Saturday 22 December 1660
All the morning with my painters, who will make an end of all this day I hope. At noon I went to the Sun tavern; on Fish Street hill, to a dinner of Captn. Teddimans, where was my Lord Inchiquin (who seems to be a very fine person), Sir W. Pen, Captn. Cuttance, and one Mr. Lawrence (a fine gentleman now going to Algiers), and other good company, where we had a very fine dinner, good musique, and a great deal of wine. We staid here very late, at last Sir W. Pen and I home together, he so overcome with wine that he could hardly go; I was forced to lead him through the streets and he was in a very merry and kind mood. I home (found my house clear of the workmen and their work ended), my head troubled with wine, and I very merry went to bed, my head akeing all night.
16 Annotations
First Reading
daniel • Link
poor, sam with his "akeing" head. t'is truly the season
Roger Arbor • Link
Let Sam, speaking across the centuries, be a warning to us all!
Now where IS that favourite tipple...
steve h • Link
Wine and headaches
Here's an interesting consideration on the subject of wine and headaches:
http://www.winejoe.com/archives/S…
Of course, in Pepys' time wine was notoriously adulterated with all kinds of things including lead, ink, and verjuice. Who knows what was in the bottles they were drinking?
Andrew Hamilton • Link
Sam's love of "good musique" is one of his most sympathetic traits. Can anyone recommend web resources on the popular tavern music of his time, of the sort that he might play and sing, or listen to?
Matthew • Link
Note the old usage of "go" to mean "walk".
Why would Mr. Lawrence be going to Algiers? Was it anything to do with Britain possessing Tangiers?
Nix • Link
Algiers --
We don't yet have any information about who Lawrence was, so it's hard to guess why he would have been going.
From a quick web search, I found reference to a Henry Lawrence who was president of Cromwell's council, but with that background it seems hard to fit him into this particular picture.
Algiers was the administrative capital of the western portion of the Turkish empire, and was a major trading center, so his travels would probably have been commercial or diplomatic (or both). The French did not take over Algeria until 1830.
Tangier did not come under British rule until 1662, as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to Charles II.
JWB • Link
Sun Tavern...
Sounds like a Trinity House, sub-committe meeting, to me.
Mary • Link
Algiers.
According to L&M Companion, the marriage treaty between Catherine and Charles was to be signed on 23rd January 1661 (i.e a month from today's date). Negotiations will have been under way for some time and the status of Algiers must have been discussed. Presumably Lawrence forms part of an advance guard (either commercial or diplomatic) poised to explore the possibilites offered by this future possession.
There was a family of Lawrences who were prominent, London merchants; this Lawrence may be one of them, perhaps.
JWB • Link
Fish St. & Tangerines...
1. I find Sam wasn't made a younger brother of Trinity House until '62, so maybe this was a "rush party".
2. Montagu made a survey of Tangiers for Cromwell. Capt. Cuttance(great name) was part of Tunis expedition in 55. Navy had long established interest in Med. looking to find base from which to suppress pirates.
Mary • Link
Postcript to the above note.
(L&M footnote).
Henry Lawrence and Lord Inchiquin had both been captured and imprisoned by Algiers pirates. Teddiman was captain of the ship that brought them home in August 1660. At the date of this dinner-party, Lawrence's son was still in held in Algiers, but his ransom was being arranged and already on its way to set him free.
The footnote does not mention any connection between Henry Lawrence and Alderman Sir John Lawrence.
dirk • Link
Algiers
In Sam's time piracy by "Barbary" raiders (i.a. from the Algiers region) was an acute problem, even on the English coast, in the channel, and in the Irish channel. See:
"17th-century Britain lived in terror of being kidnapped by pirates"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/soci…
"Sea-borne Raiders"
http://www.st-keverne.com/History…
Several minor and major military campaigns were launched against these "official" pirates in and around the Straits of Gibraltar. Sam will be involved in some of this later on.
dirk • Link
Barbary pirates
For the sake of completeness, cross reference to Glyn on the same subject:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Second Reading
Bill • Link
"and one Mr. Lawrence"
Wheatley (1894) says: "Afterwards Sir John Lawrence"
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Terry Foreman • Link
"and one Mr. Lawrence"
L&M say this is Henry Lawrence, a merchant, whose present ties to Algiers are capably explained by Mary. The L&M footnote she quotes cites CSPD (Calendar of State Papers, Domestic) 1660-1, pp. 183, 355, 402 and Rugge, i, ff. 84r, 114r.
San Diego Sarah • Link
John Evelyn's Diary – he and Mary Browne Evelyn live at Saye's Court, Deptford.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4…
@@@
22 December, 1660.
The marriage of the Chancellor's daughter being now newly owned, I went to see her, she being Sir Richard Browne's intimate acquaintance when she waited on the Princess of Orange; she was now at her father's, at Worcester House, in the Strand.
We all kissed her hand, as did also my Lord Chamberlain (Manchester) and Countess of Northumberland. This was a strange change — can it succeed well?
I spent the evening at St. James's, whither the Princess Henrietta was retired during the fatal sickness of her sister, the Princess of Orange, now come over to salute the King her brother.
The Princess gave my wife an extraordinary compliment and gracious acceptance, for the "Character" [64] she had presented her the day before, and which was afterward printed.
@@@
Footnote 64: "A Character of England," reprinted in Evelyn's "Miscellaneous Writings," pp. 141-67.
This Sir Richard Browne was John Evelyn’s father-in-law, the former owner of Sayes Court, and former Resident from the King in Paris during the Interregnum. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Anne Hyde, Duchess of York -- https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Queen Mother Henrietta Maria -- https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Princess Henrietta Anne (aka Minette) -- https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Princess Royal, Mary, Princess of Orange = https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Lord Chamberlain Gen. Sir Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester = https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Elizabeth Wriothesley Percy, Countess of Northumberland = https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Closet = https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
There must have been more than one Henry Lawrence.
The one referred to by Nix above has a Wkiki page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hen…
and I agree this is NOT the same man.
Same family maybe ...