Monday 19 May 1662

Long in bed, sometimes scolding with my wife, and then pleased again, and at last up, and put on my riding cloth suit, and a camelott coat new, which pleases me well enough. To the Temple about my replication, and so to my brother Tom’s, and there hear that my father will be in town this week. So home, the shops being but some shut and some open. I hear that the House of Commons do think much that they should be forced to huddle over business this morning against the afternoon, for the King to pass their Acts, that he may go out of town.1 But he, I hear since, was forced to stay till almost nine o’clock at night before he could have done, and then he prorogued them; and so to Gilford, and lay there. Home, and Mr. Hunt dined with me, and were merry. After dinner Sir W. Pen and his daughter, and I and my wife by coach to the Theatre, and there in a box saw “The Little Thief” well done. Thence to Moorefields, and walked and eat some cheesecake and gammon of bacon, but when I was come home I was sick, forced to vomit it up again. So my wife walking and singing upon the leads till very late, it being pleasant and moonshine, and so to bed.

18 Annotations

First Reading

Bradford  •  Link

"The Little Thief" is another Beaumont and Fletcher play, which first appears on 2 April 1661, where Vincent summarizes it:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Then again on 31 March 1662,
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… ; but Pepys never describes it beyond calling it a merry and pretty play.

Cheesecake and bacon: a combination that is not quite quiche.

Pedro  •  Link

"But he, I hear since, was forced to stay till almost nine o'clock at night before he could have done, and then he prorogued them; and so to Gilford, and lay there”

From Davidson’s biography of Catherine.

Sir John Reresby says,”The King travelled at great haste starting at 9 in the evening, accompanied by Prince Rupert his cousin, the greatest court I ever saw on any progress.”

He was accompanied by a troop of Life Guards, and was in the Duke of Northumberland’s coach, drawn by swift horses. He travelled with such speed that they were in Kingston at 10, and at the further end of the town Charles alighted in hot haste, and entered the coach of Lord Chesterfield which was standing in readiness for him. He was now attended by the Duke of York’s bodyguard, and, with fresh horses, they galloped to Guilford, and reached the town before midnight. To make the pace of 35 miles in less than 3 hours in a heavy lumbering coach on roads cut by heavy traffic was no means like a lagging bridegroom. He had to stay the night in Guilford, night travelling being unsafe, but the next morning he resumed his journey to Portsmouth with the same eagerness.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Wonderful description, Pedro!
We note that in the footnote provided to today's diary entry that Charles had hoped to prorogue Parliament at Easter, but here we are, 50 days later, still sitting - no wonder he had to gallop off: the planning had presumably been to make a much more leisurely progress after Easter.
Interesting that Charles needed such a martial escort. Was this just ceremonial or where there genuine fears for his safety? There was some resentment as to his choice of bride.
Sam and Elizabeth treat this day as a holiday (Whit Monday sounds so much better than Late Spring Bank Holiday as it is now in the UK)Sam mentions his fine new clothes, but not what Elizabeth was wearing - did the smart black dress and yellow petticoat get an outing to the Theatre? I hope so.

Leslie Katz  •  Link

"to the Temple about my replication"

This replication business again!

My sources say that a replication was typically just the suing party's joining of issue with the sued party. In other words, just the "Did", in an argument between children, to the other child's "Didn't".

Either this replication was a very unusual one, requiring so much discussion, or SP's legal representatives were making a mountain out of a molehill, not an unknown event among lawyers.

daniel  •  Link

"Long in bed, sometimes scolding with my wife"

I am curious about what. Did Sam scold Liz for lying long in bed? or simply for the fun of it.

dirk  •  Link

Diary of Ralph Josselin - Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 May 1662

"19. on Monday the act of uniformity was passed. the King hastened away"

"20. -to his Queen who landed before at Portsmouth, with little joy to the nation, the nation pressed cannot smile(,) god amend all and keep us upright."

dirk  •  Link

Four days ago Lady Fanshawe's memoirs mentioned that the King left for Portsmouth the day after the new Queen's arrival.
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

He may or may not have had the intention to do so at the time but clearly he didn't, since he's leaving late tonight. See also
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
(annotation Cumgranissalis)

This is obviously one instance where the Lady's memoirs are in error, probably because here memory failed her. There may be more errors or even misrepresentations ("cui bono?" = to whose advantage?) This goes to prove that anything written or printed isn't necessarily true (even if it's hundreds of years old and has an air of respectability) and should be checked against other sources. "Historical criticism" deals with just such matters...

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"Scolding with...then pleased again." sounds like it was mutual scolding, perhaps mostly play fighting (considering the "long in bed"), followed by make-up...And a very cute domestic picture of Sam and Bethie.

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

the Honeymoon will last until 18th of Feb 1663 [or before if moneys be needed]
#speeches there be three [long];
19th maii Bill to restrain disorderly printing
[no drunks][no slang to be aloud,be nice to the King ,Editors must stet correctly]

Protest against rejecting them
The Bill be 'An Act for Enlarging and amending the Common Highways' there be turf problems whose sod should it be? { I doth think it be about monies; whose?]

The King present.
Then His Majesty came and sat in His Throne arrayed with His Royal Robes; the Peers likewise sitting in their Robes, uncovered.
The King gave Command to the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, to let the House of Commons know, "It is His Majesty's Pleasure, they should attend Him forthwith."
Who, in Obedience, came presently, attended with their Speaker; who, after low Obeisance made to His Majesty, made this Speech following; videlicet,
[a nice Summary of all that this house has done.
From: 'House of Lords Journal Volume 11: 19 May 1662', Journal of the House of Lords: volume 11: 1660-1666, pp. 468-77. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…. Date accessed: 20 May 2005.
Speaker Sayeth [nice long read for those who like to know how to please His Majesty] absit Invidia Verbo
every chimney will give your majesty 2 bob to enjoy your realm. also we are checking the spenthrifs that spend your income. etc. ,etc.
28 Acts be enacted
Prayer will be uniform, must not melt money,will ship up and by land and water, your Majesty; will find means to increase your income so that you may be the Envy of your Cousin.
Must not send woolens on or off the hoof or any part of the process abroad; Tailors et al object to the inport of fine woosteds woven in cheap continental suits.
Stop the export of fine english Leathers ; no jack boots from the Baltic?
truly a worth while read; to understand the times and thinking.

Australian Susan  •  Link

The description above of the King sitting in the H of L with the Peers with bare heads and then telling Black Rod to summon the H of C was mirrored a couple of days ago at the State opening of Parliament in the UK after the recent General Election - the ceremonial is just the same.

Tom Burns  •  Link

Long in bed, sometimes scolding with my wife, and then pleased again

What a great way to spend a Monday morning! Seems some things have changed for the worse since 1662...

Mary  •  Link

"the shops being but some shut and some open"

Some shopkeepers seem to be observing a Whitmonday holiday. Sadly, though still observed in much of Europe, this is no longer a holiday in the UK, but has been 'normalised' into the late Spring Bank Holiday, which has moved to the final Monday in May.

dirk  •  Link

From the King's Speech, House of Lords, 19 May 1662

Cfr link Cumgranissalis above - Thanks Vincent
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

"I cannot but observe to you, that the whole Nation seems to Me a little corrupted in their Excess of Living. [...] I do believe I have been faulty that Way Myself: I promise you, I will reform"

Doesn't this sound surprisingly like Sam's earlier promise(s)?

Terry F  •  Link

Act of Uniformity 1662

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_…

(The text:) An Act
For the Uniformity of Publick Prayers; and Administration of Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies: And for the establishing the Form of Making, Ordaining, and Consecrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons in the Church of England.
http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bc…

(1662, May 19. 13 & 14 Charles II. c. 4. 5 S. R. 364. The whole reprinted in G. and H. 600-619.) http://home.freeuk.net/don-aitken…

Second Reading

Louise Hudson  •  Link

"Long in bed, sometimes scolding with my wife, "

Probably bickering, as married couples are wont to do. 

"and walked and eat some cheesecake and gammon of bacon, but when I was come home I was sick, forced to vomit it up again."

Cheesecake and bacon, no wonder he was sick. 

"So my wife walking and singing upon the leads till very late, it being pleasant and moonshine."

Liz apparently got over any annoyance at the "scolding" or bickering. Maybe she thought his being sick served him right.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘scold v. 1. intr. †a. Originally, to behave as a scold; to quarrel noisily, to brawl; to rail at or wrangle with some one; to use violent or unseemly language in vituperation; said chiefly of women. Obs.

b. Now with milder sense . . : To use undignifed vehemence or persistence in reproof or fault-finding; colloq. often merely, to utter continuous reproof.
. . 1587 D. Fenner Def. Godlie Ministers sig. Gii, Let him goe home and skoolde with his wife.
. . a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) ii. v. 239 Some runn out to braule and scowlde like women with the next Enemyes.
. . 1675 V. Alsop Anti-Sozzo iii. 193 Therefore go scold with the Apostle: that which will bring him off will bring off the Doctor . . ‘

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