3rd. Up, and to my great content visited betimes by Mr. Woolly, my uncle Wight's cozen, who comes to see what work I have for him about these East India goods, and I do find that this fellow might have been of great use, and hereafter may be of very great use to me, in this trade of prize goods, and glad I am fully of his coming hither. While I dressed myself, and afterwards in walking to Greenwich we did discourse over all the business of the prize goods, and he puts me in hopes I may get some money in what I have done, but not so much as I expected, but that I may hereafter do more. We have laid a design of getting more, and are to talk again of it a few days hence. To the office, where nobody to meet me, Sir W. Batten being the only man and he gone this day to meet to adjourne the Parliament to Oxford. Anon by appointment comes one to tell me my Lord Rutherford is come; so I to the King's Head to him, where I find his lady, a fine young Scotch lady, pretty handsome and plain. My wife also, and Mercer, by and by comes, Creed bringing them; and so presently to dinner and very merry; and after to even our accounts, and I to give him tallys, where he do allow me L100, of which to my grief the rogue Creed has trepanned me out of L50. But I do foresee a way how it may be I may get a greater sum of my Lord to his content by getting him allowance of interest upon his tallys. That being done, and some musique and other diversions, at last away goes my Lord and Lady, and I sent my wife to visit Mrs. Pierce, and so I to my office, where wrote important letters to the Court, and at night (Creed having clownishly left my wife), I to Mrs. Pierces and brought her and Mrs. Pierce to the King's Head and there spent a piece upon a supper for her and mighty merry and pretty discourse, she being as pretty as ever, most of our mirth being upon "my Cozen" (meaning my Lord Bruncker's ugly mistress, whom he calls cozen), and to my trouble she tells me that the fine Mrs. Middleton is noted for carrying about her body a continued sour base smell, that is very offensive, especially if she be a little hot. Here some bad musique to close the night and so away and all of us saw Mrs. Belle Pierce (as pretty as ever she was almost) home, and so walked to Will's lodging where I used to lie, and there made shift for a bed for Mercer, and mighty pleasantly to bed. This night I hear that of our two watermen that use to carry our letters, and were well on Saturday last, one is dead, and the other dying sick of the plague. The plague, though decreasing elsewhere, yet being greater about the Tower and thereabouts.
4th. Up and to my office, where Mr. Andrews comes, and reckoning with him I get L64 of him. By and by comes Mr. Gawden, and reckoning with him he gives me L60 in his account, which is a great mercy to me. Then both of them met and discoursed the business of the first man's resigning and the other's taking up the business of the victualling of Tangier, and I do not think that I shall be able to do as well under Mr. Gawden as under these men, or within a little as to profit and less care upon me. Thence to the King's Head to dinner, where we three and Creed and my wife and her woman dined mighty merry and sat long talking, and so in the afternoon broke up, and I led my wife to our lodging again, and I to the office where did much business, and so to my wife. This night comes Sir George Smith to see me at the office, and tells me how the plague is decreased this week 740, for which God be praised! but that it encreases at our end of the town still, and says how all the towne is full of Captain Cocke's being in some ill condition about prize-goods, his goods being taken from him, and I know not what. But though this troubles me to have it said, and that it is likely to be a business in Parliament, yet I am not much concerned at it, because yet I believe this newes is all false, for he would have wrote to me sure about it. Being come to my wife, at our lodging, I did go to bed, and left my wife with her people to laugh and dance and I to sleep.
5th. Lay long in bed talking among other things of my sister Pall, and my wife of herself is very willing that I should give her L400 to her portion, and would have her married soon as we could; but this great sicknesse time do make it unfit to send for her up. I abroad to the office and thence to the Duke of Albemarle, all my way reading a book of Mr. Evelyn's translating and sending me as a present, about directions for gathering a Library;
[Instructions concerning erecting of a Library, presented to my
Lord the President De Mesme by Gilbert Naudeus, and now interpreted
by Jo. Evelyn, Esquire. London, 1661: This little book was
dedicated to Lord Clarendon by the translator. It was printed while
Evelyn was abroad, and is full of typographical errors; these are
corrected in a copy mentioned in Evelyn's "Miscellaneous Writings,"
1825, p. xii, where a letter to Dr. Godolphin on the subject is
printed.]
but the book is above my reach, but his epistle to my Lord Chancellor is a very fine piece. When I come to the Duke it was about the victuallers' business, to put it into other hands, or more hands, which I do advise in, but I hope to do myself a jobb of work in it. So I walked through Westminster to my old house the Swan, and there did pass some time with Sarah, and so down by water to Deptford and there to my Valentine.
[A Mrs. Bagwell. See ante, February 14th, 1664-65]
Round about and next door on every side is the plague, but I did not value it, but there did what I would 'con elle', and so away to Mr. Evelyn's to discourse of our confounded business of prisoners, and sick and wounded seamen, wherein he and we are so much put out of order.
[Each of the Commissioners for the Sick and Wounded was appointed to
a particular district, and Evelyn's district was Kent and Sussex.
On September 25th, 1665, Evelyn wrote in his Diary: "My Lord Admiral
being come from ye fleete to Greenewich, I went thence with him to
ye Cockpit to consult with the Duke of Albemarle. I was peremptory
that unlesse we had L10,000 immediately, the prisoners would starve,
and 'twas proposed it should be rais'd out of the E. India prizes
now taken by Lord Sandwich. They being but two of ye Commission,
and so not impower'd to determine, sent an expresse to his Majesty
and Council to know what they should do.">[
And here he showed me his gardens, which are for variety of evergreens, and hedge of holly, the finest things I ever saw in my life.
[Evelyn purchased Sayes Court, Deptford, in 1653, and laid out his
gardens, walks, groves, enclosures, and plantations, which
afterwards became famous for their beauty. When he took the place
in hand it was nothing but an open field of one hundred acres, with
scarcely a hedge in it.]