Saturday 26 May 1660

Annotations

• N Todd Bernhardt on Tue 27 May 2003, 01:46am

  RIP, Sam.

  Three hundred years ago, Sam sloughed off this mortal coil, leaving we who remain to Rest in Pepys.

  Courtesy of fellow Pepyshead Keith Wright, who alerted me to an excellent article by Ferdinand Mount at the Times Literary Supplement ( http://www.the-tls.co.uk/this_week/story.asp?story_id=26730 ), here’s what Evelyn had to say on the day that Sam went away:
  “This day dyed Mr. Sam. Pepys, a very worthy, Industrious and curious person, none in England exceeding him in the Knowledge of the Navy, in which he had passed thro all the most Considerable Offices, Clerk of the Acts, and Secretary to the Admiralty, all which he performed with greate Integrity: when K: James the 2d went out of England he layed down his Office and would serve no more: But withdrawing himself from all publique Afairs, lived at Clapham with his partner (formerly his Cleark) Mr. Hewer, in a very noble House and sweete place … . was universaly beloved, Hospitable, generous, Learned in many things, skill

• N Paul Brewster on Tue 27 May 2003, 03:34am

  Mr. White
  L&M Footnote him as Thomas White, navy agent. They go on to say that he was also a Storekeeper at Dover since at least 1657. “He had a salary of L100 p.a. and looked after the despatch, repair, cleaning and refitting of H.M. ships. In 1667 he applied for permission to surrender the post.”

• N Paul Brewster on Tue 27 May 2003, 03:41am

  who is as officious, poor man! as any spaniel can be; but I believe all to no purpose, for I believe he will not hold his place
  Interesting to see how SP underestimates the power of a spaniel to win the heart of King Charles.
  
  Per L&M: “Lawson (republican and Anabaptist in the past) now won the King’s favor. He was knight in September 1660 and was given several commands before his death in 1665.

• N chip on Tue 27 May 2003, 04:29am

  I would be willing to wager that SP, when called yesterday by the Duke of York, did upon his desire, make sure of the 30l he received today. I would also bet that Pepys today never imagined that it would be the month and day carved on his stone.

• N language hat on Tue 27 May 2003, 04:44am

  I found myself very uncouth all this day:
  This is a strange use of “uncouth”; the OED gives it its own subentry. After
  5. Of places: Not commonly known or frequented; solitary, desolate, wild, rugged, rough.
  b. Of life, surroundings, etc.: Unattractive, unpleasant, uncomfortable. Obs. or arch.
  They add:
  c. Strange; uneasy; at a loss. Obs. [1 occurrence]
  1660 PEPYS Diary 26 May, All the great company being gone, I found myself very uncouth all this day for want thereof.

  I don’t understand “so I dined commander at the coach table to-day”; is this how the L&M edition reads?

• N mary on Tue 27 May 2003, 06:23am

  So I dined commander …

  L&M note that ‘dined’ here replaces ‘supped’ but does not indicate where ‘supped’ might have appeared.

  I would guess that Sam means that he took the head of the table, presided over it etc. at dinner in the coach. Although he mentions all the officers being with him, this probably doesn’t include the Captain, who is normally mentioned by name and who would take precedence over Sam, even though the latter is basking in Mountagu’s reflected glory.

• N Mary on Tue 27 May 2003, 06:42am

  uncouth

  As Language Hat says, a singular use of the word. All those of rank and consequence now having departed the ship, perhaps Sam feels that he has been left with the hoi polloi of the Naseby’s (now The Charles’s) company and this has brought him uncomfortably back to earth in his own estimation, reminding hm that he is not a man of rank or consequence yet.

  He’s clearly feeling very flat and out of place after all the excitement and heady glory of the last few days. Maybe claiming the head of the table at dinner is his way of compensating for this in a small way?

• N Paul Brewster on Tue 27 May 2003, 07:37am

  L&M note that

• N helena murphy on Tue 27 May 2003, 08:19pm

  The Vice-Admiral , Sir John Lawson ,will continue to hold his rank and his place due simply to his professional seafaring experience ,irrespective of his previous political views. Charles and the Duke of York, now Lord High Admiral ,are sufficiently pragmatic to be unaffected by his past,and in fact an Act of Indemnity and Oblivion was passed to pardon lesser figures who had taken the Parliamentarian side. Neither is the King oblivious to Dutch naval strength , and wealth based on its far flung maritime empire. Like his father before him, Charles will be committed to building up the Royal Navy to meet this challenge.

• N vincent on Tue 27 May 2003, 09:27pm

  (who is as officious, poor man! as any spaniel can be; but I believe all to no purpose, for I believe he will not hold his place),
  Lawson, V.adm.- ‘e can’t say the Kings henglish, not washed with “cam water” but knew how to run a fleet: One of the first up from the ranks. Sam will learn there is more to the feller than his ingratiating ways: He had to compensate for the lack of his Latinised vocabulary, Thanks Helena Murphy:

• N Paul Brewster on Wed 28 May 2003, 02:45pm

  Veblen on dogs
  A friend pointed me to this quote from Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class, which seems appropriate here as well as in the previous day’s entry …
  “The dog has advantages in the way of uselessness as well as in special gifts
  of temperament. He is often spoken of, in an eminent sense, as the friend of
  man, and his intelligence and fidelity are praised. The meaning of this is
  that the dog is man’s servant and that he has the gift of an unquestioning
  subservience and a slave’s quickness in guessing his master’s mood. Coupled
  with these traits, which fit him well for the relation of status — and
  which must for the present purpose be set down as serviceable traits — the
  dog has some characteristics which are of a more equivocal aesthetic value.
  He is the filthiest of the domestic animals in his person and the nastiest
  in his habits. For this he makes up is a servile, fawning attitude towards
  his master, and a readiness to inflict damage and discomfort on all else.”
  

• N jamie yeager on Thu 26 Feb 2004, 08:58pm

  30 pounds
  If Sam’s net worth, which he cast up earlier onboard during the voyage as 40 pounds, remained the same, then he almost doubled his net worth at a stroke with this gift from the King via his Lord…