Saturday 26 March 1664
Up very betimes and to my office, and there read over some papers against a meeting by and by at this office of Mr. Povy, Sir W. Rider, Creed, and Vernaty, and Mr. Gauden about my Lord Peterborough’s accounts for Tangier, wherein we proceeded a good way; but, Lord! to see how ridiculous Mr. Povy is in all he says or do; like a man not more fit for to be in such employments as he is, and particularly that of Treasurer (paying many and very great sums without the least written order) as he is to be King of England, and seems but this day, after much discourse of mine, to be sensible of that part of his folly, besides a great deal more in other things. This morning in discourse Sir W. Rider [said], that he hath kept a journals of his life for almost these forty years, even to this day and still do, which pleases me mightily.
That being done Sir J. Minnes and I sat all the morning, and then I to the ’Change, and there got away by pretence of business with my uncle Wight to put off Creed, whom I had invited to dinner, and so home, and there found Madam Turner, her daughter The., Joyce Norton, my father and Mr. Honywood, and by and by come my uncle Wight and aunt. This being my solemn feast for my cutting of the stone, it being now, blessed be God! this day six years since the time; and I bless God I do in all respects find myself free from that disease or any signs of it, more than that upon the least cold I continue to have pain in making water, by gathering of wind and growing costive, till which be removed I am at no ease, but without that I am very well. One evil more I have, which is that upon the least squeeze almost my cods begin to swell and come to great pain, which is very strange and troublesome to me, though upon the speedy applying of a poultice it goes down again, and in two days I am well again.
Dinner not being presently ready I spent some time myself and shewed them a map of Tangier left this morning at my house by Creed, cut by our order, the Commissioners, and drawn by Jonas Moore, which is very pleasant, and I purpose to have it finely set out and hung up.
Mrs. Hunt coming to see my wife by chance dined here with us.
After dinner Sir W. Batten sent to speak with me, and told me that he had proffered our bill today in the House, and that it was read without any dissenters, and he fears not but will pass very well, which I shall be glad of. He told me also how Sir [Richard] Temple hath spoke very discontentfull words in the House about the Tryennial Bill; but it hath been read the second time to-day, and committed; and, he believes, will go on without more ado, though there are many in the House are displeased at it, though they dare not say much. But above all expectation, Mr. Prin is the man against it, comparing it to the idoll whose head was of gold, and his body and legs and feet of different metal. So this Bill had several degrees of calling of Parliaments, in case the King, and then the Council, and then the Lord Chancellor, and then the Sheriffes, should fail to do it.
He tells me also, how, upon occasion of some ’prentices being put in the pillory to-day for beating of their masters, or some such like thing, in Cheapside, a company of ’prentices came and rescued them, and pulled down the pillory; and they being set up again, did the like again. So that the Lord Mayor and Major Generall Browne was fain to come and stay there, to keep the peace; and drums, all up and down the city, was beat to raise the trained bands, for to quiett the towne, and by and by, going out with my uncle and aunt Wight by coach with my wife through Cheapside (the rest of the company after much content and mirth being broke up), we saw a trained band stand in Cheapside upon their guard. We went, much against my uncle’s will, as far almost as Hyde Park, he and my aunt falling out all the way about it, which vexed me, but by this I understand my uncle more than ever I did, for he was mighty soon angry, and wished a pox take her, which I was sorry to hear. The weather I confess turning on a sudden to rain did make it very unpleasant, but yet there was no occasion in the world for his being so angry, but she bore herself very discreetly, and I must confess she proves to me much another woman than I thought her, but all was peace again presently, and so it raining very fast, we met many brave coaches coming from the Parke and so we turned and set them down at home, and so we home ourselves, and ended the day with great content to think how it hath pleased the Lord in six years time to raise me from a condition of constant and dangerous and most painfull sicknesse and low condition and poverty to a state of constant health almost, great honour and plenty, for which the Lord God of heaven make me truly thankfull.
My wife found her gowne come home laced, which is indeed very handsome, but will cost me a great deal of money, more than ever I intended, but it is but for once. So to the office and did business, and then home and to bed.
31 Annotations
First Reading
Terry F • Link
Stone feast today
A meal worthy of the occasion, family fireworks, drums and trained bands!
And the weather celebrates in is way....
And Grahamt's annote: http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
cape henry • Link
"Tryennial Bill (1664)" was one of a series of technical laws of that name dealing with parliament's obligation to meet at least once every three years. This standard was meant to prevent the monarch from ruling alone and unsupervised.
Terry F • Link
"a map of Tangier...drawn by Jonas Moore"
L&M say the only extant copy is in the British Museum, but it seems to be in the British Library: http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/EU8ANTIM…
Robert Gertz • Link
So, a day of relevations...Aunt Wight is (to Sam's mind) actually deserving of respect for her long-suffering patience...Sam did cough up in the end for Bess' lace...Creed may be clever but not clever enough to get in on Sam's stone feast...Poor Povey is too good for this sordid world...The King relies on the same trained bands that whipped his dad's rear to maintain order...Sam and Bess are adventurous souls (off to see the trained bands in spite of those dangerous apprentices)...
***
The little problem of the cods...
I'd say it's the pox, courtesy of Diana Crisp or Betty Lane, Sam. For shame, move to Brampton and live in a hut at some wooded edge of the property, nevermore to show your head in good society.
***
The Diary of Sir William Ryder...
March 26, 1664...
"Had a glass of buttermilk with breakfast. Kissed the Missus good-bye. The News today is not good regarding the Parliament and the Triennial Bill. Saw S. Pepys and told him I have kept my Diary on 40 years now. Went home, kissed the Missus and, dreaming of Lady Castlemaine, so to bed."
***
Robert Gertz • Link
You don't suppose Sam actually surprised Bess with the laced gown?
MissAnn • Link
Robert, I think you're so right about Bess being surprised. It reads as if she knew nothing.
Cure for swollen cods: don't squeeze them in the first place.
Apropos Aunt & Uncle Wight - it seems to me that in some relationships an eruption such as Uncle W's is usually followed by a mad passionate resolution. It seems to be the way some couples are.
You can just see the scene - word comes of the apprentices' antics, everyone climbs into the coach/buggy and off to see the spectacle. Reminds me of the masses who just had to come down to Sydney Harbour to see the QEII and QMII as they sailed into town recently - there were thousands of them dotted around the harbour.
Mary • Link
'found her gown come home laced'
I detect no sense of surprise here. The gown had simply been delivered from the dressmaker's with the requested lace applied. The position of 'laced' at the end of the sentence does not, in 17C terms, imply emphasis.
tonyt • Link
'L&M say that the only extant copy [of the map of Tangier] is in the British Museum, but it seems to be in the British Library'. L&M would have been correct at the time the comment was written in the 1970s. The British Library was formally created in 1973, as a hive off from the British Museum, but the split was not totally completed until 1998.
Robert Gertz • Link
But it would be nice if he did surprise her, perhaps as thanks for all her support during the recent troubled time...Or just a quiet acknowledgement of what she means to him by making her happy.
Ah, well...We can only hope.
AllanD • Link
Is there any record of Sir W Rider's journal surviving?
Willie • Link
Why is Mr. Wheatley, otherwise so concerned about our tender sensibilities, not concerned about letting us see "cods"?
Patricia • Link
re Willie's comment: Remembering that Wheatley censored "those" in reference to Mrs. P's period, the cods do seem a bit surprising. It illustrates the vast gulf between society's tolerance of men's problems vs. women's problems. On a related note, there are 2 or 3 times the number of euphemisms for women's genitals as for men's, again indicating the extreme discomfort society has or has had with female sexuality.
Rex Gordon • Link
Those wild and crazy Cheapside apprentices ...
From Peter Ackroyd, "London: The Biography":
The greatest proportion of (London's) citizens were under the age of thirty, and it is this actuarial statistic which helps to explain the energy and restlessness of urban life in all its forms.
The most striking example comes from within the turbulent body of the apprentices, a peculiarly London phenomenon of young men who were bound by strict articles of agreement and yet managed to retain a high-spiritedness and almost feverish buoyancy which spilled over into the streets. They "wold ether bee at the taverne, filling their heads with wine, or at the Dagger in Cheapside cramming their bellies with minced pyes; but above al other times it was their common costome, as London prentises use, to follow their maisters upon Sundays to the Church dore and then to leave them, and hie unto the taverne." There are reports of various fights and "affrays," the common victims being foreigners, "night-walkers," or the servants of noblemen who were considered to take on the airs of their superiors. A declaration, in 1576, warned apprentices not to "misuse, molest, or evil treat any servant, page or lackey of any nobleman, gentleman, or other going in the streets." There were often disturbances after football matches and three young men were put in the local prison for "outrageously and riotously behaving themselves at a football play in Cheapside." But drunken high spirits could turn into something more violent, and threatening. Apprentices as well as artisans and children took part in the "evil May-day" riots of 1517, in which the houses of foreigners were ransacked. In the last decade of the sixteenth century there were still more outbreaks of riot and disorder but, unlike other continental cities, London never became unstable or ungovernable. (page 97) ...
The image of the unruly young apprentice was a potent one within the city ... and as a result the civic authorities drew up tightly regulated and organised statutes of labour and discipline. Nothing could be allowed to disrupt commercial harmony. The apprentice was bound "and must obey. Since I have undertook to serve my Maister truly for seven years My duty shall both answer that desire And my Old Maister's profite every way. ... Apprentices were forbidden to muster in the streets, drink in the taverns, or wear striking apparel; they were, in addition, allowed only "closely cropped hair." (pages 630-31)
Bradford • Link
The pleasure Pepys takes in Ryder's having kept his journal all these years suggests that, at this time, Sam too intended to make it a lifelong practice. If only!
Michael Robinson • Link
he had proffered our bill
A Bill for the better enabling the principal Officers and Commissioners of his Majesty's Navy Royal, for the Performance of their Duties in the Service thereof, was read the First time.
Resolved, That the said Bill be read the Second time on Tuesday next.
House of Commons Journal Volume 8: 26 March 1664', Journal of the House of Commons: volume 8: 1660-1667 (1802), p. 537. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…. Date accessed: 27 March 2007.
Eric Walla • Link
Regarding cods ...
While I would take issue with it, I can conceive of Wheatley making the judgment that matters pertaining to pain in Sam'l's nether regions is of substance to the diarist and MUST be recorded. Sam's better half doesn't fall in that category, so her monthlies can be omitted without harming the integrity of the narrative. Or it could be, as discussed, that Wheatley's just being a man.
Terry F • Link
Wheatley's Monarch had no cods
It has seemed to me that the Queen's person was being protected by the gendered squeamishness of her subjects. Pepys was not of that mind.
alanB • Link
'Those wild and crazy 'London' apprentices'
They have not all gone away Rex as in the Londonderry apprentices who still turn out onto the streets for a march and 'provocation' of the catholics.
Australian Susan • Link
Might Sam's painful swellings be a hydrocele? See
http://www.peacehealth.org/kbase/…
(and I have chosen a site with No Nasty Pictures) My husband has had these and they can be Very Sore and Tender!
JohnT • Link
The potentially lengthy process for Acts Of Parliament sounds similar to the ones I recall . Nowadays the First Reading of a Bill is simply the laying of the Bill and there is no debate. There is a substantial debate on Second Reading without possibility of amendment . After which, if passed by vote or acclamation, the Bill is referred to a Committee of the House at which it may be amended. The Bill that emerges from that goes to a Report stage when it may be amended and then, if passed normally by vote but possibly by acclamation, goes on to Third Reading at which it may be amended. There is normally a vote but acclamation is possible. Nowadays it then goes to the "other House " - if it starts in the Commons it goes to the Lords and vice versa. The process is repeated. There is then a report back on any amendments and if agreed it then goes for Royal Assent. It is only when that assent has been announced to both Houses,with the splendidly obscure Norman phrase "La Reyne le veult", that the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
Pedro • Link
From John Evelyn's Diary normally kept up to date by Dirk...
26: It pleased God to take-away my sonn Richard, being now a moneth old, yet without any sicknesse of danger perceivable, being to all appearance a most likely child; so as we suspected the Nurse had over-layne him to our extreame sorrow, being now againe reduc'd to one: Gods will be don:
(and on the 27th)
27: our Curate on: 11: Matt: 28: After evening prayer was my child buried neere the rest of his brothers, my deare children:
cumsalisgrano • Link
"Those wild and crazy Cheapside apprentices" At least they were learning a trade, Unlike now, they just rove in gangs using the modern bows and arrows.
Or as a preacher would say, "Idle hands be the devils hand ".
Kevin Peter • Link
It's most likely that Elizabeth was not surprised by her laced gown. I find it hard to imagine that Sam could have removed it while she wasn't looking, much less her not noticing that it was gone for the few days it was away. She most likely did not have a large number of clothes, making a missing gown quite conspicuous.
Terry F • Link
"Those wild and crazy Cheapside apprentices" were a mob "liberating" two who, say L&M, had been convicted of assaulting their master, a serious crime, and recalling a two-century-long history of apprentice riots that, esp. during the 1590's, esp. 1595, had threatened the social order in London.
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"Sir [Richard] Temple hath spoke very discontentfull words in the House about the Tryennial Bill; but it hath been read the second time to-day, and committed"
A mistake: it was given a second reading and committed on the 24th. On this day it was debated in the Committee of the Whole. CJ, viii. 536-7. Temple opposed the new Triennial bill because, while it promised regular parliaments, it lacked safeguards. (L&M footnote)
Terry Foreman • Link
"the Tryennial Bill...hath been read the second time to-day, and committed; and, he believes, will go on without more ado, though there are many in the House are displeased at it, though they dare not say much. But above all expectation, Mr. Prin is the man against it, comparing it to the idoll whose head was of gold, and his body and legs and feet of different metal. So this Bill had several degrees of calling of Parliaments, in case the King, and then the Council, and then the Lord Chancellor, and then the Sheriffes, should fail to do it."
What the Commons Journal says: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
I.e., L&M say, Mr. Prin was against the act of 1641, with its strict safeguards (now repealed by the present measure). He had supported it in 1641, but now opposed it in the belief that it ws unconstitutional and would justify the summons of parliament, e.g. by any 12 peers, even if they were a minority. Pepys's evidence here is valuable. (Per L&M footnote)
Terry Foreman • Link
A Mapp of the Citty of Tanger with the Straits of Gibraltar
Map showing the walled city with the harbour on the left, an inset view of the bay in upper left, five forts laid out in a pentagon in the land behind the city on the right, one at the end of the Straits of Gibraltar, with an inset of a detailed view of the Straits in upper right, a royal crest and cartouche below it. 1664
Print made by: Wenceslaus Hollar Published by: Sir Jonas Moore
http://www.britishmuseum.org/rese…
San Diego Sarah • Link
There's nothing like rain to end a riot. And nothing like watching your uncle rail at his wife to caution you not to explode over a dress with expensive lacing -- especially if you have been dressing to the nines recently.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Mrs. Hunt coming to see my wife by chance dined here with us."
She must have remembered that it was Stone Feast today! How much of an accident was this visit really???? Uh-huh.
Arthur Perry • Link
Does any other evidence survive of Sir William Rider's diary?
Terry Foreman • Link
"Does any other evidence survive of Sir William Rider's diary?'
Only what Pepys has written, that I can find. L&M do not provide the usual footnote about it, nor is there a note saying the diary "has not been traced". Searches of the Library of Congress and Google yield nothing. It is not an insult but a description to say that Robert Gertz is a prolific writer of "fan-fiction".