nd himself
spending all the last year in the country, one of his men is now dead
of the plague, and his wife and one of his mayds sicke, and himself shut
up;" which troubles me mightily. So home; and there do hear also from
Mrs. Sarah Daniel, that Greenwich is at this time much worse than ever
it was, and Deptford too: and she told us that they believed all
the towne would leave the towne and come to London; which is now the
receptacle of all the people from all infected places. God preserve us!
So by and by to dinner, and, after dinner in comes Mrs. Knipp, and I
being at the office went home to her, and there I sat and talked with
her, it being the first time of her being here since her being brought
to bed. I very pleasant with her; but perceive my wife hath no great
pleasure in her being here, she not being pleased with my kindnesse
to her. However, we talked and sang, and were very pleasant. By and by
comes Mr. Pierce and his wife, the first time she also hath been here
since her lying-in, both having been brought to bed of boys, and both
of them dead. And here we talked, and were pleasant, only my wife in
a chagrin humour, she not being pleased with my kindnesse to either of
them, and by and by she fell into some silly discourse wherein I checked
her, which made her mighty pettish, and discoursed mighty offensively to
Mrs. Pierce, which did displease me, but I would make no words, but put
the discourse by as much as I could (it being about a report that my
wife said was made of herself and meant by Mrs. Pierce, that she was
grown a gallant, when she had but so few suits of clothes these two or
three years, and a great deale of that silly discourse), and by and by
Mrs. Pierce did tell her that such discourses should not trouble her,
for there went as bad on other people, and particularly of herself at
this end of the towne, meaning my wife, that she was crooked, which was
quite false, which my wife had the wit not to acknowledge herself to be
the speaker of, though she has said it twenty times. But by this means
we had little pleasure in their visit; however, Knipp and I sang, and
then I offered them to carry them home, and to take my wife with me, but
she would not go: so I with them, leaving my wife in a very ill humour,
and very slighting to them, which vexed me. However, I would not be
removed from my civility to them, but sent for a coach, and went with
them; and, in our way, Knipp saying that she come out of doo