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San Diego Sarah has posted 9,745 annotations/comments since 6 August 2015.

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Second Reading

About Monday 23 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Thence to the Court of the Turkey Company at Sir Andrew Rickard’s to treat about carrying some men of ours to Tangier, and had there a very civil reception, though a denial of the thing as not practicable with them, and I think so too."

To treat here means to negotiate, to suggest, to propose.

After the Admirals and Navy Board's presentations on Sunday 15 January 1664/65 to Charles II and the Privy Council about how they could not spare any warships to protect the Levant fleet which is loaded and ready to go, apparently they were told to work out an accommodation.

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

The Levant Company's negotiations with Charles for a convoy are summarized in HMC, finch, p.363. An escort of six ships was granted in early February. After all, they are paying for the war, so I guess Charles couldn't say no.

About Saturday 21 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I wonder if Pepys' hat was on or off today. He's a member of the Tangier Committee, but was also involved in sorting out the accounts, dining and working at Povy's house, and riding both ways with Povy. I don't see Pepys gloating over Povy, or acting as if he was an enemy or rival, even if he does think Povy brought this mess upon himself.

This is Tangier Committee business, not Navy Board business, so I don't think today's House of Commons ordering of a review of the Victualing accounts was related. They have different accountants and offices, fortunately.

About Thursday 19 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

'So Povy's "folly" is beginning to look like an unwillingness to fully join in the cover-up of accounts for Lord Peterborough.'

I think Povy's "folly" is that he has been caught doing a lousy job. Lord Peterborough may have been the Gov. of Tangier and the entire African continent, but to account for such a large amount of money in his personal account, instead of having an account for the "salaries" of everyone else, is nuts. It's such a large sum that Creed, Sam, Sherwin or Beale should have spotted it yesterday. No wonder they tried to pull together a cover story ... and no wonder the Lords didn't buy it.

I bet Sam had his hat off today. And I bet he wasn't wearing his red suit. This was a day for the 2 year old black clerk's outfit.

About Wednesday 18 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Robert Hooke had been short of funds up until now. But in 1665 he secured another appointment, that of Professor of Geometry at Gresham College. This gave him rooms at the College, required him to give one lecture each week in term time in Latin, and then repeated in English. He was required to be unmarried, but was allowed a housekeeper.

more from http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.u…

and from WIKIPEDIA I learned that:
... on 11 January 1665 Robert Hooke was named Curator by Office for life with an additional salary of £30 to Cutler's annuity. His role at the Royal Society was to demonstrate experiments from his own methods or at the suggestion of members.

Among his earliest demonstrations were discussions of the nature of air, the implosion of glass bubbles which had been sealed with comprehensive hot air, and demonstrating that the Pabulum vitae and flammae were one and the same.

I think this is what Evelyn was referring to???

About Wednesday 18 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"At night, late, they gone, I did get him to put out of this account our sums that are in posse [?? D.W.] only yet, which he approved of when told, but would never have stayed it if I had been gone."

One way to conquer fear is to take care of business. Pepys works later than everyone else so he gets Povy alone, reminds him of these transactions, and clears them off the books. That way Creed and the Tangiers Commissioners will have no need to investigate them because they are settled, and not outstanding.

As I said yesterday, I think Pepys is wary of Creed finding out something untoward, so he can be manipulated for years.

About Tuesday 17 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

To be clear, they are not doing what Terry said back in 2008: "It is in the interest of Pepys and the others involved to get the accounts of the Duke of York that Povey oversees straightened out."

Yesterday Pepys said, "... and so to a Tangier Committee, where a great company of the new Commissioners, Lords, that in behalf of my Lord Bellasses are very loud and busy and call for Povy’s accounts, but it was a most sorrowful thing to see how he answered to questions so little to the purpose, but to his own wrong."

I agree that if Povy's messed up the Tangier paperwork, he probably has done the same with the Duke of York's, but that has yet to be established.

About Tuesday 17 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... but here it was mighty strange methought to find myself sit herein Committee with my hat on, while Mr. Sherwin stood bare as a clerk, with his hat off to his Lord Ashly and the rest, but I thank God I think myself never a whit the better man for all that."

I suspect this was the first time Pepys was in this position, so he had to think about roles, appropriate behavior, what he could get away with, etc. Clearly he was uncomfortable as Sherwin was arguably his senior, and may have been the magistrate who married him and Elizabeth.

"... I think myself never a whit the better man for all that." says to me that Pepys realized it was a stupid situation and not to be taken too seriously.

About Monday 16 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"So great a trouble is fear, though in a case that at the worst will bear enquiry."

So Pepys isn't the player he thought he was. There is a conscience ticking away there, upset by watching a dupe being called out. Repent of your evil ways, before it is too late. And Creed finds out and blackmails you for years.

About Monday 16 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Thence I to Westminster Hall and walked up and down" ... I like the idea Pepys was making himself available for questions. I thought he was looking for Betty Lane Martin.

About Sunday 15 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

My Lord FitzHarding is a busy man. Minette's letter to Charles II on January 12 reported a conversation she had with him, presumably in Paris. Perhaps he delivered the letter? Another thing I don't understand is that he was created the Earl of Falmouth in March 1664. Why do they all continue to call him FitzHarding?

About Sunday 15 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... understand the discourse anon before the King about the suffering the Turkey merchants to send out their fleete at this dangerous time, ..."

When Queen Elizabeth was excommunicated, England lost almost all her trading partners. She replaced all that trade by making friends with the Ottoman Empire ... and here they are, 100 years later, and Turkey was still a major source of income and supplies.

I doubt this is a SPOILER of any importance, but in 1668 the playwright Sir George Etherege was made secretary to the newly-appointed ambassador to Turkey, the Levant merchant Sir Daniel Harvey. The Turkish embassy was England's most prestigious in rank and salary, bringing the secretary £200 a year. He hated it, of course. But the money was nice.

About Tuesday 20 December 1664

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

It's so weird reading these annotations 10 years later. We are going through the outing of wealthy and powerful men taking advantage of women and children all over again, and we keep thinking it'll be a lesson learned this time. Reading Blackstone was an eye-opener.

About Thursday 12 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Up, and to White Hall about getting a privy seal for felling of the King’s timber for the navy, ..."

So he's given up on the Earl of Oxford signing off on his documents, and is trying someone else he thinks is incompetent. Pepys might be worried about Clarendon nixing the enterprise, but since the Dutch have released the shipment of masts (why did they do that?), maybe this isn't as much of an emergency as it used to be. Still, felling a lot of trees takes time.

About Thursday 12 January 1664/65

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

'"Margate is but ca. 15 km from Sandwich." -- And Sandwich (Lord) is, from Jeannine’s annotation and his journal, a lot of miles away in St.Helen’s Road. An anchorage off St. Helens on the Isle of Wight, where he had arrived on the 31st December.'

Pedro has made a mistake which I'm surprised doesn't happen more often.

Terry is referring to the Port of Sandwich, Kent (which is a Cinque Port), not the Earl of Sandwich who is anchored in St. Helen's Roads, Isle of Wight.