I went with Sir Charles Littleton to Sheen, a house and estate given him by Lord Brounker; one who was ever noted for a hard, covetous, vicious man; but for his worldly craft and skill in gaming few exceeded him. Coming to die, he bequeathed all his land, house, furniture, etc., to Sir Charles, to whom he had no manner of relation, but an ancient friendship contracted at the famous siege of Colchester, forty years before. It is a pretty place, with fine gardens, and well planted, and given to one worthy of them, Sir Charles[Pg 270] being an honest gentleman and soldier. He is brother to Sir Henry Littleton of Worcestershire, whose great estate he is likely to inherit, his brother being without children. They are descendants of the great lawyer of that name, and give the same arms and motto. He is married to one Mrs. Temple, formerly maid of honor to the late Queen, a beautiful lady, and he has many fine children, so that none envy his good fortune.
After dinner, we went to see Sir William Temple's near to it; the most remarkable things are his orangery and gardens, where the wall-fruit-trees are most exquisitely nailed and trained, far better than I ever noted.
There are many good pictures, especially of Vandyke's, in both these houses, and some few statues and small busts in the latter.
From thence to Kew, to visit Sir Henry Capel's, whose orangery and myrtetum are most beautiful and perfectly well kept. He was contriving very high palisadoes of reeds to shade his oranges during the summer, and painting those reeds in oil.