with my people at home, and then to the King's playhouse, and there saw
"The Silent Woman;" the best comedy, I think, that ever was wrote; and
sitting by Shadwell the poet, he was big with admiration of it. Here was
my Lord Brouncker and W. Pen and their ladies in the box, being grown
mighty kind of a sudden; but, God knows, it will last but a little while,
I dare swear. Knepp did her part mighty well. And so home straight, and
to work, and particularly to my cozen Roger, who, W. Hewer and my wife
writes me, do use them with mighty plenty and noble entertainment: so home
to supper, and to bed. All the news now is, that Mr. Trevor is for
certain now to be Secretary, in Morrice's place, which the Duke of York
did himself tell me yesterday; and also that Parliament is to be adjourned
to the 1st of March, which do please me well, hoping thereby to get my
things in a little better order than I should have done; and the less
attendances at that end of the town in winter. So home to supper and to
bed.

20th (Lord's day). Up, and to set some papers to rights in my chamber,
and the like in my office, and so to church, at our own church, and heard
but a dull sermon of one Dr. Hicks, who is a suitor to Mrs. Howell, the
widow of our turner of the Navy; thence home to dinner, staying till past
one o'clock for Harris, whom I invited, and to bring Shadwell the poet
with him; but they come not, and so a good dinner lost, through my own
folly. And so to dinner alone, having since church heard the boy read
over Dryden's Reply to Sir R. Howard's Answer, about his Essay of Poesy,
and a letter in answer to that; the last whereof is mighty silly, in
behalf of Howard.

[The title of the letter is as follows: "A Letter from a Gentleman
to the Honourable Ed. Howard, Esq., occasioned by a Civiliz'd
Epistle of Mr. Dryden's before his Second Edition of his Indian