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This morning up, with mighty kind words between my
poor wife and I ; and so to Whitehall by water, W. Hewer with me, who is
to go with me everywhere until my wife be in condition to go out along with me
herself ; for she doth plainly declare that she dares not trust me out
alone, and therefore made it a piece of our league that I should always take
somebody with me, or her herself ; which I am mighty willing to, being, by the
grace of God resolved never to do her wrong more. But when I came home, hoping
for a further degree of peace and quiet, I find my wife upon her bed in a
horrible rage afresh, calling me all the bitter names ; and rising, did
fall to revile me in the bitterest manner in the world, and could not refrain
to strike me and pull my hair, which I resolved to bear with, and had good
reason to bear it. So I by silence and weeping did prevail with her a little to
be quiet, and she would not eat her dinner without me ; but yet by and by into
a raging fit she fell again worse then before, that she would slit the girl's
nose ; and at last W. Hewer came in and came up, who did allay her fury, I
flinging myself in a sad desperate condition upon the bed in the blue room, and
there lay while they spoke together ; and at last it came to this, that if I
would call Deb “ whore ” under my hand, and write to her that
I hated her and would never see her more, she would believe me and trust in me
– which I did agree to ; only, as to the name of “ whore ” I
would have excused, and therefore wrote to her sparing the word ; which my wife
thereupon tore it, and would not be satisfied till, W. Hewer winking upon me, I
did write so, with the name of a whore, as that I did fear she might too
probably have been prevailed upon to have been a whore by her carriage to me,
and therefore, as such, I did resolve never to see her more. This pleased my
wife, and she gives it W. Hewer to carry to her, with a sharp message from her.
So from that minute my wife begun to be kind to me, and we to kiss and be
friends, and so continued all the evening and fell to talk of other matters
with great comfort, and after supper to bed. I did this night promise to my
wife never to go to bed without calling upon God upon my knees by prayer ; and
I begun this night, and hope I shall never forget to do the like all my life
– for I do find that it is much the best for my soul and body to live
pleasing to God and my poor wife – and will ease me of much care, as well
as much expense. »