Thursday 14 March 1666/67

Up, and with Sir W. Batten and [Sir] W. Pen to my Lord Treasurer’s, where we met with my Lord Bruncker an hour before the King come, and had time to talk a little of our business. Then come much company, among others Sir H. Cholmly, who tells me that undoubtedly my Lord Bellasses will go no more as Governor to Tangier, and that he do put in fair for it, and believes he shall have it, and proposes how it may conduce to his account and mine in the business of money. Here we fell into talk with Sir Stephen Fox, and, among other things, of the Spanish manner of walking, when three together, and shewed me how, which was pretty, to prevent differences. By and by comes the King and Duke of York, and presently the officers of the Ordnance were called; my Lord Berkeley, Sir John Duncomb, and Mr. Chichly; then we, my Lord Bruncker, [Sir] W. Batten, [Sir] W. Pen, and myself; where we find only the King and Duke of York, and my Lord Treasurer, and Sir G. Carteret; where I only did speak, laying down the state of our wants, which the King and Duke of York seemed very well pleased with, and we did get what we asked, 500,000l., assigned upon the eleven months’ tax: but that is not so much ready money, or what will raise 40,000l. per week, which we desired, and the business will want. Yet are we fain to come away answered, when, God knows, it will undo the King’s business to have matters of this moment put off in this manner. The King did prevent my offering anything by and by as Treasurer for Tangier, telling me that he had ordered us 30,000l. on the same tax; but that is not what we would have to bring our payments to come within a year. So we gone out, in went others; viz., one after another, Sir Stephen Fox for the army, Captain Cocke for sick and wounded, Mr. Ashburnham for the household. Thence [Sir] W. Batten, [Sir] W. Pen, and I, back again; I mightily pleased with what I had said and done, and the success thereof. But, it being a fine clear day, I did, ‘en gayete de coeur’, propose going to Bow for ayre sake, and dine there, which they embraced, and so [Sir] W. Batten and I (setting [Sir] W. Pen down at Mark Lane end) straight to Bow, to the Queen’s Head, and there bespoke our dinner, carrying meat with us from London; and anon comes [Sir] W. Pen with my wife and Lady Batten, and then Mr. Lowder with his mother and wife. While [Sir] W. Batten and I were alone, we had much friendly discourse, though I will never trust him far; but we do propose getting “The Flying Greyhound,” our privateer, to us and [Sir] W. Pen at the end of the year when we call her home, by begging her of the King, and I do not think we shall be denied her. They being come, we to oysters and so to talk, very pleasant I was all day, and anon to dinner, and I made very good company. Here till the evening, so as it was dark almost before we got home (back again in the same method, I think, we went), and spent the night talking at Sir W. Batten’s, only a little at my office, to look over the Victualler’s contract, and draw up some arguments for him to plead for his charges in transportation of goods beyond the ports which the letter of one article in his contract do lay upon him. This done I home to supper and to bed. Troubled a little at my fear that my Lord Bruncker should tell Sir W. Coventry of our neglecting the office this afternoon (which was intended) to look after our pleasures, but nothing will fall upon me alone about this.

15 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Royal Society today at Arundel House — from the Hooke Folio Online

March. 14. 1666[/67]./ the curator [ Mr. Hooke ] brought in his Description & demonstration of his new Lamp which was orderd to be registred.

The same produced a contriuance to make a motion of a clock to goe along wth. a shadow on a wall for which he offerd a demonstration affirming withall that the same instrumt would be applicable to all plaines to make all sorts of Dialls and that vpon the same principle he would make an instrument to solue the inequality of Days. both from the suns excentricity and his right ascension vpon the ellipticall as well as the circular hypothesis (a quadrat [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quad… ] to be made to send to lisbon. also a globe for a telescopicall moon)

Sr. Th De Vaux [ http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/… ] paper about Candles.) mention being made in it of multiplying the light of a candle it was recommended to the curator to consider of other ways doing the same

(a foule for repository. Croon turkish pictures left wth mr Hook) Dr. Collins letter from Mosco about shooting melt shott another from Dantzick of a brick making mill) Coleprese Letter about tides. turfs charked vsed for blowing tin) peat char.

. .. Dr Wrens description of new Leuell read & registred).

The new telescope Referred to monday. The curator was orderd to prosecute the Experimts of raising weights & bending springs by the force of Gunpowder to make Expts. wth Dr. cotton Loadstone

Imperfect Instrument for taking things from the bottom of the Sea, to bring in demonstration of the curue line that shall regulate the motion of the circular pendule /so/ as to make it goe aequally with vnaequall weights. vid feb. 28. - - - - - - -
Perused.

http://webapps.qmul.ac.uk/cell/Ho…

JWB  •  Link

"...Spanish manner of walking, when three together,..."

The American, & I suppose the British, order of precedence is echelon right and one naturally falls into that order whether in formal situations or not. To break order in a deliberate manner would be awkward & call attention to differences and thus would be self-defeating.

language hat  •  Link

"The American, & I suppose the British, order of precedence is echelon right and one naturally falls into that order whether in formal situations or not."

I don't think this is true, at least if Wikipedia is correct that the phrase means "Each member is stationed behind and to the right" (I wasn't familiar with it). In my experience, people walk side by side, not in diagonal formation.

"They being come, we to oysters and so to talk, very pleasant I was all day, and anon to dinner, and I made very good company."

A good day!

JWB  •  Link

LH

Do you walk in front of superiors? Have you ever heard of someone's left-hand man?

cum salis grano  •  Link

Only equals are lined nose to nose and do not lose by a nose, all others get into thy pecking order, go to any quad and watch, right hand man is separated from the left hand man by his leader. 'Tis why Brits had to revise the system of V flying to the 2 sets of 2 buddies, the leader system as established by the gentile set of academia was too divisive for good communication of eyes ears.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...proposes how it may conduce to his account and mine in the business of money."

Heaven...

"But Sam'l? Just the other day you said you were no longer so concerned with making money."

"Yes...Ummn...Well..."

"Uh-huh."

"Well...It would have been impolite not to hear the man out, Bess."

Tight corner, good man... Sam leaves with triumphant look for bookseller.

"Oh, now. He wasn't exactly lying per say. It is true it would be impolite..." Bess sheepishly to frowning St. Peter. "Oh, you saw that look on his face. One does have to love the little ..."

"All right... After all, I expect I'll have to go through all this again with Hilary Clinton soon enough." Peter sighs.

language hat  •  Link

"Do you walk in front of superiors?"

Ah, sorry, I hadn't focused on the "precedence" part -- I was just thinking of people walking together on a sidewalk. Mea culpa.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"we did get what we asked, 500,000l., assigned upon the eleven months’ tax"

L&M: £380,000 had been assigned to the navy by the statute imposing the tax: 18-19 Car. II c. 13, sect x.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Troubled a little at my fear that my Lord Bruncker should tell Sir W. Coventry of our neglecting the office this afternoon (which was intended) to look after our pleasures, but nothing will fall upon me alone about this."

I read this to mean that Pepys, Penn and Batten intended to be out of the office this afternoon, but did not invite Brouncker (or Pett) to join them. He was shunned. It also means that no one was there if Mr. Carkasse stop in to invite one of them to be godfather to his son. Therefore, no one would be embarrassed/compromised into doing it. It was also a unifying thing to do to unite the team after all these recent cross words. Shame they couldn't include Carteret.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"So we gone out, in went others; viz., one after another, Sir Stephen Fox for the army, Captain Cocke for sick and wounded, Mr. Ashburnham for the household."

John Evelyn is at the theater. The budget news goes to Capt. Cocke because he is the Treasurer of the Commission for the Sick and Wounded Seamen. (per L&M) I trust it was good news.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

‘en gayete de coeur’ -- spring time has sprung after a very cold, snowy start to the month.

Batch  •  Link

". . . very pleasant I was all day . . . and I made very good company."
Sam alone carried the day before the king and Duke of York, and then he was obviously "the life of the party" at Bow. What he obviously has is a great personality, both as an impressive presenter before the king and as the dominant charmer who has the wit and gusto to enliven a group and make get-togethers a blast. This is far from being the first time that he gives himself due credit for being the spark that creates a fun, memorable evening.

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