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Wednesday 4 April 1660

This morning I dispatch many letters of my own private business to London. There come Colonel Thomson with the wooden leg, and General Pen, and dined with my Lord and Mr. Blackburne, who told me that it was certain now that the King must of necessity come in, and that one of the Council told him there is something doing in order to a treaty already among them. And it was strange to hear how Mr. Blackburne did already begin to commend him for a sober man, and how quiet he would be under his government, &c. I dined all alone to prevent company, which was exceeding great to-day, in my cabin. After these two were gone Sir W. Wheeler and Sir John Petters came on board and staid about two or three hours, and so went away. The Commissioners came to-day, only to consult about a further reducement of the Fleet, and to pay them as fast as they can. I did give Davis, their servant, 5l. 10s. to give to Mr. Moore from me, in part of the 7l. that I borrowed of him, and he is to discount the rest out of the 36s. that he do owe me. At night, my Lord resolved to send the Captain of our ship to Waymouth and promote his being chosen there, which he did put himself into a readiness to do the next morning.

Thursday 5 April 1660Tuesday 3 April 1660

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  • Declaration of Breda
    Charles, now residing in the city of Breda, issues this declaration today:
    http://www.constitution.org/eng/conpur105.htm
    According to historian John Morrill, “That declaration is no more than a parroting back to Monck of a message he had sent to Charles via Sir John Grenville.” (Nature of the Engl. Rev., 497) So if you read this document carefully you can figure out what Monck has been proposing to Charles.

    I am not quite sure how this is issued. Apparently, several letters are sent out containing this declaration, addressed to the Commons, Army (Monck), fleet and city of London. According to one of my sources, however, Monck conceals his and only shows it to a few officers. Does this mean he has all the other letters as well? Does the King make a public pronouncement of it as well?

  • Letter to Commons:
    Antonia Fraser quotes these fragments of the letter addressed to the speaker of the House of Commons. It will not be read aloud until Parliament meets later in the month:

    “We look on you as wise and dispassionate men and patriots, who will raise up those banks and fences which have been cast down.”
    He boasts of his devotion to Protestantism.
    The only note of revenge is in allusion to his father’s execution.
    Closes with: “And we hope that we have made that right Christian use of our affliction, and that the observations and experience we have had in other countries hath been such as that we, and we hope all our subjects, shall be beter for what he have seen and suffered.”

  • Circle of acquaintance

    It’s no news, but it is amazing to me how Pepys’s circle of acquaintance, already large, keeps growing. Already in the few months of the diary he has broken bread, lifted a pint, or simply exchanged gossip with what seems like more than two hundred people, let alone the many folks he doesn’t mention by name. And, of course, as he rises he keeps meeting more and more people, from servants and bureaucrats to admirals and noblemen. Aside from his atractiveness as a connection to power, it seems that a growing number are drawn to his affability and readiness to converse. But does today’s note that “I dined all alone to prevent company, which was exceeding great to-day, in my cabin,” indicate that even he can only take so much society?

  • ‘General Pen’ was Admiral Sir William Penn, father of the William Penn (born 1644) who became involved with George Fox and the Quakers and later founded Pennsylvania. See additional annotations on the pages for Admiral Penn and the Quakers.

  • BredaDec: “… excepting only such persons as shall hereafter be excepted by Parliament, those only to be excepted….”

    “And to the end that the fear of punishment may not engage any, conscious to themselves of what is past, to a perseverance in guilt for the future, by opposing the quiet and happiness of their country, in the restoration of King, Peers and people to their just, ancient and fundamental rights, we do, by these presents, declare, that we do grant a free and general pardon, which we are ready, upon demand, to pass under our Great Seal of England, to all our subjects, of what degree or quality soever, who, within forty days after the publishing hereof, shall lay hold upon this our grace and favour, and shall, by any public act, declare their doing so, and that they return to the loyalty and obedience of good subjects; excepting only such persons as shall hereafter be excepted by Parliament, those only to be excepted. Let all our subjects, how faulty soever, rely upon the word of a King, solemnly given by this present declaration, that no crime whatsoever, committed against us or our royal father before the publication of this, shall ever rise in judgment, or be brought in question, against any of them, to the least endamagement of them, either in their lives, liberties or estates or (as far forth as lies in our power) so much as to the prejudice of their reputations, by any reproach or term of distinction from the rest of our best subjects; we desiring and ordaining that henceforth all notes of discord, separation and difference of parties be utterly abolished among all our subjects, whom we invite and conjure to a perfect union among themselves, under our protection, for the re-settlement of our just rights and theirs in a free Parliament, by which, upon the word of a King, we will be advised.”

  • “And it was strange to hear how Mr. Blackburne did already begin to commend him (i.e Charles II) for a sober man, and how quiet he would be under his government, &c”

    This is one of the more spectacularly wrong predictions made in the diary so far. During his reign Charles II had numerous mistresses, and the number of his illegitimate children went into double figures (ironically, only his wife couldn’t bear him a child).

    But the true character of the king must be well known by now: he’s only a few years younger than Pepys but still a grown man. Did Blackburne really mean what he is saying, or is he just “whistling in the dark”?

  • Maybe Blackburne is hoping for a Prince-Hal-to-Henry-V makeover ….

  • Charles Stuart, the sober man

    Not so outlandish for Blackburne to have accepted this description of Charles at this point in his exile. The last couple of years had been less than merry; he was perpetually short of money and also lived with constant rumours of threats of assassination. Immediately prior to his restoration Charles was indeed reported to have become quite melancholy and was certainly not playing the role of libertine. Ref. Antonia Fraser’s biography.

  • All these references by Charles to “the word of a king” (and how splendid it sounds!) bring to mind the famous epigram written later:


    AUTHOR: John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647

  • I wonder if Mr. Blackburne doesn’t mean that he expects or hopes Charles will be sober - moderate - in his approach to government rather than to wine and women? That, after all, was the issue of the Civil War, not Royal morals.

  • sober in govt, not partying

    Re George Peabody’s post above, that was my reading of Blackburne’s opinion, too. This would seem more in keeping with Sam’s political observations.

  • In the Declaration of Breda Charles’political insight is evident. In the document the tone is conciliatory as he is anxious to heal the divisions of the past. He wishes to make it known that he intends to be king of a nation rather than of a particuliar political faction. He courts Parliament and its members, the authority of which he emphasises. This is a deliberate stance on his part, as his innate belief in the royal prerogative to summon, prorogue and dismiss Parliament, to create peers, bishops and judges, and to declare war and peace will be seen to assert itself in the course of his reign.

  • Around the age of thirty Charles Stuart began to dress in darker shades,blacks and browns and dark blue which emphasised his height but subconsciously mirrored a very sombre personality. He had lived to witness his father, whom he loved, defeated incarcerated and heheaded. Since then, in Scotland where he was crowned and abroad in exile he had met with the cunning machinations and insincerity of men. He was a man who was really only at ease in the company of women because their world had never been threatening to him.

  • ” how Mr. Blackburne .”“king”“.sober man, and how quiet he would be under his government, &c” the “”&c”” says it all. Pure Politically Correct ; looking out for hisown future . Sam did not want to hear anymore malarky.
    So SP ate by ‘imself. Just my take :

    I wish one of you legal types would dissect this “Breda declaration” and show how it would be written now.

  • Sober in govt….continued:
    One of the better exchanges between Rochester and The King:
    “Rochester:Were I in your Majesty’s place I would not govern at all.
    The King: How then?
    Rochester: I would send for my good Lord Rochester and command him to govern.
    The King: But the singular modesty of that nobleman-
    Rochester: He would certainly conform himself to your Majesty’s bright example. How gloriously would the two grand social virtues flourish under his auspices!
    The King: O, prisca fides! What can these be?
    Rochester: The love of wine and women.
    The King: God bless your majesty!”

  • Breda and Monck…

    I posted the full paragraph re: taking revenge on the regicides to illustrate one of the topics of negotiation more or less dictated by Monck…

    Once his regime was fully restored, however, Charles and his circle were free to ignore or revise the Breda declaration undertakings…
    Meanwhile, the elevated old soldier Monck could enjoy life at his new country estate while he and his wife benefited from the generous spoils of royal patronage.

  • A (very late) comment to M.Stolzenbach - did you know Charles II’s comment on the Earl of Rochester’s epigram?

    “This is very true: for my words are my own, and my actions are my ministers.”

    http://www.bartleby.com/66/70/64870.html

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