Friday 18 May 1660

Very early up, and, hearing that the Duke of York, our Lord High Admiral, would go on board to-day, Mr. Pickering and I took waggon for Scheveling, leaving the child in Mr. Pierces hands, with directions to keep him within doors all day till he heard from me.

But the wind being very high that no boats could get off from shore, we returned to the Hague (having breakfasted with a gentleman of the Duke’s, and Commissioner Pett, sent on purpose to give notice to my Lord of his coming), where I hear that the child is gone to Delfe to see the town. So we all and Mr. Ibbott, the Minister, took a schuit1 and very much pleased with the manner and conversation of the passengers, where most speak French; went after them, but met them by the way. But however we went forward making no stop. Where when we were come we got a smith’s boy of the town to go along with us, but could speak nothing but Dutch, and he showed us the church where Van Trump lies entombed with a very fine monument. His epitaph concluded thus:— “Tandem Bello Anglico tantum non victor, certe invictus, vivere et vincere desiit.” There is a sea-fight cut in marble, with the smoke, the best expressed that ever I saw in my life.

From thence to the great church, that stands in a fine great market-place, over against the Stadt-house, and there I saw a stately tomb of the old Prince of Orange, of marble and brass; wherein among other rarities there are the angels with their trumpets expressed as it were crying. Here were very fine organs in both the churches. It is a most sweet town, with bridges, and a river in every street.

Observing that in every house of entertainment there hangs in every room a poor-man’s box, and desiring to know the reason thereof, it was told me that it is their custom to confirm all bargains by putting something into the poor people’s box, and that binds as fast as any thing.

We also saw the Guesthouse, where it was very pleasant to see what neat preparation there is for the poor. We saw one poor man a-dying there.

After we had seen all, we light by chance of an English house to drink in, where we were very merry, discoursing of the town and the thing that hangs up in the Stadthouse like a bushel, which I was told is a sort of punishment for some sort of offenders to carry through the streets of the town over his head, which is a great weight. Back by water, where a pretty sober Dutch lass sat reading all the way, and I could not fasten any discourse upon her.

At our landing we met with Commissioner Pett going down to the water-side with Major Harly, who is going upon a dispatch into England.

They having a coach I left the Parson and my boy and went along with Commissioner Pett, Mr. Ackworth and Mr. Dawes his friends, to the Princess Dowager’s house again. Thither also my Lord Fairfax and some other English Lords did come to see it, and my pleasure was increased by seeing of it again. Besides we went into the garden, wherein are gallant nuts better than ever I saw, and a fine Echo under the house in a vault made on purpose with pillars, where I played on my flageolette to great advantage.

Back to the Hague, where not finding Mr. Edward, I was much troubled, but went with the Parson to supper to Commissioner Pett, where we sat late. And among other mirth Mr. Ackworth vyed wives, each endeavouring to set his own wife out to the best advantage, he having as they said an extraordinary handsome wife. But Mr. Dawes could not be got to say anything of his.

After that to our lodging where W. Howe and I exceeding troubled not to know what is become of our young gentleman. So to bed.

55 Annotations

First Reading

nick sweeney  •  Link

"where most speak French..."

A small note, but this provides a small indication that the idiosyncratic proficiency of the Dutch with foreign languages dates back at least as far as the 'Golden Age'. The joke goes that the Dutch could only flourish in international trade by learning the languages of their neighbours, since no-one was going to bother learning Dutch for the purpose (consider Pepys, who could converse in French); it's probably based in truth.

language hat  •  Link

Van Trump:
Admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (1597-1653) during the first Anglo-Dutch War was defeated off Dover in May 1652 but won victory over a British fleet in November of the same year; he was killed in an engagement against Monck off Texel Island.

Tandem Bello Anglico tantum non victor, certe invictus, vivere et vincere desiit:
'At length in the English War not only conqueror, but unconquered, he ceased to live and conquer'
(About the same level of unvarnished fact as the "unconsolable widow"'s!)

Paul Brewster  •  Link

Major Harly
Per Wheatley: "Afterwards Colonel Edward Harley, M.P. for Hereford, and Governor of Dunkirk; ancestor of the Earls of Oxford of that race, now extinct in the male line. He was afterwards made a Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of Charles II."

Paul Brewster  •  Link

the thing that hangs up in the Stadthouse
L&M footnotes: "Probably as a punishment for drunkenness: William Andrews "Bygone Punishments" .... Evelyn (17 August 1641) wrote that it reminded him of a butter-churn, and that it was hung round the necks of unchaste women. According to Brereton ... petty larceny and overcharging (by shippers) were also punished in this way."

Paul Brewster  •  Link

or is it Robert Harley?
L&M: identifies Major Harly as "Robert Harley, younger son of Sir Robert Harley of Brampton Bryan, Hereford". It goes on to say that he "acted as intermediary between the court and the Presbeyterians at this time..."

vincent  •  Link

"the thing that hangs up in the Stadthouse like a bushel, which I was told is a sort of punishment for some sort of offenders to carry through the streets of the town over his head, which is a great weigh"
Would be better than getting pelted in the stocks in a London square?

mary  •  Link

That poor-box and the 'guest-house' that impressed Sam.

For an enthralling account of the way in which 17th Century Dutch society combined the enjoyment of great prosperity with a lively social conscience, see Simon Schama's 'The Embarrassment of Riches'.

andy thomas  •  Link

"where a pretty sober Dutch lass sat reading all the way, and I could not fasten any discourse upon her."

He's at it again!

Jenny Doughty  •  Link

Edward Montagu, 'the child', who became the second Earl of Sandwich, was born 27th July 1644, and died quite young on 8th December 1689. He was married to Mary Boyle and succeeded to his title by his second son, also called Edward.

So here he is in Holland, aged not quite sixteen, and he has disappeared... I imagine Sam is in something of a panic by this stage. Those of us who have ever brought up teenage sons would know how we would feel in a similar situation, and this is not only *not* Sam's son, but his boss's son, for whom he is responsible. Oh dear. I hope the wretched child turns up soon and I hope Sam gives him what-for.

Ed Brickell  •  Link

"After that to our lodging where W. Howe and I exceeding troubled not to know what is become of our young gentleman."

From rapier-sticks to Copenhagen knives to his boss's children, SP is finding it very hard as of late to live his footloose lifestyle and keep up with things!

Jenny Doughty  •  Link

Incidentally, it was not until I was researching Edward Montagu, the second Earl of Sandwich, for the above post, that I realised quite how many of the most powerful families in England, including the monarchy, Montagu was related to. See this link for a fascinating overview of the web of family connections: http://xenon.triode.net.au/~drago…

The influence of the family continued; among the modern descendents is our current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, through her mother's side of the family, and also the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Thus, the next person currently in line for the monarchy after Prince Charles, his son William, will be descended from the Montagues on both sides of his family.

Paul Brewster  •  Link

the thing that hangs up in the Stadthouse
I stumbled into this discussion on the web. It's a site from the U.S. side of the Atlantic so the phrase "our Civil War" refers to the American Civil War. This certainly gave me a better idea of the nature of the device.

This "barrel-shirt," which was evidently so frequently used in our Civil War, was known as the Drunkard's Cloak, and it was largely employed in past centuries on the Continent. Sir William Brereton, in his Travels in Holland, 1634, notes its use in Delft; so does Pepys in the year 1660. Evelyn writes in 1641 that in the Senate House in Delft he saw "a weighty vessel of wood not unlike a butter churn," which was used to punish women, who were led about the town in it. Howard notes its presence in Danish prisons in 1784 under the name of the " Spanish Mantle."

The only contemporary account I know of its being worn in England is in a book written by Ralph Gardner, printed in 1655, and entitled England's Grievance Discovered, etc. The author says:

"He affirms he hath seen men drove up and down the streets, with a great tub or barrel open in the sides, with a hole in one end to put through their heads, and so cover their shoulders and bodies, down to the small of their legs, and then close the same; called the new-fashion cloak, and so make them march to the view of all beholders, and this is their punishment for drunkards and the like."

tamara  •  Link

I remember dimly
from school history that van Tromp was the admiral who tied a broom to his flagship's mast to signal his intention of sweeping the seas clean of English ships. Have the mists of time clouded my memory?

Glyn  •  Link

"Back to the Hague, where not finding Mr. Edward, I was much troubled ... After that to our lodging where W. Howe and I exceeding troubled not to know what is become of our young gentleman."

So let me see if I understand this correctly - Sam was put in charge of his boss's son, and has almost immediately lost him (?!). And the son, at the dangerous age of 16, is somewhere at large in a foreign port that is full of all sorts of undesirables. It's no use Samuel blaming his good friend Pierce, because it was his responsibility not Pierce's. If anything does go amiss with Lord Montagu's son, I doubt if he will be in a forgiving mood.

I've heard that story about Tromp displaying a broom because he swept the English off the seas. It's interesting that the English visited his tomb, but the English have always had a secret admiration for people who beat them.

Glyn  •  Link

And not only is the son at loose in a foreign port but has still not returned by the early hours of the morning. Pepys may have gone to bed but I doubt if he will get much sleep. Do you think he's told the father or kept it a secret?

Colin Gravois  •  Link

"with the smoke, the best expressed that ever I saw in my life;" - "the angels with their trumpets expressed as it were crying" -- Sam's artistic appreciation is unbelievably acute, his jaws seem to drop in front any well-expressed scene. His curiosity seems to know no bounds, which is what makes him so endearing. Makes you want to go out there and give him a big hug.

Larry Bunce  •  Link

"and a fine Echo under the house in a vault made on purpose with pillars, where I played on my flageolette to great advantage"
This entry made me realize that SP's pocket flute was the equivalent of today's personal stereo, but how nice to be able to make your own music(k) at the same time!

Paul Brewster  •  Link

Admiral Martin Van Tromp's monument
Wheatley place it "in the Oude Kerk (Old Church) at Delft."

Paul Brewster  •  Link

I saw a stately tomb of the old Prince of Orange
Wheatley doesn't share SP's opinion of this monument: "This costly but clumsy monument erected by the United Provinces to the memory of William I, Prince of Orange (who was assassinated at Delft, 10th July 1584), is in the so-called New Chruch at Delft."

gerry  •  Link

Jenny, thanks for the fascinating link to the Montagu's geneology. Of course without the Internet we wouldn't be doing this but after all the years of being online I remain amazed at all the information remaining to be discovered. Thank God I'm retired!

language hat  •  Link

the thing that hangs up:
Paul, is this the link you meant to post?
http://www.rm-r.net/~getch/punish…

A quote from it:

There was one curious punishment in use in the army during our Civil War which, though not, of course, of colonial times, may well be mentioned since it was a revival of a very ancient punishment. It is thus described by the author of a paper written in 1862 and called A Look at the Federal Army:

"I was extremely amused to see a rare specimen of Yankee invention in the shape of an original method of punishment drill. One wretched delinquent was gratuitously framed in oak, his head being thrust through a hole cut in one end of a barrel, the other end of which had been removed, and the poor fellow loafed about in the most disconsolate manner, looking for all the world like a half-hatched chicken."

Andy Stephenson  •  Link

Re SP and his Flageolet. His opportunistic use of this immediately brought to mind tin whistle players I had heard in Ireland years ago and upon a little research its shown to be pretty much the same thing. SP's is sometimes called the "french flageolet" with 4 finger holes on top and 2 thumb holes on the bottom for the good reason that its regarded as having been invented by a frenchman. Later in england they started producing a version (still wooden) but with 6 finger holes on the top and no thumb holes ("english flageolet") and the forerunner to the trusty tin, penny or irish whistle. Much much easier to play than the dreaded recorder but also capable of sophisticated and really skilful playing. Handy perhaps for SP to flash out a tune and quickly impress the ladies but with the definite risk of boring ones less enthusiastic freinds.

S.J. Spoelstra  •  Link

Tromp's broom was a reference to the - in dutch eyes - very unfair "Navigation Act" of 1651, which effectively excluded dutch merchants from the sea trade.
In fact a large part of the sudden wealth of Charles II was provided by the dutch Staten, Amsterdam especially, in order to get this Act revoked.

On a different subject (or maybe not), to describe the ability to converse in a second language as "idiosyncratic" is - in my view - uniquely British !

vincent  •  Link

Unfortunately, Politics is the ability to make the Priveleged - unpriveleged and the Unpriveleged - PRIVELEDGEd; 'tis a game of tennis, the ball being made of legalised words.
2nd Language: that the Brits for sake of equality dropped the ability to communicate effectively and reserving the priveledge to a very small minority when in reallity they should have introduce language and diverse sounds at an earlier age as brain scans have now indicated:

S. Spoelstra  •  Link

Very effective communication
So it was for the sake of equality then ?
Not something you brits are famous for either (grin).

Jenny Doughty  •  Link

We're all equal, Mr Spoelstra - some of us are just more equal than others.

Grahamt  •  Link

Re: "equality ...Not something you brits are famous for "
Universal suffrage:
France 1944
Italy 1945
United States 1965
Switzerland 1990
South Africa 1994
UK 1928
Yes, I think we are quite famous for it. See also: votes for women, (1918) abolition of slavery (1833) and legalisation of homosexuality (1967 vs 2003 for US) if the above isn't convincing enough.
Ill-informed stereotypes not welcome here.

S. Spoelstra  •  Link

What I do love is the british sense of humor.

Glyn  •  Link

But S Spoelstra is Dutch not American so comes from another country with a monarch (and hasn't been here since August?) so we can delay our war with each other for another 7 years.

But Jenny Doughty is right about our country being equal: there is a well-known legal saying that British Law makes no distinction between a millionaire and a beggar, and prevents both alike from sleeping in the street.

dirk  •  Link

Proficiency in foreign languages

Just a note:
The ease (or difficulty) with which people learn foreign languages has got everything to do with whether they need them or not. Sounds logical, but is very relevant. The British never really needed a second language, because the British attitude towards the "continent" has always been very insular and autarchic. Most of the British trade in later centuries would be within their own empire - where the language was of course English.

Actually France and the Uninted States still very much act in the same way.

The Low Countries (Holland+Belgium) historically went through a whole series of basically foreign regimes (even William of Orange was a French prince who spent most of his "free" time in Germany). This as well as the fact that they could only trade (and trade was so important for them) with nations who spoke a different language (being a small country) accounts for their language proficiency.

The same historical events I referred to above left present day Belgium (the southern part of the Low Countries) a country with three languages - which explains why most of my compatriots (yes, I'm from Belgium) speak three, four or five langages with some degree of fluency.

Jenny Doughty  •  Link

'the British attitude towards the "continent" has always been very insular and autarchic’

Reminds me of the famous headline - ‘Fog in the Channel - continent cut off.’

Sjoerd Spoelstra  •  Link

The situation today in Holland is that most children learn english very well, mostly through pop songs and subtitles on TV, partly in school. Knowledge of French and German is declining, they are not standard. (In Belgium this is much better).
My point is that english speakers have a very rosy view of our "proficiency".

And more to the point, in SP's time there was no "standardised" dutch language but a lot of dialects, so educated people would need french or latin to communicate, and this would be the same in nearly every european country at the time.

Apologies to anyone who felt stereotyped...as an idiosyncratic dutchman that was exactly how i felt.

Robert Gillesse  •  Link

Sightseeing Delft (my hometown of old - so proud that SP has visited):
Tromp's grave in the Old Church: http://www.oudekerk-delft.nl/eng/…

The Old Church itself (notice the tower is leaning to the side): http://roselli.org/tour/photos/De…

Grave of Oranje in the New Church (which has recently been restored):
http://odin.let.rug.nl/CB/top100/…

The New Church - a bunch of photographs:
http://www.mattheus-delft.nl/Imag…

The City Hall:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~kalden/dart…

jamie yeager  •  Link

Under Bridges
The maxim about equal rights to sleep under bridges is Anatole France's and runs in its full form: "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

Mark Hazard  •  Link

Tandem Bello Anglico tantum non victor, certe invictus, vivere et vincere desiit:
‘At length in the English War not only conqueror, but unconquered, he ceased to live and conquer’
(About the same level of unvarnished fact as the “unconsolable widow“‘s!)

Language Hat's usually admirable entries may lead people astray here. He has mistaken 'tantum non' for 'non tantum'; they do not have the same meaning. The inscription is not so foolish sounding. "Tantum non" does not mean 'not only.' It means 'all but.' The Dutch were honoring their naval hero by saying that "in the war with England he all but won, and he was certainly unconquered." They were not claiming victory, but a good showing against the English.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Trekschuit...(literally "tug-boat") is an old style of sail- and horse-drawn boat specific to the Netherlands where it was used for centuries as a means of passenger traffic between cities along trekvaarten, or tow-canals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trek…

Bill  •  Link

Blake after this defeat drew his shattered Fleet into the River of Thames to be repaired, and it is said Trump triumphantly sail'd through the Channel with a Broom on his main Topmast, pretending to sweep the Channel of all English Shipping.
---Chronicle of the Kings of England. R. Baker, 1670.

Bill  •  Link

A translation of the complete epitaph for Trump/Tromp can be found in his encyclopedia entry http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…

The translator agrees with Mark Hazard above and translates the Latin as "he at last in the war against the English, nearly victor but certainly not beaten ... has ceased to live and to conquer."

Mary K  •  Link

"wherein are gallant nuts, better than ever I saw"

These 'nuts' are 'knots' (per L&M). Pepys is praising the excellence of a particularly fine, fashionable knot-garden.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Observing that in every house of entertainment there hangs in every room a poor-man’s box, and desiring to know the reason thereof, it was told me that it is their custom to confirm all bargains by putting something into the poor people’s box, and that binds as fast as any thing."

L&M: The armbus. The Dutch were generally held to be the most successful of all European nations in their treatment of the poor. Cf. the French poor-box: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"We also saw the Guesthouse,:

L&M: The Oude Gasthuis (almshouse), in the Cornmarket; description [1634] in Brereton, Travels, pp. 21-2.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Back to the Hague, where not finding Mr. Edward, I was much troubled, but went with the Parson to supper to Commissioner Pett, where we sat late. And among other mirth Mr. Ackworth vyed wives, each endeavouring to set his own wife out to the best advantage, he having as they said an extraordinary handsome wife. But Mr. Dawes could not be got to say anything of his."

L&M: Ackworth was naval storekeeper at Woolwich; his wife was a sister of Commissioner Peter Pett. On meeting her for the first time a little later Pepys puts her down 'a very proper lovely woman' ( https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… ), but he apparently never got a chance to 'begin acquaintance' with her: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Third Reading

MartinVT  •  Link

I commented on yesterday's entry regarding the Echo at Huis ten Bosch, now he is back there again and says the Echo is "under the house".

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"a fine Echo under the house in a vault made on purpose with pillars, where I played on my flageolette to great advantage."

Martin, I did a search for ECHO, and find 13 mentions, indicating that Pepys seeks them out. He probably wasn't alone, and in this case the Dowager Princess Mary seems to have designed the vault specifically to echo -- perhaps she held musical events there?

Matt Newton  •  Link

A knot garden was mentioned above in the comments.
Please, what is knot garden?

JayW  •  Link

A knot garden is a garden of formal design in a square frame, consisting of a variety of aromatic plants and culinary herbs including germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendula, Viola and Santolina. Wikipedia

MartinVT  •  Link

I suspect that the Echo is the columned portico that can be seen in the illustration here dated 1730, which is "below the house" between the two entrance stairways. https://www.haagsetijden.nl/tijdl…
This is on the "rear" side of the building facing the gardens.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Knot garden

A knot garden is a garden of formal design in a square frame, consisting of a variety of aromatic plants and culinary herbs including germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendula, Viola and Santolina. Most knot gardens now have edges made from box (Buxus sempervirens), which is easily cut into desired shapes, like dense miniature hedges, and stays green during winters when not all of the "filling" plants are visible or attractive. The paths in between are usually laid with fine gravel. However, the original designs of knot gardens did not have the low box hedges, and knot gardens with such hedges might more accurately be called parterres.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kno…

A parterre is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of the garden nearest the house, perhaps after a terrace.[1] The view of it from inside the house, especially from the upper floors, was a major consideration in its design. The word "parterre" was and is used both for the whole part of the garden containing parterres and for each individual section between the "alleys". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par…

Keith Knight  •  Link

So, Pepys visited Delft at the same time that Vermeer was painting ‘View of Delft’. He would have been physically so close to Vermeer.

Keith Knight  •  Link

Building on my post of 19 May 2023, I have just read The Observer's art critic, Laura Cummings' fine book, 'Thunderclap' on Dutch painting and other things.

She mentions Pepys' visit at the start of Chapter 3. She confirms that, in passing the Old Church to visit the New, he would have passed Vermeer's front door.

'Certainly there are three paintings by Fabritius in Vermeer's house as Pepys passes. But the English diarist never sees or hears of the radical art of Fabritius, or Vermeer. He himself is depicted by old-fashioned London painters...in antique portraits as lifeless as the wig.

Even as Pepys is crossing the market square, [View of Delft] is very possibly in some state of progress.'

If only Samuel had known what was behind that door!

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