Produced by David Widger
(Unabridged)
DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS.
OCTOBER
1665
October 1st (Lord's day). Called up about 4 of the clock and so dressedmyself and so on board the Bezan, and there finding all my company asleepI would not wake them, but it beginning to be break of day I did stay uponthe decke walking, and then into the Maister's cabbin and there laid andslept a little, and so at last was waked by Captain Cocke's calling of me,and so I turned out, and then to chat and talk and laugh, and mightymerry. We spent most of the morning talking and reading of "The Siege ofRhodes," which is certainly (the more I read it the more I think so) thebest poem that ever was wrote. We breakfasted betimes and come to thefleete about two of the clock in the afternoon, having a fine day and afine winde. My Lord received us mighty kindly, and after discourse withus in general left us to our business, and he to his officers, havingcalled a council of wary, we in the meantime settling of papers with Mr.Pierce and everybody else, and by and by with Captain Cuttance. Anoncalled down to my Lord, and there with him till supper talking anddiscourse; among other things, to my great joy, he did assure me that hehad wrote to the King and Duke about these prize-goods, and told me thatthey did approve of what he had done, and that he would owne what he haddone, and would have me to tell all the world so, and did, under his hand,give Cocke and me his certificate of our bargains, and giving us fullpower of disposal of what we have so bought. This do ease my mind of allmy fear, and makes my heart lighter by L100 than it was before. He diddiscourse to us of the Dutch fleete being abroad, eighty-five of themstill, and are now at the Texell, he believes, in expectation of ourEastland ships coming home with masts and hempe, and our loaden Hambroughships going to Hambrough. He discoursed against them that would have usyield to no conditions but conquest over the Dutch, and seems to believethat the Dutch will call for the protection of the King of France and comeunder his power, which were to be wished they might be brought to do underours by fair means, and to that end would have all Dutch men and familys,that would come hither and settled, to be declared denizens; and my Lorddid whisper to me alone that things here must break in pieces, nobodyminding any thing, but every man his owne business of profit or pleasure,and the King some little designs of his owne, and that certainly thekingdom could not stand in this condition long, which I fear and believeis very true. So to supper and there my Lord the kindest man to me,before all the table talking of me to my advantage and with tenderness toothat it overjoyed me. So after supper Captain Cocke and I and Temple onboard the Bezan, and there to cards for a while and then to read again in"Rhodes" and so to sleep. But, Lord! the mirth which it caused me to bewaked in the night by their snoaring round about me; I did laugh till Iwas ready to burst, and waked one of the two companions