Wednesday 4 December 1661

To Whitehall with both Sir Williams, thence by water, where I saw a man lie dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday. To the Temple, and thence to Mr. Phillips and got my copy of Sturtlow lands. So back to the 3 Tuns at Charing Cross, and there met the two Sir Williams and Col. Treswell and Mr. Falconer, and dined there at Sir W. Pen’s cost, and after dinner by water to Cheapside to the painter’s, and there found my wife, and having sat a little she and I by coach to the Opera and Theatre, but coming too late to both, and myself being a little out of tune we returned, and I settled to read in “Mare Clausum” till bedtime, and so to bed.

26 Annotations

First Reading

PHE  •  Link

"myself being a little out of tune"
I presume he means: 'myself being in a bit of a sour mood'. A very nice phrase - which I can sympathise with. Another example of how Sam's day-to-day experiences so neatly reflect our own.

dirk  •  Link

Evelyn's diary today:

"I had much discourse with his highnesse the Duke of York concerning strang Cures. He affirmed that a Woman who swallow'd a whole Eare of Barly, had it worke out at her side. I told him of the knife swallow'd, & the pinns: &c: I tooke leave of the Bish: of Cap-Verde now going in the fleete to bring over our new Queene:”

dirk  •  Link

"and thence to Mr. Phillips and got my copy of Sturtlow lands"

I'm a little confused here. Is there a connection with what Sam mentioned in his diary entry for sunday 21 July 1661?

"Old William Luffe having been here this afternoon and paid up his bond of 20l., and I did give him into his hand my uncle's surrender of Sturtlow to me before Mr. Philips, R. Barnwell, and Mr. Pigott, which he did acknowledge to them my uncle did in his lifetime deliver to him.”
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

vicenzo  •  Link

I do believe it means, Luffe can now work the Land, but Sam is in Legal ownership [haveing the updated copy], but he can not lease it to a higher guzumpter, as the the man has legal use of lands [until death doth come] as long as he pays his interest & abides by the rule of the day, wheres as modern renter can be terminated on minor infractions of the common law, and no sense of long term security ???

vicenzo  •  Link

"myself being a little out of tune" I love it.

Pauline  •  Link

Sturtlow lands

All the inheritance annotations are now here--Background/People/(the very bottom of the list of people)Sam's ongoing themes:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
"The executors had no trouble about the Stirtloe land, which was sold immediately in 1661 to the tenant to pay debts."

Pedro.  •  Link

From Dirk's entry "the Bish: of Cap-Verde now going in the fleete to bring over our new Queene:"

Cap-Verde (Cape Verde Islands, Cabo Verde)
The man mentioned, not actually the Bishop, was Richard Russell Cannon of the English Chapter see...

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/1…

David A. Smith  •  Link

"dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday"
So much about a society can be gleaned by these edge effects, not just *what happens* but *how people react to it.* A dead man, who has been there for a day, is something to remark, but only on a par with a visit to the opera and theater.

Bob T  •  Link

Dead Man
I suppose that they left him there so that he could be identified, and his family could come and collect his body.
They couldn't mention it on the evening news, or put his picture on the internet. This was probably the standard operating procedure.

Philip  •  Link

"dead upon Westminster Stairs that had been drowned yesterday"
Isn’t it likely that the body washed onto the stairs during the night after having been in the water since the man fell in and drowned the previous day? Pepys makes his observation from the water as he is traveling by boat in the morning. The presence of the body probably was not then generally known. I doubt that it had been deliberately left there for a day.

Second Reading

john  •  Link

How did Pepys know that the man drowned yesterday or even that he drowned?

Gerald Berg  •  Link

"out of tune" Curious whether he means flat or sharp of perfect mood?

Elsebet  •  Link

We were in London (from the US) for two weeks in 2011 and had a lovely time. I wish I had read this diary previous to our trip instead of after, but hopefully we can return someday and do a sort of Pepys self-tour. I was fascinated by small things such as standing on the bank of the Thames near Greenwich and imagining the daily lives of so many people who came before me. I still have the few smooth pebbles I pocketed there (apologies for the theft!) which are one of my favorite souvenirs along with chatting with local gardeners in Hyde Park and shopping at Tesco. :)

I was really interested in the phrase "Westminster stairs" so I did a bit of googling and found some interesting reading on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wate…'s_Stairs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wate…

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:

December 4, Wednesday.
The Constant Warwick came to us and brought to me a letter from his Royal Highness of the 9th of November and one from Capt. Allin in the bay of Cadiz.
This day I wrote to his R.H., Mr. C. and L.S., intended by the Colchester to Capt. Allin.

Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665

Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX

Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62

@@@

The Constant Warwick
His Royal Highness = his R.H. = the Lord High Admiral James, Duke of York
Capt. Thomas Allin
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The bay of Cadiz
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Mr. C. -- presumably William Coventry, private secretary to James
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
L.S. -- nominations please. I dunno.
The Colchester -- part of Lawson's half of the squadron
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

I can't imagine a world where it takes over 3 weeks to get a memo from my boss, never mind run a military campaign like that.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

A nomination:
L.S. stands for Lady Sandwich??????

LKvM  •  Link

I second Lady Sandwich as L.S.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"I suppose that they left him there so that he could be identified, and his family could come and collect his body."

Who is "they" Bob T? The St. John's Ambulance Corps? The police? The coronor's office?

We take so much for granted.

My guess is that if he isn't found by his friends and families soon, his body will be taken to the nearest church and given a pauper's buriel (i.e. dumped into the next open hole). Bodies stink pretty quickly when left unattended.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

In the Commons, matters that matter IMHO were

Leave of Absence.
Ordered, That Sir Henry Wood, in pursuance of his Majesty's Commands, have the Leave of this House to go into Portugall, to wait upon the Queen.

Wine Licences.
The Petition of several Persons, who alledge they have Licences, or Letters Patents, under the Great Seal of England, for the Keeping of Taverns, and Selling of Wines by Retale, presented on the Behalf of themselves, and the rest of the Patentees, was this Day read.

Resolved, upon the Question, That a Committee be appointed to examine the Truth of the Matters alledged in the said Petition; and to hear the Petitioners, and such as are intrusted by his Majesty in granting of Wine Licenses; and to reconcile the Differences between them, if they can; or else to report to this House, how they find the same.
(The list of names of MPs wanting to be on this committee is very impressive)

Supply Bill;
The Bill for raising Eighteen Months Assessment, at Seventy thousand Pounds a Month, for the Supply of his Majesty's present Occasions, was this Day read the First time;

Resolved, That the same be read again, the Second time, To-morrow Morning, the first publick Business.

@@@

Sir Henry Wood MP, The Clerk of the Green Cloth
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

And the Thynne family suit about their estates continued:

Sir H. and Sir J. Thynne.
Next the House was adjourned into a Committee during Pleasure, to consider the Business between Sir Henry Frederick Thynne and Sir James Thynne; and, after some Debate, the House was resumed.

and later

Sir H. and Sir J. Thynne.
The House again was adjourned into a Committee during Pleasure, to debate the Business concerning Sir Henry Frederick Thynne and Sir Jame' Thynne.

The House being resumed;

The Lord Chamberlain reported to the House, That the Committee fell into Consideration about the retaining of this Bill concerning Sir Henry Fredericke Thynne, brought from the House of Commons; and, after a long Debate, the Resolution of the Committee was, That this House should retain this Bill brought up from the House of Commons."

And the Question being put, "Whether to agree with this Report of the Committee ?"

It was Resolved in the Affirmative.

@@@

They resolved to debate the suit again before returning it to the Commons where they could talk about the suit some more?!

There's a dead body on Westminster Stairs, which many of these men passed on their way into the house today, and neither house discussed who was going to move it ... my guess is there were quite a few dead bodies found in public areas every day, so it wasn't a big concern. And they certainly didn't want to end up with the bill for solving the problem.

RLB  •  Link

@john: one can tell that a body's probably drowned, and roughly how long ago, by its looks. Not legal evidence, but good enough for a diary.

(As for "out of tune", I take it not to mean in a sour mood, but a bit under the weather. As I am today.)

Stephane Chenard  •  Link

Who put' im there, the Man on the Stairs? Why, it be the Thames' hundred hands, after some of its thousand eyes did spye him! "Look there", says Jack the cable-thief, "a dead bod! Good clothes, too!" Jack, Dick and Bob forget all about stealing another piece of rope and fish out the poor guy to drag him to the stairs and strip him. All they get out of his pockets is a farthing and a rotten herring.

For background, ask - if ye know how - the head of Cromwell, which from its perch atop Westminster sees all and smirks at the ways of the world. On that night the wind had turned it just to the right direction. "'Twas another stupid wager, 'I can run the bridge at night'. Bing, into the piling. Two of them this month already", the head told us on WhatsApp.

In the gilded halls of Parliament there was actually quite a bit of gossip and shudder; only, the official record doesn't include hallway gossip and shudder. You see, when some traitor's entrails are burned "before his eyes" and his quarters thereafter "hung in the usual places", as the papers then say, 'tis one thing. But here... Not a criminal or traitor, but some Christian brother... We're not some monsters inured to suffering, ye know. And then, having to step over that thing, on your way to work... And, so soon after the king ordered to tidy up and make nice our little Westminster. So, shudder.

Stephane Chenard  •  Link

Oh, and Sam has mail today. Edward Gregory writes from Chatham, and it will be in the State Papers, that "the officers and company of the St. George will punctually observe the time and place appointed for their paying off. [So the paying off had better be punctual too, comprende?] The hemp bought from Alderman Barker is coarse and rotten, and will spoil any better wrought in with it".

We (and maybe Sam) thereby learn a valuable nugget about rope-making. ("And not a single one of these mouldy strands, pray, or it can rot the whole cable, ye know", Sam says, finger-wagging. "Whoa", the clerk thinks, "Master knows about rope-making too. I luv him so much").

We predict that soon the State Papers will offer us one of these letters almost every day - and we phant'sy it will still be a sliver of his in-tray traffic. But for now they're still a rarity. Why? Maybe the Pepys Rational Method for Safekeeping Archives isn't there yet, and so the letters end up wrapping the day's takeaway mince pie.

john  •  Link

"after dinner by water to Cheapside to the painter’s, and there found my wife"

This belays the semi-popular image of Elizabeth being cooped up at home.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"The hemp bought from Alderman Barker is coarse and rotten ..."

William Barker was well known to the Navy Board -- you'd think he would be more careful to take care of his big customer. I wonder who he paid off???
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

John Maitland, 2nd Earl of Lauderdale to Sandwich
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 4 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 223, fol(s). 238
Document type: Holograph

Has been a daily witness of (and sharer in) the King's impatience to see the Fleet [for bringing over the Queen-Consort] dispatched.
The bearer, Captain Strachan, was, the King says, "Chambermaid to the Queen my mother, in her passage from Holland;" and his Majesty "intends for him the same employment to our Queen".

@@@

Henry Bennet to Sandwich
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 4 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 223, fol(s). 240
Document type: Holograph

Mr. Montagu will communicate some news which will be pleasing to the Earl, the temper, namely, shewn by the Parliament in establishing the King's authority & revenue.

What is still needed for the national happiness is looked for from his Lordship.

@@@

FROM:
Carte Calendar Volume 32, June - December 1661
For more information on the Carte manuscripts and calendar, see the Carte Calendar Project homepage.
https://wayback.archive-it.org/or…
THANK YOU, WAYBACK MACHINE!

Sir Henry Bennet MP -- On his return to England in 1661 he was made keeper of the privy purse, and became the prime favourite. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Secretary of State for Scotland, John Maitland, 2nd Earl of Lauderdale
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Captain Strachan -- I wonder if the spelling is stopping me from identifying him? Ideas ...?

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