The Diary of John Evelyn Volume II Part 40

8th March, 1695. I supped at the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry's, who related to me the pious behavior of the Queen in all her sickness, which was admirable. She never inquired of what opinion persons were, who were objects of charity; that, on opening a cabinet, a paper was found wherein she had desired that her body might not be opened, or any extraordinary expense at her funeral, whenever she should die. This paper was not found in time to be observed. There were other excellent things under her own hand, to the very least of her debts, which were very small, and everything in that exact method, as seldom is found in any private person. In sum, she was such an admirable woman, abating for taking the Crown without a more due apology, as does, if possible, outdo the renowned Queen Elizabeth.

10th March, 1695. I dined at the Earl of Sunderland's with Lord Spencer.

My Lord showed me his library, now again improved by many books bought at the sale of Sir Charles Scarborough, an eminent physician, which was the very best collection, especially of mathematical books, that was I believe in Europe, once designed for the King's Library at St. James's; but the Queen dying, who was the great patroness of that design, it was let fall, and the books were miserably dissipated.

The new edition of Camden's "Britannia" was now published (by Bishop Gibson), with great additions; those to Surrey were mine, so that I had one presented to me. Dr. Gale showed me a MS. of some parts of the New Testament in vulgar Latin, that had belonged to a monastery in the North of Scotland, which he esteemed to be about eight hundred years old; there were some considerable various readings observable, as in John i., and genealogy of St. Luke.

24th March, 1695. EASTER DAY. Mr. Duncomb, parson of this parish, preached, which he hardly comes to above once a year though but seven or eight miles off; a florid discourse, read out of his notes. The Holy Sacrament followed, which he administered with very little reverence, leaving out many prayers and exhortations; nor was there any oblation.

This ought to be reformed, but my good brother did not well consider when he gave away this living and the next [Abinger].

March, 1695. The latter end of the month sharp and severely cold, with much snow and hard frost; no appearance of spring.

31st March, 1695. Mr. Lucas preached in the afternoon at Wotton.

[Sidenote: LONDON]

7th April, 1695. Lord Halifax died suddenly at London, the day his daughter was married to the Earl of Nottingham's son at Burleigh. Lord H. was a very rich man, very witty, and in his younger days somewhat positive.

14th April, 1695. After a most severe, cold, and snowy winter, without almost any shower for many months, the wind continuing N. and E. and not a leaf appearing; the weather and wind now changed, some showers fell, and there was a remission of cold.

21st April, 1695. The spring begins to appear, yet the trees hardly leafed. Sir T. Cooke discovers what prodigious bribes have been given by some of the East India Company out of the stock, which makes a great clamor. Never were so many private bills pa.s.sed for unsettling estates, showing the wonderful prodigality and decay of families.

5th May, 1695. I came to Deptford from Wotton, in order to the first meeting of the Commissioners for endowing an hospital for seamen at Greenwich; it was at the Guildhall, London. Present, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Keeper, Lord Privy Seal, Lord G.o.dolphin, Duke of Shrewsbury, Duke of Leeds, Earls of Dorset and Monmouth, Commissioners of the Admiralty and Navy, Sir Robert Clayton, Sir Christopher Wren, and several more. The Commission was read by Mr. Lowndes, Secretary to the Lords of the Treasury, Surveyor-General.

17th May, 1695. Second meeting of the Commissioners, and a committee appointed to go to Greenwich to survey the place, I being one of them.

21st May, 1695. We went to survey Greenwich, Sir Robert Clayton, Sir Christopher Wren, Mr. Travers, the King's Surveyor, Captain Sanders, and myself.

24th May, 1695. We made report of the state of Greenwich house, and how the standing part might be made serviceable at present for 6,000, and what ground would be requisite for the whole design. My Lord Keeper ordered me to prepare a book for subscriptions, and a preamble to it.

31st May, 1695. Met again. Mr. Vanbrugh was made secretary to the commission, by my nomination of him to the Lords, which was all done that day.

7th June, 1695. The commissioners met at Guildhall, when there were scruples and contests of the Lord Mayor, who would not meet, not being named as one of the quorum, so that a new commission was required, though the Lord Keeper and the rest thought it too nice a punctilio.

14th May, 1695. Met at Guildhall, but could do nothing for want of a quorum.

5th July, 1695. At Guildhall; account of subscriptions, about 7,000 or 8,000.

6th July, 1695. I dined at Lambeth, making my first visit to the Archbishop, where there was much company, and great cheer. After prayers in the evening, my Lord made me stay to show me his house, furniture, and garden, which were all very fine, and far beyond the usual Archbishops, not as affected by this, but being bought ready furnished by his predecessor. We discoursed of several public matters, particularly of the Princess of Denmark, who made so little figure.

11th July, 1695. Met at Guildhall; not a full committee, so nothing done.

14th July, 1695. No sermon at church; but, after prayers, the names of all the parishioners were read, in order to gathering the tax of 4s. for marriages, burials, etc. A very imprudent tax, especially this reading the names, so that most went out of the church.

[Sidenote: WOTTON]

19th July, 1695. I dined at Sir Purbeck Temple's, near Croydon; his lady is aunt to my son-in-law, Draper; the house exactly furnished. Went thence with my son and daughter to Wotton. At Wotton, Mr. Duncomb, parson of Albury, preached excellently.

28th July, 1695. A very wet season.

11th August, 1695. The weather now so cold, that greater frosts were not always seen in the midst of winter; this succeeded much wet, and set harvest extremely back.

25th September, 1695. Mr. Offley preached at Abinger; too much controversy on a point of no consequence, for the country people here.

This was the first time I had heard him preach. Bombarding of Cadiz; a cruel and brutish way of making war, first began by the French. The season wet, great storms, unseasonable harvest weather. My good and worthy friend, Captain Gifford, who that he might get some competence to live decently, adventured all he had in a voyage of two years to the East Indies, was, with another great ship, taken by some French men-of-war, almost within sight of England, to the loss of near 70,000, to my great sorrow, and pity of his wife, he being also a valiant and industrious man. The losses of this sort to the nation have been immense, and all through negligence, and little care to secure the same near our own coasts; of infinitely more concern to the public than spending their time in bombarding and ruining two or three paltry towns, without any benefit, or weakening our enemies, who, though they began, ought not to be imitated in an action totally averse to humanity, or Christianity.

29th September, 1695. Very cold weather. Sir Purbeck Temple, uncle to my son Draper, died suddenly. A great funeral at Addis...o...b... His lady being own aunt to my son Draper, he hopes for a good fortune, there being no heir. There had been a new meeting of the commissioners about Greenwich hospital, on the new commission, where the Lord Mayor, etc. appeared, but I was prevented by indisposition from attending. The weather very sharp, winter approaching apace. The King went a progress into the north, to show himself to the people against the elections, and was everywhere complimented, except at Oxford, where it was not as he expected, so that he hardly stopped an hour there, and having seen the theater, did not receive the banquet proposed. I dined with Dr. Gale at St. Paul's school, who showed me many curious pa.s.sages out of some ancient Platonists' MSS. concerning the Trinity, which this great and learned person would publish, with many other rare things, if he was encouraged, and eased of the burden of teaching.

25th October, 1695. The Archbishop and myself went to Hammersmith, to visit Sir Samuel Morland, who was entirely blind; a very mortifying sight. He showed us his invention of writing, which was very ingenious; also his wooden calendar, which instructed him all by feeling; and other pretty and useful inventions of mills, pumps, etc., and the pump he had erected that serves water to his garden, and to pa.s.sengers, with an inscription, and brings from a filthy part of the Thames near it a most perfect and pure water. He had newly buried 200 worth of music books six feet under ground, being, as he said, love songs and vanity. He plays himself psalms and religious hymns on the theorbo. Very mild weather the whole of October.

[Sidenote: LONDON]

10th November, 1695. Mr. Stanhope, Vicar of Lewisham, preached at Whitehall. He is one of the most accomplished preachers I ever heard, for matter, eloquence, action, voice, and I am told, of excellent conversation.

13th November, 1695. Famous fireworks and very chargeable, the King being returned from his progress. He stayed seven or eight days at Lord Sunderland's at Althorpe, where he was mightily entertained. These fireworks were shown before Lord Romney, master of the ordnance, in St.

James's great square, where the King stood.

17th November, 1695. I spoke to the Archbishop of Canterbury to interest himself for restoring a room belonging to St. James's library, where the books want place.

21st November, 1695. I went to see Mr. Churchill's collection of rarities.

23d November, 1695. To Lambeth, to get Mr. Williams continued in Boyle's lectures another year. Among others who dined there was Dr. Covel, the great Oriental traveler.

1st December, 1695. I dined at Lord Sunderland's, now the great favorite and underhand politician, but not adventuring on any character, being obnoxious to the people for having twice changed his religion.

23d December, 1695. The Parliament wondrously intent on ways to reform the coin; setting out a Proclamation prohibiting the currency of half-crowns, etc., which made much confusion among the people.

25th December, 1695. Hitherto mild, dark, misty, weather. Now snow and frost.

12th January, 1695-96. Great confusion and distraction by reason of the clipped money, and the difficulty found in reforming it.

2d February, 1696. An extraordinary wet season, though temperate as to cold. The "Royal Sovereign" man-of-war burned at Chatham. It was built in 1637, and having given occasion to the levy of ship money was perhaps the cause of all the after troubles to this day. An earthquake in Dorsetshire by Portland, or rather a sinking of the ground suddenly for a large s.p.a.ce, near the quarries of stone, hindering the conveyance of that material for the finishing St. Paul's.

23d February, 1696. They now began to coin new money.

26th February, 1696. There was now a conspiracy of about thirty knights, gentlemen, captains, many of them Irish and English Papists, and Nonjurors or Jacobites (so called), to murder King William on the first opportunity of his going either from Kensington, or to hunting, or to the chapel; and upon signal of fire to be given from Dover Cliff to Calais, an invasion was designed. In order to it there was a great army in readiness, men-of-war and transports, to join a general insurrection here, the Duke of Berwick having secretly come to London to head them, King James attending at Calais with the French army. It was discovered by some of their own party. 1,000 reward was offered to whoever could apprehend any of the thirty named. Most of those who were engaged in it, were taken and secured. The Parliament, city, and all the nation, congratulate the discovery; and votes and resolutions were pa.s.sed that, if King William should ever be a.s.sa.s.sinated, it should be revenged on the Papists and party through the nation; an Act of a.s.sociation drawing up to empower the Parliament to sit on any such accident, till the Crown should be disposed of according to the late settlement at the Revolution. All Papists, in the meantime, to be banished ten miles from London. This put the nation into an incredible disturbance and general animosity against the French King and King James. The militia of the nation was raised, several regiments were sent for out of Flanders, and all things put in a posture to encounter a descent. This was so timed by the enemy, that while we were already much discontented by the greatness of the taxes, and corruption of the money, etc., we had like to have had very few men-of-war near our coasts; but so it pleased G.o.d that Admiral Rooke wanting a wind to pursue his voyage to the Straits, that squadron, with others at Portsmouth and other places, were still in the Channel, and were soon brought up to join with the rest of the ships which could be got together, so that there is hope this plot may be broken. I look on it as a very great deliverance and prevention by the providence of G.o.d. Though many did formerly pity King James's condition, this design of a.s.sa.s.sination and bringing over a French army, alienated many o his friends, and was likely to produce a more perfect establishment of King William.

1st March, 1696. The wind continuing N. and E. all this week, brought so many of our men-of-war together that, though most of the French finding their design detected and prevented, made a shift to get into Calais and Dunkirk roads, we wanting fire-ships and bombs to disturb them; yet they were so engaged among the sands and flats, that 'tis said they cut their masts and flung their great guns overboard to lighten their vessels. We are yet upon them. This deliverance is due solely to G.o.d. French were to have invaded at once England, Scotland, and Ireland.

8th March, 1696. Divers of the conspirators tried and condemned.

Vesuvius breaking out, terrified Naples. Three of the unhappy wretches, whereof one was a priest, were executed[82] for intending to a.s.sa.s.sinate the King; they acknowledged their intention, but acquitted King James of inciting them to it, and died very penitent. Divers more in danger, and some very considerable persons.

[Footnote 82: Robert Charnock, Edward King, and Thomas Keys.]

Great frost and cold.

[Sidenote: LONDON]

6th April, 1696. I visited Mr. Graham in the Fleet.