Thursday 10 May 1660

This morning came on board Mr. Pinkney and his son, going to the King with a petition finely writ by Mr. Whore, for to be the King’s embroiderer; for whom and Mr. Saunderson I got a ship. This morning come my Lord Winchelsea and a great deal of company, and dined here.

In the afternoon, while my Lord and we were at musique in the great cabin below, comes in a messenger to tell us that Mr. Edward Montagu, my Lord’s son, was come to Deal, who afterwards came on board with Mr. Pickering with him. The child was sick in the evening.

At night, while my Lord was at supper, in comes my Lord Lauderdale and Sir John Greenville, who supped here, and so went away. After they were gone, my Lord called me into his cabin, and told me how he was commanded to set sail presently for the King,1 and was very glad thereof, and so put me to writing of letters and other work that night till it was very late, he going to bed. I got him afterwards to sign things in bed. After I had done some more work I to bed also.


25 Annotations

First Reading

Laura Brown  •  Link

Mr Whore/Hoare

(cf. link)
Um. Was it something he said? Or does this show us how Pepys' mind works? Or was it simply an error in deciphering the shorthand?

Paul Brewster  •  Link

L&M Footnote:
"George Pinckney, sen., again petitioned for this office in (? March) 1661, recalling that he had been promised it the year before at The Hague, when he presented to the King a book on whose cover he had embroidered the royal arms. He was then granted a moiety of the office; and in November 1663 his son Charles was also granted a moiety.

Richard Hoare was in 1668 a clerk in the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Pepys kept, for its calligraphic interest, a petition in his hand.

Paul Brewster  •  Link

L&M footnotes shed a different light on the nature of Montagu's orders:
"By a resolution of both Houses of the 9th, he was to await orders from the King. But Grenville urged on him the importance of going immediately; Montagu therefore sent word to the King by Grenville that he would lose no time in sailing ... Montagu wrote to the President of the Council (11 May) announcing the fleet's departure for Scheveningen, 'the best place and nearest where his Majesty is for such great shipps as ours are to ride in' ... (in Pepys hand)."

vincent  •  Link

job applicant “George Pinckney, sen.," got half the job: "...petitioned for this office in (? March) 1661,... " who got the other half ? was it his son "...in November 1663 his son Charles was also granted a moiety." (the other 'alf?)

PHE  •  Link

To be a witness to a key event
So today, Pepys learns he is to be a part of and a witness to one of the most significant events in England's/Britain's history. That is, to physicaly return the monarchy. It seems strange that he reports the news as if it is just another task for his master. Surely, he thought a lot more about this than he wrote. After weeks of only reading and hearing about momentous events in London while stranded on ship, it must seem quite overwhelming to suddenly find you will be right at the heart of things, and that you will be the eyes and ears for a world without modern news media.

Alex  •  Link

Is there a certain amount of revenge here?

"...and so put me to writing of letters and other work that night till it was very late, he going to bed. I got him afterwards to sign things in bed."

tamara  •  Link

Pinckney
It would be interesting to know if this man is part of the same Pinckney family who became big plantation owners in I believe South Carolina--one of the daughters, Eliza Pinckney, was unusually talented and independent and built the plantation into a model farm and thriving business.

Susanna  •  Link

Pinckneys of South Carolina

There have been Pinckneys in South Carolina since the 1690s. (Eliza Lucas Pinckney, the innovator with indigo cultivation, married into the family, however. She was born in Antigua.) The family's great period was the early years of the republic, when Pinckneys signed the Constitution, served as ministers (ambassadors) to France and Spain, and ran for President.

I am told the famous Pinckneys from South Carolina descend from a family from Durham County in England. It's possible, I suppose, that there is a connection; if these Pinkneys are from that area, it is a bit more likely.

Emilio  •  Link

Pinckney
Charles Pinckney was the one who signed the Constitution, and he has the distinction of being the only Southern politician to have a street named after him in downtown Boston. It's a pricey residential street on Beacon Hill, and still preserves much of the original architecture from when it was built in the late 18th century.

Glyn  •  Link

"he was commanded to set sail presently for the King"

Finally! After waiting around for weeks, Montagu is told to get ready to set sail to the Continent.

But this being a government organization, everything has to happen immediately without being planned ahead after weeks of delay. So, Pepys has to work very late to get the paperwork ready when in a sensible organization things would have been done slowly and steadily. But perhaps that was impossible, and events are now happening very quickly.

Nigel Pond  •  Link

Quick note to Susanna on English English usage:

When we refer to counties in the UK, we usually use just the name of the county, so we would say "He is from Durham". Sometimes we use "county of..." as in "He is from the county of Durham". We do not use the US form "He is from Durham county".

Grahamt  •  Link

Counties:
In fact we would say County Durham, not county OF Durham. This usage is common in Ireland (County Antrim, County Clare, etc.) but not usually in England, apart from Durham. This may be because most English counties end in -shire, which means county, so it would be tautology to prefix a shire's name with County. Another reason is that Durham is both the town name and the county name, so prefixing with County differentiates the two. I can't think of any other non-shire counties where this is the case.

jeannine  •  Link

Sandwich's Journal Entry Today

Thursday. The ship Richard came into the Downs. The Earl of Winchelsea dined on board the Naseby. Sir John Grenville came on board the Naseby about ten of the clock at night. [In margin- Sir John Grenville came to me with a message from General Monck that the King's friends thought His Majesty's present repair to London was absolutely necessary, and therefore he wished me to sail and waft the King over as soon as I could. Accordingly I engaged my word to Sir John Grenville to do so, and sent him over in a ship to the other side to assure the King as much].

cumsalisgrano  •  Link

The Sexes fail to hail the word shire when called upon and it is the same for the other Saxon counties "so prefixing with County differentiates the two. I can't think of any other non-shire counties where this is the case."
So the result is that some will have shire in the title, others be called shire when addressed by legal papers, others be called County pre and post. For clarity the legal status of shire, county, needs a constitutional eager beaver to spell out the acceptable terms use in the courts of the land, other wise one rely on county cricket to define the name as some of the hundreds do not indulge in the sport.

Second Reading

Bill  •  Link

Mountagu is taking his pre-teen heir along on the big trip to pick up the King. Must be nice to be in charge.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Re "County" Durham. Perhaps the unique designation (in England) is because of Durham's special status, established by the Normans, as a county Palatine ruled by a prince-bishop? This continued until 1836. "County" derives from French "comté", whereas shire derives from the Anglo-Saxon "scir".

Robert Watson  •  Link

There are some distant relatives of mine with the surname Hoare: Pronounced in the same way as "whore" --- to rhyme with oar and bore. Of course the spelling was not Pepys's spelling, but the transcription from his phonetical shorthand.

Dick Wilson  •  Link

Count yourselves lucky, oh Ye of the Mother Country, that your counties have unique names. I live in Jefferson County, Kentucky. I hate to think how many Jefferson Counties there may be in other states. I would guess twenty, maybe thirty? Jefferson County Indiana is not far from here, so when the TV announces a tornado warning for Jefferson County, "Which One?" is a vital question. There are scores of Springfields and Lexingtons and Washingtons. I recall hearing of a British couple who bought airline tickets to "Panama City" in New York. They arrived in Panama City Florida aboard the last plane to land before a hurricane closed the airport.

mountebank  •  Link

My first post so I'll start briefly by saying many thanks for re-running the diary. It is simply tremendous.

In case it's not been mentioned, at 14.30 the Saturday afternoon play (today) on Radio 4 is Pepys: Fire of London. It's an adaptation by Hattie Naylor who is responsible for the excellent 15 Minute Dramas which have been running for several years. It will be available (depending on your apparent geographical origin) for 7 days from this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b…

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"John Maitland, Earl of Lauderdale, recently released from Windsor Castle"

Prisoners discharged.
A Letter from Colonel Whitchcot, from Windsor-Castle, 22d February 1659; and a Warrant of the 27th Day of November 1656, signed "He. Lawrence, President," directed to the Governor of Windsor-Castle, to receive into his Charge John Earl of Crawford Lindsey; and another Warrant, signed "He. Lawrence, President," dated the 17th of January 1656, directed to the Governor of Windsor-Castle, to take into his Charge the Body of John Lord Sinclare; and another Warrant, dated 14 January 1656, signed "Oliver P." to detain and keep under Imprisonment the Body of the Earl of Lauderdale; were read.

¶Ordered, That the Earl of Crawford Lindsey, the Earl of Lawderdale, and the Lord Sinclare, now Prisoners in Windsor Castle, shall be discharged of their Imprisonment, upon giving Security to the Council of State, to whom it is referred to take the same, not to act any thing prejudicial to this Commonwealth.
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…

When he left Windsor, Lauderdale was said to be so poor he couldn't afford a new pair of boots. Maybe he had to sell his books on Hebrew, etc. which he had been studying during captivity? I wonder who took him in. Maybe the families of his fellow captives? Maybe the Murrays at Ham House, Richmond? He's now travelling with the best of companions, Sir John Greville.

So begins 20 years of service to Charles II, and with it, more personal power than anyone other than the royals. That's not a spoiler because he had nothing to do with the Navy and little to do with Pepys, but when he does crop up, don't underestimate this member of the Privy Council.

MartinVT  •  Link

"presently"

I'm not peeking ahead, but I'm assuming that he is using presently to mean "soon," not "right now," and not necessarily tomorrow. But certainly this means all necessary final preparations are to be made. The arrival of Montague's son is a good indication. Also, if the King is choosing his embroiderer, preparations at his end must be down to the fine points, as well.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Mountagu is taking his pre-teen heir along on the big trip to pick up the King. Must be nice to be in charge."

There was a tradition of using heirs as pages, much in the way Pepys' boy is employed. Young Hinchingbrooke will be doing "go fetch" chores which would have to be done by an adult otherwise. He can sleep in the Admiral's quarters and won't need a bunk or private cabin. And yes, he'll meet Charles II and Princes James and Henry, and a lot of the incoming regime. It's sort of a dangerous Take Your Child To Work week or fortnight. Maybe he'll like being a sea Captain and take up the profession?

LKvM  •  Link

"Scheveningen, 'the best place and nearest where his Majesty is for such great shipps as ours are to ride in'"
To "ride" is to lie at an anchor, i.e., to be anchored. Montagu's large ship needed a certain amount of depth and space to ride, and the closest place to the king with those conditions was to be found at Schevening.

Eric the Bish  •  Link

I have worked on a flagship with the general and his staff on board. This all feels very familiar.

What a consummate Staff Officer, Samuel Pepys has turned out to be. A safe pair of hands who can be trusted with large volumes of correspondence, which will certainly not all be checked in detail before it is signed and sent out. And smaller matters, such as the ship for Pinckney and Saunderson, he deals with his own initiative. And he works until the job is done.

What he is not, apparently, is a Chief of Staff: the gatekeeper for access to, and authoritative spokesman for, his Principal. Have we had any indication as to who fulfils those necessary roles?

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