. So to the office, where among other things I read the
Councill's order about my Lord Bruncker and Sir W. Pen to be assistants to
the Comptroller, which quietly went down with Sir J. Minnes, poor man,
seeming a little as if he would be thought to have desired it, but yet
apparently to his discontent; and, I fear, as the order runs, it will
hardly do much good. At noon to dinner, and there comes a letter from
Mrs. Pierce, telling me she will come and dine with us on Thursday next,
with some of the players, Knipp, &c., which I was glad of, but my wife
vexed, which vexed me; but I seemed merry, but know not how to order the
matter, whether they shall come or no. After dinner to the office, and
there late doing much business, and so home to supper, and to bed.

23rd. Up, and with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen to White Hall, and there
to the Duke of York, and did our usual business. Having done there, I to
St. James's, to see the organ Mrs. Turner told me of the other night, of
my late Lord Aubigney's; and I took my Lord Bruncker with me, he being
acquainted with my present Lord Almoner, Mr. Howard, brother to the Duke
of Norfolke; so he and I thither and did see the organ, but I do not like
it, it being but a bauble, with a virginal! joining to it: so I shall not
meddle with it. Here we sat and talked with him a good while, and he
seems a good-natured gentleman: here I observed the deske which he hath,
[made] to remove, and is fastened to one of the armes of his chayre. I do
also observe the counterfeit windows there was, in the form of doors with
looking-glasses instead of windows, which makes the room seem both bigger
and lighter, I think; and I have some thoughts to have the like in one of
my rooms. He discoursed much of the goodness of the musique in Rome, but
could not tell me how long musique had been in any perfection in that
church, which I would be glad to know. He speaks much of the great
buildings that this Pope,

[Fabio Chigi, of Siena, succeeded Innocent X. in 1655 as Alexander
VII. He died May, 1667, and was succeeded by Clement IX.]

whom, in mirth to us, he calls Antichrist, hath done in his time. Having
done with the discourse, we away, and my Lord and I walking into the Park
back again, I did observe the new buildings: and my Lord, seeing I had a
desire to see them, they being the place for the priests and fryers, he
took me back to my Lord Almoner; and he took us quite through the who