Sasha Clarkson

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Sasha Clarkson has posted 752 annotations/comments since 16 February 2013.

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Second Reading

About Peter Llewellyn

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

In Henry V, Shakespeare transcribed Llewellyn as "Fluellen", which isn't nearly as bad as a Pembrokeshire colleague of mine who pronounced Llanelli as "Lanelthy". South Pembrokeshire is known as "Little England beyond Wales", and its natives can be rather perverse about the Welsh language, but having played first class Rugby for them, he really had no excuse.

About Saturday 18 March 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

For all Creed might envy Sam taking over as Tangier Treasurer, one must remember that Sam saved Creed's bacon after Creeds accounts as Sandwich's Treasurer were called into question. He might be learning, but doesn't yet, perhaps, have the skill-set.

About Friday 17 March 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

This demonstrates that, whatever Pepys wrote of his private thoughts in the diary, he did not join in with the public lynch mob in the committee. Hence, not only does he get a new source of legitimate profit under the Crown, he also gains a friend who will later help save him from the false accusations arising from the "Popish Plot".

One can presumably infer that he made sure that Povey got *his* share of the profit without fuss?

About Friday 24 February 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"Thomas Hayter seems to have a history of being there when the contracts are being recorded"

Despite being a "conventicler" (a religious dissenter), Hayter was Pepys' chief clerk and trusted protegé.

About Friday 24 February 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Re Dirk's annotation re Evelyn's mentionof the preaching of Dr Fell:

This must surely be *the* Dr John Fell, Dean Of Christ Church, immortalised by Tom Brown's epigram:

"I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why – I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell"

(sometimes "like" is replaced by love")

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_d…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom…

According to Wikipedia, Evelyn found Fell's sermons "dull".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joh…

About Thursday 23 February 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Atrocity stories are an inevitable part of wartime propaganda, and soon degenerates to "Let's do unto them what we know they would do to us if they could"

I am reminded of this quotation from Frank Herbert's 'Dune Messiah'

"Atrocity has no excuses, no mitigating argument.

Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past.
Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity.
It is self perpetuating upon itself - a barbarous form of incest.

Whoever commits atrocity also commits those future atrocities thus bred."

About Sunday 19 February 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"I fell mightily out" ....
That's the first time I've heard that expression without the "with". Falling out with someone I am familiar with, and have used in the sense of "we had a falling out";
but never, even in inebriation, did I just "fall out"....

Sam makes Elizabeth beat the "girle", as it's her job to manage the servants. I suspect he's still annoyed about having to get rid of the "cookmayd" the other week.

As to "the disturbance of our house and neighbours", I expect he's rather more worried that the neighbours will think that he's keeping a disorderly house, and putting the security of *all* of them - and the office - at risk. And I don't suppose either Sam or Bess want the likes of Lady Batten to be able to gossip that they are lax with their household.

"Oh yes m'dear" (Lady Batten miaows to her daughter, in an accent from which the Cockney has not entirely disappeared) "Mrs Pepys gives herself such airs about her supposedly noble family, but the truth is they're as poor as church mice - you should see where they live - so she simply hasn't the experience to keep the servants in their place."

About Friday 17 February 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

I interpret Povey as telling Pepys that "Berkeley" is intimidating/threatening him obliquely, with tales of military (and implied duelling?) prowess.

As an aristocrat, Berkeley outranks Povey, but Povey is probably wealthier, and in a strong position as the Duke of York's Treasurer.

About Wednesday 15 February 1664/65

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There's another small group of islands, with a lighthouse, called the "Bishops and Clerks" near Ramsey Island, by St David's Pembrokeshire.

I always assumed that the name was a reference to nearby St David's Cathedral, but there seem to be other groups with similar names around the world, so I don't know.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bis…

About Monday 13 February 1664/65

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Carl In Boston:
"Plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize
Let nothing evade your eyes
But always to call it, please:
Research"

A quote from Tom Lehrer's 'Lobachevsky'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g…

And of course, in the course ofr the song, Lehrer does a bit of plagiarism of his own, including a quote (in Russian) of the opening words of Mussorgksy's 'Song Of The Flea' :D