Tuesday 7 July 1663

Up by 4 o’clock and to my office, and there continued all the morning upon my Navy book to my great content. At noon down by barge with Sir J. Minnes (who is going to Chatham) to Woolwich, in our way eating of some venison pasty in the barge, I having neither eat nor drank to-day, which fills me full of wind. Here also in Mr. Pett’s garden I eat some and the first cherries I have eat this year, off the tree where the King himself had been gathering some this morning.

Thence walked alone, only part of the way Deane walked with me, complaining of many abuses in the Yard, to Greenwich, and so by water to Deptford, where I found Mr. Coventry, and with him up and down all the stores, to the great trouble of the officers, and by his help I am resolved to fall hard to work again, as I used to do.

So thence he and I by water talking of many things, and I see he puts his trust most upon me in the Navy, and talks, as there is reason, slightly of the two old knights, and I should be glad by any drudgery to see the King’s stores and service looked to as they ought, but I fear I shall never understand half the miscarriages and tricks that the King suffers by.

He tells me what Mr. Pett did to-day, that my Lord Bristoll told the King that he will impeach the Chancellor of High Treason: but I find that my Lord Bristoll hath undone himself already in every body’s opinion, and now he endeavours to raise dust to put out other men’s eyes, as well as his own; but I hope it will not take, in consideration merely that it is hard for a Prince to spare an experienced old officer, be he never so corrupt; though I hope this man is not so, as some report him to be.

He tells me that Don John is yet alive, and not killed, as was said, in the great victory against the Spaniards in Portugall of late. So home, and late at my office. Thence home and to my musique. This night Mr. Turner’s house being to be emptied out of my cellar, and therefore I think to sit up a little longer than ordinary.

This afternoon, coming from the waterside with Mr. Coventry, I spied my boy upon Tower Hill playing with the rest of the boys; so I sent W. Griffin to take him, and he did bring him to me, and so I said nothing to him, but caused him to be stripped (for he was run away with his best suit), and so putting on his other, I sent him going, without saying one word hard to him, though I am troubled for the rogue, though he do not deserve it.

Being come home I find my stomach not well for want of eating to-day my dinner as I should do, and so am become full of wind. I called late for some victuals, and so to bed, leaving the men below in the cellar emptying the vats up through Mr. Turner’s own house, and so with more content to bed late.


23 Annotations

First Reading

TerryF  •  Link

Last things first

L&M transcribe the mess being transported in the dark from the cellar:

"This night, Mr. Turner's house [of office] being to be emptied out of my cellar, and therefore I think to sit up a little longer than ordinary.[...] I called late for some victuals, and so to bed, leaving the men below in the cellar emptying the turds up through Mr. Turner's own house; and so, with more content, to bed late."

Ah, yes: now that the detritus of Mr. Turner's house of office (latrine) is being removed, how much more pleasant the aroma will be for visitors to the wine that is there; and can tell at first whiff whether it is diluted or tainted!!

Bradford  •  Link

So here we have what seems the last meeting between Wayneman and Pepys; and the latter conducts himself better than one might have unfairly predicted.

Wind, however, is not an unforeseen sequel to munching cherries (the same ones the King et!) after venison pasty. (Ho! for venison pasty!)

Paul Chapin  •  Link

Thank you, Terry,
for clarifying that confusing passage about Mr. Turner's house.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

If Turner's keeps overflowing into Sam's cellar one can't help but wonder-where does Sam's house of office product end up?

"PEPYS!!!" Penn screams. Ow, damn that gout.

***
Alas, poor Wayneman...Play while you still can, kiddo.

Still, somebody seems to be feeding him, probably our good Jane.

dirk  •  Link

Mr Turner's "house"

This is not the first time there's a "conflict" between Sam and Mr Turner's house of office...

20th October 1660
'This morning one came to me to advise with me where to make me a window into my cellar in lieu of one that Sir W Batten had stopped up; and going down my cellar to look, I put my foot into a great heap of turds, by which I find that Mr Turner's house of office is full and comes into my cellar, which doth trouble me; but I will have it helped.'

Cf. http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

This picture tells it all...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/soci…

Robert Gertz  •  Link

V-e-n-i-s-o-n...

Venison's the very best...

Da-dee-dah...

Venison pasty's always the thing...
That quick meal fit for a king...

Crumb it up, stuff it right in...
Taste that wonderful venisin...

Venison, venison...Venison...

Favored at parties, meetings too...
Venison pasty's the thing for any doo...

Ven-i-son...

Hunted down with the King's license, so you know it's not only tasty and good for you...It's legal.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

down by barge ... to Woolwich ...

The office "roler" and a very much grander vessel than one might think. For a photo of the restored Navy Commissioner's Barge see the second photo on the page linked below.

http://www.somerset-house.org.uk/…

andy  •  Link

First venison pasty for some time.

TerryF  •  Link

Where is "Here...in Mr. Pett’s garden...where the King himself had been...this morning"?

Is anyone else confused about the geography of this midday cruise?

in altae fossae  •  Link

A guess. Pett lives in the Chatham area, the King likes to don his blazer, and cravat and and play silly B's with his toy boat. It be a good time to swop [ma cheri] stories of national importance, and get the spittoon out and see who can hit the jar the most times with Kents finest cherries.
cuspidor

TerryF  •  Link

Pett's place IS in Chatham on the Medway, beyond the end of the Thames, but "At noon down by barge with Sir J. Minnes (who is going to Chatham) to Woolwich....Here also [in Woolwich?] in Mr. Pett’s garden...where the King himself had been gathering some this morning. Thence walked...to Greenwich, and so by water to Deptford"

It's not clear that Pepys went to Chatham.

in altae fossae  •  Link

Sam be a bit windy [twice mentioned] to-day and his sense of time be blown off course. He does not always put all of his thoughts in a logical sequence, which is not necessary for this entry, as this be not for publication and his pen knife be a bit blunt to eradicate all his scratchings. He, unlike the likes of us ignors, has to put all his thoughts through the grinder before putting ink on his swann pen and applying the result to his Kalendarium.
So we will have to sequence the events.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

3am...

"Oh, darling, sweet..." Sam reaches out in his sleep...

Ah!! A sudden scream sets him screaming as well...Ahhh!!!

"My God...Creed?"

"Pepys?"

"Creed, what the devil are you doing in my bed? Or in my house for that matter? We finished your business, the account has passed and you have your percentage."

"Well...I just thought. The last few nights having been so pleasant...And your dear wife being away..." Creed smiles, Sam blinking at him.

"Get out of my bed, sir. Please."

"You mean you really didn't know it was me just now?" a hurt tone and look.

"I mean...After all our delightful time together these last few..."

"Get out of my house, sir!"

***
"A strange, if deviously clever fellow..." Sam sighs, Creed having been finally 'persuaded' to leave.

"Eh, Hewer?" he turns to Will on the other side of the bed.

"Indeed, sir." Will in nightshirt nods.

***

Pauline  •  Link

"This night Mr. Turner’s house being to be emptied ...I think to sit up a little longer than ordinary. "
Sam seems to want to be sure that the vats be emptied "up through Mr. Turner’s own house" and not disturb his own in any way.

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

A song for the Auld Vince

J'ai beau m'dir' que rien n'est éternel
J'peux pas trouver ça tout naturel
Et jamais je ne parviens
A prendr' la mort comme ell' vient

J'suis un pauvre fossoyeur

G. Brassens

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I fear I shall never understand half the miscarriages and tricks that the King suffers by."

On this day the Navy Board ordered the Master-Attendant at Deptford to certify the quality of bewpers. (Per L&M footnote)

Bill  •  Link

"it is hard for a Prince to spare an experienced old officer, be he never so corrupt"

Wisdom for the ages. I would paraphrase as: it is hard for a Country to spare an experienced old officer, be she never so corrupt.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Sorry, Bill, I don't get what you are trying to say. Are you referring to Hilary Clinton???

Onwards ... "my Lord Bristoll told the King that he will impeach the Chancellor of High Treason: but I find that my Lord Bristoll hath undone himself already in every body’s opinion, and now he endeavours to raise dust to put out other men’s eyes, as well as his own; but I hope it will not take, in consideration merely that it is hard for a Prince to spare an experienced old officer, be he never so corrupt; though I hope this man is not so, as some report him to be."

I think this says that Pepys hopes Bristol's efforts to save himself by impeaching Hyde will not succeed, if, for no other reason than it is hard for Charles II to spare an experienced official; Pepys hopes the allegations against Hyde are unfounded.

Bill  •  Link

@SDS, it's wisdom for the ages. Maybe Lyndon Johnson? Or you-know-who. I'm sure our British friends might contribute a few examples. Public virtue often trumps (no pun intended) private vice.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

We'll hear what becomes of Wayneman when summer is over later in the year . . his ultimate fate is unrecorded.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Meanwhile, at Whitehall after the cherry eating was over:

https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

Denzil, Baron Holles of Ifield, who was a good French scholar, was sent as ambassador to France on 7 July, 1663. He was ostentatiously English, and a zealous upholder of the national honor and interests; but his position was rendered difficult by the absence of home support.

And I like the A Biographical History of England. J. Granger, 1779 note: "... He refused the insidious presents offered him by Louis XIV with as much disdain as he had before refused 5000 1. offered him by the parliament, to indemnify him for his losses in the civil war.”

I wonder what Louis XIV was trying to bribe him to do. Wrong guy!

Holles had a tough assignment because after the Restoration, Charles II's instincts were to exercise a serious role in European affairs, and his new government was sensitive to unflattering comparisons with the influence which the Commonwealth and Protectorate had wielded abroad, and the Restoration regime was a fragile one. Charles' desire to cut a figure abroad had to be tempered by an appreciation of the costs of international power politics and the threat it could pose to internal security.

Both France and Spain solicited an English alliance.

The Franco-Spanish War had been ended by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, but the politics of western Europe was still bound up with their continuing rivalry. Plus the Spanish expected some dividends from the support they had given the exiled monarchy in the late 1650s, so in July 1660 Charles II formally ended the war with Spain which had been carried on fitfully since Cromwell's death.

Although Spain had advocates at the English court, it lacked the closeness Charles II's family ties gave him to France, plus it could not overcome Charles’ enthusiasm for French society and government.

Even so, France's 1654 treaty with Cromwell, and Cardinal Mazarin's disrespect of English Royalist interests had chilled relations between the two courts, and not until the death of Cardinal Mazarin in March 1661 did relations officially recover.

But by then the Franco-Dutch Treaty was as good as signed, and Louis XIV found himself reluctantly on the other side of the Anglo-Dutch War. However, as we have seen from the Diary, Louis was in no hurry to honor that Treaty. Presumably it was Hollis' job to keep France "on the fence".

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