Friday 1 November 1661

I went this morning with Sir W. Pen by coach to Westminster, and having done my business at Mr. Montagu’s, I went back to him at Whitehall, and from thence with him to the 3 Tun Tavern, at Charing Cross, and there sent for up the maister of the house’s dinner, and dined very well upon it, and afterwards had him and his fayre sister (who is very great with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen in mirth) up to us, and looked over some medals that they shewed us of theirs; and so went away to the Theatre, to “The Joviall Crew,” and from hence home, and at my house we were very merry till late, having sent for his son, Mr. William Pen, lately come from Oxford. And after supper parted, and to bed.


14 Annotations

First Reading

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Ah, young Penn is on the scene. I would kill to see our young Quaker college student with that lovable old sea dog, music-lover, and theater-hound Admiral Sir William P. Sr.

Mary  •  Link

the maister of the house's dinner.

What we now refer to as the table d'hote.

Mary  •  Link

lately come from Oxford.

Wm. Penn the Younger had actually been sent down (i.e. expelled) from Oxford for his involvement in an alleged riot against the reintroduction of the wearing of surplices. He had been a member of Christ Church.

Stolzi  •  Link

Ah, those delightful young ladies at inns! Pepys mentions them more than once. How much are they worth in business for the tavern? :)

Bob T  •  Link

Ah, those delightful young ladies at inns.
Ladies following this same profession, can still be found in bars around the world. They encourage the patrons to buy drinks, and are reimbursed by the number of swizzle stick that they collect; "Habibee buy me whiskey" Now, they are called Whiskey Dollies, which seems logical. Well, so I've been told of course :-)

Clement  •  Link

"...looked over some medals that they shewed us..."
Any idea of the nature of these medals? Would these have been awards or commemorations?
Sam makes no note of the Feast Day, All Saints--perhaps observance was not common in the Church in England at this time.

vicente  •  Link

There are those that did dote on Saints days, I do believe, it be those that are of RC persuasion, be it Anglican or Catholic , then there are Party poopers that lost the Inter Regnum that did not, and others trying to find out which side is the correct side. If you read up on Sams Sunday Outings besides girl watching, he mentions a range of thoughts that various clergy of different persuasions did speak of in the pulpit.
Re: Medals, my uneducated guess, there be the normal Human love for wot glitters and handed out for the Parade ground Mob, to remind them of the blud and guts that was spilt.
Charles brought back sports from [foot] ball[dancing], to racing on turf[gg's] and on river [skulls, yacht], to keep the young ruffians rich or poor from starting fights [of the streets], dancing to keep the boys and girls from higher achievements and dallience [for DOM's] with the wenches was once again acceptable. Of course there is the theatre to uplft those parts of mind that the preacher did fail to reach.

Pauline  •  Link

Ah, those delightful young ladies at inns.
"...his fayre sister ..."
and "they" show the medals. So it sounds like she is a co-owner or otherwise a responsible partner in her brother's business. Sam says she is fair, but does not say that she is young. Sounds like she can draw and made the customers comfortable with good food and good humor. I don't think she is of the "profession" annotated for above.

Second Reading

Bill  •  Link

"looked over some medals that they shewed us"

MEDAL, A Piece of Metal like Money stamped upon some extraordinary Occasion.
---An Universal Etymological English Dictionary. N. Bailey, 1675.

GrannieAnnie  •  Link

The Wikipedia entry on William Penn the Younger tells how he landed in The Tower of London for 8 months and how the judge tried to dissuade (threaten) the jury which wanted to free William. A fascinating piece of history that had a positive effect on trials.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Wikipedia article on William Penn GrannieAnnie refers to is linked above:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… The case was post-diary.

Bushel’s Case (1670) 124 E.R. 1006 (also spelled Bushell's Case) is a famous English decision on the role of juries. It also confirmed that the Court of Common Pleas could issue a writ of habeas corpus in ordinary criminal cases.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Wm. Penn the Younger had actually been sent down (i.e. expelled) from Oxford for his involvement in an alleged riot against the reintroduction of the wearing of surplices. He had been a member of Christ Church."

I think Mary has jumped the gun by a few months:

In 1661 William Penn, at 17, was forming his own views and learning to follow his heart -- which didn't coincide with his father's plans. Dean John Owen had been fired as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford for his non-Conformist views in 1660. Many people were not happy about that, including Chancellor of Oxford University, Edward Hyde who gave Owen an opportunity to answer a pro-Catholic book. Instead of rehabilitating Owen's reputation, the controversy got worse. Hyde suggested Owen tone things down, and be reinstated as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, but Owen would not compromise.

Hyde therefore tightened things up at Christ Church to counteract Owen's views, which only made young Penn more outspoken, leading to his leaving in 1662.

The Penns had had William home for talking-to's a couple of times, and I assume this was one of those occasions.

http://johnowen.org/bibliography/…

Log in to post an annotation.

If you don't have an account, then register here.