Monday 3 December 1666

Up, and, among a great many people that come to speak with me, one was my Lord Peterborough’s gentleman, who comes to me to dun me to get some money advanced for my Lord; and I demanding what newes, he tells me that at Court they begin to fear the business of Scotland more and more; and that the Duke of York intends to go to the North to raise an army, and that the King would have some of the Nobility and others to go and assist; but they were so served the last year, among others his Lord, in raising forces at their own charge, for fear of the French invading us, that they will not be got out now, without money advanced to them by the King, and this is like to be the King’s case for certain, if ever he comes to have need of any army.

He and others gone, I by water to Westminster, and there to the Exchequer, and put my tallys in a way of doing for the last quarter. But my not following it the last week has occasioned the clerks some trouble, which I am sorry for, and they are mad at. Thence at noon home, and there find Kate Joyce, who dined with me: Her husband and she are weary of their new life of being an Innkeeper, and will leave it, and would fain get some office; but I know none the foole is fit for, but would be glad to help them, if I could, though they have enough to live on, God be thanked! though their loss hath been to the value of 3000l. W. Joyce now has all the trade, she says, the trade being come to that end of the towne. She dined with me, my wife being ill of her months in bed. I left her with my wife, and away myself to Westminster Hall by appointment and there found out Burroughs, and I took her by coach as far as the Lord Treasurer’s and called at the cake house by Hales’s, and there in the coach eat and drank and then carried her home … [with much ado making her to tocar mi cosa, she being endeed very averse a alguna cosa of that kind. – L&M] So having set her down in the palace I to the Swan, and there did the first time ‘baiser’ the little sister of Sarah that is come into her place, and so away by coach home, where to my vyall and supper and then to bed, being weary of the following of my pleasure and sorry for my omitting (though with a true salvo to my vowes) the stating my last month’s accounts in time, as I should, but resolve to settle, and clear all my business before me this month, that I may begin afresh the next yeare, and enjoy some little pleasure freely at Christmasse. So to bed, and with more cheerfulness than I have done a good while, to hear that for certain the Scott rebells are all routed; they having been so bold as to come within three miles of Edinburgh, and there given two or three repulses to the King’s forces, but at last were mastered. Three or four hundred killed or taken, among which their leader, one Wallis, and seven ministers, they having all taken the Covenant a few days before, and sworn to live and die in it, as they did; and so all is likely to be there quiet again. There is also the very good newes come of four New-England ships come home safe to Falmouth with masts for the King; which is a blessing mighty unexpected, and without which, if for nothing else, we must have failed the next year. But God be praised for thus much good fortune, and send us the continuance of his favour in other things! So to bed.


18 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

….”“…. I left her with my wife, and away myself to Westminster-hall by appointment, and there found out Burroughs; and I took her by coach as far as my Lord Treasurers, and called at the Cake-house by Hale’s, and there in the coach eat and drank, and then carried her home ­ with much ado making her to tocar mi cosa [ touch my thing ], she being endeed very averse a alguna cosa [ to some thing ] of that kind. However, time can hazer-la [ do it?] , the same as it hath hecho [ made ] others. So having set her down in the palace, I to the Swan, and there did the first time bezar [ kiss ] the little sister of Sarah, this is come into her place; and so away by coach home, where to my Vyall and supper, and then to bed, being weary of fallowing of my pleasure and sorry for my omitting (though with a true salvo to my vows) the stating of my last month’s accounts in time, as I should. ….”
http://www.pepys.info/bits3.html#…

CGS  •  Link

"...comes to me to dun me ..."
not meaning the color of his pony nor his Irish fortress nor curing his cod fish nor ringing his bell.
but
1. One who duns; an importunate creditor, or an agent employed to collect debts.
1628 EARLE Microcosm. xlv. (Arb.) 74 An Vniversitie Dunne..Hee is an inferiour Creditor of some ten shillings or downwards. Hee is a sore beleaguerer of Chambers.
1712

2. An act of dunning or importuning, esp. for debt; a demand for payment.
1673
. KIRKMAN Unlucky Cit. 210 [To] endure the frequent Duns of his Creditors. 1691 Islington Wells, or Threepenny-Acad. 7 Who..Kickt their Taylors, For giving Dun at Chamber Door.

to dun v3
First found after 1600, when quoted by Bacon, from the old besom-maker at Buxton; to Blount 1636-56 it was a ‘fancy’ word recently taken up. Origin uncertain.
It is generally assumed to be identical with DUN v.2, or to be a variant of DIN v., of which it may possibly have been a dialect form. But cf. the cognate DUN n.2]

1. trans. To make repeated and persistent demands upon, to importune; esp. for money due.
a1626 BACON Apophth. in Baconiana (1679), The advice of the plain old man at Buxton that sold besoms..‘Friend, hast thou no money? borrow of thy back, and borrow of thy belly, they will never ask thee again: I shall be dunning thee every day’.
1656 BLOUNT Glossogr., To Dun, is a word lately taken up by fancy, and signifies to demand earnestly, or press a man to pay for commodities taken up on trust, or other debt.
1681 Trial S. Colledge 73, I dunn'd him for money and could not get it. 1706

First found after 1600, when quoted by Bacon, from the old besom-maker at Buxton; to Blount 1636-56 it was a ‘fancy’ word recently taken up. Origin uncertain.
It is generally assumed to be identical with DUN v.2, or to be a variant of DIN v., of which it may possibly have been a dialect form. But cf. the cognate DUN n.2]

1. trans. To make repeated and persistent demands upon, to importune; esp. for money due.
a1626 BACON Apophth. in Baconiana (1679), The advice of the plain old man at Buxton that sold besoms..‘Friend, hast thou no money? borrow of thy back, and borrow of thy belly, they will never ask thee again: I shall be dunning thee every day’.
1656 BLOUNT Glossogr., To Dun, is a word lately taken up by fancy, and signifies to demand earnestly, or press a man to pay for commodities taken up on trust, or other debt.
1681 Trial S. Colledge 73, I dunn'd him for money and could not get it. 1706

2. transf. To pester, plague, assail constantly.

thus no dunce?
. The personal name Duns used attrib. Duns man, a disciple or follower of Duns Scotus, a Scotist, a schoolman; hence, a subtle, sophistical reasoner. So Duns learning, Duns prelate. Obs.
1527

2. A copy of the works of Duns Scotus; a textbook of scholastic theology or logic embodying his teaching; a comment or gloss by or after the manner of Scotus. Obs.
1530 TINDALE Pentat. To Rdr. 3 They which in tymes paste were wont to loke on no more Scripture then they founde in their duns or soch like develysh doctryne.

Todd Bernhardt  •  Link

"She dined with me, my wife being ill of her months in bed."

Sure she is, Sam. She probably hasn't recovered from last night's coach ride yet. (The same can probably be said of the "very averse" Mrs. Burrows...)

CGS  •  Link

The house o' Ce 'still preoccupied with the "lessers" annoying the privilege ones with petty beefs and losing one's temper with fellow walkers of the parades.
The Commons is finally talking again on where to get monies to fight the Kings battle as no one does it for free.

Must stop those scandalous merchants of words.

Lease provided for more lead.

Must get people to save their pots for quenching of fires.

The Upper House concerned with granting the right to trade in the Canaries and the privilege of a Countess to whom is to be allowed to arrest Blue blud.

Mr. Gunning  •  Link

New England was only settled by the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620 and by 1666 they were already exporting timber back to Britain in "New-England ships" - quite an acheivement.

Falmouth was a good place to land, the most south-westerly good harbour in Great Britain and the third deepest natural harbour in the world, and the deepest in Western Europe.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...enjoy some little pleasure freely at Christmasse."

Sam...What would Oliver say?

***
Heaven...

"His rotting head on a pike said not a word to me, sir."

"What...Pleasure?" Bess, narrow-eyed look.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...found out Burroughs, and I took her by coach as far as the Lord Treasurer’s and called at the cake house by Hales’s, and there in the coach eat and drank and then carried her home..."

Wore her down at last, eh Sam? Probably the prospect of cake did it?

By Hales? (Hayls)

"Why it's Mr. Pepys. How are you, sir? Are the portraits holding up well? And is that your good wife you're fondling there?"

"Oh...Excuse me."

"

JWB  •  Link

Masts

"As early as 1651 vessels of 500 tons came to Boston and the ports of the Eastern coast in the mast trade. In later days the colonists knew by experience that a present of huge masts was the surest approach to the favor and bounty of their sovereign." p156, Wm Babcock Weeden, "Economic and Social History of New England
http://books.google.com/books?id=…

JWB  •  Link

Boom boom

1643 Parliment, after lowering the boom on the king, scrapped customs on shipping which set off boom in trans-Alantic trade and immigration of monied merchants to these shores.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"being weary of the following of my pleasure and sorry for my omitting (though with a true salvo to my vowes) the stating my last month’s accounts in time, as I should"

salvo = excuse, explanation (L&M Select Glossary)

CGS  •  Link

Boom boom; thanx JWB:
Greed must be tempered : those in power versus those that get the job done. 'Tis a delicate balance of me vs you or is it you vs I.
The struggle goes on to whom the monies should go to.
The Leviathan still points the way.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Thence at noon home, and there find Kate Joyce, who dined with me: Her husband and she are weary of their new life of being an Innkeeper, and will leave it, and would fain get some office; but I know none the foole is fit for.

Sad story: Anthony Joyce was now an innkeeper in Clerkenwell. He suffered from the Fire from the loss of several of the houses he owned. He committed suicide in January 1668. (L&M note)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"There is also the very good newes come of four New-England ships come home safe to Falmouth with masts for the King; "

L&M note this should be 7 instead of 4. See John Lanyon to Navy Board: Plymouth, 30 November: CSPD 1666-7, p. 301.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Today the New England Historical Society clarified "four New-England ships come home safe to Falmouth with masts for the King; which is a blessing mighty unexpected, and without which, if for nothing else, we must have failed the next year".

"During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Falmouth, Maine (now known as Portland), and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, were the center of the mast trade. The immense stands of tall white pines in northern New England grew to a height of over 200 feet and were sometimes 10 feet in diameter. Some were a thousand years old. The British Admiralty was quick to grasp the potential of New England’s great white pines for ship construction."

Pepys says they arrived at Falmouth, Cornwall -- maybe the ships went from Falmouth to Falmouth? How confusing.

More at https://www.newenglandhistoricals…

Log in to post an annotation.

If you don't have an account, then register here.