The Diary of Samuel Pepys

The Sixth Year is overshadowed by the continuing war with Holland and the arrival of the plague.

On January 23 Pepys has another amorous encounter with Jane Bagwell, but afterward makes a vow to “laisser aller les femmes [let go of the women] for a month” (238) and concentrate on his job. As with Lord Montague, Pepys realizes that such behavior and neglect of his business will hurt his honor.

In March, Pepys becomes treasurer of the Tangier Committee after the disgraced former treasurer Mr. Povy steps down. This is a decided career advancement for Pepys, putting him in charge of the finances of a major trading venture.

On April 30, Pepys gives his first intimation of the arrival of the plague in England: “Great fears of the sicknesse here in the City, it being said that two or three houses are already shut up” (250). The bubonic plague broke out several times in Europe between the 14th and 18th centuries, the deadliest outbreak being the Black Death of 1348-49. The disease originated from fleas on rats that infested trading ships traveling to Western Europe from the Middle East and Africa. No cure was known, and once contracted the disease was almost always fatal (The Illustrated Pepys, 83).