Thursday 22 February 1665/66

Up, and to the office, where sat all the morning. At noon home to dinner and thence by coach with my wife for ayre principally for her. I alone stopped at Hales’s and there mightily am pleased with my wife’s picture that is begun there, and with Mr. Hill’s, though I must [owne] I am not more pleased with it now the face is finished than I was when I saw it the second time of sitting. Thence to my Lord Sandwich’s, but he not within, but goes to-morrow. My wife to Mrs. Hunt’s, who is lately come to towne and grown mighty fat. I called her there, and so home and late at the office, and so home to supper and to bed. We are much troubled that the sicknesse in general (the town being so full of people) should be but three, and yet of the particular disease of the plague there should be ten encrease.

12 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

John Evelyn's Diary

[ Cont'd from yesterday ] to Duke of Albemarle and Secretary of State, to desire them to propose it [ presumably the Chatham Infirmary scheme] to the Council.

cape henry  •  Link

"...I am not more pleased with it now the face is finished than I was when I saw it the second time of sitting." The portrait artists of the time endured endless hectoring to change this or that or to enhance something about a subject. Much would have been negotiated up front, such as the drapery, props, perspective, and so on. But patrons would then launch ongoing campaigns to modify the outcome to make themselves appear more noble or attractive or what have you. Patrons generally withheld a portion of the fee as leverage.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Is it Hill's portrait he now dislikes a bit or Bess'? Since he does not mention immediately lecturing Halys on corrections, I'd guess it's Hill's.

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

The grammatical construction says Pepys is mightily pleased with Mr. Hill's portrait, though etc. So I'd say Robert's right.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Some royal correspondence about the wars with the Dutch and the French

1132. The King to Sir Thomas Modyford, Governor of Jamaica, and to Lord Willoughby, Governor of Barbadoes. His Majesty has warned him to secure the island against the hostilities of the Dutch ; and now having cause to apprehend that the French may break with his Majesty, warns him to use the same circumspection towards them ; and further authorises him to damnify them to the utmost of his power in their adjacent Plantations, particularly in St. Christopher's, where they are most strong, and likely to seize that part of the island belonging to English subjects. Draft in the handwriting of Williamson. 1 p. [Col. Papers, Vol. XX., No. 13.]

1133. The King to the Governor and Council of the Colony of the Massachusetts and the rest of the United Colonies of our good subjects in New England. Has signified his pleasure to the Captain-General of the Caribbee Islands that he keep a constant correspondence with them ; and it is his Majesty's pleasure that they likewise be in all things assisting to said Captain-General, with victuals, arms, ammunition, &c., and with such number of men as shall be agreed upon, either for defence of those colonies, or for dispossessing the subjects of the French King or of the United Provinces. Two copies. 1 p. [Col. Papers, Vol. XX., Nos. 14, 15.]

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

And in the Caribbean

Feb. 22.
St. Jago de la Vega. 1138. Minutes of the Council of Jamaica. Present : Gov. Sir Thos. Modyford, Maj.-Gen. Thos. Modyford, Lieut.-Cols. John Coape, Robt. Bindloss, Wm. Ivey, Robt. Freeman, and Thos. Ballard, Major Thos. Fuller, and Col. Henry Archbold. Resolved that it is to the interest of the island to have letters of marque granted against the Spaniard. 1. Because it furnishes the island with many necessary commodities at easy rates. 2. It replenishes the island with coin, bullion, cocoa, logwood, hides, tallow, indigo, cochineal, and many other commodities whereby the men of New England are invited to bring their provisions, and many merchants to reside at Port Royal. 3. It helps the poorer planters, by selling provisions to the men-of-war. 4. It hath and will enable many to buy slaves and settle plantations, as Harmenson, Guy, Brimacain, and many others who have considerable plantations. 5. It draws down yearly from the Windward Islands many an hundred of English, French, and Dutch, many of whom turn planters. 6. It is the only means to keep the buccaneers on Hispaniola, Tortugas, and the South and North Quays of Cuba from being their enemies and infesting their sea-side plantations. 7. It is a great security to the island, that the men-of-war often intercept Spanish advices, and give intelligence to the Governor ; which they often did in Col. D'Oyley's time and since. 8. The said men-of-war bring no small benefit to his Majesty and Royal Highness, by the 15ths and 10ths. 9. They keep many able artificers at work in Port Royal and elsewhere, at extraordinary wages. 10. Whatsoever they get the soberer part bestow in strengthening their old ships, which in time will grow formidable. 11. They are of great reputation to this island and of terror to the Spaniard, and keep up a high and military spirit in all the inhabitants. 12. It seems to be the only means to force the Spaniards in time to a free trade, all ways of kindness producing nothing of good neighbourhood, for though all old commissions have been called in, and no new ones granted, and many of their ships restored, yet they continue all acts of hostility, taking our ships and murdering our people, making them work at their fortifications and then sending them into Spain, and very lately they denied an English fleet bound for the Dutch colonies wood, water, or provisions. For which reasons it was unanimously concluded, that the granting of said commissions did extraordinarily conduce to the strengthening, preservation, enriching, and advancing the settlement of this island. 4 pp. [Col. Entry Bk., No. XXXIV., pp. 143-147.]

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

cgs  •  Link

"perspective", everyone would be up to speed on getting size of the hands correct as our Sam has already complained of his thumb not in correct proportion.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Terry's quotation (for which much thanks) plunges us into the reality behind the fantasy world of Pirates of the Caribbean. Now what would it have been like if Capt Jack Sparrow had met our Sam?!
It's also a pity that Sam only went on official Govt Naval business to Tangier - his views on the Caribbean would have been most interesting.

Pedro  •  Link

Terry some further info from the biography of Harry Morgan by Pope…

Jamaica had its problems with divisions between those who supported the King, and those that did not.
Charles had issued a proclamation to keep peace with the Spaniards.

Mings and his ships had been recalled to England with cynical regard to the Island’s safety. Their situation was now far worse because they had to worry about possible attacks from three nations, not just the Spanish. A Dutch squadron sent to reoccupy Statia and Saba might well sail on to sieze Jamaica, the French had not only Martinique and the other Windward Islands but owned Tortuga nearby and were busy trying to lure over the Jamaica privateers, and, according to Modyford, were offering them Portuguese commissions.

Finally in February 1666 the Island’s resentment against the Spanish came to a head. Modyford discovered that the Port Royal Militia had reduced from 600 to 150 in a year, an alarming indication of the Island’s lack of defences, and the Forts were also in disrepair.

At the Council on February 22 he was told in no uncertain way that the only way to fill Port Royal with men was to grant commissions against the Spaniards.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Sam in charge of the Kraken? He probably would have ruled the seas with a kinder hand...

Ever further ot...

Always seeing Jonathan Pryce makes me sigh that he never got to play Pepys in a good film or better yet a good miniseries. I can't help thinking there was the perfect young Sam Pepys. Oh, well, there's always older Sam, Charles, or Coventry for him to play when we finally do get a decent Sam P on screen.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"We are much troubled that the sicknesse in general (the town being so full of people) should be but three, and yet of the particular disease of the plague there should be ten encrease."

L&M: In 13-20 February, plague burials had increased over the previous week from 59 to 69; burials from other causes, from 249 to 252.

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