The Diary of Samuel Pepys

by Samuel Pepys

22nd. At noon comes Mr. Sheres, whom I find a good, ingenious man, but do talk a little too much of his travels. He left my Lord Sandwich well, but in pain to be at home for want of money, which comes very hardly. I have indulged myself more in pleasure for these last two months than ever I did in my life before, since I came to be a person concerned in business; and I doubt, when I come to make up my accounts, I shall find it so by the expence.

23rd. At my Lord Ashly's by invitation to dine there. At table it is worth remembering that my Lord tells us that the House of Lords is the last appeal that a man can make upon a point of interpretation of the law, and that therein they are above the Judges; and that he did assert this in the Lords' House upon the late occasion of the quarrel between my Lord Bristoll and the Chancellor, when the former did accuse the latter of treason, and the Judges did bring it in not to be treason: my Lord Ashly did declare that the judgement of the Judges was nothing in the presence of their Lordships, but only as far as they were the properest men to bring precedents; but not to interpret the law to their Lordships, but only the inducements of their persuasions: and this the Lords did concur in. Another pretty thing was my Lady Ashly's speaking of the bad Qualities of glass- coaches; among others, the flying open of the doors upon any great shake: but another was, that my Lady Peterborough being in her glass-coach with the glass up, and seeing a lady pass by in a coach whom she would salute, the glass was so clear that she thought it had been open, and so ran her head through the glass! We were put into my Lord's room before he could come to us, and there had opportunity to look over his state of his accounts of the prizes; and there saw how bountiful the King hath been to several people: and hardly any man almost, commander of the Navy of any note, but hath had some reward or other out of them; and many sums to the Privy-purse, but not so many, I see, as I thought there had been: but we could not look quite through it, But several Bed-chambermen and people about the Court had good sums; and, among others, Sir John Minnes and Lord Brouncker have 200l. a-piece for looking to the East India prizes, while I did their work for them. By and by my Lord came, and we did look over Yeabsly's business a little; and I find how prettily this cunning lord can be partial and dissemble it in this case, being privy to the bribe he is to receive. With Sir H. Cholmly to Westminster; who by the way told me how merry the King and Duke of York and Court were the other day, when they were abroad a- hunting. They came to Sir G. Carteret's house at Cranbourne, and there were entertained, and all made drunk; and being all drunk, Armerer did come to the King, and swore to him by God, "Sir," says he, "you are not so kind to the Duke of York of late as you used to be."—"Not I?" says the King. "Why so?" "Why," says he, "if you are, let us drink his health." "Why let us," says the King. Then he fell on his knees and drank it; and having done, the King began to drink it. "Nay, Sir," says Armerer, by God you must do it on your knees!" So he did, and then all the company: and having done it, all fell a-crying for joy, being all maudlin and kissing one another, the King the Duke of York, and the Duke of York the King; and in such a maudlin pickle as never people were: and so passed the day. But Sir H. Cholmly tells me, that the King hath this good luck: that the next day he hates to have any body mention what he had done the day before, nor will suffer any body to gain upon him that way; which is a good quality. By and by comes Captain Cocke about business; who tells me that Mr. Brouncker is lost for ever, notwithstanding that my Lord Brouncker hath advised with him (Cocke) how he might make a peace with the Duke of York and Chancellor, upon promise of serving him in the Parliament: but Cocke says that is base to offer, and will have no success there. He says that Mr. Wren hath refused a present of Tom Wilson's for his place of Store- keeper at Chatham, and is resolved never to take any thing: which is both wise in him, and good to the King's service.

25th. With Sir H. Cholmly (who came to me about his business) to White Hall: and thither came also my Lord Brouncker. And we by and by called in, and our paper read; and much discourse thereon by Sir G. Carteret, my Lord Anglesy, Sir W. Coventry, and my Lord Ashly, and myself: but I could easily discern that they none of them understood the business; and the King at last ended it with saying lazily, "Why," says he, "after all this discourse I now come to understand it; and that is, that there can nothing be done in this more than is possible," (which was so silly as I never heard): "and therefore," says he, "I would have these gentlemen do as much as possible to hasten the Treasurer's accounts; and that is all." And so we broke up: and I confess I went away ashamed, to see how slightly things are advised upon there. Here I saw the Duke of Buckingham sit in Council again, where he was re-admitted, it seems, the last Council-day: and it is wonderful to see how this man is come again to his places, all of them, after the reproach and disgrace done him; so that things are done in a most foolish manner quite through. The Duke of Buckingham did second Sir W. Coventry in the advising the King that he would not concern himself in the evening or not evening any man's accounts, or any thing else, wherein he had not the same satisfaction that would satisfy the Parliament; saying, that nothing would displease the Parliament; more than to find him defending any thing that is not right nor justifiable to the utmost degree: but methought he spoke it but very poorly. After this I walked up and down the Gallery till noon: and here I met with Bishop Fuller, who, to my great joy, is made (which I did not hear before) Bishop of Lincolne. At noon I took coach, and to Sir G. Carteret's in Lincoln's-inn-fields, to the house that is my Lord's, which my Lord lets him have: and this is the first day of dining there. And there dined with him and his lady my Lord Privy-seale, [John Lord Roberts, afterwards Earl of Radnor, filled this office from 1661 to 1669.] who is indeed a very sober man: who, among other talk, did mightily wonder at the reason of the growth of the credit of bankers, (since it is so ordinary a thing for citizens to break out of knavery.) Upon this we had much discourse; and I observed therein, to the honour of this City, that I have not heard of one citizen of London broke in all this war, this plague, or this fire, and this coming up of the enemy among us; which he owned to be very considerable. I to the King's playhouse, my eyes being so bad since last night's straining of them that I am hardly able to see, besides the pain which I have in them. The play was a new play: and infinitely full; the King and all the Court almost there. It is "The Storme," a play of Fletcher's; which is but so-so, methinks; only there is a most admirable dance at the end, of the ladies, in a military manner, which indeed did please me mightily.

27th. Creed and Sheres come and dined with me; and we had a great deal of pretty discourse of the ceremoniousness of the Spaniards, whose ceremonies are so many and so known, that, he tells me, upon all occasions of joy or sorrow in a Grandee's family, my Lord Embassador is fain to send one with EN HORA BUENA (if it be upon a marriage or birth of a child), or a PESA ME, if it be upon the death of a child, or so. And these ceremonies are so set, and the words of the compliment, that he hath been sent from my Lord when he hath done no more than send in word to the Grandee that one was there from the Embassador; and he knowing what was his errand, that hath been enough, and he never spoken with him; nay, several Grandees having been to marry a daughter, have wrote letters to my Lord to give him notice, and out of the greatness of his wisdom to desire his advice, though people he never saw; and then my Lord he answers by commending the greatness of his discretion in making so good an alliance, &c. and so ends. He says that it is so far from dishonour to a man to give private revenge for an affront, that the contrary is a disgrace; they holding that he that receives an affront is not fit to appear in the sight of the world till he hath revenged himself; and therefore, that a gentleman there that receives an affront oftentimes never appears again in the world till he hath, by some private way or other, revenged himself: and that, on this account, several have followed their enemies privately to the Indys, thence to Italy, thence to France and back again, waiting for an opportunity to be revenged. He says my Lord was fain to keep a letter from the Duke of York to the Queene of Spain a great while in his hands, before he could think fit to deliver it, till he had learnt whether the Queene could receive it, it being directed to his cosen. He says that many ladies in Spain, after they are found to be with child, do never stir out of their beds or chambers till they are brought to bed: so ceremonious they are in that point also. He tells me of their wooing by serenades at the window, and that their friends do always make the match; but yet they have opportunities to meet at masse at church, and there they make love: that the Court there hath no dancing nor visits at night to see the King or Queene, but is always just like a cloyster, nobody stirring in it; that my Lord Sandwich wears a beard now, turned up in the Spanish manner. But that which pleases me most indeed is, that the peace which he hath made with Spain is now printed here, and is acknowledged by all the merchants to be the best peace that ever England had with them; and it appears that the King thinks it so, for this is printed before the ratification is gone over: whereas what with France and Holland was not in a good while after, till copys came over of it in English out of Holland and France, that it was a reproach not to have it printed here. This I am mighty glad of; and is the first and only piece of good news, or thing fit to be owned, that this nation hath done several years.

28th. All the morning at the office busy upon an Order of Council, wherein they are mightily at a loss what to advise about our discharging of seamen by ticket, there being no money to pay their wages before January. After dinner comes Sir Fr. Hollis to me about business; and I with him by coach to the Temple, and there I light; all the way he telling me romantic lies of himself and his family, how they have been Parliament-men for Grimsby, he and his forefathers, this 140 years; and his father is now: and himself, at this day, stands for to be with his father, [Jervas Hollis and Sir Frecheville Hollis represented Grimsby in 1669. —CHAMBERLAYNES'S ANTIQUAE NOTITIA.] by the death of his fellow burgess; and that he believes it will cost him as much as it did his predecessor, which was 300l. in ale, and 52l. in buttered ale; which I believe is one of his devilish lies.

30th. To the Duke of York to Council, where the officers of the Navy did attend; and my Lord Ashly did move that an assignment for money on the Act might be put into the hands of the East India Company, or City of London, which he thought the seamen would believe. But this my Lord Anglesy did very handsomely oppose, and I think did carry it that it will not be: and it is indeed a mean thing that the king should so far own his own want of credit as to borrow theirs in this manner. My Lord Anglesy told him that this was the way indeed to teach the Parliament to trust the King no more for the time to come, but to have a kingdom's Treasurer distinct from the King's.

October 1. To White Hall; and there in the Boarded Gallery did hear the musick with which the King is presented this night by Monsieur Grebus, the Master of his Musick: both instrumental (I think twenty-four violins) and vocall: an English song upon Peace. But, God forgive me! I never was so little pleased with a concert of music in my life. The manner of setting of words and repeating them out of order, and that with a number of voices, makes me sick, the whole design of vocall musick; being lost by it. Here was a great press of people; but I did not see many pleased with it, only the instrumental musick he had brought by practice to play very just.

3rd. To St. James's, where Sir W. Coventry took me into the Gallery and walked with me an hour, discoursing of Navy business, and with much kindness, to and confidence in me still; which I must endeavour to preserve, and will do. And, good man! all his care how to get the Navy paid off, and that all other things therein may go well. He gone, I thence to my Lady Peterborough, who sent for me: and with her an hour talking about her husband's pension, and how she hath got an order for its being paid again; though I believe, for all that order, it will hardly be; but of that I said nothing; but her design is to get it paid again: and how to raise money upon it to clear it from the engagement which lies upon it to some citizens, who lent her husband money (without her knowledge) upon it, to vast loss. She intends to force them to take their money again, and release her husband of those hard terms. The woman is a very wise woman, and is very plain in telling me how her plate and jewels are at pawne for money, and how they are forced to live beyond their estate, and do get nothing by his being a courtier. The lady I pity, and her family.

4th. To my Lord Crewe's, and there did stay with him an hour till almost night, discoursing about the ill state of my Lord Sandwich, that he can neither be got to be called home, nor money got to maintain him there; [In Spain.] which will ruin his family. And the truth is, he do almost deserve it, for by all relation he hath, in little more than a year and half, spent 20,000l. of the King's money, and the best part of 10,000l. of his own; which is a most prodigious expence, more than ever Embassador spent there, and more than these Commissioners of the Treasury will or do allow. And they demand an account before they will give him any more money; which puts all his friends to a loss what to answer. But more money we must get him, or to be called home. I offer to speak to Sir W. Coventry about it; but my Lord will not advise to it, without consent of Sir G. Carteret.

5th. Up, and to the office; and there all the morning; none but my Lord Anglesy and myself. But much surprized with the news of the death of Sir W. Batten, who died this morning, having been but two days sick. Sir W. Pen and I did dispatch a letter this morning to Sir W. Coventry, to recommend Colonell Middleton, who we think a most honest and understanding man, and fit for that place. Sir G. Carteret did also come this morning, and walked with me in the garden; and concluded not to concern or have any advice made to Sir W. Coventry in behalf of my Lord Sandwich's business: so I do rest satisfied, though I do think they are all mad, that they will judge Sir W. Coventry an enemy, when he is indeed no such man to any body, but is severe and just, as he ought to be, where he sees things ill done. To the King's house; and there going in met with Knipp, and she took us up into the tireing-rooms; and to the women's shift, where Nell was dressing herself, and was all unready, and is very pretty, prettier than I thought. And into the scene-room, and there sat down, and she gave us fruit: and here I read the questions to Knipp, while she answered me, through all her part of "Flora's Figarys," which was acted to-day. But, Lord! to see how they were both painted, would make a man mad, and did make me loath them; and what base company of men comes among them, and how lewdly they talk! And how poor the men are in clothes, and yet what a show they make on the stage by candle-light, is very observable. But to see how Nell cursed, for having so few people in the pit, was strange; the other house carrying away all the people at the new play, and is said now-a-days to have generally most company, as being better players. By and by into the pit, and there saw the play, which is pretty good.