my Lord. In the evening I went forth and took a walk with Mr. Davis, and
told him what had passed at his office to-day, and did give him my advice,
and so with the rest by barge home and to bed

3rd. Up by four o'clock and to my office till 8 o'clock, writing over two
copies of our contract with Sir W. Rider, &c., for 500 ton of hempe,
which, because it is a secret, I have the trouble of writing over as well
as drawing. Then home to dress myself, and so to the office, where
another fray between Sir R. Ford and myself about his yarn, wherein I find
the board to yield on my side, and was glad thereof, though troubled that
the office should fall upon me of disobliging Sir Richard. At noon we all
by invitation dined at the Dolphin with the Officers of the Ordnance;
where Sir W. Compton, Mr. O'Neale,'and other great persons, were, and a
very great dinner, but I drank as I still do but my allowance of wine.
After dinner, was brought to Sir W. Compton a gun to discharge seven
times, the best of all devices that ever I saw, and very serviceable, and
not a bawble; for it is much approved of, and many thereof made. Thence
to my office all the afternoon as long as I could see, about setting many
businesses in order. In the evening came Mr. Lewis to me, and very
ingeniously did enquire whether I ever did look into the business of the
Chest at Chatham;

[Pepys gives some particulars about the Chest on November 13th,
1662. "The Chest at Chatham was originally planned by Sir Francis
Drake and Sir John Hawkins in 1588, after the defeat of the Armada;
the seamen voluntarily agreed to have 'defalked' out of their wages
certain sums to form a fund for relief. The property became
considerable, as well as the abuses, and in 1802 the Chest was
removed to Greenwich. In 1817, the stock amounted to L300,000
Consols."--Hist. of Rochester, p. 346.--B.]