and at noon to my Lord Crew's, where one Mr. Tempter (an ingenious man and
a person of honour he seems to be) dined; and, discoursing of the nature
of serpents, he told us some that in the waste places of Lancashire do
grow to a great bigness, and that do feed upon larks, which they take
thus: They observe when the lark is soared to the highest, and do crawl
till they come to be just underneath them; and there they place themselves
with their mouths uppermost, and there, as is conceived, they do eject
poyson up to the bird; for the bird do suddenly come down again in its
course of a circle, and falls directly into the mouth of the serpent;
which is very strange. He is a great traveller; and, speaking of the
tarantula, he says that all the harvest long (about which times they are
most busy) there are fidlers go up and down the fields every where, in
expectation of being hired by those that are stung. Thence to the office,
where late, and so to my chamber and then to bed, my mind a little
troubled how to put things in order to my advantage in the office in
readiness to the Duke's orders lately sent to us, and of which we are to
treat at the office to-morrow morning. This afternoon, going into the
office, one met me and did serve a subpoena upon me for one Field, whom we
did commit to prison the other day for some ill words he did give the
office. The like he had for others, but we shall scour him for it.

5th. Early at the office. Sir G. Carteret, the two Sir Williams and
myself all alone reading of the Duke's institutions for the settlement of
our office, whereof we read as much as concerns our own duties, and left
the other officers for another time. I did move several things for my
purpose, and did ease my mind. At noon Sir W. Pen dined with me, and
after dinner he and I and my wife to the Theatre, and went in, but being
very early we went out again to the next door, and drank some Rhenish wine
and sugar, and so to the House again, and there saw "Rule a Wife and have
a Wife" very well done. And here also I did look long upon my Lady