PepysβDiary is an incredibly frank decade-long snapshot of the life of an up and coming naval administrator in mid-17th century London. In it he describes everything from battles against the Dutch and the intrigues of court, down to the plays he saw, his marital infidelities, and the quality of the meat provided for his supper. His observations have proved invaluable in establishing an accurate record of the daily life of the people of London of that period.
Pepys eventually stopped writing his diary due to progressively worse eyesight, a condition he feared. He did consider employing an amanuensis to transcribe future entries for him, but worried that the content he wanted written would be too personal. Luckily for Pepys, his eyesight difficulties never progressed to blindness and he was able to go on to become both a Member of Parliament and the President of the Royal Society.
After Pepysβ death he left his large library of books and manuscripts first to his nephew, which was then passed on to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where it survives to this day. The diary, originally written in a shorthand, was included in this trove and was eventually deciphered in the early 19th century, and published by Lord Baybrooke in 1825. This early release censored large amounts of the text, and it was only in the 1970s that an uncensored version was published. Presented here is the 1893 edition, which restores the majority of the originally censored content but omits βa few passages which cannot possibly be printed.β The rich collection of endnotes serve to further illustrate the lives of the people Pepys meets and the state of Englandβs internal politics and international relations at the time.
the Treasury-chamber, where I did speak with the Lords, and did my business about getting them to assent to 10 percent interest on the 11 months tax, but find them mightily put to it for money. Here I do hear that there are three Lords more to be added to them; my Lord Bridgewater,3554 my Lord Anglesey, and my Lord Chamberlaine.3555 Having done my business, I to Creedβs chamber, and thence out with Creed to Whitehall with him; in our way, meeting with Mr. Cooling, my Lord Chamberlainβs secretary, on horseback, who stopped to speak with us, and he proved very drunk, and did talk, and would have talked all night with us, I not being able to break loose from him, he holding me so by the hand. But, Lord! to see his present humour, how he swears at every word, and talks of the King and my Lady Castlemayne in the plainest words in the world. And from him I gather that the story I learned yesterday is trueβ βthat the King hath declared that he did not get the child of which she is conceived at this time, he having not as he says lain with her this half year. But she told him, βGod damn me, but you shall own it!β3556 It seems, he is jealous of Jermin, and she loves him so, that the thoughts of his marrying of my Lady Falmouth puts her into fits of the mother; and he, it seems, hath lain with her from time to time, continually, for a good while; and once, as this Cooling says, the King had like to have taken him abed with her, but that he was fain to creep under the bed into her closet.β ββ β¦ But it is a pretty thing he told us how the King, once speaking of the Duke of Yorkβs being mastered by his wife, said to some of the company by, that he would go no more abroad with this Tom Otter3557 (meaning the Duke of York) and his wife. Tom Killigrew, being by, answered, βSir,β says he, βpray which is the best for a man, to be a Tom Otter to his wife or to his mistress?β meaning the Kingβs being so to my Lady Castlemayne. Thus he went on; and speaking then of my Lord Sandwich, whom he professed to love exceedingly, says Creed, βI know not what, but he is a man, methinks, that I could love for himself, without other regards.ββ ββ β¦ He talked very lewdly; and then took notice of my kindness to him on shipboard seven years ago, when the King was coming over, and how much he was obliged to me; but says, pray look upon this acknowledgement of a kindness in me to be a miracle; for, says he, βit is against the law at Court for a man that borrows money of me, even to buy his place with, to own it the next Sunday;β and then told us his horse was a bribe, and his boots a bribe; and told us he was made up of bribes, as an Oxford scholar is set out with other menβs goods when he goes out of town, and that he makes every sort of tradesman to bribe him; and invited me home to his house, to taste of his bribe wine. I never heard so much vanity from a man in my life; so, being now weary of him, we parted, and I took coach, and carried Creed to the Temple. There set him down, and to my office, where busy late till my eyes begun to ake, and then home to supper: a pullet, with good sauce, to my liking, and then to play on the flageolet with my wife, which she now does very prettily, and so to bed.
31st. Up, and after some time with Greeting upon my flageolet I to my office, and there all the morning busy. Among other things, Sir W. Batten, [Sir] W. Penn, and myself did examine a fellow of our private man-of-war, who we have found come up from Hull, with near Β£500 worth of pieces of eight, though he will confess but 100 pieces. But it appears that there have been fine doings there. At noon dined at home, and then to the office, where busy again till the evening, when Major Halsey and Kinaston to adjust matters about Mrs. Rumbaldβs bill of exchange, and here Major Halsey, speaking much of my doing business, and understanding business, told me how my Lord General do say that I am worth them all, but I have heard that Halsey hath said the same behind my back to others. Then abroad with my wife by coach to Marrowbone,3558 where my Lord Mayor and Aldermen, it seem, dined today: and were just now going away, methought, in a disconsolate condition, compared with their splendour they formerly had, when the City was standing. Here my wife and I drank at the gate, not βlighting, and then home with much pleasure, and so to my chamber, and my wife and I to pipe, and so to supper and to bed.
August 1667
August 1st. Up, and all the morning at the office. At noon my wife and I dined at Sir W. Pennβs, only with Mrs. Turner and her husband, on a damned venison pasty, that stunk like a devil. However, I did not know it till dinner was done. We had nothing but only this, and a leg of mutton, and a pullet or two. Mrs. Markham was here, with her great belly. I was very merry, and after dinner, upon a motion of the women, I was got to go to the play with themβ βthe first I have seen since before the Dutch coming upon our coast, and so to the Kingβs house, to see
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