parchment, which I could spend much time upon to understand. Here was a
pretty young lady, a niece of Barrow's, which I took much pleasure to look
on. Thence by barge to St. Mary Creek; where Commissioner Pett (doubtful
of the growing greatness of Portsmouth by the finding of those creeks
there), do design a wett dock at no great charge, and yet no little one;
he thinks towards L10,000. And the place, indeed, is likely to be a very
fit place, when the King hath money to do it with. Thence, it raining as
hard as it could pour down, home to the Hillhouse, and anon to supper, and
after supper, Sir J. Minnes and I had great discourse with Captain Cox and
Mr. Hempson about business of the yard, and particularly of pursers'
accounts with Hempson, who is a cunning knave in that point. So late to
bed and, Mr. Wayth being gone, I lay above in the Treasurer's bed and
slept well. About one or two in the morning the curtains of my bed being
drawn waked me, and I saw a man stand there by the inside of my bed
calling me French dogg 20 times, one after another, and I starting, as if
I would get out of the bed, he fell a-laughing as hard as he could drive,
still calling me French dogg, and laid his hand on my shoulder. At last,
whether I said anything or no I cannot tell, but I perceived the man,
after he had looked wistly upon me, and found that I did not answer him to
the names that he called me by, which was Salmon, Sir Carteret's clerk,
and Robt. Maddox, another of the clerks, he put off his hat on a suddaine,
and forebore laughing, and asked who I was, saying, "Are you Mr. Pepys?"
I told him yes, and now being come a little better to myself, I found him
to be Tom Willson, Sir W. Batten's clerk, and fearing he might be in some
melancholy fit, I was at a loss what to do or say. At last I asked him
what he meant. He desired my pardon for that he was mistaken, for he
thought verily, not knowing of my coming to lie there, that it had been
Salmon, the Frenchman, with whom he intended to have made some sport. So
I made nothing of it, but bade him good night, and I, after a little
pause, to sleep again, being well pleased that it ended no worse, and