The Diary of John Evelyn Volume II Part 41

10th 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.[83]

[Footnote 83: He was concerned in the Rye-House plot, fled into Holland, was given up, and executed in his own country, 1684. See p.

198.]

12th April, 1696. A very fine spring season.

19th April, 1696. Great offense taken at the three ministers who absolved Sir William Perkins and Friend at Tyburn. One of them (Snatt) was a son of my old schoolmaster. This produced much altercation as to the canonicalness of the action.

21st April, 1696. We had a meeting at Guildhall of the grand committee about settling the draught of Greenwich hospital.

23d April, 1696. I went to Eton, and dined with Dr. G.o.dolphin, the provost. The schoolmaster a.s.sured 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 n.o.ble, though not great. The gallery furnished with the best pictures [from] all the houses, of t.i.tian, Raphael, Correggio, Holbein, Julio Romano, Ba.s.san, Vand.y.k.e, Tintoretto, and others; a great collection of porcelain; and a pretty private 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 excellent compositions I ever heard.

28th April, 1696. The Venetian Amba.s.sador 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 a.s.sa.s.sins. Oates 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 Ashurst, 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 50 per annum, with the stock in our hands.

6th May, 1696. I went to Lambeth, to meet at dinner 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 continuing exceedingly scarce, so that none was paid or received, but all was on trust, the mint not supplying for common necessities. The a.s.sociation with an oath required of all lawyers and officers, on pain of _praemunire_, whereby men were obliged to renounce King James as no rightful king, and to revenge King William's death, if happening by a.s.sa.s.sination. This to be taken by all the Counsel by a day limited, so that the Courts of Chancery 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 Parliament 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 Greenwich hospital.

[Sidenote: DEPTFORD]

1st 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 Majesty'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.

11th 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 gathering 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 current money to carry on the smallest concerns, even for daily provisions in the markets. Guineas lowered to twenty-two s.h.i.+llings, 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, n.o.body paying or receiving 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 bankers and goldsmiths, who having gotten immense riches by extortion, keep up their treasure in expectation of enhancing its value. Duncombe, not long since a mean goldsmith, having made a purchase of the late Duke of Buckingham's estate at nearly 90,000, and reputed to have nearly as much in cash. Banks and lotteries every day set up.

18th 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 was 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 surprising and extraordinary.

21st June, 1696. An exceedingly rainy, cold, unseasonable 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 jury, being persons of the best condition in Buckinghams.h.i.+re.

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. Flamstead, the King's Astronomical Professor, observing the punctual time by instruments.

4th July, 1696. Note that my Lord G.o.dolphin was the first of the subscribers who paid any money to this n.o.ble 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 best fund in England, the Post Office, n.o.body would take at 30 per cent discount.

3d August, 1696. The Bank lending the 200,000 to pay the array 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 marriage of a daughter of Mr. Boscawen to the son of Sir Philip Meadows; she is niece to my Lord G.o.dolphin, married at Lambeth by the Archbishop, 30th of August.

After above six months' stay in London about Greenwich Hospital, I returned to Wotton.

24th October, 1696. Unseasonable stormy weather, and an ill seedtime.

November, 1696. Lord G.o.dolphin 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.

15th-23d 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 continue against King William. Sir John Fenwick was beheaded.

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.)

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. Duncombe, the rector, came and preached after an absence of two years, though only living seven or eight miles off [at Ashted]. Welcome 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.

[Sidenote: LONDON]

16th 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 fireworks 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 present their address to the King. The Duke of Norfolk promised to introduce it, but came so late, that it was presented before be 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 Surrey. 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.

18th December, 1697. At Lambeth, to Dr. Bentley, about the Library at St. James's.

23d December, 1697. I returned to Wotton.