Monday 30 November 1663

Was called up by a messenger from Sir W. Pen to go with him by coach to White Hall. So I got up and went with him, and by the way he began to observe to me some unkind dealing of mine to him a weeke or two since at the table, like a coxcomb, when I answered him pretty freely that I would not think myself to owe any man the service to do this or that because they would have it so (it was about taking of a mulct upon a purser for not keeping guard at Chatham when I was there), so he talked and I talked and let fall the discourse without giving or receiving any great satisfaction, and so to other discourse, but I shall know him still for a false knave. At White Hall we met the Duke in the Matted Gallery, and there he discoursed with us; and by and by my Lord Sandwich came and stood by, and talked; but it being St. Andrew’s, and a collar-day, he went to the Chappell, and we parted. From him and Sir W. Pen and I back again and ’light at the ’Change, and to the Coffee-house, where I heard the best story of a cheate intended by a Master of a ship, who had borrowed twice his money upon the bottomary, and as much more insured upon his ship and goods as they were worth, and then would have cast her away upon the coast of France, and there left her, refusing any pilott which was offered him; and so the Governor of the place took her and sent her over hither to find an owner, and so the ship is come safe, and goods and all; they all worth 500l., and he had one way or other taken 3000l.. The cause is to be tried to-morrow at Guildhall, where I intend to be.

Thence home to dinner, and then with my wife to her arithmetique. In the evening came W. Howe to see me, who tells me that my Lord hath been angry three or four days with him, would not speak to him; at last did, and charged him with having spoken to me about what he had observed concerning his Lordship, which W. Howe denying stoutly, he was well at ease; and continues very quiett, and is removing from Chelsy as fast as he can, but, methinks, both by my Lord’s looks upon me to-day, or it may be it is only my doubtfulness, and by W. Howe’s discourse, my Lord is not very well pleased, nor, it may be, will be a good while, which vexes me; but I hope all will over in time, or else I am but ill rewarded for my good service.

Anon he and I to the Temple and there parted, and I to my cozen Roger Pepys, whom I met going to his chamber; he was in haste, and to go out of town tomorrow. He tells me of a letter from my father which he will keep to read to me at his coming to town again. I perceive it is about my father’s jealousys concerning my wife’s doing ill offices with me against him only from the differences they had when she was there, which he very unwisely continues to have and troubles himself and friends about to speak to me in, as my Lord Sandwich, Mr. Moore, and my cozen Roger, which vexes me, but I must impute it to his age and care for my mother and Pall and so let it go.

After little discourse with him I took coach and home, calling upon my bookseller’s for two books, Rushworth’s and Scobell’s Collections. I shall make the King pay for them. The first I spent some time at the office to read and it is an excellent book. So home and spent the evening with my wife in arithmetique, and so to supper and to bed.

I end this month with my mind in good condition for any thing else, but my unhappy adventuring to disoblige my Lord by doing him service in representing to him the discourse of the world concerning him and his affairs.

22 Annotations

First Reading

Bradford  •  Link

"collar-day: day on which knights of chivalric orders wore insignia at court"---Companion, Large Glossary

Would give a nickel/sixpence to know how often "Sir W. Pen" and "coxcomb" have appeared proximately in recent months.

jeannine  •  Link

"I shall make the King pay for them."
Put on a skirt and stand in line fella!

Terry F  •  Link

Why would Sir W. Penn object to Pepys "taking of a mulct [levying a fine] upon a purser for not keeping guard at Chatham when [he] was there"?

Is he charging Pepys with appropriating what should have gone to Sir G. Cartaret, the Treasurer?

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"I perceive it is about my father's jealousys concerning my wife's doing ill offices with me against him only from the differences they had when she was there, which he very unwisely continues to have and troubles himself and friends about to speak to me in, as my Lord Sandwich, Mr. Moore, and my cozen Roger, which vexes me, but I must impute it to his age and care for my mother and Pall and so let it go."

Just what did happen at Brampton last summer? Or does John Sr. perhaps suspect Sam's tight purse strings on the Brampton budget are Bess' cause?

"Tis that French whore who makes me boy spend on his fine home and clothes like there's no tomorrow while his mother, sister, and father scrape along on a few pounds per year."

Perhaps just as well he doesn't know...

Bradford  •  Link

"but I hope all will [be?] over in time, or else I am but ill rewarded for my good service."

Can someone with L&M verify the reading? Of course it could just be the usage of the time.
Here we see Pepys's certainty as to the rightness of his action, and the shortfall of imagination which cannot envision how another might interpret his actions differently. Try to picture Pepys's response if someone under him---say Will Hewer---should, in the future, write him a similar letter about his own marital indiscretions. [Hardly a spoiler.]

language hat  •  Link

"I shall make the King pay for them."

If only I could do the same with my book purchases!

Terry F  •  Link

Bradford, L&M read as Wheatley does, save for the editorial [be?].

Bryan M  •  Link

The purser and the mulct

From 7 November:
Up and to the office, where we sat all the morning, and Sir W. Pen and I had a word or two, where by opposing him in not being willing to excuse a mulct put upon the purser of the James, absent from duty, he says, by his business and order, he was mighty angry, and went out of the office like an asse discontented: At which I am never a whit sorry; I would not have [him] think that I dare not oppose him, where I see reason and cause for it.

Looks like (a) the purser was absent from duty without good reason and Sir W intervened to protect him, or (b) the purser did have a legitimate excuse but Sam voted to fine him to make a point with Sir W. (Or perhaps something in between)

"when I answered him pretty freely" - discontented asse?, coxcomb?, false knave? - hope he pulled some of those punches.

Terry F  •  Link

"it was about taking of a mulct upon a purser for not keeping guard at Chatham when I was there"

Penn was bringing up something that happened at Chatham when Pepys was trying to show Commissioner Pett how to maintain proper order in a shipyard - the latter had been willing to excuse lax conduct by folks in what were, in effect, his clientele/extended family. Penn is siding with Pett, who'd been up to London, and to the Navy Office to review what had occurred at Chatham.

Terry F  •  Link

We've also seen Pepys's opinion/demonstrations of how incompetent Penn and the other Old Sea Dogs are when it comes to managing the other shipyards.

andy  •  Link

which he very unwisely continues to have and troubles himself and friends about to speak to me in, as my Lord Sandwich, Mr. Moore, and my cozen Roger, which vexes me,

Isn't this precisely what he did to Sandwich?

Pedro  •  Link

The purser and the mulct.

The Purser was one of the five warrant officers that continued in service while their ships lay in the ordinary, which was the condition of much of the fleet in peacetime. (Others were boatswain, gunner, carpenter and cook) The "standing officers" formed the basis the skeleton crews which guarded and maintained the ships. (Gentlemen and Tarpaulis...Davies)

Absences could well have been commomplace and this Purser seems to be a victim of Sam's attention to detail, further fuelled by his rivalry with Penn.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

One must wonder at Sam's attitude with Admiral Sir Will at a time when he fears he may have lost Lord Sandwich's patronage. After all, if things turn out badly he's no longer "Ah, yes...Sandwich's man at the Navy Office. Best to be wary with him." but "Oh, yes. The nobody Sandwich put in at the Navy Office and no longer cares about. Send him to Barbados in a leaky rowboat." You'd think our careful boy would be more cautious in such a time. One wonders what others (Coventry, Carteret, etc) have said that has left Sam so sure of his position that he'd recklessly go on tweaking Penn's tail.

Hugh Yeman  •  Link

"I shall make the King pay for them."

Scobell's "Collection of Acts and Ordinances of General Use, Made in the Parliament, 1640-1656" and Rushworth's "Historical
Collections, 8 volumes (1659-70), compiled from shorthand notes taken down at actual meetings of the Star Chamber, Exchequer Chamber and Parliament, covering the period down to 1648.)" would hardly seem useful for anything *but* Sam's professional use. Why does he sound as though he's getting away with something by making the King pay for these books?

language hat  •  Link

"Why does he sound as though he's getting away with something"
I don't really think he does; he says "I shall make the King pay for them" the way his counterpart today would say "I'll put in a voucher for it" or "I'll charge it to the corporate expense account."

Wim van der Meij  •  Link

- who had borrowed twice his money on the bottomary - Bottomary (bottomry) is the act of borrowing money upon a ship's bottom.

Pedro  •  Link

Saint Andrew's Day.

(Where are you Dirk?)

John Evelyn...

30 Was the first Anniversary our Society for the Choice of new Officers, according to the Tenor of our Patent, & Institution; it being St. Andrews day, who was our Patron, each fellow wearing a St. Andrews Crosse of ribbon on the crowne of his hatt, after the Election was over, we all dined together, his Majestie sending us Venison:

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Le… in London

Second Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"One wonders what others (Coventry, Carteret, etc.) have said that has left Sam so sure of his position that he'd recklessly go on tweaking Penn's tail."

Coventry was with Sam on the trip to Chatham where they pushed Pett to run the shipyard as well as the other yards. http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… So Sam knows exactly what Coventry wants.

In November Carteret, Coventry and Batten argued over contracts when Sam was there http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… ... he knows their standards.

And as recently as last week Sam was riding in Carteret's coach hearing with great pleasure about in what high regard he was held. http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

The Sir Williams are under the gun now, not Sam. Not that he should go too far, but rattling Penn's cage is a good political move.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Pepys is understandably anxious about Sandwich's attitude still. Whatever his public demeanour, at time Sam delights in torturing himself with his worries. However, he is worrying too much. Sandwich has spoken to Pepys about the matter, and that's the end of it, whatever annoyance inevitably lingers.

Sam's defence is that he was reporting public gossip back to his patron, as he felt it was damaging to him. Will Howe however has had it in the neck, because he is a member of Sandwich's household, and M'Lord (rightly) suspects that Howe has been talking of his own private matters and movements to Pepys, and maybe others too, a breach of trust in a servant. Howe may well be somewhat aggrieved because Pepys did *not* discuss the letter with him, or warn him, before he sent it, and hence the subsequent fallout was an unwelcome surprise. So Howe is passing some of his own misery on to Pepys with a version of the conversation, no doubt edited to exclude Sandwich's supplementary questions on the lines of: "Who else did you tell?"

Gerald Berg  •  Link

"where I heard the best story of a cheate"

Well Sam, it may have taken a while but I heard the same story told much better by Mel Brooks in The Producers.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Re: ‘ . . taking of a mulct upon a purser . . ’

‘mulct, n. < classical Latin . . Now chiefly hist. 1. A fine imposed for an offence . .
. . 1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity xix. 71 For multitude and frequency of Transgressours brings in Mulcts and Fees to the Ecclesiastick Officers . . ‘

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