The Diary of Samuel Pepys [405]
the Parliament above the other, Thence home, and there in favour to my eyes staid at home reading the ridiculous History of my Lord Newcastle, wrote by his wife; which shows her to be a mad, conceited, ridiculous woman, and he an asse to suffer her to write what she writes to him and of him. So to bed, my eyes being very bad; and I know not how in the world to abstain from reading.
19th. Walked all along Thames-street, which I have not done since it was burned, as far as Billingsgate; and there do see a brave street likely to be, many brave houses being built, and of them a great many by Mr. Jaggard; but the raising of the street will make it mighty fine.
20th. All the evening pricking down some things and trying some conclusions upon my viall, in order to the inventing a better theory of musique than hath yet been abroad; and I think verily I shall do it. This day at Court I do hear that Sir W. Pen do command this summer's fleet; and Mr. Progers of the Bedchamber as a secret told me that the Prince Rupert is troubled at it, and several friends of his have been with him to know the reason of it; so that he do pity Sir W. Pen, whom he hath a great kindness for, that he should not at any desire of his be put to this service, and thereby make the Prince his enemy and contract more envy from other people.
24th. From the Duke's chamber Sir W. Coventry and I to walk in the Mattted Gallery; and there, among other things, he tells me of the wicked design that now is at last contriving against him, to get a petition presented from people, that the money they have paid to Sir W. Coventry for their places may be repaid them back: and that this is set on by Temple and Hollis of the Parliament, and, among other mean people in it, by Captain Tatnell: and he prays me that I will use some effectual way to sift Tatnell what he do and who puts him on in this business: which I do undertake, and will do with all my skill for his service, being troubled that he is still under this difficulty. Thence back to White Hall: where great talk of the tumult at the other end of the town, about Moore-fields, among the prentices taking the liberty of these holydays to pull down brothels. And Lord! to see the apprehensions which this did give to all people at Court, that presently order was given for all the soldiers, horse and foot, to be in armes; and forthwith alarmes were beat by drum and trumpet through Westminster and all to their colours and to horse, as if the French were coming into the town. So Creed, whom I met here, and I to Lincolne's Inn-fields, thinking to have come into the fields to have seen the prentices; but here we found these fields full of soldiers all in a body, and my Lord Craven commanding of them, and riding up and down to give orders like a madman. And some young men we saw brought by soldiers to the guard at White Hall, and overheard others that stood by say that it was only for pulling down the brothels; and none of the bystanders finding fault with them, but rather of the soldiers for hindering them. And we heard a Justice of Peace this morning say to the King, that he had been endeavouring to suppress this tumult, but could not; and that imprisoning some of them in the new prison at Clerkenwell, the rest did come and break open the prison and release them; and that they do give out that they are for pulling down the brothels, which is one of the great grievances of the nation. To which the King made a very poor, cold, insipid answer: "Why! why do they go to them, then?"--and that was all, and had no mind to go on with the discourse. This evening I came home from White Hall with Sir W. Pen, who fell in talk about his going to sea this year, and the difficulties that arise to him by it, by giving offence to the Prince and occasioning envy to him, and many other things that make it a bad matter at this time of want of money and necessaries, and bad and uneven counsels at home, for him to go abroad: and did tell me how much with the King and Duke of York he had endeavoured to be excused, desiring the
19th. Walked all along Thames-street, which I have not done since it was burned, as far as Billingsgate; and there do see a brave street likely to be, many brave houses being built, and of them a great many by Mr. Jaggard; but the raising of the street will make it mighty fine.
20th. All the evening pricking down some things and trying some conclusions upon my viall, in order to the inventing a better theory of musique than hath yet been abroad; and I think verily I shall do it. This day at Court I do hear that Sir W. Pen do command this summer's fleet; and Mr. Progers of the Bedchamber as a secret told me that the Prince Rupert is troubled at it, and several friends of his have been with him to know the reason of it; so that he do pity Sir W. Pen, whom he hath a great kindness for, that he should not at any desire of his be put to this service, and thereby make the Prince his enemy and contract more envy from other people.
24th. From the Duke's chamber Sir W. Coventry and I to walk in the Mattted Gallery; and there, among other things, he tells me of the wicked design that now is at last contriving against him, to get a petition presented from people, that the money they have paid to Sir W. Coventry for their places may be repaid them back: and that this is set on by Temple and Hollis of the Parliament, and, among other mean people in it, by Captain Tatnell: and he prays me that I will use some effectual way to sift Tatnell what he do and who puts him on in this business: which I do undertake, and will do with all my skill for his service, being troubled that he is still under this difficulty. Thence back to White Hall: where great talk of the tumult at the other end of the town, about Moore-fields, among the prentices taking the liberty of these holydays to pull down brothels. And Lord! to see the apprehensions which this did give to all people at Court, that presently order was given for all the soldiers, horse and foot, to be in armes; and forthwith alarmes were beat by drum and trumpet through Westminster and all to their colours and to horse, as if the French were coming into the town. So Creed, whom I met here, and I to Lincolne's Inn-fields, thinking to have come into the fields to have seen the prentices; but here we found these fields full of soldiers all in a body, and my Lord Craven commanding of them, and riding up and down to give orders like a madman. And some young men we saw brought by soldiers to the guard at White Hall, and overheard others that stood by say that it was only for pulling down the brothels; and none of the bystanders finding fault with them, but rather of the soldiers for hindering them. And we heard a Justice of Peace this morning say to the King, that he had been endeavouring to suppress this tumult, but could not; and that imprisoning some of them in the new prison at Clerkenwell, the rest did come and break open the prison and release them; and that they do give out that they are for pulling down the brothels, which is one of the great grievances of the nation. To which the King made a very poor, cold, insipid answer: "Why! why do they go to them, then?"--and that was all, and had no mind to go on with the discourse. This evening I came home from White Hall with Sir W. Pen, who fell in talk about his going to sea this year, and the difficulties that arise to him by it, by giving offence to the Prince and occasioning envy to him, and many other things that make it a bad matter at this time of want of money and necessaries, and bad and uneven counsels at home, for him to go abroad: and did tell me how much with the King and Duke of York he had endeavoured to be excused, desiring the