A diary for every day of the year
- Written
- January 1660 to June 1669, written day by day (modern calendar)
- Place
- London
- Language
- Early Modern English
- Kind of source
- diary
- Reading time
- 11 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Intensity
- Low
Calendars and keeping timeFood, farming and hungerWork and wagesHomes, towns and buildingStores, catalogues and shoppingGreat Plague of London (1665–1666)
On September 25, 1660, after a morning at the office talking about war and peace, Samuel Pepys sent for “a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before.” Six years later, on September 2, his maid woke him at three in the morning to look at a fire in the City. He thought it far enough off and went back to bed.
Pepys (1633–1703) was the son of a tailor. He studied at Cambridge and owed his rise to his father’s cousin, Edward Montagu, later Earl of Sandwich. In 1660 he became Clerk of the Acts, one of the officers who ran the navy’s business, and moved into the Navy Office. From January 1, 1660, to May 31, 1669, he kept a diary in shorthand (Thomas Shelton’s system, Wheatley notes), writing about his work, his household, his money, the news and the city around him. He stopped because he feared he was ruining his eyes. The diary was first printed, in part, in 1825. Wheatley’s edition, used here, printed almost all of it, marking the few passages he left out.
Pepys was an eyewitness to most of what he describes, but he did not always write on the day. He sometimes caught up from notes several days later, and he copied his account of the Great Fire into the book months afterward. News he heard secondhand he reports as he heard it, rumors included.
The diary was private, and Pepys is frank about his pleasures, quarrels and failings. The entries chosen here keep to everyday matters; much else in the diary is about his work, his ambitions and his private life.
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The edited translation, in simplified modern English. Bracketed words were added for clarity; [...] marks a cut. Tap a note number to read the note.
January
Up early, and though it was a very foggy morning, and cold, [I went] down to Erith1 in a galley,2 not knowing several times where we were going. There I mustered two of the King’s ships, lent by him to the Guinea Company, which are better manned than ours at far lower wages.
Lay rather long in bed, and then rose, leaving my wife wanting to sleep, since she had sat up till four this morning watching her maids make mince pies. I [went] to church, where our parson Mills preached a good sermon. Then home, and dined well on some good roast ribs of beef and mince pies; only my wife, brother, and Barker [with me], and plenty of good wine of my own, and my heart full of true joy; and thanks to God Almighty for the goodness of my condition at this day.
Early in the morning [I went] to the Exchequer,3 where I counted over the money of my Lord’s4 and my own that I had there, which I found to be £970. From there to Will’s, where Spicer and I ate our dinner of a roast leg of pork that Will gave us, and after that to the Theater, where Beggars’ Bush5 was acted, and very well done. And here, for the first time ever, I saw women come upon the stage.6
So my poor wife rose by five o’clock in the morning, before daylight, and went to market and bought fowls and many other things for dinner, which pleased me greatly. And the chine of beef7 was down [at the fire] before six o’clock too, and my own jack,8 which I had doubts about, turns it very well. Things being put in order, and the cook come, I went to the office,9 where we sat till noon and then broke up. And I [went] home, where by and by came Dr. Clerke and his lady, his sister, and a she-cousin, and Mr. Pierce and his wife; these were all my guests. I had for them, after oysters, at the first course, a hash of rabbits, a lamb, and a fine chine of beef. Next, a great dish of roasted fowl, which cost me about 30 shillings, and a tart, and then fruit and cheese.
February
[I] drank my morning drink at Harper’s, and was told there that the soldiers were all quiet upon the promise of pay. From there to St. James’s Park, and walked there to my spot for my flageolet, and then played a little, it being a most pleasant, sunny morning.
March
All the morning at the office, and at noon home to dinner, and from there with my wife and Deb. to the King’s House, to see The Virgin Martyr,10 the first time it has been acted in a long while. And it is very pleasant; not that the play is worth much, but it is finely acted by Beck Marshall. But what pleased me beyond anything in the whole world was the wind music when the angel comes down. It is so sweet that it ravished me, and indeed, in a word, it wrapped up my soul so that it made me really sick, just as I have been before when in love with my wife. Neither then, nor all the evening going home and at home, was I able to think of anything, but [I] remained all night transported. I could not believe that any music ever had such real command over the soul of a man as this had over me. And it makes me resolve to practice wind music, and to make my wife do the same.
Up, and out in my own coach to Auditor Beale’s house, and from there with W. Hewer11 to his office. There, with great contentment, [I] spent all the morning looking over the Navy accounts of several years, and the patents of the various Treasurers, which was more than I had hoped to find there.
April
Early, Sir G. Carteret, both Sir Williams12 and I [went] by coach to Deptford, it being very windy and rainy weather, taking a cod and some prawns from Fish Street with us. We settled to pay [the crew of] the Guernsey,13 a small ship, but it came to a great deal of money, having been unpaid ever since before the King came in. Because of this, not only does the King pay wages while the ship has lain idle, but the poor men have most of them been forced to borrow all the money due for their wages before they receive it, and that at a high rate, God knows. So many of them had very little to receive at the table, which grieved me to see. To dinner, very merry. Then Sir George [went] to London, and we [went] back to the pay. When that was done, [we went] home again by coach and to the office, doing some business, and so home and to bed.
May
About four I rose and got to the Abbey,14 where I followed Sir J. Denham, the Surveyor,15 with some company that he was leading in. And with much trouble, thanks to Mr. Cooper, his man, [I] got up onto a great scaffold across the north end of the Abbey, where with a great deal of patience I sat from past four till eleven before the King came in. And it was a great pleasure to see the Abbey raised in the middle, all covered with red, and a throne (that is, a chair) and footstool on top of it; and all the officers of every kind, even the very fiddlers, in red vests. At last in came the Dean and Prebends of Westminster, with the Bishops (many of them in copes of cloth of gold), and after them the Nobility, all in their Parliament robes, which was a most magnificent sight.
Up, and all the morning at the office. At noon to the ’Change,16 where, after business was done, Sir W. Rider and Cutler took me to the Old James and gave me a good dish of mackerel there, the first I have seen this year, very good; and good conversation.
My wife [was] up again by four o’clock, to go to gather May dew,17 and so back home by seven, to bed. And by and by I [got] up and [went] to the office, where [I was] all the morning, and dined at noon at home with my household, and so all the afternoon. In the evening my wife and I, all alone with the boy, [went] by water almost as far up as Putney with the tide, and back again, not stopping going or coming, but talking and singing, and reading a foolish set of verses on my Lord Mayor’s entertaining all the bachelors, written in praise of my Lord Mayor. And so home and to the office a little, and then home to bed, my eyes being bad.18
Up early, and my flageolet master comes to set me a new tune, which I played at once, and in a month I shall be able to do as much at it as I want.
July
Up, and today [I] put on a half shirt for the first time this summer, it being very hot. And yet I have grown so out of sorts that I am afraid I shall catch cold, while all the world is ready to melt away.
Up early yesterday and today, the sun rising very bright and glorious; and yet yesterday, as it has been these two months and more, was a foul day most of the day.
Up by five o’clock, and after putting my journal in order, to my office about my business, which I am resolved to follow, for every day I see what ground I gain by it. By and by Mr. Cooper comes, mate of the Royal Charles,19 from whom I intend to learn mathematics, and I begin with him today. He is a very able man, and no great sum, I suppose, will content him. After an hour with him at arithmetic (my first attempt being to learn the multiplication table), we parted till tomorrow.
Up fairly early, it being very hot weather. Last night I lay with only a rug and a sheet over me, which I have not done, I believe, since I was a boy, and I am sure not since I had the stone before.20
August
Woken about two o’clock this morning by the noise of thunder, which lasted for an hour, with such continuous lightning, not flashes but flames, that all the sky and air was lit up. And that went on for a great while, not a minute between new flames all the time: such a thing as I never saw, nor could have believed had ever been in nature. And being put into a great sweat by it, [I] could not sleep till it was all over. And with it came such a storm of rain as I never heard in my life. I expected to find my house flooded in the morning with the rain breaking in, and that much harm must have been done in the city by this lightning. But I find not one drop of rain in my house, nor any news of harm done.
September
Up early and to my business of settling my house and papers, and then out, and met Hadley, our [parish] clerk. When I asked him how the plague goes, he told me it is growing much worse, and much worse in our parish. “For,” he says, “nine died this week, though I have reported only six.”21 This is a very bad practice, and makes me think it is the same in other places, and therefore that the plague is much greater than people take it to be.
Some of our maids sat up late last night to get things ready for our feast today, and Jane called us up about three in the morning to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I rose and slipped on my nightgown,22 and went to her window, and thought it was at the back of Mark Lane at the farthest. But, being unused to such fires as followed, I thought it far enough off, and so went to bed again and to sleep. About seven [I] rose again to dress, and looked out of the window there, and saw the fire not so big as it had been, and farther off.23
October
To the office, where Sir W. Batten, Colonel Slingsby,24 and I sat awhile. And Sir R. Ford coming to us about some business, we talked together of its being in this kingdom’s interest to have peace with Spain and war with France and Holland, and Sir R. Ford talked like a man of great reason and experience. And afterwards I sent for a cup of tea (a China drink), which I had never drunk before, and went away.25
Up, and while I waited for the barber, [I] tried to compose a duet in counterpoint, and I think it will do very well, it being by Mr. Berkenshaw’s rule.26
November
Up, and W. Batelier’s Frenchman, a periwig maker,27 comes and brings me a new one, which I liked and paid him for: a very genteel fellow. So to the office, where [we] sat all the morning, and at noon home to dinner, and from there with my wife and Deb. to Crow’s, and there [we] saw some more beds; and I think we shall settle on a camlet28 one, when all is done.
December
Up, and after doing some business at the office, I [went] to London.29 There, on my way, at my old oyster shop in Gracious Street, [I] bought two barrels from my fine woman of the shop, who is alive after all the plague. That is now the first thing we notice or ask about in London concerning everybody we knew before it.30
When I woke, I found the tops of the houses covered with snow, which is a rare sight, one I have not seen these three years.
Notes
- Pepys writes Eriffe; Wheatley identifies the place as Erith. back
- An open boat used on the Thames (Webster, 1828). back
- The royal treasury, which collected the king’s revenues (Webster, 1828). When Pepys began the diary he was a clerk to George Downing, one of its Tellers of the Receipt (Wheatley). back
- Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, Pepys’s cousin once removed and his patron. Pepys owed his start in life to him (Wheatley). back
- A comedy published in 1647 among the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher (Wheatley). Pepys had seen it revived on November 20, 1660 (diary). back
- Wheatley notes that women acting women’s parts became common only after the Restoration. The first English professional actress, Mrs. Coleman, had appeared in 1656. back
- A piece of the backbone of an animal with the meat next to it, cut for cooking (Webster’s American Dictionary, 1828). back
- A machine for turning a spit (Webster, 1828). back
- The Navy Office, between Crutched Friars and Seething Lane, where Pepys both worked and lived. From 1660 he was Clerk of the Acts, one of the officers who ran the navy’s business (Wheatley). back
- A tragedy by Massinger and Dekker (Wheatley). back
- William Hewer, Pepys’s clerk and later his friend and partner; Pepys spent his last years at Hewer’s house at Clapham (John Evelyn, quoted by Wheatley). back
- Sir William Batten, Surveyor of the Navy, and Sir William Penn, a Commissioner, Pepys’s colleagues at the Navy Office. Sir George Carteret was its Treasurer (Wheatley). back
- A small warship of twenty-two guns, built in 1654 (Wheatley, from Archaeologia). Charles II had “come in,” returning to England as king, in May 1660. back
- Westminster Abbey, for the coronation of Charles II (Wheatley). back
- Sir John Denham, Surveyor-General of the King’s buildings, better known as the poet of Cooper’s Hill (Wheatley). back
- Short for Exchange: a building where merchants met to do business (Webster, 1828). back
- On May 28, 1667, Pepys wrote that Mrs. Turner had taught his wife that May dew was “the only thing in the world to wash her face with.” Braybrooke’s note in Wheatley cites a newspaper of 1791 on people bathing their faces in it to become beautiful. back
- Pepys’s eyesight had been failing for some years. Twenty days later, on May 31, 1669, he wrote the last entry of the diary, fearing that keeping it would ruin his eyes (Wheatley). back
- The flagship that brought Charles II home in 1660. It had been the Naseby until the King renamed it, as the Charles, on board in May 1660 (Wheatley). back
- Pepys had been operated on for the stone on March 26, 1658, and kept the day each year with thanksgiving (Wheatley). back
- Each week every London parish clerk brought a note of the christenings and burials in his parish to the Parish Clerks’ Hall, and the weekly Bills of Mortality were made from these notes (Wheatley). back
- A loose gown worn indoors when not dressed (Webster, 1828), not a garment for sleeping in. back
- In the rest of the entry Jane tells him that above 300 houses have burned in the night and that the fire is burning down all Fish Street, by London Bridge. Pepys goes to the Tower to look. This was the start of the Great Fire of London. back
- Robert Slingsby, later Sir Robert, Comptroller of the Navy (Wheatley). back
- Wheatley quotes an advertisement in the newspaper Mercurius Politicus of September 30, 1658, for “that excellent and by all Physicians, approved, China drink, called by the Chineans Tcha, by other nations Tay alias Tee,” sold at a coffeehouse by the Royal Exchange. back
- Pepys’s music teacher. In February 1662 Pepys paid him £5 for “this month or five weeks” of lessons in composing songs (diary, February 24, 1662). back
- A wig. Webster (1828) describes the periwig as a close cap of false hair worn by men for ornament or to hide baldness. back
- A costly cloth of wool and silk (Wheatley); Webster (1828) adds that it might be made of goat’s hair. back
- During the plague Pepys lived and worked at Greenwich with his clerks, while his wife stayed at Woolwich (Wheatley). back
- In the rest of the entry Pepys is glad to see the Exchange so full again, with hopes that the deaths will fall again the next week. back
Up betimes, and though it was a most foggy morning, and cold, yet with a gally down to Eriffe, several times being at a loss whither we went. There I mustered two ships of the King’s, lent by him to the Guiny Company, which are manned better than ours at far less wages.
Up early, and though it was a very foggy morning, and cold, [I went] down to Erith in a galley, not knowing several times where we were going. There I mustered two of the King’s ships, lent by him to the Guinea Company, which are better manned than ours at far lower wages.
- Pepys writes Eriffe; Wheatley identifies the place as Erith.
- An open boat used on the Thames (Webster, 1828).
Lay pretty long in bed, and then rose, leaving my wife desirous to sleep, having sat up till four this morning seeing her mayds make mince-pies. I to church, where our parson Mills made a good sermon. Then home, and dined well on some good ribbs of beef roasted and mince pies; only my wife, brother, and Barker, and plenty of good wine of my owne, and my heart full of true joy; and thanks to God Almighty for the goodness of my condition at this day.
Lay rather long in bed, and then rose, leaving my wife wanting to sleep, since she had sat up till four this morning watching her maids make mince pies. I [went] to church, where our parson Mills preached a good sermon. Then home, and dined well on some good roast ribs of beef and mince pies; only my wife, brother, and Barker [with me], and plenty of good wine of my own, and my heart full of true joy; and thanks to God Almighty for the goodness of my condition at this day.
Early in the morning to the Exchequer, where I told over what money I had of my Lord’s and my own there, which I found to be £970. Thence to Will’s, where Spicer and I eat our dinner of a roasted leg of pork which Will did give us, and after that to the Theatre, where was acted “Beggars’ Bush,” it being very well done; and here the first time that ever I saw women come upon the stage.
Early in the morning [I went] to the Exchequer, where I counted over the money of my Lord’s and my own that I had there, which I found to be £970. From there to Will’s, where Spicer and I ate our dinner of a roast leg of pork that Will gave us, and after that to the Theater, where Beggars’ Bush was acted, and very well done. And here, for the first time ever, I saw women come upon the stage.
- The royal treasury, which collected the king’s revenues (Webster, 1828). When Pepys began the diary he was a clerk to George Downing, one of its Tellers of the Receipt (Wheatley).
- Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, Pepys’s cousin once removed and his patron. Pepys owed his start in life to him (Wheatley).
- A comedy published in 1647 among the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher (Wheatley). Pepys had seen it revived on November 20, 1660 (diary).
- Wheatley notes that women acting women’s parts became common only after the Restoration. The first English professional actress, Mrs. Coleman, had appeared in 1656.
So my poor wife rose by five o’clock in the morning, before day, and went to market and bought fowls and many other things for dinner, with which I was highly pleased, and the chine of beef was down also before six o’clock, and my own jack, of which I was doubtfull, do carry it very well. Things being put in order, and the cook come, I went to the office, where we sat till noon and then broke up, and I home, whither by and by comes Dr. Clerke and his lady, his sister, and a she-cozen, and Mr. Pierce and his wife, which was all my guests. I had for them, after oysters, at first course, a hash of rabbits, a lamb, and a rare chine of beef. Next a great dish of roasted fowl, cost me about 30s., and a tart, and then fruit and cheese.
So my poor wife rose by five o’clock in the morning, before daylight, and went to market and bought fowls and many other things for dinner, which pleased me greatly. And the chine of beef was down [at the fire] before six o’clock too, and my own jack, which I had doubts about, turns it very well. Things being put in order, and the cook come, I went to the office, where we sat till noon and then broke up. And I [went] home, where by and by came Dr. Clerke and his lady, his sister, and a she-cousin, and Mr. Pierce and his wife; these were all my guests. I had for them, after oysters, at the first course, a hash of rabbits, a lamb, and a fine chine of beef. Next, a great dish of roasted fowl, which cost me about 30 shillings, and a tart, and then fruit and cheese.
- A piece of the backbone of an animal with the meat next to it, cut for cooking (Webster’s American Dictionary, 1828).
- A machine for turning a spit (Webster, 1828).
- The Navy Office, between Crutched Friars and Seething Lane, where Pepys both worked and lived. From 1660 he was Clerk of the Acts, one of the officers who ran the navy’s business (Wheatley).
Drank my morning draft at Harper’s, and was told there that the soldiers were all quiet upon promise of pay. Thence to St. James’s Park, and walked there to my place for my flageolet and then played a little, it being a most pleasant morning and sunshine.
[I] drank my morning drink at Harper’s, and was told there that the soldiers were all quiet upon the promise of pay. From there to St. James’s Park, and walked there to my spot for my flageolet, and then played a little, it being a most pleasant, sunny morning.
All the morning at the office, and at noon home to dinner, and thence with my wife and Deb. to the King’s House, to see “The Virgin Martyr,” the first time it hath been acted a great while: and it is mighty pleasant; not that the play is worth much, but it is finely acted by Becke Marshall. But that which did please me beyond any thing in the whole world was the wind-musique when the angel comes down, which is so sweet that it ravished me, and indeed, in a word, did wrap up my soul so that it made me really sick, just as I have formerly been when in love with my wife; that neither then, nor all the evening going home, and at home, I was able to think of any thing, but remained all night transported, so as I could not believe that ever any musick hath that real command over the soul of a man as this did upon me: and makes me resolve to practice wind-musique, and to make my wife do the like.
All the morning at the office, and at noon home to dinner, and from there with my wife and Deb. to the King’s House, to see The Virgin Martyr, the first time it has been acted in a long while. And it is very pleasant; not that the play is worth much, but it is finely acted by Beck Marshall. But what pleased me beyond anything in the whole world was the wind music when the angel comes down. It is so sweet that it ravished me, and indeed, in a word, it wrapped up my soul so that it made me really sick, just as I have been before when in love with my wife. Neither then, nor all the evening going home and at home, was I able to think of anything, but [I] remained all night transported. I could not believe that any music ever had such real command over the soul of a man as this had over me. And it makes me resolve to practice wind music, and to make my wife do the same.
- A tragedy by Massinger and Dekker (Wheatley).
Up, and abroad, with my own coach, to Auditor Beale’s house, and thence with W. Hewer to his Office, and there with great content spent all the morning looking over the Navy accounts of several years, and the several patents of the Treasurers, which was more than I did hope to have found there.
Up, and out in my own coach to Auditor Beale’s house, and from there with W. Hewer to his office. There, with great contentment, [I] spent all the morning looking over the Navy accounts of several years, and the patents of the various Treasurers, which was more than I had hoped to find there.
- William Hewer, Pepys’s clerk and later his friend and partner; Pepys spent his last years at Hewer’s house at Clapham (John Evelyn, quoted by Wheatley).
Early Sir G. Carteret, both Sir Williams and I by coach to Deptford, it being very windy and rainy weather, taking a codd and some prawnes in Fish Street with us. We settled to pay the Guernsey, a small ship, but come to a great deal of money, it having been unpaid ever since before the King came in, by which means not only the King pays wages while the ship has lain still, but the poor men have most of them been forced to borrow all the money due for their wages before they receive it, and that at a dear rate, God knows, so that many of them had very little to receive at the table, which grieved me to see it. To dinner, very merry. Then Sir George to London, and we again to the pay, and that done by coach home again and to the office, doing some business, and so home and to bed.
Early, Sir G. Carteret, both Sir Williams and I [went] by coach to Deptford, it being very windy and rainy weather, taking a cod and some prawns from Fish Street with us. We settled to pay [the crew of] the Guernsey, a small ship, but it came to a great deal of money, having been unpaid ever since before the King came in. Because of this, not only does the King pay wages while the ship has lain idle, but the poor men have most of them been forced to borrow all the money due for their wages before they receive it, and that at a high rate, God knows. So many of them had very little to receive at the table, which grieved me to see. To dinner, very merry. Then Sir George [went] to London, and we [went] back to the pay. When that was done, [we went] home again by coach and to the office, doing some business, and so home and to bed.
- Sir William Batten, Surveyor of the Navy, and Sir William Penn, a Commissioner, Pepys’s colleagues at the Navy Office. Sir George Carteret was its Treasurer (Wheatley).
- A small warship of twenty-two guns, built in 1654 (Wheatley, from Archaeologia). Charles II had “come in,” returning to England as king, in May 1660.
About 4 I rose and got to the Abbey, where I followed Sir J. Denham, the Surveyor, with some company that he was leading in. And with much ado, by the favour of Mr. Cooper, his man, did get up into a great scaffold across the North end of the Abbey, where with a great deal of patience I sat from past 4 till 11 before the King came in. And a great pleasure it was to see the Abbey raised in the middle, all covered with red, and a throne (that is a chair) and footstool on the top of it; and all the officers of all kinds, so much as the very fidlers, in red vests. At last comes in the Dean and Prebends of Westminster, with the Bishops (many of them in cloth of gold copes), and after them the Nobility, all in their Parliament robes, which was a most magnificent sight.
About four I rose and got to the Abbey, where I followed Sir J. Denham, the Surveyor, with some company that he was leading in. And with much trouble, thanks to Mr. Cooper, his man, [I] got up onto a great scaffold across the north end of the Abbey, where with a great deal of patience I sat from past four till eleven before the King came in. And it was a great pleasure to see the Abbey raised in the middle, all covered with red, and a throne (that is, a chair) and footstool on top of it; and all the officers of every kind, even the very fiddlers, in red vests. At last in came the Dean and Prebends of Westminster, with the Bishops (many of them in copes of cloth of gold), and after them the Nobility, all in their Parliament robes, which was a most magnificent sight.
- Westminster Abbey, for the coronation of Charles II (Wheatley).
- Sir John Denham, Surveyor-General of the King’s buildings, better known as the poet of Cooper’s Hill (Wheatley).
Up and all the morning at the office. At noon to the ‘Change, where, after business done, Sir W. Rider and Cutler took me to the Old James and there did give me a good dish of mackerell, the first I have seen this year, very good, and good discourse.
Up, and all the morning at the office. At noon to the ’Change, where, after business was done, Sir W. Rider and Cutler took me to the Old James and gave me a good dish of mackerel there, the first I have seen this year, very good; and good conversation.
- Short for Exchange: a building where merchants met to do business (Webster, 1828).
My wife again up by four o’clock, to go to gather May-dew; and so back home by seven, to bed, and by and by I up and to the office, where all the morning, and dined at noon at home with my people, and so all the afternoon. In the evening my wife and I all alone, with the boy, by water, up as high as Putney almost, with the tide, and back again, neither staying going nor coming; but talking, and singing, and reading a foolish copy of verses upon my Lord Mayor’s entertaining of all the bachelors, designed in praise to my Lord Mayor, and so home and to the office a little, and then home to bed, my eyes being bad.
My wife [was] up again by four o’clock, to go to gather May dew, and so back home by seven, to bed. And by and by I [got] up and [went] to the office, where [I was] all the morning, and dined at noon at home with my household, and so all the afternoon. In the evening my wife and I, all alone with the boy, [went] by water almost as far up as Putney with the tide, and back again, not stopping going or coming, but talking and singing, and reading a foolish set of verses on my Lord Mayor’s entertaining all the bachelors, written in praise of my Lord Mayor. And so home and to the office a little, and then home to bed, my eyes being bad.
- On May 28, 1667, Pepys wrote that Mrs. Turner had taught his wife that May dew was “the only thing in the world to wash her face with.” Braybrooke’s note in Wheatley cites a newspaper of 1791 on people bathing their faces in it to become beautiful.
- Pepys’s eyesight had been failing for some years. Twenty days later, on May 31, 1669, he wrote the last entry of the diary, fearing that keeping it would ruin his eyes (Wheatley).
Up betimes, and comes my flagelette master to set me a new tune, which I played presently, and shall in a month do as much as I desire at it.
Up early, and my flageolet master comes to set me a new tune, which I played at once, and in a month I shall be able to do as much at it as I want.
Up, and this day put on a half shirt first this summer, it being very hot; and yet so ill-tempered I am grown, that I am afeard I shall catch cold, while all the world is ready to melt away.
Up, and today [I] put on a half shirt for the first time this summer, it being very hot. And yet I have grown so out of sorts that I am afraid I shall catch cold, while all the world is ready to melt away.
Up betimes yesterday and to-day, the sun rising very bright and glorious; and yet yesterday, as it hath been these two months and more, was a foul day the most part of the day.
Up early yesterday and today, the sun rising very bright and glorious; and yet yesterday, as it has been these two months and more, was a foul day most of the day.
Up by five o’clock, and after my journall put in order, to my office about my business, which I am resolved to follow, for every day I see what ground I get by it. By and by comes Mr. Cooper, mate of the Royall Charles, of whom I intend to learn mathematiques, and do begin with him to-day, he being a very able man, and no great matter, I suppose, will content him. After an hour’s being with him at arithmetique (my first attempt being to learn the multiplication-table); then we parted till to-morrow.
Up by five o’clock, and after putting my journal in order, to my office about my business, which I am resolved to follow, for every day I see what ground I gain by it. By and by Mr. Cooper comes, mate of the Royal Charles, from whom I intend to learn mathematics, and I begin with him today. He is a very able man, and no great sum, I suppose, will content him. After an hour with him at arithmetic (my first attempt being to learn the multiplication table), we parted till tomorrow.
- The flagship that brought Charles II home in 1660. It had been the Naseby until the King renamed it, as the Charles, on board in May 1660 (Wheatley).
Up pretty betimes, it being mighty hot weather, I lying this night, which I have not done, I believe, since a boy, I am sure not since I had the stone before, with only a rugg and a sheet upon me.
Up fairly early, it being very hot weather. Last night I lay with only a rug and a sheet over me, which I have not done, I believe, since I was a boy, and I am sure not since I had the stone before.
- Pepys had been operated on for the stone on March 26, 1658, and kept the day each year with thanksgiving (Wheatley).
Wakened about two o’clock this morning with the noise of thunder, which lasted for an houre, with such continued lightnings, not flashes, but flames, that all the sky and ayre was light; and that for a great while, not a minute’s space between new flames all the time; such a thing as I never did see, nor could have believed had ever been in nature. And being put into a great sweat with it, could not sleep till all was over. And that accompanied with such a storm of rain as I never heard in my life. I expected to find my house in the morning overflowed with the rain breaking in, and that much hurt must needs have been done in the city with this lightning; but I find not one drop of rain in my house, nor any newes of hurt done.
Woken about two o’clock this morning by the noise of thunder, which lasted for an hour, with such continuous lightning, not flashes but flames, that all the sky and air was lit up. And that went on for a great while, not a minute between new flames all the time: such a thing as I never saw, nor could have believed had ever been in nature. And being put into a great sweat by it, [I] could not sleep till it was all over. And with it came such a storm of rain as I never heard in my life. I expected to find my house flooded in the morning with the rain breaking in, and that much harm must have been done in the city by this lightning. But I find not one drop of rain in my house, nor any news of harm done.
Up betimes and to my business of settling my house and papers, and then abroad and met with Hadley, our clerke, who, upon my asking how the plague goes, he told me it encreases much, and much in our parish; for, says he, there died nine this week, though I have returned but six: which is a very ill practice, and makes me think it is so in other places; and therefore the plague much greater than people take it to be.
Up early and to my business of settling my house and papers, and then out, and met Hadley, our [parish] clerk. When I asked him how the plague goes, he told me it is growing much worse, and much worse in our parish. “For,” he says, “nine died this week, though I have reported only six.” This is a very bad practice, and makes me think it is the same in other places, and therefore that the plague is much greater than people take it to be.
- Each week every London parish clerk brought a note of the christenings and burials in his parish to the Parish Clerks’ Hall, and the weekly Bills of Mortality were made from these notes (Wheatley).
Some of our mayds sitting up late last night to get things ready against our feast to-day, Jane called us up about three in the morning, to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I rose and slipped on my night-gowne, and went to her window, and thought it to be on the backside of Marke-lane at the farthest; but, being unused to such fires as followed, I thought it far enough off; and so went to bed again and to sleep. About seven rose again to dress myself, and there looked out at the window, and saw the fire not so much as it was and further off.
Some of our maids sat up late last night to get things ready for our feast today, and Jane called us up about three in the morning to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I rose and slipped on my nightgown, and went to her window, and thought it was at the back of Mark Lane at the farthest. But, being unused to such fires as followed, I thought it far enough off, and so went to bed again and to sleep. About seven [I] rose again to dress, and looked out of the window there, and saw the fire not so big as it had been, and farther off.
- A loose gown worn indoors when not dressed (Webster, 1828), not a garment for sleeping in.
- In the rest of the entry Jane tells him that above 300 houses have burned in the night and that the fire is burning down all Fish Street, by London Bridge. Pepys goes to the Tower to look. This was the start of the Great Fire of London.
To the office, where Sir W. Batten, Colonel Slingsby, and I sat awhile, and Sir R. Ford coming to us about some business, we talked together of the interest of this kingdom to have a peace with Spain and a war with France and Holland; where Sir R. Ford talked like a man of great reason and experience. And afterwards I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before, and went away.
To the office, where Sir W. Batten, Colonel Slingsby, and I sat awhile. And Sir R. Ford coming to us about some business, we talked together of its being in this kingdom’s interest to have peace with Spain and war with France and Holland, and Sir R. Ford talked like a man of great reason and experience. And afterwards I sent for a cup of tea (a China drink), which I had never drunk before, and went away.
- Robert Slingsby, later Sir Robert, Comptroller of the Navy (Wheatley).
- Wheatley quotes an advertisement in the newspaper Mercurius Politicus of September 30, 1658, for “that excellent and by all Physicians, approved, China drink, called by the Chineans Tcha, by other nations Tay alias Tee,” sold at a coffeehouse by the Royal Exchange.
Up, and while I staid for the barber, tried to compose a duo of counterpoint, and I think it will do very well, it being by Mr. Berckenshaw’s rule.
Up, and while I waited for the barber, [I] tried to compose a duet in counterpoint, and I think it will do very well, it being by Mr. Berkenshaw’s rule.
- Pepys’s music teacher. In February 1662 Pepys paid him £5 for “this month or five weeks” of lessons in composing songs (diary, February 24, 1662).
Up, and W. Batelier’s Frenchman, a perriwigg maker, comes and brings me a new one, which I liked and paid him for: a mighty genteel fellow. So to the office, where sat all the morning, and at noon home to dinner, and thence with wife and Deb. to Crow’s, and there did see some more beds; and we shall, I think, pitch upon a camlott one, when all is done.
Up, and W. Batelier’s Frenchman, a periwig maker, comes and brings me a new one, which I liked and paid him for: a very genteel fellow. So to the office, where [we] sat all the morning, and at noon home to dinner, and from there with my wife and Deb. to Crow’s, and there [we] saw some more beds; and I think we shall settle on a camlet one, when all is done.
- A wig. Webster (1828) describes the periwig as a close cap of false hair worn by men for ornament or to hide baldness.
- A costly cloth of wool and silk (Wheatley); Webster (1828) adds that it might be made of goat’s hair.
Up, and after doing some business at the office, I to London, and there, in my way, at my old oyster shop in Gracious Streete, bought two barrels of my fine woman of the shop, who is alive after all the plague, which now is the first observation or inquiry we make at London concerning everybody we knew before it.
Up, and after doing some business at the office, I [went] to London. There, on my way, at my old oyster shop in Gracious Street, [I] bought two barrels from my fine woman of the shop, who is alive after all the plague. That is now the first thing we notice or ask about in London concerning everybody we knew before it.
- During the plague Pepys lived and worked at Greenwich with his clerks, while his wife stayed at Woolwich (Wheatley).
- In the rest of the entry Pepys is glad to see the Exchange so full again, with hopes that the deaths will fall again the next week.
At my waking, I found the tops of the houses covered with snow, which is a rare sight, that I have not seen these three years.
When I woke, I found the tops of the houses covered with snow, which is a rare sight, one I have not seen these three years.
Page images of the original object or of the printed edition, from the libraries and archives that hold them. The pages shown are copied here where the holder marks them public domain; titles link to the holder's own viewer. Click a page to see it full size.
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, ed. H. B. Wheatley, vols. 1 and 3–8 (London, 1893–96)
Internet Archive (University of California Libraries copies). Vol. 1, pp. 42, 249–250, 317 (diaryofsamuelpep01pepy, images n117, n328–n329, n396); vol. 3, pp. 13, 186, 390 (diaryofsamuelpep03pepy); vol. 4, pp. 123, 170–171, 218–219 (diaryofsamuelpep04pepy); vol. 5, pp. 61, 116, 153, 417 (diaryofsamuelpep05pepy); vol. 6, pp. 113–114, 326 (diaryofsamuelpep06pepy); vol. 7, pp. 19–20, 342–343 (diaryofsamuelpep07pepy); vol. 8, pp. 128, 258, 321 (diaryofsamuelpep08pepy). Image numbers for each passage are in its unit notes.. Not in copyright, as the Internet Archive records state; published 1893–96.
The edition our text follows, read against these page images.
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, ed. H. B. Wheatley, vol. 2 (London, 1893)
Internet Archive. pp. 19–20, 211, 275, 401 (images n32–n33, n226, n290, n416). Published 1893, before 1931; public domain in the US.
The edition our text follows, read against these page images.
New modern version from the Early Modern English text of The Diary of Samuel Pepys, edited by Henry B. Wheatley (London, 1893–99).
The opening of 24 daily entries, about 1,983 words, a very small part (well under 1 percent) of the diary.
Pepys’s words and word order are kept as far as possible. Spelling and punctuation are modernized, and long sentences are split. Words no longer in use, or whose meaning has changed, are replaced by modern ones, each listed in the unit notes, for example “betimes” (early), “abroad” (out), “thence” (from there), “discourse” (conversation) and “mighty” (very). Pepys often leaves out “I” and the verb (“Thence to Will’s”); these are supplied in brackets only where the sentence would otherwise be hard to follow. Titles of plays are in italics. Two sentences are reworded more freely and say so in their notes, one in the entry for February 27, 1668, and one in that for July 13, 1667.
- Original
- Text as printed in the named edition or on the object, read from page images. Edition: The Diary of Samuel Pepys, M.A., F.R.S., Clerk of the Acts and Secretary to the Admiralty, transcribed from the shorthand manuscript in the Pepysian Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge, by the Rev. Mynors Bright, with Lord Braybrooke’s notes, edited with additions by Henry B. Wheatley, 10 vols. (London: George Bell and Sons; Cambridge: Deighton Bell, 1893–99), vols. 1–8. Digital text: Project Gutenberg eBook 4200 (prepared by David Widger), copied by code; Wheatley’s and Braybrooke’s notes, which Gutenberg prints inside the text, removed by code. Every passage was read against the page images of the Internet Archive copies (vols. 1 and 3–8, University of California Libraries, items diaryofsamuelpep01pepy and diaryofsamuelpep03pepy to diaryofsamuelpep08pepy; vol. 2, item diaryofsamuelpep0002pepy). The Internet Archive records note that one hundred copies of this printing were made; its pages match the Gutenberg text except for the slips listed in the unit notes. Pepys’s spelling and punctuation are kept as Wheatley prints them; his “£” is restored where Gutenberg prints “L.” The day numbers that open each entry (“3d.”, “13th.”) are given in the unit labels instead.
- Editor’s review
- Not yet.
- Specialist review
- Not yet. Readings a specialist should confirm are listed for later review.
- Rights
- Original: public domain. Edition: being checked.
Sources for the notes
- Pepys, Samuel. The Diary of Samuel Pepys. Transcribed by Mynors Bright, with Lord Braybrooke’s notes. Edited by Henry B. Wheatley. 10 vols. London: George Bell and Sons, 1893–99. Vols. 1–8 for the text of the entries kept; Wheatley’s preface and “Particulars of the Life of Samuel Pepys” (vol. 1); and his and Braybrooke’s notes cited in the footnotes. Read in Project Gutenberg eBook 4200 and in the Internet Archive page images listed under Facsimiles. The diary entries of November 20, 1660, February 24, 1662, May 23, November 23 and December 13, 1665, December 9, 1666, May 28, 1667, and the rest of the entries of September 2, 1666, and November 24, 1665, were also read for the notes.
- Webster, Noah. An American Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. New York: S. Converse, 1828. Entries CAMLET, CHANGE (sense 11), CHINE, EXCHEQUER, GALLEY (sense 3), JACK (sense 3), NIGHT-GOWN, PERIWIG. Internet Archive americandictiona01websrich and americandictiona02websrich.
- The Encyclopaedia Britannica. 11th ed. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910. “Calendar,” section on the Julian and Gregorian calendars (W. S. B. Woolhouse). Read in the Wikisource transcription.