I first began my diary in 1660 and first finished it in 1669. Since then, I have been kept busy with jobs in Parliament and at the Admiralty, and by my activities at the Royal Society. But now I find myself with time enough to write once more, and I intend to use it to lay down before you such things as interest me: from my life, from my work and my encounters with acquaintances, and especially from my walks through this great and many-splendored city of ours.