Sunday 28 January 1665/66

[Continued from yesterday. P.G.] … and up again about six (Lord’s day), and being dressed in my velvett coate and plain cravatte took a hackney coach provided ready for me by eight o’clock, and so to my Lord Bruncker’s with all my papers, and there took his coach with four horses and away toward Hampton Court, having a great deale of good discourse with him, particularly about his coming to lie at the office, when I went further in inviting him to than I intended, having not yet considered whether it will be convenient for me or no to have him here so near us, and then of getting Mr. Evelyn or Sir Robert Murray into the Navy in the room of Sir Thomas Harvey. At Brainford I ’light, having need to shit, and went into an Inne doore that stood open, found the house of office and used it, but saw no people, only after I was in the house, heard a great dogg barke, and so was afeard how I should get safe back again, and therefore drew my sword and scabbard out of my belt to have ready in my hand, but did not need to use it, but got safe into the coach again, but lost my belt by the shift, not missing it till I come to Hampton Court. At the Wicke found Sir J. Minnes and Sir W. Batten at a lodging provided for us by our messenger, and there a good dinner ready. After dinner took coach and to Court, where we find the King, and Duke, and Lords, all in council; so we walked up and down: there being none of the ladies come, and so much the more business I hope will be done. The Council being up, out comes the King, and I kissed his hand, and he grasped me very kindly by the hand. The Duke also, I kissed his, and he mighty kind, and Sir W. Coventry. I found my Lord Sandwich there, poor man! I see with a melancholy face, and suffers his beard to grow on his upper lip more than usual. I took him a little aside to know when I should wait on him, and where: he told me, and that it would be best to meet at his lodgings, without being seen to walk together. Which I liked very well; and, Lord! to see in what difficulty I stand, that I dare not walk with Sir W. Coventry, for fear my Lord or Sir G. Carteret should see me; nor with either of them, for fear Sir W. Coventry should. After changing a few words with Sir W. Coventry, who assures me of his respect and love to me, and his concernment for my health in all this sickness, I went down into one of the Courts, and there met the King and Duke; and the Duke called me to him. And the King come to me of himself, and told me, “Mr. Pepys,” says he, “I do give you thanks for your good service all this year, and I assure you I am very sensible of it.” And the Duke of Yorke did tell me with pleasure, that he had read over my discourse about pursers, and would have it ordered in my way, and so fell from one discourse to another. I walked with them quite out of the Court into the fields, and then back to my Lord Sandwich’s chamber, where I find him very melancholy and not well satisfied, I perceive, with my carriage to Sir G. Carteret, but I did satisfy him and made him confess to me, that I have a very hard game to play; and told me he was sorry to see it, and the inconveniences which likely may fall upon me with him; but, for all that, I am not much afeard, if I can but keepe out of harm’s way in not being found too much concerned in my Lord’s or Sir G. Carteret’s matters, and that I will not be if I can helpe it. He hath got over his business of the prizes, so far as to have a privy seale passed for all that was in his distribution to the officers, which I am heartily glad of; and, for the rest, he must be answerable for what he is proved to have. But for his pardon for anything else, he thinks it not seasonable to aske it, and not usefull to him; because that will not stop a Parliament’s mouth, and for the King, he is sure enough of him. I did aske him whether he was sure of the interest and friendship of any great Ministers of State and he told me, yes. As we were going further, in comes my Lord Mandeville, so we were forced to breake off and I away, and to Sir W. Coventry’s chamber, where he not come in but I find Sir W. Pen, and he and I to discourse. I find him very much out of humour, so that I do not think matters go very well with him, and I am glad of it. He and I staying till late, and Sir W. Coventry not coming in (being shut up close all the afternoon with the Duke of Albemarle), we took boat, and by water to Kingston, and so to our lodgings, where a good supper and merry, only I sleepy, and therefore after supper I slunk away from the rest to bed, and lay very well and slept soundly, my mind being in a great delirium between joy for what the King and Duke have said to me and Sir W. Coventry, and trouble for my Lord Sandwich’s concernments, and how hard it will be for me to preserve myself from feeling thereof.

27 Annotations

First Reading

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...heard a great dogg barke, and so was afeard how I should get safe back again, and therefore drew my sword and scabbard out of my belt to have ready in my hand, but did not need to use it, but got safe into the coach again, but lost my belt by the shift, not missing it till I come to Hampton Court."

Scared shiftless, eh?

Thank God for that velvet coat during all that hobnobing with the power elite.

"And the King come to me of himself, and told me, “Mr. Pepys,” says he, “I do give you thanks for your good service all this year, and I assure you I am very sensible of it.” "

"Charlie, that was kind."

"Well, Jamie...Look at the poor man...Not even a belt to hold up his pants for all his service. Had to say something."
***
"Lord! to see in what difficulty I stand, that I dare not walk with Sir W. Coventry, for fear my Lord or Sir G. Carteret should see me; nor with either of them, for fear Sir W. Coventry should."

Now that must have been hilarious...Especially sans belt.

"Absolutely, Sir Will...Coming right along. Pray excuse me just a mo..."

Ducks to side...

"My Lord, I'll be with you in just a moment." wave to the waiting Sandwich.

Rush down hall...

"Ah, Sir George...Terrible business, absolutely right, your course. Would you excuse me for one moment."

"Pepys? Aren't you forgetting something?"

"My apologies, Sir George..." kisses hand. "Must speak to the Duke for just a mo...Back shortly."

"But, Pepys..." Carteret eyes pants on the floor, then fast vanishing Sam.

Nice legs, Castlemaine passing in hallway, eyes the rushing, panting Sam.

Douglas Robertson  •  Link

"Not even a belt to hold up his pants for all his service..."

But would the belt have been worn for that purpose, or merely to attach the scabbard to his waist? (I thought the trouser-upholding sort of belt was a twentieth-century invention, although there are obviously quasi-precedents for it of biblical antiquity.)

andy  •  Link

out comes the King, and I kissed his hand, and he grasped me very kindly by the hand

I hope Sam had washed his hands!

This is one of Sam's more graphic accounts. Sometimes I can imagine a film version of his diaries, the juxtaposition of the dogg and then the King being one such episode. And as for:

Lord! what difficulty I stand, that I dare not walk with Sir W. Coventry, for fear my Lord or Sir G. Carteret should see me; nor with either of them, for fear Sir W. Coventry should.

the figure of Dapper Dicky prevaricating and darting back and forth between the periwigged gentry is strong in my mind's eye.

GrahamT  •  Link

Re: "we took boat, and by water to Kingston"
He could probably have walked quicker straight past Bushey Park, along what is now Hampton Court Road. The river has a huge bend between Kingston and Hampton court, trebling the direct route distance. Maybe he was just enjoying the view. Even today it is quite an attractive stretch of river.
The Kingston area was obviously very popular with royalty, having three royal parks within walkng distance: Hampton Court, Bushey Park and Richmond Park.

Robin Peters  •  Link

Re: “we took boat, and by water to Kingston”
When were first bridges built at Hampton Court and Kingston? I believe it was after this time, in which case he would have had to "take boat" anyway. If the tide was ebbing it would have been a quick trip round the bend and across to the other bank. As Graham says it is a lovely stretch of river and with it's twists and turns it is sometimes difficult to remember on which bank places are. Thank you for the maps on the links.

Kenth  •  Link

Is it my imagination or has the economic climate had an impact on the number of contributers to Sam's doings. He would, of course, sympathise.

Eric Rowe  •  Link

I'm sure all us lurkers are still around.

Tom Carr  •  Link

Ditto - lurkers still here.

This has to be one of my favorite diary entries yet. So much jam-packed into this day yet so succinctly summarized. Sam is clearly (to date) at the height of his career, yet is walking on political eggshells.

cgs  •  Link

Belt 'twas not to 'old up thy breeches, but to keep thy cut throat on a leash or it be badge of 'onor, it was not until loops were put on thy pantaloons did belts hold in the expanding waist.
Gents of the day liked cummerbunds?

'tis why Samuell had such a hard time dressing the part of a man of courtly ways.

Belt 4 versions 2 others came later
1:[Common Teut.: OE. b{ehook}lt, cogn. with OHG. balz (? masc.), prob.:{em}OTeut. *baltjo-z, ad. L. balteus girdle. ON. has balti (neut.), perh. ad. L. balteum, common in med.L.]

1. a. A broadish, flat strip of leather or similar material, used to gird or encircle the person, confine some part of the dress, and to support various articles of use or ornament. Often described by the part of the body encircled (as waist-belt, shoulder-belt), or the article supported (as sword-belt, cartridge-belt).
a1000 ...
1597 SHAKES. 2 Hen. IV, I. ii. 159 He that buckles him in my belt. 1676 G. ETHEREGE Man of Mode III. i. (1684) 31 Get your right leg firm on the ground, adjust your Belt.

b. esp. one worn as a mark of rank or distinction e.g. in Boxing and Wrestling. In Judo: see BLACK BELT 3.
c1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 162 Bo{th}e {th}e barres of his belt & o{th}er bly{th}e stones. 1673 CAVE Prim. Chr. i. v. 110 An officer..threw away his belt, rather than obey that impious command.
[other meanings later]
....

....
4. A broadish flexible strap. (The idea of encircling or girdling here begins to disappear.)

1672 T. VENN Mil. & Mar. Discip. iii. 8 He is to have a good Harquebuz, hanging on a belt into a swivel.
interesting use.
1667 E. CHAMBERLAYNE St. Gt. Brit. I. III. iv. (1743) 173 They wear a scarlet Ribbon *belt-wise.

cgs  •  Link

"...that I have a very hard game to play; and told me he was sorry to see it..."
Ah! that fence between the "waxers and waners".
Et tu Brute!!!!!!!

cgs  •  Link

Cravat I dothe like, it hides the hairs or the lack of them on ones chest and does save the collar of the shirt from hair grease and sweat of hard days work, it be a shame that they are no longer in vogue.

plain cravatte
Cravat:

[a. F. cravate (1652 in Hatzfeld), an application of the national name Cravate Croat, Croatian, a. G. Krabate (Flem. Krawaat, ad. Croato-Serbian Khrvat, Hrvat, OSlav. Khr{ubreve}vat, of which Croat is another modification: cf. the following

1. a. An article of dress worn round the neck, chiefly by men.
It came into vogue in France in the 17th c. in imitation of the linen scarf worn round their necks by the Croatian mercenaries. When first introduced it was of lace or linen, or of muslin edged with lace, and tied in a bow with long flowing ends, and much attention was bestowed upon it as an ornamental accessory. In this form it was originally also worn by women.

More recently the name was given to a linen or silk handkerchief passed once (or twice) round the neck outside the shirt collar and tied with a bow in front; also to a long woollen ‘comforter’ wrapped round the neck to protect from cold out of doors.

1656 BLOUNT Glossogr., Crabbat (Fr.)..is often used Substantively for a new fashioned Gorget which women wear [1674 (ed. 4) Crabat (Fr.) is of late well known with us to be that Linnen which is worn about Mens (especially Souldiers and Travellers) Necks, in stead of a Band].

1658 Wit Restored, Burse of Reform. (Fairholt), Pray you Madam sitt, ile shew you good ware..Against a stall or on a stool Youl nere hurt a crevatt.
1663 BUTLER Hud. I. iii. 1166 The Handkerchief about the neck (Canonical Crabat of Smeck).
1672 WYCHERLEY Love in Wood III. ii, 'Twould be as convenient to buy satires against women ready made, as it is to buy cravats ready tied.
1676 G. ETHEREGE Man of Mode I. i, That a mans excellency should lie in Neatly tying of a Ribbond, or a Crevat!

1688 R. HOLME Armoury III. 17/1 A Cravatt is..nothing else but a long Towel put about the Collar.

1695 CONGREVE Love for L. I. xiv, Criticks, with long Wigs, Steinkirk Cravats, and terrible Faces.

b. fig. in reference to hanging or strangling.
1678 BUTLER Hud. III. i. 341 Hemp..Which others for Cravats have worn About their Necks.

1685 Roxb. Ball. V. 607 The Gallows comes next..a hempen Cravat.
c. A scarf or necklet of lace, fur, etc., worn by women.
1903 ...

..... 2. attrib. and Comb., as cravat-goose, a name for the Canada Goose (Bernicla canadensis), from the white mark on its throat; cravat-string, the part by which the cravat was tied.
1684 OTWAY Atheist I. i, Concerning Poets, Plays..Peruques and Crevat-strings.

a1704 T. BROWN Wks. IV. 210 (Fairholt) His cravat reached down to his middle..A most prodigious cravat-string peeped from under his chin, the two corners of which..eclipsed three-quarters of his face.
Ibid. (1760) IV. 223 (D.) The well-ty'd cravat-string wins the dame. .

cape henry  •  Link

As T. Carr notes above, this is a powerful entry and not just for the skill with which it was written. Anyone who has worked for a corporation of just about any size will recognize the dynamics of the situation Pepys describes. There must always be winners and losers and those who navigate amongst them. Obviously, in a system as large as the court and government, with the independent personalities involved, and the various levels of actual and perceived power they wield, these scenes unfold at various rates and this particular little drama has been brewing for months. But this entry has an almost set-piece quality in the way that it happens, and in reading it one can feel the tensions and even imagine the physical postures of the players. There can be no doubt that Pepys' mind is focused brilliantly by the positive attentions he receives from the royals and the singling out before his rivals and peers, but he remains mindful of the currents he swims.

Roger  •  Link

And all after 3 hours sleep! Amazing.

GrahamT  •  Link

@Robin Peters:
Good point about the ebbing tide, but this is upstream from Teddington so not likely to have had much effect. Kingston is downstream from Hampton court though, so a quick, easy row for the boatman anyway.
The Kingston Bridge was definitely there between Hampton Wick and Kingston. There has been a bridge since the 13th Century, and it was the next bridge upstream from London bridge until 1729, so was a very important crossing place (and still is). Hampton court is on the Hampton Wick side of the river, so Kingston bridge is the only river crossing required to get from there to Kingston.
(If you know the area, you will have realised the pointer for Kingston on the linked map is in the wrong place by about two kilometres.)

Ruben  •  Link

When I visited (as a tourist) Hampton Court, my guide explained that King Henry used to came from London only by boat, because it was faster, safer and an easy journey (he was not rowing).
May I suggest that another reason (for the King) to commute by water was to see the magnificent Court as seen from the river, like a Venetian Villa on the mainland, and to dream being a King in the Veneto...

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"whether it will be convenient for me or no to have [Brounckerr] here so near us, and then of getting Mr. Evelyn or Sir Robert Murray into the Navy in the room of Sir Thomas Harvey."

Harvey had only just been appointed a Navy Commissioner on 20 January in Berkeley's place. He had been brought in, according to Pepys's later comment, 'for want of other ways of gratification' (Naval Minutes, p. 257), and did very little work. He did not resign his place until 1668. Wvwlyn was a Commissioner for the Sick and Wounded; Moray a distinguished soldier and amateur of science. He was a friend if Brouncker, and with him one of the founders of the Royal Society. Neither Evelyn nor Moray became an officer of the Navy Board.
(L&M note)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"He hath got over his business of the prizes, so far as to have a privy seale passed for all that was in his distribution to the officers, which I am heartily glad of; and, for the rest, he must be answerable for what he is proved to have. "
A privy-seal order (24 January ) franked [set aside?] the goods the goods granted to Sandwich by the King, on condition that customs due were paid: CSPD 1665-6, 'p. 218. 'The rest'were certain other prize goods which Sandwich had in December by ketch to Kimg's Lynn, snd hence to Hinchingbrooke: Harris, ii. 28-31 For the pardon, see https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… (L&M note)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

" franked [set aside?] the goods the goods granted to Sandwich by the King"

"franked" here surely means marked to identify .

Mary K  •  Link

"franked" here may mean "authorised by signature."

e.g. the franking of mail was introduced in England in 1660. The privilege of franking mail enabled the sender to have his mail carried free of charge. This privilege continued to apply to certain government servants, members of Parliament etc. into the Nineteenth Century.

Marquess  •  Link

What an entry, afraid of a dog, kisses the hands of the reigning monarch and is praised by him, as well as trying to balance various political interests. It has always surprised me that he never received a knighthood, which might have been the least honour that he ought to have received for his services.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"He could probably have walked quicker straight past Bushey Park, along what is now Hampton Court Road. The river has a huge bend between Kingston and Hampton court, trebling the direct route distance. Maybe he was just enjoying the view."

There was a hurricane here a few days ago. In the 1980's one went through Bushey Park and uprooted hundreds of glorious old trees; with modern equipment it took weeks to clean up the mess. I'm surprised Pepys could take a coach from London to Hampton Court given the state of the roads on a good day. The area is only a little above sea level and would probably have been swampy.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I think this was a meeting to figure out a response to the French going in on the Dutch side. Nice of Charles and James not to require the London people to go to Oxford. Perhaps there was not enough room for all of them at Oxford?

David G  •  Link

It’s hard to believe that Sam slept soundly even though his mind was in great delirium — I would have been far too full of the day’s events to fall right asleep.

mountebank  •  Link

This is one of my favourite entries of the diary so far. It has it all, the whirlwind of business, the farcical events of the shitting mishap, the marking of his ascent in the hierarchy, and the many people and many places.

Reading this, in my mind's eye I could see it as a film. This one day alone would be enough to do a couple of hours worth on the small or big screen.

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