Tuesday 6 August 1667

Up, and to the office, where all the morning very full of business. A full Board. Here, talking of news, my Lord Anglesey did tell us that the Dutch do make a further bogle with us about two or three things, which they will be satisfied in, he says, by us easily; but only in one, it seems, they do demand that we shall not interrupt their East Indiamen coming home, and of which they are in some fear; and we are full of hopes that we have ’light upon some of them, and carried them into Lisbon, by Harman; which God send! But they, which do shew the low esteem they have of us, have the confidence to demand that we shall have a cessation on our parts, and yet they at liberty to take what they will; which is such an affront, as another cannot be devised greater.

At noon home to dinner, where I find Mrs. Wood, formerly Bab. Shelden, and our Mercer, who is dressed to-day in a paysan dress, that looks mighty pretty. We dined and sang and laughed mighty merry, and then I to the Office, only met at the door with Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Burroughs, who I took in and drank with, but was afraid my wife should see them, they being, especially the first, a prattling gossip, and so after drinking with them parted, and I to the Office, busy as long as my poor eyes would endure, which troubles me mightily and then into the garden with my wife, and to Sir W. Batten’s with [Sir] W. Pen and [Sir] J. Minnes, and there eat a melon and talked, and so home to supper and to bed. My wife, as she said last night, hath put away Nell to-day, for her gossiping abroad and telling of stories. Sir W. Batten did tell me to-night that the Council have ordered a hearing before them of Carcasses business, which do vex me mightily, that we should be troubled so much by an idle rogue, a servant of our own, and all my thoughts to-night have been how to manage the matter before the Council.

15 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"the Dutch do make a further bogle with us"

"make a bogle" = to demur, hesitate (L&M Large Glossary)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"it seems [ the Dutch ] do demand that we shall not interrupt their East Indiamen coming home, and of which they are in some fear"

-- for good reason:

"In 1665, England boasted a population about four times as large as that of the Dutch Republic. This population was dominated by poor peasants, however, and so the only source of ready cash were the cities. The Dutch urban population exceeded that of England in both proportional and absolute terms and the Republic would be able to spend more than twice the amount of money on the war compared to England, the equivalent of ?11,000,000.[9] The outbreak of war was followed ominously by the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London, hitting the only major urban centre of the country. These events, occurring in such close succession, virtually brought England to its knees, as the English fleet had suffered from cash shortages even before these calamities, despite having been voted a record budget of ?2,500,000 by the English parliament. The navy did not pay its sailors with money, but with "tickets", or debt certificates. Charles lacked an effective means of enforcing taxation.

"The only way to finance the war, in effect, was to capture Dutch trade fleets. English penury made the war's outcome dependent on the fortunes of its privateers; in fact Dutch privateers would be the more successful."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seco…

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...only met at the door with Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Burroughs, who I took in and drank with, but was afraid my wife should see them, they being, especially the first, a prattling gossip..."

Wonder what led them to think they had the right to come to the office and risk embarassing our hero? More seriously this is the first time I can remember long-time mistress Betty Martin coming to Seething Lane...Yet there seems no sign that she or Mrs. B came to put the screws to Sam.

Hmmn...What a line for facebook/twitter updates...
"This week on Diary of Sam Pepys...Seething Lane sizzles as Betty Martin slides in to make a personal business call..."

"Hewer? Mrs. Martin was quite upset with you...Why did you lock her and Mrs Burroughs in my closet?"

"Worlds, sir...The Worlds..."

"What?"

"Sir...There is Upright hardworking, savior of England, Husband Sam who is loved by his trusting wife..."

"Yes..." sigh... "Dull fellow, I know him only too well."

"And there is Playboy Sam...Philandering gad about town, fondle...er fondly remembered by every shop girl and barmaid in London for his generous ways and charming spirit."

"I love that Sam..." sigh.

"As so many of us do, within reason, sir."

"So?..."

"Sir, don't you know that if Mistress Elisabeth and Wife Elisabeth walk into that office together...Worlds collide! And we instantly obliterate both good Husband Sam and Playboy Sam."

Hmmn...Yes...That would be...

"Quite right, carry on Hewer."

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"And so that's the news of the day...I can't wait to hear about those East India ships."

"Lovely..." Bess sighs.

"So Nell was actually telling people about our argument?"

"That she was, the little..." frown.

Hmmn...Could have been a lot worse...Sam thinks. Somehow, the mistress wanting sex while bad among the boys in the office, doesn't quite rank as seriously as 'Mr. Pepys loves his Elisabeths...Got two with 'im in the office right now.'"

"Well, she's gone. Trouble averted, hopefully. Good night, dearest."

"Sam'l?!"

"Hmmn?"

"What about...Our problem? Can't we talk about it?"

"Talk? About...? The Act? Mrs. Pepys?!"

"You're the Clerk of the Acts, aren't you?"

"Bess...Can't we just wait for the spontaneous moment? What's the big bother? There's no need to discuss it, we have the mechanics all worked out. Although Mr. Hooke did recommend this new root in from America..."

"Lie back and think on France?...Not quite doing it for either of us these days, Sam'l."

"France is better than England...Eh?. eh?" nudge...

Though I must admit even just lying there, when my energetic lil' woodchuck gets chugging away...Bess thinks, grinning at the thought...Pouting at end...

"Even so...Sam'l? Isn't there anything I could do to...Move things along?"

Hmmn...? Somewhat revolutionary...I feel the world shaking beneath my feet. Caution, Pepys...

On the other hand...

"Tell me you want 40000 pounds at once or it's no deal and you'll tell the Queen my wife."

"What?"

"You heard me...Bess, you said..."

"40000 pounds? We don't have...And I would never ask you for..."

"Fantasy, Bess...You wanted to 'move things along'...Oh and tell me if I don't acknowledge the new babe, you'll dash its head against the wall...Pull down the sheet slowly as you do so..."

"What?! Sam'l?! That's horrible!"

"Yes...But it's fantastic...Bess, do you mind if I call you Barbara as you do so?"

"What?!"

L. K. van Marjenhoff  •  Link

Mercer's "paysan" dress - in country or simple style
A search for "paysan frock" yields a modern version.

language hat  •  Link

"The only way to finance the war, in effect, was to capture Dutch trade fleets. English penury made the war’s outcome dependent on the fortunes of its privateers; in fact Dutch privateers would be the more successful."

Thanks, Terry, that's an extremely enlightening quote.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

LH, I knew we were in the Dutch Golden Age http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutc… but I hadn't thought through the causes of English financial weakness until provoked by JWB's recent post http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… which this entire quote about the Second Anglo-Dutch War reinforces.

The gist, I gather, is the English were poor because landed: land is not fungible and rents are an unreliable source of income, ergo tax-payments.

Ironically Pepys is admiring peasant (paysan) dress -- likely a blouse -- and he and Elizabeth have learned the country-dances that are all the rage at court.

cum salis grano  •  Link

I wonder????? if be Samuel that coined the phrase "all my and Betty Martin"

Mary  •  Link

All my eye and Betty Martin.

Origins uncertain. The expression was first recorded in 1781 and could be a naval embellishment of an earlier version, "all my eye." Coleridge objected specifically to the addition of "Betty Martin" to the tag and rendered it "all my I." However, in view of similar London expressions (e.g. "all my eye and elbow") he may have been mistaken.

Unlikely that Samuel coined and popularised the phrase, even if it was already well established by the end of the 18th century - he aimed to keep his association with Betty Martin quiet, surely?

Mary  •  Link

The Dutch Golden Age.

Simon Schama's "Embarrassment of Riches" is highly recommended as an account of this period.

Second Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"At noon home to dinner, where I find Mrs. Wood, formerly Bab. Shelden, and our Mercer, who is dressed to-day in a paysan dress, that looks mighty pretty. We dined and sang and laughed mighty merry, and then I to the Office,"

Sounds cordial enough, but this is the last mention of Mrs. Barbery -- I wonder what happened to her and the rich William Wood, Jr.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"and we are full of hopes that we have ’light upon some of them, and carried them into Lisbon, by Harman; which God send!"

Funny Pepys doesn't mention that Balty is the Muster Master in Harman's fleet:

"Balty ... going ... as Muster-Master with Harman this voyage to the West Indys" L&M note Sir John Harman sailed on 28 April, 1667 from Plymouth with the only squadron of men-of-war sent out into those waters in the whole of the reign. He returned a year later. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"they do demand that we shall not interrupt their East Indiamen coming home, and of which they are in some fear; and we are full of hopes that we have ’light upon some of them"

I believe this has happened. Sir Jeremy Smith is barricaded in Kinsale harbor by Dutch warships:

Anglesey to Ormonde
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".
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

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