Monday 1 April 1667

Up, and with Sir J. Minnes in his coach, set him down at the Treasurer’s Office in Broad-streete, and I in his coach to White Hall, and there had the good fortune to walk with Sir W. Coventry into the garden, and there read our melancholy letter to the Duke of York, which he likes. And so to talk: and he flatly owns that we must have a peace, for we cannot set out a fleete; and, to use his own words, he fears that we shall soon have enough of fighting in this new way, which we have thought on for this year. He bemoans the want of money, and discovers himself jealous that Sir G. Carteret do not look after, or concern himself for getting, money as he used to do, and did say it is true if Sir G. Carteret would only do his work, and my Lord Treasurer would do his own, Sir G. Carteret hath nothing to do to look after money, but if he will undertake my Lord Treasurer’s work to raise money of the Bankers, then people must expect that he will do it, and did further say, that he [Carteret] and my Lord Chancellor do at this very day labour all they can to villify this new way of raising money, and making it payable, as it now is, into the Exchequer; and expressly said that in pursuance hereof, my Lord Chancellor hath prevailed with the King, in the close of his last speech to the House, to say, that he did hope to see them come to give money as it used to be given, without so many provisos, meaning, as Sir W. Coventry says, this new method of the Act. While we were talking, there come Sir Thomas Allen with two ladies; one of which was Mrs. Rebecca Allen, that I knew heretofore, the clerk of the rope-yard’s daughter at Chatham, who, poor heart! come to desire favour for her husband, who is clapt up, being a Lieutenant [Jowles], for sending a challenge to his Captain, in the most saucy, base language that could be writ. I perceive [Sir] W. Coventry is wholly resolved to bring him to punishment; for, “bear with this,” says he, “and no discipline shall ever be expected.” She in this sad condition took no notice of me, nor I of her. So away we to the Duke of York, and there in his closett [Sir] W. Coventry and I delivered the letter, which the Duke of York made not much of, I thought, as to laying it to heart, as the matter deserved, but did promise to look after the getting of money for us, and I believe Sir W. Coventry will add what force he can to it. I did speak to [Sir] W. Coventry about Balty’s warrant, which is ready, and about being Deputy Treasurer, which he very readily and friendlily agreed to, at which I was glad, and so away and by coach back to Broad-streete to Sir G. Carteret’s, and there found my brother passing his accounts, which I helped till dinner, and dined there, and many good stories at dinner, among others about discoveries of murder, and Sir J. Minnes did tell of the discovery of his own great-grandfather’s murder, fifteen years after he was murdered. Thence, after dinner, home and by water to Redriffe, and walked (fine weather) to Deptford, and there did business and so back again, walked, and pleased with a jolly femme that I saw going and coming in the way, which je could avoir been contented pour avoir staid with if I could have gained acquaintance con elle, but at such times as these I am at a great loss, having not confidence, no alcune ready wit. So home and to the office, where late, and then home to supper and bed. This evening Mrs. Turner come to my office, and did walk an hour with me in the garden, telling me stories how Sir Edward Spragge hath lately made love to our neighbour, a widow, Mrs. Hollworthy, who is a woman of estate, and wit and spirit, and do contemn him the most, and sent him away with the greatest scorn in the world; she tells me also odd stories how the parish talks of Sir W. Pen’s family, how poorly they clothe their daughter so soon after marriage, and do say that Mr. Lowther was married once before, and some such thing there hath been, whatever the bottom of it is. But to think of the clatter they make with his coach, and his owne fine cloathes, and yet how meanly they live within doors, and nastily, and borrowing everything of neighbours is a most shitten thing.


16 Annotations

First Reading

language hat  •  Link

That one is well worth reading all the way to the end!

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"my Lord Chancellor hath prevailed with the King, in the close of his last speech to the House, to say, that he did hope to see them come to give money as it used to be given, without so many provisos"

King’s Speech.

“My Lords and Gentlemen,

“I thank you for this other Bill of Supply which you have given Me; and I assure you, the Money shall be laid out for the Ends it is given. I hope we shall live to have Bills of this Nature in the old Stile, with fewer Provisos.
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

L&M note the King was referring to the Eleven Months Tax which had appropriated supplies to the navy.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"Sir J. Minnes did tell of the discovery of his own great-grandfather’s murder, fifteen years after he was murdered."

Damnit, Sir John...Don't leave us (as well as our unknown killer) hanging now.

***
"...pleased with a jolly femme that I saw going and coming in the way, which je could avoir been contented pour avoir staid with if I could have gained acquaintance con elle, but at such times as these I am at a great loss, having not confidence, no alcune ready wit."

Heaven...

"Lord, that's for sure." Bess sighs. "I practically had to drag it out of you that day at the bookseller's in '55. It was only that you were such a forlornly love-sick pup that made me take pity. That and the way you couldn't shut up once I managed to get you talking."

"Bess...I'm grateful, of course...But this was not one of my better days as husband."

"Eh...I don't mind a little fantasy. If you only knew some of mine back then... What?"

"Not hearing this. Not hearing this."

***
Well, not many of us are Rupert Everett, Sam...And at that, he's gay.

cape henry  •  Link

"...he flatly owns that we must have a peace, for we cannot set out a fleete..."An amazing admission, when you consider the extraordinary implications, and also the resignation with which it is received by York.

Bradford  •  Link

Agreed, L.H.; and how succinctly Pepys crushingly condemns such nouveau riche trash!

cum salis grano  •  Link

oh! how to have the gift to see ourselves?
ye without blah thro the first stone?
'luverly' entree good for the digestion.

L. K. van Marjenhoff  •  Link

Admiral Penn married the Dutch daughter of a very rich Dutch merchant. She probably came with a very impressive dowry. That he clatters through the streets in an expensive coach is not surprising -- the seamen may be starving, eating their worthless tickets, but as an admiral he has his own good income (and for a man to blow a lot of money on ostentatious transporation? -- that's nothing new).

That his Dutch wife runs her household extremely frugally is also not surprising. For one thing, the Dutch have always been known for thrift. For another, one sure way to stay wealthy is to keep as much as you can of what you've already got, viz. two very wealthy men known for their miserliness, Howard Hughes and J. Paul Getty. Gloating over their money -- and the power it brings -- gives such people more pleasure than fine clothes or expensive entertaining.

While Lady Penn provides "mean" and "nasty" dinners, upstart Pepys flaunts his plate and eats high off the hog. While the Penn daughter is shabbily dressed, Pepys buys fancy clothes and struts his stuff in new mourning and periwig, making the grand show he so much enjoys.

To kick the discussion up a notch or two, profligate Charles II wastes English treasure at every turn, enriching his mistresses, ennobling his favorites with titles and land, and living every facet of his life lavishly. Meanwhile, his kingdom is at war with the Dutch and he can't afford to put out a fleet.

Hmm, what conclusions can be drawn here, and where will all this lead?

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Hard to say as to the Penns...Sam has had such an irrational hatred of Admiral Sir Will since Penn slapped him down that time over a contract. On the other hand, Sam has put such feelings aside to work with Penn at times and with his appreciation for the good life if Penn offered a good table, one would think Sam wouldn't let a little thing like bitter hatred stop him from enjoying it.

Yet we've seen Lady Penn is not without a light side, given that bed-bouncing incident...

JWB  •  Link

Twenty-five years ago that 'tailor's boy' who delivered the mourning clothes yesterday was Pepys and as such I suppose he had a dyed-in-the-wool, interested opinion on how folk should dress. Wonder if he tipped him?

arby  •  Link

"...nor I of her." Yeah.... right.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Parish gossip: "and do say that Mr. Lowther was married once before;"

L&M note his marriage license described him as a bachelor.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... and discovers himself jealous that Sir G. Carteret do not look after, or concern himself for getting, money as he used to do, ..."

Definition of jealous in Merriam Webster:

1: hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage : ENVIOUS
His success made his old friends jealous.
They were jealous of his success.
2a: intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness
jealous of the slightest interference in household management — Havelock Ellis
b: disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness
a jealous husband
3: vigilant in guarding a possession
new colonies were jealous of their new independence — Scott Buchanan

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

From Claire Tomalin's "Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self" pp 49-50 http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… "Sir George Carteret, … had official lodgings at Whitehall, a house in Pall Mall, another at Deptford and a country mansion near Windsor, and he was the highest paid, with L2,000 a year and the right to three pence in every pound he handled -- this was a remnant of the old way of doing things."

And today we see:
"... the Treasurer’s Office in Broad-streete, ..." and later "... and by coach back to Broad-streete to Sir G. Carteret’s, ..."
Was this another residence as well as an office? They served lunch, but no mention of Lady Carteret.

That three pence in every pound he handled was, of course, why he was so against the new way of collecting the money. "... he [Carteret] and my Lord Chancellor do at this very day labour all they can to villify this new way of raising money, and making it payable, as it now is, into the Exchequer".

He's going to have to shed a few houses.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

In 1667 Pepys refers to bankers quite a few times. But in no other year in the Diary.

Do not be confused. There were no banks. Think someone more like a money lender. Very important people when cash is king. But it is curious that this word was only used in one year.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Curious. keen observation SDS. . These were, of course, 'goldsmith bankers':

A goldsmith banker was a business role that emerged in seventeenth century London from the London goldsmiths where they gradually expanded their services to include storage of wealth, providing loans, transferring money and providing bills of exchange that would lead to the development of cheques. Some of the concepts were brought over from Amsterdam where goldsmiths would provide gold storage and issue chits that started to be used as a means of exchange. The goldsmith banker became a key development in the history of banking that would lead to modern banking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gol…

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