Saturday 4 August 1666
Up, and to the office, where all the morning, and, at noon to dinner, and Mr. Cooke dined with us, who is lately come from Hinchingbroke, [Lord Hinchingbrooke] who is also come to town: The family all well. Then I to the office, where very busy to state to Mr. Coventry the account of the victuals of the fleete, and late at it, and then home to supper and to bed.
This evening, Sir W. Pen come into the garden, and walked with me, and told me that he had certain notice that at Flushing they are in great distraction. De Ruyter dares not come on shore for fear of the people; nor any body open their houses or shops for fear of the tumult: which is a very good hearing.
8 Annotations
First Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"De Ruyter dares not come on shore for fear of the people; nor any body open their houses or shops for fear of the tumult:"
L&M say this was a canard, and that Tromp would be blamed for the Dutch fleet's failure in the St. James Day Battle [Tweedaagse Zeeslag].
Robert Gertz • Link
Interesting to see Penn and Sam drawing together at this time...Circling the wagons, perhaps? They are after all the two most effective members of the Navy Office.
cgs • Link
Supper : it be a summer thing for this summer, I failed to find previous years that Samuell enjoyed late snacking calling his nightly repas supper. and then retiring on a full tumtum.
cgs • Link
'twas ducky
'L&M say this was a canard, and that Tromp would be blamed for the Dutch fleet’s failure in the St. James Day Battle"
Samuell did use the word canard so missed OED>
OED
Littré says Canard for a silly story comes from the old expression ‘vendre un canard à moitié’ (to half-sell a duck), in which à moitié was subsequently suppressed. It is clear that to half-sell a duck is not to sell it at all; hence the sense ‘to take in, make a fool of’. In proof of this he cites bailleur de canards, deliverer of ducks, utterer of canards, of date 1612: Cotgr., 1611, has the fuller vendeur de canards a moitié ‘a cousener, guller, cogger; foister, lyer’. Others have referred the word to an absurd fabricated story purporting to illustrate the voracity of ducks, said to have gone the round of the newspapers, and to have been credited by many. As this account has been widely circulated, it is possible that it has contributed to render the word more familiar, and thus more used, in English.
[I saw the word in print before 1850 (J.A.H.M.).]
1864
1. intr. To fly abroad as a false report.
1862
Nix • Link
L&M say this was a canard --
"In time of war, the first casualty is truth."
(Attrib. variously to Aeschlus, Dr. Johnson, U.S. Sen. Hiram Johnson, and anonymous)
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"to state to Mr. Coventry the account of the victuals of the fleete"
This account was in a letter (this date) of which an extract was sent to Rupert and Albemarle, the commanders of the fleet, who complained that Pepys had failed to mention the defective provisions, esp. the beer. (Per L&M note)
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... [Lord Hinchingbrooke] who is also come to town ..."
According to A PROFANE WIT, The Life of JOHN WILMOT, Earl of Rochester by James William Johnson, University of Rochester Press, page 85, ISBN 978-1-58046-336-2.
In July and August 1666, Lord Hawley was in the retinue of Queen Catherine when she went to Tunbridge Wells to take the waters. Lady Warre and Elizabeth Mallet (his niece) were also there, as was Lord Hinchingbrooke. While Hawley wrote letters expressing pleasure about being attendant on the Queen, Elizabeth was breaking up with Hinchingbrooke -- and she showed a discernible measure of satisfaction in so doing. Apparently the previous February she had offered herself as his wife, and he had not exhibited any enthusiasm or romantic attention since, and she was no longer interested.
Meanwhile Lord Rochester has made himself a hero once again during the St. James's Day fight. I wonder what will happen next ...
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Then I to the office, where very busy to state to Mr. Coventry the account of the victuals of the fleete, ..."
Undoubtedly victualling was bad during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Lack of money, impressment of sailors and boats, merchant's greed, etc., all complicated something that tides and winds did not help.
However, Rupert seems to have been particularly angry about this and biased against Pepys and the Navy Commissioners. I have posted a story about Rupert's experiences with victualling during the Civil Wars which somewhat explains Rupert's point-of-view, and his and James' opinion of Sir William Batten.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…