y. Thence taking a coach
to Mrs. Clerke's, took her, and my wife, and Ashwell, and a Frenchman,
a kinsman of hers, to the Park, where we saw many fine faces, and one
exceeding handsome, in a white dress over her head, with many others
very beautiful. Staying there till past eight at night, I carried
Mrs. Clerke and her Frenchman, who sings well, home, and thence home
ourselves, talking much of what we had observed to-day of the poor
household stuff of Mrs. Clerke and mere show and flutter that she makes
in the world; and pleasing myself in my own house and manner of living
more than ever I did by seeing how much better and more substantially I
live than others do. So to supper and bed.

19th. Up pretty betimes, but yet I observe how my dancing and lying a
morning or two longer than ordinary for my cold do make me hard to rise
as I used to do, or look after my business as I am wont. To my chamber
to make an end of my papers to my father to be sent by the post
to-night, and taking copies of them, which was a great work, but I did
it this morning, and so to my office, and thence with Sir John Minnes to
the Tower; and by Mr. Slingsby, and Mr. Howard, Controller of the Mint,
we were shown the method of making this new money, from the beginning to
the end, which is so pretty that I did take a note of every part of it
and set them down by themselves for my remembrance hereafter. That being
done it was dinner time, and so the Controller would have us dine with
him and his company, the King giving them a dinner every day. And very
merry and good discourse about the business we have been upon, and after
dinner went to the Assay Office and there saw the manner of assaying
of gold and silver, and how silver melted down with gold do part, just
being put into aqua-fortis, the silver turning into water, and the gold
lying whole in the very form it was put in, mixed of gold and silver,
which is a miracle; and to see no silver at all but turned into water,
which they can bring again into itself out of the water. And here I
was made thoroughly to understand the business of the fineness and
coarseness of metals, and have put down my lessons with my other
observations therein. At table among other discourse they told us of two
cheats, the best I ever heard. One, of a labourer discovered to convey
away the bits of silver cut out pence by swallowing them down into
his belly, and so they could not find him out, though, of course, they
searche