Wednesday 17 July 1667

Up, and to my chamber to set down my Journall of Sunday last with much pleasure, and my foot being pretty well, but yet I am forced to limp. Then by coach, set my wife down at the New Exchange, and I to White Hall to the Treasury chamber, but to little purpose. So to Mr. Burges to as little. There to the Hall and talked with Mrs. Michell, who begins to tire me about doing something for her elder son, which I am willing to do, but know not what. Thence to White Hall again, and thence away, and took up my wife at Unthanke’s, and left her at the ’Change, and so I to Bennet’s to take up a bill for the last silk I had for my vest and coat, which I owe them for, and so to the Excise Office, and there did a little business, and so to Temple Bar and staid at my bookseller’s till my wife calls me, and so home, where I am saluted with the news of Hogg’s bringing a rich Canary prize to Hull:1 and Sir W. Batten do offer me 1000l. down for my particular share, beside Sir Richard Ford’s part, which do tempt me; but yet I would not take it, but will stand and fall with the company. He and two more, the Panther and Fanfan, did enter into consortship; and so they have all brought in each a prize, though ours worth as much as both theirs, and more. However, it will be well worth having, God be thanked for it! This news makes us all very glad. I at Sir W. Batten’s did hear the particulars of it; and there for joy he did give the company that were there a bottle or two of his own last year’s wine, growing at Walthamstow, then which the whole company said they never drank better foreign wine in their lives.

Home, and to dinner, and by and by comes Mr. Pierce, who is interested in the Panther, for some advice, and then comes Creed, and he and I spent the whole afternoon till eight at night walking and talking of sundry things public and private in the garden, but most of all of the unhappy state of this nation at this time by the negligence of the King and his Council. The Duke of Buckingham is, it seems, set at liberty, without any further charge against him or other clearing of him, but let to go out; which is one of the strangest instances of the fool’s play with which all publick things are done in this age, that is to be apprehended. And it is said that when he was charged with making himself popular — as indeed he is, for many of the discontented Parliament, Sir Robert Howard and Sir Thomas Meres, and others, did attend at the Council-chamber when he was examined — he should answer, that whoever was committed to prison by my Lord Chancellor or my Lord Arlington, could not want being popular. But it is worth considering the ill state a Minister of State is in, under such a Prince as ours is; for, undoubtedly, neither of those two great men would have been so fierce against the Duke of Buckingham at the Council-table the other day, had they [not] been assured of the King’s good liking, and supporting them therein: whereas, perhaps at the desire of my Lady Castlemayne, who, I suppose, hath at last overcome the King, the Duke of Buckingham is well received again, and now these men delivered up to the interest he can make for his revenge. He told me over the story of Mrs. Stewart, much after the manner which I was told it long since, and have entered it in this book, told me by Mr. Evelyn; only he says it is verily believed that the King did never intend to marry her to any but himself, and that the Duke of York and Lord Chancellor were jealous of it; and that Mrs. Stewart might be got with child by the King, or somebody else, and the King own a marriage before his contract, for it is but a contract, as he tells me, to this day, with the Queene, and so wipe their noses of the Crown; and that, therefore, the Duke of York and Chancellor did do all they could to forward the match with my Lord Duke of Richmond, that she might be married out of the way; but, above all, it is a worthy part that this good lady hath acted. Thus we talked till night and then parted, and so I to my office and did business, and so home to supper, and there find my sister Michell2 come from Lee to see us; but do tattle so much of the late business of the Dutch coming thither that I was weary of it. Yet it is worth remembering what she says: that she hath heard both seamen and soldiers swear they would rather serve the Dutch than the King, for they should be better used.3 She saw “The Royal Charles” brought into the river by them; and how they shot off their great guns for joy, when they got her out of Chatham River. I would not forget that this very day when we had nothing to do almost but five merchantmen to man in the River, which have now been about it some weeks, I was asked at Westminster, what the matter was that there was such ado kept in pressing of men, as it seems there is thereabouts at this day. So after supper we all to bed, my foot very well again, I thank God.

23 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Sir W. Batten do offer me L1000 down for my particular share, beside Sir Richard Ford's part, which do tempt me; but yet I would not take it, but will stand and fall with the company"

For the final settlement see 14 August http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

[.....]

"He told me over the story of Mrs. Stewart,... which I was told it long since, and have entered it in this book, told me by Mr. Evelyn"

For that earlier conversation, see 29 April http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

John Evelyn's Diary

17th July, 1667. The master of the mint and his lady, Mr. Williamson, Sir Nicholas Armourer, Sir Edward Bowyer, Sir Anthony Auger, and other friends dined with me.

http://bit.ly/cOXQbW

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Nate, when 14 August is posted, the link will work.

Michael L  •  Link

Geez, will he ever stop talking about his foot pain after this many days? Pepys seems to always find petty details of his health and pains to be of the utmost fascination. This sort of chatter must have driven his wife and colleagues crazy.

JWB  •  Link

Fanfan?

Any ideas about where this ship's name came from?

language hat  •  Link

"Any ideas about where this ship’s name came from?"

It's also spelled Fan-Fan; the ship is mentioned frequently in accounts of the period, but I can find no information on the origin of the name.

JWB  •  Link

Fanfan speculation:

Chinese repeat a word to multiply referent,e.g. ren=man, renren=everybody. Fan in Chinese is food-eat, as in the greeting 'Chi fan le ma?'=Have you eaten yet?' So fanfan could possibley mean plenty, prosperity -an appropriate name for a privateer.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"...and that Mrs. Stewart might be got with child by the King, or somebody else, and the King own a marriage before his contract, for it is but a contract, as [ Creed ] tells me, to this day, with the Queene...."

Of course, it is not "but a contract", as L&M note, since the King had married the Queen in both a Roman Catholic ceremony and an Anglican ceremony -- despite which the [ hopeful but false ] rumor that Charles had been married before [ to Lucy Walter ] circulates still.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Geez, will he ever stop talking about his foot pain after this many days?"

It's only been 3 days. 'Twas but for the 14th that Pepys wrote: "I, by leaping down the little bank, coming out of the wood, did sprain my right foot"

If his diagnosis means roughly what is does today, here's the Expected Duration

Mild midfoot sprains usually heal within a few weeks, whereas more severe sprains may take up to two months. The pain of turf toe usually subsides within two to three weeks.
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ih…

A.De Araujo  •  Link

"did sprain my right foot"
methinks it was a mild sprained ankle because he does not mention any ecchymosis(black and blue).

language hat  •  Link

"So fanfan could possibley mean plenty, prosperity -an appropriate name for a privateer."

1) There are a lot of "fan" words in Chinese, including the much more appropriate fan 'a sail; to sail.'

2) It seems vanishingly unlikely that a boat in Restoration England would have a Chinese name.

A.De Araujo  •  Link

"Fanfan"
French colloqialism for "enfant"

GrahamT  •  Link

Fanfan has also been used in France as a nickname for Francois[e] or Fernand, or even France - the woman's name, rather than the country. (Compare with Zizi = Isabelle, Jojo = Josef/Jonathan, Gigi = Gilbert)
This is similar to Frances in English becoming Fanny, colloquially.

There is a famous 19th century French operetta and 1952 swashbuckling film, set in the 18th century, called Fanfan le Tulipe.

I had not heard the 'enfant' version before, but it sounds just as likely. Still a strange name for a ship though.

language hat  •  Link

A woman's name isn't strange at all for a ship (I agree the 'infant' version is unlikely), and French is a very probable source.

Tony Rowland  •  Link

Fanfan was a small vessel orginally built as Prince Rupert's private yacht. Fanfan is likely to have been Rupert's pet name for his then mistress, Frances or Francesca Bard, daughter of the notorious Civil War Royalist Colonel, Sir Henry Bard, Lord Bellamont. It was later claimed that Rupert secretly married Frances but this was never proved. They had a son, Dudley usually referred to as Dudley Rupert, who was killed at Buda in 1686.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"And it is said that when he was charged with making himself popular...he should answer, that whoever was committed to prison by my Lord Chancellor or my Lord Arlington, could not want being popular."

L&M: Cf. the French ambassador's despatches (6, 10 October) qa. V. Barbour, Arlington, pp. 113, 144 nn; and Baxter's remarks in M. Sylvester, Reliq. Baxt. (1696), pt iii. 21. Buckingham had joined in the demand, e.g., for parliamentary examination of accounts.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"whereas, perhaps at the desire of my Lady Castlemayne"

L&M: She was anxious to gain an ally against Clarendon.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"he says it is verily believed that the King did never intend to marry her to any but himself, and that the Duke of York and Lord Chancellor were jealous of it;"

L&M: Clarendon's daughter being married to James, Duke of York, the heir presumptive.

john  •  Link

Michael, Pepys did not live in an age when one could simply visit a medical clinic. I, for one, have no objection of his recording his problems.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I incorrectly posted my best guesses at who attended lunch with John Evelyn today in tomorrow's annotations. Apologies.

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