Samuel Pepys [ Art and Literature / Politics ]
… a great place to learn the latest court scandal, and being seen there among nobles and statesmen implicitly raised his status. Across London, at the Royal Exchange in Cheapside and in the surrounding coffeehouses, he was also busy making … was less moral than practical: they wasted money and time; he felt they distracted him from work; and might damage his status. He controlled himself by taking vows against them, which involved paying a fine to charity if broken: in 1665, …
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