I home and to supper and to bed. This day the
Houses of Parliament met; and the King met them, with the Queene with
him. And he made a speech to them:

[March 16th, 1663-64. This day both Houses met, and on the gist the
king opened the session with a speech from the throne, in which
occurs this Passage: "I pray, Mr. Speaker, and you, gentlemen of the
House of Commons, give that Triennial Bill once a reading in your
house, and then, in God's name, do what you think fit for me and
yourselves and the whole kingdom. I need not tell you how much I
love parliaments. Never king was so much beholden to parliaments as
I have been, nor do I think the crown can ever be happy without
frequent parliaments" (Cobbett's "Parliamentary History," vol. iv.,
cc. 290, 291).]

among other things, discoursing largely of the plots abroad against
him and the peace of the kingdom; and, among other things, that the
dissatisfied party had great hopes upon the effect of the Act for a
Triennial Parliament granted by his father, which he desired them to
peruse, and, I think, repeal. So the Houses did retire to their own
House, and did order the Act to be read to-morrow before them; and I
suppose it will be repealed, though I believe much against the will of a
good many that sit there.

22nd. Up, and spent the whole morning and afternoon at my office,
only in the evening, my wife being at my aunt Wight's, I went thither,
calling at my own house, going out found the parlour curtains drawn,
and inquiring the reason of it, they told me that their mistress had got
Mrs. Buggin's fine little dog and our little bitch, which is proud at
this time, and I am apt to think that she was helping him to line her,
for going afterwards to my uncle Wight's, and supping there with her,
where very merry with Mr. Woolly's drollery, and going home I found the
little dog so little that of himself he could not reach our bitch, which
I am sorry for, for it is the finest dog that ever I saw in my life,
as if he were painted the colours are so finely mixed and shaded. God
forgive me, it went against me to have my wife and servants look upon
them while they endeavoured to do something....

23rd. Up, and going out saw Mrs. Buggin's dog, which proves as I thought
last night so pretty that I took him and the bitch into my closet below,
and by holding down the bitch helped him to line her, which he did very
stoutly, so as I ho