Thursday 15 May 1662

To Westminster; and at the Privy Seal I saw Mr. Coventry’s seal for his being Commissioner with us, at which I know not yet whether to be glad or otherwise. So doing several things by the way, I walked home, and after dinner to the office all the afternoon. At night, all the bells of the town rung, and bonfires made for the joy of the Queen’s arrival, who came and landed at Portsmouth last night. But I do not see much thorough joy, but only an indifferent one, in the hearts of people, who are much discontented at the pride and luxury of the Court, and running in debt.

28 Annotations

First Reading

dirk  •  Link

The new Queen

Catherine will introduce, and make fashionable, the custom of drinking tea in England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath…

And she will also introduce the use of the fork to the British Court.
http://www.apol.net/dightonrock/f…

Two years after the wedding of Charles and Catherine, the British will capture the City of New Amsterdam from the Dutch, and change its name to New York in honor of the Duke of York, brother of King Charles. The two largest boroughs of the city will be named: King's and Queen's. Today King's Borough is called Brooklyn, Queens is still Queens.
http://www.apol.net/dightonrock/f…

Josh  •  Link

"I do not see much thorough joy, but only an indifferent one, in the hearts of people, who are much discontented at the pride and luxury of the Court, and running in debt."

Brief honeymoon!

shii  •  Link

So how long do you give it before he starts calling his "dinner" "high tea"?

dirk  •  Link

"But I do not see much thorough joy, but only an indifferent one, in the hearts of people..."

According to most sources, she will become very popular and loved by the people. So, just a little patience.

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"the new Queen"
Dirk, Brooklyn is still King's County and there is Dutchess County,north of New York City,named after Maria Beatrice D'Este,the Duke of York's second wife.

dirk  •  Link

Lady Fanshawe's Memoirs:

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/ete…

"As soon as the King had notice of the Queen's landing, he immediately
sent my husband that night to welcome her Majesty on shore, and
followed himself the next day; [...]"

(to be continued - but no spoilers yet)

dirk  •  Link

Lord Fanshawe

Ambassador to Portugal and to Spain, and responsible for finalizing the marriage of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza.

Background info:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

"...I do not see much thorough joy, but only an indifferent one, in the hearts of people, who are much discontented at the pride and luxury of the Court, and running in debt..."
Not every one be a [R]royalist, there still be the enemies of the state. It be great that there be Long Island to receive all those dissatisfied Peoples who would like have a piece of the money action. If were not this outlet for the discontent, History could have been written differently.

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

temorrer the King will wend his way to Portsmouth ?[but get the monie first.] "Though His Majesty resolved to begin His Journey towards Portsmouth on Friday next; yet, hoping that the Public Bills may in a short Time be ready for His Royal Assent, His Majesty is resolved to defer His Journey till Monday Morning; and in the mean Time desires both Houses of

From: 'House of Lords Journal Volume 11: 15 May 1662', Journal of the House of Lords: volume 11: 1660-1666, pp. 460-61. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…. Date accessed: 16 May 2005.

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

an Interesting concept the those that work in the Houses of C&L will get "bonus?"
today the house of C doth:
Officers of the House.
A Petition of the Officers attending this House was read.
Ordered, That every Knight of the Shire, now present in Town, do give, amongst the Servants of the House of Commons, the Sum of Ten Shillings: And every Citizen, Burgess, or Baron, of any Cinque Port, now in Town, the Sum of Five Shillings: And, that every Knight, Citizen, Burgess, or Baron, of any Cinque Port, that is absent, do give double the Sums of Ten Shillings, and Five Shillings, respectively, amongst the said Servants: And that if any of the Members that are present do not pay in their Money before Tuesday Morning, such as do fail shall be taken as absent; and pay double the Sums beforementioned, respectively.
And the said Money is to be paid in to Mr. Sharpe, Deputy to the Clerk of this House; and is to be distributed amongst the Servants by Mr. Speaker.

From: 'House of Commons Journal Volume 8: 16 May 1662', Journal of the House of Commons: volume 8: 1660-1667 (1802), pp. 431-32. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…. Date accessed: 16 May 2005.

J A Gioia  •  Link

Queens is still Queens

as ever it shall be...

btw, the groaning board that is a high tea was first a dutch custom, sent to england via old new amsterdam.

gerry  •  Link

"Queens is still Queens" and Brooklyn is still Kings on our income tax forms, and for what it is`worth Staten Island is Richmond named after I know not who.

Pedro  •  Link

Sir Richard Fanshawe was one of the very few Englishmen that had a great command of the Portuguese language. He was the intermediary and translator of the correspondence between Catarina and Charles.

He also translated the epic Portuguese poem "Os Lusiadas" into English, and it was published in London in 1655.
(Rau)

Ruben  •  Link

gerry:
Sept. 3, 1609 -- While seeking Northwest Passage, Henry Hudson sights island, naming it Staaten Eyelandt.
Nov. 1, 1683 -- Staten Island is named Richmond County after Duke of Richmond, Charles II's illegitimate son. (Source: New York Department of State.)
for more see:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyrichmo…

Bob T  •  Link

While seeking Northwest Passage, Henry Hudson sights island, naming it Staaten Eyelandt.

Was he lost, or was he just taking the long scenic route

David  •  Link

"And she will also introduce the use of the fork to the British Court."

Was it all fingers at the table before Catherine arrived?

Pedro  •  Link

"in the hearts of people"

Would we assume that the "people" in this case refers to those in Sam's social environment, and not the population as a whole?

Clement  •  Link

Fingers and forks
David Quidnunc has posted multi-tined references on the history of European utensil use elsewhere on this site:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Summary: Diners generally brought their own knives and fingers to the table.

Hearts and Minds: Pedro, Sam seems often to have the at least the urban proletariat in mind when he speaks of 'the people.'
He has occasionally remarked about the response of the person on the street to major and minor political and social occurences, and those people were increasingly interested and influential in shaping events.
His background and inclinations seem to mind the Levellers, the considerable merit-based ranking in the New Model Army, and his disdain for the "pride and luxury" of the reinstalled aristocracy are clear, in spite of his own socially bourgeois aspirations.

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

"...Was he lost, or was he just taking the long scenic route..." They all be lost . The Norse failed to return documentation to where they be fishing and let their wives know what they be up to, same for most of the other fisher folk, that had seen the US of A [turn left at Green land , instead of right to Baffin land so every water water way be thought to lead to the spice and all things nice]. Every major port be full of tales of goodies to be had over the Horizon[verizon]. Slowly they put to- gether a map of wots where and wheres wot.
This be the century of new technology.
The Hudson [Henry he named it so rather than moon river ]was thought to be the N.W. Passage.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

A touch of Sam Pepys, political and social reporter...Nice to have you back.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I reckon "Honest Will" Coventry's gonna clean up this here Naval Office, I reckon...

"My ummn...Travel expense records, Mr. Coventry? And all my contracts with our suppliers over the past two years? Why certainly." (Gulp)

Hemmina-hemmina-hemmina...(Say it fast, Sam, like Ralph Kramden used to/will)

Second Reading

john  •  Link

Ten years too late to point out to our salty commentator that the Norse and others fished in the Grand Banks, not New England.

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Hudson lost? No, he was found. Lost in self named Bay though, by a most unusual democratic process. The Hudson River did finally prove to be the way west for settlers however. Of course there was the little matter of a canal having to be built before that could happen.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Today is Sam the secret sceptic at his best!

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"To Westminster; and at the Privy Seal I saw Mr. Coventry’s seal for his being Commissioner with us, at which I know not yet whether to be glad or otherwise."

L&M: William Coventry was to prove Pepys's staunchest ally in the office. Pepys was now influenced perhaps by Carteret's dislike of Coventry: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… . Oe he may have been nervous of some of the effects of Coventry's reforming zeal; see e.g. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

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