The following morning I had my horse saddled and started for Dover. I had much company on the way, for, as it seemed to me, the whole countryside had emptied itself in order to be at Dover to welcome the new king. When I arrived at Dover town, moreover, I found a great uproar; in truth, no fair I had ever seen provided such food for sport and carnival as Dover town provided that day. In the inns and taverns there was much drinking, while, in the streets, booths and shows were everywhere in evidence. On every hand the people were shouting and singing. Every street was festooned with flowers and flags, while it appeared that every one was glad that the reign of Puritanism was over, and that they would have a king instead of a parliament to reign over them. I noticed, too, that in the booths there were plays representing the downfall of the Puritans, while the great butt of most of the jokes were those who dressed in the dark sober fashion of the times of Oliver Cromwell, and quoted psalms with a pious sniffle.
"God save His Most Gracious Majesty King Charles the Second!" many cried.
"Ay, ay," was the response. "We shall have a merry life under the king. Plenty to drink, plenty to eat, and plenty of fun."
"Down with the psalm-singing hypocrites!"
"As though cock-fighting, dog-fighting, and bull-baiting hath not always been an Englishman's sport."
"Ay, and he loves to kiss a pretty girl, too."
"None at all. He's young and comely, and loves his pleasure as a king should."
"It'll go hard with the sour-faced psalm-singers, I hear."
"Well it ought. Did they not kill the king's father? I hear that at least five hundred are to be hanged."
"Marry! as though the king will care aught about the Act of Oblivion. The thing is, the country will be able to enjoy itself."
"Well it ought. After a man hath been to church once a week he's done enough religion. After that let him enjoy himself."
All this and much more I heard as I passed along the streets; in truth, much of what I saw and heard is not fit to record here, for many of the people might have just been let out of Bedlam, so little did they seem to care for what was clean and decent. Moreover, no notice was taken of these things. There was neither law nor order, while, if some man should say a word rebuking them for wrong-doing, he was immediately pounced upon as a sour-faced Puritan. Such was the difference which was already manifest, even before the new king had set his feet on English soil.