The Diary of Samuel Pepys

by Samuel Pepys

3rd. Attended the Duke of York about the list of ships that we propose to sell: and here there attended Mr. Wren the first time, who hath not yet, I think, received the Duke of York's seal and papers. At our coming hither we found the Duke and Duchesse all alone at dinner, methought melancholy: or else I thought so, from the late occasion of the Chancellor's fall, who, they say, however, takes it very contentedly.

4th. By coach to White Hall to the Council-chamber; and there met with Sir W. Coventry going in, who took me aside, and told me that he was just come from delivering up his seal and papers to Mr. Wren; and told me he must now take his leave of me as a naval man, but that he shall always bear respect to his friends there, [The officers of the Navy.] and particularly to myself with great kindness; which I returned to him with thanks, and so with much kindness parted; and he into the Council. Staid and heard Alderman Barker's case of his being abused by the Council of Ireland, touching his lands there. All I observed there is the silliness of the King, playing with his dog all the while, and not minding the business; and what he said was mighty weak: but my Lord Keeper I observed to be a mighty able man. To the Duke of York's playhouse, and there saw "Mustapha;" which the more I see the more I like; and is a most admirable poem, and bravely acted; only both Betterton and Harris could not contain from laughing in the midst of a most serious part, from the ridiculous mistake of one of the men upon the stage; which I did not like. This morning was told by Sir W. Batten that he do hear from Mr. Grey, who hath good intelligence, that our Queene is to go into a nunnery there to spend her days; and that my Lady Castlemaine is going to France, and is to have a pension of 4000l. a-year. This latter I do more believe than the other, it being very wise in her to do it and save all she hath, besides easing the King and kingdom of a burden and reproach.

8th. Lord Brouncker says he do believe that my Lady Castlemaine is compounding with the King for a pension, and to leave the Court; but that her demands are mighty high: but he believes the King is resolved, and so do everybody else I speak with, to do all possible to please the Parliament; and he do declare that he will deliver every body up to give an account of their actions: and that last Friday, it seems, there was an Act of Council passed, to put out all Papists in office, and to keep out any from coming in. Sir G. Downing told he had been seven years finding out a man that could dress English sheep-akin as it should be; and indeed it is now as good in all respects as kidd; and, he says, will save 100,000l. a-year that goes out to France for kidds'-skins. He tells me that at this day the King in familiar talk do call the Chancellor "the insolent man," and says that he would not let him speak himself in Council: which is very high, and do show that the Chancellor is like to be in a bad state, unless he can defend himself better than people think. And yet Creed tells me that he do hear that my Lord Cornbury [Henry, afterwards second Earl of Clarendon.] do say that his father do long for the coming of the Parliament, in order to his own vindication, more than any one of his enemies. And here it comes into my head to set down what Mr. Rawlinson (whom I met in Fenchurch-street on Friday last looking over his ruines there) told me that he was told by one of my Lord Chancellor's gentlemen lately, that a grant coming to him to be sealed, wherein the King hath given my Lady Castlemaine, or somebody by her means, a place which he did not like well of, he did stop the grant; saying, that he thought this woman would sell every thing shortly: which she hearing of, she sent to let him know that she had disposed of this place, and did not doubt in a little time to dispose of his. To White Hall, and saw the King and Queene at dinner; and observed (which I never did before) the formality, but it is but a formality, of putting a bit of bread wiped upon each dish into the mouth of every man that brings a dish; but it should be in the sauce. Here were some Russes come to see the King at dinner; among others the interpreter, a comely Englishman, in the Envoy's own clothes; which the Envoy, it seems, in vanity did send to show his fine clothes upon this man's back, he being one, it seems, of a comelier presence than himself: and yet it is said that none of their clothes are their own, but taken out of the King's own Wardrobe; and which they dare not bring back dirty or spotted, but clean, or are in danger of being beaten, as they say: inasmuch that, Sir Charles Cotterell [Knight, and Master of the Ceremonies from 1641 to 1686, when he resigned in favour of his son.] says, when they are to have an audience they never venture to put on their clothes till he appears to come and fetch them; and as soon as ever they come home, put them off again. I to Sir G. Carteret's to dinner; where Mr. Cofferer Ashburnham; who told a good story of a prisoner's being condemned at Salisbury for a small matter. While he was on the bench with his father-in-law Judge Richardson, [Sir Thomas Richardson, Knight; appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas 1626.] and while they were considering to transport him to save his life, the fellow flung a great stone at the Judge, that missed him, but broke through the wainscoat. Upon this he had his hand cut off, and was hanged presently. [This anecdote is thus confirmed in Chief Justice Treby's NOTES TO DYER'S REPORTS, FOLIO EDITION, p.188. b. "Richardson, Ch. Just. de C. Banc. al Assises at Salisbury, in summer 1631, fuit assault per prisoner la condemne pur felony; que puis son condemnation ject un brick-bat a le dit Justice, qui narrowly mist; et pur ceo immediately fuit indictment drawn, per Noy, [The Attorney-General.] eavers le prisoner, et son dexter manus ampute, and fix at gibbet, sur que luy meme immediatement hange in presence de Court.">[

9th. To White Hall; and here do hear, by Tom Killigrew and Mr. Progers, that for certain news is come of Harman's having spoiled nineteen of twenty-two French ships, somewhere about the Barbadoes, I think they said; but wherever it is, it is a good service and very welcome. To the Bear-garden, where now the yard was full of people, and those most of them seamen, striving by force to get in. I got into the common pit; and there, with my cloak about my face, I stood and saw the prize fought, till one of them, a shoemaker, was so cut in both his wrists that he could not fight any longer, and then they broke off: his enemy was a butcher. The sport very good, and various humours to be seen among the rabble that is there.

10th. To St. James's, where we all met and did our usual weekly business with the Duke of York. But, Lord! methinks both he and we are mighty flat and dull to what we used to be when Sir W. Coventry was among us. Met Mr. Povy; and he and I to walk an hour or more in the Pell Mell, talking of the times. He tells me among other things, that this business of the Chancellor do breed a kind of inward distance between the King and the Duke of York, and that it cannot be avoided; for though the latter did at first move it through his folly, yet he is made to see that he is wounded by it, and is become much a less man than be was, and so will be: but he tells me that they are, and have always been, great dissemblers one towards another; and that their parting heretofore in France is never to be thoroughly reconciled between them. He tells me that he believes there is no such thing likely to be as a composition with my Lady Castlemaine, and that she shall be got out of the way before the Parliament comes; for he says she is high as ever she was, though he believes the King is as weary of her as is possible; and would give any thing to remove her, but he is so weak in his passion that he dare not do it: that he do believe that my Lord Chancellor will be doing some acts in the Parliament which shall render him popular; and that there are many people now do speak kindly of him that did not before; but that if he do do this, it must provoke the King and that party that removed him. He seems to doubt what the King of France will do, in case an accommodation shall be made between Spain and him for Flanders, for then he will have nothing more easy to do with his army than to subdue us.

11th. Come to dine with me Sir W. Batten and his lady, and Mr. Griffith their Ward, and Sir W. Pen and his lady, and Mrs. Lowther, (who is grown either through pride or want of manners a fool, having not a word to say; and, as a further mark of a beggarly proud fool, hath a bracelet of diamonds and rubies about her wrist, and a sixpenny necklace about her neck, and not one good rag of clothes upon her back;) and Sir John Chichly in their company, and Mr. Turner. Here I had an extraordinary good and handsome dinner for them, better than any of them deserve or understand (saving Sir John Chichly and Mrs. Turner.) To the Duke of York's playhouse, and there saw part of the "Ungrateful Lovers;" and sat by Beck Marshall, whose hand is very handsome. Here came Mr. Moore, and sat and discoursed with me of public matters: the sum of which is, that he do doubt that there is more at the bottom than the removal of the Chancellor; that is, he do verily believe that the King do resolve to declare the Duke of Monmouth legitimate, and that we shall soon see if. This I do not think the Duke of York will endure without blows; but his poverty, and being lessened by having the Chancellor fallen and Sir W. Coventry gone from him, will disable him from being able to do any thing almost, he being himself almost lost in the esteem of people; and will be more and more, unless my Lord Chancellor (who is already begun to be pitied by some people, and to be better thought of than was expected) do recover himself in Parliament. He do say that that is very true, that my Lord Chancellor did lately make some stop of some grants of 2000l. a-year to my Lord Grandison, [George Villiers, fourth Viscount Grandison, and younger brother of Lady Castlemaine's father, who had died without male issue.] which was only in his name, for the use of my Lady Castlemaine's children; and that this did incense her, and she did speak very scornful words and sent a scornful message to him about it.

14th. The King and Duke of York and the whole Court is mighty joyful at the Duchesse of York's being brought to bed this day, or yesterday, of a son; which will settle men's minds mightily. And Pierce tells me that he do think that what the King do, of giving the Duke of Monmouth the command of his Guards, and giving my Lord Gerard 12,000l. for it, is merely to find an employment for him upon which he may live, and not out of any design to bring him into any title to the Crowne; which Mr. Moore did the other day put me into great fear of. To the King's playhouse to see "The Northerne Castle," which I think I never did see, before. Knipp acted is it, and did her part very extraordinary well; but the play is but a mean, sorry play. Sir H. Cholmly was with me a good while; who tells me that the Duke of York's child is christened, the Duke of Albemarle and the Marquis of Worcester [Edward, second Marquis of Worcester, author of "The Century of Inventions.">[ godfathers, and my Lady Suffolke godmother; and they have named it Edgar, which is a brave name. But it seems they are more joyful in the Chancellor's family, at the birth of this Prince, than in wisdom they should, for fear it should give the King cause of jealousy. Sir H. Cholmly thinks there may possibly be some persons that would be glad to have the Queene removed to some monastery, or somewhere or other, to make room for a new wife; for they will all be unsafe under the Duke of York. He says the King and Parliament will agree; that is, that the King will do any thing that they will have him. I met with "a fourth Advice to the Painter upon the coming in of the Dutch to the River and end of the war," [In the Collection of Poems on Affairs of State, there are four pieces called "DIRECTIONS TO A PAINTER;" the first of them "CONCERNING THE DUTCH WAR, 1667, BY SIR JOHN DENHAM." The same book also contains "THE LAST INSTRUCTIONS TO A PAINTER ABOUT THE DUTCH WARS, BY ANDREW MARVEL, ESQ.," which from its severity I suppose to be the work here alluded to.] that made my heart ake to read, it being too sharp and so true. Here I also saw a printed account of the examinations taken touching the burning of the City of London, showing the plot of the Papists therein; which, it seems, hath been ordered to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman, in Westminster Palace. My wife and Mercer and I away to the King's playhouse, to see "The Scornfull Lady;" but it being now three o'clock there was not one soul in the pit; whereupon, for shame we could not go in, but, against our wills, went all to see "Tu quoque" again, where there was pretty store of company. Here we saw Madam Morland, [Sir Samuel Morland's first wife.] who is grown mighty fat, but is very comely. Thence to the King's house, upon a wager of mine with my wife that there would be no acting there to-day there being no company: so I went in and found a pretty good company there, and saw their dance at the end of the play.

18th. I walked in the Exchange; which is now made mighty pretty, by having windows and doors before all their shops, to keep out the cold.

20th. By coach to the King's playhouse, and there saw, "The Mad Couple," [Probably "A Mad Couple well Matched" a comedy by Richard Brome, printed in 1653.] my wife having been at the same play with Jane in the 18d. seat.

21st. The King, Duke of York, and the men of the Court have been these four or five days a-hunting at Bagshot.