The Diary of Samuel Pepys

by Samuel Pepys

7th. I and my wife, and Willet, [Mrs. Pepys's maid.] set out in a coach I have hired with four horses; and W. Hewer and Murford rode by us on horse-back; and before night come to Bishop- Stafford. [Stortford.] Took coach to Audly-End, and did go all over the house and garden; and mighty merry we were. The house indeed do appear very fine, but not so fine as it hath heretofore to me; particularly the ceilings are not so good as I always took them to be, being nothing so well wrought as my Lord Chancellor's are; and though the figure of the house without be very extraordinary good, yet the stayre-case is exceeding poor; and a great many pictures, and not one good one in the house but one of Harry the Eighth, done by Holben; and not one good suit of hangings in all the house, but all most ancient things, such as I would not give the hanging-upon in my house; and the other furniture, beds and other things, accordingly. Only the gallery is good, and above all things the cellars, where we went down and drank of much good liquor. And indeed the cellars are fine: and here my wife and I did sing to my great content. And then to the garden, and there eat many grapes, and took some with us: and so away thence exceeding well satisfied, though not to that degree that by my old esteem of the house I ought and did expect to have done, the situation of it not pleasing me. Thence away to Cambridge, and did take up at the Rose.

9th. Up, and got ready, and eat our breakfast; and then took coach; and the poor, as they did yesterday, did stand at the coach to have something given them, as they do to all great persons; and I did give them something: and the town musick did also come and play; but, Lord! what sad musick they made! So through the town, and observed at our College of Magdalene the posts new painted, and understand that the Vice Chancellor is there this year. And so away for Huntingdon; and come to Brampton at about noon, and there find my father and sister and brother all well: and up and down to see the garden with my father, and the house, and do altogether find it very pretty; and I bless God that I am like to have such a pretty place to retire to. After dinner I walked up to Hinchingbroke, where my Lady expected me; and there spent all the afternoon with her: the same most excellent, good, discreet lady that ever she was; and, among other things, is mightily pleased with the lady that is like to be her son Hinchingbroke's wife. I am pleased with my Lady Paulina [A mistake for Lady Catherine, Lady Paulina being dead.] and Anne, who are both grown very proper ladies, and handsome enough. But I do find by my Lady that they are reduced to great straits for money, having been forced to sell her plate, 8 or 900l. worth; and she is now going to sell a suit of her best hangings, of which I could almost wish to buy a piece or two, if the pieces will be broke. But the house is most excellently furnished, and brave rooms and good pictures, so that it do please me infinitely beyond Audley End.

10th. Up, to walk up and down in the garden with my father, to talk of all our concernments: about a husband for my sister, whereof there is at present no appearance; but we must endeavour to find her one now, for she grows old and ugly. My father and I with a dark lantern, it being now night, into the garden with my wife, and there went about our great work to dig up my gold. But, Lord! what a tosse I was for some time in, that they could not justly tell where it was: but by and by poking with a spit we found it, and then begun with a spudd to lift up the ground. But, good God! to see how sillily they did it, not half a foot under ground, and in the sight of the world from a hundred places, if any body by accident were near hand, and within sight of a neighbour's window: only my father says that he saw them all gone to church before he began the work, when he laid the money. But I was out of my wits almost, and the more from that, upon my lifting up the earth with the spudd, I did discern that I had scattered the pieces of gold round about the ground among the grass and loose earth: and taking up the iron head-pieces wherein they were put, I perceived the earth was got among the gold, and wet so that the bags were all rotten, and all the notes, that I could not tell what in the world to say to it, not knowing how to judge what was wanting or what had been lost by Gibson in his coming down: which, all put together, did make me mad; and at last I was forced to take up the head-pieces, dirt and all, and as many of the scattered pieces as I could with the dirt discern by candle light, and carry them up into my brother's chamber, and there locke them up till I had eat a little supper: and then, all people going to bed, W. Hewer and I did all alone with several pails of water and besoms at last wash the dirt off the pieces, and parted the pieces and the dirt, and then began to tell them by a note which I had of the value of the whole (in my pocket.) And do find that there was short above a hundred pieces: which did make me mad; and considering that the neighbour's house was so near that we could not possibly speak one to another in the garden at that place where the gold lay (especially my father being deaf) but they must know what we had been doing, I feared that they might in the night come and gather some pieces and prevent us the next morning; so W. Hewer and I out again about midnight (for it was now grown so late) and there by candle-light did make shift to gather forty-five pieces more. And so in and to cleanse them: and by this time it was past two in the morning; and so to bed, and there lay in some disquiet all night telling of the clock till it was day-light.

11th. And then W. Hewer and I, with pails and a sieve, did lock ourselves into the garden, and there gather all the earth about the place into pails, and then sift those pails in one of the summer-houses (just as they do for dyamonds in other parts of the world); and there to our great content did by nine o'clock make the last night's forty-five up seventy-nine: so that we are come to about twenty or thirty of what I think the true number should be. So do leave my father to make a second examination of the dirt; and my mind at rest in it, being but an accident: and so give me some kind of content to remember how painful it is sometimes to keep money, as well as to get it, and how doubtful I was to keep it all night, and how to secure it to London. About ten o'clock took coach, my wife and I, and Willett, and W. Hewer, and Murford and Bowles (whom my Lady lent me to go along with me my journey, not telling her the reason, but it was only to secure my gold,) and my brother John on horseback; and with these four I thought myself pretty safe. My gold I put into a basket and set under one of the seats; and so my work every quarter of an hour was to look to see whether all was well; and I did ride in great fear all the day.

12th. By five o'clock got home, where I find all well; and did bring my gold to my heart's content very safe, having not this day carried it in a basket, but in our hands: the girl took care of one, and my wife another bag, and I the rest, I being afraid of the bottom of the coach, lest it should break. At home we find that Sir W. Batten's body was to-day carried from hence, with a hundred or two of coaches, to Walthamstow, and there buried, The Parliament met on Thursday last, and adjourned to Monday next. The King did make them a very kind speech, promising them to leave all to them to do, and call to account what and whom they pleased; and declared by my Lord Keeper how many (thirty-six) actes he had done since he saw them: among others, disbanding the army, and putting all Papists out of employment, and displacing persons that had managed their business ill. The Parliament is mightily pleased with the King's speech, and voted giving him thanks for what he said and hath done; and among other things, would by name thank him for displacing my Lord Chancellor, for which a great many did speak in the House, but it was opposed by some, and particularly Harry Coventry, who got that it should be put to a Committee to consider what particulars to mention in their thanks to the King, saying that it was too soon to give thanks for the displacing of a man, before they knew or had examined what was the cause of his displacing. And so it rested: but this do show that they are and will be very high. And Mr. Pierce do tell me that he fears and do hear that it hath been said among them, that they will move for the calling my Lord Sandwich home, to bring him to account which do trouble me mightily, but I trust it will not be so. Anon comes home Sir W. Pen from the buriall; and he says that Lady Batten and her children-in-law are all broke in pieces, and that there is but 800l. found in the world of money; and is in great doubt what we shall do towards the doing ourselves right with them, about the prize money.

13th. To St. James's; and there to the Duke of York's chamber and there he was dressing; and many Lords and Parliament-men come to kiss his hands, they being newly come to town. And then the Duke of York did of himself call me to him and tell me that he had spoke to the King and that the King had granted me the ship asked for; and did moreover say that he was mightily pleased with my service, and that he would be willing to do any thing that was in his power for me: which he said with mighty kindness; which I did return him thanks for, and departed with mighty joy, more than I did expect. And so walked over the Park to White Hall, and then met Sir H. Cholmly who walked with me and told me most of the news: heard last night of the Parliament; and thinks they will do all things very well, only they will be revenged of my Lord Chancellor; and says however, that he thinks there will be but two things proved on him and that one is, that he may have said to the King and to others words to breed in the King an ill opinion of the Parliament—that they were factious, and that it was better to dissolve them: and this he thinks they will be able to prove; but what this will amount to, he knows not. And next, that he hath taken money for several bargains that have been made with the Crown; and did instance one that is already complained of: but there are so many more involved in it, that should they unravel things of this sort, every body almost will be more or less concerned. But these are the two great points which he thinks they will insist on, and prove against him.

14th. To Mr, Wren's; and he told me that my business was done about my warrant on the Maybolt Galliott; which I did see, and thought it was not so full in the reciting of my services as the other was in that of Sir W. Pen's; yet I was well pleased with it, and do intend to fetch it away anon. To visit Sir G. Carteret; and from him do understand that the King himself (but this he told me as a great secret) is satisfied that these thanks which he expects from the House, for the laying aside of my Lord Chancellor, are a thing irregular; but since it is come into the House, he do think it necessary to carry it on, and will have it, and hath made his mind known to be so to some of the House. But Sir G. Carteret do say he knows nothing of what my Lord Brouncker told us to-day, that the King was angry with the Duke of York yesterday, and advised him not to hinder what he had a mind to have done touching this business; which is news very bad, if true. He tells me also that the King will have the thanks of the House go on: and commends my Lord Keeper's speech for all but what he was forced to say about the reason of the King's sending away the House so soon the last time, when they were met.

16th. At home most of the morning with Sir H. Cholmly, about some accounts of his: and for news he tells me that the Commons and Lords have concurred, and delivered the King their thanks, among other things, for his removal of the Chancellor; who took their thanks very well, and, among other things, promised them (in these words) never in any degree to give the Chancellor any employment again. And he tells me that it is very true, he hath it from one that was by, that the King did give the Duke of York a sound reprimande; told him that he had lived with him with more kindness than ever any brother King lived with a brother, and that he lived as much like a monarch as himself, but advised him not to cross him in his designs about the Chancellor; in which the Duke of York do very wisely acquiesce, and will be quiet as the King bade him, but presently commands all his friends to be silent in the business of the Chancellor, and they were so: but that the Chancellor hath done all that is possible to provoke the King, and to bring himself to lose his head, by enraging of people. To the Duke of York's house; and I was vexed to see Young (who is but a bad actor at best) act Macbeth, in the room of Betterton, who, poor man! is sick.

17th. The Parliament run on mighty furiously, having yesterday been almost all the morning complaining against some high proceedings of my Lord Chief Justice Keeling, that the gentlemen of the country did complain against him in the House, and run very high. It is the man that did fall out with my cosen Roger Pepys, once at the Assizes there, and would have laid him by the heels; but, it seems, a very able lawyer. This afternoon my Lord Anglesy tells us that the House of Commons have this morning run into the enquiry in many things; as, the sale of Dunkirke, the dividing of the fleet the last year, the business of the prizes with my Lord Sandwich, and many other things: so that now they begin to fall close upon it, and God knows what will be the end of it, but a Committee they have chosen to enquire into the miscarriages of the war.

18th. To White Hall, and there attended the Duke of York; but first we find him to spend above an hour in private in his closet with Sir W. Coventry; which I was glad to see, that there is so much confidence between them. By and by we were called in. The Duke of York considering that the King had a mind for Spragg to command the Rupert, which would not be well, by turning out Hubbard, who is a good man, said he did not know whether he did so well conforme as at this time to please the people and Parliament, Sir W. Coventry answered, and the Duke of York merrily agreed to it, that it was very hard to know what it was that the Parliament would call conformity at this time.