On another
occasion, when in the pit with his wife and her waiting-woman, he was
overcome by a sense of shame as he realised how shabbily his
companions were dressed, in comparison with the smartly-attired ladies
round about them.
Everyone knows how susceptible Pepys was in all situations of life to
female charms. It was inevitable that his wits should often wander
from the dramatic theme and its scenic presentation to the features of
some woman on the stage or in the auditory. An actress's pretty face
or graceful figure many times diverted his attention from her
professional incompetence. It is doubtful if there were any affront
which Pepys would not pardon in a pretty woman. Once when he was in
the pit, this curious experience befell him. "I sitting behind in a
dark place," he writes, "a lady spit backward upon me by mistake, not
seeing me; but after seeing her to be a very pretty lady, I was not
troubled at it at all." The volatile diarist studied much besides the
drama when he spent his afternoon or evening at the play.
Never was there a more indefatigable playgoer than Pepys. Yet his
enthusiasm for the theatre was, to his mind, a failing which required
most careful watching.
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