fill a letter to the Bishop.[3] My friend Lewis and I dined soberly with Dr. Adams,[4] the only neighbour prebendary.  One of the prebendaries here is lately a peer, by the death of his father.  He is now Lord Willoughby of Broke,[5] and will sit in the House of Lords with his gown.  I supped to-night at Masham’s with Lord Treasurer, Mr. Secretary, and Prior.  The Treasurer made us stay till twelve, before he came from the Queen, and ’tis now past two.

13.  I reckoned upon going to London to-day; but by an accident the Cabinet Council did not sit last night, and sat to-day, so we go to-morrow at six in the morning.  I missed the race to-day by coming out too late, when everybody’s coach was gone, and ride I would not:  I felt my last riding three days after.  We had a dinner to-day at the Secretary’s lodgings without him:  Mr. Hare,[6] his Under Secretary, Mr. Lewis, Brigadier Sutton,[7] and I, dined together; and I made the Vice-Chamberlain take a snap with us, rather than stay till five for his lady, who was gone to the race.  The reason why the Cabinet Council was not held last night was because Mr. Secretary St. John would not sit with your Duke of Somerset.[8] So to-day the Duke was forced to go to the race while the Cabinet was held.  We have music-meetings in our town, and I was at the rehearsal t’other day; but I did not value it, nor would go to the meeting.  Did I tell you this before?

London, 14.  We came to town this day in two hours and forty minutes:  twenty miles are nothing here.  I found a letter from the Archbishop of Dublin, sent me the Lord knows how.  He says some of the bishops will hardly believe that Lord Treasurer got the Queen to remit the First-Fruits before the Duke of Ormond was declared Lord Lieutenant, and that the bishops have written a letter to Lord Treasurer to thank him.  He has sent me the address of the Convocation, ascribing, in good part, that affair to the Duke, who had less share in it than MD; for if it had not been for MD, I should not have been so good a solicitor.  I dined to-day in the City, about a little bit of mischief, with a printer.—­I found Mrs. Vanhomrigh all in combustion, squabbling with her rogue of a landlord; she has left her house, and gone out of our neighbourhood a good way.  Her eldest daughter is come of age, and going to Ireland to look after her fortune, and get it in her own hands.[9]

15.  I dined to-day with Mrs. Van, who goes to-night to her new lodgings.  I went at six to see Lord Treasurer; but his company was gone, contrary to custom, and he was busy, and I was forced to stay some time before I could see him.  We were together hardly an hour, and he went away, being in haste.  He desired me to dine with him on Friday, because there would be a friend of his that I must see:  my Lord Harley told me, when he was gone, that it was Mrs. Masham his father meant, who is come to town to lie-in, and whom I never saw, though her husband