Thursday 11 August 1664

Up, and through pain, to my great grief forced to wear my gowne to keep my legs warm. At the office all the morning, and there a high dispute against Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen about the breadth of canvas again, they being for the making of it narrower, I and Mr. Coventry and Sir J. Minnes for the keeping it broader. So home to dinner, and by and by comes Mr. Creed, lately come from the Downes, and dined with me. I show him a good countenance, but love him not for his base ingratitude to me. However, abroad, carried my wife to buy things at the New Exchange, and so to my Lady Sandwich’s, and there merry, talking with her a great while, and so home, whither comes Cocker with my rule, which he hath engraved to admiration, for goodness and smallness of work: it cost me 14s. the doing, and mightily pleased I am with it. By and by, he gone, comes Mr. Moore and staid talking with me a great while about my Lord’s businesses, which I fear will be in a bad condition for his family if my Lord should miscarry at sea. He gone, I late to my office, and cannot forbear admiring and consulting my new rule, and so home to supper and to bed.

This day, for a wager before the King, my Lords of Castlehaven and Arran (a son of my Lord of Ormond’s), they two alone did run down and kill a stoute bucke in St. James’s parke.


15 Annotations

First Reading

Pedro  •  Link

On this day in Lausanne (give or take 10 days)...

MacDonnell and Cotter arrive to carry out the assassination of John Lisle, another of the late King's unrependant judges, shot in the back in the churchyard.

(Intelligence and Espionage in the Reign of Carles II by Marshall)

Terry F  •  Link

Today in Den Haag and spoilers (extending the post two days ago by our Pedro):

"[Grand Pensionary of Holland Johan] DeWitt realized that a fleet could scarcely be dispatched to Guinea from Holland without being discovered. Therefore, he together with six of his councillors decided to send secret orders to [Admiral] DeRuyter to sail at once for the coast of Guinea. On account of a peculiarity of the Dutch government, however, it was impossible to dispatch these orders without first securing a resolution of the States General....On August 11, 1664, the secretary of the States General read the resolution very quickly, during which time DeWitt and his six cohorts raised so much disturbance by loud conversation that no one in the room heard what was being read....The trick succeeded admirably. DeWitt was now in possession of the necessary authority, and orders were dispatched at once to DeRuyter to leave his post in the Mediterranean and to sail for the west coast of Africa without revealing his destination to Lawson, the English commander [also pursuing barbary pirates]. He was instructed to recover for the West India Company those places which Holmes had seized and to deliver to Valckenburg, the Dutch general on the Gold Coast, all the effects of the English which were not necessary for the different factories of the company."
"The Company of Royal Adventurers," George F. Zook, *The Journal of Negro History*, Vol IV--April, 1919 -- No. 2. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21…

Australian Susan  •  Link

"...I late to my office, and cannot forbear admiring and consulting my new rule,..."

It's comments like this which are one of the delights of the Diary - ringing true down the ages. Haven't we all either played with, sorry, I mean explored all the aspects of, our new mobile phones or Palm Pilots or watched others doing this?

Paul Chapin  •  Link

canvas
This argument harks back to the one recounted on 26 May: http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

All of the annotations to that entry warrant rereading to understand the issue, but Michael's post of an L&M note and Jeannine's expansion are particularly helpful:

Michael Robinson on Sun 27 May 2007, 01:49am
"some high words with Sir W. Batten about canvas,..."

From the L&M note:-

'Cf. N[avy] W[hite] B[ook], p. 222 (26 May):
'I stopped at a full Board, Collonell Reames being there, Sir W. Batten's project of bespeaking the W country cloth to be of 15 inches wide - or 18, which the Board seemed inclined to have. And very high Sir W. Batten was with me how he should not understand a sail better than I.' Pepys (relying on the advice of sail-makers and on the Dutch example) argued the broad canvas, with few seams, which was both cheaper and stronger. See notes in NWB, pp. 21+."

Jeannine, over to your source for further details ...

jeannine on Sun 27 May 2007, 11:39pm
"Pepys (relying on the advice of sail-makers and on the Dutch example) argued the broad canvas, with few seams, which was both cheaper and stronger."
Michael, over the course of a few months Sam has entries about the qualities of the different materials (Holland's duck vs. West Country duck vs. Suffolk cloth, etc.) used to make [sails]. He also collects information about the issue of the width of the cloth and how a narrower cloth needs more seams. Sam researches where most of the [sails] break apart due to wear and he finds it is on the seams, thus making a broader cloth a better choice as it requires fewer seams. Mennes supports that the seams have tended to give way first as based on his experience on the 'Henry' in 1661. (Spoiler) This talk won't end here today.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

" ...they two alone did run down and kill a stoute bucke ..."

An impressive performance, according to the background data Castehaven was about 47.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...to my great grief forced to wear my gowne to keep my legs warm."

"Looking fetching today, Pepys." Batten chuckles.

"Lovely dressing gown. Might I have the next dance, Samuel?" Penn chortles.

"Hmmphf...Ba...Ha, ha, ha." Minnes, after staring a moment.

"Sir William Warren to see you, sir." Hewer calls. Warren following, eyeing Pepys carefully.

Hmmn...Yes. "Uh, perhaps I could speak to Sir William Batten for just a moment." Warren notes to Hewer.

"Wait, Sir William?" Pepys hopping up, holding dressing gown end in one hand to avoid tripping.

"Might I help with your train, Pepys?" Minnes, gentlemanly bow.
***

Bradford  •  Link

Cold legs in August, albeit England? Sam, you made the pants too short.

(Obscure American comic song allusion.)

JWB  •  Link

An impressive performance?

So I thought at first. But then considering the park's size & shape (dead-ends) & fences, I think it more like shooting a fish in a barrel. Maybe it's those added "e"'s that got my dander up. There's cheap comedy here.

htom  •  Link

For traditional sailing vessels, the discussion over whether broad or narrow seams are better performing sails continues to this day, and there are some who advocate sails made of broadcloths and fake seams as best. There are factors involved in addition to the cost of construction and repair; more seams (even fake seams) allow for better shaping of the sail, and to some extent, may allow for better performance by controlling the attachment of the airflow to the sail surface.

Pedro  •  Link

Today in Den Haag (Terry)

I think the date must be corrected to 1/11 August Sam's time, but a little more not mentioned...

The resolution was taken by the States General and at once communicated to the Amsterdam Admiralty. Letters were sent in deep secrecy with three separate express messengers to Cadiz, Malaga and Alicante, and written on the outside was that De Ruyter should not open them unless he was alone.

(Life of Admiral De Ruyter by Blok)

Terry F  •  Link

Absent Dirk: from the Carte Calendar

Aernoot Van der Beke to Pieter Straetman

Written from: London
Date: 11/21 August 1664
Shelfmark: MS. Carte 75, fol(s). 201
Document type: Original

Has received Strateman's letter advising him of the seizure of the ship Bishop of Galloway. Cannot decide as to the steps to be taken thereupon, until after receipt of an answer to a letter which he has written to Mr Lynch of Galway.
Dutch.
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/s…

Thanks for the date clarification, Pedro.

bitter o salt  •  Link

The Elizabethan secret service were past masters at steaming open letters and reading them, so where are the spies from the inter regnum years, there be no laws banning reading of foreign mails and then not informing the receiver of such e [spied] mail that he has been had.
Of course Samuell is not on that side of the ministering of navy secrets, strictly on the need basis of course, that may be we why we do not hear of the details of sailing of the fleet to-wards Groote river and Novi Belgii and the Nederlandt and Niew Jorck [Map of 1655] .

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...that may be we why we do not hear of the details of sailing of the fleet to-wards Groote river and Novi Belgii and the Nederlandt and Niew Jorck [Map of 1655] ."

"Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed".-Macbeth.

Pedro  •  Link

On this day...

Holmes leaves São Tomé after four weeks taking provisions. He had taken the opportunity to send his master to survey the approaches to the harbour, and he had seen a slave ship leave for Brazil and saw her limp back again four days later.

He directed his ships not for England but for Cape Lopez, and on reaching on the 13th August he cruised down the coast for a fortnight till they were 200 miles south of the Equator.

(Man of War by Ollard)

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