Friday 4 November 1664

Waked very betimes and lay long awake, my mind being so full of business. Then up and to St. James’s, where I find Mr. Coventry full of business, packing up for his going to sea with the Duke. Walked with him, talking, to White Hall, where to the Duke’s lodgings, who is gone thither to lodge lately. I appeared to the Duke, and thence Mr. Coventry and I an hour in the Long Gallery, talking about the management of our office, he tells me the weight of dispatch will lie chiefly on me, and told me freely his mind touching Sir W. Batten and Sir J. Minnes, the latter of whom, he most aptly said, was like a lapwing; that all he did was to keepe a flutter, to keepe others from the nest that they would find. He told me an old story of the former about the light-houses, how just before he had certified to the Duke against the use of them, and what a burden they are to trade, and presently after, at his being at Harwich, comes to desire that he might have the setting one up there, and gets the usefulness of it certified also by the Trinity House.

After long discoursing and considering all our stores and other things, as how the King hath resolved upon Captain Taylor1 and Colonell Middleton, the first to be Commissioner for Harwich and the latter for Portsmouth, I away to the ’Change, and there did very much business, so home to dinner, and Mr. Duke, our Secretary for the Fishery, dined with me. After dinner to discourse of our business, much to my content, and then he away, and I by water among the smiths on the other side, and to the alehouse with one and was near buying 4 or 5 anchors, and learned something worth my knowing of them, and so home and to my office, where late, with my head very full of business, and so away home to supper and to bed.

28 Annotations

First Reading

Pedro  •  Link

In defence of the lovely Lapwing.

When danger threatens their ground-built nest they try to draw attention away from it by feigning a broken wing.

For an oil painting of the birds see…

http://www.wildlife-art-paintings…

Terry F  •  Link

Absent Dirk, here from the Carte Calendar

Captain Thomas Allen to Sandwich

Date: 4 November 1664

Shelfmark: MS. Carte 75, fol(s). 243-244
Document type: Original; but unsigned

Sends a report of naval service and incidents "in the Straights". Details, at great length, particulars of a negotiation, and treaty of Peace, with the Government of Algiers.

Adds particulars of a conflict between Turks & Moors, on the one part, and the French, on the other, fought upon the Coast, in which the Mahometans were victorious.
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/s…

Terry F  •  Link

The expedition of Gigeri [(Djidjelli]..

This affair, which ended so disastrously for the French, is mentioned by Pepys (Oct. 11, 1664). Colbert, in his desire to establish French colonies, wished to found one on the Mediterranean coast of Africa. For this purpose the Due de Beaufort, High Admiral of France, took possession, on July 22, 1664, of Gigeri, in the province of Bugia, about forty leagues from Algiers, and he placed a garrison there under the command of Lieut.-Gen. Guadagni. The duke had scarcely retired before the Moors attacked the place in great force, and with such success, that Guadagni considered himself fortunate in evacuating it at all. He embarked on the night of Oct. 29, abandoning his artillery and stores. The regiment of Picardy perished by shipwreck.

Captain Thomas Allin, in a letter to the navy commissioners, dated Nov. 4, 1664, reports the "total defeat of the French by the Moors and Turks at Gigary; 400 prisoners taken and 35 brass guns, and on Nov. 15, Sir William Coventry writes that the French troops have quitted Gigary, leaving 1,200 men to the mercy of the Moors" (Co/, of State Papers, Dom., 1664-65, pp. 53, 70- Sir Richard Fanshawe, in a letter to the deputy- governor of Tangier, dated Dec. 2, 1664, says: "We have certain intelligence that the French have lost Gigheria, with all they had there, and their fleet come back, with the loss of one considerable ship upon the rocks near Marseilles" (Letters, vol. i., p. 347). Memoirs of Count Grammont By Anthony Hamilton
http://books.google.com/books?id=…

Carl in Boston  •  Link

List to the Call, the Pepsyian Call today
Go back to the Weblog and Vote for Pepys.
Those hellhounds Gaimain and McSweeney are closing in.
Samuel Pepys expects every man to do his duty and VOTE.

I voted today and tried again, using the usual cyber tricks.
They hear me knocking, but I can't come in (boom, boom)
They hear me knocking, but I can't come in (boom, boom)
They hear me knocking, but I can't come in (boom)
Come on back tomorrow, we'll do it all again (boom, boom)

Lurkers and Watchers, I know you're out there, thousands of you.
You know it, I know it, everybody knows it.
We've got to do this thing, this thing of honor for Sam,
Now is the time to step from the shadows and VOTE.
No one will ever know you did this thing, voting for Sam.
It's all secret, you can do it every day.

Go back to the Door and Vote For Sam.

Australian Susan  •  Link

"....Waked very betimes and lay long awake, my mind being so full of business....."

Oh Sam, Sam, I know what you mean! I was checking our business bank balance online at 10 to 5 this morning to the dawn chorus of hiccuping friar birds (would much rather have lapwings)having Mild Panic. Sam seems to have held a great deal in his head - I wonder how much was recorded and by whom? How much confidential stuff did only he hang onto? Nowadays we might keep sensitive stuff on password protected server files - in days gone by, there would have safes for the sensitive matter. Did Sam have a safe?
I am also subject to more than Mild Panic as daughter's wedding is only 3 weeks away and so much still seems undecided......

cgs  •  Link

"so much still seems undecided' has she named the man yet?

Michael Robinson  •  Link

List to the Call, the Pepsyian Call -- Direct Link

Vote Early & Often -- The 2007 Weblog Awards
Votes can be made once per computer per 24 hours so if each of us enlists ten friends by sending a "broadcast" e-mail with a direct link ...

http://2007.weblogawards.org/poll…

[Apologies to those who have seen this post to the 'group']

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Warmest congratulations to Australian Susan Junior on her forthcoming nuptials!

A.S., I survived it twice (and also twice with my two sons, which was much easier), and I promise you will come away with mostly happy memories.

Terry F  •  Link

After you have voted, see what Jeannine hath wrought!! She hath created (with a little help from JibJab.com) Sam and Elizabeth dancing for joy!!

Terry F  •  Link

"the King hath resolved upon Captain Taylor1 and Colonell Middleton, the first to be Commissioner for Harwich and the latter for Portsmouth"

L&M note that now all the royal shipyards (excepting Woolwich and Deptford -- those within walking-distance of London) are provided with resident Navy Commissioners.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Jeannine! Wonderful! And the Charleston seems so right too. Anyone notice that, in this clip, "Sam" is dancing much better than "Elizabeth" ! Hmm. Maybe she was paying more attention to Pembleton than what he was teaching her......
Frequent visits to this site are a wonderful way to procrastinate about decisions about the wedding. (Now who have I borrowed coffee plungers from?........)
Pity we never heard how Sam coped with organising a daughter's wedding. One thing's for sure: it was a lot simpler then.

tonyt  •  Link

'One thing's for sure: it was a lot simpler then.' I think, Australian Susan, that you may have forgotten what some of the dowry arrangements could be like in Sam's day. Mind you, today's pre-marriage settlements can be equally complicated...

Australian Susan  •  Link

I agree: dowries were a complicating factor. I have just been reading Picard's Restoration London which is an easy read and has a section on marriages. On the simplicity side, i was thinking of the actual day - service, reception and so on and it seems that every retailer you mention the W word too adds $200 to any price! Sam seems to go to more funerals and christenings than weddings. And Valentine's Day parties and Twelfth Night feasts seem to be almost greater excuses for expenditure. Nowadays, people (I mean ordinary people not the mega rich who have celebrity-ridden bashes for birthdays) spend most on weddings and 21sts. Well, they do here in Australia.

Australian Susan  •  Link

damn! That pesky Gaiman is up to 537! Keep voting everyone! [have just found this to be wonderful new distraction from wedding]

A. Hamilton  •  Link

"profit will convert most of them"

Coventry on Mr. Taylor, an able "fanatic," about to be appointed Commissioner for Harwich. Coventry's restoration wit, of course, but also evidence that personal profit was an expected part of a high-ranking government job. The gossip we read here about Batten and others doesn't make Sam a hypocrite, although he too is looking for profit, because it seems to be motivated by a sense of what is defensible profit and what is undefensible greed.

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

Jeannine, superb!

Australian Susan, congratulations! As father of the bride this summer I just sat back and wrote checks. No stress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24…

Bradford  •  Link

Does there ever coming an endpoint, when one has gossip-complained to the last iota about the shortcomings of one's office-mates and nothing remains to be said? Of course, generally the jerks then do something new and foolish, refueling the verbal equivalent of the perpetual motion machine.

jeannine  •  Link

"Does there ever coming an endpoint, when one has gossip-complained to the last iota about the shortcomings of one’s office-mates and nothing remains to be said?"

I think not Bradford because then a majority of the world's population would have no reason to show up at the office each day as they'd have nothing better to talk about!

Actually, I think it all depends on the people. In my past I worked with a horrific gossip and was SO delighted to move on to a new job far away from that person. It's so draining to just hear negative stuff over and over and over again. Life is too short to waste on that kind of activity.

cgs  •  Link

Nuptials: Samuell did it the right way, sneak off to the town hall and pay thee pennies and tell no one, save blud sweat and tears, and have fun in thy garret, 'twose way I did it, still the best dollar spent
even 50 years later.

adamw  •  Link

If we ever wondered why Pepys was so valued by his peers, he tells us today. In the middle of a busy day he crosses the river, chats to the men who were actually making the anchors, takes one off to the pub, and of course "learned something worth my knowing of them". If you want to know, ask the men who do the job. I doubt the lapwing often went to the pub with a blacksmith.

Nix  •  Link

Adding my thanks to Jeannine for her JibJabbery, and my congratulations to Susan for imminent Mother-in-Lawesomeness.

Dan Jenkins  •  Link

Thank you Jeanine! A wonderful item with which to catch up from my Pepysian absence and end my day. Much enjoyment ensued.

Also, vote early and often. We hath left McSweeney in the dust and gain upon the Gaiman. "American Gods" - pah, we have Pepysian gods (well, demi-gods, mayhap, to be honest - but they are our demi-gods and we need to support them).

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"to White Hall, where to the Duke’s lodgings, who is gone thither to lodge lately."

He lived at Whitehall in the winter and at St James's in the summer.
(L&M footnote)

Linda  •  Link

I would love to know more about those anchors. Before the advent of today's efficient patented anchors, I can't imagine how they could have kept those enormous ships in place.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

Re: ‘ . . all hands will be needed for the work cut out; . . ‘

‘work, n.< Germanic.
. . P2. Phrases with verbs.
a. (a) to cut out work (for a person): to prepare work to be done by a person; to give a person something to do. In later use frequently in pass. Now rare. Perhaps originally with metaphorical allusion to the preparation of fabric to be worked on; see sense 17a.
. . 1669 J. Flavell Husbandry Spiritualized i. i. 19 You find in the Word, a world of work cut out for Christians; there's hearing work, praying work, reading, meditating, and self-examining work . .

(b) colloq. to have one's work cut out (for one) and variants: to have enough to do; to have as much to do as one can manage, esp. in the time available; to be faced with a hard or lengthy task . . ‘

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