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Terry Foreman has posted 16,447 annotations/comments since 28 June 2005.

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Third Reading

About Saturday 5 May 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

An echo from Commons this day:

Saturday, May 5th, 1660.
Prayers.
Continuing Parliament.
A BILL ingrossed, for continuing this present Parliament, was, this Day, read the Third time.

Resolved, That this be the Title of the Bill, viz. An Act for removing and preventing all Questions and Disputes, concerning the Assembling and Sitting of this present Parliament:

And the said Bill, being put to the Question, passed.

Ordered, That Mr. Finch do carry up this Bill to the Lords.

Deferring Easter Term.
Mr. Francis Bacon reports a Declaration, concerning the putting off some Part of the next Easter Term, until Quinque Pasche; which was read, and committed unto Serjeant Hales, Sir Tho. Widdrington, Mr. Weston, Serjeant Glyn, Mr. Pryn, Mr. Turner, Mr. Charleton, Mr. Francis Bacon; who are presently to withdraw, and amend the said Declaration upon the Debate had in the House. https://www.british-history.ac.uk…

About Wednesday 2 May 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

I posted: "The City of London have put a Declaration, wherein they do disclaim their owing any other government but that of a King, Lords, and Commons."

"Fortunately this Declaration is now an Early English Book Online; unfortunately its text is not [yet] freely available to be browsed (go to a library):

ACTUALLY this link DOES GO TO THE TEXT: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2…

About Monday 30 April 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Why do Pepys and his entourage want to go see Captain Thomas Sparling?

A chance to get away from the ship for awhile? -- whatever the quality of the sights where he is?! There have been others onshore, why Sparling? Did he invite them? What was his connegshion?

About Tuesday 24 April 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Where the Naseby probably is today:

San Diego Sarah posted on the 20th:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

I see no one answered the other half of Judy Bailey's question: "the steady stream of visitors, who I assumed were following along the shore, would end. Or is it likely that all of these visitors were from other ships traveling with them and they were simply moving from ship to ship as visitors?"

My best guess is that the Naseby is anchored somewhere near Dover behind the Goodwin Sands. Couriers arrive at Dover on horseback, gentry by coach, and they get rowed out to visit the Admiral when invited aboard -- to pick up warrents for travel or orders, or to visit on business.

They are not sightseers, guests or hangers-on. No wives.

Montagu's orders are to defend the coast and London from attack, but as Pepys can attest, the Naseby isn't water-tight yet. It's early in the fighting season and the weather is bad, so an attack is unlikely. That was Monck's cover story to justify having someone he trusts monitoring the traffic over the channel from the most popular port -- Dover to Calais is only 20 miles -- and be ready when ready is necessary. Which isn't yet.

About Wednesday 18 April 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Declaration of Breda (dated 4 April 1660) was a proclamation by Charles II of England in which he promised a general pardon for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum for all those who recognized Charles as the lawful king; the retention by the current owners of property purchased during the same period; religious toleration; and the payment of arrears to members of the army, and that the army would be recommissioned into service under the crown. Further, regarding the two latter points, the parliament was given the authority to judge property disputes and responsibility for the payment of the army. The first three pledges were all subject to amendment by acts of parliament.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dec…

About Wednesday 18 April 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The exiled Stuart Charles II of England resided in Breda for a little over a month of his time in exile during the Cromwellian Commonwealth and Protectorate, thanks to the proximity of Charles's sister Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the widow of Prince William II of Orange (died 1650).

Based mostly on suggestions by the Parliamentarian General George Monck, Charles II's Declaration of Breda (1660) announced his conditions for accepting the crown of England, which he was to regain a few months later in the year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bre…

About Saturday 22 March 1661/62

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21-…
The system of firing an odd number of rounds is said to have been originated by Samuel Pepys, Secretary to the Navy in the Restoration, as a way of economizing on the use of powder, the rule until that time having been that all guns had to be fired.[citation needed] Odd numbers were chosen, as even numbers indicated a death.[3]

The system of firing an odd number of rounds is said to have been originated by Samuel Pepys, Secretary to the English Navy in the Restoration, as a way of economizing on the use of powder, the rule until that time having been that all guns had to be fired. Odd numbers were chosen, as even numbers indicated a death.

About Saturday 22 March 1661/62

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Why does an even number of naval salutes indicate a death?

"....seven or nine guns apiece."
L&M: An even number signalled a funeral.

About Tuesday 27 March 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"in our passing by the Vice-Admiral, he and the rest of the frigates, with him, did give us abundance of guns and we them, so much that the report of them broke all the windows in my cabin and broke off the iron bar that was upon it to keep anybody from creeping in at the Scuttle."

SPOILERS
Pepys will not trouble to get the window fixed until Friday 20 April -- when he discovers what his status on board is: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

About Friday 20 April 1660

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"All the morning I was busy to get my window altered, and to have my table set as I would have it, which after it was done I was infinitely pleased with it, and also to see what a command I have to have every one ready to come and go at my command."

The window ["windows"] was broken on Tuesday, 27 March -- 24 days ago --
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Pepys took awhile to set about getting this fixed: priorities had been other matters.

About Thursday 2 February 1659/60

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Updated links to several sites posted today:

Thames watermen and ferries
https://www.thehistoryoflondon.co…

Company of Watermen and Lightermen
The Company of Watermen and Lightermen (CWL) is a historic City guild in the City of London. However, unlike the city's other 109 livery companies, CWL does not have a grant of livery. Its meeting rooms are at Waterman's Hall on St Mary at Hill, London.., CWL was established in the medieval period to support and maintain rights of the river workers. The two main occupations were that of watermen and lightermen.[1] The watermen transferred passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries. Most notable are those on the Thames and Medway. Other rivers such as the Tyne and Dee in Wales had watermen who formed guilds in medieval times.[2] Lightermen transfer goods between ships and quays (including wharves, jetties and piers) – they specifically loaded (originally 'laded') and unloaded ('alighted') the ships. Laded survives in the phrases bill of lading and fully laden) In the Port of London they overwhelmingly used flat-bottomed barges, called lighters.[2].... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Com…

About Sunday 5 February 1659/60

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"This afternoon at church I saw Dick Cumberland newly come out of the country from his living...", i.e. the rectory of Brampton Ash in Northamptonshire. https://
www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/1…

“his living”

A benefice (/ˈbɛnɪfɪs/) or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term beneficium as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by the Western Church in the Carolingian Era as a benefit bestowed by the crown or church officials. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben…

About Thursday 2 February 1659/60

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Bale of Hay

There are a number of stories that surround the London cab and its cabmen and some of them are nothing but bunkum. For instance, it has never been law for a motor cabman to carry a bale of hay in his cab. In fact, it was never law for a horse cabman to carry one, although he was required to carry sufficient hard food (e. g. oats) for his horse’s midday feed.
https://lvta.co.uk/menu/lvta-taxi…

About Sunday 29 January 1659/60

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"David Quidnunc posted https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Notice that Evelyn has the verses noted in his diary. How would he have written them down during the sermon (or did he impress them on his memory so he would have that information when he wrote in his diary later?) Perhaps he brought his Bible, or a New Testament or prayer book to the service and underlined the spot (did they have pencils or bits of lead to write with back then?). Pepys only has the chapter, so it seems to me more likely that he just remembered it."

We will see that Pepys, a clerk, knows shorthand -- he's writing the diary with it --and could have made a small note on a chit of paper Evelyn is not a clerk. We find out in the Diary that some wealthy men like him do know iand use shorthand, but /i recall no evidence he used it. On Shorthand: ... See https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

About Saturday 28 January 1659/60

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Duncan on 29 Jan 2003 • Link • Flag
"He gave me half a piece.../
What does "piece" mean in this context?

Might it mean a crown?

During the English Interregnum of 1649–1660, a republican half crown was issued, bearing the arms of the Commonwealth of England, despite monarchist associations of the coin's name. When Oliver Cromwell was made Lord Protector of England, half crowns were issued bearing his portrait depicting him wearing a laurel wreath in the manner of a Roman Emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal…