Books: The Diary of Samuel Pepys

S >> Samuel Pepys >> The Diary of Samuel Pepys

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76

28th. All the morning close to draw up a letter to Sir W.
Coventry upon the tidings of peace, taking occasion (before I am
forced to it) to resign up to his Royall Highness my place of the
Victualling, and to recommend myself to him by promise of doing
my utmost to improve this peace in the best manner we may, to
save the kingdom from ruin.

29th. Up, and with Sir W. Batten to St. James's, to Sir W.
Coventry's chamber; where, among other things, he came to me and
told me that he had received my yesterday's letters, and that we
concurred very well in our notions; and that as to my place which
I had offered to resign of the Victualling, he had drawn up a
letter at the same time for the Duke of York's signing for the
like places in general raised during this war; and that he had
done me right to the Duke of York, to let him know that I had of
my own accord offered to resign mine. The letter do bid us to do
all things, particularizing several, for the laying up of the
ships and easing the King of charge; so that the war is now
professedly over. By and by up to the Duke of York's chamber;
and there all the talk was about Jordan's coming with so much
indiscretion, with his four little frigates and sixteen fire-
ships from Harwich, to annoy the enemy. His failures were of
several sorts, I know not which the truest: that he came with so
strong a gale of wind that his grapplings would not hold; that he
did come by their lee, whereas if he had come athwart their
hawse, they would have held; that they did not stop a tide, and
ebb up with a windward tide, and then they would have come so
fast. Now there happened to be Captain Jenifer by, who commanded
the Lily in this business, and thus says: that finding the Dutch
not so many as they expected, they did not know that there were
more of them above, and so were not so earnest to the setting
upon these; that they did do what they could to make the fire-
ships fall in among the enemy; and for their lives Sir J. Jordan
nor others could, by shooting several times at them, make them go
in: and it seems they were commanded by some idle fellows, such
as they could of a sudden gather up at Harwich; which is a sad
consideration, that at such a time as this, where the saving the
reputation of the whole nation lay at stake, and after so long a
war, the King had not credit to gather a few able men to command
these vessels. He says, that if they had come up slower, the
enemy would (with their boats and their great sloops, which they
have to row with a great many men,) and did come and cut up
several of our fire-ships, and would certainly have taken most of
them, for they do come with a great provision of these boats on
purpose, and to save their men, which is bravely done of them,
though they did on this very occasion show great fear, as they
say, by some men leaping overboard out of a great ship (as these
were all of them of sixty and seventy guns a-piece) which one of
our fire-ships laid on board, though the fire did not take. But
yet it is brave to see what care they do take to encourage their
men to provide great stores of boats to save them, while we have
not credit to find one boat for a ship. And further, he told us
that this new way used by Deane (and this Sir W. Coventry
observed several times) of preparing of fire-ships do not do the
work; for the fire not being strong and quick enough to flame up,
so as to take the rigging and sails, lies smothering a great
while, half an hour before it flames, in which time they can get
the fire-ship off safely, though (which is uncertain, and did
fail in one or two this bout) it do serve to burn our own ships.
But what a shame it is to consider how two of our ships'
companies did desert their ships for fear of being taken by their
boats, our little frigates being forced to leave them, being
chased by their greater! And one more company did set their ship
on fire, and leave her; which afterwards a Feversham fisherman
came up to, and put out the fire, and carried safe into
Feversham, where she now is. Which was observed by the Duke of
York, and all the company with him, that it was only want of
courage, and a general dismay and abjectness of spirit upon all
our men; and others did observe our ill management, and God
Almighty's curse upon all that we have in hand, for never such an
opportunity was of destroying so many good ships of theirs as we
now had. But to see how negligent we were in this business, that
our fleet of Jordan's should not have any notice where: Spragg
was, nor Spragg of Jordan's so as to be able to meet and join in
the business, and help one another; but Jordan, when he saw
Spragg's fleet above, did think them to be another part of the
enemy's fleet! while, on the other side, notwithstanding our
people at Court made such a secret of Jordan's design that nobody
must know it, and even this office itself must not know it; nor
for my part; I did not, though Sir W. Batten says by others'
discourse to him he had heard something of it; yet De Ruyter (or
he that commanded this fleet) had notice of it, and told it to a
fisherman of ours that he took and released on Thursday last,
which was the day before our fleet came to him. But then, that
that seems most to our disgrace, and which the Duke of York did
take special and vehement notice of, is, that when the Dutch saw
so many fire-ships provided for them, themselves lying, I think,
about the Nore, they did with all their great ships, with a
North-east wind, (as I take it they said, but whatever it was, it
was a wind that we should not have done it with,) turn down to
the Middle-ground; which, the Duke of York observed, never was
nor would have been undertaken by ourselves. And whereas some of
the company answered, it was their great fear, not their choice,
that made them do it, the Duke of York answered, that it was, it
maybe, their fear and wisdom that made them do it; but yet their
fear did not make them mistake, as we should have done, when we
have had no fear upon us, and have run our ships on ground. And
this brought it into my mind, that they managed their retreat
down this difficult passage, with all their fear, better than we
could do ourselves in the main sea, when the Duke of Albemarle
ran away from the Dutch, when the Prince was lost, and the Royal
Charles and the other great ships came on ground upon the
Galloper. Thus in all things, in wisdom, courage, force,
knowledge of our own streams, and success, the Dutch have the
best of us, and do end the war with victory on their side. One
thing extraordinary was this day: a man, a Quaker, came naked
through the Hall, only very civilly tied about the loins to avoid
scandal, and with a chafing-dish of fire and brimstone burning
upon his head, did pass through the Hall, crying "Repent!
repent!" Presently comes down the House of Commons, the King
having made a very short and no pleasing speech to them at all,
not at all giving them thanks for their readiness to come up to
town at this busy time; but told them that he did think he should
have had occasion for them, but had none, and therefore did
dismiss them to look after their own occasions till October; and
that he did wonder any should offer to bring in a suspicion that
he intended to rule by an army, or otherwise than by the laws of
the land, which he promised them he would do; and so bade them go
home and settle the minds of the country in that particular; and
only added, that; he had made a peace which be did believe they
would find reasonable, and a good peace, but did give them none
of the particulars thereof. Thus they are dismissed again to
their general great distaste, I believe the greatest that ever
Parliament was, to see themselves so fooled, and the nation in
certain condition of ruin, while the King, they see, is only
governed by his lust, and women, and rogues about him. The
Speaker, they found, was kept from coming in the morning to the
House on purpose till after the King was come to the House of
Lords, for fear they should be doing any thing in the House of
Commons to the further dissatisfaction of the King and his
courtiers. They do all give up the kingdom for lost, that I
speak to; and do hear what the King says, how he and the Duke of
York do do what they can to get up an army, that they may need no
more Parliaments: and how my Lady Castlemaine hath, before the
last breach between her and the King, said to the King, that he
must rule by an army, or all would be lost. I am told that many
petitions were provided for the Parliament, complaining of the
wrongs they have received from the Court and courtiers, in city
and country, if the Parliament had but sat: and I do perceive
they all do resolve to have a good account of the money spent
before ever they give a farthing more; and the whole kingdom is
every where sensible of their being abused, insomuch that they
forced their Parliament-men to come up to sit; and my cozen Roger
told me that (but that was in mirth) he believed, if he had not
come up he should have had his house burned. The kingdom never
in so troubled a condition in this world as now; nobody pleased
with the peace, and yet nobody daring to wish for the continuance
of the war, it being plain that nothing do nor can thrive under
us. Here I saw old good Mr. Vaughan, and several of the great
men of the Commons, and some of them old men, that are come 200
miles and more to attend this session of Parliament; and have
been at great charge and disappointments in their other private
business; and now all to no purpose, neither to serve their
country, content themselves, nor receive any thanks from the
King. It is verily expected by many of them that the King will
continue the prorogation in October, so as, if it be possible,
never to have this Parliament more. My Lord Bristoll took his
place in the House of Lords this day, but not in his robes; and
when the King came in he withdrew: but my Lord of Buckingham was
there as brisk as ever, and sat in his robes; which is a
monstrous thing, that a man should be proclaimed against, and put
in the Tower, and released without any trial, and yet not
restored to his places. But above all, I saw my Lord Mordaunt
[Vide note Nov. 26, 1666.] as merry as the best, that it seems
hath done such further indignities to Mr. Taylor since the last
sitting of Parliament as would hang him, if there were nothing
else, would the King do what were fit for him; but nothing of
that is now likely to be. Cozen Roger and Creed to dinner with
me, and very merry: but among other things they told me of the
strange, bold sermon of Dr. Creeton [Probably Robert Creyghton of
Trin. Col. Cambridge, A.M. 1662. Ling. Graec. Prof. Reg.
1672-3.] yesterday before the King; how he preached against the
sins of the Court, and particularly against adultery, over and
over instancing how for that single sin in David the whole nation
was undone; and of our negligence in having our castles without
ammunition and powder when the Dutch came upon us; and how we
have no courage now-a-days, but let our ships be taken out of our
harbour. Here Creed did tell us the story of the duell last
night, in Covent-garden, between Sir H. Bellasses and Tom Porter.
It is worth remembering the silliness of the quarrel, and is a
kind of emblem of the general complexion of this whole kingdom at
present. They two dined yesterday at Sir Robert Carr's [M.P.
Knight and Baronet, of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, and one of the
proposed knights of the Royal Oak for that county.] where it
seems people do drink high, all that come. It happened that
these two, the greatest friends in the world, were talking
together: and Sir H. Bellasses talked a little louder than
ordinary to Tom Porter, giving of him some advice. Some of the
company standing by said, "What! are they quarrelling, that they
talk so high?" Sir H. Bellasses hearing it, said, "No!" says
he: "I would have you know I never quarrel, but I strike; and
take that as a rule of mine!" "How?" says Tom Porter, "strike! I
would I could see the man in England that durst give me a blow!"
with that Sir H. Bellasses did give him a box of the ears; and so
they were going to fight there, but were hindered. And by and by
Tom Porter went out, and meeting Dryden the poet, told him of the
business, and that he was resolved to fight Sir H. Bellasses
presently; for he knew, if he did not, they should be friends
to-morrow, and then the blow would rest upon him; which he would
prevent, and desired Dryden to let him have his boy to bring him
notice which way Sir H. Bellasses goes. By and by he is informed
that Sir H. Bellasses's coach was coming: so Tom Porter went
down out of the Coffee-house where he stayed for the tidings, and
stopped the coach, and bade Sir H. Bellasses come out. "Why,"
says H. Bellasses, "you will not hurt me coming out-will you?"
"No," says Tom Porter, So out he went, and both drew: and H.
Bellasses having drawn and flung away his scabbard, Tom Porter
asked him whether he was ready? The other answering him he was,
they fell to fight, some of their acquaintance by. They wounded
one another, and H. Bellasses so much that it is feared he will
die: and finding himself severely wounded, he called to Tom
Porter, and kissed him and bade him shift for himself; "for,"
says he, "Tom, thou hast hurt me; but I will make shift to stand
upon my legs till thou mayest withdraw, and the world not take
notice of you, for I would not have thee troubled for what thou
hast done." And so whether he did fly or no I cannot tell; but
Tom Porter showed H. Bellasses that he was wounded too: and they
are both ill, but H. Bellasses to fear of life. And this is a
fine example; and H. Bellasses a Parliament-man too, and both of
them extraordinary friends! Among other discourse my cosen Roger
told us a thing certain, that my Lady Castlemaine hath made a
Bishop lately, namely, her uncle Dr. Glenham, [Henry Glenham,
D.D., was Dean of Bristol, 1661; but, I believe, never raised to
the Bench.] who, I think they say, is Bishop of Carlisle; a
drunken, swearing rascal, and a scandal to the Church; and do now
pretend to be Bishop of Lincoln, in competition with Dr. Raynbow,
[Dr. Rainbow was Bishop of Carlisle from 1664 to 1684.] who is
reckoned as worthy a man as most in the Church for piety and
learning: which are things so scandalous to consider, that no
man can doubt but we must be undone that hears of them. Cosen
Roger did acquaint me in private with an offer made of his
marrying of Mrs. Elizabeth Wiles, whom I know; a kinswoman of Mr.
Honiwood's, an ugly old maid, but good housewife, and is said to
have 2500l. to her portion; though I am against it in my heart,
she being not handsome at all: and it hath been the very bad
fortune of the Pepyses that ever I knew, never to marry an
handsome woman, excepting Ned Pepys. To White Hall; and looking
out of the window into the garden, I saw the King (whom I have
not had any desire to see since the Dutch came upon the coast
first to Sheerness, for shame that; I should see him, or he me,
methinks, after such a dishonour) come upon the garden; with him
two or three idle Lords; and instantly after him, in another
walk, my Lady Castlemaine, led by Bab. May: at which I was
surprised, having but newly heard the stories of the King and her
being parted for ever. So I took Mr. Povy, who was there, aside,
and he told me all,--how imperious this woman is, and hectors the
King to whatever she will. It seems she is with child, and the
King says he did not get it: with that she made a slighting puh
with her mouth, and went out of the house, and never came in
again till the King went to Sir Daniel Harvy's to pray her; and
so she is come to-day, when one would think his mind should be
full of some other cares, having but this morning broken up such
a Parliament with so much discontent and so many wants upon him,
and but yesterday heard such a sermon against adultery. But it
seems she hath told the King, that whoever did get it, he should
own it. And the bottom of the quarrel is this:--She is fallen in
love with young Jermin, who hath of late been with her oftener
than the King, and is now going to marry my Lady Falmouth; [Lady
Falmouth married the Earl of Dorset.] the King is mad at her
entertaining Jermin, and she is mad at Jermin's going to marry
from her: so they are all mad; and thus the kingdom is governed!
But he tells me for certain that nothing is more sure than that
the King, and Duke of York, and the Chancellor, are desirous and
labouring all they can to get an army, whatever the King says to
the Parliament; and he believes that they are at last resolved to
stand and fall all three together: so that he says in terms that
the match of the Duke of York with the Chancellor's daughter hath
undone the nation. He tells me also that the King hath not
greater enemies in the world than those of his own family; for
there is not an officer in the house almost but curses him for
letting them starve, and there is not a farthing of money to be
raised for the buying them bread.

30th. To the Treasury-chamber, where I did speak with the Lords.
Here I do hear that there are three Lords more to be added to
them; my Lord Bridgewater, my Lord Anglesy, and my Lord
Chamberlaine. Mr. Cooling told as how the King, once speaking of
the Duke of York's being mastered by his wife, said to some of
the company by, that he would go no more abroad with this Tom
Otter (meaning the Duke of York) and his wife. [Vide the play of
"Epicene, or the Silent Woman," in which Mrs. Otter thus
addresses her henpecked husband, THOMAS OTTER--"Is this according
to the instrument when I married you, that I would be princess
and reign in my own house, and you would be my subject, and obey
me?"--ACT iii., SCENE 1.] Tom Killigrew being by, said, "Sir,
pray which is the best for a man, to be a Tom Otter to his wife
or to his mistress? meaning the King's being so to my Lady
Castlemaine.

31st. To Marrowbone, where my Lord Mayor and Aldermen, it seems,
dined to-day; and were just now going away, methought, in a
disconsolate condition, compared with their splendour they
formerly had when the City was standing.

AUGUST 1, 1667. Home, the gates of the City shut, it being so
late; and at Newgate we find them in trouble, some thieves having
this night broke open prison.

3rd. To the office, there to enable myself, by finishing our
great account, to give it to the Lords Commissioners of the
Treasury; which I did, and there was called in to them, to tell
them only the total of our debt of the Navy on the 25th of May
last, which is above 950,000l. Here I find them mighty hot in
their answer to the Council-board about our Treasurer's
threepences of the Victualling, and also against the present farm
of the Customes, which they do most highly inveigh against.

5th. I hear the ill news of our loss lately of four rich ships,
two from Guinea, one from Gallipoly, all with rich oyles, and the
other from Barbadoes, worth, as is guessed, 80,000l. But here is
strong talk as if Harman had taken some of the Dutch East India
ships, (but I dare not yet believe it,) and brought them into
Lisbon. To the Duke of York's house, and there saw "Love
Trickes, or the School of Compliments;" [A comedy, by James
Shirley.] a silly play, only Miss Davis, dancing in a shepherd's
clothes, did please us mightily.

6th. A full Board. Here, talking of news, my Lord Anglesy did
tell us that the Dutch do make a further bogle with us about two
or three things, which they will be satisfied in, he says, by us
easily, but only in one, it seems, they do demand that we shall
not interrupt their East Indiamen coming home, and of which they
are in some fear; and we are full of hopes that we have light
upon some of them and carried them into Lisbon by Harman; which
God send! But they (which do show the low esteem they have of
us) have the confidence to demand that we shall have a cessation
on our parts, and yet they at liberty to take what they will;
which is such an affront, as another cannot be devised greater.

7th. Though the King and my Lady Castlemaine are friends again,
she is not at White Hall, but at Sir D. Harvy's, whither the King
goes to her; and he says she made him ask her forgiveness upon
his knees and promised to offend her no more so: and that,
indeed, she did threaten to bring all his bastards to his closet
door, and hath nearly hectored him out of his wits.

8th. Sir Henry Bellasses is dead of the duell he fought about
ten days ago with Tom Porter; and it is pretty to see how the
world talk of them as of a couple of fools that killed one
another out of love. I to my bookseller's; where by and by I met
Mr. Evelyn, and talked of several things, but particularly of the
times: and he tells me that wise men do prepare to remove abroad
what they have, for that we must be ruined, our case being past
relief, the kingdom so much in debt, and the King minding nothing
but his lust, going two days a-week to see my Lady Castlemaine at
Sir D. Harvy's.

9th. To St. James's, and there met Sir W. Coventry; and he and I
walked in the Park an hour. And then to his chamber, where he
read to me the heads of the late great dispute between him and
the rest of the Commissioners of the Treasury, and our new
Treasurer of the Navy; where they have overthrown him the last
Wednesday, in the great dispute touching his having the payment
of the Victualler, which is now settled by Council that he is not
to have it: and, indeed, they have been most just as well as
most severe and bold in the doing this against a man of his
quality: but I perceive he does really make no difference
between any man. He tells me this day it is supposed the Peace is
ratified at Bredah, and all that matter over. We did talk of
many retrenchments of charge of the Navy which he will put in
practice, and every where else; though, he tells me, he despairs
of being able to do what ought to be done for the saving of the
kingdom, (which I tell him, indeed, all the world is almost in
hopes of, upon the proceeding of these gentlemen for the
regulating of the Treasury,) it being so late, and our poverty
grown so great, that they want where to set their feet to begin
to do any thing. He tells me how weary he hath for this year and
a half been of the warr; and how in the Duke of York's bedchamber
at Christ Church, at Oxford, when the Court was there, he did
labour to persuade the Duke to fling off the care of the Navy,
and get it committed to other hands; which, if he had done, would
have been much to his honour, being just come home with so much
honour from sea as he was. I took notice of the sharp letter he
wrote (which he sent us to read) to Sir Edward Spragg, where he
is very plain about his leaving his charge of the ships at
Gravesend, when the enemy came last up, and several other things;
a copy whereof I have kept. But it is done like a most worthy
man; and he says it is good now and then to tell these gentlemen
their duty, for they need it. And it seems, as he tells me, all
our Knights are fallen out one with another, he and Jenings and
Hollis, and (his words were) they are disputing which is the
coward among them; and yet men that take the greatest liberty of
censuring others! Here with him very late, till I could hardly
get a coach or link willing to go through the ruines; but I do,
but will not do it again, being indeed very dangerous.

10th. Sir John Denham's Poems are going to be all printed
together; and, among others, some new things; and among them he
showed me a copy of verses of his upon Sir John Minnes's going
heretofore to Bullogne to eat a pig. Cowly, he tells me, is
dead; who, it seems, was a mighty civil, serious man; which I did
not know before.

11th. To the Wells at Barnett, by seven o'clock; and there found
many people a-drinking; but the morning is a very cold morning,
so as we were very cold all the way in the coach. And so to
Hatfield, to the inn next my Lord Salisbury's house; and there
rested ourselves, and drank, and bespoke dinner: and so to
church. In this church lies the former Lord of Salisbury
(Cecil), buried in a noble tomb. Then we to our inn, and there
dined very well, and mighty merry; and walked out into the Park
through the fine walk of trees, and to the Vineyard, and there
showed them that which is in good order, and indeed a place of
great delight; which, together with our fine walk through the
Park, was of as much pleasure as could be desired in the world
for country pleasure and good ayre. Being come back and weary
with the walk, the women had pleasure in putting on some straw-
hats, which are much worn in this country, and did become them
mightily but especially my wife.

12th. To my bookseller's, and did buy Scott's Discourse of
Witches; and to hear Mr. Cowly mightily lamented (his death) by
Dr. Ward, the Bishop of Winchester, and Dr. Bates, who were
standing there, as the best poet of our nation, and as good a
man.