The Diary of Samuel Pepys

The final year is brief, partly on account of Pepys’s worsening eyesight, which forces him to bring the diary to a close in May.

The year begins in concord between Pepys and Elizabeth with a new allowance for her, one that is “more than ever she asked or expected” (509). There are still aftereffects from the Deb Willet affair, however. After Pepys goes “abroad” on business one morning, Elizabeth suspects that he was with Deb or another woman. That night, she comes to her husband’s bedside with hot tongs from the fireplace and threatens to pinch him with them. She soon softens, however, and the couple are at peace again. Pepys realizes that he should not go out without telling his wife where he is going. To that purpose, he agrees to take Will Hewer with him from now on as a guardian.

In a cabinet meeting at Whitehall, Pepys is pleased that the board seem to rely on him more than any other official for such things as granting ships and victualling (arranging for food provisions). 

Bab and Betty, two young relatives, come to stay with the Pepys’s for a while, during which time they attend plays and sightsee.