Books: The Diary of Samuel Pepys

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21st. This day comes news from Harwich that the Dutch fleet are
all in sight, near 100 sail great and small, they think, coming
towards them; where, they think, they shall be able to oppose
them; but do cry out of the falling back of the seamen, few
standing by them, and those with much faintness. The like they
write from Portsmouth, and their letters this post are worth
reading. Sir H. Cholmly come to me this day, and tells me the
Court is as mad as ever; and that the night the Dutch burned our
ships the King did sup with my Lady Castlemaine, at the Duchesse
of Monmouth's, and there were all mad in hunting of a poor moth.
All the Court afraid of a Parliament; but he thinks nothing can
save us but the King's giving up all to a Parliament.

22nd. In the evening come Captain Hart and Hayward to me about
the six merchant-ships now taken up for men-of-war; and in
talking they told me about the taking of "The Royal Charles;"
that nothing but carelessness lost the ship, for they might have
saved her the very tide that the Dutch came up, if they would
have but used means and had had but boats; and that the want of
boats plainly lost all the other ships. That the Dutch did take
her with a boat of nine men, who found not a man on board her,
(and her laying so near them was a main temptation to them to
come on;) and presently a man went up and struck her flag and
jacke, and a trumpeter sounded upon her "Joan's placket is torn:"
[Placket: the open part of a woman's petticoat.] that they did
carry her down at a time, both for tides and wind, when the best
pilot in Chatham would not have undertaken it, they heeling her
on one side to make her draw little water: and so carried her
away safe. They being gone, by and by comes Sir W. Pen, who hath
been at Court; and in the first place I hear the Duke of
Cambridge is dead; which is a great loss to the nation, having, I
think, never an heyre male now of the King's or Duke's to succeed
to the Crown. He tells me that they do begin already to damn the
Dutch and call them cowards at White Hall, and think of them and
their business no better than they used to do; which is very sad.
The King did tell him himself, (which is so, I was told, here in
the City,) that the City hath lent him 10,000l. to be laid out
towards securing of the River of Thames; which, methinks, is a
very poor thing, that we should be induced to borrow by such mean
sums.

23rd. To Woolwich, and there called on Mr. Bodham: and he and I
to see the batterys newly raised; which, indeed, are good works
to command the River below the ships that are sunk, but not above
them. It is a sad sight to see so many good ships there sunk in
the River, while we would be thought to be masters of the sea.
Cocke says the bankers cannot, till peace returns, ever hope to
have credit again; so that they can pay no more money, but people
must be contented to take publick security such as they can give
them; and if so, and they do live to receive the money thereupon,
the bankers will be happy men, Fenn read me an Order of Council
passed the 17th instant, directing all the Treasurers of any part
of the King's revenue to make no payments but such as shall be
approved by the present Lords Commissioners; which will, I think,
spoil the credit of all his Majesty's service, when people cannot
depend upon payment any where. But the King's declaration in
behalf of the bankers, to make good their assignments for money,
is very good, and will, I hope, secure me. Cocke says, that he
hears it is come to it now that the King will try what he can
soon do for a peace; and if he cannot, that then he will cast all
upon the Parliament to do as they see fit: and in doing so,
perhaps, it may save us all. The King of France, it is believed,
is engaged for this year; so that we shall be safe as to him.
The great misery the City and kingdom is like to suffer for want
of coals in a little time is very visible, and, is feared, will
breed a mutiny; for we are not in any prospect to command the sea
for our colliers to come, but rather, it is feared, the Dutch may
go and burn all our colliers at Newcastle; though others do say
that they lie safe enough there. No news at all of late from
Bredagh what our treaters do. In the evening comes Mr. Povy
about business; and he and I to walk in the garden an hour or
two, and to talk of State matters. He tells me his opinion that
it is out of possibility for us to escape being undone, there
being nothing in our power to do that is necessary for the saving
us: a lazy Prince, no Council, no money, no reputation at home
or abroad. He says that to this day the King do follow the women
as much as ever he did; that the Duke of York hath not got Mrs.
Middleton, as I was told the other day: but says that he wants
not her, for he hath others, and hath always had, and that he
hath known them brought through the Matted Gallery at White Hall
into his closet; nay, he hath come out of his wife's bed, and
gone to others laid in bed for him: that Mr. Brouncker is not
the only pimp, but that the whole family are of the same strain,
and will do any thing to please him: that, besides the death of
the two Princes lately, the family is in horrible disorder by
being in debt by spending above 60,000l. per annum, when he hath
not 40,000l.: that the Duchesse is not only the proudest woman
in the world, but the most expensefull; and that the Duke of
York's marriage with her hath undone the kingdom, by making the
Chancellor so great above reach, who otherwise would have been
but an ordinary man to have been dealt with by other people; and
he would have been careful of managing things well, for fear of
being called to account; whereas now he is secure, and hath let
things run to rack, as they now appear. That at a certain time
Mr. Povy did carry him an account of the state of the Duke of
York's estate, showing in faithfullness how he spent more than
his estate would bear, by above 20,000l. per annum, and asked my
Lord's opinion of it; to which he answered, that no man that
loved the King or kingdom durst own the writing of that paper:
at which Povy was started, and reckoned himself undone for this
good service, and found it necessary then to show it to the Duke
of York's Commissioners; who read, examined, and approved of it,
so as to cause it to be put into form, and signed it, and gave it
to the Duke. Now the end of the Chancellor was, for fear that
his daughter's ill housewifery should be condemned. He tells me
that the other day, upon this ill news of the Dutch being upon
us, White Hall was shut up, and the Council called and sat close;
(and, by the way he do assure me, from the mouth of some Privy-
councillors, that at this day the Privy-council in general do
know no more what the state of the kingdom as to peace and war
is, than he or I; nor who manages it, nor upon whom it depends;)
and there my Lord Chancellor did make a speech to them, saying
that they knew well that he was no friend to the war from the
beginning, and therefore had concerned himself little in, nor
could say much to it; and a great deal of that kind to discharge
himself of the fault of the war. Upon which my Lord Anglesy rose
up and told his Majesty that he thought their coming now together
was not to enquire who was or was not the cause of the war, but
to enquire what was or could be done in the business of making a
peace, and in whose hands that was, and where it was stopped or
forwarded; and went on very highly to have all made open to them:
(and, by the way, I remember that Captain Cocke did the other day
tell me that this Lord Anglesy hath said within few days, that he
would willingly give 10,000l. of his estate that he was well
secured of the rest, such apprehensions he hath of the sequel of
things, as giving all over for lost.) He tells me, (speaking of
the horrid effeminacy of the King,) that the King hath taken ten
times more care and pains in making friends between my Lady
Castlemaine and Mrs. Stewart, when they have fallen out, than
ever he did to save his kingdom; nay, that upon any falling out
between my Lady Castlemaine's nurse and her women, my Lady hath
often said she would make the King to make them friends, and they
would be friends and be quiet; which the King hath been fain to
do: that the King is, at this day, every night in Hyde Park with
the Duchesse of Monmouth, or with my Lady Castlemaine: that he
is concerned of late by my Lord Arlington in the looking after
some buildings that he is about in Norfolke, [At Euston Hall in
Suffolk, on the borders of Norfolk.] where my Lord is laying out
a great deal of money; and that he (Mr. Povy,) considering the
unsafeness of laying out money at such a time as this, and,
besides, the enviousness of the particular county as well as all
the kingdom to find him building and employing workmen, while all
the ordinary people of the country are carried down to the sea-
sides for securing the land, he thought it becoming him to go to
my Lord Arlington (Sir Thomas Clifford by) and give it as his
advice to hold his hands a little; but my Lord would not, but
would have him go on, and so Sir Thomas Clifford advised also,
which one would think (if he were a statesman) should be a sign
of his foreseeing that all shall do well. He tells me that there
is not so great confidence between any two men of power in the
nation at this day, that he knows of, as between my Lord
Arlington and Sir Thomas Clifford; and that it arises by accident
only, there being no relation nor acquaintance between them, but
only Sir Thomas Clifford's coming to him and applying himself to
him for favours, when he came first up to town to be a
Parliament-man.

25th. Up, and with Sir W. Pen in his new chariot (which indeed
is plain, but pretty and more fashionable in shape than any coach
he hath, and yet do not cost him, harness and all, above 32l.) to
White Hall; where staid a very little: and thence to St. James's
to Sir W. Coventry, whom I have not seen since before the coming
of the Dutch into the River, nor did indeed know how well to go
to see him, for shame either to him or me, or both of us, to find
ourselves in so much misery. I find that he and his fellow-
Treasurers are in the utmost want of money, and do find fault
with Sir G. Carteret, that having kept the mystery of borrowing
money to himself so long, (to the ruin of the nation, as Sir W.
Coventry said in words to Sir W. Pen and me,) he should now lay
it aside and come to them for money for every penny he hath,
declaring that he can raise no more: which, I confess do appear
to me the most like ill-will of any thing that I have observed of
Sir W. Coventry, when he himself did tell us on another occasion
at the same time, that the bankers who used to furnish them money
are not able to lend a farthing, and he knows well enough that
that was all the mystery Sir G. Carteret did use, that is, only
his credit with them. He told us the masters and owners of two
ships that I had complained of, for not readily setting forth
their ships which we had taken up to make men-of-war, had been
yesterday with the King and Council, and had made their case so
well understood, that the King did owe them for what they had
earned the last year, and that they could not set them out again
without some money or stores out of the King's Yard; the latter
of which Sir W. Coventry said must be done, for that they were
not able to raise money for them, though it was but 200l. a ship:
which do show us our condition to be so bad, that I am in a total
despair of ever having the nation do well. After that talking
awhile, and all out of heart with stories of want of seamen, and
seamen's running away, and their demanding a month's advance, and
our being forced to give seamen 3s. a-day to go hence to work at
Chatham, and other things that show nothing but destruction upon
us; for it is certain that, as it now is, the seamen of England,
in my conscience, would, if they could, go over and serve the
King of France or Holland rather than us. Up to the Duke of York
to his chamber, where he seems to be pretty easy, and now and
then merry; but yet one may perceive in all their minds there is
something of trouble and care, and with good reason. Thence to
White Hall, with Sir W. Pen, by chariot; and there in the Court
met with my Lord Anglesy: and he to talk with Sir W. Pen, and
told him of the masters of ships being with the Council
yesterday, and that we were not in condition, though the men were
willing, to furnish them with 200l. of money (already due to them
as earned by them the last year) to enable them to set out their
ships again this year for the King: which he is amazed at; and
when I told him, "My Lord, this is a sad instance of the
condition we are in," he answered that it was so indeed, and
sighed; and so parted: and he up to the Council-chamber, where I
perceive they sit every morning. It is worth noting that the
King and Council in their order of the 23rd instant, for
unloading three merchant-ships taken up for the King's service
for men-of-war, do call the late coming of the Dutch "an
invasion." I was told yesterday, that Mr. Oldenburg, [Henry
Oldenburgh, Secretary to the Royal Society.] our Secretary at
Gresham College, is put into the Tower, for writing news to a
virtuoso in France, with whom he constantly corresponds in
philosophical matters; which makes it very unsafe at this time to
write, or almost do any thing. Several captains come to the
office yesterday and to-day, complaining that their men come and
go when they will, and will not be commanded, though they are
paid every night, or may be. Nay, this afternoon comes Harry
Russell from Gravesend, telling us that the money carried down
yesterday for the Chest at Chatham had like to have been seized
upon yesterday in the barge there by seamen, who did beat our
waterman: and what men should these be but the boats' crew of
Sir Fretcheville Hollis, who used to brag so much of the goodness
and order of his men, and his command over them? Sir H. Cholmly
tells me great news; that this day in Council the King hath
declared that he will call his Parliament in thirty days: which
is the best news I have heard a great while, and will, if any
thing, save the kingdom. How the King come to be advised to
this, I know not; but he tells me that it was against the Duke of
York's mind flatly, who did rather advise the King to raise money
as he pleased; and against the Chancellor's, who told the King
that Queene Elizabeth did do all her business in eighty-eight
without calling a Parliament, and so might he do for anything he
saw, But, blessed be God, it is done; and pray God it may hold,
though some of us must surely go to the pot, for all must be
flung up to them, or nothing will be done.

26th. The Parliament is ordered to meet the 25th of July being,
as they say, St. James's day; which every creature is glad of.
Colonel Reymes [Bullen Reymes, M.P. for Melcombe Regis.] tells me
of a letter come last night or the day before from my Lord St.
Albans out of France, wherein he says that the King of France did
lately fall out with him, giving him ill names, saying that he
had belied him to our King, by saying that he had promised to
assist our King, and to forward the peace; saying that indeed he
had offered to forward the peace at such a time, but it was not
accepted of, and so he thinks himself not obliged, and would do
what was fit for him; and so made him to go out of his sight in
great displeasure: and he hath given this account to the King,
which, Colonel Reymes tells me, puts them into new melancholy at
Court, and he believes hath forwarded the resolution of calling
the Parliament. At White Hall spied Mr. Povy, who tells me as a
great secret, which none knows but himself, that Sir G. Carteret
hath parted with his place of Treasurer of the Navy by consent to
my Lord Anglesy, and is to be Treasurer of Ireland in his stead;
but upon what terms it is, I know not: and that it is in his
power to bring me to as great a friendship and confidence in my
Lord Anglesy, as ever I was with Sir W. Coventry. Such is the
want already of coals, and the despair of having any supply, by
reason of the enemy's being abroad, and no fleet of ours to
secure them, that they are come this day to 5l. 10s. per
chaldron.

27th. Proclamations come out this day for the Parliament to meet
the 25th of next month: for which God be praised! And another to
invite seamen to bring in their complaints, of their being ill
used in the getting their tickets and money. Pierce tells me
that he hears for certain fresh at Court, that France and we
shall agree; and more, that yesterday was damned at the Council
the Canary Company; and also that my Lord Mordaunt hath laid down
his Commission. News this tide that about 80 sail of Dutch,
great and small, were seen coming up the River this morning; and
this tide some of them to the upper end of the Hope.

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.