Tuesday 24 December 1661

Home all the morning and dined at home, and in the afternoon to the office. So home.

13 Annotations

First Reading

Eric Walla  •  Link

OK, so Sam doesn't always come up with the most scintillating of entries. I mean, a 17 word entry and three of them are "home."

But I hope all of you are safely in your respective homes, or whereever you wish to be. Merry Christmas!

Mark Ynys-Mon  •  Link

Looks like his office was as quiet as mine was today...

vicenzo  •  Link

for the bah humbuggers "The ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia began on December 17th and lasted for seven days in honor to the god of seed-sowing and wine, Saturn. The Roman philosopher Seneca once observed that all of Rome "went mad" during this festival. Eventually, Saturnalia celebrations stopped and it was replaced by the Christian festival of Christmas.
http://atheism.about.com/library/…
now ye be recovering.

vicenzo  •  Link

Another odd note :Christmas (December 25), Christians move Christ's birthday to this date in 336 A.D
As the longest night has past, one does look forward to fresh food and salt free meats and snowdrops poking their little crowns of their heads out of the snow to give hope to the rebirth of happiness..

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"a partridge in a pear tree to everybody"

kim oliver  •  Link

Merry Christnukahwanza and Festivus to all. Thanks for all the joy this site has brought to me this year.

vicenzo  •  Link

why schools closed, Old father time, grim reaper et. al.,

Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto were his children. They represent Air, Water and Death, the three things that Time cannot kill.
The Romans had a mid-winter festival in honour of Saturn, called the Saturnalia. It lasted seven days, and there was much merrymaking. Public business was suspended and schools were closed. Parents gave toys to their children and there was a public banquet. That is why we eat so much at Christmas, give presents and go to parties!
http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/…

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

It may have been a quiet day at the Navy offices, but Whitehall was thinking about Ireland ... probably other things, but I haven't found that correspondence yet.

A Compilation of the Arrears due to [his Majesty's] ... Army [in Ireland]; and [of] the Revenue to satisfy the same
Date: 24 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 36, fol(s). 644
Document type: Original

The aggregate of army arrears is £125,689 11s. 11d.
That of revenue available is £53,468 10s. 8d.
________________________________________
Charles II to the Lords Justices of Ireland
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 24 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 42, fol(s). 475
Document type: Original [with record of enrolment]

Thomas Batty, Receiver of the King's Revenues in the County of Tipperary, to have some time given him for payment of his balances due in the Exchequer.
___
Charles II to the Lords Justices of Ireland
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 24 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 42, fol(s). 479-480
Document type: Original [with record of enrolment]

John, Lord Berkeley, Baron of Stratton to be President of the Province of Connaught, with other commands, rights, & privileges, herein described, and with power to nominate a Vice-President, and other deputies.
___
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, Lord Lt. of Ireland, and Lord Chancellor of the Royal Household, to the Lords Justices & Council of Ireland
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 24 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 49, fol(s). 109
Document type: Copy

Whilst occupied in the preparation of those dispatches which are needed for Ireland, their Lordships' sad advertisement of the death of the Earl of Mountrath was received ...
Commissions will speedily be dispatched for the continuance of the Government in the hands of the Lord Chancellor & of Lord Orrery, & the survivor of them ...
His Majesty intends to remember Lord Mountrath's services to the advantage of his posterity ...
Particulars are added concerning the erecting of a Mint in Ireland and concerning other pending public affairs ...
@@@
The Council of Ireland had been ruling in place of the former Lord Lt. of Ireland, who had never arrived. Ormonde had just been appointed in his place, but stayed at Whitehall in his other capacity until Queen Catherine arrived, so the Council was still important.
However, Mountrath died on 16 December, so Sir Maurice Eustace, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, & of Roger Boyle, Lord Broghill, 1st Earl of Orrery, were carrying the government of Ireland with the Justices [no idea who they were – SDS]
___

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, Lord Lt. of Ireland, to Charles Coote, 2nd Earl of Mountrath
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 24 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 49, fol(s). 111
Document type: Copy

Condolences on the death of the Earl's father, and assurances of friendship to himself and family.
@@@
Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath (c. 1609 – 18 December 1661) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician from County Roscommon. A strong advocate of the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland, he fought for Parliament and the Commonwealth in the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars.
Coote also sat as an MP, and held various senior administrative posts, including Lord President of Connaught. He died of smallpox.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha…

___
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, Lord Lt. of Ireland, to the Lords Justices
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 24 December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 219, fol(s). 36
Document type: Copy

Has received their Lordships' letters of November 27 and 30.
They will do well to provide for the defence of Carrickdrumruske, in the County of Leitrim, by placing therein a fort-company as a garrison, rather than by establishing a mere ward.

As to Sir Robert Hannay, the Duke cannot serve their Lordships precisely as they desire. It will be his endeavour to find some other way by which Sir Robert may have the benefit of their recommendation.
@@@
Sir Robert Hannay, 2nd Bart (before 1658 – circa April 1689). Son of Sir Robert Hannay of Mochrum, 1st Bart. and Jane Hannay
Brother of Nicola Hannay, Btss and Lady Jane Hannay Reading, Countess of Mountrath
https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-R…

@@@

FROM:

Carte Calendar Volume 32, June - December 1661
Shelfmark: MS. Carte Calendar 32
https://wayback.archive-it.org/or…

Plan B  •  Link

I wish a very happy Christmas to all our present and past annotators, whose entries over the years so enhance the reading of this diary. A big thanks to you all and, of course, to Phil, who created this wonderful site. I cannot think of a better way to start the day. Just to add, as a descendant of the Dukes of Ormonde (allegedly), it's always pleasing when a bit of their story creeps into the diary - thank you Sarah!

Stephane Chenard  •  Link

Ah yes, if this was Samūēl Pepinus, reporting from A.D. 161, we'd be treated to pages and pages of the streets of Rome flowing with wine, and orgy, and madness, and... But he don't, so there. John Evelyn is moderately inspired too: "24. I returned home to Says-Court". Or is it a case of either of them having partied so hard today, that on the 25th at their usual time for diary-updating... ooh, my poor head, why, I just can't.

Providence be thanked, there's always the State Papers. In Tangiers Bay today, "Jo. Creed" writes "to Samuel Pepys: [I have] paid in 14 weeks' short allowance of one third to the officers of the Augustine, now to be paid off by order of the Earl of Sandwich". Sam won't get it for at least a couple of weeks. But on the Augustine, in the balmy Tangiers evening, rock n'roll.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

James Butler is undoubtedly one of the heroes of the day, Plan B; it's a shame Pepys didn't know him better.

I should have linked the above:
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde -- Charles II considered him as key to the Restoration as Monck and Hyde:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Roger Boyle, Lord Broghill, 1st Earl of Orrery, is another of my heroes, the Boyle family being right up there with the Butlers for interesting characters -- he's an older brother to Robert Boyle FRS:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

And Merry Christmas to you too, and to Phil, and everyone reading this today -- because we are addicted to something creative and healthy. And thanks to Sam and Elizabeth Pepys, who did their best in trying times. May we all do as well in "interesting" times.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

For more about this Irish solution came about:

Monck was made Lord Lt. of Ireland in August, 1660, but he had no interest in going to Dublin. He did try to influence Irish policy, which immediately led to a clash with Ormonde about the contours of the Restoration settlement in Ireland.
In opposition to Ormonde and others, Monck counselled moderation towards the defeated Puritan interest, but not so forcefully as to imperil his own political and financial prospects.

By 1661, Monck pushed successfully for Ormonde to replace him as Lord Lt. as he believed only the now Duke had the requisite standing to bring about a durable land settlement in Ireland, thereby provide Monck with a secure title to his extensive Irish property holdings.

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

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