Tuesday 23 July 1667
Up betimes and to the office, doing something towards our great account to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and anon the office sat, and all the morning doing business. At noon home to dinner, and then close to my business all the afternoon. In the evening Sir R. Ford is come back from the Prince and tells Sir W. Batten and me how basely Sir W. Pen received our letter we sent him about the prizes at Hull, and slily answered him about the Prince’s leaving all his concerns to him, but the Prince did it afterward by letter brought by Sir R. Ford to us, which Sir W. Pen knows not of, but a very rogue he is.
By and by comes sudden news to me by letter from the Clerke of the Cheque at Gravesend, that there were thirty sail of Dutch men-of-war coming up into the Hope this last tide: which I told Sir W. Pen of; but he would not believe it, but laughed, and said it was a fleete of Billanders, and that the guns that were heard was the salutation of the Swede’s Ambassador that comes over with them. But within half an hour comes another letter from Captain Proud, that eight of them were come into the Hope, and thirty more following them, at ten this morning. By and by comes an order from White Hall to send down one of our number to Chatham, fearing that, as they did before, they may make a show first up hither, but then go to Chatham: so my Lord Bruncker do go, and we here are ordered to give notice to the merchant men-of-war, gone below the barricado at Woolwich, to come up again. So with much trouble to supper, home and to bed.
15 Annotations
First Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
Arlington to Ormond
Written from: London
Date: 23 July 1667 [in MS. by a slip of the pen, "1664"]
The Enemy is this day come into the river, with that squadron that hath lain so long upon the coast of Suffolk, and have passed our ships that lay in the Hope. They have exchanged shot and fireships this afternoon, but with what success we cannot [yet] tell. ...
... An account of other naval incidents is added .....
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Brodrick to Ormond
Written from: [London]
Date: 23 July 1667
Libels are daily scattered: One was brought to the King by Lord Anglesey, who said that he found it in the outer Court at Whitehall; another was left in Harry the Eighth's chair, in the Gallery; a third, at the King's bedchamber door,- strangely insolent; all of which, adds the writer, "I suppose will be printed, since the enclosed [not now appended to this letter],- written long since & passing from hand to hand in MS;- now appears in public"; by which his Grace may see to what heights of extravagance the humours of the people rise.
Proceeds to impart various speculations - founded on current rumour - as to the course of events in Flanders ...
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Anglesey to Ormond
Written from: London
Date: 23 July 1667
Notices the arrival of Sir Jeremy Smith at Kinsale with a rich East India ship, taken from the Dutch, "wherein there was much gold and silver. His Majesty hath promised the proceeds thereof towards the "5,000, for Ireland,- which will be readier money than any other fund will afford". .
http://www.rsl.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwm…
Terry Foreman • Link
Ormond to Orrery
Written from: Dublin
Date: 23 July 1667
... The squadron which Sir William Coventry supposed to be in a condition to fight that sent forth by the Enemy is not in a condition to keep the sea, or to subsist in harbour but by credit given them on bonds ...
Particulars are added concerning the arming and pay of the Militia of Munster and the writer continues:
"I agree with your Lordship in grief & admiration how we come into this condition, and would be content to take any pains to redeem the King's affairs out of these great necessities, or to know by what undue means they are brought under them, that the faulty might, as far as they are able make satisfaction, or at least bear the ... punishment due to them". ...
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Temple to Ormond
Written from: Brussels
Date: 23 July/2 August 1667
Incidents of the war in the Spanish Netherlands.
- Signature of the Treaty at Bread [sic] "with great expressions of joy upon the Dutch side".
http://www.rsl.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwm…
Wim van der Meij • Link
Wikipedia has this on the bilander: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bila…
I'd say the Dutch would call this ship a "buijs".
Paul E • Link
Aye, it seems the pirates are having a bit of a falling out over the splitting up of the booty.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"the barricado at Woolwich"
A 60-gun battery erected after the Dutch raid on the Medway. (L&M note)
Terry Foreman • Link
"By and by comes sudden news to me by letter from the Clerke of the Cheque at Gravesend, that there were thirty sail of Dutch men-of-war coming up into the Hope this last tide:"
L&M: Richard Elkins to Pepys. 23 July. PRO, 29/210; no. 112; summary in CSPD 1667, p. 319. The Dutch (under van Nes) retired downriver on the 24th.
Terry Foreman • Link
"But within half an hour comes another letter from Captain Proud, that eight of them were come into the Hope, and thirty more following them, at ten this morning."
L&M: Capts. John Proud and William Haddock to the Navy Board, Gravesend, 'past 12', 23 July, in CSPD Add. 1660-85, p. 207.
Terry Foreman • Link
"we here are ordered to give notice to the merchant men-of-war, gone below the barricado at Woolwich."
L&M: A 60-gun battery erected after the Dutch raid on the Medway: CSPD 1667, p. pp. 179, 215.
john • Link
Nothing like a Dutch reminder to move the peace treaty along.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... how basely Sir W. Pen received our letter we sent him about the prizes at Hull, and slily answered him about the Prince’s leaving all his concerns to him, but the Prince did it afterward by letter brought by Sir R. Ford to us, which Sir W. Pen knows not of, but a very rogue he is."
I read this as Rupert being uncooperative as he owned two out of the three privateers that caught the prize. The letter in question seems to be the one Pepys, Batten and Ford wrote on July 19.
Friday 19 July 1667
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
"... and to Sir W. Batten’s and to Sir R. Ford’s, we all to consider about our great prize at Hull, being troubled at our being likely to be troubled with Prince Rupert, by reason of Hogg’s consorting himself with two privateers [THE FANFAN and THE PANTHER] of the Prince’s, and so we study how to ease or secure ourselves."
And "silly" had more of a "stupid" connotation than we give it today.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Libels are daily scattered: One was brought to the King by Lord Anglesey, who said that he found it in the outer Court at Whitehall; another was left in Harry the Eighth's chair, in the Gallery; a third, at the King's bedchamber door, strangely insolent; all of which, adds the writer, "I suppose will be printed, since the enclosed [not now appended to this letter], written long since & passing from hand to hand in MS; now appears in public"; by which his Grace may see to what heights of extravagance the humors of the people rise."
Does anyone have any idea what this pamphlet, news sheet, was about, or the author? There were so many things the public could be upset about.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... and slily answered him about the Prince’s leaving all his concerns to him, ..."
"And "silly" had more of a "stupid" connotation than we give it today."
But Phil pointed out to me, "slily" is more likely to by "SLYLY". Which reinforces my thoughts on Penn's fund-raising activities.
Penn's timing is truly awful, with the threatened Parliamentary hearings; messing around with the popular war hero third-in-line to the throne, and the only one untainted by rumors of Catholicism.
Terry Foreman • Link
SILLY : Simple, foolish (Laege Glossary)
Terry Foreman • Link
SILLY : Simple, foolish (L&M Large Glossary)
San Diego Sarah • Link
According to the Salty One a decade ago ... he hasn't posted recently, or have I missed a name change?
silly
[Later form of ME. sely SEELY a.]
From c 1550 to c 1675 silly was very extensively used in senses 1-3, and in a number of examples it is difficult to decide which shade of meaning was intended by the writer.
A. adj.
3. a. Unlearned, unsophisticated, simple, rustic, ignorant. Obs. or arch.
3b. Of humble rank or state; lowly. Obs.
a1568 A
1610 J. GUILLIM Heraldry IV. v. (1660) 281 Before the invention of Printing, the onely means of preserving good Arts..was by this silly instrument the Pen.
1629 MILTON Hymn Nativ. viii, Perhaps their loves, or els their sheep, Was all that did their silly thoughts so busie keep.