Diary, August 1667 | Page 6

they will be satisfied in, he says, by us easily; but only in one, it
seems, they do demand that we shall not interrupt their East Indiamen
coming home, and of which they are in some fear; and we are full of
hopes that we have 'light upon some of them, and carried them into
Lisbon, by Harman; which God send! But they, which do shew the low
esteem they have of us, have the confidence to demand that we shall
have a cessation on our parts, and yet they at liberty to take what they
will; which is such an affront, as another cannot be devised greater. At
noon home to dinner, where I find Mrs. Wood, formerly Bab. Shelden,
and our Mercer, who is dressed to-day in a paysan dress, that looks
mighty pretty. We dined and sang and laughed mighty merry, and then
I to the Office, only met at the door with Mrs. Martin and Mrs.
Burroughs, who I took in and drank with, but was afraid my wife
should see them, they being, especially the first, a prattling gossip, and
so after drinking with them parted, and I to the Office, busy as long as
my poor eyes would endure, which troubles me mightily and then into
the garden with my wife, and to Sir W. Batten's with [Sir] W. Pen and
[Sir] J. Minnes, and there eat a melon and talked, and so home to
supper and to bed. My wife, as she said last night, hath put away Nell
to-day, for her gossiping abroad and telling of stories. Sir W. Batten did
tell me to-night that the Council have ordered a hearing before them of
Carcasses business, which do vex me mightily, that we should be
troubled so much by an idle rogue, a servant of our own, and all my
thoughts to-night have been how to manage the matter before the
Council.

7th. Up, and at the office very busy, and did much business all the
morning. My wife abroad with her maid Jane and Tom all the afternoon,
being gone forth to eat some pasties at "The Bottle of Hay," in St.
John's Street, as you go to Islington, of which she is mighty fond, and I
dined at home alone, and at the office close all the afternoon, doing
much business to my great content. This afternoon Mr. Pierce, the
surgeon, comes to me about business, and tells me that though the King
and my Lady Castlemayne are friends again, she is not at White Hall,
but at Sir D. Harvy's, whither the King goes to her; and he says she
made him ask her forgiveness upon his knees, and promised to offend
her no more so: that, indeed, she did threaten to bring all his bastards to
his closet-door, and hath nearly hectored him out of his wits. I at my
office till night, and then home to my pipe, my wife not coming home,
which vexed me. I then into the garden, and there walked alone in the
garden till 10 at night, when she come home, having been upon the
water and could not get home sooner. So to supper, and to bed.

8th. Up, and all the morning at the office, where busy, and at noon
home to dinner, where Creed dined with us, who tells me that Sir
Henry Bellasses is dead of the duell he fought about ten days ago, with
Tom Porter; and it is pretty to see how the world talk of them as a
couple of fools, that killed one another out of love. After dinner to the
office a while, and then with my wife to the Temple, where I light and
sent her to her tailor's. I to my bookseller's; where, by and by, I met Mr.
Evelyn, and talked of several things, but particularly of the times: and
he tells me that wise men do prepare to remove abroad what they have,
for that we must be ruined, our case being past relief, the kingdom so
much in debt, and the King minding nothing but his lust, going two
days a-week to see my Lady Castlemayne at Sir D. Harvy's. He gone, I
met with Mr. Moore, who tells me that my Lord Hinchingbroke is now
with his mistress, but not that he is married, as W. Howe come and told
us the other day. So by coach to White Hall, and there staid a little,
thinking to see Sir G. Carteret, but missed him, and so by coach took
up my wife, and so home, and as far as Bow, where we staid and drank,
and there, passing by Mr. Lowther and his lady, they stopped and we
talked a little with them, they being in their