drink wine. After dinner into a withdrawing room; and there we talked,
among other things, of the Lord Mayor's sword. They tell me this sword,
they believe, is at least a hundred or two hundred years old; and another
that he hath, which is called the Black Sword, which the Lord Mayor wears
when he mournes, but properly is their Lenten sword to wear upon Good
Friday and other Lent days, is older than that. Thence I, leaving Sir J.
Minnes to look after his indictment drawing up, I home by water, and there
found my wife mightily pleased with a present of shells, fine shells given
her by Captain Hickes, and so she and I up and look them over, and indeed
they are very pleasant ones. By and by in comes Mr. Lewellin, lately come
from Ireland, to see me, and he tells me how the English interest falls
mightily there, the Irish party being too great, so that most of the old
rebells are found innocent, and their lands, which were forfeited and
bought or given to the English, are restored to them; which gives great
discontent there among the English. He being gone, I to my office, where
late, putting things in order, and so home to supper and to bed. Going
through the City, my Lord Mayor told me how the piller set up by Exeter
House is only to show where the pipes of water run to the City; and
observed that this City is as well watered as any city in the world, and
that the bringing the water to the City hath cost it first and last above
L300,000; but by the new building, and the building of St. James's by my
Lord St. Albans,

[It was at this time that the Earl of St. Albans planned St. James's
Square, which was first styled "The Piazza." The "Warrant for a
grant to Baptist May and Abraham Cowley on nomination of the Earl of
St. Albans of several parcels of ground in Pall Mall described, on
rental of L80, for building thereon a square of 13 or 14 great and
good houses," was dated September 24th, 1664.]