25th. Lay long in bed, talking with pleasure with my poor wife, how she used to make coal fires, and wash my foul clothes with her own hand for me, poor wretch! in our little room at my Lord Sandwich’s; for which I ought for ever to love and admire her, and do: and persuade myself she would do the same thing again, if God should reduce us to it. At my goldsmith’s did observe the King’s new medall, where in little there is Mrs Stewart’s face as well done as ever I saw any thing in my whole life, I think: and a pretty thing it is, that he should choose her face to represent Brittannia by.

27th. This day at a leisure, the King and Duke of York being gone down to Sheerenesse this morning to lay out the design for a fortification there to the river Medway; and so we do not attend the Duke of York as we should otherwise have done. To the Dock Yard, and went into Mr Pett’s; and there beyond expectation he did present me with a Japan cane with a silver head, and his wife sent me by him a ring with a Woolwich stone, now much in request; which I accepted, the values not being great: and then at my asking did give me an old draught of an ancient-built ship, given him by his father, of the Beare in Queene Elizabeth’s time. Mr Hunt, newly come out of the country, tells me the country is much impoverished by the greatness of taxes: the farmers do break every day almost, and £1000 a year become not worth £500. He told me some ridiculous pieces of thrift of Sir G. Downing’s, who is his countryman, in inviting some poor people at Christmas last, to charm the country people’s mouths; but did give them nothing but beef, porridge, pudding, and pork, and nothing said all dinner, but only his mother would say, ‘It’s good broth, son.’ He would answer, ‘Yes, it is good broth.’ Then says his lady, ‘Confirm all, and say, Yes, very good broth.’ By and by she would begin and say, ‘Good pork’: ‘Yes,’ says the mother, ‘good pork.’ Then he cries, ‘Yes, very good pork.’ And so they said of all things; to which nobody made any answer, they going there not out of love or esteem of them, but to eat his victuals, knowing him to be a niggardly fellow; and with this he is jeered now all over the country. Met Mr Cooling, who tells me of my Lord Duke of Buckingham’s being sent for last night by a Sergeant at Armes to the Tower for treasonable practices, and that the King is infinitely angry with him, and declared him no longer one of his Council. I know not the reason of it, or occasion.

28th. Mr Holland gives it me as his opinion, that the City will never be built again together, as is expected, while any restraint is laid upon them. I did within these six days see smoke still remaining of the late fire in the City. Sir J. Minnes this night tells me that he hears for certain that ballads are made of us in Holland for begging of a peace; which I expected, but am vexed at. So ends this month with nothing of weight upon my mind but for my father and mother, who are both very ill, and have been so for some weeks: whom God help! but I do fear my poor father will hardly be ever naturally well again.

March 1st. In Mark-lane I do observe (it being St David’s day) the picture of a man, dressed like a Welchman, hanging by the neck upon one of the poles that stand out at the top of one of the merchant’s houses, in full proportion, and very handsomely done; which is one of the oddest sights I have seen a good while. Tom Woodall, the known chyrurgeon, is killed at Somerset House by a Frenchman in a drunken quarrel.

2nd. After dinner with my wife to the King’s house to see The Mayden Queene, a new play of Dryden’s, mightily commended for the regularity of it, and the strain and wit: and the truth is, there is a comical part done by Nell, which is Florimell, that I never can hope ever to see the like done again by man or woman. The King and Duke of York were at the play. But so great performance of a comical part was