condescend to these things, and do all he
can in his examining of his business to favour him, and yet with great
cunning not to be discovered but by me that am privy to it. At table it
is worth remembering that my Lord tells us that the House of Lords is
the last appeal that a man can make, upon a poynt of interpretation of
the law, and that therein they are above the judges; and that he did
assert this in the Lords' House upon the late occasion of the quarrel
between my Lord Bristoll and the Chancellor, when the former did accuse
the latter of treason, and the judges did bring it in not to be treason:
my Lord Ashly did declare that the judgment of the judges was nothing
in the presence of their Lordships, but only as far as they were the
properest men to bring precedents; but not to interpret the law to their
Lordships, but only the inducements of their persuasions: and this the
Lords did concur in. Another pretty thing was my Lady Ashly's speaking
of the bad qualities of glass-coaches; among others, the flying open
of the doors upon any great shake: but another was, that my Lady
Peterborough being in her glass-coach, with the glass up, and seeing a
lady pass by in a coach whom she would salute, the glass was so clear,
that she thought it had been open, and so ran her head through the
glass, and cut all her forehead! After dinner, before we fell to the
examination of Yeabsly's business, we were put into my Lord's room
before he could come to us, and there had opportunity to look over his
state of his accounts of the prizes; and there saw how bountiful the
King hath been to several people and hardly any man almost, Commander of
the Navy of any note, but hath had some reward or other out of it; and
many sums to the Privy-purse, but not so many, I see, as I thought
there had been: but we could not look quite through it. But several
Bedchamber-men and people about the Court had good sums; and, among
others, Sir John Minnes and Lord Bruncker have L200 a-piece for looking
to the East India prizes, while I did their work for them. By and by my
Lord come, and we did look over Yeabsly's business a little; and I find
how prettily this cunning Lord can be partial and dissemble it in this
case, being privy to the bribe he is to receive. This done; we away, and
with Sir H. Cholmly to Westminster; who by the way told me how merry
the king and Duke of York and Court were the other day, when they were
abroad a-hunting. They come to Sir