Monday 14 May 1666

Comes betimes a letter from Sir W. Coventry, that he and Sir G. Carteret are ordered presently down to the Fleete. I up and saw Sir W. Pen gone also after them, and so I finding it a leisure day fell to making cleane my closett in my office, which I did to my content and set up my Platts again, being much taken also with Griffin’s mayde, that did cleane it, being a pretty mayde.

I left her at it, and toward Westminster myself with my wife by coach and meeting took up Mr. Lovett the varnisher with us, who is a pleasant speaking and humoured man, so my wife much taken with him, and a good deale of worke I believe I shall procure him.

I left my wife at the New Exchange and myself to the Exchequer, to looke after my Tangier tallys, and there met Sir G. Downing, who shewed me his present practise now begun this day to paste up upon the Exchequer door a note of what orders upon the new Act are paid and now in paying, and my Lord of Oxford coming by, also took him, and shewed him his whole method of keeping his books, and everything of it, which indeed is very pretty, and at this day there is assigned upon the Act 804,000l..

Thence at the New Exchange took up my wife again, and so home to dinner, and after dinner to my office again to set things in order. In the evening out with my wife and my aunt Wight, to take the ayre, and happened to have a pleasant race between our hackney-coach and a gentleman’s. At Bow we eat and drank and so back again, it being very cool in the evening. Having set home my aunt and come home, I fell to examine my wife’s kitchen book, and find 20s. mistake, which made me mighty angry and great difference between us, and so in the difference to bed. —[Sam forgets that he is still out 50l. on his own personal accounts which is about $50,000 (ann. 2001) compared to his wife’s $1000 D.W.]—


19 Annotations

First Reading

Robert Gertz  •  Link

I've thought more like 25-30,000 given 50Ls is what Sam made as a relatively humble clerk under Downing.

***

Australian Susan  •  Link

Typical Sam behaviour today: has spare time so tidies and clears out; ogles a pretty cleaning-maid, is pleased to see someone keeping good accounts and then throws a wobbly over Elizabeth's household accounts. Thus provoking A Terrible Atmosphere and Much Sulking on both sides. And so to bed.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Oh for heaven's sake, Sam. 20s probably gone to keep the aged parents St. Michel alive at no trouble to you. How much did those lobster dinners with Martin and cabarets with Bagwell cost?

***

To be fair, when gossipy maids have threatened Bess with exposure of her flitching from the household funds for Papa and Mama, Sam has generally looked the other way so long as the sums were minor... This seems more annoyance by Mr. Perfectionist over careless work.

"Pepys, about these rather sloppy victualing accounts involving thousands of pounds spent on our fleet during wartime..."

"Well, Sir William...I was rather busy partying with Mrs. Pierce, the court surgeon's lovely,spirited wife and the actress Elizabeth Knipp."

Bradford  •  Link

"happened to have a pleasant race between our hackney-coach and a gentleman’s."

"Summer's here, and the time is right for
Racing in the street."---Springsteen

JWB  •  Link

"...race between our hackney-coach and a gentleman’s..."

New Yorkers w/ history bent will think of the Commodore and his next-door stable.

JWB  •  Link

"...and a good deale of worke I believe I shall procure him."

First thought of the two portraits, but have to wait at least a year for the oil to cure before varnishing; and then, at that, not a good deal of work. Then remembered riding the Star ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and the unmistakeable English varnish work inside-a good deal of naval varnishing lies in the future.

Tom Carr  •  Link

"...and happened to have a pleasant race between our hackney-coach and a gentleman’s."

I just can't stop laughing at the thought of a 17th century drag race.

cgs  •  Link

Elizabeth sustains the old myth of a careful French House wife, why waste monies on flank while shank will do as well.

Michael Robinson  •  Link

"happened to have a pleasant race between our hackney-coach and a gentleman’s.”

Goes on still ... Toronto Royal Winter Fair, November 2006 ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi…

cgs  •  Link

nutin changes except the number of 'orses it takes to win.

cgs  •  Link

Sam now has a reason to say "come see my etchings, they are marvelous"

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"to the Exchequer...and there met Sir G. Downing, who shewed me his present practise now begun this day to paste up upon the Exchequer door a note of what orders upon the new Act are paid and now in paying"

The Act for an Additional Aid of £1 1/4 m. (17 Car. II c.i passed on 31 October) would be “a new venture in English public finance” (L&M) in which bills would be paid by the Exchequer on credit. http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… L&M: Notices of the orders were also placed in the London Gazette.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Sir G. Downing...my Lord of Oxford coming by, also took him, and shewed him his whole method of keeping his books, and everything of it, which indeed is very pretty"

L&M: The act required that three books should be kept (for receipts, issues and assignments), and that they should be freely open to public inspection.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"at this day there is assigned upon the Act 804,000l.."

L&M: The bulk of this represented assignments to the Navy. By May c. £500,000 had been reserved for Carteret [ Treasurer of the Navy ], and another £200,000 was due [ to the Navy ] for cash loans and goods advanced.

Tonyel  •  Link

At Bow we eat and drank and so back again, it being very cool in the evening.
Can't help wondering, would the hackney driver be sent to the public bar with a shilling for his supper and be told to wait? Or were hackneys readily available at inns when you were ready to go home?

Newcomer  •  Link

What exactly was Sam’s “closet” in his office? Is anything known about the physical amenities of the Navy office? Can’t help wondering about the extent to which it resembled a modern office, minus the technology, of course.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"What exactly was Sam’s “closet” in his office?" The closett was his office. They didn't hang up their clothes like we do; things were stored in chests of drawers.

For information about the Navy Office at Seething Lane, see https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

For the one in Greenwich see https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

For a description of Pepys house, see https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

Have fun with the Encyclopedia and the In Depth articles, because they will make his Diary "sing" to you.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"would the hackney driver be sent to the public bar with a shilling for his supper and be told to wait? Or were hackneys readily available at inns when you were ready to go home?"

This is more like the old days with taxis than UBER.

By reviewing the annotations my guess is that Pepys hired the Hackney for half a day at a set rate (although the example given is for William & Mary's time, 40 years from now). The driver wouldn't have wanted to drive back to the City or Westminster from the country empty, and not too many people in those parts would have wanted to hire him. And Pepys would have had no way to contact a new coach when he was ready to go home.

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