house, where the maid of
the house is a confident merry lass, and if modest is very pleasant to
the customers that come thither. Here we eat it, and thence to walk in
the Park a good while. The Duke being gone a-hunting, and by and by came
in and shifted himself; he having in his hunting, rather than go about,
'light and led his horse through a river up to his breast, and came so
home: and when we were come, which was by and by, we went on to him, and
being ready he retired with us, and we had a long discourse with him.
But Mr. Creed's accounts stick still through the perverse ignorance of
Sir G. Carteret, which I cannot safely control as I would. Thence to the
Park again, and there walked up and down an hour or two till night with
Creed, talking, who is so knowing, and a man of that reason, that I
cannot but love his company, though I do not love the man, because he
is too wise to be made a friend of, and acts all by interest and policy,
but is a man fit to learn of. So to White Hall, and by water to the
Temple, and calling at my brother's and several places, but to no
purpose, I came home, and meeting Strutt, the purser, he tells me for
a secret that he was told by Field that he had a judgment against me
in the Exchequer for L400. So I went to Sir W. Batten, and taking Mr.
Batten, his son the counsellor, with me, by coach, I went to Clerke, our
Solicitor, who tells me there can be no such thing, and after conferring
with them two together, who are resolved to look well after the
business, I returned home and to my office, setting down this day's
passages, and having a letter that all is well in the country I went
home to supper, and then a Latin chapter of Will and to bed.

23rd. Up by four o'clock, and so to my office; but before I went out,
calling, as I have of late done, for my boy's copybook, I found that
he had not done his task; so I beat him, and then went up to fetch
my rope's end, but before I got down the boy was gone. I searched the
cellar with a candle, and from top to bottom could not find him high nor
low. So to the office; and after an hour or two, by water to the
Temple, to my cozen Roger; who, I perceive, is a deadly high man in the
Parliament business, and against the Court, showing me how they have
computed that the King hath spent, at least hath received, about four
millions of money since he came in: and in Sir J. Winter's case, in
which I spoke to him, he is so high that he says he deserves to be