ow do you's, and so parted and so home, and by
and by comes my poor father, much better than I expected, being at ease by
fits, according as his truss sits, and at another time in as much pain. I
am mighty glad to see him come well to town. So to dinner, where Creed
comes. After dinner my wife and father abroad, and Creed and I also by
water, and parted at the Temple stairs, where I landed, and to the King's
house, where I did give 18d., and saw the two last acts of "The Goblins,"
a play I could not make any thing of by these two acts, but here Knipp
spied me out of the tiring-room, and come to the pit door, and I out to
her, and kissed her, she only coming to see me, being in a country-dress,
she, and others having, it seemed, had a country-dance in the play, but
she no other part: so we parted, and I into the pit again till it was
done. The house full, but I had no mind to be seen, but thence to .my
cutler's, and two or three other places on small, errands, and so home,
where my father and wife come home, and pretty well my father, who to
supper and betimes to bed at his country hours. I to Sir W. Batten's, and
there got some more part of my dividend of the prize-money. So home and
to set down in writing the state of the account, and then to supper, and
my wife to her flageolet, wherein she did make out a tune so prettily of
herself, that I was infinitely pleased beyond whatever I expected from
her, and so to bed. This day coming from Westminster with W. Batten, we
saw at White Hall stairs a fisher-boat, with a sturgeon that he had newly
catched in the River; which I saw, but it was but a little one; but big
enough to prevent my mistake of that for a colt, if ever I become Mayor of
Huntingdon!

[During a very high flood in the meadows between Huntingdon and
Godmanchester, something was seen floating, which the Godmanchester
people thought was a black pig, and the Huntingdon folk declared it
was a sturgeon; when rescued from the waters, it proved to be a
young donkey. This mistake led to the one party being styled
"Godmanchester black pigs," and the other "Huntingdon sturgeons,"
terms not altogether forgotten at this day. Pepys's colt must be
taken to be the colt of an ass.--B.]

23rd. Up, and to the office, where we sat all the morning. At noon home,
and with my father dined, and, poor man! he hath put off his
travelling-clothes to-day, and is mighty spruce, and I lov