Monday 27 January 1667/68

It being weather like the beginning of a frost and the ground dry, I walked as far as the Temple, and there took coach and to White Hall, but the Committee not being met I to Westminster, and there I do hear of the letter that is in the pamphlet this day of the King of France, declaring his design to go on against Flanders, and the grounds of it, which do set us mightily at rest. So to White Hall, and there a committee of Tangier, but little done there, only I did get two or three little jobs done to the perfecting two or three papers about my Tangier accounts. Here Mr. Povy do tell me how he is like to lose his 400l. a-year pension of the Duke of York, which he took in consideration of his place which was taken from him. He tells me the Duchesse is a devil against him, and do now come like Queen Elizabeth, and sits with the Duke of York’s Council, and sees what they do; and she crosses out this man’s wages and prices, as she sees fit, for saving money; but yet, he tells me, she reserves 5000l. a-year for her own spending; and my Lady Peterborough, by and by, tells me that the Duchesse do lay up, mightily, jewells. Thence to my Lady Peterborough’s, she desiring to speak with me. She loves to be taken dressing herself, as I always find her; and there, after a little talk, to please her, about her husband’s pension, which I do not think he will ever get again, I away thence home, and all the afternoon mighty busy at the office, and late, preparing a letter to the Commissioners of Accounts, our first letter to them, and so home to supper, where Betty Turner was (whose brother Frank did set out toward the East Indies this day, his father and mother gone down with him to Gravesend), and there was her little brother Moses, whom I examined, and he is a pretty good scholar for a child, and so after supper to talk and laugh, and to bed.

22 Annotations

First Reading

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"Thence to my Lady Peterborough’s, she desiring to speak with me. She loves to be taken dressing herself, as I always find her..."

No mention of her ravishing beauty by our hero who tends to take notice of such things, suggesting she was not catching his eye. Of course she may be too old to attract him but if as the annotation suggests she married in '44, she could be in her very late 30's or early 40's.

***
Anne, Duchess of York seems to have discovered the line item veto.

Christopher Squire  •  Link

' . . It being weather like the beginning of a frost and the ground dry . . ' just like today:

' . . A large, slow-moving area of high pressure is centred to the northwest of the UK. Low pressure systems are currently centred to the north and south of this . . ': sunny 2C wind ENE 12 mph.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weath…

Paul Chapin  •  Link

The present King of France (a favorite subject of Bertrand Russell), contrary to the link and rollover, is of course not Charles II, however much he might have wished it so, but Louis XIV.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Nice of Louis to send a letter, though he's already seized most of Flanders on the claim that it's part of his wife Maria Theresa of Spain's inheritance. The real reason the Dutch didn't demand all they could've at Breda and made the new alliance with England. He's soon to be off to attack Spanish-held Franche-Comte.

Of course it's poor DeWitt in the Netherlands who will be the eventual big loser here as his new alliance will antagonize Louis and Charles is not a dependable ally...Though interesting to speculate that he might have been a bit more faithful if the Dutch purse strings had been looser.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"Very good. All right, boy...Final question. Now, where were you when the lights went out?" Heh, heh, heh...

Why do they always ask that? Moses sighed.

language hat  •  Link

"there I do hear of the letter that is in the pamphlet this day of the King of France, declaring his design to go on against Flanders, and the grounds of it, which do set us mightily at rest."

Why would this set them mightily at rest? Aren't the Dutch their allies?

—Confused in Massachusetts

john  •  Link

Pepys wrote: "and there was her little brother Moses, whom I examined, and he is a pretty good scholar for a child,"

Not much in vogue, these days, to examine a visiting child. What would he have asked (conjugate an irregular, quote some passage)?

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Rather tactless and crass that my Lady Peterborough’s transparent agendum -- to get Pepys to lobby for her husband's pension to be paid him => her -- is prefaced by her complaint -- as she adorns herself coquettishly (modestly?) -- that the Duchesse of York is extravagantly laying up jewels.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Sounds like the Duchess is a clever lady with foresight. Hard to say if her acts have any public spirit motivation but I'd guess she would argue it...All-in-all Anne Hyde Stuart seems a forceful lady with at least as much political savvy as her husband.

Phil Gyford  •  Link

Paul - thanks for the Kings correction. Some hasty linking on my part, now corrected.

Australian Susan  •  Link

This serves to remind us of what we tend to take for granted and shouldn't - that Phil G puts all these links in manually before uploading and we are all very grateful for his diligence which adds to our continued enjoyment! Thanks, again, Phil!

cum salis grano  •  Link

yes, I add my thanks too, job quietly well done.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I to Westminster, and there I do hear of the letter that is in the pamphlet this day of the King of France, declaring his design to go on against Flanders, and the grounds of it, which do set us mightily at rest."

L&M: The 'pamphlet' was the London Gazette of this day, which printed a letter of Louis XIV announcing that on 1 February he would invade Franche-Comte in order to force Spain to make peace and to prevent the Emperor from attacking Burgundy. The letter was sent to Britain and the United Provinces who were acting as mediators.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"[Mr. Povy] tells me the Duchesse is a devil against him, and do now come like Queen Elizabeth, and sits with the Duke of York’s Council, and sees what they do;"

L&M: On 27 September 1666 Thomas Povey had been replaced by Sir Allen Apsley as Treasurer and Receiver-General to the Duke. In December 1669 he was granted £2000 in compensation through the intervention of the Queen Mother: HMC, Rep., 8/1/280.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

" Mr. Povy do tell me how he is like to lose his 400l. a- year pension of the Duke of York, which he took in consideration of his place which was taken from him."

L&M: On 27 September 1666 Thomas Povey had been replaced by Sir Allen Apsley as Treasurer and Receiver-General to the Duke. In December 1669 he was granted £2000 in compensation through the intervention of the Queen Mother: HMC, Rep., 8/1/280.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Jan. 27. 1668
Whitehall.
Warrant for a pardon to George, Duke of Buckingham, of all treason, misprision of treason, felony, &c., especially concerning the killing of Wm. Jenkins, and assaults on Francis Earl of Shrewsbury, or Sir John Talbot, whether or not they have died or shall die of the same; with non-obstante of the statutes requiring security for good behavior.
[S.P. Dom. Car. II. 233, No. 90.]

Jan. 27. 1668
Draft of the above.
[S.P. Dom. Car. II. 233, No. 91.]

Jan. 27. 1668
Entry of the above.
[S P. Dom., Entry Book 30, f. 5.]

Jan. 27. 1668
Warrant for a like grant of pardon to Sir Robert Holmes Minute.
[S P. Dom., Entry Book 30, f. 5.]

Jan. 27. 1668
Draft of the above.
[pages. S.P. Dom., Car. II. 233, No. 92.]

Jan. 27. 1668
Petition of John Bennett, high bailiff of the city and liberties of Westminster, to Charles II.
By the accidental killing of Wm. Jenkins, in a late duel between the Duke of Buckingham and Earl of Shrewsbury, the Duke forfeits all his goods, chattels, and personal estate to the King, a considerable part of which, being in Westminster, would come to the petitioner;
but as he loses it by his Majesty’s pardon to the Duke, he begs to be recommended to his Grace for some compensation.
[S.P. Dom., Car. II. 233, No. 93.]

Jan. 27 ? 1668
Petition of John Bennett, high bailiff of Westminster, to Charles II,
for similar recommendation to Bernard Howard, Sir John Talbot, and Sir Robt. Holmes, who were engaged in the encounter in which Wm. Jenkins was slain, but his Majesty is inclined to pardon them before conviction.
[S.P. Dom., Car. II. 233, No. 94.]

Shame on you, Charles II. Buckingham needed boundaries, not a pardon. But that will dawn on you 15 years from now, and he make plenty trouble for you between now and then.

https://www.british-history.ac.uk…

Batch  •  Link

Lady Peterborough: "She loves to be taken dressing . . . ."
Taken = caught in the act.
When King Arthur's knights reported Queen Guinevere's adultery to him and asked if they should go find her and bring her before him, he said, "No, I want her taken."

Stephane Chenard  •  Link

If Sam read the Most Christian's pamphlet in the Gazette, as L&M says and seems most probable, then what he had in hand was Gazette No. 29, dated January 23-27 and containing items dated through the 25th. Indeed the "Circulatory Letter" from Versailles is datelined "Whitehall, Jan. 25". This is indeed the latest issue, the ink still smudgy on Sam's fingers, a useful calibration point on how fast he gets the paper. The Carte collection retains a 3-page copy of the letter in French (Carte 46, dated Jan. 27), so it also circulated in pamphlet form and it's possible Sam got hold of one.

In typical style Louis presents himself as the greatest Friend to Peace there ever was, and says "he has no Design by this Expedition to put any Obstacle to the Peace". But of course. By all reports the French conquest of Brussels, Lille and the surrounding country has been increasingly brutal. It's also been no picnic for the French forces so, seen from London, a second front in Franche Comte can look like a welcome diversion from the northern theater.

Interestingly, the Louis letter is printed in the Gazette in a font about twice as large as the rest of the news. It could be deference to the majestic author. Or - though Gazette 229 covers more or less the usual time interval, of 3-4 days - it could be that the news was indeed considered so hot as to warrant rushing publication and spreading it in all the space that remained available on page 2. Williamson may have been scooping out someone, or ordered by "Whitehall, Jan. 25" to print it a.s.a.p.

Timo  •  Link

“ yes, I add my thanks too, job quietly well done” - Salty CAN speak normally!! Shocked 😮. And my thanks too Phil as a second rounder. The past 7 or 8 years have been time very well spent. Amazing effort by all. 👏🏼

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