I just checked my work, and find I clearly lost my mind.
A Capt. Cook lived in the Tennis Court apartments in 1680. I do apologize. He is #35.
But yes, the index does list Sir Robert Murray being in number 21, which I have yet to find so it must be small. Since Sir Robert Moray FRS died in 1673, who knows who this is. No sign of William the Master Builder being in residence. Sorry.
The Tennis Court is top left ... there's a row of houses #35 which might have been M'Lord Sandwich's, but this map was made in 1680, so he was long gone.
The 12-room apartments are listed as being used by "Mr. Murray" on the index. That isn't our Sir Robert Moray, as he also died in 1672, joining his beloved wife, Sophia Lindsay, late sister of the Earl of Balcarres, who had died in childbirth many decades before.
But it might be Sir William Moray of Dreghorn, younger brother of Sir Robert? William was the Master of Works (i.e. builder) for Charles II (and, unsurprisingly, like his brother, a connected and active Freemason). A Master Builder would need 12 rooms for his activities. This book says he married a Miss Fowlis, and had three sons who seem to have died without issue. https://www.google.com/books/edit…
(Back in 1645 the Moray Brothers had framed an escape plan for King Charles from Newcastle which failed at the last moment because Charles was more worried about being recaught disguised as a woman than he was about remaining a captive. Charles II did not forget useful people.)
But the Murray/Moray clan was/is large and influential, so don't quote me on this speculation about who #35 was. I am sure about who it wasn't.
Alchemy was all the rage in 1669, according to this article:
"Newton believed that the ancient alchemists knew how to make gold but that the secret had been lost. Nor was he alone in this belief. ..., the great Robert Boyle thought it was possible, and John Locke the philosopher believed likewise. Indeed, Newton even cautioned Boyle about the need to remain silent about their alchemical interests.
"Newton first experimented with mercury by dissolving it in nitric acid and then adding other things to the solution. When such experiments produced nothing worthwhile he turned to heating mercury with various metals in a furnace, and his assistant and room-mate John Wickins tells how he would sometimes work through the night. In one of his experiments he produced a kind of 'living' mercury that made gold swell. When nothing came of this, he turned his attention to antimony and by 1670 he had made the so-called Star Regulus, a dramatic form of antimony."
But it wasn't just the FRS/University group ... Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon's father-in-law by his third wife, Flower Backhurst, was a prominent gentleman alchemist who rarely left his manor, but knew everyone. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10…
And George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham dabbled.
So besides being alcoholics, they had mercury and lead in their brains. It's amazing more things didn't go wrong!
"... at the Committee of Tangier, in my absence, Mr. Povy having given me advice of it, of the discourse there of doing something as to the putting the payment of the garrison into some undertaker’s hand, Alderman Backewell, which the Duke of York would not suffer to go on, without my presence at the debate."
Ignore my theories yesterday about Pepys being on the matt today for the victualling of Tangier and his outrageous profits. A series of coincidences which were not about Tangier's food after all.
Smart of James to insist on everyone involved being in the room to discuss such matters. Presumably the gold coins go out on the same ships as the food.
Reputed to be "a great fortune teller" according to this book; Monmouth tried him out and reported back to Charles II that he was legit. So Charles invited Pregnani to Newmark with his books to caste the Royal horoscope. But Charles also tested his ability by asking the Abbe to predict the winner of three races, and Monmouth lost money by following his advice.
Then the Abbe fell out with Buckingham and got sent home.
I wonder what happened to the horoscope ... presumably not treasonous if the monarch castes it himself.
Yesterday's pop in to say HI to Lady Peterborough could well have been "just to check a couple of facts, m'Lady ... as best you remember them. Was your husband drunk every day in Tangier? Did he personally check every inventory? Did he really visit the mess hall daily? May I quote you on that?"
YESTERDAY: "and so home, ..., and there by invitation find Mr. Povy, and there was also Talbot Pepys, newly come from Impington [should be Brampton, per L&M], and dined with me; and after dinner and a little talk with Povy about publick matters, ..."
This Talbot Pepys is a young solicitor. Would those "publick matters" be regarding Tangier, since there was this meeting coming up tomorrow?
James Butler, Duke of Ormonde's sons and his nephews had been in Charles II's court during his exile, and were far from diminishing its luster after his return. The Earl of Arran had a singular address in all kinds of exercises, played well at tennis and on the guitar, and was pretty successful in gallantry. His elder brother, the Earl of Ossory, was not so lively, but of the most liberal sentiments, and of great probity.
The elder of the Hamiltons, their cousin, was the man who of all the court dressed best: he was well made in his person, and possessed those happy talents which lead to fortune, and procure success in love: he was a most assiduous courtier, had the most lively wit, the most polished manners, and the most punctual attention to his master imaginable: no person danced better, nor was any one a more general lover: a merit of some account in a court entirely devoted to love and gallantry. ...
... and on and on, everyone got their mention, especially the ladies.
Charles II was inferior to none either in shape or air; his wit was pleasant; his disposition easy and affable; his soul, susceptible of opposite impressions, was compassionate to the unhappy, inflexible to the wicked, and tender even to excess; he shewed great abilities in urgent affairs, but was incapable of application to any that were not so: his heart was often the dupe, but oftener the slave, of his engagements.
The character of James, Duke of York was entirely different: he had the reputation of undaunted courage, an inviolable attachment for his word, great economy in his affairs, hauteur, application, arrogance, each in their turn: a scrupulous observer of the rules of duty and the laws of justice; he was accounted a faithful friend, and an implacable enemy.
James, Duke of York's morality and justice, struggling for some time with prejudice, had at last triumphed, by his acknowledging for his wife Miss Hyde, maid of honor to the Princess Royal, whom he had secretly married in Holland. Anne Hyde’s father, from that time Lord Chancellor of England, supported by this new interest, soon rose to the head of affairs, and had almost ruined them: not that he wanted capacity, but he was too self-sufficient.
James Butler, Marquis of Ormonde possessed the confidence and esteem of Charles II: the greatness of his services, the splendor of his merit and his birth, and the fortune he had abandoned in adhering to the fate of his prince, rendered him worthy of it: nor durst the courtiers even murmur at seeing him grand steward of the household, first lord of the bedchamber, and lord lieutenant of Ireland. He exactly resembled the Marshal de Grammont, in the turn of his wit and the nobleness of his manners, and like him was the honor of his master's court.
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of St. Albans were the same in England as they appeared in France: the one, full of wit and vivacity, dissipated, without splendor, an immense estate upon which he had just entered: the other, a man of no great genius, had raised himself a considerable fortune from nothing, and by losing at play, and keeping a great table, made it appear greater than it was.
Sir George Berkley, afterwards Earl of Falmouth, was the confidant and favorite of the king. He commanded James, Duke of York's regiment of guards, and governed the duke himself. He had nothing remarkable either in his wit, or his person; but his sentiments were worthy of the fortune which awaited him, when, on the very point of his elevation, he was killed at sea. Never did disinterestedness so perfectly characterize the greatness of the soul: he had no views but what tended to the glory of his master: his credit was never employed but in advising him to reward services, or to favor merit: so polished in conversation, that the greater his power, the greater was his humility; and so sincere in all his proceedings, that he would never have been taken for a courtier.
The joy for the restoration of the Stuart royal family still appeared in all parts: the nation, fond of change and novelty, tasted the pleasure of a natural government, and seemed to breathe again after a long oppression. In short, the same people, who, by a solemn abjuration, had excluded even the posterity of their lawful sovereign, exhausted themselves in festivals and rejoicings for Charles II’s return.
The Chevalier de Grammont arrived about two years after the Restoration: the reception he met with in this court soon made him forget the other; and the engagements he in the end contracted in England, lessened the regret he had in leaving France.
This was a desirable retreat for an exile of his disposition: everything flattered his taste; and if the adventures he had in this country were not the most considerable, they were at least the most agreeable of his life. But before we relate them, it will not be improper to give some account of the English court, as it was at that period.
The necessity of affairs had exposed Charles II from his earliest youth, to the toils and perils of a bloody war: the fate of King Charles, his father, had left him for inheritance nothing but his misfortunes and disgraces: they overtook him everywhere; but it was not until he had struggled with his ill-fortune to the last extremity, that he submitted to the decrees of Providence.
All those who were either great on account of their birth or their loyalty, had followed Charles II into exile; and all the young persons of the greatest distinction, having afterwards joined him, composed a court worthy of a better fate.
Plenty and prosperity, which are thought to tend only to corrupt manners, found nothing to spoil in an indigent and wandering court. Necessity, on the contrary, which produces a thousand advantages whether we will or no, served them for education; and nothing was to be seen among them but an emulation in glory, politeness, and virtue.
With this little court, in such high esteem for merit, Charles II returned two years prior to the period we mention, to ascend a throne, which to all appearances he was to fill as worthily as the most glorious of his predecessors. The magnificence displayed on this occasion was renewed at his coronation.
The death of Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and of the Princess Royal, which followed soon after, had interrupted the course of this splendor, by a tedious mourning, which they quitted at last to prepare for the reception of Catherine, the Infanta of Portugal.
It was in the height of the rejoicings they were making for this new queen, in all the splendor of a brilliant court, that the Chevalier de Grammont arrived to contribute to its magnificence and diversions.
Accustomed as the Chevalier de Grammont was to the grandeur of the court of France, he was surprised at the politeness and splendor of the court of England.
Guy Armand de Gramont, Count of Guiche (25 November 1637 – 29 November 1673), lived in London for most of the Diary years, and 50 years later dictated his memoires. Many of the stories are mangled for context, so while the grain of truth may be found there, the context is often very dodgy.
"La Motte Houdancourt was one of the maids of honor to Anne of Austria, the queen dowager, and, although no sparkling beauty, she had drawn away lovers from the celebrated Meneville. It was sufficient in those days, for Louis XIV to cast his eye upon a young lady of the court to inspire her with hopes, and often with tender sentiments; but if he spoke to her more than once, the courtiers took it for granted, and those who had either pretensions to, or love for her, respectfully withdrew both the one and the other, and afterwards only paid her respect; but the Chevalier de Grammont thought fit to act quite otherwise, perhaps to preserve a singularity of character, which upon the present occasion was of no avail.
The Chevalier had never before thought of La Motte Houdancourt; but as soon as he found that she was honored with Louis XIV's attention, he was of opinion that she was likewise deserving of his: having attached himself to her, he soon became very troublesome, without convincing her he was much in love: she grew weary of his persecutions; but he would not desist, neither on account of her ill-treatment, nor of her threats.
The Chevalier’s conduct at first made no great noise, because La Motte Houdancourt was in hopes that he would change his behavior; but finding him rashly persist in it, she complained of him: and then it was that he perceived that if love renders all conditions equal, it is not so between rivals.
The Chevalier de Grammont was banished the court, and not finding any place in France which could console him for what he most regretted, the presence and sight of his prince, after having made some slight reflections upon his disgrace, and bestowed a few imprecations against her who was the cause of it, he at last formed the resolution of visiting England.
It's amazing Charles II didn't blow up Whitehall! He probably learned about Nicolas Flamel when he and James lived in Paris.
Flamel was probably born at Pontoise towards the middle of the 14th century, and was a bookseller with a stall backing onto the columns of Saint-Jacques la Boucherie in Paris. Flamel's myth and books and "science" were ground zero in Paris. http://www.alchemylab.com/flamel.…
Smart of Louis XIV to exploit Charles' poverty, curiosity and religious inclinations all at the same time.
"There was popular sentiment in her favor in England, but Charles II showed no desire to receive her; eventually she sailed for England anyway in May 1661"
Nadine Akkerman's 2021 book, Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Hearts, explains that many people, even at the Restoration, favored the very Prostestant Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, to the questionably Catholic Charles II. She had held Court at The Hague for hundreds of displaced Cavaliers during their exiles, spent her fortune on supporting the Stuart and Protestant causes, and had a healthy family of sons to follow her.
This article also shows a 1630s painting of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, wearing the Tudor crown of England. Parliament destroyed the crown in the 1650s. That such a portrait exists shows that treasonous talk happened ... when exactly, and why the painting was altered to include the crown, I don't know. Hopefully the book will provide answers -- someone risked a lot to do this.
This is one of the few times Pepys mentions waking up in the middle of the night, and then going back to sleep.
This article says that, since the invention of electric light, humans have changed the way we sleep. In Pepys' day they went to bed around 10 p.m. ... woke up around 1 a.m., did chores, put wood on the fire, had sex, chatted, peed, etc. ... and went back to sleep again.
"William Baldwin's Beware the Cat (1561) – a satirical book considered by some to be the first ever novel, which centres around a man who learns to understand the language of a group of terrifying supernatural cats, one of whom, Mouse-slayer, is on trial for promiscuity."
Gotta get around the censors somehow ... promiscuous cats works for me.
Pepys, Povy and Lady Penelope O'Brien Mordaunt had Tangier in common, so I see why she had them over to lunch at the same time. (I wonder if she accompanied her lovely husband there when he was the Governor?)
But Talbot Pepys? -- I've alerted Phil to change the link from the one who died in 1666. It should be Pepys' cousin, https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Plus L&M says that Impington was incorrect, it should read Brampton.
I wonder why cousin Talbot was included in a Tangier meeting, unless some legal action is planned.
Comments
Second Reading
About Sunday 17 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
"So staying late talking in the Queen’s side, I away, with W. Hewer home"
John Gadbury’s London Diary
Cold thaw, hail & rain at night
Pepys got his chariot in the nick of time. And his jailor is back.
About Sunday 17 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
I just checked my work, and find I clearly lost my mind.
A Capt. Cook lived in the Tennis Court apartments in 1680. I do apologize. He is #35.
But yes, the index does list Sir Robert Murray being in number 21, which I have yet to find so it must be small. Since Sir Robert Moray FRS died in 1673, who knows who this is. No sign of William the Master Builder being in residence. Sorry.
About Sunday 17 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Tennis Court is top left ... there's a row of houses #35 which might have been M'Lord Sandwich's, but this map was made in 1680, so he was long gone.
The 12-room apartments are listed as being used by "Mr. Murray" on the index. That isn't our Sir Robert Moray, as he also died in 1672, joining his beloved wife, Sophia Lindsay, late sister of the Earl of Balcarres, who had died in childbirth many decades before.
But it might be Sir William Moray of Dreghorn, younger brother of Sir Robert? William was the Master of Works (i.e. builder) for Charles II (and, unsurprisingly, like his brother, a connected and active Freemason). A Master Builder would need 12 rooms for his activities.
This book says he married a Miss Fowlis, and had three sons who seem to have died without issue.
https://www.google.com/books/edit…
(Back in 1645 the Moray Brothers had framed an escape plan for King Charles from Newcastle which failed at the last moment because Charles was more worried about being recaught disguised as a woman than he was about remaining a captive. Charles II did not forget useful people.)
But the Murray/Moray clan was/is large and influential, so don't quote me on this speculation about who #35 was. I am sure about who it wasn't.
About Friday 15 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pepys seems to have escaped his jailor today. Will this continue?
About Friday 15 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
Alchemy was all the rage in 1669, according to this article:
"Newton believed that the ancient alchemists knew how to make gold but that the secret had been lost. Nor was he alone in this belief. ..., the great Robert Boyle thought it was possible, and John Locke the philosopher believed likewise. Indeed, Newton even cautioned Boyle about the need to remain silent about their alchemical interests.
"Newton first experimented with mercury by dissolving it in nitric acid and then adding other things to the solution. When such experiments produced nothing worthwhile he turned to heating mercury with various metals in a furnace, and his assistant and room-mate John Wickins tells how he would sometimes work through the night. In one of his experiments he produced a kind of 'living' mercury that made gold swell. When nothing came of this, he turned his attention to antimony and by 1670 he had made the so-called Star Regulus, a dramatic form of antimony."
https://www.flandershealth.us/lea…
But it wasn't just the FRS/University group ... Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon's father-in-law by his third wife, Flower Backhurst, was a prominent gentleman alchemist who rarely left his manor, but knew everyone.
https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10…
And George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham dabbled.
So besides being alcoholics, they had mercury and lead in their brains. It's amazing more things didn't go wrong!
About Friday 15 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... at the Committee of Tangier, in my absence, Mr. Povy having given me advice of it, of the discourse there of doing something as to the putting the payment of the garrison into some undertaker’s hand, Alderman Backewell, which the Duke of York would not suffer to go on, without my presence at the debate."
Ignore my theories yesterday about Pepys being on the matt today for the victualling of Tangier and his outrageous profits. A series of coincidences which were not about Tangier's food after all.
Smart of James to insist on everyone involved being in the room to discuss such matters. Presumably the gold coins go out on the same ships as the food.
About Friday 15 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Abbe Pregnani ...
Reputed to be "a great fortune teller" according to this book; Monmouth tried him out and reported back to Charles II that he was legit. So Charles invited Pregnani to Newmark with his books to caste the Royal horoscope. But Charles also tested his ability by asking the Abbe to predict the winner of three races, and Monmouth lost money by following his advice.
Then the Abbe fell out with Buckingham and got sent home.
I wonder what happened to the horoscope ... presumably not treasonous if the monarch castes it himself.
https://www.google.com/books/edit…
About Thursday 14 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
Yesterday's pop in to say HI to Lady Peterborough could well have been "just to check a couple of facts, m'Lady ... as best you remember them. Was your husband drunk every day in Tangier? Did he personally check every inventory? Did he really visit the mess hall daily? May I quote you on that?"
About Thursday 14 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
YESTERDAY: "and so home, ..., and there by invitation find Mr. Povy, and there was also Talbot Pepys, newly come from Impington [should be Brampton, per L&M], and dined with me; and after dinner and a little talk with Povy about publick matters, ..."
This Talbot Pepys is a young solicitor. Would those "publick matters" be regarding Tangier, since there was this meeting coming up tomorrow?
As we know, Pepys' fortune took off when he took over Tangier from Povy:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
In which case, I'd also probably want to consult a family solicitor before entering the Lion's Den.
About Armand de Gramont (Comte de Guiche)
San Diego Sarah • Link
James Butler, Duke of Ormonde's sons and his nephews had been in Charles II's court during his exile, and were far from diminishing its luster after his return. The Earl of Arran had a singular address in all kinds of exercises, played well at tennis and on the guitar, and was pretty successful in gallantry. His elder brother, the Earl of Ossory, was not so lively, but of the most liberal sentiments, and of great probity.
The elder of the Hamiltons, their cousin, was the man who of all the court dressed best: he was well made in his person, and possessed those happy talents which lead to fortune, and procure success in love: he was a most assiduous courtier, had the most lively wit, the most polished manners, and the most punctual attention to his master imaginable: no person danced better, nor was any one a more general lover: a merit of some account in a court entirely devoted to love and gallantry. ...
... and on and on, everyone got their mention, especially the ladies.
About Armand de Gramont (Comte de Guiche)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Charles II was inferior to none either in shape or air; his wit was pleasant; his disposition easy and affable; his soul, susceptible of opposite impressions, was compassionate to the unhappy, inflexible to the wicked, and tender even to excess; he shewed great abilities in urgent affairs, but was incapable of application to any that were not so: his heart was often the dupe, but oftener the slave, of his engagements.
The character of James, Duke of York was entirely different: he had the reputation of undaunted courage, an inviolable attachment for his word, great economy in his affairs, hauteur, application, arrogance, each in their turn: a scrupulous observer of the rules of duty and the laws of justice; he was accounted a faithful friend, and an implacable enemy.
James, Duke of York's morality and justice, struggling for some time with prejudice, had at last triumphed, by his acknowledging for his wife Miss Hyde, maid of honor to the Princess Royal, whom he had secretly married in Holland.
Anne Hyde’s father, from that time Lord Chancellor of England, supported by this new interest, soon rose to the head of affairs, and had almost ruined them: not that he wanted capacity, but he was too self-sufficient.
James Butler, Marquis of Ormonde possessed the confidence and esteem of Charles II: the greatness of his services, the splendor of his merit and his birth, and the fortune he had abandoned in adhering to the fate of his prince, rendered him worthy of it: nor durst the courtiers even murmur at seeing him grand steward of the household, first lord of the bedchamber, and lord lieutenant of Ireland. He exactly resembled the Marshal de Grammont, in the turn of his wit and the nobleness of his manners, and like him was the honor of his master's court.
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of St. Albans were the same in England as they appeared in France: the one, full of wit and vivacity, dissipated, without splendor, an immense estate upon which he had just entered: the other, a man of no great genius, had raised himself a considerable fortune from nothing, and by losing at play, and keeping a great table, made it appear greater than it was.
Sir George Berkley, afterwards Earl of Falmouth, was the confidant and favorite of the king. He commanded James, Duke of York's regiment of guards, and governed the duke himself. He had nothing remarkable either in his wit, or his person; but his sentiments were worthy of the fortune which awaited him, when, on the very point of his elevation, he was killed at sea. Never did disinterestedness so perfectly characterize the greatness of the soul: he had no views but what tended to the glory of his master: his credit was never employed but in advising him to reward services, or to favor merit: so polished in conversation, that the greater his power, the greater was his humility; and so sincere in all his proceedings, that he would never have been taken for a courtier.
About Armand de Gramont (Comte de Guiche)
San Diego Sarah • Link
http://www.pseudopodium.org/repre…
CHAPTER VI.
The joy for the restoration of the Stuart royal family still appeared in all parts: the nation, fond of change and novelty, tasted the pleasure of a natural government, and seemed to breathe again after a long oppression. In short, the same people, who, by a solemn abjuration, had excluded even the posterity of their lawful sovereign, exhausted themselves in festivals and rejoicings for Charles II’s return.
The Chevalier de Grammont arrived about two years after the Restoration: the reception he met with in this court soon made him forget the other; and the engagements he in the end contracted in England, lessened the regret he had in leaving France.
This was a desirable retreat for an exile of his disposition: everything flattered his taste; and if the adventures he had in this country were not the most considerable, they were at least the most agreeable of his life. But before we relate them, it will not be improper to give some account of the English court, as it was at that period.
The necessity of affairs had exposed Charles II from his earliest youth, to the toils and perils of a bloody war: the fate of King Charles, his father, had left him for inheritance nothing but his misfortunes and disgraces: they overtook him everywhere; but it was not until he had struggled with his ill-fortune to the last extremity, that he submitted to the decrees of Providence.
All those who were either great on account of their birth or their loyalty, had followed Charles II into exile; and all the young persons of the greatest distinction, having afterwards joined him, composed a court worthy of a better fate.
Plenty and prosperity, which are thought to tend only to corrupt manners, found nothing to spoil in an indigent and wandering court. Necessity, on the contrary, which produces a thousand advantages whether we will or no, served them for education; and nothing was to be seen among them but an emulation in glory, politeness, and virtue.
With this little court, in such high esteem for merit, Charles II returned two years prior to the period we mention, to ascend a throne, which to all appearances he was to fill as worthily as the most glorious of his predecessors.
The magnificence displayed on this occasion was renewed at his coronation.
The death of Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and of the Princess Royal, which followed soon after, had interrupted the course of this splendor, by a tedious mourning, which they quitted at last to prepare for the reception of Catherine, the Infanta of Portugal.
It was in the height of the rejoicings they were making for this new queen, in all the splendor of a brilliant court, that the Chevalier de Grammont arrived to contribute to its magnificence and diversions.
Accustomed as the Chevalier de Grammont was to the grandeur of the court of France, he was surprised at the politeness and splendor of the court of England.
About Armand de Gramont (Comte de Guiche)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Guy Armand de Gramont, Count of Guiche (25 November 1637 – 29 November 1673), lived in London for most of the Diary years, and 50 years later dictated his memoires. Many of the stories are mangled for context, so while the grain of truth may be found there, the context is often very dodgy.
Why did he come to London? He says:
http://www.pseudopodium.org/repre…
CHAPTER V.
"La Motte Houdancourt was one of the maids of honor to Anne of Austria, the queen dowager, and, although no sparkling beauty, she had drawn away lovers from the celebrated Meneville. It was sufficient in those days, for Louis XIV to cast his eye upon a young lady of the court to inspire her with hopes, and often with tender sentiments; but if he spoke to her more than once, the courtiers took it for granted, and those who had either pretensions to, or love for her, respectfully withdrew both the one and the other, and afterwards only paid her respect; but the Chevalier de Grammont thought fit to act quite otherwise, perhaps to preserve a singularity of character, which upon the present occasion was of no avail.
The Chevalier had never before thought of La Motte Houdancourt; but as soon as he found that she was honored with Louis XIV's attention, he was of opinion that she was likewise deserving of his: having attached himself to her, he soon became very troublesome, without convincing her he was much in love: she grew weary of his persecutions; but he would not desist, neither on account of her ill-treatment, nor of her threats.
The Chevalier’s conduct at first made no great noise, because La Motte Houdancourt was in hopes that he would change his behavior; but finding him rashly persist in it, she complained of him: and then it was that he perceived that if love renders all conditions equal, it is not so between rivals.
The Chevalier de Grammont was banished the court, and not finding any place in France which could console him for what he most regretted, the presence and sight of his prince, after having made some slight reflections upon his disgrace, and bestowed a few imprecations against her who was the cause of it, he at last formed the resolution of visiting England.
About Friday 15 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
It's amazing Charles II didn't blow up Whitehall! He probably learned about Nicolas Flamel when he and James lived in Paris.
Flamel was probably born at Pontoise towards the middle of the 14th century, and was a bookseller with a stall backing onto the columns of Saint-Jacques la Boucherie in Paris. Flamel's myth and books and "science" were ground zero in Paris.
http://www.alchemylab.com/flamel.…
Smart of Louis XIV to exploit Charles' poverty, curiosity and religious inclinations all at the same time.
About Elizabeth Stuart (Queen of Bohemia)
San Diego Sarah • Link
"There was popular sentiment in her favor in England, but Charles II showed no desire to receive her; eventually she sailed for England anyway in May 1661"
Nadine Akkerman's 2021 book, Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Hearts, explains that many people, even at the Restoration, favored the very Prostestant Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, to the questionably Catholic Charles II. She had held Court at The Hague for hundreds of displaced Cavaliers during their exiles, spent her fortune on supporting the Stuart and Protestant causes, and had a healthy family of sons to follow her.
This article also shows a 1630s painting of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, wearing the Tudor crown of England. Parliament destroyed the crown in the 1650s.
That such a portrait exists shows that treasonous talk happened ... when exactly, and why the painting was altered to include the crown, I don't know. Hopefully the book will provide answers -- someone risked a lot to do this.
https://www.historyextra.com/peri…
About Wednesday 1 January 1661/62
San Diego Sarah • Link
This is one of the few times Pepys mentions waking up in the middle of the night, and then going back to sleep.
This article says that, since the invention of electric light, humans have changed the way we sleep. In Pepys' day they went to bed around 10 p.m. ... woke up around 1 a.m., did chores, put wood on the fire, had sex, chatted, peed, etc. ... and went back to sleep again.
All those "experts" telling us we have sleep disorders are ignoring basic human programming.
https://www.bbc.com/future/articl…
About Friday 11 November 1664
San Diego Sarah • Link
A new candidate for the first English novelist:
"William Baldwin's Beware the Cat (1561) – a satirical book considered by some to be the first ever novel, which centres around a man who learns to understand the language of a group of terrifying supernatural cats, one of whom, Mouse-slayer, is on trial for promiscuity."
Gotta get around the censors somehow ... promiscuous cats works for me.
https://www.bbc.com/future/articl…
About Wednesday 13 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
You're right again, Tonyel ... he didn't have lunch at Lady Peterborough's. I must have got to the point I don't seem commas any more.
About Wednesday 13 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pepys, Povy and Lady Penelope O'Brien Mordaunt had Tangier in common, so I see why she had them over to lunch at the same time. (I wonder if she accompanied her lovely husband there when he was the Governor?)
But Talbot Pepys? -- I've alerted Phil to change the link from the one who died in 1666. It should be Pepys' cousin, https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Plus L&M says that Impington was incorrect, it should read Brampton.
I wonder why cousin Talbot was included in a Tangier meeting, unless some legal action is planned.
About Tuesday 12 January 1668/69
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... with the tongs red hot at the ends, made as if she did design to pinch me with them, ..."
Our very own Lorena Bobbitt. How you sweet-talked your way out of this one, Pepys, only Robert Gertz could guess, and he chose not to.