Friday 6 December 1661

Lay long in bed, and then to Westminster Hall and there walked, and then with Mr. Spicer, Hawly, Washington, and little Mr. Ashwell (my old friends at the Exchequer) to the Dog, and gave them two or three quarts of wine, and so away to White Hall, where, at Sir G. Carteret’s, Sir Williams both and I dined very pleasantly; and after dinner, by appointment, came the Governors of the East India Company, to sign and seal the contract between us1 (in the King’s name) and them. And that done, we all went to the King’s closet, and there spoke with the King and the Duke of York, who promise to be very careful of the India trade to the utmost. So back to Sir G. Carteret’s and ended our business, and so away homewards, but Sir W. Batten offering to go to the 3 Tuns at Charing Cross, where the pretty maid the daughter of the house is; I was saying that, that tickled Sir W. Pen, he seemed to take these words very captiously and angrily, which I saw, and seemed indifferent to go home in his coach with them, and so took leave to go to the Council Chamber to speak with my Lord Privy Seal, which I did, but they did stay for me, which I was pleased at, but no words passed between him and me in all our way home. So home and to bed.

33 Annotations

First Reading

Pedro.  •  Link

"that tickled Sir W. Pen, he seemed to take these words very captiously and angrily,"

Strange use of the word tickled? Most often used to mean the opposite, amused?

upper_left_hand_corner  •  Link

Maybe it's like the way we now say "ticked off" ...

Glyn  •  Link

Or that she actually did have some slap-and-tickle with Penn,

http://www.allwords.com/word-slap…

and he was angry with Pepys for talking about it; or that she 'tickled his fancy'

http://www.freesearch.co.uk/dicti…

i.e. Penn found her attractive, and he's annoyed at Pepys for telling everyone else? I'm glad Penn gave Pepys a lift home though.

Nix  •  Link

Tickle --

In addition to the current usage, the online 1913 Webster's gives these obsolete ones that better fit Samuel's context:

"2. Liable to change; uncertain; inconstant. [Obs.]

"The world is now full tickle, sikerly. Chaucer.

"So tickle is the state of earthy things. Spenser.

"3. Wavering, or liable to waver and fall at the slightest touch; unstable; easily overthrown. [Obs.]

"Thy head stands so tickle on thy shoulders, that a milkmaid, if she be in love, may sigh it off. Shak."

http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-b…

RexLeo  •  Link

"...after dinner, by appointment, came the Governors of the East India Company, to sign and seal the contract between us1 (in the King’s name) and them."

Wow! the beginnings of the British Raj!

vicenzo  •  Link

What was the contract?: To supply guns and ships to ward off the pirates and other scavengers of loot of the spices et al.? The reward being?

vicenzo  •  Link

Tick: 'tis an interesting little word. there is tick tock like the beetle on the clock, such annoying sound, or when the tick nips ye skin that ye be tickled pink [red blotches]. I would be ticked off too when somebody told me,that my eyes were bug eyed over a wench when I wish to be cautious about heaving to.

Alan Bedford  •  Link

"...that tickled Sir W. Pen..."

I read that more on the line of "irritated". Anyone have access to the OED?

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"who promised to be very careful of the India trade to the utmost"
careful about what?why?

Clement  •  Link

It seems vincenzo must be right--the old salt had a sweet spot for the maid, and was perturbed beyond words to have Sam make light of it.

Sir W.Penn knew well enough that denial would make him a buffoon, and proclamation would have been preposterous. So he was snookered into a red-faced silence.
He certainly wished that damn Batten hadn't mentioned the 3 Tuns, or that prattling Pepys had kept his pie-hole shut.
Another great observation blog for Sam.

Jesse  •  Link

"that tickled Sir W. Pen"

While Dr. Johnson confirms the obsolete Websters definition, his primary definition, viz. “to affect with a prurient sensation by slight touches.Bacon.”, can fit where prurient=itching=irritating.

Clement  •  Link

Re: "very careful of the India trade"

The English had recently warred once with the Dutch by this time (1652-54) with more to come, so gaining the protection of the erstwhile enemy would have been important to the stockholders of the Dutch company.

The first Anglo-Dutch war:
"...was precipitated by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell demanded tribute for herring caught within 30 miles of England (a practice begun by the Stuarts), required all ships in the Channel to salute English warships [the 'striking' Sam recently wrote of] and passed the Navigation Act that required all goods imported to England be carried in English ships or ships of the country where the goods originated. The Navigation Act and the salute particularly angered the Dutch."
http://www.contemplator.com/histo…

I suspect that the Navigation Act was one law maintained after the Restoration, and would have been anathema to the importing East India Co.

Joe  •  Link

Speaking with the King
Is this the first time that Sam has mentioned directly speaking with the King, or did I misunderstand that?

Mary  •  Link

tickle:verb transitive.

OED sense 7: to vex, irritate or provoke; used ironically. Examples are quoted from the 16th to the late 17th century, but none later than that.

e.g. Shakespeare, Henry VI part 2: "She's tickled now, her Fume needs no spurs."

andy  •  Link

I was saying that, that tickled ...

Although Sir W. Pen was offended, evidently, by Sam's prattle, that doesn't necessarily imply that he had had any form of liaison with the daughter/maid, or any interest in her whatsoever. Maybe he just wished Sam would shut up for once about his a-drinking and a-womanising, maybe he didn't want to be associated in Batten's mind with this youngster who was keen to demonstrate his knowledge of every pub and maid in London. Certainly Sam got the message.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Judging by Diary entries, Sir W. Penn has been Sam's companion on many a play and tavern afternoon. I'd guess he feels the young Clerk of the Acts whom he's befriended has gone a little too far and embarrassed him in front of a fellow titled officer.

Martin  •  Link

Joe's question: Is this the first time that Sam has mentioned directly speaking with the King, or did I misunderstand that?
Quite a crowd went to see the King: Pepys, Carteret, Williams, and all the Governors of the East India Company -- Pepys may not actually have gotten a word in edgewise.

gerry  •  Link

Tickle. I was recently in a to-die-for pastry shop nearby and was asked by one of the assistants 'Does anything tickle your fancy' an expression I have heard all my life on both sides of the Atlantic.Stimulate seems the best tranalation in this sense.

Glyn  •  Link

It seems that the last time Penn and Pepys were together at the Three Tuns was on Wednesday 2 days ago, when Penn paid the bill for Sam's dinner (and this is how he repays him!).

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"Sir William Penn......and angrily"
he seems to have such a short fuse! remember the road rage episode a while ago when he pulled someone from his horse!

Pedro.  •  Link

What was the contract?

As Tangier, to be handed over in January, Bombay was not ceded to the English until 1665 see:
http://www.archbom.org/history.htm
And the East India Company did not get involved until 1669, but in 1661 "Charles gave the Company the right to protect their trade monopoly and the right to acquire territories."
Could this be what today's meeting was about?

vicenzo  •  Link

The rest: BUCKINGHAM. Lord Cardinal, I will follow Eleanor,

And listen after Humphrey, how he proceeds.

She's tickled now; her fume needs no spurs,

She'll gallop far enough to her destruction. Exit

http://www.4english.cn/works/Engl…

vicenzo  •  Link

change of direction in the meaning of a word: take My "dreaded" Sir {meaning I'm in absolute obeyance [and respect] of your command} in a letter that would be address to the Royal, now the inference is I'm scared B***** stiff of your power and I don't like it and I don't respect ye either.[such a dreadfull old blah]

slangist  •  Link

Once More Unto The Bard, Dear Friends

Best US translation here "quick on the trigger":

Hamlet II, ii: "...the clown shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickle o' the sere…”

thus by association SP says WP was “quickened” or provoked…

Glyn  •  Link

A little Darling?

Thomas Darling owned the Three Tuns from 1641 to 1657. We don't know who succeeded him, but if he kept it in the family by passing it to his son, that would make the girl here Ms Darling.

If we go back to the entry for November 1st: "[the landlord] and his fayre sister (who is very great with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen in mirth)" it seems that she was on easy terms with Sir William.

Patricia  •  Link

Joe & Martin: I can't cite the dates, but Pepys had spoken with the King before he ever came to England, and on board the ship that brought him, and on at least one other occasion after his return.

Aqua  •  Link

Patricia: "...I can’t cite the dates..."
17th May '60: go to archive for May '60
but first we went and dined at a French house, but paid 16s. for our part of the club. At dinner in came Dr. Cade, a merry mad parson of the King’s. And they two after dinner got the child and me (the others not being able to crowd in) to see the King, who kissed the child very affectionately. Then we kissed his, and the Duke of York’s, and the Princess Royal’s hands. The King seems to be a very sober man; and a very splendid Court he hath in the number of persons of quality that are about him, English very rich in habit. From the King to the Lord Chancellor, who did lie bed-rid of the gout: he spoke very merrily to the child and me
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

. The King, with the two Dukes and Queen of Bohemia, Princess Royal, and Prince of Orange, came on board, where I in their coming in kissed the King’s, Queen’s, and Princess’s hands, having done the other before.
All the afternoon the King walked here and there, up and down (quite contrary to what I thought him to have been), very active and stirring. Upon the quarterdeck he fell into discourse of his escape from Worcester,1 where it made me ready to weep to hear the stories
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

I spoke with the Duke of York about business, who called me Pepys by name, and upon my desire did promise me his future favour.
....

After dinner the King and Duke altered the name of some of the ships, viz. the Nazeby into Charles; the Richard, James; the Speakers Mary; the Dunbar (which was not in company with us), the Henry; Winsly, Happy Return; Wakefield, Richmond; Lambert; the Henrietta; Cheriton, the Speedwell; Bradford, the Success.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Pepys treats his old clerical mates (chums) to a sort of mid-morning draught

This entry starts with another group gathering -- "Mr. Spicer, Hawly, Washington, and little Mr. Ashwell (my old friends at the Exchequer) to the Dog, and gave them two or three quarts of wine" -- hosted by one of them who's made good.

"It pays to be nice to the people you meet on the way up, for they are the same people you meet on the way down."
–Walter Winchell (1932)
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Lords today address the coinage scarcity again

Bill against melting Silver Coin.

Hodie 1a vice lecta est Billa, "An Act to prevent the Inconvenience that doth arise by melting the Silver Coin of this Realm."
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"...after dinner, by appointment, came the Governors of the East India Company, to sign and seal the contract between us1 (in the King’s name) and them."

L&M: Two contracts (6 December) arranged for the despatch of four royal ships to Bombay, just acquired under the terms of the marriage treaty with Portugal. The company agreed to pay for their manning and victualing and for freight charges on the return journey: CSPD add. 1660-85, pp. 32-5; i.b., 1661-2, p.168. The agreement later gave rise to the dispute: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Third Reading

Irish Susan  •  Link

Given that Pepys was 5” 1’, ‘little Mr Ashwell’ must have been little indeed!

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