tleman; which makes them mad, and
they do talk of 6 or L800,000 gone into the Privy-purse this war, when
in King James's time it arose but to L5,000, and in King Charles's but
L10,000 in a year. He tells me that a goldsmith in town told him that,
being with some plate with my Lady Castlemayne lately, she directed her
woman (the great beauty), "Wilson," says she, "make a note for this, and
for that, to the Privy-purse for money." He tells me a little more of
the baseness of the courses taken at Court in the case of Mr. Moyer, who
is at liberty, and is to give L500 for his liberty; but now the great
ones are divided, who shall have the money, the Duke of Albemarle on one
hand, and another Lord on the other; and that it is fain to be decided
by having the person's name put into the King's warrant for his liberty,
at whose intercession the King shall own that he is set at liberty;
which is a most lamentable thing, that we do professedly own that we do
these things, not for right and justice sake, but only to gratify this
or that person about the King. God forgive us all! Busy till noon, and
then home to dinner, and Mr. Moore come and dined with us, and much more
discourse at and after dinner of the same kind, and then, he gone, I to
my office busy till the evening, and then with my wife and Jane over to
Half-way house, a very good walk; and there drank, and in the cool of
the evening back again, and sang with pleasure upon the water, and were
mightily pleased in hearing a boatfull of Spaniards sing, and so home to
supper and to bed. Jane of late mighty fine, by reason of a laced whiske
her mistress hath given her, which makes her a very gracefull servant.
But, above all, my wife and I were the most surprised in the beauty of a
plain girle, which we met in the little lane going from Redriffe-stairs
into the fields, one of the prettiest faces that we think we ever saw in
our lives.

8th. Up, and to my chamber, and by and by comes Greeting, and to my
flageolett with him with a pretty deal of pleasure, and then to the
office, where [Sir] W. Batten, [Sir] W. Pen and I met about putting
men to work for the weighing of the ships in the River sunk. Then home
again, and there heard Mr. Caesar play some very good things on the lute
together with myself on the violl and Greeting on the viallin. Then with
my wife abroad by coach, she to her tailor's, I to Westminster to Burges
about my Tangier business, and thence to White Hall, where I