Monday 29 December 1662
Up and walked to Whitehall, where the Duke and Mr. Coventry being gone forth I went to Westminster Hall , where I staid reading at Mrs. Mitchell’s shop, and sent for half a pint of sack for her. Here she told me what I heard not of before, the strange burning of Mr. De Laun, a merchant’s house in Loathbury, and his lady (Sir Thomas Allen’s daughter) and her whole family; not one thing, dog nor cat, escaping; nor any of the neighbours almost hearing of it till the house was quite down and burnt. How this should come to pass, God knows, but a most strange thing it is! Hither came Jack Spicer to me, and I took him to the Swan, where Mr. Herbert did give me my breakfast of cold chine of pork; and here Spicer and I talked of Exchequer matters, and how the Lord Treasurer hath now ordered all monies to be brought into the Exchequer, and hath settled the King’s revenue, and given to every general expence proper assignments; to the Navy 200,000l. and odd. He also told me of the great vast trade of the goldsmiths in supplying the King with money at dear rates.
Thence to White Hall, and got up to the top gallerys in the Banquetting House, to see the audience of the Russia Embassadors; which [took place] after long waiting and fear of the falling of the gallery (it being so full, and part of it being parted from the rest, for nobody to come up merely from the weakness thereof): and very handsome it was. After they were come in, I went down and got through the croude almost as high as the King and the Embassadors, where I saw all the presents, being rich furs, hawks, carpets, cloths of tissue, and sea-horse teeth. The King took two or three hawks upon his fist, having a glove on, wrought with gold, given him for the purpose. The son of one of the Embassadors was in the richest suit for pearl and tissue, that ever I did see, or shall, I believe. After they and all the company had kissed the King’s hand, then the three Embassadors and the son, and no more, did kiss the Queen’s. One thing more I did observe, that the chief Embassador did carry up his master’s letters in state before him on high; and as soon as he had delivered them, he did fall down to the ground and lay there a great while. After all was done, the company broke up; and I spent a little while walking up and down the gallery seeing the ladies, the two Queens, and the Duke of Monmouth with his little mistress, which is very little, and like my brother-in-law’s wife. So with Mr. Creed to the Harp and Ball, and there meeting with Mr. How, Goodgroom, and young Coleman, did drink and talk with them, and I have almost found out a young gentlewoman for my turn, to wait on my wife, of good family and that can sing. Thence I went away, and getting a coach went home and sat late talking with my wife about our entertaining Dr. Clerke’s lady and Mrs. Pierce shortly, being in great pain that my wife hath never a winter gown, being almost ashamed of it, that she should be seen in a taffeta one; when all the world wears moyre;1 so to prayers and to bed, but we could not come to any resolution what to do therein, other than to appear as she is.
29 Annotations
First Reading
Bradford • Link
"sea-horse teeth" = walrus tusks
(Companion, Large Glossary)
Terry F • Link
John Evelyn's Diary
"To Lond: Saw the Audience of the Moscovy Ambassador, which was with extraordinary state: for his retinue being numerous, all clad in vests of several Colours, & with buskins after the Eastern manner: Their Caps of furr, & Tunicks richly embrodr<e>d with gold & pearle, made a glorious shew: The King being sate under the Canopie in the banqueting house, before the Ambassador went in a grave march the Secretary of the Embassy, holding up his Masters letter of Credence in a crimson-taffaty scarfe before his forehead: The Ambassador then deliverd it, with a profound reverence to the King, the King to our Secretary of State; it was written in a long & lofty style: Then came in the present borne by 165 of his retinue, consisting <of> Mantles & other large pieces lined with Sable, Black fox, Ermine, Persian Carpets, the ground cloth of Gold and Velvet, Sea-morce teeth aboundance, Haukes, such as they sayd never came the like: Horses, said to be Persian, Bowes & Arrows &c: which borne by so long a traine rendred it very extraordinary: Wind musick playing all the while in the Galleries above: This finish’d & the Ambassador conveyed by the Master of Ceremonies to York house, he was treated with a banquet, that cost 200 pounds, as I was assured, &c:.." ftp://ftp.cac.psu.edu/pub/humanit…
Leslie Katz • Link
Isn't "moyre" more likely to be moire (with an acute accent over the e) or watered silk?
Australian Susan • Link
I would agree that moyre sounds more like moiree silk, but we are talking winter gowns here, so more likely to be very fine wool. Poor Elizabeth - doesn't look as though she will get her gown whether of silk or wool. Wonder who got asked to the banquet for the Ambassador? Sounds to have been very fine.
Thanks to TerryF for quoting Evelyn's version of the event, but doesn't this point up (as with the two accounts of the Coronation) how much better Sam describes these things somehow? The reader gets so much more a sense of being there from Sam, with his details of the collapsing gallery for example.
Terry F • Link
Leslie Katz, you are also correct: here is a confirmation.
"The history of the word moire is complicated. The earliest agreed origin is the Arabic-Persian mukhayyar, a cloth made from the wool of the Angora goat, from khayyana, 'he chose' (hence 'a choice, or excellent, cloth'). It has also been suggested that the Arabic word was formed from the Latin marmoreus, meaning 'like marble'. By 1570 the word had found its way into English as mohair. This was then adopted into French as mouaire, and by 1660 (in the writings of Samuel Pepys) it had been adopted back into English as moire or moyre. Meanwhile the French mouaire had mutated into a verb, moirer, meaning 'to produce a watered textile by weaving or pressing', which by 1823 had spawned the adjective moiré. Moire and moiré are now used interchangeably in English." http://www.answers.com/topic/moir…
Todd Bernhardt • Link
"how the Lord Treasurer hath now ordered all monies to be brought into the Exchequer, and hath settled the King’s revenue, and given to every general expence proper assignments; to the Navy 200,000l. and odd"
So ... does this mean that the Navy gets 200,000 pounds as its annual budget, and that this money comes directly from the king, rather than from Parliament? Can someone in the know explain more about these budgetary arrangements?
Terry F • Link
"Can someone in the know explain more about these budgetary arrangements?"
That be L&M, who suggest that this attempt to get a handle on the royal budget, which "restored the Exchequer 'to its antient honor and reputacion'" was ultimately as effective as rearranging the chairs on the deck of the financial ship of state, and would be followed by other, ineffective attempts in 1667 and 1674.
Robert Gertz • Link
"...but we could not come to any resolution what to do therein, other than to appear as she is."
Despite time constraints before their dinner, why do I think Samuel has his tongue firmly in his cheek as he writes this?
"Sam'l I will be so ashamed to entertain Mrs. Clerke and Mrs. Pierce in my old taffeta in wintertime."
Solemn nod from Sam, he pacing thoughtfully...
"We'll...As a family...Look so ridiculous." sidelong glance from Bess as she sighes. Sam nodding wisely.
"Gadzooks, tis lamentable. If only something could be my dear." he shakes his head. Ah, me...
dirk • Link
"the chief Embassador did carry up his master’s letters in state before him on high; and as soon as he had delivered them, he did fall down to the ground and lay there a great while"
I think what we're witnessing here is the difference between Russian and British protocol. Prostrating oneself before the monarch has a definitely oriental ring to it. The Ottoman Sultan required it, and so did the Tsar. To the more "humanistically" minded British (I'm avoiding the modern term "democratically" here... ) this must have been a strange -- if not revolting -- experience.
dirk • Link
John Evelyn today -- note
http://nils.lib.tufts.edu/cgi-bin…
adds the following note to today's diary entry by John Evelyn:
"The Czar of Muscovy sent an Ambassador to compliment King Charles II. on his Restoration. The King sent the Earl of Carlisle as his Ambassador to Moscow, to desire the re-establishment of the ancient privileges of the English merchants at Archangel, which had been taken away by the Czar, who, abhorring the murder of the King's father, accused them as favourers of it. But, by the means of the Czar's ministers, his Lordship was very ill received, and met with what he deemed affronts, and had no success as to his demands, so that at coming away he refused the presents sent him by the Czar. The Czar sent an Ambassador to England to complain of Lord Carlisle's conduct; but his Lordship vindicated himself so well, that the King told the Ambassador he saw no reason to condemn his Lordship's conduct.” Relation of the Embassy by G. M., authenticated by Lord Carlisle, printed 1669."
Paul Chapin • Link
Pepys vs. Evelyn
Rsponding to Australian Susan: Sam is certainly the better, more engaging writer of the two (which is why we had all heard of him before starting to read the diary, but not of Evelyn, or at least I hadn't).
Still, I really enjoy it when some annotator provides us a look at Evelyn's take on the same event that Sam has written about, for a couple of reasons.
First, different people notice different things. Sam didn't tell us about the horses, or the wind music, or the "crimson-taffaty scarfe" at the Russian Ambassador's audience. (Although it is strange that Evelyn didn't mention the Ambassador's prostrating himself, which as Dirk says must have been an extraordinary spectacle to Londoners.)
Second, Evelyn was more highly placed in his society than Sam was at this stage in his life, he had personal dealings with important people that Sam saw only from afar, or not at all (his frequent reports on the demonstrations and discussions at the Royal Society are a good example, but not the only one). So his diary sometimes gives us an insider's view that Sam can't provide.
Bergie • Link
"The Ambassador then deliverd it, with a profound reverence to the King." Wouldn't this "profound reverence" be Evelyn's mention of the ambassador's prostration? It seems that Evelyn understood the meaning of the gesture better than Pepys did.
Australian Susan • Link
Paul Chapin is quite right, of course - Evelyn moves in higher circles, but then, he is much older. When Sam is his age, he is moving in a more elevated clime, but there is no Diary then!
in Aqua Scripto • Link
Remember J. Evelyn spent some time at the exiled court , was an out and out Royalist and has travelled the Route of the Grand tour, so to each of the recorders of the event, it be a differing experience the "doffing and kowtowin'".
As stated by Tacitus,
"Omne ignotum pro magnifico est"
that we have not seen before, is {******) marvelous
De Vita et Moribus IuliI Agricolae, 30
in Aqua Scripto • Link
?"... I have almost found out a young gentlewoman for my turn, to wait on my wife, of good family and that can sing ..."
jeannine • Link
"different people notice different things"...Paul, this is an excellent point and true not only of the diarist but other contemporary writers (Clarendon, Burnet, etc.) who wrote about their times. The diverse views, experiences and opinions give a much fuller picture and additional depth, so I too am appreciative of others sharing these differing views. Although Sam is a masterful and "fun" writer to read, he still has his own biases and only sees through his eyes.
On a sidenote--I still find that in reading biographies of people of this time that it also adds to my understanding of the individual to read multiple books on the same person/events as the views may differ quite widely depending on the writer's research, perspective and biases. Tomilin's view of Sam is quite different than Ollard's, Fraser's view of Charles II is quite different than Hutton's, etc.
jeannine • Link
"but we could not come to any resolution what to do therein, other than to appear as she is." As Sam rises up the ladder and starts to enterain people of a higher status, dressing correctly to fit in will be a real issue not only for him, but also for his wife. Court life could be brutally gossipy, arrogant and condescending, so "dressing the part" (just right--not too shabby and not to flashy) will become a real need. From the entry today I didn't see Sam writing with any humor on the subject but perhaps an awareness that their status is changing and he may need to make adjustments along with it.
in Aqua Scripto • Link
pecking order :"Court life could be brutally gossipy, arrogant and condescending," Just like the modern living, around the modern scuttle butte.
A. Hamilton • Link
"the Lord Treasurer hath now ordered all monies to be brought into the Exchequer, and hath settled the King’s revenue, and given to every general expence proper assignments; to the Navy 200,000l. and odd. He also told me of the great vast trade of the goldsmiths in supplying the King with money at dear rates."
Jack Spicer no fool. What good does it do to put the King's revenue in order, all neatly parcelled out, when the King goes off and borrows "at dear rates." The audience for the Russian ambassadors may exemplify the royal extravagance, costing for one banquet ( 200 pounds) lasting perhaps 3-4 hours what it costs to run the entire Navy for 8 hours.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"the great vast trade of the goldsmiths in supplying the King with money at dear rates."
They usually charged 6% (the legal maximum), to which was added a gratuity of 4%, (L&M note)
Terry Foreman • Link
"I have almost found out a young gentlewoman for my turn, to wait on my wife, of good family and that can sing."
Mary Ashwell. (L&M note) http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Bill • Link
"all the world wears moyre"
There is an encyclopedia entry on Moyre: http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Bill • Link
“to see the audience of the Russia Embassadors”
" On Monday last, betwixt two and three in the afternoon, His Majesty gave audience to the great Lord Ambassador, the great Duke and Governor of Toulsky, Peeter, the son of Simon, surnamed Prozorofskee, to the Lord Governor of Coarmeski, John, the son of Offonassey, surnamed Zelebousky, and Juan Stephano, Chancellor, &c., Ambassadors from the Emperor of Russia. They passed along from York House to White Hall through His Majesties guards who stood on both sides of the street, and made a lane for their more orderly procession." —Mercurius Publicus, Jan. 1, 1662-3.
---Diary and correspondence of Samuel Pepys, the diary deciphered by J. Smith. 1854.
Tonyel • Link
"the great vast trade of the goldsmiths in supplying the King with money at dear rates."
10% sounds greedy but, Charles being Charles, there was no guarantee that the money would ever be repaid.
1Vikinggirl • Link
"and the Duke of Monmouth with his little mistress, which is very little"
Interesting that Pepys does find her litte, presumably in the meaning of young. She was born 11 February 1651, thus 11 years 10 months 2 weeks at this time.
RSGII • Link
Sam’s wealth of £630. Over the years there have been attempts to convert Sams wealth to modern terms using the CPI or GNP net deflator, most recently on 12/27/1662. While the results are not wrong, they are misleading, because they do not reflect the huge increase in wealth over the last 350 years.
There is a marvelous web site with the tools to correct this: Measuringworth.com, which describes the seven possible ways of measuring value over time and suggests which might be most appropriate for various purposes, e.g. the CPI o GNP deflator to understand the cost of coal in 1662. Plugging Sams £630 in gives about £80k using the CPI/GNP deflator methods, which is consistent with previous efforts. However this only tells us how much it would take to buy the basket of goods, food, heat, transport, labor that Sam bought. And these items are a much smaller share of our incomes today. If we compare Sam’s pot of gold to the average wage, or the GNP per capita, better measures of his relative wealth, you would need between £1.3 and 3.0 million today to have the same level of relative economic position he had with his £630 in 1662.
And the reason all of those tradesmen and “citizens” were happy to see him—his economic clout, his share of Britain’s 1662 GNP was the equivalent of someone with £20.6m today, a real city man or Silicon Valley type driving his 1662 Tesla!
San Diego Sarah • Link
Just a reminder, Pepys saw the Russian ambassador and followers arrive on November 23. At that time language hat identified them as:
✹ language hat on 28 Nov 2005 • Link • Flag
The Russian ambassadors The main ambassador was Prince Pyotr Semyonovich Prozorovsky ... with his sons: http://www.elibron.com/english/ot…...
The other ambassador was much younger, Ivan Afanasyevich Zhelyabuzhsky. Discussions did not actually get under way until the following January; there's a description of the mission, for those who read Russian, here: http://www.kreml.ru/ru/main/scien…... I haven't found anything in English.
Terry Foreman • Link
"Here she told me what I heard not of before, the strange burning of Mr. De Laun, a merchant’s house in Loathbury, and his lady (Sir Thomas Allen’s daughter) and her whole family; not one thing, dog nor cat, escaping; nor any of the neighbours almost hearing of it till the house was quite down and burnt."
L&M: The fire occurred on the night of 26-27 December, and the seven inmates of the house (which was new and of brick) all perished. See Rugge, ii, f.58v; Mundy, v. 151-2; Diary of Henry Townshend (ed. Willis Bund), i. 95; Richard Smyth, Obituary, p. 57. Delaun was an Eastland merchant.
Terry Foreman • Link
"Thence to White Hall, and got up to the top gallerys in the Banquetting House, to see the audience of the Russia Embassadors; which [took place] after long waiting and fear of the falling of the gallery (it being so full, and part of it being parted from the rest, for nobody to come up merely from the weakness thereof):"
L&M: For the ceremony, see Merc. Pub., 8 January 1663, pp. 1+; Evelyn; Rugge, ii. ff. 59+. None mentions the damaged gallery.