Wednesday 12 April 1665
Up, and to White Hall to a Committee of Tangier, where, contrary to all expectation, my Lord Ashly, being vexed with Povy’s accounts, did propose it as necessary that Povy should be still continued Treasurer of Tangier till he had made up his accounts; and with such arguments as, I confess, I was not prepared to answer, but by putting off of the discourse, and so, I think, brought it right again; but it troubled me so all the day after, and night too, that I was not quiet, though I think it doubtfull whether I shall be much the worse for it or no, if it should come to be so.
Dined at home and thence to White Hall again (where I lose most of my time now-a-days to my great trouble, charge, and loss of time and benefit), and there, after the Council rose, Sir G. Carteret, my Lord Brunkard, Sir Thomas Harvy, and myself, down to my Lord Treasurer’s chamber to him and the Chancellor, and the Duke of Albemarle; and there I did give them a large account of the charge of the Navy, and want of money. But strange to see how they held up their hands crying, “What shall we do?” Says my Lord Treasurer, “Why, what means all this, Mr. Pepys? This is true, you say; but what would you have me to do? I have given all I can for my life. Why will not people lend their money? Why will they not trust the King as well as Oliver? Why do our prizes come to nothing, that yielded so much heretofore?” And this was all we could get, and went away without other answer, which is one of the saddest things that, at such a time as this, with the greatest action on foot that ever was in England, nothing should be minded, but let things go on of themselves do as well as they can.
So home, vexed, and going to my Lady Batten’s, there found a great many women with her, in her chamber merry, my Lady Pen and her daughter, among others; where my Lady Pen flung me down upon the bed, and herself and others, one after another, upon me, and very merry we were, and thence I home and called my wife with my Lady Pen to supper, and very merry as I could be, being vexed as I was.
So home to bed.
19 Annotations
First Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
Today at Gresham College from Hooke Folio Online
Apr. 12. 1665 (mr. Boyles booke of cold) he propounded, grafting on spina ceruina, trying sensible plant in Exhausting En[gine;] whether Silk worms & snails eggs would hatch in Vacuo?) Co Blunt about stifling vines by couering them wth glasses) Dr. Pell about inuerting plants) onions to be tryd how they decrease In air) mr. Hook affirmed that a Rosemary branch cut from the Root would Liue by sprinkling Common water vpon it (col Blunt asserted the like) that vine branch brough into house had Ripe grapes a fortnight sooner)
mr. Hooke being called vpon for /an/ account . . . Last days Expt about air generated from [aqua fortis] & powder of oyster shells reported that the greatest part of it was returned into Liquor. The same was orderd to make the experiment the next day wth bottle ale supposed to be wholsom to breath in which the air hitherto generated from [aqua fortis] & distilled vinegar is not.
(Operator to try making spiders & ants to feed on spiders)
Col: Blunt about chariots) mr Hook was orderd to prosecute /the module of/ his chariot wth 4 Springs & 4 wheels tending to the ease of the Rider. Orderd tht Ld Brounker Sr R moray. Sr W Petty. Dr Wilkins Col. Blunt & mr Hooke be desired to suggest Expts. for improuing chariots & to bring them into the mechanicall Comtee. that is to meet Apr. 21. at Ld Brounkers.
mr Howard shewd an account concerning new comet from his Brother at vienna which was deliuerd to mr Hooke to compare it wth his other obseruations.
(Dr Clark about Injection)
mr. Boyle about whether creatures in vacuo dye for want of air or by compression of Lungs. thorax perforated yet animall dyed)
http://webapps.qmul.ac.uk/cell/Ho…
Miss Ann fr Home • Link
"... my Lady Pen and her daughter, among others; where my Lady Pen flung me down upon the bed, and herself and others, one after another, upon me, and very merry we were, and thence I home and called my wife with my Lady Pen to supper..."
Not that great a day at the office, no money in the budget and none likely by the looks of it, but hey, the day got better with a bit of merriment with the gals ... not such a bad life afterall.
CGS • Link
um! the layabouts must give their time for a chit but the city wants a good return on their investment in King and country.
Dulce et Decorum Est.
www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html
"...Why will not people lend their money? Why will they not trust the King as well as Oliver? Why do our prizes come to nothing, that yielded so much heretofore?” And this was all we could get, and went away without other answer, which is one of the saddest things that, at such a time as this,..."
DougS • Link
That's a wonderful image of Sam being thrown down on the bed by the ladies: sweet, playful and telling . . . of how he was regarded.
Even if Sam is a serious professional man with serious responsibilities for the Navy and for a substantial household, this is a useful reminder of his essential youthfulness, capacity for play, and sometimes silliness. You can almost hear the giggling and laughter that must have eased some of his many mental burdens.
It's also a measure of how much people liked him, not least the ladies. His appeal, personally and professionally, accounts for much of his success.
I just like the everydayness that comes down through the centuries. Straight history can sometimes be so dry on the page. Incidents like this are a reminder of the humanity of these folks -- and that they aren't so different from us.
Yet another rich diary entry from someone who now seems like an old friend.
Robert Gertz • Link
One can see from this one why Bess, Admiral Penn, Hewer, Tom Povey, Jane Birch, and others put up with so much guff from him...He was a charmer and a playful one for all his standing on his dignity at times. When at ease he was probably as entertaining a storyteller in conversation to his contemporaries as he is to us.
It also suggests women were at ease with him. Can anyone imagine a bunch of women throwing Sandwich or Coventry on a bed? Was our boy perhaps considered "mostly harmless" and just a bit ridiculous as a lothario by those women who knew him as an equal or inferior?
Interesting that Lady Penn seems to have changed from the rather dour "old Dutchwoman" he described a while back. Not perhaps attractive to him, (Meg Jr. being more to his taste) though he'd be cautious with a noblewoman and wife of his "enemy", the Admiral, she certainly has a light heart.
***
Lovely touch with the Lord Treasurer, too... One can see him wringing hands futilely. Sam clearly takes great pleasure in recording these bits of what he must have known were unique insights into real history. I wonder with his love of Shakespeare and history if he'd found the histories available at the time dry and formal and consciously set out to try and get the real juice of the events he bears witness to. Possibly the great men he rubbed shoulders with like William Petty and Hooke and even Sandwich expressed similar disappointments with written history and unknowingly encouraged his efforts.
JWB • Link
"Why do our prizes come to nothing, that yielded so much heretofore?”
Reminder that the navy board, & the Royal Navy for that matter, was the creation of Devon pirates under Henry VIII.
JWB • Link
“Why, what means all this, Mr. Pepys?"
Why, I should think that the City entered into an agreement with Monk for the restoration so that they could have peace in their time. And now all this.
CGS • Link
Reminder: That out in the far corners of the Atlantic and Pacific there be the ladds of [in]fame [y] collecting stray ships that not be answerable to Charles II but he dothe want their cargo so he has blinkers on when his buddy the Sun King and the Spanish dothe complaine of missing cargo.
As for funds to run the warre, Charles has closed down dissent by proroguing the Houses that occupy Westminster, and trying to persuade the Merchants of the advantages of retaining the vessels of those foreign merchants, it be cheaper than trading, oh! the temptations of easy income.
Terry Foreman • Link
"Extracts from the Bills of Mortality, [that] published weekly summaries of deaths during the Great Plague. The first victim, Margaret Porteous, was buried on 12 April 1665 in Covent Garden. By the end of that year at least 110,000 people had died in London." http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/…
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"to my Lord Treasurer’s chamber to him and the Chancellor, and the Duke of Albemarle; and there I did give them a large account of the charge of the Navy, and want of money"
Pepys described this interview in a letter of 15 April to Coventry: Further Corr., p. 42. He proposed to the Board 'a solemn hearing before the King, or whom his majesty should refer us to'. (L&M note)
Marquess • Link
A most enjoyable and playful episode being thrown on the bed, let's hope Sam's wig didn't come off.
mountebank • Link
I go along with the comments above about the bed scene indicating that Sam could be a great deal of fun.
But it does bring to mind one thing that I find strange about the diary, and that's a lack of humour. In writing a [n extremely dull] diary for more than a decade I never miss the chance to include the humorous stuff, puns, absurdities, wryness, etc, because it just seems such an essential part of life. With Sam's evident playfulness, to me it would have been natural to see him do similar but there doesn't seem to be much sign of it. (It does make me wonder though whether the diary is teeming with 17th C humour that is simply invisible to us.)
David G • Link
One wonders how incompetent the government really was -- how can it have been a surprise to Southampton that the Dutch war was going to be very expensive and that the Treasury would need to raise vast amounts of money to keep the navy at sea? But apparently it was a surprise.
It is a treat for the modern reader when Pepys quotes someone as extensively as he does in this entry. To think that this is what someone actually said (or close to it) more than 350 years ago.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"(It does make me wonder though whether the diary is teeming with 17th C humour that is simply invisible to us.)"
I noticed puns up until about a year ago; I think this long ego battle with Elizabeth and the preparations for war have him in a rather humourless place.
Louise Hudson • Link
The women must have known he’d like it and not take offense or they wouldn’t have done it. They know Pepys.
Sasha Clarkson • Link
"Why will they not trust the King as well as Oliver?"
This quote shows tha Cromwell was still spoken of with respect, at least by some, even in the highest circles.
Sasha Clarkson • Link
Given that Lady Penn's maiden name was Jasper, I bethought me of a variation on the theme of an old song: "Oh Lady Jasper do not touch me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v…
At he went home to fetch Bess to join in the revelries.
Sasha Clarkson • Link
Terry's annotation wrt the Royal Society mentions a Dr Pell. This would have been Dr John Pell, whose name I first encountered in a Number Theory course, due to the eponymous (but misattributed) 'Pell's Equation'. Pell actually published his friend Brouncker's solution.
Like many English mathematcians, Pell was also a clergyman, but also much more, being a linguist and diplomat too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joh…
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... going to my Lady Batten’s, there found a great many women with her, in her chamber merry, my Lady Pen and her daughter, among others; where my Lady Pen flung me down upon the bed, and herself and others, one after another, upon me, and very merry we were ..."
And Pegg Penn made what of this? Good natured Mr. Pepys must be wildly attractive to all women, including her mother, and he welcomes the attention? Enquiring minds want to know ... maybe her maid can enlighten her?