Winter, 1664–1665 • 29as did Roger L’Estrange, who made a comfortable living publishing the In-
telligencerevery Monday and the Newson Thursdays, with upbeat columns
on town and court doings.
Of course, Turner gambled by engaging in a luxury trade, with high oper-
ating costs as well as high profit margins. Goods might be impounded by
customs, or war with Holland or France could impede the flow of goods
through the English Channel. Profits were split with partners Pocquelin père
et fils in Paris (probably relatives of the popular French playwright Jean Bap-
tiste Poquelin, better known by his pen name, Molière) and with brokers and
buyers on the Continent, whom he paid through bills of exchange. The in-
ventory of unsold cloth sat on the shelves of his shop in the heart of the city,
a considerable debt tied up at any time. In July 1664 , his account books listed
the value of this cloth as three thousand pounds.^36
Still, Sir William sincerely felt that his financial world could not come
crashing down. His business was as sure as that of the goldsmiths on Lom-
bard Street and Cheapside. The Backwells and Vyners, for example, made a
tidy sum serving as early modern bankers, offering 6 percent on deposits.
They were happy to advance cash to the king for 10 percent (his credit being
a bit shaky). The arrangement benefited everyone: the king got an advance
on hearth tax collections; the goldsmiths got their 6 percent; and oppor-
tunists like Pepys, who advanced their own cash to the bankers for this pur-
pose, pocketed the extra 4 percent.^37 The thriving commercial city inside the
walls seemed to have something for almost everyone.
Approaching Turner’s city was a heady experience for a newcomer. From
far away one had a commanding view of “old Saint Paul’s” and its six acres of
leaden roofs. The medieval cathedral soared above the jumble of half-tim-
bered, red-roofed merchant houses grouped in courts, the scene punctuated
by church towers looking down to wharfs on the Thames.^38
Entering from the rich farmland of Essex to the east, visitors passed
through an old, narrow opening in the wall called Aldgate, leading to Lea-
denhall’s meat and produce markets, the goldsmiths of Lombard Street, and
the dazzling Royal Exchange. Built in 1547 – 50 on the plan of Antwerp’s
bourse, the Royal Exchange stood between Cornhill and Threadneedle
Streets near the commercial center of the walled city in Cheapside.^39 The
four-story Renaissance building, featuring a central courtyard and bell tower,
was one of northern Europe’s leading centers for the trading of commodities
andtheplace in London to catch up on the rise and fall of private fortunes,
the latest public news, and tantalizing rumors and gossip. Inside its marble-
arched arcades topped by imposing statues of England’s kings and queens,