Diary, September 1665 | Page 6

pretty well, but not so easy as he pretends,
and so back again, and took leave of my Lord and drove myself in the
chariot to the office, and there ended my letters and home pretty
betimes and there found W. Pen, and he staid supper with us and
mighty merry talking of his travells and the French humours, etc., and
so parted and to bed.

6th. Busy all the morning writing letters to several, so to dinner, to
London, to pack up more things thence; and there I looked into the
street and saw fires burning in the street, as it is through the whole City,
by the Lord Mayor's order. Thence by water to the Duke of Albemarle's:
all the way fires on each side of the Thames, and strange to see in broad
daylight two or three burials upon the Bankeside, one at the very heels
of another: doubtless all of the plague; and yet at least forty or fifty
people going along with every one of them. The Duke mighty pleasant
with me; telling me that he is certainly informed that the Dutch were
not come home upon the 1st instant, and so he hopes our fleete may
meet with them, and here to my great joy I got him to sign bills for the

several sums I have paid on Tangier business by his single letter, and so
now I can get more hands to them. This was a great joy to me: Home to
Woolwich late by water, found wife in bed, and yet late as [it] was to
write letters in order to my rising betimes to go to Povy to-morrow. So
to bed, my wife asking me to-night about a letter of hers I should find,
which indeed Mary did the other day give me as if she had found it in
my bed, thinking it had been mine, brought to her from a man without
name owning great kindness to her and I know not what. But looking it
over seriously, and seeing it bad sense and ill writ, I did believe it to be
her brother's and so had flung it away, but finding her now concerned at
it and vexed with Mary about it, it did trouble me, but I would take no
notice of it to-night, but fell to sleep as if angry.

7th. Up by 5 of the clock, mighty full of fear of an ague, but was
obliged to go, and so by water, wrapping myself up warm, to the Tower,
and there sent for the Weekely Bill, and find 8,252 dead in all, and of
them 6,878 of the plague; which is a most dreadfull number, and shows
reason to fear that the plague hath got that hold that it will yet continue
among us. Thence to Brainford, reading "The Villaine," a pretty good
play, all the way. There a coach of Mr. Povy's stood ready for me, and
he at his house ready to come in, and so we together merrily to
Swakely, Sir R. Viner's. A very pleasant place, bought by him of Sir
James Harrington's lady. He took us up and down with great respect,
and showed us all his house and grounds; and it is a place not very
moderne in the garden nor house, but the most uniforme in all that ever
I saw; and some things to excess. Pretty to see over the screene of the
hall (put up by Sir J. Harrington, a Long Parliamentman) the King's
head, and my Lord of Essex on one side, and Fairfax on the other; and
upon the other side of the screene, the parson of the parish, and the lord
of the manor and his sisters. The window-cases, door-cases, and
chimnys of all the house are marble. He showed me a black boy that he
had, that died of a consumption, and being dead, he caused him to be
dried in an oven, and lies there entire in a box. By and by to dinner,
where his lady I find yet handsome, but hath been a very handsome
woman; now is old. Hath brought him near L100,000 and now he lives,
no man in England in greater plenty, and commands both King and
Council with his credit he gives them. Here was a fine lady a

merchant's wife at dinner with us, and who should be here in the quality
of a woman but Mrs. Worship's daughter, Dr. Clerke's niece, and after
dinner Sir Robert led us up to his long gallery, very fine, above stairs
(and better, or such, furniture I never did see), and there Mrs. Worship
did give us three or four very good songs, and sings very neatly, to my
great delight. After all this, and ending