Lord Orrery's new play "Tryphon," at the Duke of York's house,
which, however, I would see, and therefore put a bit of meat in our
mouths, and went thither; where, with much ado, at half-past one, we got
into a blind hole in the 18d. place, above stairs, where we could not
hear well, but the house infinite full, but the prologue most silly, and
the play, though admirable, yet no pleasure almost in it, because just
the very same design, and words, and sense, and plot, as every one of
his plays have, any one of which alone would be held admirable, whereas
so many of the same design and fancy do but dull one another; and this,
I perceive, is the sense of every body else, as well as myself, who
therefore showed but little pleasure in it. So home, mighty hot, and my
mind mightily out of order, so as I could not eat any supper, or sleep
almost all night, though I spent till twelve at night with W. Hewer to
consider of our business: and we find it not only most free from any
blame of our side, but so horrid scandalous on the other, to make so
groundless a complaint, and one so shameful to him, that it could not
but let me see that there is no need of my being troubled; but such is
the weakness of my nature, that I could not help it, which vexes me,
showing me how unable I am to live with difficulties.

9th. Up, and to the Office, but did little there, my mind being still
uneasy, though more and more satisfied that there is no occasion for it;
but abroad with my wife to the Temple, where I met with Auditor Wood's
clerk, and did some business with him, and so to see Mr. Spong, and
found him out by Southampton Market, and there carried my wife, and up
to his chamber, a bye place, but with a good prospect of the fields;
and there I had most infinite pleasure, not only with his ingenuity
in general, but in particular with his shewing me the use of the
Parallelogram, by which he drew in a quarter of an hour before me,
in little, from a great, a most neat map of England--that is, all the
outlines, which gives me infinite pleasure, and foresight of pleasure,
I shall have with it; and therefore desire to have that which I have
bespoke, made. Many other pretty things he showed us, and did give me a
glass bubble, to try the strength of liquors with.

[This seems to refer to the first form of the Hon. Robert Boyle's
hydrometer, which he described in a paper in the "Philosophical
Transactions" for June, 1675, under the titl