ight he did, but the
latter part he slubbered over, that I must get him to do it over better,
or else I shall not fancy my rule, which is such a folly that I am come
to now, that whereas before my delight was in multitude of books, and
spending money in that and buying alway of other things, now that I am
become a better husband, and have left off buying, now my delight is
in the neatness of everything, and so cannot be pleased with anything
unless it be very neat, which is a strange folly. Hither came W. Howe
about business, and he and I had a great deal of discourse about my
Lord Sandwich, and I find by him that my Lord do dote upon one of the
daughters of Mrs. [Becke] where he lies, so that he spends his time and
money upon her. He tells me she is a woman of a very bad fame and very
impudent, and has told my Lord so, yet for all that my Lord do spend all
his evenings with her, though he be at court in the day time, and that
the world do take notice of it, and that Pickering is only there as a
blind, that the world may think that my Lord spends his time with him
when he do worse, and that hence it is that my Lord has no more mind to
go into the country than he has. In fine, I perceive my Lord is dabbling
with this wench, for which I am sorry, though I do not wonder at it,
being a man amorous enough, and now begins to allow himself the liberty
that he says every body else at Court takes. Here I am told that my Lord
Bristoll is either fled or concealed himself; having been sent for to
the King, it is believed to be sent to the Tower, but he is gone out of
the way. Yesterday, I am told also, that Sir J. Lenthall, in Southwarke,
did apprehend about one hundred Quakers, and other such people, and hath
sent some of them to the gaole at Kingston, it being now the time of
the Assizes. Hence home and examined a piece of, Latin of Will's with my
brother, and so to prayers and to bed. This evening I had a letter from
my father that says that my wife will come to town this week, at which I
wonder that she should come to town without my knowing more of it. But
I find they have lived very ill together since she went, and I must use
all the brains I have to bring her to any good when she do come home,
which I fear will be hard to do, and do much disgust me the thoughts of
it.

11th. Up and to my office, whither, by and by, my brother Tom came, and
I did soundly rattle him for his neglecting to see and please the Joyces
as he has of