was pleased to give me a piece off his own plate to taste of; but, in my opinion, it falls short of those ravishing varieties of deliciousness described in Captain Ligon's History,' and others; but possibly it might, or certainly was, much impaired in coming so far; it has yet a grateful acidity, but tastes more like the quince and melon than of any other fruit he mentions.

28th August. Published my book of The Perfection of Painting, dedicated to Mr. Howard.

17th September. I entertained Signor Muccinigo, the Venetian Ambassador, of one of the noblest families of the State, this being the day of making his public entry, setting forth from my house with several gentlemen of Venice and others in a very glorious train. He staid with me till the Earl of Anglesea and Sir Charles Cotterell (Master of the Ceremonies) came with the King's barge to carry him to the Tower, where the guns were fired at his landing; he then entered his Majesty's coach, followed by many others of the nobility. I accompanied him to his house, where there was a most noble supper to all the company, of course.

After

the extraordinary compliments to me and my wife, for the civilities he received at my house, I took leave and returned. He is a very accomplished person. He is since Ambassador at Rome.

29th. I had much discourse with Signor Pietro Cisij,3 a Persian gentleman, about the affairs of

1 [A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes, 1673.] 2" An Idea of the Perfection of Painting, demonstrated from the Principles of Art, etc. . . . Written in French by Roland Freart, Sieur de Cambray, and rendered English by J. E., Esquire, 1668." There is nothing of Evelyn in it but the Dedication, dated, "Says-Court, July 24, 1668," and a preface "To the Reader," both of which are reprinted in the Miscellaneous Writings, 1825, pp. 553-62.1

3 [To whom was owing the inception of the History of the Three Impostors (see post, p. 294).]

1

Turkey, to my great satisfaction. I went to see Sir Elias Leighton's project of a cart with iron axle-trees.

8th November. Being at dinner, my sister Evelyn sent for me to come up to London to my continuing sick brother.'

4

5

14th. To London, invited to the consecration of that excellent person, the Dean of Ripon, Dr. Wilkins, now made Bishop of Chester; it was at Ely-House, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, the Bishops of Ely, Salisbury, Rochester, and others officiating. Dr. Tillotson preached. Then, we went to a sumptuous dinner in the hall, where were the Duke of Buckingham, Judges, Secretaries of State, Lord-Keeper, Council, Noblemen, and innumerable other company, who were honourers of this incomparable man, universally beloved by all who knew him.

This being the Queen's birthday, great was the gallantry at Whitehall, and the night celebrated with very fine fireworks.

My poor brother continuing ill, I went not from him till the 17th, when, dining at the GroomPorter's, I heard Sir Edward Sutton play excellently on the Irish harp; he performs genteelly, but not approaching my worthy friend, Mr. Clark, a gentleman of Northumberland, who makes it

6

1 Sir Elisha Leighton, d. 1685. He was one of the secretaries to the Prize Office, and F.R.S. from 1663 to 1677. "A mad freaking fellow"-according to one authority-though a D.C.L. According to another, "for a speech of forty words the wittiest man that ever he knew," and moreover "one of the best companions at a meal in the world."

2 [Richard Evelyn of Woodcote.]

8 See ante, p. 76.]

4 See post, under 27th June, 1675.

5 [Dr. John Tillotson, 1630-94, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury.]

6 [See ante, p. 70.]

execute lute, viol, and all the harmony an instrument is capable of; pity 'tis that it is not more in use; but, indeed, to play well, takes up the whole man, as Mr. Clark has assured me, who, though a gentleman of quality and parts, was yet brought up to that instrument from five years old, as I remember he told me.

25th November. I waited on Lord Sandwich, who presented me with a Sembrador1 he brought out of Spain, showing me his two books of observations made during his embassy and stay at Madrid; in which were several rare things he promised to impart to me.

27th. I dined at my Lord Ashley's (since Earl of Shaftesbury), when the match of my niece was proposed for his only son, in which my assistance was desired for my Lord.

28th. Dr. Patrick' preached at Covent Garden, on Acts xvii. 31, the certainty of Christ's coming to judgment, it being Advent; a most suitable discourse.

19th December. I went to see the old play of Catiline acted, having been now forgotten almost forty years.

20th. I dined with my Lord Cornbury at Clarendon House, now bravely furnished, especially with the pictures of most of our ancient and modern wits, poets, philosophers, famous and

1 [A new engine for ploughing, equal sowing, and harrowing at once. There is a letter by Evelyn to Lord Brouncker on this in the Miscellaneous Writings, 1825, pp. 621-22. It is also described by its inventor, Don Joseph Lucatelo, in Phil. Trans. June, 1670, No. 60, vol. v. p. 1056.]

2

[Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1621-83, created Earl of Shaftesbury in 1672.]

3 Probably the daughter of his brother Richard, of Epsom, who eventually married William Montagu.

4

[Dr. Simon Patrick, 1626-1707, champion of the Protestant party, and eventually Bishop of Ely.]

5

[Catiline, his Conspiracy, by Ben Jonson, a Tragedy, 1611.]

learned Englishmen; which collection of the Chancellor's I much commended, and

Lordship a catalogue of more to be added gave his

1 In a letter to the Lord Chancellor, dated 18th March, 1666-67, Evelyn writes:

"My Lord, your Lordship inquires of me what pictures might be added to the Assembly of the Learned and Heroic persons of England which your Lordship has already collected; the design of which I do infinitely more magnify than the most famous heads of foreigners, which do not concern the glory of our country; and it is in my opinion the most honourable ornament, the most becoming and obliging, which your Lordship can think of to adorn your palace withal; such, therefore, as seem to be wanting, I shall range under these three heads:

For an account of Lady Joan Weston, less known than her companion, see George Ballard's Learned Ladies, 1775. There is a very scarce volume of Latin Poems by her, printed at Prague, 1606, and Evelyn specially mentions her in his Numismata. She is often celebrated by the writers of her time.

Some of which, though difficult to procure originals of, yet haply

31st December. I entertained my kind neighbours, according to custom, giving Almighty God thanks for His gracious mercies to me the past year.

1668-9: 1st January. Imploring His blessing for the year entering, I went to church, where our Doctor preached on Psalm lxv. 12, apposite to the season, and beginning a new year.

3rd. About this time one of Sir William Penn's sons had published a blasphemous book against the Deity of our Blessed Lord.1

29th. I went to see a tall gigantic woman who measured 6 feet 10 inches high, at 21 years old, born in the Low Countries.

13th February. I presented his Majesty with my History of the Four [?] Impostors; he told me of other like cheats. I gave my book to Lord Arlington, to whom I dedicated it. It was now that he began to tempt me about writing "the Dutch War." 3

15th. Saw Mrs. Philips' Horace acted again.

18th. To the Royal Society, when Signor copies might be found out upon diligent inquiry. The rest, I think, your Lordship has already in good proportion."

Writing on the same subject to Pepys, in a letter dated 12th August, 1689, Evelyn tells him that the Lord Chancellor Clarendon had collected Portraits of very many of our great men; and he proceeds to put them down, without order or arrangement, as he recollected them. He gives also there a list of Portraits which he recommended to be added, a little different from the list contained in the letter above quoted; and he adds, that "when Lord Clarendon's design of making this collection was known, everybody who had any of the portraits, or could purchase them at any price, strove to make their court by presenting them. By this means he got many excellent pieces of Vandyck, and other originals by Lely and other the best of our modern masters."

1 [See ante, p. 287.]

2 The History of the Three late Famous Impostors, viz. Padre Ottomano, Mahomed Bei, and Sabatai Sevi, 1669. Reprinted in Evelyn's Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 563-620.

3 [See ante, p. 230.]

4 See ante, p. 285.