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Friday 21 September 1660

(Office day). There all the morning and afternoon till 4 o’clock. Hence to Whitehall, thinking to have put up my books at my Lord’s, but am disappointed from want of a chest which I had at Mr. Bowyer’s. Back by water about 8 o’clock, and upon the water saw the corpse of the Duke of Gloucester brought down Somerset House stairs, to go by water to Westminster, to be buried to-night. I landed at the old Swan and went to the Hoop Tavern, and (by a former agreement) sent for Mr. Chaplin, who with Nicholas Osborne and one Daniel came to us and we drank off two or three quarts of wine, which was very good; the drawing of our wine causing a great quarrel in the house between the two drawers which should draw us the best, which caused a great deal of noise and falling out till the master parted them, and came up to us and did give us a large account of the liberty that he gives his servants, all alike, to draw what wine they will to please his customers; and we did eat above 200 walnuts. About 10 o’clock we broke up and so home, and in my way I called in with them at Mr. Chaplin’s, where Nicholas Osborne did give me a barrel of samphire, and showed me the keys of Mardyke Fort,1 which he that was commander of the fort sent him as a token when the fort was demolished, which I was mightily pleased to see, and will get them of him if I can. Home, where I found my boy (my maid’s brother) come out of the country to-day, but was gone to bed and so I could not see him to-night. To bed.

  1. A fort four miles east of Dunkirk, probably dismantled when that town was sold to Louis XIV.

Saturday 22 September 1660Thursday 20 September 1660

13°C / 55°F
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Annotations

  • to be buried tonight
    L&M: “He was buried at about midnight in Henry VII’s chapel, Westminster Abbey. … Funerals especially of grand and wealthy personages, were commonly held at night, to the light of torches which were extinguished at the grave.”

  • Keyes of Mardyke Fort
    L&M add the following info in their footnote: “Mardyke, in Flanders (four miles east of Dunkirk), having been taken from the Spaniards in 1657, the Council of State ordered it slighted in August 1659…. Sandwich had commanded the naval force at the time of its capture.”

  • Fresh samphire has become a trendy vegetable and is available from, mainly, smart fishmongers.

  • Two drawers competing to serve the best wine.

    I understand they are serving the wine but is the term ‘drawer’ significant? Are they also servers or not? If they are in addition to servers the Hoop Tavern must be a fairly large establishment.

  • The drawing of the wine

    Presumably this wine is being drawn from barrels, kegs, firkins or what you will and part of the drawers’ expertise lies in drawing off the wine without disturbing the sediment or lees.

  • “we did eat above 200 walnuts” I have found walnuts to be a good laxitive, I only need a couple. I wonder did it work then?

  • I hope the effect was not proportional to the quantity consumed…

    (Welcome back, vincent - we missed you!)

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