Diary, December 1668 | Page 7

Queen's Street, I saw pass by our coach on foot Deb.,
which, God forgive me, did put me into some new thoughts of her, and
for her, but durst not shew them, and I think my wife did not see her,
but I did get my thoughts free of her soon as I could.

8th. Up, and Sir H. Cholmly betimes with me, about some accounts and
moneys due to him: and he gone, I to the Office, where sat all the
morning; and here, among other things, breaks out the storm W. Hewer
and I have long expected from the Surveyor,--[Colonel Middleton.]--
about W. Hewer's conspiring to get a contract, to the burdening of the
stores with kerseys and cottons, of which he hath often complained,
and lately more than ever; and now he did it by a most scandalous letter
to the Board, reflecting on my Office: and, by discourse, it fell to such
high words between him and me, as can hardly ever be forgot; I
declaring I would believe W. Hewer as soon as him, and laying the
fault, if there be any, upon himself; he, on the other hand, vilifying of
my word and W. Hewer's, calling him knave, and that if he were his
clerk, he should lose his ears. At last, I closed the business for this
morning with making the thing ridiculous, as it is, and he swearing that
the King should have right in it, or he would lose his place. The Office
was cleared of all but ourselves and W. Hewer; but, however, the world
did by the beginning see what it meant, and it will, I believe, come to
high terms between us, which I am sorry for, to have any blemish laid
upon me or mine, at this time, though never so unduly, for fear of
giving occasion to my real discredit: and therefore I was not only all
the rest of the morning vexed, but so went home to dinner, where my
wife tells me of my Lord Orrery's new play "Tryphon," at the Duke of
York's house, which, however, I would see, and therefore put a bit of
meat in our mouths, and went thither; where, with much ado, at
half-past one, we got into a blind hole in the 18d. place, above stairs,
where we could not hear well, but the house infinite full, but the
prologue most silly, and the play, though admirable, yet no pleasure
almost in it, because just the very same design, and words, and sense,
and plot, as every one of his plays have, any one of which alone would
be held admirable, whereas so many of the same design and fancy do
but dull one another; and this, I perceive, is the sense of every body
else, as well as myself, who therefore showed but little pleasure in it.
So home, mighty hot, and my mind mightily out of order, so as I could
not eat any supper, or sleep almost all night, though I spent till twelve
at night with W. Hewer to consider of our business: and we find it not
only most free from any blame of our side, but so horrid scandalous on
the other, to make so groundless a complaint, and one so shameful to

him, that it could not but let me see that there is no need of my being
troubled; but such is the weakness of my nature, that I could not help it,
which vexes me, showing me how unable I am to live with difficulties.

9th. Up, and to the Office, but did little there, my mind being still
uneasy, though more and more satisfied that there is no occasion for it;
but abroad with my wife to the Temple, where I met with Auditor
Wood's clerk, and did some business with him, and so to see Mr. Spong,
and found him out by Southampton Market, and there carried my wife,
and up to his chamber, a bye place, but with a good prospect of the
fields; and there I had most infinite pleasure, not only with his
ingenuity in general, but in particular with his shewing me the use of
the Parallelogram, by which he drew in a quarter of an hour before me,
in little, from a great, a most neat map of England--that is, all the
outlines, which gives me infinite pleasure, and foresight of pleasure, I
shall have with it; and therefore desire to have that which I have
bespoke, made. Many other pretty things he showed us, and did give
me a glass bubble, to try the strength of liquors with.
[This seems to refer to the first form of the Hon. Robert Boyle's
hydrometer, which he described in a paper in the "Philosophical
Transactions"