Up and to the office, where all the morning, dined at home and Creed with me; after dinner I to Sir G. Carteret, and with him to his new house he is taking in Broad Streete, and there surveyed all the rooms and bounds, in order to the drawing up a lease thereof; and that done, Mr. Cutler, his landlord, took me up and down, and showed me all his ground and house, which is extraordinary great, he having bought all the Augustine Fryers, and many, many a 1000l. he hath and will bury there. So home to my business, clearing my papers and preparing my accounts against tomorrow for a monthly and a great auditt. So to supper and to bed.
Fresh newes come of our beating the Dutch at Guinny quite out of all their castles almost, which will make them quite mad here at home sure. And Sir G. Carteret did tell me, that the King do joy mightily at it; but asked him laughing, “But,” says he, “how shall I do to answer this to the Embassador when he comes?”
Nay they say that we have beat them out of the New Netherlands too; so that we have been doing them mischief for a great while in several parts of the world; without publique knowledge or reason.
Their fleete for Guinny is now, they say, ready, and abroad, and will be going this week.
Coming home to-night, I did go to examine my wife’s house accounts, and finding things that seemed somewhat doubtful, I was angry though she did make it pretty plain, but confessed that when she do misse a sum, she do add something to other things to make it, and, upon my being very angry, she do protest she will here lay up something for herself to buy her a necklace with, which madded me and do still trouble me, for I fear she will forget by degrees the way of living cheap and under a sense of want.
how many bury tomorrow in a castle
I will make a home
in that land without a road
and if I miss some things I will forget
by degrees the way of living under
a sense of want
Erasure poem derived from The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Thursday 29 September 1664.