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Friday 8 November 1667

Called up betimes by Sir H. Cholmly, and he and I to good purpose most of the morning — I in my dressing-gown with him, on our Tangier accounts, and stated them well; and here he tells me that he believes it will go hard with my Lord Chancellor. Thence I to the office, where met on some special, business; and here I hear that the Duke of York is very ill; and by and by word brought us that we shall not need to attend to-day the Duke of York, for he is not well, which is bad news. They being gone, I to my workmen, who this day come to alter my office, by beating down the wall, and making me a fayre window both there, and increasing the window of my closet, which do give me some present trouble; but will be mighty pleasant. So all the whole day among them to very late, and so home weary, to supper, and to bed, troubled for the Duke of York his being sick.

9 Nov 1667 7 Nov 1667

Temperature: 6°C / 43°F (Nov 1667 avg.)

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  • - Terry Foreman on Mon 8 Nov 2010, 11:27pm. Flag this

    “I hear that the Duke of York is very ill”

    L&M note the Duke had a mild case of smallpox, for which he will be bled on the 12th, but of which he will not fully recover until early December.

  • - john on Tue 9 Nov 2010, 12:29pm. Flag this

    “beating down the wall”

    not “taking down the wall”. I truly like that imagery.

  • - Robert Gertz on Tue 9 Nov 2010, 06:39pm. Flag this

    Very nice way to work out one’s frustrations. I’m currently smashing ;ayers of ice out of several -70C storage freezers in my lab during a grrr…forced reorganization with a hammer. Cathartic so long as one doesn’t hit ye old freon line or in Sam’s workmens’ case I guess hit ye old homeowner.

  • - Australian Susan on Tue 9 Nov 2010, 11:52pm. Flag this

    So, is this Sam’s office office or his home office? Or is he having the office office altered and having the men do some work in his house - the window in the closet - at the same time? Presumably they checked that this office wall was not a load-bearing wall…… Or are they knocking his closet and home office into one?

  • - Michael L on Wed 10 Nov 2010, 12:36am. Flag this

    Susan: I think it must be his work office. At the end, Sam says he is all day among those workmen, and then goes home. He wouldn’t need to say he went home if he were already home all day with them.

  • - Robert Gertz on Wed 10 Nov 2010, 10:19am. Flag this

    Yes, I believe it’s his office and he seems to be expanding both the main office window and his inner office study window. It looks like Sam may have acquired quite a nice setup in the office, a large office perhaps including his clerks and files, or at least his files and papers, where he can receive important types like Gauden or Warren, and a study to retreat to. Speculation of course but interesting if he were the only one of the senior officers to have such luxury.

  • - Michael Robinson on Wed 10 Nov 2010, 05:45pm. Flag this

    “I to my workmen, who this day come to alter my office, by beating down the wall, and making me a fayre window …”

    Are the days of the Peeps peephole gone for good …
    “Dined at home, and so to the office again, my wife with me, and while I was for an hour making a hole behind my seat in my closet to look into the office, …”
    http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1662/07/09/index.php

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9 Nov 1667 7 Nov 1667