ordinary fiddlers get so much money as ours do here, which speaks our rudeness still. That he hath gathered our Italians from several Courts in Christendome, to come to make a concert for the King, which he do give £200 a-year a-piece to; but badly paid, and do come in the room of keeping four ridiculous Gundilows, he having got the King to put them away, and lay out money this way. And indeed I do commend him for it; for I think it is a very noble undertaking. He do intend to have some times of the year these operas to be performed at the two present theatres, since he is defeated in what he intended in Moorefields on purpose for it. And he tells me plainly that the City audience was as good as the Court; but now they are most gone. Baptista tells me that Giacomo Charissimi22 is still alive at Rome, who was master to Vinnecotio, who is one of the Italians that the King hath here, and the chief composer of them. My great wonder is, how this man do to keep in memory so perfectly the musique of the whole act, both for the voice and the instrument too. I confess I do admire it: but in recitativo the sense much helps him, for there is but one proper way of discoursing and giving the accents. Having done our discourse, we all took coaches (my Lord’s and T. Killigrew’s) and to Mrs Knipp’s chamber, where this Italian is to teach her to sing her part. And so we all thither, and there she did sing an Italian song or two very fine, while he played the bass upon a harpsicon there; and exceedingly taken I am with her singing, and believe she will do miracles at that and acting.

13th. To the Duke of York, and there did our usual business; but troubled to see that at this time, after our declaring a debt to the Parliament of £900,000 and nothing paid since, but the debt encreased, and now the fleet to set out, to hear that the King hath ordered but £35,000 for the setting out of the fleet, out of the Poll Bill to buy all provisions, when five times as much had been little enough to have done any thing to purpose. They have, indeed, ordered more for paying off of seamen and the Yards to some time, but not enough for that neither. A foul evening this was to-night, and I mightily troubled to get a coach home; and, which is now my common practice, going over the ruins in the night, I rid with my sword drawn in the coach.

14th. By coach to my Lord Chancellor’s, and there a meeting: the Duke of York, Duke of Albemarle, and several other Lords of the Commission of Tangier. And there I did present a state of my accounts, and managed them well; and my Lord Chancellor did say, though he was in other things in an ill humour, that no man in England was of more method, nor made himself better understood, than myself. But going, after the business of money was over, to other businesses, of settling the garrison, he did fling out, and so did the Duke of York, two or three severe words touching my Lord Bellasses: that he would have no Governor come away from thence in less than three years: no, though his lady were with child. ‘And,’ says the Duke of York, ‘there should be no Governor continue so, longer than three years.’ -- ‘And,’ says Lord Arlington, ‘when our rules are once set, and upon good judgment declared, no Governor should offer to alter them.’ ‘We must correct the many things that are amiss there; for (says the Lord Chancellor) you must think we do hear of more things amiss than we are willing to speak before our friends’ faces.’ My Lord Bellasses would not take notice of their reflecting on him, and did wisely. H. Cholmly and I to the Temple, and there walked in the dark in the walks talking of news; and he surprises me with the certain news that the King did last night in Council declare his being in treaty with the Dutch: that they had sent him a very civil letter, declaring that if nobody but themselves were concerned, they would not dispute the place of treaty, but leave it to his choice; but that being obliged to satisfy therein a prince of equal quality with himself, they must except any place in England or Spain. Also the King hath chosen the Hague, and thither hath chose my Lord Hollis and Harry Coventry to go Embassadors to treat; which is so mean a thing as all the world will believe that we do go to beg a peace of them, whatever we pretend. And it seems all our Court are mightily for a peace, taking this to be the time to make one while the King hath money, that he may save something of what the Parliament hath given him to put him out of debt, so as he may need the help of no more Parliaments, as to the point of money: but our debt is so great, and expence daily so encreased, that I believe little of the money will be saved between this and the making of the peace up. But that which troubles me most is, that we have chosen a son of Secretary Morris, a boy never used to any business, to go Secretary to the Embassy.

This morning come up to my wife’s bedside, I being up dressing myself, little Will Mercer to be her Valentine; and brought her name writ upon blue paper in gold letters, done by himself, very pretty; and we were both

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