Saturday 16 March 1666/67
Up, and to the office, where all the morning; at noon home to dinner, and then to the office again in the afternoon, and there all day very busy till night, and then, having done much business, home to supper, and so to bed. This afternoon come home Sir J. Minnes, who has been down, but with little purpose, to pay the ships below at the Nore. This evening, having done my letters, I did write out the heads of what I had prepared to speak to the King the other day at my Lord Treasurer’s, which I do think convenient to keep by me for future use. The weather is now grown warm again, after much cold; and it is observable that within these eight days I did see smoke remaining, coming out of some cellars, from the late great fire, now above six months since. There was this day at the office (as he is most days) Sir W. Warren, against whom I did manifestly plead, and heartily too, God forgive me! But the reason is because I do find that he do now wholly rely almost upon my Lord Bruncker, though I confess I have no greater ground of my leaving him than the confidence which I perceive he hath got in my Lord Bruncker, whose seeming favours only do obtain of him as much compensation as, I believe (for he do know well the way of using his bounties), as mine more real. Besides, my Lord and I being become antagonistic, I do not think it safe for me to trust myself in the hands of one whom I know to be a knave, and using all means to become gracious there.
10 Annotations
First Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
Brodrick to Ormond
Written from: [London]
Date: 16 March 1667
The merchant's letters, from Antwerp, speak, despairingly, of our Peace; and assuredly of an impression [meaning "an enterprise"] upon Flanders, this spring - as early as a "severe winter will allow" - "30,000 French being drawn to the frontier already." ...
... The Duke of York goes to Harwich on Tuesday; "all the Coast towns will be visited shortly, upon a just supposition the French or Dutch, or both may make descents in some open road, and harass [in MS.: "haraze"] the country." ...
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Arlington to Ormond
Written from: Whitehall
Date: 16 March 1667
All our applications to France will not prevail with them to suffer the Treaty to be made at the Hague; neither will they own credit enough with the Hollander to get Polcurone restored to us; which, though not in itself very valuable, is much so for having been one of the most professed causes of the War. ...
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/s…
cum salis grano • Link
No 'untin' phys'in' or playin' to-day.
"...and there all day very busy till night,..."
Robert Gertz • Link
"There was this day at the office (as he is most days) Sir W. Warren, against whom I did manifestly plead..."
Sir William's obviously not afraid to get his hands dirty in the pursuit of naval favors. Still, it's interesting...He liked to give Sam his "gifts" personally...Whereas some others have tended to leave that to underlings or have such things delivered (silver plate, etc), somewhat more in the modern fashion, though even today one can find some moguls who prefer the "personal" touch in their dealings and others who prefer to keep aloof. Of course that personal touch can have its drawbacks in that even the experienced man-of-the-world like our boy can feel a genuine friendship which if violated can lead to the feelings of bitterness and betrayal Sam is experiencing. Warren wooed him and won him, as a kind of surrogate father, and now, learning it was all just "business" hurts.
language hat • Link
"Lord Bruncker, whose seeming favours only do obtain of him as much compensation as, I believe (for he do know well the way of using his bounties), as mine more real."
I do not understand this; can anyone explicate "as mine more real"?
djc • Link
"as mine more real"
Pepys believes he offers Warren better value for money.
'as' is repeated after the clause in parens, possibly a transcription error, which confuses the sense a bit.
Brunckner will not be able to deliver what Warren (who knows the value of favours and gifts) expects. Whereas if he were to stick with the old firm...
Terry Foreman • Link
The L&M transcription lacks an "as" after "compensation."
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
"I did write out the heads of what I had prepared to speak to the King the other day at my Lord Treasurer’s, which I do think convenient to keep by me for future use."
L&M: 'I did write delivered in discourse to his Majesty March 14 1667...': copy (in Gibson's hand) in NMM, LBK /8, pp. 473-9; printed in Further Corr., pp. 162-7.
San Diego Sarah • Link
"France will not ... own credit enough with the Hollander to get Polcurone restored to us; which, though not in itself very valuable, is much so for having been one of the most professed causes of the War. ..."
This is a guess:
I think Arlington refers to Banda, in the Spice Islands, a cluster of 11 lush islands in eastern Indonesia from which the HEIC brought home nutmeg. The English and the Dutch had been fighting over this source of nutmeg since King James I's time. Nutmeg was a valuable spice; perhaps it was less important with the addition of chocolate and sugar, but nevertheless, Arlington's dismissal seems strange.
For background, see http://www.andreazuvich.com/book-…
Terry Foreman • Link
Another complementing source:
Banda English-Dutch rivalry 1600 on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban…
San Diego Sarah • Link
Thanks, Terry. Under GEORGRAPHY on your site it says:
"Pulau Run, further west again. In the 17th century, this island was involved in an exchange between the British and the Dutch: it was exchanged for the island of Manhattan in New York."
Pulau Run = Polcurone. (I love 17th century spelling.)
We have an encyclopedia page for Pulo Run ...
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…