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for some days, but I hope I shall haue his company with mee this voyage also. Hee is a Hee is a right honest and stout man, and hath now the oversight of 6 gunnes to better his pay. There is not such a man in all the fleet, hee understands and speakes Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, high Duch, Polish, and the vulgar Greeke! I exercise my Latin and French with him, and intend this voyage to practise Italian with him; hauing an Italian grammar with mee, and hauing Latin and French, find it will be easily obtained. Hee is much affected to my brother Edward since he was with us at Southwould bay; whether if wee come agayn I intend that hee should wayt upon you at Norwich. I intend to draw his picture in litle, s as I have done the masters and some others.

[MS. SLOAN. NO. 1745. FOL. 31.]

From the Thames to Falmouth.

The 29th day of Nouember [1666], being Saterday, I parted from London to goe aboard the Mary Rose friggatt, then fitted out at Woolidge, and intended for Cales and Tangier. The 1st of December she fell downe into the Long Reach, where she stayed to take in her prouisions and stores, till the 2nd of January ffollowing. Our long stay there was cheefly caus'd by an extraordinary ffrost for about a fortnight together, which couered the whole Thames with great fflakes of ice, hindring all passage up or downe by water, some of which were halfe a musket shot ouer, and of a great thicknes, which by the violence of the tide were forc'd upon us with such impetuousnes, that wee were forc'd to new seruice our cables, continually fastning our top chains to them; allso the best 3 inch plancke wee had dayly fastned to her bows, were forc'd away like durt, the ice grinding there continually, and

3 In miniature.

4 On reference to tables in Nicolas's Notitia Historica, it appears that the 29th of November fell on a Saturday in 1662 and 1673. Notwithstanding this, I have no hesitation in affirming 1666 as the date of the present journal. See Pepys's Diary, vol. ii, p. 10.-"Feb. 3, 1666-7; away home, and received some letters from Sir W. Coventry, touching the want of victuals to Kempthorne's fleet, going to the Streights, and now in the Downs."

making a hideous noise, shaking the whole shipp. At length, wearied out with this kind of labour, and ffearing iff the frost should continue, it might sincke our shipp, the sheathing being quite torn from her bowes, and part of her bends beginning to be shatterd, wee wayed, and fell with the tide before Grauesend, where then rid a considerable fleet of merchant shipps bound out, with seural newly arriued from Gottenborg. From hence to London tis somwhat aboue twenty mile by water, the riuer turning and winding seuerall wayes, which our seamen call reaches. The townes that stand on it are, Debtford, one of the king's yards for building and repairing of shipps; Greenwich, an ancient seat of pleasure of the kings; the howse during the rebellion was pulld down, but now very magnificently building again with free stone, the queen's howse a little aboue it, a handsome building, to which joins a verry spacious parke. Blackwall hath the largest wet dock in England, and belongs cheefly to the East India Company. Woolidge hath another dock yard of the king's, with magasins and stores for the conuenience of his nauy. Eref5 and Purfleet, a mannor of the king's, at the upper end of Long Reach; the lower is Gren-hiue, a market towne, and Grayes, opposite, on the Essex side. Northfleet, a village about a mile from Gravesend. Gravesend is a maior towne, pretty large, but yields no other trade than what the marchant shippes continually lying there afourd it. There is a castle and block-house on eyther side the riuer, where all merchant men are stopt and searcht, paying some duties to the castle. Wee lay our shipp ashore near the block-howse, to mend such damages as the ice had done us, and the 9th wayhed and came into the Hope, a noted anchoring place, there being a conueniency for many shipps to ride in safety together; near this, Tilbury, a small village, famous for Quen Elizabeth's camp there. The next day wee waighed again, and, haueing stopt one tide near Old Hauen, wee came to an anchor again at the buy of the Nore, where rear-admirall Kempthorn then rid commander-in-cheef, with

5 Erith.

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s Afterwards knighted, and made Commissioner at Portsmouth, which place he represented in parliament. He died 1679.

6 or 7 sail of frigats. A little aboue the buy of the Nore, is Lee Towne and Roade, where the London, a second rate ship, was blown up in the year 1665; but 13, out of 300 and od men, saued in her. The Nore is a sand that shooleth of from the south point of the riuer; upon the outwardmost end of it lies a buy continually. Opposite to this is Shear nes, on the island of Sheppy, where the king hath lately built a yard, and furnisht it with all manner of stores for the fitting his fleet, which before were brought from Chattam and Woollidge. Between the Nore and Shearness runs in the Swale to Quinborow, which is an old mayor towne, and had formerly an ancient castle, lately demolisht. Up the riuer Medway is Chattam and Rochester citty, where in time of peace the nauy shipps are laid up. At the buy of the Nore wee rid till the 19th, when the wind comeing fair wee sailed. There are two wayes to sail out of the riuer, from the northward, along by the Nase, and through the Kings Channel; or from the southward, by the North Forland, which is not to bee done neither but at spring tides by the great shipps, and is called the Flats. From the east point of Sheppy to Whitstaple lies in a bay, which is not to bee sayled in by ships of burthen. The Recculuers is a small towne; the church hath two spires in front, a great land marke for sailing ouer the flats. Marget is a towne on the foreland, with a peere, where small vessels may come in at half tide and ly dry, it is remarkable for the North Down ale brued there. Ramsgate and Broadstairs, two small towns on the pitch of the forland with peers allso; the forland is a rocky promontory running out into the sea, on the extreamity of which are two light howses; when you come about the north foreland, the Downs open it selfe, being a bay that lies between the N and S forlands, and is secured from the violence of the sea by the Goodwin sands, dry at low water; the north part is called the Small Downes. In the bottome lies Deal, a pretty large towne, alltogether sustained by the concours of shipps dayly arriuing there. There are three castles for the security of the Downes; Sandowne, about half a mile to the northwards of Deal; Deal castle, standing near the town, and Wamouth, a mile more southward, by the south foreland, is much like

the north, being a high white cliffe, with 2 lighthowses also on it, to direct the going in and out of the south channell. Wee arriued in the Downes the 20th; and the 22nd the rearadmirall came to us, hee being a third rate, and forc't to goe about the king's channell. Wee rid here till the 29th, when the wind presenting, wée sailed with a conuoy of about 38 sail of marchant men bound for Lisbone, Cales, Tangier, &c. About a league from the foreland is Douer; the castle is verry large, fortified after the antique manner, and stands on the top of a verry high cliffe; the towne stands in the bottom beneath, it hath a peer for shipps, which is kept at a great deal of charge. From hence wee sail along by Dungeon ness, a low nook of land with a light house on it; to the westward of it lies Ry, in a should bay, that hath only a channell for small vessels, and the old ruind towne of Winchelsy; the other hedland of this bay is Fayr Lee,9 from whence wee haue Becke,1 one of the most renown lands in this part of England, it being a great white cliffe. Before wee come to the Isle of Wight, lies the shoulds of the Owers, aboue a league from the land, from which wee see Culuer cliff, a great square white cliff, and Dunnose, the southermost land of the Isle of Wight, and soon after St. Ellens Point, couered with trees and shrubbs. Further in upon the main is Portsmouth, a uerry strong towne, and one of the cheefest magasines in England, both for sea and land; not far from it is Porchester, an old castle, built by Julius Cæsar, as they will haue; there . haue been diuers old medals found near it. Southsea castle, about a mile from Portsmouth; there is allso Calshot and Hurst on the main. There was formerly one at the Spit-hed, but long since demolisht. On the island, which is verry fruitfull, is Newport, a large market towne, besides severall other inferior; the castles are Yarmouth, Cowes, and one in the bay between Culver clif and Dun nose. The Needles at the west end of the island, verry remarkable rocks, being 3 of them, which stand loose from the cliff, a pretty way in the sea; in going in wee sail verry near them, to auoid a sand that lies on the other side. West from the Needles is Sandwich bay, where Sir Thomas Allen commands a cas

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tle. Toward night we made the land of St. Albans, and that night past by Portland, which is a peninsula, the land of it is high, from whence comes our Purbeck stones. The race which sets off of it, is very remarkable, being a meeting of the tides, which is sometimes with that violence that ships have been very much endangered going through it. It blew very hard all this night, at east. Eight o'clock wee lay by, to auoid over shooting our port, being bound to touch at Plimouth. In the morning wee made sail in with the land, thick rainy wether, the first we saw was the rock which lies to the southward of Torbay, and soon after the ferry which is the land beyond it; about 9 o'clock, we saw Dartmouth range, which are a company of rocks lying of that port; after wee had opened the harbour, we sailed fair by the Start, a ragged point reching into the sea; wee sailed along by Praul and the Boult, two other headlands, and at 4 in the afternoon, came to an anchor, in Plimouth Sound, abrest of St. Francis Island, where wee found the rear-admiral Vtburd, who commanded the western squadron, with fiue or six sail of 3 and 4 rate ffrigats, hauing taken seuerall prises to the westward. The bay of Plimouth, is one of the most comodius in England, being about two leagues deepe and lying in. The two head lands are the Mewstone with the point that lies of from Weemberry; the westermost is the Ramhed or rather Pen Lee, which is another point within it, about which is Caisson bay, a small fisher towne, lying in the bottom of it. Of the eastermost point lies a long ridg of ragged rocks, the outwardmost of which is calld the Shagg Rocke from the number of those fowl which are continually upon it, the whole sound is generally rocky, unles it be west [of] the bay under Mount Stamford, where there is very good ground for a good compas, it lies rocky of a great way from the island. To the northwards of the island again is good ground, and in Cawsome bay there are two very good harbours in the sound, Catwater,

but

2 Pepys (vol. ii, p. 41,) says, "Sir G. Carteret did tell me on one occasion how Sir Thomas Allen was tried for his life, in P. Rupert's fleet, in the late time, for cowardice, and condemned to be hanged, and fled to Jerzy, &c." The storm, however, blew over; for he was sent out in 1668-9, in command of the Mediterranean fleet.

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