talking much of what we had observed to-day of the poor household stuff of
Mrs. Clerke and mere show and flutter that she makes in the world; and
pleasing myself in my own house and manner of living more than ever I did
by seeing how much better and more substantially I live than others do.
So to supper and bed.

19th. Up pretty betimes, but yet I observe how my dancing and lying a
morning or two longer than ordinary for my cold do make me hard to rise as
I used to do, or look after my business as I am wont. To my chamber to
make an end of my papers to my father to be sent by the post to-night, and
taking copies of them, which was a great work, but I did it this morning,
and so to my office, and thence with Sir John Minnes to the Tower; and by
Mr. Slingsby, and Mr. Howard, Controller of the Mint, we were shown the
method of making this new money, from the beginning to the end, which is
so pretty that I did take a note of every part of it and set them down by
themselves for my remembrance hereafter. That being done it was dinner
time, and so the Controller would have us dine with him and his company,
the King giving them a dinner every day. And very merry and good
discourse about the business we have been upon, and after dinner went to
the Assay Office and there saw the manner of assaying of gold and silver,
and how silver melted down with gold do part, just being put into
aqua-fortis, the silver turning into water, and the gold lying whole in
the very form it was put in, mixed of gold and silver, which is a miracle;
and to see no silver at all but turned into water, which they can bring
again into itself out of the water. And here I was made thoroughly to
understand the business of the fineness and coarseness of metals, and have
put down my lessons with my other observations therein. At table among
other discourse they told us of two cheats, the best I ever heard. One,
of a labourer discovered to convey away the bits of silver cut out pence
by swallowing them down into his belly, and so they could not find him