The Diary · Chapter
May 1665 explained
Pepys navigates a month of mounting pressures: the Dutch fleet sets sail, the plague spreads in London, and he struggles to secure money for Tangier while defending his office against criticism over delayed ships.
What happens
Pepys navigates a month of mounting pressures: the Dutch fleet sets sail, the plague spreads in London, and he struggles to secure money for Tangier while defending his office against criticism over delayed ships. He balances scientific curiosity at Gresham College and Colonel Blunt's coach experiments with domestic tensions and his own lapses into pleasure after his vows expire.
Themes in this chapter
Naval Administration and Corruption
Pepys grapples with delayed ships, lack of provisions, and the blame falling on the Navy Office; he fears new officers may be imposed.
Money, Debt, and Economy
Constant struggle to secure funds for Tangier and the Navy; Povy's difficulty getting money, and Pepys's worry about laying out too much for silk suits.
Daily Life and Domesticity
Domestic reconciliations, dining with friends, and Pepys's personal lapses into pleasure after his vows expire.
Theatre and Public Entertainment
Scientific experiments at Colonel Blunt's and Gresham College serve as intellectual entertainment.
Characters to notice
- Samuel Pepys
Central narrator; attends experiments, negotiates finances, and worries about office reputation.
- Elizabeth Pepys
Dines with her mother's old servant and reconciles with Lady Batten after a year's estrangement.
- Sir William Batten
Dines with Pepys and Lady Batten; later goes down to Harwich to meet the fleet.
- Mr. Povy
Discusses difficulty of getting money and proposes a new Treasurer; Pepys visits him repeatedly.
- Mr. Creed
Accompanies Pepys to the Coffeehouse and to Colvill's; opposes Pepys's Tangier business at committee.
- Sir William Coventry
Mentioned in context of office business and the Duke of Albemarle's displeasure.
- Sir George Carteret
Subject of complaints about bad payments; Pepys speaks with him about business.
- Lord Brouncker
Joins the coach to Colonel Blunt's house for experiments.
Key passages
“Among other things he do much insist I perceive upon the difficulty of getting of money, and would fain have me to concur in the thinking of some other way of disposing of the place of Treasurer to one Mr. Bell”
Povy repeatedly stressed how hard it was to obtain money and wanted Pepys to agree to appoint Mr. Bell as Treasurer instead.
Highlights the financial strain and political maneuvering over the Treasurer position.
“I saw also an abortive child preserved fresh in spirits of salt.”
Pepys viewed a preserved fetus kept in a solution of salt spirits.
Reflects the scientific curiosity of the Royal Society and Pepys's interest in natural philosophy.
“the Dutch fleet, being about 100 men-of-war, besides fire-ships, etc., did set out upon the 23rd and 24th inst. Being divided into seven squadrons”
The Dutch navy of roughly 100 warships plus fireships departed on May 23rd and 24th, organized into seven squadrons.
Key intelligence about the Dutch fleet's strength and deployment, raising the threat of naval conflict.
“all the news is of the Dutch being gone out, and of the plague growing upon us in this town; and of remedies against it”
The latest talk was about the Dutch fleet's departure and the worsening plague in London, along with proposed cures.
Captures the dual anxieties of war and disease that dominated public discourse.
“I am afeard that we must expect some change or addition of new officers brought upon us, so that I must from this time forward resolve to make myself appear eminently serviceable in attending at my office duly and nowhere else”
Pepys feared new officers would be imposed due to the fleet's delay, so he resolved to be visibly diligent at the office.
Shows Pepys's concern for his career and his strategic response to criticism.
