  was  a  happy  day  for  the  lords  in  the  Tower, 
who,  expecting  their  trial,  had  this  gone  against  the  pris- 
oners at  the  bar,  would  all  have  been  in  the  utmost 
hazard.  For  my  part,  I  look  on  Gates  as  a  vain,  inso- 
lent man,  puffed  up  with  the  favor  of  the  Commons  for 
having  discovered  something  really  true,  more  especially 
as  detecting  the  dangerous  intrigue  of  Coleman,  proved 
out  of  his  own  letters,  and  of  a  general  design  which  the 
Jesuited  party  of  the  Papists  ever  had  and  still  have,  to 
ruin  the  Church  of  England;   but    that    he    was    trusted 


i679  JOHN  EVELYN  135 

with  those  great  secrets  he  pretended,  or  had  any  solid 
ground  for  what  he  accused  divers  noblemen  of,  I  have 
many  reasons  to  induce  my  contrary  belief.  That  among 
so  many  commissions  as  he  affirmed  to  have  delivered  to 
them  from  P.  Oliva*  and  the  Pope, —  he  who  made  no 
scruple  of  opening  all  other  papers,  letters,  and  secrets, 
should  not  only  not  open  any  of  those  pretended  com- 
missions, but  not  so  much  as  take  any  copy  or  witness 
of  any  one  of  them,  is  almost  miraculous.  But  the  Com- 
mons (some  leading  persons  I  mean  of  them)  had  so 
exalted  him  that  they  took  all  he  said  for  Gospel,  and 
without  more  ado  ruined  all  whom  he  named  to  be  con- 
spirators; nor  did  he  spare  whoever  came  in  his  way. 
But,  indeed,  the  murder  of  Sir  Edmundbury  Godfrey, 
suspected  to  have  been  compassed  by  the  Jesuits'  party 
for  his  intimacy  with  Coleman  (a  busy  person  whom  I 
also  knew),  and  the  fear  they  had  that  he  was  able  to 
have  discovered  things  to  their  prejudice,  did  so  exasper- 
ate not  only  the  Commons,  but  all  the  nation,  that  much 
of  these  sharpnesses  against  the  more  honest  Roman 
Catholics  who  lived  peaceably,  is  to  be  imputed  to  that 
horrid  fact. 

The  sessions  ended,  I  dined  or  rather  supped  (so  late  it 
was)  with  the  judges  in  the  large  room  annexed  to  the 
place,  and  so  returned  home.  Though  it  was  not  my 
custom  or  delight  to  be  often  present  at  any  capital 
trials,  we  having  them  commonly  so  exactly  published  by 
those  who  take  them  in  short-hand,  yet  I  was  inclined  to 
be  at  this  signal  one,  that  by  the  ocular  view  of  the  car- 
riages and  other  circumstances  of  the  managers  and 
parties  concerned,  I  might  inform  myself,  and  regulate 
my  opinion  of  a  cause  that  had  so  alarmed  the  whole 
nation. 

2 2d  July,  1679.  Dined  at  Clapham,  at  Sir  D.  Gauden's; 
went  thence  with  him  to  Windsor,  to  assist  him  in  a 
business  with  his  Majesty.  I  lay  that  night  at  Eton  Col- 
lege, the  Provost's  lodgings  (Dr.  Craddock),  where  I  was 
courteously  entertained. 

23d  July,  1679.  To  Court:  after  dinner,  I  visited  that 
excellent  painter,  Verrio,  whose  works  in  fresco  in  the 
King's  palace,  at  Windsor,  will  celebrate  his  name  as  long 
as    those  walls    last.     He   showed    us   his  pretty  garden, 

*  Padre  OHva.  General  of  the  Order  of  Jesuits. 


136  DIARY  OF  London 

choice  flowers,  and  curiosities,  he  himself  being  a  skillful 
gardener. 

I  went  to  Clifden,  that  stupendous  natural  rock,  wood, 
and  prospect,  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham's,  and  buildings 
of  extraordinary  expense.  The  grots  in  the  chalky  rocks 
are  pretty:  it  is  a  romantic  object,  and  the  place  alto- 
gether answers  the  most  poetical  description  that  can  be 
made  of  solitude,  precipice,  prospect,  or  whatever  can  con- 
tribute to  a  thing  so  very  like  their  imaginations.  The 
stand,  somewhat  like  Frascati  as  to  its  front,  and  on  the 
platform  is  a  circular  view  to  the  utmost  verge  of  the  hori- 
zon, which,  with  the  serpenting  of  the  Thames,  is  admi- 
rable. The  staircase  is  for  its  materials  singular;  the 
cloisters,  descents,  gardens,  and  avenue  through  the  wood, 
august  and  stately;  but  the  land  all  about  wretchedly 
barren,  and  producing  nothing  but  fern.  Indeed,  as  I 
told  his  Majesty  that  evening  (asking  me  how  I  liked 
Clifden)  without  flattery,  that  it  did  not  please  me  so  well 
as  Windsor  for  the  prospect  and  park,  which  is  without 
compare;  there  being  but  one  only  opening,  and  that 
narrow,  which  led  one  to  any  variety;  whereas  that  of 
Windsor  is  everywhere  great  and  unconfined. 

Returning,  I  called  at  my  cousin  Evelyn's,  who  has  a 
very  pretty  seat  in  the  forest,  two  miles  by  hither  Clif- 
den, on  a  flat,  with  gardens  exquisitely  kept,  though 
large,  and  the  house  a  staunch  good  old  building,  and 
what  was  singular,  some  of  the  rooms  floored  dove  tail- 
wise  without  a  nail,  exactly  close.  One  of  the  closets  is 
pargeted  with  plain  deal,  set  in  diamond,  exceeding  staunch 
and  pretty. 

7th  August,  1679.  Dined  at  the  Sheriff's,  when,  the 
Company  of  Drapers  and  their  wives  being  invited,  there 
was  a  sumptuous  entertainment,  according  to  the  forms 
of  the  city,  with  music,  etc.,  comparable  to  any  prince's 
service  in  Europe. 

8th  August,  1679.  I  went  this  morning  to  show  my 
Lord  Chamberlain,  his  Lady,  and  the  Duchess  of  Grafton, 
the  incomparable  work  of  Mr.  Gibbon,  the  carver,  whom 
I  first  recommended  to  his  Majesty,  his  house  being 
furnished  like  a  cabinet,  not  only  with  his  own  work, 
but  divers  excellent  paintings  of  the  best  hands.  Thence, 
to  Sir  Stephen  Fox's,  where  we  spent  the  day. 

31st   August,    1679.     After   evening    service,    to    see    a 


i679  JOHN  EVELYN  137 

neighbor,  one  Mr.  Bohun,  related  to  my  son's  late  tutor 
of  that  name,  a  rich  Spanish  merchant,  living  in  a  neat 
place,  which  he  has  adorned  with  many  curiosities, 
especially  several  carvings  of  Mr.  Gibbons,  and  some  pic- 
tures by  Streeter. 

13th  September,  1679.  To  Windsor,  to  congratulate  his 
Majesty  on  his  recovery;  I  kissed  the  Duke's  hand,  now 
lately  returned  from  Flanders*  to  visit  his  brother  the 
King,  on  which  there  were  various  bold  and  foolish  dis- 
courses, the  Duke  of  Monmouth  being  sent  away. 

19th  September,  1679.  My  Lord  Sunderland,  one  of 
the  principal  Secretaries  of  State,  invited  me  to  dinner, 
where  was  the  King's  natural  son,  the  Earl  of  Plymouth, 
the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  Earl  of  Essex,  Earl  of  Mul- 
grave,  Mr.  Hyde,  and  Mr.  Godolphin.  After  dinner  I 
went  to  prayers  at  Eton,  and  visited  Mr.  Henry  Gk>dolphin, 
fellow  there,  and  Dr.   Craddock. 

25th  September,  1679.  Mr.  Slingsby  and  Signor  Verrio 
came  to  dine  with  me,  to  whom  I  gave  China  oranges 
off  my  own  trees,  as  good,    I  think,  as  were  ever  eaten. 

6th  October,   1679.     A  very  wet  and  sickly  season. 

23d  October,  1679.  Dined  at  my  Lord  Chamberlain's, 
the  King  being  now  newly  returned  from  his  Newmarket 
recreations. 

4th  November,  1679.  Dined  at  the  Lord  Mayor's;  and, 
in  the  evening,  went  to  the  funeral  of  my  pious,  dear, 
and  ancient  learned  friend,  Dr.  Jasper  Needham,  who 
was  buried  at  St.  Bride's  Church.  He  was  a  true  and 
holy  Christian,  and  one  who  loved  me  with  great  affec- 
tion. Dr.  Dove  preached  with  an  eulogy  due  to  his 
memory.  I  lost  in  this  person  one  of  my  dearest  remain- 
ing sincere  friends. 

5th  November,  1679.  I  was  invited  to  dine  at  my 
Lord  Teviotdale's,  a  Scotch  Earl,  a  learned  and  knowing 
nobleman.  We  afterward  went  to  see  Mr.  Montague's 
new  palace  near  Bloomsbury,  built  by  our  curator,  Mr. 
Hooke,  somewhat  after  the  French;  it  was  most  nobly 
furnished,  and  a    fine,    but    too   much   exposed    garden  f 

6th  November,   1679.     Dined  at  the    Countess  of  Sun- 

*He  returned  the  day  before,  the  12th  of  September.  This  is 
another  of  the  indications  that  the  entries  of  this  Diary  were  not 
always  made  on  the  precise  da^'S  they  refer  ta 

f  Now  the  British  Museum. 


138  DIARY     OF  London 

derland's,  and  was  this  evening  at  the  remarriage  of 
the  Duchess  of  Grafton  to  the  Duke  (his  Majesty's  nat- 
ural son),  she  being  now  twelve  years  old.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  in  my  Lord  Chamberlain's  (her 
father's)  lodgings  at  Whitehall  by  the  Bishop  of  Roches- 
ter, his  Majesty  being  present.  A  sudden  and  unexpected 
thing,  when  everybody  believed  the  first  marriage  would 
have  come  to  nothing ;  but,  the  measure  being  determined, 
I  was  privately  invited  by  my  Lady,  her  mother,  to  be 
present.  I  confess  I  could  give  her  little  joy,  and  so  I 
plainly  told  her,  but  she  said  the  King  would  have  it  so, 
and  there  was  no  going  back.  This  sweetest,  most  hope- 
ful, most  beautiful,  child,  and  most  virtuous,  too,  was  sacri- 
ficed to  a  boy  that  had  been  rudely  bred,  without  any- 
thing to  encourage  them  but  his  Majesty's  pleasure.  I 
pray  God  the  sweet  child  find  it  to  her  advantage,  who, 
if  my  augury  deceive  me  not,  will  in  a  few  years  be  such  a 
paragon  as  were  fit  to  make  the  wife  of  the  greatest 
Prince  in  Europe!  I  staid  supper,  where  his  Majesty 
sat  between  the  Duchess  of  Cleveland  (the  mother  of  the 
Duke  of  Grafton)  and  the  sweet  Duchess  the  bride ;  there 
were  several  great  persons  and  ladies,  without  pomp. 
My  love  to  my  Lord  Arlington's  family,  and  the  sweet 
child  made  me  behold  all  this  with  regret,  though  as  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  affects  the  sea,  to  which  I  find  his 
father  intends  to  use  him,  he  may  emerge  a  plain,  useful 
and  robust  officer:  and  were  he  polished,  a  tolerable  per- 
son; for  he  is  exceedingly  handsome,  by  far  surpassing 
any  of  the   King's  other  natural  issue. 

8th  November,  1679.  At  Sir  Stephen  Fox's,  and  was 
agreeing  for  the  Countess  of  Bristol's  house  at  Chelsea, 
within  ;^5oo. 

1 8th  November,  1679.  I  dined  at  my  Lord  Mayor's, 
being  desired  by  the  Countess  of  Sunderland  to  carry 
her  thither  on  a  solemn  day,  that  she  might  see  the 
pomp  and  ceremony  of  this  Prince  of  Citizens,  there 
never  having  been  any,  who  for  the  stateliness  of  his 
palace,  prodigious  feasting,  and  magnificence,  exceeded 
him.  This  Lord  Mayor's  acquaintance  had  been  from  the 
time  of  his  being  apprentice  to  one  Mr.  Abbot,  his  uncle, 
who  being  a  scrivener,  and  an  honest  worthy  man,  one 
who  was  condemned  to  die  at  the  beginning  of  the  troubles 
forty    years    past,    as    concerned   in    the    commission  of 


1 679  JOHN  EVELYN  139 

array  for  King  Charles  I.  had  escaped  with  his  life ;  I  often 
used  his  assistance  in  money  matters.  Robert  Clayton, 
then  a  boy,  his  nephew,  became,  after  his  uncle  Abbot's 
death,  so  prodigiously  rich  and  opulent,  that  he  was  reck- 
oned one  of  the  wealthiest  citizens.  He  married  a  free- 
hearted woman,  who  became  his  hospitable  disposition; 
and  having  no  children,  with  the  accession  of  his  partner 
and  fellow  apprentice,  who  also  left  him  his  estate,  he 
grew  excessively  rich.  He  was  a  discreet  magistrate, 
and  though  envied,  I  think  without  much  cause.  Some 
believed  him  guilty  of  hard  dealing,  especially  with  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  much  of  whose  estate  he  had  swal- 
lowed, but  I  never  saw  any  ill  by  him,  considering  the 
trade  he  was  of.  The  reputation  and  known  integ- 
rity of  his  uncle,  Abbot,  brought  all  the  royal  party  to 
him,  by  which  he  got  not  only  great  credit,  but  vast 
wealth,  so  as  he  passed  this  ofl&ce  with  infinite  magnifi- 
cence and  honor. 

20th  November,  1679.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Slingsby, 
Master  of  the  Mint,  with  my  wife,  invited  to  hear  music, 
which  was  exquisitely  performed  by  four  of  the  most 
renowned  masters:  Du  Prue,  a  Frenchman,  on  the  lute; 
Signor  Bartholomeo,  an  Italian,  on  the  harpsichord; 
Nicholao  on  the  violin;  but,  above  all,  for  its  sweetness 
and  novelty,  the  viol  d'amore  of  five  wire  strings  played 
on  with  a  bow,  being  but  an  ordinary  violin,  played  on 
lyre- way,  by  a  German.  There  was  also  a  fiute  douce, 
now  in  much  request  for  accompanying  the  voice.  Mr. 
Slingsby,  whose  son  and  daughter  played  skillfully,  had 
these  meetings  frequently  in  his  house. 

2 1  St  November,  1679.  I  dined  at  my  Lord  Mayor's,  to 
accompany  my  worthiest  and  generous  friend,  the  Earl 
of  Ossory;  it  was  on  a  Friday,  a  private  day,  but  the 
feast  and  entertainment  might  have  become  a  King.  Such 
an  hospitable  costume  and  splendid  magistrature  does  no 
city  in  the  world  show,  as  I  believe. 

23d  November,  1679.  Dr.  Allestree  preached  before  the 
household  on  St.  Luke  xi.  2 ;  Dr.  Lloyd  on  Matt,  xxiii. 
20,  before  the  King,  showing  with  how  little  reason  the 
Papists  applied  those  words  of  our  blessed  Savior  to 
maintain  the  pretended  infallibility  they  boast  of.  I 
never  heard  a  more  Christian  and  excellent  discourse; 
yet  were  some  offended  that  he  seemed  to  say  the  Church 


I40  DIARY   OP  LONDON 

of  Rome  was  a  true  church ;  but  it  was  a  captious  mistake ; 
for  he  never  affirmed  anything  that  could  be  more  to 
their  reproach,  and  that  such  was  the  present  Church  of 
Rome,  showing  how  much  it  had  erred.  There  was  not 
in  this  sermon  so  much  as  a  shadow  for  censure,  no 
person  of  all  the  clergy  having  testified  greater  zeal 
against  the  errors  of  the  Papists  than  this  pious  and 
most  learned  person.  I  dined  at  the  Bishop  of  Roches- 
ter's, and  then  went  to  St.  Paul's  to  hear  that  great  wit. 
Dr.  Sprat,  now  newly  succeeding  Dr.  Outram,  in  the 
cure  of  St.  Margaret's.  His  talent  was  a  g^eat  memory, 
never  making  use  of  notes,  a  readiness  of  expression  in  a 
most  pure  and  plain  style  of  words,  full  of  matter,  easily 
delivered. 

26th  November,  1679.  I  met  the  Earl  of  Clarendon 
with  the  rest  of  my  fellow  executors  of  the  Will  of  my 
late  Lady  Viscountess  Mordaunt,  namely,  Mr.  Laurence 
Hyde,  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury,  and 
lately  Plenipotentiary- Ambassador  at  Nimeguen;  Andrew 
Newport;  and  Sir  Charles  Wheeler;  to  examine  and 
audit  and  dispose  of  this  year's  account  of  the  estate 
of  this  excellent  Lady,  according  to  the  direction  of  her 
Will. 

27th  November,  1679.  I  went  to  see  Sir  John  Stone- 
house,  with  whom  I  was  treating  a  marriage  between 
my  son  and  his  daughter-in-law. 

28th  November,  1679.  Came  over  the  Duke  of  Mon- 
mouth from  Holland  unexpectedly  to  his  Majesty;  while 
the  Duke  of  York  was  on  his  journey  to  Scotland, 
whither  the  King  sent  him  to  reside  and  govern.  The 
bells  and  bonfires  of  the  city  at  this  arrival  of  the  Duke 
of  Monmouth  publishing  their  joy,  to  the  no  small  regret 
of  some  at  Court.  This  Duke,  whom  for  distinction  they 
called  the  Protestant  Duke  (though  the  son  of  an  aban- 
doned woman),  the  people  made  their  idol. 

4th  December,  1679.  I  dined,  together  with  Lord 
Ossory  and  the  Earl  of  Chesterfield,  at  the  Portugal 
Ambassador's,  now  newly  come,  at  Cleveland  House,  a 
noble  palace,  too  good  for  that  infamous.  .  .  .  The 
staircase  is  sumptuous,  and  the  gallery  and  garden;  but, 
above  all,  the  costly  furniture  belonging  to  the  Ambas- 
sador, especially  the  rich  Japan  cabinets,  of  which  I 
think  there  were  a  dozen.      There    was   a  billiard  table. 


i679-8o     -  JOHN   EVELYN  141 

with  as  many  more  hazards  as  ours  commonly  have;  the 
game  being  only  to  prosecute  the  ball  till  hazarded, 
without  passing  the  port,  or  touching  the  pin;  if  one 
miss  hitting  the  ball  every  time,  the  game  is  lost,  or  if 
hazarded.  It  is  more  difficult  to  hazard  a  ball,  though 
so  many,  than  in  our  table,  by  reason  the  bound  is  made 
so  exactly  even,  and  the  edges  not  stuffed;  the  balls  are 
also  bigger,  and  they  for  the  most  part  use  the  sharp 
and  small  end  of  the  billiard  stick,  which  is  shod  with 
brass,  or  silver.  The  entertainment  was  exceedingly  civil ; 
but,  besides  a  good  olio,  the  dishes  were  trifling,  hashed 
and  condited  after  their  way,  not  at  all  fit  for  an  Eng- 
lish stomach,  which  is  for  solid  meat.  There  was  yet  good 
fowls,  but  roasted  to  coal,  nor  were  the  sweetmeats  good. 

30th  December,  1679.  I  went  to  meet  Sir  John  Stone- 
house,  and  give  him  a  particular  of  the  settlement  on 
my  son,  who  now  made  his  addresses  to  the  young  lady 
his  daughter-in-law,  daughter  of  Lady  Stonehouse. 

25th  January,  1679-80.  Dr.  Cave,  author  of  ^*  Primitive 
Christianity,**  etc.,  a  pious  and  learned  man,  preached  at 
Whitehall  to  the  household,  on  James  iii.  17,  concerning 
the  duty  of  grace  and  charity. 

30th  January,  1680.  I  supped  with  Sir  Stephen  Fox, 
now  made  one  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury. 

19th  February,  1680.  The  writings  for  the  settling 
jointure  and  other  contracts  of  marriage  of  my  son  were 
finished  and  sealed.  The  lady  was  to  bring  ;,£"5,ooo,  in  con- 
sideration of  a  settlement  of  ^^500  a  year  present  mainte- 
nance, which  was  likewise  to  be  her  jointure,  and  ^500 
a  year  after  mine  and  my  wife's  decease.  But,  with  God's 
blessing,  it  will  be  at  the  least  ;^  1,000  a  year  more  in  a 
few  years.  I  pray  God  make  him  worthy  of  it,  and  a 
comfort  to  his  excellent  mother,  who  deserves  much  from 
him! 

2ist  February,  1680.  Shrove-Tuesday.  My  son  was 
married  to  Mrs.  Martha  Spencer,  daughter  to  my  Lady 
Stonehouse  by  a  former  gentleman,  at  St.  Andrew's, 
Holbom,  by  our  Vicar,  borrowing  the  church  of  Dr.  Still- 
ingfleet,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  the  present  incumbent.  We 
afterward  dined  at  a  house  in  Holborn;  and,  after  the 
solemnity  and  dancing  was  done,  they  were  bedded  at 
Sir  John  Stonehouse's  lodgings  in  Bow  Street,  Convent 
Garden. 


142  DIARY    OF  CASHIOBURY 

26th  February,  1680.  To  the  Royal  Society,  where  I 
met  an  Irish  Bishop  with  his  Lady,  who  was  daughter  to 
my  worthy  and  pious  friend,  Dr.  Jeremy  Taylor,  late 
Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor;  they  came  to  see  the  Re- 
pository. She  seemed  to  be  a  knowing  woman,  beyond 
the  ordinary  talent  of  her  sex. 

3d  March,  1680.  I  dined  at  my  Lord  Mayor's,  in  order 
to  the  meeting  of  my  Lady  Beckford,  whose  daughter  (a 
rich  heiress)  I  had  recommended  to  my  brother  of  Wot- 
ton  for  his  only  son,  she  being  the  daughter  of  the  lady 
by  Mr.  Eversfield,  a  Sussex  gentleman. 

1 6th  March,  1680.  To  London,  to  receive  ;i£"3,ooo  of  my 
daughter-in-law's  portion,  which  was  paid  in  gold. 

26th  March,  1680.  The  Dean  of  Sarum  preached  on 
Jerem.  xlv.  5,  an  hour  and  a  half  from  his  common-place 
book,  of  kings  and  great  men  retiring  to  private  situations. 
Scarce  anything  of  Scripture  in  it. 

1 8th  April,  1680.  On  the  earnest  invitation  of  the  Earl 
of  Essex,  I  went  with  him  to  his  house  at  Cashiobury, 
in  Hertfordshire.  It  was  on  Sunday,  but  going  early 
from  his  house  in  the  square  of  St.  James,  we  arrived 
by  ten  o'clock ;  this  he  thought  too  late  to  go  to  church, 
and  we  had  prayers  in  his  chapel.  The  house  is  new,  a 
plain  fabric,  built  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Hugh  May.  There 
are  divers  fair  and  good  rooms,  and  excellent  carving  by 
Gibbons,  especially  the  chimney-piece  of  the  library. 
There  is  in  the  porch,  or  entrance,  a  painting  by  Verrio, 
of  Apollo  and  the  Liberal  Arts.  One  room  pargeted 
with  yew,  which  I  liked  well.  Some  of  the  chimney 
mantels  are  of  Irish  marble,  brought  by  my  Lord  from 
Ireland,  when  he  was  Lord- Lieutenant,  and  not  much 
inferior  to  Italian.  The  tympanum,  or  gable,  at  the  front 
is  a  bass-relievo  of  Diana  hunting,  cut  in  Portland  stone, 
handsomely  enough.  I  do  not  approve  of  the  middle 
doors  being  round:  but,  when  the  hall  is  finished  as  de- 
signed, it  being  an  oval  with  a  cupola,  together  with 
the  other  wing,  it  will  be  a  very  noble  palace.  The 
library  is  large,  and  very  nobly  furnished,  and  all  the 
books  are  richly  bound  and  gilded;  but  there  are  no 
MSS.,  except  the  Parliament  Rolls  and  Journals,  the 
transcribing  and  binding  of  which  cost  him,  as  he  assured 
me,  ;^5oo. 

No   man  has    been   more   industrious   than  this  noble 


i68o  JOHN   EVELYN  143 

Lord  in  planting  about  his  seat,  adorned  with  walks,  ponds, 
and  other  rural  elegancies ;  but  the  soil  is  stony,  churlish, 
and  uneven,  nor  is  the  water  near  enough  to  the  house, 
though  a  very  swift  and  clear  stream  runs  within  a  flight- 
shot from  it  in  the  valley,  which  may  fitly  be  called 
Coldbrook,  it  being  indeed  excessively  cold,  yet  producing 
fair  trouts.  It  is  a  pity  the  house  was  not  situated  to  more 
advantage:  but  it  seems  it  was  built  just  where  the  old 
one  was,  which  I  believe  he  only  meant  to  repair;  this 
leads  men  into  irremediable  errors,  and  saves  but  a 
little. 

The  land  about  is  exceedingly  addicted  to  wood,  but 
the  coldness  of  the  place  hinders  the  growth.  Black 
cherry  trees  prosper  even  to  considerable  timber,  some 
being  eighty  feet  long;  they  make  also  very  hand- 
some avenues.  There  is  a  pretty  oval  at  the  end  of  a 
fair  walk,  set  about  with  treble  rows  of  Spanish  chest- 
nut trees. 

The  gardens  are  very  rare,  and  cannot  be  otherwise, 
having  so  skillful  an  artist  to  govern  them  as  Mr.  Cooke, 
who  is,  as  to  the  mechanic  part,  not  igfnorant  in  mathe- 
matics, and  pretends  to  astrology.  There  is  an  excellent 
collection  of  the  choicest  fruit. 

As  for  my  Lord,  he  is  a  sober,  wise,  judicious,  and 
pondering  person,  not  illiterate  beyond  the  rate  of  most 
noblemen  in  this  age,  very  well  versed  in  English  history 
and  affairs,  industrious,  frugal,  methodical,  and  every  way 
accomplished.  His  Lady  (being  sister  of  the  late  Earl 
of  Northumberland)  is  a  wise,  yet  somewhat  melancholy 
woman,  setting  her  heart  too  much  on  the  little  lady, 
her  daughter,  of  whom  she  is  over  fond.  They  have  a 
hopeful  son  at  the  Academy. 

My  Lord  was  not  long  since  come  from  his  Lord- 
Lieutenancy  of  Ireland,  where  he  showed  his  abilities  in 
administration  and  government,  as  well  as  prudence  in 
considerably  augmenting  his  estate  without  reproach. 
He  had  been  Ambassador-extraordinary  in  Denmark, 
and,  in  a  word,  such  a  person  as  became  the  son  of  that 
worthy  hero  his  father  to  be,  the  late  Lord  Capel,  who 
lost  his  life  for  King  Charles  I. 

We  spent  our  time  in  the  mornings  in  walking,  or  rid- 
ing, and  contriving  [alterations],  and  the  afternoons  in  the 
library,  so  as  I  passed  my  time  for  three  or  four  days  with 


144  DIARY   OF  WINDSOR 

mucli  satisfaction.  He  was  pleased  in  conversation  to 
impart  to  me  divers   particulars  of  state,  relating  to  the 

present   times.     He  being  no  great   friend  to  the  D 

was  now  laid  aside,  his  integrity  and  abilities  being  not 
so  suitable  in  this  conjuncture.  21st.  I  returned  to 
London. 

30th  April,  1680.  To  a  meeting  of  the  executors  of 
late  Viscountess  Mordaunt's  estate,  to  consider  of  the  sale 
of  Parson's  Green,  being  in  treaty  with  Mr.  Loftus,  and 
to  settle  the  half  year's  account. 

ist  May,  1680.  Was  a  meeting  of  the  feoffees  of  the 
poor  of  our  parish.  This  year  I  would  stand  one  of  the 
collectors  of  their  rents,  to  give  example  to  others.  My 
son  was  added  to  the  feoffees. 

This  afternoon  came  to  visit  me  Sir  Edward  Deering, 
of  Surrendon,  in  Kent,  one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury, 
with  his  daughter,  married  to  my  worthy  friend,  Sir  Rob- 
ert Southwell,  Clerk  of  the  Council,  now  Extraordinary- 
Envoy  to  the  Duke  of  Brandenburgh,  and  other  Princes 
in  Germany,  as  before  he  had  been  in  Portugal,  being  a 
sober,  wise,  and  virtuous  gentleman. 

13th  May,  1680.  I  was  at  the  funeral  of  old  Mr.  Shish, 
master-shipwright  of  his  Majesty's  Yard  here,  an  honest 
and  remarkable  man,  and  his  death  a  public  loss,  for  his 
excellent  success  in  building  ships  (though  altogether 
illiterate),  and  for  breeding  up  so  many  of  his  children 
to  be  able  artists.  I  held  up  the  pall  with  three  knights, 
who  did  him  that  honor,  and  he  was  worthy  of  it.  It 
was  the  custom  of  this  good  man  to  rise  in  the  night, 
and  to  pray,  kneeling  in  his  own  cofiin,  which  he  had  lying 
by  him  for  many  years.  He  was  born  that  famous  year, 
the  Gunpowder-plot,    1605. 

14th  June,  1680.  Came  to  dine  with  us  the  Countess 
of  Clarendon,  Dr.  Lloyd,  Dean  of  Bangor  (since  Bishop 
of  St.  Asaph),  Dr.  Burnet,  author  of  the  *<  History  of  the 
Reformation,*  and  my  old  friend,  Mr,  Henshaw.  After 
dinner  we  all  went  to  see  the  Observatory,  and  Mr. 
Flamsted,  who  showed  us  divers  rare  instruments,  espe- 
cially the  great  quadrant. 

24th  July,  1680.  Went  with  my  wife  and  daughter  to 
Windsor,  to  see  that  stately  court,  now  near  finished. 
There  was  erected  in  the  court  the  King  on  horseback, 
lately  cast  in  copper,  and  set  on  a  rich  pedestal  of  white 


i68o  JOHN  EVELYN  145 

marble,  the  work  of  Mr.  Gibbons,  at  the  expense  of  Toby 
Rustate,  a  page  of  the  back  stairs,  who  by  his  wonder- 
ful frugality  had  arrived  to  a  great  estate  in  money,  and 
did  many  works  of  charity,  as  well  as  this  of  gratitude 
to  his  master,  which  cost  him  _;!^i,ooo.  He  is  very  sim- 
ple, ignorant,  but  honest  and  loyal  creature. 

We  all  dined  at  the  Countess  of  Sunderland's,  after- 
ward to  see  Signor  Verrio's  garden,  thence  to  Eton  Col- 
lege, to  salute  the  provost,  and  heard  a  Latin  speech  of 
one  of  the  alumni  (it  being  at  the  election)  and  were 
invited  to  supper ;  but  took  our  leave,  and  got  to  London 
that  night  in  good  time. 

26th  Jtily,  1680.  My  most  noble  and  illustrious  friend, 
the  Earl  of  Ossory,  espying  me  this  morning  after  ser- 
mon in  the  privy  gallery,  calling  to  me,  told  me  he  was 
now  going  his  journey  ( meaning  to  Tangier,  whither  he 
was  designed  Governor,  and  General  of  the  forces,  to 
regain  the  losses  we  had  lately  sustained  from  the  Moors, 
when  Inchiquin  was  Governor),  I  asked  if  he  would 
not  call  at  my  house  ( as  he  always  did  whenever  he  went 
out  of  England  on  any  exploit).  He  said  he  must  em- 
bark at  Portsmouth,  **wherefore  let  you  and  me  dine  to- 
gether to-day;  I  am  quite  alone,  and  have  something  to 
impart  to  you ;  I  am  not  well,  shall  be  private,  and  desire 
your  company.^* 

Being  retired  to  his  lodgings,  and  set  down  on  a  couch, 
he  sent  to  his  secretary  for  the  copy  of  a  letter  which  he 
had  written  to  Lord  Sunderland  (Secretary  of  State), 
wishing  me  to  read  it;  it  was  to  take  notice  how  ill  he 
resented  it,  that  he  should  tell  the  King  before  Lord 
Ossory's  face,  that  Tangier  was  not  to  be  kept,  but  would 
certainly  be  lost,  and  yet  added  that  it  was  fit  Lord 
Ossory  should  be  sent,  that  they  might  give  some  ac- 
count of  it  to  the  world,  meaning  (as  supposed)  the 
next  Parliament,  when  all  such  miscarriages  would  prob- 
ably be  examined ;  this  Lord  Ossory  took  very  ill  of  Lord 
Sunderland,  and  not  kindly  of  the  King,  who  resolving  to 
send  him  with  an  incompetent  force,  seemed,  as  his 
Lordship  took  it,  to  be  willing  to  cast  him  away,  not 
only  on  a  hazardous  adventure,  but  in  most  men's  opin- 
ion, an  impossibility^  seeing  there  was  not  to  be  above 
300  or  400  horse,  and  4,000  foot  for  the  garrison  and  all, 
both  to  defend  the  town,  form  a  camp,  repulse  the  enemy, 


146  DIARY    OP  LONDON 

and  fortify  what  ground  they  should  get  in.  This  touched 
my  Lord  deeply,  that  he  should  be  so  little  considered 
as  to  put  him  on  a  business  in  which  he  should  probably 
not  only  lose  his  reputation,  but  be  charged  with  all  the 
miscarriage  and  ill  success ;  whereas,  at  first  they  promised 
6,000  foot  and  600  horse  effective. 

My  Lord,  being  an  exceedingly  brave  and  valiant  person, 
and  who  had  so  approved  himself  in  divers  signal  battles, 
both  at  sea  and  land ;  so  beloved  and  so  esteemed  by  the 
people,  as  one  they  depended  on,  upon  all  occasions  worthy 
of  such  a  captain; — he  looked  on  this  as  too  great  an 
indifference  in  his  Majesty,  after  all  his  services,  and  the 
merits  of  his  father,  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  and  a  design 
of  some  who  envied  his  virtue.  It  certainly  took  so  deep 
root  in  his  mind,  that  he  who  was  the  most  void  of  fear 
in  the  world  (and  assured  me  he  would  go  to  Tangier  with 
ten  men  if  his  Majesty  commanded  him)  could  not  bear 
up  against  this  unkindness.  Having  disburdened  himself 
of  this  to  me  after  dinner,  he  went  with  his  Majesty  to 
the  sheriffs  at  a  great  supper  in  Fishmongers'  Hall;  but 
finding  himself  ill,  took  his  leave  immediately  of  his 
Majesty,  and  came  back  to  his  lodging.  Not  resting  well 
this  night,  he  was  persuaded  to  remove  to  Arlington 
House,  for  better  accommodation.  His  disorder  turned 
to  a  malignant  fever,  which  increasing,  after  all  that  six 
of  the  most  able  physicians  could  do,  he  became  delirious, 
with  intervals  of  sense,  during  which  Dr.  Lloyd  (after 
Bishop  of  St.  Asaph)  administered  the  Holy  Sacrament, 
of  which  I  also  participated.  He  died  the  Friday  follow- 
ing, the  30th  of  July,  to  the  universal  grief  of  all  that 
knew  or  heard  of  his  great  worth,  nor  had  any  a  greater 
loss  than  myself.  Oft  would  he  say  I  was  the  oldest 
acquaintance  he  had  in  England  (when  his  father  was  in 
Ireland),  it  being  now  of  about  thirty  years,  contracted 
abroad,  when  he  rode  in  the  Academy  in  Paris,  and  when 
we  were  seldom  asunder. 

His  Majesty  never  lost  a  worthier  subject,  nor  father  a 
better  or  more  dutiful  son;  a  loving,  generous,  good- 
natured,  and  perfectly  obliging  friend ;  one  who  had  done 
innumerable  kindnesses  to  several  before  they  knew  it; 
nor  did  he  ever  advance  any  that  were  not  worthy;  no 
one  more  brave,  more  modest ;  none  more  humble,  sober, 
and  every  way  virtuous.     Unhappy  England  in  this  illus- 


i68o  JOHN  EVELYN  147 

trious  person's  loss!  Universal  was  the  mourning  for 
him,  and  the  eulogfies  on  him;  I  stayed  night  and  day  by 
his  bedside  to  his  last  gasp,  to  close  his  dear  eyes!  O 
sad  father,  mother,  wife,  and  children !  What  shall  I  add  ? 
He  deserved  all  that  a  sincere  friend,  a  brave  soldier,  a 
virtuous  courtier,  a  loyal  subject,  an  honest  man,  a 
bountiful  master,  and  good  Christian,  could  deserve  of  his 
prince  and  country.  One  thing  more  let  me  note,  that 
he  often  expressed  to  me  the  abhorrence  he  had  of  that 
base  and  unworthy  action  which  he  was  put  upon,  of  en- 
gaging the  Smyrna  fleet  in  time  of  peace,  in  which  though 
he  behaved  himself  like  a  great  captain,  yet  he  told  me 
it  was  the  only  blot  in  his  life,  and  troubled  him  ex- 
ceedingly. Though  he  was  commanded,  and  never  exam- 
ined further  when  he  was  so,  yet  he  always  spoke  of  it 
with  regret  and  detestation.  The  Countess  was  at  the 
seat  of  her  daughter,  the  Countess  of  Derby,  about  200 
miles  off. 

30th  August,  1680.  I  went  to  visit  a  French  gentleman, 
one  Monsieur  Chardin,  who  having  been  thrice  in  the 
East  Indies,  Persia,  and  other  remote  countries,  came 
hither  in  our  return  ships  from  those  parts,  and  it  being 
reported  that  he  was  a  very  curious  and  knowing  man, 
I  was  desired  by  the  Royal  Society  to  salute  him  in  their 
name,  and  to  invite  him  to  honor  them  with  his  com- 
pany. Sir  Joseph  Hoskins  and  Sir  Christopher  Wren 
accompanied  me.  We  found  him  at  his  lodgings  in  his 
eastern  habit,  a  very  handsome  person,  extremely  affable, 
a  modest,  well-bred  man,  not  inclined  to  talk  wonders. 
He  spoke  Latin,  and  understood  Greek,  Arabic,  and 
Persian,  from  eleven  years'  travels  in  those  parts, 
whither  he  went  in  search  of  jewels,  and  was  become 
very  rich.  He  seemed  about  36  years  of  age.  After 
the  usual  civilities,  we  asked  some  account  of  the  extraor- 
dinary things  he  must  have  seen  in  traveling  over 
land  to  those  places  where  few,  if  any,  northern  Euro- 
peans, used  to  go,  as  the  Black  and  Caspian  Sea,  Mingrelia 
Bagdad,  Nineveh,  Persepolis,  etc.  He  told  us  that  the 
things  most  worthy  of  our  sight  would  be,  the  draughts 
he  had  caused  to  be  made  of  some  noble  ruins,  etc. ; 
for  that,  besides  his  own  little  talent  that  way,  he  had 
carried  two  good  painters  with  him,  to  draw  landscapes, 
measure    and   design   the   remains   of   the   palace   which 


148  DIARY  OF  London 

Alexander  burned  in  his  frolic  at  Persepolis,  with  divers 
temples,  columns,  relievos,  and  statues,  yet  extant, 
which  he  affirmed  to  be  sculpture  far  exceeding  anything 
he  had  observed  either  at  Rome,  in  Greece,  or  in  any 
other  part  of  the  world  where  magnificence  was  in 
estimation.  He  said  there  was  an  inscription  in  letters 
not  intelligible,  though  entire.  He  was  sorry  he  could 
not  gratify  the  curiosity  of  the  Society  at  present,  his 
things  not  being  yet  out  of  the  ship ;  but  would  wait  on 
them  with  them  on  his  return  from  Paris,  whither  he 
was  going  the  next  day,  but  with  intention  ro  return 
suddenly,  and  stay  longer  here,  the  persecution  in 
France  not  suffering  Protestants,  and  he  was  one,  to  be  quiet. 

He  told  us  that  Nineveh  was  a  vast  city,  now  all  buried 
in  her  ruins,  the  inhabitants  building  on  the  subterranean 
vaults,  which  were,  as  appeared,  the  first  stories  of  the 
old  city,  that  there  were  frequently  found  huge  vases  of 
fine  earth,  columns,  and  other  antiquities ;  that  the  straw 
which  the  Egyptians  required  of  the  Israelites,  was  not 
to  bum,,  or  cover  the  rows  of  bricks  as  we  use,  but  being 
chopped  small  to  mingle  with  the  clay,  which  being  dried 
in  the  sun  (for  they  bake  not  in  the  furnace)  would  else 
cleave  asunder ;  that  in  Persia  are  yet  a  race  of  Ignicolac, 
who  worship  the  sun  and  the  fire  as  Gods;  that  the  wo- 
men of  Georgia  and  Mingrelia  were  universally,  and 
without  any  compare,  the  most  beautiful  creatures  for 
shape,  features,  and  figure,  in  the  world,  and  therefore 
the  Grand  Seignor  and  Bashaws  had  had  from  thence 
most  of  their  wives  and  concubines;  that  there  had 
within  these  hundred  years  been  Amazons  among  them, 
that  is  to  say,  a  sort  or  race  of  valiant  women,  given  to 
war;  that  Persia  was  extremely  fertile;  he  spoke  also  of 
Japan  and  China,  and  of  the  many  great  errors  of  our 
late  geographers,  as  we  suggested  matter  for  discourse. 
We  then  took  our  leave,  failing  of  seeing  his  papers; 
but  it  was  told  us  by  others  that  indeed  he  dared  not  open, 
or  show  them,  till  he  had  first  showed  them  to  the  French 
King;  but  of  this  he  himself  said  nothing. 

2d  September,  1680.  I  had  an  opportunity,  his  Maj- 
esty being  still  at  Windsor,  of  seeing  his  private  library 
at  Whitehall,  at  my  full  ease.  I  went  with  expectation 
of  finding  some  curiosities,  but,  though  there  were  about 
1,000  volumes,  there  were  few  of  importance  which  I  had 


i68o  JOHN  EVELYN  149 

not  perused  before.  They  consisted  chiefly  of  such  books 
as  had  from  time  to  time  been  dedicated,  or  presented  to 
him;  a  few  histories,  some  Travels  and  French  books, 
abundance  of  maps  and  sea  charts,  entertainments  and 
pomps,  buildings  and  pieces  relating  to  the  navy,  some 
mathematical  instruments ;  but  what  was  most  rare,  were 
three  or  four  Romish  breviaries,  with  a  great  deal  of 
miniature  and  monkish  painting  and  gilding,  one  of  which 
is  most  exquisitely  done,  both  as  to  the  figures,  gro- 
tesques, and  compartments,  to  the  utmost  of  that  curious 
art.  There  is  another  in  which  I  find  written  by  the 
hand  of  King  Henry  VII.,  his  giving  it  to  his  dear 
daughter,  Margaret,  afterward  Queen  of  Scots,  in  which 
he  desires  her  to  pray  for  his  soul,  subscribing  his  name 
at  length.  There  is  also  the  process  of  the  philosophers' 
great  elixir,  represented  in  divers  pieces  of  excellent 
miniature,  but  the  discourse  is  in  high  Dutch,  a  MS. 
There  is  another  MS.  in  quarto,  of  above  300  years  old, 
in  French,  being  an  institution  of  physic,  and  in  the 
botanical  part  the  plants  are  curiously  painted  in  minia- 
ture; also  a  folio  MS.  of  good  thickness,  being  the  sev- 
eral exercises,  as  Themes,  Orations,  Translations,  etc.,  of 
King  Edward  VI.,  all  written  and  subscribed  by  his  own 
hand,  and  with  his  name  very  legible,  and  divers  of  the 
Greek  interleaved  and  corrected  after  the  manner  of 
schoolboys'  exercises,  and  that  exceedingly  well  and 
proper;  with  some  epistles  to  his  preceptor,  which  show 
that  young  prince  to  have  been  extraordinarily  advanced 
in  learning,  and  as  Cardan,  who  had  been  in  England 
affirmed,  stupendously  knowing  for  his  age.  There  is 
likewise  his  journal,  no  less  testifying  his  early  ripeness 
and  care  about  the  affairs  of  state. 

There  are  besides  many  pompous  volumes,  some  em- 
bossed with  gold,  and  intaglios  on  agates,  medals,  etc.  I 
spent  three  or  four  entire  days,  locked  up,  and  alone, 
among  these  books  and  curiosities.  In  the  rest  of  the 
private  lodgdngs  contiguous  to  this,  are  divers  of  the 
best  pictures  of  the  great  masters,  Raphael,  Titian,  etc., 
and  in  my  esteem,  above  all,  the  '-'•Noli  me  tangere''*  of 
our  blessed  Savior  to  Mary  Magdalen  after  his  Resurrec- 
tion, of  Hans  Holbein;  than  which  I  never  saw  so  much 
reverence  and  kind  of  heavenly  astonishment  expressed 
in  a  picture. 


15©  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

There  are  also  divers  curious  clocks,  watches,  and  pen- 
dules  of  exquisite  work,  and  other  curiosities.  An  ancient 
woman  who  made  these  lodgings  clean,  and  had  all  the 
keys,  let  me  in  at  pleasure  for  a  small  reward,  by  means 
of  a  friend. 

6th  September,  1680.  I  dined  with  Sir  Stephen  Fox, 
now  one  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury. 
This  gentleman  came  first  a  poor  boy  from  the  choir  of 
Salisbury,  then  he  was  taken  notice  of  by  Bishop  Duppa, 
and  afterward  waited  on  my  Lord  Percy  (brother  to 
Algernon,  Earl  of  Northumberland),  who  procured  for  him 
an  inferior  place  among  the  clerks  of  the  kitchen  and  Green- 
cloth  side,  where  he  was  found  so  humble,  diligent,  in- 
dustrious, and  prudent  in  his  behavior,  that  his  Majesty 
being  in  exile,  and  Mr.  Fox  waiting,  both  the  King  and 
Lords  about  him  frequently  employed  him  about  their 
affairs,  and  trusted  him  both  with  receiving  and  paying 
the  little  money  they  had.  Returning  with  his  Majesty 
to  England,  after  great  want  and  great  sufferings,  his 
Majesty  found  him  so  honest  and  industrious,  and  withal 
so  capable  and  ready,  that,  being  advanced  from  clerk  of 
the  kitchen  to  that  of  the  Greencloth,  he  procured  to  be 
paymaster  of  the  whole  army,  and  by  his  dexterity  and 
punctual  dealing  he  obtained  such  credit  among  the 
bankers,  that  he  was  in  a  short  time  able  to  borrow  vast 
sums  of  them  upon  any  exigence.  The  continual  turning 
thus  of  money,  and  the  soldiers'  moderate  allowance  to 
him  for  keeping  touch  with  them,  did  so  enrich  him,  that 
he  is  believed  to  be  worth  at  least  ;^2oo,ooo,  honestly  got 
and  unenvied ;  which  is  next  to  a  miracle.  With  all  this 
he  continues  as  humble  and  ready  to  do  a  courtesy  as 
ever  he  was. 

He  is  generous,  and  lives  very  honorably,  of  a  sweet 
nature,  well-spoken,  well-bred,  and  is  so  highly  in  his 
Majesty's  esteem,  and  so  useful,  that  being  long  since 
made  a  knight,  he  is  also  advanced  to  be  one  of  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury,  and  has  the  rever- 
sion of  the  Cofferer's  place  after  Harry  Brouncker.  He 
has  married  his  eldest  daughter  to  my  Lord  Cornwallis, 
and  gave  her  ;j^i 2,000,  and  restored  that  entangled  family 
besides.  He  matched  his  son  to  Mrs.  Trollop,  who  brings 
with  her  (besides  a  great  sum)  near,  if  not  altogether, 
;^2,ooo   per   annum.     Sir    Stephen's   lady    (an    excellent 


i68o  JOHN  EVELYN  151 

woman)  is  sister  to  Mr.  Whittle,  one  of  the  King's  chi- 
rurgeons.  In  a  word,  never  was  man  more  fortunate  than 
Sir  Stephen ;  he  is  a  handsome  person,  virtuous,  and  very- 
religious. 

23d  September,  1680.  Came  to  my  house  some  German 
strangers  and  Signor  Pietro,  a  famous  musician,  who  had 
been  long  in  Sweden  in  Queen  Christina's  Court;  he  sung 
admirably  to  a  guitar,  and  had  a  perfect  good  tenor  and 
bass,  and  had  set  to  Italian  composure  many  of  Abraham 
Cowley's  pieces  which  showed  extremely  well.  He  told 
me  that  in  Sweden  the  heat  in  some  part  of  summer 
was  as  excessive  as  the  cold  in  winter;  so  cold,  he  affirmed, 
that  the  streets  of  all  the  towns  are  desolate,  no  creatures 
stirring  in  them  for  many  months,  all  the  inhabitants 
retiring  to  their  stoves.  He  spoke  high  things  of  that 
romantic  Queen's  learning  and  skill  in  languages,  the 
majesty  of  her  behavior,  her  exceeding  wit,  and  that  the 
histories  she  had  read  of  other  countries,  especially  of 
Italy  and  Rome,  had  made  her  despise  her  own.  That 
the  real  occasion  of  her  resigning  her  crown  was  the 
nobleman's  importuning  her  to  marry,  and  the  promise 
which  the  Pope  had  made  her  of  procuring  her  to  be 
Queen  of  Naples,  which  also  caused  her  to  change  her 
religion;  but  she  was  cheated  by  his  crafty  Holiness,* 
working  on  her  ambition;  that  the  reason  of  her  killing 
her  secretary  at  Fontainebleau,  was,  his  revealing  that 
intrigue  with  the  Pope.  But,  after  all  this,  I  rather 
believe  it  was  her  mad  prodigality  and  extreme  vanity, 
which  had  consumed  those  vast  treasures  the  great 
Adolphus,  her  father,  had  brought  out  of  Germany  during 
his  [campaigns]  there  and  wonderful  successes ;  and  that, 
if  she  had  not  voluntarily  resigfned,  as  foreseeing  the 
event,  the  Estates  of  her  kingdom  would  have  compelled 
her  to  do  so. 

30th  October,  1680.  I  went  to  London  to  be  private, 
my  birthday  being  the  next  day,  and  I  now  arrived  at 
my  sixtieth  year;  on  which  I  began  a  more  solemn  sur- 
vey of  my  whole  life,  in  order  to  the  making  and  con- 
firming my  peace  with  God,  by  an  accurate  scrutiny  of 
all  my  actions  past,  as  far  as  I  was  able  to  call  them  to 
mind.  How  difficult  and  uncertain,  yet  how  necessary  a 
work!     The  Lord    be   merciful    to    me,    and    accept   me! 

♦Pope  Alexander  VII.,  of  the  fami.v  of  Chighi,  at  Sienna. 


152  *  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

Who  can  tell  how  oft  he  offendeth  ?  Teach  me,  there- 
fore, so  to  number  my  days,  that  I  may  apply  my  heart 
unto  wisdom,  and  make  my  calling  and  election  sure. 
Amen,  Lord  Jesus! 

31st  October,  1680.  I  spent  this  whole  day  in  exer- 
cises. A  stranger  preached  at  Whitehall*  on  Luke  xvi. 
30,  31.  I  then  went  to  St.  Martin's,  where  the  Bishop 
of  St.  Asaph  preached  on  i  Peter  iii.  15;  the  Holy  Com- 
munion followed,  at  which  I  participated,  humbly  im- 
ploring God's  assistance  in  the  great  work  I  was  entering 
into.  In  the  afternoon,  I  heard  Dr.  Sprat,  at  St.  Mar- 
garet's, on  Acts  xvii.   11. 

I  began  and  spent  the  whole  week  in  examining  my 
life,  begging  pardon  for  my  faults,  assistance  and  bless- 
ing for  the  future,  that  I  might,  in  some  sort,  be  pre- 
pared for  the  time  that  now  drew  near,  and  not  have  the 
great  work  to  begin,  when  one  can  work  no  longer.  The 
Lord  Jesus  help  and  assist  me !  I  therefore  stirred  little 
abroad  till  the  5th  of  November,  when  I  heard  Dr.  Tenison, 
the  now  vicar  of  St.  Martin's ;  Dr.  Lloyd,  the  former  in- 
cumbent, being  made  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph. 

7th  November,  1680.  I  participated  of  the  blessed 
Communion,  finishing  and  confirming  my  resolutions  of 
giving  myself  up  more  entirely  to  God,  to  whom  I  had  now 
most  solemnly  devoted  the  rest  of  the  poor  remainder  of 
life  in  this  world ;  the  Lord  enabling  me,  who  am  an  un- 
profitable servant,  a  miserable  sinner,  yet  depending  on 
his  infinite  goodness  and  mercy  accepting  my  endeavors. 

15th  November,  1680.  Came  to  dine  with  us  Sir  Rich- 
ard Anderson,  his  lady,  son  and  wife,  sister  to  my  daugh- 
ter-in-law. 

30th  November,  1680.  The  anniversary  election  at  the 
Royal  Society  brought  me  to  London,  where  was  chosen 
President  that  excellent  person  and  great  philosopher, 
Mr.  Robert  Boyle,  who  indeed  ought  to  have  been  the 
very  first;  but  neither  his  infirmity  nor  his  modesty 
could  now  any  longer  excuse  him.  I  desired  I  might  for 
this  year  be  left  out  of  the  Council,  by  reason  my  dwell- 
ing was  in  the  country.  The  Society  according  to  cus- 
tom dined  together. 

The  signal  day  begun  the  trial  (at  which  I  was  present) 

*  Probably  to  the  King's  housf  hold,  very  early  in  the  morning,  as  the 
custom  was. 


i68o  JOHN   EVELYN  153 

of  my  Lord  Viscount  Stafford,  (for  conspiring  the  death 
of  the  King),  second  son  to  my  Lord  Thomas  Howard, 
Earl  of  Arundel  and  Surrey,  Earl  Marshal  of  England, 
and  grandfather  to  the  present  Duke  of  Norfolk,  whom 
I  so  well  knew,  and  from  which  excellent  person  I  re- 
ceived so  many  favors.  It  was  likewise  his  birthday. 
The  trial  was  in  Westminster  Hall,  before  the  King, 
Lords,  and  Commons,  just  in  the  same  manner  as,  forty 
years  past,  the  great  and  wise  Earl  of  Strafford  (there 
being  but  one  letter  differing  their  names)  received 
his  trial  for  pretended  ill  government  in  Ireland,  in  the 
very  same  place,  this  Lord  Stafford's  father  being  then 
High  Steward.  The  place  of  sitting  was  now  exalted 
some  considerable  height  from  the  paved  floor  of  the 
hall,  with  a  stage  of  boards.  The  throne,  woolsacks  for 
the  Judges,  long  forms  for  the  Peers,  chair  for  the  Lord 
Steward,  exactly  ranged,  as  in  the  House  of  Lords.  The 
sides  on  both  hands  scaffolded  to  the  very  roof  for  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons.  At  the  upper  end, 
and  on  the  right  side  of  the  King's  state,  was  a  box  for 
his  Majesty,  and  on  the  left  others  for  the  great  ladies, 
and  over  head  a  gallery  for  ambassadors  and  public  min- 
isters. At  the  lower  end,  or  entrance,  was  a  bar,  and  place 
for  the  prisoner,  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  of  London, 
the  ax-bearer  and  guards,  ray  Lord  Stafford's  two  daughters, 
the  Marchioness  of  Winchester  being  one ;  there  was  like- 
wise a  box  for  my  Lord  to  retire  into.  At  the  right 
hand,  in  another  box,  somewhat  higher,  stood  the  wit- 
nesses; at  the  left,  the  managers,  in  the  name  of  the 
Commons  of  England,  namely,  Serjeant  Maynard  (the 
great  lawyer,  the  same  who  prosecuted  the  cause  against 
the  Earl  of  Strafford  forty  years  before,  being  now  near 
eighty  years  of  age).  Sir  William  Jones,  late  Attorney- 
General,  Sir  Francis  Winnington,  a  famous  pleader,  and 
Mr.  Treby,  now  Recorder  of  London,  not  appearing  in 
their  gowns  as  lawyers,  but  in  their  cloaks  and  swords, 
as  representing  the  Commons  of  England:  to  these  were 
joined  Mr.  Hampden,  Dr.  Sacheverell,  Mr.  Poule,  Colonel 
Titus,  Sir  Thomas  Lee,  all  gentlemen  of  quality,  and 
noted  parliamentary  men.  The  first  two  days,  in  which 
were  read  the  commission  and  impeachment,  were  but  a 
tedious  entrance  into  matter  of  fact,  at  which  I  was  but 
little    present.     But,    on  Thursday,  I    was  commodiously 


154  DIARY    OF  London 

seated  among-  the  Commons,  when  the  witnesses  were 
sworn  and  examined.  The  principal  witnesses  were  Mr. 
Dates  (who  called  himself  Dr.),  Mr.  Dugdale,  and  Turber- 
ville.  Gates  swore  that  he  delivered  a  commission  to 
Viscount  Stafford  from  the  Pope,  to  be  Paymaster- 
General  to  an  army  intended  to  be  raised;  Dugdale,  that 
being  at  Lord  Aston's,  the  prisoner  dealt  with  him  plainly 
to  murder  his  Majesty;  and  Turberville,  that  at  Paris  he 
also  proposed  the  same  to  him. 

3d  December,  1680.  The  depositions  of  my  Lord's 
witnesses  were  taken,  to  invalidate  the  King's  witnesses; 
they  were  very  slight  persons,  but,  being  fifteen  or  six- 
teen, they  took  up  all  that  day,  and  in  truth  they  rather 
did  my  Lord  more  injury  than  service. 

4th  December,  1680.  Came  other  witnesses  of  the 
Commons  to  corroborate  the  King's,  some  being  Peers, 
some  Commons,  with  others  of  good  quality,  who  took  off 
all  the  former  days  objections,  and  set  the  King's  wit- 
nesses recti  in  curid. 

6th  December,  1680.  Sir  William  Jones  summed  up  the 
evidence ;  to  him  succeeded  all  the  rest  of  the  managers, 
and  then  Mr.  Henry  Poule  made  a  vehement  oration. 
After  this  my  Lord,  as  on  all  occasions,  and  often  during 
the  trial,  spoke  in  his  own  defense,  denying  the  charge 
altogether,  and  that  he  had  never  seen  Gates,  or  Turber- 
ville, at  the  time  and  manner  affirmed:  in  truth,  their 
testimony  did  little  weigh  with  me;  Dugdale's  only 
seemed  to  press  hardest,  to  which  my  Lord  spoke  a  great 
while,  but  confusedly,  without  any  method. 

One  thing  my  Lord  said  as  to  Gates,  which  I  confess 
did  exceedingly  affect  me :  That  a  person  who  during  his 
depositions  should  so  vauntingly  brag  that  though  he 
went  over  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  yet  he  was  never  a 
Papist,  nor  of  their  religion,  all  the  time  that  he  seemed 
to  apostatize  from  the  Protestant,  but  only  as  a  spy; 
though  he  confessed  he  took  their  sacrament;  worshiped 
images,  went  through  all  their  oaths  and  discipline  of 
their  proselytes,  swearing  secrecy  and  to  be  faithful,  but 
with  intent  to  come  over  again  and  betray  them;  that 
such  a  hypocrite,  that  had  so  deeply  prevaricated  as 
even  to  turn  idolater  (for  so  we  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land termed  it),  attesting  God  so  solemnly  that  he  was 
entirely  theirr,  and  devoted  to    their  interest,    and  conse- 


i68o  JOHN   EVELYN  155 

quently  (as  he  pretended)  trusted;  I  say,  that  the  wit- 
ness of  such  a  profligate  wretch  should  be  admitted 
against  the  life  of  a  peer, — this  my  Lord  looked  upon  as 
a  monstrous  thing,  and  such  as  must  needs  redound  to 
the  dishonor  of  our  religion  and  nation.  And  verily  I 
am  of  his  Lordship's  opinion:  such  a  man's  testimony 
should  not  be  taken  against  the  life  of  a  dog.  But  the 
merit  of  something  material  which  he  discovered  against 
Coleman,  put  him  in  such  esteem  with  the  Parliament, 
that  now,  I  fancy,  he  stuck  at  nothing,  and  thought  every- 
body was  to  take  what  he  said  for  Gospel.  The  consid- 
eration of  this,  and  some  other  circumstances,  began  to 
stagger  me ;  particularly  how  it  was  possible  that  one  who 
went  among  the  Papists  on  such  a  design,  and  pretended 
to  be  intrusted  with  so  many  letters  and  commissions 
from  the  Pope  and  the  party, — nay,  and  delivered  them  to 
so  many  great  persons, —  should  not  reserve  one  of  them 
to  show,  nor  so  much  as  one  copy  of  any  commission, 
which  he  who  had  such  dexterity  in  opening  letters 
might  certainly  have  done,  to  the  undeniable  conviction 
of  those  whom  he  accused;  but,  as  I  said,  he  gained 
credit  on  Coleman.  But,  as  to  others  whom  he  so  madly 
flew  upon,  I  am  little  inclined  to  believe  his  testimony, 
he  being  so  slight  a  person,  so  passionate,  ill  bred,  and  of 
such  impudent  behavior;  nor  is  it  likely  that  such  pierc- 
ing politicians  as  the  Jesuits  should  trust  him  with  so 
high  and  so  dangerous  secrets. 

7th  December,  1680.  On  Tuesday,  I  was  again  at  the 
trial,  when  judgment  was  demanded;  and,  after  my  Lord 
had  spoken  what  he  could  in  denying  the  fact,  the  man- 
agers answering  the  objections,  the  Peers  adjourned  to 
their  House,  and  within  two  hours  returned  again.  There 
was,  in  the  meantime,  this  question  put  to  the  judges, 
"  whether  there  being  but  one  witness  to  any  single  crime, 
or  act,  it  could  amount  to  convict  a  man  of  treason. "  They 
gave  an  unanimous  opinion  that  in  case  of  treason  they  all 
were  overt  acts  for  though  no  man  should  be  condemned 
by  one  witness  for  any  one  act,  yet  for  several  acts  to 
the  same  intent,  it  was  valid;  which  was  my  Lord's  case. 
This  being  past,  and  the  Peers  in  their  seats  again,  the 
Lord  Chancellor  Finch  (this  day  the  Lord  High-Steward) 
removing  to  the  woolsack  next  his  Majesty's  state,  after 
summoning  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  to    bring  forth 


156  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

his  prisoner,  and  proclamation  made  for  silence,  de- 
manded of  every  Peer  (who  were  in  all  eighty-six) 
whether  William,  Lord  Viscount  Stafford,  were  guilty  of 
the  treason  laid  to  his  charge,  or  not  guilty. 

Then  the  Peer  spoken  to,  standing  up,  and  laying  his 
right  hand  upon  his  breast,  said  guilty,  or  not  guilty, 
upon  my  honor,  and  then  sat  down,  the  Lord  Steward 
noting  their  suffrages  as  they  answered  upon  a  paper: 
when  all  had  done,  the  number  of  not  guilty  being  but 
31,  the  guilty  55;  and  then,  after  proclamation  for  silence 
again,  the  Lord  Steward  directing  his  speech  to  the 
prisoner,  against  whom  the  ax  was  turned  edgeways 
and  not  before,  in  aggravation  of  his  crime,  he  being 
ennobled  by  the  King's  father,  and  since  received  many 
favors  from  his  present  Majesty:  after  enlarging  on  his 
offense,  deploring  first  his  own  unhappiness  that  he  who 
had  never  condemned  any  man  before  should  now  be 
necessitated  to  begin  with  him,  he  then  pronounced  sen- 
tence of  death  by  hanging,  drawing,  and  quartering, 
according  to  form,  with  great  solemnity  and  dreadful 
gravity;  and,  after  a  short  pause,  told  the  prisoner  that 
he  believed  the  Lords  would  intercede  for  the  omission 
of  some  circumstances  of  his  sentence,  beheading  only 
excepted;  and  then  breaking  his  white  staff,  the  Court 
was  dissolved.  My  Lord  Stafford  during  all  this  latter 
part  spoke  but  little,  and  only  gave  their  Lordships 
thanks  after  the  sentence  was  pronounced;  and  indeed 
behaved  himself  modestly,  and  as  became  him. 

It  was  observed  that  all  his  own  relations  of  his  name 
and  family  condemned  him,  except  his  nephew,  the  Earl 
of  Arundel,  son  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk.  And  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  the  whole  trial  was  carried  on 
with  exceeding  gravity:  so  stately  and  august  an  appear- 
ance I  had  never  seen  before ;  for,  besides  the  innumerable 
spectators  of  gentlemen  and  foreign  ministers,  who  saw 
and  heard  all  the  proceedings,  the  prisoner  had  the  con- 
sciences of  all  the  Commons  of  England  for  his  accusers, 
and  all  the  Peers  to  be  his  judges  and  jury.  He  had 
likewise  the  assistance  of  what  counsel  he  would,  to  direct 
him  in  his  plea,  who  stood  by  him.  And  yet  I  can  hardly 
think  that  a  person  of  his  age  and  experience  should  en- 
gage men  whom  he  never  saw  before  (and  one  of  them 
that    came   to   visit    him   as   a   stranger   at    Paris)  point 


i68o-8i  JOHN  EVELYN  157 

BLANK  to  murder  the  King :  God  only,  who  searches  hearts, 
can  discover  the  truth.  Lord  Stafford  was  not  a  man 
beloved    especially  of  his  own  family. 

12th  December,  1680.  This  evening,  looking  out  of  my 
chamber  window  toward  the  west,  I  saw  a  meteor  of  an 
obscure  bright  color,  very  much  in  shape  like  the  blade 
of  a  sword,  the  rest  of  the  sky  very  serene  and  clear. 
What  this  may  portend,  God  only  knows  \  but  such  another 
phenomenon  I  remember  to  have  seen  in  1640,  about 
the  trial  of  the  great  Earl  of  Strafford>  preceding  our 
bloody  Rebellion.  I  pray  God  avert  his  judgments!  We 
have  had  of  late  several  comets,  which  though  I  believe 
appear  from  natural  causes,  and  of  themselves  operate 
not,  yet  I  cannot  despise  them  They  may  be  warnings 
from  God,  as  they  commonly  are  forerunners  of  his 
animadversions.  After  many  days  and  nights  of  snow, 
cloudy  and  dark  weather,  the  comet  was  very  much  wasted. 

17th  December,  1680.  My  daughter-in-law  was  brought 
to  bed  of  a  son,  christened  Richard. 

2  2d  December,  1680.  A  solemn  public  Fast  that  God 
would  prevent  all  Popish  plots,  avert  his  judgments,  and 
g^ve  a  blessing  to  the  proceedings  of  Parliament  now  as- 
sembled, and  which  struck  at  the  succession  of  the  Duke 
of  York. 

29th  December,  1680.  The  Viscount  Stafford  was  be- 
headed on  Towerhill. 

10th  February,  1680-81.  I  was  at  the  wedding  of  my 
nephew,  John  Evelyn  of  Wotton,  married  by  the  Bishop 
of  Rochester  at  Westminster,  in  Henry  VII. 's  chapel,  to 
the  daughter  and  heir  of  Mr.  Eversfield,  of  Sussex,  her 
portion  ;j^8,ooo.  The  solemnity  was  kept  with  a  few 
friends  only  at  Lady  Beckford's,  the  lady's  mother, 

8th  March,  1681.  Visited  and  dined  at  the  Earl  of 
Essex's,  with  whom  I  spent  most  of  the  afternoon  alone. 
Thence  to  my  (yet  living)  godmother  and  kinswoman, 
Mrs.  Keightley,  sister  to  Sir  Thomas  Evelyn  and  niece  to 
my  father,  being  now  eighty-six  years  of  age,  sprightly, 
and  in  perfect  health,  her  eyes  serving  her  as  well  as 
ever,  and  of  a  comely  countenance,  that  one  would  not 
suppose  her  above  fifty. 

27th  March,  1681.  The  Parliament  now  convened  at 
Oxford.  Great  expectation  of  his  Royal  Highness's  case 
as  to  the  succession,  against  which  the  House  was  set. 


1 58  DIARY    OF  London 

An  extraordinary  sharp,  cold  spring,  not  yet  a  leaf  on 
the  trees,  frost  and  snow  lying:  while  the  whole  nation 
was  in  the  greatest  ferment, 

nth  April,  1 68 1.  I  took  my  leave  of  Dr.  Lloyd  (Bishop 
of  St.  Asaph)  at  his  house  in  Leicester  Fields,  now  going 
to  reside  in  his  diocese. 

1 2th  April,  i68i.  I  dined  at  Mr.  Brisbane's,  Secretary 
to  the  Admiralty,  a  learned  and  industrious  person, 
whither  came  Dr.  Burnet,  to  thank  me  for  some  papers 
I  had  contributed  toward  his  excellent  **  History  of  the 
Reformation.  *^ 

26th  April,  1 68 1.  I  dined  at  Don  Pietro  Ronquillo's, 
the  Spanish  Ambassador,  at  Wild  House,  who  used  me 
with  extraordinary  civility.  The  dinner  was  plentiful, 
half  after  the  Spanish,  half  after  the  English  way.  After 
dinner,  he  led  me  into  his  bedchamber,  where  we  fell 
into  a  long  discourse  concerning  religion.  Though  he 
was  a  learned  man  in  politics,  and  an  advocate,  he  was 
very  ignorant  in  religion,  and  unable  to  defend  any  point 
of  controversy;  he  was,  however,  far  from  being  fierce. 
At  parting,  he  earnestly  wished  me  to  apply  humbly  to 
the  blessed  virgin  to  direct  me,  assuring  me  that  he 
had  known  divers  who  had  been  averse  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  wonderfully  enlightened  and  convinced 
by  her  intercession.  He  importuned  me  to  come  and 
visit  him  often. 

29th  April,  1 68 1.  But  one  shower  of  rain  all  this 
month. 

5th  May,  1 68 1.  Came  to  dine  with  me  Sir  William 
Fermor,  of  Northamptonshire,  and  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
his  Majesty's  architect  and  surveyor,  now  building  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Paul,  and  the  column  in  memory  of  the 
city's  conflagration,  and  was  in  hand  with  the  building  of 
fifty  parish  churches.  A  wonderful  genius  had  this  incom- 
parable person. 

1 6th  May,  1681.  Came  my  Lady  Sunderland,  to  desire 
that  I  would  propose  a  match  to  Sir  Stephen  Fox  for 
her  son.  Lord  Spencer,  to  marry  Mrs.  Jane,  Sir  Stephen's 
daughter.  I  excused  myself  all  I  was  able ;  for  the  truth 
is,  I  was  afraid  he  would  prove  an  extravagant  man :  for, 
though  a  youth  of  extraordinary  parts,  and  had  an  excel- 
lent education  to  render  him  a  worthy  man,  yet  his  early 
inclinations  to  extravagance  made  me  apprehensive,  that 


1 68 1  JOHN  EVELYN  159 

I  should  not  serve  Sir  Stephen  by  proposing-  it,  like  a 
friend;  this  being  now  his  only  daughter,  well-bred,  and 
likely  to  receive  a  large  share  of  her  father's  opulence. 
Lord  Sunderland  was  much  sunk  in  his  estate  by  gaming 
and  other  prodigalities,  and  was  now  no  longer  Secretary 
of  State,  having  fallen  into  displeasure  of  the  King  for  sid- 
ing with  the  Commons  about  the  succession;  but  which, 
I  am  assured,  he  did  not  do  out  of  his  own  inclination, 
or  for  the  preservation  of  the  Protestant  religion,  but  by 
mistaking  the  ability  of  the  party  to  carry  it.  However, 
so  earnest  and  importunate  was  the  Countess,  that  I  did 
mention  it  to  Sir  Stephen,  who  said  it  was  too  great  an 
honor,  that  his  daughter  was  very  young,  as  well  as  my 
Lord,  and  he  was  resolved  never  to  marry  her  without 
the  parties'  mutual  liking;  with  other  objections  which  I 
neither  would  or  could  contradict.  He  desired  me  to  ex- 
press to  the  Countess  the  great  sense  he  had  of  the  honor 
done  him,  that  his  daughter  and  her  son  were  too  young, 
that  he  would  do  nothing  without  her  liking,  which  he 
did  not  think  her  capable  of  expressing  judiciously,  till 
she  was  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  of  which  she 
now  wanted  four  years,  and  that  I  would  put  it  oflE  as 
civilly  as  I  could. 

20th  May,  1 68 1.  Our  new  curate  preached,  a  pretty 
hopeful  young  man,  yet  somewhat  raw,  newly  come  from 
college,  full  of  Latin  sentences,  which  in  time  will  wear 
off.     He  read  prayers  very  well. 

25th  May,  1 68 1.  There  came  to  visit  me  Sir  William 
Walter  and  Sir  John  Elowes :  and  the  next  day,  the  Earl 
of  Kildare,  a  young  gentleman  related  to  my  wife,  and 
other  company.  There  had  scarce  fallen  any  rain  since 
Christmas. 

2d  June,  1 68 1.  I  went  to  Hampton  Court,  when  the 
Surrey  gentlemen  presented  their  addresses  to  his  Majesty, 
whose  hand  I  kissed,  introduced  by  the  Duke  of  Albe- 
marle. Being  at  the  Privy  Council,  I  took  another  occa- 
sion of  discoursing  with  Sir  Stephen  Fox  about  his 
daughter  and  to  revive  that  business,  and  at  least  brought 
it  to  this:  That  in  case  the  young  people  liked  one  the 
other,  after  four  years,  he  first  desiring  to  see  a  particular 
of  my  Lord's  present  estate  if  I  could  transmit  it  to  him 
privately,  he  would  make  her  portion  ^14,000,  though  to 
all  appearance  he  might  likely  make  it  _;;^5 0,000  as  easily. 


l6o  DIARY  OP  WOTTOi* 

his  eldest  son  having  no  child  and  growing  very  cor- 
pulent. 

1 2th  June,  i68i.  It  still  continued  so  great  a  drought  as 
had  never  been  known  in  England,  and  it  was  said  to  be 
universal. 

14th  August,  1 68 1.  No  sermon  this  afternoon,  which  I 
think  did  .not  happen  twice  in  this  parish  these  thirty 
years;  so  gfracious  has  God  been  to  it,  and  indeed  to  the 
whole  nation:  God  grant  that  we  abuse  not  this  great 
privilege  either  by  our  wantonness,  schism,  or  unfaithful- 
ness, under  such  means  as  he  hag-^not  favored  any  other 
nation  under  Heaven  besides! 

23d  Augfust,  1 681.  I  went  to  Wotton,  and,  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  was  invited  to  Mr.  Denzil  Onslow's  at  his 
seat  at  Purford,  where  was  much  company,  and  such  an 
extraordinary  feast,  as  I  had  hardly  seen  at  any  country 
gentleman's  table.  What  made  it  more  remarkable  was, 
that  there  was  not  anything  save  what  his  estate  about 
it  did  aflEord;  as  venison,  rabbits,  hares,  pheasants,  par- 
tridges, pigeons,  quails,  poultry,  all  sorts  of  fowl  in  season 
from  his  own  decoy  near  his  house,  and  all  sorts  of  fresh 
fish.  After  dinner  we  went  to  see  sport  at  the  decoy, 
where  I  never  saw  so  many  herons. 

The  seat  stands  on  a  flat,  the  ground  pasture,  rarely 
watered,  and  exceedingly  improved  since  Mr.  Onslow 
bought  it  of  Sir  Robert  Parkhurst,  who  spent  a  fair 
estate.  The  house  is  timber,  but  commodious,  and  with 
one  ample  dining-room,  the  hall  adorned  with  paintings 
of  fowl  and  huntings,  etc.,  the  work  of  Mr.  Barlow,  who 
is  excellent  in  this  kind  from  the  life. 

30th  August,  1681.  From  Wotton  I  went  to  see  Mr. 
Hussey  (at  Sutton  in  Shere),  who  has  a  very  pretty  seat 
well  watered,  near  my  brother's.  He  is  the  neatest  hus- 
band for  curious  ordering  his  domestic  and  field  accom- 
modations, and  what  pertains  to  husbandry,  that  I  have 
ever  seen,  as  to  his  granaries,  tacklings,  tools,  and  utensils, 
plows,  carts,  stables,  wood  piles,  wood  houses,  even  to 
hen  roosts  and  hog  troughs.  Methought,  I  saw  old  Cato, 
or  Varro,  in  him ;  all  substantial,  all  in  exact  order.  The 
sole  inconvenience  he  lies  under,  is  the  great  quantity  of 
sand  which  the  stream  brings  along  with  it,  and  fills  his 
canals  and  receptacles  for  fish  too  soon.  The  rest  of  my 
time  of  stay  at  Wotton  was  spent  in  walking  about  the 


i68  JOHN  EVELYN  i6i 

grounds  and  goodly  woods,  where  I  have  in  my  youth  so 
often  entertained  my  solitude ;  and  so,  on  the  2d  of  Sep- 
tember, I  once  more  returned  to  my  home, 

6th  September,  i68i.  Died  my  pretty  grandchild,  and 
was  interred  on  the  8th  [at  Deptford]. 

14th  September,  1681.  Dined  with  Sir  Stephen  Fox, 
who  proposed  to  me  the  purchasing  of  Chelsea  College, 
which  his  Majesty  had  sometime  since  g^ven  to  our 
Society,  and  would  now  purchase  it  again  to  build  a 
hospital;  or  infirmary  for  soldiers  there,  in  which  he 
desired  my  assistance  as  one  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal 
Society. 

15th  September,  i68i.  I  had  another  opportunity  of 
visiting  his  Majesty's  private  library  at  Whitehall. 

To  Sir  Samuel  Morland's,  to  see  his  house  and  me- 
chanics. 

17th  September,  1681.  I  went  with  Monsieur  Faubert 
about  taking  the  Countess  of  Bristol's  house  for  an  acad- 
emy, he  being  lately  come  from  Paris  for  his  religion, 
and  resolving  to  settle  here. 

23d  September,  1681.  I  went  to  see  Sir  Thomas  Bond's 
fine  house  and  garden  at  Peckham. 

2d  October,  1681.  I  went  to  Camberwell,  where  that 
good  man  Dr.  Parr  (late  chaplain  to  Archbishop  Usher) 
preached  on  Acts  xvi.  30. 

nth  October,  168 1.  To  Fulham,  to  visit  the  Bishop 
of  London,  in  whose  garden  I  first  saw  the  Sedum  ar- 
borescens  in  flower,  which  was  exceedingly  beautiful. 

5th  November,  1681.  Dr.  Hooper  preached  on  Mark 
xii.  16,  17,  before  the  King,  of  the  usurpation  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  This  is  one  of  the  first  rank  of  pulpit 
men  in  the  nation. 

15th  November,  1681.  I  dined  with  the  Earl  of  Essex 
who,  after  dinner  in  his  study,  where  we  were  alone, 
related  to  me  how  much  he  had  been  scandalized  and 
injured  in  the  report  of  his  being  privy  to  the  marriage 
of  his  Lady's  niece,  the  rich  young  widow  of  the  late 
Lord  Ogle,  sole  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland; 
showing  me  a  letter  of  Mr.  Thynn's,  excusing  himself  for 
not  communicating  his  marriage  to  his  Lordship.  He 
acquainted  me  also  with  the  whole  story  of  that  unfor- 
tunate lady  being  betrayed  by  her  grandmother,  the 
Countess  of  Northumberland,  and  Colonel  Bret,  for  money; 
II 


162  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

and  that  though,  upon  the  importunity  of  the  Duke  of 
Monmouth,  he  had  delivered  to  the  grandmother  a  par- 
ticular of  the  jointure  which  Mr.  Thynn  pretended  he 
would  settle  on  the  lady,  yet  he  totally  discouraged  the 
proceeding  as  by  no  means  a  competent  match  for  one 
that  both  by  birth  and  fortune  might  have  pretended 
to  the  greatest  prince  in  Christendom;  that  he  also  pro- 
posed the  Earl  of  Kingston,  or  the  Lord  Cranburn,  but 
was  by  no  means  for  Mr.  Thynn. 

19th  November,  1681.  I  dined  with  my  worthy  friend, 
Mr.  Erskine,  Master  of  the  Charter  House,  uncle  to  the 
Duchess  of  Monmouth;  a  wise  and  learned  gentleman, 
fitter  to  have  been  a  privy  councillor  and  minister  of 
state  than  to  have  been  laid  aside. 

24th  November,  1681.  I  was  at  the  audience  of  the 
Russian  Ambassador  before  both  their  Majesties  in  the 
Banqueting  House.  The  presents  were  carried  before 
him,  held  up  by  his  followers  in  two  ranks  before  the 
King's  State,  and  consisted  of  tapestry  (one  suite  of 
which  was  doubtlessly  brought  from  France  as  being  of 
that  fabric,  the  Ambassador  having  passed  through  that 
kingdom  as  he  came  out  of  Spain),  a  large  Persian  car- 
pet, furs  of  sable  and  ermine,  etc. ;  but  nothing  was  so 
splendid  and  exotic  as  the  Ambassador  who  came  soon 
after  the  King's  restoration.  This  present  Ambassador 
was  exceedingly  offended  that  his  coach  was  not  per- 
mitted to  come  into  the  Court,  till,  being  told  that  no 
King's  Ambassador  did,  he  was  pacified,  yet  requiring 
an  attestation  of  it  under  the  hand  of  Sir  Charles  Cot- 
terell,  the  Master  of  the  Ceremonies;  being,  it  seems, 
afraid  he  should  offend  his  Master,  if  he  omitted  the 
least  punctilio.  It  was  reported  he  condemned  his  son 
to  lose  his  head  for  shaving  off  his  beard,  and  putting 
himself  in  the  French  mode  at  Paris,  and  that  he  would 
have  executed  it,  had  not  the  French  King  interceded 
—  but  qy.  of  this. 

30th  November,  1681.  Sir  Christopher  Wren  chosen 
President  [of  the  Royal  Society],  Mr.  Austine,  Secretary, 
with  Dr.  Plot,  the  ingenious  author  of  the  "  History  of 
Oxfordshire."     There  was  a  most  illustrious  appearance. 

nth  January,  1681-82.  I  saw  the  audience  of  the 
Morocco  Ambassador,  his  retinue  not  numerous.  He 
was  received  in  the  Banqueting  House,  both  their    Maj- 


1681-82  JOHN   EVELYN  163 

esties  being  present.  He  came  up  to  the  throne  without 
making  any  sort  of  reverence,  not  bowing  his  head,  or 
body.  He  spoke  by  a  renegado  Englishman,  for  whose 
safe  return  there  was  a  promise.  They  were  all  clad  in 
the  Moorish  habit,  cassocks  of  colored  cloth,  or  silk, 
with  buttons  and  loops,  over  this  an  alkaga,  or  white 
woolen  mantle,  so  large  as  to  wrap  both  head  and  body, 
a  sash,  or  small  turban,  naked-legged  and  armed,  but 
with  leather  socks  like  the  Turks,  rich  scymetar,  and 
large  calico  sleeved  shirts.  The  Ambassador  had  a  string 
of  pearls  oddly  woven  in  his  turban.  I  fancy  the  old 
Roman  habit  was  little  different  as  to  the  mantle  and 
naked  limbs  He  was  a  handsome  person,  well  featured, 
of  a  wise  look,  subtle,  and  extremely  civil.  Their  pres- 
ents were  lions  and  ostriches;  their  errand  about  a 
peace  at  Tangier.  But  the  concourse  and  tumult  of  the 
people  was  intolerable,  so  as  the  officers  could  keep  no 
order,  which  these  strangers  were  astonished  at  at  first, 
there  being  nothing  so  regular,  exact,  and  performed 
with  such  silence,  as  is  on  all  these  public  occasions 
of  their  country,  and  indeed  over  all  the  Turkish  dominions. 

14th  January,  1682.  Dined  at  the  Bishop  of  Roches- 
ter's, at  the  Abbey,  it  being  his  marriage  day,  after 
twenty-four  years.  He  related  to  me  how  he  had  been 
treated  by  Sir  William  Temple,  foreseeing  that  he  might 
be  a  delegate  in  the  concern  of  my  Lady  Ogle  now 
likely  come  in  controversy  upon  her  marriage  with  Mr. 
Thynn ;  also  how  earnestly  the  late  Earl  of  Danby,  Lord 
Treasurer,  sought  his  friendship,  and  what  plain  and 
sincere  advice  he  gave  him  from  time  to  time  about  his 
miscarriages  and  partialities;  particularly  his  outing  Sir 
John  Duncomb  from  being  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
and  Sir  Stephen  Fox,  above  all,  from  being  Paymaster 
of  the  Army.  The  Treasurer  s  excuse  and  reason  was, 
that  Fox's  credit  was  so  over  great  with  the  bankers  and 
monied  men,  that  he  could  procure  none  but  by  his 
means ,  "  for  that  reason,  *  replied  the  Bishop,  ^*  I  would 
have  made  him  my  friend,  Sir  Stephen  being  a  person  both 
honest  and  of  credit.  **  He  told  him  likewise  of  his  state- 
liness  and  difficulty  of  access,  and  several  other  miscar- 
riages, and  which  indeed  made  him  hated. 

24th  January,  1682.  To  the  Royal  Society,  where  at 
the  Council  we  passed  a  new   law  for  the  more  accurate 


1 64  DIARY  OF  London 

consideration  of  candidates,  as  whether  they  would  really 
be  useful;  also  concerning  the  honorary  members,  that 
none  should  be  admitted  but  by  diploma. 

This  evening  I  was  at  the  entertainment  of  the  Mo- 
rocco Ambassador  at  the  Duchess  of  Portsmouth's  glori- 
ous apartments  at  Whitehall,  where  was  a  great  banquet 
of  sweetmeats  and  music;  but  at  which  both  the  Am- 
bassador and  his  retinue  behaved  themselves  with  extraor- 
dinary moderation  and  modesty,  though  placed  about 
a  long  table,  a  lady  between  two  Moors,  and  among 
these  were  the  King's  natural  children,  namely,  Lady 
Lichfield  and  Sussex,  the  Duchess  of  Portsmouth,  Nelly, 
etc.,  concubines,  and  cattle  of  that  sort,  as  splendid  as 
jewels  and  excess  of  bravery  could  make  them;  the 
Moors  neither  admiring  nor  seeming  to  regard  anything, 
furniture  or  the  like,  with  any  earnestness,  and  but  de- 
cently tasting  of  the  banquet.  They  drank  a  little  milk 
and  water,  but  not  a  drop  of  wine;  they  also  drank  of 
a  sorbet  and  jacolatt;*  did  not  look  about,  or  stare  on 
the  ladies,  or  express  the  least  surprise,  but  with  a 
courtly  negligence  in  pace,  countenance,  and  whole  be- 
havior, answering  only  to  such  questions  as  were  asked 
with  a  great  deal  of  wit  and  gallantry,  and  so  gravely 
took  leave  with  this  compliment,  that  God  would  bless 
the  Duchess  of  Portsmouth  and  the  Prince,  her  son 
meaning  the  little  Duke  of  Richmond,  The  King  came 
in  at  the  latter  end,  just  as  the  Ambassador  was  going 
away.  In  this  manner  was  this  slave  (for  he  was  no 
more  at  home)  entertained  by  most  of  the  nobility  in 
town,  and  went  often  to  Hyde  Park  on  horseback,  where 
he  and  his  retinue  showed  their  extraordinary  activity  in 
horsemanship,  and  flinging  and  catching  their  lances  at 
full  speed;  they  rode  very  short,  and  could  stand  upright 
at  full  speed,  managing  their  spears  with  incredible 
agility.  He  went  sometimes  to  the  theaters,  where,  upon 
any  foolish  or  fantastical  action,  he  could  not  forbear 
laughing,  but  he  endeavored  to  hide  it  with  extraordi- 
nary modesty  and  gravity.  In  a  word,  the  Russian  Am- 
bassador, still  at  Court  behaved  himself  like  a  clown 
compared  to  this  civil  heathen. 

27th  January,  1682.  This  evening,  Sir  Stephen  Fox 
acquainted  me  again  with  his  Majesty's  resolution  of  pro- 

*  Sherbet  and  chocolate. 


i682  JOHN   EVELYN  165 

ceeding  in  the  erection  of  a  Royal  Hospital  for  emerited 
soldiers  on  that  spot  of  ground  which  the  Royal  Society 
had  sold  to  his  Majesty  for  ;;^i,3oo,  and  that  he  would 
settle  ;,^5,ooo  per  annum  on  it,  and  build  to  the  value  of 
;^2 0,000  for  the  relief  and  reception  of  four  companies, 
namely,  400  men,  to  be  as  in  a  college,  or  monastery. 
I  was  therefore  desired  by  Sir  Stephen  ( who  had  not 
only  the  whole  managing  of  this,  but  was,  as  I  per- 
ceived, himself  to  be  a  grand  benefactor,  as  well  it 
became  him  who  had  gotten  so  vast  an  estate  by  the  sol- 
diers) to  assist  him,  and  consult  what  method  to  cast  it 
in,  as  to  the  government.  So,  in  his  study  we  arranged 
the  governor,  chaplain,  steward,  housekeeper,  chirurgeon, 
cook,  butler,  gardener,  porter,  and  other  officers,  with 
their  several  salaries  and  entertainments.  I  would  needs 
have  a  library,  and  mentioned  several  books,  since  some 
soldiers  might  possibly  be  studious,  when  they  were  at 
leisure  to  recollect.  Thus  we  made  the  first  calculations, 
and  set  down  our  thoughts  to  be  considered  and  digested 
better,  to  show  his  Majesty  and  the  Archbishop.  He 
also  engaged  me  to  consider  of  what  laws  and  orders 
were  fit  for  the  government,  which  was  to  be  in  every 
respect  as  strict  as  in  any  religious  convent. 

After  supper,  came  in  the  famous  treble,  Mr.  Abel, 
newly  returned  from  Italy;  I  never  heard  a  more  excel- 
lent voice ;  one  would  have  sworn  it  had  been  a  woman's, 
it  was  so  high,  and  so  well  and  skillfully  managed,  being 
accompanied  by  Signor  Francesco  on  the  harpsichord. 

28th  January,  1682.  Mr.  Pepys,  late  Secretary  to  the 
Admiralty,  showed  me  a  large  folio  containing  the  whole 
mechanic  part  and  art  of  building  royal  ships  and  men- 
of-war,  made  by  Sir  Anthony  Dean,  being  so  accurate  a 
piece  from  the  very  keel  to  the  lead  block,  rigging,  guns, 
victualing,  manning,  and  even  to  every  individual  pin 
and  nail,  in  a  method  so  astonishing  and  curious,  with  a 
draught,  both  geometrical  and  in  perspective,  and  several 
sections,  that  I  do  not  think  the  world  can  show  the  like. 
I  esteem  this  book  as  an  extraordinary  jewel. 

7th  February,  1682.  My  daughter,  Mary,  began  to 
learn  music  of  Signor  Bartholomeo,  and  dancing  of  Mon- 
sieur Isaac,  reputed  the  best  masters. 

Having  had  several  violent  fits  of  an  ague,  recourse 
was  had  to  bathing  my  legs  in  milk  up  to  the  knees,  made 


i66  DIARY  OP  LONDON 

as  hot  as  I  could  endure  it :  and  sitting  so  in  it  in  a  deep 
churn,  or  vessel,  covered  with  blankets,  and  drinking 
carduiis  posset,  then  going  to  bed  and  sweating,  I  not 
only  missed  that  expected  fit,  but  had  no  more,  only- 
continued  weak,  that  I  could  not  go  to  church  till  Ash 
Wednesday,  which  I  had  not  missed,  I  think,  so  long  in 
twenty  years,  so  gracious  had  God  been  to  me. 

After  this  warning  and  admonition,  I  now  began  to 
look  over  and  methodize  all  my  writings,  accounts,  letters, 
papers;  inventoried  the  goods,  and  other  articles  of  the 
house,  and  put  things  into  the  best  order  I  could,  and 
made  my  will;  that  now,  growing  in  years,  I  might 
have  none  of  these  secular  things  and  concerns  to 
distract  me,  when  it  should  please  Almighty  God  to  call 
me  from  this  transitory  life.  "With  this,  I  prepared 
some  special  meditations  and  devotions  for  the  time  of 
sickness.  The  Lord  Jesus  grant  them  to  be  salutary  for 
my  poor  soul  in  that  day,  that  I  may  obtain  mercy  and 
acceptance ! 

ist  March,  1682.  My  second  grandchild  was  bom, 
and  christened  the  next  day  by  our  vicar  at  Sayes 
Court,  by  the  name  of  John.*  I  beseech  God  to  bless 
him! 

2d  March,  1682.  Ash  Wednesday.  I  went  to  church: 
our  vicar  preached  on  Proverbs,  showing  what  care  and 
vigilance  was  required  for  the  keeping  of  the  heart  up- 
right. The  Holy  Communion  followed,  on  which  I  gave 
God  thanks  for  his  gracious  dealing  with  me  in  my 
late  sickness,  and  affording  me  this  blessed  opportunity 
of  praising  him  in  the  congregation,  and  receiving  the 
cup  of  salvation  with  new  and  serious  resolutions. 

Came  to  see  and  congratulate  my  recovery,  Sir  John 
Lowther,  Mr.  Herbert,  Mr.  Pepys,  Sir  Anthony  Deane, 
and  Mr.  Hill 

loth  March,  1682.  This  day  was  executed  Colonel 
Vrats,  and  some  of  his  accomplices,  for  the  execrable 
murder  of  Mr  Thynn,  set  on  by  the  principal  Konings- 
mark.  He  went  to  execution  like  an  undaunted  hero,  as 
one  that  had  done  a  friendly  office  for  that  base  coward. 
Count  Koningsmark,  who  had  hopes  to  marry  his  widow, 
the  rich  Lady  Ogle,  and  was  acquitted  by  a  corrupt  jury, 
and   so    got    away.      Vrats    told  a    friend  of    mine    who 

*  Who  became  his  successor,  and  was  created  a  baronet  in  17 13. 


i682  JOHN   EVELYN  167 

accompanied  him  to  the  gallows,  and  gave  him  some  advice 
that  he  did  not  value  dying  of  a  rush,  and  hoped  and 
believed  God  would  deal  with  him  like  a  gentleman. 
Never  man  went,  so  unconcerned  for  his  sad  fate. 

24th  March,  1682.  I  went  to  see  the  corpse  of  that 
obstinate  creature,  Colonel  Vrats,  the  King  permitting 
that  his  body  should  be  transported  to  his  own  country, 
he  being  of  a  good  family,  and  one  of  the  first  embalmed 
by  a  particular  art,  invented  by  one  William  Russell,  a 
coffin-maker,  which  preserved  the  body  without  disbowel- 
ing,  or  to  appearance  using  any  bituminous  matter. 
The  flesh  was  florid,  soft,  and  full,  as  if  the  person 
were  only  sleeping.  He  had  now  been  dead  near  fif- 
teen days,  and  lay  exposed  in  a  very  rich  coffin  lined 
with  lead,  too  magnificent  for  so  daring  and  horrid  a 
murderer. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society  were  exhibited 
some  pieces  of  amber  sent  by  the  Duke  of  Brandenburg, 
in  one  of  which  was  a  spider,  in  another  a  gnat,  both  very 
entire.  There  was  a  discourse  of  the  tingeing  of  glass, 
especially  with  red,  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  any  red 
color  effectual  to  penetrate  glass,  among  the  glass- 
painters;  that  the  most  diaporous,  as  blue,  yellow,  etc., 
did  not  enter  into  the  substance  of  what  was  ordinarily 
painted,  more  than  very  shallow,  unless  incorporated  in 
the  metal  itself,  other  reds  and  whites  not  at  all  beyond 
the  superfices. 

5th  April,  1682.  To  the  Royal  Society,  where  at  a 
Council  was  regulated  what  collections  should  be  pub- 
lished monthly,  as  formerly  the  transactions,  which 
had  of  late  been  discontinued,  but  were  now  much 
called  for  by  the   curious  abroad   and   at  home. 

12th  April,  1682.  I  went  this  afternoon  with  several 
of  the  Royal  Society  to  a  supper  which  was  all  dressed, 
both  fish  and  flesh,  in  Monsieur  Papin's  digestors,  by 
which  the  hardest  bones  of  beef  itself,  and  mutton,  were 
made  as  soft  as  cheese,  without  water  or  other  liquor, 
and  with  less  than  eight  ounces  of  coals,  producing  an 
incredible  quantity  of  gravy ;  and  for  close  of  all,  a  jelly 
made  of  the  bones  of  beef,  the  best  for  clearness  and 
good  relish,  and  the  most  delicious  that  I  had  ever  seen, 
or  tasted.  We  ate  pike  and  other  fish,  bones  and  all, 
without  impediment;  but   nothing  exceeded  the  pigeons, 


i68  DIARY  OF  London 

which  tasted  just  as  if  baked  in  a  pie,  all  these  being 
stewed  in  their  own  juice,  without  any  addition  of  water 
save  what  swam  about  the  digestor,  as  in  balneo;  the 
natural  juice  of  all  these  provisions  acting  on  the  grosser 
substances,  reduced  the  hardest  bones  to  tenderness ;  but 
it  is  best  descanted  with  more  particulars  for  extracting 
tinctures,  preserving  and  stewing  fruit,  and  saving  fuel, 
in  Dr.  Papin's  book,  published  and  dedicated  to  our 
Society  of  which  he  is  a  member.  He  is  since  gone  to 
Venice  with  the  late  Resident  here  (and  also  a  member 
of  our  Society),  who  carried  this  excellent  mechanic, 
philosopher,  and  physician,  to  set  up  a  philosophical 
meeting  in  that  city.  This  philosophical  supper  caused 
much  mirth  among  us,  and  exceedingly  pleased  all  the 
company.  I  sent  a  glass  of  the  jelly  to  my  wife,  to  the 
reproach  of  all  that  the  ladies  ever  made  of  their  best 
hartshorn.* 

The  season  was  unusually  wet,  with   rain   and   thunder. 

25th  May,  1682.  I  was  desired  by  Sir  Stephen  Fox 
and  Sir  Christopher  Wren  to  accompany  them  to  Lam- 
beth, with  the  plot  and  design  of  the  college  to  be  built 
at  Chelsea,  to  have  the  Archbishop's  approbation.  It  was 
a  quadrangle  of  200  feet  square,  after  the  dimensions  of 
the  larger  quadrangle  at  Christ  church,  Oxford,  for  the 
accommodation  of  440  persons,  with  governor  and  officers. 
This  was  agreed  on. 

The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York  were  just  now  come 
to  London,  after  his  escape  and  shipwreck,  as  he  went  by 
sea  for  Scotland. 

28th  May,  1682.  At  the  Rolls'  chapel  preached  the 
famous  Dr.  Burnet  on  2  Peter,  i.  10,  describing  excellently 
well  what  was  meant  by  election;  viz,  not  the  efifect  of 
any  irreversible  decree,  but  so  called  because  they  em- 
braced the  Gospel  readily,  by  which  they  became  elect, 
or  precious  to  God.  It  would  be  very  needless  to  make 
our  calling  and  election  sure,  were  they  irreversible  and 
what  the  rigid  Presbyterians  pretend.  In  the  afternoon, 
to  St.  Lawrence's  church,  a  new  and  cheerful  pile. 

*  Denys  Papin,  a  French  physician  and  mathematician,  who  possessed 
so  remarkable  a  knowledge  of  mathematics,  that  he  very  nearly  brought 
the  invention  of  the  steam  engine  into  working  order.  He  assisted  Mr. 
Boyle  in  his  pneumatic  experiments,  and  was  afterward  mathematical 
professor  at  Marburg.     He  died  in  17 10. 


1 682  JOHN   EVELYN  169 

29th  May,  1682.  I  gave  notice  to  the  Bishop  of  Rocli- 
ester  of  what  Maimburg  had  published  about  the 
motives  of  the  late  Duchess  of  York's  perversion,  in  his 
**  History  of  Calvinism;*^  and  did  myself  write  to  the  Bishop 
of  Winchester  about  it,  who  being  concerned  in  it,  I 
urged  him  to  set  forth  his  vindication. 

31st  May,  1682.  The  Morocco  Ambassador  being  ad- 
mitted an  honorary  member  of  the  Royal  Society,  and 
subscribing  his  name  and  titles  in  Arabic,  I  was  deputed 
by  the  Council  to  go  and  compliment  him. 

19th  June,  1682.  The  Bantam,  or  East  India  Ambas- 
sadors (at  this  time  we  had  in  London  the  Russian, 
Moroccan,  and  Indian  Ambassadors),  being  invited  to 
dine  at  Lord  George  Berkeley's  (now  Earl),  I  went  to  the 
entertainment  to  contemplate  the  exotic  guests.  They 
were  both  very  hard-favored,  and  much  resembling  in 
countenance  some  sort  of  monkeys.  We  ate  at  two  tables, 
the  Ambassadors  and  interpreter  by  themselves.  Their 
garments  were  rich  Indian  silks,  flowered  with  gold,  viz, 
a  close  waistcoat  to  their  knees,  drawers,  naked  legs,  and 
on  their  heads  caps  made  like  fruit  baskets.  They  wore 
poisoned  daggers  at  their  bosoms,  the  hafts  carved  with 
some  ugly  serpents'  or  devils'  heads,  exceedingly  keen,  and 
of  Damascus  metal.  They  wore  no  sword.  The  second 
Ambassador  (sent  it  seems  to  succeed  in  case  the  first 
should  die  by  the  way  in  so  tedious  a  journey),  having 
been  at  Mecca,  wore  a  Turkish  or  Arab  sash,  a  little  part 
of  the  linen  hanging  down  behind  his  neck,  with  some 
other  difference  of  habit,  and  was  half  a  negro,  bare  leg- 
ged and  naked  feet,  and  deemed  a  very  holy  man.  They 
sat  cross-legged  like  Turks,  and  sometimes  in  the  pos- 
ture of  apes  and  monkeys;  their  nails  and  teeth  as  black 
as  jet,  and  shining,  which  being  the  effect,  as  to  their 
teeth,  of  perpetually  chewing  betel  to  preserve  them  from 
the  toothache,  much  raging  in  their  country,  is  esteemed 
beautiful. 

The  first  ambassador  was  of  an  olive  hue,  a  flat  face, 
narrow  eyes,  squat  nose,  and  Moorish  lips,  no  hair  ap- 
peared ;  they  wore  several  rings  of  silver,  gold  and  copper 
on  their  fingers,  which  was  a  token  of  knighthood,  or 
nobility.  They  were  of  Java  Major,  whose  princes  have 
been  turned  Mahometans  not  above  fifty  years  since;  the 
inhabitants  are  still  pagans  and  idolaters.     They  seemed 


I/O  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

of  a  dull  and  heavy  constitution,  not  wondering  at  any- 
thing they  saw;  but  exceedingly  astonished  how  our  law 
gave  us  propriety  in  our  estates,  and  so  thinking  we  were 
all  kings,  for  they  could  not  be  made  to  comprehend 
how  subjects  could  possess  anything  but  at  the  pleasure 
of  their  Prince,  they  being  all  slaves;  they  were  pleased 
with  the  notion,  and  admired  our  happiness.  They  were 
very  sober,  and  I  believe  subtle  in  their  way.  Their 
meat  was  cooked,  carried  up,  and  they  attended  by 
several  fat  slaves,  who  had  no  covering  save  drawers, 
which  appeared  very  uncouth  and  loathsome.  They  ate 
their  pilaw,  and  other  spoon-meat,  without  spoons,  taking 
up  their  pottage  in  the  hollow  of  their  fingers,  and  very 
dexterously  flung  it  into  their  mouths  without  spilling 
a  drop. 

17th  July,  1682.  Came  to  dine  with  me,  the  Duke  of 
Grafton  and  the  young  Earl  of  Ossory,  son  to  my  most 
dear  deceased  friend. 

30th  July,  1682.  Went  to  visit  our  good  neighbor,  Mr. 
Bohun,  whose  whole  house  is  a  cabinet  of  all  elegancies, 
especially  Indian;  in  the  hall  are  contrivances  of  Japan 
screens,  instead  of  wainscot;  and  there  is  an  excellent 
pendule  clock  inclosed  in  the  curious  flowerwork  of  Mr. 
Gibbons,  in  the  middle  of  the  vestibule.  The  landscapes 
of  the  screens  represent  the  manner  of  living,  and  country 
of  the  Chinese.  But,  above  all,  his  lady's  cabinet  is 
adorned  on  the  fret,  ceiling,  and  chimney-piece,  with 
Mr.  Gibbons's  best  carving.  There  are  also  some  of 
Streeter's  best  paintings,  and  many  rich  curiosities  of 
gold  and  silver  as  growing  in  the  mines.  The  gardens 
are  exactly  kept,  and  the  whole  place  very  agreeable  and 
well  watered.  The  owners  are  good  neighbors,  and  Mr. 
Bohun  has  also  built  and  endowed  a  hospital  for  eight 
poor  people,  with  a  pretty  chapel,  and  every  necessary 
accommodation. 

ist  August,  1682.  To  the  Bishop  of  London  at  Fulham, 
to  review  the  additions  which  Mr.  Marshall  had  made  to 
his  curious  book  of  flowers  in  miniature,  and  collection 
of  insects. 

4th  August,  1682.  With  Sir  Stephen  Fox,  to  survey 
the  foundations  of  the  Royal  Hospital  begun  at  Chelsea. 

9th  August,  1682.  The  Council  of-  the  Royal  Society 
had  it  recommended  to  them  to  be  trustees  and  visitors, 


i682  JOHN   EVELYN  171 

or  supervisors,  of  the  Academy  which  Monsieur  Faubert 
did  hope  to  procure  to  be  built  by  subscription  of  worthy 
gentlemen  and  noblemen,  for  the  education  of  youth,  and 
to  lessen  the  vast  expense  the  nation  is  at  yearly  by 
sending  children  into  France  to  be  taught  military' 
exercises.  "We  thought  to  give  him  all  the  encouragement 
our  recommendation  could  procure. 

15th  August,  1682.  Came  to  visit  me  Dr.  Rogers,  an 
acquaintance  of  mine  long  since  at  Padua.  He  was  then 
Consul  of  the  English  nation,  and  student  in  that  Uni- 
versity, where  he  proceeded  Doctor  in  Physic ;  presenting 
me  now  with  the  Latin  oration  he  lately  made  upon  the 
famous  Dr.  Harvey's  anniversary  in  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians, at  London. 

20th  August,  1682.  This  night  I  saw  another  comet, 
near  Cancer,  very  bright,  but  the  stream  not  so  long  as 
the  former. 

29th  August,  1682.  Supped  at  Lord  Clarendon's,  with 
Lord  Hyde,  his  brother,  now  the  great  favorite,  who 
invited  himself  to  dine  at  my  house  the  Tuesday  follow- 
ing. 

30th  October,  1682.  Being  my  birthday,  and  I  now  en- 
tering my  great  climacterical  of  63,  after  serious  recollec- 
tions of  the  years  past,  giving  Almighty  God  thanks  for 
all  his  merciful  preservations  and  forbearance,  begging 
pardon  for  my  sins  and  unworthiness,  and  his  blessing 
on  me  the  year  entering,  I  went  with  my  Lady  Fox  to 
survej'  her  building,  and  give  some  directions  for  the 
garden  at  Chiswick;  the  architect  is  Mr,  May, —  somewhat 
heavy  and  thick,  and  not  so  well  understood:  the  garden 
much  too  narrow,  the  place  without  water,  near  a  high- 
way, and  near  another  great  house  of  my  Lord  Burling- 
ton, little  land  about  it,  so  that  I  wonder  at  the  expense; 
but  women  will  have  their  will. 

25  th  November,  1682.  I  was  invited  to  dine  with 
Monsieur  Lionberg,  the  Swedish  Resident,  who  made  a 
magnificent  entertainment,  it  being  the  birthday  of  his 
King.  There  dined  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  Duke  of 
Hamilton,  Earl  of  Bath,  Earl  of  Aylesbury,  Lord  Arran, 
Lord  Castlehaven,  the  son  of  him  who  was  executed  fifty 
years  before,  and  several  great  persons.  I  was  exceedingly 
afraid  of  drinking  (it  being  a  Dutch  feast),  but  the  Duke 
of   Albemarle    being   that   night  to  wait  on  his  Majesty, 


172  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

excess  was  prohibited;  and,  to  prevent  all,  I  stole  away 
and  left  the  company  as  soon  as  we  rose  from  table. 

28th  November,  1682.  I  went  to  the  Council  of  the 
Royal  Society,  for  the  auditing  the  last  year's  account, 
where  I  was  surprised  with  a  fainting  fit  that  for  a  time 
took  away  my  sight;  but  God  being  merciful  to  me,  I 
recovered  it  after  a  short  repose. 

30th  November,  1682.  I  was  exceedingly  endangered 
and  importuned  to  stand  the  election,*  having  so  many 
voices,  but  by  favor  of  my  friends,  and  regard  of  my 
remote  dwelling,  and  now  frequent  infirmities,  I  desired 
their  suffrages  might  be  transferred  to  Sir  John  Hoskins, 
one  of  the  Masters  of  Chancery ;  a  most  learned  virtuoso 
as  well  as  lawyer,  who  accordingly  was  elected. 

7th  December,  1682.  Went  to  congratulate  Lord  Hyde 
(the  great  favorite)  newly  made  Earl  of  Rochester,  and 
lately  marrying  his  eldest  daughter  to  the  Earl  of 
Ossory. 

1 8th  December,  1682.  I  sold  my  East  India  adventure 
of  ;^25o  principal  for  ;^75o  to  the  Royal  Society,  after  I 
had  been  in  that  company  twenty-five  years,  being  ex' 
traordinarily  advantageous,  by  the  blessing  of  God. 

23d  January,  1682-83.  Sir  Francis  North,  son  to  the 
Lord  North,  and  Lord  Chief  Justice,  being  made  Lord 
Keeper  on  the  death  of  the  Earl  of  Nottingham,  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  I  went  to  congratulate  him.  He  is  a  most 
knowing,  learned,  and  ingenious  man,  and,  besides  being 
an  excellent  person,  of  an  ingenious  and  sweet  disposi- 
tion, very  skillful  in  music,  painting,  the  new  philosophy, 
and  politer  studies. 

29th  January,  1683.  Supped  at  Sir  Joseph  William- 
son's, where  was  a  select  company  of  our  Society,  Sir 
William  Petty,  Dr.  Gale  (that  learned  schoolmaster  of 
St.  Paul's),  Dr.  Whistler,  Mr.  Hill,  etc.  The  conversation 
was  philosophical  and  cheerful,  on  divers  considerable 
questions  proposed;  as  of  the  hereditary  succession  of 
the  Roman  Emperors;  the  Pica  mentioned  in  the  pref- 
ace to  our  Common  Prayer,  which  signifies  only  the 
Greek  Kalendarium.  These  were  mixed  with  lighter 
subjects. 

2d  February,  1683.  I  made  my  court  at  St.  James's, 
when  I  saw  the  sea  charts  of  Captain  Collins,  which  that 

*  For  President  of  the  Royal  Society. 


1682-83  JOHN   EVELYN  173 

industrious  man  now  brought  to  show  the  Duke,  having 
taken  all  the  coasting  from  the  mouth  of  the  Thames, 
as  far  as  Wales,  and  exactly  measuring  every  creek, 
island,  rock,  soundings,  harbors,  sands,  and  tides,  intend- 
ing next  spring  to  proceed  till  he  had  finished  the  whole 
island,  and  that  measured  by  chains  and  other  instru- 
ments: a  most  exact  and  useful  undertaking.  He  afi&rmed, 
that  of  all  the  maps  put  out  since,  there  are  none  extant 
so  true  as  those  of  Joseph  Norden,  who  gave  us  the 
first  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  time;  all  since  him  are  erroneous. 

12th  February,  1683.  This  morning  I  received  the 
news  of  the  death  of  my  father-in-law.  Sir  Richard 
Browne,  Knt.  and  Bart.,  who  died  at  my  house  at  Sayes 
Court  this  day  at  ten  in  the  morning,  after  he  had 
labored  under  the  gout  and  dropsy  for  nearly  six  months, 
in  the  78th  year  of  his  age.  The  funeral  was  solemnized 
on  the  19th  at  Deptford,  with  as  much  decency  as  the 
dignity  of  the  person,  and  our  relation  to  him,  required; 
there  being  invited  the  Bishop  of  Rochester,  several 
noblemen,  knights,  and  all  the  fraternity  of  the  Trinity 
Company,  of  which  he  had  been  Master,  and  others  of 
the  country.  The  vicar  preached  a  short  but  proper 
discourse  on  Psalm  xxxix.  10,  on  the  frailty  of  our  mortal 
condition,  concluding  with  an  ample  and  well-deserved 
eulogy  on  the  defunct,  relating  to  his  honorable  birth 
and  ancestors,  education,  learning  in  Greek  and  Latin, 
modem  languages,  travels,  public  employments,  signal 
loyalty,  character  abroad,  and  particularly  the  honor  of 
supporting  the  Church  of  England  in  its  public  worship 
during  its  persecution  by  the  late  rebels'  usurpation  and 
regicide,  by  the  suffrages  of  divers  Bishops,  Doctors  of 
the  Church,  and  others,  who  found  such  an  asylum  in  his 
house  and  family  at  Paris,  that  in  their  disputes  with  the 
Papists  (then  triumphing  over  it  as  utterly  lost)  they 
used  to  argue  for  its  visibility  and  existence  from  Sir  R. 
Browne's  chapel  and  assembly  there.  Then  he  spoke  of 
his  great  and  loyal  sufferings  during  thirteen  years'  exile 
with  his  present  Majesty,  his  return  with  him  in  the  sig- 
nal year  i66o;  his  honorable  employment  at  home,  his 
timely  recess  to  recollect  himself,  his  great  age,  infirm- 
ities, and  death. 

He  gave  to  the  Trinity  Corporation  that  land  in  Dept- 
ford on  which  are  built  those  almshouses  for  twenty-four 


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,  since  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  gpreat  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. 

1 6th  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  counties  were  bound  to  supply  provisions  of  various 
kinds,  and  these  were  collected  by  officers  called  purveyors,  whose 
extortions  often  excited  the  attention  of  Parliament. 


1 683  JOHN  EVELYN  175 

Forest,  in  a  barren  spot,  as  oftentimes  these  suddenly 
monied  men  for  the  most  part  seat  themselves.  He  from 
a  merchant's  apprentice,  and  management  of  the  East 
India  Company's  stock,  being  arrived  to  an  estate  (it  is 
said)  of  ;^2oo,ooo;  and  lately  married  his  daughter  to 
the  eldest  son  of  the  l!)uke  of  Beaufort,  late  Marquis  of 
Worcester,  with  ^^50,000  portional  present,  and  various 
expectations. 

I  dined  at  Mr.  Houblon's,  a  rich  and  gentle  French 
merchant,  who  was  building  a  house  in  the  Forest,  near 
Sir  J.  Child's,  in  a  place  where  the  late  Earl  of  Norwich 
dwelt  some  time,  and  which  came  from  his  lady,  the 
widow  of  Mr.  Baker.  It  will  be  a  pretty  villa,  about 
five  miles  from  Whitechapel. 

18th  March,  1683.  I  went  to  hear  Dr.  Homeck  preach 
at  the  Savoy  Church,  on  Phil.  ii.  5.  He  was  a  Grerman 
bom,  a  most  pathetic  preacher,  a  person  of  a  saint-like 
life,  and  hath  written  an  excellent  treatise  on  Considera- 
tioji. 

20th  March,  1683.  Dined  at  Dr.  Whistler's,  at  the 
Physicians  College,  with  Sir  Thomas  Millington,  both 
learned  men;  Dr.  W.  the  most  facetious  man  in  nature, 
and  now  Censor  of  the  college.  I  was  here  consulted 
where  they  should  build  their  library ;  it  is  a  pity  this  college 
is  built  so  near  Newgate  Prison,  and  in  so  obscure  a  hole, 
a  fault  in  placing  most  of  our  public  buildings  and 
churches  in  the  city,  through  the  avarice  of  some  few 
men,  and  his  Majesty  not  overruling  it,  when  it  was  in 
his  power  after  the  dreadful  conflagration. 

2ist  March,  1683.  Dr.  Tenison  preached  at  Whitehall 
on  I  Cor.  vi.  12;  I  esteem  him  to  be  one  of  the  most 
profitable  preachers  in  the  Church  of  England,  being  also 
of  a  most  holy  conversation,  very  learned  and  ingenious. 
The  pains  he  takes  and  care  of  his  parish  will,  I  fear, 
wear  him  out,  which  would  be  an  inexpressible  loss. 

24th  March,  1683.  I  went  to  hear  Dr.  Charleton's  lec- 
ture on  the  heart  in  the  Anatomy  Theater  at  the  Physi- 
cians' College. 

30th  March,  1683.  To  London,  in  order  to  my  passing 
the  following  week,  for  the  celebration  of  the  Easter 
now  approaching,  there  being  in  the  Holy  Week  so  many 
eminent  preachers  officiating  at  the  Court  and  other 
places. 


176  DIARY    OF  London 

6th  April,  1683.  Good  Friday.  There  was  in  the  aft- 
ernoon, according  to  custom,  a  sermon  before  the  King, 
at  Whitehall ;  Dr.  Sprat  preached  for  the  Bishop  of  Roch- 
ester. 

17th  April,  1683.  I  was  at  the  launching  of  the  last  of 
the  thirty  ships  ordered  to  be  newly  built  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, named  the  *^  Neptune,  '^  a  second  rate,  one  of  the 
goodliest  vessels  of  the  whole  navy,  built  by  my  kind 
neighbor,  young  Mr.  Shish,  his  Majesty's  master  ship- 
wright of  this  dock. 

I  St  May,  1683.  I  went  to  Blackheath,  to  see  the  new 
fair,  being  the  first  procured  by  the  Lord  Dartmouth. 
This  was  the  first  day,  pretended  for  the  sale  of  cattle, 
but  I  think  in  truth  to  enrich  the  new  tavern  at  the 
bowling-green,  erected  by  Snape,  his  Majesty's  farrier,  a 
man  full  of  projects.  There  appeared  nothing  but  an  in- 
numerable assembly  of  drinking  people  from  London, 
peddlars,  etc.,  and  I  suppose  it  too  near  London  to  be  of 
any  great  use  to  the  country. 

March  was  unusually  hot  and  dry,  and  all  April  exces- 
sively wet. 

I  planted  all  the  out  limits  of  the  garden  and  long  walks 
with  holly.* 

9th  May,  1683.  Dined  at  Sir  Gabriel  Sylvius's  and 
thence  to  visit  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  to  ask  whether  he 
would  part  with  any  of  his  cartoons  and  other  drawings 
of  Raphael,  and  the  great  masters;  he  told  me  if  he 
might  sell  them  all  together  he  would,  but  that  the  late 
Sir  Peter  Lely  (our  famous  painter)  had  gotten  some  of 
his  best.  The  person  who  desired  me  to  treat  for  them 
was  Vander  Douse,  grandson  to  that  great  scholar,  con- 
temporary and  friend  of  Joseph  Scaliger. 

i6th  May,  1683.  Came  to  dinner  and  visited  me  Sir 
Richard  Anderson,  of  Pendley,  and  his  lady,  with  whom 
I  went  to  London. 

8th  June,  1683.  On  my  return  home  from  the  Royal 
Society,  I  found  Mr.  Wilbraham,  a  young  gentleman  of 
Cheshire. 

nth  June,  1683.  The  Lord  Dartmouth  was  elected 
Master  of  the  Trinity  House;  son  to  George  Legge,  late 

*  Evelyn  adds  a  note:  "400  feet  in  length,  9  feet  high,  5  in  diame- 
ter, in  my  now  ruined  garden,  thanks  to  the  Czar  of  Muscovy. » — 
^Sylva,'*^  book  ii.  chap.  vi. 


i683  JOHN  EVELYN  177 

Master  of  the  Ordnance,  and  one  of  the  grooms  of  the 
bedchamber;  a  great  favorite  of  the  Duke's,  an  active 
and  understanding  gentleman  in  sea  affairs. 

13th  June,  1683.  To  our  Society,  where  we  received 
the  Count  de  Zinzendorp,  Ambassador  from  the  Duke  of 
Saxony,  a  fine  young  man;  we  showed  him  divers  ex- 
periments en  the  magnet,  on  which  subject  the  Society 
were  upon. 

16th  June,  1683.  I  went  to  Windsor,  dining  by  the 
way  at  Chiswick,  at  Sir  Stephen  Fox's,  where  I  found 
Sir  Robert  Howard  (that  universal  pretender),  and  Sig^or 
Verrio,  who  brought  his  draught  and  designs  for  the 
painting  of  the  staircase  of  Sir  Stephen's  new  house. 

That  which  was  new  at  Windsor  since  I  was  last  there, 
and  was  surprising  to  me,  was  the  incomparable  fresco 
painting  in  St.  George's  Hall,  representing  the  legend  of 
St.  George,  and  triumph  of  the  Black  Prince,  and  his 
reception  by  Edward  III. ;  the  volto,  or  roof,  not  totally 
finished;  then  the  Resurrection  in  the  Chapel,  where 
the  figfure  of  the  Ascension  is,  in  my  opinion,  com- 
parable to  any  paintings  of  the  most  famous  Roman 
masters;  the  Last  Supper,  also  over  the  altar.  I  liked 
the  contrivance  of  the  unseen  organ  behind  the  altar,  nor 
less  the  stupendous  and  beyond  all  description  the  in- 
comparable carving  of  our  Gibbons,  who  is,  without  contro- 
versy, the  gfreatest  master  both  for  invention  and  rareness 
of  work,  that  the  world  ever  had  in  any  age;  nor  doubt 
I  at  all  that  he  will  prove  as  great  a  master  in  the  statuary 
art. 

Verrio's  invention  is  admirable,  his  ordnance  full  and 
flowing,  antique  and  heroical;  his  figures  move;  and,  if 
the  walls  hold  (which  is  the  only  doubt  by  reason  of  the 
salts  which  in  time  and  in  this  moist  climate  prejudice), 
the  work  will  preserve  his  name  to  ages. 

There  was  now  the  terrace  brought  almost  round  the 
old  castle;  the  grass  made  clean,  even,  and  curiously 
turfed;  the  avenues  to  the  new  park,  and  other  walks, 
planted  with  elms  and  limes,  and  a  pretty  canal,  and 
receptacle  for  fowl ;  nor  less  observable  and  famous  is  the 
throwing  so  huge  a  quantity  of  excellent  water  to  the 
enormous  height  of  the  castle,  for  the  use  of  the  whole 
house,  by  an  extraordinary  invention  of  Sir  Samuel  Mor- 
land. 
la 


178  DIARY  OP  LONDON 

17th  June,  1683.  I  dined  at  the  Earl  of  Sunderland's 
with  the  Earls  of  Bath,  Castlehaven,  Lords  Viscounts 
Falconberg,  Falkland,  Bishop  of  London,  the  Grand  Master 
of  Malta,  brother  to  the  Duke  de  Vendome  (a  young 
wild  spark),  and  Mr.  Dryden,  the  poet.  After  evening- 
prayer,  I  walked  in  the  park  with  my  Lord  Clarendon, 
where  we  fell  into  discourse  of  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury 
(Dr.  Seth  Ward),  his  subtlety,  etc.  Dr.  Durell,  late  Dean 
of  Windsor,  being  dead,  Dr.  Turner,  one  of  the  Duke's 
chaplains  was  made  dean. 

I  visited  my  Lady  Arlington,  groom  of  the  stole  to  her 
Majesty,  who  being  hardly  set  down  to  supper,  word  was 
brought  her  that  the  Queen  was  going  into  the  park  to 
walk,  it  being  now  near  eleven  at  night ;  the  alarm 
caused  the  Countess  to  rise  in  all  haste,  and  leave  her 
supper  to  us. 

By  this  one  may  take  an  estimate  of  the  extreme  slav- 
ery and  subjection  that  courtiers  live  in,  who  had  not 
time  to  eat  and  drink  at  their  pleasure.  It  put  me  in 
mind  of  Horace's  *  Mouse,*  and  to  bless  God  for  my  own 
private  condition. 

Here  was  Monsieur  de  I'Angle,  the  famous  minister 
of  Charenton,  lately  fled  from  the  persecution  in  France, 
concerning  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  Protestants 
there. 

1 8th  June,  1683.  I  was  present,  and  saw  and  heard 
the  humble  submission  and  petition  of  the  Lord  Mayor, 
sheriffs,  and  aldermen,  on  behalf  of  the  city  of  London, 
on  the  quo  warranto  against  their  charter  which  they 
delivered  to  his  Majesty  in  the  presence  chamber.  It 
was  delivered  kneeling,  and  then  the  King  and  Council 
went  into  the  council  chamber,  the  mayor  and  his  breth- 
ren attending  still  in  the  presence  chamber.  After  a 
short  space  they  were  called  in,  and  my  Lord  Keeper 
made  a  speech  to  them,  exaggerating  the  disorderly  and 
riotous  behavior  in  the  late  election,  and  polling  for 
Papillon  and  Du  Bois  after  the  Common  hall  had  been 
formally  dissolved:  with  other  misdemeanors,  libels  on 
the  government,  etc.,  by  which  they  had  incurred  his 
Majesty's  high  displeasure :  and  that  but  for  this  submission, 
and  under  such  articles  as  the  King  should  require  their 
obedience  to,  he  would  certainly  enter  judgment  against 
them,    which   hitherto  he    had    suspended.     The    things 


i683  JOHN   EVELYN  179 

required  were  as  follows:  that  they  should  neither  elect 
mayor,  sheriffs,  aldermen,  recorder,  common  Serjeant 
town  clerk,  coroner>  nor  steward  of  Southwark,  without 
his  Majesty's  approbation;  and  that  if  they  presented  any 
his  Majesty  did  not  like,  they  should  proceed  in  wonted 
manner  to  a  second  choice;  if  that  was  disapproved,  his 
Majesty  to  nominate  them ;  and  if  within  five  days  they 
thought  good  to  assent  to  this,  all  former  miscarriages 
should  be  forgotten.  And  so  they  tamely  parted  with 
their  so  ancient  privileges  after  they  had  dined  and  been 
treated  by  the  King.  This  was  a  signal  and  most 
remarkable  period.  What  the  consequences  will  prove, 
time  will  show.  Divers  of  the  old  and  most  learned 
lawyers  and  judges  were  of  opinion  that  they  could  not 
forfeit  their  charter,  but  might  be  personally  punished 
for  their  misdemeanors;  but  the  plurality  of  the  younger 
judges  and  rising  men  judged  it  otherwise. 

The  Popish  Plot  also,  which  had  hitherto  made  such  a 
noise,  began  now  sensibly  to  dwindle,  through  the  folly, 
knavery,  impudence,  and  giddiness  of  Oates,  so  as  the 
Papists  began  to  hold  up  their  heads  higher  than  ever, 
and  those  who  had  fled,  flocked  to  London  from  abroad. 
Such  sudden  changes  and  eager  doings  there  had  been 
without  anything  steady  or  prudent,  for  these  last  seven 
years. 

19th  June,  1683.  I  returned  to  town  in  a  coach  with 
the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  when  passing  by  the  glorious 
palace  of  his  father,  built  but  a  few  years  before,  which 
they  were  now  demolishing,  being  sold  to  certain  under- 
takers, I  turned  my  head  the  contrary  way  till  the  coach 
had  gone  past  it,  lest  I  might  minister  occasion  of  speak- 
ing of  it ;  which  must  needs  have  grieved  him,  that  in  so 
short  a  time  their  pomp  was   fallen. 

28th  June,  1683.  After  the  Popish  Plot,  there  was  now 
a  new  and  (as  they  called  it)  a  Protestant  Plot  discovered, 
that  certain  Lords  and  others  should  design  the  assassi- 
nation of  the  King  and  the  Duke  as  they  were  to  come 
from  Newmarket,  with  a  general  rising  of  the  nation,  and 
especially  of  the  city  of  London,  disaffected  to  the  pres- 
ent Government.  Upon  which  were  committed  to  the 
Tower,  the  Lord  Russell,  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of  Bed- 
ford, the  Earl  of  Essex,  Mr.  Algernon  Sidney,  son  to  the 
old  Earl  of  Leicester,    Mr.    Trenchard,    Hampden,    Lord 


i8o  DIARY  OF  London 

Howard  of  Escrick,  and  others.  A  proclamation  was  is- 
sued against  my  Lord  Grey,  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  Sir 
Thomas  Armstrong,  and  one  Ferguson,  who  had  escaped 
beyond  sea ;  of  these  some  were  said  to  be  for  killing  the 
King,  others  for  only  seizing  on  him,  and  persuading  him 
to  new  counsels,  on  the  pretense  of  the  danger  of  Popery, 
should  the  Duke  live  to  succeed,  who  was  now  again  ad- 
mitted to  the  councils  and  cabinet  secrets.  The  Lords 
Essex  and  Russell  were  much  deplored,  for  believing 
they  had  any  evil  intention  against  the  King,  or  the 
Church;  some  thought  they  were  cunningly  drawn  in  by 
their  enemies  for  not  approving  some  late  counsels  and 
management  relating  to  France,  to  Popery,  to  the  per- 
secution of  the  Dissenters,  etc.  They  were  discovered  by 
the  Lord  Howard  of  Escrick  and  some  false  brethren  of 
the  club,  and  the  design  happily  broken;  had  it  taken 
effect,  it  would,  to  all  appearance,  have  exposed  the 
Government  to  unknown  and  dangerous  events;  which 
God  avert! 

Was  bom  my  granddaughter  at  Sayes  Court,  and  chris- 
tened by  the  name  of  Martha  Maria,  our  Vicar  officiat- 
ing. I  pray  God  bless  her,  and  may  she  choose  the  better 
part! 

13th  July,  1683.  As  I  was  visiting  Sir  Thomas  Yar- 
borough  and  his  Lady,  in  Covent  Garden,  the  astonishing 
news  was  brought  to  us  of  the  Earl  of  Essex  having  cut 
his  throat,  having  been  but  three  days  a  prisoner  in  the 
Tower,  and  this  happened  on  the  very  day  and  instant 
that  Lord  Russell  was  on  his  trial,  and  had  sentence  of 
death.  This  accident  exceedingly  amazed  me,  my  Lord 
Essex  being  so  well  known  by  me  to  be  a  person  of  such 
sober  and  religious  deportment,  so  well  at  his  ease,  and 
so  much  obliged  to  the  King.  It  is  certain  the  King  and 
Duke  were  at  the  Tower,  and  passed  by  his  window  about 
the  same  time  this  morning,  when  my  Lord  asking  for  a 
razor,  shut  himself  into  a  closet,  and  perpetrated  the  hor- 
rid act.  Yet  it  was  wondered  by  some  how  it  was  pos- 
sible he  should  do  it  in  the  manner  he  was  found,  for 
the  wound  was  so  deep  and  wide,  that  being  cut  through 
the  gullet,  windpipe,  and  both  the  jugulars,  it  reached 
to  the  very  vertebrae  of  the  neck,  so  that  the  head  held 
to  it  by  a  very  little  skin  as  it  were ;  the  gapping  too  of 
the    razor,   and    cutting    his    own    fingers,   was    a    little 


i683  JOHN    EVELYN  i8i 

strange;  but  more,  that  having  passed  the  jugulars  he 
should  have  strength  to  proceed  so  far,  that  an  execu- 
tioner could  hardly  have  done  more  with  an  ax.  There 
were  odd  reflections  upon  it. 

The  fatal  news  coming  to  Hicks's  Hall  upon  the  article 
of  my  Lord  Russell's  trial,  was  said  to  have  had  no  little 
influence  on  the  Jury  and  all  the  Bench  to  his  prejudice. 
Others  said  that  he  had  himself  on  some  occasions  hinted 
that  in  case  he  should  be  in  danger  of  having  his  life 
taken  from  him  by  any  public  misfortune,  those  who 
thirsted  for  his  estate  should  miss  of  their  aim ;  and  that 
he  should  speak  favorably  of  that  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land,* and  some  others,  who  made  away  with  themselves; 
but  these  are  discourses  so  unlike  his  sober  and  prudent 
conversation  that  I  have  no  inclination  to  credit  them. 
What  might  instigate  him  to  this  devilish  act,  I  am  not 
able  to  conjecture.  My  Lord  Clarendon,  his  brother-in-law, 
who  was  with  him  but  the  day  before,  assured  me  he  was 
then  very  cheerful,  and  declared  it  to  be  the  effect  of  his 
innocence  and  loyalty;  and  most  believe  that  his  Majesty 
had  no  severe  intentions  against  him,  though  he  was  alto- 
gether inexorable  as  to  Lord  Russell  and  some  of  the  rest. 
For  my  part,  I  believe  the  crafty  and  ambitious  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury  had  brought  them  into  some  dislike  of  the 
present  carriage  of  matters  at  Court,  not  with  any  design 
of  destroying  the  monarchy  (which  Shaftesbury  had  in 
confidence  and  for  unanswerable  reasons  told  me  he 
would  support  to  his  last  breath,  as  having  seen  and  felt 
the  misery  of  being  under  mechanic  tyranny),  but  perhaps 
of  setting  up  some  other  whom  he  might  govern,  and 
frame  to  his  own  platonic  fancy,  without  much  regard  to 
the  religion  established  under  the  hierarchy,  for  which  he 
had  no  esteem;  but  when  he  perceived  those  whom  he 
had  engaged  to  rise,  fail  of  his  expectations,  and  the  day 
past,  reproaching  his  accomplices  that  a  second  day  for 
an  exploit  of  this  nature  was  never  successful,  he  gave 
them  the  slip,  and  got  into  Holland,  where  the  fox  died, 
three  months  before  these  unhappy  Lords  and  others  were 
discovered  or  suspected.  Every  one  deplored  Essex  and 
Russell,  especially  the  last,  as  being  thought  to  have  been 

*  Henry  Percy,  eighth  Earl  of  Northumberland,  shot  himself  in  the 
Tower,  to  which  he  had  been  committed  on  a  charge  of  high  treason,  in 
June,  1585. 


l82  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

drawn  in  on  pretense  only  of  endeavoring  to  rescue 
the  King  from  his  present  councilors,  and  secure  religion 
from  Popery,  and  the  nation  from  arbitrary  government, 
now  so  much  apprehended;  while  the  rest  of  those  who 
were  fled,  especially  Ferguson  and  his  gang,  had  doubtless 
some  bloody  design  to  get  up  a  Commonwealth,  and  turn 
all  things  topsy-turvy.  Of  the  same  tragical  principles 
is  Sydney. 

I  had  this  day  much  discourse  with  Monsieur  Pontaq, 
son  to  the  famous  and  wise  prime  President  of  Bor- 
deaux. This  gentleman  was  owner  of  that  excellent  vig- 
noble  of  Pontaq  and  O'Brien,  from  whence  come  the 
choicest  of  our  Bordeaux  wines ;  and  I  think  I  may  truly 
say  of  him,  what  was  not  so  truly  said  of  St.  Paul,  that 
much  learning  had  made  him  mad.  He  had  studied  well 
in  philosophy,  but  chiefly  the  Rabbins,  and  v/as  exceed- 
ingly addicted  to  cabalistical  fancies,  an  eternal  hablador 
[romancer],  and  half  distracted  by  reading  abundance 
of  the  extravagant  Eastern  Jews.  He  spoke  all  lan- 
guages, was  very  rich,  had  a  handsome  person,  and  was 
well  bred,  about  forty-five  years  of  age. 

14th  July,  1683.  I  visited  Mr.  Eraser,  a  learned  Scotch 
gentleman,  whom  I  had  formerly  recommended  to  Lord 
Berkeley  for  the  instruction  and  government  of  his  son, 
since  dead  at  sea.  He  had  now  been  in  Holland  at  the  sale 
of  the  learned  Heinsius's  library,  and  showed  me  some 
very  rare  and  curious  books,  and  some  MSS.,  which  he 
had  purchased  to  good  value.  There  were  three  or  four 
Herbals  in  miniature,  accurately  done,  divers  Roman 
antiquities  of  Verona,  and  very  many  books  of  Aldus's 
impression. 

15th  July,  1683.  A  stranger,  an  old  man,  preached  on 
Jerem.  vi.  8,  the  not  hearkening  to  instruction,  porten- 
tous of  desolation  to  a  people;  much  after  Bishop  An- 
drew's method,  full  of  logical  divisions,  in  short  and 
broken  periods,  and  Latin  sentences,  now  quite  out  of 
fashion  in  the  pulpit,  which  is  grown  into  a  far  more 
profitable  way,  of  plain  and  practical  discourses,  of  which 
sort  this  nation,  or  any  other,  never  had  greater  plenty 
or  more  profitable  (I  am  confident) ;  so  much  has  it  to 
answer  for  thriving  no  better  on  it. 

The  public  was  now  in  great  consternation  on  the 
late    plot  and   conspiracy;  his  Majesty    very   melancholy, 


i683  JOHN   EVELYN  183 

and  not  stirring  without  double  guards;  all  the  avenues 
and  private  doors  about  Whitehall  and  the  Park  shut 
up,  few  admitted  to  walk  in  it.  The  Papists,  in  the 
meantime,  very  jocund;  and  indeed  with  reason,  seeing 
their  own  plot  brought  to  nothing,  and  turned  to  ridi- 
cule, and  now  a  conspiracy  of  Protestants,  as  they  called 
them. 

The  Turks  were  likewise  in  hostility  against  the  Ger- 
man Emperor,  almost  masters  of  the  Upper  Hungary, 
and  drawing  toward  Vienna.  On  the  other  side,  the 
French  King  ( who  it  is  believed  brought  in  the  infidels  ) 
disturbing  his  Spanish  and  Dutch  neighbors,  having  swal- 
lowed up  almost  all  Flanders,  pursuing  his  ambition  of 
a  fifth  universal  monarchy;  and  all  this  blood  and  disorder 
in  Christendom  had  evidently  its  rise  from  our  defections 
at  home,  in  a  wanton  peace,  minding  nothing  but  luxury, 
ambition,  and  to  procure  money  for  our  vices.  To  this 
add  our  irreligion  and  atheism,  great  ingratitude,  and 
self-interest;  the  apostacy  of  some,  and  the  suffering 
the  French  to  grow  so  great,  and  the  Hollanders  so 
weak.  In  a  word,  we  were  wanton,  mad,  and  surfeiting 
with  prosperity;  every  moment  unsettling  the  old  foun- 
dations, and  never  constant  to  anything.  The  Lord  in 
mercy  avert  the  sad  omen,  and  that  we  do  not  provoke 
him  till  he  bear  it  no  longer! 

This  summer  did  we  suffer  twenty  French  men-of-war 
to  pass  our  Channel  toward  the  Sound,  to  help  the  Danes 
against  the  Swedes,  who  had  abandoned  the  French  in- 
terest, we  not  having  ready  sufficient  to  guard  our  coasts, 
or  take  cognizance  of  what  they  did;  though  the  nation 
never  had  more,  or  a  better  navy,  yet  the  sea  had  never 
so  slender  a  fleet. 

19th  July,  1683.  George,  Prince  of  Denmark,  who  had 
landed  this  day,  came  to  marry  the  Lady  Anne,  daughter 
to  the  Duke ;  so  I  returned  home,  having  seen  the  young 
gallant  at  dinner  at  Whitehall. 

20th  July,  1683.  Several  of  the  conspirators  of  the 
lower  form  were  executed  at  Tyburn;  and  the  next  day, 

2ist  July,  1683.  Lord  Russell  was  beheaded  in  Lin- 
coln's Inn  Fields,  the  executioner  giving  him  three  butch- 
erly strokes.  The  speech  he  made,  and  the  paper  which 
he  gave  the  Sheriff  declaring  his  innocence,  the  nobleness 
of  the  family,  the  piety   and   worthiness  of  the  unhappy 


i84  DIARY  OF  London 

gentleman,  wrought   much  pity,  and  occasioned    various 
discourses  on  the  plot. 

25th  July,  1683.  I  again  saw  Prince  George  of  Den- 
mark: he  had  the  Danish  countenance,  blonde,  of  few 
words,  spoke  French  but  ill,  seemed  somewhat  heavy, 
but  reported  to  be  valiant,  and  indeed  he  had  bravely 
rescued  and  brought  off  his  brother,  the  King  of  Den- 
mark, in  a  battle  against  the  Swedes,  when  both  these 
Kings  were  engaged  very  smartly. 

28th  July,  1683.  He  was  married  to  the  Lady  Anne 
at  Whitehall.  Her  Court  and  household  to  be  modeled 
as  the  Duke's,  her  father,  had  been,  and  they  to  con- 
tinue in  England. 

ist  August,  1683.  Came  to  see  me  Mr.  Flamsted,  the 
famous  astronomer,  from  his  Observatory  at  Greenwich,  to 
draw  the  meridian  from  my  pendule,  etc. 

2d  August,  1683.  The  Countesses  of  Bristol  and  Sunder- 
land, aunt  and  cousin-german  of  the  late  Lord  Russell, 
came  to  visit  me,  and  condole  his  sad  fate.  The  next  day, 
came  Colonel  Russell,  uncle  to  the  late  Lord  Russell,  and 
brother  to  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  and  with  him  Mrs.  Mid- 
dleton,  that  famous  and  indeed  incomparable  beauty, 
daughter  to  my  relation,  Sir  Robert  Needham. 

19th  August,  1683.  I  went  to  Bromley  to  visit  our 
Bishop,  and  excellent  neighbor,  and  to  congratulate  his 
now  being  made  Archbishop  of  York.  On  the  28th,  he 
came  to  take  his  leave  of  us,  now  preparing  for  his  jour- 
ney and  residence  in  his  province. 

28th  August,  1683.  My  sweet  little  grandchild,  Martha 
Maria,  died,  and  on  the  29th  was  buried  in  the  parish 
church. 

2d  September,  1683.  This  morning,  was  read  in  the 
church,  after  the  office  was  done,  the  Declaration  setting 
forth  the  late  conspiracy  against  the  King's  person. 

3d  September,  1683.  I  went  to  see  what  had  been 
done  by  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  on  his  lately  purchased 
house  at  Chelsea,  which  I  once  had  "the  selling  of  for  the 
Countess  of  Bristol,  he  had  made  great  alterations,  but 
might  have  built  a  better  house  with  the  materials  and 
the  cost  he  had  been  at. 

Saw  the  Countess  of  Monte  Feltre,  whose  husband  I  had 
formerly  known ,  he  was  a  subject  of  the  Pope's,  but  be- 
coming a  Protestant  he  resided  in  England,  and  married 


1 683  JOHN   EVELYN  185 

into  the  family  of  the  Savilles,  of  Yorkshire.  The  Count, 
her  late  husband,  was  a  very  learned  gentleman,  a  great 
politician,  and  a  goodly  man.  She  was  accompanied  by 
her  sister,  exceedingly  skilled  in  painting,  nor  did  they 
spare  for  color  on  their  own  faces.  They  had  a  great 
deal  of  wit. 

9th  September,  1683.  It  being  the  day  of  public  thanks- 
giving for  his  Majesty's  late  preservation,  the  former 
Declaration  was  again  read,  and  there  was  an  office  used, 
composed  for  the  occasion.  A  loyal  sermon  was  preached 
on  the  divine  right  of  Kings,  from  Psalm  cxliv.  10. 
*  Thou  hast  preserved  David  from  the  peril  of  the  sword.  * 

15th  September,  1683.  Came  to  visit  me  the  learned 
anatomist,  Dr.  Tyson,*  with  some  other  Fellows  of  our 
Societ}'. 

1 6th  September,  1683.  At  the  elegant  villa  and  gar- 
den of  Mr.  Bohun,  at  Lee.  He  showed  me  the  zinnar 
tree,  or  platanus,  and  told  me  that  since  they  had 
planted  this  kind  of  tree  about  the  city  of  Ispahan,  in 
Persia,  the  plague,  which  formerly  much  infested  the 
place,  had  exceedingly  abated  of  its  mortal  effects,  and 
rendered  it  very  healthy. 

1 8th  September,  1683.  I  went  to  London  to  visit  the 
Duchess  of  Grafton,  now  great  with  child,  a  most  vir- 
tuous and  beautiful  lady.  Dining  with  her  at  my  Lord 
Chamberlain's,  met  my  Lord  of  St.  Alban's,  now  grown 
so  blind,  that  he  could  not  see  to  take  his  meat.  He  has 
lived  a  most  easy  life,  in  plenty  even  abroad,  while  his 
Majesty  was  a  sufferer;  he  has  lost  immense  sums  at  play, 
which  yet,  at  about  eighty  years  old,  he  continues,  hav- 
ing one  that  sits  by  him  to  name  the  spots  on  the  cards. 
He  ate  and  drank  with  extraordinary  appetite.  He  is  a 
prudent  old  courtier,  and  much  enriched  since  his  Maj- 
esty's return. 

After  dinner,  I  walked  to  survey  the  sad  demolition  of 
Clarendon  House,  that  costly  and  only  sumptuous  palace 

*  Doctor  Edward  Tyson,  a  learned  physician,  bom  at  Clevedon,  Som- 
ersetshire, in  1649,  who  became  reader  of  the  anatomical  lecture  in 
Surgeons'  Hall,  and  phj-sician  to  the  hospitals  of  Bethlehem  and  Bride- 
well, which  offices  he  held  at  his  death,  Aug.  i,  1708.  He  was  an  in- 
genious writer,  and  has  left  various  Essays  in  the  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions and  Hook's  Collections  He  published  also  «The  Anatomy  of  a 
Porpoise  Dissected  at  Gresham  College, »  and  «The  Anatomy  of  a  Pig- 
my Compared  with  a  Monkey,  an  Ape,  and  a  Man,»  4to.,  1698-99. 


i86  DIARY  OF  London 

of  the  late  Lord  Chancellor  Hyde,  where  I  have  often 
been  so  cheerful  with  him,  and  sometimes  so  sad:  hap- 
pening to  make  him  a  visit  but  the  day  before  he  fled 
from  the  angry  Parliament,  accusing  him  of  maladminis- 
tration, and  being  envious  at  his  grandeur,  who  from  a 
private  lawyer  came  to  be  father-in-law  to  the  Duke  of 
York,  and  as  some  would  suggest,  designing  his  Majesty's 
marriage  with  the  Infanta  of  Portugal,  not  apt  to  breed. 
To  this  they  imputed  much  of  our  unhappiness ;  and  that 
he,  being  sole  minister  and  favorite  at  his  Majesty's 
restoration,  neglected  to  gratify  the  King's  suffering 
party,  preferring  those  who  were  the  cause  of  our  troubles. 
But  perhaps  as  many  of  these  things  were  injuriously 
laid  to  his  charge,  so  he  kept  the  government  far  steadier 
than  it  has  proved  since.  I  could  name  some  who  I 
think  contributed  greatly  to  his  ruin,  —  the  buffoons  and 
the  MISSIS,  to  whom  he  was  an  eye-sore.  It  is  true  he 
was  of  a  jolly  temper,  after  the  old  English  fashion;  but 
France  had  now  the  ascendant,  and  we  were  become 
quite  another  nation.  The  Chancellor  gone,  and  dying 
in  exile,  the  Earl  his  successor  sold  that  which  cost 
;^5o,ooo  building,  to  the  young  Duke  of  Albemarle  for 
;^2 5,000,  to  pay  debts  which  how  contracted  remains  yet 
a  mystery,  his  son  being  no  way  a  prodigal.  Some 
imagine  the  Duchess  his  daughter  had  been  chargeable 
to  him.  However  it  were,  this  stately  palace  is  decreed 
to  ruin,  to  support  the  prodigious  waste  the  Duke  of 
Albemarle  had  made  of  his  estate,  since  the  old  man  died. 
He  sold  it  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  it  fell  to  certain 
rich  bankers  and  mechanics,  who  gave  for  it  and  the 
ground  about  it,  ;^35,ooo;  they  design  a  new  town,  as  it 
were,  and  a  most  magnificent  piazza  [square].  It  is  said 
they  have  already  materials  toward  it  with  what  they 
sold  of  the  house  alone,  more  worth  than  what  they  paid 
for  it.  See  the  vicissitudes  of  earthly  things!  I  was 
astonished  at  this  demolition,  nor  less  at  the  little  army 
of  laborers  and  artificers  leveling  the  ground,  laying 
foundations,  and  contriving  great  buildings  at  an  expense 
of  ^£"200,000,  if  they  perfect  their  design. 

19th  September,  1683.  In  my  walks  I  stepped  into  a 
goldbeater's  workhouse,  where  he  showed  me  the  won- 
derful ductility  of  that  spreading  and  oily  metal.  He 
said   it   must  be   finer  than  the   standard,    such   as    was 


1 683  JOHN   EVELYN  187 

old  angel-gold,  and  that  of  such  he  had  once  to  the  value 
of  ;^ioo  stamped  with  the  agnus  del,  and  coined  at  the 
time  of  the  holy  war;  which  had  been  found  in  a  ruined 
wall  somewhere  in  the  North,  near  to  Scotland,  some  of 
which  he  beat  into  leaves,  and  the  rest  sold  to  the  curi- 
osi  in  antiquities  and  medals. 

23d  September,  1683.  We  had  now  the  welcome  tidings 
of  the  King  of  Poland  raising  the  siege  of  Vienna,  which 
had  given  terror  to  all  Europe,  and  utmost  reproach  to 
the  French,  who  it  is  believed  brought  in  the  Turks  for 
diversion,  that  the  French  King  might  the  more  easily 
swallow  Flanders,  and  pursue  his  unjust  conquest  on 
the  empire,  while  we  sat  unconcerned  and  under  a  deadly 
charm  from  somebody. 

There  was  this  day  a  collection  for  rebuilding  New- 
vnarket,  consumed  by  an  accidental  fire,  which  removing 
his  Majesty  thence  sooner  than  was  intended,  put  by  the 
assassins,  who  were  disappointed  of  their  rendezvous  and 
expectation  by  a  wonderful  providence.  This  made  the 
King  more  earnest  to  render  Winchester  the  seat  of  his 
autumnal  field  diversions  for  the  future,  designing  a  pal- 
ace there,  where  the  ancient  castle  stood;  infinitely  in- 
deed preferable  to  Newmarket  for  prospects,  air,  pleasure, 
and  provisions.  The  surveyor  has  already  begun  the 
foundation  for  a  palace,  estimated  to  cost  ;^35,ooo,  and 
his  Majesty  is  purchasing  ground  about  it  to  make  a 
park,  etc. 

4th  October,  1683.  I  went  to  London,  on  receiving  a 
note  from  the  Countess  of  Arlington,  of  some  considera- 
ble charge  or  advantage  I  might  obtain  by  applying  my- 
self to  his  Majesty  on  this  signal  conjuncture  of  his 
Majesty  entering  up  judgment  against  the  city  charter; 
the  proposal  made  me  I  wholly  declined,  not  being  well 
satisfied  with  these  violent  transactions,  and  not  a  little 
sorry  that  his  Majesty  was  so  often  put  upon  things  of 
this  nature  against  so  great  a  city,  the  consequence 
whereof  may  be  so  much  to  his  prejudice;  so  I  returned 
home.  At  this  time,  the  Lord  Chief- Justice  Pemberton 
was  displaced.  He  was  held  to  be  the  most  learned  of 
the  judges,  and  an  honest  man.  Sir  George  Jeffreys  was 
advanced,  reputed  to  be  most  ignorant,  but  most  daring. 
Sir  George  Treby,  Recorder  of  London,  was  also  put  by, 
and   one    Genner,    an   obscure   lawyer,    set  in  his  place. 


1 88  DIARY  OF  London 

Eight  of  the  richest  and  chief  aldermen  were  removed, 
and  all  the  rest  made  only  justices  of  the  peace,  and  no 
more  wearing  of  gowns,  or  chains  of  gold;  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  two  sheriffs  holding  their  places  by  new  gfrants 
as  custodes,  at  the  King's  pleasure.  The  pomp  and 
grandeur  of  the  most  augrust  city  in  the  world  thus  changed 
face  in  a  moment ;  which  gave  great  occasion  of  discourse 
and  thoughts  of  hearts,  what  all  this  would  end  in.  Pru- 
dent men  were  for  the  old  foundations. 

Following  his  Majesty  this  morning  through  the  gal- 
lery, I  went  with  the  few  who  attended  him,  into  the 
Duchess  of  Portmouth's  dressing  room  within  her  bed- 
chamber, where  she  was  in  her  morning  loose  garment, 
her  maids  combing  her,  newly  out  of  her  bed,  his  Majesty 
and  the  gallants  standing  about  her;  but  that  which  en- 
gaged my  curiosity,  was  the  rich  and  splendid  furniture 
of  this  woman's  apartment,  now  twice  or  thrice  pulled 
down  and  rebuilt  to  satisfy  her  prodigal  and  expensive 
pleasures,  while  her  Majesty's  does  not  exceed  some  gen- 
tlemen's ladies  in  furniture  and  accommodation.  Here  I 
saw  the  new  fabric  of  French  tapestry,  for  design,  ten- 
derness of  work,  and  incomparable  imitation  of  the  best 
paintings,  beyond  anything  I  had  ever  beheld.  Some 
pieces  had  Versailles,  St.  Germains,  and  other  palaces  of 
the  French  King,  with  huntings,  figures,  and  landscapes, 
exotic  fowls,  and  all  to  the  life  rarely  done.  Then  for 
Japan  cabinets,  screens,  pendule  clocks,  great  vases  of 
wrought  plate,  tables,  stands,  chimney- furniture,  sconces, 
branches,  braseras,  etc.,  all  of  massy  silver  and  out  of 
number,  besides  some  of  her  Majesty's  best  paintings. 

Surfeiting  of  this,  I  dined  at  Sir  Stephen  Fox's  and 
went  contented  home  to  my  poor,  but  quiet  villa.  What 
contentment  can  there  be  in  the  riches  and  splendor  of 
this  world,  purchased  with  vice  and  dishonor  ? 

loth  October,  1683.  Visited  the  Duchess  of  Grafton, 
not  yet  brought  to  bed,  and  dining  with  my  Lord  Cham- 
berlain (her  father),  went  with  them  to  see  Montague 
House,  a  palace  lately  built  by  Lord  Montague,  who  had 
married  the  most  beautiful  Countess  of  Northumberland. 
It  is  a  stately  and  ample  palace.  Signor  Verrio's  fresco 
paintings,  especially  the  funeral  pile  of  Dido,  on  the 
staircase,  the  labors  of  Hercules,  fight  with  the  Centaurs, 
his  effeminacy  with  Dejanira,  and  Apotheosis  or  reception 


1 683  JOHN   EVELYN  189 

among  the  gods,  on  the  walls  and  roof  of  the  great  room 
above, —  I  think  exceeds  anything  he  has  yet  done,  both 
for  design,  coloring,  and  exuberance  of  invention,  com- 
parable to  the  greatest  of  the  old  masters,  or  what  they 
so  celebrate  at  Rome.  In  the  rest  of  the  chamber  are 
some  excellent  paintings  of  Holbein,  and  other  masters. 
The  garden  is  large,  and  in  good  air,  but  the  fronts  of 
the  house  not  answerable  to  the  inside.  The  court  at 
entry,  and  wings  for  offices  seem  too  near  the  street,  and 
that  so  very  narrow  and  meanly  built,  that  the  corridor 
is  not  in  proportion  to  the  rest,  to  hide  the  court  from 
being  overlooked  by  neighbors;  all  which  might  have 
been  prevented,  had  they  placed  the  house  further  into 
the  gfround,  of  which  there  was  enough  to  spare.  But 
on  the  whole  it  is  a  fine  palace,  built  after  the  French 
pavilion- way,  by  Mr.  Hooke,  the  Curator  of  the  Royal 
Society.  There  were  with  us  my  Lady  Scroope,  the 
great  wit,  and  Monsieur  Chardine,  the  celebrated  trav- 
eler. 

13th  October,  1683.  Came  to  visit  me  my  old  and 
worthy  friend,  Mr.  Packer,  bringing  with  him  his  nephew 
Berkeley,  grandson  to  the  honest  judge.  A  most  ingenious, 
virtuous,  and  religious  gentleman,  seated  near  Worcester, 
and  very  curious  in  gardening. 

17th  October,  1683.  I  was  at  the  court-leet  of  this  manor, 
my  Lord  Arlington  his  Majesty's  High  Steward. 

26th  October,  1683.  Came  to  visit  and  dine  with  me, 
Mr.  Brisbane,  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty,  a  learned  and 
agreeable  man. 

30th  October,  1683.  I  went  to  Kew  to  visit  Sir  Henry 
Capell,  brother  to  the  late  Earl  of  Essex;  but  he  being 
gone  to  Cashiobury,  after  I  had  seen  his  garden  and  the 
alterations  therein,  I  returned  home.  He  had  repaired  his 
house,  roofed  his  hall  with  a  kind  of  cupola,  and  in  a  niche 
was  an  artificial  fountain ;  but  the  room  seems  to  me  over- 
melancholy,  yet  might  be  much  improved  by  having  the 
walls  well  painted  a  fresco.  The  two  green  houses  for 
oranges  and  myrtles,  communicating  with  the  rooms  below, 
are  very  well  contrived.  There  is  a  cupola  made  with 
pole-work  between  two  elms  at  the  end  of  a  walk,  which 
being  covered  by  plashing  the  trees  to  them,  is  very 
pretty;  for  the  rest  there  are  too  many  fir  trees  in  the 
garden. 


I90  DIARY  OF  London 

17th  November,  1683.  I  took  a  house  in  Villiers  Street, 
York  Buildings,  for  the  winter,  having  many  important  con- 
cerns to  dispatch,  and  for  the  education  of  my  daughters. 

23d  November,  1683,  The  Duke  of  Monmouth,  till  now 
proclaimed  traitor  on  the  pretended  plot  for  which  Lord 
Russell  was  lately  beheaded,  came  this  evening  to  White- 
hall and  rendered  himself,  on  which  were  various  dis- 
courses. 

26th  November,  1683.  I  went  to  compliment  the  Duchess 
of  Grafton,  now  lying-in  of  her  first  child,  a  son,  which 
she  called  for,  that  I  might  see  it.s  She  was  become  more 
beautiful,  if  it  were  possible,  than  before,  and  full  of 
virtue  and  sweetness.  She  discoursed  with  me  of  many 
particulars,  with  great  prudence  and  gravity  beyond  her 
years. 

29th  November,  1683.  Mr.  Forbes  showed  me  the  plot 
of  the  garden  making  at  Burleigh,  at  my  Lord  Exeter's, 
which  I  looked  on  as  one  of  the  most  noble  that  I  had  seen. 

The  whole  court  and  town  in  solemn  mourning  for  the 
death  of  the  King  of  Portugal,  her  Majesty's  brother. 

30th  November,  1683.  At  the  anniversary  dinner  of  the 
Royal  Society  the  King  sent  us  two  does.  Sir  Cyril  Wych 
was  elected  President. 

5th  December,  1683.  I  was  this  day  invited  to  a  wed- 
ding of  one  Mrs.  Castle,  to  whom  I  had  some  obligation, 
and  it  was  to  her  fifth  husband,  a  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  city.  She  was  the  daughter  of  one  Burton,  a  broom- 
man,  by  his  wife,  who  sold  kitchen  stuff  in  Kent  Street, 
whom  God  so  blessed  that  the  father  became  a  very  rich, 
and  was  a  very  honest  man ;  he  was  sheriff  of  Surrey,  where 
I  have  sat  on  the  bench  with  him.  Another  of  his 
daughters  was  married  to  Sir  John  Bowles;  and  this 
daughter  was  a  jolly  friendly  woman.  There  was  at  the 
wedding  the  Lord  Mayor,  the  Sheriff,  several  Aldermen 
and  persons  of  quality;  above  all,  Sir  George  Jeffreys, 
newly  made  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  with  Mr. 
Justice  Withings,  danced  with  the  bride,  and  were  ex- 
ceedingly merry.  These  great  men  spent  the  rest  of  the 
afternoon,  till  eleven  at  night,  in  drinking  healths,  taking 
tobacco,  and  talking  much  beneath  the  gravity  of  judges, 
who  had  but  a  day  or  two  before  condemned  Mr.  Al- 
gernon Sidney,  who  was  executed  the  7th  on  Tower  Hill, 
on  the  single  witness  of  that   monster  of  a  man,    Lord 


i683  JOHN  EVELYN  191 

Howard  of  Escrick,  and  some  sheets  of  paper  taken  in 
Mr.  Sidney's  study,  pretended  to  be  written  by  him,  but 
not  fully  proved,  nor  the  time  when,  but  appearing  to 
have  been  written  before  his  Majesty's  Restoration,  and 
then  pardoned  by  the  Act  of  Oblivion;  so  that  though 
Mr.  Sidney  was  known  to  be  a  person  obstinately  averse 
to  government  by  a  monarch  (the  subject  of  the  paper 
was  in  answer  to  one  by  Sir  E.  Filmer),  yet  it  was 
thought  he  had  very  hard  measure.  There  is  this  yet 
observable,  that  he  had  been  an  inveterate  enemy  to 
the  last  king,  and  in  actual  rebellion  against  him;  a 
man  of  great  courage,  great  sense,  great  parts,  which 
he  showed  both  at  his  trial  and  death ;  for,  when  he  came 
on  the  scaffold,  instead  of  a  speech,  he  told  them  only 
that  he  had  made  his  peace  with  God,  that  he  came  not 
thither  to  talk,  but  to  die;  put  a  paper  into  the  sheriff's 
hand,  and  another  into  a  friend's;  said  one  prayer  as 
short  as  a  grace,  laid  down  his  neck,  and  bid  the  execu- 
tioner do  his  office. 

The  Duke  of  Monmouth,  now  having  his  pardon,  re- 
fuses to  acknowledge  there  was  any  treasonable  plot;  for 
which  he  is  banished  Whitehall,  This  is  a  great  dis- 
appointment to  some  who  had  prosecuted  Trenchard, 
Hampden,  etc,  that  for  want  of  a  second  witness  were 
come  out  of  the  Tower  upon  their  habeas  corpus. 

The  King  had  now  augmented  his  guards  with  a  new 
sort  of  dragoons,  who  carried  also  grenades,  and  were 
habited  after  the  Polish  manner,  with  long  peaked  caps, 
very  fierce  and  fantastical. 

7th  December,  1683,  I  went  to  the  Tower,  and  visited 
the  Earl  of  Danby,  the  late  Lord  High  Treasurer,  who 
had  been  imprisoned  four  years:  he  received  me  with 
great  kindness,  I  dined  with  him,  and  stayed  till  night. 
We  had  discourse  of  many  things,  his  Lady  railing 
sufficiently  at  the  keeping  her  husband  so  long  in  prison. 
Here  I  saluted  the  Lord  Dumblaine's  wife,  who  before 
had  been  married  to  Emerton,  and  about  whom  there 
was  that  scandalous  business  before  the  delegates. 

23d  December,  1683.  The  smallpox  very  prevalent  and 
mortal;  the  Thames  frozen. 

26th  December,  1683.  I  dined  at  Lord  Clarendon's, 
where  I  was  to  meet  that  ingenious  and  learned  gentle- 
man, Sir  George  Wheeler,  who  has  published  the  excellent 


tgi  DIARY  OP  London 

description  of  Africa  and  Greece,  and  who,  being  a  knight 
of  a  very  fair  estate  and  young,  had  now  newly  entered 
into  holy  orders. 

27th  December,  1683.  I  went  to  visit  Sir  John  Chardin, 
a  French  gentleman,  who  traveled  three  times  by  land 
into  Persia,  and  had  made  many  curious  researches  in  his 
travels,  of  which  he  was  now  setting  forth  a  relation.  It 
being  in  England  this  year  one  of  the  severest  frosts 
that  has  happened  of  many  years,  he  told  me  the  cold  in 
Persia  was  much  greater,  the  ice  of  an  incredible  thick- 
ness ;  that  they  had  little  use  of  iron  in  all  that  country, 
it  being  so  moist  (though  the  air  admirably  clear  and 
healthy)  that  oil  would  not  preserve  it  from  rusting,  so 
that  they  had  neither  clocks  nor  watches;  some  padlocks 
they  had  for  doors  and  boxes. 

30th  December,  1683.  Dr.  Sprat,  now  made  Dean  of 
Westminster,  preached  to  the  King  at  Whitehall,  on  Matt, 
vi.  24.  Recollecting  the  passages  of  the  past  year,  I  gave 
God  thanks  for  his  mercies,  praying  his  blessing  for  the 
future. 

ist  January,  1683-84.  The  weather  continuing  intoler- 
ably severe,  streets  of  booths  were  set  up  on  the  Thames ; 
the  air  was  so  very  cold  and  thick,  as  of  many  years  there 
had  not  been  the  like.     The   smallpox  was  very  mortal. 

2d  January,  1684.  I  dined  at  Sir  Stephen  Fox's:  after 
dinner  came  a  fellow  who  ate  live  charcoal,  glowingly 
ignited,  quenching  them  in  his  mouth,  and  then  champ- 
ing and  swallowing  them  down.  T^^re  was  a  dog  also 
which  seemed  to  do  many  rational  actions. 

6th  January,  1684.     The  river  quite  frozen. 

9th  January,  1684.  I  went  across  the  Thames  on  the 
ice,  now  become  so  thick  as  to  bear  not  only  streets  of 
booths,  in  which  they  roasted  meat,  and  had  divers  shops 
of  wares,  quite  across  as  in  a  town,  but  coaches,  carts, 
and  horses  passed  over.  So  I  went  from  Westminster 
stairs  to  Lambeth,  and  dined  with  the  Archbishop :  where 
I  met  my  Lord  Bruce,  Sir  George  Wheeler,  Colonel  Cooke, 
and  several  divines.  After  dinner  and  discourse  with  his 
Grace  till  evening  prayers,  Sir  George  Wheeler  and  I 
walked  over  the  ice  from  Lambeth  stairs  to  the  Horse- 
ferry. 

loth  January,  1684.  I  visited  Sir  Robert  Reading,  where 
after  supper  we   had  music,   but   not  comparable  to  that 


1683-84  JOHN  EVELYN  193 

which  Mrs.  Bridgeman  made  us  on  the  guitar  with  such 
extraordinary  skill  and  dexterity. 

1 6th  January,  1684.  The  Thames  was  filled  with  peo- 
ple and  tents  selling  all  sorts  of  wares  as  in  the  city. 

24th  January,  1684.  The  frost  continues  more  and 
more  severe,  the  Thames  before  London  was  still  planted 
with  booths  in  formal  streets,  all  sorts  of  trades  and 
shops  furnished,  and  full  of  commodities,  even  to  a 
printing  press,  where  the  people  and  ladies  took  a  fancy 
to  have  their  names  printed,  and  the  day  and  year  set 
down  when  printed  on  the  Thames:  this  humor  took  so 
universally,  that  it  was  estimated  that  the  printer  gained 
j^5  a  day,  for  printing  a  line  only,  at  sixpence  a  name, 
besides  what  he  got  by  ballads,  etc.  Coaches  plied  from 
Westminster  to  the  Temple,  and  from  several  other  stairs 
to  and  fro,  as  in  the  streets,  sleds,  sliding  with  skates, 
a  bull-baiting,  horse  and  coach-races,  puppet-plays  and 
interludes,  cooks,  tippling,  and  other  lewd  places,  so  that 
it  seemed  to  be  a  bacchanalian  triumph,  or  carnival  on 
the  water,  while  it  was  a  severe  judgment  on  the  land, 
the  trees  not  only  splitting  as  if  the  lightning  struck,  but 
men  and  cattle  perishing  in  divers  places,  and  the  very 
seas  so  locked  up  with  ice,  that  no  vessels  could  stir  out 
or  come  in.  The  fowls,  fish,  and  birds,  and  all  our 
exotic  plants  and  greens,  universally  perishing.  Many 
parks  of  deer  were  destroyed,  and  all  sorts  of  fuel  so 
dear,  that  there  were  great  contributions  to  preserve  the 
poor  alive.  Nor  was  this  severe  weather  much  less  in- 
tense in  most  parts  of  Europe,  even  as  far  as  Spain  and 
the  most  southern  tracts.  London,  by  reason  of  the  ex- 
cessive coldness  of  the  air  hindering  the  ascent  of  the 
smoke,  was  so  filled  with  the  fuliginous  steam  of  the 
sea-coal,  that  hardly  could  one  see  across  the  street,  and 
this  filling  the  lungs  with  its  gross  particles,  exceedingly 
obstructed  the  breast,  so  as  one  could  scarcely  breathe. 
Here  was  no  water  to  be  had  from  the  pipes  and  engines, 
nor  could  the  brewers  and  divers  other  tradesmen 
work,  and  every  moment  was  full  of  disastrous  acci- 
dents. 

4th  February,  1684.     I  went  to  Sayes  Court  to  see  how 

the  frost  had  dealt  with  my  garden,  where  I  found  many 

of  the   greens    and    rare    plants   utterly   destroyed.     The 

oranges  and  myrtles  very  sick,  the  rosemary  and  laurels 

13 


194  DIARY  OF  London 

dead  to  all  appearance,  but  the  cypress  likely  to  en- 
dure it. 

5tli  February,  1684.  It  began  to  thaw,  but  froze  again. 
My  coach  crossed  from  Lambeth,  to  the  Horse-ferry  at 
Milbank,  Westminster.  The  booths  were  almost  all  taken 
down ;  but  there  was  first  a  map  or  landscape  cut  in  cop- 
per representing  all  the  manner  of  the  camp,  and  the 
several  actions,  sports,  and  pastimes  thereon,  in  memory 
of  so  signal  a  frost. 

7th  February,  1684.  I  dined  with  my  Lord  Keeper, 
[North],  and  walking  alone  with  him  some  time  in  his 
gallery,  we  had  discourse  of  music.  He  told  me  he  had 
been  brought  up  to  it  from  a  child,  so  as  to  sing  his 
part  at  first  sight.  Then  speaking  of  painting,  of  which 
he  was  also  a  great  lover,  and  other  ingenious  matters, 
he  desired  me  to  come  oftener  to  him. 

8th  February,  1684.  I  went  this  evening  to  visit  that 
great  and  knowing  virtuoso,  Monsieur  Justell.  The 
weather  was  set  in  to  an  absolute  thaw  and  rain;  but 
the  Thames  still  frozen. 

loth  February,  1684.  After  eight  weeks  missing  the 
foreign  posts,  there  came  abundance  of  intelligence  from 
abroad. 

12th  February,  1684.  The  Earl  of  Danby,  late  Lord- 
Treasurer,  together  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Lords  im- 
peached of  high  treason  in  the  Popish  Plot,  had  now 
their  habeas  corpus^  and  came  out  upon  bail,  after  five 
years'  imprisonment  in  the  Tower.  Then  were  also  tried 
and  deeply  fined  Mr.  Hampden  and  others,  for  being 
supposed  of  the  late  plot,  for  which  Lord  Russell  and 
Colonel  Sidney  suffered;  as  also  the  person  who  went 
about  to  prove  that  the  Earl  of  Essex  had  his  throat 
cut  in  the  Tower  by  others;  likewise  Mr.  Johnson,  the 
author  of  that  famous  piece  called  Julian. 

15th  February,  1684.  News  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
having  accused  the  Deputies  of  Amsterdam  of  crimen 
1<BS(Z  MajestatiSy  and  being  pensioners  to  France. 

Dr.  Tenison  communicated  to  me  his  intention  of  erect- 
ing a  library  in  St.  Martin's  parish,  for  the  public  use, 
and  desired  my  assistance,  with  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
about  the  placing  and  structure  thereof,  a  worthy  and 
laudable  design.  He  told  me  there  were  thirty  or  forty 
young  men  in  Orders  in  his  parish,  either  governors  to 


i684  JOHN   EVELYN  19^ 

young  gentlemen  or  chaplains  to  noblemen,  who  being 
reproved  by  him  on  occasion  for  frequenting  taverns  or 
coflEeehouses,  told  him  they  would  study  or  employ  their 
time  better,  if  they  had  books.  This  put  the  pious  Doc- 
tor on  this  design ;  and  indeed  a  great  reproach  it  is  that 
so  great  a  city  as  London  should  not  have  a  public  library 
becoming  it.  There  ought  to  be  one  at  St.  Paul's;  the 
west  end  of  that  church  (if  ever  finished)  would  be  a 
convenient  place. 

23d  February,  1684.  I  went  to  Sir  John  Chardin,  who 
desired  my  assistance  for  the  engraving  the  plates,  the 
translation,  and  printing  his  History  of  that  wonderful 
Persian  Monument  near  Persepolis,  and  other  rare  an- 
tiquities, which  he  had  caused  to  be  drawn  from  the 
originals  in  his  second  journey  into  Persia,  which  we  now 
concluded  upon.  Afterward,  I  went  with  Sir  Christopher 
Wren  to  Dr.  Tenison,  where  we  made  the  drawing  and 
estimate  of  the  expense  of  the  library,  to  be  begun  this 
next  spring  near  the  Mews. 

Great  expectation  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  attempts 
in  Holland  to  bring  those  of  Amsterdam  to  consent  to 
the  new  levies,  to  which  we  were  no  friends,  by  a  pseudo- 
politic  adherence  to  the  French  interest. 

26th  February,  1684.  Came  to  visit  me  Dr.  Turner, 
our  new  Bishop  of  Rochester. 

28th  February,  1684.  I  dined  at  Lady  Tuke's,  where 
I  heard  Dr.  Walgrave  (physician  to  the  Duke  and  Duchess) 
play  excellently  on  the  lute. 

7th  March,  1684.  Dr.  Meggot,  Dean  of  Winchester, 
preached  an  incomparable  sermon  (the  King  being  now 
gone  to  Newmarket),  on  Heb,  xii.  15,  showing  and 
pathetically  pressing  the  care  we  ought  to  have  lest  we 
come  short  of  the  grace  of  God.  Afterward,  I  went  to 
visit  Dr.  Tenison  at  Kensington,  whither  he  was  retired 
to  refresh,  after  he  had  been  sick  of  the  smallpox. 

15th  March,  1684.  At  Whitehall  preached  Mr.  Henry 
Godolphin,  a  prebend  of  St.  Paul's,  and  brother  to  my 
dear  friend  Sydney,  on  Isaiah  Iv.  7.  I  dined  at  the  Lord 
Keeper's,  and  brought  him  to  Sir  John  Chardin,  who 
showed  him  his  accurate  drafts  of  his  travels   in   Persia. 

28th  March,  1684.  There  was  so  great  a  concourse  of 
people  with  their  children  to  be  touched  for  the  Evil, 
that  six  or  seven  were  crushed  to  death  by  pressing  at 


196  DIARY  OF  SURREY 

the  chirurgeon's  door  for  tickets.  The  weather  began  to 
be  more  mild  and  tolerable;  but  there  was  not  the  least 
appearance  of  any  spring. 

30th  March,  1684.  Easter  day.  The  Bishop  of  Roches- 
ter preached  before  the  King;  after  which  his  Majesty, 
accompanied  with  three  of  his  natural  sons,  the  Dukes 
of  Northumberland,  Richmond,  and  St.  Alban  (sons  of 
Portsmouth,  Cleveland,  and  Nelly),  went  up  to  the  altar; 
the  three  boys  entering  before  the  King  within  the  rails, 
at  the  right  hand,  and  three  bishops  on  the  left :  London 
(who  officiated),  Durham,  and  Rochester,  with  the  sub- 
dean,  Dr.  Holder.  The  King,  kneeling  before  the  altar, 
making  his  offering,  the  Bishops  first  received,  and  then 
his  Majesty;  after  which  he  retired  to  a  canopied  seat  on 
the  right  hand.  Note,  there  was  perfume  burned  before 
the  office  began.  I  had  received  the  Sacrament  at  White- 
hall early  with  the  Lords  and  household,  the  Bishop  of 
London  officiating.  Then  went  to  St.  Martin's,  where 
Dr.  Tenison  preached  (recovered  from  the  smallpox) ; 
then  went  again  to  Whitehall  as  above.  In  the  after- 
noon, went  to  St.   Martin's  again. 

4th  April,  1684.  I  returned  home  with  my  family  to 
my  house  at  Sayes  Court,  after  five  months*  residence  in 
London;  hardly  the  least  appearance  of  any  spring. 

30th  April,  1684.  A  letter  of  mine  to  the  Royal  Soci- 
ety concerning  the  terrible  effects  of  the  past  winter  being 
read,  they  desired  it  might  be  printed  in  the  next  part 
of  their  *  Transactions.  * 

loth  May,  1684.  I  went  to  visit  my  brother  in  Surrey. 
Called  by  the  way  at  Ashted,  where  Sir  Robert  Howard 
(Auditor  of  the  Exchequer)  entertained  me  very  civilly 
at  his  newly-built  house,  which  stands  in  a  park  on  the 
Down,  the  avenue  south ;  though  down  hill  to  the  house, 
which  is  not  great,  but  with  the  outhouses  very  conven- 
ient. The  staircase  is  painted  by  Verrio  with  the  story 
of  Astrea;  among  other  figures  is  the  picture  of  the 
painter  himself,  and  not  unlike  him;  the  rest  is  well 
done,  only  the  columns  did  not  at  all  please  me;  there 
is  also  Sir  Robert's  own  picture  in  an  oval ;  the  whole  in 
fresco.  The  place  has  this  great  defect,  that  there  is  no 
water  but  what  is  drawn  up  by  horses  from  a  very  deep  well. 

nth  May,  1684.  Visited  Mr.  Higham,  who  was  ill, 
and  died  three  days   after.     His   grandfather  and  father 


i684  JOHN  EVELYN  197 

(who  christened  me),  with  himself,  had  now  been  rectors 
of  this  parish  loi  years,  viz,  from  May,   1583. 

12th  May,  1684.  I  returned  to  London,  where  I  found 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  abolished,  and  the 
office  of  Admiral  restored  to  the  Diike,  as  to  the  dispos- 
ing- and  ordering  all  sea  business;  but  his  Majesty  signed 
all  petitions,  papers,  warrants,  and  commissions,  that  the 
Duke,  not  acting  as  admiral  by  commission  or  ofiSce, 
might  not  incur  the  penalty  of  the  late  Act  against  Pa- 
pists and  Dissenters  holding  offices,  and  refusing  the  oath 
and  test.  Every  one  was  glad  of  this  change,  those  in 
the  late  Commission  being  utterly  ignorant  in  their  duty, 
to  the  g^eat  damage  of  the  Navy. 

The  utter  ruin  of  the  Low  Country  was  threatened  by 
the  siege  of  Luxemburg,  if  not  timely  relieved,  and  by 
the  obstinacy  of  the  Hollanders,  who  refused  to  assist  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  being  corrupted  by  the  French. 

1 6th  May,  1684.  I  received  ;!£"6oo  of  Sir  Charles  Bick- 
erstaff  for  the  fee  farm  of  Pilton,  in  Devon. 

26th  May,  1684.  Lord  Dartmouth  was  chosen  Master 
of  the  Trinity  Company,  newly  returned  with  the  fleet 
from  blowing  up  and  demolishing  Tangier.  In  the  ser- 
mon preached  on  this  occasion.  Dr.  Can  observed  that, 
in  the  27th  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  cast- 
ing anchor  out  of  the  fore  ship  had  been  caviled  at  as 
betraying  total  i^orance:  that  it  is  very  true  our  seamen 
do  not  do  so;  but  in  the  Mediterranean  their  ships  were 
built  differently  from  ours,  and  to  this  day  it  was  the 
practice  to  do  so  there. 

Luxemburg  was  surrendered  to  the  French,  which 
makes  them  master  of  all  the  Netherlands,  gives  them 
entrance  into  Germany,  and  a  fair  game  for  universal 
monarchy;  which  that  we  should  suffer,  who  only  and 
easily  might  have  hindered,  astonished  all  the  world. 
Thus  is  the  poor  Prince  of  Orange  ruined,  and  this  nation 
and  all  the  Protestant  interest  in  Europe  following,  unless 
God  in  his  infinite  mercy,  as  by  a  miracle,  interpose, 
and  our  great  ones  alter  their  counsels.  The  French 
fleet  were  now  besieging  Genoa,  but  after  burning  much 
of  that  beautiful  city  with  their  bombs,  went  off  with 
disgrace. 

nth  June,  1684.  My  cousin,  Vemey,  to  whom  a  very 
great  fortune  was  fallen,  came  to  take  leave  of  us,  going  into 


198  DIARY     OF  GREENWICH 

the  country;  a  very  worthy  and  virtuous  young  gentle- 
man. 

12th  June,  1684.  I  went  to  advise  and  give  directions 
about  the  building  of  two  streets  in  Berkeley  Garden,  re- 
serving the  house  and  as  much  of  the  garden  as  the 
breadth  of  the  house.  In  the  meantime,  I  could  not  but 
deplore  that  sweet  place  (by  far  the  most  noble  gardens, 
courts,  and  accommodations,  stately  porticos,  etc.,  any- 
where about  the  town)  should  be  so  much  straitened 
and  turned  into  tenements.  But  that  magnificent  pile 
and  gardens  contiguous  to  it,  built  by  the  late  Lord 
Chancellor  Clarendon,  being  all  der&olished,  and  designed 
for  piazzas  and  buildings,  was  some  excuse  for  my  Lady 
Berkeley's  resolution  of  letting  out  her  ground  also  for 
so  excessive  a  price  as  was  offered,  advancing  near 
_;^i,ooo  per  annum  in  mere  ground  rents;  to  such  a  mad 
intemperance  was  the  age  come  of  building  about  a  city, 
by  far  too  disproportionate  already  to  the  nation  :*  I  hav- 
ing in  my  time  seen  it  almost  as  large  again  as  it  was 
within  my  memory. 

2  2d  June,  1684.  Last  Friday,  Sir  Thomas  Armstrong 
was  executed  at  Tyburn  for  treason,  without  trial,  having 
been  outlawed  and  apprehended  in  Holland,  on  the  con- 
spiracy of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  Lord  Russell,  etc., 
which  gave  occasion  of  discourse  to  people  and  lawyers, 
in  regard  it  was  on  an  outlawry  that  judgment  was  given 
and  execution.! 

2d  July,  1684.  I  went  to  the  Observatory  at  Green- 
wich, where  Mr.  Flamsted  took  his  observations  of  the 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  now  almost  three  parts  obscured. 

There  had  been  an  excessively  hot  and  dry  spring,  and 
such  a  drought  still  continued  as  never  was  in  my  mem- 
ory. 

13th  July,  1684,  Some  small  sprinkling  of  rain;  the 
leaves  dropping  from  the  trees  as  in  autumn. 

*What  wotild.  Evelyn  think  if  he  conld  see  what  is  now  called  Lon- 
don? 

t  When  brought  up  for  judgment,  Armstrong  insisted  on  his  right  to 
a  trial,  the  act  giving  that  right  to  those  who  came  in  within  a  year, 
and  the  year  not  having  expired.  Jefferies  refused  it ;  and  when  Arm- 
strong insisted  that  he  asked  nothing  but  law,  Jefferies  told  him  he 
should  have  it  to  the  full,  and  ordered  his  execution  in  six  days.  When 
Jefferies  went  to  the  King  at  Windsor  soon  after,  the  King  took  a  ring 
from  his  finger  and  gave  it  to  Jefferies.     Burnet,  ii.  989, 


i684  JOHN  EVELYN  199 

35th  July,  1684.  I  dined  at  Lord  Falkland's,  Treasurer 
of  the  Navy,  where  after  dinner  we  had  rare  music,  there 
being  among-  others,  Signor  Pietro  Reggio,  and  Signor 
John  Baptist,  both  famous,  one  for  his  voice,  the  other 
for  playing  on  the  harpsichord,  few  if  any  in  Europe  ex- 
ceeding him.  There  was  also  a  Frenchman  who  sung  an 
admirable  bass. 

26th  July,  1684.  I  returned  home,  where  I  found  my 
Lord  Chief  Justice  [Jefferies],  the  Countess  of  Clarendon, 
and  Lady  Catherine  Fitzgerald,  who  dined  with  me. 

loth  August,  1684.  We  had  now  rain  after  such  a 
drought  as  no  man  in  England"  had  known. 

24th  August,  1684.  Excessively  hot.  We  had  not  had 
above  one  or  two  considerable  showers,  and  those  storms, 
these  eight  or  nine  months.  Many  trees  died  for  the  want 
of  refreshment. 

31st  August,  1684.  Mr.  Sidney  Godolphin  was  made 
Baron  Godolphin. 

26th  September,  1684.  The  King  being  returned  from 
Winchester,  there  was  a  numerous  Court  at  Whitehall. 

At  this  time  the  Earl  of  Rochester  was  removed  from 
the  Treasury  to  the  Presidentship  of  the  Council;  Lord 
Godolphin  was  made  first  Commissioner  of  the  Treasury  in 
his  place,  Lord  Middleton  (a  Scot)  made  Secretary  of 
State,  in  the  room  of  Lord  Godolphin.  These  alterations 
being  very  unexpected  and  mysterious,  gave  great  occa- 
sion of  discourse. 

There  was  now  an  Ambassador  from  the  King  of  Siam, 
in  the  East  Indies,  to  his  Majesty. 

2 2d  October,  1684.  I  went  with  Sir  William  Godolphin 
to  see  the  rhinoceros,  or  unicorn,  being  the  first  that  I 
suppose  was  ever  brought  into  England.  She  belonged 
to  some  East  India  merchants,  and  was  sold  (as  I  re- 
member) for  above  ^^2,000.  At  the  same  time,  I  went  to 
see  a  crocodile,  brought  from  some  of  the  West  India 
Islands,  resembling  the  Egyptian  crocodile. 

24th  October,  1684.  I  dined  at  Sir  Stephen  Fox's  with 
the  Duke  of  Northumberland.  He  seemed  to  be  a  young 
gentleman  of  good  capacity,  well  bred,  civil  and  modest: 
newly  come  from  travel,  and  had  made  his  campaign  at 
the  siege  of  Luxemburg.  Of  all  his  Majesty's  children 
(of  which  he  had  now  six  Dukes)  this  seemed  the  most 
accomplished   and    worth   the   owning.     He   is  extraordi- 


200  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

narily  handsome  and  well  shaped.  What  the  Dukes  of 
Richmond  and  St.  Alban's  will  prove,  their  youth  does 
not  yet  discover;   they  are  very  pretty  boys. 

26th  October,  1684.  Dr.  Goodman  preached  before  the 
King  on  James  ii.  12,  concerning  the  law  of  liberty:  an 
excellent  discourse  and  in  good  method.  He  is  author 
of  "The  Prodigal  Son,**  a  treatise  worth  reading,  and 
another  of  the  old  religion. 

27th  October,  1684.  I  visited  the  Lord  Chamberlain, 
where  dined  the  black  Baron  and  Monsieur  Flamerin, 
who  had  so  long  been  banished  from  France  for  a  duel. 

28th  October,  1684.  I  carried  Lord  Clarendon  through 
the  city  amid  all  the  squibs  and  bacchanalia  of  the  Lord 
Mayor's  show,  to  the  Royal  Society,  where  he  was  pro- 
posed a  member;  and  then  treated  him  at  dinner. 

I  went  to  St.  Clement's,  that  prettily  built  and  contrived 
church  where  a  young  divine  gave  us  an  eloquent  ser- 
mon on  I  Cor.  vi.  20,  inciting  to  gratitude  and  glorify- 
ing God  for  the  fabric  of  our  bodies  and  the  dignity  of 
our  nature. 

2d  November,  1684.  A  sudden  change  from  temperate 
warm  weather  to  an  excessive  cold  rain,  frost,  snow,  and 
storm,  such  as  had  seldom  been  known.  This  winter 
weather  began  as  early  and  fierce  as  the  past  did  late; 
till  about  Christmas  there  then  had  been  hardly  any 
winter. 

4th  November,  1684.  Dr.  Turner,  now  translated  from 
Rochester  to  Ely  upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Peter  Gunning, 
preached  before  the  King  at  Whitehall  on  Romans  iii.  8, 
a  very  excellent  sermon,  vindicating  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land against  the  pernicious  doctrines  of  the  Church  of 
Rome.  He  challenged  the  producing  but  of  five  clergy- 
men who  forsook  our  Church  and  went  over  to  that  of 
Rome,  during  all  the  troubles  and  rebellion  in  England, 
which  lasted  near  twenty  years ;  and  this  was  to  my  cer- 
tain observation  a  great  truth. 

15th  November,  1684.  Being  the  Queen's  birthday, 
there  were  fireworks  on  the  Thames  before  Whitehall, 
with  pageants  of  castles,  forts,  and  other  devices  of  gir- 
andolas,  serpents,  the  King  and  Queen's  arms  and  mot- 
toes, all  represented  in  fire,  such  as  had  not  been  seen 
here.  But  the  most  remarkable  was  the  several  fires  and 
skirmishes  in  the   very   water,    which    actually   moved  a 


i684  JOHN   EVELYN  201 

long-  way,  burning  under  the  water,  now  and  then  ap- 
pearing above  it,  giving  reports  like  muskets  and  cannon, 
with  grenades  and  innumerable  other  devices.  It  is  said 
it  cost  p^i,5oo.  It  was  concluded  with  a  ball,  where  all 
the  young  ladies  and  gallants  danced  in  the  great  hall. 
The  court  had  not  been  seen  so  brave  and  rich  in  apparel 
since  his  Majesty's  Restoration. 

30th  November,  1684.  In  the  morning,  Dr.  Fiennes, 
son  of  the  Lord  Say  and  Seale,  preached  before  the  King 
on  Joshua  xxi.   11. 

3d  December,  1684.  I  carried  Mr.  Justell  and  Mr. 
Slingsby  (Master  of  the  Mint),  to  see  Mr.  Sheldon's 
collection  of  medals.  The  series  of  Popes  was  rare,  and 
so  were  several  among  the  moderns,  especially  that  of 
John  Huss's  martyrdom  at  Constance;  of  the  Roman 
Emperors,  Consulars  some  Greek,  etc.,  in  copper,  gold, 
and  silver;  not  many  truly  antique;  a  medallion  of 
Otho  Paulus  ^milius,  etc.,  ancient.  They  were  held 
at  a  price  of  ^1,000;  but  not  worth,  I  judge,  above 
^200. 

7th  December,  1684.  I  went  to  see  the  new  church  at 
St.  James's,  elegantly  built;  the  altar  was  especially 
adorned,  the  white  marble  mclosure  curiously  and  richly 
carved,  the  flowers  and  garlands  about  the  walls  by 
Mr.  Gibbons,  in  wood:  a  pelican  with  her  young  at 
her  breast;  just  over  the  altar  in  the  carved  compart- 
ment and  border  environing  the  purple  velvet  fringed 
with  I.  H.  S.  richly  embroidered,  and  most  noble  plate, 
were  given  by  Sir  R.  Geere,  to  the  value  ( as  was  said ) 
of  ;^2oo.  There  was  no  altar  anywhere  in  England,  nor 
has  there  been  any  abroad,  more  handsomely  adorned. 

17th  December,  1684.  Early  in  the  morning  I  went 
into  St.  James's  Park  to  see  three  Turkish,  or  Asian 
horses,  newly  brought  over,  and  now  first  shown  to  his 
Majesty.  There  were  four,  but  one  of  them  died  at  sea, 
being  three  weeks  coming  from  Hamburg.  They 
were  taken  from  a  Bashaw  at  the  siege  of  Vienna,  at 
the  late  famous  raising  that  leaguer.  I  never  beheld 
so  delicate  a  creature  as  one  of  them  was,  of  somewhat 
a  bright  bay,  two  white  feet,  a  blaze;  such  a  head, 
eyes,  ears,  neck,  breast,  belly,  haunches,  legs,  pasterns, 
and  feet,  in  all  reg-ards,  beautiful,  and  proportioned  to 
admiration;  spirited,  proud,  nimble,  making  halt,  turning 


2oa  DIARY  OF  London 

with  that  swiftness,  and  in  so  small  a  compass,  as  was 
admirable.  With  all  this  so  gentle  and  tractable  as 
called  to  mind  what  I  remember  Busbequius,  speaks  of 
them,  to  the  reproach  of  our  grooms  in  Europe,  who 
bring  up  their  horses  so  churlishly,  as  makes  most  of 
them  retain  their  ill  habits.  They  trotted  like  does,  as 
if  they  did  not  feel  the  ground.  Five  hundred  guineas 
was  demanded  for  the  first;  300  for  the  second;  and 
200  for  the  third,  which  was  brown.  All  of  them  were 
choicely  shaped,  but  the  two  last  not  altogether  so  perfect 
as  the  first,  \ 

It  was  judged  by  the  spectators,  among  whom  was  the 
King,  Prince  of  Denmark,  Duke  of  York,  and  several  of 
the  Court,  noble  persons  skilled  in  horses,  especially  Mon- 
sieur Faubert  and  his  son  (provost  masters  of  the  Acad- 
emy, and  esteemed  of  the  best  in  Europe),  that  there 
were  never  seen  any  horses  in  these  parts  to  be  compared 
with  them.  Add  to  all  this,  the  furniture  consisting  of 
embroidery  on  the  saddle,  housings,  quiver,  bow,  arrows, 
scymitar,  sword,  mace,  or  battle-ax,  h,  la  Turcisq;  the 
Bashaw's  velvet  mantle  furred  with  the  most  perfect 
ermine  I  ever  beheld;  all  which,  ironwork  in  common 
furniture  being  here  of  silver,  curiously  wrought  and 
double  gilt  to  an  incredible  value.  Such  and  so  extraor- 
dinary was  the  embroidery,  that  I  never  saw  anything 
approaching  it.  The  reins  and  headstall  were  of  crimson 
silk,  covered  with  chains  of  silver  gilt.  There  was  also 
a  Turkish  royal  standard  of  a  horse's  tail,  together  with 
all  sorts  of  other  caparisons  belonging  to  a  general's 
horse,  by  which  one  may  estimate  how  gallantly  and 
magnificently  those  infidels  appear  in  the  field;  for  noth- 
ing could  be  seen  more  glorious.  The  gentleman  (a  Ger- 
man) who  rode  the  horse,  was  in  all  this  garb.  They  were 
shod  with  iron  made  round  and  closed  at  the  heel,  with 
a  hole  in  the  middle  about  as  wide  as  a  shilling.  The 
hoofs  most  entire. 

1 8th  December,  1684,  I  went  with  Lord  Cornwallis  to 
see  the  young  gallants  do  their  exercise.  Mr.  Faubert 
having  newly  railed  in  a  manage,  and  fitted  it  for  the 
academy.  There  were  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk  and  North- 
umberland, Lord  Newburgh,  and  a  nephew  of  (Duras) 
Earl  of  Feversham.  The  exercises  were,  i,  running  at 
the  ring;  2,  flinging  a  javelin  at  a  Moor's   head;  3,  dis- 


1684-85  JOHN  EVELYN  203 

charging  a  pistol  at  a  mark;  lastly  taking  up  a  gauntlet 
with  the  point  of  a  sword;  all  these  performed  in  full 
speed.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland  hardly  missed  of 
succeeding  in  every  one,  a  dozen  times,  as  I  think.  The 
Duke  of  Norfolk  did  exceeding  bravely.  Lords  Newburgh 
and  Duras  seemed  nothing  so  dexterous.  Here  I  saw 
the  difference  of  what  the  French  call  <*  bel  homme  h.  cheval,^ 
and  "^(?«  homme  h  chevaP^;  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  being  the 
first,  that  is  rather  a  fine  person  on  a  horse,  the  Duke 
of  Northumberland  being  both  in  perfection,  namely,  a 
graceful  person  and  an  excellent  rider.  But  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk  told  me  he  had  not  been  at  this  exercise  these 
twelve  years  before.  There  were  in  the  field  the  Prince 
of  Denmark,  and  the  Lord  Lansdowne,  son  of  the  Earl 
of  Bath,  who  had  been  made  a  Count  of  the  Empire  last 
summer  for  his  service  before  Vienna. 

20th  December,  1684.  A  villainous  murder  was  perpe- 
trated by  Mr.  St.  John,  eldest  son  to  Sir  Walter  St.  John, 
a  worthy  gentleman,  on  a  knight  of  quality,  in  a  tavern. 
The  offender  was  sentenced  and  reprieved.  So  many 
horrid  murders  and  duels  were  committed  about  this  time 
as  were  never  before  heard  of  in  England;  which  gave 
much  cause  of  complaint  and  murmurings. 

ist  January,  1684-85.  It  proved  so  sharp  weather,  and 
so  long  and  cruel  a  frost,  that  the  Thames  was  frozen 
across,  but  the  frost  was  often  dissolved,  and  then  froze  again. 

nth  January,  1685.  A  young  man  preached  upon  St. 
Luke  xiii.  5,  after  the  Presbyterian  tedious  method  and 
repetition. 

24th  January,  1685.  I  dined  at  Lord  Newport's,  who 
had  some  excellent  pictures,  especially  that  of  Sir  Thomas 
Hanmer,  by  Vandyke,  one  of  the  best  he  ever  painted; 
another  of  our  English  Dobson's  painting;  but,  above 
all,  Christ  in  the  Virgin's  lap,  by  Poussin,  an  admirable 
piece;  with  something  of  most  other  famous  hands. 

25th  January,  1685.  Dr.  Dove  preached  before  the 
King.  I  saw  this  evening  such  a  scene  of  profuse  gam- 
ing, and  the  King  in  the  midst  of  his  three  concubines, 
as  I  have  never  before  seen — luxurious  dallying  and 
profaneness. 

27th  January,  1685.  I  dined  at  Lord  Sunderland's,  be- 
ing invited  to  hear  that  celebrated  voice  of  Mr.  Pordage, 
newly  come  from  Rome ;  his  singing  was  after  the  Vene- 


204  DIARY  OF  London 

tian  recitative,  as  masterly  as  could  be,  and  with  an  ex- 
cellent voice  both  treble  and  bass;  Dr.  Walgrave 
accompanied  it  with  his  theorbo  lute,  on  which  he  per- 
formed beyond  imagination,  and  is  doubtless  one  of  the 
greatest  masters  in  Europe  on  that  charming  instrument. 
Pordage  is  a  priest,  as  Mr.  Bernard  Howard  told  me  in 
private. 

There  was  in  the  room  where  we  dined,  and  in  his 
bedchamber,  those  incomparable  pieces  of  Columbus,  a 
Flagellation,  the  Grammar  school,  the  Venus  and  Adonis 
of  Titian ;  and  of  Vandyke's  that  picture  of  the  late  Earl 
of  Digby  (father  of  the  Countess  of  Sunderland),  and 
Earl  of  Bedford,  Sir  Kenelm  Digby,  and  two  ladies  of 
incomparable  performance ;  besides  that  of  Moses  and  the 
burning  bush  of  Bassano,  and  several  other  pieces  of  the 
best  masters.     A  marble  head  of  M,   Brutus,  etc. 

28th  January,  1685.  I  was  invited  to  my  Lord  Arundel's, 
of  Wardour  (now  newly  released  of  his  six  years'  con- 
finement in  the  Tower  on  suspicion  of  the  plot  called 
Oates's  Plot),  where  after  dinner  the  same  Mr.  Pordage 
entertained  us  with  his  voice,  that  excellent  and  stupen- 
dous artist,  Signor  John  Baptist,  playing  to  it  on  the 
harpsichord.  My  daughter  Mary  being  with  us,  she  also 
sang  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  both  the  masters,  and  a 
world  of  people  of  quality  present. 

She  did  so  also  at  my  Lord  Rochester's  the  evening 
following,  where  we  had  the  French  boy  so  famed  for 
his  singing,  and  indeed  he  had  a  delicate  voice,  and  had 
been  well  taught.  I  also  heard  Mrs.  Packer  (daughter 
to  my  old  friend)  sing  before  his  Majesty  and  the  Duke, 
privately,  that  stupendous  bass.  Gosling,  accompanying 
her,  but  hers  was  so  loud  as  took  away  much  of  the 
sweetness.  Certainly  never  woman  had  a  stronger  or 
better  ear,  could  she  possibly  have  governed  it.  She 
would  do  rarely  in  a  large  church  among  the  nuns. 

4th  February,  1685.  I  went  to  London,  hearing  his 
Majesty  had  been  the  Monday  before  (2d  February)  sur- 
prised in  his  bedchamber  with  an  apoplectic  fit,  so  that 
if,  by  God's  providence.  Dr.  King  (that  excellent  chirur- 
geon  as  well  as  physician)  had  not  been  accidentally 
present  to  let  him  bleed  (having  his  lancet  in  his  pocket), 
his  Majesty  had  certainly  died  that  moment;  which  might 
have  been  of  direful  consequence,  there  being  nobody  else 


1 685  JOHN   EVELYN  205 

present  with  the  King  save  this  Doctor  and  one  more,  as 
I  am  assured.  It  was  a  mark  of  the  extraordinary  dex- 
terity, resolution,  and  presence  of  mind  in  the  Doctor,  to 
let  him  bleed  in  the  very  paroxysm,  without  staying  the 
coming  of  other  physicians,  which  regularly  should  have 
been  done,  and  for  want  of  which  he  must  have  a  regular 
pardon,  as  they  tell  me.  This  rescued  his  Majesty  for  the 
instant,  but  it  was  only  a  short  reprieve.  He  still  com- 
plained, and  was  relapsing,  often  fainting,  with  sometimes 
epileptic  symptoms,  till  Wednesday,  for  which  he  was 
cupped,  let  bleed  in  both  jugfulars,  and  both  vomit  and 
purges,  which  so  relieved  him,  that  on  Thursday  hopes  of 
recovery  were  signified  in  the  public  ^^  Gazette,®  but  that 
day  about  noon,  the  physicians  thought  him  feverish. 
This  they  seemed  glad  of,  as  being  more  easily  allayed 
and  methodically  dealt  with  than  his  former  fits ;  so  as  they 
prescribed  the  famous  Jesuit's  powder;  but  it  made  him 
worse,  and  some  very  able  doctors  who  were  present  did 
not  think  it  a  fever,  but  the  effect  of  his  frequent  bleed- 
ing and  other  sharp  operations  used  by  them  about  his 
head,  so  that  probably  the  powder  might  stop  the  circula- 
tion, and  renew  his  former  fits,  which  now  made  him  very 
weak.  Thus  he  passed  Thursday  night  with  gfreat  diffi- 
culty, when  complaining  of  a  pain  in  his  side,  they  drew 
twelve  ounces  more  of  blood  from  him ;  this  was  by  six  in 
the  morning  on  Friday,  and  it  gave  him  relief,  but  it  did 
not  continue,  for  being  now  in  much  pain,  and  struggling 
for  breath,  he  lay  dozing,  and,  after  some  conflicts,  the 
physicians  despairing  of  him,  he  gave  up  the  ghost  at  half 
an  hour  after  eleven  in  the  morning,  being  the  sixth  of 
February,  1685,  in  the  36th  year  of  his  reign,  and  54th  of 
his  age. 

Prayers  were  solemnly  made  in  all  the  churches,  espe- 
cially in  both  the  Court  Chapels,  where  the  chaplains 
relieved  one  another  every  half  quarter  of  an  hour  from 
the  time  he  began  to  be  in  danger  till  he  expired,  ac- 
cording to  the  form  prescribed  in  the  Church  offices. 
Those  who  assisted  his  Majesty's  devotions  were,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishops  of  London,  Dur- 
ham, and  Ely,  but  more  especially  Dr.  Ken,  the  Bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells.*     It  is  said    they   exceedingly    urged 

*The  account  given  of  this  by  Charles's  brother  and  successor,  is, 
that  when  the   King's  life  was  wholly  despaired  of,  and  it  was  time 


3o6  DIARY  OF     \  London 

the  receiving  Holy  Sacrament,  but  his  Majesty  told  them 
he  would  consider  of  it,  which  he  did  so  long  till  it  was 
too  late.  Others  whispered  that  the  Bishops  and  Lords, 
except  the  Earls  of  Bath  and  Feversham,  being  ordered 
to  withdraw  the  night  before,  Huddleston,  the  priest, 
had  presumed  to  administer  the  Popish  offices.  He  gave 
his  breeches  and  keys  to  the  Duke  who  was  almost  con- 
tinually kneeling  by  his  bedside,  and  in  tears.  He  also 
recommended  to  him  the  care  of  his  natural  children,  all 
except  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  now  in  Holland,  and  in 
his  displeasure.  He  entreated  the  Queen  to  pardon  him 
(  not  without  cause) ;  who  a  little  before  had  sent  a  Bishop 
to  excuse  her  not  more  frequently  visiting  him,  in  regard 
of  her  excessive  grief,  and  withal  that  his  Majesty  would 
forgive  it  if  at  any  time  she  had  offended  him.  He  spoke 
to  the  Duke  to  be  kind  to  the  Duchess  of  Cleveland, 
and  especially  Portsmouth,  and  that  Nelly  might  not 
starve. 

Thus  died  King  Charles  II. ,  of  a  vigorous  and  robust 
constitution,  and  in  all  appearance  promising  a  long  life. 
He  was  a  prince  of  many  virtues,  and  many  great  imper- 

to  prepare  for  another  world,  two  Bishops  came  to  do  their  function, 
who  reading  the  prayers  appointed  in  the  Common  Prayer  Book  on 
that  occasion,  when  they  came  to  the  place  where  usually  they  exhort 
a  sick  person  to  make  a  confession  of  his  sins,  the  Bishop  of  Bath 
and  Wells,  who  was  one  of  them,  advertised  him,  it  was  not  of  ob- 
ligation; and  after  a  short  exhortation,  asked  him  if  he  was  sorry 
for  his  sins?  which  the  King  saying  he  was,  the  Bishop  pronounced 
the  absolution,  and  then,  asked  him  if  he  pleased  to  receive  the 
Sacrament  ?  to  which  the  King  made  no  reply ;  and  being  pressed  by 
the  Bishop  several  times,  gave  no  other  answer  but  that  it  was  time 
enough,  or  that  he  would  think  of  it. 

King  James  adds,  that  he  stood  all  the  while  by  the  bedside,  and 
seeing  the  King  would  not  receive  the  Sacrament  from  them,  and 
knowing  his  sentiments,  he  desired  the  company  to  stand  a  little 
from  the  bed,  and  then  asked  the  King  whether  he  should  send  for  a 
priest,  to  which  the  King  replied:  «For  God's  sake,  brother,  do,  and 
lose  no  time.®  The  Duke  said  he  would  bring  one  to  him;  but  none 
could  be  found  except  Father  Huddleston,  who  had  been  so  assistant 
in  the  King's  escape  from  Worcester;  he  was  brought  up  a  back 
staircase,  and  the  company  were  desired  to  withdraw,  but  he  (the 
Duke  of  York)  not  thinking  fit  that  he  should  be  left  alone  with  the 
King,  desired  the  Earl  of  Bath,  a  Lord  of  the  Bedchamber,  and  the 
Earl  of  Feversham,  Captain  of  the  Guard,  should  stay;  the  rest  being 
gone,  Father  Huddleston  was  introduced,  and  administered  the  Sacra- 
ment—  <^Life  of  James  H.» 


1685  JOHN  EVELYN  207 

fections;  debonair,  easy  of  access,  not  bloody  nor  cruel; 
his  countenance  fierce,  his  voice  great,  proper  of  person, 
every  motion  became  him ;  a  lover  of  the  sea,  and  skillful 
in  shipping;  not  affecting  other  studies,  yet  he  had  a 
laboratory,  and  knew  of  many  empirical  medicines,  and 
the  easier  mechanical  mathematics ;  he  loved  planting  and 
building,  and  brought  in  a  politer  way  of  .living,  which 
passed  to  luxury  and  intolerable  expense.  He  had  a 
particular  talent  in  telling  a  story,  and  facetious  pas- 
sages, of  which  he  had  innumerable;  this  made  some 
buffoons  and  vicious  wretches  too  presumptuous  and 
familiar,  not  worthy  the  favor  they  abused.  He  took 
delight  in  having  a  number  of  little  spaniels  follow  him 
and  lie  in  his  bedchamber,  where  he  often  suffered  the 
bitches  to  puppy  and  give  suck,  which  rendered  it  very 
offensive,  and  indeed  made  the  whole  court  nasty  and 
stinking.  He  would  doubtless  have  been  an  excellent 
prince,  had  he  been  less  addicted  to  women,  who  made 
him  uneasy,  and  always  in  want  to  supply  their  unmeas- 
urable  profusion,  to  the  detriment  of  many  indigent  per- 
sons who  had  signally  served  both  him  and  his  father. 
He  frequently  and  easily  changed  favorites  to  his  great 
prejudice. 

As  to  other  public  transactions,  and  unhappy  miscar- 
riages, 'tis  not  here  I  intend  to  number  them;  but  cer- 
tainly never  had  King  more  glorious  opportunities  to 
have  made  himself,  his  people,  and  all  Europe  happy,  and 
prevented  innumerable  mischiefs,  had  not  his  too  easy 
nature  resigned  him  to  be  managed  by  crafty  men,  and 
some  abandoned  and  profane  wretches  who  corrupted  his 
otherwise  sufl&cient  parts,  disciplined  as  he  had  been  by 
many  afflictions  during  his  banishment,  which  gave  him 
much  experience  and  knowledge  of  men  and  things;  but 
those  wicked  creatures  took  him  from  off  all  application 
becoming  so  great  a  King.  The  history  of  his  reign 
will  certainly  be  the  most  wonderful  for  the  variety  of 
matter  and  accidents,  above  any  extant  in  former  ages: 
the  sad  tragical  death  of  his  father,  his  banishment  and 
hardships,  his  miraculous  restoration,  conspiracies  against 
him,  parliaments,  wars,  plagues,  fires,  comets,  revolutions 
abroad  happening  in  his  time,  with  a  thousand  other  par- 
ticulars. He  was  ever  kind  to  me,  and  very  gracious 
upon  all  occasions,  and  therefore  I  cannot  without  ingrati- 


2o8  DIARY  OF  London 

tude  but  deplore   his   loss,  which    for   many   respects,    as 
well  as  duty,  I  do  with  all  my  soul. 

His  Majesty  being  dead,  the  Duke,  now  King  James 
II  ,  went  immediately  to  Council,  and  before  entering 
into  any  business,  passionately  declaring  his  sorrow, 
told  their  Lordships,  that  since  the  succession  had  fallen 
to  him,  he  would  endeavor  to  follow  the  example  of  his 
predecessor  in  his  clemency  and  tenderness  to  his  people ; 
that,  however  he  had  been  misrepresented  as  affecting 
arbitrary  power,  they  should  find  the  contrary ;  for  that  the 
laws  of  England  had  made  the  King  as  great  a  monarch 
as  he  could  desire;  that  he  would  endeavor  to  maintain 
the  Government  both  in  Church  and  State,  as  by  law  es- 
tablished, its  principles  being  so  firm  for  monarchy,  and 
the  members  of  it  showing  themselves  so  good  and  loyal 
subjects;*  and  that,  as  he  would  never  depart  from  the 
just  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  so  he  would 
never  invade  any  man's  property,  but  as  he  had  often 
adventured  his  life  in  defense  of  the  nation,  so  he  would 
still  proceed,  and  preserve  it  in  all  its  lawful  rights  and 
liberties, 

*  This  is  the  substance  (and  very  nearly  the  words  employed)  of  what 
is  stated  by  King  James  II.  in  the  MS.  printed  in  his  life ;  but  in  that 
MS.  are  some  words  which  Evelyn  has  omitted.  For  example,  after 
speaking  of  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England  as  good  and  loyal 
subjects,  the  King  adds,  «and  therefore  i  shall  always  take  care  to 
DEFEND  AND  SUPPORT  IT.®  James  then  goes  on  to  say,  that  being  desired 
by  some  present  to  allow  copies  to  be  taken,  he  said  he  had  not  committed 
it  to  writing;  on  which  Mr.  Finch  (then  Solicitor-General  and  afterward 
Earl  of  Aylesford)  replied,  that  what  his  Majesty  had  said  had  made  so 
deep  an  impression  on  him,  that  he  believed  he  could  repeat  the  very 
words,  and  if  his  Majesty  would  permit  him,  he  would  write  them 
down,  which  the  King  agreeing  to,  he  went  to  a  table  and  wrote  them 
down,  and  this  being  shown  to  the  King,  he  approved  of  it,  and  it  was 
immediately  published.  The  King  afterward  proceeds  to  say:  *No  one 
can  wonder  that  Mr.  Finch  should  word  the  speech  as  strong  as  he 
could  in  favor  of  the  Established  Religion,  nor  that  the  King  in  such  a 
hurry  should  pass  it  over  without  reflection ;  for  though  his  Majesty  in- 
tended to  promise  both  security  to  their  religion  and  protection  to  their 
persons,  he  was  afterward  convinced  it  had  been  better  expressed  by 
assuring  them  he  never  would  endeavor  to  alter  the  Established  Re- 
ligion, than  that  he  would  endeavor  to  preser^'e  it,  and  that  he  would 
rather  support  and  defend  the  professors  of  it,  than  the  religion  itself  ; 
they  could  not  expect  he  should  make  a  conscience  of  supporting  what 
in  his  conscience  he  thought  erroneous:  his  engaging  not  to  molest  the 
professors  of  it,  nor  to  deprive  them  or  their  successors  of  any  spiritual 
dignity,  revenue,  or  employment,  but  to  suffer  the  ecclesiastical  affairs 


i685  JOHN    EVELYN  209 

This  being-  the  substance  of  what  he  said,  the  Lords 
desired  it  might  be  published,  as  containing  matter  of 
great  satisfaction  to  a  jealous  people  upon  this  change, 
which  his  Majesty  consented  to.  Then  were  the  Council 
sworn,  and  a  Proclamation  ordered  to  be  published  that 
all  officers  should  continue  in  their  stations,  that  there 
might  be  no  failure  of  public  justice,  till  his  further 
pleasure  should  be  known.  Then  the  King  rose,  the 
Lords  accompanying  him  to  his  bedchamber,  where,  while 
he  reposed  himself,  tired  indeed  as  he  was  with  grief  and 
watching,  they  returned  again  into  the  Council  chamber 
to  take  order  for  the  proclaiming  his  Majesty,  which 
(after  some  debate)  they  consented  should  be  in  the  very 
form  his  grandfather.  King  James  I.,  was,  after  the  death 
of  Queen  Elizabeth;  as  likewise  that  the  Lords,  etc., 
should  proceed  in  their  coaches  through  the  city  for  the 
more  solemnity  of  it.  Upon  this  was  I,  and  several 
other  gentlemen  waiting  in  the  Privy  gallery,  admitted 
into  the  Council  chamber  to  be  witness  of  what  was  re- 
solved on.  Thence  with  the  Lords,  Lord  Marshal  and 
Heralds,  and  other  Crown  officers  being  ready,  we  first 
went  to  Whitehall  gate,  where  the  Lords  stood  on  foot 
bareheaded,  while  the  Herald  proclaimed  his  Majesty's 
title  to  the  Imperial  Crown  and  succession  according  to 
the  form,  the  trumpets  and  kettledrums  having  first 
sounded  three  times,  which  ended  with  the  people's  ac- 
clamations. Then  a  herald  called  the  Lords'  coaches 
according  to  rank,  myself  accompanying  the  solemnity  in 
my  Lord  Cornwallis's  coach,  first  to  Temple  Bar,  where 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  his  brethren  met  us  on  horseback, 
in  all  their  formalities,  and  proclaimed  the  King;  hence 
to  the  Exchange  in  Cornhill,  and  so  we  returned  in  the 

to  go  on  in  the  track  they  were  in,  was  all  they  could  wish  or  desire  from 
a  Prince  of  a  different  persuasion ;  but  having  once  approved  that  way 
of  expressing  it  which  Mr.  Finch  had  made  choice  of,  he  thought  it  nec- 
essary not  to  vary  from  it  in  the  declarations  or  speeches  he  made  after- 
ward, not  doubting  but  the  world  would  understand  it  in  the  meaning 

he  intended. 'Tis  true,  afterward  it  was  pretended  he  kept  not  up  to 

this  engagement;  but  had  they  deviated  no  further  from  the  duty  and  al- 
legience  which  both  nature  and  repeated  oath  obliged  them  to,  than  he 
DID  FROM  HIS  WORD,  they  had  still  remained  as  happy  a  people  as  they 
really  were  during  his  short  reign  in  England.  >> — «Life  of  James  II. ,» 
ii.  435.  The  words  printed  in  small  caps  in  this  extract  are  from  the 
interlineations  of  the  son  of  King  James  II. 

H 


2IO  DIARY       OF  LONDON 

order  we  set  forth.  Being  come  to  Whitehall,  we  all 
went  and  kissed  the  King  and  Queen's  hands.  He  had 
been  on  the  bed,  but  was  now  risen  and  in  his  undress. 
The  Queen  was  in  bed  in  her  apartment,  but  put  forth 
her  hand,  seeming  to  be  much  afflicted,  as  I  believe  she 
was,  having  deported  herself  so  decently  upon  all  occa- 
sions since  she  came  into  England,  which  made  her 
universally  beloved. 

Thus  concluded  this  sad  and  not  joyful  day. 

I  can  never  forget  the  inexpressible  luxury  and  pro- 
faneness,  gaming,  and  all  dissoluteness,  and  as  ,it  were 
total  forgetfulness  of  God  (it  being  Sunday  evening), 
which  this  day  se'nnight  I  was  witness  of,  the  King  sit- 
ting and  toying  with  his  concubines,  Portsmouth,  Cleve- 
land, and  Mazarin,  etc.,  a  French  boy  singing  love 
songs  *  in  that  glorious  gallery,  while  about  twenty  of 
the  great  courtiers  and  other  dissolute  persons  were  at 
Basset  round  a  large  table,  a  bank  of  at  least  2,000  in 
gold  before  them;  upon  which  two  gentlemen,  who  were 
with  me,  made  reflections  with  astonishment.  Six  days 
after,  was  all  in  the  dust. 

It  was  enjoined  that  those  who  put  on  mourning  should 
wear  it  as  for  a  father,  in  the  most  solemn  manner. 

loth  February,  1685.  Being  sent  to  by  the  Sheriff  of 
the  County  to  appear  and  assist  in  proclaiming  the  King, 
I  went  the  next  day  to  Bromley,  where  I  met  the  Sheriff 
and  the  Commander  of  the  Kentish  Troop,  with  an  appear- 
ance, I  suppose,  of  about  500  horse,  and  innumerable 
people,  two  of  his  Majesty's  trumpets,  and  a  Sergeant 
with  other  officers,  who  having  drawn  up  the  horse  in  a 
large  field  near  the  town,  marched  thence,  with  swords 
drawn,  to  the  market  place,  where,  making  a  ring,  after 
sound  of  trumpets  and  silence  made,  the  High  Sheriff 
read  the  proclaiming  titles  to  his  bailiff,  who  repeated 
them  aloud,  and  then,  after  many  shouts  of  the  people, 
his  Majesty's  health  being  drunk  in  a  flint  glass  of  a  yard 
long,  by  the  Sheriff,  Commander,  Officers,  and  chief 
gentlemen,  they  all  dispersed,  and  I  returned. 

13th  February,  1685,  I  passed  a  fine  on  selling  of  Hon- 
son  Grange  in  Staffordshire,  being  about  ;^2o  per  annum, 
which  lying  so  great  a  distance,  I  thought  fit  to  part 
with  it  to  one    Burton,  a  farmer  there.     It   came  to  me 

*Ante,  p.  204. 


i685  JOHN  EVELYN  211 

as  part  of  my  daughter-in-law's  portion,  this  being  but  a 
fourth  part  of  what  was  divided  between  the  mother  and 
three  sisters. 

14th  February,  1685.  The  King  was  this  night  very 
obscurely  buried  in  a  vault  under  Henry  VII.'s  Chapel  at 
Westminster,  without  any  manner  of  pomp,  and  soon  for- 
gotten after  all  this  vanity,  and  the  face  of  the  whole 
Court  was  exceedingly  changed  into  a  more  solemn  and 
moral  behavior;  the  new  King  affecting  neither  profane- 
ness  nor  buffooner}''.  All  the  great  ofl&cers  broke  their 
staves  over  the  grave,  according  to  form. 

15th  February,  1685.  Dr.  Tenison  preached  to  the 
household.  The  second  sermon  should  have  been  before 
the  King;  but  he,  to  the  gpreat  grief  of  his  subjects,  did 
now,  for  the  first  time,  go  to  mass  publicly  in  the  little 
Oratory  at  the  Duke's  lodgings,  the  doors  being  set  wide  open. 

1 6th  February,  1685.  I  dined  at  Sir  Robert  Howard's, 
auditor  of  the  exchequer,  a  gentleman  pretending  to  all 
manner  of  arts  and  sciences,  for  which  he  had  been  the 
subject  of  comedy,  under  the  name  of  Sir  Positive;  not 
ill-natured,  but  insufferably  boasting.  He  was  son  to  the 
late  Earl  of  Berkshire. 

17th  February,  1685.  This  morning  his  Majesty  re- 
stored the  staff  and  key  to  Lord  Arlingfton,  Chamberlain; 
to  Mr.  Savell,  Vice-chamberlain;  to  Lords  Newport  and 
Maynard,  Treasurer  and  Comptroller  of  the  household. 
Lord  Godolphin  made  Chamberlain  to  the  Queen;  Lord 
Peterborough  groom  of  the  stole,  in  place  of  the  Earl  of 
Bath;  the  Treasurer's  staff  to  the  Earl  of  Rochester;  and 
his  brother,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  Lord  Privy  Seal,  in 
the  place  of  the  Marquis  of  Halifax,  who  was  made  Presi- 
dent of  the  Council;  the  Secretaries  of  State  remaining 
as  before. 

19th  February,  1685.  The  Lord  Treasurer  and  the 
other  new  ofl&cers  were  sworn  at  the  Chancery  Bar  and 
the  exchequer. 

The  late  King  having  the  revenue  of  excise,  customs,  and 
other  late  duties  granted  for  his  life  only,  they  were  now 
farmed  and  let  to  several  persons,  upon  an  opinion  that 
the  late  King  might  let  them  for  three  years  after  his 
decease;  some  of  the  old  commissioners  refused  to  act. 
The  lease  was  made  but  the  day  before  the   King  died;* 

•James,  in  his  Life,  makes  no  mention  of  this  lease,  but  only  says 


212  DIARY     OF  LONDON 

the  major  part  of  the  Judges  (but,  as  some  think,  not 
the  best  lawyers),  pronounced  it  legal,  but  four  dissented. 

The  clerk  of  the  closet  had  shut  up  the  late  King's 
private  oratory  next  the  Privy-chamber  above,  but  the 
King  caused  it  to  be  opened  again,  and  that  prayers 
should  be  said  as  formerly. 

2 2d  February,  1685.  Several  most  useful  tracts  against 
Dissenters,  Papists  and  Fanatics,  and  resolutions  of 
cases  were  now  published  by  the  London  divines. 

4th  March,  1685,  Ash  Wednesday.  After  evening 
prayers,  I  went  to  London. 

5th  March,  1685.  To  my  grief,  I  saw  the  new  pulpit 
set  up  in  the  Popish  Oratory  at  Whitehall  for  the  Lent 
preaching,  mass  being  publicly  said,  and  the  Romanists 
swarming  at  Court  with  greater  confidence  than  had  ever 
been  seen  in  England  since  the  Reformation,  so  that 
everybody  grew  jealous  as  to  what  this  would  tend. 

A  Parliament  was  now  summoned,  and  great  industry 
used  to  obtain  elections  which  might  promote  the  Court 
interest,  most  of  the  corporations  being  now,  by  their 
new  charters,  empowered  to  make  what  returns  of  mem- 
bers they  pleased. 

There  came  over  divers  envoys  and  great  persons  to 
condole  the  death  of  the  late  King,  who  were  received 
by  the  Queen-Dowager  on  a  bed  of  mourning,  the  whole 
chamber,  ceiling  and  floor,  hung  with  black,  and  tapers 
were  lighted,  so  as  nothing  could  be  more  lugubrious  and 
solemn  The  Queen-Consort  sat  under  a  state  on  a  black 
foot-cloth,  to  entertain  the  circle  (as  the  Queen  used  to 
do),  and  that  very  decently. 

6th  March,  1685.  Lent  preachers  continued  as  formerly 
in  the  Royal  Chapel. 

7th  March,  1685.  My  daughter,  Mary,  was  taken  with 
smallpox,  and  there  soon  was  found  no  hope  of  her  re- 
covery. A  great  affliction  to  me :  but  God's  holy  will  be 
done! 

loth  March,  1685.  She  received  the  blessed  sacrament; 
after  which,  disposing  herself  to  suffer  what  God  should 

HE  continued  to  collect  them,  which  conduct  was  not  blamed ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  he  was  thanked  for  it,  in  an  address  from  the  Middle 
Temple,  penned  by  Sir  Bartholomew  Shore,  and  presented  by  Sir 
Humphrey  Mackworth,  carrying  g^eat  authority  with  it;  nor  did  the 
Parliament  find  fault. 


i685  JOHN   EVELYN  213 

determine  to  inflict,  she  bore  the  remainder  of  her  sick- 
ness with  extraordinary  patience  and  piety,  and  more 
than  ordinary  resignation  and  blessed  frame  of  mind. 
She  died  the  14th,  to  our  unspeakable  sorrow  and  afflic- 
tion, and  not  to  our's  only,  but  that  of  all  who  knew 
her,  who  were  many  of  the  best  quality,  greatest  and 
most  virtuous  persons.  The  justness  of  her  stature,  person, 
comeliness  of  countenance,  gracefulness  of  motion,  unaf- 
fected, though  more  than  ordinarily  beautiful,  were  the 
least  of  her  ornaments  compared  with  those  of  her  mind. 
Of  early  piety,  singularly  religious,  spending  a  part  of 
every  day  in  private  devotion,  reading,  and  other  virtu- 
ous exercises;  she  had  collected  and  written  out  many  of 
the  most  useful  and  judicious  periods  of  the  books  she 
read  in  a  kind  of  common-place,  as  out  of  Dr.  Hammond 
on  the  New  Testament,  and  most  of  the  best  practical 
treatises.  She  had  read  and  digested  a  considerable  deal 
of  history,  and  of  places.  The  French  tongue  was  as 
familiar  to  her  as  English;  she  understood  Italian,  and 
was  able  to  render  a  laudable  account  of  what  she  read 
and  observed,  to  which  assisted  a  most  faithful  memory 
and  discernment;  and  she  did  make  very  prudent  and 
discreet  reflections  upon  what  she  had  observed  of  the 
conversations  among  which  she  had  at  any  time  been, 
which  being  continually  of  persons  of  the  best  quality, 
she  thereby  improved.  She  had  an  excellent  voice,  to 
which  she  plaj^ed  a  thorough-bass  on  the  harpsichord,  in 
both  which  she  arrived  to  that  perfection,  that  of  the 
scholars  of  those  two  famous  masters,  Signors  Pietro  and 
Bartholomeo,  she  was  esteemed  the  best;  for  the  sweet- 
ness of  her  voice  and  management  of  it  added  such  an 
agreeablcness  to  her  countenance,  without  any  constraint 
or  concern,  that  when  she  sung,  it  was  as  charming  to 
the  eye  as  to  the  ear ;  this  I  rather  note,  because  it  was 
a  universal  remark,  and  for  which  so  many  noble  and 
judicious  persons  in  music  desired  to  hear  her,  the  last 
being  at  Lord  Arundel's,  at  Wardour. 

What  shall  I  say,  or  rather  not  say,  of  the  cheerfulness 
and  agreeableness  of  her  humor  ?  condescending  to  the 
meanest  servant  in  the  family,  or  others,  she  still  kept 
up  respect,  without  the  least  pride.  She  would  often 
read  to  them,  examine,  instruct,  and  pray  with  them  if 
they   were    sick,  so   as    she   was    exceedingly    beloved  of 


214  DIARY  OF  LONDON 

everybody.  Piety  was  so  prevalent  an  ingredient  in  her 
constitution  (as  I  may  say),  that  even  among  equals  and 
superiors  she  no  sooner  became  intimately  acquainted, 
but  she  would  endeavor  to  improve  them,  by  insinuating 
something  religious,  and  that  tended  to  bring  them  to  a 
love  of  devotion;  she  had  one  or  two  confidants  with 
whom  she  used  to  pass  whole  days  in  fasting,  reading, 
and  prayers,  especially  before  the  monthly  communion, 
and  other  solemn  occasions.  She  abhorred  flattery,  and, 
though  she  had  abundance  of  wit,  the  raillery  was  so  in- 
nocent and  ingenius  that  it  was  most  agfreeable;  she 
sometimes  would  see  a  play,  but  since  the  stage  grew 
licentious,  expressed  herself  weary  of  them,  and  the  time 
spent  at  the  theater  was  an  unaccountable  vanity.  She 
never  played  at  cards  without  extreme  importunity  and 
for  the  company;  but  this  was  so  very  seldom,  that  I 
cannot  number  it  among  anything  she  could  name  a  fault. 
No  one  could  read  prose  or  verse  better  or  with  more 
judgment;  and  as  she  read,  so  she  wrote,  not  only  most 
correct  orthography,  with  that  maturity  of  judgment  and 
exactness  of  the  periods,  choice  of  expressions,  and 
familiarity  of  style,  that  some  letters  of  hers  have  as- 
tonished me  and  others,  to  whom  she  has  occasionally 
written.  She  had  a  talent  of  rehearsing  any  comical 
part  or  poem,  as  to  them  she  might  be  decently  free 
with;  was  more  pleasing  than  heard  on  the  theater;  she 
danced  with  the  greatest  grace  I  had  ever  seen,  and  so 
would  her  master  say,  who  was  Monsieur  Isaac;  but  she 
seldom  showed  that  perfection,  save  in  the  gracefulness 
of  her  carriage,  which  was  with  an  air  of  sprightly 
modesty  not  easily  to  be  described.  Nothing  affected, 
but  natural  and  easy  as  well  in  her  deportment  as  in  her 
discourse,  which  was  always  material,  not  trifling,  and 
to  which  the  extraordinary  sweetness  of  her  tone,  even 
in  familar  speaking,  was  very  charming.  Nothing  was 
so  pretty  as  her  descending  to  play  with  little  children, 
whom  she  would  caress  and  humor  with  great  delight. 
But  she  most  affected  to  be  with  grave  and  sober  men, 
of  whom  she  might  learn  something,  and  improve  her- 
self. I  have  been  assisted  by  her  in  reading  and  praying 
by  me;  comprehensive  of  uncommon  notions,  curious  of 
knowing  everything  to  some  excess,  had  I  not  sometimes 
repressed  it. 


i685  JOHN   EVELYN  315 

Nothing  was  so  delightful  to  her  as  to  go  into  my 
Study,  where  she  would  willingly  have  spent  whole  days, 
for  as  I  said  she  had  read  abundance  of  history,  and  all 
the  best  poets,  even  Terence,  Plautus,  Homer,  Virgil, 
Horace,  Ovid ;  all  the  best  romancers  and  modem  poems ; 
she  could  compose  happily  and  put  in  pretty  symbols,  as 
in  the  ^'-Mundus  Muliebris,  '*  wherein  is  an  enumeration  of 
the  immense  variety  of  the  modes  and  ornaments  belong- 
ing to  the  sex.  But  all  these  are  vain  trifles  to  the 
virtues  which  adorned  her  soul;  she  was  sincerely  reli 
gious,  most  dutiful  to  her  parents,  whom  she  loved  with 
an  affection  tempered  with  great  esteem,  so  as  we  were 
easy  and  free,  and  never  were  so  well  pleased  as  when 
she  was  with  us,  nor  needed  we  other  conversation;  she 
was  kind  to  her  sisters,  and  was  still  improving  them  by 
her  constant  course  of  piety.  Oh,  dear,  sweet,  and  desir- 
able child,  how  shall  I  part  with  all  this  goodness  and 
virtue  without  the  bitterness  of  sorrow  and  reluctancy  of 
a  tender  parent!  Thy  affection,  duty  and  love  to  me 
was  that  of  a  friend  as  well  as  a  child.  Nor  less  dear  to 
thy  mother,  whose  example  and  tender  care  of  thee  was 
unparalleled,  nor  was  thy  return  to  her  less  conspicuous. 
Oh!  how  she  mourns  thy  loss!  how  desolate  hast  thou 
left  us!  To  the  grave  shall  we  both  carry  thy  memory! 
God  alone  (in  whose  bosom  thou  art  at  rest  and  happy!) 
give  us  to  resign  thee  and  all  our  contentments  (for  thou 
indeed  wert  all  in  this  world)  to  his  blessed  pleasure! 
Let  him  be  glorified  by  our  submission,  and  give  us  grace 
to  bless  him  for  the  graces  he  implanted  in  thee,  thy 
virtuous  life,  pious  and  holy  death,  which  is  indeed  the 
only  comfort  of  our  souls,  hastening  through  the  infinite 
love  and  mercy  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  be  shortly  with  thee, 
dear  child,  and  with  thee  and  those  blessed  saints  like 
thee,  glorify  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  to  all  eternity! 
Amen. 

It  was  in  the  19th  year  of  her  age  that  this  sickness 
happened  to  her.  An  accident  contributed  to  this  disease ; 
she  had  an  apprehension  of  it  in  particular,  which  struck 
her  but  two  days  before  she  came  home,  by  an  impru- 
dent gentlewoman  whom  she  went  with  Lady  Falkland 
to  visit,  who,  after  they  had  been  a  good  while  in  the 
house,  told  them  she  has  a  servant  sick  of  the  smallpox 
(who  indeed   died  the    next  day):    this    my    poor    child 


3i6  DIARY   OF  SAVES  court 

acknowledged  made  an  impression  on  her  spirits  There 
were  four  gentlemen  of  quality  offering  to  treat  with  me 
about  marriage,  and  I  freely  gave  her  her  own  choice, 
knowing  her  discretion.  She  showed  great  indifference 
to  marrying  at  all,  for  truly,  says  she  to  her  mother 
(the  other  day),  were  I  assured  of  your  life  and  my  dear 
father's,  never  would  I  part  from  you;  I  love  you  and 
this  home,  where  we  serve  God,  above  all  things,  nor 
ever  shall  I  be  so  happy ;  I  know  and  consider  the  vicis- 
situdes of  the  world,  I  have  some  experience  of  its  vani- 
ties, and  but  for  decency  more  than  inclination,  and  that 
you  judge  it  expedient  for  me,  I  would  not  change  my 
condition,  but  rather  add  the  fortune  you  design  me  to 
my  sisters,  and  keep  up  the  reputation  of  our  family 
This  was  so  discreetly  and  sincerely  uttered  that  it  could 
not  but  proceed  from  an  extraordinary  child,  and  one 
who  loved  her  parents  beyond  example. 

At  London,  she  took  this  fatal  disease,  and  the  occasion 
of  her  being  there  was  this:  my  Lord  Viscount  Falk- 
land's Lady  having  been  our  neighbor  ( as  he  was  Treas- 
urer of  the  Navy ),  she  took  so  great  an  affection  to  my 
daughter,  that  when  they  went  back  in  the  autumn  to 
the  city,  nothing  would  satisfy  their  incessant  importu- 
nity but  letting  her  accompany  my  Lady,  and  staying 
some  time  with  her ;  it  was  with  the  greatest  reluctance  I 
complied.  While  she  was  there,  my  Lord  being  musical, 
when  I  saw  my  Lady  would  not  part  with  her  till  Christ- 
mas, I  was  not  unwilling  she  should  improve  the  oppor- 
tunity of  learning  of  Signor  Pietro,  who  had  an  admirable 
way  both  of  composure  and  teaching.  It  was  the  end  of 
February  before  I  could  prevail  with  my  Lady  to  part 
with  her;  but  my  Lord  going  into  Oxfordshire  to  stand 
for  Knight  of  the  Shire  there,  she  expressed  her  wish  to 
come  home,  being  tired  of  the  vain  and  empty  conversa- 
tion of  the  town,  the  theaters,  the  court,  and  trifling 
visits  which  consumed  so  much  precious  time,  and  made 
her  sometimes  miss  of  that  regular  course  of  piety  that 
gave  her  the  greatest  satisfaction.  She  was  weary  of 
this  life,  and  I  think  went  not  thrice  to  Court  all  this 
time,  except  when  her  mother  or  I  carried  her.  She  did 
not  affect  showing  herself,  she  knew  the  Court  well,  and 
passed  one  summer  in  it  at  Windsor  with  Lady  Tuke, 
one  of  the  Queen's   women  of  the  bedchamber  (a  most 


i685  JOHN  EVELYN  217 

virtuous  relation  of  hers ) ;  she  was  not  fond  of  that 
glittering  scene,  now  become  abominably  licentious, 
though  there  was  a  design  of  Lady  Rochester  and  Lady 
Clarendon  to  have  made  her  a  maid  of  honor  to  the 
Queen  as  soon  as  there  was  a  vacancy.  But  this  she  did 
not  set  her  heart  upon,  nor  indeed  on  anything  so  much 
as  the  service  of  God,  a  quiet  and  regular  life,  and  how 
she  might  improve  herself  in  the  most  necessary  accom- 
plishments, and  to  which  she  was  arrived  at  so  great  a 
measure. 

This  is  the  little  history  and  imperfect  character  of  my 
dear  child,  whose  piety,  virtue,  and  incomparable  endow- 
ments deserve  a  monument  more  durable  than  brass  and 
marble.  Precious  is  the  memorial  of  the  just.  Much  I 
could  enlarge  on  ever>^  period  of  this  hasty  account,  but 
that  I  ease  and  discharge  my  overcoming  passion  for  the 
present,  so  many  things  worthy  an  excellent  Christian 
and  dutiful  child  crowding  upon  me.  Never  can  I  say 
enough,  oh  dear,  my  dear  child,  whose  memory  is  so 
precious  to  me! 

This  dear  child  was  bom  at  Wotton,  in  the  same  house 
and  chamber  in  which  I  first  drew  my  breath,  my  wife 
having  retired  to  my  brother  there  in  the  great  sickness 
that  year  upon  the  first  of  that  month,  and  the  very  hour 
that  I  was  bom,  upon  the  last:  viz,  October. 

1 6th  March,  1685.  She  was  interred  in  the  southeast 
end  of  the  church  at  Deptford,  near  her  grandmother  and 
several  of  my  younger  children  and  relations.  My  desire 
was  she  should  have  been  carried  and  laid  among  my  own 
parents  and  relations  at  Wotton,  where  I  desire  to  be  in- 
terred myself,  when  God  shall  call  me  out  of  this  uncer- 
tain transitory  life,  but  some  circumstances  did  not  permit 
it.  Our  vicar,  Dr.  Holden,  preached  her  funeral  sermon 
on  Phil.  i.  21.  **  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die 
is  gain,"  upon  which  he  made  an  apposite  discourse,  as 
those  who  heard  it  assured  me  (for  grief  suffered  me  not 
to  be  present),  concluding  with  a  modest  recital  of  her 
many  virtues  and  signal  piety,  so  as  to  draw  both  tears 
and  admiration  from  the  hearers.  I  was  not  altogether 
unwilling  that  something  of  this  sort  should  be  spoken,  for 
the  edification  and  encouragement  of  other  young  people. 

Divers  noble  persons  honored  her  funeral,  some  in  per- 
son, others  sending  their    coaches,  of    which   there   were 


2i8  DIARY  OF  SAYES  court 

six  or  seven  with  six  horses,  viz,  the  Countess  of  Sunder- 
land, Earl  of  Clarendon,  Lord  Godolphin,  Sir  Stephen 
Fox,  Sir  William  Godolphin,  Viscount  Falkland,  and 
others.  There  were  distributed  among  her  friends  about 
sixty  rings. 

Thus  lived,  died,  and  was  buried  the  joy  of  my  life,  and 
ornament  of  her  sex  and  of  my  poor  family  !  God  Al- 
mighty of  his  infinite  mercy  grant  me  the  grace  thank- 
fully to  resign  myself  and  all  I  have,  or  had,  to  his 
divine  pleasure,  and  in  his  good  time,  restoring  health 
and  comfort  to  my  family :  *  teach  me  so  to  number  my 
days,  that  I  may  apply  my  heart  to  wisdom,*  be  pre- 
pared for  my  dissolution,  and  that  into  the  hands  of  my 
blessed  Savior  I  may  recommend  my  spirit!     Amen! 

On  looking  into  her  closet,  it  is  incredible  what  a  nimi- 
ber  of  collections  she  had  made  from  historians,  poets, 
travelers,  etc.,  but,  above  all,  devotions,  contemplations, 
and  resolutions  on  these  contemplations,  found  under  her 
hand  in  a  book  most  methodically  disposed ;  prayers,  med- 
itations, and  devotions  on  particular  occasions,  with  many 
pretty  letters  to  her  confidants;  one  to  a  divine  (not 
named)  to  whom  she  writes  that  he  would  be  her  ghostly 
father,  and  would  not  despise  her  for  her  many  errors 
and  the  imperfections  of  her  youth,  but  beg  of  God  to 
give  her  courage  to  acquaint  him  with  all  her  faiilts,  im- 
ploring his  assistance  and  spiritual  directions.  I  well 
remember  she  had  often  desired  me  to  recommend  her 
to  such  a  person;  but  I  did  not  think  fit  to  do  it  as  yet, 
seeing  her  apt  to  be  scrupulous,  and  knowing  the  g^eat 
innocency  and  integrity  of  her  life. 

It  is  astonishing  how  one  who  had  acquired  such  sub- 
stantial and  practical  knowledge  in  other  ornamental  parts 
of  education,  especially  music,  both  vocal  and  instru- 
mental, in  dancing,  paying  and  receiving  visits,  and  neces- 
sary conversation,  could  accomplish  half  of  what  she  has 
left;  but,  as  she  never  affected  play  or  cards,  which  con- 
sume a  world  of  precious  time,  so  she  was  in  continual 
exercise,  which  yet  abated  nothing  of  her  most  agreeable 
conversation.  But  she  was  a  little  miracle  while  she  lived, 
and  so  she  died! 

26th  March,  1685.  I  was  invited  to  the  funeral  of  Cap- 
tain Gunman,  that  excellent  pilot  and  seaman,  who  had 
behaved  himself  so  gallantly  in  the  Dutch  war.     He  died 


1 68 5  JOHN  EVELYN  219 

of  a  gangrene,  occasioned  by  liis  fall  from  the  pier  of 
Calais.  This  was  the  Captain  of  the  yacht  carrying  the 
Duke  (now  King)  to  Scotland,  and  was  accused  for  not 
gi^^ng  timely  warning  when  she  split  on  the  sands,  where 
so  many  perished;  but  I  am  most  confident  he  was  no 
ways  guilty,  either  of  negligence,  or  design,  as  he  made 
appear  not  only  at  the  examination  of  the  matter  of  fact, 
but  in  the  vindication  he  showed  me,  and  which  must 
needs  give  any  man  of  reason  satisfaction.  He  was  a 
sober,  frugal,  cheerful,  and  temperate  man;  we  have  few 
such  seamen  left. 

8th  April,  1685.  Being  now  somewhat  composed  after 
my  great  affliction,  I  went  to  London  to  hear  Dr.  Tenison 
(it  being  on  a  Wednesday  in  Lent)  at  Whitehall.  I  ob- 
served that  though  the  King  was  not  in  his  seat  above  in 
the  chapel,  the  Doctor  made  his  three  congees,  which 
they  were  not  used  to  do  when  the  late  King  was  absent, 
making  then  one  bowing  only.  I  asked  the  reason ;  it  was 
said  he  had  a  special  order  so  to  do.  The  Princess  of 
Denmark  was  in  the  King's  closet,  but  sat  on  the  left  hand 
of  the  chair,  the  Clerk  of  the  Closet  standing  by  his 
Majesty's  chair,  as  if  he  had  been  present. 

I  met  the  Queen  Dowager  going  now  first  from  White- 
hall to  dwell  at  Somerset  Housie. 

This  day  my  brother  of  Wotton  and  Mr.  Onslow  were 
candidates  for  Surrey  against  Sir  Adam  Brown  and  my 
cousin.  Sir  Edward  Evelyn,  and  were  circumvented  in 
their  election  by  a  trick  of  the  Sheriff's,  taking  advan- 
tage of  my  brother's  party  going  out  of  the  small  village 
of  Leatherhead  to  seek  shelter  and  lodgfing,  the  afternoon 
being  tempestuous,  proceeding  to  the  election  when  they 
were  gone;  they  expecting  the  next  morning;  whereas 
before  and  then  they  exceeded  the  other  party  by  many 
hundreds,  as  I  am  assured.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk  led  Sir 
Edward  Evelyn's  and  Sir  Adam  Brown's  party.  For  this 
Parliament,  very  mean  and  slight  persons  ( some  of  them 
gentlemen's  serv^ants,  clerks,  and  persons  neither  of  rep- 
utation nor  interest )  were  set  up ;  but  the  country  would 
choose  my  brother  whether  he  would  or  no,  and  he  missed 
it  by  the  trick  above  mentioned.  Sir  Adam  Brown  was 
so  deaf,  that  he  could  not  hear  one  word.  Sir  Edward 
Evelyn  was  an  honest  gentleman,  much  in  favor  with  his 
Majesty. 


2JO  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

loth  April,  1685.  I  went  early  to  Whitehall  to  hear 
Dr.  Tillotson,  Dean  of  Canterbury,  preaching  on  Eccles. 
ix.  18.  I  returned  in  the  evening,  and  visited  Lady 
Tuke,  and  found  with  her  Sir  George  Wakeman,  the 
physician,  whom  I  had  seen  tried  and  acquitted,  among 
the  plotters  for  poisoning  the  late  King,  on  the  accusa- 
tion of  the  famous  Gates;  and  surely  I  believed  him 
guiltless. 

14th  April,  1685.  According  to  my  custom,  I  went  to 
London  to  pass  the  holy  week. 

17th  April,  1685.  Good  Friday.  Dr.  Tenison  preached 
at  the  new  church  at  St.  James,  on  i  Cor.  xvi.  22,  upon 
the  infinite  love  of  God  to  us,  which  he  illustrated  in 
many  instances.  The  Holy  Sacrament  followed,  at  which 
I  participated.  The  Lord  make  me  thankful!  In  the 
afternoon,  Dr.  Sprat,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  preached  in 
Whitehall  chapel,  the  auditory  very  full  of  Lords,  the 
two  Archbishops,  and  many  others,  now  drawn  to  town 
upon  occasion  of  the  coronation  and  ensuing  Parliament. 
I  supped  with  the  Countess  of  Sunderland  and  Lord 
Godolphin,  and  returned  home. 

23d  April,  1685.  Was  the  coronation  of  the  King  and 
Queen.  The  solemnity  was  magnificent  as  is  set  forth 
in  print.  The  Bishop  of  Ely  preached;  but,  to  the  sor- 
row of  the  people,  no  Sacrament,  as  ought  to  have  been. 
However,  the  King  begins  his  reign  with  great  expeC' 
tations,  and  hopes  of  much  reformation  as  to  the  late 
vices  and  profaneness  of  both  Court  and  country.  Having 
been  present  at  the  late  King's  coronation,  I  was  not 
ambitious  of  seeing  this  ceremony. 

3d  May,  1685.  A  young  man  preached,  going  chaplain 
with  Sir.  J.  Wibum,  Governor  of  Bombay,  in  the  East 
Indies. 

7th  May,  1685.  I  was  in  Westminster  Hall  when  Gates, 
who  had  made  such  a  stir  in  the  kingdom,  on  his  reveal- 
ing a  plot  of  the  Papists,  and  alarmed  several  Parliaments, 
and  had  occasioned  the  execution  of  divers  priests, 
noblemen,  etc.,  was  tried  for  perjury  at  the  King's 
bench ;  but,  being  very  tedious,  I  did  not  endeavor  to  see 
the  issue,  considering  that  it  would  be  published.  Abun- 
dance of  Roman  Catholics  were  in  the  hall  in  expectation 
of  the  most  grateful  conviction  and  ruin  of  a  person  who 
had    been     so     obnoxious     to     them,  and   as     I     verily 


i685  JOHN   EVELYN  221 

believe,  had  done  much  mischief  and  great  injury  to  several 
by  his  violent  and  ill-grounded  proceedings ;  while  he  was 
at  first  so  unreasonably  blown  up  aiid  encouraged,  that 
his  insolence  was  no  longer  sufferable. 

Mr.  Roger  L'Estrange  (a  gentleman  whom  I  had  long 
known,  and  a  person  of  excellent  parts,  abating  some 
affectations)  appearing  first  against  the  Dissenters  in 
several  tracts,  had  now  for  some  years  turned  his  style 
against  those  whom  (by  way  of  hateful  distinction)  they 
called  Whigs  and  Trimmers,  under  the  title  of  **  Observa- 
tor,"  which  came  out  three  or  four  days  every  week,  in 
which  sheets,  under  pretense  to  serve  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, he  gave  suspicion  of  gratifying  another  party,  by 
several  passages  which  rather  kept  up  animosities  than 
appeased  them,  especially  now  that  nobody  gave  the 
least  occasion.* 

loth  May,  1685.  The  Scots  valuing  themselves  exceed- 
ingly to  have  been  the  first  Parliament  called  by  his 
Majesty,  gave  the  excise  and  customs  to  him  and  his 
successors  forever ;  the  Duke  of  Queensberry  making  elo- 
quent speeches,  and  especially  minding  them  of  a  speedy 
suppression  of  those  late  desperate  Field-Conventiclers 
who  had  done  such  unheard  of  assassinations.  In  the 
meantime,  elections  for  the  ensuing  Parliament  in  Eng- 
land were  thought  to  be  very  indirectly  carried  on  in 
most  places.  God  grant  a  better  issue  of  it  than  some 
expect ! 

1 6th  May,  1685,  Gates  was  sentenced  to  be  whipped 
and  pilloried  with  the  utmost  severity. 

2ist  May,  1685.  I  dined  at  my  Lord  Privy  Seal's  with 
Sir  William  Dugdale,  Garter  King-at-Arms,  author  of 
the  "  MoNASTicoN  *  and  other  learned  works ;  he  told  me 
he  was  82  years  of  age,  and  had  his  sight  and  memory 
perfect.  There  was  shown  a  draft  of  the  exact  shape 
and  dimensions  of  the  crown  the  Queen  had  been  crowned 
withal,  together  with  the  jewels  and  pearls,  their  weight 
and  value,  which  amounted  to  ^100,658  sterling,  attested 

*  In  the  first  Dutch  war,  while  Evelyn  was  one  of  the  Commissioners 
for  sick  and  wounded,  L'Estrange  in  his  «  Gazette  >>  mentioned  the  bar- 
barous usage  of  the  Dutch  prisoners  of  war:  whereupon  Evelyn  wrote  him 
a  very  spirited  letter,  desiring  that  the  Dutch  Ambassador  (who  was 
then  in  England)  and  his  friends  would  visit  the  prisoners,  and  examine 
their  provisions ;  and  he  required  L'Estrange  to  publish^that  vindication 
in  his  next  number. 


222  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

at  the  foot  of  the  paper  by  the   jeweler  and  goldsmith 
who  set  them. 

22d  May,  1685.  In  the  morning,  I  went  with  a  French 
gentleman,  and  my  Lord  Privy  Seal  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  where  we  were  placed  by  his  Lordship  next  the 
bar,  just  below  the  bishops,  very  commodiously  both  for 
hearing  and  seeing.  After  a  short  space,  came  in  the 
Queen  and  Princess  of  Denmark,  and  stood  next  above 
the  archbishops,  at  the  side  of  the  House  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne.  In  the  interim,  divers  of  the  Lords, 
who  had  not  finished  before,  took  the  test  and  usual 
oaths,  so  that  her  Majesty,  the  Spanish  and  other  Ambas- 
sadors, who  stood  behind  the  throne,  heard  the  Pope  and 
the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  etc.,  renounced  very 
decently,  as  likewise  the  prayers  which  followed,  stand- 
ing all  the  while.  Then  came  in  the  King,  the  crown 
on  his  head,  and  being  seated,  the  Commons  were  intro- 
duced, and  the  House  being  full,  he  drew  forth  a  paper 
containing  his  speech,  which  he  read  distinctly  enough, 
to  this  effect :  "  That  he  resolved  to  call  a  Parliament 
from  the  moment  of  his  brother's  decease,  as  the  best 
means  to  settle  all  the  concerns  of  the  nation,  so  as  to 
be  most  easy  and  happy  to  himself  and  his  subjects ;  that 
he  would  confirm  whatever  he  had  said  in  his  declaration 
at  the  first  Council  concerning  his  opinion  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Church  of  England,  for  their  loyalty,  and 
would  defend  and  support  it,  and  preserve  its  government 
as  by  law  now  established;  that,  as  he  would  invade  no 
man's  property,  so  he  would  never  depart  from  his  own 
prerogative;  and,  as  he  had  ventured  his  life  in  defense 
of  the  nation,  so  he  would  proceed  to  do  still ;  that,  having 
given  this  assurance  of  his  care  of  our  religion  ( his  word 
was  YOUR  religion )  and  property  ( which  he  had  not  said 
by  chance,  but  solemnly),  so  he  doubted  not  of  suitable 
returns  of  his  subjects'  duty  and  kindness,  especially  as 
to  settling  his  revenue  for  life,  for  the  many  weighty 
necessities  of  government,  which  he  would  not  suffer  to 
be  precarious;  that  some  might  possibly  suggest  that  it 
were  better  to  feed  and  supply  him  from  time  to  time 
only,  out  of  their  inclination  to  frequent  Parliaments; 
but  that  that  would  be  a  very  improper  method  to  take 
with  him,  since  the  best  way  to  engage  him  to  meet 
oftener  would  be  always  to  use  him  well,  and  therefore 


i6S5  JOHN  EVELYN  223 

he  expected   their   compliance   speedily,  that  this  session 
being  but  short,  they  might  meet  again  to   satisfaction." 

At  every  period  of  this,  the  House  gave  loud  shouts. 
Then  he  acquainted  them  with  that  morning's  news  of 
Argyle's  being  landed  in  the  West  Highlands  of  Scotland 
from  Holland,  and  the  treasonous  declaration  he  had 
published,  which  he  would  communicate  to  them,  and 
that  he  should  take  the  best  care  he  could  it  should  meet 
with  the  reward  it  deserved,  not  questioning  the  Parlia- 
ment's zeal  and  readiness  to  assist  him  as  he  desired;  at 
which  there  followed  another  "  Vive  le  Roi,^^  and  so  his 
Majesty  retired. 

So  soon  as  the  Commons  were  returned  and  had  put 
themselves  into  a  grand  committee,  they  immediately  put 
the  question,  and  unanimously  voted  the  revenue  to  his 
Majesty  for  life.  Mr.  Seymour  made  a  bold  speech  against 
many  elections,  and  would  have  had  those  members  who 
(he  pretended)  were  obnoxious,  to  withdraw,  till  they  had 
cleared  the  matter  of  their  being  legally  returned ;  but  no 
one  seconded  him.  The  truth  is,  there  were  many  of  the 
new  members  whose  elections  and  returns  were  universally 
censured,  many  of  them  being  persons  of  no  condition,  or 
interest,  in  the  nation,  or  places  for  which  they  served, 
especially  in  Devon,  Cornwall,  Norfolk,  etc.,  said  to  have 
been  recommended  by  the  Court,  and  from  the  effect  of 
the  new  charters  changing  the  electors.  It  was  reported 
that  Lord  Bath  carried  down  with  him  [into  Cornwall] 
no  fewer  than  fifteen  charters,  so  that  some  called  him  the 
Prince  Elector:  whence  Seymour  told  the  House  in  his 
speech  that  if  this  was  digested,  they  might  introduce  what 
religion  and  laws  they  pleased,  and  that  though  he  never 
gave  heed  to  the  fears  and  jealousies  of  the  people  before, 
he  was  now  really  apprehensive  of  Popery.  By  the  printed 
list  of  members  of  505,  there  did  not  appear  to  be  above  135 
who  had  been  in  former  Parliaments,  especially  that  lately 
held  at  Oxford, 

In  the  Lords'  House,  Lord  Newport  made  an  exception 
against  two  or  three  young  Peers,  who  wanted  some 
months,  and  some  only  four  or  five  days,  of  being  of  age. 

The  Popish  Lords,  who  had  been  sometime  before  re- 
leased from  their  confinement  about  the  plot,  were  now 
discharged  of  their  impeachment,  of  which  I  gave  Lord 
Arundel  of  Wardour  joy. 


224  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

Oates,  who  had  but  two  days  before  been  pilloried  at 
several  places  and  whipped  at  the  cart's  tail  from  New- 
gate to  Aldgate,  was  this  day  placed  on  a  sledge,  being 
not  able  to  go  by  reason  of  so  late  scourging,  and 
dragged  from  prison  to  Tyburn,  and  whipped  again  all 
the  way,  which  some  thought  to  be  severe  and  extraor- 
dinary; but,  if  he  was  guilty  of  the  perjuries,  and  so  of 
the  death  of  many  innocents  (as  I  fear  he  was),  his 
punishment  was  but  what  he  deserved.  I  chanced  to  pass 
just  as  execution  was  doing  on  him.    A  strange  revolution ! 

Note:  there  was  no  speech  made  by  the  Lord  Keeper 
[Bridgman]  after  his  Majesty,  as  usual. 

It  was  whispered  he  would  not  be  long  in  that  situa- 
tion, and  many  believe  the  bold  Chief  Justice  Jefferies, 
who  was  made  Baron  of  Wem,  in  Shropshire,  and  who 
went  thorough  stitch  in  that  tribunal,  stands  fair  for  that 
office.  I  gave  him  joy  the  morning  before  of  his  new 
honor,  he  having  always  been  very  civil  to  me. 

24th  May,  1685.  We  had  hitherto  not  any  rain  for 
many  months,  so  as  the  caterpillars  had  already  devoured 
all  the  winter  fruit  through  the  whole  land,  and  even 
killed  several  greater  old  trees.  Such  two  winters  and 
summers  I  had  never  known. 

4th  June,  1685.  Came  to  visit  and  take  leave  of  me 
Sir  Gabriel  Sylvius,  now  going  Envoy-extraordinary  into 
Denmark,  with  his  secretary  and  chaplain,  a  Frenchman, 
who  related  the  miserable  persecution  of  the  Protestants 
in  France;  not  above  ten  churches  left  them,  and  those 
also  threatened  to  be  demolished;  they  were  commanded 
to  christen  their  children  within  twenty-four  hours  after 
birth,  or  else  a  Popish  priest  was  to  be  called,  and  then 
the  infant  brought  up  in  Popery.  In  some  places,  they 
were  thirty  leagues  from  any  minister,  or  opportunity  of 
worship  This  persecution  had  displeased  the  most  in- 
dustrious part  of  the  nation,  and  dispersed  those  into 
Switzerland,  Burgundy,  Holland,  Germany,  Denmark, 
England,  and  the  Plantations.  There  were  with  Sir 
Gabriel,  his  lady,  Sir  William  Godolphin  and  sisters,  and 
my  Lord  Godolphin's  little  son,  my  charge.  I  brought 
them  to  the  water  side  where  Sir  Gabriel  embarked,  and 
the  rest  returned  to  London. 

14th  June,  1685.  There  was  now  certain  intelligence 
of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  landing  at  Lyme,    in    Dorset- 


i685  JOHN   EVELYN  225 

shire,  and  of  his  having  set  up  his  standard  as  King  of 
England.  I  pray  God  deliver  us  from  the  confusion 
t^'hich  these  beginnings  threaten! 

Such  a  dearth  for  want  of  rain  was  never  in  my 
memory. 

17th  June,  1685.  The  Duke  landed  with  but  150  men; 
but  the  whole  kingdom  was  alarmed,  fearing  that  the 
disaffected  would  join  them,  many  of  the  trained  bands 
flocking  to  him.  At  his  landing,  he  published  a  Declar- 
ation, charging  his  Majesty  with  usurpation  and  several 
horrid  crimes,  on  pretense  of  his  own  title,  and  offering 
to  call  a  free  Parliament.  This  declaration  was  ordered 
to  be  burnt  by  the  hangman,  the  Duke  proclaimed  a 
traitor,  and  a  reward  of  ^5,000  to  any  who  should  kill 
him. 

At  this  time,  the  words  engraved  on  the  monument  in 
London,  intimating  that  the  Papists  fired  the  city,  were 
erased  and  cut  out. 

The  exceeding  drought  still  continues. 

i8th  June,  1685.  I  received  a  warrant  to  send  out  a 
horse  with  twelve  days'  provisions,  etc. 

28th  June,  1685.  We  had  now  plentiful  rain  after  two 
years'  excessive  drought  and  severe  winters. 

Argyle  taken  in  Scotland,  and  executed,  and  his  party 
dispersed. 

2d  July,  1685.  No  considerable  account  of  the  troops 
sent  against  the  Duke,  though  great  forces  sent.  There 
was  a  smart  skirmish;  but  he  would  not  be  provoked  to 
come  to  an  encounter,  but  still  kept  in  the  fastnesses, 

Dangerfield  whipped,  like  Gates,  for  perjury. 

8th  July,  1685.  Came  news  of  Monmouth's  utter  de- 
feat, and  the  next  day  of  his  being  taken  by  Sir  William 
Portman  and  Lord  Lumley  with  the  militia  of  their 
counties.  It  seems  the  Horse,  commanded  by  Lord 
Grey,  being  newly  raised  and  undisciplined,  were  not  to 
be  brought  in  so  short  a  time  to  endure  the  fire,  which 
exposed  the  Foot  to  the  King's,  so  as  when  Monmouth 
had  led  the  Foot  in  great  silence  and  order,  thinking  to 
surprise  Lieutenant-General  Lord  Feversham  newly  en- 
camped, and  given  him  a  smart  charge,  interchanging 
both  great  and  small  shot,  the  Horse,  breaking  their  own 
ranks,  Monmouth  gave  it  over,  and  fled  with  Grey,  leav- 
ing their  party  to  be  cut  in  pieces  to  the  number  of 
15 


226  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

2,000.  The  whole  number  reported  to  be  above  8,000;  the 
King's  but  2,700.  The  slain  were  most  of  them  Mendip- 
MiNERS,  who  did  great  execution  with  their  tools,  and 
sold  their  lives  very  dearly,  while  their  leaders  flying 
were  pursued  and  taken  the  next  morning,  not  far  from 
one  another.  Monmouth  had  gone  sixteen  miles  on  foot, 
changing  his  habit  for  a  poor  coat,  and  was  found  by 
Lord  Lumley  in  a  dry  ditch  covered  with  fern-brakes, 
but  without  sword,  pistol,  or  any  weapon,  and  so  might 
have  passed  for  some  countryman,  his  beard  being  grown 
so  long  and  so  gray  as  hardly  to  be  known,  had  not  his 
George  discovered  him,  which  was  found  in  his  pocket. 
It  is  said  he  trembled  exceedingly  all  over,  not  able  to 
speak.  Grey  was  taken  not  far  from  him.  Most  of  his 
party  were  Anabaptists  and  poor  cloth  workers  of  the 
country,  no  gentlemen  of  account  being  come  in  to  him. 
The  Bxoh-boutefeu,  Ferguson,  Matthews,  etc.,  were  not  yet 
found.  The  ;;^5,ooo  to  be  given  to  whoever  should  bring 
Monmouth  in,  was  to  be  distributed  among  the  mili- 
tia by  agreement  between  Sir  William  Portman  and  Lord 
Lumley.  The  battle  ended,  some  words,  first  in  jest, 
then  in  passion,  passed  between  Sherrington  Talbot  (a 
worthy  gentleman,  son  to  Sir  John  Talbot,  and  who  had 
behaved  himself  very  handsomely)  and  one  Captain  Love, 
both  commanders  of  the  militia,  as  to  whose  soldiers 
fought  best,  both  drawing  their  swords  and  passing  at  one 
another.  Sherrington  was  wounded  to  death  on  the  spot, 
to  the  great  regret  of  those  who  knew  him.  He  was  Sir 
John's  only  son. 

9th  July,  1685.  Just  as  I  was  coming  into  the  lodgings 
at  Whitehall,  a  little  before  dinner,  my  Lord  of  Devon- 
shire standing  very  near  his  Majesty's  bedchamber  door 
in  the  lobby,  came  Colonel  Culpeper,  and  in  a  rude  man- 
ner looking  at  my  Lord  in  the  face,  asked  whether  this 
was  a  time  and  place  for  excluders  to  appear;  my  Lord 
at  first  took  little  notice  of  what  he  said,  knowing  him 
to  be  a  hotheaded  fellow,  but  he  reiterating  it,  my  Lord 
asked  Culpeper  whether  he  meant  him ;  he  said  yes,  he 
meant  his  Lordship.  My  Lord  told  him  he  was  no  ex- 
cluder (as  indeed  he  was  not) ;  the  other  affirming  it 
again,  my  Lord  told  him  he  lied;  on  which  Culpeper 
struck  him  a  box  on  the  ear,  which  my  Lord  returned,  and 
felled  him.     They  were  soon  parted,  Culpeper  was  seized, 


i685  JOHN  EVELYN  227 

and  his  Majesty,  who  was  all  the  while  in  his  bedchamber, 
ordered  him  to  be  carried  to  the  Greencloth  officer,  who 
sent  him  to  the  Marshalsea,  as  he  deserved.  My  Lord 
Devon  had  nothing  said  to  him. 

I  supped  this  night  at  Lambeth  at  my  old  friendls  Mr. 
Elias  Ashmole's,  with  my  Lady  Clarendon,  the  Bishop  of 
St.  Asaph,  and  Dr.  Tenison,  when  we  were  treated  at  a 
great  feast. 

loth  July,  1685.  The  Count  of  Castel  Mellor,  that 
great  favorite  and  prime  minister  of  Alphonso,  late  King 
of  Portugal,  after  several  years'  banishment,  being  now 
received  to  grace  and  called  home  by  Don  Pedro,  the 
present  King,  as  having  been  found  a  person  of  the 
greatest  integrity  after  all  his  sufferings,  desired  me  to 
spend  part  of  this  day  with  him,  and  assist  him  in  a  col- 
lection of  books  and  other  curiosities,  which  he  would 
carry  with  him  into  Portugal. 

Mr.  Hussey,  a  young  gentleman  who  made  love  to  my 
late  dear  child,  but  whom  she  could  not  bring  herself  to 
answer  in  affection,  died  now  of  the  same  cruel  disease, 
for  which  I  was  extremely  sorry,  because  he  never  en- 
joyed himself  after  my  daughter's  decease,  nor  was  I 
averse  to  the  match,  could  she  have  overcome  her  disin- 
clination. 

15th  July,  1685,  I  went  to  see  Dr.  Tenison's  library 
[in  St.   Martin's]. 

Monmouth  was  this  day  brought  to  London  and  ex- 
amined before  the  King,  to  whom  he  made  great  sub- 
mission, acknowledged  his  seduction  by  Ferguson,  the 
Scot,  whom  he  named  the  bloody  villain.  He  was  sent 
to  the  Tower,  had  an  interview  with  his  late  Duchess, 
whom  he  received  coldly,  having  lived  dishonestly  with 
the  Lady  Henrietta  Went  worth  for  two  years.  He  ob- 
stinately asserted  his  conversation  with  that  debauched 
woman  to  be  no  sin;  whereupon,  seeing  he  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  his  last  breath,  the  divines  who  were  sent 
to  assist  him  thought  not  fit  to  administer  the  Holy  Com- 
munion to  him.  For  the  rest  of  his  faults  he  professed 
great  sorrow,  and  so  died  without  any  apparent  fear.  He 
would  not  make  use  of  a  cap  or  other  circumstance,  but 
lying  down,  bid  the  fellow  to  do  his  office  better  than  to 
the  late  Lord  Russell,  and  gave  him  gold ;  but  the  wretch 
made  five  chops  before   he   had  his    head  off;    which    so 


228  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

incensed  the  people,  that  had  he  not  been  guarded  and 
got  away,  they  would  have  torn  him  to  pieces. 

The  Duke  made  no  speech  on  the  scaffold  (which  was 
on  Tower  Hill),  but  gave  a  paper  containing  not  above 
five  or  six  lines,  for  the  King,  in  which  he  disclaims  all 
title  to  the  Crown,  acknowledges  that  the  late  King,  his 
father,  had  indeed  told  him  he  was  but  his  base  son,  and 
so  desired  his  Majesty  to  be  kind  to  his  wife  and  children. 
This  relation  I  had  from  Dr.  Tenison  (Rector  of  St. 
Martin's),  who,  with  the  Bishops  of  Ely  and  Bath  and 
Wells,  were  sent  to  him  by  his  Majesty,  and  were  at  the 
execution. 

Thus  ended  this  quondam  Duke,  darling  of  his  father 
and  the  ladies,  being  extremely  handsome  and  adroit ,  an 
excellent  soldier  and  dancer,  a  favorite  of  the  people,  of 
an  easy  nature,  debauched  by  lust;  seduced  by  crafty 
knaves,  who  would  have  set  him  up  only  to  make  a  prop- 
erty, and  taken  the  opportunity  of  the  King  being  of 
another  religion,  to  gather  a  party  of  discontented  men. 
He  failed  and  perished. 

He  was  a  lovely  person,  had  a  virtuous  and  excellent 
lady  that  brought  him  great  riches,  and  a  second  dukedom 
in  Scotland,  He  was  Master  of  the  Horse,  General  of  the 
King  his  father's  army,  Gentleman  of  the  Bedchamber, 
Knight  of  the  Garter,  Chancellor  of  Cambridge,  in  a  word, 
had  accumulations  without  end.  See  what  ambition  and 
want  of  principles  brought  him  to !  He  was  beheaded  on 
Tuesday,  14th  of  July.  His  mother,  whose  name  was  Bar- 
low, daughter  of  some  very  mean  creatures,  was  a  beauti- 
ful strumpet,  whom  I  had  often  seen  at  Paris;  she  died 
miserably  without  anything  to  bury  her;  yet  this  Perkin 
had  been  made  to  believe  that  the  King  had  married  her,  a 
monstrous  and  ridiculous  forgery!  And  to  satisfy  the 
world  of  the  iniquity  of  the  report,  the  King  his  father 
(if  his  father  he  really  was,  for  he  most  resembled  one 
Sidney  who  was  familiar  with  his  mother)  publicly  and 
most  solemnly  renounced  it,  to  be  so  entered  in  the 
Council  Book  some  years  since,  with  all  the  Privy  Council- 
lors' attestation.* 

*  The  «  Life  of  James  II.»  contains  an  account  of  the  circumstances 
of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth's  birth,  which  may  be  given  in  illustra- 
tion of  the  statements  of  the  text.  Ross,  tutor  to  the  Duke  of 
Monmouth,  is  there  said  to  have  proposed  to  Bishop  Cosins  to  sign  a 


i685  JOHN  EVELYN  229 

Had  it  not  pleased  God  to  dissipate  tnis  attempt  in  the 
beginning,  there  would  in  all  appearance  have  gathered 
an  irresistible  force  which  would  have  desperately  pro 
ceeded  to  the  ruin  of  the  Church  and  Government;  so 
general  was  the  discontent  and  expectation  of  the  oppor- 
tunity. For  my  own  part,  I  looked  upon  this  deliver- 
ance as  most  signal.  Such  an  inundation  of  fanatics 
and  men  of  impious  principles  must  needs  have  caused 
universal  disorder,  cruelty,  injustice,  rapine,  sacrileg-e, 
and  confusion,  an  unavoidable  civil  war,  and  misery  with- 
out end  Blessed  be  God,  the  knot  was  happily  broken, 
and  a  fair  prospect  of  tranquillity  for  the  future,  if 
we  reform,  be  thankful,  and  make  a  right  use  of  this 
mercy ! 

1 8th  July,  1685.  I  went  to  see  the  muster  of  the  six 
Scotch  and  English  regiments  whom  the  Prince  of 
Orange  had  lately  sent  to  his  Majesty  out  of  Holland 
upon  this  rebellion,  but  which  were  now  returning, 
there  having  been  no  occasion  for  their  use.  They 
were  all  excellently  clad  and  well  disciplined,  and  were 
encamped  on  Blackheath  with  their  tents:  the  King  and 
Queen  came  to  see  them  exercise,  and  the  manner 
of  their  encampment,  which  was  very  neat  and  magnificent. 

By  a  gross  mistake  of  the  Secretary  of  his  Majesty's 
Forces,  it  had  been  ordered  that  they  should  be  quar- 
tered in  private  houses,  contrary  to  an  Act  of  Parliament, 
but,  on  my  informing  his  Majesty  timely  of  it,  it  was 
prevented. 

certificate  of  the  King's  marriage  to  Mrs.  Barlow,  though  her  own  name 
was  Walters :  but  this  the  Bishop  refused.  She  was  bom  of  a  gentle- 
man's family  in  Wales,  but  having  little  means  and  less  grace,  came  to 
London  to  make  her  fortune.  Algernon  Sydney,  then  a  Colonel  in 
Cromwell's  army,  had  agreed  to  give  her  fifty  broad  pieces  (as  he  told 
the  Duke  of  York) ;  but  being  ordered  hastily  away  with  his  regfiment, 
he  missed  his  bargain.  She  went  into  Holland,  where  she  fell  into  the 
hands  of  his  brother,  Colonel  Robert  Sydney,  who  kept  her  for  some 
time,  till  the  King  hearing  of  her,  got  her  from  him.  On  which  the 
Colonel  was  heard  to  say.  Let  who  will  have  her,  she  is  already  sped ; 
and,  after  being  with  the  King,  she  was  so  soon  with  child,  that  the 
world  had  no  cause  to  doubt  whose  child  it  was,  and  the  rather  that 
when  he  grew  to  be  a  man,  he  very  much  resembled  the  Colonel  both  in 
stature  and  countenance,  even  to  a  wart  on  his  face.  However,  the  King 
owned  the  child.  In  the  King's  absence  she  behaved  so  loosely,  that  on 
his  return  from  his  escape  at  Worcester  he  would  have  no  further  com- 
merce with  her,  and  she  became  a  common  prostitute  at  Paris. 


i$o  DIARY  OP  CHELSEA 

,  The  two  horsemen  which  my  son  and  myself  sent  into 
the  county  troops,  were  now  come  home,  after  a  month's 
being  out  to  our  great  charge. 

2oth  July,  1685.  The  Trinity  Company  met  this  day, 
which  should  have  been  on  the  Monday  after  Trinity, 
but  was  put  off  by  reason  of  the  Royal  Charter  being 
so  large,  that  it  could  not  be  ready  before.  Some  immu- 
nities were  superadded.  Mr.  Pepys,  Secretary  to  the 
Admiralty,  was  a  second  time  chosen  Master.  There 
were  present  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  Lord  Dartmouth, 
Master  of  the  Ordnance,  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy, 
and  Brethren  of  the  Corporation.  We  went  to  church, 
according  to  custom,  and  then  took  barge  to  the  Trinity 
House,  in  London,  where  we  had  a  great  dinner,  above 
eighty  at  one  table. 

7th  August,  1685.  I  went  to  see  Mr.  Watts,  keeper  of 
the  Apothecaries'  garden  of  simples  at  Chelsea,  where 
there  is  a  collection  of  innumerable  rarities  of  that  sort 
particularly,  besides  many  rare  annuals,  the  tree  bear- 
ing Jesuit's  bark,  which  had  done  such  wonders  in 
quartan  agues.  What  was  very  ingenious  was  the  sub- 
terranean heat,  conveyed  by  a  stove  under  the  conserv- 
atory, all  vaulted  with  brick,  so  as  he  has  the  doors  and 
windows  open  in  the  hardest  frosts,  secluding  only  the 
snow. 

15th  August,  1685.  Came  to  visit  us  Mr.  Boscawen, 
with  my  Lord  Godolphin's  little  son,  with  whose  educa- 
tion hitherto  his  father  had  intrusted  me. 

27th  August,  1685.  My  daughter  Elizabeth  died  of  the 
smallpox,  soon  after  having  married  a  young  man, 
nephew  of  Sir  John  Tippett,  Surveyor  of  the  Navy,  and 
one  of  the  Commissioners.  The  30th,  she  was  buried  in 
the  church  at  Deptford.  Thus,  in  less  than  six  months 
were  we  deprived  of  two  children  for  our  unworthiness 
and  causes  be'st  known  to  God,  whom  I  beseech  from 
the  bottom  of  my  heart  that  he  will  give  us  grace  to 
make  that  right  use  of  all  these  chastisements,  that  we 
may  become  better,  and  entirely  submit  in  all  things  to 
his  infinitely  wise  disposal.     Amen! 

3d  September,  1685.  Lord  Clarendon  ( Lord  Privy 
Seal )  wrote  to  let  me  know  that  the  King  being  pleased 
to  send  him  Lord-Lieutenant  into  Ireland,  was  also 
pleased   to   nominate    me   one    of   the    Commissioners  to 


1 68 5  JOHN   EVELYN  231 

execute  the  office  of  Privy  Seal  during  his  Lieutenancy 
there,  it  behoving  me  to  wait  upon  his  Majesty  to  give 
him  thanks  for  this  great  honor. 

5th  September,  1685.  I  accompanied  his  Lordship  to 
Windsor  ( dining  by  the  way  of  Sir  Henry  Capel's  at 
Kew),  where  his  Majesty  receiving  me  with  extraordinary 
kindness,  I  kissed  his  hand,  I  told  him  how  sensible  I 
was  of  his  Majesty's  gracious  favor  to  me,  that  I  would 
endeavor  to  serve  him  with  all  sincerity,  diligence,  and 
loyalty,  not  more  out  of  my  duty  than  inclination. 
He  said  he  doubted  not  of  it,  and  was  glad  he  had  the 
opportunity  to  show  me  the  kindness  he  had  for  me. 
After  this,  came  abundance  of  great  men  to  give 
me  joy. 

6th  September,  1685.  Sunday,  I  went  to  prayer  in 
the  chapel,  and  heard  Dr.  Standish.  The  second 
sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Creighton,  on  i  Thess.  iv. 
II,  persuading  to  unity  and  peace,  and  to  be  mindful  of 
our  own  business,  according  to  the  advice  of  the 
apostle.  Then  I  went  to  hear  a  Frenchman  who 
preached  before  the  King  and  Queen  in  that  splendid 
chapel  next  St.  George's  Hall.  Their  Majesties  going 
to  mass,  I  withdrew  to  consider  the  stupendous  painting 
of  the  Hall,  which,  both  for  the  art  and  invention,  deserve 
the  inscription  in  honor  of  the  painter,  Signor  Verrio. 
The  history  is  Edward  HI.  receiving  the  Black  Prince, 
coming  toward  him  in  a  Roman  triumph.  The  whole 
roof  is  the  history  of  St.  George.  The  throne,  the 
carvings,  etc.,  are  incomparable,  and  I  think  equal  to 
any,  and  in  many  circumstances  exceeding  any,  I  have 
seen  abroad. 

I  dined  at  Lord  Sunderland's,  with  (among  others)  Sir 
William  Soames,  designed  Ambassador  to  Constantinople. 

About  6  o'clock  came  Sir  Dudley  and  his  brother  Roger 
North,  and  brought  the  Great  Seal  from  my  Lord  Keeper, 
who  died  the  day  before  at  his  house  in  Oxfordshire. 
The  King  went  immediately  to  council ;  everybody  guess- 
ing who  was  most  likely  to  succeed  this  great  officer; 
most  believing  it  could  be  no  other  than  my  Lord  Chief 
Justice  Jefferies,  who  had  so  vigorously  prosecuted  the 
late  rebels,  and  was  now  gone  the  Western  Circuit,  to 
punish  the  rest  that  were  secured  in  several  counties,  and 
was  now  near   upon   his   return.     I  took  my  leave  of  his 


33*  DIARY    OF  WINCHESTER 

Majesty,  who  spoke  very  graciously  to  me,  and  supping 
that  night  at  Sir  Stephen  Fox's,  I  promised  to  dine  there 
the  next  day. 

15th  September,  1685.  I  accompanied  Mr.  Pepys  to 
Portsmouth,  whither  his  Majesty  was  going  the  first  time 
since  his  coming  to  the  Crown,  to  see  in  what  state  the 
fortifications  were.  We  took  coach  and  six  horses,  late 
after  dinner,  yet  got  to  Bagshot  that  night.  While  sup- 
per was  making  ready  I  went  and  made  a  visit  to  Mrs. 
Graham,  some  time  maid  of  honor  to  the  Queen  Dowager, 
now  wife  to  James  Graham,  Esq.,  of  the  privy  purse  to 
the  King ;  her  house  being  a  walk  in  the  forest,  within  a 
little  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Bagshot  town.  Very  im- 
portunate she  was  that  I  would  sup,  and  abide  there  that 
night ;  but,  being  obliged  by  my  companion,  I  returned  to 
our  inn,  after  she  had  shown  me  her  house,  which 
was  very  commodious,  and  well  furnished,  as  she  was  an 
excellent  housewife,  a  prudent  and  virtuous  lady.  There 
is  a  park  full  of  red  deer  about  it.  Her  eldest  son  was 
now  sick  there  of  the  smallpox,  but  in  a  likely  way  of 
recovery,  and  other  of  her  children  run  about,  and  among 
the  infected,  which  she  said  she  let  them  do  on  purpose 
that  they  might  while  young  pass  that  fatal  disease  she 
fancied  they  were  to  undergo  one  time  or  other,  and  that 
this  would  be  the  best:  the  severity  of  this  cruel  dis- 
temper so  lately  in  my  poor  family  confirming  much  of 
what  she  affirmed. 

1 6th  September,  1685.  The  next  morning,  setting  out 
early,  we  arrived  soon  enough  at  Winchester  to  wait  on 
the  King,  who  was  lodged  at  the  Dean's  (Dr.  Meggot). 
I  found  very  few  with  him  besides  my  Lords  Fever- 
sham,  Arran,  Newport,  and  the  Bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells.  His  Majesty  was  discoursing  with  the  bishops 
concerning  miracles,  and  what  strange  things  the  Salud- 
adors*  would  do   in   Spain,  as   by   creeping   into  heated 

*  Evelyn  subjoins  this  note ; — «  As  to  that  of  the  Saludador  (of  which 
likewise  I  remember  Sir  Arthur  Hopton,  formerly  an  Ambassador  at 
Madrid,  had  told  me  many  like  wonders),  Mr.  Pepys  passing  through 
Spain,  and  being  extremely  inquisitive  of  the  truth  of  these  pretended 
miracles  of  the  Saludadors,  found  a  very  famous  one  at  last,  to  whom 
he  offered  a  considerable  reward  if  he  would  make  a  trial  of  the  oven,  or 
any  other  thing  of  that  kind,  before  him ;  the  fellow  ingenuously  told 
him,  that  finding  he  was  a  more  than  ordinary  curious  person,  he 
would  not  deceive  him,  and  so  acknowledged  that  he  could  do  none  of 


i685  JOHN   EVELYN  233 

ovens  without  hurt,  and  that  they  had  a  black  cross  in 
the  roof  of  their  mouths,  but  yet  were  commonly  noto- 
rious and  profane  wretches;  upon  which  his  Majesty  fur- 
ther said,  that  he  was  so  extremely  difficult  of  miracles, 
for  fear  of  being  imposed  upon,  that  if  he  should  chance 
to  see  one  himself,  without  some  other  witness,  he  should 
apprehend  it  a  delusion  of  his  senses.  Then  they  spoke 
of  the  boy  who  was  pretended  to  have  a  wanting  leg 
restored  him,  so  confidently  asserted  by  Fr.  de  Santa 
Clara  and  others.  To  all  of  which  the  Bishop  added  a 
great  miracle  happening  in  Winchester  to  his  certain 
knowledge,  of  a  poor,  miserably  sick  and  decrepit  child 
(as  I  remember  long  kept  unbaptized)  who  immediately 
on  his  baptism,  recovered ;  as  also  of  the  salutary  effect 
of  King  Charles  his  Majesty's  father's  blood,  in  healing 
one  that  was  blind. 

There  was  something  said  of  the  second  sight  happen- 
ing to  some  persons,  especially  Scotch;  upon  which  his 
Majesty,  and  I  think  Lord  Arran,  told  us  that  Monsieur 
.  ,  .  a  French  nobleman,  lately  here  in  England,  see- 
ing the  late  Duke  of  Monmouth  come  into  the  playhouse 
at  London,  suddenly  cried  out  to  somebody  sitting  in  the 
same  box,  **  Voila  Monsieur  comme  il  entre  sans  tete!  *' 
Afterward  his  ^lajesty  spoke  of  some  relics  that  had  ef- 
fected strange  cures,  particularly  a  piece  of  our  blessed 
Savior's  cross,  that  healed  a  gentleman's  rotten  nose  by 
only  touching.  And  speaking  of  the  golden  cross  and 
chain  taken  out  of  the  coffin  of  St.  Edward  the  Confessor 
at  Westminster,  by  one  of  the  singing-men,  who,  as  the 
scaffolds  were  taken  down  after  his  Majesty's  coronation, 
espying  a  hole  in  the  tomb,  and  something  glisten,  put 
his  hand  in,  and  brought  it  to  the  dean,  and  he  to  the 
King;  his  Majesty  began  to  put  the  Bishop  in  mind  how 
earnestly  the  late  King  (his  brother)  called  upon  him 
during  his  agony,  to  take  out  what  he  had  in  his  pocket. 
"  I  had  thought,  '*  said  the  King,  *  it  had  been  for  some  keys, 
which  might  lead  to  some  cabinet  that  his  Majesty  would 

the  feats  really,  but  that  what  they  pretended  was  all  a  cheat,  which  he 
would  easily  discover,  though  the  poor  superstitious  people  were  easily 
imposed  upon ;  yet  have  these  impostors  an  allowance  of  the  Bishops  to 
practice  their  jugglings.  This  Mr.  Pepys  afl&rmed  to  me ;  but  said  he, 
I  did  not  conceive  it  fit  to  interrupt  his  Majesty,  who  so  solemnly  told 
what  they  pretended  to  do.  J.  E.» 


334  DIARY  OF  Portsmouth 

have  me  secure  '^ ;  but,  says  he,  you  will  remember  that  I 
found  nothing  in  any  of  his  pockets  but  a  cross  of  gold,  and  a 
few  insignificant  papers  *^ ;  and  thereupon  he  showed  us  the 
cross,  and  was  pleased  to  put  it  into  my  hand.  It  was 
of  gold,  about  three  inches  long,  having  on  one  side  a 
crucifix  enameled  and  embossed,  the  rest  was  graved 
and  garnished  with  goldsmiths'  work,  and  two  pretty 
broad  table  amethysts  (as  I  conceived),  and  at  the  bottom 
a  pendant  pearl;  within  was  enchased  a  little  fragment, 
as  was  thought,  of  the  true  cross,  and  a  Latin  inscrip- 
tion in  gold  and  Roman  letters.  More  company  coming 
in,  this  discourse  ended.  I  may  not  forget  a  resolution 
which  his  Majesty  made,  and  had  a  little  before  entered 
upon  it  at  the  Council  Board  at  Windsor  or  Whitehall, 
that  the  negroes  in  the  plantations  should  all  be  bap- 
tized, exceedingly  declaiming  against  that  impiety  of 
their  masters  prohibiting  it,  out  of  a  mistaken  opinion 
that  they  would  be  ipso  facto  free ;  but  his  Majesty  per- 
sists in  his  resolution  to  have  them  christened,  which 
piety  the  Bishop  blessed  him  for. 

I  went  out  to  see  the  new  palace  the  late  King  had 
begun,  and  brought  almost  to  the  covering.  It  is  placed 
on  the  side  of  the  hill,  where  formerly  stood  the  old 
castle.  It  is  a  stately  fabric,  of  three  sides  and  a  corri- 
dor, all  built  of  brick,  and  cornished,  windows  and  col- 
umns at  the  break  and  entrance  of  free-stone.  It  was 
intended  for  a  hunting-house  when  his  Majesty  should 
come  to  these  parts,  and  has  an  incomparable  prospect, 
I  believe  there  had  already  been  ^^20,000  and  more  ex- 
pended; but  his  now  Majesty  did  not  seem  to  encourage 
the  finishing  it  at  least  for  a   while. 

Hence  to  see  the  Cathedral,  a  reverend  pile,  and  in 
good  repair.  There  are  still  the  coffins  of  the  six  Saxon 
Kings,  whose  bones  had  been  scattered  by  the  sac- 
rilegious rebels  of  1641,  in  expectation,  I  suppose,  of 
finding  some  valuable  relics,  and  afterward  gathered  up 
again  and  put  into  new  chests,  which  stand  above  the 
stalls  of  the  choir. 

17th  September,  1685.  Early  next  morning,  we  went 
to  Portsmouth,  something  before  his  Majesty  arrived. 
We  found  all  the  road  full  of  people,  the  women  in  their 
best  dress,  in  expectation  of  seeing  the  King  pass  by, 
which  he  did,  riding   on   horseback   a  good  part   of   th«» 


i685  JOHN   EVELYN  235 

way.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  with  their  mace,  and  in 
their  formalities,  were  standing  at  the  entrance  of  the 
fort,  a  mile  on  this  side  of  the  town,  where  the  Mayor 
made  a  speech  to  the  King,  and  then  the  guns  of  the 
fort  were  fired,  as  were  those  of  the  garrison,  as  soon  as 
the  King  was  come  into  Portsmouth.  All  the  soldiers 
(near  3,000)  were  drawn  up,  and  lining  the  streets  and 
platform  to  God's  House  (the  name  of  the  Governor's  resi- 
dence), where,  after  he  had  viewed  the  new  fortifications 
and  shipyard,  his  Majesty  was  entertained  at  a  magnifi- 
cent dinner  by  Sir  .  .  .  Slingsby,  the  Lieutenant 
Governor,  all  the  gentlemen  in  his  train  sitting  down  at 
table  with  him,  which  I  also  had  done,  had  I  not  been 
before  engaged  to  Sir  Robert  Holmes,  Governor  of  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  to  dine  with  him  at  a  private  house,  where 
likewise  we  had  a  very  sumptuous  and  plentiful  repast  of 
excellent  venison,  fowl,  fish,  and  fruit. 

After  dinner,  I  went  to  wait  on  his  Majesty  again,  who 
was  pulling  on  his  boots  in  the  Town  Hall  adjoining  the 
house  where  he  dined,  and  then  having  saluted  some 
ladies,  who  came  to  kiss  his  hand,  he  took  horse 
for  Winchester,  whither  he  returned  that  night.  This 
hall  is  artificially  hung  round  with  arms  of  all  sorts, 
like  the  hall  and  keep  at  Windsor.  Hence,  to  see 
the  shipyard  and  dock,  the  fortifications,  and  other 
things. 

Portsmouth,  when  finished,  will  be  very  strong,  and  a 
noble  quay.  There  were  now  thirty-two  men-of-war  in 
the  harbor.  I  was  invited  by  Sir  R.  Beach,  the  Commis- 
sioner, where,  after  a  great  supper,  ^Ir.  Secretary  and 
myself  lay  that  night,  and  the  next  morning  set  out  for 
Guildford,  where  we  arrived  in  good  hour,  and  so  the 
day  after  to  London. 

I  had  twice  before  been  at  Portsmouth,  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  etc.,  many  years  since.  I  found  this  part  of 
Hampshire  bravely  wooded,  especially  about  the  house 
and  estate  of  Colonel  Norton,  who  though  now  in  being, 
having  formerly  made  his  peace  by  means  of  Colonel 
Legg,  was  formerly  a  very  fierce  commander  in  the  first 
Rebellion.  His  house  is  large,  and  standing  low,  on  the 
road  from  Winchester  to  Portsmouth. 

By  what  I  observed  in  this  journey,  is  that  infinite  in- 
dustry, sedulity,    gravity,    and    great    understanding  and 


236  DIARY   OE  LONDON 

experience  of  affairs,  in  his  Majesty,  that  I  cannot  but 
predict  much  happiness  to  the  nation,  as  to  its  political 
government;  and,  if  he  so  persist,  there  could  be  nothing 
more  desired  to  accomplish  our  prosperity,  but  that  he  was 
of  the  national  religion. 

30th  September,  1685.  Lord  Clarendon's  commission 
for  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  was  sealed  this  day. 

2d  October,  1685.  Having  a  letter  sent  me  by  Mr. 
Pepys  with  this  expression  at  the  foot  of  it,  *^  I  have 
something  to  show  you  that  I  may  not  have  another 
time,^*  and  that  I  would  not  fail  to  dine  with  him.  I  ac- 
cordingly went.  After  dinner,  he  had  me  and  Mr.  Hou- 
blon  (a  rich  and  considerable  merchant,  whose  father  had 
fled  out  of  Flanders  on  the  persecution  of  the  Duke  of 
Alva)  into  a  private  room,  and  told  us  that  being  lately 
alone  with  his  Majesty,  and  upon  some  occasion  of  speak- 
ing concerning  my  late  Lord  Arlington  dying  a  Roman 
Catholic,  who  had  all  along  seemed  to  profess  himself  a 
Protestant,  taken  all  the  tests,  etc.,  till  the  day  (I  think) 
of  his  death,  his  Majesty  said  that  as  to  his  inclinations 
he  had  known  them  long  wavering,  but  from  fear  of 
losing  his  places,  he  did  not  think  it  convenient  to  de- 
clare himself.  There  are,  says  the  King,  those  who 
believe  the  Church  of  Rome  gives  dispensations  for  going 
to  church,  and  many  like  things,  but  that  is  not  so ;  for  if 
that  might  have  been  had,  he  himself  had  most  reason  to 
make  use  of  it.     Indeed,  he  said,  as  to  some  matrimonial 

CASES,    THERE  ARE  NOW  AND  THEN  DISPENSATIONS,   but   hardly 

in  any  cases  else. 

This  familiar  discourse  encouraged  Mr.  Pepys  to  beg 
of  his  Majesty,  if  he  might  ask  it  without  offense,  and  for 
that  his  Majesty  could  not  but  observe  how  it  was  whis- 
pered among  many  whether  his  late  Majesty  had  been 
reconciled  to  the  Church  of  Rome;  he  again  humbly  be- 
sought his  Majesty  to  pardon  his  presumption,  if  he  had 
touched  upon  a  thing  which  did  not  befit  him  to  look 
into.  The  King  ingenuously  told  him  that  he  both  was 
and  died  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  that  he  had  not  long 
since  declared  that  it  was  upon  some  politic  and  state 
reasons,  best  known  to  himself  (meaning  the  King  his 
brother),  but  that  he  was  of  that  persuasion :  he  bid  him 
follow  him  into  his  closet,  where  opening  a  cabinet,  he 
showed  him  two  papers,  containing  about  a  quarter  of  a 


i685  JOHN   EVELYN  337 

sheet,  on  both  sides  written,  in  the  late  King's  own 
hand,  several  arguments  opposite  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church  of  England,  charging  her  with  heresy,  novelty, 
and  the  fanaticism  of  other  Protestants,  the  chief  whereof 
was,  as  I  remember,  our  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  pri- 
macy and  infallibility  of  the  Church  of  Rome ;  how  impos- 
sible it  was  that  so  many  ages  should  never  dispute  it,  till 
of  late ;  how  unlikely  our  Savior  would  leave  his  Church 
without  a  visible  Head  and  guide  to  resort  to,  during  his 
absence;  ^vith  the  like  usual  topic;  so  well  penned  as  to 
the  discourse  as  did  by  no  means  seem  to  me  to  have  been 
put  together  by  the  late  King  yet  written  all  with  his  own 
hand,  blotted  and  interlined,  so  as,  if  indeed  it  was  not  given 
him  by  some  priest,  they  might  be  such  arguments  and 
reasons  as  had  been  inculcated  from  time  to  time,  and 
here  recollected;  and,  in  the  conclusion,  showing  his 
looking  on  the  Protestant  religion  (and  by  name  the 
Church  of  England)  to  be  without  foundation,  and  con- 
sequently false  and  unsafe.  When  his  Majesty  had  shown 
him  these  originals,  he  was  pleased  to  lend  him  the 
copies  of  these  two  papers,  attested  at  the  bottom  in  four 
or  five  lines  under  his  own  hand. 

These  were  the  papers  I  saw  and  read.  This  nice  and 
curious  passage  I  thought  fit  to  set  down.  Though  all 
the  arguments  and  objections  were  altogether  weak,  and 
have  a  thousand  times  been  answered  by  our  divines; 
they  are  such  as  their  priests  insinuate  among  their  prose- 
lytes, as  if  nothing  were  Catholic  but  the  Church  of  Rome, 
no  salvation  out  of  that,  no  reformation  sufferable,  bot- 
toming all  their  errors  on  St.  Peter's  successors'  uner- 
ring dictatorship,  but  proving  nothing  with  any  reason, 
or  taking  notice  of  any  objection  which  could  be  made 
against  it.  Here  all  was  taken  for  granted,  and  upon  it 
a  resolution  and  preference  implied. 

I  was  heartily  sorry  to  see  all  this,  though  it  was  no 
other  than  was  to  be  suspected,  by  his  late  Majesty's  too 
great  indifference,  neglect,  and  course  of  life,  that  he  had 
been  perverted,  and  for  secular  respects  only  professed 
to  be  of  another  belief,  and  thereby  giving  great  advan- 
tage to  our  adversaries,  both  the  Court  and  generally  the 
youth  and  great  persons  of  the  nation  becoming  dissolute  and 
highly  profane.  God  was  incensed  to  make  his  reig^  very 
troublesome    and    unprosperous,  by  wars,    plagues,  fires, 


238  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

loss  of  reputation  by  an  universal  neglect  of  the  public 
for  the  love  of  a  voluptuous  and  sensual  life,  which  a 
vicious  Court  had  brought  into  credit.  I  think  of  it  with 
sorrow  and  pity,  when  I  consider  how  good  and  debonair 
a  nature  that  unhappy  Prince  was ;  what  opportunities  he 
had  to  have  made  himself  the  most  renowned  King  that 
ever  swayed  the  British  scepter,  had  he  been  firm  to 
that  Church  for  which  his  martyred  and  blessed  fathei 
suffered ;  and  had  he  been  grateful  to  Almighty  God,  who 
so  miraculously  restored  him,  with  so  excellent  a  relig- 
ion; had  he  endeavored  to  own  and  propagate  it  as  he 
should  have  done,  not  only  for  the  good  of  his  king- 
dom, but  of  all  the  Reformed  Churches  in  Christendom, 
now  weakened  and  near  ruined  through  our  remissness  and 
suffering  them  to  be  supplanted,  persecuted,  and  destroyed, 
as  in  France,  which  we  took  no  notice  of.  The  conse- 
quence of  this,  time  will  show,  and  I  wish  it  may  pro- 
ceed no  further.  The  emissaries  and  instruments  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  will  never  rest  till  they  have  crushed 
the  Church  of  England,  as  knowing  that  alone  to  be  able 
to  cope  with  them,  and  that  they  can  never  answer  her 
fairly,  but  lie  abundantly  open  to  the  irresistible  force 
of  her  arguments,  antiquity  and  purity  of  her  doctrine, 
so  that  albeit  it  may  move  God,  for  the  punishment  of  a 
nation  so  unworthy,  to  eclipse  again  the  profession  of 
her  here,  and  darkness  and  superstition  prevail,  I  am 
most  confident  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England 
will  never  be  extinguished,  but  remain  visible,  if  not 
eminent,  to  the  consummation  of  the  world.  I  have  in- 
numerable reasons  that  confirm  me  in  this  opinion,  which 
I  forbear  to  mention  here. 

In  the  meantime,  as  to  the  discourse  of  his  Majesty 
with  Mr.  Pepys,  and  those  papers,  as  I  do  exceedingly 
prefer  his  Majesty's  free  and  ingenuous  profession  of  what 
his  own  religion  is,  beyond  concealment  upon  any  politic 
accounts,  so  I  think  him  of  a  most  sincere  and  honest 
nature,  one  on  whose  word  one  may  rely,  and  that  he 
makes  a  conscience  of  what  he  promises,  to  perform  it. 
In  this  confidence,  I  hope  that  the  Church  of  England 
may  yet  subsist,  and  when  it  shall  please  God  to  open 
his  eyes  and  turn  his  heart  ( for  that  is  peculiarly  in  the 
Lord's  hands)  to  flourish  also.  In  all  events,  whatever 
does  become  of  the  Church  of  England,  it  is  certainly,  of 


i685  JOHN  EVELYN  239 

all  the  Christian  professions  on  the  earth,  the  most 
primitive,  apostolical,  and  excellent. 

8th  October,  1685.  I  had  my  picture  drawn  this  week 
by  the  famous  Kneller. 

14th  October,  1685.  I  went  to  London  about  finishing 
my  lodgings  at  Whitehall, 

15th  October,  1685.  Being  the  King's  birthday,  there 
was  a  solemn  ball  at  Court,  and  before  it  music  of  in- 
struments and  voices.  I  happened  by  accident  to  stand 
the  very  next  to  the  Queen  and  the  King,  who  talked 
with  me  about  the  music. 

1 8th  October,  1685.  The  King  was  now  building  all 
that  range  from  east  to  west  by  the  court  and  garden  to 
the  street,  and  making  a  new  chapel  for  the  Queen, 
whose  lodgings  were  to  be  in  this  new  building,  as  also 
a  new  Council  chamber  and  offices  next  the  south  end 
of  the  banqueting  house.  I  returned  home,  next  morn- 
ing, to  London. 

226.  October,  1685.  I  accompanied  my  Lady  Clarendon 
to  her  house  at  Swallowfield,  in  Berks,  dining  by  the 
way  at  Mr.  Graham's  lodge  at  Bagshot;  the  house,  newly 
repaired  and  capacious  enough  for  a  good  family,  stands 
in  a  park. 

Hence,  we  went  to  Swallowfield;  this  house  is  after  the 
ancient  building  of  honorable  gentlemen's  houses,  when 
they  kept  up  ancient  hospitality,  but  the  gardens  and 
waters  as  elegant  as  it  is  possible  to  make  a  flat  by 
art  and  industry,  and  no  mean  expense,  my  lady  being 
so  extraordinarily  skilled  in  the  flowery  part,  and  my  lord 
in  diligence  of  planting;  so  that  I  have  hardly  seen  a 
seat  which  shows  more  tokens  of  it  than  what  is  to  be 
found  here,  not  only  in  the  delicious  and  rarest  fruits  of 
a  garden,  but  in  those  innumerable  timber  trees  in  the 
ground  about  the  seat,  to  the  greatest  ornament  and  bene- 
fit of  the  place.  There  is  one  orchard  of  1,000  golden, 
and  other  cider  pippins ;  walks  and  groves  of  elms,  limes, 
oaks,  and  other  trees.  The  garden  is  so  beset  with  all 
manner  of  sweet  shrubs,  that  it  perfumes  the  air.  The 
distribution  also  of  the  quarters,  walks,  and  parterres,  is 
excellent.  The  nurseries,  kitchen-garden  full  of  the  most 
desirable  plants;  two  very  noble  orangeries  well  furnished: 
but,  above  all,  the  canal  and  fish  ponds,  the  one  fed  with 
a  white,  the  other  with  a  black  running  water,  fed  by  a 


240  DIARY  OF  London 

quick  and  swift  river,  so  well  and  plentifully  stored  with 
fish,  that  for  pike,  carp,  bream,  and  tench,  I  never  saw 
anything  approaching-  it.  We  had  at  every  meal  carp 
and  pike  of  a  size  fit  for  the  table  of  a  Prince,  and  what 
added  to  the  delight  was,  to  see  the  hundreds  taken  by 
the  drag,  out  of  which,  the  cook  standing  by,  we  pointed 
out  what  we  had  most  mind  to,  and  had  carp  that  would 
have  been  worth  at  London  twenty  shillings  a  piece. 
The  waters  are  flagged  about  with  Caldmus  aromaticus, 
with  which  my  lady  has  hung  a  closet,  that  retains  the 
smell  very  perfectly.  There  is  also  a  certain  sweet  wil- 
low and  other  exotics:  also  a  very  fine  bowling-green, 
meadow,  pasture,  and  wood;  in  a  word,  all  that  can 
render  a  country  seat  delightful.  There  is  besides  a  well- 
furnished  library  in  the  house. 

26th  October,  1685.  We  returned  to  London,  having 
been  treated  with  all  sorts  of  cheer  and  noble  freedom 
by  that  most  religious  and  virtuous  lady.  She  was  now 
preparing  to  go  for  Ireland  with  her  husband,  made 
Lord  Deputy,  and  went  to  this  country  house  and  ancient 
seat  of  her  father  and  family,  to  set  things  in  order 
during  her  absence;  but  never  were  good  people  and 
neighbors  more  concerned  than  all  the  country  (the  poor 
especially)  for  the  departure  of  this  charitable  woman; 
everyone  was  in  tears,  and  she  as  unwilling  to  part 
from  them.  There  was  among  them  a  maiden  of  primi- 
tive life,  the  daughter  of  a  poor  laboring  man,  who 
had  sustained  her  parents  (some  time  since  dead)  by 
her  labor,  and  has  for  many  years  refused  marriage,  or 
to  receive  any  assistance  from  the  parish,  besides  the 
little  hermitage  my  lady  gives  her  rent-free ;  she  lives  on 
four  pence  a  day,  which  she  gets  by  spinning;  says  she 
abounds  and  can  give  alms  to  others,  living  in  great 
humility  and  content,  without  any  apparent  affectation, 
or  singularity;  she  is  continually  working,  praying,  or 
reading,  gives  a  good  account  of  her  knowledge  in  reli- 
gion, visits  the  sick ;  is  not  in  the  least  given  to  talk ;  very 
modest,  of  a  simple  not  unseemingly  behavior;  of  a 
comely  countenance,  clad  very  plain,  but  clean  and  tight. 
In  sum,  she  appears  a  saint  of  an  extraordinary  sort,  in 
so  religious  a  life,  as  is  seldom  met  with  in  villages  now- 
a-days. 

27th  October,  1685.     I  was  invited  to  dine  at  Sir  Stephen 


1 68 5  JOHN  EVELYN  241 

Fox's  with  my  Lord  Lieutenant,  where  was  such  a  dinner 
for  variety  of  all  things  as  I  had  seldom  seen,  and  it 
was  so  for  the  trial  of  a  master-cook  whom  Sir  Stephen 
had  recommended  to  go  with  his  Lordship  into  Ireland; 
there  were  all  the  dainties  not  only  of  the  season,  but 
of  what  art  could  add,  venison,  plain  solid  meat,  fowl, 
baked  and  boiled  meats,  banquet  [dessert],  in  exceeding 
plenty,  and  ^exquisitely  dressed.  There  also  dined  my 
Lord  Ossory  and  Lady  (the  Duke  of  Beaufort's  daughter), 
my  Lady  Treasurer,  Lord  Combury,  and  other  visitors. 

28th  October,  1685.  At  the  Royal  Society,  an  urn  full 
of  bones  was  presented,  dug  up  in  a  highway,  while  re- 
pairing it,  in  a  field  in  Camberwell,  in  Surrey;  it  was 
found  entire  with  its  cover,  among  many  others,  believed 
to  be  truly  Roman  and  ancient. 

Sir  Richard  Bulkeley  described  to  us  a  model  of  a 
chariot  he  had  invented,  which  it  was  not  possible  to 
overthrow  in  whatever  uneven  way  it  was  drawn,  giving 
us  a  wonderful  relation  of  what  it  had  performed  in  that 
kind,  for  ease,  expedition,  and  safety;  there  were  some 
inconveniences  yet  to  be  remedied — it  would  not  contain 
more  than  one  person;  was  ready  to  take  fire  every  ten 
miles;  and  being  placed  and  playing  on  no  fewer  than 
ten  rollers,  it  made  a  most  prodigious  noise,  almost  in- 
tolerable. A  remedy  was  to  be  sought  for  these  incon- 
veniences. 

31st  October,  1685.  I  dined  at  our  great  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Jefferies',  who  used  me  with  much  respect.  This 
was  the  late  Chief -Justice  who  had  newly  been  the  West- 
em  Circuit  to  try  the  Monmouth  conspirators,  and  had 
formerly  done  such  severe  justice  among  the  obnoxious 
in  Westminster  Hall,  for  which  his  Majesty  dignified 
him  by  creating  him  first  a  Baron,  and  now  Lord  Chan- 
cellor. He  had  some  years  past  been  conversant  in 
Deptford ;  is  of  an  assured  and  undaunted  spirit,  and  has 
served  the  Court  interest  on  all  the  hardiest  occasions;  is 
of  nature  cruel,  and  a  slave  of  the  Court. 

3d  November,  1685.  The  French  persecution  of  the 
Protestants  raging  with  the  utmost  barbarity,  exceeded 
even  what  the  very  heathens  used:  innumerable  persons 
of  the  greatest  birth  and  riches  leaving  all  their  earthly 
substance,  and  hardly  escaping  with  their  lives,  dispersed 
through  all  the  countries  of  Europe.  The  French  tyrant 
16 


242  DIARY      OF  LONDON 

abrogated  the  Edict  of  Nantes  which  had  been  made  in 
favor  of  them,  and  without  any  cause;  on  a  sudden 
demolishing-  all  their  churches,  banishing,  imprisoning, 
and  sending  to  the  galleys  all  the  ministers;  plundering 
the  common  people,  and  exposing  them  to  all  sorts  of 
barbarous  usage  by  soldiers  sent  to  ruin  and  prey  on 
them;  taking  away  their  children;  forcing  people  to  the 
Mass,  and  then  executing  them  as  relapsers;  they  burnt 
their  libraries,  pillaged  their  goods,  ate  up  their  fields 
and  substance,  banished  or  sent  the  people  to  the  galleys, 
and  seized  on  their  estates.  There  had  now  been  num- 
bered to  pass  through  Geneva  only  (and  that  by  stealth, 
for  all  the  usual  passages  were  strictly  guarded  by  sea 
and  land)  40,000  toward  Switzerland.  In  Holland,  Den- 
mark, and  all  about  Germany,  were  dispersed  some  hun- 
dred thousands;  besides  those  in  England,  where,  though 
multitudes  of  all  degree  sought  for  shelter  and  welcome 
as  distressed  Christians  and  confessors,  they  found  least 
encouragement,  by  a  fatality  of  the  times  we  were  fallen 
into,  and  the  uncharitable  indifference  of  such  as  should 
have  embraced  them;  and  I  prey  it  be  not  laid  to  our 
charge.  The  famous  Claude  fled  to  Holland;  Allix  and 
several  more  came  to  London,  and  persons  of  great 
estates  came  over,  who  had  forsaken  all.  France  was 
almost  dispeopled,  the  bankers  so  broken,  that  the  tyrant's 
revenue  was  exceedingly  diminished,  manufactures 
ceased,  and  everybody  there,  save  the  Jesuits,  abhorred 
what  was  done,  nor  did  the  Papists  themselves  approve 
it.  What  the  further  intention  is,  time  will  show;  but 
doubtless  portending  some  revolution. 

I  was  shown  the  harangue  which  the  Bishop  of  Va- 
lentia  on  Rhone  made  in  the  name  of  the  Clergy,  cele- 
brating the  French  King,  as  if  he  was  a  God,  for 
persecuting  the  poor  Protestants,  with  this  expression  in 
it,  *^  That  as  his  victory  over  heresy  was  greater  than  all 
the  conquests  of  Alexander  and  Caesar,  it  was  but  what 
was  wished  in  England;  and  that  God  seemed  to  raise 
the  French  King  to  this  power  and  magfnanimous  action, 
that  he  might  be  in  capacity  to  assist  in  doing  the  same 
here.**  This  paragraph  is  very  bold  and  remarkable; 
several  reflecting  on  Archbishop  Usher's  prophecy  as  now 
begun  in  France,  and  approaching  the  orthodox  in  all 
other  reformed   churches.     One   thing   was   much   taken 


1 68 5  JOHN   EVELYN  243 

notice  of,  that  the  ** Gazettes*  which  were  still  constantly- 
printed  twice  a  week,  informing  us  what  was  done  all 
over  Eiirope,  never  spoke  of  this  wonderful  proceeding 
in  France;  nor  was  any  relation  of  it  published  by  any, 
save  what  private  letters  and  the  persecuted  fugitives 
brought.  Whence  this  silence,  I  list  not  to  conjecture; 
but  it  appeared  very  extraordinary  in  a  Protestant  coun- 
try that  we  should  know  nothing  of  what  Protestants 
suffered,  while  great  collections  were  made  for  them  in 
foreign  places,  more  hospitable  and  Christian  to  appearance. 

5th  November,  1685.  It  being  an  extraordinarily  wet 
morning,  and  myself  indisposed  by  a  very  great  rheum, 
I  did  not  go  to  church,  to  my  very  great  sorrow,  it  being 
the  first  Gunpowder  Conspiracy  anniversary  that  had  been 
kept  now  these  eighty  years  under  a  prince  of  the  Ro- 
man religion.  Bonfires  were  forbidden  on  this  day;  what 
does  this  portend! 

9th  November,  1685.  Began  the  Parliament.  The  King 
in  his  speech  required  continuance  of  a  standing  force 
instead  of  a  militia,  and  indemnity  and  dispensation  to 
Popish  officers  from  the  Test;  demands  very  unexpected 
and  unpleasing  to  the  Commons.  He  also  required  a 
supply  of  revenue,  which  they  granted;  but  returned  no 
thanks  to  the  King  for  his  speech,  till  farther  considera- 
tion. 

12th  November,  1685.  The  Commons  postponed  finish- 
ing the  bill  for  the  Supply,  to  consider  the  Test,  and 
Popish  officers;  this  was  carried  but  by  one  voice. 

14th  November,  1685.  I  dined  at  Lambeth,  my  Lord 
Archbishop  carrying  me  with  him  in  his  barge;  there 
were  my  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland,  the  Bishops  of  Ely 
and  St.  Asaph,  Dr.  Sherlock,  and  other  divines;  Sir  Will- 
iam Hayward,   Sir  Paul  Rycaut,  etc. 

20th  November,  1685.  The  Parliament  was  adjourned 
to  February,  several  both  of  Lords  and  Commons  ex- 
cepting against  some  passage  of  his  Majesty's  speech  re- 
lating to  the  Test,  and  continuance  of  Popish  officers  in 
command.  •  This  was  a  great  surprise  in  a  Parliament 
which  people  believed  would  have  complied  in  all  things. 

Popish  pamphlets  and  pictures  sold  publicly;  no  books 
nor  answers  to  them  appearing  till  long  after. 

2ist  November,  1685.  I  resigned  my  trust  for  com- 
posing a  difference  between  Mr.  Thynn  and  his  wife. 


244  DIARY  OF  Greenwich 

226.  November,  1685,  Hitherto  was  a  very  wet,  warm 
season. 

4th  December,  1685.  Lord  Sunderland  was  declared 
President  of  the  Council,  and  yet  to  hold  his  Secretary's 
place.  The  forces  disposed  into  several  quarters  through 
the  kingdom  are  very  insolent,  on  which  are  great  com- 
plaints. 

Lord  Brandon,  tried  for  the  late  conspiracy,  was  con- 
demned and  pardoned;  so  was  Lord  Grey,  his  accuser 
and  witness. 

Persecution  in  France  raging,  the  French  insolently 
visit  our  vessels,  and  take  away  the  fugitive  Protestants; 
some  escape  in  barrels. 

loth  December,  1685.  To  Greenwich,  being  put  into 
the  new  Commission  of   Sewers. 

13th  December,  1685.  Dr.  Patrick,  Dean  of  Peterbor- 
ough, preached  at  Whitehall,  before  the  Princess  of  Den- 
mark, who,  since  his  Majesty  came  to  the  Crown, 
always  sat  in  the  King's  closet,  and  had  the  same 
bowings  and  ceremonies  applied  to  the  place  where 
she   was,    as   his    Majesty   had   when    there   in   person. 

Dining  at  Mr.  Pepys's,  Dr.  Slayer  showed  us  an  ex- 
periment of  a  wonderful  nature,  pouring  first  a  very  cold 
liquor  into  a  glass,  and  superfusing  on  it  another,  to  ap- 
pearance cold  and  clear  liquor  also;  it  first  produced  a 
white  cloud,  then  boiling,  divers  coruscations  and  actual 
flames  of  fire  mingled  with  the  liquor,  which  being  a  lit- 
tle shaken  together,  fixed  divers  suns  and  stars  of  real 
fire,  perfectly  globular,  on  the  sides  of  the  glass,  and 
which  there  stuck  like  so  many  constellations,  burning 
most  vehemently,  and  resembling  stars  and  heavenly 
bodies,  and  that  for  a  long  space.  It  seemed  to  exhibit 
a  theor}''  of  the  eduction  of  light  out  of  the  chaos,  and 
the  fixing  or  gathering  of  the  universal  light  into  lumi- 
nous bodies.  This  matter,  or  phosphorus,  was  made 
out  of  human  blood  and  urine,  elucidating  the  vital 
flame,  or  heat  in  animal  bodies.  A  very  noble  experi- 
ment ! 

i6th  December,  1685.  I  accompanied  my  Lord-Lieu- 
tenant as  far  as  St.  Alban's,  there  going  out  of  town 
with  him  near  200  coaches  of  all  the  great  officers  and 
nobility.  The  next  morning  taking  leave,  I  returned  to 
London. 


1 68s  JOHN  EVELYN  245 

1 8th  December,  1685.  I  dined  at  the  great  entertain- 
ment his  Majesty  gave  the  Venetian  Ambassadors,  Sig- 
ners Zenno  and  Justiniani,  accompanied  with  ten  more 
noble  Venetians  of  their  most  illustrious  families,  Cor- 
naro,  Maccenigo,  etc.,  who  came  to  congratulate  their 
Majesties  coming  to  the  Crown.  The  dinner  was  most 
magnificent  and  plentiful,  at  four  tables,  with  music, 
kettledrums,  and  trumpets,  which  sounded  upon  a  whistle 
at  every  health.  The  banquet  [dessert]  was  twelve  vast 
chargers  piled  up  so  high  that  those  who  sat  one  against 
another  could  hardly  see  each  other.  Of  these  sweet- 
meats, which  doubtless  were  some  days  piling  up  in  that 
exquisite  manner,  the  Ambassadors  touched  not,  but 
leaving  them  to  the  spectators  who  came  out  of  curiosity 
to  see  the  dinner,  were  exceedingly  pleased  to  see  in 
what  a  moment  of  time  all  that  curious  work  was  de- 
molished, the  comfitures  voided,  and  the  tables  cleared. 
Thus  his  Majesty  entertained  them  three  days,  which 
(for  the  table  only)  cost  him  jQ6oo,  as  the  Clerk  of  the 
Greencloth  (Sir  William  Boreman)  assured  me.  Dinner 
ended,  I  saw  their  procession,  or  cavalcade,  to  White- 
hall, innumerable  coaches  attending.  The  two  Ambas- 
sadors had  four  coaches  of  their  own,  and  fifty  footmen 
(as  I  remember),  besides  other  equipage  as  splendid  as 
the  occasion  would  permit,  the  Court  being  still  in 
mourning.  Thence,  I  went  to  the  audience  which  they 
had  in  the  Queen's  presence  chamber,  the  Banqueting 
House  being  full  of  goods  and  furniture  till  the  galleries 
on  the  garden -side,  council  chamber,  and  new  chapel, 
now  in  the  building,  were  finished.  They  went  to  their 
audience  in  those  plain  black  gowns  and  caps  which  they 
constantly  wear  in  the  city  of  Venice.  I  was  invited  to 
have  accompanied  the  two  Ambassadors  in  their  coach  to 
supper  that  night,  returning  now  to  their  own  lodgings, 
as  no  longer  at  the  King's  expense;  but,  being  weary,  I 
excused  myself. 

19th  December,  1685.  My  Lord  Treasurer  made  me 
dine  with  him,  where  I  became  acquainted  with  Monsieur 
Barillon,  the  French  Ambassador,  a  learned  and  crafty 
advocate. 

20th  December,  1685.  Dr.  Turner,  brother  to  the 
Bishop  of  Ely,  and  sometime  tutor  to  my  son,  preached 
at  Whitehall  on  Mark  viii.  38,  concerning  the  submission 


246  DIARY  OF  London 

of  Christians  to  their  persecutors,  in  which  were  some 
passages  indiscreet  enough,  considering  the  time,  and  the 
rage  of  the  inhuman  French  tyrant  against  the  poor 
Protestants. 

22d  December,  1685.  Our  patent  for  executing  the 
office  of  Privy  Seal  during  the  absence  of  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  Ireland,  being  this  day  sealed  by  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  we  went  afterward  to  St.  James,  where  the 
Court  then  was  on  occasion  of  building  at  Whitehall ;  his 
Majesty  delivered  the  seal  to  my  Lord  Tiviot  and  myself, 
the  other  Commissioners  not  being  come,  and  then  gave 
us  his  hand  to  kiss.  There  were  the  two  Venetian  Am- 
bassadors and  a  world  of  company;  among  the  rest  the 
first  Popish  Nuncio  that  had  been  in  England  since  the 
Reformation ;  so  wonderfully  were  things  changed,  to  the 
universal  jealousy. 

24th  December,  1685.  We  were  all  three  Commissioners 
sworn  on  our  knees  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Crown,  before 
my  Lord  Chancellor,  three  several  oaths:  allegiance, 
supremacy,  and  the  oath  belonging  to  the  Lord  Privy 
Seal,  which  last  we  took  standing.  After  this,  the  Lord 
Chancellor  invited  us  all  to  dinner,  but  it  being  Christ- 
mas eve  we  desired  to  be  excused,  intending  at  three  in 
the  afternoon  to  seal  divers  things  which  lay  ready  at 
the  office;  so  attended  by  three  of  the  Clerks  of  the  Sig- 
net, we  met  and  sealed.  Among  other  things  was  a  par- 
don to  West,  who  being  privy  to  the  late  conspiracy,  had 
revealed  the  accomplices  to  save  his  own  neck.  There 
were  also  another  pardon  and  two  indenizations;  and  so 
agreeing  to  a  fortnight's  vacation,  I   returned  home. 

31st  December,  1685.  Recollecting  the  passages  of  the 
year  past,  and  having  made  up  accounts,  humbly  be- 
sought Almighty  God  to  pardon  those  my  sins  which  had 
provoked  him  to  discompose  my  sorrowful  family;  that 
he  would  accept  of  our  humiliation,  and  in  his  good  time 
restore  comfort  to  it.  I  also  blessed  God  for  all  his  unde- 
served mercies  and  preservations,  begging  the  continuance 
of  his  grace  and  preservation.  The  winter  had  hitherto 
been  extraordinarily  wet  and  mild. 

I  St  January,  1685-6.  Imploring  the  continuance  of 
God's  providential  care  for  the  year  now  entered,  I 
went  to  the  public  devotions.  The  Dean  of  the  Chapel 
and  Clerk  of  the  Closet  put  out,  viz,    Bishop  of    London 


1685-86  JOHN   EVELYN  247 

and  .  .  .  ,  and  Rochester  and  Durham  put  in  their 
places ;  the  former  had  opposed  the  toleration  intended, 
and  shown  a  worthy  zeal  for  the  reformed  religion  as 
established. 

6th  January,  1686.  I  dined  with  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  where  was  Peter  Walsh,  that  Romish  priest  so  well 
known  for  his  moderation,  professing  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land to  be  a  true  member  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He 
is  used  to  go  to  our  public  prayers  without  scruple,  and 
did  not  acknowledge  the  Pope's  infallibility,  only  primacy 
of  order. 

19th    January,   1686.     Passed    the    Privy    Seal,    among 

others,  the    creation  of    Mrs.    Sedley  ( concubine  to ) 

Countess  of  Dorchester,  which  the  Queen  took  very  griev- 
ously, so  as  for  two  dinners,  standing  near  her,  I  observed 
she  hardly  ate  one  morsel,  nor  spoke  one  word  to  the 
King,  or  to  any  about  her,  though  at  other  times  she 
used  to  be  extremely  pleasant,  full  of  discourse  and  good 
humor.  The  Roman  Catholics  were  also  very  angry: 
because  they  had  so  long  valued  the  sanctity  of  their 
religion  and  proselytes. 

Dryden,  the  famous  playwriter,  and  his  two  sons,  and 

Mrs.    Nelly   (miss  to   the  late ),  were   said   to   go  to 

mass;  such  proselytes  were  no  great  loss  to  the    Church. 

This  night  was  burnt  to  the  ground  my  Lord  Mon- 
tague's palace  in  Bloomsbury,  than  which  for  painting 
and  furniture  there  was  nothing  more  glorious  in  England. 
This  happened  by  the  negligence  of  a  servant  airing,  as 
they  call  it,  some  of  the  goods  by  the  fire  in  a  moist 
season ;  indeed,  so  wet  and  mild  a  season  had  scarce  been 
seen  in  man's  memory. 

At  this  Seal  there  also  passed  the  creation  of  Sir  Henry 
Waldegrave  to  be  a  Peer.  He  had  married  one  of  the 
King's  natural  daughters  by  Mrs.  Churchill.  These  two 
Seals  my  brother  Commissioners  passed  in  the  morning 
before  I  came  to  town,  at  which  I  was  not  displeased. 
We  likewise  passed  Privy  Seals  for  ^^2  7 6, 000  upon  sev- 
eral accounts,  pensions,  guards,  wardrobes,  privy  purse, 
etc.,  besides  divers  pardons,  and  one  more  which  I  must 
not  forget  ( and  which  by  Providence  I  was  not  present  at) 
one  Mr.  Lytcott  to  be  Secretary  to  the  Ambassador  to 
Rome.  We  being  three  Commissioners,  any  two  were  a 
quonim. 


348  DIARY  OF  London 

2ist  January,  1686.  I  dined  at  my  Lady  Arlington's, 
Groom  of  the  Stole  to  the  Queen  Dowager,  at  Somerset 
House,  where  dined  the  Countesses  of  Devonshire,  Dover, 
etc. ;  in  all  eleven  ladies  of  quality,  no  man  but  myself 
being  there. 

24th  January,  1686.  Unheard-of  cruelties  to  the  perse- 
cuted Protestants  of  France,  such  as  hardly  any  age  has 
seen  the  like,  even  among  the  Pagans. 

6th  February  1686.  Being  the  day  on  which  his  Majesty 
began  his  reign,  by  order  of  Council  it  was  to  be  solem- 
nized with  a  particular  office  and  sermon,  which  the  Bishop 
of  Ely  preached  at  Whitehall  on  Numb.  xi.  12;  a  Court 
oration  upon  the  regal  office.  It  was  much  wondered  at, 
that  this  day,  which  was  that  of  his  late  Majesty's  death, 
should  be  kept  as  a  festival,  and  not  the  day  of  the 
present  King's  coronation.  It  is  said  to  have  been  for- 
merly the  custom,  though  not  till  now  since  the  reign  of 
King  James  I. 

The  Duchess  of  Monmouth,  being  in  the  same  seat 
with  me  at  church,  appeared  with  a  very  sad  and  affiicted 
countenance. 

8th  February,  1686.  I  took  the  test  in  Westminster 
Hall,  before  the  Lord  Chief  Justice.  I  now  came  to  lodge 
at  Whitehall,  in  the  Lord  Privy  Seal's  lodgings. 

12th  February,  1686.  My  great  cause  was  heard  by 
my  Lord  Chancellor,  who  granted  me  a  rehearing.  I 
had  six  eminent  lawyers,  my  antagonist  three,  whereof 
one  was  the  smooth-tongued  solicitor,  whom  my  Lord 
Chancellor  reproved  in  great  passion  for  a  very  small 
occasion.  Blessed  be  God  for  his  great  goodness  to  me 
this  day! 

19th  February,  1686.  Many  bloody  and  notorious  duels 
were  fought  about  this  time.  The  Duke  of  Grafton  killed 
Mr,  Stanley,  brother  to  the  Earl  of  [Derby],  indeed  upon 
an  almost  insufferable  provocation.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  his  Majesty  will  at  last  severely  remedy  this  un- 
christian custom. 

Lord  Sunderland  was  now  Secretary  of  State,  President 
of  the  Council,  and  Premier  Minister, 

I  St  March,  1686,  Came  Sir  Gilbert  Gerrard  to  treat 
with  me  about  his  son's  marrying  my  daughter,  Susanna. 
The  father  being  obnoxious,  and  in  some  suspicion  and 
displeasure  of  the  King,  I  would  receive  no  proposal  till 


i686  JOHN  EVELYN  249 

his  Majesty  had  given  me  leave;  which  he  was  pleased 
to  do;  but,  after  several  meetings  we  broke  off,  on  his 
not  being  willing  to  secure  anything  competent  for  my 
daughter's  children ;  besides  that  I  found  most  of  his  estate 
was  in  the  coal-pits  as  far  off  as  Newcastle,  and  on  leases 
from  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  who  had  power  to  make 
concurrent  leases,  with  other  difficulties. 

7th  March,  1686.  Dr.  Frampton,  Bishop  of  Gloucester, 
preached  on  Psalm  xliv.  17,  18,  19,  showing  the  several 
afflictions  of  the  Church  of  Christ  from  the  primitive  to 
this  day,  applying  exceedingly  to  the  present  conjuncture, 
when  many  were  wavering  in  their  minds,  and  great 
temptations  appearing  through  the  favor  now  found  by 
the  Papists,  so  as  the  people  were  full  of  jealousies  and 
discouragement.  The  Bishop  magnified  the  Church  of 
England,  exhorting  to  constancy  and  perseverance. 

loth  March,  1686.  A  Council  of  the  Royal  Society 
about  disposing  of  Dr.  Ray's  book  of  Fishes,  which  was 
printed  at  the  expense  of  the  Society. 

12th  March,  1686.  A  docket  was  to  be  sealed,  import- 
ing a  lease  of  twenty-one  years  to  one  Hall,  who  styled 
himself  his  Majesty's  printer  (he  lately  turned  Papist) 
for  the  printing  missals,  offices,  lives  of  saints,  portals, 
primers,  etc.,  books  expressly  forbidden  to  be  printed  or 
sold,  by  divers  Acts  of  Parliament;  I  refused  to  put  my 
seal  to  it,  making  my  exceptions,  so  it  was  laid  by, 

14th  March,  1686.  The  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells 
preached  on  John  vi.  17,  a  most  excellent  and  pathetic 
discourse :  after  he  had  recommended  the  duty  of  fasting 
and  other  penitential  duties,  he  exhorted  to  constancy  in 
the  Protestant  religion,  detestation  of  the  unheard-of 
cruelties  of  the  French,  and  stirring  up  to  a  liberal  con- 
tribution. This  sermon  was  the  more  acceptable,  as  it 
was  unexpected  from  a  Bishop  who  had  undergone  the 
censure  of  being  inclined  to  Popery,  the  contrary  whereof 
no  man  could  show  more.  This  indeed  did  all  our 
Bishops,  to  the  disabusing  and  reproach  of  all  their  de- 
lators: for  none  were  more  zealous  against  Popery  than 
they  were. 

1 6th  March,  1686.  I  was  at  a  review  of  the  army  about 
London  in  Hyde  Park,  about  6,000  horse  and  foot,  in 
excellent  order;  his  Majesty  and  infinity  of  people  being 
present. 


250  DIARY    OF  London 

i7tli  March,  1686.  I  went  to  my  house  in  the  country, 
refusing  to  be  present  at  what  was  to  pass  at  the  Privy 
Seal  the  next  day.  In  the  morning  Dr.  Tenison  preached 
an  incomparable    discourse    at    Whitehall,    on    Timothy 

ii.  3,  4. 

24th  March,  1686.  Dr.  Cradock  (Provost  of  Eaton) 
preached  at  the  same  place,  on  Psalm  xlix.  13,  showing 
the  vanity  of  earthly  enjoyments. 

28th  March,  1686.  Dr.  White,  Bishop  of  Peterborough, 
preached  in  a  very  eloquent  style,  on  Matthew  xxvi.  29, 
submission  to  the  will  of  God  on  all  accidents,  and  at 
all  times. 

29th  March,  1686.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland  (a 
natural  son  of  the  late  King  by  the  Duchess  of  Cleve- 
land) marrying  very  meanly,  with  the  help  of  his  brother 
Grafton,  attempted  in  vain  to  spirit  away  his  wife. 

A  Brief  was  read  in  all  churches  for  relieving  the 
French  Protestants,  who  came  here  for  protection  from 
the  unheard-of  cruelties  of  the  King. 

2d  April,  1686.  Sir  Edward  Hales,  a  Papist,  made 
Governor  of  Dover  Castle, 

15th  April,  1686.  The  Archbishop  of  York  now  died 
of  the  smallpox,  aged  62,  a  corpulent  man.  He  was  my 
special  loving  friend,  and  while  Bishop  of  Rochester 
(from  whence  he  was  translated)  my  excellent  neighbor. 
He  was  an  inexpressible  loss  to  the  whole  church,  and 
that  Province  especially,  being  a  learned,  wise,  stout, 
and  most  worthy  prelate ;  I  look  on  this  as  a  great  stroke 
to  the  poor  Church  of  England,  now  in  this  defecting 
period. 

i8th  April,  1686.  In  the  afternoon  I  went  to  Camber- 
well,  to  visit  Dr.  Parr.  After  sermon,  I  accompanied 
him  to  his  house,  where  he  showed  me  the  Life  and 
Letters  of  the  late  learned  Primate  of  Armagh  (Usher), 
and  among  them  that  letter  of  Bishop  Bramhall's  to  the 
Primate,  giving  notice  of  the  Popish  practices  to  pervert 
this  nation,  by  sending  a  hundred  priests  into  England, 
who  were  to  conform  themselves  to  all  sectaries  and 
conditions  for  the  more  easily  dispersing  their  doctrine 
among  us.  This  letter  was  the  cause  of  the  whole 
impression  being  seized,  upon  pretense  that  it  was  a  politi- 
cal or  historical  account  of  things  not  relating  to  theol- 
ogy, though  it  had  been  licensed  by  the    Bishop;   which 


i686  JOHN   EVELYN  25! 

plainly  showed  what  an  interest  the  Papists  now  had,  — 
that  a  Protestant  book,  containing  the  life  and  letters  of 
so  eminent  a  man,  was  not  to  be  published.  There  were 
also  many  letters  to  and  from  most  of  the  learned  per- 
sons his  correspondents  in  Europe.  The  book  will,  I 
doubt  not,  struggle  through  this  unjust  impediment. 

Several  Judges  were  put  out,  and  new  complying  ones 
put  in. 

25th  April,  1686.  This  day  was  read  in  our  church 
the  Brief  for  a  collection  for  relief  of  the  Protestant 
French  so  cruelly,  barbarously,  and  inhumanly  oppressed 
without  any  thing  being  laid  to  their  charge.  It  had 
been  long  expected,  and  at  last  with  difficulty  procured 
to  be  published,  the  interest  of  the  French  Ambassador 
obstructing  it. 

5th  May,  1686.  There  being  a  Seal,  it  was  feared  we 
should  be  required  to  pass  a  docket  dispensing  with  Dr. 
Obadiah  Walker  and  four  more,  whereof  one  was  an 
apostate  curate  of  Putney,  the  others  officers  of  Univer- 
sity College,  Oxford,  who  hold  their  masterships,  fellow- 
ships, and  cures,  and  keep  public  schools,  and  enjoy  all 
former  emoluments,  notwithstanding  they  no  more  fre- 
quented or  used  the  public  forms  of  prayers,  or  com- 
munion, with  the  Church  of  England,  or  took  the  Test 
or  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  contrary  to  twenty 
Acts  of  Parliament;  which  dispensation  being  also  con- 
trary to  his  Majesty's  own  gracious  declaration  at  the 
beginning  of  his  reign,  gave  umbrage  (as  well  it  might) 
to  every  good  Protestant;  nor  could  we  safely  have 
passed  it  under  the  Privy  Seal,  wherefore  it  was  done 
by  immediate  warrant,  signed  by  Mr.   Solicitor. 

This  Walker  was  a  learned  person,  of  a  monkish 
life,  to  whose  tuition  I  had  more  than  thirty  years 
since  recommended  the  sons  of  my  worthy  friend,  Mr. 
Hyldyard,  of  Horsley  in  Surrey,  believing  him  to  be  far 
from  what  he  proved  —  a  hypocritical  concealed  Papist — 
by  which  he  perverted  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  Hyldyard, 
Sir  Edward  Hale's  eldest  son,  and  several  more,  to  the 
great  disturbance  of  the  whole  nation,  as  well  as  of  the 
University,  as  by  his  now  public  defection  appeared.  All 
engines  being  now  at  work  to  bring  in  Popery,  which 
God  in  mercy  prevent  ! 

This  day  was  burned  in  the  old  Exchange,  by  the  com- 


252  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

mon  hangman,  a  translation  of  a  book  written  by  the 
famous  Monsieur  Claude,  relating  only  matters  of  fact 
concerning  the  horrid  massacres  and  barbarous  proceed- 
ings of  the  French  King  against  his  Protestant  subjects, 
without  any  refutation  of  any  facts  therein;  so  mighty  a 
power  and  ascendant  here  had  the  French  Ambassador, 
who  was  doubtless  in  great  indignation  at  the  pious  and 
truly  generous  charity  of  all  the  nation,  for  the  re- 
lief of  those  miserable  sufferers  who  came  over  for  shel- 
ter. 

About  this  time  also,  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  instigated  by 
the  French  King  to  extirpate  the  Protestants  of  Piedmont, 
slew  many  thousands  of  those  innocent  people,  so  that 
there  seemed  to  be  an  universal  design  to  destroy  all 
that  would  not  go  to  mass,  throughout  Europe.  Quod 
Aver  tat  D.  O.  M.!     No  faith  in  Princes  ! 

1 2th  May,  1686.  I  refused  to  put  the  Privy  Seal  to 
Doctor  Walker's  license  for  printing  and  publishing  divers 
Popish  books,  of  which  I  complained  both  to  my  Lord 
of  Canterbury  (with  whom  I  went  to  advise  in  the  Coun- 
cil Chamber),  and  to  my  Lord  Treasurer  that  evening  at 
his  lodgings.  My  Lord  of  Canterbury's  advice  was,  that 
I  should  follow  my  own  conscience  therein;  Mr.  Treas- 
urer's, that  if  in  conscience  I  could  dispense  with  it,  for 
any  other  hazard  he  believed  there  was  none.  Notwith- 
standing this,  I  persisted  in  my  refusal, 

29th  May,  1686.  There  was  no  sermon  on  this  anni- 
versary, as  there  usually  had  been  ever  since  the  reign 
of  the  present  King. 

2d  June,  1686.  Such  iStorms,  rain,  and  foul  weather, 
seldom  known  at  this  time  of  the  year.  The  camp  at 
Hounslow  Heath,  from  sickness  and  other  inconveniences 
of  weather,  forced  to  retire  to  quarters ;  the  storms  being 
succeeded  by  excessive  hot  weather,  many  grew  sick. 
Great  feasting  there,  especially  in  Lord  Dunbarton's 
quarters.  There  were  many  jealousies  and  discourses  of 
what  was  the  meaning  of  this  encampment. 

A  seal  this  day;  mostly  pardons  and  discharges  of 
Knight  Baronets'  fees,  which  having  been  passed  over  for 
so  many  years,  did  g^reatly  disoblige  several  families  who 
had  served  his  Majesty.  Lord  Tyrconnel  gone  to  Ireland, 
with  great  powers  and  commissions,  giving  as  much  cause 
of  talk  as  the  camp,  especially  nineteen  new  Privy-Coun- 


i686  JOHN   EVELYN  253 

cillors  and  Judges  being  now  made,  among  which  but 
three  Protestants,  and  Tyrconnel  made  General. 

New  judges  also  here,  among  which  was  Milton,  a 
Papist  (brother  to  that  Milton  who  wrote  for  the  Regi- 
cides), who  presumed  to  take  his  place  without  passing 
the  Test.  Scotland  refused  to  grant  liberty  of  mass  to 
the  Papists  there. 

The  French  persecution  more  inhuman  than  ever.  The 
Protestants  in  Savoy  successfully  resist  the  French  dra- 
goons sent  to  murder  them. 

The  King's  chief  physician  in  Scotland  apostatizing 
from  the  Protestant  religion,  does  of  his  own  accord 
publish  his  recantation  at  Edinburg. 

nth  June,  1686.  I  went  to  see  Middleton's  receptacle 
of  water  at  the  New  River,  and  the  New  Spa  Wells  near. 

20th  June,  1686.  An  extraordinary  season  of  violent 
and  sudden  rain.     The  camp  still  in  tents. 

24th  June,  1686.  My  Lord  Treasurer  settled  my  great 
business  with  Mr.  Pretyman,  to  which  I  hope  God  will  at 
last  give  a  prosperous  issue. 

25th  June,  1686.  Now  his  Majesty,  beginning  with 
Dr.  Sharp  and  Tully,  proceeded  to  silence  and  suspend 
divers  excellent  divines  for  preaching  against  Popery. 

27th  June,  1686.  I  had  this  day  been  married  thirty- 
nine  years  —  blessed  be  God  for  all  his  mercies! 

The  new  very  young  Lord  Chief -Justice  Herbert  de- 
clared on  the  bench,  that  the  government  of  England 
was  entirely  in  the  King;  that  the  Crown  was  abso- 
lute; that  penal  laws  were  powers  lodged  in  the  Crown 
to  enable  the  King  to  force  the  execution  of  the  law, 
but  were  not  bars  to  bind  the  King's  power;  that  he 
could  pardon  all  offenses  against  the  law,  and  forgive  the 
penalties,  and  why  could  he  not  dispense  with  them;  by 
which  the  Test  was  abolished  ?  Everyone  was  aston- 
ished. Great  jealousies  as  to  what  would  be  the  end  of 
these  proceedings. 

6th  July,  1686.  I  supped  with  the  Countess  of  Roches- 
ter, where  was  also  the  Duchess  of  Buckingham  and 
Madame  de  Govern^,  whose  daughter  was  married  to 
the  Marquis  of  Halifax's  son.  She  made  me  a  character 
of  the  French  King  and  Dauphin,  and  of  the  persecu- 
tion; that  they  kept  much  of  the  cruelties  from  the 
King's    knowledge;   that  the   Dauphin   was   so  afraid  of 


254  DIARY  OF  lont50n 

his  father,  that  he  dared  not  let  anything  appear  of  his 
sentiments;  that  he  hated  letters  and  priests,  spent  all 
his  time  in  hunting,  and  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of 
what  was  passing. 

This  lady  was  of  a  great  family  and  fortune,  and  had 
fled  hither  for  refuge. 

8th  July,  1686.  I  waited  on  the  Archbishop  at  Lam- 
beth, where  I  dined  and  met  the  famous  preacher  and 
writer,  Dr.  Allix,  doubtless  a  most  excellent  and  learned 
person.  The  Archbishop  and  he  spoke  Latin  together, 
and  that  very  readily. 

nth  July,  1686.  Dr.  Meggot^  Dean  of  Winchester 
preached  before  the  household  in  St.  George's  Chapel  at 
Windsor,  the  late  King's  glorious  chapel  now  seized  on 
by  the  mass  priests.  Dr.  Cartwright,  Dean  of  Ripon, 
preached  before  the  great  men  of  the  Court  in  the  same 
place. 

We  had  now  the  sad  news  of  the  Bishop  of  Oxford's 
death,  an  extraordinary  loss  to  the  poor  Church  at  this 
time.  Many  candidates  for  his  Bishopric  and  Deanery, 
Dr.  Parker,  South,  Aldrich,  etc.  Dr.  Walker  (now  apos- 
tatizing) came  to  Court,  and  was  doubtless  very  busy. 

13th  July,  1686.  Note,  that  standing  by  the  Queen  at 
basset  (cards),  I  observed  that  she  was  exceedingly  con- 
cerned for  the  loss  of  p^8o;  her  outward  aflEability  much 
changed  to  stateliness,  since  she  has  been  exalted. 

The  season  very  rainy  and  inconvenient  for  the  camps. 
His  Majesty  very  cheerful. 

14th  July,  1686.  Was  sealed  at  our  office  the  con- 
stitution of  certain  commissioners  to  take  upon  them  full 
power  of  all  Ecclesiastical  affairs,  in  as  unlimited  a  man- 
ner, or  rather  greater,  than  the  late  High  Commission- 
Court,  abrogated  by  Parliament;  for  it  had  not  only 
faculty  to  inspect  and  visit  all  Bishops'  dioceses,  but  to 
change  what  laws  and  statutes  they  should  think  fit  to 
alter  among  the  colleges,  though  founded  by  private 
men;  to  punish,  suspend,  fine,  etc.,  give  oaths  and  call 
witnesses.  The  main  drift  was  to  suppress  zealous  preach- 
ers. In  sum,  it  was  the  whole  power  of  a  Vicar-General 
—  note  the  consequence!  Of  the  clergy  the  commission- 
ers were  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  [Sancroft],  Bishop 
of  Durham  [Crewe],  and  Rochester  [Sprat] ;  of  the  Tem- 
porals, the  Lord  Treasurer,  the  Lord  Chancellor  [JeflPeries] 


i686  JOHN   EVELYN  255 

(who  alone  was  ever-  to  be  of  the  quorum),  the  Chief 
Justice  [Herbert],  and  Lord  President  [Earl  of  Sunder- 
land]. 

18th  July,  1686.  I  went  to  see  Sir  John  Chardin,  at 
Greenwich. 

4th  Augfust,  1686.  I  dined  at  Signor  Verrio's,  the 
famous  Italian  painter,  now  settled  in  his  Majesty's  gar- 
den at  St.  James's,  which  he  had  made  a  very  delicious 
paradise. 

8th  August,  1686.  Our  vicar  gone  to  dispose  of  his 
country  living  in  Rutlandshire,  having  St.  Dunstan  in  the 
east  given  him  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

I  went  to  visit  the  Marquis  Ravigne,  now  my  neigh- 
bor at  Greenwich,  retired  from  the  persecution  in  France. 
He  was  the  deputy  of  all  the  Protestants  of  that  king- 
dom in  the  parliament  of  Paris,  and  several  times  Am- 
bassador in  this  and  other  Courts;  a  person  of  great 
learning  and  experience. 

8th  September,  1686.  Dr.  Compton,  Bishop  of  London, 
was  on  Monday  suspended,  on  pretense  of  not  silencing 
Dr.  Sharp  at  St.  Giles's,  for  something  of  a  sermon  in 
which  he  zealously  reproved  the  doctrine  of  the  Roman 
Catholics.  The  Bishop  having  consulted  the  civilians, 
they  told  him  he  could  not  by  any  law  proceed  against 
Dr.  Sharp  without  producing  witnesses,  and  impleaded 
according  to  form;  but  it  was  overruled  by  my  Lord 
Chancellor,  and  the  Bishop  sentenced  without  so  much  as 
being  heard  to  any  purpose.  This  was  thought  a  very 
extraordinary  way  of  proceeding,  and  was  universally 
resented,  and  so  much  the  rather  for  that  two  Bishops, 
Durham  and  Rochester,  sitting  in  the  commission  and 
giving  their  suffrages  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
refused  to  sit  among  them.  He  was  only  suspended  ab 
officio,  and  that  was  soon  after  taken  off.  He  was  brother 
to  the  Earl  of  Northampton,  had  once  been  a  soldier, 
had  traveled  in  Italy,  but  became  a  sober,  grave,  and 
excellent  prelate. 

1 2th  September,  1 686.  Buda  now  taken  from  the  Turks ; 
a  form  of  thanksgiving  was  ordered  to  be  used  in  the 
(as  yet  remaining)  Protestant  chapels  and  church  of 
Whitehall  and  Windsor. 

The  King  of  Denmark  was  besieging  Hamburg,  no 
doubt  bj  the  French  contrivance,  to  embroil  the  Protes- 


256  DIARY  OF  London 

tant  Princes  in  a  new  war,  that  Holland,  etc,,  being  en- 
gaged, matter  for  new  quarrel  might  arise :  the  unheard-of 
persecution  of  the  poor  Protestants  still  raging  more  than 
ever. 

2 2d  September,  1686.  The  Danes  retire  from  Ham- 
burg, the  Protestant  Princes  appearing  for  their  succor, 
and  the  Emperor  sending  his  minatories  to  the  King  of 
Denmark,  and  also  requiring  the  restoration  of  the  Duke 
of  Saxe  Gotha.  Thus  it  pleased  God  to  defeat  the 
French  designs,  which  were  evidently  to  kindle  a  new 
war.  "^ 

14th  October,  1686.  His  Majesty's  birthday;  I  was  at 
his  rising  in  his  bedchamber,  afterward  in  the  park,  where 
four  companies  of  guards  were  drawn  up.  The  officers, 
etc. ,  wonderfully  rich  and  gallant ;  they  did  not  head  their 
troops,  but  their  next  officers,  the  colonels  being  on  horse- 
back by  the  King  while  they  marched.  The  ladies  not 
less  splendid  at  Court,  where  there  was  a  ball  at  night; 
but  small  appearance  of  quality.  All  the  shops  both  in 
the  city  and  suburbs  were  shut  up,  and  kept  as  solemnly 
as  any  holiday.  Bonfires  at  night  in  Westminster,  but 
forbidden  in  the  city. 

17th  October,  1686.  Dr.  Patrick,  Dean  of  Peterborough, 
preached  at  Covent  Garden  Church  on  Ephes.  v.  18,  19, 
showing  the  custom  of  the  primitive  saints  in  serving 
God  with  hymns,  and  their  frequent  use  of  them  upon 
all  occasions:  touching  the  profane  way  of  mirth  and 
intemperance  of  this  ungodly  age.  Afterward  I  visited 
my  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  Ireland,  with  whom  I  had  long 
and  private  discourse  concerning  the  miserable  condition 
that  kingdom  was  like  to  be  in,  if  Tyrconnel's  counsel 
should  prevail  at  Court. 

23d  October,  1686.  Went  with  the  Countess  of  Sun- 
derland to  Cranbourne,  a  lodge  and  walk  of  my  Lord 
Godolphin's  in  Windsor  park.  There  was  one  room  in 
the  house  spared  in  the  pulling  down  the  old  one,  because 
the  late  Duchess  of  York  was  born  in  it;  the  rest  was 
built  and  added  to  it  by  Sir  George  Carteret,  Treasurer 
of  the  Navy ;  and  since,  the  whole  was  purchased  by  my 
Lord  Godolphin,  who  spoke  to  me  to  go  see  it,  and  advise 
what  trees  were  fit  to  be  cut  down  to  improve  the  dwelling, 
being  environed  with  old  rotten  pollards,  which  corrupt 
the  air.     It   stands   on   a   knoll   which  though  insensibly 


1686  JOHN   EVELYN  257 

rising,  gives  it  a  prospect  over  the  Keep  of  Windsor, 
about  three  miles  N.  E.  of  it.  The  ground  is  clayey  and 
moist;  the  water  stark  naught;  the  park  is  pretty;  the 
house  tolerable,  and  gardens  convenient.  After  dinner, 
we  came  back  to  London,  having  two  coaches  both  going 
and  coming,  of  six  horses  apiece,  which  we  changed  at 
Hounslow. 

24th  October,  1686.  Dr.  Warren  preached  before  the 
Princess  at  Whitehall,  on  5th  Matthew,  of  the  blessedness 
of  the  pure  in  heart,  most  elegantly  describing  the  bliss 
of  the  beatifical  vision.  In  the  afternoon,  Sir  George 
Wheeler,  knight  and  baronet,  preached  on  the  4th  Matt, 
upon  the  necessity  of  repentance,  at  St.  Margaret's,  an 
honest  and  devout  discourse,  and  pretty  tolerably  per- 
formed. This  gentleman  coming  from  his  travels  out  of 
Greece,  fell  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas 
Higgins,  his  Majesty's  resident  at  Venice,  niece  to  the 
Earl  of  Bath,  and  married  her.  When  they  returned  into 
England,  being  honored  with  knighthood,  he  would  needs 
turn  preacher,  and  took  orders.  He  published  a  learned 
and  ingenious  book  of  his  travels,  and  is  a  very  worthy 
person,  a  little  formal  and  particular,  but  exceedingly 
devout. 

27th  October,  1686.  There  was  a  triumphant  show  of 
the  Lord  Mayor  both  by  land  and  water,  with  much  so- 
lemnity, when  yet  his  power  has  been  so  much  diminished, 
by  the  loss  of  the  city's  former  charter. 

5th  November,  1686.  I  went  to  St.  Martin's  in  the 
morning,  where  Dr.  Birch  preached  very  boldly  against  the 
Papists,  from  John  xvi.  2.  In  the  afternoon  I  heard  Dr. 
Tillotson  in  Lincoln's  Inn  chapel,  on  the  same  text,  but 
more  cautiously. 

1 6th  November,  1686.  I  went  with  part  of  my  family 
to  pass  the  melancholy  winter  in  London  at  my  son's 
house  in  Arundel  Buildings. 

5th  December,  i686.  I  dined  at  my  Lady  Arlington's, 
Groom  of  the  Stole  to  the  Queen  Dowager  at  Somerset 
House,  where  dined  divers  French  noblemen,  driven  out 
of  their  country  by  the  persecution. 

1 6th  December,  1686.  I  carried  the  Coimtess  of  Sun- 
derland to  see  the  rarities  of  one  Mr.  Charlton  in  the 
Middle  Temple,  who  showed  us  such  a  collection  as  I  had 
never  seen  in  all  my  travels  abroad  either  of  tDrivate 
17 


258  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

gentlemen,  or  princes.  It  consisted  of  minatures,  draw- 
ings, shells,  insects,  medals,  natural  things,  animals  (of 
which  divers,  I  think  100,  were  kept  in  glasses  of  spirits 
of  wine),  minerals,  precious  stones,  vessels,  curiosities  in 
amber,  crystal,  agate,  etc. ;  all  being  very  perfect  and  rare 
of  their  kind,  especially  his  books  of  birds,  fish,  flowers, 
and  shells,  drawn  and  minatured  to  the  life.  He  told  us 
that  one  book  stood  him  in  ^300;  it  was  painted  by 
that  excellent  workman,  whom  the  late  Gaston,  Duke  of 
Orleans,  employed.  This  gentleman's  whole  collection, 
gathered  by  himself,  traveling  over  most  parts  of  Europe, 
is  estimated  at  ;^8,ooo.  He  appeared  to  be  a  modest  and 
obliging  person.* 

29th  December,  1686.  I  went  to  hear  the  music  of  the 
Italians  in  the  new  chapel,  now  first  opened  publicly  at 
Whitehall  for  the  Popish  Service.  Nothing  can  be  finer 
than  the  magnificent  marble  work  and  architecture  at  the 
end,  where  are  four  statues,  representing  St.  John,  St. 
Peter,  St.  Paul,  and  the  Church,  in  white  marble,  the 
work  of  Mr.  Gibbons,  with  all  the  carving  and  pillars  of 
exquisite  art  and  great  cost.  The  altar  piece  is  the  Sal- 
utation ;  the  volto  in  fresco^  the  Assumption  of  the  blessed 
Virgin,  according  to  their  tradition,  with  our  blessed 
Savior,  and  a  world  of  figures  painted  by  Verrio.  The 
throne  where  the  King  and  Queen  sit  is  very  glorious,  in 
a  closet  above,  just  opposite  to  the  altar.  Here  we  saw 
the  Bishop  in  his  mitre  and  rich  copes,  with  six  or  seven 
Jesuits  and  others  in  rich  copes,  sumptuously  habited, 
often  taking  oflE  and  putting  on  the  Bishop's  mitre,  who 
sat  in  a  chair  with  arms  pontifically,  was  adored  and 
censed  by  three  Jesuits  in  their  copes;  then  he  went  to 
the  altar  and  made  divers  cringes,  then  censing  the  im- 
ages and  glorious  tabernacle  placed  on  the  altar,  and  now 
and  then  changing  place :  the  crosier,  which  was  of  silver, 
was  put  into  his  hand  with  a  world  of  mysterious  cere- 
mony, the  music  playing,  with  singing.  I  could  not  have 
believed  I  should  ever  have  seen  such  things  in  the  King 
of  England's  palace,  after  it  had  pleased  God  to  enlighten 
this  nation ;  but  our  great  sin  has,  for  the  present,  eclipsed 
the  blessing,  which  I  hope  he  will  in  mercy  and  his  good 
time  restore  to  its  purity. 

*  This  collection  was  afterward  purchased  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  and 
now  forms  part  of  the  British  Museum. 


1686-87  JOHN   EVELYN  359 

Little  appearance  of  any  winter  as  yet. 

ist  January,  1686-87.  Mi"-  Wake  preached  at  S*,  Mar- 
tin's on  I  Tim.  iii.  16,  concerning  the  mystery  of  god- 
liness. He  wrote  excellently,  in  answer  to  the  Bishop 
of  Meaux. 

3d  January,  1687.  A  Seal  to  confirm  a  gift  of  ;j£"4,ooo 
per  annum  for  99  years  to  the  Lord  Treasurer  out  of  the 
Post  Office,  and  ;^i,7oo  per  annum  for  ever  out  of  Lord 
Grey's   estate. 

There  was  now  another  change  of  the  great  ofi&cers. 
The  Treasury  was  put  into  commission,  two  professed 
Papists  among  them,  viz,  Lords  Bellasis  and  Dover, 
joined  with  the  old  ones.  Lord  Godolphin,  Sir  Stephen 
Fox,  and  Sir  John  Ernley. 

17th  January,  1687.  Much  expectation  of  several  great 
men  declaring  themselves  Papists.  Lord  Tyrconnel  gone 
to  succeed  the  Lord-Lieutenant  [Clarendon]  in  Ireland, 
to  the  astonishment  of  all  sober  men,  and  to  the  evident 
ruin  ot  the  Protestants  in  that  kingdom,  as  well  as  of 
its  great  improvement  going  on.  Much  discourse  that 
all  the  White  Staff  officers  and  others  should  be  dis- 
missed for  adhering  to  their  religion.  Popish  Justices 
of  the  Peace  established  in  all  counties,  of  the  meanest 
of  the  people;  Judges  ignorant  of  the  law,  and  pervert- 
ing it  —  so  furiously  do  the  Jesuits  drive,  and  even  com- 
pel Princes  to  violent  courses,  and  destruction  of  an 
excellent  government  both  in  Church  and  State.  God  of 
his  infinite  mercy  open  our  eyes,  and  turn  our  hearts, 
and  establish  his  truth  with  peace!  The  Lord  Jesus 
defend  his  little  flock,  and  preserve  this  threatened 
church  and  nation! 

24th  January,  1687.  I  saw  the  Queen's  new  apartment 
at  Whitehall,  with  her  new  bed,  the  embroidery  of  which 
cost  p^3,ooo.  The  carving  about  the  chimney  piece  by 
Gibbons,  is  incomparable. 

30th  January,  1687.  I  heard  the  famous  eunuch,  Cifaccio, 
sing  in  the  new  Popish  chapel  this  afternoon;  it  was  in. 
deed  very  rare,  and  with  great  skill.  He  came  over 
from  Rome,  esteemed  one  of  the  best  voices  in  Italy. 
Much  crowding  —  little  devotion. 

27th  February,  1687.  Mr.  Chetwin  preached  at  White- 
hall on  Rom.  i.  18,  a  very  quaint,  neat  discourse  of 
Moral  righteousness. 


26o  DIARY    OF  London 

2d  March,  1687.  Came  out  a  proclamation  for  universal 
liberty  of  conscience  in  Scotland,  and  depensation  from 
all  tests  and  laws  to  the  contrary,  as  also  capacitating 
Papists  to  be  chosen  into  all  offices  of  trust.  The  mystery 
operates. 

3d  March,  1687.  Dr.  Meggott,  Dean  of  Winchester, 
preached  before  the  Princess  of  Denmark,  on  Matt. 
xiv.  23.  In  the  afternoon,  I  went  out  of  town  to  meet 
my  Lord  Clarendon,  returning  from  Ireland. 

loth  March,  1687.  His  Majesty  sent  for  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Privy  Seal  this  morning  into  his  bedcham- 
ber, and  told  us  that  though  he  had  thought  fit  to  dispose 
of  the  Seal  into  a  single  hand,  yet  he  would  so  provide 
for  us,  as  it  should  appear  how  well  he  accepted  our 
faithful  and  loyal  service  with  many  gracious  expres- 
sions to  this  effect;  upon  which  we  delivered  the  Seal 
into  his  hands.  It  was  by  all  the  world  both  hoped  and 
expected,  that  he  would  have  restored  it  to  my  Lord 
Clarendon;  but  they  were  astonished  to  see  it  given  to 
Lord  Arundel,  of  Wardour,  a  zealous  Roman  Catholic. 
Indeed  it  was  very  hard,  and  looked  very  unkindly,  his 
Majesty  (as  my  Lord  Clarendon  protested  to  me,  on  my 
going  to  visit  him  and  long  discoursing  with  him  about 
the  affairs  of  Ireland)  finding  not  the  least  failure  of 
duty  in  him  during  his  government  of  that  kingdom, 
so  that  his  recall  plainly  appeared  to  be  from  the  stronger 
influence  of  the  Papists,  who  now  got  all  the  preferments. 

Most  of  the  great  officers,  both  in  the  Court  and  coun- 
try, Lords  and  others,  were  dismissed,  as  they  would  not 
promise  his  Majesty  their  consent  to  the  repeal  of  the 
test  and  penal  statutes  against  Popish  Recusants.  To 
this  end,  most  of  the  Parliament  men  were  spoken  to  in 
his  Majesty's  closet,  and  such  as  refused,  if  in  any  place 
of  office  or  trust,  civil  or  military,  were  put  out  of  their 
employments.  This  was  a  time  of  great  trial ;  but  hardly 
one  of  them  assented,  which  put  the  Popish  interest 
much  backward.  The  English  clergy  everywhere  preached 
boldly  against  their  superstition  and  errors,  and 
were  wonderfully  followed  by  the  people.  Not  one  con- 
siderable proselyte  was  made  in  all  this  time.  The  party 
were  exceedingly  put  to  the  worst  by  the  preaching  and 
writing  of  the  Protestants  in  many  excellent  treatises, 
evincing    the    doctrine    and    discipline    of   the   reformed 


1 687  JOHN   EVELYN  261 

religion,  to  the  manifest  disadvantage  of  their  adversaries. 
To  this  did  not  a  little  contribute  the  sermon  preached 
at  Whitehall  before  the  Princess  of  Denmark  and  a 
great  crowd  of  people,  and  at  least  thirty  of  the  greatest 
nobility,  by  Dr.  Ken,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  on  John 
viii.  46  (the  Gospel  of  the  day),  describing  through  his 
whole  discourse  the  blasphemies  perfidy,  wresting  of 
Scripture  preference  of  tradition  before  it,  spirit  of 
persecution,  superstition,  legends,  and  fables  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  so  that  all  the  auditory  under- 
stood his  meaning  of  a  parallel  between  them  and  the 
Romish  priests,  and  their  new  Trent  religion.  He 
exhorted  his  audience  to  adhere  to  the  written  Word, 
and  to  persevere  in  the  Faith  taught  in  the  Church  of 
England,  whose  doctrine  for  Catholic  and  soundness  he 
preferred  to  all  the  communities  and  churches  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  world;  concluding  with  a  kind  of  prophecy, 
that  whatever  it  suffered,  it  should  after  a  short  trial 
emerge  to  the  confusion  of  her  adversaries  and  the  glory 
of  God. 

I  went  this  evening  to  see  the  order  of  the  boys  and 
children  at  Christ's  Hospital.  There  were  near  800  boys 
and  girls  so  decently  clad,  cleanly  lodged,  so  wholesomely 
fed,  so  admirably  taught,  some  the  mathematics,  espe- 
cially the  forty  of  the  late  King's  foundation,  that  I  was 
delighted  to  see  the  progress  some  little  youths  of 
thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age  had  made.  I  saw  them 
at  supper  visited  their  dormitories,  and  much  admired 
the  order,  economy,  and  excellent  government  of  this 
most  charitable  seminary.  Some  are  taught  for  the 
Universities,  others  designed  for  seamen,  all  for  trades 
and  callings.  The  girls  are  instructed  in  all  such  work 
as  becomes  their  sex  and  may  fit  them  for  good  wives, 
mistresses,  and  to  be  a  blessing  to  their  generation. 
They  sang  a  psalm  before  they  sat  down  to  supper  in 
the  great  Hall,  to  an  organ  which  played  all  the  time, 
with  such  cheerful  harmony,  that  it  seemed  to  me  a 
vision  of  angels.  I  came  from  the  place  with  infinite 
satisfaction,  having  never  seen  a  more  noble,  pious,  and 
admirable  charity.  All  these  consisted  of  orphans  only.* 
The  foundation  was  of  that  pious  Prince  King  Edward 
VI.,  whose  picture    (held  to  be  an    original  of  Holbein) 

♦This  is  by  no  means  the  case  now. 


2^2  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

is  in  the  court  where  the  Governors  meet  to  consult  on 
the  affairs  of  the  Hospital,  and  his  statue  in  white 
marble  stands  in  a  niche  of  the  wall  below,  as  you  go 
to  the  church,  which  is  a  modem,  noble,  and  ample 
fabric.  This  foundation  has  had,  and  still  has,  many 
benefactors. 

i6th  March,  1687.  I  saw  a  trial  of  those  devilish, 
murdering,  mischief  doing  engines  called  bombs,  shot 
out  of  the  mortar  piece  on  Blackheath.  The  distance 
that  they  are  cast,  the  destruction  they  make  where  they 
fall,  is  prodigious. 

20th  March,  1687.  The  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells  (Dr. 
Ken)  preached  at  St  Martin's  to  a  crowd  of  people  not 
to  be  expressed,  nor  the  wonderful  eloquence  of  this 
admirable  preacher;  the  text  was  Matt.  xxvi.  36  to  verse 
40,  describing  the  bitterness  of  our  Blessed  Savior's  agony, 
the  ardor  of  his  love,  the  infinite  obligations  we  have  to 
imitate  his  patience  and  resignation ;  the  means  by  watch- 
ing against  temptations,  and  over  ourselves  with  fervent 
prayer  to  attain  it,  and  the  exceeding  reward  in  the  end. 
Upon  all  which  he  made  most  pathetical  discourses.  The 
Communion  followed,  at  which  I  was  participant.  I 
afterward  dined  at  Dr.  Tenison's  with  the  Bishop  and 
that  young,  most  learned,  pious,  and  excellent  preacher, 
Mr  Wake.  In  the  afternoon,  I  went  to  hear  Mr.  Wake 
at  the  newly  built  church  of  St^  Anne,  on  Mark  viii.  34, 
upon  the  subject  of  taking  up  the  cross,  and  strenuously 
behaving  ourselves  in  time  of  persecution,  as  this  now 
threatened  to  be. 

His  Majesty  again  prorogued  the  Parliament,  foreseeing 
It  would  not  remit  the  laws  against  Papists,  by  the  ex- 
traordinary zeal  and  bravery  of  its  members,  and  the 
free  renunciation  of  the  great  officers  both  in  Court  and 
state,  who  would  not  be  prevailed  with  for  any  temporal 
concern. 

25th  March,  1687.  Good  Friday.  Dr.  Tenison  preached 
at  St.  Martin  s  on  i  Peter  ii.  24.  During  the  service,  a 
man  came  into  near  the  middle  of  the  church,  with  his 
sword  drawn,  with  several  others  in  that  posture ;  in  this 
jealous  time  it  put  the  congregation  into  great  confusion , 
but  it  appeared  to  be  one  who  fled  for  sanctuary,  being 
pursued  by  bailiffs. 

8th  April,    1687.      I  had  a  rehearing  of  my  great  cause 


i687  JOHN   EVELYN  263 

at  the  Chancery  in  Westminster  Hall,  having  seven  of  the 
most  learned  Counsel,  my  adversary  five,  among  which 
were  the  Attorney  General  and  late  Solicitor  Finch,  son  to 
the  Lord  Chancellor  Nottingham.  The  account  was  at 
last  brought  to  one  article  of  the  surcharge,  and  referred 
to  a  Master.     The  cause  lasted  two  hours  and  more. 

loth  April,  1687.  In  the  last  week  there  was  issued  a 
Dispensation  from  all  obligations  and  tests,  by  which 
Dissenters  and  Papists  especially  had  public  liberty  of 
exercising  their  several  ways  of  worship,  without  incurring 
the  penalty  of  the  many  Laws  and  Acts  of  Parliament  to 
the  contrary.  This  was  purely  obtained  by  the  Papists, 
thinking  thereby  to  ruin  the  Church  of  England,  being 
now  the  only  church  which  so  admirably  and  strenuously 
opposed  their  superstition.  There  was  a  wonderful  con- 
course of  people  at  the  Dissenters'  meeting  house  in  this 
parish,  and  the  parish  church  [  Deptford  ]  left  exceedingly 
thin.  What  this  will  end  in,  God  Almighty  only  knows; 
but  it  looks  like  confusion,  which  I  pray  God  avert. 

nth  April,  1687.  To  London  about  my  suit,  some  terms 
of  accommodation  being  proposed. 

19th  April,  1687.  I  heard  the  famous  singer,  Cifaccio, 
esteemed  the  best  in  Europe.  Indeed,  his  holding  out  and 
delicateness  in  extending  and  loosing  a  note  with  incom- 
parable softness  and  sweetness,  was  admirable;  for  the 
rest  I  found  him  a  mere  wanton,  effeminate  child,  very 
coy,  and  proudly  conceited,  to  my  apprehension.  He 
touched  the  harpsichord  to  his  voice  rarely  well.  This 
was  before  a  select  number  of  particular  persons  whom 
Mr.  Pepys  invited  to  his  house ;  and  this  was  obtained  by 
particular  favor  and  much  difficulty,  the  Signor  much 
disdaining  to  show  his  talent  to  any  but  princes. 

24th  April,  1687.  At  Greenwich,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
Church  service,  there  was  a  French  sermon  preached 
after  the  use  of  the  English  Liturgy  translated  into 
French,  to  a  congregation  of  about  100  French  refugees, 
of  whom  Monsieur  Ruvigny  was  the  chief,  and  had  ob- 
tained the  use  of  the  church,  after  the  parish  service 
was  ended  The  preacher  pathetically  exhorted  to  pa- 
tience, constancy,  and  reliance  on  God  amidst  all  their 
sufferings,  and  the  infinite  rewards  to  come. 

2d  May,  1687  I  dined  with  Mynheer  Diskvelts,  the 
Holland    Ambassador,    a    prudent    and    worthy    person. 


264  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

There  dined  Lord  Middleton,  principal  Secretary  of  State, 
Lord  Pembroke,  Lord  Lumley,  Lord  Preston,  Colonel  Fitz- 
patrick,  and  Sir  John  Chardin.  After  dinner,  the  Ambassa- 
dor discoursed  of  and  deplored  the  stupid  folly  of  our 
politics,  in  suffering  the  French  to  take  Luxemburg,  it 
being  a  place  of  the  most  concern  to  have  been  defended, 
for  the  interest  not  only  of  the  Netherlands,  but  of 
England. 

1 2th  May,  1687.  To  London.  Lord  Sunderland  being 
Lord  President  and  Secretary  of  State,  was  made  Knight 
of  the  Garter  and  Prime  favorite.  This  day  there  was 
such  a  storm  of  wind  as  had  seldom  happened,  being  a 
sort  of  hurricane.  It  kept  the  flood  out  of  the  Thames, 
so  that  people  went  on  foot  over  several  places  above 
bridge.  Also  an  earthquake  in  several  places  in  England 
about  the  time  of  the  storm. 

26th  May,  1687.  To  London,  about  my  agreement  with 
Mr.   Pretyman,  after  my  tedious  suit. 

2d  June,  1687.  I  went  to  London,  it  having  pleased 
his  Majesty  to  grant  me  a  Privy  Seal  for  j£6,ooo,  for 
discharge  of  the  debt  I  had  been  so  many  years  perse- 
cuted for,  it  being  indeed  for  money  drawn  over  by  my 
father-in-law.  Sir  R.  Browne,  during  his  residence  in  the 
Court  of  France,  and  so  with  a  much  greater  sum  due 
to  Sir  Richard  from  his  Majesty;  and  now  this  part  of 
the  arrear  being  paid,  there  remains  yet  due  to  me,  as 
executor  of  Sir  Richard,  above  ^^6,500  more;  but  this 
determining  an  expensive  Chancery  suit  has  been  so  great 
a  mercy  and  providence  to  me  (through  the  kindness 
and  friendship  to  me  of  Lord  Godolphin,  one  of  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury,)  that  I  do  ac- 
knowledge it  with  all  imaginable  thanks  to  my  gracious 
God. 

6th  June,  1687.  I  visited  my  Lady  Pierpoint,  daughter 
to  Sir  John  Evelyn,  of  Deane  [in  Wilts],  now  widow  of 
Mr.  Pierpoint,  and  mother  of  the  Earl  of  Kingston.  She 
was  now  engaged  in  the  marriage  of  my  cousin,  Evelyn 
Pierpoint,  her  second  son. 

There  was  about  this  time  brought  into  the  Downs  a 
vast  treasure,  which  was  sunk  in  a  Spanish  galleon  about 
forty-five  years  ago,  somewhere  near  Hispaniola,  or  the 
Bahama  islands,  and  was  now  weighed  up  by  some  gen- 
tlemen, who  were   at    the  charge  of    divers,  etc.,  to  the 


i687  JOHN   EVELYN  265 

enriching-  them  beyond  all  expectation.  The  Duke  of 
Albemarle's  share  [Governor  of  Jamaica]  came  to,  I  be- 
lieve, ^50,000.  Some  private  gentlemen  who  adventured 
j£ioo,  gained  from  ;^8,ooo  to  ;;^io,ooo.  His  Majesty's 
tenth  was  ;,^i  0,000. 

The  Camp  was  now  again  pitched  at  Hounslow,  the 
Commanders  profusely  vying  in  the  expense  and  mag- 
nificence of  tents. 

12th  June,  1687.  Our  Vicar  preached  on  2  Peter  ii.  21, 
upon  the  danger  of  relapsing  into  sin.  After  this,  I  went 
and  heard  M.  Lamot,  an  eloquent  French  preacher  at 
Greenwich,  on  Prov.  xxx.  8,  9,  a  consolatory  discourse  to 
the  poor  and  religious  refugees  who  escaped  out  of  France 
in  the  cruel  persecution. 

i6th  June,  1687.  I  went  to  Hampton  Court  to  give  his 
Majesty  thanks  for  his  late  gracious  favor,  though  it  was 
but  granting  what  was  due.  While  I  was  in  the  Coun- 
cil Chamber,  came  in  some  persons,  at  the  head  of  whom 
was  a  formal  man  with  a  large  roll  of  parchment  in  his 
hand,  being  an  Address  (as  he  said,  for  he  introduced 
it  with  a  speech)  of  the  people  of  Coventry,  giving  his 
Majesty  their  great  acknowledgments  for  his  granting  a 
liberty  of  conscience ;  he  added  that  this  was  not  the  ap- 
plication of  one  party  only,  but  the  unanimous  address 
of  Church  of  England  men,  Presbyterians,  Independ- 
ents, and  Anabaptists,  to  show  how  extensive  his  Maj- 
esty's grace  was,  as  taking  in  all  parties  to  his  indulgence 
and  protection,  which  had  removed  all  dissensions  and 
animosities,  which  would  not  only  unite  them  in  bonds 
of  Christian  charity,  but  exceedingly  encourage  their 
future  industry,  to  the  improvement  of  trade,  and  spread- 
ing his  Majesty's  glory  throughout  the  world;  and  that 
now  he  had  given  to  God  his  empire,  God  would  estab- 
lish his ;  with  expressions  of  great  loyalty  and  submission ; 
and  so  he  gave  the  roll  to  the  King,  which  being  re- 
turned to  him  again,  his  Majesty  caused  him  to  read. 
The  address  was  short,  but  much  to  the  substance  of 
the  speech  of  their  foreman,  to  whom  the  King,  pulling 
oflE  his  hat,  said  that  what  he  had  done  in  giving  liberty 
of  conscience,  was,  what  was  ever  his  judgment  ought  to 
be  done;  and  that,  as  he  would  preserve  them  in  their 
enjoyment  of  it  during  his  reign,  so  he  would  endeavor 
to  settle  it  by  law,  that  it  should  never  be  altered  by  his 


266  DIARY   OF  wotton 

successors.  After  this,  he  gave  them  his  hand  to  kiss. 
It  was  reported  the  subscribers  were  above  i,ooo. 

But  this  is  not  so  remarkable  as  an  address  of  the 
week  before  (as  I  was  assured  by  one  present),  of  some 
of  the  Family  of  Love.  His  Majesty  asked  them  what 
this  worship  consisted  in,  and  how  many  their  party  might 
consist  of;  they  told  him  their  custom  was  to  read  the 
Scripture,  and  then  to  preach;  but  did  not  give  any  fur- 
ther account,  only  said  that  for  the  rest  they  were  a  sort 
of  refined  Quakers,  but  their  number  very  small,  not  con- 
sisting, as  they  said,  of  above  threescore  in  all,  and  those 
chiefly  belonging  to  the  Isle  of  Ely. 

i8th  June,  1687.  I  dined  at  Mr.  Blathwaite's  (two  miles 
from  Hampton).  This  gentleman  is  Secretary  of  War, 
Clerk  of  the  Council,  etc.,  having  raised  himself  by  his 
industry  from  very  moderate  circumstances.  He  is  a  very 
proper,  handsome  person,  very  dexterous  in  business,  and 
besides  all  this,  has  married  a  great  fortune.  His  income 
by  the  Army,  Council,  and  Secretary  to  the  Committee  of 
Foreign  Plantations,  brings  him  in  above  ;^2,ooo  per 
annum. 

23d  June,  1687.  The  Privy  Seal  for  jQ6,ooo  was  passed 
to  me,  so  that  this  tedious  affair  was  dispatched.  Hith- 
erto, a  very  windy  and  tempestuous  summer.  The  French 
sermons  to  the  refugees  were  continued  at  Greenwich 
Church. 

19th  July,  1687.  I  went  to  Wotton.  In  the  way,  I 
dined  at  Ashted,  with  my  Lady  Mordaunt. 

5th  August,  1687.  I  went  to  see  Albury,  now  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Finch  (the  King's  Solicitor  and  son  to  the 
late  Lord  Chancellor) ;  I  found  the  garden  which  I  first 
designed  for  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  nothing  improved. 

15th  August,  1687.  I  went  to  visit  Lord  Clarendon  at 
Swallowfield,  where  was  my  Lord  Cornbury  just  arrived 
from  Denmark,  whither  he  had  accompanied  the  Prince 
of  Denmark  two  months  before,  and  now  come  back. 
The  miserable  tyranny  under  which  that  nation  lives,  he 
related  to  us;  the  King  keeps  them  under  an  army  of 
40,000  men,  all  Germans,  he  not  daring  to  trust  his  own 
subjects.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  Danes  are  exceedingly 
proud,  the  country  very  poor  and  miserable. 

22d  August,  1687.  Returned  home  to  Sayes  Court  from 
Wotton,  having  been  five  weeks  absent  with  my  brother 


1687-88  JOHN   EVELYN  267 

and  friends,  who  entertained  us  very  nobly.  God  be 
praised  for  his  goodness,  and  this  refreshment  after  my 
many  troubles,  and  let  his  mercy  and  providence  ever 
preserve  me.     Amen. 

3d  September,  1687.  The  Lord  Mayor  sent  me  an  Of- 
ficer with  a  staff,  to  be  one  of  the  Governors  of  St. 
Thomas's  Hospital. 

Persecution  raging  in  France;  divers  churches  there 
fired  by  lightning,  priests  struck,  consecrated  hosts,  etc., 
burnt  and  destroyed,  both  at  St.  Malos  and  Paris,  at  the 
grand  procession  on  Corpus  Christi  day. 

13th  September,  1687.  I  went  to  Lambeth,  and  dined 
with  the  Archbishop.  After  dinner,  I  retired  into  the 
library,  which  I  found  exceedingly  improved;  there  are 
also  divers  rare  manuscripts  in  a  room  apart. 

6th  October,  1687.  I  was  godfather  to  Sir  John  Char- 
din's  son,  christened  at  Greenwich  Church,  named  John. 
The  Earl  of  Bath  and  Countess  of  Carlisle,  the  other 
sponsors. 

29th  October,  1687.  An  Anabaptist,  a  very  odd  igno- 
rant person,  a  mechanic,  I  think,  was  Lord  Mayor.  The 
King  and  Queen,  and  Dadi,  the  Pope's  Nuncio,  invited 
to  a  feast  at  Guildhall.  A  strange  turn  of  affairs,  that 
those  who  scandalized  the  Church  of  England  as  favorers 
of  Popery,  should  publicly  invite  an  emissary  from  Rome, 
one  who  represented  the  very  person  of  their  Antichrist! 

loth  December,  1687.  My  son  was  returned  out  of 
Devon,  where  he  had  been  on  a  commission  from  the  Lords 
of  the  Treasury  about  a  concealment  of  land. 

20th  December,  1687.  I  went  with  my  Lord  Chief- 
Justice  Herbert,  to  see  his  house  at  Walton-on-Thames :  it 
is  a  barren  place.  To  a  very  ordinary  house  he  had 
built  a  very  handsome  library,  designing  more  building 
t6  it  than  the  place  deserves,  in  my  opinion.  He  desired 
my  advice  about  laying  out  his  gardens,  etc.  The  next 
day,  we  went  to  Weybridge,  to  see  some  pictures  of  the 
Duchess  of  Norfolk's,  particularly  the  statue,  or  child  in 
gremio,  said  to  be  of  Michael  Angelo ;  but  there  are  rea- 
sons to  think  it  rather  a  copy,  from  some  proportion  in 
the  figures  ill  taken.     It  was  now  exposed  to  sale. 

12th  January,  1687-88.  Mr.  Slingsby,  Master  of  the 
Mint,  being  under  very  deplorable  circumstances  on  ac- 
count of  his  creditors,  and  especially  the  King,  I  did  my 


268  DIARY  OF  London 

endeavor  with  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  to  be  favorable 
to  him. 

My  Lord  Arran,  eldest  son  to  the  Duke  of  Hamilton, 
being  now  married  to  Lady  Ann  Spencer,  eldest  daughter 
of  the  Earl  of  Sunderland,  Lord  President  of  the  Coun- 
cil, I  and  my  family  had  most  glorious  favors  sent 
us,  the  wedding  being  celebrated  with  extraordinary 
splendor. 

15th  January,  1688.  There  was  a  solemn  and  particu- 
lar office  used  at  our,  and  all  the  churches  of  London 
and  ten  miles  round,  for  a  thanksgiving  to  God,  for  her 
Majesty  being  with  child. 

22d  January,  1688.  This  afternoon  I  went  not  to  church, 
being  employed  on  a  religious  treatise  I  had  undertaken. 

Post  annum  1588 — 1660 — 1688,  Annus  Mir abilis  Tertius* 

30th  January,  1688.  Being  the  Martyrdom  day  of  King 
Charles  I.,  our  curate  made  a  florid  oration  against  the 
murder  of  that  excellent  Prince,  with  an  exhortation  to 
obedience  from  the  example  of  David;  i  Samuel  xxvi.  6. 

12th  February,  1688.  My  daughter  Evelyn  going  in 
the  coach  to  visit  in  the  city,  a  jolt  (the  door  being  not 
fast  shut)  flung  her  quite  out  in  such  manner,  as  the 
hind  wheels  passed  over  her  a  little  above  her  knees. 
Yet  it  pleased  God,  besides  the  bruises  of  the  wheels, 
she  had  no  other  harm.  In  two  days  she  was  able  to 
walk,  and  soon  after  perfectly  well;  through  God  Al- 
mighty's great  mercy  to  an  excellent  wife  and  a  most 
dutiful  and  discreet  daughter-in-law. 

17th  February,  1688.  I  received  the  sad  news  of  my 
niece  Montague's  death  at  Woodcot  on  the  15th. 

15th  March,  1688.  I  gave  in  my  account  about  the 
sick  and  wounded,  in  order  to  have  my  quietus. 

23d  March,  1688.  Dr.  Parker,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  who 
so  lately  published  his  extravagant  treatise  about  tran- 
substantiation,  and  for  f abrogating  the  test  and  penal 
laws,  died.  He  was  esteemed  a  violent,  passionate, 
haughty  man,  but  yet  being  pressed  to  declare  for  the 
Church  of  Rome,  he  utterly  refused  it.  A  remarkable 
end! 

The  French  Tyrant  now  finding  he  could  make  no 
proselytes  among  those  Protestants  of  quality,  and  others, 
whom    he   had   caused    to   be   shut   up  in  dungeons,  and 

*This  seems  to  have  been  added  after  the  page  was  written. 


1 688  JOHN   EVELYN  269 

confined  to  nunneries  and  monasteries,  gave  them,  after 
so  long  trial,  a  general  releasement,  and  leave  to  go  out 
of  the  kingdom,  but  utterly  taking  their  estates  and  their 
children ;  so  that  great  numbers  came  daily  into  England 
and  other  places,  where  they  were  received  and  relieved 
with  very  considerate  Christian  charity.  This  Providence 
and  goodness  of  God  to  those  who  thus  constantly  held 
out,  did  so  work  upon  those  miserable  poor  souls  who,  to 
avoid  the  persecution,  sig^ned  their  renunciation,  and  to 
save  their  estates  went  to  mass,  that  reflecting  on  what 
they  had  done,  they  grew  so  affected  in  their  conscience, 
that  not  being  able  to  support  it,  they  in  great  numbers 
through  all  the  French  provinces,  acquainted  the  magis- 
trates and  lieutenants  that  being  sorry  for  their  apostacy, 
they  were  resolved  to  return  to  their  old  religion;  that 
they  would  go  no  more  to  mass,  but  peaceably  assemble 
when  they  could,  to  beg  pardon  and  worship  God,  but  so 
without  weapons  as  not  to  give  the  least  umbrage  of 
rebellion  or  sedition,  imploring  their  pity  and  commis- 
eration; and,  accordingly,  meeting  so  from  time  to  time, 
the  dragoon-missioners.  Popish  officers  and  priests,  fell 
upon  them,  murdered  and  put  them  to  death,  whoever 
they  could  lay  hold  on ;  they  without  the  least  resistance 
embraced  death,  torture,  or  hanging,  with  singing  psalms 
and  praying  for  their  persecutors  to  the  last  breath,  yet 
still  continuing  the  former  assembling  of  themselves  in 
desolate  places,  suffering  with  incredible  constancy,  that 
through  God's  mercy  they  might  obtain  pardon  for  this 
lapse.  Such  examples  of  Christian  behavior  have  not 
been  seen  since  the  primitive  persecutions ;  and  doubtless 
God  will  do  some  signal  work  in  the  end,  if  we  can  with 
patience  and  resignation  hold  out,  and  depend  on  his 
Providence. 

24th  March,  i688.  I  went  with  Sir  Charles  Littleton 
to  Sheen,  a  house  and  estate  given  him  by  Lord  Broun- 
ker ;  one  who  was  ever  noted  for  a  hard,  covetous,  vicious 
man;  but  for  his  worldly  craft  and  skill  in  gaming  few 
exceeded  him.  Coming  to  die,  he  bequeathed  all  his 
land,  house,  furniture,  etc.,  to  Sir  Charles,  to  whom  he 
had  no  manner  of  relation,  but  an  ancient  friendship  con- 
tracted at  the  famous  siege  of  Colchester,  forty  years 
before.  It  is  a  pretty  place,  with  fine  gardens,  and  well 
planted,   and    given    to   one   worthy  of  them,  Sir  Charles 


27©  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

being  an  honest  gentleman  and  soldier.  He  is  brother 
to  Sir  Henry  Littleton  of  Worcestershire,  whose  great 
estate  he  is  likely  to  inherit,  his  brother  being  without 
children.  They  are  descendants  of  the  great  lawyer  of 
that  name,  and  give  the  same  arms  and  motto.  He  is 
married  to  one  Mrs.  Temple,  formerly  maid  of  honor  to 
the  late  Queen,  a  beautiful  lady,  and  he  has  many  fine 
children,  so  that  none  envy  his  good  fortune. 

After  dinner,  we  went  to  see  Sir  William  Temple's 
near  to  it;  the  most  remarkable  things  are  his  orangery 
and  gardens,  where  the  wall-fruit-trees  are  most  exquis- 
itely nailed  and  trained,  far  better  than  I  ever  noted. 

There  are  many  good  pictures,  especially  of  Vandyke's, 
in  both  these  houses,  and  some  few  statues  and  small 
busts  in  the  latter. 

From  thence  to  Kew,  to  visit  Sir  Henry  Capel's, 
whose  orangery  and  myrtetum  are  most  beautiful  and 
perfectly  well  kept.  He  was  contriving  very  high  palisa- 
does  of  reeds  to  shade  his  oranges  during  the  summer, 
and  painting  those  reeds  in  oil. 

ist  April,  1688.  In  the  morning,  the  first  sermon  was 
by  Dr.  Stillingfleet,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's  (at  Whitehall),  on 
Luke  X.  41,  42.  The  Holy  Communion  followed,  but  was 
so  interrupted  by  the  rude  breaking  in  of  multitudes  zealous 
to  hear  the  second  sermon,  to  be  preached  by  the  Bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells,  that  the  latter  part  of  that  holy  office 
could  hardly  be  heard,  or  the  sacred  elements  be  distrib- 
uted without  great  trouble.  The  Princess  being  come,  he 
preached  on  Mich.  vii.  8,  9,  10,  describing  the  calamity  of 
the  Reformed  Church  of  Judah  under  the  Babylonian  per- 
secution, for  her  sins,  and  God's  delivery  of  her  on  her 
repentance;  that  as  Judah  emerged,  so  should  the  now 
Reformed  Church,  whenever  insulted  and  persecuted. 
He  preached  with  his  accustomed  action,  zeal,  and  en- 
ergy, so  that  people  flocked  from  all  quarters  to  hear 
him. 

15th  April,  1688.  A  dry,  cold,  backward  spring;  easterly 
winds. 

The  persecution  still  raging  in  France,  multitudes  of 
Protestants,  and  many  very  considerable  and  great  per- 
sons flying  hither,  produced  a  second  general  contribu- 
tion, the  Papists,  by  God's  Providence,  as  yet  making 
small  progress  among  us, 


1 688  JOHN    EVELYN  271 

29th  April,  1688.  The  weather  was,  till  now,  so  cold 
and  sharp,  by  an  almost  perpetual  east  wind,  which  had 
continued  many  months,  that  there  was  little  appearance 
of  any  spring,  and  yet  the  winter  was  very  favorable  as 
to  frost  and  snow. 

2d  May,  1688.  To  London,  about  my  petition  for  al- 
lowances upon  the  account  of  Commissioner  for  Sick  and 
Wounded  in  the  former  war  with  Holland, 

8th  May,  1688.  His  Majesty,  alarmed  by  the  great  fleet 
of  the  Dutch  (while  we  had  a  very  inconsiderable  one), 
went  down  to  Chatham;  their  fleet  was  well  prepared, 
and  out,  before  we  were  in  any  readiness,  or  had  any 
considerable  number  to  have  encountered  them,  had  there 
been  occasion,  to  the  great  reproach  of  the  nation;  while 
being  in  profound  peace,  there  was  a  mighty  land  army, 
which  there  was  no  need  of,  and  no  force  at  sea,  where 
only  was  the  apprehension;  but  the  army  was  doubtless 
kept  and  increased,  in  order  to  bring  in  and  countenance 
Popery,  the  King  beginning  to  discover  his  intention,  by 
many  instances  pursued  by  the  Jesuits,  against  his  first 
resolution  to  alter  nothing  in  the  Church  Establishment, 
so  that  it  appeared  there  can  be  no  reliance  on  Popish 
promises. 

1 8th  May,  1688.  The  King  enjoining  the  ministers  to 
read  his  Declaration  for  giving  liberty  of  conscience  (as 
it  was  styled)  in  all  churches  of  England,  this  evening, 
six  Bishops,  Bath  and  Wells,*  Peterborough,!  Ely, J  Chi- 
chester,! St.  Asaph, §  and  Bristol,^  in  the  name  of  all 
the  rest  of  the  Bishops,  came  to  his  Majesty  to  petition 
him,  that  he  would  not  impose  the  reading  of  it  to  the 
several  congregations  within  their  dioceses ;  not  that  they 
were  averse  to  the  publishing  it  for  want  of  due  tender- 
ness toward  dissenters,  in  relation  to  whom  they  should 
be  willing  to  come  to  such  a  temper  as  should  be  thought 
fit,  when  that  matter  might  be  considered  and  settled  in 
Parliament  and  Convocation;  but  that,  the  Declaration 
being  founded  on  such  a  dispensing  power  as  might  at 
pleasure  set  aside  all  laws  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  it  ap- 
peared to  them  illegal,  as  it  had  done  to  the  Parliament 
in  1 66 1  and  1672,  and  that  it  was  a  point  of  such  conse- 
quence,   that    they    could    not    so    far   make    themselves 

♦Thomas  Ken.     f  Thomas  White.     :|:  Francis  Turner.     J  John  Lake. 
^William  Lloyd.    ^  Sir  John  Trelawny,  Bart. 


272  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

parties  to  it,  as  the  reading  of  it  in  church  in  time  of 
divine  service  amounted  to. 

The  King  was  so  far  incensed  at  this  address,  that  he 
with  threatening  expressions  commanded  them  to  obey 
him  in  reading  it  at  their  perils,  and  so  dismissed  them. 

2oth  May,  1688.  I  went  to  Whitehall  Chapel,  where, 
after  the  morning  lessons,  the  Declaration  was  read  by 
one  of  the  choir  who  used  to  read  the  chapters.  I  hear 
it  was  in  the  Abbey  Church,  Westminster,  but  almost 
universally  forborne  throughout  all  London:  the  conse- 
quences of  which  a  little  time  will  show. 

25th  May,  1688,  All  the  discourse  now  was  about  the 
Bishops  refusing  to  read  the  injunction  for  the  abolition 
of  the  Test,  etc.  It  seems  the  injunction  came  so  crudely 
from  the  Secretary's  office,  that  it  was  neither  sealed  nor 
signed  in  form,  nor  had  any  lawyer  been  consulted,  so  as 
the  Bishops  who  took  all  imaginable  advice,  put  the 
Court  to  great  difficulties  how  to  proceed  against  them. 
Great  were  the  consults,  and  a  proclamation  was  expected 
all  this  day;  but  nothing  was  done.  The  action  of  the 
Bishops  was  universally  applauded,  and  reconciled  many 
adverse  parties.  Papists  only  excepted,  who  were  now 
exceedingly  perplexed,  and  violent  courses  were  every 
moment  expected.  Report  was,  that  the  Protestant 
secular  Lords  and  Nobility  would  abet  the  Clergy. 

The  Queen  Dowager,  hitherto  bent  on  her  return  into 
Portugal,  now  on  the  sudden,  on  allegation  of  a  great 
debt  owing  her  by  his  Majesty  disabling  her,  declares  her 
resolution  to  stay. 

News  arrived  of  the  most  prodigious  earthquake  that 
was  almost  ever  heard  of,  subverting  the  city  of  Lima 
and  country  in  Peru,  with  a  dreadful  inundation  following  it. 

8th  June,  1688.  This  day,  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, with  the  Bishops  of  Ely,  Chichester,  St.  Asaph, 
Bristol,  Peterborough,  and  Bath  and  Wells,  were  sent  from 
the  Privy  Council  prisoners  to  the  Tower,  for  refusing  to 
give  bail  for  their  appearance,  on  their  not  reading  the 
Declaration  for  liberty  of  conscience ;  they  refused  to  give 
bail,  as  it  would  have  prejudiced  their  peerage.  The  con- 
cern of  the  people  for  them  was  wonderful,  infinite  crowds 
on  their  knees  begging  their  blessing,  and  praying  for 
them,  as  they  passed  out  of  the  barge  along  the  Tower 
wharf. 


i688  JOHN   EVELYN  273 

loth  June,  1688,  A  young  prince  bom,  which  will  cause 
disputes. 

About  two  o'clock,  we  heard  the  Tower  ordnance  dis- 
charged, and  the  bells  ring  for  the  birth  of  a  Prince  of 
Wales.  This  was  very  surprising,  it  having  been  univer- 
sally given  out  that  her  Majesty  did  not  look  till  the  next 
month. 

13th  June,  1688.  I  went  to  the  Tower  to  see  the 
Bishops,  visited  the  Archbishop  and  the  Bishops  of  Ely,  St. 
Asaph,  and  Bath  and  Wells. 

14th  June,  1688.     Dined  with  the  Lord  Chancellor. 

15th  June,  1688.  Being  the  first  day  of  term,  the 
Bishops  were  brought  to  Westminster  on  habeas  corpus, 
when  the  indictment  was  read,  and  they  were  called  on  to 
plead;  their  counsel  objected  that  the  warrant  was  illegal; 
but,  after  long  debate,  it  was  overruled,  and  they  pleaded. 
The  Court  then  offered  to  take  bail  for  their  appearance ; 
but  this  they  refused,  and  at  last  were  dismissed  on  their 
own  recognizances  to  appear  that  day  fortnight;  the 
Archbishop  in  jC^oo,  the  Bishops  in  ;^ioo  each. 

17  June,  1688.  Was  a  day  of  thanksgiving  in  London 
and  ten  miles  about  for  the  young  Prince's  birth ;  a  form 
of  prayer  made  for  the  purpose  by  the  Bishop  of 
Rochester. 

29th  June,  1688.  They  appeared;  the  trial  lasted  from 
nine  in  the  morning  to  past  six  in  the  evening,  when  the 
jury  retired  to  consider  of  their  verdict,  and  the  Court 
adjourned  to  nine  the  next  morning.  The  jury  were 
locked  up  till  that  time,  eleven  of  them  being  for  an  ac- 
quittal; but  one  (Arnold,  a  brewer)  would  not  consent. 
At  length  he  agreed  with  the  others.  The  Chief  Justice, 
Wright,  behaved  with  great  moderation  and  civility  to  the 
Bishops.  Alibone,  a  Papist,  was  strongly  against  them; 
but  Holloway  and  Powell  being  of  opinion  in  their  favor, 
they  were  acquitted.  When  this  was  heard,  there  was 
great  rejoicing;  and  there  was  a  lane  of  people  from  the 
King's  Bench  to  the  water  side,  on  their  knees,  as  the 
Bishops  passed  and  repassed,  to  beg  their  blessing.  Bon- 
fires were  made  that  night,  and  bells  rung,  which  was 
taken  very  ill  at  Court,  and  an  appearance  of  nearly  sixty 
Earls  and  Lords,  etc.,  on  the  bench,  did  not  a  little  com- 
fort them ;  but  indeed  they  were  all  along  full  of  comfort 
and  cheerful. 
18 


274  DIARY    OP  LONDON 

Note,  they  denied  to  pay  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower 
(Hales,  who  used  them  very  surlily),  any  fees,  alleging 
that  none  were  due. 

The  night  was  solemnized  with  bonfires,  and  other  fire- 
works, etc. 

2d  July,  1688.  The  two  judges,  Holloway  and  Powell, 
were  displaced. 

3d  July,  1688.  I  went  with  Dr.  Godolphin  and  his 
brother  Sir  William  to  St.  Alban's,  to  see  a  library  he 
would  have  bought  of  the  widow  of  Dr.  Cartwright, 
late  Archdeacon  of  St.  Alban's,  a  very  good  collection 
of  books,  especially  in  divinity;  he  was  to  give  ;^3oo 
for  them.  Having  seen  the  great  Church,  now  newly 
repaired  by  a  public  contribution,  we  returned  home. 

8th  July,  1688.  One  of  the  King's  chaplains  preached 
before  the  Princess  on  Exodus  xiv.  13,  ^^  Stand  still,  and 
behold  the  salvation  of  the  Lord,**  which  he  applied  so 
boldly  to  the  present  conjuncture  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, that  more  could  scarce  be  said  to  encourage  de- 
sponders.  The  Popish  priests  were  not  able  to  carry  their 
cause  against  their  learned  adversaries,  who  confounded 
them  both  by  their  disputes  and  writings. 

12th  July,  1 688.  The  camp  now  began  at  Hounslow, 
but  the  nation  was  in  high  discontent. 

Colonel  Titus,  Sir  Henry  Vane  (son  of  him  who  was 
executed  for  his  treason),  and  some  other  of  the  Pres- 
byterians and  Independent  party,  were  sworn  of  the 
Privy  Council,  from  hopes  of  thereby  diverting  that  party 
from  going  over  to  the  Bishops  and  Church  of  England, 
which  now  they  began  to  do,  foreseeing  the  design  of 
the  Papists  to  descend  and  take  in  their  most  hateful  of 
heretics  (as  they  at  other  times  expressed  them  to  be) 
to  effect  their  own  ends,  now  evident;  the  utter  extir- 
pation of  the  Church  of  England  first,  and  then  the  rest 
would   follow, 

17th  July,  1688.  This  night  the  fireworks  were 
played  off,  that  had  been  prepared  for  the  Queen's  up- 
sitting.  We  saw  them  to  great  advantage;  they  were 
very  fine,  and  cost  some  thousands  of  pounds,  in  the 
pyramids,  statues,  etc.,  but  were  spent  too  soon  for  so 
long  a  preparation. 

26th  July,  1688.  I  went  to  Lambeth  to  visit  the  Arch- 
bishop, whom  I  found  very  cheerful. 


i688  JOHN   EVELYN  275 

loth  August,  1688.  Dr.  Tenison  now  told  me  there 
would  suddenly  be  some  g^eat  thing  discovered.  This 
was  the  Prince  of  Orange  intending  to  come  over. 

15th  August,  1688.  I  went  to  Althorpe,  in  Northamp- 
tonshire, seventy  miles.  A  coach  and  four  horses  took 
up  me  and  my  son  at  Whitehall,  and  carried  us  to  Dun- 
stable, where  we  arrived  and  dined  at  noon,  and  from 
thence  another  coach  and  six  horses  carried  us  to  Al- 
thorpe, four  miles  beyond  Northampton,  where  we  ar- 
rived by  seven  o'clock  that  evening.  Both  these  coaches 
were  hired  for  me  by  that  noble  Countess  of  Sunderland, 
who  invited  me  to  her  house  at  Althorpe,  where  she 
entertained  me  and  my  son  with  very  extraordinary  kind- 
ness; I  stayed  till  the  Thursday. 

1 8th  August,  1688.  Dr.  Jeff  ryes,  the  minister  of  Al- 
thorpe, who  was  my  Lord's  chaplain  when  ambassador  in 
France,  preached  the  shortest  discourse  I  ever  heard; 
but  what  was  defective  in  the  amplitude  of  his  sermon, 
he  had  supplied  in  the  largeness  and  convenience  of  the 
parsonage  house,  which  the  doctor  (who  had  at  least 
;^6oo  a  year  in  spiritual  advancement)  had  newly  built, 
and  made  fit  for  a  person  of  quality  to  live  in,  with 
gardens  and  all  accommodation  according  therewith. 

My  lady  carried  us  to  see  Lord  Northampton's  Seat,  a 
very  strong,  large  house,  built  with  stone,  not  altogether 
modern.  They  were  enlarging  the  garden,  in  which  was 
nothing  extraordinary,  except  the  iron  gate  opening  into 
the  park,  which  indeed  was  very  good  work,  wrought  in 
flowers  painted  with  blue  and  gilded.  There  is  a  noble 
walk  of  elms  toward  the  front  of  the  house  by  the 
bowling  green.  I  was  not  in  any  room  of  the  house  be- 
sides a  lobby  looking  into  the  garden,  where  my  Lord 
and  his  new  Countess  (Sir  Stephen  Fox's  daughter,  whom 
I  had  known  from  a  child)  entertained  the  Countess  and 
her  daughter  the  Countess  of  Arran  (newly  married  to 
the  son  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton),  with  so  little  good 
grace,  and  so  dully,  that  our  visit  was  very  short,  and  so 
we  returned  to  Althorpe,  twelve  miles  distant. 

The  house,  or  rather  palace,  at  Althorpe,  is  a  noble 
uniform  pile  in  form  of  a  half  H,  built  of  brick  and 
freestone,  balustered  and  h  la  moderne;  the  hall  is  well, 
the  staircase  excellent;  the  rooms  of  state,  galleries, 
ofifices  and  furniture,  such  as  may  become  a  great  prince. 


276  DIARY   OF  althorpe 

It  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  garden,  exquisitely  planted 
and  kept,  and  all  this  in  a  park  walled  in  with  hewn 
stone,  planted  with  rows  and  walks  of  trees,  canals  and 
fish  ponds,  and  stored  with  game.  And,  what  is  above 
all  this,  governed  by  a  lady,  who  without  any  show  of 
solicitude,  keeps  everything  in  such  admirable  order,  both 
within  and  without,  from  the  garret  to  the  cellar,  that  I 
do  not  believe  there  is  any  in  this  nation,  or  in  any 
other,  that  exceeds  her  in  such  exact  order,  without 
ostentation,  but  substantially  great  and  noble.  The  mean- 
est servant  is  lodged  so  neat  and  cleanly;  the  service  at 
the  several  tables,  the  good  order  and  decency — in  a 
word,  the  entire  economy  is  perfectly  becoming  a  wise 
and  noble  person.  She  is  one  who  for  her  distinguished 
esteem  of  me  from  a  long  and  worthy  friendship,  I  must 
ever  honor  and  celebrate.  I  wish  from  my  soul  the  Lord, 
her  husband  (whose  parts  and  abilities  are  otherwise 
conspicuous),  was  as  worthy  of  her,  as  by  a  fatal  apostasy 
and  court-ambition  he  has  made  himself  unworthy!  This 
is  what  she  deplores,  and  it  renders  her  as  much  affliction 
as  a  lady  of  great  soul  and  much  prudence  is  capable  of. 
The  Countess  of  Bristol,  her  mother,  a  grave  and  honor- 
able lady,  has  the  comfort  of  seeing  her  daughter  and 
grandchildren  under  the  same  economy,  especially  Mr. 
Charles  Spencer,  a  youth  of  extraordinary  hopes,  very 
learned  for  his  age,  and  ingenious,  and  under  a  governor 
of  great  worth.  Happy  were  it,  could  as  much  be  said 
of  the  elder  brother,  the  Lord  Spencer,  who,  rambling 
about  the  world,  dishonors  both  his  name  and  his  family, 
adding  sorrow  to  sorrow  to  a  mother,  who  has  taken  all 
imaginable  care  of  his  education.  There  is  a  daughter 
very  young  married  to  the  Earl  of  Clancarty,  who  has  a 
great  and  fair  estate  in  Ireland,  but  who  yet  gives  no 
great  presage  of  worth, — so  universally  contaminated  is 
the  youth  of  this  corrupt  and  abandoned  age!  But  this 
is  again  recompensed  by  my  Lord  Arran,  a  sober  and 
worthy  gentleman,  who  has  espoused  the  Lady  Ann  Spen- 
cer, a  young  lady  of  admirable  accomplishments  and 
virtue. 

23d  August,  1688.  I  left  this  noble  place  and  conver- 
sation, my  lady  having  provided  carriages  to  convey  us 
back  in  the  same  manner  as  we  went,  and  a  dinner  being 
prepared  at  Dunstable  against  our  arrival.     Northampton, 


i688  JOHN   EVELYN  277 

having  been  lately  burned  and  re-edified,  is  now  become 
a  town  that  for  the  beauty  of  the  buildings,  especially 
^the  church  and  townhouse,  may  compare  with  the  neatest 
in  Italy  itself. 

Dr.  Sprat,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  wrote  a  very  honest 
and  handsome  letter  to  the  Commissioners  Ecclesiastical, 
excusing  himself  from  sitting  any  longer  among  them, 
he  by  no  means  approving  of  their  prosecuting  the  Clergy 
who  refused  to  read  the  Declaration  for  liberty  of  con- 
science, in  prejudice  of  the  Church  of  England. 

The  Dutch  make  extraordinary  preparations  both  at  sea 
and  land,  which  with  no  small  progress  Popery  makes 
among  us,  puts  us  to  many  difficulties.  The  Popish  Irish 
soldiers  commit  many  murders  and  insults;  the  whole 
nation  disaffected,  and  in  apprehensions. 

After  long  trials  of  the  doctors  to  bring  up  the  little 
Prince  of  Wales  by  hand  (so  many  of  her  Majesty's  chil- 
dren having  died  infants)  not  succeeding,  a  country 
nurse,  the  wife  of  a  tile  maker,  is  taken  to  give  it  suck. 

1 8th  September,  1688.  I  went  to  London,  where  I 
found  the  Court  in  the  utmost  consternation  on  report 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  landing;  which  put  Whitehall 
into  so  panic  a  fear,  that  I  could  hardly  believe  it  possi- 
ble to  find  such  a  change. 

Writs  were  issued  in  order  to  a  Parliament,  and  a  dec- 
laration to  back  the  good  order  of  elections,  with  great 
professions  of  maintaining  the  Church  of  England,  but 
without  giving  any  sort  of  satisfaction  to  the  people,  who 
showed  their  high  discontent  at  several  things  in  the 
Government. 

Earthquakes  had  utterly  demolished  the  ancient  Smyrna, 
and  several  other  places  in  Greece,  Italy,  and  even  in 
the  Spanish  Indies,  forerunners  of  greater  calamities. 
God  Almighty  preserve  his  Church  and  all  who  put 
themselves  under  the  shadow  of  his  wings,  till  these 
things  be  overpassed. 

30th  September,  1688.  The  Court  in  so  extraordinary 
a  consternation,  on  assurance  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's 
intention  to  land,  that  the  writs  sent  forth  for  a  Parlia- 
ment were  recalled. 

7th  October,  1688.  Dr.  Tenison  preached  at  St.  Mar- 
tin's on  2  Tim.  iii.  16,  showing  the  Scriptures  to  be  our 
only  rule  of  faith,  and  its  perfection  above  all  traditions. 


278  DIARY  OF  London 

After  which,  near  i,ooo  devout  persons  partook  of  the 
Communion.  The  sermon  was  chiefly  occasioned  by  a 
Jesuit,  who  in  the  Masshouse  on  the  Sunday  before  had 
disparaged  the  Scripture  and  railed  at  our  translation, 
which  some  present  contradicting,  they  pulled  him  out 
of  the  pulpit,  and  treated  him  very  coarsely,  insomuch 
that  it  was  like  to  create  a  great  disturbance  in  the  city. 

Hourly  expectation  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  invasion 
heightened  to  that  degree,  that  his  Majesty  thought  fit 
to  abrogate  the  Commission  for  the  dispensing  Power 
(but  retaining  his  own  right  still  to  dispense  with  all 
laws)  and  restore  the  ejected  Fellows  of  Magdalen  Col- 
lege, Oxford.  In  the  meantime,  he  called  over  5,000 
Irish,  and  4,000  Scots,  and  continued  to  remove  Protes- 
tants and  put  in  Papists  at  Portsmouth  and  other  places 
of  trust,  and  retained  the  Jesuits  about  him,  increasing 
the  universal  discontent.  It  brought  people  to  so  des- 
perate a  pass,  that  they  seemed  passionately  to  long  for 
and  desire  the  landing  of  that  Prince,  whom  they  looked 
on  to  be  their  deliverer  from  Popish  tyranny,  praying 
incessantly  for  an  east  wind,  which  was  said  to  be  the 
only  hindrance  of  his  expedition  with  a  numerous  army 
ready  to  make  a  descent.  To  such  a  strange  temper, 
and  unheard  of  in  former  times,  was  this  poor  nation  re- 
duced, and  of  which  I  was  an  eyewitness.  The  appre- 
hension was  (and  with  reason)  that  his  Majesty's  forces 
would  neither  at  land  nor  sea  oppose  them  with  that 
vigor  requisite  to  repel  invaders. 

The  late  imprisoned  Bishops  were  now  called  to  reconcile 
matters,  and  the  Jesuits  hard  at  work  to  foment  confusion 
among  the  Protestants  by  their  usual  tricks.  A  letter 
was  sent  to   the    Archbishop   of   Canterbury,*   informing 

*By  Evelyn  himself.  The  letter  was  as  follows: — 
*My  Lord,  The  honor  and  reputation  which  your  Grace's  piety, 
prudence,  and  signal  courage,  have  justly  merited  and  obtained,  not 
only  from  the  sons  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  even  universally 
from  those  Protestants  among  us  who  are  Dissenters  from  her  dis- 
cipline; God  Almighty's  Providence  and  blessing  upon  your  Grace's 
vigilancy  and  extraordinary  endeavors  will  not  suffer  to  be  diminished 
in  this  conjuncture.  The  conversation  I  now  and  then  have  with  some 
in  place,  who  have  the  opportunity  of  knowing  what  is  doing  in  the 
most  secret  recesses  and  cabals  of  our  Church's  adversaries,  obliges  me 
to  acquaint  you,  that  the  calling  of  your  Grace  and  the  rest  of  the 
Lords  Bishops  to  Court,  and  what  has  there  of  late  been  required  of 


1688  JOHN   EVELYN  279 

him,  from  good  hands,  of  what  was  contriving  by  them. 
A  paper  of  what  the  Bishops  advised  his  Majesty  was 
published.  The  Bishops  were  enjoined  to  prepare  a  form 
of  prayer  against  the  feared  invasion.  A  pardon  pub- 
lished.    Soldiers  and  mariners  daily  pressed,  j 

14th  October,  1688.  The  King's  birthday.  No  guns 
from  the  Tower  as  usual.  The  sun  eclipsed  at  its  rising. 
This  day  signal  for  the  victory  of  William  the  Conqueror 
against  Harold,  near  Battel,  in  Sussex.  The  wind,  which 
had  been  hitherto  west,  was  east  all  this  day.  Wonder- 
ful expectation  of  the  Dutch  fleet.  Public  prayers  ordered 
to  be  read  in  the  churches  against  invasion. 

28th  October,  1688.     A  tumult   in   London  on  the  rab- 

you,  is  only  to  create  a  jealousy  and  suspicion  among  well-meaning 
people  of  such  compliances,  as  it  is  certain  they  have  no  cause  to  appre- 
hend. The  plan  of  this  and  of  all  that  which  is  to  follow  of  seeming 
favor  thence,  is  wholly  drawn  by  the  Jesuits,  who  are  at  this  time 
more  than  ever  busy  to  make  divisions  among  us,  all  other  arts  and 
mechanisms  having  hitherto  failed  them.  They  have,  with  other  things 
contrived  that  your  Lordships  the  Bishops  should  give  his  Majesty 
advice  separately,  without  calling  any  of  the  rest  of  the  Peers,  which, 
though  maliciously  suggested,  spreads  generally  about  the  town.  I  do 
not  at  all  question  but  your  Grace  will  speedily  prevent  the  operation 
of  this  venom,  and  that  you  will  think  it  highly  necessary  so  to  do, 
that  your  Grace  is  also  enjoined  to  compose  a  form  of  prayer,  wherein 
the  Prince  of  Orange  is  expressly  to  be  named  the  Invader:  of  this  I 
presume  not  to  say  anything;  but  for  as  much  as  in  all  the  Declara- 
tions, etc.,  which  have  hitherto  been  published  in  pretended  favor  of 
the  Church  of  England,  there  is  not  once  the  least  mention  of  the 
Reformed  or  Protestant  Religion,  but  only  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land AS  BY  Law  established,  which  Church  *,he  Papists  tell  us  is  the 
Church  of  Rome,  which  is  (say  they)  the  Catholic  Church  of  England 
—  that  only  is  established  by  Law;  the  Church  of  England  in  the 
Reformed  sense  so  established,  is  but  by  an  usurped  authority.  The 
antiquity  of  that  would  by  these  words  be  explained,  and  utterly 
defeat  this  false  and  subdolous  construction,  and  take  off  all  exceptions 
whatsoever;  if,  in  all  extraordinary  offices,  upon  these  occasions,  the 
words  Reformed  and  Protestant  were  added  to  that  of  the  Church 
OF  England  by  Law  established.  And  whosoever  threatens  to  in- 
vade or  come  against  us,  to  the  prejudice  of  that  Church,  in  Grod's 
name,  be  they  Dutch  or  Irish,  let  us  heartily  pray  and  fight  against 
them.  My  Lord,  this  is,  I  confess,  a  bold,  but  honest  period;  and, 
though  I  am  well  assured  that  your  Grace  is  perfectly  acquainted 
with  all  this  before,  and  therefore  may  blame  my  impertinence,  as 
that  does  aX?ioTpio£niaKOTrelv;  yet  I  am  confident  you  will  not  reprove 
the  zeal  of  one  who  most  humbly  begs  your  Grace's  pardon,  with 
j-our  blessing.  Lond.,  10  Oct.,  i688.»  ( From  a  copy  in  Evelyn's  band- 
writing.)     Seeposi,   p.  285. 


a8o  DIARY  OF  London 

ble  demolishing  a  Popish  chapel  that  had  been  set  up  in 
the  city. 

29th  October,  1688.  Lady  Sunderland  acquainted  me 
with  his  Majesty's  taking  away  the  Seals  from  Lord 
Sunderland,  and  of  her  being  with  the  Queen  to  inter- 
cede for  him.  It  is  conceived  that  he  had  of  late  grown 
remiss  in  pursuing  the  interest  of  the  Jesuitical  counsels ; 
some  reported  one  thing,  some  another;  but  there  was 
doubtless  some  secret  betrayed,  which  time  may  discover. 

There  was  a  Council  called,  to  which  were  summoned 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Judges,  the  Lord 
Mayor,  etc.  The  Queen  Dowager,  and  all  the  ladies  and 
lords  who  were  present  at  the  Queen  Consort's  labor, 
were  to  give  their  testimony  upon  oath  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  birth,  recorded  both  at  the  Council  Board  and  at 
the  Chancery  a  day  or  two  after.  This  procedure  was 
censured  by  some  as  below  his  Majesty  to  condescend  to, 
on  the  talk  of  the  people.  It  was  remarkable  that  on 
this  occasion  the  Archbishop,  Marquis  of  Halifax,  the 
Earls  of  Clarendon  and  Nottingham,  refused  to  sit  at  the 
Council  table  among  Papists,  and  their  bold  telling  his 
Majesty  that  whatever  was  done  while  such  sat  among 
them  was  unlawful  and  incurred  prcemunire;  —  at  least, 
if  what  I  heard  be  true. 

30th  October,  1688,  I  dined  with  Lord  Preston,  made 
Secretary  of  State,  in  the  place  of  the  Earl  of  Sunder- 
land. 

Visited  Mr.  Boyle,  when  came  in  the  Duke  of  Hamil- 
ton and  Earl  of  Burlington.  The  Duke  told  us  many 
particulars  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  and  her  amours  with 
the  Italian  favorite,  etc. 

31st  October,  1688.  My  birthday,  being  the  68th  year 
of  my  age.  O  blessed  Lord,  grant  that  as  I  grow  in 
years,  so  may  I  improve  in  grace!  Be  thou  my  pro- 
tector this  following  year,  and  preserve  me  and  mine 
from  those  dangers  and  great  confusions  that  threaten  a 
sad  revolution  to  this  sinful  nation !  Defend  thy  church, 
our  holy  religion,  and  just  laws,  disposing  his  Majesty 
to  listen  to  sober  and  healing  counsels,  that  if  it  be  thy 
blessed  will,  we  may  still  enjoy  that  happy  tranquility 
which  hitherto  thou  hast  continued  to  us !     Amen,  Amen ! 

ist  November,  1688.  Dined  with  Lord  Preston,  with 
other  company,  at  Sir  Stephen   Fox's.     Continual  alarms 


i688  JOHN   EVELYN  2Gi 

of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  but  no  certainty.  Reports  of 
his  great  losses  of  horse  in  the  storm,  but  without  any 
assurance.  A  man  was  taken  with  divers  papers  and 
printed  manifestoes,  and  carried  to  Newgate,  after  ex- 
amination at  the  Cabinet  Council.  There  was  likewise  a 
declaration  of  the  States  for  satisfaction  of  all  public 
ministers  at  The  Hague,  except  to  the  English  and  the 
French.  There  was  in  that  of  the  Prince's  an  expres- 
sion, as  if  the  Lords  both  spiritual  and  temporal  had  in- 
vited him  over,  with  a  deduction  of  the  causes  of  his 
enterprise.  This  made  his  Majesty  convene  my  Lord  of 
Canterbury  and  the  other  Bishops  now  in  town,  to  give 
an  account  of  what  was  in  the  manifesto,  and  to  enjoin 
them  to  clear  themselves  by  some  public  writing  of  this 
disloyal  charge. 

ad  November,  1688.  It  was  now  certainly  reported  by 
some  who  saw  the  fleet,  and  the  Prince  embark,  that 
they  sailed  from  the  Brill  on  Wednesday  morning,  and 
that  the  Princess  of  Orange  was  there  to  take  leave  of 
her  husband. 

4th  November,  1688.  Fresh  reports  of  the  Prince  be- 
ing landed  somewhere  about  Portsmouth,  or  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  whereas  it  was  thought  it  would  have  been  north- 
ward.    The  Court  in  great  hurry. 

5th  November,  1688.  I  went  to  London;  heard  the 
news  of  the  Prince  having  landed  at  Torbay,  coming 
with  a  fleet  of  near  700  sail,  passing  through  the  Chan- 
nel with  so  favorable  a  wind,  that  our  navy  could  not 
intercept,  or  molest  them.  This  put  the  King  and  Court 
into  great  consternation,  they  were  now  employed  in 
forming  an  army  to  stop  their  further  progress,  for  they 
were  got  into  Exeter,  and  the  season  and  ways  very  im- 
proper for  his  Majesty's  forces  to  march  so  great  a  dis- 
tance. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  some  few  of  the 
other  Bishops  and  Lords  in  London,  were  sent  for  to 
Whitehall,  and  required  to  set  forth  their  abhorrence  of 
this  invasion.  They  assured  his  Majesty  that  they  had 
never  invited  any  of  the  Prince's  party,  or  were  in  the 
least  privy  to  it,  and  would  be  ready  to  show  all  testi- 
mony of  their  loyalty;  but,  as  to  a  public  declaration, 
being  so  few,  they  desired  that  his  Majesty  would  call 
the  rest  of  their  brethren    and    Peers,    that    they   might 


383  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

consult  what  was  fit  to  be  done  on  this  occasion,  not 
thinking  it  right  to  publish  anything  without  them,  and 
till  they  had  themselves  seen  the  Prince's  manifesto,  in 
which  it  was  pretended  he  was  invited  in  by  the  Lords, 
spiritual  and  temporal.  This  did  not  please  the  King; 
so  they  departed. 

A  declaration  was  published,  prohibiting  all  persons  to 
see  or  read  the  Prince's  manifesto,  in  which  was  set  forth 
at  large  the  cause  of  his  expedition,  as  there  had  been  one 
before  from  the  States. 

These  are  the  beginnings  of  sorrow,  unless  God  in  his 
mercy  prevent  it  by  some  happy  reconciliation  of  all  dis- 
sensions among  us.  This,  in  all  likelihood,  nothing  can 
effect  except  a  free  Parliament;  but  this  we  cannot  hope 
to  see,  while  there  are  any  forces  on  either  side.  I  pray 
God  to  protect  and  direct  the  King  for  the  best  and 
truest  interest  of  his  people! — I  saw  his  Majesty  touch 
for  the  evil,  Piten  the  Jesuit,  and  Warner  officiating. 

14th  November,  1688.  The  Prince  increases  every  day 
in  force.  Several  Lords  go  in  to  him.  Lord  Combury 
carries  some  regiments,  and  marches  to  Honiton,  the 
Prince's  headquarters.  The  city  of  London  in  disorder; 
the  rabble  pulled  down  the  nunnery  newly  bought  by  the 
Papists  of  Lord  Berkeley,  at  St.  John's.  The  Queen  pre- 
pares to  go  to  Portsmouth  for  safety,  to  attend  the  issue 
of  this  commotion,  which  has  a  dreadful  aspect. 

1 8th  November,  1688.  It  was  now  a  very  hard  frost. 
The  King  goes  to  Salisbury  to  rendezvous  the  army,  and 
return  to  London.  Lord  Delamere  appears  for  the  Prince 
in  Cheshire.  The  nobility  meet  in  Yorkshire.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  and  some  Bishops,  and  such  Peers 
as  were  in  London,  address  his  Majesty  to  call  a  Parlia- 
ment. The  King  invites  all  foreign  nations  to  come 
over.  The  French  take  all  the  Palatinate,  and  alarm  the 
Germans  more  than  ever. 

29th  November,  1688.  I  went  to  the  Royal  Society. 
We  adjourned  the  election  of  a  President  to  23d  of  April, 
by  reason  of  the  public  commotions,  yet  dined  together 
as  of  custom  this  day. 

2d  December,  1688.  Dr.  Tenison  preached  at  St.  Mar- 
tin's on  Psalm  xxxvi.  5,  6,  7,  concerning  Providence.  I 
received  the  blessed  Sacrament.  Afterward,  visited  my 
Lord  Godolphin,  then  going  with  the  Marquis  of  Halifax 


i688  JOHN   EVELYN  283 

and  Earl  of  Nottingham  as  Commissioners  to  the  Prince 
of  Orange ;  he  told  me  they  had  little  power.  Plymouth 
declared  for  the  Prince.  Bath,  York,  Hull,  Bristol,  and 
all  the  eminent  nobility  and  persons  of  quality  through 
England,  declare  for  the  Protestant  religion  and  laws,  and 
go  to  meet  the  Prince,  who  every  day  sets  forth  new 
Declarations  against  the  Papists.  The  great  favorites  at 
Court,  Priests  and  Jesuits,  fly  or  abscond.  Everything, 
till  now  concealed,  flies  abroad  in  public  print,  and  is 
cried  about  the  streets.  Expectation  of  the  Prince  com- 
ing to  Oxford.  The  Prince  of  Wales  and  great  treasure 
sent  privily  to  Portsmouth,  the  Earl  of  Dover  being  Gov- 
ernor. Address  from  the  Fleet  not  grateful  to  his  Maj- 
esty. The  Papists  in  offices  lay  down  their  commissions, 
and  fly.  Universal  consternation  among  them;  it  looks 
like  a  revolution. 

7th  December,  1688.  My  son  went  toward  Oxford.  I 
returned  home. 

9th  December,  1688.  Lord  Sunderland  meditates  flight. 
The  rabble  demolished  all  Popish  chapels,  and  several 
Papist  lords  and  gentlemen's  houses,  especially  that  of 
the  Spanish  Ambassador,  which  they  pillaged,  and  burned 
his  library. 

13th  December,  i688.  The  King  flies  to  sea,  puts  in  at 
Faversham  for  ballast;  is  rudely  treated  by  the  people; 
comes  back  to  Whitehall. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  is  advanced  to  Windsor,  is  invited 
by  the  King  to  St.  James's,  the  messenger  sent  was  the 
Earl  of  Faversham,  the  General  of  the  Forces,  who  going 
without  trumpet,  or  passport,  is  detained  prisoner  by  the 
Prince,  who  accepts  the  invitation,  but  requires  his  Majesty 
to  retire  to  some  distant  place,  that  his  own  guards  may 
be  quartered  about  the  palace  and  city.  This  is  taken 
heinously  and  the  King  goes  privately  to  Rochester;  is 
persuaded  to  come  back;  comes  on  the  Sunday;  goes  to 
mass,  and  dines  in  public,  a  Jesuit  saying  grace  (I  was 
present). 

17th  December,  1688.  That  night  was  a  Council;  his 
Majesty  refuses  to  assent  to  all  the  proposals ;  goes  away 
again  to  Rochester. 

1 8th  December,  1688.  I  saw  the  King  take  barge  to 
Gravesend  at  twelve  o'clock  —  a  sad  sight!  The  Prince 
comes    to    St.    James's,    and    fills   Whitehall  with    Dutch 


284  DIARY  OF  London 

guards.  A  Council  of  Peers  meet  about  an  expedient  to 
call  a  Parliament;  adjourn  to  the  House  of  Lords.  The 
Chancellor,  Earl  of  Peterborough,  and  divers  others  taken. 
The  Earl  of  Sunderland  flies;  Sir  Edward  Hale,  Walker, 
and  others,  taken  and  secured. 

All  the  world  go  to  see  the  Prince  at  St.  James's,  where 
there  is  a  great  Court.  There  I  saw  him,  and  several  of 
my  acquaintance  who  came  over  with  him.  He  is  very 
stately,  serious  and  reserved.  The  English  soldiers  sent 
out  of  town  to  disband  them;  not  well  pleased. 

24th  December,  1688.  The  King  passes  into  France^ 
whither  the  Queen  and  child  were  gone  a  few  days  before. 

26th  December,  1688.  The  Peers  and  such  Common- 
ers as  were  members  of  the  Parliament  at  Oxford,  being 
the  last  of  Charles  H.  meeting,  desire  the  Prince  of 
Orange  to  take  on  him  the  disposal  of  the  public  reve- 
nue till  a  convention  of  Lords  and  Commons  should  meet 
in  full  body,  appointed  by  his  circular  letters  to  the 
shires  and  boroughs,  2 2d  of  January.  I  had  now  quartered 
upon  me  a  Lieutenant-Colonel   and  eight  horses. 

30th  December,  1688.  This  day  prayers  for  the  Prince 
of  Wales  were  first  left  off  in  our  Church. 

7th  January,  1688-89.  -^  long  frost  and  deep  snow;  the 
Thames  almost  frozen  over. 

15th  January,  1689.  I  visited  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, where  I  found  the  Bishops  of  St.  Asaph,  Ely, 
Bath  and  Wells,  Peterborough,  and  Chichester,  the  Earls 
of  Aylesbury  and  Clarendon,  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  Lord- 
Advocate  of  Scotland,  and  then  came  in  a  Scotch  Arch- 
bishop, etc.  After  prayers  and  dinner,  divers  serious 
matters  were  discoursed,  concerning  the  present  state  of 
the  Public,  and  sorry  I  was  to  find  there  was  as  yet  no 
accord  in  the  judgments  of  those  of  the  Lords  and  Com- 
mons who  were  to  convene;  some  would  have  the  Princess 
made  Queen  without  any  more  dispute,  others  were  for 
a  Regency;  there  was  a  Tory  party  (then  so  called),  who 
were  for  inviting  his  Majesty  again  upon  conditions;  and 
there  were  Republicans  who  would  make  the  Prince  of 
Orange  like  a  Stadtholder.  The  Romanists  were  busy 
among  these  several  parties  to  bring  them  into  confu- 
sion: most  for  ambition  or  other  interest,  few  for  con- 
science and  moderate  resolutions.  I  foiind  nothtng  of  all 
this  in  this   assembly  of   Bishops,    who    were  pleased    to 


; 688-89  JOHN   EVELYN  285 

admit  me  into  their  discourses;  they  were  all  for  a  Re- 
gency, thereby  to  salve  their  oaths,  and  so  all  public 
matters  to  proceed  in  his  Majesty's  name,  by  that  to 
facilitate  the  calling  of  Parliament,  according  to  the  laws 
in  being.     Such  was  the  result  of  this  meeting. 

My  Lord  of  Canterbury  gave  me  great  thanks  for  the 
advertisement  I  sent  him  in  October,  and  assured  me 
they  took  my  counsel  in  that  particular,  and  that  it  came 
very  seasonably. 

I  found  by  the  Lord-Advocate  that  th«  Bishops  of  Scot- 
land (who  were  indeed  little  worthy  of  that  character,  and 
had  done  much  mischief  in  that  Church)  were  now  com- 
ing about  to  the  true  interest,  in  this  conjuncture  which 
threatened  to  abolish  the  whole  hierarchy  in  that  kingdom ; 
and  therefore  the  Scottish  Archbishop  and  Lord- Advocate 
requested  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  use  his  best 
endeavors  with  the  Prince  to  maintain  the  Church  there 
in  the  same  state,  as  by  law  at  present  settled. 

It  now  growing  late,  after  some  private  discourse  with 
his  Grace,  I  took  my  leave,  most  of  the  Lords  being 
gone. 

The  trial  of  the  bishops  was  now  printed. 

The  great  convention  being  assembled  the  day  before, 
falling  upon  the  question  about  the  government,  resolved 
that  King  James  having  by  the  advice  of  the  Jesuits  and 
other  wicked  persons  endeavored  to  subvert  the  laws  of 
the  Church  and  State,  and  deserted  the  kingdom,  carry- 
ing away  the  seals,  etc.,  without  any  care  for  the  man- 
agement of  the  government,  had  by  demise  abdicated 
himself  and  wholly  vacated  his  right;  they  did  therefore 
desire  the  Lords'  concurrence  to  their  vote,  to  place  the 
crown  on  the  next  heir,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  for  his 
life,  then  to  the  Princess,  his  wife,  and  if  she  died  with- 
out issue,  to  the  Princess  of  Denmark,  and  she  failing, 
to  the  heirs  of  the  Prince,  excluding  forever  all  possi- 
bility of  admitting  a  Roman  Catholic. 

27th  January,  1689.  I  dined  at  the  Admiralty,  where 
was  brought  in  a  child  not  twelve  years  old,  the  son  of 
one  Dr.  Clench,  of  the  most  prodigious  maturity  of  knowl- 
edge, for  I  cannot  call  it  altogether  memory,  but  some- 
thing more  extraordinary.  Mr.  Pepys  and  myself 
examined  him,  not  in  any  method,  but  with  promiscuous 
questions,  which   required  judgment  and  discernment   to 


286  DIARY  OF  London 

answer  so  readily  and  pertinently.  There  was  not  any- 
thing in  chronology,  history,  geography,  the  several  sys- 
tems of  astronomy,  courses  of  the  stars,  longitude,  latitude, 
doctrine  of  the  spheres,  courses  and  sources  of  rivers, 
creeks,  harbors,  eminent  cities,  boundaries  and  bearings 
of  countries,  not  only  in  Europe,  but  in  any  other  part 
of  the  earth,  which  he  did  not  readily  resolve  and  dem- 
onstrate his  knowledge  of,  readily  drawing  out  with  a 
pen  anything  he  would  describe.  He  was  able  not  only 
to  repeat  the  most  famous  things  which  are  left  us  in 
any  of  the  Greek  or  Roman  histories,  monarchies,  re- 
publics, wars,  colonies,  exploits  by  sea  and  land,  but  all 
the  sacred  stories  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament;  the 
succession  of  all  the  monarchies,  Babylonian,  Persian, 
Greek,  Roman,  with  all  the  lower  Emperors,  Popes, 
Heresiarchs,  and  Councils,  what  they  were  called  about, 
what  they  determined,  or  in  the  controversy  about  Easter, 
the  tenets  of  the  Gnostics,  Sabellians,  Arians,  Nestorians; 
the  difference  between  St.  Cyprian  and  Stephen  about  re- 
baptism,  the  schisms.  We  leaped  from  that  to  other 
things  totally  different,  to  Olympic  years,  and  synchro- 
nisms ;  we  asked  him  questions  which  could  not  be  resolved 
without  considerable  meditation  and  judgment,  nay  of 
some  particulars  of  the  Civil  Laws,  of  the  Digest  and 
Code.  He  gave  a  stupendous  account  of  both  natural 
and  moral  philosophy,  and  even  in  metaphysics. 

Having  thus  exhausted  ourselves  rather  than  this  won- 
derful child,  or  angel  rather,  for  he  was  as  beautiful  and 
lovely  in  countenance  as  in  knowledge,  we  concluded  with 
asking  him  if,  in  all  he  had  read  or  heard  of,  he  had 
ever  met  with  anything  which  was  like  this  expedition  of 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  with  so  small  a  force  to  obtain 
three  great  kingdoms  without  any  contest.  After  a  little 
thought,  he  told  us  that  he  knew  of  nothing  which  did 
more  resemble  it  than  the  coming  of  Constantine  the 
Great  out  of  Britain,  through  France  and  Italy,  so  te- 
dious a  march,  to  meet  Maxentius,  whom  he  overthrew  at 
Pons  Milvius  with  very  little  conflict,  and  at  the  very 
gates  of  Rome,  which  he  entered  and  was  received  with 
triumph,  and  obtained  the  empire,  not  of  three  king- 
doms only,  but  of  all  the  then  known  world.  He  was 
perfect  in  the  Latin  authors,  spoke  French  naturally, 
and  gave  us  a  description  of  France,  Italy,  Savoy,  Spain, 


1 689  JOHN   EVELYN  287 

ancient  and  modemly  divided ;  as  also  of  ancient  Greece, 
Scythia,  and  northern  countries  and  tracts:  we  left  ques- 
tioning further.  He  did  this  without  any  set  or  formal 
repetitions,  as  one  who  had  learned  things  without  book, 
but  as  if  he  minded  other  things,  going  about  the  room, 
and  toying  with  a  parrot  there,  and  as  he  was  at  din- 
ner ( tanquam  aliiia  agens,  as  it  were )  seeming  to  be  full 
of  play,  of  a  lively,  sprightly  temper,  always  smiling, 
and  exceedingly  pleasant,  without  the  least  levity,  rude- 
ness, or  childishness. 

His  father  assured  us  he  never  imposed  anything  to 
charge  his  memory  by  causing  him  to  get  things  by 
heart,  not  even  the  rules  of  grammar;  but  his  tutor 
(who  was  a  Frenchman)  read  to  him,  first  in  French, 
then  in  Latin;  that  he  usually  played  among  other  boys 
four  or  five  hours  every  day,  and  that  he  was  as  earnest 
at  his  play  as  at  his  study.  He  was  perfect  in  arithme- 
tic, and  now  newly  entered  into  Greek.  In  sum  i^hor- 
rescc  refer  ens),  I  had  read  of  divers  forward  and  precocious 
youths,  and  some  I  have  known,  but  I  never  did  either 
hear  or  read  of  anything  like  to  this  sweet  child,  if  it  be 
right  to  call  him  child  who  has  more  knowledge  than 
most  men  in  the  world.  I  counseled  his  father  not  to 
set  his  heart  too  much  on  this  jewel, 

« Immodicis  brevis  est  at  as,  et  rara  senectus,^ 

as  I  myself  learned  by  sad  experience  in  my  most  dear 
child  Richard,  many  years  since,  who,  dying  before  he 
was  six  years  old,  was  both  in  shape  and  countenance 
and  pregnancy  of  learning,  next  to  a  prodigy. 

29th  January,  1689.  The  votes  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons being  carried  up  by  Mr.  Hampden,  their  chairman, 
to  the  Lords,  I  got  a  station  by  the  Prince's  lodgings  at 
the  door  of  the  lobby  to  the  House,  and  heard  much  of 
the  debate,  which  lasted  very  long.  Lord  Derby  was 
in  the  chair  ( for  the  House  was  resolved  into  a  grand 
committee  of  the  whole  House ) ;  after  all  had  spoken,  it 
came  to  the  question,  which  was  carried  by  three  voices 
against  a  Regency,  which  51  were  for,  54  against;  the 
minority  alleging  the  danger  of  dethroning  Kings,  and 
scrupling  many  passages  and  expressions  in  the  vote  of 
the  Commons,  too  long  to  set  down  particularly.  Some 
were  for  sending  to  his  Majesty  with   conditions:  others 


288  DIARY  OF  London 

that  the  King  could  do  no  wrong,  and  that  the  mal- 
administration was  chargeable  on  his  ministers.  There 
were  not  more  than  eight  or  nine  bishops,  and  but  two 
against  the  Regency;  the  archbishop  was  absent,  and 
the  clergy  now  began  to  change  their  note,  both  in  pulpit 
and  discourse,  on  their  old  passive  obedience,  so  as 
people  began  to  talk  of  the  bishops  being  cast  out  of 
the  House.  In  short,  things  tended  to  dissatisfaction  on 
both  sides ;  add  to  this,  the  morose  temper  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  who  showed  little  countenance  to  the  noble- 
men and  others,  who  expected  a  more  gracious  and 
cheerful  reception  when  they  made  their  court.  The 
English  army  also  was  not  so  in  order,  and  firm  to 
his  interest,  nor  so  weakened  but  that  it  might  give 
interruption.  Ireland  was  in  an  ill  posture  as  well  as 
Scotland.  Nothing  was  yet  done  toward  a  settlement. 
God  of  his  infinite  mercy  compose  these  things,  that  we 
may  be  at  last  a  Nation  and  a  Church  under  some  fixed 
and  sober  establishment! 

30th  January,  1689.  The  anniversary  of  King  Charles 
I.'s  martyrdom;  but  in  all  the  public  offices  and  pulpit 
prayers,  the  collects,  and  litany  for  the  King  and 
Queen  were  curtailed  and  mutilated.  Dr.  Sharp  preached 
before  the  Commons,  but  was  disliked,  and  not  thanked 
for  his  sermon. 

31st  January,  1689.  At  our  church  (the  next  day 
being  appointed  a  thanksgiving  for  deliverance  by  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  with  prayers  purposely  composed), 
our  lecturer  preached  in  the  afternoon  a  very  honest 
sermon,  showing  our  duty  to  God  for  the  many  signal 
deliverances  of  our  Church,  without  touching  on  politics. 

6th  February,  1689.  The  King's  coronation  day  was 
ordered  not  to  be  observed,  as  hitherto  it  had  been. 

The  Convention  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  now  declare 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange  King  and  Queen  of 
England,  France,  and  Ireland  (Scotland  being  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom),  the  Prince  and  Princess  being  to 
enjoy  it  jointly  during  their  lives;  but  the  executive 
authority  to  be  vested  in  the  Prince  during  life,  though 
all  proceedings  to  run  in  both  names,  and  that  it  should 
descend  to  their  issue,  and  for  want  of  such,  to  the 
Princess  Anne  of  Denmark  and  her  issue,  and  in  want 
of   such,    to  the   heirs    of  the    body   of  the    Prince,  if  be 


i689  JOHN   EVELYN  289 

survive,  and  that  failing,  to  devolve  to  the  Parliament, 
as  they  should  think  fit.  These  produced  a  conference 
w^ith  the  Lords,  when  also  there  was  presented  heads  of 
such  new  laws  as  were  to  be  enacted.  It  is  thought  on 
these  conditions  they  will  be  proclaimed. 

There  was  much  contest  about  the  King's  abdication, 
and  whether  he  had  vacated  the  government.  The  Earl 
of  Nottingham  and  about  twenty  Lords,  and  many  Bishops, 
entered  their  protests,  but  the  concurrence  was  great 
against  them. 

The  Princess  hourly  expected.  Forces  sending  to  Ireland, 
that  kingdom  being  in  great  danger  by  the  Earl  of  Tyrcon- 
nel's  army,  and  expectations  from  France  coming  to  assist 
them,  but  that  King  was  busy  in  invading  Flanders,  and 
encountering  the  German  Princes.  It  is  likely  that  this 
will  be  the  most  remarkable  summer  for  action,  which 
has  happened  in  many  years. 

2 1  St  February,  1689.  Dr.  Burnet  preached  at  St.  James's 
on  the  obligation  to  walk  worthy  of  God's  particular  and 
signal  deliverance  of  the  nation  and  church. 

I  saw  the  new  Queen  and  King  proclaimed  the  very 
next  day  after  her  coming  to  Whitehall,  Wednesday,  13th 
February,  with  great  acclamation  and  general  good  re- 
ception. Bonfires,  bells,  guns,  etc.  It  was  believed  that 
both,  especially  the  Princess,  would  have  shown  some 
(seeming)  reluctance  at  least,  of  assuming  her  father's 
crown,  and  made  some  apology,  testifying  by  her  regfret 
that  he  should  by  his  mismanagement  necessitate  the 
nation  to  so  extraordinary  a  proceeding,  which  would  have 
shown  very  handsomely  to  the  world,  and  according  to 
the  character  given  of  her  piety;  consonant  also  to  her 
husband's  first  declaration,  that  there  was  no  intention  of 
deposing  the  King,  but  of  succoring  the  nation ;  but  noth- 
ing of  all  this  appeared ;  she  came  into  Whitehall  laugh- 
ing and  jolly,  as  to  a  wedding,  so  as  to  seem  quite 
transported.  She  rose  early  the  next  morning,  and  in  her 
undress,  as  it  was  reported,  before  her  women  were  up, 
went  about  from  room  to  room  to  see  the  convenience 
of  Whitehall ;  lay  in  the  same  bed  and  apartment  where 
the  late  Queen  lay,  and  within  a  night  or  two  sat  down 
to  play  at  basset,  as  the  Queen,  her  predecessor  used  to 
do.  She  smiled  upon  and  talked  to  everybody,  so  that 
no  change  seemed  to  have  taken  place  at  Court  since  her 
19 


290  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

last  going  away,  save  that  infinite  crowds  of  people 
thronged  to  see  her,  and  that  she  went  to  our  prayers. 
This  carriage  was  censured  by  many.  She  seems  to  be 
of  a  good  nature,  and  that  she  takes  nothing  to  heart: 
while  the  Prince,  her  husband,  has  a  thoughtful  counte- 
nance, is  wonderfully  serious  and  silent,  and  seems  to  treat 
all  persons  alike  gravely,  and  to  be  very  intent  on  affairs : 
Holland,  Ireland,  and  France  calling  for  his  care. 

Divers  Bishops  and  Noblemen  are  not  at  all  satisfied 
with  this  so  sudden  assumption  of  the  Crown,  without  any 
previous  sending,  and  offering  some  conditions  to  the  ab- 
sent King;  or  on  his  not  returning,  or  not  assenting  to 
those  conditions,  to  have  proclaimed  him  Regent;  but 
the  major  part  of  both  Houses  prevailed  to  make  them 
King  and  Queen  immediately,  and  a  crown  was  tempt- 
ing. This  was  opposed  and  spoken  against  with  such 
vehemence  by  Lord  Clarendon  (her  own  uncle),  that  it 
put  him  by  all  preferment,  which  must  doubtless  have 
been  as  great  as  could  have  been  given  him.  My  Lord 
of  Rochester,  his  brother,  overshot  himself,  by  the  same 
carriage  and  stiffness,  which  their  friends  thought  they 
might  have  well  spared  when  they  saw  how  it  was  like 
to  be  overruled,  and  that  it  had  been  sufficient  to  have 
declared  their  dissent  with  less  passion,  acquiescing  in 
due  time. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  some  of  the  rest, 
on  scruple  of  conscience  and  to  salve  the  oaths  they  had 
taken,  entered  their  protests  and  hung  off,  especially  the 
Archbishop,  who  had  not  all  this  while  so  much  as  ap- 
peared out  of  Lambeth.  This  occasioned  the  wonder  of 
many  who  observed  with  what  zeal  they  contributed  to 
the  Prince's  expedition,  and  all  the  while  also  rejecting 
any  proposals  of  sending  again  to  the  absent  King;  that 
they  should  now  raise  scruples,  and  such  as  created 
much  division  among  the  people,  greatly  rejoicing  the 
old  courtiers,   and  especially  the  Papists. 

Another  objection  was,  the  invalidity  of  what  was  done 
by  a  convention  only,  and  the  as  yet  unabrogated  laws; 
this  drew  them  to  make  themselves  on  the  2 2d  [Feb- 
ruary] a  Parliament,  the  new  King  passing  the  act  with 
the  crown  on  his  head.  The  lawyers  disputed,  but  ne- 
cessity prevailed,  the  government  requiring  a  speedy 
settlement. 


i689  JOHN   EVELYN  191 

Innumerable  were  the  crowds,  who  solicited  for,  and 
expected  oflSces;  most  of  the  old  ones  were  turned  out. 
Two  or  three  white  staves  were  disposed  of  some  days 
before,  as  Lord  Steward,  to  the  Earl  of  Devonshire; 
Treasurer  of  the  household,  to  Lord  Newport;  Lord 
Chamberlain  to  the  King,  to  my  Lord  of  Dorset;  but 
there  were  as  yet  none  in  offices  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment save  the  Marquis  of  Halifax  as  Privy  Seal.  A 
council  of  thirty  was  chosen,  Lord  Derby  president,  but 
neither  Chancellor  nor  Judges  were  yet  declared,  the 
new  Great  Seal  not  yet  finished. 

8th  March,  1689.  Dr.  Tillotson,  Dean  of  Canterbury, 
made  an  excellent  discourse  on  Matt.  v.  44,  exhorting  to 
charity  and  forgiveness  of  enemies;  I  suppose  purposely, 
the  new  Parliament  being  furious  about  impeaching  those 
who  were  obnoxious,  and  as  their  custom  has  ever  been, 
going  on  violently,  without  reserve,  or  modification,  while 
wise  men  were  of  opinion  the  most  notorious  offenders 
being  named  and  excepted,  an  Act  of  Amnesty  would  be 
more  seasonable,  to  pacify  the  minds  of  men  in  so  general 
a  discontent  of  the  nation,  especially  of  those  who  did  not 
expect  to  see  the  government  assumed  without  any  regard 
to  the  absent  King,  or  proving  a  spontaneous  abdication, 
or  that  the  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  an  im- 
posture ;  five  of  the  Bishops  also  still  refusing  to  take  the 
new  oath. 

In  the  meantime,  to  gratify  the  people,  the  hearth-tax 
was  remitted  forever;  but  what  was  intended  to  supply  it, 
besides  present  great  taxes  on  land,  is  not  named. 

The  King  abroad  was  now  furnished  by  the  French 
King  with  money  and  officers  for  an  expedition  to  Ireland. 
The  great  neglect  in  not  more  timely  preventing  that 
from  hence,  and  the  disturbances  in  Scotland,  give  appre- 
hensions of  great  difficulties,  before  any  settlement  can  be 
perfected  here,  while  the  Parliament  dispose  of  the  great 
offices  among  themselves.  The  Great  Seal,  Treasury  and 
Admiralty  put  into  commission  of  many  unexpected 
persons,  to  gratify  the  more;  so  that  by  the  present 
appearance  of  things  (unless  God  Almighty  graciously 
interpose  and  g^ve  success  in  Ireland  and  settle  Scot- 
land) more  trouble  seems  to  threaten  the  nation  than 
could  be  expected.  In  the  interim,  the  new  King  refers 
all   to  the  Parliament  in  the   most  popular  manner,  but 


292  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

is  very  slow  in  providing  against  all  these  menaces, 
besides  finding  difficulties  in  raising  men  to  send  abroad ; 
the  former  army,  which  had  never  seen  any  service 
hitherto,  receiving  their  pay  and  passing  their  summer  in 
an  idle  scene  of  a  camp  at  Hounslow,  unwilling  to  engage, 
and  many  disaffected,  and  scarce  to  be  trusted. 

29th  March,  1689.  The  new  King  much  blamed  for 
neglecting  Ireland,  now  likely  to  be  ruined  by  the  Lord 
Tyrconnel  and  his  Popish  party,  too  strong  for  the 
Protestants.  Wonderful  uncertainty  where  King  James 
was,  whether  in  France  or  Ireland.  The  Scots  seem  as 
yet  to  favor  King  William,  rejecting  King  James's  letter 
to  them,  yet  declaring  nothing  positively.  Soldiers  in 
England  discontented.  Parliament  preparing  the  corona- 
tion oath.  Presbyterians  and  Dissenters  displeased  at  the 
vote  for  preserving  the  Protestant  religion  as  established 
by  law,  without  mentioning  what  they  were  to  have  as  to 
indulgence. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  four  other  Bishops 
refusing  to  come  to  Parliament,  it  was  deliberated  whether 
they  should  incur  Prcemunire;  but  it  was  thought  fit  to  let 
this  fall,  and  be  connived  at,  for  fear  of  the  people,  to 
whom  these  Prelates  were  very  dear,  for  the  opposition 
they  had  given  to  Popery. 

Court  offices  distributed  among  Parliament  men.  No 
considerable  fleet  as  yet  sent  forth.  Things  far  from 
settled  as  was  expected,  by  reason  of  the  slothful,  sickly 
temper  of  the  new  King,  and  the  Parliament's  unmind- 
fulness  of  Ireland,  which  is  likely  to  prove  a  sad  omission. 

The  Confederates  beat  the  French  out  of  the  Palatinate, 
which  they  had  most  barbarously  ruined. 

nth  April,  1689.  I  saw  the  procession  to  and  from  the 
Abbey  Church  of  Westminster,  with  the  great  feast  in 
Westminster  Hall,  at  the  coronation  of  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary.  What  was  different  from  former  cor- 
onations, was  some  alteration  in  the  coronation  oath. 
Dr.  Burnet,  now  made  Bishop  of  Sarum,  preached  with 
g^eat  applause.  The  Parliament  men  had  scaffolds  and 
places  which  took  up  the  one  whole  side  of  the  Hall. 
When  the  King  and  Queen  had  dined,  the  ceremony  of 
the  Champion,  and  other  services  by  tenure  were  per- 
formed. The  Parliament  men  were  feasted  in  the  Ex- 
chequer  chamber,  and   had   each   of  them  a  gold   medal 


1 689  JOHN  EVELYN  293 

given  them,  worth  five-and-forty  shillings.  On  the  one 
side  were  the  effigies  of  the  King  and  Queen  inclining 
one  to  the  other;  on  the  reverse  was  Jupiter  throwing  a 
bolt  at  Phaeton  the  words,  **  Ne  totus  absumatur^K-  which 
was  but  dull,  seeing  they  might  have  had  out  of  the 
poet  something  as  apposite.  The  sculpture  was  very 
mean. 

Much  of  the  splendor  of  the  proceeding  was  abated  by 
the  absence  of  divers  who  should  have  contributed  to  it, 
there  being  but  five  Bishops,  four  Judges  (  no  more  being 
yet  sworn),  and  several  noblemen  and  great  ladies  want- 
ing; the  feast,  however,  was  magnificent.  The  next  day 
the  House  of  Commons  went  and  kissed  their  new  Ma- 
jesties' hands  in  the  Banqueting  House. 

12th  April,  1689.  I  went  with  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph 
to  visit  my  Lord  of  Canterbury  at  Lambeth,  who  had 
excused  himself  from  officiating  at  the  coronation,  which 
was  performed  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  assisted  by  the 
Archbishop  of  York.  We  had  much  private  and  free  dis- 
course with  his  Grace  concerning  several  things  relating 
to  the  Church,  there  being  now  a  bill  of  comprehension 
to  be  brought  from  the  Lords  to  the  Commons.  I  urged 
that  when  they  went  about  to  reform  some  particulars 
in  the  Liturgy,  Church  discipline,  Canons,  etc.,  the  bap- 
tizing in  private  houses  without  necessity  might  be 
reformed,  as  likewise  so  frequent  burials  in  churches; 
the  one  proceeding  much  from  the  pride  of  women,  bring- 
ing that  into  custom  which  was  only  indulged  in  case 
of  imminent  danger,  and  out  of  necessity  during  the 
rebellion,  and  persecution  of  the  clergy  in  our  late  civil 
wars;  the  other  from  the  avarice  of  ministers,  who,  in 
some  opulent  parishes,  made  almost  as  much  of  permis- 
sion to  bury  in  the  chancel  and  the  church,  as  of  their 
livings,  and  were  paid  with  considerable  advantage  and 
gifts  for  baptizing  in  chambers.  To  this  they  heartily 
assented,  and  promised  their  endeavor  to  get  it  reformed, 
utterly  disliking  both  practices  as  novel  and  indecent. 

We  discoursed  likewise  of  the  great  disturbance  and 
prejudice  it  might  cause,  should  the  new  oath,  now  on 
the  anvil,  be  imposed  on  any,  save  such  as  were  in  new 
office,  without  any  retrospect  to  such  as  either  had  no 
office,  or  had  been  long  in  office,  who  it  was  likely  would 
have    some    scruples    about    taking  a    new   oath,  having 


294  DIARY    OF  London 

already  sworn  fidelity  to  the  government  as  established  by 
law.  This  we  all  knew  to  be  the  case  of  my  Lord  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  some  other  persons  who  were 
not  so  fully  satisfied  with  the  Convention  making  it  an 
abdication  of  King  James,  to  whom  they  had  sworn  al- 
legiance. 

King  James  was  now  certainly  in  Ireland  with  the  Mar- 
shal d'Estrades,  whom  he  made  a  Privy  Councillor;  and 
who  caused  the  King  to  remove  the  Protestant  Council- 
lors, some  whereof,  it  seems,  had  continued  to  sit,  telling 
him  that  the  King  of  France,  his  master,  would  never  as- 
sist him  if  he  did  not  immediately  do  it;  by  which  it 
is  apparent  how  the  poor  Prince  is  managed  by  the 
French. 

Scotland  declares  for  King  William  and  Queen  Mary, 
with  the  reasons  of  their  setting  aside  King  James,  not 
as  abdicating,  but  forfeiting  his  right  by  mal-administra- 
tion;  they  proceeded  with  much  more  caution  and  pru- 
dence than  we  did,  who  precipitated  all  things  to  the 
great  reproach  of  the  nation,  all  which  had  been  man- 
aged by  some  crafty,  ill-principled  men.  The  new  Privy 
Council  have  a  Republican  spirit,  manifestly  undermining 
all  future  succession  of  the  Crown  and  prosperity  of  the 
Church  of  England,  which  yet  I  hope  they  will  not  be 
able  to  accomplish  so  soon  as  they  expect,  though  they 
get  into  all  places  of  trust  and  profit. 

2ist  April,  1689.  This  was  one  of  the  most  seasonable 
springs,  free  from  the  usual  sharp  east  winds  that  I  have 
observed  since  the  year  1660  (the  year  of  the  Restora- 
tion), which  was  much  such  an  one. 

26th  April,  1689.  I  heard  the  lawyers  plead  before  the 
Lords  the  writ  of  error  in  the  judgment  of  Oates,  as  to 
the  charge  against  him  of  perjury,  which  after  debate 
they  referred  to  the  answer  of  Holloway,  etc. ,  who  were 
his  judges.  I  then  went  with  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph 
to  the  Archbishop  at  Lambeth,  where  they  entered  into 
discourse  concerning  the  final  destruction  of  Antichrist, 
both  concluding  that  the  third  trumpet  and  vial  were  now 
pouring  out.  My  Lord  St.  Asaph  considered  the  killing 
of  the  two  witnesses,  to  be  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
Cevennes  Protestants  by  the  French  and  Duke  of  Savoy, 
and  the  other  the  Waldenses  and  Pyrenean  Christians, 
who  by  all  appearance    from    good  history  had  kept  the 


1 689  JOHN   EVELYN  195 

primitive  faith  from  the  very  Apostles'  time  till  now. 
The  doubt  his  Grace  suggested  was,  whether  it  could  be 
made  evident  that  the  present  persecution  had  made  so 
great  a  havoc  of  those  faithful  people  as  of  the  other, 
and  whether  there  were  not  yet  some  among  them  in  be- 
ing who  met  together,  it  being  stated  from  the  text,  Apoc. 
xi,,  that  they  should  both  be  slain  together.  They  both 
much  approved  of  Mr.  Mede's  way  of  interpretation,  and 
that  he  only  failed  in  resolving  too  hastily  on  the  King 
of  Sweden's  (Guatavus  Adolphus)  success  in  Germany. 
They  agreed  that  it  would  be  good  to  employ  some  in- 
telligent French  minister  to  travel  as  far  as  the  Pyrenees 
to  understand  the  present  state  of  the  Church  there,  it 
being  a  country  where  hardly  anyone  travels. 

There  now  came  certain  news  that  King  James  had 
not  only  landed  in  Ireland,  but  that  he  had  surprised 
Londonderry,  and  was  become  master  of  that  kingdom,  to 
the  great  shame  of  our  government,  who  had  been  so 
often  solicited  to  provide  against  it  by  timely  succor,  and 
which  they  might  so  easily  have  done.  This  is  a  terri- 
ble beginning  of  more  troubles,  especially  should  an  army 
come  thence  into  Scotland,  people  being  generally  disaf- 
fected here  and  everywhere  else,  so  that  the  seamen  and 
landmen  would  scarce  serve  without  compulsion. 

A  new  oath  was  now  fabricating  for  all  the  clergy  to 
take,  of  obedience  to  the  present  Government,  in  abroga- 
tion of  the  former  oaths  of  allegiance,  which  it  is  foreseen 
many  of  the  bishops  and  others  of  the  clergy  will  not 
take.  The  penalty  is  to  be  the  loss  of  their  dignity  and 
spiritual  preferment.  This  is  thought  to  have  been  driven 
on  by  the  Presbyterians,  our  new  governors.  God  in 
mercy  send  us  help,  and  direct  the  counsels  to  his  glory 
and  good  of  his  Church! 

Public  matters  went  very  ill  in  Ireland:  confusion  and 
dissensions  among  ourselves,  stupidity,  inconstancy,  emu- 
lation, the  governors  employing  unskillful  men  in  greatest 
offices,  no  person  of  public  spirit  and  ability  appearing, 
—  threaten  us  with  a  very  sad  prospect  of  what  may  be 
the  conclusion,  without  God's  infinite  mercy. 

A  fight  by  Admiral  Herbert  with  the  French,  he  im- 
prudently setting  on  them  in  a  creek  as  they  were  land- 
ing men  in  Ireland,  by  which  we  came  off  with  great 
slaughter  and   little    honor  —  so  strangely   negligent   and 


296  DIARY   OF  London 

remiss  were  we  in  preparing  a  timely  and  sufficient  fleet. 
The  Scots  Commissioners  offer  the  crown  to  the  new 
King  and  Queen  on  conditions. —  Act  of  Poll-money  came 
forth,  sparing  none. —  Now  appeared  the  Act  of  Indul- 
gence for  the  Dissenters,  but  not  exempting  them  from 
paying  dues  to  the  Church  of  England  clergy,  or  serving 
in  office  according  to  law,  with  several  other  clauses. — 
A  most  splendid  embassy  from  Holland  to  congratulate 
the  King  and  Queen  on  their  accession  to  the  crown. 

4th  June,  1689.    A  solemn  fast  for  success  of  the  fleet,  etc. 

6th  June,  1689.  I  dined  with  the  Bishop  of  Asaph; 
Monsieur  Capellus,  the  learned  son  of  the  most  learned 
Ludovicus,  presented  to  him  his  father's  works,  not  pub- 
lished till  now. 

7th  June,  1689.  I  visited  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  stayed  with  him  till  about  seven  o'clock.  He 
read  to  me  the  Pope's  excommunication  of  the  French 
King. 

9th  June,  1689.  Visited  Dr.  Burnet,  now  Bishop  of 
Sarum;  got    him   to   let    Mr.    Kneller    draw   his    picture. 

1 6th  June,  1689.  King  James's  declaration  was  now 
dispersed,  offering  pardon  to  all,  if  on  his  landing,  or 
within  twenty  days  after,  they  should  return  to  their 
obedience. 

Our  fleet  not  yet  at  sea,  through  some  prodigious  sloth, 
and  men  minding  only  their  present  interest ;  the  French 
riding  masters  at  sea,  taking  many  great  prizes  to  our 
wonderful  reproach.  No  certain  news  from  Ireland; 
various  reports  of  Scotland;  discontents  at  home.  The 
King  of  Denmark  at  last  joins  with  the  Confederates, 
and  the  two  Northern  Powers  are  reconciled.  The  East 
India  Company  likely  to  be  dissolved  by  Parliament  for 
many  arbitrary  actions.  Oates  acquitted  of  perjury,  to  all 
honest  men's  admiration. 

20th  June,  1689.  News  of  a  plot  discovered,  on  which 
divers  were  sent  to  the  Tower  and  secured. 

23d  June,  1689.  An  extraordinary  drought,  to  the 
threatening  of  great  wants  as  to  the  fruits  of  the   earth. 

8th  July,  1689.  I  sat  for  my  picture  to  Mr.  Kneller, 
for  Mr.  Pepys,  late  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty,  holding 
my  *  Sylva  **  in  my  right  hand.  It  was  on  his  long  and 
earnest  request,  and  is  placed  in  his  library.  Kneller 
never  painted  in  a  more  masterly  manner. 


1 689  JOHN   EVELYN  297 

nth  July,  1689.  I  dined  at  Lord  Clarendon's,  it  being 
his  lady's  wedding  day,  when  about  three  in  the  after- 
noon there  was  an  unusual  and  violent  storm  of  thunder, 
rain,  and  wind;  many  boats  on  the  Thames  were  over- 
whelmed, and  such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  wind  as 
to  carry  up  the  waves  in  pillars  and  spouts  most  dread- 
ful to  behold,  rooting  up  trees  and  ruining  some 
houses.  The  Countess  of  Sunderland  afterward  told  me 
that  it  extended  as  far  as  Althorpe  at  the  very  time, 
which  is  seventy  miles  from  London.  It  did  no 
harm  at  Deptford,  but  at  Greenwich  it  did  much  mis- 
chief. 

1 6th  July,  1689.  I  went  to  Hampton  Court  about  busi- 
ness, the  Council  being  there.  A  great  apartment  and 
spacious  garden  with  fountains  was  beginning  in  the  park 
at  the  head  of  the  canal. 

19th  July,  1689.  The  Marshal  de  Schomberg  went  now 
as  General  toward  Ireland,  to  the  relief  of  Londonderry. 
Our  fleet  lay  before  Brest.  The  Confederates  passing  the 
Rhine,  besiege  Bonn  and  Mayence,  to  obtain  a  passage 
into  France.  A  great  victory  gotten  by  the  Muscovites, 
taking  and  burning  Perecop.  A  new  rebel  against  the 
Turks  threatens  the  destruction  of  that  tyranny.  All 
Europe  in  arms  against  France,  and  hardly  to  be  found 
in  history  so  universal  a  face  of  war. 

The  Convention  (or  Parliament  as  some  called  it)  sit- 
ting, exempt  the  Duke  of  Hanover  from  the  succession 
to  the  crown,  which  they  seem  to  confine  to  the  present 
new  King,  his  wife,  and  Princess  Anne  of  Denmark,  who 
is  so  monstrously  swollen,  that  it  is  doubted  whether  her 
being  thought  with  child  may  prove  a  tympany  only,  so 
that  the  unhappy  family  of  the  Stuarts  seems  to  be  ex- 
tinguishing; and  then  what  government  is  likely  to  be 
next  set  up  is  unknown,  whether  regal  and  by  elec- 
tion, or  otherwise,  the  Republicans  and  Dissenters 
from  the  Church  of  England  evidently  looking  that 
way. 

The  Scots  have  now  again  voted  down  Episcopacy 
there.  Great  discontents  through  this  nation  at  the  slow 
proceedings  of  the  King,  and  the  incompetent  instruments 
and  officers  he  advances  to  the  greatest  and  most  neces- 
sary charges. 

23d  August,  1689.     Came  to  visit  me  Mr.  Firmin. 


298  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

25th  August,  1689.  Hitherto  it  has  been  a  most  sea- 
sonable summer.  Londonderry  relieved  after  a  brave  and 
wonderful  holding-  out. 

2ist  September,  1689.  I  went  to  visit  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  since  his  suspension,  and  was  received  with 
great  kindness.     A  dreadful  fire  happened  in  Southwark. 

2d  October,  1689.  Came  to  visit  us  the  Marquis  de 
Ruvignfe,  and  one  Monsieur  le  Coque,  a  French  refugee, 
who  left  great  riches  for  his  religion;  a  very  learned, 
civil  person;  he  married  the  sister  of  the  Duchess  de  la 
Force.  Ottobone,  a  Venetian  Cardinal,  eighty  years  old, 
made  Pope.* 

31st  October,  1689.  My  birthday,  being  now  sixty- 
nine  years  old.  Blessed  Father,  who  hast  prolonged  my 
years  to  this  great  age,  and  given  me  to  see  so  great 
and  wonderful  revolutions,  and  preserved  me  amid  them 
to  this  moment,  accept,  I  beseech  thee,  the  continuance 
of  my  prayers  and  thankful  acknowledgments,  and  grant 
me  grace  to  be  working  out  my  salvation  and  redeeming 
the  time,  that  thou  mayst  be  glorified  by  me  here, 
and  my  immortal  soul  saved  whenever  thou  shalt  call 
for  it,  to  perpetuate  thy  praises  to  all  eternity,  in  that 
heavenly  kingdom  where  there  are  no  more  changes  or 
vicissitudes,  but  rest,  and  peace,  and  joy,  and  consum- 
mate felicity,  forever.  Grant  this,  O  heavenly  Father, 
for  the  sake  of  Jesus  thine  only  Son  and  our  Savior. 
Amen! 

5th  November,  1689.  The  Bishop  of  St,  Asaph,  Lord 
Almoner,  preached  before  the  King  and  Queen,  the 
whole  discourse  being  an  historical  narrative  of  the 
Church  of  England's  several  deliverances,  especially  that 
of  this  anniversary,  signalized  by  being  also  the  birthday 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  his  marriage  (which  was  on  the 
4th),  and  his  landing  at  Torbay  this  day.  There  was  a 
splendid  ball  and  other  rejoicings. 

loth  November,  1689.  After  a  very  wet  season,  the 
winter  came  on  severely. 

17th  November,  1689.  Much  wet,  without  frost,  yet  the 
wind  north  and  easterly.  A  Convocation  of  the  Clergy 
meet  about  a  reformation  of  our  Liturgy,  Canons,  etc., 
obstructed  by  others  of  the  clergy. 

*  Peter  Otthobonus  succeeded  Innocent  XI.  as  Pope  in  16S9,  by  the 
title  of  Alexander  VIII. 


1689-90  JOHN  EVELYN  299 

27th  November,  1689.  I  went  to  London  with  my 
family,  to  winter  at  Soho,  in  the  great  square. 

nth  January,  1689-90.  This  night  there  was  a  most 
extraordinary  storm  of  wind,  accompanied  with  snow 
and  sharp  weather;  it  did  great  harm  in  many  places, 
blowing  down  houses,  trees,  etc.,  killing  many  people. 
It  began  about  two  in  the  morning,  and  lasted  till  five, 
being  a  kind  of  hurricane,  which  mariners  observe 
have  begun  of  late  years  to  come  northward.  This 
winter  has  been  hitherto  extremely  wet,  warm,  and  windy. 

12th  January,  1690.  There  was  read  at  St.  Ann's 
Church  an  exhortatory  letter  to  the  clergy  of  London 
from  the  Bishop,  together  with  a  Brief  for  relieving  the 
distressed  Protestants,  and  Vaudois,  who  fled  from  the 
persecution  of  the  French  and  Duke  of  Savoy,  to 
the  Protestant  Cantons  of  Switzerland. 

The  Parliament  was  unexpectedly  prorogued  to  2d  of 
April  to  the  discontent  and  surprise  of  many  members  who, 
being  exceedingly  averse  to  the  settling  of  anything,  pro- 
ceeding with  animosities,  multiplying  exceptions  against 
those  whom  they  pronounced  obnoxious,  and  producing 
as  universal  a  discontent  against  King  William  and  them- 
selves, as  there  was  before  against  King  James.  The 
new  King  resolved  on  an  expedition  into  Ireland  in  per- 
son. About  150  of  the  members  who  were  of  the  more 
royal  party,  meeting  at  a  feast  at  the  Apollo  Tavern  near 
St.  Dunstan's,  sent  some  of  their  company  to  the  King, 
to  assure  him  of  their  service;  he  returned  his  thanks, 
advising  them  to  repair  to  their  several  counties  and  pre- 
serve the  peace  during  his  absence,  and  assuring  them 
that  he  would  be  steady  to  his  resolution  of  defending 
the  Laws  and  Religion  established.  The  great  Lord  sus- 
pected to  have  counselled  this  prorogation,  universally 
denied  it.  However,  it  was  believed  the  chief  adviser 
was  the  Marquis  of  Carmarthen,  who  now  seemed  to  be 
most  in  favor. 

2d  February,  1690.  The  Parliament  was  dissolved  by 
proclamation,  and  another  called  to  meet  the  20th  of 
March.  This  was  a  second  surprise  to  the  former  mem- 
bers ;  and  now  the  Court  party,  or,  as  they  call  themselves, 
Church  of  England,  are  making  their  interests  in  the 
country.  The  Marquis  of  Halifax  lays  down  his  office  of 
Privy  Seal,  and  pretends  to  retire. 


300  DIARY  OP  LONDON 

1 6th  February,  1690.  The  Duchess  of  Monmouth's 
chaplain  preached  at  St.  Martin's  an  excellent  discourse 
exhorting  to  peace  and  sanctity,  it  being  now  the  time 
of  very  great  division  and  dissension  in  the  nation;  first, 
among  the  Churchmen,  of  whom  the  moderate  and  sober 
part  were  for  a  speedy  reformation  of  divers  things, 
which  it  was  thought  might  be  made  in  our  Liturgy, 
for  the  inviting  of  Dissenters;  others  more  stiff  and 
rigid,  were  for  no  condescension  at  all.  Books  and 
pamphlets  were  published  every  day  pro  and  con;  the 
Convocation  were  forced  for  the  present  to  suspend  any 
further  progress.  There  was  fierce  and  great  carousing 
about  being  elected  in  the  new  Parliament.  The  King 
persists  in  his  intention  of  going  in  person  for  Ireland, 
whither  the  French  are  sending  supplies  to  King  James, 
and  we,  the  Danish  horse  to  Schomberg. 

19th  February,  1690.  I  dined  with  the  Marquis  of 
Carmarthen  (late  Lord  Danby),  where  was  Lieutenant- 
General  Douglas,  a  very  considerate  and  sober  comman- 
der, going  for  Ireland.  He  related  to  us  the  exceeding 
neglect  of  the  English  soldiers,  suffering  severely  for 
want  of  clothes  and  necessaries  this  winter,  exceedingly 
magnifying  their  courage  and  bravery  during  all  their 
hardships.  There  dined  also  Lord  Lucas,  Lieutenant  of 
the  Tower,  and  the  Bishop  of  St  Asaph.  The  Privy 
Seal  was  again  put  in  commission,  Mr.  Cheny  (who 
married  my  kinswoman,  Mrs.  Pierrepoint),  Sir  Thomas 
Knatchbull,  and  Sir  P.  W.  Pultney.  The  imprudence  of 
both  sexes  was  now  become  so  great  and  universal,  per- 
sons of  all  ranks  keeping  their  courtesans  publicly,  that 
the  King  had  lately  directed  a  letter  to  the  Bishops  to 
order  their  clergy  to  preach  against  that  sin,  swearing, 
etc.,  and  to  put  the  ecclesiastical  laws  in  execution  with- 
out any  indulgence. 

25th  February,  1690.  I  went  to  Kensington,  which 
King  William  had  bought  of  Lord  Nottingham,  and  al- 
tered, but  was  yet  a  patched  building,  but  with  the  gar- 
den, however,  it  is  a  very  sweet  villa,  having  to  it  the 
park  and  a  straight  new  way  through  this   park. 

7th  March,  1690.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Pepys,  late  Secre- 
tary to  the  Admiralty,  where  was  that  excellent  ship- 
wright and  seaman  (for  so  he  had  been,  and  also  a 
Commission  of  the  Navy),   Sir  Anthony  Deane.     Among 


1690  JOHN  EVELYN  301 

other  discourse,  and  deploring  the  sad  condition  of  our 
navy,  as  now  governed  by  inexperienced  men  since  this 
Revolution,  he  mentioned  what  exceeding  advantage  we 
of  this  nation  had  by  being  the  first  who  built  frigates, 
the  first  of  which  ever  built  was  that  vessel  which  was 
afterward  called  ^*  The  Constant  Warwick, "  and  was  the 
work  of  Pett  of  Chatham,  for  a  trial  of  making  a  vessel 
that  would  sail  swiftly;  it  was  built  with  low  decks,  the 
guns  lying  near  the  water,  and  was  so  light  and  swift  of 
sailing,  that  in  a  short  time  he  told  us  she  had,  ere  the 
Dutch  war  was  ended,  taken  as  much  money  from  priva- 
teers as  would  have  laden  her ;  and  that  more  such  being 
built,  did  in  a  year  or  two  scour  the  Channel  from  those 
of  Dunkirk  and  others  which  had  exceedingly  infested  it. 
He  added  that  it  would  be  the  best  and  only  infallible 
expedient  to  be  masters  of  the  sea,  and  able  to  destroy 
the  greatest  navy  of  any  enemy  if,  instead  of  building 
huge  great  ships  and  second  and  third  rates,  they  would 
leave  off  building  such  high  decks,  which  were  for  noth- 
ing but  to  gratify  gentlemen-commanders,  who  must  have 
all  their  effeminate  accommodations,  and  for  pomp;  that 
it  would  be  the  ruin  of  our  fleets,  if  such  persons  were 
continued  in  command,  they  neither  having  experience 
nor  being  capable  of  learning,  because  they  would  not 
submit  to  the  fatigue  and  inconvenience  which  those  who 
were  bred  seamen  would  undergo,  in  those  so  otherwise 
useful  swift  frigates.  These  being  to  encounter  the  great- 
est ships  would  be  able  to  protect,  set  on,  and  bring  off, 
those  who  should  manage  the  fire  ships,  and  the  Prince 
who  should  first  store  himself  with  numbers  of  such  fire 
ships,  would,  through  the  help  and  countenance  of  such 
frigates,  be  able  to  ruin  the  greatest  force  of  such  vast 
ships  as  could  be  sent  to  sea,  by  the  dexterity  of  work- 
ing those  light,  swift  ships  to  guard  the  fire  ships.  He 
concluded  there  would  shortly  be  no  other  method  of 
seafight ;  and  that  great  ships  and  men-of-war,  however 
stored  with  guns  and  nien,  must  submit  to  those  who 
should  encounter  them  with  far  less  number.  He  repre- 
sented to  us  the  dreadful  effect  of  these  fire  ships;  that 
he  continually  observed  in  our  late  maritime  war  with 
the  Dutch  that,  when  an  enemy's  fire  ship  approached, 
the  most  valiant  commander  and  common  sailors  were  in 
such  consternation,  that  though  then,  of  all  times,  there 


302  DIARY   OF  London 

was  most  need  of  the  guns,  bombs,  etc.,  to  keep  the 
mischief  off,  they  grew  pale  and  astonished,  as  if  of  a  quite 
other  mean  soul,  that  they  slunk  about,  forsook  their 
guns  and  work  as  if  in  despair,  every  one  looking  about 
to  see  which  way  they  might  get  out  of  their  ship,  though 
sure  to  be  drowned  if  they  did  so.  This  he  said  was 
likely  to  prove  hereafter  the  method  of  seafight,  likely 
to  be  the  misfortune  of  England  if  they  continued  to  put 
gentlemen-commanders  over  experienced  seamen,  on  ac- 
count of  their  ignorance,  effeminacy,  and  insolence. 

9th  March,  1690.  Preached  at  Whitehall  Dr.  Burnet,  late 
Bishop  of  Sarum,  on  Heb.  iv,  13,  anatomically  describing 
the  texture  of  the  eye;  and  that,  as  it  received  such  in- 
numerable sorts  of  spies  through  so  very  small  a  passage 
to  the  brain,  and  that  without  the  least  confusion  or 
trouble,  and  accordingly  judged  and  reflected  on  them ;  so 
God  who  made  this  sensory,  did  with  the  greatest  ease 
and  at  once  see  all  that  was  done  through  the  vast  uni- 
verse, even  to  the  very  thought  as  well  as  action.  This 
similitude  he  continued  with  much  perspicuity  and  apt- 
ness;  and  applied  it  accordingly,  for  the  admonishing  us 
how  uprightly  we  ought  to  live  and  behave  ourselves 
before  such  an  all-seeing  Deity ;  and  how  we  were  to  con- 
ceive of  other  his  attributes,  which  we  could  have  no 
idea  of  than  by  comparing  them  by  what  we  were  able  to 
conceive  of  the  nature  and  power  of  things,  which  were 
the  objects  of  our  senses;  and  therefore  it  was  that  in 
Scripture  we  attribute  those  actions  and  affections  of  God 
by  the  same  of  man,  not  as  adequately  or  in  any  pro- 
portion like  them,  but  as  the  only  expedient  to  make  some 
resemblance  of  his  divine  perfections ;  as  when  the  Scrip- 
ture says,  **  God  will  remember  the  sins  of  the  penitent 
no  more:''  not  as  if  God  could  forget  anything,  but  as 
intimating  he  would  pass  by  such  penitents  and  receive 
them  to  mercy. 

I  dined  at  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph's,  Almoner  to  the 
new  Queen,  with  the  famous  lawyer  Sir  George  Mac- 
kenzie (late  Lord  Advocate  of  Scotland),  against  whom 
both  the  Bishop  and  myself  had  written  and  published 
books,  but  now  most  friendly  reconciled.*     He  related  to 

•  Sir  George,  as  we  have  seen,  had  written  in  praise  of  a  Private  Life, 
which  Mr.  Evelyn  answered  by  a  book  in  praise  of  Public  Life  and  Ac- 
tive Employment. 


1690  JOHN  EVELYN  303 

us  many  particulars  of  Scotland,  the  present  sad  condi- 
tion of  it,  the  inveterate  hatred  which  the  Presbyterians 
show  to  the  family  of  the  Stuarts,  and  the  exceeding 
tyranny  of  those  bigots  who  acknowledge  no  superior  on 
earth,  in  civil  or  divine  matters,  maintaining  that  the 
people  only  have  the  right  of  government ;  their  implaca- 
ble hatred  to  the  Episcopal  Order  and  Church  of  Eng- 
land. He  observed  that'"  the  first  Presbyterian  dissents 
from  our  discipline  were  introduced  by  the  Jesuits*  order, 
about  the  20  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  a  famous  Jesuit  among 
them  feigning  himself  a  Protestant,  and  who  was  the  first 
who  began  to  pray  extempore,  and  brought  in  that  which 
they  since  called,  and  are  still  so  fond  of,  praying  by 
the  Spirit.  This  Jesuit  remained  many  years  before  he 
was  discovered,  afterward  died  in  Scotland,  where  he 
was  buried  at  .  .  .  having  yet  on  his  monument, 
®  Rosa  inter  spinas.  * 

nth  March,  1690.  I  went  again  to  see  Mr.  Charlton's 
curiosities,  both  of  art  and  nature,  and  his  full  and  rare 
collection  of  medals,  which  taken  altogether,  in  all  kinds, 
is  doubtless  one  of  the  most  perfect  assemblages  of  rar- 
ities that  can  be  any  where  seen.  I  much  admired  the 
contortions  of  the  Thea  root,  which  was  so  perplexed, 
large,  and  intricate,  and  withal  hard  as  box,  that  it  was 
wonderful  to  consider.  The  French  have  landed  in  Ire- 
land. 

1 6th  March,   1690.     A  public  fast. 

24th  May,  1690.  City  charter  restored.  Divers  ex- 
empted from  pardon. 

4th  June,  1690.  King  William  set  forth  on  his  Irish 
expedition,  leaving  the  Queen  Regent. 

loth  June,  1690.  Mr.  Pepys  read  to  me  his  Remon- 
strance, showing  with  what  malice  and  injustice  he  was 
suspected  with  Sir  Anthony  Deane  about  the  timber,  of 
which  the  thirty  ships  were  built  by  a  late  Act  of  Par- 
liament, with  the  exceeding  danger  which  the  fleet  would 
shortly  be  in,  by  reason  of  the  tyranny  and  incompetency 
of  those  who  now  managed  the  Admiralty  and  affairs  of 
the  Navy,  of  which  he  gave  an  accurate  state,  and  showed 
his  great  ability. 

1 8th  June,  1690.  Fast  day.  Visited  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaph;  his  conversation  was  on  the  Vaudois  in  Savoy, 
who    had    been    thought    so    near   destruction   and  final 


304  DIARY  OF  London 

extirpation  by  the  French,  being  totally  given  up  to 
slaughter,  so  that  there  were  no  hopes  for  them ;  but  now 
it  pleased  God  that  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  who  had  hitherto 
joined  with  the  French  in  their  persecution,  being  now 
pressed  by  them  to  deliver  up  Saluzzo  and  Turin  as 
cautionary  towns,  on  suspicion  that  he  might  at  last 
come  into  the  Confederacy  of  the  German  Princes,  did 
secretly  concert  measures  with,  and  afterward  declared 
for,  them.  He  then  invited  these  poor  people  from  their 
dispersion  among  the  mountains  whither  they  had  fled, 
and  restored  them  to  their  country,  their  dwellings,  and 
the  exercise  of  their  religion,  and  begged  pardon  for  the 
ill  usage  they  had  received,  charging  it  on  the  cruelty 
of  the  French  who  forced  him  to  it.  These  being  the 
remainder  of  those  persecuted  Christians  which  the  Bishop 
of  St.  Asaph  had  so  long  affirmed  to  be  the  two  witnesses 
spoken  of  in  the  Revelation,  who  should  be  killed  and 
brought  to  life  again,  it  was  looked  on  as  an  extraor- 
dinary thing  that  this  prophesying  Bishop  should  persuade 
two  fugitive  ministers  of  the  Vaudois  to  return  to  their 
country,  and  furnish  them  with  ;^2o  toward  their  journey, 
at  that  very  time  when  nothing  but  universal  destruction 
was  to  be  expected,  assuring  them  and  showing  them 
from  the  Apocalypse,  that  their  countrymen  should  be 
returned  safely  to  their  country  before  they  arrived. 
This  happening  contrary  to  all  expectation  and  appear- 
ance, did  exceedingly  credit  the  Bishop's  confidence  how 
that  prophecy  of  the  witnesses  should  come  to  pass,  just 
at  the  time,  and  the  very  month,  he  had  spoken  of  some 
years  before. 

I  afterward  went  with  him  to  Mr.  Boyle  and  Lady 
Ranelagh  his  sister,  to  whom  he  explained  the  necessity 
of  it  so  fully,  and  so  learnedly  made  out,  with  what 
events  were  immediately  to  follow,  viz,  the  French  King's 
ruin,  the  calling  of  the  Jews  to  be  near  at  hand,  but 
that  the  Kingdom  of  Antichrist  would  not  yet  be  utterly 
destroyed  till  thirty  years,  when  Christ  should  begin  the 
Millenium,  not  as  personally  and  visibly  reigning  on 
earth,  but  that  the  true  religion  and  universal  peace 
should  obtain  through  all  the  world.  He  showed  how 
Mr.  Brightman,  Mr.  Mede,  and  other  interpreters  of  these 
events  failed,  by  mistaking  and  reckoning  the  year  as 
the  Latins  and  others  did,  to  consist  of  the  present   cal- 


1690  JOHN  EVELYN  305 

culation,  so  many  days  to  the  year,  whereas  the  Apoca- 
lypse reckons  after  the  Persian  account,  as  Daniel  did, 
whose  visions  St.  John  all  along  explains  as  meaning 
only  the  Christian  Church. 

24th  June,  1690.  Dined  with  Mr.  Pepys,  who  the  next 
day  was  sent  to  the  Gatehouse,*  and  several  great  per- 
sons to  the  Tower,  on  suspicion  of  being  afifected  to  King 
James;  among  them  was  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  the  Queen's 
uncle.  King  William  having  vanquished  King  James  in 
Ireland,  there  was  much  public  rejoicing.  It  seems  the 
Irish  in  King  James's  army  would  not  stand,  but  the 
English-Irish  and  French  made  great  resistance.  Schom- 
berg  was  slain,  and  Dr.  Walker,  who  so  bravely  defended 
Londonderry.  King  William  received  a  slight  wound  by 
the  grazing  of  a  cannon  bullet  on  his  shoulder,  which  he 
endured  with  very  little  interruption  of  his  pursuit.  Ham- 
ilton, who  broke  his  word  about  Tyrconnel,  was  taken. 
It  is  reported  that  King  James  is  gone  back  to  France. 
Drogheda  and  Dublin  surrendered,  and  if  King  William 
be  returning,  we  may  say  of  him  as  Caesar  said,  *  Veni^ 
vidi^  vici?^  But  to  alloy  much  of  this,  the  French  fleet 
rides  in  our  channel,  ours  not  daring  to  interpose,  and 
the  enemy  threatening  to  land. 

27th  June,  1690.  I  went  to  visit  some  friends  in  the 
Tower,  when  asking  for  Lord  Clarendon,  they  by  mis- 
take directed  me  to  the  Earl  of  Torrington,  who  about 
three  days  before  had  been  sent  for  from  the  fleet,  and 
put  into  the  Tower  for  cowardice  and  not  fighting  the 
French  fleet,  which  having  beaten  a  squadron  of  the  Hol- 
landers, while  Torrington  did  nothing,  did  now  ride  mas- 
ters of  the  sea,  threatening  a  descent. 

20th  July,  1690.  This  afternoon  a  camp  of  about  4,000 
men  was  begun  to  be  formed  on  Blackheath. 

30th  July,  1690.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Pepys,  now  suffered 
to  return  to  his  house,  on  account  of  indisposition. 

I  St  August,  1690.  The  Duke  of  Grafton  came  to  visit 
me,  going  to  his  ship  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  in  his 
way  to  Ireland  (where  he  was  slain). 

3d  August,  1690.     The  French  landed  some  soldiers  at 

•Poor  Pepys,  as  the  reader  knows,  had  akeady  undergone  an  im- 
prisonment, with  perhaps  just  as  much  reason  as  the  present,  on  the 
absurd  accusation  of  having  sent  information  to  the  French  Court  of 
the  state  of  the  English  Navy. 

20 


3o6  DIARY  OF  London 

Teignmouth,  in  Devon,  and  burned  some  poor  houses.  The 
French  fleet  still  hovering  about  the  western  coast,  and 
we  having  300  sail  of  rich  merchant-ships  in  the  bay  of 
Plymouth,  our  fleet  began  to  move  toward  them,  under 
three  admirals.  The  country  in  the  west  all  on  their 
guard.  A  very  extraordinary  fine  season;  but  on  the  12th 
was  a  very  great  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning,  and  on 
the  15th  the  season  much  changed  to  wet  and  cold. 
The  militia  and  trained  bands,  horse  and  foot,  which 
were  up  through  England,  were  dismissed.  The  French 
King  having  news  that  King  William  was  slain,  and  his 
army  defeated  in  Ireland,  caused  such  a  triumph  at  Paris, 
and  all  over  France,  as  was  never  heard  of ;  when,  in  the 
midst  of  it,  the  unhappy  King  James  being  vanquished, 
by  a  speedy  flight  and  escape,  himself  brought  the  news 
of  his  own  defeat. 

15  th  August,  1690.  I  was  desired  to  be  one  of  the 
bail  of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  for  his  release  from  the 
Tower,  with  divers  noblemen.  The  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph 
expounds  his  prophecies  to  me  and  Mr.  Pepys,  etc.  The 
troops  from  Blackheath  march  to  Portsmouth.  That  sweet 
and  hopeful  youth.  Sir  Charles  Tuke,  died  of  the  wounds 
he  received  in  the  fight  of  the  Boyne,  to  the  great  sorrow 
of  all  his  friends,  being  (I  think)  the  last  male  of  that 
family,  to  which  my  wife  is  related.  A  more  virtuous 
young  gentleman  I  never  knew;  he  was  learned  for  his 
age,  having  had  the  advantage  of  the  choicest  breeding 
abroad,  both  as  to  arts  and  arms;  he  had  traveled  much, 
but  was  so  unhappy  as  to  fall  in  the  side  of  his  unfor- 
tunate King. 

The  unseasonable  and  most  tempestuous  weather  hap- 
pening, the  naval  expedition  is  hindered,  and  the  extrem- 
ity of  wet  causes  the  siege  of  Limerick  to  be  raised. 
King  William  returned  to  England.  Lord  Sidney  left 
Governor  of  what  is  conquered  in  Ireland,  which  is  near 
three  parts  [in  four]. 

17th  August,  1690.  A  public  feast.  An  extraordinary 
sharp,  cold,  east  wind. 

12th  October,  1690.  The  French  General,  with  Tyrcon- 
nel  and  their  forces,  gone  back  to  France,  beaten  out  by 
King  William.  Cork  delivered  on  discretion.  The  Duke 
of  Grafton  was  there  mortally  wounded  and  dies.  Very 
great    storms    of    wind.     The    8th    of    this    month    Lord 


1690-91  JOHN   EVELYN  307 

Spencer  wrote  me  word  from  Althorpe,  that  there  hap- 
pened an  earthquake  the  day  before  in  the  morning, 
which,  though  short,  sensibly  shook  the  house.  The 
^^  Gazette  '*  acquainted  us  that  the  like  happened  at  the  same 
time,  half-past  seven,  at  Barnstaple,  Holyhead,  and  Dub- 
lin.    We  were  not  sensible  of  it  here. 

26th  October,  1690,  Kinsale  at  last  surrendered,  mean- 
time King  James's  party  bum  all  the  houses  they  have  in 
their  power,  and  among  them  that  stately  palace  of  Lord 
Ossory's,  which  lately  cost,  as  reported,  ^40,000  By  a 
disastrous  accident,  a  third-rate  ship,  the  Breda,  blew  up 
and  destroyed  all  on  board;  in  it  were  twenty-five  pris 
oners  of  war.  She  was  to  have  sailed  for  England  the 
next  day. 

3d  November,  1690.  Went  to  the  Countess  of  Clan- 
carty,  to  condole  with  her  concerning  her  debauched  and 
dissolute  son,  who  had  done  so  much  mischief  in  Ireland, 
now  taken  and  brought  prisoner  to  the  Tower. 

1 6th  November,  1690.  Exceeding  great  storms,  yet  a 
warm  season 

23d  November,  1690.  Carried  Mr.  Pepys's  memorials 
to  Lord  Godolphin,  now  resuming  the  commission  of  the 
Treasury,  to  the  wonder  of  all  his  friends. 

ist  December,  1690.  Having  been  chosen  President 
of  the  Royal  Society,  I  desired  to  decline  it,  and  with 
great  difiiculty  devolved  the  election  on  Sir  Robert 
Southwell,  Secretary  of  State  to  King  William  in  Ireland. 

20th  December,  1690.  Dr.  Hough,  President  of  Mag- 
dalen College,  Oxford,  who  was  displaced  with  several 
of  the  Fellows  for  not  taking  the  oath  imposed  by  King 
James,  now  made  a  Bishop  Most  of  this  month  cold 
and  frost  One  Johnson,  a  Knight,  was  executed  at  Ty- 
burn for  being  an  accomplice  with  Campbell,  brother  to 
Lord  Argyle,  in  stealing  a  young   heiress. 

4th  January,  1690-91.  This  week  a  plot  was  discov- 
ered for  a  general  rising  against  the  new  Government, 
for  which  (Henry)  Lord  Clarendon  and  others  were  sent 
to  the  Tower  The  next  day,  I  went  to  see  Lord  Clar- 
endon. The  Bishop  of  Ely  searched  for.  Trial  of  Lord 
Preston,  as  not  being  an  English  Peer,  hastened  at  the 
Old  Bailey. 

1 8th  January,  1691.  Lord  Preston  condemned  about  a 
design  to  bring  in  King  James  by  the   French.     Ash  ton 


3o8  DIARY     OF  London 

executed.  The  Bishop  of  Ely,  Mr.  Graham,  etc.,  ab- 
sconded. 

13th  March,  1691.  I  went  to  visit  Monsieur  Justell 
and  the  Library  at  St.  James's,  in  which  that  learned 
man  had  put  the  MSS.  (which  were  in  good  number) 
into  excellent  order,  they  having  lain  neglected  for 
many  years  Divers  medals  had  been  stolen  and  em- 
bezzled. 

2ist  March,  1691.  Dined  at  Sir  William  Fermor's, 
who  showed  me  many  good  pictures.  After  dinner,  a 
French  servant  played  rarely  oil  the  lute.  Sir  William 
had  now  bought  all  the  remaining  statues  collected 
with  so  much  expense  by  the  famous  Thomas,  Earl  of 
Arundel,  and  sent  them  to  his  seat  at  Easton,  near  Tow- 
cester.  * 

25th  March,  1691.  Lord  Sidney,  principal  Secretary 
of  State,  gave  me  a  letter  to  Lord  Lucas,  Lieutenant  of 
the  Tower,  to  permit  me  to  visit  Lord  Clarendon;  which 
this  day  I  did,  and  dined  with  him. 

loth  April,  1 69 1.  This  night,  a  sudden  and  terrible 
fire  burned  down  all  the  buildings  over  the  stone  gallery 
at  Whitehall  to  the  water  side,  beginning  at  the  apart- 
ment of  the  late  Duchess  of  Portsmouth  (which  had  been 
pulled  down  and  rebuilt  no  less  than  three  times  to 
please  her),  and  consuming  other  lodgings  of  such  lewd 
creatures,  who  debauched  both  King  Charles  II.  and 
others,  and  were  his  destruction. 

The  King  returned  out  of  Holland  just  as  this  accident 
happened  —  Proclamation  against  the  Papists,  etc. 

1 6th  April,  1691.  I  went  to  see  Dr.  Sloane's  curiosities, 
being  an  universal  collection  of  the  natural  productions 
of  Jamaica,  consisting  of  plants,  fruits,  corals,  minerals, 
stones,  earth,  shells,  animals,  and  insects,  collected  with 
great  judgment;  several  folios  of  dried  plants,  and  one 
which  had  about  80  several  sorts  of  ferns,  and  another 
of  grasses;  the  Jamaica  pepper,  in  branch,  leaves,  flower, 
fruit,  etc.  This  collection,!  with  his  Journal  and  other 
philosophical  and  natural  discourses  and  observations, 
indeed    very    copious     and     extraordinary,    sufficient    to 

*  They  are  now  at  Oxford,  having  been  presented  to  the  University 
in  1755  by  Henrietta,  Countess  Dowager  of  Pomfret,  widow  of  Thomas, 
the  first  Earl. 

f  It  now  forms  part  of  the  collection  in  the  British  Museum. 


1 69 1  JOHN    EVELYN  309 

furnish  a  history  of  that  island,  to  which  I  encouraged 
him. 

19th  April,  1 69 1.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and 
Bishops  of  Ely,  Bath  and  Wells,  Peterborough,  Glouces- 
ter, and  the  rest  who  would  not  take  the  oaths  to  King 
William,  were  now  displaced;  and  in  their  rooms.  Dr. 
Tillotson,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  was  made  Archbishop: 
Patrick  removed  from  Chichester  to  Ely;  Cumberland  to 
Gloucester. 

22d  April,  1691.  I  dined  with  Lord  Clarendon  in  the 
Tower. 

24th  April,  1 691.  I  visited  the  Earl  and  Countess  of 
Sunderland,  now  come  to  kiss  the  King's  hand  after  his 
return  from  Holland.  This  is  a  mystery.  The  King  pre- 
paring to  return  to  the  army. 

7th  May,  1 69 1.  I  went  to  visit  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  [  Bancroft  ]  yet  at  Lambeth.  I  found  him 
alone,  and  discoursing  of  the  times,  especially  of  the  newly 
designed  Bishops ;  he  told  me  that  by  no  canon  or  divine 
law  they  could  justify  the  removing  of  the  present  incum- 
bents; that  Dr.  Beveridge,  designed  Bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells,  came  to  ask  his  advice;  that  the  Archbishop  told 
him,  though  he  should  give  it,  he  believed  he  would  not 
take  it;  the  Doctor  said  he  would;  why  then,  says  the 
Archbishop,  when  they  come  to  ask,  say  *iVi?/c?,*  and  say 
it  from  the  heart ;  there  is  nothing  easier  than  to  resolve 
yourself  what  is  to  be  done  in  the  case:  the  Doctor 
seemed  to  deliberate.  What  he  will  do  I  know  not,  but 
Bishop  Ken,  who  is  to  be  put  out,  is  exceedingly  beloved 
in  his  diocese;  and,  if  he  and  the  rest  should  insist  on 
it,  and  plead  their  interest  as  freeholders,  it  is  believed 
there  would  be  difficulty  in  their  case,  and  it  may  endan- 
ger a  schism  and  much  disturbance,  so  as  wise  men  think 
it  had  been  better  to  have  let  them  alone,  than  to  have 
proceeded  with  this  rigor  to  turn  them  out  for  refusing 
to  swear  against  their  consciences.  I  asked  at  parting, 
when  his  Grace  removed;  he  said  that  he  had  not  yet 
received  any  summons,  but  I  found  the  house  altogether 
disfumished  and  his  books  packed  up. 

I  St  June,  1 69 1.  I  went  with  my  son,  and  brother-in- 
law,  Glanville,  and  his  son,  to  Wotton,  to  solemnize  the 
funeral  of  my  nephew,  which  was  performed  the  next 
day    very    decently    and   orderly   by    the    herald    in    the 


310  DIARY  OF  London 

afternoon,  a  very  great  appearance  of  the  country  being 
there.  I  was  the  chief  mourner;  the  pall  was  held  by 
Sir  Francis  Vincent,  Sir  Richard  Onslow,  Mr.  Thomas 
Howard  (son  to  Sir  Robert,  and  Captain  of  the  King's 
Guard),  Mr.  Hyldiard,  Mr.  James,  Mr.  Herbert,  nephew 
to  Lord  Herbert  of  Cherbury,  and  cousin-german  to  my 
deceased  nephew.  He  was  laid  in  the  vault  at  Wotton 
Church,  in  the  burying  place  of  the  family.  A  great 
concourse  of  coaches  and  people  accompanied  the  so- 
lemnity. 

loth  June,  1691.  I  went  to  visit  Lord  Clarendon,  still 
prisoner  in  the  Tower,  though  Lord  Preston  being  par- 
doned was  released. 

17th  June,   1 69 1.     A  fast. 

nth  July,  1 69 1,  I  dined  with  Mr,  Pepys,  where  was 
Dr.  Cumberland,  the  new  Bishop  of  Norwich,*  Dr.  Lloyd 
having  been  put  out  for  not  acknowledging  the  Govern- 
ment. Cumberland  is  a  very  learned,  excellent  man. 
Possession  was  now  given  to  Dr.  Tillotson,  at  Lambeth, 
by  the  Sheriff;  Archbishop  Sancroft  was  gone,  but  had 
left  his  nephew  to  keep  possession;  and  he  refusing  to 
deliver  it  up  on  the  Queen's  message,  was  dispossessed 
by  the  Sheriff,  and  imprisoned.  This  stout  demeanor  of 
the  few  Bishops  who  refused  to  take  the  oaths  to  King 
William,  animated  a  great  party  to  forsake  the  churches, 
so  as  to  threaten  a  schism;  though  those  who  looked 
further  into  the  ancient  practice,  found  that  when  (as 
formerly)  there  were  Bishops  displaced  on  secular  ac- 
counts, the  people  never  refused  to  acknowledge  the  new 
Bishops,  provided  they  were  not  heretics.  The  truth  is, 
the  whole  clergy  had  till  now  stretched  the  duty  of 
passive  obedience,  so  that  the  proceedings  against  these 
Bishops  gave  no  little  occasion  of  exceptions;  but  this 
not  amounting  to  heresy,  there  was  a  necessity  of  re- 
ceiving the  new  Bishops,  to  prevent  a  failure  of  that 
order  in  the  Church.  I  went  to  visit  Lord  Clarendon 
in  the  Tower,  but  he  was  gone  into  the  country  for 
air  by  the  Queen's  permission,  under  the  care  of  his 
warden. 

1 8th  July,  1 69 1.  To  London  to  hear  Mr,  Stringfellow 
preach   his  first  sermon  in  the   newly  erected  Church   of 

*A  mistake.  Dr.  Cumberland  was  made  Bishop  of  Peterborough 
and  Dr.  John  Moore  succeeded  Dr.  Lloyd  in  the  see  of  Norwich. 


1691  JOHN   EVELYN  311 

Trinity,  in  Conduit  Street;  to  which  I  did  recommend 
him  to  Dr.  Tenison  for  the  constant  preacher  and  lec- 
turer. This  Church,  formerly  built  of  timber  on  Houn- 
slow-Heath  by  King  James  for  the  mass  priests,  being 
begged  by  Dr.  Tenison,  rector  of  St.  Martin's,  was  set 
up  by  that  public-minded,  charitable,  and  pious  man  near 
my  son's  dwelling  in  Dover  Street,  chiefly  at  the  charge 
of  the  Doctor.  I  know  him  to  be  an  excellent  preacher 
and  a  fit  person.  This  Church,  though  erected  in  St. 
Martin's,  which  is  the  Doctor's  parish,  he  was  not  only 
content,  but  was  the  sole  industrious  mover,  that  it  should 
be  made  a  separate  parish,  in  regard  of  the  neighbor- 
hood having  become  so  populous.  Wherefore  to  counte- 
nance and  introduce  the  new  minister,  and  take  possession 
of  a  gallery  designed  for  my  son's  family,  I  went  to 
London,  where, 

19th  July  1691.  In  the  morning  Dr.  Tenison  preached 
the  first  sermon,  taking  his  text  from  Psalm  xxvi.  8. 
^*  Lord,  I  have  loved  the  habitation  of  thy  house,  and  the 
place  where  thine  honor  dwelleth."  In  concluding,  he 
gave  that  this  should  be  made  a  parish  church  so  soon 
as  the  Parliament  sat,  and  was  to  be  dedicated  to  the 
Holy  Trinity,  in  honor  of  the  three  undivided  persons  in 
the  Deity;  and  he  minded  them  to  attend  to  that  faith 
of  the  church,  now  especially  that  Arianism,  Socinianism, 
and  atheism  began  to  spread  among  us.  In  the  after- 
noon, Mr.  Stringfellow  preached  on  Luke  vii.  5,  '^  The 
centurion  who  had  built  a  synagogue.*  He  proceeded  to 
the  due  praise  of  persons  of  such  public  spirit,  and  thence 
to  such  a  character  of  pious  benefactors  in  the  person 
of  the  generous  centurion,  as  was  comprehensive  of  all 
the  virtues  of  an  accomplished  Christian,  in  a  style  so 
full,  eloquent,  and  moving,  that  I  never  heard  a  sermon 
more  apposite  to  the  occasion.  He  modestly  insinuated 
the  obligation  they  had  to  that  person  who  should  be 
the  author  and  promoter  of  such  public  works  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind,  especially  to  the  advantage  of  religion, 
such  as  building  and  endowing  churches,  hospitals,  libra- 
ries, schools,  procuring  the  best  editions  of  useful  books, 
by  which  he  handsomely  intimated  who  it  was  that  had 
been  so  exemplary  for  his  benefaction  to  that  place. 
Indeed,  that  excellent  person.  Dr.  Tenison,  had  also  erected 
and  furnished  a  public  library  [in  St.   Martin's];  and  set 


312  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

up  two  or  three  free  schools  at  his  own  charges.  Besides 
this,  he  was  of  an  exemplary,  holy  life,  took  great  pains 
in  constantly  preaching,  and  incessantly  employing  him- 
self to  promote  the  service  of  God  both  in  public  and 
private.  I  never  knew  a  man  of  a  more  universal  and 
generous  spirit,  with  so  much  modesty,  prudence,  and 
piety. 

The  great  victory  of  King  William's  army  in  Ireland 
was  looked  on  as  decisive  of  that  war.  The  French 
General,  St.  Ruth,  who  had  been  so  cruel  to  the  poor 
Protestants  in  France,  was  slain,  with  divers  of  the  best 
commanders;  nor  was  it  cheap  to  us,  having  i,ooo  killed, 
but  of  the  enemy  4,000  or  5,000. 

26th  July,  1 69 1.  An  extraordinary  hot  season,  yet 
refreshed  by  some  thundershowers. 

28th  July,  1691.     I  went  to  Wotton. 

2d  August,  1 69 1.  No  sermon  in  the  church  in  the  after- 
noon, and  the  curacy  ill-served. 

1 6th  August,  1 69 1.  A  sermon  by  the  curate;  an  honest 
discourse,  but  read  without  any  spirit,  or  seeming  con- 
cern; a  great  fault  in  the  education  of  young  preachers. 
Great  thunder  and  lightning  on  Thursday,  but  the  rain 
and  wind  very  violent.  Our  fleet  come  in  to  lay  up  the 
great  ships;  nothing  done  at  sea,  pretending  that  we 
cannot  meet  the  French. 

13th  September,  1691.  A  gfreat  storm  at  sea;  we  lost 
the  ^Coronation*  and  "Harwich,*  above  600  men  perishing. 

14th  October,  1691.  A  most  pleasing  autumn.  Our 
navy  come  in  without  having  performed  anything,  yet 
there  has  been  great  loss  of  ships  by  negligence,  and 
unskillful  men  governing  the  fleet  and  Navy  board. 

7th  November,  1691.  I  visited  the  Earl  of  Dover,  who 
having  made  his  peace  with  the  King,  was  now  come 
home.  The  relation  he  gave  of  the  strength  of  the 
French  King,  and  the  difficulty  of  our  forcing  him  to 
fight,  and  any  way  making  impression  into  France,  was 
very  wide  from  what  we  fancied. 

8th  to  30th  November,  1691.  An  extraordinary  dry  and 
warm  season,  without  frost,  and  like  a  new  spring;  such 
as  had  not  been  known  for  many  years.  Part  of  the 
King's  house  at  Kensington  was  burned. 

6th  December,  1691.  Discourse  of  another  plot,  in  which 
several  great  persons  were    named,  but  believed  to  be  a 


1691-92  JOHN   EVELYN  313 

sham. — A  proposal  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  every 
officer  in  the  whole  nation  who  received  a  salary  above 
^^500  or  otherwise  by  virtue  of  his  office,  should  contrib- 
ute it  wholly  to  the  support  of  the  war  with  France,  and 
this  upon  their  oath. 

25th  December,  1691.  My  daughter-in-law  was  brought 
to  bed  of  a  daughter. 

26th  December,  1691.  An  exceedingly  dry  and  calm 
winter;  no  rain  for  many  past   months. 

28th  December,  1691.  Dined  at  Lambeth  with  the 
new  Archbishop.  Saw  the  effect  of  my  greenhouse  fur- 
nace, set  up  by  the  Archbishop's  son-in-law. 

30th  December,  1691.  I  again  saw  Mr.  Charlton's  col- 
lection of  spiders,  birds,  scorpions,  and  other  serpents, 
etc. 

ist  January,  1691-92.  This  last  week  died  that  pious, 
admirable  Christian,  excellent  philosopher,  and  my  worthy 
friend,  Mr.  Boyle,  aged  about  65, —  a  great  loss  to  all  that 
knew  him,  and  to  the  public. 

6th  January,  1692.  At  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Boyle,  at 
St.  Martin's,  Dr.  Burnet,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  preached 
on  Eccles.  ii.  26.  He  concluded  with  an  eulogy  due  to 
the  deceased,  who  made  God  and  religion  the  scope  of 
all  his  excellent  talents  in  the  knowledge  of  nature,  and 
who  had  arrived  to  so  high  a  degree  in  it,  accompanied 
with  such  zeal  and  extraordinary  piety,  which  he  showed 
in  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  particularly  in  his  ex- 
emplary charity  on  all  occasions, —  that  he  gave  ^^  1,000 
yearly  to  the  distressed  refugees  of  France  and  Ireland; 
was  at  the  charge  of  translating  the  Scriptures  into  the 
Irish  and  Indian  tongues,  and  was  now  promoting  a 
Turkish  translation,  as  he  had  formerly  done  of  Grotius 
"  on  the  Truth  of  the  Christian  Religion ''  into  Arabic, 
which  he  caused  to  be  dispersed  in  the  eastern  countries ; 
that  he  had  settled  a  fund  for  preachers  who  should 
preach  expressly  against  Atheists,  Libertines,  Socinians, 
and  Jews;  that  he  had  in  his  will  given  ;^8,ooo  to  char- 
itable uses ;  but  that  his  private  charities  were  extraordi- 
nary. He  dilated  on  his  learning  in  Hebrew  and  Greek, 
his  reading  of  the  fathers,  and  solid  knowledge  in  the- 
ology, once  deliberating  about  taking  Holy  Orders,  and 
that  at  the  time  of  restoration  of  King  Charles  II.,  when 
he  might  have  made  a  great  figure  in  the   nation  as  to 


314  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

secular  honor  and  titles,  his  fear  of  not  being  able  to 
discharge  so  weighty  a  duty  as  the  first,  made  him  de- 
cline that,  and  his  humility  the  other.  He  spoke  of  his 
civility  to  strangers,  the  great  good  which  he  did  by  his 
experience  in  medicine  and  chemistry,  and  to  what  noble 
ends  he  applied  himself  to  his  darling  studies ;  the  works, 
both  pious  and  useful,  which  he  published ;  the  exact  life 
he  led,  and  the  happy  end  he  made.  Something  was 
touched  of  his  sister,  the  Lady  Ranelagh,  who  died  but 
a  few  days  before  him.  And  truly  all  this  was  but  his 
due,  without  any  grain  of  flattery. 

This  week  a  most  execrable  murder  was  committed  on 
Dr.  Clench,  father  of  that  extraordinary  learned  child 
whom  I  have  before  noticed.  Under  pretense  of  carrying 
him  in  a  coach  to  see  a  patient,  they  strangled  him  in  it ; 
and,  sending  away  the  coachman  under  some  pretense, 
they  left  his  dead  body  in  the  coach,  and  escaped  in  the 
dusk  of  the  evening. 

12th  January,  1692.  My  granddaughter  was  christened 
by  Dr.  Tenison,  now  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  in  Trinity  Church, 
being  the  first  that  was  christened  there.  She  was  named 
Jane. 

24th  January,  1692.  A  frosty  and  dry  season  continued; 
many  persons  die  of  apoplexy,  more  than  usual.  Lord 
Marlborough,  Lieutenant-General  of  the  King's  army  in 
England,  gentleman  of  the  bedchamber,  etc.,  dismissed 
from  all  his  charges,  military  and  other,  for  his  excessive 
taking  of  bribes,  covetousness,  and  extortion  on  all  occa- 
sions from  his  inferior  officers.  Note,  this  was  the  Lord 
who  was  entirely  advanced  by  King  James,  and  was  the 
first  who  betrayed  and  forsook  his  master.  He  was  son 
of  Sir  Winston  Churchill  of  the  Greencloth. 

7th  February,  1692.  An  extraordinary  snow  fell  in  most 
parts. 

13th  February,  1692.  Mr.  Boyle  having  made  me  one  of 
the  trustees  for  his  charitable  bequests,  I  went  to  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  Sir  Rob.  .  .  .  wood,  and 
Serjeant,  Rotheram,  to  settle  that  clause  in  the  will  which 
related  to  charitable  uses,  and  especially  the  appointing 
and  electing  a  minister  to  preach  one  sermon  the  first 
Sunday  in  the  month,  during  the  four  summer  months, 
expressly  against  Atheists,  Deists,  Libertines,  Jews,  etc., 
without    descending  to  any   other  controversy  whatever, 


1692  JOHN  EVELYN  315 

for  which  j^^o  per  annum  is  to  be  paid  quarterly  to  the 
preacher;  and,  at  the  end  of  three  years,  to  proceed  to 
a  new  election  of  some  other  able  divine,  or  to  continue 
the  same,  as  the  trustees  should  judge  convenient.  We 
made  choice  of  one  Mr.  Bentley,  chaplain  to  the  Bishop 
of  Worcester  (Dr.  Stillingfleet).  The  first  sermon  was 
appointed  for  the  first  Sunday  in  March,  at  St.  Martin's; 
the  second  Sunday  in  April,  at  Bow  Church,  and  so 
alternately. 

28th  February,  1692.  Lord  Marlborough  having  used 
words  against  the  King,  and  been  discharged  from  all  his 
great  places,  his  wife  was  forbidden  the  Court,  and  the 
Princess  of  Denmark  was  desired  by  the  Queen  to  dismiss 
her  from  her  service;  but  she  refusing  to  do  so,  goes 
away  from  Court  to  Sion  house.  Divers  new  Lords  made : 
Sir  Henry  Capel,  Sir  William  Fermor,  etc.  Change  of 
Commissioners  in  the  Treasury.  The  Parliament  ad- 
journed, not  well  satisfied  with  affairs.  The  business  of 
the  East  India  Company,  which  they  would  have  reformed, 
let  fall.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk  does  not  succeed  in  his 
endeavor  to  be  divorced.* 

20th  March,  1692.  My  son  was  made  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Revenue  and  Treasury  of  Ireland,  to 
which  employment  he  had  a  mind,  far  from  my  wishes. 
I  visited  the  Earl  of  Peterborough,  who  showed  me 
the  picture  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  newly  brought  out  of 
France,  seeming  in  my  opinion  very  much  to  resemble 
the  Queen  his  mother,  and  of  a  most  vivacious  countenance. 

April,  1692.  No  spring  yet  appearing.  The  Queen 
Dowager  went  out  of  England  toward  Portugal,  as  pre- 
tended, against  the  advice  of  all  her  friends. 

4th  April,  1692.  Mr.  Bentley  preached  Mr.  Boyle's 
lecture  at  St.  Mary-le-Bow.  So  excellent  a  discourse 
against  the  Epicurean  system  is  not  to  be  recapitulated 
in  a  few  words.  He  came  to  me  to  ask  whether  I 
thought  it  should  be  printed,  or  that  there  was  anything 
in  it  which  I  desired  to  be  altered.  I  took  this  as  a 
civility,  and  earnestly  desired  it  should  be  printed,  as 
one  of  the  most  learned  and  convincing  discourses  I  had 
ever  heard. 

6th  April,  1692.  A  fast.  King  James  sends  a  letter 
written  and  directed  by  his  own  hand  to  several  of  the 
*  See  pos/  pp.  351-52. 


3i6  DIARY  OP  LONDON 

Privy  Council,  and  one  to  his  daughter,  the  Queen 
Regent,  informing  them  of  the  Queen  being  ready  to 
be  brought  to  bed,  and  summoning  them  to  be  at  the 
birth  by  the  middle  of  May,  promising  as  from  the 
French  King,  permission    to  come  and    return  in  safety. 

24th  April,  1692.  Much  apprehension  of  a  French 
invasion,  and  of  an  universal  rising.  Our  fleet  begins  to 
join  with  the  Dutch.  Unkindness  between  the  Queen 
and  her  sister.  Very  cold  and  unseasonable  weather, 
scarce  a  leaf  on  the  trees. 

5th  May,  1692,  Reports  of  an  invasion  were  very 
hot,  and  alarmed  the  city.  Court,  and  people;  nothing 
but  securing  suspected  persons,  sending  forces  to  the 
seaside,  and  hastening  out  the  fleet.  Continued  dis- 
course of  the  French  invasion,  and  of  ours  in  France. 
The  eastern  wind  so  constantly  blowing,  gave  our  fleet 
time  to  unite,  which  had  been  so  tardy  in  preparation, 
that,  had  not  God  thus  wonderfully  favored,  the  enemy 
would  in  all  probability  have  fallen  upon  us.  Many 
daily  secured,  and  proclamations  out  for  more  con- 
spirators. 

8th  May,  1692,  My  kinsman,  Sir  Edward  Evelyn,  of 
Long  Ditton,  died  suddenly. 

12th  May,   1692.     A  fast. 

13th  May,  1692.  I  dined  at  my  cousin  Cheny's,  son  to 
my  Lord  Cheny,  who  married  my  cousin  Pierpoint. 

15th  May,  1692.  My  niece,  M.  Evelyn,  was  now  mar- 
ried to  Sir  Cyril  Wyche,  Secretary  of  State  for  Ireland, 
After  all  our  apprehensions  of  being  invaded,  and 
doubts  of  our  success  by  sea,  it  pleased  God  to  give  us 
a  great  naval  victory,  to  the  utter  ruin  of  the  French 
fleet,  their  admiral  and  all  their  best  men-of-war,  trans- 
port-ships, etc. 

29th  May,  1692.  Though  this  day  was  set  apart 
expressly  for  celebrating  the  memorable  birth,  return, 
and  restoration  of  the  late  King  Charles  II.,  there  was 
no  notice  taken  of  it,  nor  any  part  of  the  office  annexed 
to  the  Common  Prayer  Book  made  use  of,  which  I 
think  was  ill  done,  in  regard  his  restoration  not  only 
redeemed  us  from  anarchy  and  confusion,  but  restored 
the  Church  of  England  as  it  were  miraculously. 

9th  June,  1692.  I  went  to  Windsor  to  carry  my  grand- 
son to  Eton  School,  where  I    met    my  Lady    Stonehouse 


i62f  JOHN   EVELYN  317 

and  other  of  my  daughter-in-law's  relations,  who  came  on 
purpose  to  see  her  before  her  journey  into  Ireland.  We 
went  to  see  the  castle,  which  we  found  furnished  and 
very  neatly  kept,  as  formerly,  only  that  the  arms  in  the 
g^ard  chamber  and  keep  were  removed  and  carried  away. 
An  exceeding  great  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  in  some 
places  stripping  the  trees  of  their  fruit  and  leaves  as  if 
it  had  been  winter;  and  an  extraordinary  wet  season, 
with  great   floods. 

23d  July,  1692.  I  went  with  my  wife,  son,  and  daugh- 
ter, to  Eton,  to  see  my  grandson,  and  thence  to  my  Lord 
Godolphin's,  at  Cranburn,  where  we  lay,  and  were  most 
honorably  entertained.  The  next  day  to  St.  George's 
Chapel,  and  returned  to  London  late  in  the  even- 
ing. 

25th  July,  1692.  To  Mr.  Hewer's  at  Clapham,  where 
he  has  an  excellent,  useful,  and  capacious  house  on  the 
Common,  built  by  Sir  Den.  Gauden,  and  by  him  sold  to 
Mr.  Hewer,  who  got  a  very  considerable  estate  in  the 
Navy,  in  which,  from  being  Mr.  Pepys's  clerk,  he  came 
to  be  one  of  the  principal  officers,  but  was  put  out  of  all 
employment  on  the  Revolution,  as  were  all  the  best 
officers,  on  suspicion  of  being  no  friends  to  the  change; 
such  were  put  in  their  places,  as  were  most  shamefully 
ignorant  and  unfit.  Mr.  Hewer  lives  very  handsomely 
and  friendly  to  everybody.  Our  fleet  was  now  sailing 
on  their  long  pretense  of  a  descent  on  the  French  coast; 
but,  after  having  sailed  one  hundred  leagues,  returned, 
the  admiral  and  officers  disagreeing  as  to  the  place  where 
they  were  to  land,  and  the  time  of  year  being  so  far 
spent, —  to  the  great  dishonor  of  those  at  the  helm,  who 
concerted  their  matters  so  indiscreetly,  or,  as  some 
thought,  designedly. 

This  whole  summer  was  exceedingly  wet  and  rainy,  the 
like  had  not  been  known  since  the  year  1648;  while  in 
Ireland  they  had  not  known  so  great  a  drought. 

26th  July,  1692.  I  went  to  visit  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln, 
when,  among  other  things,  he  told  me  that  one  Dr. 
Chaplin,  of  University  College  in  Oxford,  was  the  per- 
son who  wrote  the  ^*  Whole  Duty  of  Man  " ;  that  he  used 
to  read  it  to  his  pupil,  and  communicated  it  to  Dr. 
Sterne,  afterward  Archbishop  of  York,  but  would  never 
suffer  any  of  his  pupils  to  have  a  copy  of  it. 


3r8  DIARY  OF  London 

9th  August,  1692.  A  fast.  Came  the  sad  news  of  the 
hurricane  and  earthquake,  which  has  destroyed  almost 
the  whole  Island  of  Jamaica,  many  thousands  having 
perished. 

nth  August,  1692.  My  son,  his  wife,  and  little  daugh- 
ter, went  for  Ireland,  there  to  reside  as  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Revenue. 

14th  August,  1692.     Still  an  exceedingly  wet  season. 

15th  September,  1692.  There  happened  an  earthquake, 
which,  though  not  so  great  as  to  do  any  harm  in  Eng- 
land, was  universal  in  all  these  parts  of  Europe.  It 
shook  the  house  at  Wotton,  but  was  not  perceived  by  any 
save  a  servant  or  two,  who  were  making  my  bed,  and  an- 
other in  a  garret.  I  and  the  rest  being  at  dinner  below 
in  the  parlor,  were  not  sensible  of  it.  The  dreadful  one 
in  Jamaica  this  summer  was  profanely  and  ludicrously 
represented  in  a  puppet  play,  or  some  such  lewd  pastime, 
in  the  fair  of  Southwark,  which  caused  the  Queen  to  put 
down  that  idle  and  vicious  mock  show. 

ist  October,  1692.  This  season  was  so  exceedingly 
cold,  by  reason  of  a  long  and  tempestuous  northeast  wind, 
that  this  usually  pleasant  month  was  very  uncomfortable. 
No  fruit  ripened  kindly.  Harbord  dies  at  Belgrade; 
Lord  Paget  sent  Ambassador  in  his  room. 

6th  November,  1692.  There  was  a  vestry  called  about 
repairing  or  new  building  of  the  church  [at  Deptford], 
which  I  thought  unseasonable  in  regard  of  heavy  taxes, 
and  other  improper  circumstances,  which  I  there  de- 
clared. 

loth  November,  1692.  A  solemn  Thanksgiving  for  our 
victory  at  sea,  safe  return  of  the  King,  etc. 

20th  November,  1692.  Dr.  Lancaster,  the  new  Vicar  of 
St.  Martin's,  preached. 

A  signal  robbery  in  Hertfordshire  of  the  tax  money 
bringing  out  of  the  north  toward  London.  They  were 
set  upon  by  several  desperate  persons,  who  dismounted 
and  stopped  all  travelers  on  the  road,  and  guarding  them 
in  a  field,  when  the  exploit  was  done,  and  the  treasure 
taken,  they  killed  all  the  horses  of  those  whom  they 
stayed,  to  hinder  pursuit,  being  sixteen  horses.  They  then 
dismissed  those  that  they  had  dismounted. 

14th  December,  1692.  With  much  reluctance  we  grati- 
fied   Sir  J.   Rotherham,  one   of   Mr,    Boyle's   trustees,  by 


1692-93  JOHN  EVELYN  319 

admitting  the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  "Wells  to  be  lecturer 
for  the  next  year,  instead  of  Mr.  Bentley,  who  had  so 
worthily  acquitted  himself.  We  intended  to  take  him  in 
again  the  next  year. 

January,  1692-93.  Contest  in  Parliament  about  a  self- 
denying  Act,  that  no  Parliament  man  should  have  any 
office;  it  wanted  only  two  or  three  voices  to  have  been 
carried.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk's  bill  for  a  divorce  thrown 
out,  he  having  managed  it  very  indiscreetly.  The  quar- 
rel between  Admiral  Russell  and  Lord  Nottingham  yet 
undetermined. 

4th  February,  1693.  After  five  days'  trial  and  extraor- 
dinary contest,  the  Lord  Mohun  was  acquitted  by  the 
Lords  of  the  murder  of  Montford,  the  player,  notwith- 
standing the  judges,  from  the  pregnant  witnesses  of  the 
fact,  had  declared  him  guilty;  but  whether  in  commiser- 
ation of  his  youth,  being  not  eighteen  years  old,  though 
exceedingly  dissolute,  or  upon  whatever  other  reason,  the 
King  himself  present  some  part  of  the  trial,  and  satisfied, 
as  they  report,  that  he  was  culpable.  69  acquitted  him, 
only  14  condemned  him. 

Unheard  of  stories  of  the  universal  increase  of  witches 
in  New  England;  men,  women,  and  children,  devoting 
themselves  to  the  devil,  so  as  to  threaten  the  subversion 
of  the  government.*  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  con- 
spiracy among  the  negroes  in  Barbadoes  to  murder  all 
their  masters,  discovered  by  overhearing  a  discourse  of 
two  of  the  slaves,  and  so  preventing  the  execution  of 
the  design.  Hitherto  an  exceedingly  mild  winter.  France 
in  the  utmost  misery  and  poverty  for  want  of  com  and 
subsistence,  while  the  ambitious  King  is  intent  to  pursue 
his  conquests  on  the  rest  of  his  neighbors  both  by  sea 
and  land.  Our  Admiral,  Russell,  laid  aside  for  not  pur- 
suing the  advantage  he  had  obtained  over  the  French  in 
the  past  summer;  three  others  chosen  in  his  place.  Dr. 
Burnet,  Bishop  of  Salisbury's  book  burned  by  the  hangman 
for  an   expression   of  the  King's  title  by   conquest,  on  a 

•  Some  account  of  these  poor  people  is  g^ven  in  Bray  and  Manning's 
« History  of  Surrey,*  ii.  714,  from  the  papers  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miller, 
Vicar  of  Efi&ngham.  in  that  county,  who  was  chaplain  to  the  King's 
forces  in  the  colony  from  1692  to  1695.  Some  of  the  accused  were 
convicted  and  executed;  but  Sir  William  Phipps,  the  Governor,  had 
the  good  sense  to  reprieve,  and  afterward  pardon,  several;  and  the 
^ueen  approved  his  conduct. 


320  DIARY    OP  LONDON 

complaint  of  Joseph  How,  a  member  of  Parliament, 
little  better  than  a  madman. 

19th  February,  1693.  The  Bishop  of  Lincoln  preached 
in  the  afternoon  at  the  Tabernacle  near  Golden  Square, 
set  up  by  him.  Proposals  of  a  marriage  between  Mr. 
Draper  and  my  daughter  Susanna.  Hitherto  an  exceed- 
ingly warm  winter,  such  as  has  seldom  been  known,  and 
portending  an  unprosperous  spring  as  to  the  fruits  of 
the  earth;  our  climate  requires  more  cold  and  winterly 
weather.  The  dreadful  and  astonishing  earthquake  swal- 
lowing up  Catania,  and  other  famous  and  ancient  cities, 
with  more  than  100,000  persons  in  Sicily,  on  nth  Janu- 
ary last,  came  now  to  be  reported  among  us. 

26th  February,  1693.  An  extraordinary  deep  snow, 
after  almost  no  winter,  and  a  sudden  gentle  thaw.  A 
deplorable  earthquake  at  Malta,  since  that  of  Sicily, 
nearly  as  great. 

19th  March,  1693.  A  new  Secretary  of  State,  Sir  John 
Trenchard;  the  Attorney-General,  Somers,  made  Lord- 
Keeper,  a  young  lawyer  of  extraordinary  merit.  King 
William  goes  toward  Flanders;  but  returns,  the  wind 
being  contrary, 

31st  March,  1693.  I  met  the  King  going  to  Gravesend 
to  embark  in  his  yacht  for  Holland. 

23d  April,  1693.     An  extraordinary  wet  spring. 

27th  April,  1693.  My  daughter  Susanna  was  married  to 
William  Draper,  Esq.,  in  the  chapel  of  Ely  House,  by 
Dr.  Tenison,  Bishop  of  Lincoln  (since  Archbishop).  I 
gave  her  in  portion  ;^4,ooo>  her  jointure  is  ;^5oo  per 
annum.  I  pray  Almighty  God  to  give  his  blessing  to 
this  marriage!  She  is  a  good  child,  religious,  discreet, 
ingenious,  and  qualified  with  all  the  ornaments  of  her 
sex.  She  has  a  peculiar  talent  in  design,  as  paint- 
ing in  oil  and  miniature,  and  an  extraordinary  genius  for 
whatever  hands  can  do  with  a  needle.  She  has  the 
French  tongue,  has  read  most  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
authors  and  poets,  using  her  talents  with  great  modesty ; 
exquisitely  shaped,  and  of  an  agreeable  countenance. 
This  character  is  due  to  her,  though  coming  from  her 
father.  Much  of  this  week  spent  in  ceremonies,  receiv- 
ing visits  and  entertaining  relations,  and  a  gfreat  pait  of 
the  next  in  returning  visits. 

nth  May,  1693.     We  accompanied  my  daughter  to  her 


i693  JOHN  EVELYN  321 

husband's  house,  where  with  many  of  his  and  our  rela- 
tions we  were  magnificently  treated.  There  we  left  her 
in  an  apartment  very  richly  adorned  and  furnished,  and 
I  hope  in  as  happy  a  condition  as  could  be  wished,  and 
with  the  great  satisfaction  of  all  our  friends;  for  which 
God  be  praised! 

14th  May,  1693.  Nothing  yet  of  action  from  abroad. 
Muttering  of  a  design  to  bring  forces  under  color  of  an 
expected  descent,  to  be  a  standing  army  for  other  pur- 
poses. Talk  of  a  declaration  of  the  French  King,  offering 
mighty  advantages  to  the  confederates,  exclusive  of  King 
William;  and  another  of  King  James,  with  an  universal 
pardon,  and  referring  the  composing  of  all  differences  to 
a  Parliament.  These  were  yet  but  discourses ;  but  some- 
thing is  certainly  under  it.  A  declaration  or  manifesto 
from  King  James,  so  written,  that  many  thought  it  rea- 
sonable, and  much  more  to  the  purpose  than  any  of  his 
former. 

June,  1693,  Whitsunday.  I  went  to  my  Lord  Griffith's 
chapel;  the  common  church  office  was  used  for  the  King 
without  naming  the  person,  with  some  other,  apposite  to 
the  necessity  and  circumstances  of  the  time. 

nth  June,  1693.  I  dined  at  Sir  William  Godolphin's; 
and,  after  evening  prayer,  visited  the  Duchess  of  Grafton. 

2ist  June,  1693.  I  saw  a  great  auction  of  pictures  in 
the  Banqueting  house,  Whitehall.  They  had  been  my 
Lord  Melford's,  now  Ambassador  from  King  James  at 
Rome,  and  engaged  to  his  creditors  here.  Lord  Mulgrave 
and  Sir  Edward  Seymour  came  to  my  house,  and  desired 
me  to  go  with  them  to  the  sale.  Divers  more  of  the 
great  lords,  etc.,  were  there,  and  bought  pictures  dear 
enough.  There  were  some  very  excellent  of  Vandyke, 
Rubens,  and  Bassan.  Lord  Godolphin  bought  the  pic- 
ture of  the  Boys,  by  Murillo  the  Spaniard,  for  80  guineas, 
dear  enough;  my  nephew  Glanville,  the  old  Earl  of 
Arundel's  head  by  Rubens,  for  ^20.  Growing  late,  I  did 
not  stay  till  all  were  sold. 

24th  June,  1693.  A  very  wet  hay  harvest,  and  little 
summer  as  yet. 

9th  July,  1693,  Mr.  Tippin,  successor  of  Dr.  Parr  at 
Camberwell,  preached  an  excellent  sermon. 

13th  July,  1693.  I  saw  the  Queen's  rare  cabinets  and 
collection  of  china ;  which  was  wonderfully  rich  and  plenti- 


322  DIARY    OF  LONDON 

ful,  but  especially  a  large  cabinet,  looking-glass  frame 
and  stands,  all  of  amber,  much  of  it  white,  with  his- 
torical bas-reliefs  and  statues,  with  medals  carved  in 
them,  esteemed  worth  ;^4,ooo,  sent  by  the  Duke  of  Bran- 
denburgh,  whose  country,  Prussia,  abounds  with  amber, 
cast  up  by  the  sea;  divers  other  China  and  Indian  cab- 
inets, screens,  and  hangings.  In  her  library  were  many 
books  in  English,  French,  and  Dutch,  of  all  sorts ;  a  cup- 
board of  gold  plate;  a  cabinet  of  silver  filagree,  which  I 
think  was  our  Queen  Mary's,  and  which,  in  my  opinion, 
should  have  been   generously  sent  to  her. 

1 8th  July,  1693.  I  dined  with  Lord  Mulgrave,  with 
the  Earl  of  Devonshire,  Mr.  Hampden  ( a  scholar  and 
fine  gentleman).  Dr.  Davenant,  Sir  Henry  Vane,  and 
others,  and  saw  and  admired  the  Venus  of  Correggio, 
which  Lord  Mulgrave  had  newly  bought  of  Mr.  Daun 
for  ;^25o;  one  of  the  best  paintings  I  ever  saw. 

ist  August,  1693.  Lord  Capel,  Sir  Cyril  Wyche,  and 
Mr.  Duncomb,  made  Lord  Justices  in  Ireland;  Lord 
Sydney  recalled,  and  made  Master  of  the  Ordnance. 

6th  August,  1693.  Very  lovely  harvest  weather,  and  a 
wholesome  season,  but  no  garden  fruit, 

31st  October,  1693.  A  verj'^  wet  and  uncomfortable 
season. 

12th  November,  1693.  Lord  Nottingham  resigned  as 
Secretary  of  State;  the  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty 
ousted,  and  Russell  restored  to  his  office.  The  season 
continued  very  wet,  as  it  had  nearly  all  the  summer,  if 
one  might  call  it  summer,  in  which  there  was  no  fruit, 
but  com  was  very  plentiful. 

14th  November,  1693.  In  the  lottery  set  up  after  the 
Venetian  manner  by  Mr.  Neale,  Sir  R.  Haddock,  one  of 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  had  the  greatest  lot, 
jCSfOoo;  my  coachman  ^40. 

17th  November,  1693.  Was  the  funeral  of  Captain 
Young,  who  died  of  the  stone  and  great  age.  I  think  he 
was  the  first  who  in  the  first  war  with  Cromwell  against 
Spain,  took  the  Governor  of  Havanna,  and  another  rich 
prize,  and  struck  the  first  stroke  against  the  Dutch  fleet 
in  the  first  war  with  Holland  in  the  time  of  the  Rebellion ; 
a  sober  man  and  an  excellent  seaman. 

30th  November,  1693.  Much  importuned  to  take  the 
office  of  .'.President   of    the  Royal    Society,  but    I    again 


1693-94  JOHN  EVELYN  323 

declined  it.  Sir  Robert  Southwell  was  continued.  We  all 
dined  at  Pontac's  as  usual. 

3d  December,  1693.  Mr.  Bentley  preached  at  the  Tab- 
ernacle, near  Golden  Square.  I  gave  my  voice  for  him 
to  proceed  on  his  former  subject  the  following  year  in 
Mr.  Boyle's  lecture,  in  which  he  had  been  interrupted  by 
the  importunity  of  Sir  J.  Rotheram  that  the  Bishop  of 
Chichester  *  might  be  chosen  the  year  before,  to  the  great 
dissatisfaction  of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  and  myself.  We 
chose  Mr.  Bentley  again.  The  Duchess  of  Grafton's  ap- 
peal to  the  House  of  Lords  for  the  Prothonotary's  place 
g^ven  to  the  late  Duke  and  to  her  son  by  King  Charles 
IL,  now  challenged  by  the  Lord  Chief  Justice.  The 
judges  were  severely   reproved   on  something  they  said. 

10th  December,  1693.  A  very  great  storm  of  thunder 
and  lightning. 

1st  January,  1693-94.  Prince  Lewis  of  Baden  came  to 
London,  and  was  much  feasted.  Danish  ships  arrested 
carrying  corn  and  naval  stores  to  France. 

nth  January,  1694.  Supped  at  Mr.  Edward  Sheldon's, 
where  was  Mr.  Dryden,  the  poet,  who  now  intended  to 
write  no  more  plays,  being  intent  on  his  translation  of 
Virgil.  He  read  to  us  his  prologue  and  epilogue  to  his 
valedictory  play  now  shortly  to  be  acted. 

2ist  January,  1694.  Lord  Macclesfield,  Lord  Warrington, 
and  Lord  Westmorland,  all  died  within  about  one  week. 
Several  persons  shot,  hanged,  and  made  away  with 
themselves. 

nth  February,  1694.  Now  was  the  great  trial  of  the 
appeal  of  Lord  Bath  and  Lord  Montagu  before  the  Lords, 
for  the  estate  of  the  late  Duke  of  Albemarle. 

loth  March,  1694.  Mr.  Stringfellow  preached  at  Trin- 
ity parish,  being  restored  to  that  place,  after  the  con- 
test between  the  Queen  and  the  Bishop  of  London  who 
had  displaced  him. 

2 2d  March,  1694.  Came  the  dismal  news  of  the  disas- 
ter befallen  our  Turkey  fleet  by  tempest,  to  the  almost  utter 
ruin  of  that  trade,  the  convoy  of  three  or  four  men-of-war, 
and  divers  merchant  ships,  with  all  their  men  and  lading, 
having  perished. 

25th  March,  1694.  Mr.  Goode,  minister  of  St.  Mar- 
tin's, preached;  he  was    likewise  put  in    by    the   Queen, 

*A  mistake  for  Bath  and  Wells.     Bishop  Kidder  is  referred  to. 


324  DIARY    OP  LONDOW 

on  the  issue  of  her  process  with  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don. 

30th  March,  1694.  I  went  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  to  de- 
sire him  to  make  cousin  Evelyn  of  Nutfield  one  of  the  Dep- 
uty-Lieutenants of  Surrey,  and  entreat  him  to  dismiss  my 
brother,  now  unable  to  serve  by  reason  of  age  and  infirm- 
ity. The  Duke  granted  the  one,  but  would  not  suffer  my 
brother  to  resign  his  commission,  desiring  he  should  keep 
the  honor  of  it  during  his  life,  though  he  could  not  act. 
He  professed  great  kindness  to  our  family. 

ist  April,  1694.  Dr.  Sharp,  Archbishop  of  York, 
preached  in  the  afternoon   at  the   Tabernacle,  by    Soho. 

13th  April,  1694.  Mr.  Bentley,  our  Boyle  Lecturer,  Chap- 
lain to  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  came  to  see  me. 

15th  April,  1694.  One  Mr.  Stanhope  preached  a  most 
excellent  sermon. 

2 2d  April,  1694.  A  fiery  exhalation  rising  out  of  the  sea, 
spread  itself  in  Montgomeryshire  a  furlong  broad,  and 
many  miles  in  length,  burning  all  straw,  hay,  thatch,  and 
grass,  but  doing  no  harm  to  trees,  timber,  or  any  solid 
things,  only  firing  barns,  or  thatched  houses.  It  left  such 
a  taint  on  the  grass  as  to  kill  all  the  cattle  that  eat  of 
it.  I  saw  the  attestations  in  the  hands  of  the  sufferers. 
It  lasted  many  months.  ^*  The  Berkeley  Castle  *  sunk  by 
the  French  coming  from  the  East  Indies,  worth  ;;i^2oo,ooo. 
The  French  took  our  castle  of  Gamboo  in  Guinea,  so  that 
the  Africa  Actions  fell  to  ^30,  and  the  India  to  j£8o. 
Some  regiments  of  Highland  Dragoons  were  on  their 
march  through  England ;  they  were  of  large  stature,  well 
appointed  and  disciplined.  One  of  them  having  reproached 
a  Dutchman  for  cowardice  in  our  late  fight,  was  attacked 
by  two  Dutchmen,  when  with  his  sword  he  struck  off  the 
head  of  one,  and  cleft  the  skull  of  the  other  down  to  his 
chin. 

A  very  young  gentleman  named  Wilson,  the  younger 
son  of  one  who  had  not  above  j^zoo  a  year  estate,  lived 
in  the  garb  and  equipage  of  the  richest  nobleman,  for 
house,  furniture,  coaches,  saddle  horses,  and  kept  a  table, 
and  all  things  accordingly,  redeemed  his  father's  estate, 
and  gave  portions  to  his  sisters,  being  challenged  by  one 
Laws,  a  Scotchman,  was  killed  in  a  duel,  not  fairly.  The 
quarrel  arose  from  his  taking  away  his  own  sister  from 
lodging  in  a  house  where  this  Laws  had  a  mistress,  which 


i694  JOHN  EVELYN  325 

the  mistress  of  the  house  thinking  a  disparagement  to  it, 
and  losing  by  it,  instigated  Laws  to  this  duel.  He  was 
taken  and  condemned  for  murder.  The  mystery  is  how 
this  so  young  a  gentleman,  very  sober  and  of  good  fame, 
could  live  in  such  an  expensive  manner;  it  could  not  be 
discovered  by  all  possible  industry,  or  entreaty  of  his 
friends  to  make  him  reveal  it.  It  did  not  appear  that  he 
was  kept  by  women,  play,  coining,  padding,  or  dealing  in 
chemistry ;  but  he  would  sometimes  say  that  if  he  should  live 
ever  so  long,  he  had  wherewith  to  maintain  himself  in 
the  same  manner.  He  was  very  civil  and  well-natured, 
but  of  no  great  force  of  understanding.  This  was  a  sub- 
ject of  much  discourse. 

24th  April,  1694.  I  went  to  visit  Mr.  Waller,  an  ex- 
traordinary young  gentleman  of  great  accomplishments, 
skilled  in  mathematics,  anatomy,  music,  painting  both  in 
oil  and  jniniature  to  great  perfection,  an  excellent  bota- 
nist, a  rare  engraver  on  brass,  writer  in  Latin,  and  a  poet ; 
and  with  all  this  exceedingly  modest.  His  house  is  an 
academy  of  itself.  I  carried  him  to  see  Brompton  Park 
[by  Knightsbridge],  where  he  was  in  admiration  at  the 
store  of  rare  plants,  and  the  method  he  found  in  that 
noble  nursery,  and  how  well  it  was  cultivated.  A  public 
Bank  of  ;^  140, 000,  set  up  by  Act  of  Parliament  among 
other  Acts,  and  Lotteries  for  money  to  carry  on  the  war. 
The  whole  month  of  April  without  rain.  A  great  rising 
of  people  in  Buckinghamshire,  on  the  declaration  of  a 
famous  preacher,  till  now  reputed  a  sober  and  religious 
man,  that  our  Lord  Christ  appearing  to  him  on  the  i6th 
of  this  month,  told  him  he  was  now  come  down,  and 
would  appear  publicly  at  Pentecost,  and  gather  all  the 
saints,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  lead  them  to  Jerusalem, 
and  begin  the  Millennium,  and  destroying  and  judging 
the  wicked,  deliver  the  government  of  the  world  to  the 
saints.  Great  multitudes  followed  this  preacher,  divers 
of  the  most  zealous  brought  their  goods  and  considerable 
sums  of  money,  and  began  to  live  in  imitation  of  the  primi- 
tive saints,  minding  no  private  concerns,  continually  danc- 
ing and  singing  Hallelujah  night  and  day.  This  brings 
to  mind  what  I  lately  happened  to  find  in  Alstedius,  that 
the  thousand  years  should  begin  this  very  year  1694;  it 
is  in  his  **  Encyclopaedia  Biblica.  ^*  My  copy  of  the  book 
printed  near  sixty  years  ago. 


326  DIARY  OF  wotton 

4th  May,  1694.  I  went  this  day  with  my  wife  and 
four  servants  from  Sayes  Court,  removing  much  furniture 
of  all  sorts,  books,  pictures,  hangings,  bedding,  etc.,  to 
furnish  the  apartment  my  brother  assigned  me,  and  now, 
after  more  than  forty  years,  to  spend  the  rest  of  my  days 
with  him  at  Wotton,  where  I  was  born;  leaving  my 
house  at  Deptford  full  furnished,  and  three  servants,  to 
my  son-in-law  Draper,  to  pass  the  summer  in,  and 
such  longer  time  as  he  should  think  fit  to  make  use 
of  it. 

6th  May,  1694.  This  being  the  first  Sunday  in  the 
month,  the  blessed  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
ought  to  have  been  celebrated  at  Wotton  church,  but  in 
this  parish  it  is  exceedingly  neglected,  so  that,  unless  at 
the  four  great  feasts,  there  is  no  communion  hereabouts ; 
which  is  a  great  fault  both  in  ministers  and  people.  I 
have  spoken  to  my  brother,  who  is  the  patron,  to  discourse 
the  minister  about  it.  Scarcely  one  shower  has  fallen 
since  the  beginning  of  April. 

30th  May,  1694.  This  week  we  had  news  of  my  Lord 
Tiviot  having  cut  his  own  throat,  through  what  discon- 
tent not  yet  said.  He  had  been,  not  many  years  past, 
my  colleague  in  the  commission  of  the  Privy  Seal,  in 
old  acquaintance,  very  soberly  and  religiously  inclined. 
Lord,  what  are  we  without  thy  continual  grace! 

Lord  Falkland,  grandson  to  the  learned  Lord  Falk- 
land, Secretary  of  State  to  King  Charles  L,  and  slain  in 
his  service,  died  now  of  the  smallpox.  He  was  a  pretty, 
brisk,  understanding,  industrious  young  gentleman;  had 
formerly  been  faulty,  but  now  much  reclaimed;  had 
also  the  good  luck  to  marry  a  very  great  fortune,  be- 
sides being  entitled  to  a  vast  sum,  his  share  of  the  Spanish 
wreck,  taken  up  at  the  expense  of  divers  adventurers. 
From  a  Scotch  Viscount  he  was  made  an  English  Baron, 
designed  Ambassador  for  Holland ;  had  been  Treasurer  of 
the  Navy,  and  advancing  extremely  in  the  new  Court. 
All  now  gone  in  a  moment,  and  I  think  the  title 
is  extinct.  I  know  not  whether  the  estate  devolves  to 
my  cousin  Carew.  It  was  at  my  Lord  Falkland's,  whose 
lady  importuned  us  to  let  our  daughter  be  with  her  some 
time,  so  that  that  dear  child  took  the  same  infection, 
which  cost  her  valuable  life. 

3d  June,   1694.     Mr.   Edwards,  minister  of   Denton,    in 


i694  JOHN   EVELYN  327 

Sussex,  a  living  in  my  brother's  gift,  came  to  see  him. 
He  had   suffered    much  by  a   fire.      Seasonable    showers, 

14th  June,  1694.  The  public  fast.  Mr.  Wotton,  that 
extraordinary  learned  young  man,    preached   excellently. 

ist  July,  1694.  Mr.  Duncomb,  minister  of  Albury, 
preached  at  Wotton,  a  very  religious  and  exact  dis- 
course. 

The  first  great  bank  for  a  fund  of  money  being  now 
established  by  Act  of  Parliament,  was  filled  and  com- 
pleted to  the  sum  of  ;^  120,000,  and  put  under  the 
government  of  the  most  able  and  wealthy  citizens  of  Lon- 
don. All  who  adventured  any  sum  had  four  per  cent,, 
so  long  as  it  lay  in  the  bank,  and  had  power  either  to 
take  it  out  at  pleasure,  or  transfer  it.  Glorious  steady 
weather;  com  and  all  fruits  in  extraordinary  plenty  gen- 
erally. 

13th  July,  1694.  Lord  Berkeley  burnt  Dieppe  and 
Havre  de  Grace  with  bombs,  in  revenge  for  the  defeat  at 
Brest,  This  manner  of  destructive  war  was  begfun  by 
the  French,  is  exceedingly  ruinous,  especially  falling  on 
the  poorer  people,  and  does  not  seem  to  tend  to  make  a 
more  speedy  end  of  the  war;  but  rather  to  exasperate 
and  incite  to  revenge.  Many  executed  at  London  for 
clipping  money,  now  done  to  that  intolerable  extent,  that 
there  was  hardly  any  money  that  was  worth  above  half 
the  nominal  value. 

4th  August,  1694.  I  went  to  visit  my  cousin,  George 
Evelyn  of  Nutfield,  where  I  found  a  family  of  ten  chil- 
dren, five  sons  and  five  daughters  —  all  beautiful  women 
grown,  and  extremely  well-fashioned.  All  painted  in  one 
piece,  very  well,  by  Mr.  Lutterell,  in  crayon  on  copper, 
and  seeming  to  be  as  finely  painted  as  the  best  minia- 
ture. They  are  the  children  of  two  extraordinary  beau- 
tiful wives.     The  boys  were  at  school. 

5th  AugTist,  1694.  Stormy  and  unseasonable  wet 
weather  this  week. 

5th  October,  1694.  I  went  to  St.  Paul's  to  see  the 
choir,  now  finished  as  to  the  stone  work,  and  the  scaffold 
struck  both  without  and  within,  in  that  part.  Some  ex- 
ceptions might  perhaps  be  taken  as  to  the  placing  col- 
umns on  pilasters  at  the  east  tribunal.  As  to  the  rest 
it  is  a  piece  of  architecture  without  reproach.  The  pull- 
ing out  the  forms,  like  drawers,  from  under  the  stalls,  is 


328  DIARY  OF  London 

ingenious.  I  went  also  to  see  the  building  beginning 
near  St.  Giles's,  where  seven  streets  make  a  star  from  a 
Doric  pillar  placed  in  the  middle  of  a  circular  area;  said 
to  be  built  by  Mr.  Neale,  introducer  of  the  late  lotteries, 
in  imitation  of  those  at  Venice,  now  set  up  here,  for 
himself  twice,  and  now  one  for  the    State. 

28th  October,  1694.  Mr.  Stringfellow  preached  at  Trinity 
church. 

2 2d  November,  1694.  Visited  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln 
[Tenison]  newly  come  on  the  death  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  who  a  few  days  before  had  a  paralytic 
stroke, —  the  same  day  and  month  that  Archbishop  San- 
croft  was  put  out.  A  very  sickly  time,  especially  the 
smallpox,  of  which  divers  considerable  persons  died. 
The  State  lottery*  drawing,  Mr.  Cock,  a  French  refu- 
gee, and  a  President  in  the  Parliament  of  Paris  for  the 
Reformed,  drew  a  lot  of  ;^i,ooo  per  annum. 

29th  November,  1694.  I  visited  the  Marquis  of  Nor- 
manby,  and  had  much  discourse  concerning  King  Charles 
II.  being  poisoned.  Also  concerning  the  quinqui7ia  which 
the  physicians  would  not  give  to  the  King,  at  a  time 
when,  in  a  dangerous  ague,  it  was  the  only  thing  that 
could  cure  him  (out  of  envy  because  it  had  been  brought 
into  vogue  by  Mr.  Tudor,  an  apothecary),  till  Dr.  Short, 
to  whom  the  King  sent  to  know  his  opinion  of  it  privately, 
he  being  reputed  a  Papist  ( but  who  was  in  truth  a  very 
honest,  good  Christian),  sent  word  to  the  King  that 
it  was  the  only  thing  which  could  save  his  life,  and  then 
the  King  enjoined  his  physicians  to  give  it  to  him,  which 
they  did  and  he  recovered.  Being  asked  by  this  Lord 
why  they  would  not  prescribe  it.  Dr.  Lower  said  it 
would  spoil  their  practice,  or  some  such  expression,  and 
at  last  confessed  it  was  a  remedy  fit  only  for  kings. 
Exception  was  taken  that  the  late  Archbishop  did  not 
cause  any  of  his  Chaplains  to  use  any  office  for  the  sick 
during  his  illness. 

9th  December,  1694.  I  had  news  that  my  dear  and 
worthy  friend,  Dr.  Tenison,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  was  made 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  for  which  I  thank  God  and 
rejoice,  he  being  most  worthy  of  it,  for  his  learning, 
piety,  and  prudence. 

13th  December,   1694.     I  went  to  London  to   congratu- 

*  State  lotteries  finally  closed  October  18,  1826. 


1 695  JOHN  EVELYN  329 

late  him.  He  being  my  proxy,  gave  my  vote  for  Dr. 
Williams,  to  succeed  Mr,   Bentley  in  Mr.  Boyle's  lectures. 

2  9tli  December,  1694.  The  smallpox  increased  exceed- 
ingly, and  was  very  mortal.  The  Queen  died  of  it  on 
the  28th. 

13th  January,  1694-95.  The  Thames  was  frozen  over. 
The  deaths  by  smallpox  increased  to  five  hundred  more 
than  in  the  preceding  week.  The  King  and  Princess 
Anne  reconciled,  and  she  was  invited  to  keep  her  Court 
at  Whitehall,  having  hitherto  lived  privately  at  Berkeley 
House;  she  was  desired  to  take  into  her  family  divers 
servants  of  the  late  Queen;  to  maintain  them  the  King 
has  assigned  her  ;;^5,ooo  a  quarter. 

20th  January,  1695.  The  frost  and  continual  snow  have 
now  lasted  five  weeks. 

February,  1695.  Lord  Spencer  married  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle's  daughter,  and  our  neighbor,  Mr.  Hussey, 
married  a  daughter  of  my  cousin,  George  Evelyn,  of 
Nutfield. 

3d  February,  1695.  The  long  frost  intermitted,  but  not 
gone. 

17th  February,  1695.  Called  to  London  by  Lord  Godol- 
phin,  one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  offering  me  the 
treasurership  of  the  hospital  designed  to  be  built  at 
Greenwich  for  worn-out  seamen. 

24th  February,   1695.     I  saw  the  Queen  lie  in  state. 

27th  February,  1695.  The  Marquis  of  Normanby  told 
me  King  Charles  had  a  design  to  buy  all  King  Street, 
and  build  it  nobly,  it  being  the  street  leading  to  West- 
minster. This  might  have  been  done  for  the  expense  of 
the  Queen's  funeral,  which  was  ;^5o,ooo,  against  her 
desire. 

5th  March,  1695.  I  went  to  see  the  ceremony.  Never 
was  so  universal  a  mourning;  all  the  Parliament  men  had 
cloaks  given  them,  and  four  hundred  poor  women;  all 
the  streets  hung  and  the  middle  of  the  street  boarded 
and  covered  with  black  cloth.  There  were  all  the  nobility, 
mayor,  aldermen,  judges,  etc. 

8th  March,  1695.  I  supped  at  the  Bishop  of  Lichfield 
and  Coventry's,  who  related  to  me  the  pious  behavior  of 
the  Queen  in  all  her  sickness,  which  was  admirable.  She 
never  inquired  of  what  opinion  persons  were,  who  were 
objects    of   charity;   that,  on    opening  a  cabinet,  a  paper 


330  DIARY  OF  London 

was  found  wherein  she  had  desired  that  her  body  might 
not  be  opened,  or  any  extraordinary  expense  at  her  fun- 
eral, whenever  she  should  die.  This  paper  was  not  found 
in  time  to  be  observed.  There  were  other  excellent 
things  under  her  own  hand,  to  the  very  least  of  her 
debts,  which  were  very  small,  and  everything  in  that 
exact  method,  as  seldom  is  found  in  any  private  per- 
son. In  sum,  she  was  such  an  admirable  woman,  abat- 
ing for  taking  the  Crown  without  a  more  due  apology, 
as  does,  if  possible,  outdo  the  renowned  Queen  Eliza- 
beth. 

loth  March,  1695.  ^  dined  at  the  Earl  of  Sunder- 
land's with  Lord  Spencer.  •  My  Lord  showed  me  his 
library,  now  again  improved  by  many  books  bought  at 
the  sale  of  Sir  Charles  Scarborough,  an  eminent  physi- 
cian, which  was  the  very  best  collection,  especially  of 
mathematical  books,  that  was  I  believe  in  Europe,  once 
designed  for  the  King's  Library  at  St.  James's;  but  the 
Queen  dying,  who  was  the  great  patroness  of  that 
design,  it  was  let  fall,  and  the  books  were  miserably 
dissipated. 

The  new  edition  of  Camden's  ^*  Britannia  *  was  now  pub- 
lished (by  Bishop  Gibson),  with  great  additions;  those  to 
Surrey  were  mine,  so  that  I  had  one  presented  to  me. 
Dr.  Gale  showed  me  a  MS.  of  some  parts  of  the  New 
Testament  in  vulgar  Latin,  that  had  belonged  to  a  mon- 
astery in  the  North  of  Scotland,  which  he  esteemed  to 
be  about  eight  hundred  years  old;  there  were  some  con- 
siderable various  readings  observable,  as  in  John  i.,  and 
genealogy  of  St.   Luke. 

24th  March,  1695.  Easter  Day.  Mr.  Duncomb,  par- 
son of  this  parish,  preached,  which  he  hardly  comes  to 
above  once  a  year  though  but  seven  or  eight  miles 
off;  a  florid  discourse,  read  out  of  his  notes.  The 
Holy  Sacrament  followed,  which  he  administered  with 
very  little  reverence,  leaving  out  many  prayers  and 
exhortations;  nor  was  there  any  oblation.  This  ought 
to  be  reformed,  but  my  good  brother  did  not  well  con- 
sider when  he  gave  away  this  living  and  the  next  [Abin- 
ger]. 

March,  1695.  The  latter  end  of  the  month  sharp  and 
severely  cold,  with  much  snow  and  hard  frost ;  no  appear- 
ance of  spring. 


1 695  JOHN  EVELYN  331 

31st  March,  1695.  Mr.  Lucas  preached  in  the  afternoon 
at  Wotton. 

7th  April,  1695.  Lord  Halifax  died  suddenly  at  Lon- 
don, the  day  his  daughter  was  married  to  the  Earl  of 
Nottingham's  son  at  Burleigh.  Lord  H.  was  a  very  rich 
man,  very  witty,  and  in  his  younger  days  somewhat  posi- 
tive. 

14th  April,  1695.  After  a  most  severe,  cold,  and  snowy 
winter,  without  almost  any  shower  for  many  months,  the 
wind  continuing  N.  and  E.  and  not  a  leaf  appearing;  the 
weather  and  wind  now  changed,  some  showers  fell,  and 
there  was  a  remission  of  cold. 

2ist  April,  1695.  The  spring  begins  to  appear,  yet  the 
trees  hardly  leafed.  Sir  T.  Cooke  discovers  what  pro- 
digious bribes  have  been  given  by  some  of  the  East  India 
Company  out  of  the  stock,  which  makes  a  great  clamor. 
Never  were  so  many  private  bills  passed  for  unsettling 
estates,  showing  the  wonderful  prodigality  and  decay  of 
families. 

5th  May,  1695.  I  came  to  Deptford  from  Wotton,  in 
order  to  the  first  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  for  en- 
dowing an  hospital  for  seamen  at  Greenwich;  it  was  at 
the  Guildhall,  London.  Present,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  Lord  Keeper,  Lord  Privy  Seal,  Lord  Godol- 
phin,  Duke  of  Shrewsbury,  Duke  of  Leeds,  Earls  of 
Dorset  and  Monmouth,  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty 
and  Navy,  Sir  Robert  Clayton,  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
and  several  more.  The  Commission  was  read  by  Mr. 
Lowndes,  Secretary  to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  Sur- 
veyor-General. 

17th  May,  1695.  Second  meeting  of  the  Commission- 
ers, and  a  committee  appointed  to  go  to  Greenwich  to 
survey  the  place,  I  being  one  of  them. 

2ist  May,  1695.  We  went  to  survey  Greenwich,  Sir 
Robert  Clayton,  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  Mr.  Travers,  the 
King's  Surveyor,  Captain  Sanders,  and  myself. 

24th  May,  1695.  We  made  report  of  the  state  of 
Greenwich  house,  and  how  the  standing  part  might  be  made 
serviceable  at  present  for  ;^6,ooo,  and  what  ground  would 
be  requisite  for  the  whole  design.  My  Lord  Keeper  or- 
dered me  to  prepare  a  book  for  subscriptions,  and  a 
preamble  to  it. 

31st  May,   1695.     Met  again.     Mr.  Vanbrugh  was  made 


332  DIARY   OF  wotton 

secretary  to  the  commission,  by  my  nomination  of  him 
to  the  Lords,  which  was  all  done  that  day. 

7th  June,  1695.  The  commissioners  met  at  Guildhall, 
•when  there  were  scruples  and  contests  of  the  Lord  Mayor, 
who  would  not  meet,  not  being  named  as  one  of  the 
auorum,  so  that  a  new  commission  was  required,  though 
the  Lord  Keeper  and  the  rest  thought  it  too  nice  a 
punctilio. 

14th  May,  1695.  Met  at  Guildhall,  but  could  do  noth- 
ing for  want  of  a  quorum. 

Sth  July,  1695.  At  Guildhall;  account  of  subscriptions, 
about  jQt,ooo  or  ;^8,ooo. 

6th  July,  1695.  I  dined  at  Lambeth,  making  my  first 
visit  to  the  Archbishop,  where  there  was  much  company, 
and  great  cheer.  After  prayers  in  the  evening,  my  Lord 
made  me  stay  to  show  me  his  house,  furniture,  and  gar- 
den, which  were  all  very  fine,  and  far  beyond  the  usual 
Archbishops,  not  as  affected  by  this,  but  being  bought 
ready  furnished  by  his  predecessor.  We  discoursed  of 
several  public  matters,  particularl)'-  of  the  Princess  of 
Denmark,  who  made  so  little  fignire. 

nth  July,  1695.  Met  at  Guildhall:  not  a  full  commit- 
tee, so  nothing  done. 

14th  July,  1695.  No  sermon  at  church;  but,  after 
prayers,  the  names  of  all  the  parishioners  were  read,  in 
order  to  gathering  the  tax  of  4s.  for  marriages,  burials, 
etc.  A  very  imprudent  tax,  especially  this  reading  the 
names,  so  that  most  went  out  of  the  church. 

19th  July,  1695.  I  dined  at  Sir  Purbeck  Temple's,  near 
Croydon;  his  lady  is  aunt  to  my  son-in-law.  Draper;  the 
house  exactly  furnished.  Went  thence  with  my  son  and 
daughter  to  Wotton.  At  Wotton,  Mr.  Duncomb,  parson 
of  Albury,  preached  excellently. 

28th  July,  1695.     A  very  wet  season. 

nth  August,  1695.  The  weather  now  so  cold,  that 
greater  frosts  were  not  always  seen  in  the  midst  of 
winter;  this  succeeded  much  wet,  and  set  harvest  ex- 
tremely back. 

25th  September,  1695.  Mr.  OfBey  preached  at  Abinger ; 
too  much  controversy  on  a  point  of  no  consequence,  for 
the  country  people  here.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had 
heard  him  preach.  Bombarding  of  Cadiz;  a  cruel  and 
brutish  way  of  making  war,  first  began   by  the    French. 


1695  JOHN  EVELYN  333 

The  season  wet,  great  storms,  unseasonable  harvest 
weather.  My  good  and  worthy  friend,  Captain  GifiEord, 
who  that  he  might  get  some  competence  to  live  decently, 
adventured  all  he  had  in  a  voyage  of  two  years  to  the 
East  Indies,  was,  with  another  great  ship,  taken  by  some 
French  men-of-war,  almost  within  sight  of  England,  to  the 
loss  of  near  ^^70,000,  to  my  great  sorrow,  and  pity  of  his 
wife,  he  being  also  a  valiant  and  industrious  man.  The 
losses  of  this  sort  to  the  nation  have  been  immense,  and 
all  through  negligence,  and  little  care  to  secure  the  same 
near  our  own  coasts;  of  infinitely  more  concern  to  the 
public  than  spending  their  time  in  bombarding  and 
ruining  two  or  three  paltry  towns,  v/ithout  any  benefit, 
or  weakening  our  enemies,  who,  though  they  began,  ought 
not  to  be  imitated  in  an  action  totally  averse  to  humanity, 
or  Christianity. 

29th  September,  1695.  Very  cold  weather.  Sir  Purbeck 
Temple,  uncle  to  my  son  Draper,  died  suddenly.  A  great 
funeral  at  Addiscombe.  His  lady  being  own  aunt  to  my 
son  Draper,  he  hopes  for  a  good  fortune,  there  being  no 
heir.  There  had  been  a  new  meeting  of  the  commission- 
ers about  Greenwich  hospital,  on  the  new  commission, 
where  the  Lord  Mayor,  etc.  appeared,  but  I  was  prevented 
by  indisposition  from  attending.  The  weather  very  sharp, 
winter  approaching  apace.  The  King  went  a  progress  into 
the  north,  to  show  himself  to  the  people  against  the 
elections,  and  was  everywhere  complimented,  except  at 
Oxford,  where  it  was  not  as  he  expected,  so  that  he 
hardly  stopped  an  hour  there,  and  having  seen  the 
theater,  did  not  receive  the  banquet  proposed.  I  dined 
with  Dr.  Gale  at  St.  Paul's  school,  who  showed  me  many 
curious  passages  out  of  some  ancient  Platonists'  MSS. 
concerning  the  Trinity,  which  this  great  and  learned 
person  would  publish,  with  many  other  rare  things,  if  he 
was  encouraged,  and  eased  of  the  burden  of  teaching. 

25th  October,  1695.  The  Archbishop  and  myself  went 
to  Hammersmith,  to  visit  Sir  Samuel  Morland,  who  was 
entirely  blind;  a  very  mortifying  sight.  He  showed  us 
his  invention  of  writing,  which  was  very  ingenious;  also 
his  wooden  calendar,  which  instructed  him  all  by  feeling; 
and  other  pretty  and  useful  inventions  of  mills,  pumps, 
etc.,  and  the  pump  he  had  erected  that  serves  water  to 
his  garden,  and  to   passengers,  with    an   inscription,  and 


334  DIARY  OP  London 

brings  from  a  filthy  part  of  the  Thames  near  it  a  most 
perfect  and  pure  water.  He  had  newly  buried  ;^2oo 
worth  of  music  books  six  feet  under  ground,  being,  as 
he  said,  love  songs  and  vanity.  He  plays  himself  psalms 
and  religious  hymns  on  the  theorbo.  Very  mild  weather 
the  whole  of  October. 

loth  November,  1695.  Mr.  Stanhope,  Vicar  of  Lewis- 
ham,  preached  at  Whitehall.  He  is  one  of  the  most  ac- 
complished preachers  I  ever  heard,  for  matter,  eloquence, 
action,  voice,  and  I  am    told,  of    excellent    conversation. 

13th  November,  1695.  Famous  fireworks  and  very 
chargeable,  the  King  being  returned  from  his  progfress. 
He  stayed  seven  or  eight  days  at  Lord  Sunderland's  at 
Althorpe,  where  he  was  mightily  entertained.  These  fire- 
works were  shown  before  Lord  Romney,  master  of  the 
ordnance,  in  St.  James's  great  square,  where  the  King 
stood. 

17th  November,  1695.  I  spoke  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  to  interest  himself  for  restoring  a  room  be- 
longing to  St.  James's  library,  where  the  books  want 
place. 

2ist  November,  1695.  I  went  to  see  Mr.  Churchill's 
collection  of  rarities. 

23d  November,  1695.  To  Lambeth,  to  get  Mr.  Wil- 
liams continued  in  Boyle's  lectures  another  year.  Among 
others  who  dined  there  was  Dr.  Covel,  the  great  Oriental 
traveler. 

ist  December,  1695.  I  dined  at  Lord  Sunderland's, 
now  the  great  favorite  and  underhand  politician,  but  not 
adventuring  on  any  character,  being  obnoxious  to  the 
people  for  having  twice  changed  his  religion. 

23d  December,  1695.  The  Parliament  wondrously  in- 
tent on  ways  to  reform  the  coin ;  setting  out  a  Proclama- 
tion prohibiting  the  currency  of  half-crowns,  etc.,  which 
made  much  confusion  among  the  people. 

25th  December,  1695.  Hitherto  mild,  dark,  misty, 
weather.     Now  snow  and  frost. 

12th  January,  1695-96.  Great  confusion  and  distraction 
by  reason  of  the  clipped  money,  and  the  difficulty  found 
in  reforming  it. 

2d  February,  1696.  An  extraordinary  wet  season,  though 
temperate  as  to  cold.  The  <^  Royal  Sovereign  '^  man- 
of-war  burned  at  Chatham.     It  was  built  in  1637,  and  hav- 


1695-96  JOHN  EVELYN  335 

ing  given  occasion  to  the  levy  of  ship  money  was  perhaps 
the  cause  of  all  the  after  troubles  to  this  day.  An  earth- 
quake in  Dorsetshire  by  Portland,  or  rather  a  sinking  of 
the  ground  suddenly  for  a  large  space,  near  the  quarries 
of  stone,  hindering  the  conveyance  of  that  material  for 
the  finishing  St.   Paul's. 

23d  February,  1696.  They  now  began  to  coin  new 
money. 

26th  February,  1696.  There  was  now  a  conspiracy  of 
about  thirty  knights,  gentlemen,  captains,  many  of  them 
Irish  and  English  Papists,  and  Nonjurors  or  Jacobites  (so 
called),  to  murder  King  William  on  the  first  opportunity 
of  his  going  either  from  Kensington,  or  to  hunting,  or 
to  the  chapel;  and  upon  signal  of  fire  to  be  given  from 
Dover  Cliff  to  Calais,  an  invasion  was  designed.  In 
order  to  it  there  was  a  great  army  in  readiness,  men-of- 
war  and  transports,  to  join  a  general  insurrection  here, 
the  Duke  of  Berwick  having  secretly  come  to  London  to 
head  them.  King  James  attending  at  Calais  with  the 
French  army.  It  was  discovered  by  some  of  their  own 
party.  ;^i,ooo  reward  was  offered  to  whoever  could  ap- 
prehend any  of  the  thirty  named.  Most  of  those  who 
were  engaged  in  it,  were  taken  and  secured.  The  Parlia- 
ment, city,  and  all  the  nation,  congratulate  the  discov- 
ery; and  votes  and  resolutions  were  passed  that,  if  King 
William  should  ever  be  assassinated,  it  should  be  revenged 
on  the  Papists  and  party  through  the  nation;  an  Act  of 
Association  drawing  up  to  empower  the  Parliament  to 
sit  on  any  such  accident,  till  the  Crown  should  be  dis- 
posed of  according  to  the  late  settlement  at  the  Revolu- 
tion. All  Papists,  in  the  meantime,  to  be  banished  ten 
miles  from  London.  This  put  the  nation  into  an  incred- 
ible disturbance  and  general  animosity  against  the  French 
King  and  King  James.  The  militia  of  the  nation  was 
raised,  several  regiments  were  sent  for  out  of  Flanders, 
and  all  things  put  in  a  posture  to  encounter  a  descent. 
This  was  so  timed  by  the  enemy,  that  while  we  were 
already  much  discontented  by  the  greatness  of  the  taxes, 
and  corruption  of  the  money,  etc.,  we  had  like  to  have 
had  very  few  men-of-war  near  our  coasts;  but  so  it 
pleased  God  that  Admiral  Rooke  wanting  a  wind  to  pur- 
sue his  voyage  to  the  Straits,  that  squadron,  with  others 
at  Portsmouth  and  other  places,  were  still  in  the  Channel, 


336  DIARY    OF  London 

and  were  soon  brought  up  to  join  with  the  rest  of  the 
ships  which  could  be  got  together,  so  that  there  is  hope 
this  plot  may  be  broken.  I  look  on  it  as  a  very  great 
deliverance  and  prevention  by  the  providence  of  God. 
Though  many  did  formerly  pity  King  James's  condition, 
this  design  of  assassination  and  bringing  over  a  French 
army,  alienated  many  of  his  friends,  and  was  likely  to 
produce  a  more  perfect   establishment  of   King   William. 

ist  March,  1696.  The  wind  continuing  N.  and  E.  all 
this  week,  brought  so  many  of  our  men-of-war  together 
that,  though  most  of  the  French  finding  their  design  de- 
tected and  prevented,  made  a  shift  to  get  into  Calais  and 
Dunkirk  roads,  we  wanting  fire-ships  and  bombs  to  dis- 
turb them ;  yet  they  were  so  engaged  among  the  sands 
and  flats,  that  'tis  said  they  cut  their  masts  and  flung 
their  great  guns  overboard  to  lighten  their  vessels.  We 
are  yet  upon  them.  This  deliverance  is  due  solely  to 
God.  French  were  to  have  invaded  at  once  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland. 

8th  March,  1696.  Divers  of  the  conspirators  tried  and 
condemned. 

Vesuvius  breaking  out,  terrified  Naples.  Three  of  the 
unhappy  wretches,  whereof  one  was  a  priest,  were  exe- 
cuted* for  intending  to  assassinate  the  King;  they  ac- 
knowledged their  intention,  but  acquitted  King  James 
of  inciting  them  to  it,  and  died  very  penitent.  Di- 
vers more  in  danger,  and  some  very  considerable  per- 
sons. 

Great  frost  and  cold. 

6th  April,  1696.     I  visited  Mr.  Graham  in  the  Fleet. 

loth  April,  1696.  The  quarters  of  Sir  William  Perkins 
and  Sir  John  Friend,  lately  executed  on  the  plot,  with 
Perkins's  head,  were  set  up  at  Temple  Bar,  a  dismal 
sight,  which  many  pitied.  I  think  there  never  was  such  at 
Temple  Bar  till  now,  except  once  in  the  time  of  King 
Charles  II.,  namely,  of  Sir  Thomas  Armstrong. f 

12th  April,  1696.     A  very  fine  spring  season. 

19th  April,  1696.  Great  offense  taken  at  the  three  min- 
isters who  absolved  Sir  William  Perkins  and  Friend  at 
Tyburn.     One  of  them  (Snatt)  was  a  son  of  my  old  school- 

*  Robert  Chamock,  Edward  King,  and  Thomas  Keys. 
\  He  was  concerned  in  the  Rye-House  plot,  fled  into  Holland,  was 
given  up,  and  executed  in  his  own  country,  1684.     See  p.  198. 


1696  JOHN  EVELYN  337 

master.  This  produced  much  altercation  as  to  the  ca- 
nonicalness  of  the  action. 

2ist  April,  1696.  We  had  a  meeting  at  Guildhall  of  the 
grand  committee  about  settling  the  draught  of  Green- 
wich hospital. 

23d  April,  1696.  I  went  to  Eton,  and  dined  with  Dr. 
Godolphin,  the  provost.  The  schoolmaster  assured  me 
there  had  not  been  for  twenty  years  a  more  pregnant 
youth  in  that  place  than  my  grandson.  I  went  to  see  the 
King's  House  at  Kensington.  It  is  very  noble,  though 
not  great.  The  gallery  furnished  with  the  best  pictures 
[from]  all  the  houses,  of  Titian,  Raphael,  Correggio,  Hol- 
bein, Julio  Romano,  Bassan,  Vandyke,  Tintoretto,  and 
others ;  a  great  collection  of  porcelain ;  and  a  pretty  pri- 
vate library.     The  gardens  about  it  very  delicious. 

26th  April,  1696,  Dr.  Sharp  preached  at  the  Temple. 
His  prayer  before  the  sermon  was  one  of  the  most  ex- 
cellent compositions  I  ever  heard. 

28th  April,  1696.  The  Venetian  Ambassador  made  a 
stately  entry  with  fifty  footmen,  many  on  horseback,  four 
rich  coaches,  and  a  numerous  train  of  gallants.  More 
executions  this  week  of  the  assassins.  Gates  dedicated  a 
most  villainous,  reviling  book  against  King  James,  which 
he  presumed  to  present  to  King  William,  who  could  not 
but  abhor  it,  speaking  so  infamously  and  untruly  of  his 
late  beloved  Queen's  own  father. 

2d  May,  1696.  I  dined  at  Lambeth,  being  summoned 
to  meet  my  co-trustees,  the  Archbishop,  Sir  Henry  As- 
hurst,  and  Mr.  Serjeant  Rotheram,  to  consult  about 
settling  Mr  Boyle's  lecture  for  a  perpetuity;  which  we 
concluded  upon,  by  buying  a  rent  charge  of  ;!^5o  per 
annum,  with  the  stock  in  our  hands. 

6th  May,  1696.  I  went  to  Lambeth,  to  meet  at  din- 
ner the  Countess  of  Sunderland  and  divers  ladies.  We 
dined  in  the  Archbishop's  wife's  apartment  with  his 
Grace,  and  stayed  late;  yet  I  returned  to  Deptford  at 
night. 

13th  May,  1696.  I  went  to  London  to  meet  my  son, 
newly  come  from  Ireland,  indisposed.  Money  still  con- 
tinuing exceedingly  scarce,  so  that  none  was  paid  or 
received,  but  all  was  on  trust,  the  mint  not  supplying 
for  common  necessities.  The  Association  with  an  oath 
required  of  all  lawyers  and  officers,  on  pain  of  proemunire^ 


338  DIARY  OF  deptford 

whereby  men  were  obliged  to  renounce  King  James  as 
no  rightful  king,  and  to  revenge  King  William's  death, 
if  happening  by  assassination.  This  to  be  taken  by  all  the 
Counsel  by  a  day  limited,  so  that  the  Courts  of  Chan- 
cery and  King's  Bench  hardly  heard  any  cause  in  Easter 
Term,  so  many  crowded  to  take  the  oath.  This  was 
censured  as  a  very  entangling  contrivance  of  the  Parlia- 
ment in  expectation,  that  many  in  high  office  would  lay 
down,  and  others  surrender.  Many  gentlemen  taken  up 
on  suspicion  of  the  late  plot,  were  now  discharged  out 
of  prison. 

29th  May,  1696,  We  settled  divers  offices,  and  other 
matters  relating  to  workmen,  for  the  beginning  of  Green- 
wich hospital. 

ist  June,  1696.  I  went  to  Deptford  to  dispose  of  our 
goods,  in  order  to  letting  the  house  for  three  years  to 
Vice  Admiral  Benbow,  with  condition  to  keep  up  the 
garden.     This  was  done  soon  after. 

4th  June,  1696.  A  committee  met  at  Whitehall  about 
Greenwich  Hospital,  at  Sir  Christopher  Wren's,  his  Maj- 
esty's Surveyor-General.  We  made  the  first  agreement 
with  divers  workmen  and  for  materials;  and  gave  the 
first  order  for  proceeding  on  the  foundation,  and  for 
weekly  payments  to  the  workmen,  and  a  general  account 
to  be  monthly. 

nth  June,  1696.  Dined  at  Lord  Pembroke's,  Lord 
Privy  Seal,  a  very  worthy  gentleman.  He  showed  me 
divers  rare  pictures  of  very  many  of  the  old  and  best 
masters,  especially  one  of  M.  Angelo  of  a  man  gather- 
ing fruit  to  give  to  a  woman,  and  a  large  book  of  the 
best  drawings  of  the  old  masters.  Sir  John  Fenwick, 
one  of  the  conspirators,  was  taken.  Great  subscriptions 
in  Scotland  to  their  East  India  Company.  Want  of  cur- 
rent money  to  carry  on  the  smallest  concerns,  even  for 
daily  provisions  in  the  markets.  Guineas  lowered  to 
twenty-two  shillings,  and  great  sums  daily  transported 
to  Holland,  where  it  yields  more,  with  other  treasure 
sent  to  pay  the  armies,  and  nothing  considerable  coined 
of  the  new  and  now  only  current  stamp,  cause  such  a  scarcity 
that  tumults  are  every  day  feared,  nobody  paying  or  re- 
ceiving money;  so  imprudent  was  the  late  Parliament  to 
condemn  the  old  though  clipped  and  corrupted,  till  they 
had    provided    supplies.     To  this   add   the    fraud   of   the 


1696  JOHN  EVELYN  339 

bankers  and  goldsmiths,  who  having  gotten  immense 
riches  by  extortion,  keep  up  their  treasure  in  expecta- 
tion of  enhancing  its  value.  Buncombe,  not  long  since 
a  mean  goldsmith,  having  made  a  purchase  of  the  late 
Duke  of  Buckingham's  estate  at  nearly  ^,^90,000,  and  re- 
puted to  have  nearly  as  much  in  cash.  Banks  and  lotteries 
every  day  set  up. 

i8th  June,  1696.  The  famous  trial  between  my  Lord 
Bath  and  Lord  Montague  for  an  estate  of  ;^  11,000  a 
year,  left  by  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  wherein  on  several 
trials  had  been  spent  ^20,000  between  them.  The  Earl 
of  Bath  w'as  cast  on  evident  forgery. 

20th  June,  1696.  I  made  my  Lord  Cheney  a  visit  at 
Chelsea,  and  saw  those  ingenious  waterworks  invented 
by  Mr.  Winstanley,  wherein  were  some  things  very  sur- 
prising and  extraordinary. 

2ist  June,  1696.  An  exceedingly  rainy,  cold,  unseason- 
able summer,  yet  the  city  was  very  healthy. 

25th  June,  1696.  A  trial  in  the  Common  Pleas  between 
the  Lady  Purbeck  Temple  and  Mr.  Temple,  a  nephew  of 
Sir  Purbeck,  concerning  a  deed  set  up  to  take  place  of 
several  wills.  This  deed  was  proved  to  be  forged.  The 
cause  went  on  my  lady's  side.  This  concerning  my  son- 
in-law.  Draper,  I  stayed  almost  all  day  at  Court.  A  great 
supper  was  given  to  the  jur^^  being  persons  of  the  best 
condition  in  Buckinghamshire. 

30th  June,  1696.  I  went  with  a  select  committee  of 
the  Commissioners  for  Greenwich  Hospital,  and  with  Sir 
Christopher  Wren,  where  with  him  I  laid  the  first  stone 
of  the  intended  foundation,  precisely  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  after  we  had  dined  together.  Mr.  Flam- 
stead,  the  King's  Astronomical  Professor,  observing  the 
punctual  time  by  instruments. 

4th  July,  1696.  Note  that  my  Lord  Godolphin  was  the 
first  of  the  subscribers  who  paid  any  money  to  this  noble 
fabric. 

7th  July,  1696.  A  northern  wind  altering  the  weather 
with  a  continual  and  impetuous  rain  of  three  days  and 
nights    changed  it  into  perfect  winter. 

12th  July,  1696.  Very  unseasonable  and  uncertain 
weather. 

26th  July,  1696.  So  little  money  in  the  nation  that 
Exchequer   Tallies,    of   which    I   had   for  ^^2,000   on   the 


340  DIARY  OF  London 

best  fund  in  England,  the  Post  Office,  nobody  would  take 
at  30  per  cent  discount. 

3d  August,  1696.  The  Bank  lending  the  ;^2oo,ooo  to 
pay  the  army  in  Flanders,  that  had  done  nothing  against 
the  enemy,  had  so  exhausted  the  treasure  of  the  nation, 
that  one  could  not  have  borrowed  money  under  14  or  15 
per  cent  on  bills,  or  on  Exchequer  Tallies  under  30  per 
cent.  Reasonable  good  harvest  weather.  I  went  to 
Lambeth  and  dined  with  the  Archbishop,  who  had  been 
at  Court  on  the  complaint  against  Dr.  Thomas  Watson, 
Bishop  of  St.  David's,  who  was  suspended  for  simony. 
The  Archbishop  told  me  how  unsatisfied  he  was  with  the 
Canon  law,  and  how  exceedingly  unreasonable  all  their 
pleadings  appeared  to  him. 

September,  1696.  Fine  seasonable  weather,  and  a  great 
harvest  after  a  cold,  wet  summer.       Scarcity  in  Scotland. 

6th  September,  1696.  I  went  to  congratulate  the  mar- 
riage of  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Boscawen  to  the  son  of  Sir 
Philip  Meadows;  she  is  niece  to  my  Lord  Godolphin, 
married  at  Lambeth  by  the  Archbishop,  30th  of  August. 
After  above  six  months'  stay  in  London  about  Green- 
wich Hospital,  I  returned  to  Wotton. 

24th  October,  1696.  Unseasonable  stormy  weather,  and 
an  ill  seedtime. 

November,  1696.  Lord  Godolphin  retired  from  the 
Treasury,  who  was  the  first  Commissioner  and  most 
skillful  manager  of  all. 

8th  November,  1696.  The  first  frost  began  fiercely, 
but  lasted  not  long.  More  plots  talked  of.  Search  for 
Jacobites  so  called. 

i5th-2  3d  November,  1696.  Very  stormy  weather,  rain, 
and  inundations. 

13th  December,  1696.  Continuance  of  extreme  frost 
and  snow. 

17th  January,  1696-7.  The  severe  frost  and  weather 
relented,  but  again  froze  with  snow.  Conspiracies  con- 
tinue against  King  William.  Sir  John  Fenwick  was  be- 
headed. 

7th  February,  1697.  Severe  frost  continued  with  snow. 
Soldiers  in  the  armies  and  garrison  towns  frozen  to 
death  on  their  posts. 

(Here  a  leaf  of  the  MS.  is  lost.) 


1696-98  JOHN    EVELYN  341 

17th  August,  1697.  I  came  to  Wotton  after  three 
months'  absence. 

September,  1697.  Very  bright  weather,  but  with  sharp 
east  wind.  My  son  came  from  London  in  his  melancholy 
indisposition. 

12th  September,  1697.  Mr.  Buncombe,  the  rector, 
came  and  preached  after  an  absence  of  two  years,  though 
only  living  seven  or  eight  miles  off  [at  Ashted].  Wel- 
come tidings  of  the  Peace. 

3d  October,  1697.  So  great  were  the  storms  all  this 
week,  that  near  a  thousand  people  were  lost  going  into  the 
Texel. 

1 6th  November,  1697.  The  King's  entry  very  pompous; 
but  is  nothing  approaching  that  of  King  Charles  II. 

2d  December,  1697.  Thanksgiving  Day  for  the  Peace, 
the  King  and  a  great  Court  at  Whitehall.  The  Bishop 
of  Salisbury  preached,  or  rather  made  a  florid  panegyric, 
on  2  Chron.  ix.  7,  8.  The  evening  concluded  with  fire- 
works and  illuminations  of  great  expense. 

5th  December,  1697.  Was  the  first  Sunday  that  St. 
Paul's  had  had  service  performed  in  it  since  it  was  burned 
in  1666. 

6th  December,  1697.  I  went  to  Kensington  with  the 
Sheriff,  Knights,  and  chief  gentlemen  of  Surrey,  to  pre- 
sent their  address  to  the  King.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk 
promised  to  introduce  it,  but  came  so  late,  that  it  was 
presented  before  he  came.  This  insignificant  ceremony 
was  brought  in  in  Cromwell's  time,  and  has  ever  since 
continued  with  offers  of  life  and  fortune  to  whoever 
happened  to  have  the  power.  I  dined  at  Sir  Richard 
Onslow's,  who  treated  almost  all  the  gentlemen  of  Sur- 
rey. When  we  had  half  dined,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk 
came  in  to  make  his  excuse. 

12th  December,  1697.  At  the  Temple  Church;  it  was 
very  long  before  the  service  began,  staying  for  the 
Comptroller  of  the  Inner  Temple,  where  was  to  be  kept 
a  riotous  and  reveling  Christmas,  according  to  custom. 

i8th  December,  1697.  At  Lambeth,  to  Dr.  Bentley, 
about  the  Library  at  St.   James's. 

23d  December,   1697.     I  returned  to  Wotton. 

1697-98.  A  great  Christmas  kept  at  Wotton,  open  house, 
much  company.  I  presented  my  book  of  Medals,  etc.,  to 
divers  noblemen,  before  I  exposed  it  to  sale. 


342  DIARY  OF  London 

2d  January,  1698.  Dr.  Fulham,  who  lately  married 
my  niece,  preached  against  atheism,  a  very  eloquent 
discourse,  somewhat  improper  for  most  of  the  audience 
at  [Wotton],  but  fitted  for  some  other  place,  and  very 
apposite  to  the  profane  temper  of  the  age. 

5th  January,  1698.  Whitehall  burned,  nothing  but  walls 
and  ruins  left. 

30th  January.  1698.  The  imprisonment  of  the  great 
banker  Buncombe:  censured  by  Parliament;  acquitted 
by  the  Lords;  sent  again  to  the  Tower  by  the  Commons. 

The  Czar  of  Muscovy  being  come  to  England,  and 
having  a  mind  to  see  the  building  of  ships,  hired  my 
house  at  Sayes  Court,  and  made  it  his  court  and  palace, 
newly  furnished  for  him  by  the  King.* 

2ist  April,  1698.  The  Czar  went  from  my  house  to 
return  home.     An  exceedingly  sharp  and  cold  season. 

8th  May,  1698,  An  extraordinary  great  snow  and  frost, 
nipping  the  corn  and  other  fruits.  Com  at  nine  shillings 
a  bushel  [;^i8  a  load]. 

30th  May,  1698.  I  dined  at  Mr.  Pepys's,  where  I  heard 
the  rare  voice  of  Mr.  Pule,  who  was  lately  come  from 
Italy,  reputed  the  most  excellent  singer  we  had  ever 
had.  He  sung  several  compositions  of  the  late  Dr. 
Purcell. 

5th  June,  1698.  Dr.  White,  late  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
who  had  been  ejected  for  not  complying  with  Govern 
ment,  was  buried  in  St.  Gregory's  churchyard,  or  vault, 
at  St.  Paul's.  His  hearse  was  accompanied  by  two  non- 
juror bishops,  Dr.  Turner  of  Ely,  and  Dr.  Lloyd,  with 
forty  other  non-juror  clergymen,  who  would  not  stay  the 
Office  of  the  burial,  because  the  Dean  of  St.  Paul's  had 
appointed  a  conforming  minister  to  read  the  Office;  at 
which  all  much  wondered,  there  being  nothing  in  that 
Office  which  mentioned  the  present  King. 

8th  June,  1698.  I  went  to  congratulate  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  Godolphin  with  the  Earl  of  Marlborough's 
daughter. 

*  While  the  Czar  was  in  his  house,  Evelyn's  servant  writes  to  him: 
«  There  is  a  house  full  of  people,  and  right  nasty.  The  Czar  lies  next 
your  library,  and  dines  in  the  parlor  next  your  study.  He  dines  at  ten 
o'clock  and  at  six  at  night ;  is  very  seldom  at  home  a  whole  day ;  very 
often  in  the  King's  yard,  or  by  water,  dressed  in  several  dresses.  The 
King  is  expected  here  this  day ;  the  best  parlor  is  pretty  clean  for  him 
to  be  entertained  in.     The  King  pays  for  all  he  has.» 


1698  JOHN   EVELYN  343 

9th  June,  1698.  To  Deptford,  to  see  how  miserably 
the  Czar  had  left  my  house,  after  three  months  making 
it  his  Court.  I  got  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  the  King's 
surveyor,  and  Mr.  London,  his  gardener,  to  go  and  esti- 
mate the  repairs,  for  which  they  allowed  ;^i5o  in  their  re- 
port to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury.  I  then  went  to  see  the 
foundation  of  the  Hall  and  Chapel  at  Greenwich  Hospital. 

6th  August,  1698.  I  dined  with  Pepys,  where  was  Cap- 
tain Dampier,*  who  had  been  a  famous  buccaneer,  had 
brought  hither  the  painted  Prince  Job,  and  printed  a  re- 
lation of  his  very  strange  adventure,  and  his  observations. 
He  was  now  going  abroad  again  by  the  King's  encour- 
agement, who  furnished  a  ship  of  290  tons.  He  seemed  a 
more  modest  man  than  one  would  imagine  by  the  relation 
of  the  crew  he  had  assorted  with.  He  brought  a  map  of 
his  observations  of  the  course  of  the  winds  in  the  South 
Sea,  and  assured  us  that  the  maps  hitherto  extant  were 
all  false  as  to  the  Pacific  Sea,  which  he  makes  on  the 
south  of  the  line,  that  on  the  north  end  running  by  the 
coast  of  Peru  being  extremely  tempestuous. 

25th  September,  1698.  Dr.  Foy  came  to  me  to  use  my 
interest  with  Lord  Sunderland  for  his  being  made  Pro- 
fessor of  Physic  at  Oxford,  in  the  King's  gift,  I  went 
also  to  the  Archbishop  in  his  behalf. 

7th  December,  1698.  Being  one  of  the  Council  of  the 
Royal  Society,  I  was  named  to  be  of  the  committee 
to  wait  on  our  new  President,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  our 
Secretary,  Dr.  Sloane,  and  Sir  R.  Southwell,  last  Vice- 
President,  carrying  our  book  of  statutes ;  the  office  of  the 
President  being  read,  his  Lordship  subscribed  his  name, 
and  took  the  oaths  according  to  our  statutes  as  a  Corpo- 
ration for  the  improvement  of  natural  knowledge.  Then 
his  Lordship  made  a  short  compliment  concerning  the 
honor  the  Society  had  done  him,  and  how  ready  he  would 
be  to  promote  so  noble  a  design,  and  come  himself  among 
us,  as  often  as  the  attendance  on  the  public  would  per- 
mit; and  so  we  took  our  leave. 

1 8th  December,  1698.  Very  warm,  but  exceedingly 
stormy. 

*  The  celebrated  navigator,  bom  in  1652,  the  time  of  whose  death 
is  uncertain.  His  « Voyage  Round  the  World  >'  has  gone  through 
many  editions,  and  the  substance  of  it  has  been  transferred  to  many 
collections  of  voyages. 


344  DIARY  OF  London 

January,  1698-99.  My  cousin  Pierrepoint  died.  She 
was  daughter  to  Sir  John  Evelyn,  of  Wilts,  my  father's 
nephew;  she  was  widow  to  William  Pierrepoint,  brother 
to  the  Marquis  of  Dorchester,  and  mother  to  Evelyn 
Pierrepoint,  Earl  of  Kingston ;  a  most  excellent  and  pru- 
dent lady. 

The  House  of  Commons  persist  in  refusing  more  than 
7,000  men  to  be  a  standing  army,  and  no  strangers  to  be 
in  the  number.  This  displeased  the  Court  party.  Our 
county  member,  Sir  R.  Onslow,  opposed  it  also;  which 
might  reconcile  him  to  the  people,  who  began  to  suspect 
him. 

17th  February,  1699.  My  grandson  went  to  Oxford  with 
Dr.  Mander,  the  Master  of  Baliol  College,  where  he  was 
entered  a  fellow-commoner. 

19th  February,  1699.  A  most  furious  wind,  such  as 
has  not  happened  for  many  years,  doing  great  damage  to 
houses  and  trees,  by  the  fall  of  which  several  persons 
were  killed. 

5th  March,  1699.  The  old  East  India  Company  lost 
their  business  against  the  new  Company,  by  ten  votes  in 
Parliament,  so  many  of  their  friends  being  absent,  going 
to  see  a  tiger  baited  by  dogs. 

The  persecuted  Vaudois,  who  were  banished  out  of 
Savoy,  were  received  by  the  German  Protestant  Princes. 

24th  March,  1699.  My  only  remaining  son  died  after  a 
tedious  languishing  sickness,  contracted  in  Ireland,  and 
increased  here,  to  my  exceeding  grief  and  affliction ;  leav- 
ing me  one  grandson,  now  at  Oxford,  whom  I  pray  God 
to  prosper  and  be  the  support  of  the  Wotton  family. 
He  was  aged  forty-four  years  and  about  three  months. 
He  had  been  six  years  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Revenue  in  Ireland,  with  great  ability  and  reputation. 

26th  March,  1699.  After  an  extraordinary  storm,  there 
came  up  the  Thames  a  whale  which  was  fifty-six  feet 
long.  Such,  and  a  larger  of  the  spout  kind,  was  killed 
there  forty  years  ago  (June  1658).    That  year  died  Cromwell. 

30th  March,  1699.  My  deceased  son  was  buried  in  the 
vault  at  Wotton,  according  to  his  desire. 

The  Duke  of  Devon  lost  ^^1,900  at  a  horse  race  at  New- 
market. 

The  King  preferring  his  young  favorite  Earl  of  Albe- 
marle to  be  first  Commander  of  his  Guard,   the  Duke  of 


1698-99  JOHN  EVELYN  345 

Ormond  laid  down  his  commission.  This  of  the  Dutch 
Lord  passing  over  his  head,  was  exceedingly  resented  by 
everybody. 

April,  1699.  Lord  Spencer  purchased  an  incomparable 
library*  of  .  .  ,  wherein,"  among  other  rare  books, 
were  several  that  were  printed  at  the  first  invention  of 
that  wonderful  art,  as  particularly  "  Tully's  OflSces,  etc. " 
There  was  a  Homer  and  a  Suidas  in  a  very  good  Greek 
character  and  good  paper,  almost  as  ancient.  This  gen- 
tleman is  a  xery  fine  scholar,  whom  from  a  child  I  have 
known.     His  tutor  was  one  Florival  of  Geneva. 

29th  April,  1699.  I  dined  with  the  Archbishop;  but 
my  business  was  to  get  him  to  persuade  the  King  to  pur- 
chase the  late  Bishop  of  Worcester's  library,  and  build 
a  place  for  his  own  library  at  St.  James's,  in  the  Park, 
the  present  one  being  too  small. 

3d  May,  1699.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society  I 
was  nominated  to  be  of  the  committee  to  wait  on  the 
Lord  Chancellor  to  move  the  King  to  purchase  the  Bishop 
of  Worcester's  library  (Dr.  Edward  Stillingfleet). 

4th  May,  1699.  The  Court  party  have  little  influence 
in  this  Session. 

7th  May,  1699.  The  Duke  of  Ormond  restored  to  his 
commission.  All  Lotteries,  till  now  cheating  the  people, 
to  be  no  longer  permitted  than  to  Christmas,  except  that 
for  the  benefit  of  Greenwich  Hospital.  Mr.  Bridgman, 
chairman  of  the  committee  for  that  charitable  work,  died; 
a  great  loss  to  it.  He  was  Clerk  of  the  Council,  a  very 
industrious,  useful  man.  I  saw  the  library  of  Dr.  John 
Moore,  f  Bishop  of  Norwich,  one  of  the  best  and  most 
ample  collection  of  all  sorts  of  good  books  in  England, 
and  he,  one  of  the  most  learned  men. 

nth  June,  1699.  After  a  long  drought,  we  had  a  re- 
freshing shower.  The  day  before,  there  was  a  dreadful 
fire  at  Rotherhithe,  near  the  Thames  side,  which  burned 
divers  ships,  and  consumed  nearly  three  hundred  houses. 
Now  died  the  famous  Duchess  of  Mazarin ;  she  had  been 
the  richest  lady  in  Europe.  She  was  niece  of  Cardi- 
nal Mazarin,  and  was   married   to  the   richest  subject  in 

*  The  foundation  of  the  noble  library  now  at  Blenheim. 

t  Afterward  Bishop  of  Ely.  He  died  31st  of  July,  1714.  King  George 
I.  purchased  this  library  after  the  Bishop's  death,  for  ;i^6,ooo,  and  pre- 
sented it  to  the  University  of  Cambridge,  where  it  now  is. 


346  DIARY    OF  London 

Europe,  as  is  said.  She  was  born  at  Rome,  educated  in 
France,  and  was  an  extraordinary  beauty  and  wit,  but 
dissolute  and  impatient  of  matrimonial  restraint,  so  as  to 
be  abandoned  by  her  husband,  and  banished,  when  she 
came  into  England  for  shelter,  lived  on  a  pension  given 
her  here,  and  is  reported  to  have  hastened  her  death  by 
intemperate  drinking  strong  spirits.  She  has  written  her 
own  story  and  adventures,  and  so  has  her  other  extrava- 
gant sister,  wife  to  the  noble  family  of  Colonna. 

15th  JunCj  1699.  This  week  died  Conyers  Seymour, 
son  of  Sir  Edward  Seymour,  killed  in  a  duel  caused  by 
a  slight  affront  in  St.  James's  Park,  given  him  by  one 
who  was  envious  of  his  gallantries;  for  he  was  a  vain, 
foppish  young  man,  who  made  a  great  ^cldt  about  town 
by  his  splendid  equipage  and  boundless  expense.  He  was 
about  twenty-three  years  old;  his  brother,  now  at  Oxford, 
inherited  an  estate  of ^^7, 000  a  year,  which  had  fallen  to 
him  not  two  years  before. 

19th  June,  1699.  My  cousin^  George  Evelyn,  of  Nut- 
field,  died  suddenly. 

25th  June,  1699.  The  heat  has  been  so  great,  almost 
all  this  month,  that  I  do  not  remember  to  have  felt  much 
greater  in  Italy,  and  this  after  a  winter  the  wettest, 
though  not  the  coldest,  that  I  remember  for  fifty  years 
last  past. 

28th  June,,  1699.  Finding  my  occasions  called  me  so 
often  to  London,  I  took  the  remainder  of  the  lease  my 
son  had  in  a  house  in  Dover  Street,  to  which  I  now  re- 
moved, not  taking  my  goods  from  Wotton. 

23d  July,  1699.  Seasonable  showers,  after  a  continuance 
of  excessive  drought  and   heat. 

August,  1699.  I  drank  the  Shooters'  Hill  waters.  At 
Deptford,  they  had  been  building  a  pretty  new  church. 
The  Bishop  of  St.  David's  [Watson]  deprived  for 
simony.  *  The  city  of  Moscow  burnt  by  the  throwing  of 
squibs. 

3d  September,  1699.  There  was  in  this  week  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  at  which  many  were  frightened  by 
the  predictions  of  the  astrologers.  I  remember  fifty 
years  ago  that  many  were  so  terrified  by  Lilly,  that  they 
dared  not  go  out  of  their  houses.  A  strange  earthquake 
at  New  Batavia,  in  the  East  Indies. 

*  Ante,  p.  330. 


1699  JOHN   EVELYN  347 

4th  October,  1699.  My  worthy  brother  died  at  Wotton, 
in  the  83d  year  of  his  age,  of  perfect  memory  and 
understandingf.  He  was  religious,  sober,  and  temperate, 
and  of  so  hospitable  a  nature,  that  no  family  in  the 
county  maintained  that  ancient  custom  of  keeping,  as 
it  were,  open  house  the  whole  year  in  the  same  manner, 
or  gave  more  noble  or  free  entertainment  to  the  county 
on  all  occasions,  so  that  his  house  was  never  free. 
There  were  sometimes  twenty  persons  more  than  his 
famil)',  and  some  that  stayed  there  all  the  summer,  10 
his  no  small  expense;  by  this  he  gained  the  universal 
love  of  the  county.  He  was  bom  at  Wotton.  went 
from  the  free  school  at  Guildford  to  Trinity  College, 
Oxford,  thence  to  the  Middle  Temple,  as  gentlemen  of 
the  best  quality  did,  but  without  intention  to  study  the 
law  as  a  profession.  He  married  the  daughter  of  Colwall, 
of  a  worthy  and  ancient  family  in  Leicestershire,  by 
whom  he  had  one  son;  she  dying  in  1643,  left  George 
her  son  an  infant,  who  being  educated  liberally,  after 
traveling  abroad,  returned  and  married  one  Mrs.  Gore, 
by  whom  he  had  several  children,  but  only  three 
daughters  survived.  He  was  a  young  man  of  good 
understanding,  but,  over-indulging  his  ease  and  pleasure, 
grew  so  very  corpulent,  contrary  to  the  constitution  of 
the  rest  of  his  father's  relations,  that  he  died.  My 
brother  afterward  married  a  noble  and  honorable  lady, 
relict  of  Sir  John  Cotton,  she  being  an  Offley,  a  worthy 
and  ancient  Staffordshire  family,  by  whom  he  had  several 
children  of  both  sexes.  This  lady  died,  leaving  only 
two  daughters  and  a  son.  The  younger  daughter  died 
before  marriage;    the    other  afterward    married  Sir  Cyril 

Wych,    a  noble  and  learned   gentleman    ( son  of  Sir 

Wych),  who  had  been  Ambassador  at  Constantinople, 
and  was  afterward  made  one  of  the  Lords  Justices  of 
Ireland.     Before  this  marriage,  her  only  brother  married 

the  daughter  of Eversfield,  of  Sussex,  of  an  honorable 

family,  but  left  a  widow  without  any  child  living;  he 
died  about  1691,  and  his  wife  not  many  years  after, 
and  my  brother  resettled  the  whole  estate  on  me.  His 
sister,  Wych,  had  a  portion  of  ;^6,ooo,  to  which  was 
added  ^^300  more;  the  three  other  daughters,  with  what 
I  added,  had  about  ;^5,ooo  each.  My  brother  died  on  the 
5th  of  October,  in  a  good  old  age  and  great  reputation, 


348  DIARY  OF  London 

making  his  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. 

2 1  St  October,  1699.  After  an  unusual  warm  and  pleas- 
ant season,  we  were  surprised  with  a  very  sharp  frost. 
I  presented  my  *^  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.  Homeck, 
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 
age.  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- 


1699-1700  JOHN   EVELYN  349 

ness,  blasphemy,  among  all  sorts,  portended  some  judg- 
ment if  not  amended;  on  which  a  society  was  set  on  foot, 
who  obliged  themselves  to  endeavor  the  reforming  of  it, 
in  London  and  other  places,  and  began  to  punish  of- 
fenders and  put  the  laws  in  more  strict  execution ;  which 
God  Almighty  prosper!  A  gentle,  calm,  dry,  temperate 
weather  all  this  season  of  the  year,  but  now  came  sharp, 
hard  frost,  and  mist,  but  calm. 

3d  December,  1699.  Calm,  bright,  and  warm  as  in  the 
middle  of  April.  So  continued  on  21st  of  January.  A 
great   earthquake  in   Portugal. 

The  Parliament  reverses  the  prodigious  donations  of 
the  Irish  forfeitures,  which  were  intended  to  be  set  apart 
for  discharging  the  vast  national  debt.  They  called  some 
great  persons  in  the  highest  offices  in  question  for  setting 
the  Great  Seal  to  the  pardon  of  an  arch-pirate,*  who  had 
turned  pirate  again,  and  brought  prizes  into  the  West 
Indies,  suspected  to  be  connived  at  on  sharing  the  prey; 
but  the  prevailing  part  in  the  House  called  Courtiers, 
out-voted  the  complaints,  not  by  being  more  in  number, 
but  by  the  country  party  being  negligent    in  attendance, 

14th  January,  1 699-1 700.  Dr.  Lancaster,  Vicar  of  St, 
Martins,  dismissed  Mr.  Stringfellow,  who  had  been  made 
the  first  preacher  at  our  chapel  by  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln 
[  Dr.  Tenison,  now  Archbishop  ],  while  he  held  St,  Martin's 
by  dispensation,  and  put  in  one  Mr,  Sandys,  much  against 
the  inclination  of  those  who  frequented  the  chapel.  The 
Scotch  book  about  Darien  was  burned  by  the  hangman  by 
vote  of  Parliament.! 

21st  January,  1700.  Died  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  a 
person  of  great  honor,  prudence,  and  estate. 

25th  January,  1700.  I  went  to  Wotton,  the  first  time 
after  my  brother's  funeral,  to  furnish  the  house  with 
necessaries.  Lady  Wych  and  my  nephew  Glanville,  the 
executors  having  sold  and  disposed  of  what  goods  were 
there  of  my  brother's.  The  weather  was  now  altering 
into  sharp  and  hard  frost. 

♦Captain  Kidd;  he  was  hanged  about  two  years  afterward  with 
some  of  his  accomplices.  This  was  one  of  the  charges  brought  by 
the  Commons  against  Lord  Somers. 

fThe  volume  alluded  to  was  «An  Enquiry  into  the  Causes  of  the 
Miscarriage  of  the  Scots  Colony  at  Darien:  Or  an  Answer  to  a  Libel, » 
entitled  «A  Defense  of  the  Scots  abdicating  Darien. »  See  Votes  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  15th  January,  1699-1700. 


350  DIARY  OF  London 

One  Stephens,  who  preached  before  the  House  of  Com- 
mons on  King  Charles's  Martyrdom,  told  them  that  the 
observation  of  that  day  was  not  intended  out  of  any 
detestation  of  his  murder,  but  to  be  a  lesson  to  other 
Kings  and  Rulers,  how  they  ought  to  behave  themselves 
toward  their  subjects,  lest  they  should  come  to  the  same 
end.  This  was  so  resented  that,  though  it  was  usual  to 
desine  these  aniiiversary  sermons  to  be  printed,  they 
refused  thanks  to  him,  and  ordered  that  in  future  no  one 
should  preach  before  them,  who  was  not  either  a  Dean 
or  a  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

4th  February,  1700.  The  Parliament  voted  against  the 
Scots  settling  in  Darien  as  being  prejudicial  to  our  trade 
with  Spain.  They  also  voted  that  the  exorbitant  number 
of  attorneys  be  lessened  (now  indeed  swarming,  and  evi- 
dently causing  lawsuits  and  disturbance,  eating  out  the 
estates  of  the  people,  provoking  them  to  go  to  law). 

1 8th  February,  1700.  Mild  and  calm  season,  with 
gentle  frost,  and  little  mizzling  rain.  The  Vicar  of  St. 
Martin's  frequently  preached  at  Trinity  chapel  in  the 
afternoon. 

8th  March,  1700.  The  season  was  like  April  for  warmth 
and  mildness. —  nth.  On  Wednesday,  was  a  sermon  at 
our  chapel,  to  be  continued  during  Lent. 

13th  March,  1700.  I  was  at  the  funeral  of  my  Lady 
Temple,  who  was  buried  at  Islington,  brought  from  Ad- 
discombe,  near  Croydon.  She  left  my  son-in-law  Draper 
(her  nephew)  the  mansion  house  of  Addiscombe,  very  nobly 
and  completely  furnished,  with  the  estate  about  it,  with 
plate  and  jewels,  to  the  value  in  all  of  about  ^^20,000. 
She  was  a  very  prudent  lady,  gave  many  great  legacies, 
with  ^^500  to  the  poor  of  Islington,  where  her  husband, 
Sir  Purbeck  Temple,  was  buried,  both  dying  without  issue. 

24th  March,  1700.  The  season  warm,  gentle,  and  ex- 
ceedingly pleasant.  Divers  persons  of  quality  entered  into 
the  Society  for  Reformation*  of  Manners;  and  some  lec- 
tures were  set  up,  particularly  in  the  city  of  London. 
The  most  eminent  of  the  clergy  preached  at  Bow  Church, 
after  reading  a  declaration  set  forth  by  the  King  to  sup- 
press the  growing  wickedness ;  this  began  already  to  take 
some  effect  as  to  common  swearing,  and  oaths  in  the 
mouths  of  people  of  all  ranks. 

*  Ante,  p.  349. 


I700  JOHN   EVELYN  351 

25th  March,  1700,  Dr.  Burnet  preached  to-day  before 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  a  very  great  congregation,  on  Prov- 
erbs xxvii.  5,  6,  "Open  rebuke  is  better  than  secret  love; 
the  wounds  of  a  friend  are  better  than  the  kisses  of  an 
enemy.'*  He  made  a  very  pathetic  discourse  concerning 
the  necessity  and  advantage  of  friendly  correction. 

April,  1700.  The  Diike  of  Norfolk  now  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  divorce  from  his  wife  by  the  Parliament  for 
adultery  with  Sir  John  Germaine,  a  Dutch  gamester,  of 
mean  extraction,  who  had  got  much  by  gaming;  the 
Duke  had  leave  to  marrj^  again,  so  that  if  he  should  have 
children,  the  Dukedom  will  go  from  the  late  Lord 
Thomas's  children.  Papists  indeed,  but  very  hopeful  and 
virtuous  gentlemen,  as  was  their  father.  The  now  Duke 
their  uncle  is  a  Protestant. 

The  Parliament  nominated  fourteen  persons  to  go  into 
Ireland  as  commissioners  to  dispose  of  the  forfeited  es- 
tates there,  toward  payment  of  the  debts  incurred  by  the 
late  war,  but  which  the  King  had  in  great  measure  given 
to  some  of  his  favorites  of  both  sexes,  Dutch  and  others 
of  little  merit,  and  very  unseasonably.  That  this  might 
be  done  without  suspicion  of  interest  in  the  Parliament, 
it  was  ordered  that  no  member  of  either  House  should 
be  in  the  commission.  The  great  contest  between  the 
Lords  and  Commons  concerning  the  Lords'  power  of 
amendments  and  rejecting  bills  tacked  to  the  money  bill, 
carried  for  the  Commons.  However,  this  tacking  of  bills 
is  a  novel  practice,  suffered  by  King  Charles  11. ,  who, 
being  continually  in  want  of  money,  let  anything  pass 
rather  than  not  have  wherewith  to  feed  his  extrava- 
gance. This  was  carried  but  by  one  voice  in  the 
Lords,  all  the  Bishops  following  the  Court,  save  one;  so 
that  near  sixty  bills  passed,  to  the  great  triumph  of  the 
Commons  and  Country  party,  but  high  regret  of  the 
Court,  and  those  to  whom  the  King  had  given  large  es- 
tates in  Ireland.  Pity  it  is,  that  things  should  be  brought 
to  this  extremity,  the  government  of  this  nation  being 
so  equally  poised  between  King  and  subject;  but  we  are 
satisfied  with  nothing;  and,  while  there  is  no  perfection 
on  this  side  heaven,  methinks  both  might  be  contented 
without  straining  things  too  far.  Among  the  rest,  there 
passed  a  law  as  to  Papists'  estates,  that  if  one  turned 
not    Protestant    before    eighteen    years  of    age,  it  should 


352  DIARY   OF  wotton 

pass  to  his  next  Protestant  heir.  This  indeed  seemed  a 
hard  law,  but  not  only  the  usage  of  the  French  King  to 
his  Protestant  subjects,  but  the  indiscreet  insolence  of 
the  Papists  here,  going  in  triumphant  and  public  proces- 
sions with  their  Bishops,  with  banners  and  trumpets  in 
divers  places  (as  is  said)  in  the  northern  counties,  has 
brought  it  on  their  party. 

24th  April,  1700.  This  week  there  was  a  great  change 
of  State  officers.  The  Duke  of  Shrewsbury  resigned  his 
Lord  Chamberlainship  to  the  Earl  of  Jersey,  the  Duke's 
indisposition  requiring  his  retreat.  Mr.  Vernon,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  was  put  out.  The  Seal  was  taken  from  the 
Lord  Chancellor  Somers,  though  he  had  been  acquitted 
by  a  great  majority  of  votes  for  what  was  charged  against 
him  in  the  House  of  Commons.  This  being  in  term 
time,  put  some  stop  to  business,  many  eminent  lawyers 
refusing  to  accept  the  office,  considering  the  uncertainty 
of  things  in  this  fluctuating  conjuncture.  It  is  certain 
that  this  Chancellor  was  a  most  excellent  lawyer,  very 
learned  in  all  polite  literature,  a  superior  pen,  master  of 
a  handsome  style,  and  of  easy  conversation;  but  he  is 
said  to  make  too  much  haste  to  be  rich,  as  his  prede- 
cessor, and  most  in  place  in  this  age  did,  to  a  more  pro- 
digious excess  than  was  ever  known.  But  the  Commons 
had  now  so  mortified  the  Court  party,  and  property  and 
liberty  were  so  much  invaded  in  all  the  neighboring 
kingdoms,  that  their  jealousy  made  them  cautious,  and 
every  day  strengthened  the  law  which  protected  the  peo- 
ple from'  tyranny. 

A  most  glorious  spring,  with  hope  of  abundance  of 
fruit  of  all  kinds,  and  a  propitious  year. 

loth  May,  1700.  The  great  trial  between  Sir  Walter 
Clarges  and  Mr.  Sherwin  concerning  the  legitimacy  of 
the  late  Duke  of  Albemarle,  on  which  depended  an  es- 
tate of  ;^i,5oo  a  year;  the  verdict  was  given  for  Sir 
Walter.  19th.  Serjeant  Wright  at  last  accepted  the  Great 
Seal. 

24th  May,  1700.  I  went  from  Dover  street  to  Wotton, 
for  the  rest  of  the  summer,  and  removed  thither  the  rest 
of  my  goods  from  Sayes  Court. 

2d  June,  1700.  A  sweet  season,  with  a  mixture  of  re- 
freshing showers. 

9th-i6th  June,   1700.       In    the    afternoon,    our     clergy- 


1700  JOHN  EVELYN  353 

man  had  a  catechism,  which  was  continued  for  some 
time. 

July,  1700.  I  was  visited  with  illness,  but  it  pleased 
God  that  I  recovered,  for  which  praise  be  ascribed  to  him 
by  me,  and  that  he  has  again  so  graciously  advertised 
me  of  my  duty  to  prepare  for  my  latter  end,  which  at 
my  great  age,  cannot  be  far  off. 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  son  of  the  Princess  Anne  of 
Denmark,  died  of  the  smallpox. 

13th  July,  1700.  I  went  to  Marden,  which  was  origin- 
ally a  barren  warren  bought  by  Sir  Robert  Clayton,  who 
built  there  a  pretty  house,  and  made  such  alteration  by 
planting  not  only  an  infinite  store  of  the  best  fruit;  but 
so  changed  the  natural  situation  of  the  hill,  valleys, 
and  solitary  mountains  about  it,  that  it  rather  repre- 
sented some  foreign  country,  which  would  produce  spon- 
taneously pines,  firs,  cypress,  yew,  holly,  and  juniper; 
they  were  come  to  their  perfect  growth,  with  walks, 
mazes,  etc.,  among  them,  and  were  preserved  with  the 
utmost  care,  so  that  I  who  had  seen  it  some  years  before 
in  its  naked  and  barren  condition,  was  in  admiration  of  it. 
The  land  was  bought  of  Sir  John  Evelyn,  of  Godstone, 
and  was  thus  improved  for  pleasure  and  retirement  by 
the  vast  charge  and  industry  of  this  opulent  citizen.  He 
and  his  lady  received  us  with  great  civility.  The  tombs 
in  the  church  at  Croydon  of  Archbishops  Grindal,  Whit- 
gift,  and  other  Archbishops,  are  fine  and  venerable;  but 
none  comparable  to  that  of  the  late  Archbishop  Sheldon, 
which,  being  all  of  white  marble,  and  of  a  stately  ordi- 
nance and  carvings,  far  surpassed  the  rest,  and  I  judge 
could  not  cost  less  than  ^700  or  ;^8oo. 

20th  September,  1700.  I  went  to  Beddington,the  ancient 
seat  of  the  Carews,  in  my  remembrance  a  noble  old  struc- 
ture, capacious,  and  in  form  of  the  buildings  of  the  age 
of  Henry  VIII.  and  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  proper  for  the 
old  English  hospitality,  but  now  decaying  with  the  house 
itself,  heretofore  adorned  with  ample  gardens,  and  the 
first  orange  trees*  that  had  been  seen  in  England, 
planted  in  the  open  ground,  and  secured  in  winter 
only  by  a  tabernacle  of  boards  and  stoves  removable  in 
summer,  that,  standing  120  years,  large  and  goodly  trees, 

*  Oranges  were  eaten  in  this  kingdom  much  earlier  than  the  time  of 
King  James  I. 
23 


354  DIARY  OF  London 

and  laden  with  fruit,  were  now  in  decay,  as  well  as  the 
grotto,  fountains,  cabinets,  and  other  curiosities  in  the 
house  and  abroad,  it  being  now  fallen  to  a  child  under 
age,  and  only  kept  by  a  servant  or  two  from  utter 
dilapidation.  The  estate  and  park  about  it  also  in  de- 
cay. 

23d  September,  1700.  I  went  to  visit  Mr,  Pepys  at 
Clapham,  where  he  has  a  very  noble  and  wonderfully  well- 
furnished  house,  especially  with  Indian  and  Chinese  curi- 
osities. The  offices  and  gardens  well  accommodated  for 
pleasure  and  retirement. 

31st  October,  1700.  My  birthday  now  completed  the  80th 
year  of  my  age.  I  with  my  soul  render  thanks  to  God, 
who,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  not  only  brought  me  out  of 
many  troubles,  but  this  year  restored  me  to  health,  after 
an  ague  and  other  infirmities  of  so  great  an  age;  my 
sight,  hearing,  and  other  senses  and  faculties  tolerable, 
which  I  implore  him  to  continue,  with  the  pardon  of  my 
sins  past,  and  grace  to  acknowledge  by  my  improvement 
of  his  goodness  the  ensuing  year,  if  it  be  his  pleasure  to 
protract  my  life,  that  I  may  be  the  better  prepared  for 
my  last  day,  through  the  infinite  merits  of  my  blessed 
Savior,  the  Lord  Jesus,  Amen! 

5th  November,  1700.  Came  the  news  of  my  dear  grand- 
son (the  only  male  of  my  family  now  remaining)  being 
fallen  ill  of  the  smallpox  at  Oxford,  which  after  the  dire 
effects  of  it  in  my  family  exceedingly  afflicted  me ;  but  so 
it  pleased  my  most  merciful  God  that  being  let  blood  at 
his  first  complaint,  and  by  the  extraordinary  care  of  Dr. 
Mander  (Head  of  the  college  and  now  Vice  Chancellor), 
who  caused  him  to  be  brought  and  lodged  in  his  own 
bed  and  bedchamber,  with  the  advice  of  his  physician 
and  care  of  his  tutor,  there  were  all  fair  hopes  of  his 
recovery,  to  our  infinite  comfort.  We  had  a  letter  every 
day  either  from  the  Vice  Chancellor  himself,  or  his  tutor, 

17th  November,  1700.  Assurance  of  his  recovery  by  a 
letter  from  himself. 

There  was  a  change  of  great  officers  at  Court.  Lord 
Godolphin  returned  to  his  former  station  of  first  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Treasury;  Sir  Charles  Hedges,  Secretary  of 
State. 

30th  November,  1700.  At  the  Royal  Society,  Lord 
Somers,  the  late  Chancellor,  was  continued  President. 


i7o<^i  JOHN  EVELYN  355 

8th  December,  1700.  Great  alterations  of  ofl5cers  at 
Court,  and  elsewhere, —  Lord  Chief  Justice  Treby  died;  he 
was  a  learned  man  in  his  profession,  of  which  we  have 
now  few,  never  fewer;  the  Chancery  requiring  so  little 
skill  in  deep  law-learning,  if  the  practicer  can  talk  elo- 
quently in  that  Court ;  so  that  probably  few  care  to  study 
the  law  to  any  purpose.  Lord  Marlborough  Master  of  the 
Ordnance,  in  place  of  Lord  Romney  made  Groom  of  the 
Stole.  The  Earl  of  Rochester  goes  Lord  Lieutenant  to 
Ireland. 

January,  1700-01,  I  finished  the  sale  of  North  Stoake  in 
Sussex  to  Robert  Michell,  Esq. ,  appointed  by  my  brother 
to  be  sold  for  payment  of  portions  to  my  nieces,  and 
other  incumbrances  on  the  estate. 

4th  January,  1701.  An  exceeding  deep  snow,  and 
melted  away  as  suddenly. 

19th  January,  1701.  Severe  frost,  and  such  a  tempest 
as  threw  down  many  chimneys,  and  did  great  spoil  at 
sea,  and  blew  down  above  twenty  trees  of  mine  at  Wot- 
ton. 

9th  February,  1701.  The  old  Speaker  laid  aside,  and 
Mr.  Harley,  an  able  gentleman,  chosen.  Our  country- 
man, Sir  Richard  Onslow,  had  a  party  for  him. 

27th  February,  1701.  By  an  order  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  I  laid  before  the  Speaker  the  state  of  what 
had  been  received  and  paid  toward  the  building  of 
Greenwich  Hospital. 

Mr  Wye,  Rector  of  Wotton,  died,  a  very  worthy  good 
man.  I  gave  it  to  Dr.  Bohun,  a  learned  person  and  ex- 
cellent preacher,  who  had  been  my  son's  tutor,  and  lived 
long  in  my  family. 

i8th  March,  1701.  I  let  Sayes  Court  to  Lord  Car- 
marthen, son  to  the  Duke  of  Leeds.  28th.  I  went  to  the 
funeral  of  my  sister  Draper,  who  was  buried  at  Edmon- 
ton in  great  state.  Dr.  Davenant  displeased  the  clerg^y 
now  met  in  Convocation  by  a  passage  in  his  book,  p.  40. 
April,  1 701.  A  Dutch  boy  of  about  eight  or  nine  years 
old  was  carried  about  by  his  parents  to  show,  who  had 
about  the  iris  of  one  eye  the  letters  of  Deus  mens,  and 
of  the  other  Elohim,  in  the  Hebrew  character.  How 
this  was  done  by  artifice  none  could  imagine ;  his  parents 
affirming  that  he  was  so  bom.  It  did  not  prejudice  his 
sight,  and  he  seemed  to  be  a  lively  playing  boy.     Every- 


356  DIARY  OF  London 

body  went  to  see  him;  physicians  and  philosophers  ex- 
amined it  with  great  accuracy;  some  considered  it  as 
artificial,  others  as  almost  supernatural. 

4th  April,  1 70 1.  The  Duke  of  Norfold  died  of  an  apo- 
plexy, and  Mr.  Thomas  Howard  of  complicated  disease 
since  his  being  cut  for  the  stone;  he  was  one  of  the 
Tellers  of  the  Exchequer.     Mr.  How  made  a  Baron. 

May,  1 701.  Some  Kentish  men,  delivering  a  petition  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  were  imprisoned.* 

A  great  dearth,  no  considerable  rain  having  fallen  for 
some  months. 

17th  May,  1 701.  Very  plentiful  showers,  the  wind  com- 
ing west  and  south.  The  Bishops  and  Convocation  at 
difference  concerning  the  right  of  calling  the  assembly 
and  dissolving.  Atterbury  and  Dr.  Wake  writing  one 
against  the  other. 

20th  June,  1 701.  The  Commons  demanded  a  conference 
with  the  Lords  on  the  trial  of  Lord  Somers,  which  the 
Lords  refused,  and  proceeding  on  the  trial,  the  Commons 
would  not  attend,  and  he  was  acquitted. 

2 2d  June,  1 70 1.  I  went  to  congratulate  the  arrival  of 
that  worthy  and  excellent  person  my  Lord  Galway,  newly 
come  out  of  Ireland,  where  he  had  behaved  himself  so 
honestly,  and  to  the  exceeding  satisfaction  of  the  people : 
but  he  was  removed  thence  for  being  a  Frenchman, 
though  they  had  not  a  more  worthy,  valiant,  discreet, 
and  trusty  person  in  the  two  kingdoms,  on  whom  they 
could  have  relied  for  his  conduct  and  fitness.  He  was 
one  who  had  deeply  suffered,  as  well  as  the  Marquis,  his 
father,  for  being  Protestants. 

July,  1701.  My  Lord  Treasurer  made  my  grandson 
one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  prizes,  salary  £s°°  P®r 
annum. 

8th  July,  1 701.  My  grandson  went  to  Sir  Simon  Har- 
court,  the  Solicitor-General,  to  Windsor,  to  wait  on  my 
Lord  Treasurer.  There  had  been  for  some  time  a 
proposal    of    marrying    my   grandson    to    a    daughter    of 

♦Justinian  Champneys,  Thomas  Culpepper,  William  Culpepper, 
William  Hamilton,  and  David  Polhill,  gentlemen  of  considerable  prop- 
erty and  family  in  the  county.  There  is  a  very  good  print  of  them  in 
five  ovals  on  one  plate,  engraved  by  R.  White,  in  1701.  They  desired 
the  Parliament  to  mind  the  public  more,  and  their  private  heats  less. 
They  were  confined  till  the  prorogation,  and  were  much  visited.  Bur- 
net gives  an  account  of  them. 


T/oi  JOHN   EVELYN  357 

Mrs.  Boscawen,  sister  of  my  Lord  Treasurer,  which  was 
now  far  advanced. 

14th  July,  1 701.  I  subscribed  toward  rebuilding  Oak- 
wood  Chapel,  now,  after  200   years,  almost   fallen  down. 

August,  1 701.  The  weather  changed  from  heat  not 
much  less  than  in  Italy  or  Spain  for  some  few  days,  to 
wet,  dripping,  and  cold,  with  intermissions  of  fair. 

2d  September,  1701.  I  went  to  Kensington,  and  saw 
the  house,  plantations,  and  gardens,  the  work  of  Mr. 
Wise,  who  was  there  to   receive  me. 

The  death  of  King  James,  happening  on  the  15th  of 
this  month,  N.  S.,  after  two  or  three  days'  indisposition, 
put  an  end  to  that  unhappy  Prince's  troubles,  after  a 
short  and  unprosperous  reign,  indiscreetly  attempting  to 
bring  in  Popery,  and  make  himself  absolute,  in  imitation 
of  the  French,  hurried  on  by  the  impatience  of  the 
Jesuits;  which  the  nation  would  not  endure. 

Died  the  Earl  of  Bath,  whose  contest  with  Lord  Mon- 
tague about  the  Duke  of  Albemarle's  estate,  claiming 
under  a  will  supposed  to  have  been  forged,  is  said  to  have 
been  worth  ;^i  0,000  to  the  lawyers.  His  eldest  son  shot 
himself  a  few  days  after  his  father's  death;  for  what 
cause  is  not  clear.  He  was  a  most  hopeful  young  man, 
and  had  behaved  so  bravely  against  the  Turks  at  the 
siege  of  Vienna,  that  the  Emperor  made  him  a  Count  of 
the  Empire.  It  was  falsely  reported  that  Sir  Edward 
Seymour  was  dead,  a  great  man;  he  had  often  been 
Speaker,  Treasurer  of  the  Navy,  and  in  many  other  lucra- 
tive offices.  He  was  of  a  hasty  spirit,  not  at  all  sincere, 
but  head  of  the  party  at  any  time  prevailing  in  Parlia- 
ment. 

29th  September,  1701.  I  kept  my  j&rst  courts  in  Sur- 
rey, which  took  up  the  whole  week.  My  steward  was 
Mr.  Hervey,  a  Counsellor,  Justice  of  Peace,  and  Member 
of  Parliament,  and  my  neighbor.  I  gave  him  six  gnineas, 
which  was  a  guinea  a  day,  and  to  Mr.  Martin,  his  clerk, 
three  guineas. 

31st  October,  1701.  I  was  this  day  81  complete,  in 
tolerable  health,  considering  my  great  age. 

December,  1701.  Great  contentions  about  elections.  I 
gave  my  vote  and  interest  to  Sir  R.  Onslow  and  Mr. 
Weston. 

27th  December,   1701.     My  grandson  quitted  Oxford. 


358  DIARY  OF  London 

2ist  January,  1701-02.  At  the  Royal  Society  there  was 
read  and  approved  the  delineation  and  description  of  my 
Tables  of  Veins  and  Arteries,  by  Mr.  Cooper,  the  chinir- 
geon,  in  order  to  their  being  engraved. 

8th  March,  1702.  The  King  had  a  fall  from  his  horse, 
and  broke  his  collar  bone,  and  having  been  much  indis- 
posed before,  and  aguish,  with  a  long  cough  and  other 
weakness,  died  this  Sunday  morning,  about  four  o'clock. 

I  carried  my  accounts  of  Greenwich  Hospital  to  the 
Committee. 

12th  April,  1702.  My  brother-in-law,  Glanville,  departed 
this  life  this  morning  after  a  long  languishing  illness, 
leaving  a  son  by  my  sister,  and  two  granddaughters. 
Our  relation  and  friendship  had  been  long  and  great.  He 
was  a  man  of  excellent  parts.  He  died  in  the  84th  year 
of  his  age,  and  willed  his  body  to  be  wrapped  in  lead  and 
carried  down  to  Greenwich,  put  on  board  a  ship,  and 
buried  in  the  sea,  between  Dover  and  Calais,  about  the 
Goodwin  sands ;  which  was  done  on  the  Tuesday,  or  Wednes- 
day after.  This  occasioned  much  discourse,  he  having 
no  relation  at  all  to  the  sea.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  an 
ancient  family  in  Devonshire,  and  married  my  sister  Jane. 
By  his  prudent  parsimony  he  much  improved  his  fortune. 
He  had  a  place  in  the  Alienation  Office,  and  might  have 
been  an  extraordinary  man,  had  he  cultivated  his  parts. 

My  steward  at  Wotton  gave  a  very  honest  account  of 
what  he  had  laid  out  on  repairs,  amounting  to  ;^  1,900. 

3d  May,  1702.  The  report  of  the  committee  sent  to 
examine  the  state  of  Greenwich  hospital  was  delivered 
to  the  House  of  Commons,  much  to  their  satisfaction. 
Lord  Godolphin  made  Lord  High  Treasurer. 

Being  elected  a  member  of  the  Society  lately  incor- 
porated for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  foreign 
parts,  I  subscribed  ;^io  per  annum  toward  the  carrying 
it  on.  We  agreed  that  every  missioner,  besides  the  ^^20 
to  set  him  forth,  should  have  j^s°  P®^  annum  out  of  the 
stock  of  the  Corporation,  till  his  settlement  was  worth  to 
him  ;^ioo  per  annum.   We  sent  a  young  divine  to  New  York. 

2 2d  June,  1702.  I  dined  at  the  Archbishop's  with  the 
newly  made  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  Dr.  Nicolson,  my  worthy 
and  learned  correspondent. 

27th  June,  1702.  I  went  to  Wotton  with  my  family 
for  the  rest  of  the  summer,  and  my  son-in-law,    Draper, 


I70I-02  JOHN   EVELYN  359 

with  his  family,  came  to  stay  with  us,  his  house  at  Ad- 
discombe  being  new-building,  so  that  my  family  was 
above  thirty.  Most  of  the  new  Parliament  were  chosen 
of  Church  of  England  principles,  against  the  peevish 
party.  The  Queen  was  magnificently  entertained  at  Ox- 
ford and  all  the  towns  she  passed  through  on  her  way  to 
Bath. 

31st  October,  1702.  Arrived  now  to  the  826.  year  of 
my  age,  having  read  over  all  that  passed  since  this  day 
twelvemonth  in  these  notes,  I  render  solemn  thanks  to 
the  Lord,  imploring  the  pardon  of  my  past  sins,  and  the 
assistance  of  his  grace;  making  new  resolutions,  and  im- 
ploring that  he  will  continue  his  assistance,  and  prepare 
me  for  my  blessed  Savior's  coming,  that  I  may  obtain  a 
comfortable  departure,  after  so  long  a  term  as  has  been 
hitherto  indulged  me.  I  find  by  many  infirmities  this 
ye&x  (especially  nephritic  pains)  that  I  much  decline; 
and  yet  of  his  infinite  mercy  retain  my  intellect  and 
senses  in  great  measure  above  most  of  my  age.  I  have 
this  year  repaired  much  of  the  mansion  house  and  several 
tenants'  houses,  and  paid  some  of  my  debts  and  engage- 
ments. My  wife,  children,  and  family  in  health:  for  all 
which  I  most  sincerely  beseech  Almighty  God  to  accept 
of  these  my  acknowledgments,  and  that  if  it  be  his  holy 
will  to  continue  me  yet  longer,  it  may  be  to  the  praise 
of  his  infinite  grace,  and  salvation  of  my  soul.     Amen! 

8th  November,  1702.  My  kinsman,  John  Evelyn,  of 
Nutfield,  a  young  and  very  hopeful  gentleman,  and 
Member  of  Parliament,  after  having  come  to  Wotton 
to  see  me,  about  fifteen  days  past,  went  to  London  and 
there  died  of  the  smallpox.  He  left  a  brother,  a 
commander  in  the  army  in  Holland,  to  inherit  a  fair 
estate. 

Our  affairs  in  so  prosperous  a  condition  both  by  sea 
and  land,  that  there  has  not  been  so  great  an  union  in 
Parliament,  Court,  and  people,  in  memory  of  man,  which 
God  in  mercy  make  us  thankful  for,  and  continue!  The 
Bishop  of  Exeter  preached  before  the  Queen  and  both 
Houses  of  Parliament  at  St.  Paul's;  they  were  wonder- 
fully huzzaed  in  their  passage,  and  splendidly  entertained 
in  the  city. 

December,  1702.  The  expectation  now  is,  what  treas- 
ure will  be  found  on  breaking  bulk  of  the  galleon  brought 


36o  DIARY  OF  London 

from  Vigo  by  Sir  George  Rooke,  which  being  made  up 
in  an  extraordinary  manner  in  the  hold,  was  not  begun 
to  be  opened  till  the  fifth  of  this  month,  before  two  of 
the  Privy  Council,  two  of  the  chief  magistrates  of  the 
city,  and  the  Lord  Treasurer. 

After  the  excess  of  honor  conferred  by  the  Queen  on 
the  Earl  of  Marlborough,  by  making  him  a  Knight  of 
the  Garter  and  a  Duke,  for  the  success  of  but  one  cam- 
paign, that  he  should  desire  ;^5,ooo  a  year  to  be  settled 
on  him  by  Parliament  out  of  the  Post  Office,  was  thought 
a  bold  and  unadvised  request,  as  he  had,  besides  his 
own  considerable  estate,  above  ;^3o,ooo  a  year  in  places 
and  employments,  with  ;^5o,ooo  at  interest.  He  had 
married  one  daughter  to  the  son  of  my  Lord  Treasurer 
Godolphin,  another  to  the  Earl  of  Sunderland,  and  a  third 
to  the  Earl  of  Bridgewater.  He  is  a  very  handsome 
person,  well-spoken  and  affable,  and  supports  his  want  of 
acquired  knowledge  by  keeping  good  company. 

January,  1702-03.  News  of  Vice-Admiral  Benbow's  con- 
flict with  the  French  fleet  in  the  West  Indies,  in  which 
he  gallantly  behaved  himself,  and  was  wounded,  and 
would  have  had  extraordinary  success,  had  not  four  of  his 
men-of-war  stood  spectators  without  coming  to  his  assist- 
ance; for  this,  two  of  their  commanders  were  tried  by  a 
Council  of  War,  and  executed;*  a  third  was  condemned 
to  perpetual  imprisonment,  loss  of  pay,  and  incapacity 
to   serve  in  future.     The  fourth  died. 

Sir  Richard  Onslow  and  Mr,  Oglethorpe  (son  of  the 
late  Sir  Theo.  O.)  fought  on  occasion  of  some  words 
which  passed  at  a  committee  of  the  House.  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe was  disarmed.  The  Bill  against  occasional  con- 
formity was  lost  by  one  vote.  Corn  and  provisions  so 
cheap  that  the  farmers  are  unable  to  pay  their  rents. 

February,  1703.  A  famous  cause  at  the  King's  Bench 
between  Mr.  Fenwick  and  his  wife,  which  went  for  him 
with  a  great  estate.  The  Duke  of  Marlborough  lost  his 
only  son  at  Cambridge  by  the  smallpox.  A  great  earth- 
quake at  Rome,  etc.  A  famous  young  woman,  an  Italian, 
was  hired   by  our  comedians  to   sing    on  the   stage,  dur- 

*  The  Captains  Kirby  and  Wade,  having  been  tried  and  condemned 
to  die  by  a  court-martial  held  on  them  in  the  West  Indies,  were  sent 
home  in  the  «  Bristol ; »  and,  on  its  arrival  at  Portsmouth  were  both 
shot  on  board,  not  being  suffered  to  land  on  English  ground. 


I702-03  JOHN   EVELYN  361 

ing  so  many  plays,  for  which  they  gave  her  ^^^'soo; 
which  part  by  her  voice  alone  at  the  end  of  three  scenes 
she  performed  with  such  modesty  and  grace,  and  above 
all  with  such  skill,  that  there  was  never  any  who  did 
anything  comparable  with  their  voices.  She  was  to  go 
home  to  the  Court  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  I  believe 
carried  with  her  out  of  this  vain  nation  above  ;^  1,000, 
everybody  coveting  to  hear   her  at  their  private  houses. 

26th  May,  1703.  This  day  died  Mr.  Samuel  Pepys,  a 
very  worthy,  industrious  and  curious  person,  none  in 
England  exceeding  him  in  knowledge  of  the  navy,  in 
which  he  had  passed  through  all  the  most  considerable 
offices.  Clerk  of  the  Acts  and  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty, 
all  which  he  performed  with  great  integrity.  When 
King  James  II.  went  out  of  England,  he  laid  down  his 
office,  and  would  serve  no  more;  but  withdrawing  him- 
self from  all  public  affairs,  he  lived  at  Clapham  with  his 
partner,  Mr.  Hewer,  formerly  his  clerk,  in  a  very  noble 
house  and  sweet  place,  where  he  enjoyed  the  fruit  of 
his  labors  in  great  prosperity.  He  was  universally  be- 
loved, hospitable,  generous,  learned  in  many  things, 
skilled  in  music,  a  very  great  cherisher  of  learned  men 
of  whom  he  had  the  conversation.  His  library  and  col- 
lection of  other  curiosities  were  of  the  most  consider- 
able, the  models  of  ships  especially.  Besides  what  he 
published  of  an  account  of  the  navy,  as  he  found  and 
left  it,  he  had  for  divers  years  under  his  hand  the  His- 
tory of  the  Navy,  or  Navalia,  as  he  called  it;  but  how 
far  advanced,  and  what  will  follow  of  his,  is  left,  I  sup- 
pose, to  his  sister's  son,  Mr.  Jackson,  a  young  gentle- 
man, whom  Mr.  Pepys  had  educated  in  all  sorts 
of  useful  learning,  sending  him  to  travel  abroad,  from 
whence  he  returned  with  extraordinary  accomplishments, 
and  worthy  to  be  heir.  Mr.  Pepys  had  been  for  near 
forty  years  so  much  my  particular  friend,  that  Mr.  Jack- 
son sent  me  complete  mourning,  desiring  me  to  be  one 
to  hold  up  the  pall  at  his  magnificent  obsequies;  but  my 
indisposition  hindered  me  from  doing  him  this  last  office. 

13th  June,  1703.  Rains  have  been  great  and  continual, 
and  now,  near  midsummer,  cold  and  wet. 

nth  July,  1703.  I  went  to  Addiscombe,  sixteen  miles 
from  Wotton,  to  see  my  son-in-law's  new  house,  the 
outside,  to  the    coving,  being   such   excellent  brickwork, 


36a  DIARY  OF  London 

based  with  Portland  stone,  with  the  pilasters,  windows, 
and  within,  that  I  pronounced  it  in  all  the  points  of  good 
and  solid  architecture  to  be  one  of  the  very  best  gentle- 
men's houses  in  Surrey,  when  finished.  I  returned  to 
Wotton  in  the  evening,  though  weary. 

25th  July,  1703.  The  last  week  in  this  month  an  un- 
common long-continued  rain,  and  the  Sunday  following, 
thunder  and  lightning. 

12th  August,  1703.  The  new  Commission  for  Green- 
wich hospital  was  sealed  and  opened,  at  which  my  son- 
in-law,  Draper,  was  present,  to  whom  I  resigned  my 
office  of  Treasurer,  From  August  1696,  there  had  been 
expended  in  building  j£Sg,^64  14s.   8d. 

31st  October,  1703.  This  day,  being  eighty-three  years 
of  age,  upon  examining  what  concerned  me,  more  par- 
ticularly the  past  year,  with  the  great  mercies  of  God 
preserving  me,  and  in  the  same  measure  making  my 
infirmities  tolerable,  I  gave  God  most  hearty  and  humble 
thanks,  beseeching  him  to  confirm  to  me  the  pardon  of 
my  sins  past,  and  to  prepare  me  for  a  better  life  by  the 
virtue  of  his  grace  and  mercy,  for  the  sake  of  my  blessed 
Savior. 

2ist  November,  1703.  The  wet  and  uncomfortable 
weather  staying  us  from  church  this  morning,  our  Doctor 
officiated  in  my  family;  at  which  were  present  above 
twenty  domestics.  He  made  an  excellent  discourse  on  i 
Cor.  XV.,  V.  55,  56,  of  the  vanity  of  this  world  and  uncer- 
tainty of  life,  and  the  inexpressible  happiness  and  satis- 
faction of  a  holy  life,  with  pertinent  inferences  to  prepare 
us  for  death  and  a  future  state.  I  gave  him  thanks,  and 
told  him  I  took  it  kindly  as  my  funeral  sermon. 

26-7th  November,  1703.  The  effects  of  the  hurricane 
and  tempest  of  wind,  rain,  and  lightning,  through  all 
the  nation,  especially  London,  were  very  dismal.  Many 
houses  demolished,  and  people  killed.  As  to  my  own 
losses,  the  subversion  of  woods  and  timber,  both  orna- 
mental and  valuable,  through  my  whole  estate,  and  about 
my  house  the  woods  crowning  the  garden  mount,  the 
growing  along  the  park  meadow,  the  damage  to  my  own 
dwelling,  farms,  and  outhouses,  is  almost  tragfical,  not  to 
be  paralleled,  with  anything  happening  in  our  age.  I 
am  not  able  to  describe  it;  but  submit  to  the  pleasure 
of  Almighty  God. 


1703-04  JOHN   EVELYN  363 

7th  December,  1703.  I  removed  to  Dover  Street,  where 
I  foimd  all  well;  but  houses,  trees,  garden,  etc.,  at  Sayes 
Court,  suffered  very  much. 

31st  December,  1703.  I  made  up  my  accounts,  paid 
wages,  gave  rewards  and  New  Year's  gifts,  according  to 
custom. 

January,  1703-04.  The  King  of  Spain  *  landing  at  Ports- 
mouth, came  to  Windsor,  where  he  was  magnificently 
entertained  by  the  Queen,  and  behaved  himself  so  nobly, 
that  everybody  was  taken  with  his  graceful  deportment. 
After  two  days,  having  presented  the  great  ladies, 
and  others,  with  valuable  jewels,  he  went  back  to  Ports- 
mouth, and  immediately  embarked  for  Spain. 

1 6th  January,  1704.  The  Lord  Treasurer  gave  my 
grandson  the  office  of  Treasurer  of  the  Stamp  Duties, 
with  a  salary  of  ^^300  a  year. 

30th  January,  1704.  The  fast  on  the  Martyrdom  of 
King  Charles  I.  was  observed  with  more  than  usual 
solemnity. 

May,  1704.  Dr.  Bathurst,  President  of  Trinity  College, 
Oxford,  now  died,f  I  think  the  oldest  acquaintance  now 
left  me  in  the  world.  He  was  eighty-six  years  of  age, 
stark  blind,  deaf,  and  memory  lost,  after  having  been  a 
person  of  admirable  parts  and  learning.  This  is  a  seri- 
ous alarm  to  me.  God  grant  that  I  may  profit  by  it! 
He  built  a  very  handsome  chapel  to  the  college,  and  his 
own  tomb.  He  gave  a  legacy  of  money,  and  a  third  part 
of  his  library,  to  his  nephew.  Dr.  Bohun,  who  went  hence 
to  his  funeral. 

7th  September,  1 704.  This  day  was  celebrated  the  thanks- 
giving for  the  late  gfreat  victory,  J  with  the  utmost  pomp 
and  splendor  by  the  Queen,  Court,  great  Officers,  Lords 
Mayor,  Sheriffs,  Companies,  etc.  The  streets  were  scaf- 
folded from  Temple  Bar,  where  the  Lord  Mayor  presented 
her  Majesty  with  a  sword,  which  she  returned.  Every 
company  was  ranged  under  its  banners,  the  city  militia 
without  the  rails,  which  were  all  hung  with  cloth  suitable 

*  Charles  III.,  afterward  Emperor  of  Germany,  by  the  title  of 
Charles  VI. 

t  There  is  a  very  good  Life  of  him,  with  his  portrait  prefixed,  by 
Thomas  Warton,  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  and  Poetry  Professor  at 
Oxford. 

J  Over  the  French  and  Bavarians,  at  Blenheim,  13th  August,  1704. 


364  DIARY   OF  LONDON 

to  the  color  of  the  banner.  The  Lord  Mayor,  Sheriffs, 
and  Aldermen  were  in  their  scarlet  robes,  with  capari- 
soned horses ;  the  Knight  Marshal  on  horseback ;  the  Foot- 
Guards;  the  Queen  in  a  rich  coach  with  eight  horses, 
none  with  her  but  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough  in  a  very- 
plain  garment,  the  Queen  full  of  jewels.  Music  and 
trumpets  at  every  city  company.  The  great  officers  of 
the  Crown,  Nobility,  and  Bishops,  all  in  coaches  with  six 
horses,  besides  innumerable  servants,  went  to  St.  Paul's, 
where  the  Dean  preached.  After  this,  the  Queen  went 
back  in  the  same  order  to  St.  James's.  The  city  companies 
feasted  all  the  Nobility  and  Bishops,  and  illuminated  at 
night.  Music  for  the  church  and  anthems  composed  by 
the  best  masters.  The  day  before  was  wet  and  stormy, 
but  this  was  one  of  the  most  serene  and  calm  days  that 
had  been  all  the  year. 

October,   1704.     The  year  has  been  very  plentiful. 

31st  October,  1704.  Being  my  birthday  and  the  84th 
year  of  my  life,  after  particular  reflections  on  my  concerns 
and  passages  of  the  year,  I  set  some  considerable  time 
of  this  day  apart,  to  recollect  and  examine  my  state  and 
condition,  giving  God  thanks,  and  acknowledging  his 
infinite  mercies  to  me  and  mine,  begging  his  blessing, 
and  imploring  his  protection  for  the  year  following. 

December,  1704.  Lord  Clarendon  presented  me  with 
the  three  volumes  of  his  father's  **  History  of  the  Rebel- 
lion.» 

My  Lord  of  Canterbury  wrote  to  me  for  suffrage  for 
Mr.  Clarke's  continuance  this  year  in  the  Boyle  Lecture, 
which  I  willingly  gave  for  his  excellent  performance  of 
this  year. 

9th  February,  1704.  I  went  to  wait  on  my  Lord  Treas- 
urer, where  was  the  victorious  Duke  of  Marlborough,  who 
came  to  me  and  took  me  by  the  hand  with  extraordinary 
familiarity  and  civility,  as  formerly  he  was  used  to  do, 
without  any  alteration  of  his  good-nature.  He  had  a 
most  rich  George  in  a  sardonyx  set  with  diamonds  of 
very  great  value;  for  the  rest,  very  plain.  I  had  not 
seen  him  for  some  years,  and  believed  he  might  have 
forgotten  me. 

2ist  February,  1704.  Remarkable  fine  weather.  Agues 
and  smallpox  much  in  every  place. 

nth  March,   1704.     An  exceedingly  dry  season.     Great 


1704-05  JOHN   EVELYN  365 

loss  by  fire,  burning  the  outhouses  and  famous  stable  of 
the  Earl  of  Nottingham,  at  Burleigh  [Rutlandshire],  full 
of  rich  goods  and  furniture,  by  the  carelessness  of  a  serv- 
ant. A  little  before,  the  same  happened  at  Lord  Pem- 
broke's, at  Wilton.  The  old  Countess  of  Northumberland, 
Dowager  of  Algernon  Percy,  Admiral  of  the  fleet  to 
King  Charles  I,,  died  in  the  83d  year  of  her  age.  She 
was  sister  to  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  and  left  a  great  estate, 
her  jointure  to  descend  to  the  Duke  of  Somerset. 

May,  1704.  The  Bailiff  of  Westminster  hanged  him- 
self.    He  had  an  ill  report. 

On  the  death  of  the  Emperor,  there  was  no  mourning 
worn  at  Court,  because  there  was  none  at  the  Imperial 
Court  on  the  death  of  King  William. 

1 8th  May,  1704.  I  went  to  see  Sir  John  Chardin,  at 
Turnham  Green,  the  gardens  being  very  fine,  and  exceed- 
ingly well  planted  with  fruit. 

20th  May,  1704.  Most  extravagant  expense  to  debauch 
and  corrupt  votes  for  Parliament  members.  I  sent  my 
grandson  with  his  party  of  my  freeholders  to  vote  for 
Mr.  Harvey,  of  Combe. 

4th  January,  1704-05.  I  dined  at  Lambeth  with  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  Dr.  King,  a  sharp  and  ready  man 
in  politics,  as  well  as  very  learned. 

June,  1705.  The  season  very  dry  and  hot.  I  went 
to  see  Dr.  Dickinson  the  famous  chemist.  We  had  long 
conversation  about  the  philosopher's  elixir,  which  he  be- 
lieved attainable,  and  had  seen  projection  himself  by  one 
who  went  under  the  name  of  Mundanus,  who  sometimes 
came  along  among  the  adepts,  but  was  unknown  as  to 
his  country,  or  abode;  of  this  the  doctor  had  written  a 
treatise  in  Latin,  full  of  very  astonishing  relations.  He 
is  a  very  learned  person,  formerly  a  Fellow  of  St.  John's 
College,  Oxford,  in  which  city  he  practiced  physic,  but 
has  now  altogether  given  it  over,  and  lives  retired,  being 
very  old  and  infirm,  yet  continuing  chemistry. 

I  went  to  Greenwich  hospital,  where  they  now  began 
to  take  in  wounded  and  worn-out  seamen,  who  are  ex- 
ceedingly well  provided  for.  The  buildings  now  going 
on  are  very  magnificent. 

October,  1705.  Mr.  Cowper  made  Lord  Keeper.  Ob- 
serving how  uncertain  great  officers  are  of  continuing 
long  in    their    places,    he    would    not    accept    it,    unless 


366  DIARY  OP  London 

_;^2,ooo  a  year  were  gfiven  him  in  reversion  when  he  was 
put  out,  in  consideration  of  his  loss  of  practice.  His  pred- 
ecessors, how  little  time  soever  they  had  the  Seal,  usually 
got  ;^ 1 00,000  and  made  themselves  Barons.  A  new  Sec- 
retary of  State.  Lord  Abingfton,  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower, 
displaced,  and  General  Churchill,  brother  to  the  Duke  of 
Marlborough,  put  in.  An  indication  of  great  unsteadi- 
ness somewhere,  but  thus  the  crafty  Whig  party  (as 
called)  begin  to  change  the  face  of  the  Court,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  High  Churchmen,  which  was  another 
distinction  of  a  party  from  the  Low  Churchmen.  The  Par- 
liament chose  one  Mr.  Smith,  Speaker.  There  had  never 
been  so  great  an  assembly  of  members  on  the  first  day 
of  sitting,  being  more  than  450.  The  votes  both  of  the 
old,  as  well  as  the  new,  fell  to  those  called  Low  Church- 
men, Contrary  to  all  expectation. 

31st  October,  1705.  I  am  this  day  arrived  to  the  85th 
year  of  my  age.  Lord  teach  me  so  to  number  my  days 
to  come,  that  I  may  apply  them  to  wisdom! 

ist  January,  1705-06.  Making  up  my  accounts  for  the 
pasc  year,  paid  bills,  wages,  and  New  Year's  gifts,  accord- 
ing to  custom.  Though  much  indisposed  and  in  so  ad- 
vanced a  stage,  I  went  to  our  chapel  [in  London]  to 
give  God  public  thanks,  beseeching  Almighty  God  to 
assist  me  and  my  family  the  ensuing  year,  if  he  should 
yet  continue  my  pilgrimage  here,  and  bring  me  at  last 
to  a  better  life  with  him  in  his  heavenly  kingdom. 
Divers  of  our  friends  and  relations  dined  with  us  this  day. 

27th  January,  1706.  My  indisposition  increasing,  I  was 
exceedingly  ill  this  whole  week. 

3d  February,  1706.  Notes  of  the  sermons  at  the  chapel 
in  the  morning  and  afternoon,  written  with  his  own  hand, 
conclude  this  Diary.* 

*Mr.   Evelyn  died  on  the  27th  of  this  month. 

END     OF     THE     DIARY. 


Date  Due 

liAY2«9 

•«^'0w 

<1 

cA 

PR  1  8  jj 

88 

u 

' 

^ 

A  000  631  062  7 


3  1210  00652  6535 


BAkhl 


E9A2 

1901 

V.2 


Evelyn,  John. 
The  diary  of...