haunch of venison, powdered and boiled, and a good dinner and merry.
After dinner comes Mr. Pelling the Potticary, whom I had sent for to dine
with me, but he was engaged. After sitting an hour to talk we broke up,
all leaving Pelling to talk with my wife, and I walked towards White Hall,
but, being wearied, turned into St. Dunstan's Church, where I heard an
able sermon of the minister of the place; and stood by a pretty, modest
maid, whom I did labour to take by the hand and the body; but she would
not, but got further and further from me; and, at last, I could perceive
her to take pins out of her pocket to prick me if I should touch her
again--which seeing I did forbear, and was glad I did spy her design. And
then I fell to gaze upon another pretty maid in a pew close to me, and she
on me; and I did go about to take her by the hand, which she suffered a
little and then withdrew. So the sermon ended, and the church broke up,
and my amours ended also, and so took coach and home, and there took up my
wife, and to Islington with her, our old road, but before we got to
Islington, between that and Kingsland, there happened an odd adventure:
one of our coach-horses fell sick of the staggers, so as he was ready to
fall down. The coachman was fain to 'light, and hold him up, and cut his
tongue to make him bleed, and his tail. The horse continued shaking every
part of him, as if he had been in an ague, a good while, and his blood
settled in his tongue, and the coachman thought and believed he would
presently drop down dead; then he blew some tobacco in his nose, upon
which the horse sneezed, and, by and by, grows well, and draws us the rest
of our way, as well as ever he did; which was one of the strangest things
of a horse I ever observed, but he says it is usual. It is the staggers.
Staid and eat and drank at Islington, at the old house, and so home, and
to my chamber to read, and then to supper and to bed.

19th. Up, and at the office all the morning very busy. Towards noon I to
Westminster about some tallies at the Exchequer, and then straight home