gentlemen lately (--------byname), that a grant coming to him to be
sealed, wherein the King hath given her [Lady Castlemaine], or somebody by
her means, a place which he did not like well of, he did stop the grant;
saying, that he thought this woman would sell everything shortly: which
she hearing of, she sent to let him know that she had disposed of this
place, and did not doubt, in a little time, to dispose of his. This
Rawlinson do tell me my Lord Chancellor's own gentleman did tell him
himself. Thence, meeting Creed, I with him to the Parke, there to walk a
little, and to the Queen's Chapel and there hear their musique, which I
liked in itself pretty well as to the composition, but their voices are
very harsh and rough that I thought it was some instruments they had that
made them sound so. So to White Hall, and saw the King and Queen at
dinner; and observed (which I never did before), the formality, but it is
but a formality, of putting a bit of bread wiped upon each dish into the
mouth of every man that brings a dish; but it should be in the sauce.
Here were some Russes come to see the King at dinner: among others, the
interpreter, a comely Englishman, in the Envoy's own clothes; which the
Envoy, it seems, in vanity did send to show his fine clothes upon this
man's back, which is one, it seems, of a comelier presence than himself:
and yet it is said that none of their clothes are their own, but taken out
of the King's own Wardrobe; and which they dare not bring back dirty or
spotted, but clean, or are in danger of being beaten, as they say:
insomuch that, Sir Charles Cotterell says, when they are to have an
audience they never venture to put on their clothes till he appears to
come to fetch them; and, as soon as ever they come home, put them off
again. I to Sir G. Carteret's to dinner; where Mr. Cofferer Ashburnham;
who told a good story of a prisoner's being condemned at Salisbury for a
small matter. While he was on the bench with his father-in-law, judge
Richardson, and while they were considering to transport him to save his
life, the fellow flung a great stone at the judge, that missed him, but