Samuel Pepys

Dined alone at home, and was glad my house is begun tiling.

At last waked one man; but it was a merchant ship, the Royall Catharine: so to the Towerdock and home, where the girl sat up for me. It was about three o’clock, and putting Mr. Boddam out of my bed, went to bed.

And so got right again with much ado, after two or three circles and so on, and at Greenwich set in Captain Cocke, and I set forward, hailing to all the King’s ships at Deptford, but could not wake any man: so that we could have done what we would with their ships.

Above Woolwich we lost our way, and went back to Blackwall, and up and down, being guided by nothing but the barking of a dog, which we had observed in passing by Blackwall.

But I in such fear that I could not sleep till we came to Erith, and there it begun to be calm, and the stars to shine, and so I began to take heart again, and the rest too, and so made shift to slumber a little.

It being very dark, and the wind rising, and our waterman unacquainted with this part of the river, so that we presently cast upon the Essex shore, but got off again, and so, as well as we could, went on.

So took barge at the dock and to Rochester, and there Captain Cocke and I and our two men took coach about 8 at night and to Gravesend, where it was very dark before we got thither to the Swan.

At two o’clock to dinner to the Hill-house, and after dinner dispatched many people’s business. Then to a trial of several sorts of hemp, but could not perform it here so well as at Woolwich, but we did do it pretty well.

So to all the storehouses and viewed the stores of all sorts and the hemp, where we found Captain Cocke’s (which he came down to see along with me) very bad, and some others.

So to the yard, and there mustered the whole ordinary, where great disorder by multitude of servants and old decrepid men, which must be remedied.

Thence to Upnor Castle, and there went up to the top, where there is a fine prospect, but of very small force.

Thence to the Charles, and were troubled to see her kept so neglectedly by the boatswain Clements, who I always took for a very good officer; it is a very brave ship.

Walked to the Dock, where Commissioner Pett and I took barge and went to the guardships and mustered them, finding them but badly manned; thence to the Sovereign, which we found kept in good order and very clean, which pleased us well, but few of the officers on board.

This day among other stories he told me how despicable a thing it is to be a hangman in Poland, although it be a place of credit.

And so to his house, and had a syllabub, and saw his closet, which come short of what I expected, but there was fine modells of ships in it indeed, whose worth I could not judge of.

So to church again, where quite weary, and so after sermon walked with him to the yard up and down and the fields, and saw the place designed for the wet dock.

The Commissioner staid at dinner with me, and we had a good dinner, better than I would have had, but I saw there was no helping of it.

A full church, and some pretty women in it; among others, Beck Allen, who was a bride-maid to a new married couple that came to church today, and, which was pretty strange, sat in a pew hung with mourning for a mother of the bride’s, which methinks should have been taken down.

Commissioner Pett come to us, and took us to his house, and did give us a fine breakfast of bread and butter, and sweetmeats and other things with great choice, and strong drinks, with which I could not avoyde making my head ake, though I drank but little.

So after a glass of wine, we to our barge, that was ready for me, to the Hill-house, where we soon went to bed, before we slept I telling upon discourse Captain Cocke the manner of my being cut of the stone, which pleased him much.

But at the Swan, finding Mr. Hemson and Lieutenant Carteret of the Foresight come to meet me, I borrowed Mr. Hemson’s horse, and he took another, and so we rode to Rochester in the dark, and there at the Crown Mr. Gregory, Barrow, and others staid to meet me.

We to boat, and had a pleasant passage down to Gravesend, but it was nine o’clock before we got thither, so that we were in great doubt what to do, whether to stay there or no; and the rather because I was afeard to ride, because of my pain in my cods.

We had a plain, good dinner, and I see they do live very frugally. I eat among other fruit much mulberrys, a thing I have not eat of these many years, since I used to be at Ashted, at my cozen Pepys’s.

I to Captain Cocke’s along with him to dinner, where I find his lady still pretty, but not so good a humour as I thought she was.

I took boat with Will, and down to Greenwich, where Captain Cocke not being at home I was vexed, and went to walk in the Park till he come thither to me.

I staid up late, putting things in order for my going to Chatham tomorrow, and so to bed, being in pain in my cods with the little riding in a coach today from the Exchange, which do trouble me.

I had also a mind to my own wench, but I dare not for fear she should prove honest and refuse and then tell my wife.

To my chamber, where, God forgive me, I was sorry to hear that Sir W. Pen’s maid Betty was gone away yesterday, for I was in hopes to have had a bout with her before she had gone, she being very pretty.

To the Exchange, where meeting Mr. Creed and Moore we three to a house hard by (which I was not pleased with) to dinner.

Up, my head aching, and to my office, where Cooper read me another lecture upon my modell very pleasant.