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Friday 11 May 1660

Up very early in the morning, and so about a great deal of business in order to our going hence to-day. Burr going on shore last night made me very angry. So that I sent for Mr. Pitts to come to me from the Vice-Admiral’s, intending not to have employed Burr any more. But Burr by and by coming and desiring humbly that I would forgive him and Pitts not coming I did set him to work. This morning we began to pull down all the State’s arms in the fleet, having first sent to Dover for painters and others to come to set up the King’s. The rest of the morning writing of letters to London which I afterwards sent by Dunne. I had this morning my first opportunity of discoursing with Dr. Clarke, whom I found to be a very pretty man and very knowing. He is now going in this ship to the King. There dined here my Lord Crafford and my Lord Cavendish, and other Scotchmen whom I afterwards ordered to be received on board the Plymouth, and to go along with us. After dinner we set sail from the Downs, I leaving my boy to go to Deal for my linen. In the afternoon overtook us three or four gentlemen; two of the Berties, and one Mr. Dormerhoy, a Scotch gentleman, whom I afterwards found to be a very fine man, who, telling my Lord that they heard the Commissioners were come out of London to-day, my Lord dropt anchor over against Dover Castle (which give us about thirty guns in passing), and upon a high debate with the Vice and Rear Admiral whether it were safe to go and not stay for the Commissioners, he did resolve to send Sir R. Stayner to Dover, to enquire of my Lord Winchelsea, whether or no they are come out of London, and then to resolve to-morrow morning of going or not; which was done. It blew very hard all this night that I was afeard of my boy. About 11 at night came the boats from Deal, with great store of provisions, by the same token John Goods told me that above 20 of the fowls are smothered, but my boy was put on board the Northwich. To bed.

Saturday 12 May 1660Thursday 10 May 1660

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Parliament on this day

Annotations

  • “This morning we began to pull down all the State’s arms in the fleet” Now for all the pompt and ‘C”. Make the King welcome. At least some of the Locals have work. Do all the names get changed? I assume the great Battles names will be ??

  • Lord Crafford per Wheatley footnote
    “John, fourteenth Earl of Cranford, restored in 1661 to the Office of High Treasurer of Scotland, which he had held eight years under Charles I”

  • ‘Burr going on shore last night made me very angry. So that I sent for Mr. Pitts to come to me from the Vice-Admiral

  • Lord Cavendish per Wheatley footnote:
    “William, Lord Cavendish, afterwards fourth Earl and first Duke of Devonshire”

    L&M footnote goes on to say: “… not a Scot, and Pepys’s words need not be read as implying that he was.”

  • Lord Crafford per L&M footnote:
    “The 17th Earl of Crawford; recently (3 March) released from imprisonment for royalism; soon to be appointed Lord Treasurer of Scotland; with Lauderdale, the leader of the group of Scottish politicians on their way to Breda.”

  • two of the Berties (per L&M, Bertus)
    “Robert and Edward Bertie, two of the surviving sons of Robert, first Earl of Lindsa(e)y, killed at Edgehill. Their mother was Elizabeth, only child of Edward, first Lord Montagu of Boughton; they were, therefore, nearly connected with Sir E. Montagu, and with Pepys, in some degree.” per Wheatley

  • one Mr. Dormerhoy, a Scotch gentleman
    Wheatley has an extended footnote on this “very fine man”.
    “Probably Thomas Dalmahoy, who had married the Duchess Dowager of Hamilton” L&M identifies the Dowager as Elizabeth, widow of the 2nd Duke of Hamilton.”

    Wheatley then draws the following inferences from Speaker Onslow’s note to Burnet: “The husband of the loyal Duchess would be naturally one of the first to welcome the King; and Onslow says he was in the interest of the Duke of York”

    The footnote concludes with an extract from Onslow’s note. “Lord Middleton retired, after his disgrace, to the Friary, near Guilford, to one Dalmahoy there , a genteel, generous man, who was of Scotland: had been Gentleman of the Horse to William Duke of Hamilton (killed at the battle of Worcester): married the Duke’s widow; and by her had this house, etc. This man, Dalmahoy, being much in the interest of the Duke of York, and a man to be relied upon, and long a candidate for the town of Guildford, at the election of the Parliament after the Long one, in 1678, and being opposed, I think, by the famous Algernon Sidney, the Duke of York came from Windsor to Dalmahoy’s house, to countenance his election and appeared for him in the open court, when the election was taken.”

  • “a very pretty man”
    Does anyone know if this means “good-looking,” or “engaging”? And how does it differ from “a very fine man,” used to describe someone else in the same entry?

  • “This morning we began to pull down all the State

  • A very pretty man.

    ‘Pretty’ at this time is a general epithet of approbation, more or less equivalent to ‘fine’. It was applied to soldiers in particular, with the senses of brave, gallant, stout. OED

  • “…above 20 of the fowls are smothered…”

    A rough time in a small boat, to drown all those chickens or game hens or what have you- a whole lotta rockin’ and rollin’ aboard the boats from Deal that night, no doubt, and with more than a faceful of spray; it must have been very tough on the oarsmen rowing all the provisions out to the fleet.

    At least the smothered fowl were destined for the table anyway. And they arrived aboard already salted!

    Thankfully Sam’s boy made it out on that rough passage in a small, no doubt overloaded small boat, at least as far as the Norwich. Nice that Sam spares a thought for him amongst the greater goings-on…

  • “Pretty” a popular answer when asked ” How are you” and you get the comeback from a a man/boy (ugley or not)”pretty good” how words evolve ?

  • Sandwich’s Journal Entry Today

    ” Friday. The Speaker sailed over to Holland with Sir John Grenville. About two of the clock in the afternoon the General and seven sail of ships set sail out of the Downs, and about four or five of the clock in the afternoon anchored at the South-Sands Head, whence Sir Richard Stayner went off to Dover Castle to confer with Lord Winchelsea.”

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