papers, among which I find several letters of my brother John's to him
speaking very foale words of me and my deportment to him here, and very
crafty designs about Sturtlow land and God knows what, which I am very
glad to know, and shall make him repent them. Anon my father and my
brother John came to towne by coach. I sat till night with him, giving
him an account of things. He, poor man, very sad and sickly. I in great
pain by a simple compressing of my cods to-day by putting one leg over
another as I have formerly done, which made me hasten home, and after a
little at the office in great disorder home to bed.

20th (Lord's day). Kept my bed all the morning, having laid a poultice
to my cods last night to take down the tumour there which I got
yesterday, which it did do, being applied pretty warm, and soon after
the beginning of the swelling, and the pain was gone also. We lay
talking all the while, among other things of religion, wherein I am
sorry so often to hear my wife talk of her being and resolving to die a
Catholique,

[Mrs. Pepys's leaning towards Roman Catholicism was a constant
trouble to her husband; but, in spite of his fears, she died a
Protestant (Dr. Milles's certificate.)]

and indeed a small matter, I believe, would absolutely turn her, which
I am sorry for. Up at noon to dinner, and then to my chamber with a fire
till late at night looking over my brother Thomas's papers, sorting of
them, among which I find many base letters of my brother John's to him
against me, and carrying on plots against me to promote Tom's having
of his Banbury' Mistress, in base slighting terms, and in worse of my
sister Pall, such as I shall take a convenient time to make my father
know, and him also to his sorrow. So after supper to bed, our people
rising to wash to-morrow.

21st. Up, and it snowing this morning a little, which from the mildness
of the winter and the weather beginning to be hot and the summer to come
on apace, is a little strange to us. I did not go abroad for fear of my
tumour, for fear it shall rise again, but staid within, and by and by
my father came, poor man, to me, and my brother John. After much talke
and taking them up to my chamber, I did there after some discourse bring
in any business of anger--with John, and did before my father read all
his roguish letters, which troubled my father mightily, especially to
hear me say what I did, against my allowing any thing for the time t