An abridgment of the Lady Warwick's diary, 1666-1672

Manuscript, in a single hand, of a copy of the diary of Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick, between 1666 and 1672. The manuscript intersperses records of Lady Warwick's daily social activities with her religious meditations. In October 1667, for example, she meditates in the morning, and then goes to London to dine with the Lord Chamberlain and to wait on the Queen and the Duchess of York. Elsewhere, she attends family prayer; reports on news that the fleet is engaged in battle; hears of the fire in London in 1666; goes to London to visit her sister Katherine, Lady Ranelagh, and her brother, Robert Boyle, as well as dines with friends; and performs charitable work. Many of her entries refer to her troubles with her husband, who frequently berates her; she also records his bouts of illness and her time spend tending him. Meanwhile, she attends chapel and meditates daily on such subjects as death, sin, and various passages in Scripture. The manuscript also contains several annotations in a later hand, in pencil