Thursday 2 August 1660
To Westminster by water with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen (our servants in another boat) to the Admiralty; and from thence I went to my Lord’s to fetch him thither, where we stayed in the morning about ordering of money for the victuallers, and advising how to get a sum of money to carry on the business of the Navy. From thence dined with Mr. Blackburne at his house with his friends (his wife being in the country and just upon her return to London), where we were very well treated and merry.
From thence W. Hewer and I to the office of Privy Seal, where I stayed all the afternoon, and received about 40l. for yesterday and to-day, at which my heart rejoiced for God’s blessing to me, to give me this advantage by chance, there being of this 40l. about 10l. due to me for this day’s work. So great is the present profit of this office, above what it was in the King’s time; there being the last month about 300 bills; whereas in the late King’s time it was much to have 40. With my money home by coach.
It being the first time that I could get home before our gates were shut since I came to the Navy office.
When I came home I found my wife not very well of her old pain … [in the lip of her chose, – L&M] which she had when we were married first.
I went and cast up the expense that I laid out upon my former house (because there are so many that are desirous of it, and I am, in my mind, loth to let it go out of my hands, for fear of a turn). I find my layings-out to come to about 20l., which with my fine will come to about 22l. to him that shall hire my house of me.1
To bed.
27 Annotations
First Reading
Paul Brewster • Link
my wife not very well of her old pain in the lip of her chose which she had when we were married first
per L&M "Diagnosed as spasmodic dysmenorrhoea: Sir D'Arcy Power in Occ. papers Pepys Club ... It is clear from later entries that the trouble abated."
Paul Brewster • Link
"Fees for writing privy seal warrants ('bills') were the main source of income for the clerks. In the early months of the Restoration, when many new appointments to office were being made, this income might be considerable, and much larger than the official salaries, particularly because until November 1661 no rates for fees were established ... Pepys received less, however for pardons of which there were many in this post-revolutionary period ... Some were issed free, others at a reduced rate."
L&M Footnote
Paul Brewster • Link
Fine: payment for lease
(per L&M Select Glossary)
Paul Brewster • Link
Chose (n) per OED
[a. F. chose:?L. causa matter, affair, thing.]
3. Thing (as a general term for a thing not more particularly named). Obs.
c1386 Chaucer Wife’s Prol. 447. 1398 Trevisa Barth. de P.R. xvi. xxxix. (Tollem. MS.) And sumwhat passe? of ?e priue chose [1535 privy chose] of woman.
Pauline • Link
"...her old pain in the lip of her chose ...
Elizabeth's "old pain" well discussed in the Background information for her. But the word "chose" is new to the discussion. I suspected obfuscation with French and found: la chose = thing; le chose = thingy, thingamajig. This is from googling a French-English, English-French dictionary.
Brian McMullen • Link
SP is showing considerable understanding of the times and still managing a profit in it all. He has determined the expense of the Axe property to be 20l. and that he can rent the same for a 2l. profit. I should know this by now but need to ask - that is an annual rent that he has determined? Secondly, does he own the property or is this a sub-lease he is planning on?
chip • Link
On page 53 of Tomalin, as far as I can see not mentioned in the copious notes on Elizabeth, just as Pepys was entering a particularly painful phase of the stone..."she, by dreadful coincidence, developed what he called boils on 'the lip of her chose.' She was suffering from a condition well known to modern doctors but untreatable then, at which the glands to the entrance to the vagina become blocked and a cyst is formed, producing abscesses that are not only painful but also make sexual intercourse virtually impossible at times. He was in no way to blame, but she may have suspected he was. It would be hard to imagine a worse recipe for a honeymoon." Sorry Vincent, not many euphemisms there.
vincent • Link
Chip! at least you kept the Saxon (maybe a little angle) English to the very minimum. ta ever so.
and Rochester too.
vincent • Link
re: beer and the 9 green ones. heres a book that tells of the female participation in the brewing there of
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?act…
vincent • Link
Payments? "... From thence W. Hewer and I to the office of Privy Seal, where I stayed all the afternoon, and received about 40l. for yesterday and to-day, at which my heart rejoiced for God’s blessing to me, to give me this advantage by chance, there being of this 40l. about 10l. due to me for this day’s work. So great is the present profit of this office, above what it was in the King’s time; there being the last month about 300 bills; whereas in the late King’s time it was much to have 40...."
2 days work brought in 40L for approx. 12 to 15 bills a day and his cut 25% .the Crown gets the rest: a sailor gets 5d a day. ". Cost of a Bill is 3L?
No wonder people would morgage their life for that take. see Liza Picard p 147 a few more days like that, and he has got himself a Merc., sorry I mean a pair of coach horses.(50L a pr)
Sorry the other post on beer belongs to the day previous:
Nix • Link
Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea --
http://www.womenone.org/health09.…
Jenny Doughty • Link
With all due respect to Sir D'Arcy Power, spasmodic dysmenorrhea is not experienced in the lip of 'le chose'. However, the blockage of the Bartholin's glands forming cysts or abscesses makes perfect sense in giving rise to these symptoms. I recently read Sara George's book, and I note that she plumps for this explanation.
Linda Camidge • Link
I followed the link in Nix's post and it seemed to lead to a list of clothing.
Perhaps much has changed since 2003; more even than since 1660. I suppose that's modern life for you.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
" to the Admiralty; and from thence I went to my Lord’s to fetch him thither"
The Westminster boogie gives SP time with "my Lord": the Companion has the Admiralty at this time at the Lord Admiral's (the Duke of York's in summer) in St James's Palace; Mountagu had an official residence in Whitehall Palace.
Terry Foreman • Link
Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea --
Dysmenorrhea, also known as dysmenorrhoea, painful periods, or menstrual cramps, is pain during menstruation.[1][2] It usually begins around the time that menstruation begins. Symptoms typically last less than three days. The pain is usually in the pelvis or lower abdomen. Other symptoms may include back pain, diarrhea, or nausea. In young women painful periods often occur without an underlying problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dys…
Liz • Link
Jenny Doughty: yes I believe you are correct. Having suffered from this myself, your usage of ‘plump’ is about right (was this an intentional pun?!) I have purchased Sara George’s book and look forward to reading it - I hadn’t come across it before. Thank you for the heads up, as people say nowadays.
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
'"to the Admiralty; and from thence I went to my Lord’s to fetch him thither"
'The Westminster boogie gives SP time with "my Lord": the Companion has the Admiralty at this time at the Lord Admiral's (the Duke of York's in summer) in St James's Palace; Mountagu had an official residence in Whitehall Palace.'
Two things:
St. James's was just down the road from the sprawling Palace of Westminster, so there isn't much of a material difference here;
Do we know for sure that James is living at St. James's now?
The 3 Stuart brothers are all bachelors, and both palaces were pretty run down. Oliver had lived at Whitehall, so presumably of the 2, it was in the better condition.
My guess is they were all bunking together for economy, security and convenience so soon after the restoration, while the decorators were at work. When they get married and establish their own courts, and the redecorating is finished, they will spread out.
We know the upholsters, at the least, are at work on Whitehall now.
Not exactly camping, but still make-shift and in flux.
Also, Pepys doesn't mention going to see James at St. James's until May, 1662 -- which doesn't mean he doesn't go there before that, but it wasn't enough to make it his main destination.
This is hinted at in this excerpt from a Victorian book about St. James's Palace:
"After the Restoration, Charles II, although born in St. James's palace, did not reside regularly at St. James's, but used the palace for State purposes only.
"His mistresses [much later] had apartments there, including Hortense Mancini (Duchess of Mazarine), who, together with Madame Beauclair, had been moved over to St. James's on the restoration of Whitehall Palace, where they were originally located."
ST, JAMES'S PALACE
VOL. I.
MEMORIALS OF ST. JAMES'S PALACE
BY
EDGAR SHEPPABD, MA.
SUB-DEAN OF H.M. CHAPELS ROYAL
CHAPLAIN TO THE QUEEN [VICTORIA] AND H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE
IN TWO VOLUMES
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
AND NEW YORK
http://archive.org/stream/memoria…
Having said that, unless Pepys explains himself better, we do not know for sure ... does someone have a resource I don't have?
Maybe the correspondence files will reveal more, if someone has access to them and would like to check. They frequently specify where FROM and TO were located.
Alter Kacker • Link
Samuel lives next door to the Navy Office, but he seems to go to Westminster or Whitehall most days. Anyone have a sense how long those trips would have taken him, on foot or via hired waterman?
JayW • Link
Alter Kacker
It’s about 3 miles from the Navy Office to St James’ Palace so about an hour’s walk these days. By water would depend on the way the tide was flowing on the Thames.
Stephane Chenard • Link
Letters were written yesterday (1 August) in Dublin by Capt. Valentine Jowles, of the Wexford, to whine (to the Admiralty Commissioners) that for want of beer and biscuits he "will be obliged to put his company [crew] to shorter allowances". One goes to Sam, to "beg him to urge his want of provisions to the Commissioners". (This in the State Papers, at https://play.google.com/store/boo…)
So, welcome to the Navy Office. These letters, complaining of no money/no food, coming from all corners of the naval empire, will be Sam's life as long as he's in there, at a rate of up to one per day just for those (likely a small fraction) that ended up in the State Papers (this is one of the first on record). The State being broke, as everyone is starting to find out now that the Restoration's confettis are dispersing, Sam's life will be one of frustration in that respect. We note, though, that he's already known as far away as Dublin as the go-to man who can speed things up in the bureaucracy. Which may be worth something, too.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"We note, though, that he's already known as far away as Dublin as the go-to man who can speed things up in the bureaucracy."
Pepys is the office manager, Stephane. While I like to think of his fame as a go-to guy has reached Ireland, I think this is really just the job.
He's not the surveyor or the victualler or the accountant -- he opens the mail and gives correspondence to the right person, or puts the matter on the agenda for Navy Board's next sitting for discussion.
Feeding the troops was always priority #1.
The accountant had no money. The Controller had no money.
So Pepys kicked the problem upstairs to the Admiral: Sandwich could get money.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"From thence W. Hewer and I to the office of Privy Seal, ..."
I think I am right -- William Hewer is Pepys' "boy," and young Will is Elizabeth's and the household boy. They both have "go fetch" needs (hense the job description, gofer).
San Diego Sarah • Link
I'm pleased to see neither Pepys nor Blackborne are too proud for the Commonwealth man to mentor the Royalist newcomer. The exchange of information would be vital and in the national interest.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"To Westminster by water with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen ... to the Admiralty; and from thence I went to my Lord’s to fetch him thither, where we stayed in the morning about ordering of money for the victuallers, and advising how to get a sum of money to carry on the business of the Navy."
The day before yesterday the Navy Board, Sandwich and the Admiralty met to discuss the Navy's 1660/61 budget request. The Admiralty clerks must have been refining and writing it up officially yesterday -- Pepys was making money at the Privy Seal office, so we know he didn't do it; and James and Sandwich were both at the House of Lords.
Today Penn, Batten and Pepys meet again with Sandwich and the Admiralty men to make sure they agree on this first draft. And to solve the immediate needs for Ireland and victualling.
Sandwich excuses himself in time to get to the Lords. Those fines for missing sessions can mount up.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"re: beer and the 9 green ones. heres a book that tells of the female participation in the brewing there of
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?act…"
Sadly Vincent's information at Questia disappeared as of 2020.
That's why I share what I hope is the pertinent information here with the reference. I'd love to know more about the lady brewers of the mid-17th century.
Stephane Chenard • Link
So, Sarah, is Sam the go-to, or does he get his mail ex-officio, as per a naval rulebook that says, "in case of no-biscuits, write to the Admiralty with copy to the Clerk of the Acts"? In the name of good government, we wish the latter! And undoubtedly much of his footprint in the State Papers is mail that was nothing personal. But in the case at least of that letter from Dublin, its coming on top of the more clearly official appeal to the Commissioners and its tone - "beg[ging] him to urge" - inspir'd us to see evidence of widespread fame, and of the back-channel being worked.
The Admiralty Commissioners, so impersonally designated, have also been getting a number of appeals for money and victuals since May-June, with no copy to Sam at least as far as survives in the State Papers (these appeals will tumble out of a search for "Admiralty" at https://play.google.com/store/boo…) So Jowles' letter stands out as a tad unusual.
And Jowles isn't just any captain, by the way. On March 31, when Sam was still on the Naseby, "this morning Captain Jowles of the 'Wexford' came on board, for whom I got commission from my Lord to be commander of the ship" [https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…] Jowles may remember the Admiral's diligent little clerk, and paying him £5, and the promissory-note complications that ensued may have further impressed the captain's memory.
Sam spent weeks while at sea building up this phantastickal collection (dare we say network) of captains, many of them up-and-coming given the Times; getting acquainted while waiting for the ink to dry on their paperwork; &c. Gotta be good for something. And it sure goes with the job, but we think he's not the sort who'd lose a business card anyway.
San Diego Sarah • Link
I think you've nailed it, Stephane.
There was probably a F.Y.I. memo sent to everyone by Sandwich announcing that, as of July X, the Navy Board would be Penn, Batten, Pepys and whoever. With the grateful thanks of the nation etc. etc. to the outgoing rebels.
Obviously the Surveyor doesn't open the mail -- the Clerk in charge does.
But Royalist Captains like Jowles said "Oh good, I know Pepys -- and he knows Sandwich. He can do something." And he fires off the appeal for help.
We are also forgetting the time lag -- it'll take a week or more for the letter we are discussing from Ireland to arrive. Pepys is already on the job looking for money to solve their problem. And once he finds it, sending the cash, Bill of Exchange, or food will take time to get to Ireland also.
They would envy our inter-continental exchange!