Office day; after that to dinner at home upon some ribs of roast beef from the Cook’s (which of late we have been forced to do because of our house being always under the painters’ and other people’s hands, that we could not dress it ourselves). After dinner to my Lord’s, where I found all preparing for my Lord’s going to sea to fetch the Queen tomorrow.
At night my Lord came home, with whom I staid long, and talked of many things. Among others I got leave to have his picture, that was done by Lilly, copied, and talking of religion, I found him to be a perfect Sceptic, and said that all things would not be well while there was so much preaching, and that it would be better if nothing but Homilies were to be read in Churches.
This afternoon (he told me) there hath been a meeting before the King and my Lord Chancellor, of some Episcopalian and Presbyterian Divines; but what had passed he could not tell me.
After I had done talk with him, I went to bed with Mr. Sheply in his chamber, but could hardly get any sleep all night, the bed being ill made and he a bad bedfellow.
Ribs under other people’s hands,
we could not dress ourselves,
queen that we were.
The king? With him
we could hardly get any
sleep, he being a bad bed.
Erasure poem derived from The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Monday 22 October 1660.