Saturday 18 February 1664/65
Up, and to the office, where sat all the morning; at noon to the ’Change, and thence to the Royall Oake taverne in Lumbard Streete, where Sir William Petty and the owners of the double-bottomed boat (the Experiment) did entertain my Lord Brunkard, Sir R. Murrey, myself, and others, with marrow bones and a chine of beefe of the victuals they have made for this ship; and excellent company and good discourse: but, above all, I do value Sir William Petty.
Thence home; and took my Lord Sandwich’s draught of the harbour of Portsmouth down to Ratcliffe, to one Burston, to make a plate for the King, and another for the Duke, and another for himself; which will be very neat.
So home, and till almost one o’clock in the morning at my office, and then home to supper and to bed.
My Lord Sandwich, and his fleete of twenty-five ships in the Downes, returned from cruising, but could not meet with any Dutchmen.
22 Annotations
First Reading
Pedro • Link
For Jeannine, Sandwich on the 18th February...
A fine sunshine day, little wind at N and NW, but cold, This day about noon Colonel Belasis came on board me with a letter from my Lord Belasis with reference to his transportation to Tangier.
(Journal of Edward Montagu edited by Anderson)
Pedro • Link
On this day...
De Ruyter sails for the Antilles.
Terry Foreman • Link
War-related letters of this day indexed in the Carte Calendar
Thomas Wilde to Sandwich
Written from: Yarmouth
....
Explains the cause of delay in return of the impressed seamen.
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Captain Michael Carew to Ormond
Written from: Ostend
Date: 18 February 1665
....
Infers that if he, the writer, shall take his Majesty's Commission [of Marque], he must man his frigate with Flemings, or with French, and doubts of his ability to procure them. He will, however, use assiduous endeavours to that end ...
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Anthony Carew to Ormond
Written from: Ostend
Date: 18 February 1665
....
Reports, at great length, the writer's opinion upon the measures to be taken for harassing Dutch commerce, upon occasion of the war between the Crown of England and the States General of the United Provinces.
Adds that the writer is no "Captain", but "Anthony Carew, of Ostend, Merchant", only; so that his Grace was mistaken in addressing his letter to him, instead of to his brother [writer of MS. Carte 34, fol(s). 40].
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Ormond to Ossory
Written from: Moor Park
Date: 18 February 1665
....
Particulars concerning the 'Bill of Enrolment' or 'of Registry' ... and the measures of precaution to be adopted against apprehended insurrectionary plots in Ireland ...
... Hears from Court that an Extraordinary Embassy from France is expected - probably an endeavour to mediate a reconciliation with Holland.
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Thomas Medowe to Sandwich
Written from: Yarmouth
Date: 18 February 1665
.....
Reports the shipping of the impressed seamen; together with a 'supply of pilots', for the Fleet.
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William Coventry to Sandwich
Written from: [St James's]
Date: 18 February 1665
....
Has sent to the Navy Office Lord Sandwich's requisition for certain naval stores. Transmits instructions from the Lord Admiral as to the stations, the manning, and the victualling, of various Ships of the Fleet; and also for restraining captains of ships from the discharge of their landsmen, and from permitting any impressed seamen to go on shore.
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/s…
Jesse • Link
Draught-draft, Plate-plat
It's a little vague for me here. At first I was thinking a plate showing depth measurements of the harbor but a singular draught? Perhaps it's a draft for the land/layout about the harbor turned into a plat and/or a plate?
Terry Foreman • Link
"Perhaps it’s a draft for the land/layout about the harbor turned into a plat and/or a plate?"
Aye, Jesse, a draft that is to be engraved by John Burston on three plates.
CGS • Link
My limited take of "....draught of the harbour of Portsmouth down to Ratcliffe, to one Burston, to make a plate for the King, and another for the Duke, and another for himself; which will be very neat..."
It would be 'wot' one would called today a hard copy of the plan of Portsmouth, nicely etched on copper plate, with some strong waters. dun by a master etcher.
Jesse • Link
'a draft that is to be engraved'
Thanks. I would think that the artistic ability to create a draft suitable to go direct to engraving would require rather a unique skill. While Lord Sandwich is noted in the Wikipedia entry as having several 'fascination[s] with topography, mathematics, astronomy, and navigation' it's not that clear that he was, well, quite the draftsman, unless he had it done in his name. Though I do see His Lordship as being rather a good draughtsman in measuring harbor depths.
Robert Gertz • Link
"...but, above all, I do value Sir William Petty."
So, for the moment, the 'Experiment' appears to be a success...
Interesting...One wonders if Sam ever seriously dreamed of a career in natural philsophy or at least, as an inventor. And while it's stretching a bit far, I suspect a guess could be made that such interest might possibly have led to the depth of his estrangement from father-in-law Alex, the inventor (would-be, at least). If in the early days of courtship our headstrong lover was taken in by the would-be Sieur de St. Michel's tales of his perpetual motion machine, etc and lost some money or time or both on dad-in-law, it would certainly have left him with a strong aversion to further contact. But again, a bit stretching...
Michael Robinson • Link
"... took my Lord Sandwich’s draught of the harbour of Portsmouth down to Ratcliffe, to one Burston, to make a plate ..."
Sandwich's sketches were used in the past as the basis for a print, assumed to be Dirk Stoop's 'The River Targus and City of Lisbona':-
"There come to him this morning his prints of the river Tagus and the City of Lisbon, which he measured with his own hand, and printed by command of the King. My Lord pleases himself with it, but methinks it ought to have been better done than by jobing. Besides I put him upon having some took off upon white sattin, which he ordered presently. "
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Michael Robinson • Link
"... and took my Lord Sandwich’s draught of the harbour of Portsmouth down to Ratcliffe, to one Burston, to make a plate for the King, and another for the Duke, and another for himself; ..."
L&M read 'plat' for 'plate.'
The sense could equally be that Burston will tidy up Sandwich's drafts and produce three identical professional copies of the plat (map) by hand. There is no need to assume either etching or engraving on Burston's part; a far more expensive procedure than producing the three copies in manuscript.
Michael Robinson • Link
A manuscript plat by Burston dated 1665
[NE Atlantic, England to Strait of Gibraltar]
"Made by John Burston dwelling at the Signe of the Platt in Ratcliff Highway anno domini 1665"
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/…
Mary • Link
A manuscript plat by John Burston
Many thanks, Michael, for this excellent link. And what a beautiful plat.
andy • Link
a plat
could be French - "plat" i.e. flat. A flat (thing).
jeannine • Link
"it’s not that clear that he was, well, quite the draftsman, unless he had it done in his name"
Jesse, he probably did it himself. In the book "Cromwell's Earl" (about Sandwich) by Ollard, there are several pages of highly detailed drawings that Sandwich drafted, mostly in his Ambassador days. These include a jewel he designed for his wife, Cape Tresforcas, Tangier, watering plans for the embassy garden at the Siete Chimenas, assorted furniture and tools, the bridge at Meridan ornate basin, etc. He had an exactness in measurements (ie. the Blazing Star entries show that detail) and he was quite talented in reflecting this in his illustrations. The draft that Sam mentions today is not pictured in this book.
language hat • Link
"plat" is not from French plat. OED:
Prob. orig. a variant of PLOT n., reinforced by association with PLAT adj. and prob. also PLAT n.2 [...]
The chronology appears to show that plat in sense 1 ["An area of land"] originated as a variant of PLOT n. 1, prob. assimilated to PLAT n.2 ["A flat object or surface"] through association of sense, a plot of ground being usually a plat or flat area. [...]
Semantic association with PLAT n.2 may also have played a part in the development of sense 2 ["A plan, a diagram, a design, esp. a ground plan of a building or of an area of land; a map, a chart"], a plat being a plan of an area of land or a building on a flat piece of paper or parchment. [...] The development of branch II ["A diagram, outline, scheme, etc."] bears many similarities to that of Middle French, French plan PLAN n.
Noel C. Bon Tempo • Link
Plat or Plate, whatever. The most important plate or plat du jour is the marrow bones and chine for the gourmet lunch!
Jesse • Link
"my Lord Sandwich’s draught of the harbour"
Thanks all for the very helpful information. Especially the evidence that His Lordship could draft/draught plats/plates in more ways than one.
CGS • Link
Thanks for the clarification:: After I drafted my work I would then make the required copies for distribution, simply because I would always make at least one error in the hand copy.
I would have thought that making a permanent copy by etching or wood block would have been the way to make good copies, That be why Printing be invented to get many copies rather rely on the copy draughsman doing perfect work.
I like the way the title be one way and the names of importance be upside down.
A. De Araujo • Link
"marrow bones"
Osso Buco?
Australian Susan • Link
Nothing so fancy. Just boiled bones and you suck the marrow out.
Harvey • Link
"So, for the moment, the ‘Experiment’ appears to be a success…"
The 'Experiment' was fast and went to windward well, major tactical advantages for a sailing navy. But it was too much of a mental shift to accept double hulled ships, so it was wondered at and then forgotten.
Second Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
Journal of Edward Montagu edited by Anderson for 18th February 1665:
"A fine sunshine day, little wind at N and NW, but cold,
This day about noon Colonel Belasis came on board me with a letter from my Lord Belasis with reference to his transportation to Tangier."
from L&M Companion ... John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse (1614 - 1689) has two sons who appear in the diary, principally as duelists:
-- Sir Henry, his eldest,
-- and John.
Sir Henry, an Anglican convert, was Captain of foot for the Hull garrison Oct. 1660-1662, and 1665-d. -- from The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690,
So this is probably the Capt. Belasis in charge of his father's trip to Tangier.