Sunday 14 March 1668/69

(Lord’s day). Up, and to my office with Tom, whom I made to read to me the books of Propositions in the time of the Grand Commission, which I did read a good part of before church, and then with my wife to church, where I did see my milliner’s wife come again, which pleased me; but I durst not be seen to mind her for fear of my wife’s seeing me, though the woman I did never speak twenty words to, and that but only in her husband’s shop. But so fearful I am of discontenting my wife, or giving her cause of jealousy. But here we heard a most excellent good sermon of Mr. Gifford’s, upon the righteousness of Scribes and Pharisees. So home to dinner and to work again, and so till dinner, where W. Howe come and dined with me, and staid and read in my Lord Cooke upon his chapter of perjury again, which pleased me, and so parted, and I to my office, and there made an end of the books of Propositions, which did please me mightily to hear read, they being excellently writ and much to the purpose, and yet so as I think I shall make good use of his defence of our present constitution. About four o’clock took coach to visit my cozen Turner, and I out with her to make a visit, but the lady she went to see was abroad. So back and to talk with her and her daughters, and then home, and she and I to walk in the garden, the first time this year, the weather being mighty temperate; and then I to write down my Journall for the last week, my eyes being very bad, and therefore I forced to find a way to use by turns with my tube, one after another, and so home to supper and to bed. Before I went from my office this night I did tell Tom my resolution not to keep him after Jane was gone, but shall do well by him, which pleases him; and I think he will presently marry her, and go away out of my house with her.

8 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Ormond to Ossory
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 14 March 1669

... They are no friends to the Duke of York, howsoever they came to be his servants, who have stopped some eight hundred certificates [in the Court of Claims at Dublin], by caveats issued on H.R.H's behalf. The thing is unreasonable and unplausible ...

... The computation of the King's debt & of the means of discharge, will doubtless be of use to the Lord Robartes, & the Duke will take a due opportunity of furnishing him with them. In the mean time, Lord Ossory is not to hold himself as the Duke's deputy, or as Lord Robartes' deputy, but as the King's ...

... The King is persuaded that ... "a Parliament & nothing else ... will remedy ... [the necessities of the time]. And those who have least to do in the present counsels will not only be the most safe, but the most popular. For the Duke of Bucks, I am most confident he not only undervalues but hates the King's person, and his brother's ; and has designs apart, - if not aimed at the ruin of them both". ...
http://www.rsl.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwm…

JWB  •  Link

"...upon the righteousness of Scribes and Pharisees..."

'For I say to you (disciples), that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5, 20.

So this reverberates with the chastised husband... 'most excellent good'.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"the books of Propositions in the time of the Grand Commission"

L&M say "the report of the reforming commission of 1618, in Pepys's view the best available analysis of the problems of naval administration [Scandal caused by embezzlement and other forms of corruption following the decision to maintain a standing force of ships. Graft in the dockyards, use of Navy ships for commercial ventures].

Available from libraries: MCGOWAN, A.P. (ED)‎ ‎The Jacobean Commissions of Enquiry 1608 and 1618‎. ‎London: Navy Records Society, 1971: Publication of the Navy Records Society, Vol. 116.* The documents edited in this volume have been confined to the original depositions for the Commission of 1608, the Report of the Commission of 1618 in the Public Record Office, and the copy of the latter in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
http://www-dev.library.yorku.ca/f…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I did tell Tom my resolution not to keep him after Jane was gone, but shall do well by him"

L&M note Tom Edwards and Jane Birch were married on 26 March.

Second Reading

Elizabeth  •  Link

Somehow, the idea of John Gadbury that the weather has a variable air sounds lovely. Very temperate and maybe warm? It was a good description of the weather here today.
Made for a nice walk.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Ormond to Ossory
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 14 March 1669"

Charles II, James and the Court are far away at Newmarket, but I sense Ormonde knows that today he is officially retired from being the Lord Lt. of Ireland.

To a man of James Butler, Duke of Ormonde's breeding and education, the civilization of Pall Mall was more pleasing than the semi-barbarous condition of provincial Ireland, but Ormonde accepted again the thankless position of viceroy, and, hampered by the new school of politics that had arisen in London, he did his utmost for Ireland.

Ormonde was the best man for the task, and Charles II knew it, although his enemies never lost an opportunity for damaging his reputation, he retained the post until March 14, 1669, having conducted the government in person for nearly seven years.

Ormonde was one of the first to realize the fact that Charles II was endangering his throne by his profligacy. Almost every decree that emanated from Whitehall was inspired by the whims and vagaries of one of the mistresses of the 'Merry Monarch,' and even Ormonde, attached as he was to the person of the king, could not submit to the insolent demand on the part of Barbara Villiers Palmer, Lady Castlemaine that her lover should grant her the new Phoenix Park, Dublin, as a private demesne.

The Countess ascribed her defeat to Ormonde's jealousy, and it was mainly through her that the viceroy's enemies continued their plottings and secured his recall.

The initial charges against Ormonde were that he had billeted soldiers on civilians and had executed martial law, charges so ridiculous that there was never any serious attempt to investigate them after Ormonde's return to London.

Info from
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

As you've probably discovered, Terry's link for the 1618 Commission takes us to the University of York's library page, but no hint on where to find the ebook.

I sent them a note asking if they could update the link for me, and got this back:

"This is the permalink to our catalogue record:
The Jacobean commissions of enquiry, 1608 and 1618
https://ocul-yor.primo.exlibrisgr… "

Which takes me to the location of the hardbound book on their shelves.

So this maybe a Wayback situation? I've been spectacularly unsuccessful with that also.

Ideas anyone?

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