[Stephen Fox, born 1627, and said to have been a choir-boy in
Salisbury Cathedral. He was the first person to announce the death
of Cromwell to Charles II., and at the Restoration he was made Clerk
of the Green Cloth, and afterwards Paymaster of the Forces. He was
knighted in 1665. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Whittle
of Lancashire. (See June 25th, 1660.) Fox died in 1716. His sons
Stephen and Henry were created respectively Earl of Ilchester and
Lord Holland.]
(both very fine gentlemen), the King’s servants, where we had brave
discourse. Walking upon the decks, where persons of honour all the
afternoon, among others, Thomas Killigrew (a merry droll, but a
gentleman of great esteem with the King), who told us many merry
stories: one, how he wrote a letter three or four days ago to the
Princess Royal, about a Queen Dowager of Judaea and Palestine, that was
at the Hague incognita, that made love to the King, &c., which was Mr.
Cary (a courtier’s) wife that had been a nun, who are all married to
Jesus. At supper the three Drs. of Physic again at my cabin; where I
put Dr. Scarborough in mind of what I heard him say about the use of the
eyes, which he owned, that children do, in every day’s experience, look
several ways with both their eyes, till custom teaches them otherwise.
And that we do now see but with one eye, our eyes looking in parallel
lines. After this discourse I was called to write a pass for my Lord
Mandeville to take up horses to London, which I wrote in the King’s
name,--[This right of purveyance was abolished in Charles’s reign.]--and
carried it to him to sign, which was the first and only one that ever
he signed in the ship Charles. To bed, coming in sight of land a little
before night.
25th. By the morning we were come close to the land, and every body
made ready to get on shore. The King and the two Dukes did eat their
breakfast before they went, and there being set some ship’s diet before
them, only to show them the manner of the ship’s diet, they eat of
nothing else but pease and pork, and boiled beef. I had Mr. Darcy in my
cabin and Dr. Clerke, who eat with me, told me how the King had given
L50 to Mr. Sheply for my Lord’s servants, and L500 among the officers
and common men of the ship. I spoke with the Duke of York about
business, who called me Pepys by name, and upon my desire did promise me
his future favour. Great expectation of the King’s making some Knights,
but there was none. About noon (though the brigantine that Beale made
was there ready to carry him) yet he would go in my Lord’s barge with
the two Dukes. Our Captain steered, and my Lord went along bare with
him. I went, and Mr. Mansell, and one of the King’s footmen, with a dog
that the King loved,
[Charles II.’s love of dogs is well known, but it is not so well
known that his dogs were continually being stolen from him. In the
“Mercurius Publicus,” June 28-July 5, 1660, is the following
advertisement, apparently drawn up by the King himself: “We must
call upon you again for a Black Dog between a greyhound and a
spaniel, no white about him, onely a streak on his brest, and his
tayl a little bobbed. It is His Majesties own Dog, and doubtless
was stoln, for the dog was not born nor bred in England, and would
never forsake His master. Whoesoever findes him may acquaint any at
Whitehal for the Dog was better known at Court, than those who stole
him. Will they never leave robbing his Majesty! Must he not keep a
Dog? This dog’s place (though better than some imagine) is the only
place which nobody offers to beg.” (Quoted in “Notes and Queries,”
7th S., vii. 26, where are printed two other advertisements of
Charles’s lost dogs.)]
(which [dirted] the boat, which made us laugh, and me think that a King
and all that belong to him are but just as others are), in a boat by
ourselves, and so got on shore when the King did, who was received by
General Monk with all imaginable love and respect at his entrance
upon the land of Dover. Infinite the crowd of people and the horsemen,
citizens, and noblemen of all sorts. The Mayor of the town came and gave
him his white staff, the badge of his place, which the King did give
him again. The Mayor also presented him from the town a very rich Bible,
which he took and said it was the thing that he loved above all things
in the world. A canopy was provided for him to stand under, which he
did, and talked awhile with General Monk and others, and so into a
stately coach there set for him, and so away through the town towards
Canterbury, without making any stay at Dover. The shouting and joy
expressed by all is past imagination. Seeing that my Lord did not stir
out of his barge, I got into a boat, and so into his barge, whither Mr.
John Crew stepped, and spoke a word or two to my Lord, and so returned,
we back to the ship, and going did see a man almost drowned that fell
out of his boat into the sea, but with much ado was got out. My Lord
almost transported with joy that he had done all this without any the
least blur or obstruction in the world, that could give an offence to
any, and with the great honour he thought it would be to him. Being
overtook by the brigantine, my Lord and we went out of our barge into
it, and so went on board with Sir W. Batten,
[Clarendon describes William Batten as an obscure fellow, and,
although unknown to the service, a good seaman, who was in 1642 made
Surveyor to the Navy; in which employ he evinced great animosity
against the King. The following year, while Vice-Admiral to the
Earl of Warwick, he chased a Dutch man-of-war into Burlington Bay,
knowing that Queen Henrietta Maria was on board; and then, learning
that she had landed and was lodged on the quay, he fired above a
hundred shot upon the house, some of which passing through her
majesty’s chamber, she was obliged, though indisposed, to retire for
safety into the open fields. This act, brutal as it was, found
favour with the Parliament. But Batten became afterwards
discontented; and, when a portion of the fleet revolted, he carried
the “Constant Warwick,” one of the best ships in the Parliament
navy, over into Holland, with several seamen of note. For this act
of treachery he was knighted and made a Rear-Admiral by Prince
Charles. We hear no more of Batten till the Restoration, when he
became a Commissioner of the Navy, and was soon after M.P. for
Rochester. See an account of his second wife, in note to November
24th, 1660, and of his illness and death, October 5th, 1667. He had
a son, Benjamin, and a daughter, Martha, by his first wife.--B.]
and the Vice and Rear-Admirals. At night my Lord supped and Mr. Thomas
Crew with Captain Stoakes, I supped with the Captain, who told me what
the King had given us. My Lord returned late, and at his coming did give
me order to cause the marke to be gilded, and a Crown and C. R. to be
made at the head of the coach table, where the King to-day with his own
hand did mark his height, which accordingly I caused the painter to do,
and is now done as is to be seen.
26th. Thanks to God I got to bed in my own poor cabin, and slept well
till 9 o’clock this morning. Mr. North and Dr. Clerke and all the great
company being gone, I found myself very uncouth all this day for
want thereof. My Lord dined with the Vice-Admiral to-day (who is as
officious, poor man! as any spaniel can be; but I believe all to no
purpose, for I believe he will not hold his place), so I dined commander
at the coach table to-day, and all the officers of the ship with me, and
Mr. White of Dover. After a game or two at nine-pins, to work all the
afternoon, making above twenty orders. In the evening my Lord having
been a-shore, the first time that he hath been a-shore since he came out
of the Hope (having resolved not to go till he had brought his Majesty
into England), returned on board with a great deal of pleasure. I
supped with the Captain in his cabin with young Captain Cuttance, and
afterwards a messenger from the King came with a letter, and to go into
France, and by that means we supped again with him at 12 o’clock at
night. This night the Captain told me that my Lord had appointed me L30
out of the 1000 ducats which the King had given to the ship, at which my
heart was very much joyed. To bed.
27th (Lord’s day). Called up by John Goods to see the Garter and Heralds
coat, which lay in the coach, brought by Sir Edward Walker,
[Edward Walker was knighted February 2nd, 1644-5, and on the 24th of
the same month was sworn in as Garter King at Arms. He adhered to
the cause of the king, and published “Iter Carolinum”, being a
succinct account of the necessitated marches, retreats, and
sufferings of his Majesty King Charles I., from Jan. 10, 1641, to
the time of his death in 1648, collected by a daily attendant upon
his sacred Majesty during all that time: He joined Charles II. in
exile, and received the reward of his loyalty at the Restoration.
He died at Whitehall, February 19th, 1676-7, and was buried at
Stratford-on-Avon, his daughter having married Sir John Clepton of
that place.]
King at Arms, this morning, for my Lord. My Lord hath summoned all the
Commanders on board him, to see the ceremony, which was thus: Sir Edward
putting on his coat, and having laid the George and Garter, and the
King’s letter to my Lord, upon a crimson cushion (in the coach, all the
Commanders standing by), makes three congees to him, holding the cushion
in his arms. Then laying it down with the things upon it upon a chair,
he takes the letter, and delivers it to my Lord, which my Lord breaks
open and gives him to read. It was directed to our trusty and well
beloved Sir Edward Montagu, Knight, one of our Generals at sea, and our
Companion elect of our Noble Order of the Garter. The contents of the
letter is to show that the Kings of England have for many years made
use of this honour, as a special mark of favour, to persons of good
extraction and virtue (and that many Emperors, Kings and Princes of
other countries have borne this honour), and that whereas my Lord is of
a noble family, and hath now done the King such service by sea, at this
time, as he hath done; he do send him this George and Garter to wear as
Knight of the Order, with a dispensation for the other ceremonies of
the habit of the Order, and other things, till hereafter, when it can
be done. So the herald putting the ribbon about his neck, and the Garter
about his left leg, he salutes him with joy as Knight of the Garter, and
that was all. After that was done, and the Captain and I had breakfasted
with Sir Edward while my Lord was writing of a letter, he took his leave
of my Lord, and so to shore again to the King at Canterbury, where he
yesterday gave the like honour to General Monk,
[“His Majesty put the George on his Excellency, and the two Dukes
put on the Garter. The Princes thus honoured the Lord-General for
the restoration of that lawful family.”--Rugge’s Diurnal.]
who are the only two for many years that have had the Garter given them,
before they had other honours of Earldom, or the like, excepting only
the Duke of Buckingham, who was only Sir George Villiers when he was
made Knight of the Garter. A while after Mr. Thos. Crew and Mr. J.
Pickering (who had staid long enough to make all the world see him to be
a fool), took ship for London. So there now remain no strangers with
my Lord but Mr. Hetley, who had been with us a day before the King went
from us. My Lord and the ship’s company down to sermon. I staid above to
write and look over my new song book, which came last night to me from
London in lieu of that that my Lord had of me. The officers being all
on board, there was not room for me at table, so I dined in my cabin,
where, among other things, Mr. Drum brought me a lobster and a bottle of
oil, instead of a bottle of vinegar, whereby I spoiled my dinner. Many
orders in the ordering of ships this afternoon. Late to a sermon. After
that up to the Lieutenant’s cabin, where Mr. Sheply, I, and the Minister
supped, and after that I went down to W. Howe’s cabin, and there, with a
great deal of pleasure, singing till it was late. After that to bed.
28th. Called up at two in the morning for letters for my Lord from
the Duke of York, but I went to bed again till 5. Trimmed early this
morning. This morning the Captain did call over all the men in the ship
(not the boys), and give every one of them a ducat of the King’s money
that he gave the ship, and the officers according to their quality. I
received in the Captain’s cabin, for my share, sixty ducats. The rest of
the morning busy writing letters. So was my Lord that he would not come
to dinner. After dinner to write again in order to sending to London,
but my Lord did not finish his, so we did not send to London to-day. A
great part of the afternoon at nine-pins with my Lord and Mr. Hetley.
I lost about 4s. Supped with my Lord, and after that to bed. At night I
had a strange dream of--myself, which I really did, and having kicked my
clothes off, I got cold; and found myself all much wet in the morning,
and had a great deal of pain... which made me very melancholy.
29th. The King’s birthday. Busy all the morning writing letters to
London, among the rest one to Mr. Chetwind to give me an account of
the fees due to the Herald for the Order of the Garter, which my Lord
desires to know. After dinner got all ready and sent away Mr. Cook to
London with a letter and token to my wife. After that abroad to shore
with my Lord (which he offered me of himself, saying that I had a great
deal of work to do this month, which was very true). On shore we took
horses, my Lord and Mr. Edward, Mr. Hetly and I, and three or four
servants, and had a great deal of pleasure in riding. Among other things
my Lord showed me a house that cost a great deal of money, and is built
in so barren and inconvenient a place that my Lord calls it the fool’s
house. At last we came upon a very high cliff by the sea-side, and rode
under it, we having laid great wagers, I and Dr. Mathews, that it was
not so high as Paul’s; my Lord and Mr. Hetly, that it was. But we riding
under it, my Lord made a pretty good measure of it with two sticks, and
found it to be not above thirty-five yards high, and Paul’s is reckoned
to be about ninety. From thence toward the barge again, and in our way
found the people at Deal going to make a bonfire for joy of the day, it
being the King’s birthday, and had some guns which they did fire at my
Lord’s coming by. For which I did give twenty shillings among them to
drink. While we were on the top of the cliffe, we saw and heard our guns
in the fleet go off for the same joy. And it being a pretty fair day we
could see above twenty miles into France. Being returned on board, my
Lord called for Mr. Sheply’s book of Paul’s, by which we were confirmed
in our wager. After that to supper and then to musique, and so to
bed. The pain that I have got last night by cold is not yet gone, but
troubles me at the time of.... This day, it is thought, the King do
enter the city of London.
[“Divers maidens, in behalf of themselves and others, presented a
petition to the Lord Mayor of London, wherein they pray his Lordship
to grant them leave and liberty to meet His Majesty on the day of
his passing through the city; and if their petition be granted, that
they will all be clad in white waistcoats and crimson petticoats,
and other ornaments of triumph and rejoicing.”--Rugge’s Diurnal, May,
1660.--B.]
30th. About eight o’clock in the morning the lieutenant came to me
to know whether I would eat a dish of mackerel, newly catched, for my
breakfast, which the Captain and we did in the coach. All yesterday
and to-day I had a great deal of pain... and in my back, which made me
afeard. But it proved nothing but cold, which I took yesterday night.
All this morning making up my accounts, in which I counted that I had
made myself now worth about L80, at which my heart was glad, and blessed
God. Many Dover men come and dine with my Lord. My Lord at ninepins in
the afternoon. In the afternoon Mr. Sheply told me how my Lord had put
me down for 70 guilders among the money which was given to my Lord’s
servants, which my heart did much rejoice at. My Lord supped alone in
his chamber. Sir R. Stayner supped with us, and among other things told
us how some of his men did grumble that no more of the Duke’s money
come to their share and so would not receive any; whereupon he called up
those that had taken it, and gives them three shares apiece more, which
was very good, and made good sport among the seamen. To bed.
31st. This day my Lord took physic, and came not out of his chamber.
All the morning making orders. After dinner a great while below in the
great cabin trying with W. Howe some of Mr. Laws’ songs,’ particularly
that of “What is a kiss,” with which we had a great deal of pleasure.
After that to making of orders again. Captain Sparling of the Assistance
brought me a pair of silk stockings of a light blue, which I was
much pleased with. The Captain and I to supper, and after that a most
pleasant walk till to at night with him upon the deck, it being a fine
evening. My pain was gone again that I had yesterday, blessed be God.
This day the month ends, I in very good health, and all the world in a
merry mood because of the King’s coming. This day I began to teach Mr.
Edward; who I find to have a very good foundation laid for his Latin by
Mr. Fuller. I expect every minute to hear how my poor wife do. I find
myself in all things well as to body and mind, but troubled for the
absence of my wife.