December 1666 explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Political Intrigue and Restoration

  Parliamentary tensions over the Proviso, the Court's internal disagreements, and the King's financial difficulties are discussed.

• Naval Administration and Corruption

  Pepys manages Tangier accounts and office business, while Sir W. Warren is noted for his cunning in business.

• Daily Life and Domesticity

  Pepys attends a christening, scolds his wife, burns old letters, and enjoys a venison pasty with guests.

• Money, Debt, and Economy

  Coal prices at £3 3s per chaldron, tallies for Tangier, and merchant losses due to wine import restrictions.

Characters to notice

• Samuel Pepys

  Records daily activities, attends christening as godfather, burns old letters, scolds wife, and manages office and Tangier accounts.

• Elizabeth Pepys

  Goes down the river for pleasure, attends christening, and is scolded by Pepys over music lessons.

• Sir William Penn

  Pepys borrows his coach for the christening outing.

• Sir William Batten

  Pepys visits him to hear news of the New England fleet's troubles.

• Captain Cocke

  Walks with Pepys in the garden and discusses the Court's anger at a Proviso and parliamentary tensions.

• Sir W. Warren

  Visits Pepys at the office; Pepys admires his cunning and forecast in business.

• Mrs. Turner

  Pepys and his wife visit her to take leave before she returns to the North.

Key passages

• “I did see a cellar in Tower Street in a very fresh fire, the late great winds having blown it up. It seemed to be only of logwood, that hath kept the fire all this while in it.”

  Pepys saw a cellar in Tower Street still burning, as the logwood inside had kept the fire alive since the Great Fire.

  Illustrates lingering effects of the Great Fire months later.

• “But, Lord! the silly talk that this fellow had, only how ready he would be to part with all his estate in these difficult times to advance the King’s service, and complaining that now, as everybody did lately in the fire, everybody endeavours to save himself, and let the whole perish: but a very weak man he seems to be.”

  Pepys found the former Lord Mayor Bludworth's talk foolish, as he boasted of sacrificing his estate for the King while criticizing others for self-preservation during the fire.

  Highlights Pepys's low opinion of Bludworth's character.

• “I did this afternoon get Mrs. Michell to let me only have a sight of a pamphlet lately printed, but suppressed and much called after, called The Catholic’s Apology; lamenting the severity of the Parliament against them, and comparing it with the lenity of other princes to Protestants.”

  Pepys secretly viewed a suppressed pamphlet defending Catholics, which criticized Parliament's harshness and cited examples of Catholic loyalty.

  Reflects religious tensions and censorship in Restoration England.

• “He tells me how angry the Court is at the late Proviso brought in by the House. How still my Lord Chancellor is, not daring to do or say anything to displease the Parliament; that the Parliament is in a very ill humour, and grows every day more and more so.”

  Captain Cocke informed Pepys that the Court was furious about a Proviso, and that the Lord Chancellor remained silent to avoid angering an increasingly hostile Parliament.

  Shows political friction between the Court and Parliament.

• “I was in mighty pain lest I should be seen by anybody to be at a play.”

  Pepys was anxious about being recognized at the theater, as attending plays was still socially sensitive after the Plague.

  Indicates lingering social stigma around public entertainment.