ake another attempt on St. Christopher.
"Calendar of State Payers, 1667, p. 447]

Home, and dined with my wife at Sir W. Pen's, where a very good pasty
of venison, better than we expected, the last stinking basely, and after
dinner he and my wife and I to the Duke of York's house, and there saw
"Love Trickes, or the School of Compliments;" a silly play, only Miss
[Davis's] dancing in a shepherd's clothes did please us mightily. Thence
without much pleasure home and to my Office, so home, to supper, and to
bed. My wife mighty angry with Nell, who is turned a very gossip, and
gads abroad as soon as our backs are turned, and will put her away
tomorrow, which I am not sorry for.

6th. Up, and to the office, where all the morning very full of business.
A full Board. Here, talking of news, my Lord Anglesey did tell us that
the Dutch do make a further bogle with us about two or three things,
which they will be satisfied in, he says, by us easily; but only in one,
it seems, they do demand that we shall not interrupt their East Indiamen
coming home, and of which they are in some fear; and we are full of
hopes that we have 'light upon some of them, and carried them into
Lisbon, by Harman; which God send! But they, which do shew the low
esteem they have of us, have the confidence to demand that we shall
have a cessation on our parts, and yet they at liberty to take what they
will; which is such an affront, as another cannot be devised greater. At
noon home to dinner, where I find Mrs. Wood, formerly Bab. Shelden, and
our Mercer, who is dressed to-day in a paysan dress, that looks mighty
pretty. We dined and sang and laughed mighty merry, and then I to the
Office, only met at the door with Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Burroughs, who
I took in and drank with, but was afraid my wife should see them, they
being, especially the first, a prattling gossip, and so after drinking
with them parted, and I to the Office, busy as long as my poor eyes
would endure, which troubles me mightily and then into the garden with
my wife, and to Sir W. Batten's with [Sir] W. Pen and [Sir] J. Minnes,
and there eat a melon and talked, and so home to supper and to bed.
My wife, as she said last night, hath put away Nell to-day, for her
gossiping abroad and telling of stories. Sir W. Batten did tell
me to-night that the Council have ordered a hearing before them of
Carcasses business, which do vex me mightily, that we should be troubled
so much by an idle rog