Diary, June 1667 | Page 9

species of "rough music," by which name the ceremony was designated.
Perhaps the riding mentioned by Pepys was a punishment somewhat
similar. Malcolm ("Manners of London") quotes from the "Protestant
Mercury," that a porter's lady, who resided near Strand Lane, beat her
husband with so much violence and perseverance, that the poor man
was compelled to leap out of the window to escape her fury.
Exasperated at this virago, the neighbours made a "riding," i.e. a
pedestrian procession, headed by a drum, and accompanied by a
chemise, displayed for a banner. The manual musician sounded the
tune of "You round-headed cuckolds, come dig, come dig!" and nearly
seventy coalheavers, carmen, and porters, adorned with large horns
fastened to their heads, followed. The public seemed highly pleased
with the nature of the punishment, and gave liberally to the vindicators
of injured manhood.--B.]
there to-day for a man, the constable of the town, whose wife beat him.
Here I was with much ado fain to press two watermen to make me a
galley, and so to Woolwich to give order for the dispatch of a ship I
have taken under my care to see dispatched, and orders being so given,
I, under pretence to fetch up the ship, which lay at Grays (the Golden
Hand),
[The "Golden Hand" was to have been used for the conveyance of the
Swedish Ambassadors' horses and goods to Holland. In August, 1667,
Frances, widow of Captain Douglas and daughter of Lord Grey,
petitioned the king "for a gift of the prize ship Golden Hand, now
employed in weighing the ships sunk at Chatham, where her husband
lost his life in defence of the ships against the Dutch" ("Calendar of
State Papers," 1667, p. 430)]
did do that in my way, and went down to Gravesend, where I find the
Duke of Albemarle just come, with a great many idle lords and
gentlemen, with their pistols and fooleries; and the bulwarke not able to

have stood half an hour had they come up; but the Dutch are fallen
down from the Hope and Shell-haven as low as Sheernesse, and we do
plainly at this time hear the guns play. Yet I do not find the Duke of
Albemarle intends to go thither, but stays here to-night, and hath,
though the Dutch are gone, ordered our frigates to be brought to a line
between the two blockhouses; which I took then to be a ridiculous thing.
So I away into the town and took a captain or two of our ships (who did
give me an account of the proceedings of the Dutch fleete in the river)
to the taverne, and there eat and drank, and I find the townsmen had
removed most of their goods out of the town, for fear of the Dutch
coming up to them; and from Sir John Griffen, that last night there was
not twelve men to be got in the town to defend it: which the master of
the house tells me is not true, but that the men of the town did intend to
stay, though they did indeed, and so had he, at the Ship, removed their
goods. Thence went off to an Ostend man-of-war, just now come up,
who met the Dutch fleete, who took three ships that he come convoying
hither from him says they are as low as the Nore, or thereabouts. So I
homeward, as long as it was light reading Mr. Boyle's book of
Hydrostatics, which is a most excellent book as ever I read, and I will
take much pains to understand him through if I can, the doctrine being
very useful. When it grew too dark to read I lay down and took a nap, it
being a most excellent fine evening, and about one o'clock got home,
and after having wrote to Sir W. Coventry an account of what I had
done and seen (which is entered in my letter-book), I to bed.

11th. Up, and more letters still from Sir W. Coventry about more fire-
ships, and so Sir W. Batten and I to the office, where Bruncker come to
us, who is just now going to Chatham upon a desire of Commissioner
Pett's, who is in a very fearful stink for fear of the Dutch, and desires
help for God and the King and kingdom's sake. So Bruncker goes down,
and Sir J. Minnes also, from Gravesend. This morning Pett writes us
word that Sheernesse is lost last night, after two or three hours' dispute.
The enemy hath possessed himself of that place; which is very sad, and
puts us into great fears of Chatham. Sir W. Batten and I down by water
to Deptford, and there Sir W. Pen and we did consider of several
matters relating to