were enemies to my Lord Sandwich. Mightily pleased I am
with his family, and my Lady Carteret was on the bed to-day, having been
let blood, and tells me of my Lady Jemimah's being big-bellied. Thence
with him to my Lord Treasurer's, and there walked during Council sitting
with Sir Stephen Fox, talking of the sad condition of the King's purse,
and affairs thereby; and how sad the King's life must be, to pass by
his officers every hour, that are four years behind-hand unpaid. My Lord
Barkeley [of Stratton] I met with there, and fell into talk with him on
the same thing, wishing to God that it might be remedied, to which he
answered, with an oath, that it was as easy to remedy it as anything in
the world; saying, that there is himself and three more would venture
their carcasses upon it to pay all the King's debts in three years, had
they the managing his revenue, and putting L300,000 in his purse, as a
stock. But, Lord! what a thing is this to me, that do know how likely
a man my Lord Barkeley of all the world is, to do such a thing as this.
Here I spoke with Sir W. Coventry, who tells me plainly that to all
future complaints of lack of money he will answer but with the shrug of
his shoulder; which methought did come to my heart, to see him to begin
to abandon the King's affairs, and let them sink or swim, so he do his
owne part, which I confess I believe he do beyond any officer the King
hath, but unless he do endeavour to make others do theirs, nothing will
be done. The consideration here do make me go away very sad, and so home
by coach, and there took up my wife and Mercer, who had been to-day at
White Hall to the Maundy,

[The practice of giving alms on Maundy Thursday to poor men and
women equal in number to the years of the sovereign's age is a
curious survival in an altered form of an old custom. The original
custom was for the king to wash the feet of twelve poor persons, and
to give them a supper in imitation of Christ's last supper and his
washing of the Apostles' feet. James II. was the last sovereign to
perform the ceremony in person, but it was performed by deputy so
late as 1731. The Archbishop of York was the king's deputy on that
occasion. The institution has passed through the various stages of
feet washing with a supper, the discontinuance of the feet washing,
the substitution of a gift of provisions for the supper, and finally
the substitu