At the beginning of the Diary, Anthony Ashley-Cooper is added to the Council and given the Whitehall apartments occupied by our Edward Montagu, the Admiral (and not his cousin the General of the same name).
At the time the wealthy young Ashley-Cooper lived at Exeter House (later also the home of John Locke, who became Lord Ashley's secretary) and so he negotiated with the Admiral that he did not have to leave. -- London, Past and Present. H.B. Wheatley, 1891.
Gen. Monck and Adm. Montagu were key movers behind the Restoration. This was an easy play for Ashley-Cooper since he already had a beautiful place to live, and was beginning to think the restoration of Charles II was the only way to avoid another civil war.
There must have been a big sorting office before 1660, Terry (Happy New Year BTW) -- otherwise how would Samuel Moreland know where to set up his office devoted to reading Cavalier mail during the Civil Wars and Interegnum?
Info about Sir Samuel Morland's spying activities for Thurloe and Charles II is at Samuel Morland and his calculating machines c.1666: the early career of a courtier–inventor in Restoration London -- by J . R. RATCLIFF* http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~j…
By the late 15th century, sending a letter by courier (at a significant expense), was empowered by the Gutenberg printing press of 1450. Letter carrying now became a profitable business and many private individuals sought to cash in.
Some like the Parr family in Austria developed a postal system that served the entire nation. The Thurn and Taxis family are famous for their postal system, as it was quite extensive, and they are from German nobility, organizing the shipment of imperial possessions along a complicated network of established routes throughout Europe.
By William Shakespeare’s lifetime, this system covered most of Europe and amounted to approximately 20,000 couriers. The system was speedy, efficient, and highly lucrative for the family — which is decidedly not the impression we get from Friar Laurence’s delivery of Romeo’s letter.
It seems that discrepancy can be credited to the fact that in England, while Henry VIII established a Master of the Posts in 1516 to oversee a regular postal service along the main roads going out from London, this system was not reliable, and it was also not intended for public use – meaning anyone who was not a royal sending a letter using this system did so illegally. That did happen, but the result was often like that of Romeo’s plight where bouts of plague and other obstacles could easily prevent a message from reaching its intended target.
About 20 years after Shakespeare died, in 1635, a royal proclamation established a letter office for England and Scotland, with Thomas Witherings heading up a system of regular day and night services along post roads.
In 1680 when William Dockwra established the Penny Post when all letters and packets up to 1 lb. were delivered for one penny.
I've reviewed THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH POST OFFICE by J. C. HEMMEON, Ph.D., published by CAMBRIDGE HARVARD UNIVERSITY in 1912, and it doesn't state where the collecting and sorting offices were located before the 1670's. http://www.gbps.org.uk/informatio…
"... having eat nothing but two pennyworths of oysters, opened for me by a woman in the Strand, ..."
This is the only mention I have found in the Diary where Pepys admits he ate from food prepared by a street vendor (or costermonger). Yet this was the main source of food for the great masses of people flocking to London in hope of finding employment, rebuilding the city.
Between the 16th and early 20th centuries, hawkers of food carried baskets, pushed wheelbarrows, and set up stalls right across the metropolis. All sorts of Londoners relished their mackerel, mussels, oranges, cherries, turnips, muffins, puddings, and pies. But street sellers were particularly important for those in neighborhoods at the edge of the medieval city, such as the East End. But as Pepys lived in the City of London, his cook was able to select his food at a choice of 15 official food markets.
In the mid-17th century, the western suburbs had 4 food markets, but the east had none. The tens of thousands of residents of Hackney and Stepney had to walk miles to do their shopping. Although more markets were built after the Fire of 1666, this part of town remained badly provisioned. Street vendors made up much of the deficit.
So why did Pepys select oysters from the many foods available? From the late Elizabethan era, the "cries" of the street vendors had a print genre, encompassing visual prints, courtly music, and ballads, captured the sights and sounds of the streets. Artists and composers conjured a cast of stereotypes, like the vulgar, hard-drinking fishwife, the naïve, rustic milkmaid, and the seductive oyster girl whose basket of shellfish concealed her true occupation, selling sex. Uh-Huh.
After Oliver Cromwell's death, Katharine "Kate" Boyle Jones, Lady Ranelagh returned from Ireland to her house in the Mall. Almost her neighbor, John Milton was living in his garden-house in Petty France. He was still in correspondence with her son, Dick Jones, and his tutor Henry Oldenburg in Paris; Milton was still Latin Secretary to the Council, with Andrew Marvell as his assistant.
The uneasy dawn of the New Year 1660 found him, despondent but undaunted, still fighting hard, by tract-warfare, for a doomed Republic.
John Milton the Pamphleteer and John Lambert the General are remembered together as the last two opponents of the Restoration.
In March, 1660 after John Milton's printed exhortations to the Council and to Gen. George Monck, the blind Latin secretary was discharged from his office, and an order was issued for the arrest of his publisher.
On May 7, 1660 — the day before Charles II was proclaimed in London — John Milton disappeared from his garden-house in Petty France.
Nobody knows what was done about his 3 daughters aged 14, 13 and 8 years old, or whose friendly hand guided the blind man's steps into his hiding-place. "In the house of a friend in Bartholomew Close" — a narrow passage, entered from West Smithfield under an archway that was old, even in Milton's day — Milton lay concealed for more than 3 months. 1 Part of the Church of the Old Priory of St. Bartholomew.
From: Robert Boyle, a biography, by Flora Masson There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu…
From today in Parliament [ALSO ON THIS DAY above]:
"Sir H. Vane. Sir Henry Vane, having been sent for according to the Resolution aforesaid, came to the House: And, being set in his Place, several Members of the House objected several Matters against him, acted since the late Interruption of the Parliament.
"And several Letters sent from the Commissioners of the Admiralty; the one of the 15th of October 1659, written to Vice-Admiral Lawson, in the Downes; and several Orders of the Commissioners of the Admiralty; one, of the 29th of October 1659; and another of the 31th of October 1659; and another of the 2d of November 1659; were read.
"Sir Henry Vane, standing up in his Place, made Answer to the said several Charges; and, after, sat down again in his Place: And, upon the Debate of the House, It is
"Resolved, That Sir Henry Vane be discharged of being a Member of this Parliament; and he is hereby enjoined forthwith to repair to his House at Raby in the County of Durham; and there to remain, during the Pleasure of the Parliament.
"Colonel Lambert, &c. Resolved, That Colonel John Lambert, Colonel Disbrowe, Colonel Ashfeild, Colonel Berry, Colonel Kelsey, Colonel Cobbet, Colonel Barrow, Colonel Packer, and Major Creed, and every of them be, and are hereby required and enjoined forthwith to repair to their respective Houses in the Country farthest distant from the City of London; and that they there continue, during the Pleasure of the Parliament.
"Ordered, That the Council of State do see this Vote put in Execution accordingly."
@@@
"A body of musketeers sent to arrest a number of the excluded MPs at Arthur Annesley's house, where they are meeting to draw up a declaration complaining at the injustice of their exclusion. The MPs escape before the soldiers arrive. RCII
One banished was Major Creed -- don't think it could be our John Creed, because: L&M "Certainly by March 1659 he [JOHN CREED] was established in the Montagu household as a secretary. In that summer he accompanied his master on the Baltic voyage as Admiral's secretary and Deputy-Treasurer of the fleet. But for the Dutch voyage of 1660 Montagu preferred Pepys, ..." Brother Richard Creed also seems to be gainfully employed elsewhere, and the L&M Companion doesn't mention either of them being a Major.
In case you don't know the story behind Bulstrode Whitelocke's name: before the christening the parson disapprovingly questioned the name, so Bulstrode's father explained that the boy was being named after his mother -- it was Bulstrode or Elizabeth.
Stuart first names were often colorful -- or Elizabeth. I was happy to meet more than one named Denzel.
Considering the ambiguities of the times, EyeOnMadisonStreet, Adm. Lawson and the people of London behaved themselves admirably. They allowed things to play out, which creates loads of tension because we humans hate ambiguity.
Lawson was also protecting London from pirates and unwanted intervention from abroad. He just knew that having the Navy there would help people feel more peaceful -- if cold.
The lack of documentation for his orders is a bit odd. Perhaps he didn't have any? I'll have to consult my copy of the book and see if it clarifies things.
We have an encyclopedia page for Twelfth Night. Because Pepys doesn't use those words, his activities today are not linked to this page. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
KMA mentions Milton, and I am disappointed to report that Pepys never mentions knowing him or reading his works.
I was also surprised by this:
"Most famous for writing “Paradise Lost,” John Milton is credited with adding 630 words to the English language, including such gems as “complacency,” “debauchery,” and “dismissive.” William Shakespeare comes in second place, originating just under 500 English words." -- Source: Grammarly
Pepys didn't use those words in the Diary either, so the gems took their time spreading.
Renouncing Charles II. A Bill for taking and subscribing an Oath by every Member that now sits, or hereafter shall fit, in Parliament, for renouncing the Title of Charles Stewart, and of every other single Person, to the Crown or Government of these Nations, was this Day read the Second time.
Resolved, That the Debate upon this Bill be adjourned until To-morrow Morning.
@@@
That's the last item of today's Parliamentary notes: they have a long way to go mentally between now and April. How much will change in four months.
David also asked if Pepys knew Herrick -- Herrick isn't mentioned in the Diary, and since he spent most of the rest of his life in rural Devonshire, and Pepys never went there, I think we can assume they did not meet.
A quick way to find out if Pepys knew someone like Herrick is to type his name in the SEARCH box top right. It takes you to a page which asks you where you would like to search for the information: The Diary (Pepys' words), the Encyclopedia (the tap-through words in blue in the Diary so we don't have to repeat everything), the Annotations (our musings things), the Letters (Pepys and John Evelyn became correspondents), or the In-Depth Articles (really interesting deep dives on subjects like Pepys' house on Seething Lane).
Poke around -- it'll enrich your enjoyment of the site.
TWELFTH NIGHT: OR, KING AND QUEEN. by Robert Herrick
NOW, now the mirth comes With the cake full of plums, Where bean's the king of the sport here; Beside we must know, The pea also Must revel, as queen, in the court here.
Begin then to choose, This night as ye use, Who shall for the present delight here, Be a king by the lot, And who shall not Be Twelfth-day queen for the night here.
Which known, let us make Joy-sops with the cake; And let not a man then be seen here, Who unurg'd will not drink To the base from the brink A health to the king and queen here.
Next crown a bowl full With gentle lamb's wool: Add sugar, nutmeg, and ginger, With store of ale too; And thus ye must do To make the wassail a swinger.
Give then to the king And queen wassailing: And though with ale ye be whet here, Yet part from hence As free from offence As when ye innocent met here.
Source: Herrick, Robert. Works of Robert Herrick. vol II. Alfred Pollard, ed. London, Lawrence & Bullen, 1891. 145-146.
@@@
And David Gurliacci is correct. Rev. Robert Herrick was living in London and writing poetry designed to please the returning royalists in the new year of 1659/60.
Note that sugar, ginger and nutmeg are important ingredients. Much of Pepys' future will be spent making sure England's supply of these imports keep arriving from the Orient and the Caribbean.
Comments
Third Reading
About Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (Baron Ashley, Chancellor of the Exchequer)
San Diego Sarah • Link
At the beginning of the Diary, Anthony Ashley-Cooper is added to the Council and given the Whitehall apartments occupied by our Edward Montagu, the Admiral (and not his cousin the General of the same name).
At the time the wealthy young Ashley-Cooper lived at Exeter House (later also the home of John Locke, who became Lord Ashley's secretary) and so he negotiated with the Admiral that he did not have to leave. -- London, Past and Present. H.B. Wheatley, 1891.
Gen. Monck and Adm. Montagu were key movers behind the Restoration. This was an easy play for Ashley-Cooper since he already had a beautiful place to live, and was beginning to think the restoration of Charles II was the only way to avoid another civil war.
About Leeds Castle
San Diego Sarah • Link
And in 2023 you can see falconry displays, get married, and even stay for a weekend in Leeds Castle:
https://leeds-castle.com/experien…
Beautiful.
About Thursday 12 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
There must have been a big sorting office before 1660, Terry (Happy New Year BTW) -- otherwise how would Samuel Moreland know where to set up his office devoted to reading Cavalier mail during the Civil Wars and Interegnum?
The General Post Office has more info at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
For the Post Office in general see https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Info about Sir Samuel Morland's spying activities for Thurloe and Charles II is at
Samuel Morland and his calculating machines
c.1666: the early career of a courtier–inventor
in Restoration London -- by J . R. RATCLIFF*
http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~j…
About General Post Office
San Diego Sarah • Link
Who was Sir John Bennet? Turns out he was the kid brother of Henry. Should have guessed that one.
About General Post Office
San Diego Sarah • Link
By the late 15th century, sending a letter by courier (at a significant expense), was empowered by the Gutenberg printing press of 1450. Letter carrying now became a profitable business and many private individuals sought to cash in.
Some like the Parr family in Austria developed a postal system that served the entire nation. The Thurn and Taxis family are famous for their postal system, as it was quite extensive, and they are from German nobility, organizing the shipment of imperial possessions along a complicated network of established routes throughout Europe.
By William Shakespeare’s lifetime, this system covered most of Europe and amounted to approximately 20,000 couriers. The system was speedy, efficient, and highly lucrative for the family — which is decidedly not the impression we get from Friar Laurence’s delivery of Romeo’s letter.
It seems that discrepancy can be credited to the fact that in England, while Henry VIII established a Master of the Posts in 1516 to oversee a regular postal service along the main roads going out from London, this system was not reliable, and it was also not intended for public use – meaning anyone who was not a royal sending a letter using this system did so illegally. That did happen, but the result was often like that of Romeo’s plight where bouts of plague and other obstacles could easily prevent a message from reaching its intended target.
About 20 years after Shakespeare died, in 1635, a royal proclamation established a letter office for England and Scotland, with Thomas Witherings heading up a system of regular day and night services along post roads.
In 1680 when William Dockwra established the Penny Post when all letters and packets up to 1 lb. were delivered for one penny.
The above was gleaned from https://www.cassidycash.com/did-s…
I've reviewed THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH POST OFFICE by J. C. HEMMEON, Ph.D.,
published by CAMBRIDGE HARVARD UNIVERSITY in 1912, and it doesn't state where the collecting and sorting offices were located before the 1670's.
http://www.gbps.org.uk/informatio…
About Monday 16 November 1668
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... having eat nothing but two pennyworths of oysters, opened for me by a woman in the Strand, ..."
This is the only mention I have found in the Diary where Pepys admits he ate from food prepared by a street vendor (or costermonger). Yet this was the main source of food for the great masses of people flocking to London in hope of finding employment, rebuilding the city.
Between the 16th and early 20th centuries, hawkers of food carried baskets, pushed wheelbarrows, and set up stalls right across the metropolis. All sorts of Londoners relished their mackerel, mussels, oranges, cherries, turnips, muffins, puddings, and pies. But street sellers were particularly important for those in neighborhoods at the edge of the medieval city, such as the East End. But as Pepys lived in the City of London, his cook was able to select his food at a choice of 15 official food markets.
In the mid-17th century, the western suburbs had 4 food markets, but the east had none. The tens of thousands of residents of Hackney and Stepney had to walk miles to do their shopping. Although more markets were built after the Fire of 1666, this part of town remained badly provisioned. Street vendors made up much of the deficit.
So why did Pepys select oysters from the many foods available? From the late Elizabethan era, the "cries" of the street vendors had a print genre, encompassing visual prints, courtly music, and ballads, captured the sights and sounds of the streets. Artists and composers conjured a cast of stereotypes, like the vulgar, hard-drinking fishwife, the naïve, rustic milkmaid, and the seductive oyster girl whose basket of shellfish concealed her true occupation, selling sex. Uh-Huh.
Pepys hasn't changed his spots!
https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023…
About Monday 7 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Meanwhile, back at Whitehall:
After Oliver Cromwell's death, Katharine "Kate" Boyle Jones, Lady Ranelagh returned from Ireland to her house in the Mall. Almost her neighbor, John Milton was living in his garden-house in Petty France. He was still in correspondence with her son, Dick Jones, and his tutor Henry Oldenburg in Paris; Milton was still Latin Secretary to the Council, with Andrew Marvell as his assistant.
The uneasy dawn of the New Year 1660 found him, despondent but undaunted, still fighting hard, by tract-warfare, for a doomed Republic.
John Milton the Pamphleteer and John Lambert the General are remembered together as the last two opponents of the Restoration.
In March, 1660 after John Milton's printed exhortations to the Council and to Gen. George Monck, the blind Latin secretary was discharged from his office, and an order was issued for the arrest of his publisher.
On May 7, 1660 — the day before Charles II was proclaimed in London — John Milton disappeared from his garden-house in Petty France.
Nobody knows what was done about his 3 daughters aged 14, 13 and 8 years old, or whose friendly hand guided the blind man's steps into his hiding-place. "In the house of a friend in Bartholomew Close" — a narrow passage, entered from West Smithfield under an archway that was old, even in Milton's day — Milton lay concealed for more than 3 months.
1 Part of the Church of the Old Priory of St. Bartholomew.
From: Robert Boyle, a biography, by Flora Masson
There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu…
About Wednesday 11 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
Jan 11 Lord Fairfax meets Monck at York and urges him to restore the Monarchy.
http://bcw-project.org/timelines/…
About Monday 9 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
From today in Parliament [ALSO ON THIS DAY above]:
"Sir H. Vane.
Sir Henry Vane, having been sent for according to the Resolution aforesaid, came to the House: And, being set in his Place, several Members of the House objected several Matters against him, acted since the late Interruption of the Parliament.
"And several Letters sent from the Commissioners of the Admiralty; the one of the 15th of October 1659, written to Vice-Admiral Lawson, in the Downes; and several Orders of the Commissioners of the Admiralty; one, of the 29th of October 1659; and another of the 31th of October 1659; and another of the 2d of November 1659; were read.
"Sir Henry Vane, standing up in his Place, made Answer to the said several Charges; and, after, sat down again in his Place: And, upon the Debate of the House, It is
"Resolved, That Sir Henry Vane be discharged of being a Member of this Parliament; and he is hereby enjoined forthwith to repair to his House at Raby in the County of Durham; and there to remain, during the Pleasure of the Parliament.
"Colonel Lambert, &c.
Resolved, That Colonel John Lambert, Colonel Disbrowe, Colonel Ashfeild, Colonel Berry, Colonel Kelsey, Colonel Cobbet, Colonel Barrow, Colonel Packer, and Major Creed, and every of them be, and are hereby required and enjoined forthwith to repair to their respective Houses in the Country farthest distant from the City of London; and that they there continue, during the Pleasure of the Parliament.
"Ordered, That the Council of State do see this Vote put in Execution accordingly."
@@@
"A body of musketeers sent to arrest a number of the excluded MPs at Arthur Annesley's house, where they are meeting to draw up a declaration complaining at the injustice of their exclusion. The MPs escape before the soldiers arrive. RCII
"Sir Henry Vane expelled from Parliament for having sided with the military junta. -- RCII"
http://bcw-project.org/timelines/…
Getting the opposition out of town and isolated.
@@@
One banished was Major Creed -- don't think it could be our John Creed, because:
L&M "Certainly by March 1659 he [JOHN CREED] was established in the Montagu household as a secretary. In that summer he accompanied his master on the Baltic voyage as Admiral's secretary and Deputy-Treasurer of the fleet. But for the Dutch voyage of 1660 Montagu preferred Pepys, ..."
Brother Richard Creed also seems to be gainfully employed elsewhere, and the L&M Companion doesn't mention either of them being a Major.
Doubtless it was a large Puritan family ...
About Friday 10 January 1661/62
San Diego Sarah • Link
BRAVO Rusian. Thank you!
About Monday 9 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
In case you don't know the story behind Bulstrode Whitelocke's name: before the christening the parson disapprovingly questioned the name, so Bulstrode's father explained that the boy was being named after his mother -- it was Bulstrode or Elizabeth.
Stuart first names were often colorful -- or Elizabeth.
I was happy to meet more than one named Denzel.
About Rota Club
San Diego Sarah • Link
There's good information about the Rota Club and its meetings at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
The encyclopedia had not been thought of at the start of round 1 of the Diary.
About Sunday 8 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
Considering the ambiguities of the times, EyeOnMadisonStreet, Adm. Lawson and the people of London behaved themselves admirably. They allowed things to play out, which creates loads of tension because we humans hate ambiguity.
Lawson was also protecting London from pirates and unwanted intervention from abroad. He just knew that having the Navy there would help people feel more peaceful -- if cold.
The lack of documentation for his orders is a bit odd. Perhaps he didn't have any? I'll have to consult my copy of the book and see if it clarifies things.
About Friday 6 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
We have an encyclopedia page for Twelfth Night. Because Pepys doesn't use those words, his activities today are not linked to this page.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Twelfth Night
San Diego Sarah • Link
A contemporary poem by Rev, Robert Herrick about Twelfth Night:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Saturday 11 February 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
KMA mentions Milton, and I am disappointed to report that Pepys never mentions knowing him or reading his works.
I was also surprised by this:
"Most famous for writing “Paradise Lost,” John Milton is credited with adding 630 words to the English language, including such gems as “complacency,” “debauchery,” and “dismissive.” William Shakespeare comes in second place, originating just under 500 English words." --
Source: Grammarly
Pepys didn't use those words in the Diary either, so the gems took their time spreading.
About Friday 6 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
Renouncing Charles II.
A Bill for taking and subscribing an Oath by every Member that now sits, or hereafter shall fit, in Parliament, for renouncing the Title of Charles Stewart, and of every other single Person, to the Crown or Government of these Nations, was this Day read the Second time.
Resolved, That the Debate upon this Bill be adjourned until To-morrow Morning.
@@@
That's the last item of today's Parliamentary notes: they have a long way to go mentally between now and April. How much will change in four months.
About Friday 6 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
"only the venison pasty was palpable beef, which was not handsome."
Pepys loved his venison pie -- and to find out that cousin Thomas' cook had substituted old beef must have been a great disappointment.
About Friday 6 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
David also asked if Pepys knew Herrick -- Herrick isn't mentioned in the Diary, and since he spent most of the rest of his life in rural Devonshire, and Pepys never went there, I think we can assume they did not meet.
A quick way to find out if Pepys knew someone like Herrick is to type his name in the SEARCH box top right. It takes you to a page which asks you where you would like to search for the information:
The Diary (Pepys' words),
the Encyclopedia (the tap-through words in blue in the Diary so we don't have to repeat everything),
the Annotations (our musings things),
the Letters (Pepys and John Evelyn became correspondents),
or the In-Depth Articles (really interesting deep dives on subjects like Pepys' house on Seething Lane).
Poke around -- it'll enrich your enjoyment of the site.
About Friday 6 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
TWELFTH NIGHT: OR, KING AND QUEEN.
by Robert Herrick
NOW, now the mirth comes
With the cake full of plums,
Where bean's the king of the sport here;
Beside we must know,
The pea also
Must revel, as queen, in the court here.
Begin then to choose,
This night as ye use,
Who shall for the present delight here,
Be a king by the lot,
And who shall not
Be Twelfth-day queen for the night here.
Which known, let us make
Joy-sops with the cake;
And let not a man then be seen here,
Who unurg'd will not drink
To the base from the brink
A health to the king and queen here.
Next crown a bowl full
With gentle lamb's wool:
Add sugar, nutmeg, and ginger,
With store of ale too;
And thus ye must do
To make the wassail a swinger.
Give then to the king
And queen wassailing:
And though with ale ye be whet here,
Yet part from hence
As free from offence
As when ye innocent met here.
Source:
Herrick, Robert. Works of Robert Herrick. vol II.
Alfred Pollard, ed.
London, Lawrence & Bullen, 1891. 145-146.
@@@
And David Gurliacci is correct. Rev. Robert Herrick was living in London and writing poetry designed to please the returning royalists in the new year of 1659/60.
Note that sugar, ginger and nutmeg are important ingredients. Much of Pepys' future will be spent making sure England's supply of these imports keep arriving from the Orient and the Caribbean.