Monday 17 June 1661

Visited this morning by my old friend Mr. Ch. Carter, who staid and went to Westminster with me, and there we parted, and I to the Wardrobe and dined with my Lady. So home to my painters, who are now about painting my stairs. So to the office, and at night we all went to Sir W. Pen’s, and there sat and drank till 11 at night, and so home and to bed.

24 Annotations

First Reading

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"and there sat and drank till 11" Summertime and the Living is easy...

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Admiral Sir Will P seems rather generous as a host. Is his Quaker hippie son still off in France?

Redbean  •  Link

"So home to my painters, who are now about painting my stairs..." Did they have much choice of colour in those days? Restoration red maybe...?

Ruben  •  Link

"So home to my painters, who are now about painting my stairs"
may be just varnish? varnish with egg yolks? linen oil?

tc  •  Link

...drank till 11...

A Monday we should all be so lucky to enjoy...

Kevin Peter  •  Link

William Penn's "Quaker hippie son" was sent off to France in 1662 to complete his education, since he apparently kept getting kicked out of colleges in England for questioning authority. His father figured that his son would stay in school if he went to a Protestant college in France.

The younger William Penn later went to Italy, and returned to England in 1664.

tc  •  Link

Lazy Monday, continued...

Sam seems fairly well at ease after yesterday's tizzy culminating in the hire of the Margate hoy...which was to have gotten underway this morning, was it not?

What was it that was so important to deliver? And is it confidence in the reliability of the Margate hoy that allows Sam to take it easy today after fretting so yesterday? High tides, fair winds, and delivery made?

Conrad  •  Link

Ruben, I think you are right about the varnish, as the stairs were constructed by naval carpenters & joiners, it is most likely that a varnished finish was employed.

"Linseed oil, derived from flax, is a major ingredient in many fine oil paints, varnishes and stains. However, because coatings' labels seldom carry ingredient lists, the linseed oil content may not be visible on these products. Nevertheless, linseed oil preserves and beautifies, providing superior protection on wooden surfaces, from decks to marine products."

Tc, I believe Sam sent off the valuable cloth in the Hoy, of which he has been very concerned these last few days.

Pedro.  •  Link

40 miles NE of the City.

As Vincente has not mentioned it.

The Rev Josselin says "..our lower meadows overflown, the flood was considerably great." Perhaps some heavy thunderstorms during the current period of hot weather?

Pedro.  •  Link

"linseed oil preserves and beautifies"

And the only oil to be used on the good old English willow cricket bat.

By the 17th century the game was quite popular as a rough rural pastime.

vicente  •  Link

"...And is it confidence in the reliability of the Margate hoy that allows Sam to take it easy today after fretting so yesterday..." Some of us worry, and get the ulcers and others place it in their belief system [and on to other shoulders] and forget about it. Depend's on ones stomache acid.
Ah ! that linseed oil, a square leg shot every time, over the line far far away, tanners worth.

Australian Susan  •  Link

House Interiors
The second website which dirk gives us above has a photo of a piece of furniture made for John Evelyn! Fascinating. Thanks, Dirk.

dirk  •  Link

House Interiors

Actually thanks are due to Glyn, who came up with the second website. I merely quoted it here.

Glyn  •  Link

Thanks are actually due to the Geffrye Museum, which is one of the hidden gems of London. Well worth a visit, especially if you can combine it with a Sunday visit to the Columbia Road flower market or Hackney City Farm. The Geffrye Museum is housed in a row of 17th-century alms houses built by a contemporary of Pepys.

Second Reading

GrannieAnnie  •  Link

About Penn's hippie son: he later used his independent bent well for England when he wrote about and stood up against the inhumanity of persecution. One of his achievements later was handling the "Bushell Case" where he successfully convinced a jury not to subject a Quaker to imprisonment for his faith. Even though the magistrate demanded that the jury change its verdict (!) "Penn maintained successfully that a jury must not be coerced by the bench. This landmark case established the freedom of English juries." Well done, Penn!

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Sandwich's log:

"17th. Monday. In the evening his R.H. [Royal Highness] went ashore at Deal and rode post for London."

Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665

Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX

Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62

His Royal Highness = James, Duke of York

LKvM  •  Link

Sam seems to time himself to wind up at Lady Sandwich's for the midday meal quite regularly, even though the fare is now the cheap cuts.
I wonder what Elizabeth, as the "lady" at Sam's home, has on the house menu today. Whatever it is, presumably she will dine alone, and the rest of the "family" -- Jane, Pall, and Will -- will get her leftovers.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I really don't understand why Parliament hated the Quakers so much -- the House of Commons today:

"Quakers, &c.
"A Bill for the preventing the Mischiefs and Dangers that may arise by certain Persons called Quakers, and other Schismaticks, was this Day read the First time.

"Resolved, That the same be read again, the Second time, on Thursday next."

Apparently not all non-conformists are created equal.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Diary of Ralph Josselin (Private Collection)
17.6.1661 (Monday 17 June 1661)
document 70013115

"17. our lower meadows overflown, the flood was considerably great. kitchen chimney beg[un]"

@@@

Essex is pretty flat, so flooded rivers affect large areas.

William Crosby  •  Link

The Society of Friends, or Quakers, were a new religious sect founded in the mid-1600s that faced persecution in England for a number of reasons, including:
Radical beliefs:
Quakers' values and beliefs were considered too different from orthodox Christianity. For example, they believed that everyone, including women, was equal to a minister or preacher and didn't need an ordained clergy to speak directly to Jesus. They also refused to remove their hats to those in authority and used "thee" and "thou" instead of "you".
Anti-authority beliefs:
Quakers excluded separatists from holding office and prohibited them from traveling.
Pacifism:
During the Revolutionary War, Quakers followed their pacifist guidelines and refused to take up arms. Some even saw taxation or using continental currency as a way to get involved in the conflict, which led some to believe they were against the new government or helping the British.
Popular hostility:
Quakers were feared and hated as outsiders.
Lack of legal remedies:
In the 1650s, there may have been a lack of legal remedies against Quakers, which contributed to popular violence against them.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"During the Revolutionary War, ..." that was the US War of Independence, of 1776 and all that, not the British Civil Wars in which Quakers did fight.

In November 1660, George Fox presented a document to Charles II in which I believe he advocated non-violence for the first time. Charles seems to have listened as he tried for 20 years to bring in legislation with relief specifically naming the Quakers. The paper was called

"A DECLARATION FROM THE HARMLESS AND INNOCENT PEOPLE OF GOD, CALLED QUAKERS, AGAINST ALL SEDITION, PLOTTERS, AND FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD: FOR REMOVING THE GROUND OF JEALOUSY AND SUSPICION FROM MAGISTRATES AND PEOPLE CONCERNING WARS AND FIGHTINGS.

"George Fox and others.
"Presented to the King upon the 21st day of the 11th Month, 1660."

This Document can be read in full on The Quaker Writings Home Page.
http://www.qhpress.org/quakerpage…
[Text from the 2 Volume 8th and Bicentenary Edition of Fox's Journal, London: Friends' Tract Association, 1891.]

Sadly Parliament carried on with its specific persecution, and I still wonder why.
The Quakers were far from the most outrageous of the non-conformists.
Many groups let the ladies speak in church.
Maybe it was the rejection of all ministers that was the step too far!?
At least they weren't running around naked, or fornicating in public.
Check out what the Anabaptists believed (the list was compiled by a Catholic):
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
and for a list of the variety of non-conformist churches in London in 1669 https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

Maybe it's as simple as people wanted to make up their own minds, and not to be told what to believe by Parliament or King? The Quakers were the largest and most organized, and therefore attracted the heat?

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

THE ANSWER TO MY QUAKER QUESTION -- I had already forgotten this information which I posted in January of this year!!!

The Quakers are stand-ins for what Parliament really fears:
}https://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/666/#c555969

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