Monday 11 June 1660

Betimes to my Lord. Extremely much people and business. So with him to Whitehall to the Duke.

Back with him by coach and left him in Covent Garden. I back to Will’s and the Hall to see my father. Then to the Leg in King Street with Mr. Moore, and sent for L’Impertinent to dinner with me. After that with Mr. Moore about Privy Seal business. To Mr. Watkins, so to Mr. Crew’s. Then towards my father’s met my Lord and with him to Dorset House to the Chancellor. So to Mr. Crew’s and saw my Lord at supper, and then home, and went to see Mrs. Turner, and so to bed.

15 Annotations

First Reading

Nix  •  Link

Betimes --

"2. spec. At an early hour, early in the morning." OED

Paul Brewster  •  Link

A little punctuation from L&M may help
After that, with Mr. Moore about Privy Seale business to Mr. Watkins. So to Mr. Crews. Then towards my father's; met my Lord and with him to Dorset-house to the Chancellor.

Pepys and Moore were to act as Mountagu’s deputies in the Privy Seal Office where Watkins was an underclerk.

Glyn  •  Link

If Dorset House was where the map says it was, then it was next to his father's house in Salisbury Court. In other words, Pepys was going towards his father's house and met Lord Montagu going in the same direction.

If his much-loved aunt also lived in Salisbury Court, then he was visiting the place several times. (I'm just about to leave work and travel past there by nightbus - if they're still there I'll mention your names. And so to bed.)

Eric Walla  •  Link

One thing we're missing with these first entries back in London is the ability to make a full comparison between the Pre-Restoration Sam and the Sam of Business and Importance.

While he notes how he is seeing (or attending to) many of the same people, we don't know what changes have occurred in his pub life, his relations to Mrs. Jem (where is she at this time?), even the situation of Jane Birch (is she still in evidence in their household?) or his wife's little dog.

Maybe I'm being a bit too cavalier, but this kind of comparison, and his notes on the reactions of those close to him, are more important to me than, say, meeting the King in the park or another encounter with L'Impertinent.

Nix  •  Link

Patience, patience --

Those things will come.

We're in an unusual stretch, where all we have are his notes. Things WILL get more interesting -- the diary's reputation would not have lasted 175 years solely on the strength of the first five months of 1660.

helena murphy  •  Link

The Sam of business is not yet the Sam of importance.The bare mention of people and places indicates the state of his subconscious , the inner tension that he feels as to his position in the new scheme of things in Restoration London. The lack of verbalisation shows his anxiety. The inner Sam is every bit as interesting as the personable ,sociable man whom we have come to know since January.This makes him, paradoxically ,even more human to us than before.

Nix  •  Link

I disagree --

I don't think we should read more into this than is actually there. The bare mention of people and places does not indicate inner tension, and lack of verbalization does not show anxiety. This is essentially just his APPOINTMENT CALENDAR, that's all.

Refer back to Paul Brewster's annotation several days ago: "According to L&M, the next 10 days (June 8 - 17) of diary entries are taken from rough notes and not from the normal careful transcriptions. There's a lot going on and SP doesn't seem to have enough time to give the diary his full attention.”

I think that all we can say it “shows” is that he was too busy to keep up with his diary.

mw  •  Link

For Glyn: A heartfelt thanks, I'm punting on behalf of all of us!
Helena Murphy and Nix: Not too sure of the "immediacy" of both your observations. Pepys' hesitancy, could be due to time, or due to the changed circumstances not producing mental "reconciliation". Either way the observation stands. My suspicion, Pepys is unreconciled to his new position (both personal and social). It will be interesting to see how Pepys handles similar circumstances in the future.

Eric Walla  •  Link

Yes, patience. Good advice.

I myself would probably attribute the overly lean messages to more mundane circumstances: he probably left his diary among his shipboard belongings and they haven't been delivered as yet. So he jots himself notes, but then is too busy to turn them into more complete entries once he gets back to the diary proper.

Second Reading

Dick Wilson  •  Link

These are rough notes, only a bit more expansive than recent entries. Sam is very busy. It looks like a case of: "You didn't miss a thing while you were gone. It's all on your desk waiting for you, stacked in piles marked 'Immediate', 'Urgent' and 'Overdue'. "

Matt Newton  •  Link

Definitely a change over the last few days. Ties in with the notes being pasted into to diary. And agree with above comments; too busy to write them up and love the idea that he had left the diary on his ship.
Patience required folks. Sam is soon back to his old self.

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

How nice to be able to write "and then home," -- Elizabeth and Jane and the dog presumably unlocked everything and took the dust covers off.

Which makes me wonder what happened to Pepys' boy. Still with him? Left on board? Paid off and sent home? What an adventure the lad had.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

In the House of Commons today - Mountagu and Pepys etc. are implicated

Oath of Supremacy and Allegiance.
Mr. Pryn reports from the Committee, that, upon comparing the Returns of Members to serve in this House, with the List of those who have taken the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, before the Lord Steward, and the Commissioners deputed by him; he finds the Number of those, who have taken the said Oaths, amount unto Four hundred Fifty-five; and that he knows not that any sitting Member of the House hath refused to take them.

Ordered, That the Lord General be desired to take effectual Order, that the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance be administred to all the Officers and Soldiers of the Army, under his Command; and for that End the Lord Chancellor of England is desired to issue forth Commissions, under the Great Seal of England, directed to such Persons, as the Lord General shall nominate and appoint, for authorizing them to administer the said Oaths to the said Officers and Soldiers accordingly.

Ordered, That the Lord High Admiral of England be desired to take effectual Order, that the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance be administred to all the Captains, Commanders, Officers, and Mariners, of the Navy and Fleet: And the Lord Chancellor is desired to issue Commissions, under the Great Seal, directed to such Persons as the Lord High Admiral shall nominate and appoint, for authorizing them to administer the same Oaths accordingly.

Resolved, That his Majesty be humbly moved, that he will be pleased to issue forth his Proclamation, requiring that all and every Person and Persons, in this Realm, who by Law ought to take the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, do take the said Oaths accordingly; and that the Laws in that Behalf be put in Execution.
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…

Stephane Chenard  •  Link

We find this day, in the Parliamentary Intelligencer (No. 24, June 4 thr'o 11) this ADVERTISEMENT:

******
Lost the 24th of May 1660. between Charlton and London, (by conjecture neer Greenwich wall) one table Diamond weighing twelve or thirteen grains, having a little speck in it, bring word to Mr. Nicholas Clobery at the Fleece in Lumbarstreet, and you shall have 5 l. for your pains, and many thanks
******

13 grains = 0.8 gram = 4.22 carat, worth about $83,000 at 2023 prices according to https://www.diamondse.info/diamon…, not taking into account the "little speck". Diamond prices may have been around 90% lower in the 17C (see http://www.palagems.com/ball-gem-… for a brave attempt to reconstitute pre-industrial gem prices), but not "£5", by any conversion factor, "many thanks". Oh boo-hoo-hoo, I lost my table diamond somewhere neer Greenwich wall. The Quality can be so much fun sometimes.

Log in to post an annotation.

If you don't have an account, then register here.