Diary, 1663 N.S. Complete | Page 6

my bookseller's,
and looked over several books with good discourse, and then into St.
Paul's Church, and there finding Elborough, my old schoolfellow at
Paul's, now a parson, whom I know to be a silly fellow, I took him out
and walked with him, making Creed and myself sport with talking with
him, and so sent him away, and we to my office and house to see all
well, and thence to the Exchange, where we met with Major Thomson,
formerly of our office, who do talk very highly of liberty of conscience,
which now he hopes for by the King's declaration, and that he doubts
not that if he will give him, he will find more and better friends than the
Bishopps can be to him, and that if he do not, there will many
thousands in a little time go out of England, where they may have it.
But he says that they are well contented that if the King thinks it good,
the Papists may have the same liberty with them. He tells me, and so do
others, that Dr. Calamy is this day sent to Newgate for preaching,
Sunday was se'nnight, without leave, though he did it only to supply the
place; when otherwise the people must have gone away without ever a
sermon, they being disappointed of a minister but the Bishop of
London will not take that as an excuse. Thence into Wood Street, and
there bought a fine table for my dining- room, cost me 50s.; and while
we were buying it, there was a scare-fire
[Scar-fire or scarefire. An alarm of fire. One of the little pieces in
Herrick's "Hesperides" is entitled "The Scar-fire," but the word
sometimes was used, as in the text, for the fire itself. Fuller, in his
"Worthies," speaks of quenching scare-fires.]
in an ally over against us, but they quenched it. So to my brother's,

where Creed and I and my wife dined with Tom, and after dinner to the
Duke's house, and there saw "Twelfth Night"
[Pepys saw "Twelfth Night" for the first time on September 11th, 1661,
when he supposed it was a new play, and "took no pleasure at all in it."]
acted well, though it be but a silly play, and not related at all to the
name or day. Thence Mr. Battersby the apothecary, his wife, and I and
mine by coach together, and setting him down at his house, he paying
his share, my wife and I home, and found all well, only myself
somewhat vexed at my wife's neglect in leaving of her scarf, waistcoat,
and night- dressings in the coach today that brought us from
Westminster, though, I confess, she did give them to me to look after,
yet it was her fault not to see that I did take them out of the coach. I
believe it might be as good as 25s. loss or thereabouts. So to my office,
however, to set down my last three days' journall, and writing to my
Lord Sandwich to give him an account of Sir J. Lawson's being come
home, and to my father about my sending him some wine and things
this week, for his making an entertainment of some friends in the
country, and so home. This night making an end wholly of Christmas,
with a mind fully satisfied with the great pleasures we have had by
being abroad from home, and I do find my mind so apt to run to its old
want of pleasures, that it is high time to betake myself to my late vows,
which I will to-morrow, God willing, perfect and bind myself to, that
so I may, for a great while, do my duty, as I have well begun, and
increase my good name and esteem in the world, and get money, which
sweetens all things, and whereof I have much need. So home to supper
and to bed, blessing God for his mercy to bring me home, after much
pleasure, to my house and business with health and resolution to fall
hard to work again.
7th. Up pretty early, that is by seven o'clock, it being not yet light
before or then. So to my office all the morning, signing the Treasurer's
ledger, part of it where I have not put my hand, and then eat a mouthful
of pye at home to stay my stomach, and so with Mr. Waith by water to
Deptford, and there among other things viewed old pay-books, and
found that the Commanders did never heretofore receive any pay for
the rigging time, but only for seatime, contrary to what Sir J. Minnes
and Sir W. Batten told the Duke the other day. I also searched all the
ships in the Wett Dock for fire, and found