Wednesday 18 December 1661

At the office upon business extraordinary all the morning, then to my Lady Sandwich’s to dinner, whither my wife, who had been at the painter’s, came to me, and there dined, and there I left her, and to the Temple my brother and I to see Mrs. Turner, who begins to be better, and so back to my Lady’s, where much made of, and so home to my study till bed-time, and so to bed.


17 Annotations

First Reading

Bradford  •  Link

"business extraordinary": extraordinarily important? or complex? or just another way of saying "a hell out of a lot to do at the office"?

vicenzo  •  Link

May be more to it: he writes enough so that it will be remembered, where the details are sered into his head and thereby remain a secret from all those that could pry, he cannot be impugned if it be not written.There are many entries , that he is cagy about. It could be that he says enough just to tickle his mind when he sees the entree.

vicenzo  •  Link

Payntor, he doth do one 'ead at a time, so as not upset the other, now whether they be on the same canvas or separate is still not clear.

Mary  •  Link

L&M reading differs a little.

"... and to the Temple, my brother's, and to see Mrs. Turner..."

Punctuation is editorial, but "brother's" rather than "brother" is presumably supported by the text.

Mary  •  Link

extraordinary.

At this date, the word is most likely to indicate something quite out of the normal line. Thus this business is exceptional, unusual in some way, not part of the normal office routine.

Xjy  •  Link

Just one sentence
He was in a hurry, but got it all down anyway.

Avik  •  Link

I surmise from comments that these paintings are not in existence?

Stolzi  •  Link

Nice to know they were "much made of" at my Lady's; I suspect that Elizabeth was rather a pet of my Lady's.

Mary  •  Link

The lost paintings.

See annotations to entry for 23rd November.

Australian Susan  •  Link

"my brother and I to see Mrs Turner" and "much made of"
I took that to mean Sam went to the Temple, there met his brother and they then both went to see Mrs Turner and then Sam went back to The Wardrobe. I also took the "much made of" just to refer to Sam himself - he likes to record people showing him he is valued. Usually if Elizabeth is being complimented, he comments on that specifically. Presumably he was still working on sea law in his solitary study activities. A long and busy day.

Mary House  •  Link

Too bad that these paintings are missing. As Claire Tomalin points out, every known portrait of Pepys shows him wearing a wig. This early portrait would date to a time when wigs were not commonly being worn by men, I believe. We would see a much more natural rendering of our man.

Glyn  •  Link

It looks like he had to change his plans from last Thursday: "and invited them and all my old Exchequer acquaintance to come and dine with me there on Wednesday next".

dirk  •  Link

John Evelyn's diary entry for today:

"At our Assembly, were divers new inventions & models for often shooting in Canon at once charging:"

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:

December 18, Wednesday.
About noon the Portland, Nightingale and Greyhound, with Mr. Browne bound for Algiers and directions also to Sir John Lawson with that squadron to go hither, sailed for Malaga.
A Plymouth merchant sailed in their convoy for Alicante, who came from Plymouth about the 4th of December and says the news they then had was that the fleet in the Downs would sail with the wind that he expected.

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

@@@

The Portland
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Nightingale -- she had seen a lot of service in battles under the Commonwealth. Pepys never mentions her, but he does mention her Tar captain later, but he was inactive in 1661
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Greyhound
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Mr, Browne, the English Consul to Algiers -- still a lost soul to the Google librarian
Algiers
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Vice Admiral Sir John Lawson
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Malaga
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Plymouth
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Alicante
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
4th of December
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
The fleet in the Downs -- we know the fleet sailed in early January, as Pepys in his year-end report says "The fleet hath been ready to sail for Portugall, but hath lacked wind this fortnight, ..." so they missed the wind of December 4 by a month! But the Downs is a long way away from Plymouth.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The Commons today; amongst other things:

Killigrew's &c. Nat.
Ordered, That the Names of Charlott Hessen Killigrew, Wife of Thomas Killigrew, and Charles, Thomas, and Robert Killigrew, their Children;
and of Katharine Hessen Shers, Wife to Sir John Shers, and of George Shers and John Shers, their Children;
and of Charles Boyle, Richard Boyle, and Henerette Boyle, Children of the Lady Shanon;
[SO DISCREETLY BURIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TEXT -- Henrietta Boyle is an illigitimate daughter of Charles II - SDS https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… ]
and of Richard Minors; and of Frances Topp, the Daughter of Francis Toppe, being of the Age of Three Years;
and of Jane Perkins, Daughter to Richard Perkins, born at Rotterdam, being an Infant;
be inserted into the Bill for Naturalization.

Privilege.
Upon Information given to this House, that Alderman * Sterling, one of the Sheriffs of London, being served with an Order, signed by Mr. Speaker, to discharge James Lyde, menial Servant to Sir Henry Herbert (who was arrested, and imprisoned in the Poultry Compter), out of Prison; the said Sheriff refused to obey the said Order, or discharge the said Lyde; but put the Order up in his Pocket; and said, he would answer it to the Speaker in the House;
Resolved, That the said Sheriff Sterling be forthwith, this Morning, sent for, in Custody, of the Serjeant at Arms, to this House, to answer his Misdemeanor, and Breach of Privilege.

Duchy of Cornwall Leasing.
This House taking into Consideration the Amendments sent from the Lords, to the Act for enabling the King's Majesty to make Leases of his Highness' Duchy of Cornwall, &c.

The First Amendment, being in the First Skin, 19th Line, after the Word "Lords," and before the Word "and," put in these Words, "Spiritual and Temporal,"
Resolved, upon the Question, That this House doth agree with the Lords to the said Amendment.
And the Second Amendment, being in the 22th Line, after the Word "of," and before the Word "Years," put out the Word "Seven," and put in the Word "Three;" ...

Vexations Arrests, &c.
A Bill sent from the Lords, for Prevention of Vexations and Oppressions by Arrests, and of Delays in Suits of Law, was this Day read the First time.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

CONCLUSION:

Bills from Lords.
A Message from the Lords, by Sir Wm. Childe and Sir Thomas Escourt, Two of the Masters of Chancery;
Mr. Speaker, The Lords have sent you down an Act, intituled, An Act to prevent the Inconveniences arising by melting the Silver Coin of this Realm; whereunto they desire the Concurrence of this House: And that the Lords had agreed to the Three other Bills sent from this House, for granting to the King's Majesty Twelve hundred and threescore thousand Pounds; for restoring the Earl of Arundell to the Dukedom of Norfolke; and the Marquis of Hertford to the Dukedom of Somersett.

Ordered, That the said Bill for preventing the Inconveniences arising by melting the Silver Coin of this Nation, be read To-morrow Morning.
[Looks like Charles II has lost this idea for the time being - SDS]

It was the Bill regarding Corporations which took most of their time, judging by the detail.

Confirming Ministers.
Ordered, That the Bill for Ministers be read Tomorrow Morning, the first publick Business.

Regiment of Colestreamers.
The House being moved, in the Behalf of the Colestreamers, and other Soldiers, that served under the Lord General Monck, at his coming out of Scotland into England; to know their Opinion, Whether, in their Votes and Address to his Majesty, to send the disbanded Officers and Soldiers out of Town, and to prohibit them from approaching within Twenty Miles of the Town, the said Officers and Soldiers, formerly serving under General Monck, as aforesaid, were intended to be included;
Resolved, That the Intention of this House, in their Vote for an Address to his Majesty, to issue his Proclamation for the disbanded Officers and Soldiers Departure from, and not to approach within Twenty Miles of this Town, was not to include the said Officers and Soldiers which served under, and marched with, the Lord General Monck, at his coming out of Scotland into England; and such as were instrumental in his Majesty's Restitution:
And that the Concurrence of the Lords be desired to this Vote:
And Sir James Smith is to carry the same up to the Lords, for their Concurrence:
And such Members of this House, as are of his Majesty's Privy Council, are desired to acquaint his Majesty with this Vote.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

the Lords are waiting on the Commons for their agreement to some bills, but today they did discuss

Bill to regulate Hackney Coaches.
Hodie 1a vice lecta est Billa, "An Act for the regulating and restraining the excessive Number of Hackney Coaches."

(As Pepys reminded us the other day, the jam of Hackneys during rush hour in the rain is especially bad when Parliament is sitting. The obvious solution always is to reduce the number of available Hackneys.
The unintended consequence of this is that it encourages people who can afford one into owning their own coaches -- which ends up making the traffic jams worse all the time. Municipalities kept on making the same mistake -- until now as technology has privatized the taxi/hackney business model. LYFT and UBER may well save the day, and we will all be able to shed our private cars without being stuck somewhere inconvenient. It's only taken 400 years to solve the problem.)

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