ws me a letter from her
brother speaking of their father's being ill, like to die, which, God
forgive me! did not trouble me so much as it should, though I was indeed
sorry for it. I did presently resolve to send him something in a letter
from my wife, viz. 20s. So to bed.

13th. Up, and walked to Greenwich, taking pleasure to walk with my minute
watch in my hand, by which I am come now to see the distances of my way
from Woolwich to Greenwich, and do find myself to come within two minutes
constantly to the same place at the end of each quarter of an houre. Here
we rendezvoused at Captain Cocke's, and there eat oysters, and so my Lord
Bruncker, Sir J. Minnes, and I took boat, and in my Lord's coach to Sir W.
Hickes's, whither by and by my Lady Batten and Sir William comes. It is a
good seat, with a fair grove of trees by it, and the remains of a good
garden; but so let to run to ruine, both house and every thing in and
about it, so ill furnished and miserably looked after, I never did see in
all my life. Not so much as a latch to his dining-room door; which saved
him nothing, for the wind blowing into the room for want thereof, flung
down a great bow pott that stood upon the side-table, and that fell upon
some Venice glasses, and did him a crown's worth of hurt. He did give us
the meanest dinner (of beef, shoulder and umbles of venison

[Dr. Johnson was puzzled by the following passage in "The Merry
Wives of Windsor," act v., sc. 3: "Divide me like a bribe-buck, each
a haunch. I will keep the sides to myself; my shoulders for the
fellow of this walk." If he could have read the account of Sir
William Hickes's dinner, he would at once have understood the
allusion to the keeper's perquisites of the shoulders of all deer
killed in his walk.--B.]

which he takes away from the keeper of the Forest, and a few pigeons, and
all in the meanest manner) that ever I did see, to the basest degree.
After dinner we officers of the Navy stepped aside to read some letters
and consider some business, and so in again. I was only pleased at a very
fine picture of the Queene-Mother, when she was young, by Van-Dike; a very
good picture, and a lovely sweet face. Thence in the afternoon home, and
landing at Greenwich I saw Mr. Pen walking my way, so we walked together,
and for discourse I put him into talk of France, when he took delight to
tell me of his observations, some good, some impertinent,