Sunday 11 April 1669

(Lord’s day. Easter day). Up, and to Church; where Alderman Backewell’s wife, and mother, and boy, and another gentlewoman, did come, and sit in our pew; but no women of our own there, and so there was room enough. Our Parson made a dull sermon, and so home to dinner; and, after dinner, my wife and I out by coach, and Balty with us, to Loton, the landscape-drawer, a Dutchman, living in St. James’s Market, but there saw no good pictures. But by accident he did direct us to a painter that was then in the house with him, a Dutchman, newly come over, one Evarelst, who took us to his lodging close by, and did shew us a little flower-pot of his doing, the finest thing that ever, I think, I saw in my life; the drops of dew hanging on the leaves, so as I was forced, again and again, to put my finger to it, to feel whether my eyes were deceived or no. He do ask 70l. for it: I had the vanity to bid him 20l.; but a better picture I never saw in my whole life; and it is worth going twenty miles to see it. Thence, leaving Balty there, I took my wife to St. James’s, and there carried her to the Queen’s Chapel, the first time I ever did it; and heard excellent musick, but not so good as by accident I did hear there yesterday, as I went through the Park from White Hall to see Sir W. Coventry, which I have forgot to set down in my journal yesterday. And going out of the Chapel, I did see the Prince of Tuscany come out, a comely, black, fat man, in a mourning suit; and my wife and I did see him this afternoon through a window in this Chapel. All that Sir W. Coventry yesterday did tell me new was, that the King would not yet give him leave to come to kiss his hand; and he do believe that he will not in a great while do it, till those about him shall see fit, which I am sorry for.

Thence to the Park, my wife and I; and here Sir W. Coventry did first see me and my wife in a coach of our own; and so did also this night the Duke of York, who did eye my wife mightily. But I begin to doubt that my being so much seen in my own coach at this time, may be observed to my prejudice; but I must venture it now. So home, and by night home, and so to my office, and there set down my journal, with the help of my left eye through my tube, for fourteen days’ past; which is so much, as, I hope, I shall not run in arrear again, but the badness of my eyes do force me to it.

So home to supper and to bed.


19 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"But I begin to doubt that my being so much seen in my own coach at this time, may be observed to my prejudice...."

"doubt" = fear

Robert Gertz  •  Link

"...here Sir W. Coventry did first see me and my wife in a coach of our own; and so did also this night the Duke of York, who did eye my wife mightily."

Oh, the potentially glorious irony...Well, lets hope Bess at least had the fun of being aware of it before Heaven.

Heaven...

"What do you mean the Duke is calling on you for a play tonight...Alone? Bess?"

"It's Heaven, Sam'l...Don't worry."

"Still doesn't feel right...And you're obviously enjoying making me squirm...How can this be Heaven?"
Knock...

"Mrs. Pepys?"

"Hello...Boys..."

"Wait...Is that Pembleton too?"

"Hello, Mr. P. How went your dancing?" Pembleton, beaming.

Pepys...James, offhand...

"Now I know this can't be Heaven..." Sam, sighing...

"Well, Heaven for me, Sam'l...You're only here on my probation."

***

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"a little flower-pot of his doing, the finest thing that ever, I think, I saw in my life; the drops of dew hanging on the leaves, so as I was forced, again and again, to put my finger to it, to feel whether my eyes were deceived or no. "

Vase of Flowers, 1669 Reproduction
by Verelst
http://www.oil-painting-reproduct…

(There may be better examples showing what attracted Pepys's notice.)

Paul Chapin  •  Link

I trust that future readers will realize that contra the rollover and link for "Our Parson," that person (parson?) was Daniel Milles, not Anthony Deane.

Phil Gyford  •  Link

Whoops, I don't know what I was doing there - Daniel Milles is restored.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"I did see the Prince of Tuscany come out, a comely, black, fat man, in a mourning suit;"

L&M note on the 9th he had gone into mourning for his grandmother, the late Grand-Duchess Maria Maddalena http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch… widow of Cosimo II d'Medici of Tuscany and sister of the Emperor Ferdinand II.

Australian Susan  •  Link

Thanks for the link, TF, to that particular painting. It was only when I saw it that I remembered my grandmother had a print of that - took me right back to being around 8! I loved the print - the original must have been stunning, especially in an age before photography.

GrahamT  •  Link

Having seen some of Simon Verelst's flower paintings close up in the Ashmolean, Oxford, (http://www.ashmolean.org/php/make…) I can attest to their lifelike qualities. However, any attempt to touch a dew drop would have seen me frog-marched to the nearest police station.

Andrew Hamilton  •  Link

I envy Sam holding a newly painted Verelst still life in his hands. What a treat!

Mary  •  Link

A newly painted Vereist.

Indeed. A newly put-together Tracey Emin wouldn't have quite the same appeal, I find.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"set down my journal, with the help of my left eye through my tube, for fourteen days’ past; which is so much, as, I hope, I shall not run in arrear again, but the badness of my eyes do force me to it."

For the effects of "the badness of [his] eyes on the shorthand MS., see http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Thence, leaving Balty there, I took my wife to St. James’s, and there carried her to the Queen’s Chapel, the first time I ever did it;"

L&M:> Perhaps because the services were Roman Catholic.

Liz  •  Link

I do envy SP’s ability to remember the details of the past 14 days. I have trouble remembering what day of the week it is!

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I suspect, Liz, that you are experiencing something that is going to get "worse" over time ... we all rely on Google to tell us a fact or an address ... we have calendars popping up to tell us what to do next ... we have replaced our memories with electronic prompts so that the memory part of our brains are not being exercised very much. Our children are not expected to learn facts, they learn how to collaboratively research and solve problems. This brave new world is changing our programming. Then add in getting older ... whether or not "worse" is the right word I won't live to know. Maybe not remembering so much will be a blessing.

LKvM  •  Link

" . . . the Duke of York, who did eye my wife mightily."
We all know Elizabeth was a great beauty and she must have been ogled by many, many more men than just the Duke of York, not to mention that the Earl of Sandwich had made an indecent proposal to her through an intermediary, asking if she'd become his mistress, to which she replied no.
I think the reason she became so depressed and furious and depressed when she discovered Sam's moves on Deb is that she was thinking, "Here I've been a good wife, I resisted all these attractive, rich, dashing men and remained faithful when I was so much sought-after, and for what? To catch him in the act of attempting to seduce my maid!"
And she couldn't forgive him because she regretted that she had wasted a lot of opportunities for romance.

Scube  •  Link

Another "dull sermon." I wonder how many dull sermons Sam recorded in his journal? Seems like the great majority did not meet his standards. Always fun when Sam gives a sermon a rave review!

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"And going out of the Chapel, I did see the Prince of Tuscany come out, a comely, black, fat man, in a mourning suit; and my wife and I did see him this afternoon through a window in this Chapel."

Cosmo, the future Grand Duke of Turin, visited St. James's Palace for Easter Services today. He's staying at the Earl of St. Alban's house in St. James's Square.

I've standardized the spelling of names I know, corrected the scanning errors I could figure out, and increased the number of paragraphs. Sometimes I got confused making the N.S./O.S. date conversions, so I apologize if they are wrong:

172

On 11/21 April, 1669 being Easter day, the altar being arranged in the room set apart as a chapel, and suitably ornamented, and everything which was necessary for the service being prepared beforehand, his highness heard mass, and at the conclusion of it, communicated, and after his highness, all his family.

This act of devotion being over, his highness went immediately to St. James's, to his usual post, and heard mass sung; at which, in the public church, before the high altar, the queen received the communion with her Catholic servants.

At the end of the service, Signor Dante went to arrange an audience with her majesty, and it was fixed for the same day at 3 o'clock.

In the meantime, his highness returned home, and began this day to keep an open table, which was served with the most exquisite and royal munificence, by the care of the Marquis Philip Corsini, his highness's carver.

There were present, my Lord Robert Bertie, Earl of Lindsey, grand chamberlain of the kingdom of England (which dignity, after the reign of Henry I, was for a long time possessed hereditarily by the Earls of Oxford, and has now passed, by right of succession, to the Earl of Lindsey, as being descended from a daughter who was heiress of all the honors of the family); my Lord John Granville, Earl of Bath, first gentleman of the bed-chamber to the king; my Lord William Petre, Baron Petre; my Lord Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham; and Major Freeman.

173

After dinner, at the appointed hour, his highness went to his audience of the queen, in the same form as had been observed on Wednesday at that of the king, and was conducted to it from the apartments of Sir William Killigrew, vice-chamberlain.

Her majesty received him in her bedchamber, in which were some few ladies of honor, and the king himself. They conversed near an hour, and afterwards walked in St. James's Park, whence they returned home, as night was now coming on.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

PART 2

This same evening, two gentlemen of his highness's retinue went to pay their respects to her majesty the queen, who, following the example of the king, did not permit them to kiss her hand.

@@@

From:
TRAVELS OF COSMO THE THIRD, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY,
THROUGH ENGLAND,
DURING THE REIGN OF KING CHARLES THE SECOND (1669)
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN MANUSCRIPT
https://archive.org/stream/travel…

His highness, Cosmo, must be considered only as a traveler. Under his direction, the narrator of the records was Count Lorenzo Magalotti, afterwards Secretary to the Academy del Cimento, and one of the most learned and eminent characters of the court of Ferdinand II.

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