[Gough says, “It is the custom at this day all over Wales to strew the graves, both within and without the church, with green herbs, branches of box, flowers, rushes, and flags, for one year, after which such as can afford it lay down a stone.”—­Brand’s Popular Antiquities, edited W. C. Hazlitt, vol. ii., p. 218.]

At Southampton we went to the Mayor’s and there dined, and had sturgeon of their own catching the last week, which do not happen in twenty years, and it was well ordered.  They brought us also some caveare, which I attempted to order, but all to no purpose, for they had neither given it salt enough, nor are the seedes of the roe broke, but are all in berryes.  The towne is one most gallant street, and is walled round with stone, &c., and Bevis’s picture upon one of the gates; many old walls of religious houses, and the key, well worth seeing.  After dinner to horse again, being in nothing troubled but the badness of my hat, which I borrowed to save my beaver.  Home by night and wrote letters to London, and so with Sir W. Pen to the Dock to bed.

27th (Sunday).  Sir W. Pen got trimmed before me, and so took the coach to Portsmouth to wait on my Lord Steward to church, and sent the coach for me back again.  So I rode to church, and met my Lord Chamberlain upon the walls of the garrison, who owned and spoke to me.  I followed him in the crowd of gallants through the Queen’s lodgings to chappell; the rooms being all rarely furnished, and escaped hardly being set on fire yesterday.  At chappell we had a most excellent and eloquent sermon.  And here I spoke and saluted Mrs. Pierce, but being in haste could not learn of her where her lodgings are, which vexes me.  Thence took Ned Pickering to dinner with us, and the two Marshes, father and Son, dined with us, and very merry.  After dinner Sir W. Batten and I, the Doctor, and Ned Pickering by coach to the Yard, and there on board the Swallow in the dock hear our navy chaplain preach a sad sermon, full of nonsense and false Latin; but prayed for the Right Honourable the principal officers.

     [Principal officers of the navy, of which body Pepys was one as
     Clerk of the Acts.]

After sermon took him to Mr. Tippets’s to drink a glass of wine, and so at 4 back again by coach to Portsmouth, and then visited the Mayor, Mr. Timbrell, our anchor-smith, who showed us the present they have for the Queen; which is a salt-sellar of silver, the walls christall, with four eagles and four greyhounds standing up at the top to bear up a dish; which indeed is one of the neatest pieces of plate that ever I saw, and the case is very pretty also.

     [A salt-cellar answering this description is preserved at the
     Tower.]

This evening came a merchantman in the harbour, which we hired at London to carry horses to Portugall; but, Lord! what running there was to the seaside to hear what news, thinking it had come from the Queen.  In the evening Sir George, Sir W. Pen and I walked round the walls, and thence we two with the Doctor to the yard, and so to supper and to bed.