Sunday 10 June 1666

(Lord’s day). Up very betimes, and down the river to Deptford, and did a good deale of business in sending away and directing several things to the Fleete. That being done, back to London to my office, and there at my office till after Church time fitting some notes to carry to Sir W. Coventry in the afternoon. At noon home to dinner, where my cozen Joyces, both of them, they and their wives and little Will, come by invitation to dinner to me, and I had a good dinner for them; but, Lord! how sicke was I of W. Joyce’s company, both the impertinencies of it and his ill manners before me at my table to his wife, which I could hardly forbear taking notice of; but being at my table and for his wife’s sake, I did, though I will prevent his giving me the like occasion again at my house I will warrant him.

After dinner I took leave and by water to White Hall, and there spent all the afternoon in the Gallery, till the Council was up, to speake with Sir W. Coventry.

Walking here I met with Pierce the surgeon, who is lately come from the fleete, and tells me that all the commanders, officers, and even the common seamen do condemn every part of the late conduct of the Duke of Albemarle: both in his fighting at all, in his manner of fighting, running among them in his retreat, and running the ships on ground; so as nothing can be worse spoken of. That Holmes, Spragg, and Smith do all the business, and the old and wiser commanders nothing. So as Sir Thomas Teddiman (whom the King and all the world speak well of) is mightily discontented, as being wholly slighted. He says we lost more after the Prince come, than before too. The Prince was so maimed, as to be forced to be towed home. He says all the fleete confess their being chased home by the Dutch; and yet the body of the Dutch that did it, was not above forty sayle at most. And yet this put us into the fright, as to bring all our ships on ground. He says, however, that the Duke of Albemarle is as high almost as ever, and pleases himself to think that he hath given the Dutch their bellies full, without sense of what he hath lost us; and talks how he knows now the way to beat them. But he says, that even Smith himself, one of his creatures, did himself condemn the late conduct from the beginning to the end.

He tells me further, how the Duke of Yorke is wholly given up to his new mistresse, my Lady Denham, going at noon-day with all his gentlemen with him to visit her in Scotland Yard; she declaring she will not be his mistresse, as Mrs. Price, to go up and down the Privy-stairs, but will be owned publicly; and so she is. Mr. Bruncker, it seems, was the pimp to bring it about, and my Lady Castlemaine, who designs thereby to fortify herself by the Duke; there being a falling-out the other day between the King and her: on this occasion, the Queene, in ordinary talke before the ladies in her drawing-room, did say to my Lady Castlemaine that she feared the King did take cold, by staying so late abroad at her house. She answered before them all, that he did not stay so late abroad with her, for he went betimes thence (though he do not before one, two, or three in the morning), but must stay somewhere else. The King then coming in and overhearing, did whisper in the eare aside, and told her she was a bold impertinent woman, and bid her to be gone out of the Court, and not come again till he sent for, her; which she did presently, and went to a lodging in the Pell Mell, and kept there two or three days, and then sent to the King to know whether she might send for her things away out of her house. The King sent to her, she must first come and view them: and so she come, and the King went to her, and all friends again. He tells me she did, in her anger, say she would be even with the King, and print his letters to her.

So putting all together, we are and are like to be in a sad condition.

We are endeavouring to raise money by borrowing it of the City; but I do not think the City will lend a farthing.

By and by the Council broke up, and I spoke with Sir W. Coventry about business, with whom I doubt not in a little time to be mighty well, when I shall appear to mind my business again as I used to do, which by the grace of God I will do.

Gone from him I endeavoured to find out Sir G. Carteret, and at last did at Mr. Ashburnham’s, in the Old Palace Yarde, and thence he and I stepped out and walked an houre in the church-yarde, under Henry the Seventh’s Chappell, he being lately come from the fleete; and tells me, as I hear from every body else, that the management in the late fight was bad from top to bottom. That several said this would not have been if my Lord Sandwich had had the ordering of it. Nay, he tells me that certainly had my Lord Sandwich had the misfortune to have done as they have done, the King could not have saved him. There is, too, nothing but discontent among the officers; and all the old experienced men are slighted. He tells me to my question (but as a great secret), that the dividing of the fleete did proceed first from a proposition from the fleete, though agreed to hence. But he confesses it arose from want of due intelligence, which he confesses we do want. He do, however, call the fleete’s retreat on Sunday a very honourable retreat, and that the Duke of Albemarle did do well in it, and would have been well if he had done it sooner, rather than venture the loss of the fleete and crown, as he must have done if the Prince had not come. He was surprised when I told him I heard that the King did intend to borrow some money of the City, and would know who had spoke of it to me; I told him Sir Ellis Layton this afternoon. He says it is a dangerous discourse; for that the City certainly will not be invited to do it, and then for the King to ask it and be denied, will be the beginning of our sorrow. He seems to fear we shall all fall to pieces among ourselves.

This evening we hear that Sir Christopher Mings is dead of his late wounds; and Sir W. Coventry did commend him to me in a most extraordinary manner.

But this day, after three days’ trial in vain, and the hazard of the spoiling of the ship in lying till next spring, besides the disgrace of it, newes is brought that the Loyall London is launched at Deptford.

Having talked thus much with Sir G. Carteret we parted there, and I home by water, taking in my boat with me young Michell and my Betty his wife, meeting them accidentally going to look a boat. I set them down at the Old Swan and myself, went through bridge to the Tower, and so home, and after supper to bed.

21 Annotations

First Reading

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...but, Lord! how sicke was I of W. Joyce’s company, both the impertinencies of it and his ill manners before me at my table to his wife, which I could hardly forbear taking notice of..."

Since it's unlikely Will brought a mistress to dinner, (which though Sam probably would have regarded as impertinent) my guess would be he bullied and cursed at his poor wife in front of Sam and company. While Sam may occasionally lose his cool with Bess and (rarely) strike her, at least he considers it a shameful loss of temper and acts which should not be bandied about, particularly when a guest in someone's home.

Sadly, Will Joyce's type is far from gone from the world...

Robert Gertz  •  Link

So what is Louis of France doing during this moment of golden opportunity?

cgs  •  Link

interesting "...The Prince was so maimed, as to be forced to be towed home..."

cgs  •  Link

He be possessive.
"...back to London to my office, and there at my office..."

Mary  •  Link

"told her she was a bold, impertinent woman"

Yes, it doesn't always do to come out with a smart remark.
Castlemaine may be his mistress en titre, but she can't be allowed to get away scot free with this kind of slight.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"The King then coming in and overhearing, did whisper in the eare aside, and told her she was a bold impertinent woman"

The Restoration of the stage-whisper, evidently.

JWB  •  Link

"...discontent among the officers; and all the old experienced men are slighted."

No doubt the "tarpaulins", Cromwell's men.

"The command of fleets and of single vessels was often given to soldiers, to military men unaccustomed to the sea, and ignorant how to handle the ship, that duty being intrusted to another class of officer. Looking closely into the facts, it is seen that this made a clean division between the direction of the fighting and of the motive power of the ship. This is the essence of the matter; and the principle is the same whatever the motive power may be. The inconvenience and inefficiency of such a system was obvious then as it is now, and the logic of facts gradually threw the two functions into the hands of one corps of officers, the result being the modern naval officer, " p127 Mahan

Jesse  •  Link

Re Mahan: "...inconvenience and inefficiency of such a system was obvious then as it is now"

Unless one thinks of it as a variation of the good-manager-can-manage-anything approach. Still apparently in vogue in industry.

cgs  •  Link

"good-manager-can-manage" mythe
Stalin found out the hard way, Yes men are not the answer.

Geoffrey MInns  •  Link

Reference the sentence:-"The Prince was so maimed, as to be forced to be towed home."This refers to The Royal James, Prince Rupert's Flagship, which was partially dismasted, and towed home by The Breda. Indeed Rupert was criticised for not transferring to an undamaged ship at a critical point in the battle.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"newes is brought that the Loyall London is launched at Deptford."

L&M: Descriptions in London Gazatte, 14 June.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Rev Ralph Josselin's Diary

June. 10. God good in season, yet moist, matters at sea hard, yet god good in our deliverance yet loss great, god good in the word, plague increased at London to 27. total. 191. increased at Colchester at least 20. god good in our health, yet we had a fright at Henry Hatches , lord let mercy be to us therein

Marquess  •  Link

A nice long and informative entry, yet so few annotations.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

FINALLY Pepys comments on James, Duke of York's philanderings:

"He tells me further, how the Duke of York is wholly given up to his new mistress, my Lady Denham, going at noon-day with all his gentlemen with him to visit her in Scotland Yard; she declaring she will not be his mistress, as Mrs. Price, to go up and down the Privy-stairs, but will be owned publicly; and so she is. Mr. Bruncker, it seems, was the pimp to bring it about, and my Lady Castlemaine, who designs thereby to fortify herself by the Duke; ..."

This is the first time that I recall Pepys telling on James, possibly because James enjoyed ladies who were not, shall we say, great beauties. And Pepys had an eye for beauty as we all know.

john  •  Link

Interesting that Lady Denham wants the affair to be public, not secretive. (The image of "going at noon-day with all his gentlemen with him to visit her" certainly seems public enough.)

Another item of note -- to me, at least -- is that the Duke of Albemarle is one of the very few who thinks he did very well in the "fight".

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The position of official mistress had power and money attached to it. Otherwise, it was just a casual affair.

Her husband, the poet and spy Sir John Denham, was mortified, however.

In 1665 Sir John Denham had married a much younger woman, an 18-year-old wealthy heiress named Margaret Brooke, who became mistress to James, Duke of York in 1666.

In 1667 Sir John Denham suffered a bout of madness; the causes have never been clearly determined, although some have suggested that it was brought on by his wife's infidelity.

While Sir John Denham was recovering, his wife died, poisoned, it was said, by a cup of chocolate. Some suspected Anne Hyde, Duchess of York of the crime, but the Comte de Gramont says that the general opinion was that Sir John was guilty. However, no sign of poison was found in Lady Denham's post mortem examination.

john  •  Link

Thank you for the interesting information, SDS.

In the 17th century, no sign of post-mortem poison would not be conclusive. (A good many poisons are not easily detectable even today, e.g. "Molecules of Murder" by Emsley.)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Both Charles II and James, Duke of York spent formative years around the French court, and had been friends of cousin Louis XIV. In Paris at this time Louis was finally free from his mother's influence (poor woman had lived in a convent since 1661).

Louis XIV around 1663 came to enjoy visiting Princess Henrietta Anne, now “Madame”, but since hanging out with his English sister-in-law was asking for trouble, they asked Henrietta’s friend, Olympe, to introduce Louis to one of Henrietta’s ladies, Louise de La Valliere, so that Louis could visit Henrietta while pretending to court Louise.

The naïve Louise, not realizing that she was a pawn in this intrigue, fell in love with Louis, and Louis found her sincerity and innocence so charming that he reciprocated her feelings.

This relationship was Louis XIV’s first serious affair. It continued until 1667 and Louise de La Valliere produced five children, the last two of whom were eventually acknowledged, the other three dying in infancy.

Louis XIV kept the relationship a formal secret until his mother died January 10/20 1666. At that point, he made the relationship public and Louise de La Valliere became his first maitress en titre, loosely translated as “official mistress”.

Soon after Queen Anne of Austria’s death, Louis XIV took communion with both Queen Maria-Theresa and Louise alongside him, a clear statement of Louise de La Valliere’s official position.

So James was just keeping up with the French side of the family.

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... but, Lord! how sicke was I of W. Joyce’s company, both the impertinencies of it and his ill manners before me at my table to his wife, which I could hardly forbear taking notice of; ..."

Pepys' life has made him aware of “The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,” a 110 point code of conduct which was based on a 16th-century set of precepts compiled for young gentlemen by Jesuit instructors, but Will Joyce missed them apparently.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Phil tells us the sun rose at 3:40 a.m. today, so what was "very betimes" to Pepys?

This youtube tells us that farming folk were at work by 4 a.m. at this time of year:
"Four of the Clocke" -- Peter Kenny reads this description of daily life in early modern Britain.
From Nicholas Breton's "Fantasticks", 1626.

"It is now the fourth houre, and the Sunne beginnes to send her beames abroad, whose glimmering brightnesse no eye can behold:
Now crowes the Cocke lustily, and claps his wings for ioy of the light, and with his Hennes leaps lightly from his Roust:
Now are the Horses at their Chaffe and Prouender:
the seruants at breakfast, the Milk-maid gone to the field, and the Spinner at the Wheele: and the Shepheard with his Dog are going toward the Fold:
Now the Beggers rouse them out of the Hedges, and begin their morning craft; but if the Constable come, beware the stocks:
The Birds now beginne to flocke, and the Sparhawke beginnes to prey for his Ayry:
The Thresher beginnes to stretch his long armes, and the thriuing Labourer will fall hard to his worke: the quicke witted braine will be quoting of places, and the cunning work-man will bee trying of his skill:
the Hounds begin to bee coupled for the chase, and the Spaniels follow the Faulconer to the field:
Trauellers beginne to looke toward the Stable, where an honest Hostler is worthy his reward:
the Souldier now is vpon discharge of his Watch, and the Captaine with his company may take as good rest as they can:
In summe, I thus conclude of it: I hold it the Messenger of Action, and the Watch of Reason.
Farewell."

Image: Detail of a one-hand watch made by Randolf Bull, 1590.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y…

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