The Diary of Samuel Pepys

by Samuel Pepys

28th. We find the Duke of York and Sir W. Coventry gone this morning by two o'clock to Chatham, to come home to-night: and it is fine to observe how both the King and Duke of York have in their several late journeys to and again done them in the night for coolnesse. They tell me that the Duke of Buckingham hath surrendered himself to Secretary Morrice, and is going to the Tower. Mr. Fenn, at the table, says that he hath been taken by the watch two or three times of late, at unseasonable hours, but so disguised that they could not know him: and when I come home by and by, Mr. Lowther tells me that the Duke of Buckingham do dine publickly this day at Wadlow's, at the Sun Tavern; and is mighty merry, and sent word to the Lieutenant of the Tower that he would come to him as soon as he had dined. It is said that the King of France do make a sport of us now; and says, that he knows no reason why his cosen the King of England should not be as willing to let him have his kingdom, as that the Dutch should take it from him, Sir G. Carteret did tell me, that the business is done between him and my Lord Anglesy; that himself is to have the other's place of Deputy Treasurer of Ireland (which is a place of honour and great profit, being far better than the Treasurer's, my Lord of Corke's,) and to give the other his of Treasurer of the Navy; that the King, at his earnest entreaty, did with much unwillingness, but with owing of great obligations to him for his faithfulness and long service to him and his father, grant his desire. My Lord Chancellor, I perceive, is his friend in it; I remember I did in the morning tell Sir H. Cholmly of this business: and he answered me, he was sorry for it: for whatever Sir G. Carteret was, he is confident my Lord Anglesy is one of the greatest knaves in the world. Home, and then find my wife making of tea; a drink which Mr. Pelling, the Potticary, tells her is good for her cold and defluxions. To Sir W. Batten's to see how he did; and he is better than he was. He told me how Mrs Lowther had her train held up yesterday by her page at his house in the country which is ridiculous. Mr.Pelling told us the news of the town; how the officers of the Navy are cried out upon, and a great many greater men; but do think that I shall do well enough; and I think, if I have justice, I shall. We hear that the Dutch are gone down again; and, thanks be to God, the trouble they give us this second time is not very considerable!

30th. To Rochester about ten of the clock. At the landing-place I met my Lord Brouncker and my Lord Douglas, and all the officers of the soldiers in the town, waiting there for the Duke of York, whom they heard was coming. By and by comes my Lord Middleton, well mounted: he seems a fine soldier, and so every body says he is; and a man like my Lord Tiviott, and indeed most of the Scotch gentry (as I observe,) of few words. After seeing the boats come up from Chatham with them that rowed with bandeleeres about their shoulders, and muskets in their boats; they being the workmen of the Yard, who have promised to redeem their credit, lost by their deserting the service when the Dutch were there; I and Creed down by boat to Chatham yard. Thence to see the batteries made; which indeed are very fine, and guns placed so as one would think the River should be very secure. Here I was told that in all the late attempt there was but one man that they knew killed on shore; and that was a man that had laid upon his belly upon one of the hills on the other side of the River, to see the action; and a bullet come, and so he was killed. Thence by barge, it raining hard, down to the chaine; and in our way did see the sad wrackes of the poor "Royall Oake," "James," and "London;" and several other of our ships by us sunk, and several of the enemy's, whereof three men-of-war that they could not get off, and so burned. I do not see that Upner Castle hath received any hurt by them, though they played long against it; and they themselves shot till they had hardly a gun left upon the carriages, so badly provided they were: they have now made two batteries on that side, which will be very good, and do good service. So to the chaine, and there saw it fast at the end on Upner side of the River; very fast, and borne up upon the several stages across the River; and where it is broke nobody can tell me. I went on shore on Upner side to look upon the end of the chaine; and caused the link to be measured, and it was six inches and one-fourth in circumference. It seems very remarkable to me, and of great honour to the Dutch, that those of them that did go on shore to Gillingham, though they went in fear of their lives, and were some of them killed, and notwithstanding their provocation at Scelling, yet killed none of our people nor plundered their houses, but did take some things of easy carriage and left the rest, and not a house burned; and which is to our eternal disgrace, that; what my Lord Douglas's men, who come after them, found there, they plundered and took all away; and the watermen that carried us did further tell us, that our own soldiers are far more terrible to those people of the country- towns than the Dutch themselves. We were told at the batteries, upon my seeing of the field-guns that were there, that had they come a day sooner they had been able to have saved all; but they had no orders, and lay lingering upon the way. Several complaints, I hear, of the Monmouth's coming away too soon from the chaine, where she was placed with the two guard-ships to secure it; and Captain Robert Clerke, my friend, is blamed for so doing there, but I hear nothing of him at London about it; but Captain Brookes's running aground with the "Sancta Maria," which was one of the three ships that were ordered to be sunk to have dammed up the River at the chaine, is mightily cried against, and with reason. It is a strange thing to see, that while my Lords Douglas and Middleton do ride up and down upon single horses, my Lord Brouncker do go up and down with his hackney coach and six horses at the King's charge, and is not able to do so much good as a good boatswain in this business.

JULY 2, 1667. To the office, where W. Pen and myself and Sir T. Harvey met, the first time we have had a meeting since the coming of the Dutch upon this coast.

3rd. Sir Richard Ford tells us how he hath been at the Sessions- house, and there it is plain that there is a combination of rogues in the town that do make it their business to set houses on fire, and that one house they did set on fire in Aldersgate- street last Easter; and that this is proved by two young men, whom one of them debauched by degrees to steal their fathers' plate and clothes, and at last to be of their company. One of these boys is a son of a Montagu, of my Lord Manchester's family. To the Council-chamber, to deliver a letter to their Lordships about the state of the six merchantmen which we have been so long -fitting out. When I come, the King and the whole table full of Lords were hearing of a pitifull cause of a complaint of an old man with a great grey beard against his son, for not allowing him something to live on; and at last come to the ordering the son to allow his father 10l. a-year. This cause lasted them near two hours; which, methinks, at this time to be the work of the Council-board of England, is a scandalous thing. Here I find all the news is the enemy's landing 3000 men near Harwich, and attacking Landguard Fort, and being beat off thence with our great guns, killing some of their men, and they leaving their ladders behind them; but we had no horse in the way on Suffolke side, otherwise we might have galled their foot. The Duke of York is gone down thither this day, while the Generall sat sleeping this afternoon at the Council-table.

4th. To the Sessions-house, where I have a mind to hear Bazill Fielding's case tried; and so got up to the Bench, my Lord Chief- Justice Keeling [Sir John Keeling, Knight, King's Serjeant 1661, Chief Justice of the King's Bench 1665.] being Judge. Here I stood bare, not challenging, though I might well enough, to be covered. But here were several fine trials; among others, several brought in for making it their trade to set houses on fire merely to get plunder; and all proved by the two little boys spoken of yesterday by Sir R. Ford, who did give so good account of particulars that I never heard children in my life. One my Lady Montagu's (I know not what Lady Montagu) son, and the other of good condition, were playing in Moore-fields, and one rogue, Gabriel Holmes, did come to them and teach them to drink, and then to bring him plate and clothes from their fathers' houses: and this Gabriel Holmes did advise to have had two houses set on fire, one after another, that while they were quenching of one they might be burning another. The boys did swear against one of them, that he had made it his part to pull out the plug out of the engine while it was a-playing; and it really was so. Well, this fellow Holmes was found guilty of the act of burning the house, and other things that he stood indicted for. It was time very well spent to be here. Here I saw how favourable the Judge was to a young gentleman that struck one of the officers, for not making him room: told him he had endangered the loss of his hand, but that he hoped he had not struck him, and would suppose that he had not struck him. The Court then rose, and I to dinner with my Lord Mayor and Sheriffs; where a good dinner and good discourse, the Judge being there. There was also tried this morning Fielding (which I thought had been Bazill, but it proved the other, and Bazill was killed,) that killed his brother, who was found guilty of murder, and nobody pitied him. The Judge seems to be a worthy man, and able; and do intend for these rogues that burned this house to be hung in some conspicuous place in the town, for an example.

6th. Mr. Williamson told me that Mr. Coventry is coming over with a project of a peace; which, if the States agree to, and our King when their Ministers on both sides have showed it them, we shall agree, and that is all: but the King, I hear, do give it out plain that the peace is concluded. This day with great satisfaction I hear that my Lady Jemimah is brought to bed, at Hinchingbroke, of a boy [In 1681 created Baron Carteret of Hawnes, co. Bedford, in consideration of the eminent services rendered by his grandfather and father to Charles II.]

7th (Lord's day). Mr. Moor tells me that the discontented Parliament-men are fearful that the next sitting the King will try for a general excise by which to raise him money, and then to fling off the Parliament, and raise a land-army and keep them all down like slaves; and it is gotten among them that Bab. May, the Privy-purse, hath been heard to say that 300l. a-year is enough for any country-gentleman; which makes them mad, and they do talk of 6 or 800,000l. gone into the Privy-purse this war, when in King James's time it arose but to 5000l., and in King Charles's but 10,000l. in a year. He tells me that a goldsmith in town told him, that being with some plate with my Lady Castlemaine lately, she directed her woman (the great beauty,) "Willson," sayes she, "Make a note for this and for that to the Privy-purse for money." He tells me a little more of the basenesse of the courses taken at Court in the case of Mr. Moyer, who is at liberty, and is to give 500l. for his liberty; but now the great ones are divided who shall have the money, the Duke of Albemarle on one hand, and another Lord on the other; and that it is fain to be decided by having the person's name put into the King's warrant for his liberty, at whose intercession the King shall own that he is set at liberty: which is a most lamentable thing, that we do professedly own that we do these things, not for right and justice' sake, but only to gratify this or that person about the King. God forgive us all!

8th. Mr. Coventry is come from Bredah, as was expected; but, contrary to expectation, brings with him two or three articles which do not please the King: as to retrench the Act of Navigation, and then to ascertain what are contraband goods; and then that those exiled persons, who are or shall take refuge in their country, may be secure from any further prosecution. Whether these will be enough to break the Peace upon, or no, he cannot tell; but I perceive the certainty of peace is blown over. To Charing Cross, there to see the great boy and girle that are lately come out of Ireland, the latter eight, the former but four years old, of most prodigious bigness for their age. I tried to weigh them in my arms, and and them twice as heavy as people almost twice their age; and yet I am apt to believe they are very young. Their father a little sorry fellow, and their mother an old Irish woman. They have had four children of this bigness, and four of ordinary growth, whereof two of each are dead. If (as my Lord Ormond certifies) it be true that they are no older, it is very monstrous.

9th. This evening news comes for certain that the Dutch are with their fleet before Dover, and that it is expected they will attempt something there. The business of the peace is quite dashed again.

12th. The Duke of Buckingham was before the Council the other day, and there did carry it very submissively and pleasingly to the King; but to my Lord Arlington, who do prosecute the business, he was most bitter and sharp, and very slighting. As to the letter about his employing a man to cast the King's nativity, says he to the King, "Sir, this is none of my hand, and I refer it to your Majesty whether you do not know this hand." The King answered, that it was indeed none of his, and that he knew whose it was, but could not recall it presently. "Why," says he, "it is my sister of Richmond's, [Mary, daughter of George Villiers first Duke of Buckingham; married first, to Charles Lord Herbert; secondly, to James Duke of Richmond and Lenox; and thirdly, to Thomas Howard, brother to Charles Earl of Carlisle. She left no issue by any of her husbands.] some frolick or other of hers about some certain person: and there is nothing of the King's name in it, but it is only said to be his by supposition, as is said." The King, it seems, was not very much displeased with what the Duke had said; but however, he is still in the Tower, and no discourse of his being out in haste, though my Lady Caatlemaine hath so far solicited for him that the King and she are quite fallen out: he comes not to her, nor hath for some three or four days; and parted with very foul words, the King calling her a jade that meddled with things she had nothing to do with at all: and she calling him fool; and told him if he was not a fool he would not suffer his businesses to be carried on by fools that did not understand them, and cause his best subjects, and those best able to serve him, to be imprisoned; meaning the Duke of Buckingham. And it seems she was not only for his liberty, but to be restored to all his places; which, it is thought, he will never be. It was computed that the Parliament had given the King for this war only, besides all prizes, and besides the 200,000l. which he was to spend of his own revenue, to guard the sea above 5,000,000l. and odd 100,000l.; which is a most prodigious sum. It is strange how everybody do now-a-days reflect upon Oliver, and commend him, what brave things he did, and made all the neighbour princes fear him; while here a prince, come in with all the love and prayers and good liking of his people, who have given greater signs of loyalty and willingness to serve him with their estates that ever was done by any people, hath lost all so soon, that it is a miracle what way a man could devise to lose so much in so little time. Sir Thomas Crewe tells me how I am mightily in esteem with the Parliament; there being harangues made in the House to the Speaker, of Mr. Pepys's readiness and civility to show them everything.