18th. I walked to White Hall, and into the Parke, seeing the
Queene and Maids of Honour passing through the house going to the
Parke. But above all, Mrs. Stuart is a fine woman, and they say
now a common mistress to the King, as my Lady Castlemaine is;
which is a great pity.
19th. With Sir John Minnes to the Tower; and by Mr. Slingsby,
and Mr. Howard, Controller of the Mint we were shown the method
of making this new money. That being done, the Controller would
have us dine with him and his company, the King giving them a
dinner every day. And very merry and good discourse upon the
business we have been upon. They now coyne between 16 and 24,000
pounds in a week. At dinner they did discourse very finely to us
of the probability that there is a vast deal of money hid in the
land, from this:--that in King Charles's time there was near ten
millions of money coyned, besides what was then in being of King
James's and Queene Elizabeth's, of which there is a good deal at
this day in being. Next, that there was but 750,000l. coyned of
the Harp and Crosse money, and of this there was 500,000l.
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