Sunday 1 April 1660

(Lord’s day). Mr. Ibbott preached very well. After dinner my Lord did give me a private list of all the ships that were to be set out this summer, wherein I do discern that he hath made it his care to put by as much of the Anabaptists as he can. By reason of my Lord and my being busy to send away the packet by Mr. Cooke of the Nazeby, it was four o’clock before we could begin sermon again. This day Captain Guy come on board from Dunkirk, who tells me that the King will come in, and that the soldiers at Dunkirk do drink the King’s health in the streets. At night the Captain, Sir R. Stayner, Mr. Sheply, and I did sup together in the Captain’s cabin. I made a commission for Captain Wilgness, of the Bear, to-night, which got me 30s. So after writing a while I went to bed.

28 Annotations

First Reading

David Quidnunc  •  Link

PEPYS CONSPIRACY EXPOSED!

Don't tell ME Samuel Pepys Esq. died 300 years ago. That's what they WANT you to believe!

Compare this portrait of Sam ...
http://www.hinchbk.cambs.sch.uk/h…

With this picture ...
http://us.imdb.com/EGallery?sourc…

And ask yourself -- have you EVER seen these two characters in the same room together?

I will note that the rotten "David Gale" movie involves deception involving a death and that the similarly rotten "K-Pax" involves aliens from space. (Get it? "Spacey" -- eh? EH??) Are these two rotten movies simply a detour in a great actor's career? Or are they REALLY a cry for help, offering clues to what actually happened?
But, you ask, WHY would he do it? Well, when he supposedly "died" the crown owed him thousands of pounds -- which were never paid. Seems to me the interest on that is mounting. Means. Motive. Opportunity. It's all there.

You don't have to believe me. Walk through life with your eyes closed if you like. But the truth is out there . . .

Eric Walla  •  Link

Now, now, David, you're just trying ...

... to get Phil to dump one of your posts. But it does hit one of my favorite hobbies: picking actors to fill roles in fantasy movies.

Now on topic: would there have been specific ships "infested" with Anabaptists so Sam could make such a conclusion from the list of ships? Did they practice a form of segregation when manning the fleet?

And will Sam's extra income ever dry up? My Lord but he is putting aside quite a sum each day of service! I can't wait until he has a chance to start spending it and reveal his change in tastes.

wkw  •  Link

Or else, DQ---Separated at Birth! What political agenda was Wetnurse Nancy furthering when she swapped a Sandwich with a Samuel? Why did Pepys never bathe except for fear of revealing the incriminating birthmark? Who wrote Shakespeare's plays that Our Man in Axe Yard didn't like? Deception extends in all directions, and Honi soit qui mal y pense!

Keith Wright  •  Link

Monsieur Avril Poisson (may he rest in peace!) translates that Latin motto, once oft-seen on the scutcheon of many a bold knight, as "Dirt is in the eye of the beholder."

michael f vincent  •  Link

Eric Waller.."Did they practice a form of segregation when manning the fleet?"
Only birds of a feether. You bet they did. Except money was better. Thats why the 13 colonies- only way one could rise to the level of ones incompetence.
Anabaptist were considered "anti-social Heritics (C.Hill the century of revolution p.78,p108,p121,p203 for exception)
Poisson,poison are we sure? that the sp's short hand was up to snuff.

Pauline  •  Link

"...ships that were to be set out this summer..."
So how are we reading this? That "set out" means called into the drydock? A typo for "sent" in the opposite direction of the lowlands? As a force, the opposition would be a problem either to have along or to have cooling their heels wherever any possible, in-the-event, who-knows-what-might-be-the-offing landing of Charles might take place.

"to put by as much of the Anabaptists as he can"
I wonder if Sam is using the term more loosely than we are coming up with--to mean the most zealous of the roundheads.

Michael f vincent  •  Link

“…ships that were to be set out this summer…”
My guess it means "set up" meaning -get ready, prepare they have just received word that Charles is ready to sign up
Anabaptists-Cromwell only cared for the doers (a types), that was part of his success.

(see his list of men rising from on low to on high)

Pauline  •  Link

“to put by as much of the Anabaptists as he can”
But doesn't this sound like he wants them to the side? Out of the way? Put by?

kvk  •  Link

Anabaptists
After Monck announced his intention to oppose Lambert, he began purging 'Anabaptists' and Fifth Monarchists from his army. The term Anabaptists is applied somewhat loosely at this point - to General and Particular Baptists, for instance - but it's not a general term for zealots. It carries implications of extreme radicalism and subversion, primarily because of the lingering memory of the Munster community of the 1530s (Munster was mentioned frequently in civil war pamphlets). The Baptists have not been doing much lately, but in uncertain times Monck and others aren't willing to extend trust to a group that has been a traditional source of fear.

This Baptist history page mentions some of the suspicions floating around at this time:
http://www.reformedreader.org/ccc…

"Many spoke of what the "Anabaptists" in the Army were about to do. The old stories of Münster were revived, and new editions of scurrilous writings against the Baptists were published. Among such accusations included:

1 Opposition to magistracy
2 Desiring to destroy the public ministry of the nation.
3 Countenancing the Quakers in their irregular practices.
4 Endeavoring "a toleration of all miscarriages in things ecclesiastical and civil, underpretense of Liberty of Conscience."
5 Desiring to "murder and destroy" those who differ from Baptists in matters of religion."

Mary  •  Link

all the ships that were to be set out this summer

OED. SET:149c Set out.
To fit out a ship, fleet, for a voyage, to equip for an expedition.

Paul Brewster  •  Link

Do we have a question of spelling here? Is it "Captain John Wilgress" per entry in the People section or "Captain Wilgness" as the diary entry says?

Phil  •  Link

I imagine it's a scanning error in the diary entry.

Emilio  •  Link

Religious outsiders
All this talk of Anabaptists today reminds me of the street persecutions of Quakers only a couple of months back (see entries for 7 and 11 Feb). In both cases I’m sure the causes are similar: they’re religious minorities, are critical of contemporary society, and are very public in their refusal to conform. In turbulent times, they’re both seen as unreliable elements and treated accordingly.
The major difference seems to be that Anabaptists have an even worse reputation, due to events from more than a century back. When will it be the Papists’ turn, I wonder?

Michael  •  Link

I'm slightly confused here.

Has the fleet set out on its voyage yet? If not, why are they all on board, are they waiting for fair weather?

(Been reading this excellent version of Pepys' diary for a while, but this is my first question!)

- Michael

Paul Brewster  •  Link

I guess I should have pointed out that my edition of Wheatley(1892) has the spelling as "Wilgness". So the problem seems to go deeper ...
Does anyone know if any attempt been made to publish all or portions of the original diary in facsimile? I'm curious about the problem of translating the shorthand.

Pauline  •  Link

Michael, to get "slightly" unconfused
see the discussion for the March 18 entry. They lie "a little below Gravesend" in the Thames at present. They are very busy taking over the fleet and getting it organized under its new commanders, Monck and Montagu.

gerry  •  Link

Re Paul,s question, there is an extensive discussion of this and related matters in L&M Vol.1

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Emilio asked "When will it be the Papists’ turn, I wonder?"

March 8 Commons had taken up Popish recusants, et al. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

Mr. Pryn reports, a Proclamation for putting the Laws and Statutes against Jesuits, Popish Priests, and Recusants, in speedy and effectual Execution: Which was read.

Ordered, That it be referred to Serjeant Glyn, Mr. Attorney of the Duchy, Lord St. John, Serjeant Maynard, Colonel Harley, Serjeant Twisden, Mr. Solicitor Ellys, Mr. Pryn, or any Two of them, to bring an effectual short Proclamation for putting the Laws and Statutes against Jesuits, Popish Priests, and Recusants, in speedy and effectual Execution: And Serjeant Glyn is to take care of it.

Dick Wilson  •  Link

Are Pepys & Montague aboard the Swiftsure or the Naseby?

Each summer, a portion of the fleet was "set out", ie, it went to sea, cruising about, keeping trouble away from the shore. The rest of the fleet stayed in port.

A ship with an Anabaptist Captain would likely have a crew largely recruited by him, and he would appoint or select the petty officers, etc., and the ship would largely assume his character. What Monague was doing was to put ships captained by Anabaptists at the bottom of the list for victuals, paint, gunpowder, rope, canvass -- supplies and stores of all kinds, and deferring maintenance on their ships, so they would stay in harbor, grow old and rot.

Weavethe hawk  •  Link

The diary of Ralph Josselin is worth a look. It runs contemporaneously with Sam's diary, but is years longer. The man was a little too effusive with his devotions to God, but he was, after all, vicar of Earls Colne in Essex for many years. Not as detailed or interesting as Sam's observations, but an interesting insight into rural English life of this period. His details concerning prices of everyday commodities are fascinating.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

" This day Captain Guy come on board from Dunkirk, who tells me that the King will come in, and that the soldiers at Dunkirk do drink the King’s health in the streets. "

Dunkirk, acquired in 1658 from Spain and sold to the French in 1662, now had a large and ill-paid garrison which was an important political force. It had been the centre of much royalist intrigue. The garrison finallly declared for the King c. 7 May. (Per L&M note)

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Did they practice a form of segregation when manning the fleet?"

Initially I took Pepys' writing to mean that Montagu had taken note of the names of the captains who had staged the mini-mutiny on March 29, suppressed by Vice. Adm. John Lawson.
L&M tells us that those captains were fired -- it's only a couple of days ago so I doubt the punishments have taken place yet. But Montagu would not want to sail with troublemakers like that.

@@@

"And will Pepys' extra income ever dry up?"

ANSWER: Yes it will, when all the ships have been assigned to a Master, Captain or Commander. Pepys may be raking it in now, but it is probably all he will take home to Elizabeth -- possibly many months from now.

Don't forget -- this isn't a done deal yet. No one knew if a Restoration was possible. Monck and co. had run out of ideas on how to pull the country together. The English were in danger of falling into forms of sectarian/tribal warfare now. Plus the treasury was empty.

The other day someone mentioned a picture of Charles II being inserted into a book and dated to this time. Somewhere -- I forget where -- I read that Charles had medallions made up with his likeness on it, and they were discreetly given out all over the country. He wanted people to know what he looked like, so they would be excited when they saw him. (Advertising novelties 101. We use coffee cups and T-shirts now.)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I think Pepys used the term Anabaptists loosely here -- it was his way of indicating troublemakers.

We have a report of what the real Anabaptists were doing: getting organized and lying low:

Amidst the confusion preceding the Restoration, Baptists were remarkably quiet. There was much talk in the nation of political intrigues, and Baptists were commonly regarded as the most dangerous plotters and sectaries. Many spoke of what the "Anabaptists" in the Army were about to do. The old stories of Münster were revived, and new editions of scurrilous writings against the Baptists were published. Amongst the accusations:
1. Opposition to magistracy
2. Desiring to destroy the public ministry of the nation.
3. Countenancing the Quakers in their irregular practices.
4. Endeavoring "a toleration of all miscarriages in things ecclesiastical and civil, under pretense of Liberty of Conscience."
5. Desiring to "murder and destroy" those who differ from Baptists in matters of religion.

It was against this background that a General Assembly of General Baptists met in London in March, 1660.

The Standard Confession which they framed shows the fearful slanders of their opponents were uppermost in their minds1 (see page 234). 1 Whitley, Minutes. I, 20-21

The 40 men who signed the 1660 General Assembly represented the chief General Baptist districts. However, it did not represent all of the General Baptists of England and Wales.

Among the signatories, there were a two outstanding individuals:
Joseph Wright: A messenger who had received university training
William Jeffery: Although a young man, he was already the author of remarkable doctrinal work

Although Thomas Grantham was said to have composed the Standard Confession, please note he did not sign it, and did not become prominent until some years later.

Thomas Monck of Hertfordshire and Matthew Caffyn of Sussex and Kent may have made some contribution to the Standard Confession.

The Standard Confession is more of a confession of faith and less of a statement of practice than "The Faith and Practice of Thirty Congregations". The poor arrangement of subjects indicates it was drawn up hurriedly. Theologically, it is mildly Arminian. There is a more elaborate eschatology than in any other Baptist confession of the period, but the language of the 3 articles on the subject is strictly scriptural.

Although the Standard Confession was presented to Charles II on July 26, 1660, along with an address2, it did little to halt the persecution of Baptists, but they were spared temporarily by the official preoccupation with the more numerous and important Presbyterian dissenters.
2 Crosby, op. cit., II, 19 f; Taylor, op. cit., I 186 f.

For more on the history of the Baptists, see
https://www.reformedreader.org/cc…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"By reason of my Lord and my being busy to send away the packet by Mr. Cooke of the Nazeby, ..."

Cooke was one of Montagu's servants; why was he on the Naseby?

My guess is that Cooke was keeping an eye on construction and bringing questions to Montagu as necessary. I believe "the packet" is a small boat used to ferrying correspondence and supplies around the fleet?

Also, if Montagu has a lot of servants with him, there would be room for them to camp on the Naseby and not overcrowd the Swiftsure, which is a smaller ship.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"After dinner my Lord did give me a private list of all the ships that were to be set out this summer ..."

Pepys, official secretary to the two Generals, and keeper of the secrets.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

PACKET -- The ‘King’s Post’ was how official mail was handled, both on inland routes and internationally. State dispatches were called ‘packets’ after the French word ‘paquet’, refering to how these items were packaged and sealed.

In 1674 the Post Master General proposed a sea route to Spain and Portugal from Plymouth or Fowey; the service would be financed by passengers and freight.

Falmouth, established as a new town in 1661, with its deep estuary, good anchorage and located on the south-west coast, became an important Packet station in 1688.

By the 1680s, communications between Britain, the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean had became difficult, because France cut off the land routes. A major part of Britain’s trade was with Spain and Portugal, and via them to the Americas and West Indies, so an alternative route had to be found.
In the late 1680s or early 1690s the first service between Falmouth and the Groyne of Corunna was established.
By 1705 there was regular service to the West Indies and the Americas.

For over 150 years, 1688 to 1850, Falmouth Packet ships filled the harbor. The Packet Service made Falmouth the information hub of the Empire, second only to London for knowing the latest news.

The packet service was part of the General Post Office (GPO), under the Post Master General. Packet Commanders were hired by the GPO for a route in his own manned and equipped ship, at £1,800 p.a. The ships was inspected, and if a ship was built specifically as a Packetship, it was inspected to ensure it complied with GPO specifications.

In war time the mail was kept on deck, ready to be hung over the side if engaged. Mail was stored in regulated, weather-proofm leather portmanteaus. They were weighted with iron so they would sink if jettisoned. When a packet ship was threatened, the portmanteau was hung over the side, ready to be cut away if necessary. Sometimes portmanteaux did not sink and fell into enemy hands. If this happened the commander was called to account by a committee of his fellow captains. It was better to lose documents, as they were usually made in duplicated for dispatch on other packet ships.

Packet crews were protected from Naval impressment. The crew was kept on the ship’s books at the end of a voyage, working on the docked ship, enjoying shore leave, safe from the press gangs. But if a packet ship was lost, impressment protection was lost. The surviving crew was rescued by a merchant ship and taken to Spithead, where the press gang immediately boarded and ‘pressed’ the experienced crew into service.

Excerpts from https://nmmc.co.uk/2021/09/the-ca…
https://www.thehistoricalfictionc…

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