fresh, above two if not three hours to our great discontent Yet being upon a pleasant errand, and seeing that it could not be helped, we did bear it very patiently; and it was worth my observing, to see how upon these two scores, Sir G Carteret, the most passionate man in the world, and that was in greatest haste to be gone, did bear with it, and very pleasant all the while, at least not troubled much so as to fret and storm at it Anon the coach comes: in the mean time there coming a news thither with his horse to go over, that told us he did come from Islington this morning; and that Proctor the vintner of the Miter in Wood Street, and his son, are dead this morning there, of the plague; he having laid out abundance of money there, and was the greatest vintner for some time in London for great entertainments We, fearing the canonicall hour would be past before we got thither, did with a great deal of unwillingness send away the licence and wedding-ring So that when we come, though we drove hard with six horses, yet we found them gone from home; and going towards the church, met them coming from church, which troubled us But, however, that trouble was soon over; hearing it was well done: they being both in their old clothes; my Lord Crewe giving her, there being three coach fulls of them The young lady mighty sad, which troubled me; but yet I think it was only her gravity in a little greater degree than usual All saluted her, but I did not till my Lady Sandwich did ask me whether I had saluted her or no So to dinner, and very merry we were; but in such a sober way as never almost any thing was in so great families: but it was much better After dinner company divided, some to cards, others to talk My Lady Sandwich and I up to settle accounts, and pay her some money And mighty kind she is to me, and would fain have had me gone down for company with her to Hinchingbroke; but for my life I cannot At night to supper, and so to talk; and which, methought, was the most extraordinary thing, all of us to prayers as usual, and the young bride and bridegroom too: and so after prayers soberly to bed; only I got into the bridegroom’s chamber while he undressed himself, and there was very merry, till he was called to the bride’s chamber, and into bed they went I kissed the bride in bed, and so the curtaines drawne with the greatest gravity that could be, and so good night But the modesty and gravity of this business was so decent, that it was to me indeed ten times more delightful than if it had been twenty times more merry and jovial Thus I ended this month with the greatest joy that ever I did any in my life, because I have spent the greatest part of it with abundance of joy, and honour, and pleasant journeys, and brave entertainments, and without cost of money; and at last live to see the business ended with great content on all sides Thus we end this month, as I said, after the greatest glut of content that ever I had; only under some difficulty because of the plague, which grows mightily upon us, the last week being about 1700 or 1800 of the plague My Lord Sandwich at sea with a fleet of about 100 sail, to the Northward, expecting De Ruyter, or the Dutch East India fleet My Lord Hinchingbroke coming over from France, and will meet his sister at Scott’s- hall Myself having obliged both these families in this business very much; as both my Lady and Sir G Carteret and his Lady do confess exceedingly, and the latter do also now call me cozen, which I am glad of So God preserve us all friends long, and continue health among us.

August 3rd To Dagenhams All the way people, citizens, walking to and fro, enquire how the plague is in the City this week by the Bill; which by chance, at Greenwich, I had heard was 2020 of the plague, and 3000 and odd of all diseases By and by met my Lord Crewe returning; Mr Marr telling me by the way how a maidservant of Mr John Wright’s (who lives thereabouts) falling sick of the plague, she was removed to an outhouse, and a nurse appointed to look to her; who, being once absent, the maid got out of the house at the window, and run away The nurse coming and knocking, and having no answer, believed she was dead, and went and told Mr Wright so; who and his lady were in great strait what to do to get her buried At last resolved to go to Burntwood hard by, being in the parish, and there get people to do it But they would not; so he went home full of trouble, and in the way met the wench walking over the common, which frighted him worse than before; and was forced to send people to take her, which he did; and they got one of the pest coaches and put her into it to carry her to a pest house And passing in a narrow lane, Sir Anthony Browne,⁴⁰ with his brother and some friends in the coach, met this coach with the curtains drawn close The brother being a young man, and believing there might be some lady in it that would not be seen, and the way being narrow, he thrust his head out of his own into her coach, and to look, and there saw somebody look very ill, and in a sick dress, and stunk mightily; which the coachman also cried out upon And presently they come up to some people that stood looking after it,