Thursday 25 July 1661

This morning came my box of papers from Brampton of all my uncle’s papers, which will now set me at work enough. At noon I went to the Exchange, where I met my uncle Wight, and found him so discontented about my father (whether that he takes it ill that he has not been acquainted with things, or whether he takes it ill that he has nothing left him, I cannot tell), for which I am much troubled, and so staid not long to talk with him.

Thence to my mother’s, where I found my wife and my aunt Bell and Mrs. Ramsey, and great store of tattle there was between the old women and my mother, who thinks that there is, God knows what fallen to her, which makes me mad, but it was not a proper time to speak to her of it, and so I went away with Mr. Moore, and he and I to the Theatre, and saw “The Jovial Crew,” the first time I saw it, and indeed it is as merry and the most innocent play that ever I saw, and well performed. From thence home, and wrote to my father and so to bed. Full of thoughts to think of the trouble that we shall go through before we come to see what will remain to us of all our expectations.


14 Annotations

First Reading

dirk  •  Link

"The Jovial Crew"

By Richard Brome, c.1590-1652, English dramatist. He was the friend, servant, and disciple of Ben Jonson. Primarily a writer of realistic satiric comedy, picturing the life and manners of Caroline bourgeois London, he also produced several tragicomedies, but with much less success. The main features of his plays are the humor characters, complicated comic intrigue, and an abundance of action. The majority of his comedies were performed between 1629 and 1642, the most noteworthy being The Northern Lass, The City Wit, and The Jovial Crew.

From:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/…

vicente  •  Link

The Beggars' Chorus
Melody - from "The Jovial Crew"
There was a jovial Beggar,
He had a wooden Leg;
Lame from his Cradle,
And forced for to Beg;
Refrain:
And a Begging we will go,
We'll go, we'll go,
And a Begging we will go.
A Bag for my Oatmeal,
Another for my Salt,
A little pair of Crutchcs,
To see how I can Halt1):

A Bag for my Bread,
Another for my Cheese,
A little dog to follow me
To gather what I leese2):
A Bag for my Wheat,
Another for my Rye,
A little Bottle by my side,
To drink when I am dry:
http://ingeb.org/songs/therewaj.h…

vicente  •  Link

"... great store of tattle..."when did the tittle come in?
He holds his tongue in front of his wife. Back to the OED. Then on to Prattle.
"...most innocent play that ever I saw..." meaning I doth think, no hanky panky and talk of the courser things.
Just plain banana skin humour and the other humours..

David Ross McIrvine  •  Link

Brome's *The Joviall Crew* was the last
play to be performed before the Theatres
were closed by Parliament in 1642.

As *Lachrymae Musarum* (a Royalist
collection of elegies for Lord Hastings, in which Dryden's poetry first saw print) puts the case:

"All the arguments I can use to induce you to take notice of this thing of nothing,
is, that it had the luck to tumble last of all in the Epidemicall ruine of the Scene!"

Pedro.  •  Link

"but it was not a proper time to speak to her of it."

But the great store of tattle from today must, at some point, be synchronised with his tattle of yesterday. What would it do for Sam's esteem at the Office, if they found out God knows what had fallen to him, instead of 200l a year plus moneys?

J A Gioia  •  Link

to think of the trouble that we shall go through before we come to see what will remain to us of all our expectations.

sam's relative youth is often remarked on here, however the maturity on display above is very impressive.

and the rhetoric ain't too shabby either.

steve h  •  Link

Brome's Jovial Crew

This play is a minor treasure, sort of a musical comedy set among the (highly idealized) beggar subculture. Unlike the (18th century) Beggar's Opera or Ben Jonson's plays, it's not cynical but sweet, with noble lovers discuised as wandering mendicants. It has a nice bit of beggar's cant as well, and a celebration of the open road.

JWB  •  Link

Like mother,like son...
How's his boasting @ office any different than Mom's @ home?

Mary  •  Link

like mother, like son.

Perhaps mother is already making grandiose plans for spending some of the money that she thinks is to fall to their lot? Moving to a better address? Buying some nice pieces of plate? Getting a good husband for Pall? Could all become a bit embarrassing.

Nix  •  Link

"what will remain to us of all our expectations" --

Samuel is not waxing philosophical, about how he hopes his life will turn out. He is talking about his uncle's estate.

OED "expectation", defintion 4.b --

"b. pl. Prospects of inheritance or of profiting by testament.

"1669 LADY CHAWORTH in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 11 Lord Huntingtons marriage is as good as concluded with Sir James Langhams daughter, who gives 20,000l. downe, besides expectations. 1777 SHERIDAN Sch. Scandal III. iii, I have a rich old uncle..from whom I have the greatest expectations. 1837 LYTTON E. Maltrav. 45 O yes; I have what are called expectations. 1861 DICKENS (title), Great Expectations."

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"The Beggars' Chorus" It would make an excellent Rap!...

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Good ole Unc Wight...Too lazy to head out to bury Unc Rob and yet quivering with rage to think he's been cut out.

My favorite Pepys uncle actually but that comes later...

Second Reading

Bill  •  Link

"great store of tattle there was"

to TATTLE, to chat, or prate.
---An Universal Etymological English Dictionary. N. Bailey, 1675.

TATTLE, Prate; idle chat; trifling talk.
---A Dictionary Of The English Language. Samuel Johnson, 1756.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘tattle, n. < tattle v. Compare Low German tätel in same sense.
a. The action of tattling; idle or frivolous talk; chatter, gossip.
. . 1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 57 At Gossipings, Funeralls, at Church before Sermons, and the like opportunities of tattle.
1726 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 16 They..told the Tattle of the Day.

. . Compare also tittle v.1, and tittle-tattle n., in Low German titeltateln. Ultimately onomatopoeic.’

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