Pepys Diary
Monday 1 February 1663/64
Up (my maids rising early this morning to washing), and being ready I 
found Mr. Strutt the purser below with 12 bottles of sacke, and tells 
me (which from Sir W. Batten I had heard before) how young Jack Davis 
has railed against Sir W. Batten for his endeavouring to turn him out 
of his place, at which for the fellow's sake, because it will likely 
prove his ruin, I am sorry, though I do believe he is a very arch 
rogue. I took Strutt by coach with me to White Hall, where I set him 
down, and I to my Lord's, but found him gone out betimes to the 
Wardrobe, which I am glad to see that he so attends his business, 
though it troubles me that my counsel to my prejudice must be the 
cause of it. They tell me that he goes into the country next week, 
and that the young ladies come up this week before the old lady. [?? 
D.W.] Here I hear how two men last night, justling for the wall about 
the New Exchange, did kill one another, each thrusting the other 
through; one of them of the King's Chappell, one Cave, and the other 
a retayner of my Lord Generall Middleton's. Thence to White Hall; 
where, in the Duke's chamber, the King came and stayed an hour or two 
laughing at Sir W. Petty, who was there about his boat; and at 
Gresham College in general; at which poor Petty was, I perceive, at 
some loss; but did argue discreetly, and bear the unreasonable 
follies of the King's objections and other bystanders with great 
discretion; and offered to take oddes against the King's best boates; 
but the King would not lay, but cried him down with words only. 
Gresham College he mightily laughed at, for spending time only in 
weighing of ayre, and doing nothing else since they sat. Thence to 
Westminster Hall, and there met with diverse people, it being terme 
time. Among others I spoke with Mrs. Lane, of whom I doubted to hear 
something of the effects of our last meeting about a fortnight or 
three weeks ago, but to my content did not. Here I met with Mr. 
Pierce, who tells me of several passages at Court, among others how 
the King, coming the other day to his Theatre to see "The Indian 
Queene" (which he commends for a very fine thing), my Lady 
Castlemaine was in the next box before he came; and leaning over 
other ladies awhile to whisper to the King, she rose out of the box 
and went into the King's, and set herself on the King's right hand, 
between the King and the Duke of York; which, he swears, put the King 
himself, as well as every body else, out of countenance; and believes 
that she did it only to show the world that she is not out of favour 
yet, as was believed. Thence with Alderman Maynell by his coach to 
the 'Change, and there with several people busy, and so home to 
dinner, and took my wife out immediately to the King's Theatre, it 
being a new month, and once a month I may go, and there saw "The 
Indian Queene" acted; which indeed is a most pleasant show, and 
beyond my expectation; the play good, but spoiled with the ryme, 
which breaks the sense. But above my expectation most, the eldest 
Marshall did do her part most excellently well as I ever heard woman 
in my life; but her voice not so sweet as Ianthe's; but, however, we 
came home mightily contented. Here we met Mr. Pickering and his 
mistress, Mrs. Doll Wilde; he tells me that the business runs high 
between the Chancellor and my Lord Bristoll against the Parliament; 
and that my Lord Lauderdale and Cooper open high against the 
Chancellor; which I am sorry for. In my way home I 'light and to the 
Coffee-house, where I heard Lt. Coll. Baron tell very good stories of 
his travels over the high hills in Asia above the clouds, how clear 
the heaven is above them, how thicke like a mist the way is through 
the cloud that wets like a sponge one's clothes, the ground above the 
clouds all dry and parched, nothing in the world growing, it being 
only a dry earth, yet not so hot above as below the clouds. The stars 
at night most delicate bright and a fine clear blue sky, but cannot 
see the earth at any time through the clouds, but the clouds look 
like a world below you. Thence home and to supper, being hungry, and 
so to the office, did business, specially about Creed, for whom I am 
now pretty well fitted, and so home to bed. This day in Westminster 
Hall W. Bowyer told me that his father is dead lately, and died by 
being drowned in the river, coming over in the night; but he says he 
had not been drinking. He was taken with his stick in his hand and 
cloake over his shoulder, as ruddy as before he died. His horse was 
taken overnight in the water, hampered in the bridle, but they were 
so silly as not to look for his master till the next morning, that he 
was found drowned.

See also 
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=282 
of which an extract below

Petty's famous plan for a "double bottomed" vessel, a sort of 
catamaran, which should excel in swiftness, weatherliness and 
stability any "single body" afloat, was probably set forth in one of 
his papers5 before the Society. To demonstrate the correctness of his 
views he built at least three such "sluice boats." The first was laid 
down at Dublin in 1662. She distinguished herself by beating all the 
boats in the harbour, and subsequently outsailed the Holyhead packet, 
the swiftest vessel that the King had there. Hereupon Petty brought 
her to England1 , where, probably through the intervention of his 
friend Pepys, the attention of the Duke of York, then Lord High 
Admiral, and eventually the notice of the King himself was turned to 
the novel craft. Charles II. appears to have combined wonder at 
Petty's energy with quizzical amusement at his numerous projects. He 
at first chaffed the naviarchal Doctor without mercy2 , but relented 
sufficiently to attend the launching of a new Double Bottom which he 
dubbed "The Experiment3 ." She also proved herself a swift sailor, 
but was presently lost in the Irish Channel. This disaster, followed 
by the burning of several of his London houses in the great fire and 
by the adverse decisions of some of his Irish law suits4 , restrained 
Petty from further shipbuilding experiments for nearly a score of 
years; but in 1682, while he was considering the establishment at 
Dublin of a philosophical society similar to that of London, the fit 
of the Double Bottom, as he tells us, did return very fiercely upon 
him. His new vessel, however, performed as abominably, as if built on 
purpose to disappoint in the highest degree every particular that was 
expected of her and caused him to stagger in much that he had 
formerly said. But so much did he prefer truth before vanity and 
imposture that he resolved to spend his life in examining the 
greatest and noblest of all machines, a ship, and if he found just 
cause for it to write a book against himself5 .

Nicholas J. Theocarakis