ying a barrel of oysters with me.
Anon comes Mr. John Andrews and his wife by invitation from Bow to dine
with me, and young Batelier and his wife with her great belly, which has
spoiled her looks mightily already. Here was also Mercer and Creed,
whom I met coming home, who tells me of a most bitter lampoone now out
against the Court and the management of State from head to foot, mighty
witty and mighty severe. By and by to dinner, a very good one, and
merry. After dinner I put the women into a coach, and they to the Duke's
house, to a play which was acted, "The--------." It was indifferently
done, but was not pleased with the song, Gosnell not singing, but a new
wench, that sings naughtily. Thence home, all by coach, and there Mr.
Andrews to the vyall, who plays most excellently on it, which I did
not know before. Then to dance, here being Pembleton come, by my wife's
direction, and a fiddler; and we got, also, the elder Batelier to-night,
and Nan Wright, and mighty merry we were, and I danced; and so till
twelve at night, and to supper, and then to cross purposes, mighty
merry, and then to bed, my eyes being sore. Creed lay here in Barker's
bed.

27th. Up; and called up by the King's trumpets, which cost me 10s. So
to the office, where we sat all the morning. At noon, by invitation, my
wife, who had not been there these to months, I think, and I, to meet
all our families at Sir W. Batten's at dinner, whither neither a great
dinner for so much company nor anything good or handsome. In the middle
of dinner I rose, and my wife, and by coach to the King's playhouse,
and meeting Creed took him up, and there saw "The Scornfull Lady" well
acted; Doll Common doing Abigail most excellently, and Knipp the widow
very well, and will be an excellent actor, I think. In other parts the
play not so well done as used to be, by the old actors. Anon to White
Hall by coach, thinking to have seen a play there to-night, but found
it a mistake, so back again, and missed our coach[man], who was gone,
thinking to come time enough three hours hence, and we could not blame
him. So forced to get another coach, and all three home to my house, and
there to Sir W. Batten's, and eat a bit of cold chine of beef, and
then staid and talked, and then home and sat and talked a little by the
fireside with my wife and Creed, and so to bed, my left eye being very
sore. No business publick or private minded all these two days. This
day a house or two was blo