of course at the office this morning, and
so by boat to White Hall, where I hear that the race is put off, because
the Lords do sit in Parliament to-day. However, having appointed Mr.
Creed to come to me to Fox Hall, I went over thither, and after some
debate, Creed and I resolved to go to Clapham, to Mr. Gauden's, who had
sent his coach to their place for me because I was to have my horse of
him to go to the race. So I went thither by coach and my Will by horse
with me; Mr. Creed he went over back again to Westminster to fetch his
horse. When I came to Mr. Gauden's one first thing was to show me his
house, which is almost built, wherein he and his family live. I find it
very regular and finely contrived, and the gardens and offices about it
as convenient and as full of good variety as ever I saw in my life. It
is true he hath been censured for laying out so much money; but he tells
me that he built it for his brother, who is since dead (the Bishop), who
when he should come to be Bishop of Winchester, which he was promised
(to which bishoprick at present there is no house), he did intend to
dwell here. Besides, with the good husbandry in making his bricks and
other things I do not think it costs him so much money as people think
and discourse. By and by to dinner, and in comes Mr. Creed. I saluted
Mr. Gauden's lady, and the young ladies, he having many pretty children,
and his sister, the Bishop's widow; who was, it seems, Sir W. Russel's
daughter, the Treasurer of the Navy; who by her discourse at dinner I
find to be very well-bred, and a woman of excellent discourse, even so
much as to have my attention all dinner with much more pleasure than I
did give to Mr. Creed, whose discourse was mighty merry in inveighing
at Mr. Gauden's victuals that they had at sea the last voyage that he
prosecuted, till methought the woman began to take it seriously. After
dinner by Mr. Gauden's motion we got Mrs. Gauden and her sister to sing
to a viall, on which Mr. Gauden's eldest son (a pretty man, but a simple
one methinks) played but very poorly, and the musique bad, but yet I
commended it. Only I do find that the ladies have been taught to sing
and do sing well now, but that the viall puts them out. I took the viall
and played some things from one of their books, Lyra lessons, which
they seemed to like well. Thus we pass an hour or two after dinner and
towards the evening we bade them Adieu! and took horse; being resolved
that, inste