Diary of Samuel Pepys, 1667 N.S. Complete

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14th. Up and to the office, where busy, and after dinner also to the
office again till night, when Mr. Moore come to me to discourse about the
L200 I must supply my Lord Hinchingbroke, and I promised him to do it,
though much against my will. So home, to supper and to bed.

15th (Lord's day). Up, and to church, where I heard a German preach, in a
tone hard to be understood, but yet an extraordinary good sermon, and
wholly to my great content. So home, and there all alone with wife and
girle to dinner, and then I busy at my chamber all the afternoon, and
looking over my plate, which indeed is a very fine quantity, God knows,
more than ever I expected to see of my own, and more than is fit for a man
of no better quality than I am. In the evening comes Mrs. Turner to visit
us, who hath been long sick, and she sat and supped with us, and after
supper, her son Francke being there, now upon the point of his going to
the East Indys, I did give him "Lex Mercatoria," and my wife my old pair
of tweezers, which are pretty, and my book an excellent one for him. Most
of our talk was of the great discourse the world hath against my Lady
Batten, for getting her husband to give her all, and disinherit his eldest
son; though the truth is, the son, as they say, did play the knave with
his father when time was, and the father no great matter better with him,
nor with other people also. So she gone, we to bed.

16th. Up, and to several places, to pay what I owed. Among others, to my
mercer, to pay for my fine camlott cloak, which costs me, the very stuff,
almost L6; and also a velvet coat-the outside cost me above L8. And so to
Westminster, where I find the House mighty busy upon a petition against my
Lord Gerard, which lays heavy things to his charge, of his abusing the
King in his Guards; and very hot the House is upon it. I away home to
dinner alone with wife and girle, and so to the office, where mighty busy
to my great content late, and then home to supper, talk with my wife, and
to bed. It was doubtful to-day whether the House should be adjourned
to-morrow or no.

17th. Up, and to the office, where very busy all the morning, and then in
the afternoon I with Sir W. Pen and Sir T. Harvy to White Hall to attend
the Duke of York, who is now as well as ever, and there we did our usual
business with him, and so away home with Sir W. Pen, and there to the
office, where pretty late doing business, my wife having been abroad all
day with Mrs. Turner buying of one thing or other. This day I do hear at
White Hall that the Duke of Monmouth is sick, and in danger of the
smallpox. So home to supper and to bed.

18th. Up, and to my goldsmith's in the morning, to look after the
providing of L60 for Mr. Moore, towards the answering of my Lord
Sandwich's bill of exchange, he being come to be contented with my lending
him L60 in part of it, which pleases me, I expecting to have been forced
to answer the whole bill; and this, which I do do, I hope to secure out of
the plate, which was delivered into my custody of my Lord's the other day
by Mr. Cooke, and which I did get Mr. Stokes, the goldsmith, last night to
weigh at my house, and there is enough to secure L100. Thence home to the
office, and there all the morning by particular appointment with Sir W.
Pen, Sir R. Ford, and those that are concerned for my Lady Batten (Mr.
Wood, Young, and Lewes), to even the accounts of our prize business, and
at noon broke up, and to dinner, every man to his own home, and to it till
late at night again, and we did come to some end, and I am mightily put to
it how to order the business of my bargaine, but my industry is to keep it
off from discourse till the ship be brought home safe, and this I did do,
and so we broke up, she appearing in our debts about L1500, and so we
parted, and I to my business, and home to my wife, who is troubled with
the tooth ake, and there however I got her to read to me the History of
Algiers, which I find a very pretty book, and so to supper with much
pleasure talking, and to bed. The Parliament not adjourned yet.

19th. Up, and to the Office, where Commissioner Middleton first took
place at the Board as Surveyor of the Navy; and indeed I think will be an
excellent officer; I am sure much beyond what his predecessor was. At
noon, to avoid being forced to invite him to dinner, it being his first
day, and nobody inviting him, I did go to the 'Change with Sir W. Pen in
his coach, who first went to Guildhall, whither I went with him, he to
speak with Sheriff Gawden--I only for company; and did here look up and
down this place, where I have not been before since the fire; and I see
that the city are got a pace on in the rebuilding of Guildhall. Thence to
the 'Change, where I stayed very little, and so home to dinner, and there
find my wife mightily out of order with her teeth. At the office all the
afternoon, and at night by coach to Westminster, to the Hall, where I met
nobody, and do find that this evening the King by message (which he never
did before) hath passed several bills, among others that for the Accounts,
and for banishing my Lord Chancellor, and hath adjourned the House to
February; at which I am glad, hoping in this time to get leisure to state
my Tangier Accounts, and to prepare better for the Parliament's enquiries.
Here I hear how the House of Lords, with great severity, if not tyranny,
have ordered poor Carr, who only erred in the manner of the presenting his
petition against my Lord Gerard, it being first printed before it was
presented; which was, it, seems, by Colonel Sands's going into the
country, into whose hands he had put it: the poor man is ordered to stand
in the pillory two or three times, and his eares cut, and be imprisoned I
know not how long. But it is believed that the Commons, when they meet,
will not be well pleased with it; and they have no reason, I think.
Having only heard this from Mrs. Michell, I away again home, and there to
supper and to bed, my wife exceeding ill in her face with the tooth ake,
and now her face has become mightily swelled that I am mightily troubled
for it.

20th. Up, and all the morning at the office with Sir R. Ford and the same
company as on Wednesday about my Lady Batten's accounts. At noon home to
dinner, where my poor wife in bed in mighty pain, her left cheek so
swelled as that we feared it would break, and so were fain to send for Mr.
Hollier, who come, and seems doubtful of the defluxions of humours that
may spoil her face, if not timely cured. He laid a poultice to it and
other directions, and so away, and I to the office, where on the same
accounts very late, and did come pretty near a settlement. So at night to
Sir W. Pen's with Sir R. Ford, and there was Sir D. Gawden, and there we
only talked of sundry things; and I have found of late, by discourse, that
the present sort of government is looked upon as a sort of government that
we never had yet--that is to say, a King and House of Commons against the
House of Lords; for so indeed it is, though neither of the two first care
a fig for one another, nor the third for them both, only the Bishops are
afeard of losing ground, as I believe they will. So home to my poor wife,
who is in mighty pain, and her face miserably swelled: so as I was
frighted to see it, and I was forced to lie below in the great chamber,
where I have not lain many a day, and having sat up with her, talking and
reading and pitying her, I to bed.

21st. At the office all the morning, and at noon home to dinner with my
Clerks and Creed, who among other things all alone, after dinner, talking
of the times, he tells me that the Nonconformists are mighty high, and
their meetings frequented and connived at; and they do expect to have
their day now soon; for my Lord of Buckingham is a declared friend to
them, and even to the Quakers, who had very good words the other day from
the King himself: and, what is more, the Archbishop of Canterbury is
called no more to the Cabal, nor, by the way, Sir W. Coventry; which I am
sorry for, the Cabal at present being, as he says, the King, and Duke of
Buckingham, and Lord Keeper, the Duke of Albemarle, and Privy Seale. The
Bishops, differing from the King in the late business in the House of
Lords, having caused this and what is like to follow, for every body is
encouraged nowadays to speak, and even to preach, as I have heard one of
them, as bad things against them as ever in the year 1640; which is a
strange change. He gone, I to the office, where busy till late at night,
and then home to sit with my wife, who is a little better, and her cheek
asswaged. I read to her out of "The History of Algiers," which is mighty
pretty reading, and did discourse alone about my sister Pall's match,
which is now on foot with one Jackson, another nephew of Mr. Phillips's,
to whom he hath left his estate.

22nd (Lord's day). Up, and my wife, poor wretch, still in pain, and then
to dress myself and down to my chamber to settle some papers, and thither
come to me Willet with an errand from her mistress, and this time I first
did give her a little kiss, she being a very pretty humoured girle, and so
one that I do love mightily. Thence to my office, and there did a little
business, and so to church, where a dull sermon, and then home, and Cozen
Kate Joyce come and dined with me and Mr. Holliard; but by chance I
offering occasion to him to discourse of the Church of Rome, Lord! how he
run on to discourse with the greatest vehemence and importunity in the
world, as the only thing in the world that he is full of, and it was good
sport to me to see him so earnest on so little occasion. She come to see
us and to tell me that her husband is going to build his house again, and
would borrow of me L300, which I shall upon good security be willing to
do, and so told her, being willing to have some money out of my hands upon
good security. After dinner up to my wife again, who is in great pain
still with her tooth, and there, they gone, I spent the most of the
afternoon and night reading and talking to bear her company, and so to
supper and to bed.

23rd. Up before day, and by coach to Sir W. Coventry's, and with him to
White Hall, and there walked a great while with him in the garden till the
Commissioners of the Treasury met, and there talked over many businesses,
and particularly he tells me that by my desire he hath moved the Duke of
York that Sir J. Minnes might be removed from the Navy, at least the
Controller's place, and his business put on my Lord Brouncker and Sir W.
Pen; that the Committee for Accounts are good sober men, and such as he
thinks we shall have fair play from; that he hopes that the kingdom will
escape ruin in general, notwithstanding all our fears, and yet I find he
do seem not very confident in it. So to the Commissioners of the
Treasury, and there I had a dispute before them with Sir Stephen Fox about
our orders for money, who is very angry, but I value it not. But, Lord! to
see with what folly my Lord Albemarle do speak in this business would make
a man wonder at the good fortune of such a fool. Thence meeting there with
Creed, he and I to the Exchange, and there I saw Carr stand in the pillory
for the business of my Lord Gerard, which is supposed will make a hot
business in the House of Commons, when they shall come to sit again, the
Lords having ordered this with great injustice, as all people think, his
only fault being the printing his petition before, by accident, his
petition be read in the House. Here walked up and down the Exchange with
Creed, and then home to dinner, and there hear by Creed that the Bishops
of Winchester and of Rochester, and the Dean of the Chapel, and some other
great prelates, are suspended: and a cloud upon the Archbishop ever since
the late business in the House of Lords; and I believe it will be a heavy
blow to the Clergy. This noon I bought a sermon of Dr. Floyd's, which
Creed read a great part of to me and Mr. Hollier, who dined with me, but
as well writ and as good, against the Church of Rome, as ever I read; but,
Lord! how Hollier, poor man, was taken with it. They gone I to the
office, and there very late with Mr. Willson and my people about the
making of a new contract for the victualler, which do and will require a
great deal of pains of me, and so to supper and to bed, my wife being
pretty well all this day by reason of her imposthume being broke in her
cheek into her mouth. This day, at the 'Change, Creed shewed me Mr.
Coleman, of whom my wife hath so good an opinion, and says that he is as
very a rogue for women as any in the world; which did disquiet me, like a
fool, and run in my mind a great while.

24th. Up, and all the morning at the office, and at noon with my clerks
to dinner, and then to the office again, busy at the office till six at
night, and then by coach to St. James's, it being about six at night; my
design being to see the ceremonys, this night being the eve of Christmas,
at the Queen's chapel. But it being not begun I to Westminster Hall, and
there staid and walked, and then to the Swan, and there drank and talked,
and did banter a little Frank, and so to White Hall, and sent my coach
round, I through the Park to chapel, where I got in up almost to the rail,
and with a great deal of patience staid from nine at night to two in the
morning, in a very great crowd; and there expected, but found nothing
extraordinary, there being nothing but a high masse. The Queen was there,
and some ladies. But, Lord! what an odde thing it was for me to be in a
crowd of people, here a footman, there a beggar, here a fine lady, there a
zealous poor papist, and here a Protestant, two or three together, come to
see the shew. I was afeard of my pocket being picked very much . . . .
Their musique very good indeed, but their service I confess too frivolous,
that there can be no zeal go along with it, and I do find by them
themselves that they do run over their beads with one hand, and point and
play and talk and make signs with the other in the midst of their masse.
But all things very rich and beautiful; and I see the papists have the
wit, most of them, to bring cushions to kneel on, which I wanted, and was
mightily troubled to kneel. All being done, and I sorry for my coming,
missing of what I expected; which was, to have had a child born and
dressed there, and a great deal of do: but we broke up, and nothing like
it done: and there I left people receiving the Sacrament: and the Queen
gone, and ladies; only my Lady Castlemayne, who looked prettily in her
night-clothes, and so took my coach, which waited, and away through Covent
Garden, to set down two gentlemen and a lady, who come thither to see
also, and did make mighty mirth in their talk of the folly of this
religion. And so I stopped, having set them down and drank some burnt
wine at the Rose Tavern door, while the constables come, and two or three
Bellmen went by,

25th. It being a fine, light, moonshine morning, and so home round the
city, and stopped and dropped money at five or six places, which I was the
willinger to do, it being Christmas-day, and so home, and there find my
wife in bed, and Jane and the maids making pyes, and so I to bed, and
slept well, and rose about nine, and to church, and there heard a dull
sermon of Mr. Mills, but a great many fine people at church; and so home.
Wife and girl and I alone at dinner--a good Christmas dinner, and all the
afternoon at home, my wife reading to me "The History of the Drummer of
Mr. Mompesson," which is a strange story of spies, and worth reading
indeed. In the evening comes Mr. Pelling, and he sat and supped with us;
and very good company, he reciting to us many copies of good verses of Dr.
Wilde, who writ "Iter Boreale," and so to bed, my boy being gone with W.
Hewer and Mr. Hater to Mr. Gibson's in the country to dinner and lie there
all night.

26th. Up and to Westminster, and there to the Swan, and by chance met Mr.
Spicer and another 'Chequer clerk, and there made them drink, and there
talked of the credit the 'Chequer is now come to and will in a little
time, and so away homeward, and called at my bookseller's, and there
bought Mr. Harrington's works, "Oceana," &c., and two other books, which
cost me L4, and so home, and there eat a bit, and then with my wife to the
King's playhouse, and there saw "The Surprizall;" which did not please me
to-day, the actors not pleasing me; and especially Nell's acting of a
serious part, which she spoils. Here met with Sir W. Pen, and sat by him,
and home by coach with him, and there to my office a while, and then home
to supper and to bed. I hear this day that Mrs. Stewart do at this day
keep a great court at Somerset House, with her husband the Duke of
Richmond, she being visited for her beauty's sake by people, as the Queen
is, at nights; and they say also that she is likely to go to Court again,
and there put my Lady Castlemayne's nose out of joynt. God knows that
would make a great turn. This day I was invited to have gone to my cozen
Mary Pepys' burial, my uncle Thomas' daughter, but could not.

27th. Up, and by water to White Hall, and there walked with Creed in the
Matted gallery till by and by a Committee for Tangier met: the Duke of
York there; and there I did discourse over to them their condition as to
money, which they were all mightily, as I could desire, satisfied with,
but the Duke of Albemarle, who takes the part of the Guards against us in
our supplies of money, which is an odd consideration for a dull, heavy
blockhead as he is, understanding no more of either than a goose: but the
ability and integrity of Sir W. Coventry, in all the King's concernments,
I do and must admire. After the Committee up, I and Sir W. Coventry
walked an hour in the gallery, talking over many businesses, and he tells
me that there are so many things concur to make him and his Fellow
Commissioners unable to go through the King's work that he do despair of
it, every body becoming an enemy to them in their retrenchments, and the
King unstable, the debts great and the King's present occasions for money
great and many and pressing, the bankers broke and every body keeping in
their money, while the times are doubtful what will stand. But he says
had they come in two years ago they doubt not to have done what the King
would by this time, or were the King in the condition as heretofore, when
the Chancellor was great, to be able to have what sums of money they
pleased of the Parliament, and then the ill administration was such that
instead of making good use of this power and money he suffered all to go
to ruin. But one such sum now would put all upon their legs, and now the
King would have the Parliament give him money when they are in an ill
humour and will not be willing to give any, nor are very able, and besides
every body distrusts what they give the King will be lost; whereas six
months hence, when they see that the King can live without them, and is
become steady, and to manage what he has well, he doubts not but their
doubts would be removed, and would be much more free as well as more able
to give him money. He told me how some of his enemies at the Duke of
York's had got the Duke of York's commission for the Commissioners of his
estate changed, and he and Brouncker and Povy left out: that this they did
do to disgrace and impose upon him at this time; but that he, though he
values not the thing, did go and tell the Duke of York what he heard, and
that he did not think that he had given him any reason to do this, out of
his belief that he would not be as faithful and serviceable to him as the
best of those that have got him put out. Whereupon the Duke of York did
say that it arose only from his not knowing whether now he would have time
to regard his affairs; and that, if he should, he would put him into the
commission with his own hand, though the commission be passed. He
answered that he had been faithful to him, and done him good service
therein, so long as he could attend it; and if he had been able to have
attended it more, he would not have enriched himself with such and such
estates as my Lord Chancellor hath got, that did properly belong to his
Royal Highness, as being forfeited to the King, and so by the King's gift
given to the Duke of York. Hereupon the Duke of York did call for the
commission, and hath since put him in. This he tells me he did only to
show his enemies that he is not so low as to be trod on by them, or the
Duke hath any so bad opinion of him as they would think. Here we parted,
and I with Sir H. Cholmly went and took a turn into the Park, and there
talked of several things, and about Tangier particularly, and of his
management of his business, and among other discourse about the method he
will leave his accounts in if he should suddenly die, he says there is
nothing but what is easily understood, but only a sum of L500 which he has
entered given to E. E. S., which in great confidence he do discover to me
to be my Lord Sandwich, at the beginning of their contract for the Mole,
and I suppose the rest did the like, which was L1500, which would appear a
very odd thing for my Lord to be a profiter by the getting of the contract
made for them. But here it puts me into thoughts how I shall own my
receiving of L200 a year from him, but it is his gift, I never asked of
him, and which he did to Mr. Povy, and so there is no great matter in it.
Thence to other talk. He tells me that the business of getting the
Duchess of Richmond to Court is broke off, the Duke not suffering it; and
thereby great trouble is brought among the people that endeavoured it, and
thought they had compassed it. And, Lord! to think that at this time the
King should mind no other cares but these! He tells me that my Lord of
Canterbury is a mighty stout man, and a man of a brave, high spirit, and
cares not for this disfavour that he is under at Court, knowing that the
King cannot take away his profits during his life, and therefore do not
value it.

[This character of Archbishop Sheldon does not tally with the
scandal that Pepys previously reported of him. Burnet has some
passages of importance on this in his "Own Time," Book II. He
affirms that Charles's final decision to throw over Clarendon was
caused by the Chancellor's favouring Mrs. Stewart's marriage with
the Duke of Richmond. The king had a conference with Sheldon on the
removal of Clarendon, but could not convert the archbishop to his
view. Lauderdale told Burnet that he had an account of the
interview from the king. "The king and Sheldon had gone into such
expostulations upon it that from that day forward Sheldon could
never recover the king's confidence."]

Thence I home, and there to my office and wrote a letter to the Duke of
York from myself about my clerks extraordinary, which I have employed this
war, to prevent my being obliged to answer for what others do without any
reason demand allowance for, and so by this means I will be accountable
for none but my own, and they shall not have them but upon the same terms
that I have, which is a profession that with these helps they will answer
to their having performed their duties of their places. So to dinner, and
then away by coach to the Temple, and then for speed by water thence to
White Hall, and there to our usual attending the Duke of York, and did
attend him, where among other things I did present and lodge my letter,
and did speed in it as I could wish. Thence home with Sir W. Pen and
Comm. Middleton by coach, and there home and to cards with my wife, W.
Hewer, Mercer, and the girle, and mighty pleasant all the evening, and so
to bed with my wife, which I have not done since her being ill for three
weeks or thereabouts.

28th. Up, and to the office, where busy all the morning, at noon home,
and there to dinner with my clerks and Mr. Pelting, and had a very good
dinner, among others a haunch of venison boiled, and merry we were, and I
rose soon from dinner, and with my wife and girle to the King's house, and
there saw "The Mad Couple," which is but an ordinary play; but only Nell's
and Hart's mad parts are most excellently done, but especially hers: which
makes it a miracle to me to think how ill she do any serious part, as, the
other day, just like a fool or changeling; and, in a mad part, do beyond
all imitation almost. [It pleased us mightily to see the natural
affection of a poor woman, the mother of one of the children brought on
the stage: the child crying, she by force got upon the stage, and took up
her child and carried it away off of the stage from Hart.] Many fine faces
here to-day. Thence home, and there to the office late, and then home to
supper and to bed. I am told to-day, which troubles me, that great
complaint is made upon the 'Change, among our merchants, that the very
Ostend little pickaroon men-of-war do offer violence to our merchant-men,
and search them, beat our masters, and plunder them, upon pretence of
carrying Frenchmen's goods. Lord! what a condition are we come to, and
that so soon after a war!