The Diary of Samuel Pepys [406]
Prince might be satisfied in it who hath a mind to go; but he tells me they will not excuse him, and I believe it, and truly do judge it a piece of bad fortune to W. Pen.
25th. Up, and walked to White Hall, there to wait on the Duke of York; which I did: and in his chamber there, first by hearing the Duke of York call me by my name, my Lord Burlington did come to me and with great respect take notice of me and my relation to my Lord Sandwich, and express great kindness to me; and so to talk of my Lord Sandwich's concernments. By and by the Duke of York is ready; and I did wait for an opportunity of speaking my mind to him about Sir J. Minnes, his being unable to do the King any service. The Duke of York and all with him this morning were full of the talk of the prentices, who are not yet, put down, though the guards and militia of the town have been in armes all this night and the night before; and the prentices have made fools of them, sometimes by running from them and flinging stones at them. Some blood hath been spilt, but a great many houses pulled down; and, among others, the Duke of York was mighty merry at that of Daman Page's, the great bawd of the seamen; and the Duke of York complained merrily that he hath lost two tenants by their houses being pulled down, who paid him for their wine- licences 15l. a-year. But these idle fellows have had the confidence to say that they did ill in contenting themselves in pulling down the little brothels, and did not go and pull down the great one at White Hall. And some of them have the last night had a word among them, and it was "Reformation and Reducement." This do make the courtiers ill at ease to see this spirit among people, though they think this matter will not come to much: but it speakes people's minds; and then they do say that there are men of understanding among them, that have been of Cromwell's army: but how true that is, I know not.
26th. To the Duke of York's house to see the new play, called "The Man is the Master:" [A comedy, by Sir Wm. Davenant, taken from Moliere's "Joddelet."] where the house was, it being not one o'clock, very full. By and by the King came; and we sat just under him, so that I durst not turn my back all the play. The most of the mirth was sorry, poor stuffe, of eating of sack posset and slabbering themselves, and mirth fit for clownes; the prologue but poor, and the epilogue little in it but the extraordinariness of it, it being sung by Harris and another in the form of a ballet. My wife extraordinary fine to-day in her flower tabby suit, bought a year and more ago, before my mother's death put her into mourning, and so not worn till this day: and every body in love with it; and indeed she is very fine and handsome in it. Home in a coach round by the wall; where we met so many stops by the watches, that it cost us much time and some trouble, and more money, to every watch to them to drink; this being encreased by the trouble the prentices did lately give the City, so that the militia and watches are very strict at this time; and we had like to have met with a stop for all night at the constable's watch at Mooregate by a pragmatical constable; but we came well home at about two in the morning. This noon from Mrs. Williams's my Lord Brouncker sent to Somerset House to hear how the Duchesse of Richmond do; and word was brought him that she is pretty well, but mighty full of the small pox, by which all do conclude she will he wholly spoiled; which is the greatest instance of the uncertainty of beauty that could be in this age; but, then she hath had the benefit of it to be first married, and to have kept it so long under the greatest temptations in the world from a King, and yet without the least imputation. This afternoon, at the play, Sir Fr. Hollis spoke to me as a secret and matter of confidence in me, and friendship to Sir W. Pen, who is now out of town, that it were well he were made acquainted that he finds in the House of Commons, which met this day, several motions made for the calling strictly again upon the
25th. Up, and walked to White Hall, there to wait on the Duke of York; which I did: and in his chamber there, first by hearing the Duke of York call me by my name, my Lord Burlington did come to me and with great respect take notice of me and my relation to my Lord Sandwich, and express great kindness to me; and so to talk of my Lord Sandwich's concernments. By and by the Duke of York is ready; and I did wait for an opportunity of speaking my mind to him about Sir J. Minnes, his being unable to do the King any service. The Duke of York and all with him this morning were full of the talk of the prentices, who are not yet, put down, though the guards and militia of the town have been in armes all this night and the night before; and the prentices have made fools of them, sometimes by running from them and flinging stones at them. Some blood hath been spilt, but a great many houses pulled down; and, among others, the Duke of York was mighty merry at that of Daman Page's, the great bawd of the seamen; and the Duke of York complained merrily that he hath lost two tenants by their houses being pulled down, who paid him for their wine- licences 15l. a-year. But these idle fellows have had the confidence to say that they did ill in contenting themselves in pulling down the little brothels, and did not go and pull down the great one at White Hall. And some of them have the last night had a word among them, and it was "Reformation and Reducement." This do make the courtiers ill at ease to see this spirit among people, though they think this matter will not come to much: but it speakes people's minds; and then they do say that there are men of understanding among them, that have been of Cromwell's army: but how true that is, I know not.
26th. To the Duke of York's house to see the new play, called "The Man is the Master:" [A comedy, by Sir Wm. Davenant, taken from Moliere's "Joddelet."] where the house was, it being not one o'clock, very full. By and by the King came; and we sat just under him, so that I durst not turn my back all the play. The most of the mirth was sorry, poor stuffe, of eating of sack posset and slabbering themselves, and mirth fit for clownes; the prologue but poor, and the epilogue little in it but the extraordinariness of it, it being sung by Harris and another in the form of a ballet. My wife extraordinary fine to-day in her flower tabby suit, bought a year and more ago, before my mother's death put her into mourning, and so not worn till this day: and every body in love with it; and indeed she is very fine and handsome in it. Home in a coach round by the wall; where we met so many stops by the watches, that it cost us much time and some trouble, and more money, to every watch to them to drink; this being encreased by the trouble the prentices did lately give the City, so that the militia and watches are very strict at this time; and we had like to have met with a stop for all night at the constable's watch at Mooregate by a pragmatical constable; but we came well home at about two in the morning. This noon from Mrs. Williams's my Lord Brouncker sent to Somerset House to hear how the Duchesse of Richmond do; and word was brought him that she is pretty well, but mighty full of the small pox, by which all do conclude she will he wholly spoiled; which is the greatest instance of the uncertainty of beauty that could be in this age; but, then she hath had the benefit of it to be first married, and to have kept it so long under the greatest temptations in the world from a King, and yet without the least imputation. This afternoon, at the play, Sir Fr. Hollis spoke to me as a secret and matter of confidence in me, and friendship to Sir W. Pen, who is now out of town, that it were well he were made acquainted that he finds in the House of Commons, which met this day, several motions made for the calling strictly again upon the